Hollywood Studios One Day Adult Standard With Afternoon Break

Transcription

1 Hollywood Studios One Day Adult Standard With Afternoon Break Theatre Seating Backlot Tour Lights, Motors, Action! Backlot Tour Backlot Tour Studio Catering Mama Melrose s Streets of America Muppet Vision 3D TOY STORY MANIA Honey I Shrunk the Kids Sci-Fi Drive-In Toy Story Pizza Planet STAR TOURS 3D Jedi Training Academy Sounds Dangerous Great Movie Ride ABC Commissary One Man s Dream LITTLE MERMAID American Idol Stage Show Backlot Express 1. Toy Story Mania - Obtain FASTPASS 2. Toy Story Mania 3. Rock 'N' Roller Coaster 4. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 5. Star Tours - Obtain FASTPASS 6. Great Movie Ride 7. Voyage of the Little Mermaid 8. Indiana Jones Spectacular -11:30am 9. Lunch 10. Break 11. Star Tours - With FASTPASS 12. Muppet Vision 3D 13. Toy Story Mania - With FASTPASS 14. Dinner 15. Fantasmic 16. Exit 17. Open 18. Open 19. Open 20. Open Indiana Jones Journey Into Narnia Min & Bill s Dockside Diner Brown Derby Disney Jr. on Stage Magic of Disney Animation Starring Rolls Toluca Legs Rosie s All American Catalina Eddie s 50 s Prime H wood Time & Vine ROCK N ROLLER COASTER Fairfax Fare Beauty & the Beast TOWER OF TERROR Resort Bus Stops Boat Launch to Epcot Resorts Fantasmic! Walkway to Epcot Resorts

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3 Hollywood Studios One Day Adult Standard With Afternoon Break Who It s For This easyplan is ideal for groups of Disney adults (those age nine and older) who want to visit all of Hollywood Studios major attractions, take a lengthy afternoon break, and return in the evening for Fantasmic or other nighttime event. A pre-opening arrival, afternoon break, and evening return is usually the most relaxing and efficient way to tour a Disney theme park because it guarantees you visit during the least crowded time of day and avoid the busiest, hottest part of the day. If Fantasmic or another nighttime event isn t planned or you don t want to attend the nighttime event, you may want to take a look at the half-day easyplan that tours between 9am 3pm. This way, you visit the most popular attractions in the morning, high capacity attractions and shows in the afternoon, and you don t need to take the travel time to return in the evening. Note when Hollywood Studios is closing and decide if an afternoon break and an evening return makes sense in your situation. If Fantasmic isn t scheduled and the Studios is closing at 7pm or 8pm, the last 60 to 90 minutes is usually a great time to tour because so many people leave in the afternoon. You might consider returning in the evening and making a dining reservation right before close. Additional FASTPASSes The Plan only calls for you specifically to collect FASTPASSes for Toy Story Mania and Star Tours. If you d like to ride Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, or Star Tours a second time, you re welcome to collect additional FASTPASSes for those attractions in place of a stage show or other attraction. Note the average length of time it takes to complete the attraction with FASTPASS on the list of attractions below and consider walking times as well. If Fantasmic isn t scheduled until after 9:30pm, you may want to collect FASTPASSes in the morning to use after your break. Remember that you can easily use FASTPASSes after the stated return window with no problem. If you would prefer to stay together, instead of using the FASTPASS runner, simply have everyone in the group head to the FASTPASS machines to collect their own FASTPASSes. The FASTPASS runner is intended to save time and allow those who are slower or have less stamina to rest. Deviation from the Plan and Returning from the Break The morning is the key to easily experiencing the major attractions with the shortest wait possible. Moving through Toy Story Mania, Rock n Roller Coaster, and Tower of Terror in the morning will put you in the best possible position to have a successful day. After your break, the lines at Toy Story Mania (60+ minutes), Rock n Roller Coaster (40+ minutes), and Tower of Terror (30+ minutes) will all be long and the only way you ll want to experience them is with FASTPASSes collected earlier in the day.

