Baseline Tap House

If you’ve been to Disney’s Hollywood studios lately then you know the importance of getting there when the park opens. If you want to ride Slinky Dog Dash without an hour wait, then you need to be on the first bus or Skyliner gondola over to the park. However, what I am talking about is not a ride or an attraction. The second most important “rope drop” at Hollywood Studios happens at 10:30am. That is when Baseline Tap House opens for business each day. It has become a regular part of our Hollywood Studios routine! We feel that making this “rope drop” is just as important as securing that Rise of the Resistance boarding group or making it to the park in time to get onto Slinky Dog with a short wait.

Our Hollywood Studios Strategy…

Here’s how the last several trips to Hollywood Studios has gone for us. We get up before 7am so that we can grab that Rise of the Resistance boarding group. We get to the park at or around the time it opens and we head to Slinky Dog Dash. Sometimes we may choose to go to Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway instead. After the initial ride, we may hit up Toy Story Mania or Smuggler’s Run. By the time we are done with those it is usually around 10:15am which means it is time to hightail it over to Baseline Tap House to be one of the first in line when it opens!

We regularly get the charcuterie plate, ($10.00) Bavarian pretzel, ($9.00) and the Beef Puff ($11.00). As far as the drinks go, Jason and I prefer the beers on tap while our wives tend to prefer the cocktails. I usually go the for North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner ($10.50 for the 22oz) My wife prefers the California Sunset cocktail ($14.00). Yes, I know it is 10:30 in the morning but we are on vacation! Besides, what better way to Prepare yourself for joining the resistance than by settling the nerves with a little refreshment from Baseline Tap House? You can hear more about Baseline Tap House from our recent trip report episode here!

Timing that boarding group…

Baseline Tap house Souvenir glass

I believe the sweet spot for a Rise of the Resistance boarding group is between groups thirty and forty. What that typically means is that your boarding group should be called somewhere between 10:30 and 11:30 am. This gives you plenty of time for a mid-morning drink and bite to eat at Baseline before joining the Resistance! Throughout the day this place gets and stays pretty busy so finding a table can be tricky. It is also important to find a spot in the shade. Next time you find yourself at Hollywood Studios, stop by Baseline Tap House for a nice refreshment…Tell them Traveling with the Mouse sent you!

Maybe this is common knowledge but it wasn’t to me. We even went on a VIP tour a few months ago and our VIP tour guide didn’t believe that there were any hidden Mickey’s in Galaxy’s Edge. We very quickly showed him pictures of the one from Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run. You know, the one on the side of the TV screen right before you enter the cockpit. He wasn’t aware of that one, a VIP tour guide at Disney. So naturally I was curious, if there is one on Smuggler’s Run then there must be one on Rise of the Resistance too, right? Long story short, I scoured the interwebs to see what I could find on the subject. I located one reddit post where someone had a blurry picture from the ride and pointed out what they believed to be a hidden mickey. It just so happened that I found that picture just minutes before we received an incoming transmission from Rey. Below is the second picture that I was able to get that finally came in clear…See it?

Hidden Mickey on Rise of the Resistance

This hidden Mickey is located in the room with the flailing Kylo Ren animatronic. As soon as you exit the gun room where only one turret gun seems to work any more…you enter this room and quickly pass by two control panels. The hidden Mickey is located on the second control panel. You can see it right before Kylo uses the force on your ride vehicle. If you are sitting in the back row it might be a little harder to see it because of the current plexiglass dividers but from the front row it is easy to spot. So now I know of at least two hidden Mickey’s in Galaxy’s edge, one in each attraction. Does anyone know of another in a different part of the land? Let us know in the comments if you spotted another hidden Mickey. We also talk about this during our Trip report episode. You can find it here!

Episode 230: We discuss the latest Disney news and talk about Jason and Adam’s recentĀ  Passholder Preview day at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge! We start with a rundown of the news like New Forky merchandise, Epcot Construction updates and New Afternoon Magic tickets. We also discuss more unscheduled ride refurbishments at Magic Kingdom, and new photopass opportunities for the Halloween Party. Speaking of the halloween party there’s a new party pass available for MNSSHP this year. We also take a look at new concept art from the upcoming Reflections resort. Then, Jason and I walk you through our Passholder preview of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. We give our thoughts on the theming of the land and a review of Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run.

Adam The Woo Vlog Link

Episode 207: It’s that time again! We discuss the Disney news from the past week.

Here are the topics:

  • Disney’s Hollywood Studios 30th Anniversary details
  • It is confirmed that No nighttime parade will be part of WDW 50th Aniniversary
  • New details on the Villains after hours event coming to Magic Kingdom
  • Possible Major spoiler for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker!
  • Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway delayed until spring 2020

Additional News Stories

  • This week we saw Skyliner evacuation testing
  • Disneyland Cast members wont be able to visit Galaxy’s Edge until August
  • Tomorrowland Speedway’s modification nears completion
  • Major construction is going on at the entrance of 3 of the Disney theme parks
  • Some Disney titles will be modified or not included in Disney Plus 

 

20190106_170339234_iosThere’s a lot of new things coming to Walt Disney World in 2019 and we are going to break down everything for you! Everyone knows that Star Wars Galaxy’s edge is opening this year but that isn’t the only major experience coming to the parks this year. There’s plenty of new things coming that have us excited and a few things that have us scratching our heads. We start with the new things coming in January some are interesting and some are…meh. We talk about the new Rivera resort and new addition to Coronado springs, we discuss the skyliner, and everything coming to the parks and Disney Springs in 2019. We finish by going over some closures and refurbishment updates that we currently know are taking place this year. 2019 could be the biggest year in theme park history!

 

Today we say “that’s a wrap” on our walk-through of Hollywood Studios! We begin the episode by taking a trip back in time and talk about the backlot area. This is where the studio backlot tour was located as well as Lights, Motors, Action and the streets of America. We discuss some of our favorite things that used to be located here and go into a preview of what will be coming soon to this area…Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land. We then finish our tour by walking down Sunset Boulevard. We talk about the shops, food options, attractions, and even our favorite bathrooms in this area. Join us next Friday as we begin our Tour of Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

In today’s episode, we continue where we left off in our tour of Disney’s Hollywood studios. We cover Grand Avenue, Commissary Lane, Pixar Place and the Animation courtyard. We also preview Toy Story Land and go through the menu at Woody’s Lunchbox (the new quick service location that is opening soon). If you aren’t familiar with the series…Every Friday we have been taking a walk-through of every land at the Walt Disney World parks and discuss the past and present rides, attractions, shows, shopping and dinning options that are available. Next Friday we will wrap up Hollywood Studios!

Today we begin our walk-through of Disney’s Hollywood Studios! We talk about the rides, attractions, shows, dinning and shopping in the Hollywood Boulevard and Echo Lake areas. We give a brief history of the park and talk about some of our favorite experiences. Be sure to join us every Friday as we continue to journey through all of the lands of the Disney parks. Be sure to check out some of our older episodes in this series as well.