This time at least, everyone followed my tips. We started out by getting fast passes for the Tower of Terror, and then hopping on the Rock n' Roller Coaster. We waited about a half hour for the Rock n' Roller Coaster, and then by the time we got off, our fast passes were good to go. If you like thrill rides, both of these are can't miss rides. Going early in the day definitely cuts down on your wait time.
If you're a Disney/ movie trivia buff like me, Hollywood Studios has two exhibits/tours that I can't recommend strongly enough. The Back Lot Tour and Walt Disney: One Man's Dream.
The Back Lot Tour is a combination of a tram tour and a special effects demonstration.
It starts off with a "show", in which you see a few volunteers "acting" for a "film" that Disney is shooting. The scene is crew members on a ship that is getting shot at by enemy planes, so you get a special effects demonstration, complete with water and fire. Those poor volunteers don't know what they're in for!After that, you walk over to the queue area for the trams, which takes you through a prop storage area. You then board the trams and take a tour of the boneyard, where they hold props that are too large to be in storage (you'll see a lot that you recognize from Disney movies or other movies or shows distributed by Disney companies like Touchstone, as well as some from the Star Wars films).
The tram then goes through the wardrobe and scenic design departments, and onto a "set" for another special effects demonstration. You then go back through the other side of the boneyard and back to the exit.
This tour used to be a LOT longer. I have lots of video footage of it from previous trips, and I remember going though and seeing a lot more cars and planes in the boneyard, as well as the facades of houses (I specifically remember the facade of Blanche's house from The Golden Girls).
The exit of the tour is the AFI (American Film Institute) Exhibit, which has different themes. This time when we went it was villain themed. They had a lot of Disney villain things, like the costumes of several of Davey Jones' crew members from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and Susan Sarandon's costumes from Enchanted, as well as Davey Jones' organ and a video showing how they digitally animated his tentacles and other facial features, while trying to keep Bill Nighy's facial expressions and character intact. They also had non-Disney exhibits, such as the AFI Top Villains wall, Jack Nicholson's jacket and axe from The Shining, and Darth Vader's costume. At the end of the exhibit is a gift shop (what else is new, right?) where you can find lots of books on classic films and actors, as well as Walt Disney and the company. 
Walt Disney: One Man's Dream was an amazing exhibit. It's a walk through 'museum' starting with Walt's birth and childhood, going up through the design of Walt Disney World and beyond. The exhibit features facts about Walt, as well as artifacts from his life, like his second grade school desk, an original pair of 'Mousketears' and an Oscar. I was like a kid in a candy store. 
The exhibit is set up beautifully. My two favorite parts were the 1950s TV sets mounted on the wall playing commercials and the opening to Disneyland (the television show), and the full scale replica of the studio where Walt shot the episode where he explained the concept for EPCOT, complete with the video playing on the monitors of the cameras. At the end of the exhibit is a theater where they show a 15 minute documentary of Walt Disney's life that explores the extraordinary hardships he overcame. It starts off narrated by Julie Andrews, and then uses pieces of interviews with Walt himself, along with never before seen footage like his personal home movies. I laughed, I cried, I giggled profusely, I clapped when it was over, I loved it. Luckily, someone recorded it and put it on youtube :)
Toy Story Midway Mania is probably one of the best interactive rides that Disney has come up with in the past few years. Get there first thing and get fast passes, because they run out and you are going to want to ride it multiple times, and they run out of them fast. It's similar in design to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in the Magic Kingdom, except this time you're playing carnival games. You sit four to a car (two on each side. If you have only two people in your group, you get to go in the faster line), and are each armed with a gun. This gun, however, has a pull string instead of a button. You put on your 3-D glasses and the car moves to a screen where you get a practice round. One of you is always red, and one of you is always blue, which is a great improvement from Space Ranger Spin. One of my biggest complaints with that ride is that I can't tell which of the seventy five or so red dots on the target is mine, so I find it impossible to aim. With Midway Mania, you know exactly which is yours and there's always only two of you shooting at a time. So you go through several classic carnival games; popping balloons with darts, smashing plates with balls, throwing rings around little green aliens, etc, and rack up points. A big hint, a lot of the higher point items are on the bottom of the screen! There are five games, not including the practice round. AJ always beats me on Space Ranger Spin, but this time, I beat him! Like I said, you're going to want to ride it multiple times.
