Road Trip Day 13 - Disney Hollywood Studios & Downtown Disney


Slept in and had lunch at the Golden China Restaurant buffet almost next door to my hotel. The food was decent, but they did not have Chinese Tea! What Chinese restaurant does not have Chinese Tea? That is like a Chinese restaurant that does not have chopsticks (don't get me started, I have been there, too).


About 1pm, drove to Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is a shopping, restaurant, and entertainment area which is sort of fun (it is also sort of, or very, crowded on Sunday afternoon). It is on the shores of a lake which is probably man-made (sorry, I have been in Florida a little more than a day and I am starting to question if anything is real). I walked around, window shopped, people watched, and was disappointed that Characters in Flight (a hot air balloon ride) was shut down because of wind. Drove back to the hotel and used the Wi-Fi until about 5pm.


Took the hotel shuttle to the Disney Transportation Center, then the Disney Bus to Disney Hollywood Studios. It is Sunday, and the intermittent rain has only slightly reduced the crowd. Taking advantage of Fast Pass, I was able to get into Tower of Terror, and then because of rain induced confusion, the line was short to Aerosmith's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Both of these rides are fun, but very short! I went on the Studio Backlot Tour (because the waiting area was out of the rain). They made apologies that they could not do some of the demonstrations because of wind and rain. I sat in a puddle in the tram during part of the tour.


By the time that the Studio Backlot Tour ended, the rain had stopped, and people were running towards the daredevil action demonstration "Lights, Motors, Action". I followed the crowd happy that I would be able to see this show. Unfortunately, after about 45 minutes waiting in the stands, they announced that the show was canceled "Due to Inclement Weather". The weather was no worse than it had been 45 minutes earlier (and actually probably better). It was surprising that there was very little swearing or property damage after the announcement.


A number of the rides and exhibits were closed, and I was happy that I had four more days to cover everything. I went to catch the hotel shuttle a little before 8pm. While the waiting areas for the Disney owned buses have covered waiting areas, the hotel buses are out in the open. I got drenched and mad waiting for the bus. I also came to the conclusion that the free shuttle to Disney was false economy. It is better to pay $12 for parking and have more flexibility and less waiting. I will make a more detailed posting on this at some point.