Mastering Disney's Fastpass+ System

I know that some people think Disney's Fastpass+ System is lame, but my family thinks it is excellent. Sure there can be tweaks made, but it guarantees you three rides with little wait everytime you go to DisneyWorld and that is huge. You just have to learn how to master the system. Jenna and I never waited in a line of more than 30 minutes during our entire year of passes and we went to Disney every weekend! Check out our tips!

Tip #1: Schedule Your Fastpasses the Day you are able!
The biggest key is to schedule your fastpasses ASAP. You want to schedule your fastpasses 60 days out if you are going to a resort. Scheduling this early  will allow you to see headline attractions like Toy Story Mania, Meet and Greet with the Frozen sisters, or the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It will be difficult to schedule any of those attractions if you wait too long. If you are not staying at a resort, you can schedule your fastpass+ selections 30 days. Scheduling 30 days out may take away the headliners mentioned above, but not always. It gives you a chance to get on those rides and you can schedule other headliners such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad or Space Mountain.

Tip #2: Don't Waste Your Fastpasses
Do not use fastpass+ selections on attractions that do not need a fastpass+. Mickey's PhilarMagic will have a 10 minute wait 90% of the time and doesn't need a fastpass+. Unless the park is incredibly busy, the Mad Tea Party and Dumbo typically have less than a 1/2 hour wait. Same with Aladdin's Magic Carpets. Now, if these are the only fastpass+ selections available, then yes still use them because they save time, but they are best used on more popular attractions.

Tip #3: Schedule Your Fastpasses for Peak Times
We have often blogged about the benefit to arriving early. Arriving early is huge and let's you ride a bunch of rides with little to no wait. If you are already waiting very little time, it is pointless to schedule fastpasses before 10am. That is unless you are trying to ride the Mine Train or Meet Anna and Elsa. Those two attractions are always busy. I recommend using your fastpasses between 11-3. If the first one is scheduled for 1030-1130 that is fine, but I would visit closer to 1130. You want to use your fastpass+ selections when the park is the busiest.

Tip #4: Use Your Extra Fastpasses Wisely
Some people obsess over the extra Fastpass+ selections. This can be a difficult process and I recommend you don't stress to hard over them. Often the lines in the park to get a Fastpass+ is longer than lines to some rides. You can feel like you need a Fastpass+ to get through the Fastpass+ line. If this is the case, don't worry about these Fastpass+ selections. However, once you use your original 3 Fastpass selections, you can get a new one every time you run out of selections. If there is a short line for Fastpass+ or the line is shorter than ride lines, then go for it. Just don't be disappointed when the good rides are gone, because there are a limited number of Fastpasses available. They have to keep them fast after all.

Tip #5: Use Them on the Best Attractions Possible
I will break this down to my favorite rides and what I would use the Fastpass+ selections for.

Magic Kingdom

(Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain) easily sub Mine Train if that is your preference, but I like the other rides better.

Magic Kingdom w/toddler

(Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan) Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, or Pirates can be subbed

Animal Kingdom

(Kilimanjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest)

Animal Kingdom w/ toddler

(Kilimanjaro Safaris, Meet Mickey, the other one will be wasted unless you do rider exchange)

Hollywood Studios

(Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Disney Jr. live on Stage)
Side Note: Hollywood Studios does a tiered system where the more popular rides are on a higher tier. You can only pick one of Toy Story, Aerosmith coaster, or Fantasmic! The one positive to this is that Tower of Terror is on the lower tier. I recommend Toy Story, but you can sub it for the coaster. If you don't have little kids there are other selections besides Disney Jr. on stage as well.

Epcot

(Test Track, The Seas w/ Nemo, Living With the Land)
Side Note: Epcot also uses a tiered system. You must choose Test Track or Soarin'. I believe the character spot was on that upper tier as well. The best ride at Epcot doesn't need a fastpass+. The ride in Mexico is always less than a 20 minute wait and it is awesome! For a family with a toddler you would sub Test Track for that meet and greet.

Bonus Tip: Don't Wait Until You Get in The Park
As I said before the lines for Fastpass+ can get excruciatingly long. Do them on your phone before you get to the park. Waiting until you get to the park is a waste of your precious Disney time. This is one line at Disney you can easily avoid.

Stay tuned next week for more life tips!

