Wednesday, December 29, 2021- Disney Hollywood Studios

    To get to most places from the Caribbean Beach Resort, we have to wait for a bus, but to get to Disney Hollywood Studios (or Epcot, for that matter) we get to ride the Skyliner.  It is a gondola system that seems like a cheaper option than a monorail, but is still a pretty cool way to get to the parks.  To get to the Skyliner, most of our party took the internal bus to get from Trinidad to the Skyliner terminal, which is the next stop in the bus's loop.  Scott decided he wanted to walk it, since it was less than a half mile away along the waterway.  Julie challenged him to a race to the Skyliner, but he won easily.  Once everyone had gathered there, Julie's parents bought some Joffrey's Coffee, and we got on board together to head to over the trees to the park.  It's about a five minute ride.

     At Hollywood Studios, we got Julie's dad a wheelchair and proceeded into the park.  We had arrived right at opening time, so Emma and Scott decided to "rope drop" the Rockin' Roller Coaster.  That's when you head directly there in order to ride before a big line forms.   They went ahead of the rest of the group, only to find that the roller coaster was not running, due to technical problems.  We don't think it ended up running at all today.  When the rest of the group caught up, there still wasn't a long line at the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, so Emma, Julie and Scott got in line for that.  The story of the ride is that it is supposed to be an old hotel in Hollywood that has become haunted.  An elevator takes you past the ghosts of the hotel and then drops you several times down the elevator shaft.  It's quite an experience that Emma was looking forward to and enjoyed.

     Julie had accidentally dumped her ice tea and her parents coffee, so we got them replacements and sat at a table in the shade nearby while we planned out the rest of the morning.  Our best bet seemed to be to go to the Muppet-Vision 3D Movie.  We sat in the front row with the wheelchair, and this time Abby kept the 3D glasses in for a lot of the movie.  She seemed to enjoy it, but she liked the special effects that accompany the movie even more, like the bubbles that come down from the ceiling.

     By then, it was 10:00 and time for our earlier lunch.  We got our food from the ABC Commissary and ate at a small table outside.  The highlight for several of us was the Buffalo chicken grilled cheese sandwich.  Emma had a "California" (plant-based) burger and also tried the "Santa's Belt Cookie."  It was a large Mickey-shaped cookie covered with red frosting.  Emma said it was a chocolate cookie, but Julie thought it was better described as a sugar cookie with chocolate in it.  Either way, the red frosting made a mess after it sat in the sun a little bit and ended up all over Abby's hands and face.  Unfortunately, the cookie was only half-eaten because a waitress took it as she cleared away some of our plates, and it was gone before we could stop her.  About this time, Scott seemed to have gotten stung by some kind of insect.  He felt a jab like a sliver of glass in his knee and pulled out what looked like a thorn.  The site got a little warm and red and it hurt a little, so we're keeping an eye on it.

     After lunch, Abby had the chance to meet Minnie Mouse and get her picture taken with her the way we had with Mickey yesterday.  Abby likes Mickey, but Minnie is her favorite.  She calls her "Mee-me."  She was very excited to meet her.  Just around the corner was a theater showing a Mickey Mouse cartoon called "Vacation Fun."  It was the new style of Mickey Mouse, with a slightly faster pace and more slapstick.  The cartoon itself was a "clip-show" episode of highlights of his newer cartoon series, but it did have it's funny moments.  One of the places that Mickey went was Potatoland (Isn't that the same place that Peppa Pig goes?) but it ended with him, Minnie and Pluto going to Disney World.  Abby liked this movie too.

     Scott got  a little separated from the group as he went off to photograph the Golden Anniversary statues here.  They are in the courtyard in front of the replica of Grauman's  Chinese Theater.  All seven of the statues for this park are in that vicinity.  It was hard finding the group again because there are SO many people in the park.  Two or three of the biggest rides were down for at least part of the day too, so the mobs of people were flocking elsewhere.  

     Our next stop was the Disney Jr. Dance Party.   Here kids are encouraged to jump and dance around on the floor as characters join them on stage.  The program doesn't tell stories the way the Bear in the Big Blue House did years ago, but Abby loved being able to jump around and run between her parents.  She saw Vampirina (who we don't really watch), Doc McStuffins (who we do), Timon from The Lion King and finally Mickey Mouse.  Abby worked out some of her wiggles and energy here and once again loved it when bubbles came down from the ceiling.  

     Our first real Lightning Lane was for Star Tours: The Adventure Continues.   This ride is a new version of an old favorite.  C-3PO is the driver this time, and your ship takes you to the "Wookie Planet" (Scott knew it's real name is Kashyyk;), among other places.  Emma, Scott and Julie's folks rode this, while Julie waited outside with Abby because there is a height restriction.  The ride does rock you around quiet a bit, but Julie's parents seemed to enjoy it after her dad was helped on from his wheelchair. 

     Abby hasn't really learned about the concept of paying for things.  Yesterday, she ran out of a store with the little Minnie Mouse that we ended up paying for.  Today she ran away with a stuffed Olaf, the snowman from Frozen.  No doubt she recognized him from Grandma's house because he is Julie's mom's favorite.  She went running outside with him and everyone had to chase after her.  We ended up buying him too.  (She would pull the trick once more with a small Figment toy this evening, and we didn't even notice it until she dropped him.  We took him back to the store.)

     During the time, Scott disappeared once more to go all the way to Toy Story Land to try to find the last two golden statues of Woody and Bo Peep (Yes, Bo Peep.  Not Buzz Lightyear.  No one knows why.)  After the long walk back there, he was told that they were actually out at the hub courtyard with the others.  He had forgotten that all of the statues were "life-size" as if the characters were real, which means that Woody and Bo Peep were the size of toys.  He went back to that area and found them and then rejoined the others.  

