There aren’t a lot of things at Hollywood Studios that really require a fastpass. I divided ours up and did 2 fp for Zach and Kye to ride Star Tours twice (I had a FP for Britt and I for it for one of the times and we just swapped out bands). I also did one for Frozen Sing A Long (totally not needed) and for Toy Story Mania. We would have LOVED to ride Toy Story Mania twice b/c it’s a family favorite but since we had to use our park opening time for the Jedi Training sign up we had to be happy with just one ride with our fast passes!
Zach was SUPER sweet and grabbed Tess from me while we were in line. He told me he’d ride with the girls so I could ride with Kye 😉 I don’t get to have a lot of “Kye time” at Disney so this was super thoughtful of Zach!
We did a combined score competition. Me and Kye vs Zach, Britt and Tess. We won! Whoop whoop!
For our HS day we did a “open to close” day. We got to the park an hour before it opened and didn’t leave until it closed! It was the first time doing this with Tess (skipping nap and staying up late!) but when we go for shorter visits I def like to maximize park time as much as possible.
I thought it’d be fun this trip to try out some restaurants at HS. The Annual Passholder discount is SO great to have and it makes dining on property more affordable so why not try out some places? We packed the kids food to cut down on costs but Zach and I both bought our lunch and dinner at restaurants in the park. That way we all had the experience and we also got to try some of the food!
Lunch at Prime Time Cafe!
The atmosphere here is like an old school home/diner in the 50s. It was awesome! While Zach and I were born much later than the 1950’s it still was a great conversation starter with the kids.
We checked out the menu and decided what to order because we had a good bit of a wait. I learned on this day that in the future to make sure to alot MUCH more time to meal time when dining in a table service restaurant within the parks. Even with a reservation you do have to wait to be seated (we waited over 20 min here before we got our table). I had planned for us to be there for an hour but really a solid 90 min is a smarter bet when planning! (I think 60 is more than enough for quick service plans though as you tend to eat quick when people are swarming around hunting for a table haha)
Tess was all about the black and white tv! It was neat seeing the old school Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes too!
Britt…always bringing the drama 😉
Kye sat back and relaxed and Britt kept serving him water to drink. We told them that’s VERY 1950’s haha
She was so cute dancing to the songs on the tv!
I mentioned this last post but here is where I got all the outfits:
Jane TargetGyspy Kids on FB Kohls
At this restaurant the waitresses and waiters are supposed to be really silly and make you have punishments and make you eat your vegetables. That’s the kind of stuff Zach and I LOVE and were looking forward to experiencing. The waiter at the tables near ours was awesome but we didn’t get lucky in that department. Our waitress said a few funny things but wasn’t really into it like we would have liked! Britt was ALL about it though and we tried to amp it up at our table about the rules and the elbows off the table and such. Britt was so nervous about breaking any rules 😉
I heard that the fried chicken was the best thing on the menu so Zach and I both ordered it! It was DELICIOUS! By ordering two adult meals we had plenty to share with the kids too (they all love some fried chicken…I mean who doesn’t?). Our waitress didn’t even bat an eyelash about us having our own food for the kids either.
The cupcake was super cute they brought for Kye!
On our way out Kye found an awesome hidden Mickey on the ground!
We also ran into a man who looked JUST like Santa. He was dressed in all red and had the long white beard and everything. I had noticed him before we went in the restaurant and saw that he was giving out something to people who talked to him so I knew he was probably comfortable with being referred to as Santa (I mean rocking a beard like that and wearing all red to a kids theme park you gotta expect it!). We talked to him and he said “ho ho ho” and everything. He gave each of the kids a penny with a cut out of a cross in the center. Which I LOVED! I love that so many people use Disney as a mission field. It’s a great place to really have an impact on a lot of people (My favorite is the Jesus messages in the sky. SO awesome). Tess especially loved the Santa meet and greet and kept her penny all day long!