-Noland

Hollywood Studios Upgrades

We believe that we have become experts of sorts on all things Disney World. Throughout the year with our passes we learned a lot about how the parks work and how to navigate them. It was a good time for us to learn what to do and how to do it. Through all of that though, it was apparent that one park needed some major upgrades and that park was Hollywood Studios.

As much as we love Hollywood Studios, it was difficult to attend with a toddler. The reason it was so difficult is that currently this park only has 5 rides operating. Three of those rides (Tower of Terror, Rock n'Roller Coaster, and Star Tours) have a height requirement of 40" to ride. My son is quite tall for his age, but he is not 40" tall so those three are out for Hollywood Studios. This leaves us with little options when attending that particular park as a family. Those options decrease because the Toy Story line is never less than an hour and we are not fans of The Great Movie Ride. Now, we are able to get by because of character meet and greets, and the Disney Jr. show, but the park needs to increase it's level of family entertainment for this park to reach its full potential. We always make sure we get a Toy Story Midway Mania fastpass+ before we go here so we have as many options as possible. Unfortunately, everyone else can not be so lucky. Other great offerings at the studios are Character Palooza and The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. However, Palooza isn't advertised (for good reason) and the Light show is only during Christmas. Those going can see Fantasmic, but often have to wait close to an hour for seats on many occasions. It is no wonder why this is the least crowded park at Walt Disney World and there obviously needs to be some changes about it.

Knowing there is an issue in this regard, Disney has decided to make some adjustments at this park. First, Disney decided to remove the Sorcerer's hat. This move is appealing to those who like the classic look of Disney before they get shocked by all the changes. It makes it more difficult for young families that grew up with the hat like myself, but those who remember the previous view of the Chinese Theater love it. That is the group Disney was trying to appease with this move. Not only that, but moving the hat symbolizes that this park is upgrading and heading in a new direction. The upgrades are something that I think everyone is excited about.

After removing the hat, Disney will continue the transformation of the park. The most significant talk is around doubling the size of Toy Story Midway Mania and Pixar Place in general. By doubling the size they would cut down wait time significantly. Opening a larger portion of the ride would be a huge boost by allowing more people to ride the park's biggest attraction. Expanding the entire Pixar section which certainly seems to be happening, would allow the Studios to add rides from popular movies such as Finding Nemo, Cars, and Monsters Inc. Additionally, they would be able to add more from the fantastic Toy Story franchise. Since Toy Story has been gold in the parks, this would be the strongest idea IMO. Rumored future attractions include an Army Men Drop, Slinky ride, Radiator Springs Racers, and a Monsters Inc. Door Coaster. All of those rides would be exciting, but any Pixar attractions would be sure to spice up the parks.

One other expansion that has been confirmed is a Stars Wars section being made at the park. While this expansion was put on hold last year, it will be happening at some point in the not too distant future. It was put on hold to include elements from the Episode 7 movie among other things. There is no doubt that Hollywood Studios will have an increased Star Wars presence. Talk exists that one new attraction could be a Star Wars Speeder Bike Coaster. The new coaster would be a fantastic attraction. It would seem that the Pixar section would be more family friendly and at least one major coaster would go in this Star Wars section. Additional rumors exist that the Indiana Jones stunt show will close for a Star Wars themed show. If that happens though, it will be far down the road. No doubt that Star Wars will add a much needed punch to the parks.

Finally, there are several rumors surrounding the shows at Hollywood Studios. People love the shows at Hollywood Studios and they have helped keep the park afloat all these years. However, they seem to be outdated. These shows are simply not as good as the Finding Nemo and Lion King shows at Animal Kingdom. Considering the name of the park is Hollywood Studios, this park NEEDS better shows. Not only do they need better shows, but the shows should be the best in the parks. I personally love the Indiana Jones show, but it gets old after a while. Meanwhile the shows at AK never get old. There are definitely better options out there for shows. This is certainly true about the Little Mermaid show which is not as cool as the ride at MK and the overrated Beauty and the Beast show. In fact, the Beauty and the Beast show was listed on my overrated attraction list. Now, there has been talk that Beauty and the Beast would be replaced by either a Tangled show or a Frozen show. Sign me up for Tangled, that show has an incredible amount of potential. If they got Mandy Moore to do it once and a while, I would be quite happy. Besides the fact that Jenna and I enjoy Tangled more, Anna and Elsa are being pushed far too hard on people. Personally, we understand all the Frozen updates, but a show with the rides and everything else could easily be overkill. Meanwhile, Tangled is not represented at all.

