December '14 Walt Disney World Trip Report: Part 6

By Nick

Thursday, December 11th

Off to Disney's Hollywood Studios for rope drop, but instead of rushing off to a ride, we went directly to Starring Rolls Cafe for breakfast, specifically, in Barbie's and my case, cupcakes.

Breakfast of champions.

Next up, a trip into The Twilight Zone, our friend Jill's first!

Front row, left, me, Barbie, Jill clutching Josh tightly with eyes shut.

Once was enough for Jill, but Barbie, Josh and I went on again, before heading to Toy Story Midway Mania followed by a visit with the Muppets.

We headed for lunch at Mama Melrose's.

Everything was very good, especially the appetizers.

We worked some of the very filling meal off by walking to the Boardwalk to see the holiday display.

We walked over to the Yacht and Beach club to check out their decorations as well.

The train display at the Yacht club:

Gingerbread carousel at The Beach Club:

We then took walk through the International Gateway to Epcot, and over to France for a snack at Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie, followed by a nap in Impressions de France.

It's a lovely film, and we see it almost every trip, but I was out almost immediately after sitting down.

We took a boat back to Disney's Hollywood Studios, and took a ride on the Great Movie Ride.

I took a Yuletide Cheer break before a really good, and fun dinner at 50's Prime Time Cafe.

The Einstok Doppelbock, while not as good as their white ale, was pretty tasty.

The Christmas decorations at 50s Prime Time:

We got very lucky in getting a great server named Nick. And I LOVE their Fried Chicken.

I'll have a full review of both lunch at Mama Melrose's and dinner at 50s Prime Time Cafe in the future.

For other parts of the Trip Report : Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5

Frozen. Time for a Thaw?

By Beth Skarp

I recently returned from a trip to the World. Everywhere I turned, I was inundated with scenes or images from the ever popular movie Frozen. From the images of Olaf on t-shirts with friends being flakes, to little girls sporting the looks of Elsa or Anna, Frozen is everywhere. If you are at Disney, there is literally no way you could not be exposed to Frozen in one way or another. 

Having said this, I wanted to share my less than magical experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

I arrived at MCO fairly early after leaving Philadelphia. Once I checked in at my resort, my first stop was Magic Kingdom. I had a later afternoon dining reservation at Be Our Guest. I was early, so decided to ride the rides that had a fairly short stand-by line and put my Memory Maker to work by getting pictures. The first photographer I encountered had great “magical shots”....of Olaf on Summer vacation. OK, not a big deal, I would pose anyway and just keep going. 

After Magic Kingdom, I rode the monorail to Epcot. I meandered my way through World Showcase, with the intent of getting to the International Gateway. I stopped for pictures along the way, taking along my trusted stuffed Jiminy Cricket. When a photo opportunity presented itself, we stopped and took advantage of it. When we got to Norway, we were once again inundated with Frozen. But it didn't stop there.

Just outside the International Gateway entrance, Jiminy and I boarded the boats that took us to Hollywood Studios. It was a lovely boat ride. We left Epcot around 6PM, plenty of time to enjoy our trip to Hollywood Studios and make our 9PM dinner reservations at Mama Melrose. You know what they say when you make your reservations, to allow ample travel time to make your reservations. We got this.

Once we finally arrived at the boat dock for Hollywood Studios, our captain asked if we were here to enjoy the dance party. Dance party?! I had not a clue what she was referring to.

When we got to the main gates for Hollywood Studios—just before we entered—we came across a huge sand sculpture. What a great photo opportunity, the sculptures are well done and so artistic. What was the sculpture you ask...a larger than life Olaf on summer vacation. 20 minutes Jiminy and I waited in line for this.

A paper lithograph cutout of Olaf was shoved into my hands. On the backside were the signatures of the various characters of Frozen. While I really wasn't interested in this Olaf, I have to admit that it made an excellent hand fan on this hot and humid day. I used my Olaf several times over for just this very purpose.

Jiminy was getting into the swing of taking photographs, so we paused for a quick picture of the hours for Hollywood Studios for the day.

Finally, we made it through the main gates. 7PM...still plenty of time to make our dinner reservations at Mama Melrose. Oy Vey! The thousands of people! What in the World was going on?

When you use a walker to get around, walking can be a bit difficult. Add in several people lining the streets, each vying for the perfect spot to view what was in front of us. Well, it made getting around challenging but not impossible. I figured I would put to good use the trick of walking through the various stores in order to progress down Main Street. Bad idea. The first shop I went into, I came upon a literal wall of people. What was going on? Frozen merchandise had just been restocked on the shelves, so a shopping frenzy was happening. I had to giggle, as one guest, a man, asked me where I got my “shopping cart”. Shopping cart? It was my walker for crying out loud.

Backing out of the shop in order not to get run over, I finally made my way towards the Sorcerer’s hat. My intent was to bear right, heading towards Rockin' Roller Coaster. I had a FP+ for 7:05 to 8:05 that I wanted to use. I got to Rockin' around 7:35. Still plenty of time to get to Mama Melrose and not be late.

What is this Jiminy and I see...a 5 minute wait for Tower of Terror? Let me get this done so Jiminy and I can make dinner in plenty of time and knock this off our to-ride list. I mean really, how often do you see this and just literally walk on the rides?

After we got off Tower of Terror, it was around 8:25 or so. Again, plenty of time to get back to Mama Melrose. My mouth is watering for some Seafood Arrabbitta and a cold Italian Surfer, my favorite food and drink from there.

