Bricker Family Disney World Trip Report — Pt 3
After a great second day at Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios was the next stop on our Walt Disney World vacation with my parents. I know the question on everyone’s mind right now: could DHS pull off a tremendous “upset” victory, and somehow surpass our exceptional Epcot experience???
No, of course not. Don’t be crazy. As I shared in our “That’s a Wrap!” tribute post, the Disney-MGM Studios was my parents’ favorite park when I was younger. We spent an inordinate amount of time there, even as the fledgling park was trying to find its footing.
The era of the Disney-MGM Studios ended some time ago, and if I were to name off the studios’ attractions that most stick in my memory from childhood, almost all of them now fall in the extinct category. While most Disney fans lament the loss of EPCOT Center classics, I’d say the changes at Walt Disney World’s third gate have more profoundly changed it…
While the entrance is the same, this is not the same park that opened in 1989.
The key difference between it and EPCOT Center of yesteryear is probably that nothing that’s truly a classic has disappeared at the Studios. Sure, the loss of the Backlot Tour is significant, but the way it was slowly neutered over time made that less impactful than if it were to suddenly close overnight.
Other favorites of ours, like SuperStar Television, fizzled out over time as they were not refreshed with new source material.
While I look back at these two attractions fondly (and even weird stuff, like shows featuring Dick Tracey, Goosebumps, and the Rocketeer–note that these were all separate shows…although it would’ve been pretty cool if they were somehow integrated into one), I don’t feel the same sense of loss for them as I do the original Journey into Imagination at EPCOT Center.
Moreover, for many longtime fans, I think there’s a sense of optimism with Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Investments in the park are long overdue, but they’re finally happening–and on a large scale.
Aside from the hardcore folks who feel Star Wars has no place in Disney parks (nevermind the fact that ship sailed with the 1987 opening of Star Tours at Disneyland), most people are optimistic about the direction Disney’s Hollywood Studios is going.
Suffice to say, even though Disney’s Hollywood Studios is in that awkward teenage phase (nevermind that it’s older than a teenager…I guess you could say it was a ‘late bloomer’ 😉 ), I’m still pretty enthusiastic about its future.
That contrasts with Epcot, where I think most fans (myself included) are desperately clinging to the past, knowing there is no brighter future. (At least as far as our interests are concerned.)
Okay, so that’s a pretty heavy introduction. How about a bit of levity with the above photo?
I had run off from everyone else. My parents were shopping and I think Sarah was getting coffee. I saw an opportunity to photograph a beautiful sky with low crowds.
So, I set my camera on the ground, angled up with the fisheye lens attached. There was only one problem, which I’ll let you discover for yourself… (Actually, the photo wouldn’t have been any good regardless, so I guess there were multiple problems.)
Having no success with that photo, I headed off to the side for a unique side view of Grauman’s Chinese Theater.
This was probably the first time in 3-4 years that we’ve gotten the Cowboy scene on Great Movie Ride. With rumors of the Great Mickey Ride replacing Great Movie Ride, I can’t help but wonder whether this is the last time we’ll ever see this scene.
The Aliens scene used to terrify me as a kid. Now, I chuckle as it startles first-timers. This might seem mean, but I’m sure this made me cry at some point, so consider it “empathy laughter.” 😉
Great Movie Ride is still a must-do for us, but my position on it has softened over the years. If you go through our back-catalog of trip reports, you’ll likely find some ardent defenses of the attraction.
Even in the last 10 years, I don’t think Great Movie Ride has aged well. The TCM deal gave it a temporary shot in the arm, but if the attraction is going to last another decade, it needs a rethinking.
I don’t think it’ll receive that–I think the Great Mickey Ride will come to fruition. While that will be another ‘end of an era’ for the park, it’s probably the right direction, particularly if the replacement does feature Mickey Mouse.
For lunch, we had made a surprise ADR for my parents at 50’s Prime Time Cafe.
This was another mainstay of our family visits as a kid. I don’t recall whether we ate here every trip or if the premise of the restaurant just made it stick out in my head, but it’s one of the more memorable experiences we had on family vacations.
Despite our ADR, we waited forever to be seated at 50’s Prime Time Cafe. This is one of the things I really dislike about this restaurant–long waits seem to be a regular thing.
Some of you asked in the previous installment of the trip report where my dad’s dog goes when we do attractions or eat. The answer is with him.
There are some attractions that either cannot accommodate this, or on which it’d be unpleasant for the dog, but almost all of those would also be unpleasant for him, too, so this tends not to be an issue.
In restaurants, we let them know in advance that we would have a service dog, so they could plan accordingly. Usually, this meant being seated in a corner or away from crowds, which is a win for all parties involved.
On a semi-related note, the previous day at Via Napoli, I had let them know about the service dog at the podium, and they initially tried seating us right by the entrance in a heavy traffic spot. I reminded the host we had a service dog (which was plainly obvious, I was just trying to be polite), who then seated us in a less in-the-way spot, but still in a crowded location, which was particularly odd since half the restaurant was empty and there were plenty of far more out-of-the-way tables.
