Disney's Hollywood Studios 30th Anniversary

Date of Visit: May 1, 2019

I did want to visit Disney's Hollywood Studios on the 30th anniversary, but I originally thought it would be October 1 like Magic Kingdom and Epcot and was going to do a birthday trip with Mom and Mik. By the time I realized it was actually May 1, we had already booked our 2019 just Mik and I trip to do the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival and arrived on May 1 and it was too late to make changes to arrive April 30. In the end, though, arriving at the park around noon still worked out great and I even had time to bring Mik back to the room and go back for my 5pm fastpass for the Aliens that he let me book instead of Toy Story Mania for once because he sometimes doesn't want to go to the parks our first day as he's tired from the flight and sitting on the plane.

We were happy to get the 30th anniversary button when we went in the park (I also ended up with an extra when I came back later, but they seemed to be done with them when I was leaving the park around 6). They also handed out posters when you left the park, which are nice, but not sure if they will survive the trip home, although our Mary Poppins ones from Destination D did okay by rolling them around a Pringles can and as usual we did bring one of those as a snack so they might.

Mik's number one priority for the 30th anniversary was the special food. In particular, we both wanted to get the lightsaber churros.

We also had fun going to a couple of the special photo ops with props for the 30th. Mik was kind of done for the day by then and also still needed to get some new sunglasses, so not the best photos, but he did at least try for me and they didn't all end up horrible.

Destination Info:
Hollywood Studios
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Disney's Animal Kingdom: Na'Vi River Journey

Date of Visit: January 6, 2018

Mik and I were quite disappointed that they added a whole new land without adding any new attractions to experience without having to transfer. In particular, it just makes no sense why they didn't design an accessible ride vehicle for the Na'Vi River Journey since it's a slow boat ride like 'it's a small world' and it doesn't have a hill like Pirates or Frozen to explain why there isn't an accessible boat. Luckily for our annual family trip, Mik has people willing to transfer him to rides so he did get to experience the ride.

Overall our whole group was slightly disappointed by the ride. We thought the scenery was great and all, but it just was too short of a ride. Worthwhile for us since we did have Fastpass+, but certainly not even close to worth the 2 hours plus line it had.

Destination Info:
Disney's Animal Kingdom - Na'vi River Journey
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Epcot International Festival of the Arts

Date of Visit: February 5, 2017

When we planned our trip the Epcot International Festival of the Arts hadn't been announced. Finding out we would be able to enjoy it when it was announced was exciting, but we were kind of disappointed it's only a weekend thing because we had already booked our two dining reservations for our week trip 2 of the 3 days we could've enjoyed eating at the festival. We did fit in trying a few things on Sunday for lunch before our early dinner at Be Our Guest, but Mik was disappointed we didn't instead eat at the festival booths on Monday, especially since it was the park we were in for our lunch and it turned out to be our worst Disney dining experience ever (not actually bad, but disappointing...will try to remember to do review later).

On Sunday, Mik and I park hopped by boat from Hollywood Studios and were planning to grab some lunch with my Starbucks gift card on the way over to meet up in Magic Kingdom for dinner. We had forgotten about the festival until we spotted the booth in Canada and then we picked up the little booklet that lists what all the booths have. Mik quickly spotted a picture of doughnuts and when I found the description we knew what we had to have for lunch.

On the way to get the doughnuts, we stopped at the E = AT^2 booth for some cold drinks. Mik enjoyed the Deconstructed Breakfast (non-alcoholic version), which is a spiced apple chai tea shake with maple syrup, a waffle crisp, and candied bacon. It reminded me of the pumpkin one they had at the Food & Wine, which was my favorite last time.

The Trio of Savory Croissant Doughnuts at the Painter's Palate did not disappoint. Mik enjoyed the chicken mousse one and I enjoyed the herb cream cheese with sea salt one. We split the tuna one. Mik's favorite was the tuna and mine was the herb cream cheese.

