Tag Archives: Streets of America

Day 84- Hollywood Studios & Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

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Happy Sunday Morning! We are heading for Hollywood Studios today. It was a warm afternoon, but it is cooling off really quickly as it nears 4pm. I am glad we brought warm jackets!

We have a FastPass+ for Toy Story Mania today. We arrive in plenty of time. We catch the tram as it fills up quickly and heads for the front gate. As we get close to the front gates our cast member says, “We’re taking you back to Hollywood, California!’” It is so nice to be in Hollywood, California! Yay! We are in Hollywood, California! We get our bags checked, scan our MagicBands, and step into the park.

Our first stop is the Stroller Rental to look at the pin trading board! Next is the Package Pickup pin trading board. OK, this is going to be a fun day for pin trading. Going down Hollywood Boulevard, it is very busy, but I can hear the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular as we turn towards Echo Lake. I love that show! It is great way to learn about how stunts in shows and movies work, which also makes it very educational. Plus, it’s super fun to watch!

We have fun walking and seeing the park. It is fun today. People are everywhere, but there is plenty of room to stroll. We decide we will find coffee and the Writer’s Stop is a possibility, but we decide to find a Joffrey’s Coffee Stand. So we walk down the Streets of America and around past the Frozen Sing-a-long just as they are roping it off. We just made it, and there is a coffee stand right up ahead. As Twinkie gets her coffee, I peek around the corner and see Mater and Lightning McQueen! I have to see them! I love Mater; he is my favorite.

I saw a place with hot chocolate in a Disney mug on the Streets of America, so we backtracked and Tooti and I got our hot chocolate. The cast member asked if we would like gingerbread, hazelnut, or her favorite, the toasted marshmallow. I said that I would love to have that one! Oh my goodness, it is so yummy! I suggest we find a place to sit and enjoy our hot drinks. I see a bench with a seat open and ask the ladies who were sitting on it if this spot was taken; they offered to scoot over for one of the kids. I thanked them and the kids said they were fine sitting on the curbside.

These ladies were so interesting and so much fun to visit with. I wasn’t going to sit very long, but we had a lot of fun talking and even chatted with another fun family close by. So, I sat with them for a while… suddenly, it begins to snow on the Streets of America, and then, the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights begins. This nice lady’s friend was visiting and it was her friend’s first time to ever see them. I watched her friend’s face as the lights came on and then began to dance; she was beautiful with her big eyes aglow and her mouth dropped open. Oh, yes, this is overwhelming! She commented that she thought there were going to be a few lights, and she smiled to big as she tried to comment on how beautiful they are. I love these moments.

After the lights dance, we say goodbye and head for Toy Story Mania, but the third round of music began, so we found a spot to stand and watch them. They are so amazing, so beautiful, and so massively unique. This is a definite must see if you are here anytime during the holidays. Plan to spend at least several minutes watching, though if you can stay a long while, it is so worth it. There are so many different things to see on each building, it can take a while to see everything, including the many hidden Mickeys, and the annually hidden purple cat. It’s so much fun to try finding the cat!

Now, we work our way through the crowd and back around to Toy Story Mania. I love this ride. It’s one of my favorites! Yay! The FastPass+ line is moving quickly tonight.

After we get off of Toy Story Mania, we are done for the night. We have walked around most of the park and seen the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, which is incredible. So, we head for the entrance. It is a beautiful, chilly night in Hollywood Studios. It has been a wonderful Sunday evening, and as we get to our car in the parking lot, we can see the tops of the Fantasmic fireworks. What a wonderful ending to a wonderful day! I am thankful that Walt Disney dreamed this dream of building a wonderful place like Disney World. I am forever grateful.

Day 56- Boardwalk Meetup, Big River Grille and Hollywood Studios

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Happy Sunday Morning! It is a beautiful day in Florida, overcast, and a cool 68 degrees at the hottest part of the day! This is a Disney marathon weekend and the parks have been busy, especially Epcot in its final days of the Food and Wine Festival.

