Friday was another quick breakfast in the room and onto Disney fun at Hollywood Studios. We first raced to get fast passes for Toy Story Mania (the wait time is always long and even the fast passes run out quickly) and then jumped in line to meet Buzz and Woody. The line is full of fun photo ops and the girls thoroughly entertained us. Their favorite part of meeting Buzz and Woody was when Woody showed them how to push Buzz's buttons and turn him off so he would collapse and be still. They did it over and over giggling.
We continued on to meet Ralph and Vanellope, Vanellope being particularly cute and mischievous, posing us for a picture and then dramatically standing in front of it. The girls begged to meet Mr. Incredible and Frozone as well, showing off their muscles and giggling.
We stopped for another picnic lunch and then lined up to see the Disney Jr. show. The girls LOVED it! They had almost front row seats and couldn't contain themselves, cheering and wiggling and signing along loudly. Even E bounced along and jabbered the lines she knew. The show was super cute, set up like an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and visiting Sofia, Jake the Pirate and A's favorite, Doc McStuffins. After the show we got to meet Sofia and Jake for hugs and pictures.
We went to the Beauty and the Beast stage show. The girls got antsy and cranky whenever we had to wait in line or for a show to start but were transfixed as soon as the music started. After the show, we tried the Movie Ride (meh) on our way to an early dinner reservation at kidsister's favorite restaurant: the 50s PrimeTime Cafe. It was like stepping back in time to my grandma's kitchen, complete with chrome edge tables and delicious comfort food. The food was incredible (especially Husband's pork chops and my roast beef) and we topped it off with hot apple crisp with ice cream. The girls each got a "kid sundae" which turned out to be a generous scoop of ice cream and four little cups filled with a variety of toppings. They were in heaven.
With our bellies full, we headed for the roller coasters. (yep. not the best idea.) We split up again, Grammy and Papa took A and E to the Disney Junior show again while kidsister, husband, L and I went to the Tower of Terror using fast passes kidsister had snagged before dinner. L loves thrill rides and she is actually (according to me) the only two year old to ride the Tower of Terror. (she's probably the only two year old who was ever tall enough to ride it, and truthfully it was the day before her 3rd birthday but the story sounds better if i leave that part out). She had insisted on going with her dad and we relented, figuring she would see the scary decor and chicken out. I was shocked when she came off the ride and reported, "It was scary. but I liked it." However, this time we jumped in line and went into the "waiting room". We watched the little preview movie and she panicked. Scared and near tears she begged to leave so I quickly assured her she didn't have to go. We had to wait through the line to get to the front where we could leave and were led to a spot where we could wait for Dad and kidsister. They rode, returned with huge grins and I got to do a "kidswap" which allowed Husband and I to jump back onto the ride without waiting in line. Loved the ride, shrieking and laughing and screaming the whole time.
From there we scurried over to the Aerosmith Rock n Roller Coaster and loved it! This is my very favorite roller coaster ever. L rode, grinning and screaming and having a blast. Husband couldn't resist buying the picture afterwards that so perfectly captured her expression.
We raced back to join Grammy and Papa for the Little Mermaid show which the girls had been begging to go to all day. From there we rode Toy Story Mania, a long time favorite that spins and winds around a 3D shooting gallery. Husband took an early lead against my score and I could never catch up. I think kidsister ended up beating him for points, but I won hands down for accuracy.
Our last stop was the Muppets 3D movie which is always a fun favorite. As usual, it was a little overwhelming for L but A and E loved it. After that, we decided to go back to the hotel. It was Friday the 13th and Hollywood Studios was hosting a first-ever Villians night. The villians might have been a little too much for the kids, especially since they were getting so tired but mostly the crowds were increasing at an alarming rate, both in size and of questionable character so we left.
Back at the hotel, we discovered more Tinkerbell Magic (Minnie shaped bottles of bubbles) and had to play with that for awhile before we put the baby to bed and took the big girls to the arcade. We spent close to an hour there, watching them bounce around like ping pong balls, trying various games and eventually picking a few small prizes with the tickets they had earned. And soon, we were sounds asleep again.
Miscellaneous:
--I love love love Hollywood Studios. The entire amusement park is designed to be a "live set", as if the guests are backstage. The Indian Jones show is amazing, the performance is the actors rehearsing a scene, complete with stunts and then performing it as if it's being filmed. It's full of crazy stunts and plenty of fun comedy. Similarly, the Lights, Motors, Action! show is on set with actors "filming" a series of scenes. The audience gets to watch them breakdown the stunts and sequences and then it shows a final production at the end with all the added technology embellishments. but we didn't go to either of these shows on this trip because they are more for adults and probably wouldn't have interested the kids as much.
--We also decided to skip Fantasmic! on this trip. I LOVE this show and it's intense, unique and amazing. But it was late and we knew it would be a little too much for our very young, sensitive kids. L got so upset I had to take her outside when we saw it two years ago, overwhelmed by the intensity, the bad guys and the special effects. So it's amazing but we'll wait until next time to see it again.
--This is probably my favorite of the DisneyWorld parks. For adults at least. It's mostly shows, very few rides and you have to get a fast pass to Toy Story Mania early if you want to avoid an hour plus long line.
--Star Tours has been redone! I'm so excited! But unfortunately, we ran out of time and will save it for another trip.
--If you stay at the DisneyWorld resorts, resort guests are invited for "extra magic hours", where one park opens an hour early each day and a different park stays open late for up to three hours. Cuts down on the crowd and lets us stay out even later, especially if we took a break midday for naps.
--Being with my dad in a wheelchair was a new experience. I hope he still got to enjoy the trip despite his discomfort. Disney is very accommodating and was wonderful about helping us. We usually got decent seats without having to wait in long lines (since we sat in the wheelchair section) and we got to board the shuttle buses first. And the chair enabled my Dad to come on the trip at all so it was wonderful and totally worth it. But if I was to give advice to anyone else, was how hard it is to get around. And not the ramps or buildings, but the crowds. People don't pay attention and certainly don't watch for wheelchairs. People would walk around so absorbed in where they were going that they stepped right into him repeatedly, jostling him sometimes rather painfully or certainly making it difficult to get around.
No comments:
Post a Comment