DISNEY WORLD - HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS (NOV. 17, 2009)

First, let me let you in on what we did yesterday (Nov. 16)…
Nothing much…
Did some minor things that had to do with the trailer…
Did some bike riding, reading, napping, and we stopped (on our way back from shopping), by Lakewood Winery, which is just down the road from where we’re staying, and is the biggest winery in Florida…
Thought it’d be nice to see what Washington State’s competition was up to, you see…
We’ve been on Winery Tours in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and all over the States, but this one gets the “Oscar“ for overall best performance…
The guide made the almost two hours we spent with him seem like minutes…
The tour was exceptionally informative (even a square-head like me could understand what he said), and executed superbly with comic relief where needed…
Of course, the tasting wasn’t bad either…
Ended up buying two bottles, which we’ll save for something special…
Maybe a Thursday or Friday? Who knows?
That brings us to:
We left moderately early this morning, expecting HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS not to keep us as busy as the other Theme Parks…
Gossip had this Park on a lower scale than the other three, and, studying some of the literature (we‘ve picked up over the past week), we pretty much thought we’d be leaving fairly early…
Luanne picked up a guide map as soon as we walked through the Entry Portals, and set course for the Wizard’s Hat, over there by the Main Square…
I had no idea she was on a mission, but, evidently, she’d been thinking overnight (that’s scary, now that I put it on paper ¬ figuratively speaking)…
Without knowing it, I was secretly being steered down Hollywood Boulevard, around the corner to Sunset Boulevard, all the while taking shot after shot of storefronts and buildings I actually saw in Hollywood some forty years ago…
Boy! That dates me, huh?
Oh, well… You’re only as old as you think you are…
As we turned onto Sunset, the upper stories of the HOLLYWOOD TOWER loomed above the treetops…
We could hear intermittent screaming, but I didn’t pay too much attention to it, since I was busy eyeballing attractions on either side of me…
Besides…
We talked it over last night, and we agreed that the sensible act here was not to even contemplate going on THE TWILIGHT ZONE TOWER OF TERROR…
The brochure says: You go up in an elevator (about a hundred thousand feet), which (without notice, mind you!) drops 13 stories, then does all kinds of weird, unkind things to ordinary people (like me)…
It’s just not natural to hang around like that, and besides it frightens the peewee out of you… Well, me…
13 stories!
Even our friends, Billy and Donna, who have been here several times, have not gone on this stupid ride… They are sane and rational folks!
So why was the mother of my three children steering me into the Tower?
She’d thought it over, she said…
She would like to see what was inside the Hotel…
Don’t have to take the ride, she said…
Just look…
OK… Just look…
We climbed some stairs…
Got into a very dark room…
Spooky stuff…
Lasers and lights blinking and scanning the surfaces, and things blowing in your face…
Gosh, I hate that!
Doors open to the elevator…
She says, “Best to do these things first thing in the morning… Get it over with!”
“Are you out of your mind, woman!”
A little kid snickers…
Ah, shoot….
The doors close…
We’re told to buckle in… Tug on the strap to make sure you’re fastened!
Oh, God!
Swoosh…
Were going to the stars!
Sudden Stop…
Oh, God!
We drop so fast my heart said hello to my brain as they pass each other!
Oh, God!
Have no idea of how long this torture lasted…
All I know is that I’m hoarse, and my head is now completely gray…
But hold on…
There’s a gilded hem to this yarn…
As we descended to our final resting place, I heard Luanne apologize to the man sitting to her right…
Evidently, my brave woman forgot which side of her I was sitting, because, when we dropped the first time, she had locked on to the man’s leg…
He appeased her by saying everything was OK, but I saw him later, and he was limping!
I never lie!
So… If that wasn’t enough for my Stunt Woman, she immediately hauled me over to the ROCK ‘N ROLLER COASTER, which turned out to be a “road trip” to Hell!
I honestly don’t know why I let her talk me into these things…
I must be stupid!
Anyway, this rollercoaster twists, turns, and loops (yes! I said loops… that means upside down, folks!), and it does that at the speed of sound, and in almost total darkness…
You get tossed and turned in so many ways that you’re totally incapable of following a straight line for an hour after they let you out of the cage…
I’m not even going to mention they have to use crowbars to pry your fingers from the handholds!
I hate things like this, so, why then, do I go on them?
Have no idea… Must be stupidity!
Since I’ve been going on for way too long about rides tonight, I better shorten the rest of my tirade…
All in all, Hollywood Studios is pretty cool…
There are not as many rides as there are in the other Theme Parks, but they make up for that in restaurants, delis, cafes, and other roadside eateries…
It must be hundreds of them!
The attractions and shows are more for the “Little Ones,” but they are flawlessly shown and performed, and, of course, they have the Walt Disney Flair: Elegant Costumes, and faultless talents!
We enjoyed our visit to HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS very much, but our vote goes to EPCOT and MAGIC KINGDOM…
OK… That’s it for now…
I will probably take a break again tomorrow, so no Blog or pictures for a few days… Can you handle it?
Take care and keep an eye out for us when you serf the Internet…
Here are the pictures: http://cid-44d18849bf3983e9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/DISNEY%20WORLD%20-%20HOLLYWOOD%20STUDIOS%20%5E5NOV.%2017%5EJ%202009%5E6?nl=1&uc=121&isFromRichUpload=1