We are meeting a group on the Boardwalk after lunch with Taking the Florida Plunge and WDW Mousenger followers. The only parking available at the Boardwalk today is valet. We don’t mind, we have Tables in Wonderland and it covers valet parking at many of the resorts if you eat at one of the participating restaurants. There are a bunch of people who have shown up, and it is fun to meet fellow Disney enthusiasts. We meet several fun people and the leader of the Florida Plunge group; their family moved down here a year and a half ago. It’s fun to talk with others who have made the move or are hoping to make the move to FL in the near future!  Twinkie even won one of the awesome giveaway prizes from MMP Travel- A Disney Dooney & Bourke Cosmetic Case!

I love the Boardwalk, it is very interesting and a good place to walk and enjoy the sights. This afternoon, it is very quiet and there is plenty of room to meander around on the Boardwalk, we even get to watch the ducks play in the water. One thing we want to do one day is rent one of the Surrey Bikes so we can pedal our way around.

After the meeting we went to a couple of places to see if there was walk up seating, but the longest line was at the ESPN Club. After seeing the line, we decide to walk to the other end of the boardwalk to eat at Big River Grille & Brewing Works. We asked about gluten free and they had nachos; Twinkie’s were made with freshly cooked Kettle Potato Chips and ours, the old fashioned way! They were great, and it’s a happy occasion when Twinkie gets to have potato chip nachos!

Now, we are off to valet and they quickly bring us our car. The attendant is extremely courteous and kind.

Our next stop is Hollywood Studios. We grab some Joffrey’s Coffee to drink as we look for the new Big Hero 6 MagicBand, featuring Baymax and Hiro Hamada. As we are heading for the Muppet’s 3D Shop, the back part of Hollywood Studios is so busy that it is hard to walk through Pixar Place. We are trying get to the Streets of America, and realize that the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show has just finished and the people are pouring out of the stands.

We finally get to the Streets of America. I love the buildings and can imagine how beautiful they will be tonight when the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights are turned on. It will be amazing!

I sit in the courtyard by the Stage 1 Company Store while the kids are shopping. I love watching families go by and hearing the fun sounds of happy kids! Soon, they are back with their awesome new Big Hero 6 MagicBands and we are off to walk around Hollywood Studios.

We are walking to the front when we see a beautiful tropical plant; it has perfect symmetry in its leaves and flowers. The evening light makes it look so picture-perfect. If you love tropical plants and trees, you will love seeing all of the landscaping all around Disney! We even saw four deer on the way to the Boardwalk this afternoon, and then, we saw eight more on the way back home. I love all of the deer, birds, and ducks that you can see during the day.

Day 31- Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater at Hollywood Studios

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One month ago today, we began our journey of going to Disney for 365 days in a row! We are happier than a kid in a candy shop! Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, we are on our way and have 334 days to go. I love Florida life and living close to Disney, we can watch the fireworks from our front porch. It is so cool! Our pups enjoy watching them with us when we are at home and not at the parks.

Today, we chose to go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios; we haven’t had lunch, so Sci-fi Dine-in Theater Restaurant is sounding like the restaurant of choice for a good hamburger. We arrive with an hour to spare, so we walk around and see how the Christmas lights are coming along. Today I notice they have added the Christmas carolers in front of two buildings in the Streets of America. It is perfectly busy and I can hear some of the crowd singing as they exit the Frozen Sing-along, the funniest is a grandma acting out “Let it go!”  Cute!

Movie Star names!
Streets of America!
Carolers!
Tons of Lights!
Singing in the Rain!

Now, we check into Sci-fi Dine-in Theater Restaurant, it is so very busy. Quite a few folks are trying to see if there is availability, but you must have a reservation to be able to eat there in the late afternoon to evening times. I haven’t seen it this busy since the end of summer crowd. After about 25 minutes, they call us to be seated. We sit in a three-seat car that looks like a ’57 Chevy! Tooti and Twinkie are in the front seat, me in the next one. A little later, they seat someone in the third row!