Removing that Indiana Jones show is on the backburner with all of these other updates, but will happen eventually. The question is what show replaces it? My guess would be that a show around Star Wars will eventually take its place, but I would enjoy a Monsters Inc. show or another Disney movie show. Personally, I believe a Jungle Book show would be the best idea in its spot. However, I realize that is quite unlikely. The Little Mermaid show is likely also on the backburner to be removed. This should happen though because it doesn't fit with the theme of that part of the park. It is all Disney Jr. stuff over there. I suggest either an additional Meet N' Greet with the other Disney Jr. characters (Sheriff Callie, Henry Hugglemonster, Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, etc.) or another Disney Jr. themed attraction. If they do a show, a cool idea that won't be considered is a Tinga Tinga Tales show! That was mine and Jenna's favorite cartoon on Disney Jr. to watch with our Jr. Another Disney Jr. attraction either a ride, a Meet N' Greet, or show would help make this park even more family friendly. Making it more family friendly would surely increase park attendance.

Hollywood Studios is a fantastic park, but it will get even better and that is exciting!!!

Here are some fun pictures of us at Hollywood Studios during our year with passes.
Hollywood Studios @ Christmas Time

Hollywood Studios is the 1st Park Jr. Walked In

The pictures were mostly from Christmas, but some other events were featured in these photos, like Fantasmic!
Have a fantastic weekend people!

-Noland

8 Tips to save Time & Waiting when visiting Disney's Magic Kingdom

If you are reading this post than you probably already know that having a successful day at Disney World is all about advanced planning. It’s really not as complicated as you may think but I get that it is completely overwhelming when you walk through the front gate into the magic adventure that is Disney's Magic Kingdom!

Recently, my family came down to Orlando for a 4-day vacation. We spent one day at Magic Kingdom. We got there at park opening (8am) and left at noon. In that small time frame, we were able to ride 10 rides. And it was Disney’s famed busiest day of the year, 4^th of July! How did we do it? Well, Noland and I have a couple tips that we use every time we go to a park for the day. We’ve been a quite a few times this summer and honestly, I can say I have not waited in a line for more than 15 minutes.

These tips can come in extra handy during the busy times, so check them out. Pin them on Pinterest, share them on Facebook... Do what you have to do to keep them somewhere so that you can refer to them next time you visit Disney's Magic Kingdom!

1. Pre-purchase your tickets to the park. They will mail them to your house.

This may seem like a waste because there may be a shipping cost but pre-purchasing your tickets WILL save you so much time. If you purchase them in advance, they show up at your house and you get to bypass waiting in the long lines with excited kids at the ticket center.

Another positive to purchasing your tickets in advance is that you can schedule your Fastpass+ 30 days before you actually visit the park. Disney’s Fastpass+ lets you pick 3 rides where you basically skip the rest of the line and have, at most, a 5-10 minute wait. Since anyone who has purchased tickets in advance can schedule Fastpass+, it works in your advantage to purchase your tickets at least 30 days in advance so that you can pre-schedule your Fastpass+ for the rides that you really want. Fastpasses DO run out for the really popular rides. Usually, the Fastpasses don’t run out until the day that you visit but sometimes you could miss out on your favorite ride or character meet and greet because others pre-ordered and have booked theirs in advance.

2. Pre-schedule your Fastpass+

As stated earlier, once you purchase your tickets online, you CAN pre-schedule your Fastpass+ up to 30 days in advance! It is pretty awesome! My husband schedules us fastpasses all the time, he loves it. Fastpass+ assures that you will get to enjoy at least 3 attractions the day of your visit. If you manage to complete all 3 of your fastpasses, you CAN add another fast pass by visiting a Fastpass+ kiosk. But, let's focus on pre-booking the fastpasses... it is SO important to pick the attractions that you or your kids really want to do and pre-schedule them as your fastpasses. Fastpass+ allows you to guarantee those 3 attractions.

If you have small children, I would book at least one Fastpass+ for a character meet and greet. Magic Kingdom has a ton of awesome characters and their lines are usually pretty long. If your child wants to meet a lot of characters, I would recommend checking out the other parks. I wrote a post about a secret character meet and greet that can be found at Hollywood Studios with a ton of different characters! Epcot is known to have a ton of characters too. Almost every country at Epcot has a Disney princess!

