It'll Be Alright: Disney World February 2021

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios

Got Rise boarding pass - We woke up early to try and get virtual boarding passes for Rise of the Resistance. It was pretty cool because you could do it from anywhere as long as you had a park reservation. Lisa, Spence and I were all on and ready. Spence got 'em! Yay!
Long wait for bus - After we got up and ready, we went out and met the rest of our group at the bus stop. The park opened at 8:30 (official opening was 9:00). We were at the bus stop around 8:00 and did not get on a bus until after 8:30. It was pretty annoying.
Mickey and Minnie - Great! - When we got in the park, we were deciding where to go first and as we walked by the Chinese Theater, there was no line at Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway. This is a new ride that replaced the Great Movie Ride. We were all looking forward to riding this as it opened in 2019. It was great! The queue and preshow were abbreviated due to COVID, but the ride was great regardless. This is a trackless ride with glasses-free 3D effects. It takes place in a Mickey and Minnie cartoon and Goofy's train goes nuts. We all loved it.
Ellie meltdown - After the Railway, there was a churro stand. Well, most of our group got churros, but Lisa and I agreed we needed to find breakfast. Ellie did not like that answer and got very upset that they all got churros and she didn't. We ended up ordering food from Woody's Lunchbox, but we had to wait a while. She threw a fit all the way to Toy Story Land and then most of the time we waited for our food.
Grady/Lisa - swirling saucers - While I waited with Ellie on the food, Lisa and Grady rode Alien Swirling Saucers. The wait time showed basically no wait, but they had to wait quite a while. Ellie and I actually got the food while they were still waiting.
Breakfast at Woody’s Lunch Box - The mobile order eating experience was quite the experience. They have the eating area roped off so only people eating there that have ordered can sit when their food is ready. This made it much easier to find a seat to sit while you eat. The food was good. The kids got a breakfast bowl which was tater tots, eggs and cheese. We got the adult version which had gravy on it. It was really good.
Star Wars and milk stand - After we ate, we walked through Star Wars land (Galaxy's Edge). We stopped at the Milk Stand and got both a green and blue milk to try. On the last trip, I got a blue milk, but drank it by myself. All four of us tried these. Ellie and I liked the blue milk better and Lisa and Grady liked the green milk better.
Muppets - long wait - We met up with the rest of our group and my brother wanted to go to Muppet Vision 3D because the app showed a short wait. We found after 10:30 the parks would get busy and the wait times would skyrocket. We decided to wait for Muppets as it was one of the shorter lines at the time. It took a lot longer than expected. This was not a "must do" ride either so it was a little annoying. We also had a lunch reservation that we didn't want to miss. The show was fine, but it is really old and needs to be either replaced or updated.
Lunch - delicious, cooled off and the kids did really good - The Brown Derby is one of our favorite Disney restaurants. Lisa and I have gone there on all of our trips and we went almost every trip as a family when we were growing up. They did not disappoint during COVID. Lisa and I got the Cobb Salad (because you have to get the cobb salad). We tried to order Ellie a kids Cobb Salad, but that's not what was brought to the table. She got a basic side salad. I traded salads with her because she liked our cobb salad. Her salad was basically cole slaw. The cobb salad was delicious. We were also very impressed with our kids because they were very well behaved and ate their food. It was a great rest and reboot for us. It was also air conditioned, which was hard to find on this trip.
Shopped and Grady fell asleep - After lunch, we talked to Grady about taking a nap and thankfully he went to sleep pretty quick. We decided to go shopping up and down Hollywood Boulevard. Ellie got a nuiMO Minnie and an outfit for her. This is a dress up character and Ellie loves her baby dolls at home. She loved this little thing and changed its clothes the rest of the trip. The shops were pretty much the same as all of the other shops.
Slinky dog - Waited while Grady slept; line moved - We walked back to Toy Story Land and decided to go ahead and get in line at the Slinky Dog Dash. It was around 50 minutes for the wait time. I walked the line with Grady asleep in the stroller. We got out of line when we got close and waited. Ellie and Lisa loved it. The wait time was pretty accurate too. It is a cute area with instructions and the box of the toy Slinky Dog Dash.
