Hollywood Studios the Difference of a 2nd Trip
Hollywood Studios was a completely different experience the second time around. It really goes to show that you can’t always judge your first park experience until you go again. Our second trip was different for a few reasons. We had 2 kids with us instead of 4 and this time we didn’t have to worry about height requirements. Also, the day wasn’t full of a bunch of reservations. In this post I will go over our experience at Hollywood Studios the difference of a second trip.
Age makes a difference
I didn’t love Hollywood Studios so much the first time around. The first trip I had a 3 year and 18 month old with me. At the time there was only one ride they could go on. Yes there were a few shows that we enjoyed as a family. However, I had to use rider switch for all the rides minus Toy Story Mania. That does take up a big chunk of time and I really find it more enjoyable when we can all go on a ride together. For this reason, I enjoyed Magic Kingdom the most. That park has about 17 rides with no height requirement. I rarely had to use rider switch.
Hollywood Studios was more enjoyable because I didn’t have to worry about height requirements. Candon and Zachary are tall enough to go on everything so we went on all the rides together. It’s amazing how your experience at a park can change so much based on what age groups are in your party.
Reservations vs. no reservations
The first trip, we had a lot of reservations. We had a dinner reservation as well as a reservation at the Droid Depot and at Savi’s Workshop and FastPass+ reservations. So there was a lot scheduled reducing the amount of stuff we could do in between. We still had a good time it just added to the stress knowing we had to be somewhere at a specific time.
I really loved Hollywood Studios so much more this time around. Hollywood Studios has some really great rides and lands. Such as, Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge. On our first trip we didn’t get to spend much time in Toy Story Land. It was a very busy day and we didn’t have time to ride Alien Swirling Saucers. We did get to ride it this time. All the rides in the land are so much fun.
This time around we had no dining reservations, and no fastpasses. All we had to worry about was getting a mobile order time slot for lunch and dinner. Mobile order is nice because it gives you a 30 minutes window to get the food. For example, your pick up time will say 2:55 PM – 3:25 PM. It’s nice having that extra time to get the food since you can’t always know how long a ride will take. It made it less stressful. The only thing I had to worry about was when our boarding group would be called.
Rise of the Resistance
That’s another reason it was such a great day. We got a Rise of the Resistance boarding group! Last time it was so disappointing. We got to Hollywood Studios thinking we could get in the standard queue for Rise of the Resistance. We were sorely mistaken. The ride had been open for only a few days on our first trip. I didn’t watch any videos about the ride because I didn’t want any spoilers. But it also meant I didn’t learn about the boarding group system.
The kids loved this ride. It was so much fun. I never watched any ride through videos because I wanted to be surprised. There was plenty to be surprised by. Things I didn’t expect. This is now one of my kids favorite rides.
Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge
We really enjoyed Galaxy’s Edge last time. However, we had so many reservations that we didn’t get to try any of the food. This time I made sure to eat in the land.
We tried the blue and green milk for the first time. I had planned to try it on our first visit but we ran out of time. It was such a busy day. Blue and green milk seem to be a divisive drink. You either love it or hate it. Maybe it was because I was expecting the worst but I liked the flavors. I actually thought both tasted good and I would buy it again.
We also ate at Docking Bay 7. The atmosphere of the restaurant was awesome. I really felt like I was in another world. Click to read our review for Docking Bay 7 .
I felt like we really experienced Galaxy’s Edge much better the second time around. Although, we still haven’t been inside Oga’s Cantina. I tried but no reservations were available. Hopefully next time.
Conclusion
Hollywood Studios was so much better the second time around. It’s still fun to go to the park even with toddlers. However, I did enjoy it more just going with the older kids. Rider Switch is great but when you need to use it for almost every ride it becomes time consuming. After our first trip, Hollywood Studios was toward the bottom of my list. However, now it’s up toward the top.
What do you think of Hollywood Studios? Is it your favorite park? Have you been here with little kids? Leave a comment below. It really does help our readers out.