We also enjoyed the exhibits in the Showcase Plaza where Painter's Palate was located. In particular, we enjoyed seeing the Mary Blair art. However, they were rather small and left us wanting more of a real exhibit to experience.

Overall we enjoyed our little taste of the Epcot Festival of the Arts and hope to enjoy a lot more of it on Friday. In particular, it would be fun to get a photo in one of be part of the paintings displays.

Destination Info:

Epcot International Festival of the Arts
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Epcot - Disney Vacation Club Lounge

Date of Visit: November 17, 2016

We meant to check out the lounge last trip, but forgot (and it probably would've been too crowded to enjoy like the rest of Epcot was most of that trip since it was during the Food & Wine Festival). Since not even the holidays had really started at Epcot, it ended up being a good time for regular Epcot stuff including checking out the DVC Lounge.

To access the lounge there are steps and to take the elevator up they have someone bring it down as it apparently is set up to only be called by the button from upstairs, which makes sense as a way to control access to the lounge since check in is downstairs. Mik liked the interior styling of the elevator and it's unique shape (reminds me that I have to take him to the National Gallery of Art East one of these days as he'll really like those ones).

We enjoyed taking a break in the lounge, especially since they have almost more outlets than seating so you can recharge your devices. We also enjoyed that they not only have free fountain soda, but it is the Coke Freestyle machines. They also came around once while we were in there with a snack cart that you could choose something from for free including gummy bears, chips, and Cheez-its.

Destination Info:
Epcot
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - Country Bear Jamboree

Date of Visit: November 21, 2016

Finally got Mik to see the Country Bear Jamboree this trip. He enjoyed the show for the most part, but didn't like the wheelchair seating only being up front, especially afterwards when he realized it resulted in him missing one entire segment.

To enter the show there are turnstiles. We were confused what to do because unlike most attractions with turnstiles there is not an area right there with a rope and a wheelchair symbol to know where to go. After a few minutes a cast member showed us over to another door around to the left that leads you inside to wait in a separate part of the lobby for the doors to open.

The only option for wheelchairs is to sit in the front row. Since usually you end up in the back, it is kind of a nice change from most shows. However, for this show in particular it means enjoying some of the best parts is hard to impossible to do.

One part I wasn't sure Mik would be able to enjoy was the animal heads on the wall to the right. Once I pointed them out to Mik, he did glance at them, but you don't really get the same experience when you have to remember to look back up at them as when you sit up on the higher rows.

Overall Mik enjoyed the show, but when talking to him later I asked what he thought of the view of the part when the bear is singing from a swing and he didn't know what I was talking about. Turns out he was totally confused by that part of the show because he thought it was just singing with no bear to be seen because he didn't know he had to look up to see it. Not that he really missed anything because from the front all you can do is look up at her butt.

Destination Info:
Country Bear Jamboree
Magic Kingdom
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Date of Visit: September 20, 2016

While Mik will usually do an accessible ride once per trip even if he isn't a fan of it, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is one I haven't been able to get him to do for years. The only reason I even got him to do it this time was it was raining and it was a way to stay out of the rain and waste the last hour until Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party began.

After riding it again, Mik is definitely against riding it again unless perhaps it's raining and I agree because if I'm going to have to ride alone I might as well just ride it when I go to the park to do the rides he can't do. It's not so much that he ends up riding alone that bothered him, but that the hunny pot is huge and yet designed in such a way that his wheelchair didn't fit (or at least they didn't give us enough time to try to get it all the way to the side) and have the seat come down for somebody to ride with him.

Destination Information:
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Magic Kingdom
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party 2016

 Date of Visit: September 20, 2016

After not enjoying Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party two years ago, we kept going back and forth on doing it this trip. Finally, we decided to just do it because Mik really got into the treat trails when we did Disneyland last year and if it was bad again at least we'd get this year's Halloween card for my Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom collection.

