Hanging Out at ESPN The Weekend

Yesterday morning we took the kids to Disney's Hollywood Studios with the idea that we would have the theme park to ourselves. However, when we arrived promptly at 8:30 AM there was already a good crowd - mainly middle-aged, overweight, balding dudes wearing football jerseys. Then I realized that we were caught in the middle of ESPN The Weekend!

Actually it wasn't too bad, all of the sports fans seemed to be hanging out in the designated ESPN The Weekend areas, while we were able to go on a bunch of rides and view shows such as Great Movie Ride, High School Musical and Star Tours without waiting in any lines. I did break away from the family for awhile to catch a celebrity motorcade that featured football legends Mercury Morris (I'm a lifelong fan of the Miami Dolphins, especially when they actually won Super Bowls!), Harry Carson and Tim Brown followed by an entertaining Q&A session.

Also, we ate lunch for the first time at the '50s Prime Time Cafe. Every time we've tried to get in this popular eatery in the past there was always a horrendous wait time for a table. It was a cool place: You sit down at what appears to be a kitchen table from the '50s with a TV playing clips from popular '50s TV shows. The wait staff is lively and the waiters and waitresses call everyone "kid." The will also reprimand you if you don't eat your vegetables. The food was overpriced (I guess it was about typical for a Disney World sit-down restaurant though) and the menu specializes in "comfort food" like fried chicken and meatloaf, as well as mac and cheese, hotdogs and chicken strips for kids. I enjoyed the fried chicken, which came with green beans and mashed potatoes and gravy. The check itself was somewhat of a shock: $54 for lunch for a family of four! However, it's worth the experience at least once in a lifetime . . .

Oh yeah, I have plenty of photos of ESPN The Weekend that I will upload over the next few days (as well as photos I took at Disney's Magic Kingdom the night before).