Day 2 of our 2016 Disney adventure was a special day for me. It was my birthday! There is no better way to spend your 38th birthday than being at Disney World. This is now the 3rd birthday I’ve celebrated at Disney, and they each get better and better. We even have my 40th planned to be visiting Disney yet again. (I’m still working on getting my birthday twin, James Corden, to join us. We were both born August 22, 1978.)
As it was my birthday, the choice of activities was left to me. Naturally, we visited my favourite park – Hollywood Studios. It was a day full of Star Wars, Tower of Terror and food. Our absolute favourite ride is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – a thrilling drop elevator ride. We definitely took a few rides through the tower on this day. But the biggest part of the day was around Star Wars. Over the past few years, since Disney acquired Star Wars from Lucasfilm, the presence in the parks has increased. They are currently building a new Star Wars-themed part of Hollywood Studios. On this visit though, we were able to meet a couple of characters – Chewbacca and Kylo Ren. We rode Star Tours a few times and got to see some Storm Troopers marching through the park.
On the food side of things, lunch consisted of popcorn and a red-velvet cupcake from Starring Roles Café. We didn’t want anything too heavy for lunch as we were heading to one of our favourite restaurants for supper – the 50’s Prime Time Café. For those who’ve never been, the concept is that everyone in the restaurant are cousins, and you’re eating in your grandma’s family home. Mom’s in the kitchen making supper and Grandma’s making dessert. Our waiter, Cousin Carmelo, even gave me a birthday card! We are always left with an overfilled belly and huge smile on our faces when we leave here. Here’s my tip – try the PB & J milkshake.
One of the absolute highlights for me was the new Star Wars Spectacular – an all new firework and laser-projection show at the end of the night. The show is broadcast onto the front of the Chinese Theatre in the centre of the park using lasers and digital projectors. The images were spectacular, the lasers and fireworks stunning…it was one of the best Disney fireworks shows that I’ve had the pleasure of viewing to date.
Musings of A Boxhead 