Since we went into it with low expectations, it actually wasn't as bad as we remembered. In particular, the treat lines didn't seem that bad and we even learned afterwards that it was more crowded than normal because Sunday had been rained out and people were given tickets to come back on our party day. For one, the treat lines were queued up better making it easier to find the end to them then we remember from last time. Also, we found the lines all seemed to move quite smoothly and weren't anywhere near as long as some of the ones we did last year at Disneyland. We even ended up doing them all before 9:30pm.

The line that took us the longest was actually the rather short, but very slow moving line at Friar's Nook to buy a Ghoulish Strawberry Lemonade Slushy. It was a good treat and worth it, though.

Overall we did enjoy the Halloween party, but again not sure we would do it again at Magic Kingdom. The biggest disappointment was they don't have the healthy treat options like they have at Disneyland. Also, they don't do a pre-party thing, although it was raining until right before the party started, so that might not have been enjoyable anyways. Finally, we were disappointed that the guide map lists Werther's, but none of the treat spots were giving them out.

Destination Info:

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Magic Kingdom

Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Epcot - Journey Into Imagination with Figment

Date of Visit: September 20, 2016

I remember going on the ride featuring Figment before, but it's been awhile and this time it seemed different. Thus, it seems we probably haven't been on it since our first Walt Disney World trip in 2001 back when it was Journey Into YOUR Imagination.

Overall we enjoyed the ride. Mik particularly liked that the wheelchair accessible vehicle is spacious while also having a seat for me to ride next to him.

We didn't spend much time in the ImageWorks area you exit into, but Mik did enjoy trying out the conducting music part.

Destination Info:
Journey Into Imagination with Figment

Epcot

Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Epcot - Soarin'

Date of Visit: September 19, 2016

We said we'd never do Soarin' at Epcot again unless they changed it to Soarin' Over Florida. While that isn't what happened, they did in fact change it so we were excited to give it another try, although we are sad that they also changed it in California.

Like last time, we used Fastpass+ for this attraction. I do miss that there is no aviation hall of fame to go through like in California, but since it's the Fastpass line you don't spend much time in line. However, you do still end up spending time waiting in the ramp hall down to where they assign you to rows and that is annoying because you're often stuck on the incline for awhile.

Overall we still like Soarin' as one of the few transfer rides I can do with Mik. However, we just didn't end up really enjoying the around the world version as much. Mainly, it just didn't seem quite as realistic throughout. Thus, we probably would one do this maybe every few trips and only with Fastpass.

Destination Info:
Soarin'

Epcot

Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Hollywood Studios - Meet Sorcerer Mickey

 Date of Visit: January 8, 2016

When heading to Toy Story Mania for our Fastpass+ time on our last day, we found that there was a Meet Sorcerer Mickey next door and there was pretty much no line (and we still ended up having to wait a few minutes for our Fastpass time afterwards). Definitely, never seen a Mickey character experience where you didn't have to wait in line. Plus, we've never managed to do a Sorcerer Mickey photo before and it's the one time Mik extremely willingly posed this trip because he knows it's my favorite character.

Destination Info:
Disney's Hollywood Studios - Meet Sorcerer Mickey on Mickey Avenue
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - Meet Cinderella and Rapunzel at Princess Fairytale Hall

 Date of Visit: January 5, 2016

Mik may have once been into meeting characters when he was little, but I don't think he ever liked the princesses. Thus, this was not exactly his thing to do, but he was a good sport and went along since we had a Fastpass+ to do the Meet Cinderella and Rapunzel at Princess Fairytale Hall.

The setting for this character meet was the least interesting to Mik overall, but just because he isn't really into the Disney castle stuff. He did appreciate that we discovered a storybook page featuring Snow White in the room where the princesses were. However, it would've been better if it was in English; and it is kind of odd with it not being Snow White's castle or even a meet and greet featuring Snow White.

While overall I really dislike the whole Fastpass+ thing and having to really plan out what you want a month in advance versus the old day of Fastpass system, but we definitely wouldn't have done the characters if we hadn't ended up not wanting our Epcot choices and deciding the day before to switch to Magic Kingdom with only the character meets and 'it's a small world' being our options.