As I maneuver my walker down Main Street yet again, I made my way towards the Sorcerer’s hat with the intent of turning left and heading towards Mama Melrose. Instead, I found wooden barriers up and several cast members along with security preventing guests from going any further towards the back of the park.

When I asked about getting through to make my reservations at Mama Melrose, I was told it was impossible. I asked how I was supposed to get back and get to my reservation—one I made three weeks ago. I was told repeatedly "Well, you simply can't. The parade is coming, followed by the fireworks then a sing-along.”

Really....you allowed me to make a reservation three weeks ago and never bothered to tell me that I would not be able to make my reservation!? OK, calm down and don't let it get you bothered.

I asked what I was supposed to do. Cast members repeatedly told me "Well, we just assume you will be at the back of the park so you can make the reservation on time." I mean really, does everyone stay in the area for their reservations for hours on end?!   

As I told you earlier, I had a FP+ for Rockin' Roller Coasterthen went on Tower of Terror. I had plenty of time to make my reservation at Mama Melrose, even taking my time and maneuvering my walker through the throngs of people. I was just not allowed to get to the back portion of the park to make this reservation. I was more than annoyed, to say the least.

OK, so I can't get to Mama Melrose. I still need to eat. Let's do alternate Plan B. My plan was to eat at ABC Commissary. Well guess what—this is closed as well. A sandwich board is placed up around 6:30 PM or so to alert park guests that it will close at 8PM prior to the parade. Lot of good that did me—I wasn't in the Park then and no mention was made of the back portion of the Park being closed early on the hours posted at the front of the Park. Also, nothing was mentioned in the times guide or park map. 

Starring Rolls was also closed, which is actually what I expected. Starring Rolls closes around 3PM or so—when they run out of sandwiches and goodies, they close. No way did I feel like fighting any more crowds to get back to Backlot Express, the only other place that was open at this time.

My temper kicked in at this point, I am sorry to say. With a less than pleasant attitude I asked "Where in this Park am I supposed to eat?" The Cast Members never missed a beat, but simply replied, "Well, you could get a tub of popcorn and join the dance party and sing along."

Sorry, not my cup of tea. It has been 6 hours since I last ate and I needed a decent meal, not filler, thank you very much. Don't even get me started on missing out on my Italian Surfer.

After stopping at Guest Relations at the front of Hollywood Studios to let them know how displeased I was with missing my reservation AND to make sure that I would not incur a no-show fee for not making this reservation, I headed back to the bus stations and to our resort. Guest Relations did give me a $25 gift card for my trouble, but this still left a rather sour taste in my mouth.

What did I finally get for dinner? Chicken nuggets back at the resort around 9:45 PM. What were my choices for dessert to go with my dinner? Frozen Cupcakes and Frozen Rice Krispie Treats. You are freaking kidding me...right?! Grrrrrr.  

On Saturday, I met up with some good friends at Port Orleans Riverside at the River Roost Lounge. We were all meeting up to hear Yee Haw Bob. Guess what one of the songs was that the group sang. Yep...”Let It Go.” 

Even at Animal Kingdom, you can't seem to get away from Frozen, no matter what you try. From magical shots to offerings for drinks or desserts, Frozen is everywhere.

I know that many enjoy the movie, the song or songs and the various characters. But really, must Disney incorporate Frozen into EVERY THING is does? Each theme park, every venue of entertainment, every restaurant, the merchandise, the photographers, even the television shows have a bit of Frozen in it someplace.

I for one really and truly believe we need to take a bit of a thaw. It's time to well....LET IT GO!

Excuse me as I run for cover...

     
         
         

Happy 25th Anniversary Disney's Hollywood Studios!

By: Nick

Today, Disney's Hollywood Studios celebrates it's Silver Anniversary.

I love this park.

It's got my favorite ride, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

It contains my favorite restaurant, The Hollywood Brown Derby, and a close runner up, Mama Melrose's.

There is a wonderful tribute to the Man himself, in Walt Disney: One Man's Dream.

And they have the terrific and sometimes hilarious Citizens of Hollywood providing Streetmosphere.

DHS even has one of my favorite shops in WDW, The Writer's Stop!

In addition, there are many other phenomenal rides and attractions such as Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, Muppet Vision 3D, Toy Story Midway Mania, The Great Movie Ride, and Star Tours.

Now, I won't say it's all sunshine and rainbows. I dearly miss several things that were around during the Disney/MGM Studios days, such as the far superior Studio Backlot Tour, and the for real working Animation Studio, where you could see actual animated motion pictures being produced. But, even without those things, I'm starting to question why this isn't my favorite park at Walt Disney World!

Please join me in wishing Happy 25th Anniversary to Disney's Hollywood Studios!

Our Usual Table at Mama Melrose's : Story Behind the Photo

When you think of favorite restaurants at Walt Disney World, the first places that may pop into your head are at Epcot's World Showcase, and there are some wonderful eateries there to be sure.
But 2 of our favorites establishments are in Disney's Hollywood Studios.
One is the Hollywood Brown Derby, and the other is Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano.

Mama Melrose's was our go to spot for the first several years after we started visiting Walt Disney World, until the Brown Derby took over as our destination of choice.
The photo above was taken in January of 2011, after we were seated for the fourth trip in a row at our "usual table", which we named "The Domingo", after the album cover on the wall, Placido Domingo's "My Life For a Song."
While we no longer visit Mama Melrose's every trip, it still holds a place in our hearts, the restaurant where we were regulars, and had a special table!