The Nomad Family has visited two different Disney parks this month. The first one being Hollywood Studios. There are thousands of articles, posts and advertisements for Disney and Hollywood Studios. So, my objective is to relay our experience there, mainly through imagery and hopefully impart at least one thing that other sites may have overlooked. So without further ado, off to the studios we go.
We will begin with relaying some helpful information we learned. Hollywood Studios is mainly based upon shows and character interactions. They have some rides. But they are fewer than other parks. So, it is our suggestion that either before you go or first thing when you arrive that you sign-up for fast passes to the three rides that fill up the fastest: Rock N Roller Coaster, Toy Story and The Tower of Terror.
The next tip is that as soon as you ride them all, go to a Fast Pass kiosk (they are in multiple places) and sign up for the last show of the evening for Fantasmic. You cannot have more than 3 fast passes at one time and you have to use them all before you can add another one. Fantasmic is a show worth seeing. As such, EVERYONE wants to see it. With a Fast Pass and going to the last showing, you will not wait as long and your seating will be easier to grab that perfect spot.
Last tip we found very helpful was to bring backpacks, hard sided water bottles and a freezer bag of snacks for each member of the family. We brought summer sausage, Cliff Bars, trail mix, an assortment of vegetables, potato chips and pepperoni. I would NOT suggest the pepperoni. It is greasy and easily gets all over you. You have to use a ton of napkins each time you get it out. The park has water fountains at each bathroom. With hard sided water bottles you can refill and stay hydrated all day.
Those are our basic tips. Now to the visual representation of our experience. Enjoy!
Daddy and Mama Nomad riding the tram into the park.
Mama Nomad and the boys on main street.
Giant ATAT Walker outside of Star Tours.
C3P0 inside star tours.
R2D2 inside Star Tours.
This was one funny robot. No name but he made us chuckle.
Mama Nomad was happy to get to Honey I Shrink The Kids.
The boys in front of giant mushrooms.
Trevor playing around in the multi-story netted building.
Yep. That is our eldest sliding out of a broken pipe.
Even Daddy Nomad had to play.
Fantastic backdrop of a street in San Francisco. From far away it looked real.
10 Rules of Comedy at Monsters Inc.
The Nomads posing with Mike and Sulley. These two were funny characters.
Ethan posing in Olaf’s Playground. Great place to duck in from the heat outside.
Trevor playing in the snow at Olaf’s Playground.
Olaf’s playground was filled with actual snow for the kids to play in.
The auditorium for The Frozen Show.
This was a big scrabble board outside of the toy Story ride. If you look at the green army man hanging from the bottom, you will notice he has the letters “ME” in his hands to complete the phrase.
Noah loved Toy Story as a kid. He still does. Couldn’t pass up Pizza Planet without checking it out. Spoiler Alert – there is no machine with the claw and the little green men.
Ethan likes to do magic. What better than a giant playing card.
Inside the toy Story ride were many full sized toys. By full sized, I mean as big as people. But this Etch A Sketch constantly drew new things. It was entertaining.
These full sized green army men would follow you, pose with you, and I even saw one run off with a lady’s phone and start taking selfies with it.
Trevor with two of his favorite characters, Phineas and Ferb.
The whole Nomad Family with Phineas and Ferb…we like to watch them too.
This is an excellent show to watch. It gives you insight into how they do stunts and better appreciation for all of the stunts that are done in movies.
This is the building where they explain how they go through the animation process.
Mr. Incredible admiring Daddy Nomad’s guns! And then, shortly after, he flexed his and laughed.
The Nomads with Frozone and Mr. Incredible.
This was the door you went through to get on the ride. Does not give you much confidence.
This was a snapshot that the automatic cameras took while we were on the Tower of Terror ride. Look to the back right and you will see Ethan holding on, Noah laughing at Mama Nomad, Mama Nomad letting EVERYONE know she is on the ride, Daddy Nomad laughing as well and Trevor nervously laughing not knowing whether things are real or not. It was a blast!
The electric guitar outside of the rock N Roller Coaster ride. It was cool looking all lit up at night.
The river boat at the end of the Fantasmic Show. It had all of the storybook characters on it.
Freddy Kruger’s knife glove seen inside Planet Hollywood.
The Terminator inside Planet Hollywood.
This was a cardboard cutout by the front gate that I saw at the end of the night. So, I took a selfie with me and Bo…he was smiling, didn’t stink and didn’t seem to mind.
Sorcerer Mickey and his enchanted brooms out front of Hollywood Studios.
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About Chase
The patriarch of the family and Daddy Nomad. Chase loves spending time with his family, traveling, outdoor activities, good movies and TV shows, business and creative projects. He is an entrepreneurial businessman and investor who specializes in international business strategy and tactics.
Great pics….loved them all!!
Great! Glad you did! Stay tuned for more adventures.
We have never been to a Disney park yet. Looks like great fun!! Great tips on fast passes and what to bring, thanks! 🙂
Maria – It was very fun. depending upon your preference, Disney has a park to suit your wants. We went to Hollywood Studios and The Magic Kingdom (post to come) this time. however the family has been to them all one time in the past. If you time it right, the crowds are not as bad as they are other times of the year. Glad you found value in our tips! More to come in our future adventures!
My little one is due this month and these are the things I look forward to – I hope he likes them…
First…congratulations! Second…if you wait until he is tall enough to ride all of the rides, he will enjoy the park a lot more, in my humble opinion.
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ahhhh fun! I only spent one insane day in disney running around the animal and magic kingdom. I’m hoping to go back for a weekend over the winter and see more 🙂
Hannah – It was great fun. We have found that you need to dedicate at least one day to one park in order to take full advantage. And, sometimes even two days. Hope you have fun when you go back in winter!
I’ve never been to this park in Disney but it looks like so much fun! Even for us bigger kids 🙂
Britany – It was very fun for the younger and us bigger kids. It is a Disney Park I would recommend visiting.