This is me... yet I still like DHS and it is way more than a half day park even though I'm really not terribly excited about meeting characters or seeing most of the shows.1 – “The big ones” – Toy Story, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Star Tours … the things that most people do when they come to Hollywood Studios. When people say that they can only spend (at most) half a day at DHS, it’s generally because they’re only (or mostly) interested in these attractions.
I totally agree. And if they continue expanding the Pixar area as some of the rumors floating around indicate, it might be going away in a few years anyway.It was cute, but not something I need to see more than once every few years.
Wow... I'm sorry you didn't like it. I enjoy it. Again, not something I need to see every time, but I like the costumes and the music. I guess I've always just taken the shows to be what they are in the sense that you have to take some liberties with the story to fit a movie into a 20-ish minute show.I’m not going to post any pictures, partly because I don’t have many that came out well, and partly because I’m not excited to post pictures of this show.
I love Beauty and the Beast. As in, it’s one of my top two Disney movies. And I don’t think this show did it justice. I think it killed the movie. Things were out of order and made no sense. Yes, some of the staging and costumes were cool, but that wasn’t enough to save what they did to the story. I would never see this again, and I’m sorry, but I cannot recommend it to someone who loves that movie as much as I do.
I'm sorry the single rider line was so long. But at least you got to ride and enjoyed it!As you can see, I am in this picture and Beth is not. For reasons that I don’t want to talk about, we decided to wait in the single rider line. It was the wrong decision. The single rider line was longer than the standby line, and we ended up waiting way longer than we were comfortable with. I went ahead with the bag, and Beth decided to take the chicken exit instead of continuing to wait (because she doesn’t like this ride anyway).
Cool! I'm glad you liked it!I liked it. I thought the fireworks were stunning and the music matched wonderfully. Even without being a Star Wars fan, I’d see it again. Definitely a great end to the night.
Yes, there are shorts under Beth’s skirt. It was originally shorts and I turned it into a skirt. Clearly I made the skirt part too short. Don’t be confused by the two skirts pictured above – I can’t sew. I just fake it decently.
I don't think I've seen voyage of the little mermaid since 2012. I think I'll have to see it again next time.
I love all of the character outfits at DHS.
I have never seen beauty and the beast at DHS at least I don't think I have. I love the movie but we just never seem to work that show in.
RnRc is a favorite of mine.
I also missed Fantasmic this trip as I wanted to see the Star Wars fireworks and Osborne lights instead. I think it was worth the skip this time. Great pictures though.
I can't wait to hear about the 10K!
What a fun day in DHS! It's my second-favorite park mostly due to lesser crowds and Star Wars (I am a SW nut). I haven't seen The Little Mermaid in forever, either, so I may need to remedy that sometime soon. Is the Frozen sing-a-long worth it? We keep getting it as our third FP+ when we do DHS (mostly by default because we usually do RnRCoaster for our Tier 1, then Star Tours for Tier 2, usually leaving the third blank) but despite having it as a FP+ at least three or four times, we just haven't made it to the show.
I was thinking when I saw your and Beth's bibs that we were in the same corral and why didn't I see you? And then I remembered the weather, oof. Looking forward to your 10K race recap - the TR is coming along nicely!![]()
Enjoying your trip Report! Great pictures! We love taking character photos too, especially with the medals, they always make for a fun interaction with the characters I think!
This is me... yet I still like DHS and it is way more than a half day park even though I'm really not terribly excited about meeting characters or seeing most of the shows.
I totally agree. And if they continue expanding the Pixar area as some of the rumors floating around indicate, it might be going away in a few years anyway.
Wow... I'm sorry you didn't like it. I enjoy it. Again, not something I need to see every time, but I like the costumes and the music. I guess I've always just taken the shows to be what they are in the sense that you have to take some liberties with the story to fit a movie into a 20-ish minute show.
I'm sorry the single rider line was so long. But at least you got to ride and enjoyed it!
Cool! I'm glad you liked it!
Such a great day at DHS! You guys really did almost everything the park has to offerI love the Little Mermaid, but think the Voyage show needs some TLC -- especially the movie scenes they use.... an HD upgrade is in order....hee! Your outfits for the 10K look adorable. Can't wait to hear how the race went.
