Last chance for Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show?
Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios closed April 2, 2016.
So thank goodness we came jogging up mere minutes before the 1:30pm show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! The next chance to watch it would have been three hours later; after that, who knows? Rumors have persisted that this behind-the-scenes-style stunt show will be replaced in the near future for a park expansion. Should that pan out, I’m glad we got at least one chance to watch the gravity-defying car chase scenes and – most thrilling of all to the kids – the man who survived skidding through a wall of flames. (You can’t help but marvel when the set director lists off all the protective gear that stunt man must wear!)
The idea behind the show is that you’re observing the filming of a spy thriller. The “director” walks you through the techniques of pulling off stunts, mostly chase scenes but also some pyrotechnics and a high fall thrown in for impact. Production crew members go about their business of setting up for each stunt and assist in explaining the safety measures taken and revealing the secrets behind each trick. Each stunt is filmed and played back on a giant screen visible anywhere in the 5,000-seat stadium.
In years past I purposely skipped this show, feeling my young children would be frightened by the high-decibel motors and explosions. This trip, knowing it might be our last chance to catch it, we watched from way atop the bleachers where everyone felt comfortable and was quite entertained. (It helped that speed-demon Lightning McQueen appeared for a couple laps around the set!)
Location: Catch Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show (while you still can) in the Streets of America section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios Theme Park, Walt Disney World Resort.
Touring Tip: The shows take place at 1:20 & 4:30pm daily. They last about 38 minutes, but you are permitted to enter the stadium any time during the show.
Between staged disasters, the assistant set director explains how the stunts are performed. The audience also learns the details of how the stunts are prepared and meet the various experts responsible for making them work correctly. The entire show runs about 35 minutes.
So we rolled with the antics of the servers because we didn’t mind them harping at us to get our elbows off the table. Two tables over, a woman good-naturedly rose to perform “I’m a Little Teapot” as punishment for something (she probably hadn’t called or written her server, “Auntie Somebody-or-Other” in a while). Our own family temporarily expanded when a “smart-mouthed” kid from a neighboring table was banished to ours. The boisterous fun might not be everyone’s cup of tea – say, if you’re looking for a quiet lunch break in the middle of a bustling theme park – but we enjoyed playing along. Also unique is the nifty fifties-style living room you wait to be seated in, complete with old black-and-white sitcoms on the TVs.
As we all made our best effort to join the ranks of the “Clean Plate Club”, we were allowed to choose a dessert from the ViewMaster menu. (If you’re curious about what’s cooking in “Mom’s Kitchen”, it is chiefly comfort food at its best. We tried both the pot roast and Grandma’s chicken pot pie and have heard great things about the juicy fried chicken and the meatloaf.) For dessert? We ordered the much-buzzed about PBJ malt and one of “Dad’s Brownie Sundae”s. No need for the servers to remind us to finish every last bite.
Returning Star Wars Favorites
At the risk of being branded blasphemous, I’ll admit I was slow to notice all the differences between the original Star Tours attraction and its 2011 revamp. Yes, I get that the entire film itself is brand new. I’m fully aware that eleven randomized scenes have been installed. I applaud the addition of the randomized scenes because they amount to a possible 54 different journeys through classic Star Wars communities and interactions with beloved Star Wars characters.
Our daughter, Emily, just took her first Star Tours flight this past fall (at right).
Personally, I’m not a big Star Wars buff. But, I figured, how fun would it be to watch my kids train as young Padawans? If stage fright didn’t rear its head, I knew my son, Andy, would love to don the robe and swing the saber. I could just picture his little Jedi instincts kicking in as Darth Vader attempts to coax the kids over to the Dark Side. It was this vision that kept us in a 40-minute line to sign up for the Jedi Training Academy at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Training Academy wrapped with a graduation ceremony, complete with certificates and photo ops. Our newly-minted Padawan immediately picked out a Mickey saber to commemorate the experience and spent the remainder of the trip getting in touch with his Jedi side.
Location:
The musical numbers feature beautiful costuming and dancing. My 6-year-old daughter loved the dancing ice cream sundae in the “Be Our Guest” number. Not even the toddler so much as squirmed. They were riveted on Belle’s charming of the Beast and the antics of Gaston. For good reason this show plays on at the Theater of the Stars!