We have met the Jawas at Launch Bay before but this time I came prepared with items to trade with them. I bought plastic jewel rings and glow sticks for the kids to give to them to trade. Honestly, I think it’s super random and that they mostly just trade with stuff they have been given. Each of our kids gave them the same things and Britt got a rock and a broken key chain. Kye got a gemstone and a random pin (not like a Disney pin). Tess got a pink necklace. None of the kids minded what they got, and were just happy to have the experience of the trade! Tess especially LOVED the Jawas. She kept talking about them the rest of our day and kept saying how the Jawa’s gave her a necklace 🙂 So cute!
I mentioned in my “How We Afford Disney” post about the Disney Chase credit card. I don’t use it to buy anything, I only have it for the deals associated with it and the main one being the special character meet and greets. We were able to just walk right in to meet Kylo Ren with only one group in front of us. Tess was so funny in the line because we could hear the “bad guy music” and she kept saying “Shhh shhh fight!”
Kye had brought his light saber to the parks and wanted to have it with him when he met Kylo for the photo. He knew not to actually attack Kylo or anything like that with it. He had it in his hands in line and it was SO great how they handled it. I didn’t think about it until that very moment but duh a ton of kids probably bring light sabers with them with plans to defeat Kylo Ren. Kylo greeted us from the line and looked right at Kye and took the light saber out of his hands and handed it to the cast member. It was a smooth transition and an easy one to avoid any potential issues with it. Very smart!
Britt had big plans for this meet and greet. Last time around she was terrified (and it made for some pretty great pics haha) but this time she said she was going to be super brave and act like a Storm Trooper (Britt hasn’t seen any of the movies and gets SUPER confused about characters. I think she thinks Storm Troopers are good guys. She also calls Kylo Ren Han Solo ha!).
Tess was also super awesome during this experience. Leading up to it she said she was ready to fight and when we entered the room to meet him she ran RIGHT up to him. Talked to him face to face with ZERO hesitation or fear! I’m so thankful I happened to have my phone out and captured it on video. I love how fearless she is!
As we were leaving Kylo Ren we ran into our buddies the Storm Troopers again and the girls were all about talking to them. They probably aren’t used to such young girls thinking they are approachable while holding guns haha. Tess told them all about how the Jawas gave her a necklace too!
Since they took down the sorcerer hat at Hollywood Studios I’m not really sure what the new “landmark” for the park is supposed to be? I see a lot of merchandise with the Chinese Theater on it so maybe that’s it? But I’m just as happy with this sign haha
We’ve got the force!
I love that our photo pass guy took the time to get some individuals of Kye after noticing his birthday button!
We don’t typically do stage shows but when our goal is “everything Star Wars” and they have a Star Wars stage show then you gotta go for it! We had some time to wait before it started and it was funny hearing the other dad’s in the crowd talk about Star Wars. Zach liked it as a kid, but def wasn’t hardcore into it or anything. It really is neat though that Disney bought the franchise because I can share my childhood love of Ariel with Britt and Tess and now dads are able to share their childhood memories of Star Wars with their kids too at the parks! I know a lot of people aren’t really big fans of the purchase but we’re thankful for it! We decided to show Kye Star Wars movies because Disney purchased it. It’s the perfect way to keep him loving Disney visits for years and years to come! This particular stage show is called Star Wars: A Galaxy Far Far Away and is a GREAT for Star Wars fans to get to see all of their favorite characters.
Kye made fast friends with another little boy and loved having me text in answers to the screen questions!
BB8 was our favorite, of course!
Kye was precious about seeing the characters and waved bye to them 🙂
The guys went to use their second fast pass for Star Tours and this girl was being super silly in the stroller!
