Last Updated on May 11, 2019
Hollywood Studios Afternoon – April 2019 (AKA The Sunscreen Cluster)
After our big kid morning at Magic Kingdom we had a fun evening planned for Hollywood Studios.
We don’t typically do evenings at the parks but with an Early Magic Hour at DHS it was our only option!
I was looking forward to visiting Hollywood Studios as an entire family as there are quite a few things I knew Spear would be old enough to possibly enjoy, especially the new Disney Jr Dance Party!
Some days are just so smooth and fun…and some? Some are a straight CLUSTER. And this one? This one fell into the cluster category!
It is neat seeing how much work is going into Hollywood Studios right now. Honestly? I will be SHOCKED if the park is REALLY READY for when Star Wars opens…but we’ll see!
Our Fastpass was for the Disney Junior Dance Party so we went there right away but we were about 15 minutes early for the fastpass reservation so we decided to go watch the Star Wars show nearby.
Prior to leaving the house we covered the kids in sunscreen because it was supposed to be 90 degrees and sunny.
On our way to the park, Spear started crying HARD. Like to the level that I unbuckled and climbed in the back seat to try to comfort him.
He wasn’t having it.
We realized that he had gotten sunscreen in his eyes. And I really think he has a bit of a sunscreen “thing” because he had been pretty fussy the day before at the beach and his eyes were pretty swollen then too (you can see in the pics on this post!)
Y’all. The kid was MISERABLE. It was AWFUL.
But what can you do? You gotta just keep going on.
During the trying to comfort the crying baby while watching the Star Wars show…it started raining. So like all that sunscreen that was causing our child phyiscal pain? Totally pointless IN THE RAIN.
They canceled the Star Wars show and we went to seek shelter…because MAMA DID NOT PACK THE RAIN GEAR.
Yall. I checked the weather. And it said ZERO. ZERO percent chance of rain. So why would I pack the rain gear? I had just gone to the park a few hours prior and it was gorgeous. No rain gear needed!
But apparantly we should have skipped the sunscreen and instead should have packed the ponchos.
I was very proud of all of the kids! They dealt with a pitiful Spear and being soaking wet like champs!
We finally got into the NEW Disney Jr Dance Party and it was super cute! It was VERY similar to the one we saw in Disneyland…I did prefer the Disneyland version as it was more interactive with the kids in the audience (which Britt LOVED!)
But it was still a super cute show and the girls LOVED IT. I love that Tess was so into it as usually she kinda sits and watches rather than break it down herself 🙂
Bros don’t dance 😉
I was the most excited about the dance party for Spear! I thought he’d be into it…but instead he was the most miserable I’ve ever seen him IN HIS LIFE.
He kept rubbing his eyes and that just made it worse and I couldn’t really do anything to stop him from rubbing them.
My heart was just SO BROKEN for him! I felt SO BAD. Zach felt a million times worse b/c he was who applied the sunscreen.
I did some googling and really crying is the best thing to help the sunscreen work it’s way out. I knew he’d be okay. I wasn’t freaking OUT about it, I just felt SO SAD for him to be SO pitiful in that moment!
After the dance party we hit up the bathrooms and I washed Spear’s eyes out in the sink and I think it helped some!
We had some time to kill before our next Fastpass so we checked out the new Incredibles area.
Honestly guys? These attempts at distraction spots from Star Wars aren’t so great. I don’t think any of them will help dissipate the Star Wars crowds…when Galaxy’s Edge opens AVOID HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS. For like AWHILE.
I’m always a fan of a photo spot though 😉
To infinity and beyond!
My personal goal was a family photo. Y’all I know we take a LOT of pictures…but ones with ALL six of them in it? RARE.
I love our Toy Story themed outfits and really, really wanted a cute picture.
Sunscreen-Spear caused a hiccup in this plan haha but we tried!
We had a Fastpass for Alien Saucers…which we booked like a couple days before the trip. So y’all, have hope if you’re trying to score one!
Want more suggestions for Fastpass at DHS? Be sure to read this post!
Kye and Britt LOVE getting to ride together! I forgot there is a height requirement for the ride so Zach and Spear hung out and Tess and I rode together!
I loved seeing my little dancing alien break it down 🙂
We packed dinner for the kids to eat at the park and hunted down a place to eat.
It was then that I realized we’ve NEVER had quick service food at Hollywood Studios.
Not ever! Guess there is a first time for everything!
We ended up heading into Backlot Express and y’all we LOVED it.
I got this awesome chicken finger biscuit and gravy thing and it was GOOD.
We slow rolled dinner as much as possible. We had a later Fastpass for Rock N Rollercoaster and wanted to let Spear settle as much as he could. Kid was climbing EVERYWHERE even though he probably couldn’t see much out of the swollen eyes!
It was a lot of a cluster of a day but the win was that Zach and I both really liked what we got at Backlot Express AND liked the vibe of the place so we found a sweet spot that we’ll be heading back to.
Literally that was the highlight of the afternoon haha
Spear was beyond miserable and pitiful and I had the idea to just go show the cast member in charge of the fastpasses at Rock N Rollercoaster Spear’s face. I felt pretty confident they’d let Zach, Kye and Britt go ahead and use their fastpass early for the ride so we could get out of there and go home.
On our way we tried for family pics again and these were more successful!
It was my first time EVER walking over to Rock N Rollercoaster and it’s REALLY cool looking!
I approached the cast member and she was SO NICE. She said FOR SURE she’d let them go ahead and use their fastpass early (it was only about 30 min early but when you have a miserable toddler every minute counts!)
I just decided to stay in the area with Tess and Spear while we waited.
I pushed the stroller around. We checked out the new Lightning McQueen area (another pretty dang SAD attempt at distractions by Disney…)
Tess is always SO patient with the waiting which makes me so proud of her and she was so sweet checking on Spear and helping to comfort him!
No joke. About 15 min or so go by and I get a text from Zach.
THE RIDE BROKE DOWN.
They had to be escorted out of the ride area.
Y’all. We had eaten dinner and hung around WAITING for this Fastpass. Kye and Britt were SO BUMMED.
It just wasn’t our day!
It’s the benefit of being pass holders and getting to visit often…sometimes days don’t go our way but we know we’ll be back.
Rock N Rollercoaster is on our MUST DO list asap! I know we’re going back in July for Tess’s birthday so I’ll for sure get fastpasses then if we don’t go back sooner!
We got back plenty early for bedtime and got all packed up and ready to head home the next morning!
Then Zach and I watched the premiere of GAME OF THRONES final season (it was kinda a let down but the rest of the episodes so far have been AMAZING) and we hit the road first thing when we woke up.
I was SO thankful to see this sweet boy smiling and puffy-eye free!
Lesson learned? Don’t put sunscreen on the eyelids 😉 I’m investing in lots of sunscreen STICKS for the summer to easily apply on the faces!
