Disney's Hollywood Studios

So Remember that vacation I took to West Palm Beach and Sanibel Island, Florida in late October / early November? That vacation where I dedicated eh, about 15 posts recapping the family time, the beaches, the magnificent sunsets and of course the dinners and drinks?! Yea, you know the one. The Tour De Florida grand finale as you may recall was a weekend in Walt Disney World. In case you feel so inclined to relive the magic:

Magic Kingdom
Epcot Food & Wine Fest
Epcot Future World
Animal Kingdom
All Star Music Resort

Our time at Hollywood Studios escaped the recap, until now that is! Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park is dedicated to entertainment. It captures the glitz and glamor of old Hollywood through neon, chrome and art deco buildings mixed with modern day architecture. The rides and shows follow a similar theme, based on film and TV productions both old and new. The streets and sections of this park are designed as a movie set capturing the bustling and behind the scenes Hollywood style atmosphere and action.

Must Ride: Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith.
This high speed coaster is backed by a soundtrack recorded by the rock legends themselves as you weave through the "LA Traffic" to arrive on time to their concert. We rode it twice!
Must Ride: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™. In this stomach dropping escapade you plunge down the phantom hotel elevator shaft beyond the eerie 5th dimension. Must Drink: Below Tricia & I savor our last Yuengling drafts in the warm Florida sunshine. Must Ride: The Great Movie Ride. Take a guided journey through the set of famous movies scenes, where you land right in the middle of all the action. Why not: Muppet*Vision 3-D. This one proves to be a whacky 15 minute movie among the Muppets Lab.If there's time: Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. This is a walk through attraction featuring a multimedia gallery that tells the story of the man behind the magic and the mouse. One of a kind memorabilia, photographs and audio interviews are featured. Eat at: ABC's CommissaryA standard burger and fries hit the spot for me. Snack on: A Mickey's Premium Ice Cream Sandwich!Must Ride: Toy Story Midway Mania! This was our last official ride at Disney. The 4-D ride features a medely of interactive games with Toy Story characters. Hollywood Studios offers some other worthwhile attractions such as Voyage of The Little Mermaid (wish we had time!), Star Tours (was closed for construction), Studio Backlot Tour (there was talk of, but we didnt make it), Indiana Jones™ Epic Stunt Spectacular! (been there done that, more than once.) Plus, we had a 6pm flight to catch! Our time in Disney was a blast and I would recommend it to Adults of all ages. P.S. Gotta love Chip & Dale!This belated recap finalllly and officially concludes our vacation in Florida. Where should we travel to next?!

Disney's Animal Kingdom

When it comes to vacation my motto is go big or go home. The Tour de Florida is still alive and well and has a few Disney theme parks left! The largest one offers lots by way of adventure and discovery through expeditions and safaris. The focus is on nature and of course animals who are among you in the plush surrounding park habitats. Our total time in Disney was limited to two and a half days. With Magic Kingdom under our belt, the full second day slotted for Epcot and the third day (where we needed to be at the airport around 4:30) was left for Hollywood Studios. We decided to fit Animal Kingdom in on the morning of the second day before Epcot, taking advantage of Magic Hours (extra time extended to guests staying in the park) which began at 8am. The park opens to the general public at 9am so we had a free hour to basically do one thing before the masses arrived: ride Expedition Everest.
Yes my friends, that Himalayan mountain in the distances houses a roller coaster. At Expedition Everest you board a high speed train and zip through the misty unknown. But beware of the Yeti! You never know when the fierce legend might appear on your expedition. This must ride coaster is located in the Asia section of the park. Walking the streets of Asia definitely transcends time and place. I love the outdoorsy scene combined with the oriental Coca-Cola advertisements, among other appropriately themed architecture and signage.With an under 5 minute wait we managed to ride Everest three times in a row! Since we had plans for one other ride in Animal Kingdom, we picked up a Fast Pass knowing we'd want to return afterward to seek one more thrill line free, before we left for the day. In the meantime was off to DinoLand U.S.A.The other must ride in Animal Kingdom for us was Dinosaur. Aboard terrain vehicles you blast back 65 million years to save the last dinosaur!
The park has a lot more to offer if you can dedicate a full day, from The Kilimanjaro Safaris to the Wildlife Express Train, to the It's Tough to be a Bug 3D Show housed in The Tree of Life. I have experienced most of these on a past trip, so I didn't mind passing this time around. I wouldn't have minded riding the Kali River Rapids, except for the fact that it was a chilly morning and whitewater rafting in turbulent waters would have proved for a miserable start to the day. Adventure awaits at Animal Kingdom so be sure and check it out if you plan a trip!