Really hot! - It was really hot this day. We kept searching for shade because it seemed to be 10+ degrees hotter in the sun. Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge do not have much shade.
Mickey bar - After the girls rode Slinky Dog, Grady woke up and we were all hot. The girls wanted a Mickey ice cream bar, so we found some and found a shady spot to eat there. They are delicious. Grady and I shared one. He did pretty good. They were not as rock hard as in the past, so we had to eat them faster.
Toy story mania - After our ice cream break, the line for Toy Story Mania was pretty short so we did it. The entrance has been moved to the backside of the building. It is really cute with Uno cards and other toys building the queue line. The ride was fun as well.
Slinky rider swap -Zack and Grady - He did so good, then got scared at the end - We got a rider swap for Slinky Dog for Grady to ride since he was asleep when Lisa and Ellie rode it. This time I got to ride with Grady. Other than Goofy's Barnstormer, this was Grady's first "big" roller coaster. He was pretty excited. With the rider swap, we got to use the Fast Pass line to go through. We got to be next and we were in the front. The ride stopped though. We had to wait a little while for it to restart. While waiting, Grady got anxious and started banging on the walls of the entrance gate. The cast member running the ride had to ask him to stop, and he did. We got on and he was very excited. He screamed and giggled the entire ride. It was great. I loved riding this ride with him. It was a lot like Ellie riding Big Thunder Mountain for the first time. He loved it and when it was over, he wouldn't get off. I had to drag him out.
Droid shop - We moved on to Galaxy's Edge and stopped in the Droid Depot. This is a cute store and I was pretty close to buying a BB8. We decided when Grady is older we will get him one to play with.
Rise of the Resistance - I got a text from my brother saying it was time for Rise of the Resistance. We met everyone outside the ride and since Grady and Josie couldn't ride, we had to split up. We decided to go boys then girls. This ride is great. It was just as good as Disneyland and every time we ride there are new details to see. Crosby went with us. I was worried he wouldn't like it because he historically gets scared pretty easily on rides. He did great on this one and loved it. That made the ride even more enjoyable. My dad rode with my brother, me and Crosby. My dad has gone on all Disney rides in Florida and most in California. He is a lifelong Disney visitor. He loved this ride and was blown away by what they had created. After we were done, the girls rode, and we watched Josie and Grady.
Shopping Star Wars - We walked over to the shops and when the girls were done we split up. The four of us stayed in Galaxy's Edge and everyone else went to their dinner reservation at '50s Primetime Cafe. We walked through the marketplace area in Star Wars land. They are cool looking shops, but the merchandise is not my cup of tea.
Millennium Falcon - short line; lot of fun, just us - After the shops, we ordered dinner at Docking Bay 7 for around a 6:50 pickup (the park closed at 7:00). We then walked by the Millennium Falcon and found that Smuggler's Run was a short wait. All 4 of us could ride so we decided to give it a shot. The pre-show was skipped due to COVID, but the line was very short. This was Grady's first time on this ride. We got to the ship and the kids were assigned pilots and Lisa and I were gunners. We got the ship to ourselves, which was probably good for everyone else. We had a great time. The kids loved being pilots (even though Ellie was going the opposite directions instructed). We had a lot of fun on this ride. After we were done we went to get our dinner, and found that our order had been cancelled because we missed our pickup time while on Smuggler's Run. We were a little sad (and hungry), but it was ok since we got to ride Smuggler's Run with a very short line.
Back to hotel - bus was better wait
Dinner at the Wave - On the bus we were looking for somewhere to eat and found the standby line at the Wave was short so we decided to try it out. We got back to our hotel and dropped off our stuff at the room and walked back to the Wave. We didn't have to wait too long and were seated. The kids did really well again at this restaurant and the food and service were great. It was also very nice to be able to sit and relax while we waited on food. We even had cocktails and dessert. Lisa and I each got the steak to share with Grady and Ellie got pasta. The entrees were delicious, but so was dessert. Lisa got the Chocolate Flight (chocolate croissant bread pudding, brownie creme brulee, and German chocolate cake) and I got the regular creme brulee. They were delicious.