Hollywood Studios

I had no idea what to expect from Hollywood Studios when I went to Walt Disney World for the first time 18 months ago, so it wasn't on my list of top 5 things I was most excited about. I wasn't particularly interested in how films are made back then, and I thought that would be the main focus of the park. However, this year I knew exactly what to expect so I was very excited about going back. You can never fully grasp the scale of Hollywood Studios (or any of the Disney parks) until you've experienced it in person!

Hollywood Studios is home to two of my favourite rides in Walt Disney World - Rock'n'Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror. Both these rides usually have a substantial queue, but they're totally worth the wait. Rock'n'Roller Coaster isn't a very long ride, but it's brilliant while it lasts. It also has the bonus of blaring Aerosmith music the whole way around. The Tower of Terror is just a whole different sensation... I scream with genuine terror on this ride, but I absolutely love it. It also gives you a great view of the park...!

Pixar Place is one of my favourite areas in Hollywood Studios. The design of this area is phenomenal, but then I wouldn't expect anything less from the geniuses at Pixar. Toy Story Midway Mania is (obviously) situated in Pixar Place. Midway Mania is an interactive 3D ride based on classic carnival games. I'm not actually very good at these games, but the ride is great fun whether you get a high score or not. And everyone loves to wear 3D glasses once in a while! You can also meet Buzz and Woody in Pixar Place if you're prepared to queue for a very very long time...

I also love the landmarks at Hollywood Studios. I did think the Sorcerer's Apprentice hat could have done with a bit of a spring clean this year but it's still an impressive sight as you walk in to the park.

I went to see the Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage show in Sunset Boulevard for the first time this year. I was expecting great things, but I was genuinely blown away by the half hour production. Everything was spectacular, from the set to the costumes to the very enthusiastic singing and dancing. Belle and Gaston sing live throughout every show, and the Beast's characterisation is fantastic. I was humming my favourite songs from Beauty and the Beast all day after watching this show!

Fantasmic also takes place in Sunset Boulevard, in the open-air amphitheatre. Fantasmic is Hollywood Studios' night show and, although it's my least favourite of the three night shows at Walt Disney World, it's still pretty amazing. The show features fireworks, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers, music and projections on to large mist screens featuring scenes from the Sorcerer's Apprentice and other classic Disney films. Fantasmic is actually quite scary at times as it depicts a battle between good and evil taking place in Mickey's dreams/nightmares, but Mickey Mouse obviously triumphs over evil in the end. You get to see loads of your favourite characters in this show and there's always a great atmosphere in and around the amphitheatre, so it's definitely worth a look.

Hollywood Studios went all out to promote Monsters University this year, and I especially loved the Monsters University display outside the main entrance. Just like everything else in Disney World, it was massively intricate and totally flawless!

Although I didn't get to meet Sulley and Mike Wazowski from Monsters University at Hollywood Studios as the queue was too long, I did get a hug from Pluto. Pluto is one of my favourite Disney characters so I was extremely excited about this. He's so cute!

Just like the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, I can't write about everything I love about Hollywood Studios or the blog post would take four days to write. So again, this has just been a flavour of the main things I love about Hollywood Studios.

What do other people think of Hollywood Studios? Is it your favourite Disney park?

Monsters University

Disney films rock my socks. This is no secret, and you can read posts about my enthusiasm for Disney films here and here. Disney have released some excellent films during the last year (Frankenweenie, Brave and Wreck-it Ralph), so I was super excited about seeing Monsters University. I absolutely love Monsters Inc and thought it was a great idea to release a film about how Sulley and Mike Wazowski actually met and became friends, rather than making a sequel which might have had a samey plot to Monsters Inc.

I love Sulley, so my boyfriend bought me a Sulley teddy for Christmas last year. Imagine my excitement when I heard that Disney were releasing a Sulley costume for Duffy the Disney Bear! You're right, I was pretty excited. You probably can't imagine the true extent of my excitement though... When I saw the costume in the Disney store a few weeks ago, I absolutely had to buy it.

Sulley and Duffy!

I was originally going to take Sulley to the Monsters University screening (yes, I'm that sad), but after buying the Sulley costume I decided to take Duffy instead. Consequently, I rocked up at the cinema on Saturday afternoon with my Duffy teddy and had my photo taken in front of the Monsters University billboard. A little boy was having his photograph taken with his Sulley teddy before I went to pose for mine so I actually had to queue, but this didn't deter my enthusiasm. As you can tell, it was very sunny outside which impeded the quality of the photo somewhat. How inconvenient.

I'm not going to write an actual film review as I'm not very good at those and I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I absolutely loved Monsters University. The characterisation was great and the animation was amazing, as you'd expect from a Disney Pixar film. There were a few twists which I didn't see coming at all, which again disproves the argument that Disney films are horribly predictable! The young Mike Wazowski was adorable, and there were some clever links between Monsters University and Monsters Inc. Squishy was probably my favourite character apart from the main two protagonists... I wanted to pick him up and give him a squishy squeeze. His mum is also a brilliantly humorous character, and the film is worth watching just for her!

Duffy at the cinema

I'm already excited about the next two Disney films coming out in the next two months... The Lone Ranger and Planes. Keep them coming, Disney! Has anyone else seen Monsters University? What did you think?