None the less, you can schedule Fastpass+ for 1 or multiple character meet and greets at Magic Kingdom. My personal opinion is that if your child loves Mickey, then he is the coolest character to meet at Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom is the only place where Mickey can talk to you when you meet him...Technology is so crazy. If you have a little girl and she likes Belle from Beauty and the Beast, I would definitely encourage you to book a Fastpass+ for Enchanted Tales with Belle. When you get there and the Disney cast member ask who wants to be the Beast, have your daughter raise her hand! She will get to dance will Belle and it is so sweet. I cried a happy cry when we went to Enchanted Tales with Belle... haha. The little girl who played the Beast was completely starstruck!

Remember that you only get 3 Fastpass+ to start off with. You know your kiddo's interests but here are some other great rides for the younger kids that you can book a Fastpass+ for (because the lines can get long between noon-4pm):

• Buzz Light Year space ranger spin


• Peter Pan's Flight


• Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid


• Pirates of the Caribbean


• Haunted Mansion


• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh


• Barnstormer

If you have older kids (7+), I would recommend booking your Fastpass+ for 3 of the roller coasters/log flume. They always have long lines. You don't have time for long lines! :

• Splash Mountain


• Big Thunder Mountain


• Seven Dwarves Mine Train


• Space Mountain

3. Make sure to schedule your Fastpass+ for the busiest times (between noon-4pm).

The morning time is not really busy. The wait times are down so I'd recommend saving your Fastpass+ for the busier times. From park opening on, more and more people are coming into the park and by noon, it is pretty crowded. We always save our fastpasses for after lunch. We try to get some big rides done first thing in the morning, check out some shows, etc., eat lunch around noon and then take advantage of our 3 fastpasses during the busy times!

Once your fastpasses are gone, remember that you can go to a kiosk to book one more. When that one is gone, you can stop by the kiosk and book another, and so on. This comes in handy if you will be around for night time or decide to leave and come back for a night time parade or show, you can have an extra Fastpass+ booked before you head to the hotel to take a nap.

4. Pack a lunch.

When we visit Disney, we pack a meal and plan to eat one meal there. As you know, meals can be expensive at Disney. Another fun fact is that they let you bring in your own food. We try to pack our lunch and then we can eat dinner at one of the park restaurants, or vice versa. It keeps us from putting a large dent in our wallet and saves a little bit of money to put towards a Mickey bar or Disney souvenir.

I would also recommend packing the meal the night before. That way, you won't feel stressed out if you happen to wake up late or have to get the rest of the family moving in the morning.

5. Download the Disney app and use it throughout the day. 

The Disney app has all sort of helpful tips. Once you pre-purchase your tickets, if it is 30 days or less in advance, you can actually pre-schedule your Fastpass+ online or on the Disney app before you even have your tickets in-hand. While at the park, the Disney app allows you to check wait times and gives important info like parade times, character meet and greet times, etc. It is useful and can be extremely helpful when you are leaving Splash Mountain (which is on the far west side of the park) and need to decide which ride to head towards next.

6. Go the bathroom before you leave your resort.

This one is easy. Try your best and encourage your kids and other family members to hit the bathroom before you head to the park in the morning!

After you park at Magic Kingdom and walk or take the tram to the Ticket Center, there are bathrooms on the East end of the ticket center. From the Ticket Center, you have to take the ferry boat or monorail to the park. Once you enter Magic Kingdom, there are bathrooms past the train station and to the left (West end) before you head down Main Street. But, if you manage to go to the bathroom before leaving, it could save you a little bit of time!

Make sure to check out my favorite bathrooms in Fantasyland to the left of the It's a Small World ride. They are Tangled themed and for a split second, you feel like you stepped into the movie!

7. Arrive at park opening.

This one is the MOST IMPORTANT on this list! Do it. Wake up early on your vacation because it is absolutely worth it! Check park opening of the day you plan to go. Sometimes it varies, and Disney resort go-ers are sometimes allowed in earlier than everyone else for Extra Magic Hours!

