WDW Mini Trip Report: Tuesday 5/12/15

[horizons1]

I was in Orlando this week for work and had six full hours Tuesday night to spend in the parks. My only real goal of this trip (besides maximizing the time) was to visit the Hollywood Studios to see how things looked without the giant hat.

Arriving at the Studios at 5pm, I had three FP+ booked through the mobile app. Turns out I really didn't need them as the park was uncrowded. My FP+ were for Tower of Terror, Rock'n'Rollercoaster, and Star Tours. There was no wait at ToT, so there was no difference between my line and the standby line. Next, I headed over to RnR and got onto the ride via the Single Rider line in about five minutes. After that, it was time for a stop to visit Ariel in Voyage of The Little Mermaid. Still a fun show but the number of people using their mobile phones to video record the show is distracting.

I then stopped at MuppetVision, which I must not have seen in a couple of years. I never knew they worked in the evil Constantine from Muppets Most Wanted into the preshow. It doesn't really work, and those who have never seen MuppetVision might legitimately expect to see Constantine appear. Basically, Constantine periodically breaks into the normal preshow flow with a sort of interrupted transmission. It is a non-sequitor. But enough about that. The show is still great, and I am excited to see what they do with the Muppets to tie into the upcoming tv show.

After MuppetVision, the Great Movie Ride was another walk-on. The cast members were very enthusiastic - quite a welcome sight compared with a few of my last rides.

I rounded out the Studios visit with a ride on Star Tours. It was around 730p, in my FP+ window for that ride, but again unnecessary as there was absolutely no wait. All told, on the six attractions I visited in under three hours the only waits were for the shows to cycle. No actual crowd-related waits. Awesome.

Hollywood Studios closed at 830pm that night, so around 8pm I headed over to Magic Kingdom which was open until 11p. I grabbed dinner at Pecos Bills and then road Big Thunder with about a 15 minute wait. Pirates, no wait - but the ride broke down and I was stuck watching the pirate in the mud with the pigs for about 15 minutes.

Then, the electrical parade was starting so I skirted the crowds by sticking to the Adventureland paths and then across the plaza at the newly-opened second pathway across from the Plaza Inn Restaurant. The extra walking space is really nice and helps with crowds a lot. The Rose Garden quadrant in the Plaza was still behind construction walls so I don't know how the entire space will "flow" when finished but it will likely be an improvement.

In Tomorrowland, I got a FP+ for Space Mountain, only ten minutes away. So I ate up those minutes on Buzz and then walked on Space Mountain (the standby line was only 15 min.)

Avoiding the crowds waiting for Wishes, I headed up from Tomorrowland to Under the Sea - Journey of The Little Mermaid. So it was sort of an all-Ariel night.

I had wanted to ride the Mine Train, but the wait was 50 minutes, even with Wishes just ending, so I instead decided to walk on Winnie The Pooh and then head back to Tomorrowland to Carouosel of Progress and the Peoplemover.

So that's it. six attractions in Hollywood Studios and eight in Magic Kingdom, plus a quick dinner and some time to just walk around. A great way to spend an evening.

[Metalfan]

Sounds like a great evening!!

[daluke]

Funny! I was at MK Tues night too, on the last night of my solo trip.
I had already seen the parade and Wishes, so I spent my evening trying to see how many FPs I could get. (I had dinner at 7 at Plaza first).
I stopped counting FPs at 6 because it was just so easy getting on rides.

[Amy]

Sounds like a great evening horizons1! Nice to hear the parks are still uncrowded sometimes

[horizons1]

Funny! I was at MK Tues night too, on the last night of my solo trip.
I had already seen the parade and Wishes, so I spent my evening trying to see how many FPs I could get. (I had dinner at 7 at Plaza first).
I stopped counting FPs at 6 because it was just so easy getting on rides.

it's truly a small world!