Wow you did do quite a lot at DHS!! But then I guess you spent more time there than I did lol! Love all your character shots as usual and your outfits for the run look great!
Just reading through your report, as I'm determined to do my first rundisney this year, and want to read as many reports about the races as I can. I really enjoy your detailed explanations (especially about the expo ect.)and am interested to see how bussing goes for the 10K from POP. Just wondering if you remember if it was typically 20 minute bus rides to and from your all your races?
We had planned to see the Star Wars fireworks when we were there in January, but it just seemed to cold at night while we were there. But when we returned to Disney in February, we saw them three times. We really liked them, but then we are big star wars fans.So, what did we think?
I liked it. I thought the fireworks were stunning and the music matched wonderfully. Even without being a Star Wars fan, I’d see it again. Definitely a great end to the night.
I was tempted to go to see the Osborne lights in December when Southwest had really cheap flights in early December. But every resort was booked solid, so we skipped it. We've seen them before, anyway.I still kinda wish I had been able to rearrange our schedule to see the lights, but it just would have been too much of a hassle. Oh well.
Oh, darn! I read your update last weekend, coincidentally, right before I was going out to see a matinee of The Little Mermaid at a local high school. A lot of the kids from my community theatre company were performing and the show was great! I guess I never came back to comment.
I have only seen The Little Mermaid show and Beauty & the Beast at HS once each. Both times I was solo, while my DH and sons were at Indiana Jones. I liked both, but didn't love either of them.
Looks like your meet with Chip and Dale was a lot of fun. If you are going to double up, there the duo to do.
I haven't seen a Photopass photographer by the RnR entrance. I like that spot.
Glad to hear you enjoyed Fantasmic and the Star Wars fireworks.
That was a long (but fun) day!
First of all - super cute outfit for the 10km race!
I was really impressed by the Star Wars fireworks, even though I am like you and could care less about Star Wars...
I'm 100% with you on the best nighttime show - World of Color is so incredible! Disneyland's Paint the Night Parade is also spectacular, if you ever get a chance to see that.
Haha, I love your Rock N Roller Coaster picture, ride photos with funny faces are my favourite!
We had planned to see the Star Wars fireworks when we were there in January, but it just seemed to cold at night while we were there. But when we returned to Disney in February, we saw them three times. We really liked them, but then we are big star wars fans.![]()
I was tempted to go to see the Osborne lights in December when Southwest had really cheap flights in early December. But every resort was booked solid, so we skipped it. We've seen them before, anyway.
Hi Sarah - I'm Alison! I know I'm a little late to the party but I'm here! I am really enjoying your TR so far! I love all the pictures and the 5K sounded like a lot of fun. Looking forward to reading more!![]()
I have to say .. I have read your TR up to now.. and am waiting for the next segment! I love the fact that a you have come so prepared including all of your meals!!![]()
HOORAY! I'm so excited to read this!The day was finally here. 5K day!!
Me either. 3:30am is more like my bedtime, not my wake-up time.Yes, I know, 3:30 AM is not an appropriate time for a wakeup call. That’s really the big downside of the runDisney races. I’m not big on the morning.
I'm making notes here!Our bus was totally full, so it didn’t stop anywhere else (in my experience, that’s how it tends to go with the buses to the race … each hotel has its own buses to the races, but they share buses after the race).
Dancing? At 4:30am?Basically, this is a big area with a DJ, some dancing, bleachers, and some fun backgrounds for picture taking.
Did I read very recently that this had now changed? Or am I imagining that?(NOTE: The character pictures posted here are all from Beth’s iPhone. The photographers at runDisney events are NOT PhotoPass photographers – they are from a race photography company (not owned by Disney), and your pictures are NOT included in Memory Maker).
This is so informative, thank you!For those of you not sure what’s going on … we’re on the right side of corral D, the 4th of 6 corrals. We’re basically leaning against the side fence, then there’s some empty space between the corrals, and that fence you see is the left side of corral E. As they prepare to start the race, they walk corral A to the starting line. Then as they’re getting ready to let corral A off, they start walking corral B over. And that keeps going.
