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Trip Log:
Set off for Disney’s Hollywood Studios just before 8am. Decided to take the Skyliner which took just over 20 minutes. I made it out to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge 5 minutes before the early morning time ended. Walked by the non-resort guests and into the land. The posted wait for Rise of the Resistance was 10 minutes, it took me 7 to reach the briefing room. Strolled through Black Spire Outpost and met the rest of my group in Toy Story Land. Posted wait was 10 minutes for Midway Mania, it took 9. Walked through the exhibits at One Man’s Dream then took a look into the Animation Courtyard. At this point the wait times were climbing so I headed for the exit and took the Skyliner to EPCOT. Arrived at the International Gateway around 10am and made my way to World Celebration. Took a walk through Canada on the way. Decided to visit Imagination with Figment. Saw a performance by Forces of Nature and then the Seas (skipping the attraction due to a posted 45 minute wait). Took a look around the renovated pods and the main tank then strolled across to Creations. Stopped by the Test Track site. Decided to grab an early lunch at Connections. After lunch we set off for World Showcase. I stopped by China to see the Zootopia addition to the Shanghai Disney exhibit then watched the German group perform and the storyteller in Italy before catching a performance by the Voices of Liberty. After their set hung around for the American Adventure show. Finished our loop of World Showcase and exited at the International Gateway. Stopped by the room to drop off some things and pickup warmer clothes for the evening. Caught a bus to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Hiked out to the Safari which had a 75 min wait posted that jumped to 80. Luckily it took us about 45 minutes to board. After our Safari walked through Africa and the Tree of Life Garden. Found a table by Flame Tree and ate a snack. Took a walk through Dinoland USA as the sun set then watched the Tree of Life Awakenings show. After the new Mufasa sequence headed for the buses and caught one to the Magic Kingdom. After a lengthy security wait strolled up a busy Main Street USA and walked by Cinderella Castle and into Fantasyland. Circled the Castle to Liberty Square to see the Ichabod Crane window a few times then returned to Main Street. Took the west bypass to Town square then found a spot for Happily Ever After near the Cinema. After the show caught the resort monorail to the TTC and transferred to the EPCOT line. Arrived with 40 minutes to spare before Luminous. Spent time in World Celebration Gardens. Walked out and found a spot for the show about 10 minutes before its start time. After Luminous walked back to the Beach Club to call it a night.
Thoughts & Observations:
- I had a reservation for Disney’s Hollywood Studios this morning but after looking at what was left on my to-see list I wanted to switch to EPCOT. This usually is not a problem, but for some reason today there were no reservations available for other parks, including EPCOT. So I was trapped going to DHS first.
- I decided since I had to go to DHS first, I might as well try to visit a few attractions versus doing a tap-and-go. I looked at the clock they were just about to open for the morning. So I walked quickly to the Skyliner and took that. No real delay at security or to enter the park. I made to it Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge about 5 minutes before early entry ended.
- The early entry process for Disney’s Hollywood Studios has changed since my last visit. Non-Resort guests are allowed into the park and can form queues near attractions/lands. For example on Grand Avenue they were holding all the non-resort guests. This led to a bit of an awkward feeling as I walked quickly past them to a cast member then into the land as they continued to wait. I prefer the old where they were all help outside the park. I guess this reduces the running to the first attraction and gives everyone early access to dining and shopping.
- My plan was to try the single rider for Rise of the Resistance but the posted wait was 10 minutes so I went with the standby queue instead. Turned out to be 7 minutes. I did see the single rider queue and the wait looked to be similar. Next we went and visited Midway Mania which turned out to be about 10 minutes also. At this point the waits were climbing rapidly so we left for EPCOT.
- After all these years it is still disappointing to visit Imagination. The attraction and Image Works are both shells of their former selves.
- Forces of Nature by AntiGravity are still performing in World Celebration Gardens (and the app still says World Showcase). The show is identical to what we saw in May. I was hoping they tweaked it for the holidays or just updated it in general after so many months. They did not.