If the park opens at 8, leave your resort at 7:15am. Once you park at Magic Kingdom, you will walk or take a tram to the ticket center. If you already have your tickets in-hand, which you should because you pre-purchased them... you will then take the monorail or ferry boat to the Magic Kingdom park. Sometimes the ferry/monorail can get backed up so that's part of the reason it is important to get there early! Once you get off the monorail or ferry boat, you will have to go through a bag check line. After this is done, you will then scan your park tickets and your fingerprint to get into the park.

If you make it by 7:50am (if the park opens at 8am/8:50am if the park opens at 9am) then you will get to see the Welcome Show in front of the Train Station. It always features some fun Main Street characters and Disney characters. It's cute and I'll be so proud that you made it early.

After the Welcome Show, you can stroll down Main Street and head towards Tomorrowland on the East end of the park. It is always super slow in the morning with 5 minute wait times on Space Mountain and the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin! If you get to ride them first thing, then there is no reason to waste a Fastpass+ on them... or you can ride them multiple times if you have already scheduled your Fastpass+ for one of them later in the day! When we went on 4th of July, we rode Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin first thing in the morning. We definitely could have gone on them multiple times in a row but decided to get in as many other rides as possible since the wait times were so low.

I promise you that getting there early will keep you from waiting. Wait times are almost non-existent first thing in the morning. I would recommend not running toward the Seven Dwarves Mine Train or Meet and Greet with Anna & Elsa from Frozen. Those are the two attractions that always have a 90+ minute wait within the first 5 minutes of park opening. I've even asked Disney workers and they agree that it is crazy how many people run back to get in line for those 2 attractions. If those are 2 attractions that you really want to see while at Disney's Magic Kingdom, I'd recommend booking a Fastpass+ for them or you will be wasting your precious time waiting, waiting, waiting in line.

8. Save the rides that never really have a wait for the busy times.

When the park starts to get busy, you can use your fastpasses but there will only be 3 so you will eventually have to find something else to do. Here are the rides and shows that you do NOT need a Fastpass+ for... they almost always have short wait times and if you see one of them with a long wait line, then give it about 30 minutes and it will probably go down:

• Shows: Mickey's Philhar Magic, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor


• People Mover


• Carousel of Progress


• Mad Tea Party


• It's a Small World


• Aladdin's Magic Carpets


• Prince Charming's Regal Carousel


• Dumbo: The Flying Elephant (I wouldn't book a Fastpass+ for this one because there is a play area while you wait in line. It is great for the little ones to get out some much needed energy)

Also, you can always check the Disney app for approximate wait times, which will help you know which ride to head toward next. Finally, there are a few things to do around Disney's Magic Kingdom that you could not book a Fastpass+ for anyways. These are good to check out when all the wait times are over 30 minutes:

• Tiki Tiki Room


• Swiss Family Robinson Tree house


• Country Bears Jamboree


• Take a boat ride and explore Tom Sawyer Island


• Take a ride on Liberty Square Riverboat


• Get a yummy Disney snack like dole whip at the Pineapple Promenade in Adventure land.


• Stroll up and down Main Street to check out all the Disney shops and goodies!


• Walk through Cinderella's castle!


• Catch a parade or Dream along with Mickey show in front of the castle!


• Go play Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom (found at the front of the park).

Here are some pictures from our last visit at Magic Kingdom: 

[caption id="attachment_1438" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Noland Jr. loving the Mad Tea Party[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_1429" align="aligncenter" width="798"] Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it! Street parade is always fun to watch![/caption]



[caption id="attachment_1432" align="aligncenter" width="796"] Donald Duck is one of Noland Jr's favorite characters![/caption]



[caption id="attachment_1427" align="aligncenter" width="600"] This is my favorite picture of Cinderella's beautiful castle! Make sure to check up close for all the details![/caption]

With these 8 tips listed above, you should not wait in line for very long, and you will save a lot of time! If a line has a 30 minute or more wait, please don't get in it! Check your Disney app and move on to another ride. Remember that the wait times are always changing and there is always a chance the line will be shorter later on. If you have any questions about planning your Walt Disney World trip, feel free to leave me a comment and I'll try my best to answer and help any way that I can. I'm trying to start posting some Disney tips on here from time to time. Let me know what you think! If you like this post, please share with your friends, family, and anyone you know planning a trip to Walt Disney World!

-Jen

Characterpalooza at Hollywood Studios

In the past year, Noland and I have been going to Walt Disney World a lot. We both have learned so much about how to navigate the parks and meet characters that we can even have a full day with several rides and character meet and greets during the busy times. We've also gone for an afternoon and accomplished more than some people do in a whole day.

