Hollywood Studios - Day 10. 17/11/2021

 I started my morning with a Lyft to Topolino Terrace for a character breakfast which was fun and delicious and my server was wonderful. Incidentally I went to book a Individual Lightning Lane / Fancy Ride TM for Slinky Dog Dash (even though I swore I wouldn’t!) while I was waiting for my Lyft to pick me up and I watched them disappear before my eyes. They went FAST!!!

But I did grab one for Rise of the Resistance in the afternoon.

Once again I had a really happy and friendly server at Topolino’s which I think makes all the difference in any restaurant. They brought out some complimentary pastries - well not complimentary. Included in the price!

Basically because I didn’t order them! They gave me the pastries with various spreads and then I ordered the quiche on my server Nabila’s recommendation which was very tasty. A lovely cup of tea and spending some time with artist Mickey, poet Minnie, sculptor Donald and ballerina Daisy. Then they all came out together to do the celebration song. Lots of lovely fun.

I took the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios to get in line for Slinky Dog. The park had only just officially opened and the wait time was 50 minutes which was actually accurate. I asked the cast member if I needed my mask on for this ride and he let me know that Slinky Dog Dash and Alien Swirling Saucers are the only two rides in the park on which you don’t have to wear your masks because they are fully outside attractions. So I assume the same applies to the others in other parks like Mad Tea Party etc..

After Slinky I took a short walk through Batuu to my Lightning Lane on Star Tours and found Chewbacca and Rey on the way, which was cool.

Love a bit of Star Tours and I finally had a different Tour! With all the different available variations I always seem to get the same one! When I rode last week I got the exact same story as when I rode in Paris a few weeks ago!!

I booked another LL for Toy Story Mania for a couple of hours away in the hope that I’ll be able to grab a second one soon.

(Update. I could not at this point but I think I am finally getting my head around Genie+ ! Basically, once the park opens, you can book one LL every two hours. BUT if you book one at 7am you can’t book another until 2 hours after the park opens. (Because 7am / 9am is essentially the same to the app as being the first one.). So in today’s case, 11am because the park opened at 9.

You can DEFINITELY book one every two hours as long as your first one has expired or is over 2 hours away. (This might not be a hard and fast rule either because sometimes today I was able to book another even when that wasn’t the case)

For example I realised I booked Toy Story Mania during when I would be at lunch so I cancelled and at 11.04 booked a Smuggler’s Run one for 6pm. The app then said I am next eligible to book one at 1.03pm. So for now I went to see Muppets 3D because it was a short standby time and it is funny!! and then I was going to make my way to Disney Springs because that’s going to take about an hour.

Genie+ does seem complicated but it’s not really I don’t think. The best way to check when you are allowed another one is, right after you book a LL, go to try and book another one. It will pop up and tell you when you are next eligible. If you get one later in the day first, you can start to stack them up.

On my way out of the park I ran into Goofy and Max too! So cute!!

I’m sure there are easier ways to get to Disney Springs but I decided to take the boat to Beach Club resort to have a little look there and then take the bus from there to Disney Springs. I was early for my reservation (for once!) so thought it would be nice to have a little gentle jaunt rather than a mad rush. I set my alarm for 1.03pm to add another LL and did so for Tower of Terror. Then reset my alarm for 3.03pm!

Wine Bar George is really nice and relaxed. I sat at the bar and had the two things I actually planned to have - the Crispy Mac n Cheese bites and the Saganaki on fire. Both absolutely IMMENSE and delicious! Oh and a glass of Prosecco. Had to have some sort of wine in the wine bar! But I’m a wuss at day drinking lol

Next up some shopping at World of Disney. Got myself some goodies and was in and out so easily because I used Scan and Shop. I encourage you to give that a try, it’s so convenient!

I was going to try Gideon’s but I really didn’t want to wait in line for 25 minutes for a cookie. So I got the bus back to Coronado to drop off my shopping then immediately back on the bus to Hollywood to start making use of my Lightning Lane passes!

First up - FINALLY - Tower of Terror. One of my absolute favourite rides! And as I checked in to that I got my next one lined up (should mention at this point I have THREE on the go) for the Beauty and the Beast show, to fill in a gap later, but next is Rise of the Resistance. I did indeed pay for this because I believe it’s worth it.

Forgot to say - I totally mobile ordered my tea for later tonight from Woody’s Lunchbox when I was in line for Slinky this morning!

There was a Pixar character cavalcade which was fun. I didn’t manage to get pictures as I was in line for a drink but I saw the Incredibles, Sully, the army guys, Woody, Jesse and Buzz. Fun!

Rise is just SO good and here’s a little secret - at least I assume it must be a secret because when I asked a cast member she got all quiet about it! I have ridden it three times now this holiday and each time the end part of the ride has been slightly different which really took the experience up a notch for me. It’s just brilliant, even if you’re not a big Star Wars fan - it’s just a great ride!

After Rise I had to seriously go fast to make my LL entry or any entry to the last Beauty & The Beast Live on Stage show. I loved it. I cried. It was wonderful.

Had a bit of time to kill so I caught up on this blog and my instagram then went to ride Star Tours again because it’s just a 5 minute ride and I got a different run through again yay! However, stupidly just before I really was wanting a Mickey pretzel and I had one, so I felt NOT the best right after riding Star Tours!

I sat for a little to settle my stomach before walking down the now “snowy” Sunset to Rock n Roller Coaster. Snoap looks lovely, not so great directly in the face!

It is worth noting at this point: if you are on an indoor attraction and you, or anyone who might turn up on your photo with you is wearing their mask incorrectly, you will not get your photo.

I missed my photo on RnR so I asked the photo guy if he could help me retrieve it which he did. He said he couldn’t put it on my magic band for me because the two guys behind me hand pulled their masks down, but he very kindly did me a print and cropped them out of it.

A lot of walking back and forth today just to get my LLs but it was worth it. After Rock n Roller I was back to Batuu for Smuggler’s Run. I was the Engineer this time and I think I did a marvellous job considering the pilots were two little girls who kept crashing us into everything !

Back to Toy Story land after this for my pre-ordered meal from Woody’s Lunchbox. I ordered grilled cheese with tomato soup dip, potato barrels and a decaf coffee. That’s the only downside to ordering so early. You might not want what you ordered when you get there.

The other issue in this venue is the lack of seating. In fact there are very few places to sit in Toy Story land altogether!

After tea, I had my final attraction of the night, Toy Story Mania which I really enjoy playing a lot - can’t wait to get some friends and family competing against me! - and then bussed it home.

Got undressed to discover I have finally, after all this time, succumbed to the Disney rash.

Side note here too: Disney rash is a pet name for a very real, very common but harmless rash that is caused by the combination of excessive walking or exercise and hot / humid weather, which explains why mine popped up today. I haven’t really had any humidity until today and I’ve been going back and forth an awful lot.

Look up exercise-induced or golfer’s vasculitis as that is the real name for it. That way if you get it, you might not be as freaked out as I was the first time I got it. The picture of mine this time is below.

I finished off the majority of my packing, filled out my passenger locator form, checked into my flight and then got into bed.