A Day at Magic Kingdom

Takin' a walk down Main Street, USA. Our first destination in Walt Disney World was the infamous Magic Kingdom theme park! Journey with me through the lands of the park as I detail our day through pictures, ride descriptions and of course some park eats thrown in for good measure.

{Tomorrowland}

Must ride: Space Mountain - an indoor rollercoaster through the dark atmosphere above. If there's time to kill: Tomorrowland Transit Authority (below) and Carousel of Progress (unpictured).

Skip: Stitch's Great Escape. This dark interactive alien experience was not exciting and slightly odd to be quite honest.Must Ride: Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. In this interactive adventure inspired by Toy Story 2, compete against your partner for high score bragging rights!

Eat at: Tomorrowland Terrace: However, apparently, it is only open seasonally. We tried to get food here before discovering it was closed.

Eat at: The Lunching Pad. These centrally located outdoor windows serve a small selection of grub which includes: specialty hot dogs, pretzels, frozen Coca-Cola's and fountain drinks.
I enjoyed a Taco Hot Dog and Adam liked his Philly Cheese Steak Hot Dog. With chips, these are $8.09 each.

{Fantasyland}

Must See: Mickey's PhilharMagic - a Disney movie soundtrack based 3D Movie.Snack on: Churos!!
Must Ride: Mad Tea Party (except it was closed, such a disappointment!)Must Ride: It's a Small World - a musical indoor voyage set to the theme song on repeat. Tricia, Dave and Dave's sister Maura who joined us for the Disney portion of the trip are pictured above, waiting in line. I l.o.v.e this ride. Hence all the photographs.Must Ride: Snow White's Scary Adventure - a journey inside through the dark.
Well it is a must ride if your a 33 year old adorning Mickey ears. The lines in Fantasyland were super long during the day so we actually hit up other lands and came back later on in the evening for dinner and to ride Snow White and It's a Small World.

Eat at: The Pinocchio Village Haus

You have a plethora of options here!

Adam and I shared a Cheese Pizza Combo ($8.39) which came with a side ceasar salad as well as a Chicken Nugget Basket ($7.99) which came with a side of french fries. I drank a hot chocolate. (It was chilly out!)

{Liberty Square}

Must Ride: Haunted Mansion - a journey through the dark with happy haunts.
Must See: Hall of Presidents
At least, it is a must see if you have time to kill while waiting for a Fast Pass ride and are a huge history buff! House of Presidents is a re-imagined audio anamatronics show, now featuring President Barak Obama!

{Frontierland}

Must ride: Splash Mountain - Plunge 5 stories into Brer Rabbit's briar bush.
If you're in the front seat (which Adam and I were) you're taking a bath. Must ride: Big Thunder Mountian Railroad - a runaway train coaster. Pictured below is the the crew in the Fast Pass line to avoid the 50 minute wait!

{Adventureland}

If there's time: Pirates of the Carribean - join captain Jack Sparrow as you sail through the Spanish main. Arrg matey's.If there's time: Swiss Family Tree House - a walk through tour of the Robinson's home.(unpictured)
The ride prefaces are merely opinions of myself and other members of my party. The list is not inclusive of all the rides and attractions offered, but is a complete list of our day! Wouldn't you know, this was the first sober day of the trip! Not a drop of alcohol was consumed as Magic Kingdom is a dry park.{Cinderella's Castle} is the central point in the Kingdom. I took some photographs up close at night.
We stuck around for The Electrical Parade, which runs throughout the streets of the park beginning at 9:00 pm.
The parade features Disney movie characters on elaborately designed light up floats.
Cinderella being chased by Prince CharmingCaptain Hook and Peter Pan battling it out in a sword fightThe Seven Dwarfs (Snow White was present but escaped the camera)

Alice-n-Wonderland and the Cheshire Cat, followed by some of the wonderland creatures.After the parade ended, we retreated back to Main Street USA for the biggest most awe inspiring event ever to grace the Magic Kingdom skies. WISHES. Narrated by Pinocchio's Jimmeny Cricket, a dazzling fireworks show over Cinderella's Castle reminds you that dreams and wishes do come true. There's no place on earth quite like it.

Be sure to check out Not All Who Wander Are Lost where my partner in crime depicts the rides and our day in more detail! You can look forward to Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios park recaps from us both in the days to come!