Oops, We Forgot to Leave Our Weather at Home! A Fantastic Festival of the Arts 2025 TR! (Updated 3/5!!)

[VAtink]

Oooh your pictures all look great! Though I'm curious - how long did you wait for the light stick one? We ended up waiting 35 minutes for that one - the line was short but they were doing like 5/7 minutes for each group and seemed to be training the CMs? I got a bit grumpy by the end, especially cause they realized "ooh wait we're taking too long with each group" and we got rushed through in like 30 seconds

Thank you! We waited maybe 10 minutes for the light stick picture. There were only two groups ahead of us when we got in line, but the camera stopped working for a bit and they had to get the manager to come over and help, so it took longer. I'm sorry you had that experience, that is so frustrating! They didn't spend a ton of time with each group when we got it, I think they only took 2 pictures for each group, although for the group ahead of us they had to keep redoing it since the camera wasn't working properly.

 

[VAtink]

Day 2, Part 7: After Hours at HS, Part 1!​

After a nice break in the room we headed out again just after 8:00. We decided to take the boat over to HS to save our legs a bit.

It was a bit of a wait for the boat that night, but not horrible, maybe 10 minutes? There was only one other family behind us waiting, and I was shocked and impressed they were wearing shorts! It was only like 38 degrees out! But they were from like Wisconsin so apparently it wasn’t that bad for them.

Also, random, but the air was so cold that a super dense fog was forming on top of the water, we ended up sitting in the front row on the boat and even the CMs were commenting they’ve never seen it like that before, it was actually a bit eerie!



You can sort of see the fog here, it was way more dense in person!

I was also shocked while on the boat ride over, they announced that the boats would actually be running after the event. Now, last time I did this event they also said they would be, but they were wrong, but this time they actually had a printout of the schedule for the day which showed the boats would run until 1:30 that morning! This was SUCH a huge improvement from last time! Although I had to laugh, the captain made a comment that it would be the CP kids working since they save the bad shifts for them!

We ended up arriving at HS a tad before 8:50 and quickly made our way to security. BTW, why oh why do they put security as far as possible from all the arrival points at HS?!?! I feel like they never have the security that is right by the boats/skyliner open, we always have to walk around to the far side.

After passing through security we made our way to the event check-in where there was absolutely no one waiting. They also had signs out that tickets were still available for this night, so we expected the place to be empty!

We quickly got our credentials, which I will note I wish they did lanyard when it’s so cold outside, having to pull up our sleeves constantly to show our wrist bands got really annoying and cold really fast!

Once in the park it was 8:50 on the dot, so I checked to see what wait times were and checked to see if I could make a DAS for anything in the last few minutes the park was open (park closed to day guests at 9). I was shocked I was able to pull a DAS for Slinky, especially since the posted wait was 50 minutes and our return was only in 5 minutes!

So we made our way back to TSL. We stopped at the photopass just at the entrance of the land.



Once at Slinky I saw the actual wait was definitely not 50 minutes as posted, the line wasn’t too bad at all, I’d be surprised if it was more than 10 minutes. We scanned into the LL and soon we were on!



After Slinky it was 9:02, so the park was officially closed! Since we were right there, we decided to go ride TSMM. Since it was after park closed they were checking wrist bands to enter.

Now, I expected being only two minutes after park closed, there would still be a bit of a line, so I was shocked to get inside to see it was practically empty!



This was awesome! We walked right on!

This was a tough game, my mom was beating me for most of it, it was scary! Finally at the end I pulled ahead, but wow, that was stressful!



After TSMM I asked my mom what she wanted to do, and she wanted to ride Slinky again. I told her that wasn’t the best idea since a lot of people tend to rush to Slinky at the start of the event, but she really wanted to ride it, so we headed back over there.

I wasn’t too surprised to get there to see that line was long compared to when the park was open earlier! Mom really wanted to ride it, so we got in line. Fortunately the wait wasn’t too horrible, only about 20 minutes, and since the event didn’t actually start until 9:30 it didn’t eat into the event time too much.



After Slinky I took a look at the wait times and they were all higher than I expected for an after hours event, most in the 15-20 minute range. We figured that there may still be day guests there filtering through, so decided to avoid the rides for a bit and find some characters to meet!

Next up: Character Time!​

 

[Araminta18]

I was also shocked while on the boat ride over, they announced that the boats would actually be running after the event. Now, last time I did this event they also said they would be, but they were wrong, but this time they actually had a printout of the schedule for the day which showed the boats would run until 1:30 that morning! This was SUCH a huge improvement from last time! Although I had to laugh, the captain made a comment that it would be the CP kids working since they save the bad shifts for them!

LOL we did HS AH on our Jan trip and I remembered your TR where the boats weren't running so I was slightly nervous, but they were running for us, so glad they added them back!!

We ended up arriving at HS a tad before 8:50 and quickly made our way to security. BTW, why oh why do they put security as far as possible from all the arrival points at HS?!?! I feel like they never have the security that is right by the boats/skyliner open, we always have to walk around to the far side.