On another semi-related note, I’ll echo the remarks other commenters made about Via Napoli: our experience with service there has been poor most of the time. I rarely make a note of service in Walt Disney World restaurant reviews since it’s so inconsistent, but Via Napoli is a consistent offender.
I chalk this up to service being fairly poor in Europe, generally. It’s something we’re willing to tolerate because the pizza is delicious. Look at it this way: you’re getting an authentic European experience–poor service makes it just like being there. (Seriously, at a good 75% of table service meals we’ve had in Europe, the server acts like our very presence is a burden.)
As compared to that Via Napoli meal, this food at 50’s Prime Time Cafe was somewhat of a disappointment.
We love the whole experience of 50’s Prime Time Cafe (and would still recommend it), but the food was mostly just okay, and the final bill was over double what our Via Napoli meal cost.
Not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison since we got milkshakes and an appetizer at 50’s Prime Time Cafe, though.
Mom’s Old-fashioned Pot Roast was the highlight of the meal. Perfectly tender, slightly fatty, and great flavor. I’d get this again, for sure.
The chicken was, of course, delicious as always.
We’ll have to update our 50’s Prime Time Cafe Review soon based on this experience…
The meal was ultimately worth the cost, if only to watch my dad interact with our server. As she put on her performance, he ‘matched wits’ with her perfectly.
I told my dad after the meal that through his sterling combination of natural orneriness and penchant for corny dad jokes, he would be perfect for working at 50’s Prime Time Cafe…and he wouldn’t even need to act. (If you want to blame anyone for this blog’s corny comedic stylings, he’s probably the main culprit.)
After lunch, we stopped at a nearby shopping stand, where I snapped this little gem.
DAD, THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR POSTING MY BABY PHOTOS ON FACEBOOK AND TAGGING ME IN THEM FOR ALL MY FRIENDS TO SEE. 😉 On Page 2, we’ll continue with the rest of the afternoon at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and evening at Epcot.
I love this series so much!
The skies were amazing all day, and the low-crowd Hollywood Studios with such clear, crisp skies… heaven!
Tom, how do you and your wife always manage to look so cool, calm, and collected in your photos? In mine, I usually look stressed, hot, and tired. Amazing blog, by the way.
Haha, we have *plenty* of photos like that, we just don’t post them! My face tends to get pretty red from the heat, so we try to take photos early in the day or late at night (when it has cooled off) and that also helps with looking a bit better than during the height of the midday sun.
Tom,
I love the family style report, Its always nice to see how someone else vacations with their parents, and what is planned vs sporadic. We have a family trip coming up in December, and we are just starting the planning, and its nice to be able to get a pulse check on the different parks, and what might be good or bad use of our time ( Hollywood studios?). This is also my first time during the holiday season and want to make sure i get plenty of the Christmas atmosphere soaked in. I am also eager to see how much advanced planned we need to do for animal kingdom and world of Pandora, since we are not the biggest fan of advanced fast pass reservations etc except for dining.
On another topic i was considering renting the D750 for this trip to try it before i buy it kind of thing, any input ? since Nikon just announced the new D7500. I originally started on this blog for photography write ups so i still value those any your opinion and look forward to your write ups since they are real world and not lab charts.
Nov 2015 was my first time on The Great Movie Ride, I thought it was great and am sad to the fact it might go away.
Now if you ask my 2 daughters (then 7 and 9) TGMR was the worst part of the trip. All was going well until the cowboy shootout and explosion. Both girls bawling in my wife’s lap, her skirt soaked with tears. Then of course right after is the Alien part. More tears.
Bummer its going away though
Hi tom. Long time listener, first time caller! Why does your dad have a service dog? I’m so glad Disney is accommodating for such!! Does he ever get to ride the the rides?
I think in part 2 he talks about it (not the why), but that his dad’s dog goes everywhere that he goes (even on rides). So generally if it’s a ride that the dog can’t go on, his dad doesn’t go either.
While I do love Great Movie Ride, I think it is just nostalgia for how it USED to be. When we went in January it was so bad it was just depressing. So many of the props that used to line the queue, as well as the original film they showed (“Ethan, No you don’t!”) are all gone now. Our cast member “actor” was also terrible. We had the gangster version, and the lady wasn’t even into it, and also could hardly move around so climbing up the stairs during the Temple of Doom scene was just sad to watch. My point is, I would be excited for “Great Mickey Ride” if they did it right, because what they have going on right now is just insulting to how awesome it used to be (basically the story of MGM, oops I mean Hollywood Studios life right now).
I was really surprised about your experience of service in Europe as we always find servers in France (apart from majority of Parisian restaurants) and Italy excellent. However I then realised you will be looking at it from an American pov and I’m looking at it from a UK pov! Generally service in the UK is not good and not overly friendly whereas we find servers on the continent actually take pride in a decent service (plus it’s servi compris usually so no tipping). However, compared to the super friendly “working the tip” approach in the US I could see how anything else would seem lacklustre! Have to say the worst attitudes we find in Epcot are Paris/France but that always makes us chuckle! Frozen-land err I mean Norway was also a bit weird last time too.
