Disney Hollywood Studios - Mar 7

Only one day for this theme park and it was more than enough. We saw a bunch of shows and stunt programs and wandered through exhibits on movies and Walt Disney’s life. All were quite enjoyable. The crowd level wasn’t what it was at the Magic Kingdom or Epcot so it was less of a challenge to wander around.

The exhibit on Walt’s life was very interesting. I didn’t know about his childhood and the difficult family life he had. All the photos of Disneyland while it was being built and its early years were fun (and nostalgic) to see.

I was impressed with the talent of the cast members in all the shows we saw.  They have to do these half hour shows several times a day and the shows are pretty sophisticated, so I am also impressed with the level of effort they have to put out. The best one in my opinion was the Beauty and the Beast show. We had amazing seats – front row, center.

I am a patsy for the 3D shows – I really enjoy the special effects that make you think mice are running across your feet while snakes are jumping out at your face. The Muppet 3D show was hilarious.

The finale for the evening was the Fantasmic show. Unlike Disneyland where you have to sit on a pathway for hours in order to have a lousy view of the show, at Disney Hollywood Studios, there is an amphitheater with plenty of space for all to have great views. It has been decades since I saw the show so I can’t compare it to the Disneyland version, but I was pretty impressed.

Well, that does it for the Disney theme parks. We are planning a couple of days at Universal Studios and our adventure with theme parks will be done. It will be a tough re-entry to the rest of our Florida stops.



Main street takes you down a rendition of Hollywood, you can see Graumans Chinese Theater (at least that is what it used to be called) at the end of the street. All the buildings are Art Deco style and reflect the heydays of the 30s and 40s.



A squad of plastic green soldiers teased the visitors and posed with anyone who was willing to stop.



This is a water fountain in front of the Muppet 3D Movie Show.



One of the stunt shows we watched was how they did the stunts for Raiders of the Lost Ark.  It was very campy and funny.  But the stunts were pretty serious, including the one where the plane got blown up.

The Beauty and the Beast show was pretty sophisticated with great costumes, backdrops and dancing.

Funny how Disney has merged their iconic symbols (e.g.; Mickey ears) with other franchises (in this case, Star Wars.)  In an earlier time, this might have been Chris' favorite hat.

The stage for Fantasmic is huge.  It featured water screens, fire, leaping off tall cliffs, boats and lots of Disney characters.



A boat parade of princesses and their princes.



And of course, the evil ones were well represented.

Mickey was the host of the show.