Destination Info:
Magic Kingdom -Meet Cinderella and Rapunzel at Princess Fairytale Hall
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater

Date of Visit: January 5, 2015

Meet Mickey Mouse in the Magic Kingdom was one of the Fastpass+ selections I made since it seemed a requirement that Nora meet Mickey on her first Disney trip and if she ended up not being into characters at least we didn't spend too long in line to find that out. Turns out that this Mickey talks and it was the rest of us that were more freaked out by the experience than Nora.

Mik again wasn't into "meeting" the character, but he particularly enjoyed the props in the room Mickey was in as it is set up as if you are backstage meeting Magician Mickey and they had his trunk open with his suit and other things for his performance.

Destination Info:
Magic Kingdom - Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater

Date of Visit: January 5, 2015

Mik has not been into characters for a long time, so we've haven't done any character meets at Disney World since our first trip in 2001. This trip we ended up doing several including some using our Fastpass+ selections since it was Nora's first Disney trip and she ended up loving the characters. Tinker Bell was the first character we did because the wait time was under 20 minutes and she's one of Kirsten's favorites.

While waiting in line for Tinker Bell, it was amusing to watch the different dialogue on one of the Mickey posters.

Also, before you go into the room with Tinker Bell you go into a room that lights up like it's getting sprinkled with pixie dust.

Mik still doesn't like doing character meets, but he did enjoy the experience. He liked the different decoration elements in the rooms you meet the characters. Thus, it worked out well that we could check them out and skip the character by just waiting behind the photographer while they met Tinker Bell.

By the way, having PhotoPass included with our Annual Passes and being able to also download the photos others on our reservation add using their MagicBands is the best thing about how they changed up Annual Passes this year.

Destination Info:
Magic Kingdom - Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Hollywood Studios - Fantasmic!

Date of Visit: January 4, 2016

I'm pretty sure the last (and only) time Mik say Fantasmic was back in 2011 when we did the dessert package at Disneyland. We've always skipped it at Disney World because it didn't seem worth waiting to get in and it never popped up as a Fastpass+ option for the days we choose for our Hollywood Studios selections. We still would've skipped Fantasmic this trip except we decided to try to get another Fastpass after using our three for the day at Animal Kingdom and the only option at Hollywood Studios was for Fantasmic.

 
For the wheelchair seating, they escorted our group to a spot at the top of one of the sections. Here they have benches for one person to sit next to the wheelchair and two rows of benches in front that they keep clear for the rest of the people in the groups with wheelchair guests.

I know we're Disneyland snobs, so yes we think Fantasmic is just better on the Rivers of America. However, it really is a nice experience to be able to sit in the stadium style seating at Hollywood Studios with just a Fastpass rather than having to do the dessert package to be able to have a seat at Disneyland.

I'm still not impressed that you end up with poles blocking the view, especially when it's in an area built for a show rather than how it's sort of improvised usage of Rivers of America in Disneyland. Overall though it was still enjoyable and we were particularly glad that we ended up at the top with Mik because it was cold and we only got a little mist from the show's water's effects.

Destination Info:
Disney's Hollywood Studios - Fantasmic!
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Hollywood Studios - Star Tours The Adventure Continues

Date of Visit: January 4, 2016

This trip was the first time we weren't sent straight through the Fastpass line when we went to go on Star Tours. Instead they gave us a card with a return time. This is a good system since the regular line is not accessible. It was also still a shorter wait time than posted as the wait time was 30 to 40 minutes and they gave us a return time for in 15 minutes.

Mik really enjoyed doing Star Tours at Hollywood Studios as it is the one ride in both California and Florida that is actually better in Florida since you get to still see some of the props in the queue when you go through the accessible entrance.

See more detailed review here.