Just outside of Midway Mania is a refreshment stand, where they serve carbonated frozen beverages, called Wheezy's Easy Breezy Peasy Freezy, or something rhymy like that. For those of you who don't remember him, Wheezy is the penguin squeaky toy in Toy Story 2.Anyway, these drinks are amazing! I got a lemonade flavored one, and it was the best drink I'd had all week. (AJ told me that I had do pose like the 1940s advertising women for this shot)
If you're a fan of the Golden Age of Hollywood (which I am, which is why this is my favorite park), then The Great Movie Ride is a must as well. It's housed in a replica of the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater, complete with stars' hand prints and signatures outside. Inside, the queue areas feature movie props and costumes (when we were there it was Julie Andrews' carousel horse from Mary Poppins and one of Susan's costumes from Narnia) and a large movie screen showing previews for classic movies like Singing in the Rain, Casablanca, Footlight Parade, Mary Poppins, and others that are featured in the ride. The ride itself takes you on a journey into the movies with audio-animatronics acting out scenes from these classics, complete with your tour vehicle being held up by either a gangster or an old west outlaw.
I still get giddy and choked up when we get to the Casablanca scene. And then AJ makes fun of me because I can quote it along with Bogey. The ride concludes with a video montage/medley/mash up of classic films/lines/awesome moments.
Another great first was Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. Star Tours was always one of my favorite rides because I can remember going on it with my father and grandfather (who has since passed away) on my first trip to WDW. I was a little nervous that it wouldn't be the same, and therefore wouldn't be as good, but it was awesome. The new ride has a new high-definition video, a Disney Digital 3-D high-definition screen, an improved motion simulator and several newly added special effects. It also changes. I overheard someone ask how many different simulations there are, and the cast member said over 50. You could ride it for days and not have the same ride twice!
Once again, I didn't make it to the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show, because, as AJ puts it, we were in Walt Disney: One Man's Dream, and my face was just so lit up and excited, he didn't want to tell me we had to leave. We did make it to the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular though (after a frozen banana). This is so much fun that even if you're not a fan of/ haven't seen Raiders of the Lost Arc, you need to see this. They also take volunteers to be extras for this show (something I definitely would have volunteered for if we had time to see it again. I would love to see the stunts up close). Some of the stuff that they do is really amazing. I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll tell you that you'll see the temple big rolling ball o' death scene, the market place scene, and the Nazi airplane scene, along with some very funny bits in between.
The biggest first for me on this trip was Fantasmic. I was so excited for it. And "fantasmic" is probably the only way that I can describe it. It is definitely worth sticking around for. And I love that Pocahontas got it's own little segment. As much criticism as it gets for being horribly historically inaccurate, it's still one of my top favorite Disney movies, and I think that unfortunately, the liberties taken with the history overshadow the beautiful music and animation. We used the VIP seating service for it, which meant that we made reservations at one of three restaurants in the parks, and they gave us VIP seating tickets, so we could get their later and be guaranteed a seat. What they didn't tell us when we made the reservation is that with the package you get a fixed price ($30 a person) limited menu. My stepfather complained and we ended up getting to order a la carte from the regular menu, because apparently we weren't the first to be shocked about this when we got there.
To tell you the truth, you really don't even need the VIP package. The guidebooks and websites suggest getting to the amphitheater about 90 minutes before the show starts to get seats. Really, this is only for the middle section. The VIP area is on the extreme right side of the amphitheater, and the extreme left wasn't even beginning to fill up until about five or ten minutes before the show started. There's nothing wrong with seeing the show from the side (it was actually really cool from the right hand side because we could see the fireworks for Illuminations at Epcot going off in the background. I've never done it, but from what I've heard, if you only have one day in the park, don't do The American Idol Experience. One of my friends did it when he and his girlfriend went, and he auditioned and moved on to the final round, so they had to be back at a specific time, wait around for the votes, come back again, wait around again, and then come back for the finals. Not only did they have to plan the rest of their day around when they had to be back, but while he was performing and waiting for the results, she was standing around waiting.
Again, if you don't have the app, grab a times guide for the show times and a map, because getting around the park can be a little confusing without it.
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