IN my 3 trips into the World of Disney Utopia, I've only spent about 3/4 of a day romping in the playground called Disney Hollywood Studios. Honestly, even the name itself causes much consternation, as smack dab in the center of my 2007/8 planning, Disney management found the ultimate method of confusing is patronage- changing the name. Perhaps they were short on boardroom giggles.
Regarless, even to this day, DHS holds some sort of tweaked, but only partially unfounded bias. Growing up near Anaheim, we were diehard Disneyphiles, we never stepped foot into Universal. It was regarded by ALL of my family and freinds as a place only Yayhoos went to in order to cause mayhem and act obnxious. We were told that the theming was tacky, the rides lame, and the ticket cheap- for good reason. I'm sure very little, if any, was founded in truth, but being sheep (and diehard Disneyphiles) we never succombed to the entering of its gates. I probably missed out on a great time. Nevertheless, the stigma, however unfounded it may be, still lingers in my thinking.
Fast forward- 2001. Planning for trip #2. There was none. And I do mean NONE. But that's getting ahead of myself. I am hoping to tuck a mini-trip report into here, hopefully starting next month; so you'll hear all about that comical foray into lands unknown. For now, suffice it to say, we knew nothing about where we were going!
We had 4 days to wisely use our time. We didn't go with PHs (but back then, I"m beginning to remember that perhaps everything was PH?), so we had to be careful with our alottment. Do we do DHS? or no? We went in 2000 blinder than the 3 mice, and because we were going with those blind preconceived prejudices, we shunned DHS as if it carried Swine Flu. Why would anyone go to a place that even remotely resembeld U.S.?? That's what we heard it was like. Besides, my kids were little; they were more than happy to ride the teacups 35 times, which we probably did.
Come 2007. We upgraded to a full 6 days of tickets to bliss, and my head was fully extracted from the dark recesses of my hind end. Again, the questions, "What parks?" and "How many times?" reared their ubiquitous heads. Long story short, it was unanimous that we would give DHS a try.
Some of you have caught on that our family is a movie fanatic kind of bunch, especially old movies and classics- Disney included, but mostly film noir. My kids could pick out Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwick, or Cary Grant out of any booze-swigging crowd anywhere. Well, they could if they were still alive, but they all took their booze-swigging fairly seriously. Being on the "goober" end of the spectrum, we are not your average soccer, Boy Scouts, and chess club kind of family. Call us weird if you want. We love the 30's, 40's,a nd 50's films so we figured DHS was worth a try. Then we discovered ToT. That sealed the deal. We own a season of TZ, and that too is one of our faves. Especially the episode, "Talking Tina". Creepy!! Anyway, we gave DHS a whole day in the schedule.
Well, try DHS out we did and lasted a full (maybe) 8 hours. It was hot! Why is there less shade here than the Gobi desert? The lines were long, and even with our well-researched FP prowess, we were just getting no park mojo that day. We kept getting lost (never did find the Incredibles). And worst of all, Momma (me) had a colossal headache. We left around 3 or so. We were done, and honestly a little bored too. As of now, it sits firmly in the last poll position, but I'm willing to give it another spin. Afterall, who can go wrong with an attraction something akin to Buzz Lightyear on crack? Another factor is getting PHs this time around. We can always bag out for greener pastures. But as I've said many times before, and what has become my new park touring mantra, "The more you know, the less you blow (in regards to money, time and energy)." And what I know now has me almost excited about the possibilities- Possibilities Like These:
1. TSM. I love Buzz, and hear this is EVEN BETTER!
2. ToT! This time, I am looking specifically for the hidden props from the movies.
3. Being a slow down and enjoy the park for its own charm sort of trip, I intend to watch a whole lot more streetmosphere.
4. Obviously, the Great Movies ride. Being someone who can quote Casablanca word for word, this is a must!
5. Never made it to Animator's Studio.
6. Nor One Man's Dream
7. Finding fun new hats to add to my hat photo scavenger hunt will be fun.
8. Finding a whole bunch of hidden gems and Mickeys (separate post of these coming in a future installment)
9. I adored having a latte and a pastry at Starring Rolls and taking a people watching break there.
10. If there is time, and they've added more shows by then, I'll risk my life and watch Fantasmic! This will be a game-time decision.
So, there you have the long-winded version of how I feel about DHS. Maybe it's a park that has to grow on you??
(don't answer, I probably don't want to know!)