I agree with this SO MUCH!!

We quickly got our credentials, which I will note I wish they did lanyard when it’s so cold outside, having to pull up our sleeves constantly to show our wrist bands got really annoying and cold really fast!

100% agree again! I ended up wearing a spirt jersey the night we went (it was cold but not freeeeeeeeezing) and wiggling the wristband to be over my sleeve, which helped a little bit. But yea, such a pain.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

The Hollywood Studios security station situation is one of my biggest pet peeves. They have their deluxe resort guests coming over on foot or by boat and then make them walk all the way around? Plus all the people coming off the skyliner. It makes no sense and I grumble about it every time!

 

[VAtink]

LOL we did HS AH on our Jan trip and I remembered your TR where the boats weren't running so I was slightly nervous, but they were running for us, so glad they added them back!!

I am so happy they had the boats running after the event, it seemed so silly to make those staying on Crescent Lake take a bus or walk! Definitely a fantastic change!

I agree with this SO MUCH!!

Right?!!? They put the security as far as possible from the arrival point, I don't understand the logic behind that!

100% agree again! I ended up wearing a spirt jersey the night we went (it was cold but not freeeeeeeeezing) and wiggling the wristband to be over my sleeve, which helped a little bit. But yea, such a pain.

Yes! It got to be so annoying having to keep pulling my sleeve up all night! If I wasn't afraid of it falling off, I would have had them put the wristband on top of my jacket!

 

[VAtink]

The Hollywood Studios security station situation is one of my biggest pet peeves. They have their deluxe resort guests coming over on foot or by boat and then make them walk all the way around? Plus all the people coming off the skyliner. It makes no sense and I grumble about it every time!

Exactly! I really do not understand why they don't utilize the security checkpoints by the boats/skyliner more often, I think the last time I saw those being used was two or three years ago!

 

[zanzibar138]

I was just thinking the weather must have kept people away from the AH party too, but we pretty much had 15-20 minute wait times too. Looking forward to seeing which characters you met!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'm still trying to visualize those people who were wearing Shorts at BWV!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Your evening was off to a great start! It’s amusing that the wait time for Slinky was shorter before the event that after park close… perhaps the day guests had bailed early because of the cold?

Whew on TSM! I’m pretty competitive myself… I’m glad you pulled off the win!

 

[Wood Nymph]

There was only one other family behind us waiting, and I was shocked and impressed they were wearing shorts! It was only like 38 degrees out! But they were from like Wisconsin so apparently it wasn’t that bad for them.

Us Northerners are like that.

You can sort of see the fog here, it was way more dense in person!

We had two foggy mornings during our early February trip. It stopped the boats from running in the morning.

Now, last time I did this event they also said they would be, but they were wrong, but this time they actually had a printout of the schedule for the day which showed the boats would run until 1:30 that morning!

Someone must have gotten the message through to the Disney people about the boats. It is super annoying when the boats don't run to/from HS. The bus is not dependable at all.

BTW, why oh why do they put security as far as possible from all the arrival points at HS?!?! I feel like they never have the security that is right by the boats/skyliner open, we always have to walk around to the far side.

I agree. I hate having to walk all the way to the side security entrance while the two entrances on the boat side are idle.

 

[VAtink]

I was just thinking the weather must have kept people away from the AH party too, but we pretty much had 15-20 minute wait times too. Looking forward to seeing which characters you met!

Yeah, I think the weather kept people away at the very beginning. Unlike other after hours we've been to where the crowds get less as the night goes on, this evening the crowds started off super low, then built for like the first 1.5 hours of the party, then decreased again towards the end. I'm guessing a lot of people arrived later to avoid being out in the cold for too long!

 

[VAtink]

I'm still trying to visualize those people who were wearing Shorts at BWV!

Right? I'm originally from MA and even when I was living there and was acclimated to the cold I wouldn't wear shorts in the 30s!

 

[VAtink]

Your evening was off to a great start! It’s amusing that the wait time for Slinky was shorter before the event that after park close… perhaps the day guests had bailed early because of the cold?

Haha, right? I think a lot of people tend to rush over to the popular rides right at the start of the event, and since Rise was down this evening, I think that increased the number of people rushing over to Slinky.

Whew on TSM! I’m pretty competitive myself… I’m glad you pulled off the win!

I know! I was starting to panic a bit there, I'm glad I pulled it off in the end!

 

[VAtink]

Us Northerners are like that.

Haha, you're braver than I am! Even when I was living in MA I wouldn't be wearing shorts if it was under 60!

We had two foggy mornings during our early February trip. It stopped the boats from running in the morning.

Oh wow, I didn't realize they shut the boats down for fog! Glad they were running the night we were there, guess the fog wasn't too bad that night!

Someone must have gotten the message through to the Disney people about the boats. It is super annoying when the boats don't run to/from HS. The bus is not dependable at all.

Yeah, I'm SO happy they made this change. It's nice when they seem to actually be listening to our complaints!

I agree. I hate having to walk all the way to the side security entrance while the two entrances on the boat side are idle.

