Walt Disney World - Hollywood Studios

The Hollywood Studios Theme Park at Disney World used to be the MGM Studios many a year ago.

But this fun, hippish park is geared more toward teenage and adult audiences. It has a trendy, more funky ambiance that appeals more to the thrill-seekers and young at heart.

During this visit, Paul and I were not able to ride the Rock N’ Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith…we met Mickey instead.

And we weren’t able to get on the Tower of Terror… we took pictures instead.

We surely couldn’t sit through an entire American Idol Casting Show…we walked to different shops instead.

And when it came to having dinner— we couldn’t have been able to enjoy a nice meal…but Benny finally fell asleep!

We made reservations months in advance at the Hollywood Brown Derby inside the Hollywood Studios.

Since we purchased a Disney Dining Plan ahead of time, we were able to use that for this reservation and not have to worry about paying a penny for our meals (other than the waiter’s tip). 

 I ordered the Blue Jumbo Lump Spring Rolls as an appetizer (Paul had a salad) and for an entrée, I ordered the Beef Filet and Paul got the Pork chop. The food was awesome.

For dessert, I tried to be as healthy as possible and ordered the grapefruit cake (A Brown Derby original)—but I don’t know… I think we both agreed that Paul's Banana White Chocolate Toffee Dessert was much more…ummm…delicious.

Anyhow, after dinner we stopped by Sid Cahuenga's One-of-a-Kind Antiques & Curios, a collector's heaven. Here, a person can purchase original movie publicity prints with authentic celebrity signatures. This was so much fun to explore!

Before calling it a day, we decided Orlando weather was far too hot for Benny and we needed to buy a fan to keep him cool inside his stroller… so as we exited the park…boom! Right before our eyes, an outdoor gift shop with dozens of battery-operated Mickey fans.

We stopped and made the purchase but not before asking the cast member if he would be so kind as to honor our Disneyland Annual Passholder discount. Now keep in mind, this was Disney World, not Disneylad so Michael did what any responsible employee who doesn’t know an answer should do—verify with his supervisor. In the end, we were able to get our discount and Michael apologized for making us wait, but he explained that his job at Disney World meant everything to him.

This amicable and friendly young man has been a Disney fan since he was a little boy in South Carolina. When the time was right, he talked to his mother and told her he would be pursuing his dream job and applying at Walt Disney World. He was so determined that as soon as he received a job offer, he packed his bags and moved to Kissimmee, FL (where a great majority of Disney employees reside). Now he joins the ranks of the friendly and helpful Disney Cast member community. Good luck in all your Disney endeavors, Michael! Thanks for the great service.

All in all, the Disney Hollywood Studios Park was extremely enjoyable (and dinner was fantastic) and Benny was a good sport throughout the day. Paul decided to reward his good behavior by purchasing a Donald Duck- duck call in the shape of a beak but Benny didn’t like it and wept at the first sound of Paul using it (chuckle).