4 The trick to this Plan is timing the return from your break with the variable Fantasmic times. Riding Star Tours, seeing Muppet Vision 3D, riding Toy Story Mania, and having dinner will take about two hours in most scenarios. If Fantasmic begins at 8:30pm, that means you ll want to return from your break no later than 5:00pm or so. If Fantasmic is earlier, you ll want to return earlier. For a later Fantasmic, you may want to return later or return earlier and complete more attractions that we skipped (Magic of Disney Animation Tour, Walt Disney: One Man s Dream, Backlot Tour, etc.) or see one of the major stage shows. The afternoon return really is up to you. As written, we re returning to two major attractions with FASTPASS and seeing Muppet Vision 3D, one of Disney s best 3D attractions and one that is definitely worth seeing. You may also want to return about 45 minutes earlier so you have enough time to see an additional stage show. Scheduling Fantasmic Fantasmic can be scheduled any time between 6:30pm and 10:30pm. Usually, Disney will announce the time of the first Fantasmic when they release the initial operating calendar and then they will add a second Fantasmic that begins 90 minutes after the first. For example, if a Fantasmic in October is currently scheduled at 7:30pm, Disney usually adds a second Fantasmic beginning at 9pm. I recommend arriving no less than 60 minutes early for the first Fantasmic of the evening and at least 45 minutes early for the second Fantasmic. For prime seats, arrive 90 minutes early for the first and 60 minutes early for the second. You may need to tweak the return time from your break based on how much time you ll have before you need to find your seats. As written, we have about two hours worth of touring to do before the start of Fantasmic. No Fantasmic or Nighttime Event Scheduled Hollywood Studios usually closes earlier in the evening when Fantasmic isn t scheduled. A 7pm or 8pm close is most common. If this is the case, you ll want to weigh an afternoon break against potential travel times. If it s going to take you an hour to travel to and from the Studios, you may want to skip the break and tour straight through the early afternoon, returning to your resort afterward to rest. Luckily, Hollywood Studios crowds do clear out quite a bit after 5:30pm when Fantasmic or other nighttime entertainment isn t scheduled because so many people finish their itineraries earlier in the afternoon and have no reason to stay. Wait times at the major attractions are usually much shorter in the last 60 minutes of operation than they were in the afternoon. When Hollywood Studios is recommended and the overall crowd level is low, it s quite possible to find most attractions are walk-ons after 6pm, save for Toy Story Mania which usually has a wait of at least 30 minutes. When Fantasmic is scheduled, wait times are longer because more people hang around for the show.

5 The Attractions in Order: Arrival: Arrive at Hollywood Studios at least minutes prior to opening. Have one person from your party collect all theme park tickets and move to the front of the pack on Hollywood Boulevard, prepared to head straight to Toy Story Mania. 1. Collect FASTPASSes for Toy Story Mania. Ideally, have your fastest member collect the group s theme park tickets and head straight to the FASTPASS line (this person is known as the FASTPASS runner), which is located before the attraction entrance on the right side. There will be a single line for all FASTPASS machines and cast members will be setup at each FASTPASS machine to put your tickets through (they ll put one ticket or 100 tickets through, they don t care). The rest of the group can meet across from the Toy Story Mania entrance. 2. Once the FASTPASS runner meets the rest of the group, continue immediately to the standby entrance to ride Toy Story Mania. 3. Exit Toy Story Mania and head back the way you came toward Mickey s Sorcerer s Hat. Continue walking back toward the main entrance, only take a left onto Sunset Boulevard after passing Hollywood Brown Derby Restaurant and the entrance to Starring Rolls Café. Head to the end of Sunset Boulevard, passing Tower of Terror, to ride Rock N Roller Coaster in the standby line. The wait time will likely be inflated this early in the morning don t worry. 4. Head back the way you came to ride the Tower of Terror in the standby line. We bypass it initially because waits build faster at Rock n Roller Coaster. 5. Exit Sunset Boulevard and head toward Mickey s Sorcerer s Hat. Have the FASTPASS runner collect everyone s tickets to get FASTPASSes for Star Tours. Star Tours is located in Echo Lake. Head down the path outside American Idol Experience, directly to the left of Mickey s Sorcerer s Hat. Continue past Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and Backlot Express Quick Service to Star Tours. The FASTPASS machines are located to the right of the standby entrance. The rest of the group can stay at Mickey s Sorcerer s Hat. There should be several characters in the area to meet and there s a pin store underneath the Sorcerer s Hat to peruse. You may also want to sit down on the various benches. 6. Ride the Great Movie Ride once the FASTPASS Runner returns. The entrance is located directly behind Mickey s Sorcerer s Hat. 7. See Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The entrance is located in the Animation Courtyard directly on the left as you enter the Courtyard. If you don t see the Courtyard, head back out to the front of Mickey s Sorcerer s Hat and look diagonally to the right for the large archway. 8. See the 11:30am Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular or the 11:30am Beauty and the Beast Stage Show - whichever you prefer. If you d like, you can return from your break in time to see the 5:30pm or 5:45pm show of the one you skip now. Indiana Jones is located across the

