mommytothreeboys
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2007
- Messages
- 3,504
For those of you keeping up, we are now on Day 5 of our vacation. Its Thursday April 23, 2009 and the alarm wakes us up at 7 am so we can eat a quick breakfast, shower, dress and get ready for our day at Disneys Hollywood Studios!
Just so I dont forget to say it later, the weather has been absolutely perfect! We wake up each morning and I check the forecast to see nothing but 80's and sunshine! NICE!
We hit the bus stop to head to DHS for rope drop and arrive to see these crowds at the gate.
My photo time stamp says it was 8:31 and opening was at 9 am. Now, the only reason I took the crowd picture is because we had made the choice to come to DHS on a Fantasmic! day. Disney had actually added a second showing of F! at 10:00 this day.
I had concerns, but Fantasmic! is our very favorite night show and we really didnt want to miss it. So we took our chances and headed to DHS on a day when it was showing. More on that later!
Of course our goal was to hit Toy Story Mania first. It was a new ride for us and we had a strategy! We were going to head straight to Pixar Place, jump in the stand-by line, ride, THEN get FPs to ride later. I had done lots of research on whether to ride first, then get FPs or vice versa. Our thought was that by riding first, we at least got ONE ride. If the line to get FPs was crazy or they were gone when we got off the ride, we had not missed out. SO....that was our strategy and we were sticking to it!
The turnstiles opened and we all made our way down Hollywood Boulevard to where the opening show was. We were pretty far back and couldnt see too much, but I snapped this pic of the director as we walked by after the rope dropped! ACTION!!
We followed the crowd and ended up in Pixar Place! Like I said before, this was all new since our visit in 2007 and I was impressed! The buildings and the theming were SO CUTE!
As you can see by the above photo, we arrived at TSM at 9:02 and the stand-by time was posted at 30 minutes. The FP return time at 9:02 was 10:30. We jumped in line and I snapped a few pictures inside the queue. Again...very well done. Impressive!
I wish backwards hat guy hadnt been in my way!
Notice Jonah is still wearing the Captain Jack sword!
Before long we were donning our 3D glasses and boarding our car. With 5 of us someone always has to ride alone..this time I rode with Jonah, Jeff and Isaiah rode together, and Dan rode alone.
This ride is really fun!
It took me a few minutes to figure out the trick to the cannon shooter...I was letting go of the string each time instead of just continuing to pull. DUH! 
There is so much to look at and the games are really cool! I love the stuff flying out at you and how you can unlock bonus points. It was over before I was ready to get off!! Here is my pathetic score... I think I was on the right. I am really no good at these games, but I had a blast and so did the rest of the family!
As we exited the ride (I noted that it was 9:30), we headed directly to the FP machines. We DEFINITELY wanted another shot at this one! The FP return time at this point was 12:30. There were a few people in front of us, but we had no problem at all getting FPs. WOO-HOO!!
Our next stop was RocknRoller Coaster and Tower of Terror so we walked off in that direction of the park. We knew that since we had a FP out for TSM that we would have to ride one of these rides stand-by. We rarely do that, but wed just have to bite the bullet in this case.
We arrived at the end of Sunset Boulevard and checked out the stand-by times for each ride. RnRC was 60 minutes and TOT was 40 minutes. We have a winner!
We jumped in the TOT line to wait. I snapped this picture from a perspective I had never seen before. Its there I promise!
Here are a couple of us waiting in line.
Dan, Jeff and I had been on TOT on our last trip and LOVE IT to death! The younger boys had opted for the chicken exit, but vowed to ride this time. We were all so excited! We finally got inside the cool Hollywood Hotel and made our way to the infamous elevators. I can tell Isaiah is starting to get nervous, but there is no way hes gonna let Jonah upstage him...hes riding! We all got on and made sure both Isaiah and Jonah were seated next to either Jeff or I. Here we go!!!
I cannot say enough about how fun this ride is! Jonah and Isaiah screamed and laughed the entire time! Im so glad they both liked it...now we can do it again!!
It was still too early to get a FP for RnRC ( we couldnt get another until 11:30 and it was not quite 10:30). Oh...that also means that the 40 minute posted wait time was about right...our in-line pics are time stamped at about 9:45.
Our next must do was the Disney Animation tour so we made off in that direction. On our way there, we passed by and this was just beginning!
Okay...time for me to make a confession. I LOVE HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL.
Yes..I know Im an almost-40 year old woman, but I adore it! I love all 3 movies, have all 3 soundtracks on my iPod and cant get enough of Troy, Gabriella, Ryan, and Sharpay! Ahh...that feels better, my secret is out! 
Now, I would not have stopped to watch this show. We had only been at the park for a an hour and a half and been on two rides. I would not have made the family stop to do this for me. But.... remember what I said about Jeff wanting to make things perfect for me?? Well...he knows how I feel about HSM and he wasnt about to let me walk by...especially since it was just about to start. So we grabbed a spot of pavement and watched!
A wide shot so you can see where we were sitting!
The performers did a great job. The songs were so fun and the dancing was awesome. At one point they picked audience members to participate....it was a fun show! Now, had Zac and Vanessa been there it would have been better, but I cant have everything now can I??
As the show ended and we dragged our bodies up from the hot pavement, Jeff realized his wallet was not in his pocket. AGAIN??? Oh NO!!
Luckily it had just fallen out when he had been sitting and was right behind him on the ground. Whew...that could have been bad!
With my HSM fix under my belt...thanks Jeff....I was time to continue our stroll to the Magic of Disney Animation Tour. Jeff and I had done this in 1992, but not on our 2007 trip.
Did we enjoy the new version? Were we able to meet any characters? Do we EVER get to ride RnRC??
Thanks for reading!