- Speaking of disappointing World Celebration Gardens is rather disappointing. I thought that this year being the second holidays it was open it would have some sort of overlay, plantings, something… it does not. It had the same minimal effort as last year.
- The Seas with Nemo and friends had a posted wait of 45 minutes and was backed up outside the building. Not sure why given the wait times for other attractions. It was interesting listening to people walk up and by and most commenting on the long wait.
- I walked into the Sea Base area instead. The attraction still feels rather dark and not inviting to me. There have been a few changes since my last visit. The dolphins are gone and that area is now part of the general tank/display. The manatee have been rotated with a new one, which of course swam backstage as I arrived in the area. One of the pods downstairs was renovated but looks more or less the same.
- Ate lunch at Connections and for quick service in the park this still is near the top of my list. We have had decent meals there with little hassle.
- Stopped to see Tanzhaus Johann perform near Germany. They had a variety of music in their set including Christmas and Disney. I find it hard to watch groupos at the Gazebo because of the exit path for the marketplace.
- The Voices of Liberty had a fairly large crowd as usual. We enjoyed the performance then visited the American Adventure. I found the cast members working to be rather annoying. The door opened a handful of times during the show as they rotated cast members. Why are they doing this in the middle of the show? Why are they using the main doors and letting all that light in as a distraction? It is terrible show and annoying.
- Headed to Disney’s Animal Kingdom to see the Tree of Life Awakenings this evening. Decided to give the Safari a try. The wait was posted at 75 minutes. We thought this had to be way off so we headed out that way. The queue backed up into Harambe and by the time we reached the queue it said 80 minutes. It was slow going to first reach the queue then through the extended outdoor portion. The estimate was way off. It took us 45 minutes, but it felt like 90, to reach the attraction. Our safari was a bust. Most of the animals were in for the night and keepers were cleaning their areas. They really need to adjust this and either find a way to keep the animals out longer or close the attraction earlier. For those who waited all day and this was their first and only trip it was rather poor.
- A new Mufasa segment was added to the Tree of Life Awakenings yesterday. I thought it was on par with other segments. It felt a little awkward with it between two Christmas segments but iit was nice
- Decided to take the bus to the Magic Kingdom to try and catch a couple things I did not see the other day. I had no delay with the bus but the security line to enter the park was backed up toward the bus stops and it was moving slow. There were a lot of guests triggering the secondary screening. That queue filled a series of switchbacks. My bag this trip was about 50/50 triggering the screening, this time through I lucked out and saved some substantial time.
- The park felt busy. It was one of the rare nights it was open late so that is to be expected. There were parties on a majority of the nights during my trip.
- I spent some time taking a look at the Castle projections. They are the same as recent years which is still underwhelming compared to the old lights.
- In Liberty Square I found a spot to watch for the Ichabod Crane window. One of the windows above the Christmas shop features projections of Ichabod Crane. This is a fun little plus but a bit of a challenge to catch between its short run, randomness, and the crowd.
- I heard several announcements that Main Street USA was full for the fireworks. I opted to take the west side backstage by pass to reach Town Square then walked back up the street to find a spot. There were plenty of spaces from the Cinema to the Christmas tree. The problem is the hub area was jammed with guests. I stood near the Cinema and that area did not get crowded until about 10 minutes prior to show time. It never became gridlock though.
- After Happily Every After I headed for EPCOT making the same choices as the other day and arriving at EPCOT about 10 minutes to 9, so 40 minutes to spare before Luminous.
- The DJ in World Celebration Gardens continued to be annoying but he ended at 9pm so I had only about half my time with him.
- I thought about visiting Spaceship Earth but with its frequent stops and problems didn’t think 30 minutes allowed enough time. There was no wait though so it was tempting.
- Walked out to World Showcase about 15 minutes prior to show time and found a spot near the friendship dock on the Canadian side in the 2nd standing row about 10 minutes prior to show time. This worked out well, given the height advantage I had over the family in front of me.
Pedometer Information for the day:
| Steps |
26,947 |
| Miles |
12.33 |
| Walking Time |
4:24 |
| Total Time |
14:21 |
Full picture and video sets coming soon...
Addition Blog Picture Posts from today:
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