Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures

Tales from my (mostly Disney) travels!
Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures
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  • Tag: Theme Park

    • A Day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

      Posted at 10:28 am by taryngirl, on April 20, 2022

      12/29/2022

      Today was our first Hollywood Studios day! Park hours were 8:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Because we were staying at a Disney resort, the park opened at 7:30 a.m. for us. We were at the gates at 7:00 a.m. Our plan this day was to try Genie+. We purchased it and right at 7 a.m. logged on to reserve our first attraction. We were trying for Slinky Dog Dash and the first return time we could get was 5:15 p.m.!

      Once the gates opened, we went immediately to Rise of the Resistance. We did not want to pay for Individual Lightning Lane to ride it, so we chose standby. We were on the ride by 7:45 a.m.

      After Rise of the Resistance, we went to Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. A 30 minute wait was posted, with an actual wait time of 20 minutes. Next was Star Tours. At this point, some of us were hungry, so we mobile ordered from ABC Commissary for pick up at 10 a.m. Our dinner reservation was at 3:50 p.m., which was an odd time. So we had to plan our food times accordingly for the rest of the day.

      Side of fries:

      Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese with Fries:

      We have ordered this before, and it’s the only reason we come back here to eat…it’s SO GOOD! A great change for a counter service meal.

      Chicken Club Sandwich with Fries:

      This was also very good!

      While on our “lunch” break, at 10:30 a.m., we were able to get our next Genie+. The pickings were already slim, and we chose the Frozen Sing Along. We did hit some other attractions…Muppets, Millennium Falcon, Indiana Jones, and then had dinner at Mama Melrose. A separate review will be forthcoming for that meal!

      Here are some random pics from around DHS throughout the day!

      (One of my favorite spots to sit and people watch or grab a quick snack, is Baseline Taphouse!)

      After dinner, we went on Toy Story Midway Mania, Slinky Dog Dash with our Genie+ return time, Alien Swirling Saucers, and then hit the shops on the way out. We were on the bus at 7 p.m. Some people from our group went to Magic Kingdom, and the rest went back to the resort for the evening.

      Overall, it was a great day. Crowded and super long lines everywhere, and Genie+ didn’t really help, but we got on most of the rides we wanted to. A large part of our time, we spent refreshing the app to see if we could get a better return time. We did have great weather though!

      Posted in Disney, Hollywood Studios, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, Hollywood Studios, Theme Park, Walt Disney World
    • Universal’s Volcano Bay Water Theme Park

      Posted at 2:28 pm by taryngirl, on April 14, 2022

      3/30/2022

      After a day full of classroom training and resort tours, we had the opportunity to spend the next day at Volcano Bay! We had the whole day, AND a private family cabana. I was very excited to check it out firsthand since I had never been there before.

      This park also has early hours. We made it to the park before the gates opened for the early guests. You do go through security here and then it’s a little bit of a trek to get to the actual gates.

      Once at the gates, you scan in with your ticket, and everyone is given a Tapu Tapu wearable.

      \

      The Tapu Tapu has many uses throughout the day. It’s used to ride most of the attractions through a virtual line, activate interactive surprises throughout the park, open rental lockers, make cash free payments and more!

      These are just some shots I got on the walk in before it became too crowded with people!

      The Volcano! With tons of empty seats for the moment. These filled in quickly once the gates opened for all guests. A definite advantage to staying on property…the early entrance time!

      One of the eateries:

      A bar:

      Restrooms and lockers (with Cabana Bay Beach Resort in the background!):

      Another eatery:

      Another view of Cabana Bay Beach Resort from inside Volcano Bay:

      Finally! We made it to our Family Cabana!

      This cabana was HUGE! Tons of seating…

      A little goodie basket:

      Towels (towels otherwise are NOT provided! So you should bring some from your resort!), a safe, minifridge stocked with beverages:

      Also included is our own personal Tapu Tapu station. Instead of having to go to an attraction to get a return time, we could do it right from our cabana! So super convenient.

      Another advantage was having the ability to order food and drinks right in the cabana. We had an attendant who came around frequently to check up on us. Lines for food and drink at the regular eateries were long! So it was nice to sit in the shade and be waited on.

      Here are just a few pictures of some of the attractions:

      Krakatau…I actually went on this one! Our cabana was right next to this, so this is the first place we hit. The line for this got super long right away. We basically walked on it.

      I also went on this green slide!

      Here’s one entrance to the “lazy river:”

      I did take some time to relax by the wave pool. We were looking for seats right as some people were leaving, so we got the front row!

      I did order a fantastic drink while in our cabana.

      And a Longboard Pepperoni Pizza!

      It was good!

      Overall, we had a fabulous day! I will definitely be returning here with my kids. I love the Tapu Tapu system so you don’t have to stand in lines and wait for every ride. I also think I will definitely get a cabana. Not having to worry about our personal belongings is a huge plus! The staff was all super friendly and helpful. I don’t have anything bad to say!

      Posted in Uncategorized, Universal Orlando, Volcano Bay | 0 Comments | Tagged Theme Park, Universal Orlando, Volcano Bay, Water Park
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