I love it, as you look around, it is reminiscent of the days gone by with the wooden fence, the stars in the sky, and the speakers on the post for your car sound. I remember going to drive-in movies when I was a kid. Mom would pile blankets on the top of our station wagon, and we would have our pillows up top in the luggage rack! I am not sure how many movies I actually saw, seems that I fell asleep more times than not.

Anyways, back to the Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater. There is a full screen with vintage scary movies playing as your car hop takes your order, we got dairy free “milkshakes” and 2 gluten free burgers and a gluten free corned beef sandwich! YUMMY, they have the best French fries too! We finish our dinner and head out.

It is chilly tonight as we are heading back to the front of Hollywood Studios. It is busy, but not too crowded, a nice flow of people. We parked pretty close, so we walk about 10 minutes to our car and head home. I must remember a jacket, it is finally chilly at night! Let’s see: backpack, magic band, water bottle, umbrella, appropriate shoes, now to add a jacket for the sudden drop in temperatures! Yes, it is feeling like fall this evening.

Day 23- Lost and Found & Hollywood Studios

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I was having a celebration day! Want to go to Disney? Of course, but today it was cool enough to dig in the garage and find my box of clothes that has been packed since the move! Yep, celebrating a cool morning and finding my box!

Now, we have some exciting news! Last evening, Twinkie found that she had dropped a prized vintage eyeglasses case. She was heart broken and it was too late to check with Lost and Found. She did call the Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course, where we were first, but they didn’t have one that had been turned in. Early this morning, she began her calls to Disney’s Lost and Found. She described where we were, what it looked like, and about what time she might have lost it. After several minutes I heard her screaming in happy tones! They had found it and it was waiting for her! Our first stop of the day is Lost and Found!

Lost and Found!
Across from the Transportation & Ticket Center
The sign by the road

At the first of summer, I headed back to the hotel early, and left the kids to enjoy Extra Magic Hours with their company. I had the passing thought, “I hope they remember to get their stuff out of the storage locker.” When they arrived back to our room in the late hours of the night, they had totally forgotten our stuff. The next day, Twinkie and I began the journey of finding it. Magic Kingdom first, but the locker had been emptied and sent to Lost and Found, so we went there and were able to describe and claim our stuff! I was impressed, because the young mom in front of us had lost a baby shoe, she told them where and when, and they looked, but found nothing. Then, the granddaddy that was working asked if he could borrow the little shoe the mom still had and when he returned, he had the match! It was absolutely amazing that the tiny little shoe found its way home. She was so excited and thankful. We experienced that today! Celebration #2!

Now, we are happily off to Hollywood Studios. Our celebration lunch is at the Hollywood Brown Derby! We love their chopped cobb salad, the entree size is huge! We love the appetizer-sized one, and also had some wonderful gluten free rolls! Hollywood Brown Derby is so beautiful; they have taken the original Brown Derby and translated it into a Disney wonder! There are sketches of the old actors and actresses on the walls, there are pictures of the original Brown Derby; it is an elegant place to have lunch or dinner. Usually, you need to make reservations if you are planning to have a sit down meal. It was perfect.

Caricatures!
The dining room
So nice!
The original Hollywood Brown Derby

We have a few minutes before Toy Story Mania, so I went to Walt Disney, One Man’s Dream: from Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdom! That will be a whole day’s blog! I love learning about Mr. Walt Disney, he made so many dreams come true. We’ll write more about that later.

Toy Story Mania is next, we have FastPass+. There is a test going on, and to ride today, you must have a FastPass. I enjoyed going through the line and seeing all of the décor. It is like you become the size of the toys; the game boards on the ceiling are huge, and you walk past the giant crayons and scrabble pieces. Mr. Potato Head is the cutest. I got the highest score I have ever had, 136,000 points!