Love it!While we were waiting to start, they played a song for our corral … and, as all things “D” should be, it was “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. Yes, most people sang along.
I like this plan! I might have to steal it!Our plan for this race was a little bit complicated. Until we hit World Showcase (aka the first mile or so), the plan was to do intervals of 1:45 walking/1:30 running. Once we hit World Showcase, the goal was to walk all of the on-stage areas (both World Showcase and Future World). Once we left Epcot (shortly before the end of the race), we figured we’d go back to the intervals.
Good thing I will be one of the slow people with no concerns about passing anybody. I'll be the slowpoke everybody wants to get around.Before I get to the character picture, I want to share one experience that upset me a bit. In the backstage area where we were running, there was a road (which is where the runners were supposed to stay), with grass on either side. The Chip ‘n’ Dale line was on the grass on the left side (there was a little bit of grass between the road and the line, but not really enough for someone to pass on the grass with much clearance … which is fine, because runners aren’t supposed to be on the grass). Last year, when I was running the Princess 5K, I occasionally went onto the grass to pass people. I shouldn’t have, but I did a little bit … but only when there absolutely was no room for me to pass on the road, and only very close to the road for short periods of time. This year … there were people running on the grass on the left side of the character line. As in … between the character line and the trees. As in … the character line was between these runners and the road. And even after CMs told people they couldn’t, more people kept doing it. What the ****? This is a Disney race, not the Olympics. Nothing is worth compromising safety like that. I cannot believe these people. I’m sorry if the people on the road are too slow for you, but … get over it. If you’re starting in Corral C or D, you’re not winning the race anyway (since, y’know, the winner finished before you started), so calm the flip down and obey the rules.
SO CUTE!!!After that rant, I think it’s time for something happy…
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Asante sana squash banana!
It really is so pretty in that early morning light.Once we were done with Rafiki, we continued walking around World Showcase, making a few stops for pictures with the giant golf ball in the background:
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Marie! I want a Marie picture! I've never found her!We continued running until we saw a French cat. Marie, as always, looks beautiful. My eyes are closed in this picture and I look stupid:
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It seems to me that having morning EMH at Epcot on a race day was kinda poor planning on Disney's part.The course took us back through the same area, and as we were turning towards the big giant golf ball, I saw them adjusting the cones, pretty much cutting off the Future World West part of the course. Someone seemed confused by it, so I mentioned that the park was scheduled to open (for EMH) in about 20 minutes. Apparently they do shorten the course if the park needs to open. Good to know!
THEY GIVE YOU FOOD?!?! Oh man!!! Now I'm even MORE excited to do the Princess 5K!we got free bananas (aka the #1 reason why anyone ever runs races) and a snack box containing tortilla chips, oreos, dried fruit, and cheese (which was the only thing in the box that we couldn’t eat)
What's this?claim your gEAR check bag
Good to know!!I definitely recommend the 5K as a great first runDisney experience.
Ya'll really are the cutest!
As excited as I am for Star Wars Land, it is very strange to think that the Streets of America won't be there anymore!It was almost time for our next FP+, so we wandered around for a bit and took some pictures, including some in the soon-to-be-gone Streets of America area:
I have a feeling this one might be next on the chopping block, actually...Muppet*Vision-3D was … well, Muppet*Vision-3D. I love it, but it’s not something I’ll go on and on about for hours. We enjoyed.
I love this!!!We also saw a PhotoPass photographer with lightsabers, so we stopped for a picture:
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Beth could actually be Anakin... Or Luke... Or Rey. Take your pick. They all used the same blue lightsaber, but yes, it was originally built by Anakin just before the start of the Clone Wars. *nerds out*If I’m understanding my Star Wars correctly (which I’m probably not), I’m the evil one. Not at all surprising there. I think Beth is Anakin Skywalker, but I’m just saying that because the only Star Wars movies I’ve seen are Episodes I & II and I have a blue lightsaber pen.
Blasphemer.Anyway … since we don’t like Star Wars, that was the end of our Star Wars Launch Bay experience.