Really enjoying this trip report – thank you. We only have one Epcot evening EMH on our next trip and it’s also the best night for us to do MNSSHP so we’ll be missing it but can’t have everything!
You gotta get yourself a remote control for your dslr, lessens the need for the self-timer sprinT
Great recap and perfect timing for us as we are heading to Disney World in two weeks 🙂 My Daughter is 4 and her number one request is to meet Moana who I heard is at Hollywood Studios. Was she still there when you guys went and if so did you happen to notice how the wait times were? Any tips on getting to see her? I’m really hoping I won’t have to wait a crazy amount of time with a 4 year old and my 2 year old! Thanks and I love your blog! 🙂
Looks like Moana will be gone from DHS soon: https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney.go.com/question/character-meet-moana-331378/
But, maybe they will move her?
Thanks! Bummer my daughter will definitely be disappointed hopefully they will move her to MK…
We waited about 45 minutes for Moana last week. She is at the back of the Walt Disney museum.
not being a photographer myself I am mind-boggled at ‘This photo is a 157 second exposure’ if it means the shutter is open for that duration. That’s pinhole camera stuff! (science project with daughter years ago).
Loving the “wonder if I can pull this off” fisheye shot smile/frown. Gotta show us the pearly whites
I’ve been reading your site since its beginning and this has been my favorite trip report in a long time. It is akin to your older reports that oozed genuine excitement for the Florida parks (along with valid constructional criticism) and made you seem more like a tourist and less like a blogger. Can’t wait for part 4!
I totally agree with this ^^^
Your photographs are just stunning in this article (well, in ALL your articles – but this one just hit me!) I found myself wanting to hit “like” under each of them and then realizing I wasn’t on FB! Thank you so very much for sharing your talents of photography and storytelling with us!
Loving the trip report! So jealous of the photo you got of the Alien portion of TGMR. I’ve tried to get a decent shot of that scene every trip for the past 3 years and have not once been successful!
This is the best luck I’ve had with that scene and it was thanks to a freak flash of light (from the scene, not me). Keep trying!
I found myself constantly nodding in agreement while reading this report! So many of my childhood Disney memories are the same – 50’s Primetime Cafe, Sunshine Seasons, and everything about the old MGM Studios. I’m so excited for the new Star Wars and Toy Story lands, but fear I will always hold a grudge if a Mickey ride replaces the Great Movie Ride. It definitely needs a refresh but I’d be sad to see a classic attraction dedicated to old Hollywood replaced in a park named Hollywood Studios!
I dunno…if they do a ‘Great Mickey Ride’ right and invest money into making that a flagship attraction, I think even the most die-hard Great Movie Ride fans will love it. It’s pretty crazy Mickey Mouse doesn’t have a headliner attraction already, IMO.
The photo display at the end of Living with the Land is one I am oddly attached to and, although people I’ve visited the park with have said they wish it would be updated, would be upset to see changed. It’s weird what we get attached to!
Haha, yep, it is. Such is the nature of being a Disney fan, I suppose!
For longer exposures are you using a collapsible tripod or something like the greenpod? Heading to WDW next month after a bit of a hiatus and wasn’t sure if security has begun cracking down on tripods?
Full sized travel tripod for all of the longer exposures here. So long as it can collapse small enough to fit in a normal sized backpack, you shouldn’t have any issues. (Emphasis on “shouldn’t.”)
Ya know…I must be the only one who got solid service visiting Europe. At first I thought “I’m sure the Adventures people greased some wheels” but the more I thought about it…even when I was on my own, I encountered very gracious service.
There is this guy in Prague that deserves a darn medal for patience. It never occurred to me that a decent working knowledge of another country’s money doesn’t magically grant an understanding of numbers in their language.
We worked it out with a smile and his grilled chicken sandwich was amazing.
Actually, by and large, we’ve had positive service experiences in Europe–even in France. What we’ve had more than negative or positive ones are situations that are just passable. I think this really comes down to cultural perspectives concerning service, among other things. At the end of the day, so long as the food is good, I really don’t care.
With Adventures by Disney, you’re definitely getting places that are going to treat Americans better, so that’s at least part of your solid service.
Oh I don’t disagree about ABD but the time on our own we felt well cared for…well maybe not one particular hostess in Cesky Krumlov but we had sushi in Vienna for some Inception level language barriers.
I’ve only done the DHS-Epcot walk once, but enjoyed it.
Google some of the hints how to unlock higher scoring targets in TSMM. Then you will dominate Sarah and you can enjoy the ride again. 🙂
Sunshine seasons has so much on the menu. Try switching it up and getting one of the stir frys! Really delicious.
Yeah, I’m probably due to try something new there. I recognize this is an “it’s me” situation, as Sunshine Seasons still has excellent cuisine.