Animal Kingdom & Hollywood Studios – 10.20.22
Today included a dance workshop, some relaxing Animal Kingdom time, and a fun visit to Hollywood Studios.
This Thursday started with a dance workshop for my girls and a visit to Animal Kingdom for me and my husband. The girls were away for about 4 hours for their workshop. My husband and I decided to go to Animal Kingdom during that time. We were mostly interested in wandering around, soaking up the atmosphere, and taking pictures. Riding the safari was also on our list, but it had a long wait and we didn’t think we would have time before we needed to leave to meet up with the kids.
We decided to first we walked the Maharajah Jungle Trek. On our way there we crossed paths with DeVine. This is a fascinating performer. She is on stilts and costumed to look like vines. DeVine moves very gracefully and blends in with the greenery of the park. We watched her for a few minutes, and then we continued our walk to the Asia section of the park. I definitely recommend keeping your eyes open to see if you can find her on your trip!
The Maharajah Jungle Trek itself is beautiful and there are many picturesque views. We also saw quite a few animals. After our trek we explored Asia a little more and wandered our way over toward Africa and then on to Discovery Island.
The next area we wanted to explore on our slow, relaxing morning was the Discovery Island Trails. We don’t often spend time to slowly walk and enjoy these paths. This area is beautiful. There are lovely views of the river. Quite a few smaller animals live in this area of the park. The trails wound us up close to, under, and past the tree of life. It is amazing. From a distance this icon of the park looks like a giant tree, but as you get closer you can see animals carved into the trunk and branches.
It was getting close to the time we needed to leave to go meet up with our girls again. I decided that we should do at least one attraction. Walking to Africa to ride the train to Rafiki’s planet watch, we saw Kevin, the bird from Up. What a fun character to happen upon! I was disappointed we saw her today and not a couple days before when our daughters were with us as she is a favorite of my younger daughter.
After our visit with Kevin, we made it to the train station and did a round trip ride. We did not disembark at Rafiki’s planet watch, but we just stayed on the train for the return trip. After our train ride, it was time for us to leave the park.
We took the bus back to our resort and met our kids when their bus arrived from their dance workshop. They needed to change clothes and put their dance things away before we headed to the park for the evening. As soon as we were ready we caught a bus and headed to Hollywood Studios.
First stop was a late lunch. Then we had an ice cream and did the 50th anniversary statue scavenger hunt while waiting for the next showing of the Frozen Ever After Sing Along. This is a great show and was our older daughter’s number one choice in this park. There are lots of frozen songs, singing, characters, and even snow. It is a very funny show also. The historians are hilarious and make the show. Our whole family enjoys it. It is fun to watch other people being surprised that they are enjoying the show too.
On our way to Toy Story Land, we saw the cavalcade pass by. These cute cars and characters make for a fun, quick parade. We rode Alien Swirling Saucers, because it didn’t have a long wait. This is a fun ride, but not one we would wait a long time for. The other rides in Toy Story Land had very long waits.
Hollywood Studios was extremely crowded at this time. It was about 5:30 in the evening, so we didn’t want to purchase genie+. The wait times were very long. We decided to walk a bit and try out the blue and green milk in Galaxy’s Edge. This was a new experience for us, and we were curious. It was a fun stop, but none of us actually liked either of the milks.
We briefly tested out the new interactive magic band+ game in Galaxy’s Edge, Bounty Hunter. It was fun to play, and we decided to play more later in our trip.
At this time we decided that we needed to just be willing to wait in line for an attraction. The other shows and character meets were already finished for the day. Our choice was Rock N Roller Coaster. We all love it, and decided if we were going to wait an hour for an attraction it should be one we love. Rock N Roller Coaster never disappoints. Such a great ride!
By now it was probably around 7:30, and the park was closing at 9:00. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway was our next stop. This is a fairly new attraction and only our second time riding it. It is so cute and fun. It’s a great attraction for everyone.
We then decided to get in line for Rise of the Resistance. This is the headliner at Hollywood Studios, and it often has long lines. The strategy we used to ride it on this trip was to get in line about 10 minutes before closing. We had to wait, but not as long as during the day. Plus the time we were waiting was time that the park was closed, so we weren’t missing out on other things. It worked well for us. The wait time was reasonable. This attraction is such a unique experience. There are several parts to the attraction. Some of the scenes are so realistic. It is very fun.
Another advantage of getting in a line shortly before closing is that by the time we left the park, it was much less crowded. Our walk up to the front was not crowded, so we could enjoy the park on the way out. That was the end of our day as we took a bus back to the resort and headed straight to bed.
What We Ate
Like yesterday, we had breakfast at El Mercado at the Coronado. We wanted to make sure the girls had a filling and lasting breakfast as their workshop schedule would have them tied up from around 9:30am until 2:00pm. El Mercado offers all typical breakfast fare. My husband enjoyed an egg based breakfast. The girls and I had Mickey waffles with sausage and bacon. You have to have Mickey waffles at Disney World! El Mercado has an allergy friendly waffle that worked for our gluten and dairy free daughter.
The way the rest of the day worked out, we just had one more meal. We ate at the ABC Commissary at Hollywood Studios. This was the sleeper hit of our trip! I don’t think we had ever eaten here before. Both of the girls had the chicken salad sandwich from the kids’ meal. One daughter needs the gluten free bun, and the other does not. The fries and fruit both worked for both girls. They both loved this meal! My husband enjoyed the pork tacos, and I really liked the chicken sandwich. Free refills on soft drinks are available in the dining room here too which is a bonus for us.
This day included a couple snack breaks too. Our first snack was from an ice cream cart. Mickey bars and Mickey ice cream sandwiches for those of us who can. My oldest daughter tried the frozen lemonade. She liked it ok at first, but didn’t finish it. On our past visits she could eat the ice cream bars, and I know having to miss out on the Mickey shaped ice cream treats was a disappointment.
Later in the afternoon we had the blue milk and the green milk from the Star Wars area. Thankfully these treats are both gluten and dairy free, so no one was left out. The stand looks very Star Wars like. Trying these odd looking drinks together led to giggling and lots of family fun. None of us really liked either milk enough to be in a hurry for more, but we finished the blue one and most of the green one.
Where We Stayed
This was still part of the dance portion of our trip, and we were still staying at the Coronado. We really enjoyed our stay there. Our room was very comfortable and had just enough extra space to feel like luxury for the four of us. The pools and grounds were beautiful. We were assigned to the building casitas 4 and felt like that was a good location.
To hear more about our great stay at the Coronado from and see pictures, please click here.
https://erinstravelnotes.live-website.com/2023/01/06/exploring-walt-disney-world-property/
2 Comments
maddie
great post mama! funny pic of me singing my <3 out 😂
Erin
I think you are reacting to the “snow”. Still so fun.