6 way from American Idol Experience and Beauty and the Beast is located on Sunset Boulevard, on the right just before the walkway up to the entrance to Tower of Terror. If you re running late, you can elect to have lunch now and see the 12:45pm show instead. 9. Have lunch. You re welcome to visit any quick service or table service restaurant you d like. I recommend the sandwiches at the Starring Rolls Café, but really all of the Studios quick service locations are pretty mediocre. 10. It should be about 1:00pm-1:15pm, which means it s time for our scheduled break. We have plans to return to Hollywood Studios around 5:00pm, but you may want to change the return time based on what you want to accomplish and when Fantasmic starts. 11. Ride Star Tours with the FASTPASSes collected earlier in the day. Walk to Mickey s Sorcerer s Hat and take a left down the road outside American Idol Experience. Continue past the entrance to Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and Backlot Express Quick Service. Star Tours is on your left. 12. See Muppet Vision 3D. The entrance is located to the right if you re looking directly at the entrance to Star Tours, down a pathway past Tatooine Traders that opens up to a large courtyard. 13. Ride Toy Story Mania with FASTPASSes collected early this morning. As you exit Muppet Vision 3D, take a right and continue through the Streets of America until you get to the end. You should see the large Lights, Motors, Action entrance take a right and continue past Studio Catering Company and up past Backlot Tour. Toy Story Mania is located in Pixar Place on the left. Take a moment to gawk at the absurd wait time and smile at each other knowing that you don t have to wait in it. 14. Have dinner. Check your Times Guide to see which quick service locations are still operating some may close earlier than you might imagine. Sunset Ranch Market is considerably better than ABC Commissary (food-wise), so head there if they are the only two operating. On the downside, the area around Sunset Ranch Market is busy at this time of night and all seating is outdoors. ABC Commissary is rarely busy and has plentiful, indoor airconditioned seating, so take that into consideration too. 15. Fantasmic has a variable schedule, with shows that can begin anywhere between 6:30pm and 10:30pm. You may need to cut this touring plan short if you re attending a 6:30pm Fantasmic or plan to add another hour or two of touring for a 10:30pm Fantasmic. As it stands, you should be finished with the Plan by 7:30pm. This is virtually perfect for a Fantasmic that begins between 8:30pm and 9:30pm, but it may require adjustments for earlier or later Fantasmic shows. For later shows, consider grabbing an ice cream or other snack and enjoy the Studios sights at night. For an earlier Fantasmic, consider arriving back from your break earlier. I recommend arriving at least 60 minutes early for the first Fantasmic and 45 minutes early for the second show. When crowds are heavy or if you want a prime spot, you ll want to arrive 90 or