Have you ever watched the TV Show called The Middle on ABC? Well, on their 2014 season finale, they won a trip to Disney World. It's a long story and I don't want to ruin the episode but the first day they go to Disney, they run into many misfortunes and don't end up riding anything. In fact by the time they agree to get into one of the many long lines, they jump into a line of people who happen to be walking out of the park. It made me laugh so hard because I know that I've been to Disney and felt that way before. Have you  ever gone to Disney World and felt completely overwhelmed? I know that the first few times I went to Disney's Magic Kingdom, my mom only managed to get me to ride a couple of rides. I met a few characters too but that may have been around the times when characters would just walk around. And according to the pictures, my brother and I rode Dumbo...

And here we are in front of the castle.

It can be hard to navigate a place if it is your first time going or you have only been one or two times before. After all, each park is large, it's hot outside, crowded, you are trying to read this large map to figure out where to go, and what is the best way to get there, all while your toddler/ little one is (or multiple kiddos are) crying because he/she is hungry or thirsty. Okay so that is a little bit over-dramatic, but it can be challenging. I get it. Since we've managed to figure it out, we have decided to start sharing some Disney World tips and tricks on this blog occasionally.

Today we are going to talk about Characterpalooza at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios (previously known as MGM). I'm starting to believe that Hollywood Studios could be one of the best places to meet characters. As an adult, it has two of the best rides (in my opinion) in all of Walt Disney World Resort: Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller coaster) and it has a TON of characters and a secret meet and greet that I'm going to telly you about called CHARACTERPALOOZA.

What is Characterpalooza? Well it is a gathering of characters that happens at Hollywood Studios! It will not be listed on the map or times guide but it happens almost every day.

Up: Noland and Noland Jr. meeting Stitch Below: The Evil Queen from Snow White, and Pocahontas.

What characters will be at Characterpalooza? There is no telling which characters will show up at Characterpalooza, I hear it changes from time to time but, we did see some characters that you could not see anywhere else. We happened to run into Characterpalooza on Tuesday, July 24, 2014. They had about 14-15 characters out. Here are the list of characters that were out when we arrived: Stitch, Evil Queen (from Snow White), Pinocchio, Gepetto, Queen of Hearts, Mary Poppins, Penguin (from Mary Poppins), Chip, Dale, Pocahontas, Meeko, Minnie Mouse, Mulan, and a couple of Army Men from Toy Story.

Above: Here is Minnie Mouse interacting with some people in line and the Queen of Hearts posing for a picture. Below: Mulan ran out of time to meet with all her fans so she went by and talked to each of them before she left. We met Chip. Noland Jr. didn't look at the camera but he was smiling!

 










When is Characterpalooza? According to Kenny the Pirate, it all depends on Fantasmic (a nighttime extravaganza featuring music, pyrotechnics, video projected on water, fiber optics, lasers and many more effects at Disney's Hollywood Studios).

• If Fantasmic isn't scheduled, Characterpalooza will NOT happen.


• If one Fantasmic show is scheduled, Characterpalooza will occur at 4:30 p.m. near Echo Lake, and 5:30 p.m. on the Streets of America.


• If two Fantasmic shows are scheduled, Characterpalooza will happen only at 6:00 p.m. on the Streets of America.

So the next time you travel to Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, make sure to check out Characterpalooza and meet some characters that you may not see anywhere else in the parks. 

Below is Noland Jr and I meeting Pinocchio. Gepetto was there too but stepped away by the time is was our turn in line.

How long is Characterpalooza? Characterpalooza is usually in about half hour increments. When we met the characters, they were out for about 30 minutes. We didn't get pictures with every character but we did get to interact, meet and take pictures with about 4-5 of them. 

Hollywood Studios has many other characters that can be found on the park's times guides such as: Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Green Army Men, Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Sophia from Sophia the First, Phineas and Ferb, Wreck-it-Ralph, Vanellope von Sweets, Woody, Buzz, Sorcerer Mickey, Mr. Incredible and Frozone from The Incredibles, Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars, Sully, Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc/Monsters U.

This is outside of Toy Story's Midway Mania. The green army men hang out there.








Here are the Nolands meeting Jake from Jake & the Never land Pirates by the Disney Junior Stage show.

Hope that helps in planning your vacation!

-Jen