YES!!!!! The location of security here drives me nuts, I really don't understand why they can't have the security lines closest to the arrival point open.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Right? I'm originally from MA and even when I was living there and was acclimated to the cold I wouldn't wear shorts in the 30s!

Funny-I'm from Massachusetts also, spent 40 years there. When I was at WDW that week, I kept thinking "I don't think Paxton was ever THIS cold!" although I remember that when I lived there and went out running, sometimes the little hairs inside my nose would freeze, yet that didn't happen that week in WDW.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Having been born in Minnesota (and having vacationed in Florida a couple of times in the winter) I can say if it is Florida, we are wearing shorts. Period. And going swimming. I remember going to Disney one Christmas in high school and the cast members were in parkas, mittens, hats, etc and my family is walking around in shorts and t-shirts. Because - even at 38 or 40 degrees, it is still probably 60 degrees warmer than home (yep, -20 is a normal temp.)

 

[VAtink]

Funny-I'm from Massachusetts also, spent 40 years there. When I was at WDW that week, I kept thinking "I don't think Paxton was ever THIS cold!" although I remember that when I lived there and went out running, sometimes the little hairs inside my nose would freeze, yet that didn't happen that week in WDW.

Haha, I figured Disney felt so cold that week since I'm not used to it anymore! Although not sure if that's fully true, we've had a pretty cold winter here this year, that week it was in the single digits in the DC area!

 

[VAtink]

Having been born in Minnesota (and having vacationed in Florida a couple of times in the winter) I can say if it is Florida, we are wearing shorts. Period. And going swimming. I remember going to Disney one Christmas in high school and the cast members were in parkas, mittens, hats, etc and my family is walking around in shorts and t-shirts. Because - even at 38 or 40 degrees, it is still probably 60 degrees warmer than home (yep, -20 is a normal temp.)

Wow, you are braver than I am! There was a slight chance if it was around 45 degrees when I was living in MA I would wear shorts for track practice, but that was only if we had to run like 8 miles. I don't think I could handle shorts any other time back then when it was that cold or colder, and certainly can't do that these days. What can I say, I've become a wimp.

 

[VAtink]

Day 2, Part 8: Character Time! HS After Hours Part 2!​

We last left off making our way to find some characters to meet.

We headed towards the Chinese theater where we saw Geppetto and Jiminy Cricket were having meets, and there was hardly anyone there!

We met with both of them, and since there was not really anyone there, they each spent a lot of time interacting with us. The only downside is they didn’t have a photographer there, I wish they did, but my phone was fine.







At first I thought the CMs taking the pictures messed up some setting on my phone because the lighting is all green, but I quickly realized it was from the lighting up there. I took another picture just after getting my phone back and once I moved out of the weird lighting I was able to get this shot with normal colors.



And yes, did pop those pics in lightroom to fix the color, you can see the difference below.



After finishing our meets, I wanted to book a time to go to Oga’s to get my favorite beer. I went to join the wait list and was given an estimated 10 minute wait, so I was shocked when seconds later I got a text that our table was ready! So we hustled back to Ogas!

When we arrived there was a ton of people milling around outside, so I figured we would have to actually wait, but I checked with a CM and she said they were ready for us! All the people milling around the entrance didn’t know they had to book via the app so were booking/waiting their turn, looks like we had amazing timing and beat the rush!

I was shocked while being lead inside the CM told us we’d actually have seat this night!

The only other time I’ve had seats in here was during the covid restrictions when they only let like 4 groups in at a time and they actually had stools at the bar, so I was thrilled!







We were seated at one of the booths, but not in the booth, but at stools in front of it. Odd choice, but whatever. Once settled in we ordered our drinks, I got my Gold Squadron Lager, and mom got the red wine.





Shortly after ordering, a couple was brought in to sit at the booth with us. They were super nice and we ended up chatting with them for a while. We had only planned to stay there for 15-20 minutes, but stayed a lot longer since we were having a great time with that couple.



While there, they brought in a large group to join us at the table, 6 more adults, who clearly would not fit in the booth with the other couple. There was maybe room for 4 more adults, but definitely not room for 6. The group that they brought in quickly realized this and flat out refused to sit there, especially since the rest of the bar was empty, none of the other booths had people in them, the bar only had like three groups, and there was no one at the standing tables.

They raised quite the fuss, but stood firm, so the CMs scrambled to figure out what to do. I’m not fully sure what happened to them, they ended up standing behind us awkwardly for like 15 minutes waiting for a solution, during which time we settled the tab and then headed out.

I really do not understand why they weren’t utilizing the other tables that night, it was so odd. Even our server made a comment that the CMs seating people were being weird about the seating!

Next up: More After Hours!​

 

[zanzibar138]

Great shots with Geppeto and Jiminy

We also took the opportunity to visit Oga's. We actually went right as the park was closing, so there were still regular guests in there, but they were only letting AH people go in. It was still relatively busy and we had a standing table. We enjoyed it though and it was so good to be able to experience it with no wait!