Although I don't ride a lot of the rides here, I believe that Hollywood Studios just might be my favorite of the four parks. The twins had gone to the park early and had already been on several rides when Rod and I arrived. Rod and I stopped at Fairfax Fare for a breakfast sandwich while they went to get Fast Passes for Rock n Roller coaster. We got a bacon, egg, and cheese English muffin, and it was quite good - much better than an Egg McMuffin. While they rode the roller coaster, I hung around the Tower of Terror area and had some pictures taken. The Photopass photographers do what they refer to as "Magic Shots", where characters are photoshopped in. I had one taken in front of the Beauty and the Beast sign where they shopped Chip in, and another with Mickey on a bench. When I get the PhotoPass CD, I'll post some of those shots.
The rest of the crew rode Tower of Terror, however I did not. I don't like elevators much, let alone ones that drop you 13 floors unannounced. I am a champion shopper, though and since every ride and attraction in Disney exits you through a gift shop, I shopped. In this gift shop, I bought a tee shirt for George and a "do not disturb" sign for our house. It is from the Hollywood Tower Hotel, and since our house is sometimes like Grand Central Station with a revolving door, I think it was a sensible purchase.
The Burton 4 had reservations for lunch at the Sci Fi Dine In Theater. It's really cool. The tables are set up in "cars" and you are dining at a drive in theater complete with clips from 50's movies. My appetizer of artichoke/spinach dip was excellent, however my medium steak arrived very well done. One good thing about this venue is that you can get unlimited milkshakes. I stopped with one, and didn't order dessert.
Following lunch, we visited Muppetvision. I've always loved the Muppets, and this 3-D attraction is made more hilarious with the side comments of these two old geezers.
Then we headed toward the Animation Courtyard. Before entering the Animation Building, I waited in line for a meet and greet with Handy Manny and Jake from the Neverland Pirates. In the Animation building, I met Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, and Winnie the Pooh. Then onto my favorite part of the Animation building - drawing in the Animation Academy with a Disney Animator. We usually do this twice during our trips. This trip we drew Eyeore and Grumpy. We had our picture taken with Sorcerer Mickey. Before long it was time to drive to the Yacht Club for our dinner at the Captain's Grille.
Dinner here was probably the best meal I had on this trip. I chose the crab legs with corn on the cob and roasted new potatoes. I ordered a shrimp appetizer, but gave it to Jimmy. The corn and crab legs were so filling that I only ate one of the potatoes, and again didn't order dessert. Don't these crab legs look delicious - sure wish I had some now.
Last year I booked a cruise to view the Wishes fireworks from the Magic Kingdom Park. It was spectacular. This year I decided to try the Illuminations cruise to view the fireworks at EPCOT. It was a good choice. Although the cruises are expensive ($346), we find that they are worth the money. The cruise takes place on a 25 foot Tracker pontoon boat, and can take up to 10 people. It comes complete with a captain, bottled water, soda, and bagged snacks. You can see in this photo of Pat how cushy the seats are. We left from the Yacht Club Marina at about 8:30 and cruised the Seven Seas Lagoon past the Boardwalk, Hollywood Studios, then proceeded to EPCOT, where we tethered with two other boats under the International Gatway for the fireworks at 10 p.m. It was a magical experience, to be sure. Some of our group liked the Wishes cruise better, but I preferred the Illuminations cruise. After the fireworks, we were taken back to the Yacht Club and were back at our car by 10:30. It was great not having to fight the crowds afterward. We returned to our resort for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow will be another busy day.
Tomorrow -- a return to Magic Kingdom and a special dinner at Downtown Disney.
1 comment:
I should probably have booked a special night cruise when we were all there in the summer, but I didn't....and I doubt we'll all be there at the same time again. :( I'm glad you had a nice time on it. We've never eaten at SciFi...might have to try it soon. We do have Captain's Grill booked for one of the next two trips...can't recall which one, but I heard it's good there.
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