     They rest of the group had been waiting for "For the First Time in Forever- A Frozen Sing Along."  Julie's mother had said that if we were going to do anything today we had to do this!  Frozen is her favorite, and Julie said the sing-along parts were wonderful.  We tried to get in the theater earlier in the day but couldn't because of the crowds, so we used a Lightning Lane option for here too.  We ended up in the front rows with the wheelchair again, and Julie's mom held the stuffed Olaf through the whole thing.  There are two narrators that tell the story of Frozen and link the sing-along clips together. Emma said their dad-jokes are better then Scott's, and they were pretty funny.  The highlight, though, was when the characters themselves come out and sing.  This show seems to be a special one for the holiday season, because it had songs added from Olaf's Frozen Adventure- the Christmas special.  Julie said that wasn't part of the original she had seen with the JFK seniors.  Abby had wound down for another nap in the air conditioned theater but woke up for part of the show and enjoyed what she saw. 

     We had another Lightning Lane set up for immediately after the Frozen show.  It was our original pick from the morning- "Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway."  It is in Grauman's Chinese Theater now and took the place of the Great Movie Ride.  That ride had been one of our favorites and seemed to set the tone for the entire Hollywood Studios park, so this new Mickey ride has some big shoes to fill.  It may fall short of that, but it is quite enjoyable none the less.  It seems that Goofy has caused an explosion that pulls people into the cartoon.  The ride vehicles start as part of Goofy's train, but they soon separate and go off on their separate ways through the chaos of the cartoon.  We were a little concerned about Abby's reaction to this ride since gentler ones had her scared, but this one seemed ok for her.  Maybe it was because her friends Mickey and Minnie were there and there was lots to keep her attention in the cartoons that surrounded us.  

     Our next stop was to make our way to the new Star Wars section, Galaxy's Edge, which was new for all of us.  We had a Lightning Lane purchased for the "Rise of the Resistance" ride.  It's supposed to be spectacular.  This is one of the "Fancy rides" (as Molly from Allears.net calls them) that you have to pay extra for your Lightning Lane for, beyond even the extra that we're paying for Genii+.  Each park has one or two of these are the newest and they are the most popular of them.   It's one of the brazen money grabs that Disney is making now with the parks and it is not only infuriatingly annoying, but it also makes much of the experience a different tier based on how much you are willing to pay.  We bit the bullet and payed for an "Individual Lightning Lane" for the Rise of the Resistance.   It seemed like the right idea, since the stand-by wait time was listed as 255 minutes during the day.  What we didn't count on was the fact that the ride was down for technical issues for most of the morning.  That meant that people who had paid for earlier Lightning Lanes were now being bumped to later in the day, so that when our time came up, the so-called Lightning Lane was now a monster-sized line itself.  Our best guess was that it was probably an hour wait to get in, and with Abby and the heat and crowds today we decided it was not worth it.  (Abby couldn't ride anyway, and that meant that we would have to use the baby-swap option.  Would that mean waiting in the Lightning Lane again in order to get everyone on?)  We might not get our money back, but Julie plans to complain to Disney when we get home anyway.  [It took more than one call and a snow day after New Year's, but Julie was able to convince Disney to refund us that $80.]

     Even without riding the rides there, the Galaxy's Edge area is still worth looking around in.  It's supposed to feel like you stepped into the Star Wars universe, and often does.  Unlike Star Trek, which is all shiny and new, the Star Wars universe is supposed to feel old and lived in.  This section of the park does that well, and there are a lot of details to notice, like pieces of droids that are re-used as light fixtures or hanging on the walls.  The centerpiece of the area is the Millennium Falcon itself, which you only get to by winding through some streets and alleys.  We waited in line to get the Disney photographer to take some pictures of us there.  We looked through the shop where you can build your own droid (the wait was 3 hours to actually do it) and the creature shop which had a very Harry Potter vibe to it.   Julie refused to drink the blue milk, but Scott did buy some popcorn with blue butter on it and a Diet Coke in a can that is shaped like a thermal detonator.   

     It was after 6:00 and we went back to the ABC Commissary for dinner.  Scott got his drink in a souvenir Darth Vader "stein" (although it is made of plastic).  Emma's dessert was a chocolate mousse with a chocolate 50th anniversary medallion.  So far, she says her favorite dessert was the one at Gaston's yesterday, but there are many more to come at Epcot tomorrow.

     We were all pretty tired, so we went shopping in the area around Hollywood Boulevard (this park's version of Main Street, USA).  Our big purchase here was a surprise for Anna.  No spoilers here, but we finally found what we were looking for in her size.  

    We took the Skyliner back to the resort, and Scott walked Abby with the stroller while the others waited for the shuttle bus.  Scott opened the door and parked the stroller over a small thin leaf that he noticed and started to try to get himself and Abby comfortable in the room.  When Julie arrived, she ended up taking a closer look at the "leaf" and realized it was not a leaf at all but one of the small thin lizards that run around the sidewalks here.   Scott had the job of "yeeting" it out the door with some straws.  It took two tries, and it didn't move, so we assume it was dead, but then again, we couldn't find it after it was outside.

    The other big problem was that Scott had apparently lost the pre-paid Master Card that we had been using.  When we left home, it had been loaded up with more than $1,000.  We have been using it since then, so it was significantly less than that now, but still was a substantial amount.  Julie's mom helped us call and cancel that card and order a new one.  We aren't in too much of a spot because we have other ways to pay for things for the next two days, including cash, but Scott certainly feels bad and is very embarrassed and frustrated that he did such bone-headed thing.