7 more minutes early for the first show and 60 or more minutes early for the second show. The best seats are located in the middle sections about half way up from the bottom. Any closer and you ll get wet and may have difficulty seeing what s going on in the water in front of the stage. Because the stage is so large, there really aren t any bad seats. See the Fantasmic overview for additional tips. 16. Exit Hollywood Studios Skipped Attractions and How to Fit Them In 3PM Parade: The only way to see the 3pm Parade and take an afternoon break is to either stay until 3:30pm or return from your break by 2:30pm, both of which basically eliminate any benefit of taking the break. If the Parade is an integral part of your day, consider the half-day Plan that tours through 3pm. American Idol Experience: With shows beginning at 12:30pm, you may be able to fit one in before or after your break. The 7:00pm Finale show is the best and it should be relatively easy to fit into your Plan if Fantasmic is scheduled after 9:30pm. You may also elect to see the 12:30pm show instead of Beauty and the Beast or Indiana Jones. Backlot Tour: This 35 minutes attraction, plus a ten minute wait, is simply too long to fit into an abridged day at the Studios. If you d like to see it, replace it with about 45 minutes worth of other attractions or shows. You may have time in the evening to experience it if Fantasmic doesn t begin until 9:30pm or later, but check your Times Guide because it may stop running as early as 7pm, even when the Studios is open until 10pm. Beauty and the Beast Stage Show or Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular: We plan to see one of these shows in the late morning. To see the other, you ll need to arrive back from your break by 5pm to catch the last show of the day or stick around in the afternoon to catch the 12:45pm show. Disney Jr. Live on Stage: This is a stage show that is fun for young kids, but doesn t have a lot to offer adults. There are no seats and participants are expected to sit on the floor until the singing and dancing starts. I don t recommend it for anyone over the age of seven or eight, but there are multiple shows scheduled throughout the day and you should have no trouble substituting it for an attraction that doesn t appeal to your group. Disney Channel Rocks: This stage show is scheduled throughout the day near Mickey s Sorcerer s Hat. It s geared towards entertaining kids and we don t necessarily want to go out of our way to see it. Since we ll be passing Mickey s Sorcerer s Hat throughout the day, chances are good a show will be going on at some point and you can catch a few minutes of it.

8 Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure: This is a playground area for kids. It doesn t offer anything for anyone over the age of eight or nine. The Movie Set Adventure is often confused for the Honey I Shrunk the Audience 3D show (formerly) at Epcot. Jedi Training Academy: This show s stage is located outside of Star Tours and you may be able to nonchalantly catch a few minutes while you re in the vicinity. There are multiple shows scheduled throughout the day and you should be able to fit it in if you really want to see it. It s a lot of fun for kids and parents of kids that are participating, but it s little more than very cute for teens and adults. If you enjoy Star Wars and cute stage shows then you may want to fit this one in. Otherwise, you re safe skipping it. Journey into Narnia: Prince Caspian: This attraction is right next door to Walt Disney: One Man s Dream. There is rarely a line longer than 10 minutes and you re welcome to replace another attraction with it if you re particularly interested in the Chronicles of Narnia. Keep in mind that this is little more than an advertisement for Prince Caspian on Blu-ray and Disney lost the rights to distribute subsequent Narnia movies. Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show: With show times at 1:20pm and 4:30pm most days, you ll either need to stick around until after 2pm or arrive back from your break by 4pm to see this show. If you do want to see it, you may want to plan a half-day or full-day at the Studios. Magic of Disney Animation Tour: This is a great tour if you have additional time. Consider replacing it with another attraction if it sounds more appealing or visit it after your break if you have extra time. Mulch, Sweat, and Shears Bandscaping: This is a fun band to watch, but not necessarily worth going out of your way to see. They play along the Streets of America or at Mickey s Sorcerer s Hat and you may see them as you re walking to a nearby attraction. If you do and you have some time, stay and watch for a few minutes. Sounds Dangerous: This oft-closed attraction is rarely open because it isn t very good or very popular. It s a nice respite from the heat when it is open, but 99% of the population will want to skip it unless you have extra time or need a break. Walt Disney: One Man s Dream: This self-guided tour takes about 30 minutes to appreciate and is an excellent introduction into the life of Walt Disney. Consider visiting after your break or replace it with a stage show or other lengthy attraction. It s rarely crowded and you won t find a wait.