Day 13- Dapper Day at Hollywood Studios

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.

Day 10- Hollywood Studios, By way of Epcot

We had an absolutely fun afternoon at Hollywood Studios.  We did take the long way around, but it was a fun trip.  We started at Epcot, parked, and walked 3/4 mile to Rinse. We saw them at the Flower and Garden Festival and a few weeks later picked up some of their natural body products at the America Pavilion in Epcot. Their natural deodorant has become a favorite and it holds up to the FL heat and humidity so well. Today, we picked up some roll-on essential oils, called Thievery, and it smells amazing! Check them out at: http://www.rinsesoap.com!

We grabbed a cup of hot tea and went to catch the boat from Epcot to Hollywood Studios.  As we were walking out the gate, we saw the boat was leaving, so we walked to the Boardwalk to catch it there.  On the way, I saw a mom taking a picture of her daughters.  We stopped and I asked her name; she was so cute.  Her name was “Mae.”  Oh, my!  My daughter met them on Day 7 at Tony’s Town Square!  I love when we run into someone we’ve seen before. Then, we made it to the dock and caught the boat.

When we arrived at Hollywood Studios, we took our picture with the Olaf sand sculpture… smile!

Once inside the gates, our first ride is the Studio Backlot Tour.  We heard they will be closing it and I wanted to see it before it is gone!  The last time we went, Tooti and Twinkie were in the skit, and it was so much fun.  After the skit, you walk through movie prop storage area; it is very interesting.  Outside you catch a ride through the backlot and get to see the behind the scenes of the movie world and some Disney things like costumes and a wood shop. We had half an hour before our FastPass for the Toy Story Midway Mania ride, so we grabbed a quick meal while we waited.

Off to Toy Story Mania!  Oh, look, the Green Army Man!!!  I need a selfie with him!  Thank you!  I love the Army Men!  Toy Story Mania is one of my favorite rides.  I love the 4D ride, it is like being in an immersive video game that spins you around as you try to rack up the most points. A LOT of fun! The lines can be long, so it’s best to try to get a FastPass+ scheduled ahead of time.

Fun time! Then, we were off to catch the boat back to Epcot.  We met a young family whose son will be 5 in a few days and is enjoying his first time to Disney!  Got on the boat and sat at the back, it’s open and you can see all around.  A young family came out from inside the boat and I got to meet them.  We talked a little and their children were so well behaved; you could tell how much they are loved. We landed at Epcot, got off, and headed for the entrance.  Epcot was bustling and so crowded since they have extra magic hours until 11:00pm.  We got to the car and then stopped in the Magic Kingdom parking lot to watch fireworks. A very relaxing day today!