Today we moved to a different room at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Because of the pandemic we had spare DVC points that needed using so we decided to use them on a 1-bedroom value room for the next 4 nights. Because DVC rooms aren’t usually ready before at least 4pm, and we were planning a park day where we likely wouldn’t be back before the checkout time of our current room, we had to pack everything up before we left for Hollywood Studios which resulted in some crazy packing at 6am! We decided to keep some of our luggage with us in case we wanted to go to the pool/ our room wasn’t ready before our tea reservation and took that with us to keep in the car, whilst we checked the rest in to bell services.
We arrived at Hollywood Studios slightly later than planned (we always find it best to get there an hour before whatever time is stated as official opening for onsite guests), but we needn’t have worried. It was empty! We parked on the closest row to the park and walked in with a few other New Year’s Day early birds. People hadn’t been let through the turnstiles yet, but the queues were only around 5 deep anyway. Honestly, if you are even there over new year then rope dropping on New Year’s Day is such a good plan.
Even though the queues were small I knew we wanted to get as much done as we could today, so we decided to buy an individual lightning lane for Rise of the Resistance. It was the only ride related thing we paid for all trip and was very easy. I just searched for the ride on the My Disney Experience app before 7, then refreshed so that as soon as the lightning lane option appeared at 7, I could purchase it. The first time I got was too early (we knew crowds would be light for a few hours so wanted to make the most of that) so I took a chance and refreshed again, knowing if they were all taken, we could still rope drop it. Luckily, I got an 11.30am slot which was perfect.
Our plan was then to try to do Slinky Dog, Smugglers Run & Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway along with our Oga’s Cantina reservation (Winnie loved it last time and really wanted to go again!) before our return time at RotR.
With the queues as they were for the first few hours, we managed it easily and were actually done before our Oga’s reservation time. We even managed to jump in a non-existent line for some Photo pass photos (we didn’t see anywhere near as many photographers this time, so if you really want them you might need to check the park map and hunt them out).
Slinky was the biggest queue and that was only because we were in it 25 minutes before the park actually opened! Once the ride started it was 10 minutes max, as were both of the other rides.
We headed to Oga’s and checked in on the app and received a message immediately to go in. We had a spot standing at the bar which was really good, and the lady who served our drinks was great. She stayed in character the whole time whilst still making good suggestions on which drinks to try. I would suggest that you look over the menu before going in if you do have a reservation, and maybe doing some research online as to what the drinks are as you are hurried a little bit.
After one drink we decided to leave and head to Ronto Roasters. The girls had a Ronto morning wrap, and we had a regular Ronto wrap, and both were really good. Again, we used mobile ordering and while Steve was collecting the food Chewbacca appeared on the platform nearby, which was a lovely surprise and made the girls really happy.
It was now time for our Rise of the Resistance lightning lane entry. We were lucky enough to do this ride on our last visit 2 years ago, so we were all really looking forward to it. It does have a tendency to need resetting a fair bit, so your wait can be long even with a lightning lane, but luckily, we walked straight on. I won’t give the game away, but it’s an incredible ride. It’s split into different parts and takes around 20 minutes in total, so even if you have to queue its definitely worth it, although as we left and saw the snake like queue in the blistering sun, I was thanking my lucky stars for our lightning lane.
We knew we had another Hollywood Studios Day morning planned so decided to make the most of the sunshine and head back to the pool for a few hours (stopping the the mandatory incredibly expensive Star Wars bottle of pop that you end up leaving behind anyway as your luggage is full to busting!)
We also checked out the golden statues we were missing from our list at the park, and Polly decided that out of all the ones we’d seen, Joe Gardner was her favourite.
We’d only been at the pool a short while when the message came through to say the room was ready, so we finished off and headed up. The 1-bedroom room was wonderful. We again had a Savannah view, but this time we had a full kitchen (not that I intended to use it!), a washer and dryer (essential for the 4 pieces of clothing Steve and I could fit in the case after all the girls’ outfits were packed!), a huge bathroom with jacuzzi bath and a separate bedroom for us (well, until Polly’s stomach ache and Winnie being scared of the room meant we had to switch people around, but at the moment we were blissfully unaware of this!). It felt huge. We unpacked only what we needed for this 4-night portion of the trip (I love split stays, but the packing/ unpacking does become a chore) and got ready for our meal at Sanaa.
For those that don’t know, Sanaa is a restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge, but it’s located in the Kidani building which is a 10-minute walk from Jambo House. We all love it there (the bread service is the stuff of dreams) and had another lovely meal, although the menu, like lots of places, is very much slimmed down compared to pre-Covid times. Steve also had a wine flight to go with his food which he said was lovely. It was the perfect way to end the first day of the new year.
An early night again for the girls, with Steve not far behind them! Should be Universal tomorrow but the chances of us making it at this point are slim!!
Doodle & Peg Do Disney 