On arrival, the gates didn't seem as crowded as last year. We had arrived about 8:35 so had a bit of a wait until 'rope drop' but we were soon in the park and charging towards our first ride of the day.
Now we had already booked Fast Passes for Toy Story Mania, The Frozen Sing-Along and Lights! Motors! Action! so we knew we were able to focus on other rides first. Matthew really likes the Star Wars ride Star Tours so we headed there. After zero queue we boarded the ride and got to visit Tatooine (where we took part in a pod race) and then a space battle between the Empire and the Rebellion. A pretty good couple of destinations. I looked round the shop whilst Matthew and Clare rode again (Tatooine and Naboo).
We then strolled leisurely to Toy Story Mania (which was a new experience for us having previously had to run to it at rope drop) and using our Fast Passes boarded with a minimal wait. A great ride, as usual, of fair ground games inspired by Toy Story. We all had similar scores, each of us breaking 100,000 points (I won with 118,000). Pity it is one of the few quality attractions at Hollywood Studios. Disney seem to close a lot of things here, without opening others. C'mon Disney - where's Star Wars land and Cars land?
Feeling a bit peckish, we made for the Starring Rolls cafe where we were able to use our Disney Dining Plan to get three Quick Service Meals. You simply choose a drink, a yoghurt or piece of fruit and a pastry to make a Quick Service Meal (rather than have them all use up the more precious Snack credits). All the tables were busy (which is typical as it's pretty popular) so we sat on the steps in the shade. The sun was beating down from a clear blue sky and it was pretty warm. Lovely...
We then looked around some of the shops, killing time before then queuing for the Frozen Sing-Along. This was a new one for us, and Clare had been looking forward to it in particular. Once inside the theatre, there was a show retelling the Frozen movie story - pausing for the screen to be used to show the songs from Frozen with the movie with the words for everyone to sing-along to. The the two narrators were very good, pretty funny with a lot of improv, and at the end Anna and Elsa appear for the grand finale. Well worth the visit. Clare was really pleased to have gone and loved it!
We then moved on to a Brewer family favourite - the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. Spectacular as always and never gets boring for us. We were curious to know why the boulder has disappeared from the opening scene in the show? Bit of a shame, but didn't really spoil it.
We then had to move fast to get to Lights! Motors! Action! A really good car stunt show, which Matthew is a big fan of. It was good to see the stadium full as the Disney bloggers seem to give this show a bit of a kicking. We really like it, and it was good to see lots of other people enjoying it too. The car chase scenes were impressive as always and the skill of the drivers is exceptional.
After the show was over, we had a leisurely stroll to our lunch destination - 50's Prime Time Cafe. Matthew was particularly keen on this one as he loves the milkshakes. We all love the milkshakes actually! It was great to be seated in Gary's section again - he is a brilliant server and is always happy to chat and pass on tips on the best way to spend your time in the Disney parks. We had him last year and sat in the table right next to where we were last year! We ordered two sampler dishes for Clare and I and Matthew had the pork chop. In the eyes of Disney he is now an adult (he's 10!) so had to choose adult meals. We were all stuffed, so Gary bagged up our brownies we had ordered for pudding and gave us paper cups for the milkshakes. We then headed to the buses.
It had been a good visit - miles better than last year. It was getting busy, but we always seemed to be ahead of the curve and beat the queues. My initial skepticism on Fast Pass Plus was unjustified - it worked brilliantly in avoiding large queues. But I'll reserve judgement until I've used it more. The Magic Bands all worked OK (the new Disney ticketing system) - which was good. Matthew was even able to 'pay' for the meal (we had it on the Dining Plan, but he could 'sign off' on it as he was an 'adult' - weird...!). It was pretty hot, but as we were able to stroll, rather than charge about - it wasn't too bad.
Back at the hotel, we went to the Main Pool for a bit - then went to roast some marshmallows round the camp fire. Then it was Jeopardy, Wheel Of Fortune and Monday Night Football on ESPN before turning in...
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