BoddaH1994 Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Day 5 consisted of tying up some loose ends. We began the day with a return to Hollywood Studios. Upon arriving, we saw something kind of random... It was a parade... kind of... that consisted of one float -- A High School Musical 3 float. Apparently they stop in front of the gigantic wizard hat and do a full length show, but to the average person walking into the park, seeing one float rolling down the road, might think it's a bit strange. After riding Tower of Terror for the 2nd time, we went to check out the musical Beauty and The Beast. The show was basically the Beauty and The Beast film truncated into about 35 minutes. The performance was stellar and I honestly think that a full length version (same props, same performers) would sit right next to any Broadway show in New York. After that, we ate at the ABC Commissary restaurant. The food was good, and the place was beautiful, but it lacked the personality of the 50's Prime Time Cafe' which we ate at the day before. Time for the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with this show. The show was extremely famous, so I expected a lot, but it didn't deliver. Don't get me wrong -- the action sequences were cool, but after about 30 seconds of near-death misses and explosions there was about a 10 minute sequence of the actors making the crowd do stupid things and telling them not to try any of this at home. I'll give this show another shot next time I go down, but it's certainly not my fondest memory. After the stunt show, we went to Star Tours. Star Tours is the Star Wars themed attraction at Hollywood Studios. I can honestly say that the queue is better than the ride itself. They had dozens of life-like, recognizable animatronics of some of your favorite Star Wars characters. The ride itself is just a motion sim -- like you can find in any shopping mall. For a motion sim it was well done, but paled in comparison to the other Disney attractions. We headed for the Muppets in 3D ride, which was surprisingly good. It integrated live audio animatronics along with a 3D screen, not unlike Tough to Be a Bug, just without the extensive showmanship. The show did, however, have some laugh out loud humor. This was a ride that I did just for the sake of doing but will certainly be on my redo list for the next time I roll down there. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was more or less a play set for children that involved supersized everyday things. We headed to the Great Movie Ride, which showcases scenes from some of the best movies of all time. I found this ride experience to be fantastic, I really can't say enough about it. My favorite part is when you enter Munchkin Land from The Wizard of Oz where the munchkins (or little people, if you want to be PC) are singing The Wicked Witch is Dead. Right when you think your vehicle is about to pass out of the room, a recreation of the famous scene where the evil witch appears (seemingly out of nowhere) and rehearses the entire, "Who killed my sister?" monologue. This ride defines Disney quality. for Coaster Image's POV of part of the ride. (And yes, POVing on that ride is ok!) After the Great Movie Ride, we went to the Lights, Motors, Action stunt show. Although the show had some fantastic sequences, it had some of the same problems that the Indiana Jones Stunt Show had. You'd have 2 or 3 minutes of a fantastic show, followed by 10 minutes of a commentator explaining to you how everything works. I mean, that's cool and all, but myself and probably half of the people there saw that whole same routine on Modern Marvels when they did a special on Disney. Following the stunt show, we went through the Walt Disney Museum. The museum featured some memorabilia of Walt Disney's life as well as concept models for some of the parks and attractions. I thought it was really cool that they added this because I think Disney was an absolute visionary and his innovation an ambition should be honored. After another whirl on Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster, we headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios flagship show -- Fantasmic. This show had it all! It had perfectly timed pyrotechnics (as I'd come to expect from the parks), huge water effects, character appearances and an original score. The show starts seating 90 minutes before curtain call, and I can see why. The only complaint I had was that they did a water screen effect, which was really cool and elaborate but ran a little long at times. They'd use the water screen to cover up your view of the mountain so they could change sets and get people into place, which was understandable. I do, however, want to point out that this one little tidbit should NOT take away from how incredible this show really is. Following Fantasmic, we went to EPCOT and I met up with an old friend who now resides in Florida. We all had a good time on the last night of the Food and Wine Festival. Over all, one of my better days on this trip. Next : Busch Gardens Tampa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Yes, that was great, but pardon me while Terpy claps his hands together in giddy delight at the mere thought of Kumba and the wonders of Busch Gardens Tampa...one of his very favorite parks (at which he hopes you had a grand time!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveStroem Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Did you ever get to Toy Story Midway Mania? This was our favorite ride at DHS. One other thing we loved was the Magic of Disney Animation. This is where you take a class in drawing disney characters. We had so much fun with this one that we did it 3 times. If you didn't get to these thats OK, you now have more great excuses for your next visit to the World. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyMan98 Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I remember watching Lights, Motors, Action, at Disney when I was about 7 and I loved it. And after that I was such a huge fan, I rented the Modern Marvels episode about Disney and watched it over and over again....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HTCO Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Disney Hollywood Studios is a great theme park, one of my favorites at Disney(2nd after Magic Kingdom). Glad to hear someone else enjoyed it as well! Advice for anyone that is going to visit Disney: Try and not look at it like any other CF park. Disney is something that everyone can enjoy, and if you look at it the wrong way then the magic is gone. Just a little reminder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 Did you ever get to Toy Story Midway Mania? This was our favorite ride at DHS. One other thing we loved was the Magic of Disney Animation. This is where you take a class in drawing disney characters. We had so much fun with this one that we did it 3 times. If you didn't get to these thats OK, you now have more great excuses for your next visit to the World. Yeah, we did Toy Story Mania twice. I really enjoyed it. I didn't put every little detail into the trip reports because I didn't want to bore you guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Ryan Thanks again for yet another great addition to you Orlando Adventure. I was very happy to see that you guys doubled back and finished up attractions and shows that you had missed. I enjoy the Disney parks a lot and often think Hollywood Studios is my favorite but then I start thinking about the other parks and their distinct difference in atmosphere, which then adds to self debate. I wrestle too with which is better Illuminations or Fantasmic, I think I give a slight edge to Fantasmic as I like how it ties into Disney and the Imagination theme. I am always shocked when I see Illuminations awarded with their night show while Fantasmic does not even get a mention. You pointed out some fun facts about Illumination and as you know by now every park and attraction have multitudes of stories and meaning behind them. Something I missed the first several times I seen Fantasmic is that when the boat comes out Mickey is steering the boat in his Black and white Steam Boat Willie outfit. It duck tails into it all started with a mouse and then the others followed in full color glory. Here is a short video clip of that section I took last year, I thought you could appreciate looking back and reminisce. It also sounds like you had the perfect mix of parks and friends to make this trip memorable. A question I have for you. Can/will you share with us if you had a magical moment during your trip? So far I have visited all the parks you visited and have enjoyed reading your report as a first time visitor, I am really looking forward to hear you day 6 report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 It also sounds like you had the perfect mix of parks and friends to make this trip memorable. A question I have for you. Can/will you share with us if you had a magical moment during your trip? Pin pointing one magical moment would be nearly impossible. I had so many great experiences there. Every time I did something, I expected one thing and got something ten times better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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