Day 2: WE HAVE AP’S!! Hollywood studios or bust
Alarm was set for 7:15 with hopes we could be in the car and on our way to HS BY 8am for 8:30 early entry. At some point during the evening our Elves arrived and the kids were very surprised to see them here at WDW!
Side note: the in room joffreys was TERRIBLE. What are we doing wrong? Coffee flavored water! We drink Joffreys at home so I’m thinking it’s the user and not the coffee. Is there a trick to these drip machines? At home we use a French press.
Was through security extremely fast (did you know you’re supposed to take out glasses cases and hold them? It’s a new thing since we came in June!). We were at the turnstiles at 8:35. Later then I had hoped but not by much. And 100% my fault bc I took forever packing the backpack
and we scanned blue. And blue. And blue. I had completely forgotten we needed to activate the passes!!!! BAH!!!!!!! Huge line at guest relations. A kind CM named Rachel took care of us but we didn’t wrap until 9. Was literally walking through the stiles at 9:02. The kids got a huge kick out of getting scanned purple. I got purple AND pink which made me very, very happy to see those silly lights. We are AP we are AP! Never in my life did I dream we would be some day! oh back to Rachel, I was asking for strategies on how to ride Slinky since last two trips it was never below 90 minutes and we didn’t ride (true story). She said - I got this and gave us LL to experience it any time that day. I wasn’t complaining or anything, she just was extra nice and said that we missed all our early entry period waiting to get our passes activated so she felt it made sense. In hindsight I think she was right
Pretty much RAN to smugglers run. First time we’ve been put in with another party, it actually made the ride significantly more fun to have all the “parts” occupied! Was in and out in about 30 minutes. Park was already getting crowded so we figured let’s just go to alien swirling saucers. It’s not a hot ride it shouldn’t be too bad. Posted at 35 - it’s 9:30am no way can that be right. It sure was.
While we were in line we realized today was gonna be a CROWDED day, so let’s look at lunch options NOW. Earliest woodys was 11:50-12:20 so we took it. What took place next was several hours of debating and app reading … lots of general frustration.
Gosh it was just so darn crowded EVERYWHERE. Started heading to TSM but the line was already an hour and the kids were super annoyed for having to wait so long for Aliens (35 minutes). Yes I realize it’s not THAT long, but for our family with our previous first hand experiences… for THAT ride… 35 minutes was long. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve done it in 15 or less. Plus it was crowded. Plus it was getting hot for these new Englanders. So I pulled out the one thing I know turns everyone’s frowns upside down. MICKEY BARS!!!!!!!!!
Enjoyed while we walked over to Muppet Vision which is always a treat. We are all big muppet fans, and I love that it hasn’t changed since I was their age.
DD wanted to do some shopping (window shopping and snacks are her favorite) and sadly the two stores over by pizzarizzo are still closed. But it was fun being back there since it’s been awhile. What now?! At this point ALL lines were over an hour, but we weren’t ready to use SDD yet. So we walked back through GE to browse through the shops which was on dad’s list of to-do’s while we waited for a ronto wrap. By the time we were done, there were no seats anywhere even on the first floor near the market. Crowds crowds crowds. It was 11:45 so the woodys lunchbox window opened up and we could head that way to get the kids food.
The seating at woodys was a mad house. 3 times I was waiting for tables and got “cut” bc we three were just too slow moving to get into the seats. I finally asked a couple if they wouldn’t mind waving me over when they were ready and they happily obliged. While we were sitting I caught eye of an elderly couple having a hard time getting seats too, so I did the very un-Connecticut thing and invited them to join us lol. My kids were complete zombies at this point. Even after the food was “ready” it still took almost 20 minutes to actually pick up the food. Crowds.
Kids got two turkey sandwiches which us parents had to finish. Neither really liked the meal - unfortunate, but their moods improved with food (and not sugar) in their bellies so it worked. It was now nearly 1 and we decided to call it quits and head back to the room to rest and hopefully wait out the crowds. So from technically 9am to 1, we rose Smugglers Run, Aliens swirling saucers, and muppets. 4 hours for THREE rides - only really one of which should have a wait. Is this life now after genie + or are crowds just not typical today? We don’t know what’s going on, but having been to HS MANY times since GE has opened, we were pretty unhappy. But still unwilling to spend more to upgrade. When you spend 2 grand on tickets on a middle class income you (I) can get stingy in other ways I guess
Back to the hotel, two of us napped! Ate some snacks and then back to HS - I want to say it was around 4:30? 5? The sun was starting to set and it was really lovely weather. DS wanted to ride ToT with me (MY FAV!) so we headed down sunset with DD planning on doing some shopping with dad (not a ToT fan). By the time we got back to the tower my son was hungry, annoyed with crowds, and nervous to ride. All in a matter of about 15 minutes. Oh probably should have mentioned…
this is his first trip without a stroller (gasp!)
I debated getting a single - we usually get a double. But with the AP and knowing we are here for a whole week, I decided let’s just take it slow and not bother with a stroller. Let’s see if I eventually give in…
I personally was a little disappointed he decided not to ride ToT since I love that it’s something special we can share just us. But we’ll probably be back at HS later this week - we’ll see if he’s in the right mood for it another time.
Since we were back there anyways we stopped in to the beauty and the best show, caught the tail end of it. Heading back down sunset blvd to find popcorn and figure out next steps … but it was challenging since … can you guess?
Crowded.
BAH. HUMBUG.
Got DS popcorn and headed over to TSM for a 45 minute wait
. Posted 45, actual 45. But it was fun! Next SDD to use gifted LL. The sun at that point was set! We had never ridden SDD (as far as I can remember) at night so that was a treat! DD was actually nervous even tho she’s ridden many times - but it’s been a couple years! She had a blast and it boosted her confidence which I love.
At this point it was now 6:50 (already!) and we were tired even tho we took a midday break. It’s past dinner time. But we figured humph. Might as well wait for MMRR since we are here anyways . We all love that ride so much! Posted 60 and it took exactly 60 to ride. While in line I took the last time slot at ABC which is 7:55-8. We were debating about whether it would ACTUALLY take 1 hour to get through RR and I’m glad we stuck with what was posted since it was right on.
Kids split an Adult chix sandwich and adults split the pork tacos. I’d highly recommend the tacos! Oh that reminds me - The ronto wrap was very disappointing. We’ve eaten there before and loved it!
Against my better judgement I bought the bell sipper - such a splurge! BUT OMG I LOVE IT and I can’t wait to use it as a Christmas decoration when we get home. No regrets! It even lights up! Also got the special chocolate dessert to share and ALL of us liked it!
I still can’t believe I was feeding my kids dinner at 8pm - but the weather was just gorgeous and nothing beats the parks at night! They are champs!
After dinner we took our time exiting and snapped some photos of the decorations. It was really a nice night.
Summary thoughts: Splitting meals works. Gosh it’s so damn crowded. Not sure if it’s simply crowd levels or damn Genie +, but I’m not thrilled with how long everything has been taking. Overall though it was a good day!
Next Up: Steakhouse 71 breakfast and early morning hours at a sold out MK park. WHYYYYYYYY
. Wish us luck!
. Instead I spent all my money at basin (my FAVORITE) while they enjoyed. My daughter was quite disappointed bc we couldn’t find a best friends necklace to bring home. Even just a couple years ago there were always many options! The merch really is/was lacking. Thank you port crisis….
Crowds
We're taking our family including 3 first timers in March. Hope the crowds have settled down. But, it sounds like you're making the best of it!
