Monday November 13th 2023

The day began shrouded in fog. The morning TV weather talkers were discussing areas of mist to the north and east of here. At my RV home, the fog lifted to a cloudy day, but it was unclear what the real weather forecast should be.

I had a reservation at Disney’s Hollywood Studios today. This is my least favorite of the four Disney theme parks in Walt Disney World. It is always crowded with long lines and many of the rides don’t agree with me motion sickness wise. Still, I like to visit occasionally to see what’s new and do some of the things I like.

It was just before noon when I arrived at the theme park. The weather looked a little brighter than earlier in the day. The crowds looked heavy and the wait times for rides were long. My first impression of the Christmas decorations was favorable. They looked very pretty in the daylight and probably looked even better after dark.

My first attraction of the day was the Frozen Singalong. They add a Holiday flavoring this time of year. It still tells the Frozen story as usual, but the entire cast is joined by Olaf at the end to sing Holiday songs. Since it is a singalong the audience is encouraged to join in. The puns and comedy of narrators is fun.

When I returned outside from the theater after about half an hour, everything was wet. I’m not sure if it rained hard while I was inside or if it was just the heavy mist that was currently falling. It clearly had been going on long enough that people had broken out or bought clear plastic ponchos. The world had changed while I was in the theater. Based on the confusing morning weather forecast I assumed it wouldn’t last long so I continued on toward my next attraction.

The Rise of the Resistance Star Wars ride only had a fifty minute wait time. This ride has been open for several years and I have not had an opportunity to ride it yet. The wait time is usually ninety to one hundred and twenty minutes. My criteria for waiting is one hour. If the published wait time is under that value, I’ll try and wait. The last time I tried, the ride broke down while I was in line, but today the fifty minute wait was very attractive and successful. I was actual finished with the ride in fifty minutes.

It is a very fun and immersive ride. The premise is your a recruit for the resistance being transported to a secret base. The First Order intercepts your transport and takes you prisoner on the first part of the attraction. On the second half of the ride you escape and return to safety. It is filled with interactions with actors and lots of technology. At the very end your ride vehicle enters a “escape pod” and becomes a motion simulator to get you back from space to land. I’m glad it was a very short motion simulator escape. A little longer and my dislike of motion simulators would have kicked in. Overall I really enjoyed the ride. That last part will lower my desire to ride it again. My threshold for waiting is probably down to thirty minutes.

When I returned to the outside world after going to space, the mist was even heavier. I went in search of some lunch, but got very wet on my way. The lunch I found was at home. It didn’t make sense to continue to get wet waiting in long lines. If I was on a day ticket, I would have pushed on, but since I can come back anytime without spending any more money it just made sense to go home and dry off. Getting to ride Rise of the Resistance made it a successful day.