Walt Disney World Family Vacation: Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios is a park at Walt Disney World that I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to, but it turned out to be one of my favorites! I remembered it being called MGM, but I guess the name changed. I guess I didn’t really know what was there, so when I polled my facebook readers about what they loved there, it got me more excited!

{If you missed Days 1-3, get caught up with links on the original post}
I didn’t realize that is is quite “Hollywood” based, and has lots of fun shows with a handful of rides. But the rides were SO much fun–2 of my 3 favorite rides from the whole trip! I like a good thrill ride. Here is a little map of the park:

{source}

Here are the top 10 MUST DO at Hollywood Studios

1. Tower of Terror–I loved this thrill ride SO much! It had some unexpected movements in the ride that had me scream/laughing out loud the whole time. You’re in an elevator and it goes up and down (stomach dropping type) and up and down, in the dark and in the light. It is a popular one and I wanted to get a fast pass early in the day, but that didn’t happen (our main source of drama the whole week). Luckily we got to go later and didn’t have to wait too long.

2. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith–0-60 in 2.8 seconds. No easing into this roller coaster. It was inside in darkness most of the time, with twists and turns and Aerosmith singing to you!

{I love capturing moments like this, I’m a sucker for buying these pics}

3. Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show–30 minute audience participation action packed show with behind the scenes from the Indiana Jones show–loved it! They changed scenes 3 times, and told us how they make it all look real. Lots of fun!

4. Toy Story Mania–I thought this was a more fun “buzz” ride than at the Magic Kingdom. You are in a cart with a partner, riding through a set, shooting 3-D targets, adding up points as you go. We ran to get the FAST PASS for this first thing in the morning, because we heard it gets busy fast. Waiting in line is also a feast for the eyes.

5. Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Car Stunt Show–Behind the scenes footage of shooting a spy thriller with crew members on a live set. After each scene is filmed, the director shares with the audience the tricks on how they film it. Very cool!

6. Star Tours/Jedi Knight Training–If you have Star Wars fans, this is a must do. Star Tours is the ride that takes you through scenes of the movies, but the Jedi Training is a sign up for kids to join in the fun, get there early to sign up for a slot throughout the day. My son did this in Disneyland, it was fun.

7. Honey I Shrunk the Kids park–Interactive playground for kids with HUGE props. My kids loved playing through this tall grassed maze as the rest of us relaxed for lunch right next door.

8. Beauty and the Beast show–This was a 30 minute musical production on stage that was a mini version of something you’d see on Broadway. I loved it, my boys tolerated it, and my girls adored it.

9. Pixar Parade and Disney Channel Rocks Street Dancers–These were two events, but I loved them both and they are similar ideas. The Pixar parade was quite short, with maybe 5 or 6 floats with Pixar characters on top. The Street dancers just showed up with a moving stage, singing songs from the tween Disney channel shows and dancing.

10. Disney Jr. Live on Stage Show–Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, and Mickey’s gang, how can you go wrong? I missed this because my kids don’t know the first two characters (and went to Beauty and the Beast instead) but my sister in law said it was great, and if your kids are familiar with the characters, it would be lots of fun. A handful of shows throughout the day.

Honorable Mention: I’m sure Fantasmic was AWESOME, but we didn’t go. It’s a night time light show that everyone raves about. Also didn’t go to the American Idol Experience because we don’t watch, but sounded fun!

Some fun pictures of our day: