79 Days to Go: Hollywood Studios

We next visit the park formerly known as Disney-MGM Studios. Now called Hollywood Studios, this park still celebrates the movies, television and Hollywood.

To quote a Disney castmate, "So, have you done all our big rides? All three of them?" Yes, Hollywood Studios is a bit lacking in the ride department. The three big rides are the Rock-n-Roller Coaster, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Star Tours. The Rock-n-Roller Coaster features the music of Aerosmith and creates a twisting, turning highway you must travel to get to the band's concert across town. The ride uses technology that allows the ride to start quickly, going from 0-60 in about 3 seconds. It also contains shoulder harnasses as the ride contains corkscrews and loops. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror puts you into an episode of the Twilight Zone, where you board an elevator in the haunted Hollywood Tower Hotel, where five people mysteriously disappeared. It is a simple freefall, but programmed so that there are 8 different ways you can fall.

A word--don't get off the ride and ask your party on the ground "Did you see me?" The answer is "NO." You go too high up and often have a giant sign in front of you.

Star Tours is a ride through the Star Tours universe, when your vehicle gets lost on the way to the moon of Endor. You get caught in a tractor beam and have to ride through the Death Star. It's been one of my favorite rides in Hollywood Studios and back in Disneyland, I made my parents ride it about 10 times. George Lucas and Disney is teaming up for a sequel, so keep your eyes peeled!

The other three major rides are The Great Movie Ride, MuppetVision 3-D and Sounds Dangerous. The Great MOvie Ride takes you right into some of the greatest movies of all time--from Singin' in the Rain, to the Underworld of the gangster movies to Indiana Jones to Oz itself, this ride celebrates the movies that have made up American pop culture. The ending film, featuring clips from famous movies and the stars that have dazzled us through the years, is a must-see. MuppetVision 3-D stars the Muppet gang as they demonstrate their 3-D capabilities. Bean Bunny just wants to help out but ends up creating bigger messes than ususal. The show is in 4-D and some Muppets are even out in the audience--like the always grumpy, always snarky Waldorf and Statler. Sounds Dangerous is a test show for an undercover show, where we follow a hapless officer (played by Drew Carey) as he tracks down a smuggler. Unfortunately, the camera cuts out and most of the show is spent in the dark with just sounds. It's amazing how the imagination can fill in the rest and is a better journey into your imagination than the ride in Epcot.

Hollywood Studios has its share of shows for you to see--like Indiana Jones' Stunt Spectacular. I haven't seen it since when I was four, they mentioned "guns" and I hightailed it out of the show, my parents rushing after me. I catch the Beauty and the Beast show and we often see "The Little Mermaid," which some have said is superior to the Broadway production. As I haven't seen the Broadway production, I will hold off comments. The tour of the Magic of Animation is interesting to take but was a lot better when they still animated movies at the studios.

I haven't seen the stunt show or American Idol. There is also the Toy Story Midway, which I will try in August.

Food wise, I would suggest the Prime Time Cafe. You step back into a 1950s TV show, where mom's cooking, your cousins are serving you and manners are observed. My family's favorite story is when we watched a young boy leave his vegetables and order dessert. The server came back out iwth the veggies in a bowl with whipped cream on top. The mother laughed so hard, she nearly fell over! Another good choice is the Brown Derby, though it is a bit pricey.

Hollywood Studios is not a park you can spend all day at, like the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. I suggest pairing it up with another park or consider chilling at the hotel room afterwards.