Destination Info:
Disney's Hollywood Studios - Star Tours
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - 'it's a small world'

Date of Visit: January 5, 2015

Mik usually won't go on 'it's a small world' at the Magic Kingdom because of a bad experience with the style of accessible boat here the first time. This trip he was willing to give it another try because we were with a larger group, had a Fastpass+, and mostly because it seems to be Nora's favorite ride.

 
Whether you have a Fastpass or not, you are sent through the wheelchair entrance, which is at the ride exit to the right of the entrance. With a Fastpass, we were able to go to the wheelchair entrance immediately and I assume they give you a return time like we got at Star Tours if you don't have a Fastpass. The one major problem with the wheelchair entrance is that it is on a ramp and you have to wait there for the boat to come around (or even longer if there's other groups there). When we got off they had many groups waiting on the ramp, which just doesn't make sense except they don't have enough room to have them wait up top and only send down groups one or so at a time like I remember them doing at Disneyland. Mik particularly disliked the set up of a rope at the end of the ramp where you had to wait because I rolled him partly under the rope in order to leave him on the flat area.

The style of boat with you rolling in back and then down the aisle in the middle is much more efficient than the lift style at Disneyland. However, it means that the rest of the group has to sit in single seats on either side of the aisle. It does mean Mik gets to be more with the rest of the group than by himself in the back, but we'd prefer that others in the group could still sit together.

The reason Mik hated the ride and wouldn't go on it again until now is because the chair tilted and the casters came up a few inches at the start and end the last time we did this ride (the similar boat ride in Mexico was even worse). This time they ended up putting him between the second row instead of all the way forward and he did not have that problem, so not sure if it is the location of the chair in the boat or it really is smoother now.

Overall Mik was glad he gave it another try even if he did end up saying "it's the worst ride after all" because the ride ended up going down and we were stuck almost at the end for about 10 to 15 minutes. Also, 'it's a small world' was down our last Disneyland trip, so we hadn't been on it in awhile at any park. We also found it interesting that the Magic Kingdom one is so different seeming because they haven't added Disney characters like they've done at Disneyland.

Destination Info:
Magic Kingdom - 'it's a small world'
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Hollywood Studios - Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

Date of Visit: January 4, 2016

The last few years we have enjoyed visited Walt Disney World during the holiday season. This year we only got the chance to visit for a few hours in December to renew our annual passes before our Disney cruise and only went into Epcot. We knew this was the last year of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, so we wanted to make sure we saw them while they were still up during this trip.

Mik really enjoys rolling through the streets and seeing the lights (including the ones on his wheels). They are especially fun to watch when they "dance" with the music. Definitely going to miss seeing them every year, but we are now thinking of having our annual visit as an extended family trip like this trip and probably won't be coming for the holiday season every year anymore.

I enjoyed getting The Spectacle drink with a lightbulb ice cube. Also, the "That's A Wrap" shirts are cool, especially since we hadn't done a matching cousins photo in a long time (and we now get the PhotoPass photos free with our annual passes!).

Destination Info:
Disney's Hollywood Studios -Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Animal Kingdon - Kilimanjaro Safaris

Date of Visit: January 4, 2015

Somehow we haven't done the Kilimanjaro Safaris with Mik since 2007 and he doesn't really remember going on it. Thus, while he didn't want to do any of the other Fastpass+ we had that day, he did end up having Mom bring him over to meet up with us and do the Kilimanjaro Safaris.


About where the Fastpass+ line joins the regular line for boarding, they send you over to the loading area for the wheelchair vehicle. The wheelchair vehicle has a spot in the front with two half rows next to the wheelchair, which worked out just right for our group of 5 (and a half).

Overall Mik enjoyed the ride as the tie downs kept his chair very stable and he enjoyed seeing the animals.  His only problem was that it seemed almost all the wildlife was on the left and the wheelchair spot is on the right, so he had trouble seeing over the people sitting on his left and seeing the animals. Now that we know, we would probably just not have anyone in our group sit in the first row because then he would be able to fully enjoy the safari.

Destination Info:
Disney's Animal Kingdom - Kilimanjaro Safaris
Lake Buena Vista, FL