Day two of our Walt Disney World 50^th Anniversary Celebration vacation was day one at Hollywood Studios. You can read about our first day at Magic Kingdom here! We had two missions before arriving at Hollywood Studios – secure a Lightening Lane {LL} for Slinky Dog Dash and purchase an Individual Lightening Lane {ILL} for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. {See Magic Kingdom post for more on Genie+ and Lightening Lanes!}

I woke up at 7am and first tried for Slinky Dog. I was able to get a LL for mid-morning. I then purchased the ILL for Rise of the Resistance, which we got in the afternoon for $15 each. We were only doing Toy Story Land and Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge on this day {btw, the detail in both of these lands in beyond. Loved it!} so even though we got both of the rides we wanted for this day, we still decided to rope drop and use our extra half hour since we were staying at a Disney resort.

What We Did

We rode the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios and it was so quick and easy. There was a bit of a line in the morning, but it moved so fast we were on it in no time.

After we grabbed a quick breakfast and coffee on Hollywood Boulevard, we walked around Galaxy’s Edge. It started raining, so we cut through Toy Story Land and decided to head indoors. Muppet Vision 3D was perfect for this. It’s is a very cute show and a nice place to hang out if the weather turns nasty, and there’s usually not a line.

After the show, we went to redeem our LL for Slinky Dog Dash. We absolutely loved this roller coaster! It definitely lives up to the hype. It’s cute, and fast and has just enough thrills to keep you entertained. There’s always a very long line, and it’s usually hard to secure a LL, but I would count this as a must ride. Next, we decided to have a snack at Woody’s Lunch Box.

I booked a LL for Alien Swirling Saucers, but the line was never very long. This ride is similar to Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree in Cars Land at California Adventure, but it’s not as fun. After we redeemed the LL, I was able to book another one for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway later in the day.

We did a little shopping and decided to go back to the hotel and rest. From the hotel, I was able to book a LL for Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage. I checked Rise of the Resistance on the app before we returned to the park in the afternoon, and it was down during our time to ride.

Because the ride was down, we no longer had a set time to ride it and could return at any time before the park closed at 9pm. We went to see Beauty and the Beast, which was great and then we redeemed our Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway which was a very fun and adorable ride.

By now, it was pouring, but Rise of the Resistance was back up and running. We loaded up on rain gear and headed back to Galaxy’s Edge. However, when we went to get in line, we were told they were cutting the line off and if we had any questions we could speak to the Supervisor.

This poor woman was surrounded by people asking a million questions, us included. I wanted to know how to redeem our ILL, since I had paid extra for this ride. She told me the problem from earlier had not been solved, so they took the whole ride down again, kind of like restarting a computer.

We could keep checking back to see if it was working again, and our ILL would work for the rest of the day until the park closed. We had reservations at Oga’s Cantina around 7pm and I wasn’t sure if we would make it back, so I asked if they would issue a refund. She told me they do not automatically issue refunds, that you need to go to Guest Relations and request one, FYI.

We decided to see if we could get into Oga’s Cantina a little earlier than our reservation. That was a fun experience {insert eye roll and see below.}

While sitting, I mean standing, at Oga’s Cantina, I noticed on the app that Rise of the Resistance was working again. So, we got out of there as fast as we could and got in line for the ride. I absolutely loved this ride! My daughter did not. For me, I was fully immersed in Star Wars, it moved fast and I feel like I didn’t pay attention to a lot of it, so I can’t wait to ride it again.

For Ella, it moved too fast and I think she constantly felt like her brain was trying to catch up. She is not looking forward to riding it again. After the ride, we left the park.

Where We Ate

The Trolley Car Café – This is a Starbucks on Hollywood Boulevard close to the park’s entrance. We grabbed something quick here and headed over to Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge.

Woody’s Lunch Box – My daughter got the Instagram famous Raspberry Lunch Box Tart. It was delicious. I got a grilled cheese sandwich which came with potato barrels {tater tots.} I thought the whole concept of this restaurant was adorable and the food was very good for the price.

Hollywood Scoops – Before heading to Beauty and the Beast, we got ice cream here and then sat and listened to everyone scream their brains out on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

Oga’s Caninta– Disgusting, don’t do it. I’m not even kidding. If you know anything about this bar, you know it’s very popular and nearly impossible to get a reservation. It has a very limited food menu {2 items} and a lot of Star Wars themed drinks.

I’m all for a good theme and I’m a huge Star Wars fan, but I draw the line here. Our experience was awful right from the start. We went to the host stand to ask if it was possible to be seated a little early. He practically rolled his eyes out of his head and said he could try, but I had to keep coming back to check. In 30 minutes, I checked twice, both times met with extreme attitude. We were sat at our original time.

They used to have seats, but removed them all, so it’s standing room only besides a few booths. I should’ve done more research, but I didn’t know this. We got “seated” at the bar and were told we only had 45 minutes to eat and drink. Our feet hurt and we were standing while eating, so 45 minutes seemed generous.

We ordered both the dining options – Batuu Bits {some weird cracker things and dip} and the Happabore Sampler {a charcuterie board your dog wouldn’t eat}. I had heard the food wasn’t great, but I wasn’t prepared for how bad it actually was.

For drinks, Ella got Blue Bantha {the famous blue milk} and I got Jabba Juice. My drink was good, but she was not into hers. It was interesting, like drinking slushy milk.

Our bartender/server was possibly even more rude than the host. He dropped our drinks off, then dropped our food off, barely saying anything, never to be seen again until he dropped our bill off. Usually not a problem, but when I started eating the charcuterie board, I noticed that one of the pieces of mystery meat looked like someone had taken a bite out of it.

What went through my mind was that someone returned it and it got re-served to me. I could not get the server’s attention as he was blatantly ignoring us. He even started washing glasses right in front of me. I said “Excuse me” about five times and then waved my hands in front of his face. He didn’t look up and then walked away.

When I did finally get his attention, he was snarky and rude. Not only did it look like someone ate the meat, but the pickled veggies were limp and cold, the crackers were stale and all that was edible were three pork rinds. When I said all this, he tried cracking jokes by insulting us. He never offered a manager or a solution.

We paid the $55 and left.

Everything POP at Pop Century Resort – After our gross meal at Oga’s, we went back to the hotel and grabbed some actual food and took it back to our room.

Hollywood Studios is one of my favorite parks, but it’s not my daughter’s. We had some hiccups and a not great dining experience {Disney made it right later when I wrote a Karen letter about our experience} but in the end, we got to ride Slinky Dog Dash and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, which were both amazing!

Stay tuned for day three at Epcot!