Just so I dont forget to say it later, the weather has been absolutely perfect! We wake up each morning and I check the forecast to see nothing but 80's and sunshine! NICE!
We hit the bus stop to head to DHS for rope drop and arrive to see these crowds at the gate.
My photo time stamp says it was 8:31 and opening was at 9 am. Now, the only reason I took the crowd picture is because we had made the choice to come to DHS on a Fantasmic! day. Disney had actually added a second showing of F! at 10:00 this day.
I had concerns, but Fantasmic! is our very favorite night show and we really didnt want to miss it. So we took our chances and headed to DHS on a day when it was showing. More on that later!Of course our goal was to hit Toy Story Mania first. It was a new ride for us and we had a strategy! We were going to head straight to Pixar Place, jump in the stand-by line, ride, THEN get FPs to ride later. I had done lots of research on whether to ride first, then get FPs or vice versa. Our thought was that by riding first, we at least got ONE ride. If the line to get FPs was crazy or they were gone when we got off the ride, we had not missed out. SO....that was our strategy and we were sticking to it!
The turnstiles opened and we all made our way down Hollywood Boulevard to where the opening show was. We were pretty far back and couldnt see too much, but I snapped this pic of the director as we walked by after the rope dropped! ACTION!!
We followed the crowd and ended up in Pixar Place! Like I said before, this was all new since our visit in 2007 and I was impressed! The buildings and the theming were SO CUTE!
As you can see by the above photo, we arrived at TSM at 9:02 and the stand-by time was posted at 30 minutes. The FP return time at 9:02 was 10:30. We jumped in line and I snapped a few pictures inside the queue. Again...very well done. Impressive!
I wish backwards hat guy hadnt been in my way!
Notice Jonah is still wearing the Captain Jack sword!
Before long we were donning our 3D glasses and boarding our car. With 5 of us someone always has to ride alone..this time I rode with Jonah, Jeff and Isaiah rode together, and Dan rode alone.
This ride is really fun!
It took me a few minutes to figure out the trick to the cannon shooter...I was letting go of the string each time instead of just continuing to pull. DUH! There is so much to look at and the games are really cool! I love the stuff flying out at you and how you can unlock bonus points. It was over before I was ready to get off!! Here is my pathetic score... I think I was on the right. I am really no good at these games, but I had a blast and so did the rest of the family!
As we exited the ride (I noted that it was 9:30), we headed directly to the FP machines. We DEFINITELY wanted another shot at this one! The FP return time at this point was 12:30. There were a few people in front of us, but we had no problem at all getting FPs. WOO-HOO!!
Our next stop was RocknRoller Coaster and Tower of Terror so we walked off in that direction of the park. We knew that since we had a FP out for TSM that we would have to ride one of these rides stand-by. We rarely do that, but wed just have to bite the bullet in this case.
We arrived at the end of Sunset Boulevard and checked out the stand-by times for each ride. RnRC was 60 minutes and TOT was 40 minutes. We have a winner!
We jumped in the TOT line to wait. I snapped this picture from a perspective I had never seen before. Its there I promise!
Here are a couple of us waiting in line.
Dan, Jeff and I had been on TOT on our last trip and LOVE IT to death! The younger boys had opted for the chicken exit, but vowed to ride this time. We were all so excited! We finally got inside the cool Hollywood Hotel and made our way to the infamous elevators. I can tell Isaiah is starting to get nervous, but there is no way hes gonna let Jonah upstage him...hes riding! We all got on and made sure both Isaiah and Jonah were seated next to either Jeff or I. Here we go!!!
I cannot say enough about how fun this ride is! Jonah and Isaiah screamed and laughed the entire time! Im so glad they both liked it...now we can do it again!!
It was still too early to get a FP for RnRC ( we couldnt get another until 11:30 and it was not quite 10:30). Oh...that also means that the 40 minute posted wait time was about right...our in-line pics are time stamped at about 9:45.
Our next must do was the Disney Animation tour so we made off in that direction. On our way there, we passed by and this was just beginning!
Okay...time for me to make a confession. I LOVE HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL.
Yes..I know Im an almost-40 year old woman, but I adore it! I love all 3 movies, have all 3 soundtracks on my iPod and cant get enough of Troy, Gabriella, Ryan, and Sharpay! Ahh...that feels better, my secret is out! Now, I would not have stopped to watch this show. We had only been at the park for a an hour and a half and been on two rides. I would not have made the family stop to do this for me. But.... remember what I said about Jeff wanting to make things perfect for me?? Well...he knows how I feel about HSM and he wasnt about to let me walk by...especially since it was just about to start. So we grabbed a spot of pavement and watched!
A wide shot so you can see where we were sitting!
The performers did a great job. The songs were so fun and the dancing was awesome. At one point they picked audience members to participate....it was a fun show! Now, had Zac and Vanessa been there it would have been better, but I cant have everything now can I??
As the show ended and we dragged our bodies up from the hot pavement, Jeff realized his wallet was not in his pocket. AGAIN??? Oh NO!!
Luckily it had just fallen out when he had been sitting and was right behind him on the ground. Whew...that could have been bad!
With my HSM fix under my belt...thanks Jeff....I was time to continue our stroll to the Magic of Disney Animation Tour. Jeff and I had done this in 1992, but not on our 2007 trip.
Did we enjoy the new version? Were we able to meet any characters? Do we EVER get to ride RnRC??
Thanks for reading!
Oh, I love ABBA, but don't tell anyone! 
I'm sure glad he found it quickly!
The boys were especially sad that they missed Mr. Potato Head. Oh well- there's always next time right.
we went on a F! day and really had no crowd issues, but maybe that is becuase it was rainy in the beginning and the last experience w/ DHS was a SWW day...