While the boys were away the girls and I went on a “Secret Mission” and bought Kye a special BB8 cup to surprise him for his real birthday the next day. It cost the same ($10) either empty or full so, duh, I went with full 😉 I did orange Fanta as I don’t like much soda and I don’t like the kids to have it either. I tried to work my magic for a discount on the cup but that didn’t happen…
but they did hook us up with a free box of popcorn! Whoop whoop! We set up shop by the bathrooms so we could hit them up to clean out his cup when we were done and have time to hide it before the boys got back.
Tess instantly claimed the popcorn as “hers” haha
And proceeded to spill it all over the place. Both girls kept eating some from the box and then spilling like 10 times that amount onto the ground. What was even funnier was that they kept eating it off the ground rather than from the box. I kept trying to stop them from eating it but then just gave up. An older man was waiting on his wife and watching the whole thing and seeing them brought him such joy, why stop it? Dirt builds immunities anyways right? And there are no such thing as germs at Disney haha
I tried to avoid giving Tess any of the Fanta but as soon as we were in the bathroom stall she snatched up that cup and went for it haha. I had to rip it out of her hands to wash it out!
The March of the First Order took place again while we were waiting on the guys and the girls were INTO IT. They had their storm trooper marches down!
Ready to fight 😉
We had a fast pass for Frozen sing a long which was totally not needed but it did make it less stressful about worrying with the line. The guys got there in plenty of time and we headed on in!
The Frozen Sing A Long show is FABULOUS. Both times we’ve seen it we have LOVED it. It’s different every time with fresh jokes that WILL have you laughing out loud. Even if you don’t have a Frozen fan in your family (and c’mon who doesn’t love Frozen?!?!) it’s worth seeing!
No nap and still as happy as could be at 5 pm! This girl is just meant for Disney! It made me SO SO HAPPY to see her able to fully enjoy the parks on this trip. While her first trip was awesome, of course, this was even better because she felt 100% and acted like it too! She was SO FUN.
For dinner I booked us Sci-Fi Dine In. I debated canceling either 50’s Prime Time or the Sci-Fi but I heard such great reviews about both that I thought we should try em! YOLO right?
The girls were being super silly and cute while we waited for our table.
I haven’t even mentioned the weather but it was seriously perfection. I can’t ever think of another time that the weather has been that flawless for us. It was a zero percent chance of rain (we didn’t even bring rain gear which is SO crazy for me…living on that wild side ha!) and was warm but not hot with just the right amount of wind. Flawless.
Crowds were also great. We went on the first Friday in March so it’s a time I will have to remember for future planning. We didn’t have any issues with crowds or any hardcore long lines or anything all day.
Enjoying a moment with my man!
Sci-Fi Dine-In is simply amazing. You get to sit in old cars and watch old movies while you eat. Even better? You get to enjoy time with your husband completely alone while the kids sit in the front seat like little zombies with their eyes glued to the screen 😉 If you’re wanting a lot of meal interactions with the people in your party then this isn’t the place to go. It’s dark and you are all facing forward and the movie is pretty loud. But if you’ve been with family all day long at the park and need a little break? It’s perfection. We were in the second group and didn’t mind a little quality back seat time together 😉
They have great options for kids! We let Kye order something as he had expressed to me being disappointed at lunch that he had to eat food we brought in. Kye is like his daddy when it comes to food: he loves it!
So cool hearing Walt himself talk!
All the film clips were very family appropriate and silly in nature.
I got an appetizer as my meal and it was delicious. I make a crock pot spinach and artichoke dip at home and this was very similar to that!
Zach also liked his burger and we heard the shakes are MUST HAVE so we each ordered one 😉 Mine was better (oreo!) but both were good!
Stealing sips 😉
The kids meal came with a dessert AND we had the cupcake for Kye’s birthday so it worked out really well for everyone to get a little something sweet!
After dinner we went back to launch bay in hopes of meeting Chewbacca. I struggle with character meetings that don’t have posted wait times because who knows how long you’ll be in line waiting! I was hoping that later in the day would work to our advantage and it did! It was actually during the Star Wars dessert party and I think we just lucked out that the desserts had just been served so everyone was eating and not meeting Chewy. 🙂
I took three vidoes of our experience: 1, 2, and 3.
