Daisy Duck doing her best Babe Ruth impression.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
Each year Anne and I take one (1) road trip to a different part of the United States and see attractions, wonders, and events we didn’t have back home. One thing we rarely do is fly. We’d much rather drive than be flown unless we absolutely have to…or are given some pretty sweet incentives to do so. Fast-forward to December 2022 and a most unexpected opportunity: The Powers That Be at Anne’s rather large place of employment recognized her and several other employees nationwide for outstanding achievements in the field of excellence. Their grand prize was a Disney World vacation! We could at last announce to friends and family, “THE GOLDENS ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!”
For Anne it was officially, legally a business trip. Much of the time, she’d have to work…
…except for a single day off, which we began at Hollywood Studios because, apropos of us, that’s where Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was. We didn’t ride any more rides that morning, but we found plenty to photograph beyond the worlds of Star Wars, Toy Story and the Muppets. ‘Tis a magical place!
(Especially the palm trees, which were everywhere we turned. We don’t have those back home in Indiana, but judging by these pics, you’d think they were the only things we were excited to see.)
The Skyliner didn’t reach all the way to our room at the Grand Floridian. More power to those who could take advantage.
Black Pete muscles past BB-8.
Disney World’s 50th anniversary party kept going and going.
After we resort guests were let into the park early, we followed the mad rush to Galaxy’s Edge.
A nod to Toontown up high.
We barreled past the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular because we had STAR WARS to see.
Smaller theaters dotted the jam-packed cityscape.
The “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” theater had been closed since 2020, but the characters were still in position.
The apatosaurus mascot of Dinosaur Gertie’s Ice Cream of Extinction.
Min & Bill’s Dockside Diner salutes cartoon tugboats in cinema.
This tribute to filmmakers of the ’20s and ’30s (no specific man) is a 1991 sculpture by Aldo and Andrea Favilli.
Characters mingling with guests that morning included Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible.
Mr. Incredible’s pal Frozone — a live character, not a statue.
Daisy Duck had herself a picnic. I presume Donald stood her up.
“WOULD YOU NOT WITH THE SELFIES? I AM A RENOWNED PANTOMIME ARTISTE AT WORK HERE, MADAM!”
*fart noise*
We ended our Hollywood Studios experience in Sunset Boulevard, an area that’s mostly shops with marquees.
Around this time, I suddenly decided I wanted some kind of Disney shirt for a souvenir. This never occurred to me once during my entire EPCOT adventure the day before, but now I suddenly craved one.
While Anne racked up more smashed pennies, I failed in my new-shirt side quest.
Very little was in my size. What few items I found in my size came in varying ratios of plain-to-awful. Nary a cool T-shirt or a tropical shirt in sight, not even in the Pride-themed sections. We checked ’em all.
I fit into the rides more easily than I fit into their clothes. Alas, for now I went unrequited. My side quest was To Be Continued.
The last cool-looking ride we walked past was the Aerosmith Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. We followed the giant headstock through the arch…
…to a Stratocaster ostensibly abandoned by an unseen 50-foot Joe Perry. But the ride was closed.
We took our leave of Hollywood Studios the way we’d arrived: via complimentary bus back to the resort.
“And now it’s time to say goodbye to all our company…”
That was exactly our plan too, you smart, tired bus.
We could’ve easily spent all day in the Studios, but we settled for a half-day experience because we meant to use the afternoon taking the best possible advantage of our Park Hopper passes. At our day’s halfway point we discovered the most awesome part of staying in a Walt Disney Resort™: we bussed back to the Grand Floridian and crashed in our room for a couple hours. From there, the next phase of our Disney World getaway would be less than five minutes away.
You can probably guess where we headed next. To be continued!
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[Link enclosed here to handy checklist for other chapters and for our complete major trip history to date. Follow us on Facebook or via email sign-up for new-entry alerts. For further signs of life between entries, wave hi to me on . Thanks for reading!]
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