Day 3: Lights, Camera, Math!

Hi everyone, it’s Alex and Lindsay here writing the blog post for today! Today we explored Hollywood Studios, so to start off this blog we have a picture of the whole group at the entrance to the park (if you haven’t noticed, group pictures at the entrance to the parks has been a bit of a theme here).

Our daily picture at the park

Knapsack Competition

In yesterday’s blog, Caroline and Jamie mentioned an assignment we were given involving the classic Knapsack Problem.  In this problem you have a set amount of space (think a set amount of space in your suitcase or knapsack) that you are trying to fit items in.  You value some items more than others (for example, you might rather pack your toothbrush than your antique teacup set for your trip to Disney).  The value placed on each item is called utility, which is what we are trying to maximize in the Knapsack Problem.

The assignment we received yesterday was a variation of the Knapsack Problem. Students were split into four groups of three (plus a group of the three professors) to engage in some friendly math-related competition. The goal of this assignment was to fit certain rides in Hollywood Studios into a fixed amount of time to get the most utility points. Each group had from 9 am, when Hollywood Studios opened its gates until 11:20, when we had lunch reservations. Each ride was assigned a certain utility value (meaning riding one ride could be more beneficial than riding another ride with a lower utility) so the goal was to get the highest total number of utility points by riding the most (and most valuable) rides. Yesterday we were all given data about the rides’ average wait times, lengths of the rides, and distances from the other rides so that groups could plan a schedule.

This morning we had the opportunity to actually test our plans.  All 15 of us arrived at Hollywood Studios half an hour before the park opened at 9 am. We got to see how Disney dealt with all of the people crowded by the entrance gates waiting for the park to open. Just before nine, they let everyone part of the way into the park.  It was really exciting being at the front of the crowd waiting to get on the first rides, and the competition with the other students (and professors!) made it even more exciting.

Some of the selfies we took in line to prove we rode the ride

Once the Disney cast members released the crowds into the park, our groups started to take different paths.  My group (Lindsay) went straight for the Rock n Roller Coaster, because the night before we had worked out that it had the highest utility compared to the time we would spend waiting in line and riding the ride.  We ended up riding the ride five times, and by the last time we had the ride pretty much memorized.  We squeezed in one last short ride at the end (Star Tours) before heading to lunch.

My group (Alex) worked out a strategy the night before where we made a schedule for the time period through a trial and error method, using different starting points and different pathways. In the end, we ended up hitting Tower of Terror twice, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster twice, and then other rides with lower utility. It's safe to say we really enjoyed doing this assignment!

Did I Hear a 3-Course Meal?

Group at Mama Melrose's

When 11:20am came and the project ended, we all met at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano for an early lunch! We were able to choose 1 appetizer and 1 entree, with a dessert sampler at the end. Knowing it was a 3-course meal, we all paced ourselves throughout each course to make sure we had room for the next one. Let's just say we walked out of that meal full and satisfied! During lunch, the professors finally revealed who the winners of the morning competition were.

Drumroll… In third place we had a tie between three of the groups (both of us, Lindsay and Alex, were in this category…).  In second place were Zack, Courtney, Alyssa.  The winners of the competition were…. the professors!  We won’t deny that their Ph.D.’s in math might not have hurt their chances in the competition.

Time to Explore!

Before Toy Story Mania

After lunch, we got to explore Hollywood Studios a bit more leisurely. Our first stop was the Great Movie Ride where we explored some classic movies including the Wizard of Oz and Singing in the Rain.  Our second stop was Toy Story Mania, which was a new ride for a lot of us since its a fairly new attraction. Similar to Magic Kingdom's Buzz Lightyear ride, we competed against one another to see who could shoot for the highest points. We quickly learned that trying to outscore each other on Toy Story Mania would not be a competition just for today but would be ongoing for our entire trip.  We (Alex and Lindsay) started to get the impression that outscoring Dr. Hutson on Toy Story Mania might be even more of a challenge than the math projects we'll be working on. Next, we walked to use our FastPasses for Tower of Terror, a group favorite. After surviving Tower of Terror, we walked all the way to the other end of the park to see the Muppets Vision 3D, a little 3D show with all the classic Muppet characters and their classic humor. At this point, the group split up to do different attractions. While a majority of the group went to Star Wars Tours, a few of us girls, including the two of us, were able to see Beauty and the Beast Live. Disney never fails with putting on a show, especially
"a tale as old as time."

A "Fantasmic" Way to End the Day!

A group selfie at Fantasmic before the show started!

After spending about 9 hours in the park, the group came to the hotel for a quick break. This was a great chance to catch up on homework for tomorrow, eat dinner, or even catch some sleep. For me (Alex), it was also a great time to get a refreshing Slurpee with some friends. After reconvening with the group to discuss our first major project (which will be discussed in future blogs), we headed back to Hollywood Studios to see the Fantasmic show. While many were intrigued by the special effects used in the show, for most of us girls we loved seeing some of the Disney princesses and singing along with the classic Disney songs. The show ended just in time for us to catch the end-of-the-day fireworks which ended up being Star Wars themed - it was a pretty epic way to end the day! While today might have been Friday the 13th, we, Alex and Lindsay, can say that our group is lucky to have such a great experience here at Disney!

Star War's Theme Fireworks Show on Hollywood Blvd

Written by:

                                      

Alex                                      

Lindsay