We saw where the Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post had been, and we followed the signs to the new location! Oh, look, there is Olaf’s flower growing in the snow. Oh, wow, this area used to be the AFI store, near the Studio Backlot Tour, and it has been transformed into Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Frozen Funland! I Love the snow; you can even build real snowmen in the snow play area!

Walking to Wandering Oaken’s
Olaf’s Flower!
Olaffff!!
Going to see the snow!
You can play in “real” snow!

I heard the sounds of the city, the trucks and the car horns, as we were rounding the corner into the Streets of America! It is like stepping back in time, and as you look down the street, it is as though you actually have, complete with old buildings and vintage window décor! Love these streets! I cannot wait until the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights Christmas are lit!

Hidden Mickeys!
Streets of America

We are heading out; Hollywood Studios is open until 6 tonight, so we catch a glimpse of Star Wars: Jedi Training Academy outside of Star Tours.

Darth and Storm Troopers!

I miss the sand sculpture of Olaf at the front gates, so we got a picture with the Hollywood Studios sign!  Although I miss Olaf, someday, maybe he will be back, I don’t know for sure, but I hope so.

The 3 of us! 🙂

It was a relaxing, celebratory day, complete with beautiful clouds rolling in!

Day 13- Dapper Day at Hollywood Studios

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Best day ever!!  We headed for Hollywood Studios for Dapper Day.  It was so much fun to so many people in their vintage finery!  When we arrived in the early afternoon, the parking lot was already filling up!  There were Dapper-Dressed Ladies and Dapper Men everywhere you turned!  So fun!  We boarded the tram and headed towards the park entrance, chatting with a bunch of people around us about what Dapper Day is about.  You can read more about it at www.dapperday.com. Oh, look!  We got photo bombed by a really great couple!

As we walk down Hollywood Boulevard, we see more Dapper Day Ladies!  The park is beautiful and I love the deco buildings.

The first ride is Toy Story Mania, one of my favorite rides!  The whole time you are walking through the line, it is like you are walking beside giant toys.  You get to wear 3D glasses, which look great with my Dapper Day dress.  Tooti won the game today, Twinkie came in second, and I came in third place.

The Citizens of Hollywood were gracious as always, and we took a picture beside Mimi Kaboom in her beautiful car.  Our next destination was the 50s Prime Time Café!  We called ahead so we could have Gluten Free Fried Chicken!  We were seated and the people eating in that area were so funny; we had a blast!  The décor there looks a lot like Great Grandma’s kitchen did.

We went to the Star Wars section and found the Speeder Bike for pictures!

The Streets of America were so amazing with Dapper Ladies and Gents posing with groups of people.  We were stopped several times as we were invited to take pictures with curious onlookers.  It was just so fun!  As we headed for the Studio Backlot Tour, we saw the perfect picture: a lovely lady and her brother-in-law talking next to the fountain!  Cute! (Later, we saw her and her husband on the Backlot Tour, too!)

Waiting across from the Studio Backlot Tour was a Dapper Day meetup as it neared 4PM.  We joined the gathering as we waited to go into the ride.  You see, the Studio Backlot Tour is closing after today, so we had to get a final ride to say goodbye.  You go through the building where they sew costumes, build sets, and keep cool old vehicles from previous productions.  Then you go past the stunt area, my favorite is you get to see the back of the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show.  The cars were racing into the staging area and it was awesome as they showed their driving skills.

On our way to grab coffee at the Writer’s Stop, what’s that we see?  Oh, look, a Chevy outside of the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater!  After continuing on to the Writer’s Stop, we took a coffee break before we headed over to the Dapper Day meetup at The Great Movie Ride!  We even saw a girl that we actually know… it was so fun to see her!

We strolled around the park and enjoyed the evening.  The Frozen Fireworks were absolutely fabulous, beyond words.  We sat outside of the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular as we watched the Frozen Fireworks; they are so overwhelmingly beautiful, I found my eyes were tearing up!  The last night for Frozen Fireworks is tomorrow, Sunday.  I am truly going to miss them.