Day 23
Hollywood Studios
Shopping / Dinner at Manny’s Chop House
September 26, 2016

I take a lot of photos at Disney! I can never include them all!
All the photos from this day here | Florida 2016 photo collection on Flickr here
WDW-40, 2016: Trip Report Index | Pre-Trip Report



Day 23 of WDW-40 is here! Today we did a spot of shopping, popped over the Hollywood Studios, and had dinner at Manny’s Chophouse.


Today started off with a trip to Posner Park (a retail park) for a spot of shopping at Michael’s. A much needed craft supply stock up was in order, as well as checking out and buying some new Halloween decorations!

Posner Park is in Davenport – maybe about a 20-30 minute drive from Walt Disney World? There are quite a lot of stores there including a Target, JC Penny’s, Ross, and a Dollar Store.

If you are into arts and crafts, it is well worth stopping by Michael’s as it is heaven for creative people! Here are a bunch of pictures of the Halloween decorations as they are so much more awesome than ones in the UK!


After our spend up, we went and picked my brother Chris, and his [now wife] Meg and headed over to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon. Today was their last full day in Orlando, so we were all feeling a bit down about it – the two weeks they had with us had gone by really quickly!


The clouds were not looking too friendly by the time we parked up and entered the park, but we carried on regardless! Rain is an inevitable part of a holiday to Orlando and Walt Disney World, so you have to just roll with it.

Unfortunately, because of my scooter situation, it makes it a bit more difficult as you are not supposed to get them wet. We were deciding what to do when the first rain drops started to appear – we dashed into the nearest place to get out of the rain, which happened to be ABC Commissary. Everyone was hungry so it actually suited quite well! A lot of other people had the same idea, so it was pretty crowded, but Meg and I managed to find a table while the boys went and got some food.


ABC Commissary » Hollywood Studios

ABC Commissary is a quick/counter service restaurant serving the usual type of food like burgers, but also a few more fancy things like steak, salmon and salads. I don’t actually have any photos of the food because both Steve and I had something we have eaten several times in the past – a burger and fries, and a chicken sandwich and fries. It’s theme park food, and fills a hole when you’re hungry!

In fact, I can just share these photos from 2015’s trip and our lunch at Roaring Fork at Wilderness Lodge, because they’re pretty much identical throughout all of Disney! We also ordered a cup of Sprite each and a Darth Vader Cupcake. Disney make the best cupcakes!

Main Course...

Me: 1/3 lb. Angus Bacon Cheeseburger – served with fries ($11.29)

Him: Chicken Club – served with fries ($9.99)


Dessert...

US: Star Wars Darth Vader Cupcake ($5.99)

We tried to hang out in ABC Commissary for as long as we could, but the rain was coming down hard. There was only so much time we could eke out the final few crumbs of a cupcake, and slurps of a drink before Cast Members were urging people to vacate tables for other guests.

So we headed outside and hung out under the awnings for a while, before the rain finally stopped coming down so heavily. We were then able to make our way to The Great Movie Ride, which would keep us out of the rain for a bit longer! At this point, I don’t think they announced it was closing down, but as dated as this ride was, it was full of nostalgia and I’m glad we got to ride it one last time.


By the time we came out of The Great Movie Ride, the rain had stopped, and my brother wanted to go on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.

Now, would you believe that this is our 5th visit to Walt Disney World, yet it is the first time Steve and I have ever seen this part of Hollywood Studios?! I’ll allow you to pick yourself up off the floor from the shock!

Unfortunately for my brother, no one else wanted to go on the ride with him… I mean, I would have, but I’m [currently] to big to go on the ride – but one day I will! So he went to join the single rider line and I desperately tried to get a half decent photo of the huge guitar that marks the ride. Everyone else is doing the same, so I did the best I could. One day I would love Disney Parks just to myself so I could take photos without people in them hahaha, or at least be skilled enough to remove them in post production!


Chris and Meg wanted to pop to Disney Springs one last time, so we bade farewell to Hollywood Studios, but not before buying a BB-8 souvenir cup on the way out! And stopping for some photos with a Disney Photographer!


Once at Disney Springs, we made a beeline for World of Disney as Chris wanted to try and complete his Disney LEGO Minifig collection. Cue all of us feeling bag upon bag of them trying to figure out which characters were inside! I bought a few bags too, and I think I managed to get one double, so not a bad job!

I actually did a video of me unbagging them which you can watch below...




We decided on a fairly early dinner as Chris and Meg still needed pack their suitcases. Everyone wanted steak, but we didn’t want to go to Longhorn again. Instead we decided to visit Manny’s Chophouse.

I have heard so many people rave about the original Manny’s in Haine’s City (which is about a 45 minute drive from Walt Disney World) but over the years we have never quite made it. Then my friend told me that a new one had opened on the 192 in Kissimmee, so naturally we decided to see what all the fuss was about.

I will say in advance, we didn’t think it to be that great… maybe the original is a lot better, but we were not blown away by their steaks (or their service) like we had been led to believe all these years.

We got to Manny’s at about 7:00pm and didn’t have to wait too long for a table – maybe out 15 minutes? They do not take reservations here, but you can call ahead and get on their waitlist.

The theme of the restaurant is very cool – very road trip USA, and I really liked the decor.


Manny’s Chophouse

We decided against a starter because included with all entrées, is their Famous Endless Salad Bowl with Manny’s Garlic Ranch Dressing, or Caesar Salad, as well as a choice of side, and Fresh Baked Yeast Rolls.


For drinks, the boys got huge mugs of beer, and Meg had a Fuzzy Mango cocktail (mango, peach & vodka) and I had a regular old ice tea.

Bearing in mind we didn’t have a starter, it was an hour between us sitting down at a table and being served our steaks – the restaurant wasn’t full either, so this was quite frustrating. We all had ribeye steaks, which is described in the menu as the the juiciest of all steaks with a rich mellow flavour, and their steak lovers favourite.

We also had a variety of sides, and made substitutes, which are all things you can do according to the menu. But then our meals came up without their proper sides, and then we had to wait for them, and all around it wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences. Our server was friendly, don’t get me wrong, but he also seemed a bit on the flakey side which is why I think we had so many mistakes.

I had decided to sub my side and have mac ‘n’ cheese, as well as sauteed mushrooms. Which didn’t arrive, and when they did, the server just plonked a tiny cupful of boiled mushrooms – blergh. Steve’s rice and black beans wasn’t particularly hot, and all around it was just a mess.

Even the steaks were not that tasty – and we had all just wished we had gone to Longhorn instead…


We decided against dessert and paid our bill. I know it shows it as no tip left in my bill below, but there is every chance we just left a cash tip.

I did mention to the floor manager about the service, and the messed up items, but didn’t make a fuss of it. It was our last night together and it didn’t need to be ruined!

I hope it was just an off night for them, but after this experience, it’s not likely we would return – not to this location at least. Like I said, maybe the original in Haines City is a lot better.


We then drove Chris and Meg back to their resort – Disney All-Stars Movies, and we headed back home to Poly. Tomorrow we’d spend some time in Magic Kingdom with them, before they flew back home to the UK… and we continued on for another 4 days of our holiday!



Read about the day after:
Day 24: It’s A Small World After All »
Magic Kingdom / Dinner at Red Lobster

Read about the day before:
Day 22: Underwater World »
Discovery Cove

Read ALL the days!

Shame about the rain today!