Tall characters always bond with Zach 😉
Chewbacca was a fabulous meet and greet. He was so fun and SO SOFT! We all loved him and Tess especially kept saying “Chewbacca.”
When we came last time to Hollywood Studios they had several xbox games set up in the Launch Bay area. Kye was REALLY drawn to them and wanted to stay and play longer so I told him on his birthday trip that we would spend as much time as he wanted playing the games. They have actually moved the games from the Launch Bay to the exit of Star Wars: Path of the Jedi. We opted to skip Path of the Jedi (it’s a movie and since Kye’s seen them all and since the girls haven’t seen any of them we didn’t think it was necessary) and this gave Kye PLENTY of game play time. Zach stayed to get spots for the Star Wars fireworks show and I went with all three kids to the video game area. It was pretty much empty and was just some chill downtime.
Right when we got there Tess declared she had to “tee tee” so we all raced to the bathrooms. Then we got back and she declared she had to “poo poo” so we had to race BACK to the bathrooms again. It was pretty hilarious and we kept passing our friend, Greer, from earlier in the day. Of course we got to the bathroom and Tess didn’t in fact have to poop anyways 😉
Britt did excellent all day with the bathrooms. She likes to go in her own stall so I take Tess in one and Britt goes beside us and then waits by the sinks for us to finish (I don’t do this most places…usually I make her go in the stall with me but in places I feel safe I allow her to have her own stall). All day she was a bathroom attendant and kept helping others get their paper towels and such while she waited for us. So sweet!
Greer came in to visit with us and help us figure out the games! And, of course, get a picture as she’s Britt’s new bff. Tess made friends with Kylo Ren and Chewbacca but Britt’s new friend of the day was Greer 😉
The girls weren’t too into the games so they ran around and played instead. It was pretty adorable! It was also 7:00ish by this point and Tess was still going strong!
Lower crowd times and winter nights usually mean earlier closing times for the parks. This would probably be a negative if we had older kids…but right now we don’t mind an earlier close time because that means earlier fireworks and earlier to bed! Hollywood Studios has two night shows right now: Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular and Fantasmic! I’ve never seen Fantasmic and would like to at some point but obviously we went with the Star Wars option.
Light sticks quickly turned into light sabers 😉
The show was super awesome! We all LOVED it and Zach said it was one of the favorite parts of his day because Tess was really adorable and kept using her glow stick as the light saber and saying she was going to fight the bad guys 😉
From start to finish it was a FLAWLESS park day. We all had SO MUCH FUN and declared it our favorite Disney day OF ALL TIME. Going into it I was a tad nervous about how the Star Wars themed day would go. The girls haven’t seen the movies. They don’t know the characters. But they loved every single thing. It really goes to show how much the merchandise and marketing plays a role in the franchise! Star Wars land isn’t even open yet (or close to it) and the Star Wars presence in the park is already super great and we were impressed with all of it. I can’t even begin to imagine how awesome it’ll be when all of that opens! We will for sure have to have another full Star Wars day then! It was just so great having such a fun filled yet also chill day as a family. It was the perfect weather. Perfect crowd level (I mean we’ve had less crowded days but those are a thing of the past). Perfect flow of timing for everything. The perfect balance of planned events yet also chill time. All three kids were in flawless moods. Britt never complained and was adorable all day. Tess was pure joy and never had any meltdowns or issues or potty accidents or even acted sleepy. Kye was on cloud nine and soaked in every second. We seriously couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day and it’s the one that all future Disney days will be compared to!
Tess went hard ALL day long and then crashed as soon as we got in the car 🙂
It was Kye’s last day of being 7 and it was pretty darn perfect!
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My work has been featured on Love What Matters, Today Parenting and Babywise.Life. I'm also honored to be a member of the Babywise Friendly Blog Network.
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