Hollywood Studios Afternoon Activities

How we ended our day at Hollywood Studios on a good note

Did you catch my last blog? In my previous post, I shared that our 3rd park day, Hollywood Studios, was the most stressful. It started out rough due to a number of reasons that I shared. I do believe the root of it was park exhaustion. Looking back, we could have all benefited from another break day. Hats off to the moms and families that go to the park multiple days back to back.

Leave me a comment with your tips and hacks.

“My disappointment started to set in because I started to question my planning for the trip. Did I overdo it? Was three park days a mistake? What did I miss? All of these thoughts and doubts passed through my mind. I had to shake them off to avoid adding more frustration to an already rocky day.”
READ THE FULL BLOG POST HERE!

We didn’t get to experience all of the attractions… we’ll save some for next time.

Custom Astromech Unit

I was up at 5:30 a.m. EST to book our reservations to build a custom Astromech Unit. At Droid Depot in Hollywood Studios guests can build their own droids. I was able to snag an afternoon reservation as they quickly booked up.

DIY Disney Tip: Plan ahead and get up early ready to book… FAST!

Our cast members assisting us made the experience really enjoyable. We were even allowed to check in early to give us some buffer before our scheduled dinner reservations. The kids loved selecting the parts and seeing the Astromech Units come to life. It was a whole experience from start to finish. It took us about 30 minutes, quicker than expected.

Cost per droid: $99.99 + applicable taxes

Total cost for 3 units: $319.74

This was a pretty hefty price tag. The droids seem durable but my kids are rough on toys and I’m low-key questioning my sanity.

Was it worth it? Well, it depends. For a larger family, the fee will be a lot. However, these toys will become keepsakes for years to come once they grow up.

Dinner at Hollywood and Vine

Hollywood and Vine is one of the sit-down dining experiences for Hollywood Studios. It’s also a character dining experience. Currently, it is set up as family style but according to the Disney website, the buffet will return on August 28th.

The restaurant is centrally located in Echo Lake and is connected to 50’s Prime Time Diner. As soon as we walked in, we immediately saw characters going from table to table and the atmosphere was so fun and inviting. It almost instantly shifted our moods. Our waitress was kind and sweet. She asked me how I was doing and I candidly told her, “It’s been a rough day”. She smiled and said offered an encouraging sentiment and let me know that the character will be around soon to greet us and she would get us started with drinks.

The food was very delicious at Hollywood and Vine

Let’s talk first about the food. It was so delicious! I’d even say it was better than most of the food that we had at Epcot during the Food and Wine Festival. Everything tasted freshly prepared and was extremely flavorful. I don’t see enough Disney content creators giving this restaurant major kudos so let me do so.

The food during our dining experience was epic!

**Seared Fresh Salmon with Grain Mustard-Beurre Blanc**
Crushed Fingerling Potatoes with Olive Oil and Garlic-Lemon Broccolini

For dessert we selected:

Ice Cream Sunday’s (kids)
Vanilla Crème Brûlée
Apple Pie

The Vanilla Crème Brûlée had a great flavor but the consistency was too thick. The apple pie was a bit lacking and needed an ‘ol school touch to amp it up a bit.

Overall this was a delicious meal and a great way to end the day. I’m glad we did not go forward with canceling the reservation because the meal was absolutely delicious.

The Characters

This character dining experience features:

Minnie Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Pluto
Goofy

They were all dressed in outfits with a beach flare. They were each very engaging and Mickey event came to sit next to my little guy. He was so tickled.