BAHAHA! You couldn't resist the call of the Force!Or not.
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Love this!
Your running pose looks more like a boxing pose, actually. YO ADRIAN.Donald made us do a running pose …
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Yeah, my running pose sucks. I think that before my next runDisney trip, I need to practice that pose.
Now that you mention it, I have sorely neglected characters at DHS. Maybe I'll try to correct this in October!2 – Characters – aka why I love DHS so much. As you know … we hit up a decent chunk of the characters available at DHS that morning and early afternoon.
Yeah, I love the film but can take or leave the DHS version of the stage play. I always skip it!I’m not going to post any pictures, partly because I don’t have many that came out well, and partly because I’m not excited to post pictures of this show.
I love Beauty and the Beast. As in, it’s one of my top two Disney movies. And I don’t think this show did it justice. I think it killed the movie. Things were out of order and made no sense. Yes, some of the staging and costumes were cool, but that wasn’t enough to save what they did to the story. I would never see this again, and I’m sorry, but I cannot recommend it to someone who loves that movie as much as I do.
I don’t regret seeing the show, because had I never seen it, I still would have thought that I would love it, but I’m not happy that I saw it.
Love the lighting in this photo!
YAAAAY! I can't wait to see whatever incarnation it's in come October!I liked it. I thought the fireworks were stunning and the music matched wonderfully. Even without being a Star Wars fan, I’d see it again. Definitely a great end to the night.
I know I read this the day or so after you posted but never left a comment. Sorry!
Little Mermaid is never a must do. It is entertaining (in a throwback 90s way) and a great break from the sun!
Sorry about your RnR single rider fiasco. It seems every trip has something like this happen. You just have to try and let it go. I love the picture of you and Beth outside of the ride.
I'm sorry you had such a strong dislike for BATB. Again not another must do (really none of the daytime shows at DHS are for us...we usually just rotate them and try and see a few each trip) but I enjoy it. I am a pretty big Lumiere fan and love seeing the "Be Our Guest" scene come to life.
I agree that both Fantasmic and the Symphony in the Stars are AMAZING. Love them! I would actually rank WOC pretty low on my night-time spectacular list. I'm looking forward to seeing it again this summer....maybe I will change my mind? I'm definitely more into night-time shows than I used to be.
Love the costumes...hope the 10k review is coming soon!
I'm here to play catch-up!![]()
HOORAY! I'm so excited to read this!
Me either. 3:30am is more like my bedtime, not my wake-up time.![]()
Dancing? At 4:30am?![]()
Did I read very recently that this had now changed? Or am I imagining that?
I like this plan! I might have to steal it!
Good thing I will be one of the slow people with no concerns about passing anybody. I'll be the slowpoke everybody wants to get around.![]()
SO CUTE!!!
It really is so pretty in that early morning light.
Marie! I want a Marie picture! I've never found her!
It seems to me that having morning EMH at Epcot on a race day was kinda poor planning on Disney's part.
THEY GIVE YOU FOOD?!?! Oh man!!! Now I'm even MORE excited to do the Princess 5K!
What's this?
Ya'll really are the cutest!
As excited as I am for Star Wars Land, it is very strange to think that the Streets of America won't be there anymore!
I have a feeling this one might be next on the chopping block, actually...
Beth could actually be Anakin... Or Luke... Or Rey. Take your pick. They all used the same blue lightsaber, but yes, it was originally built by Anakin just before the start of the Clone Wars. *nerds out*
BAHAHA! You couldn't resist the call of the Force!
Love this!
Your running pose looks more like a boxing pose, actually. YO ADRIAN.
Now that you mention it, I have sorely neglected characters at DHS. Maybe I'll try to correct this in October!
Yeah, I love the film but can take or leave the DHS version of the stage play. I always skip it!
Love the lighting in this photo!
YAAAAY! I can't wait to see whatever incarnation it's in come October!
Great trip report!!!
Love all the detail you provide and the hints along the way. I have seen some stuff on the runDisney events but your play by play gives really great information. Can't wait to hear about how well the 10K went and the rest of your report!