Flushtasmic!
Happy 2018, friends, and welcome back! What a year we have in-store for you: 12 months of urinals, toilets and soap dispensers to review -- it'll be our best year ever! And to kick things off -- man, oh man, have we got a doozy for you! We've been saving this little jewel for a special occasion, and the first review of 2018 seems most appropriate.
Before we get started, though, thank you for once again stopping by. As we enter WDW Loo Review's third year in operation, we are forever grateful for your visits here, your willingness to spread the word about the blog on your favorite social media platforms. Your interest and generosity continue to inspire us to seek out new hand dryers and baby-changing stations, to boldly flush where no one has flushed before! Thanks!
Today, folks, we're going to a restroom not oft visited, primarily because it's closed to the public for most of the day -- you can't say that about most WDW loos. Our journey takes us back to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Man, has this park taken a beating of late: with so few attractions, DHS has, in the eyes of many, fallen far behind its sister parks. Never fear, though: while the number of attractions has faltered, we're about to confirm the legion of toilets remains strong.
Disney's Hollywood Studios has always offered some pretty decent places to poo. We've long admired the tile work here: Hollywood Brown Derby and even those restrooms featuring the Hollywood Tile of Terror are true stand-outs; however, there's so much more to explore among DHS' loos.
Take, for example, this restroom: inaccessible until around 90 minutes before the nightly showing of Fantasmic!
Squatting in the Hollywood Tower Hotel's shadow, the Fantasmic! loo's exterior has much to admire. From the backlit "Restrooms" sign to the art deco facade, this is one classy restroom! Let's take a closer look, yes?
The Fantasmic! loo is a low, flat structure with two distinct main entrances situated back to back: the women's entrance sits to the left while the men's is on the right. There are no doors to these restrooms, which isn't an uncommon thing at WDW; however, this is a particularly cool feature here as a warm glow emanates from each entrance (remember, this restroom is only accessible from around dusk and later due to Fantasmic! showtimes -- ed). It's an inviting, hypnotizing luminescence which beckons the burgeoning bladder ever-closer.
Here's a closer look at the signage. We love the backlit letters here -- it matches the entrances' glows and accentuates the art deco look of this loo's exterior. Very cool!
Enough of the exterior, though, let's move on in:
Here's an unsuspecting fellow making his way into the men's loo. We here at the Loo Review try very hard to exclude park guests from our shots, especially in light of the ... ah ... sensitive locales where we shoot our photos. That said, the front of the Fantasmic! loo is usually crazy busy, and it's almost impossible to take photos without catching a few passers by. Our apologies to this chap!
Upon entering the Fantasmic! loo, one is immediately struck by its size: this is one long restroom. It seems to stretch on forever ... and it does! Look at this line of urinals! 10 white basins stand smartly at attention to this photo's right side:
Ten! That's enough urinals for all of the cast members who play Fantasmic's snake! Opposite the platoon of urinals, we see a plethora of stalls.
Look at all those crappers: nine of them, to be exact. This restroom may be a record-holder in terms of sheer capacity (rest assured that, if an outbreak of food poisoning were to strike Fantasmic!, this loo could more than handle it -- ed).
Here's a look into the ADA-compliant stall:
You want sinks? We've got plenty! Eight wash basins (six tall boys, two shorties) afford all-comers the chance to hygiene-up before returning to the amphitheatre.
Now, the floor here is interesting. First of all, it's a little worn and cracked -- as seen in the photo below. Second, it features the innumerable, small tiles so common in Disney's Hollywood Studios' loos. No other park consistently features tiny tiles in its restrooms -- this is something we love about DHS (it's the little things -- ed).
Lastly, the tile colors are an unusual combination (another shared feature among the DHS restrooms): arrangements of square-shaped peach, navy and seafoam clusters accentuate the otherwise off-white tiles. It's odd, but it works here, mainly due to the wall tiles tying things together.
Here's a close-up of the horizontal accent strip which runs at eye level throughout the restroom. We see colors here that match those of the floor tiles.
Oh, and take a look at this loo's baby changing station:
Whaaaat?!!! This thing is massive! Honestly, folks, this is the most unusual WDW diaper changing station we've yet seen: it's so large it actually covers two walls, turning 90 degrees near its midsection. We estimate the total length of this stainless steel station at 15 feet! One could easily change a set of octuplets here and have room to spare.
Here's the opposite end of the baby-changing station:
There's even a built-in sink! We walked away from this restroom quite impressed by the immensity of this thing (now, if only it wasn't cold, hard steel, perhaps it would more resemble a diaper-changing area instead of a table in a morgue).
Though it may be hard to fathom, the diaper area isn't the coolest feature of the Fantasmic! loo. Let's return to that photograph of the view from the main entrance looking into the men's loo:
Again, the loo seems to stretch on forever, and, given the abundance of toileting options, there would appear to be no need to venture too deeply into this loo. Never fear, though, we on the Loo Review Crew carried forth anyway and found something unexpectedly cool!
Let's take a closer look:
That's right: the Fantasmic! loo has a secret exit! While most users will likely exit the restroom via the same route in which they entered, we strongly urge you to walk all the way to the loo's end where you'll be rewarded with a hush-hush escape route!
Upon exiting the back door, we find ourselves meandering along a dark, quiet sidewalk, lined with all manner of greenery. We were the only ones back here, which is quite a feat given the crowds at the restroom's main entrance. This is a wonderful little reprieve from Fantasmic's hustle and bustle, and we hope you get the chance to explore the area next time you're there.
A companion loo sits a few feet to the left of the men's loo main entrance:
Inside the companion loo, we see plenty of space for all manner of equipment and assistants. The color scheme featured in the main restroom are found here as well.
WDW LOO REVIEW RECAP OF DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS FANTASMIC! LOO:
Capacity: Larger than the adjacent amphitheatre! Holy cow, this place is gigantic!
Cleanliness: Moderate
Theming: Exterior theming matches the art deco style of the buildings on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards! We love it!
Companion Loo: Yes
Access: Limited (only accessible during the hours leading up to and during the nightly Fantasmic! performance)
Overall Rating: 4/5 Urinal Wafers
Yes, the colors are a little dated, the floor tiles a little worn, but this loo's immense size, unusual diaper-changing station and, most importantly, secret exit, make it a must poo! Honestly, it's worth the long hike to the Fantasmic! area if only to use this restroom.
Thank you, again, for paying us a visit! We hope you enjoyed this one-of-a-kind WDW loo review, and, if you did, why not share us with your friends! We love it when word gets out about our project -- the more the merrier (on the blog -- not in the restrooms -- let's keep it one to a stall, please).
We leave you with a few shots of the Fantasmic! loo's exterior against the back drop of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, accentuated by the Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular's fireworks! We love these photos and hope you enjoy them as well.
Until next time, friends: bottoms down and thumbs up!
Loo Review Matt