Today was a lazy morning- we didn’t get our of bed until 8- had a small breakfast on our deck and left our room by 9 to head for Disneys Hollywood Studios. I knew it would be a long day ahead of us- as most of the things there are at least 20 minutes in length. Many shows, tours, etc centered around the creation of movies and celebration of stage shows.
We started with Voyage of the Little Mermaid- it was a short stage show that had a movie screen behind it to show part of the film (collage sequences) and then there were live action music numbers as well. The special effects were amazing for this show- even though it was only about a half an hour long. It was already SO hot out so it was nice to be inside for a bit.
We headed over to Disney’s animation studios next- we saw artists in studios working on projects, there were interactive stations on how to draw, record voices, etc and then many art galleries that the kids were actually really interested in (of old sketches, etc from classic disney movies).
We headed over to Star Tours next- which was a walk on ride (no wait at all) and I’d forgotten how much P loved this ride (exactly the same as the one in Disneyland). It makes me slightly sick to my stomach so I have to look away a lot (it’s a motion simulator ride) but the kids love it. The liked it even more since they both got really into Star Wars this past 6 months or so.
We left Star Tours and P wanted her face painted again. I knew it would come off with sweat from the heat within hours but I agreed to it- and she got a rainbow with a Kermit the frog on it. Anything that warrants looks from people seems to make her happy. She’s gotten far more used to princess treatment on this trip than I would ever give her at home- she knows it and is taking full advantage of it for now.
By this point it was about 11:45 and we had lunch reservations at the Sci-Fi drive in diner- we passed a cute coffee shop that was really quaint with books and screenplays that I had to stop in so we were almost late. Ooops. The minute we walked into Sci-Fi the kids were ecstatic. The entire restaurant is in the dark with stars above and a big movie screen ahead of you playing old bad sci-fi flicks, The best part is you sit in these giant cars with trays in front of you to eat at. They only sit 2 across so Aidan was in the front and P and I were in the back, with another couple behind us. It was pretty neat.
After lunch we booked it (literally ran) to the Lights, Motor, Action stunt show. We got a seat on the bleachers and were thoroughly entertained for the next half an hour with car chases, people leaping off buildings and motorcyclists catching on fire. Aidan was in heaven- they explained exactly how they did each stunt (like a car that was driving backwards and doing stunts was built to look backwards but he was actually driving forwards).
We wandered over to the kids playground for a bit- which was modeled after Honey I shrunk the kids (a movie both my kids love). It was pretty hot in there and they were starting to lose their steam so we wandered over to the next thing we saw with a low wait time which was the Studio backlot tour. It turned out to be really interesting. We got to wander through prop rooms, and then took a tram around the backstage workings of things in the park. P loved seeing the costume makers make dresses for the princesses.
After that we took a break for a bit- got a snack and cold drink, and looked through the New York lots and San Fran lots a bit. We poked into some stores and then headed over to the big outdoor theater (it was covered, but still outside) to watch the condensed Broadway style show of Beauty and the Beast. It was about 45 min, but it was really good. It was way too hot in there though- they def needed more fans like they do in some of the other outdoor activities in the parks.
We left Hollywood Studios and headed back to the resort. The kids played in the pool for an hour or so while I had a drink or two poolside and relaxed as much as I could in 90+ degree heat.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed to the convention center on our hotel property to meet up for the Pirates and Pals Firework voyage I signed us up for months ago. It was great- you had a meet and greet with Capt Hook and Smee and had drinks and snacks- and everyone got souvenir bandanas. Then we all headed out to the boats with our pirate captain Patch (who was hilarious- many over the kids’ heads type jokes). We all played some getting to know you activities (there were only like 20 of us on there) and then some trivia games to win prizes (Aidan and I each won one). We headed over towards the Magic Kingdom and stopped right in front of the castle. The new summer firework show was amazing. I have some on video but it was hard to capture everything because it used up so much of the sky (not just over the castle). But it was pretty impressive. We had a perfect viewing point and no crowds or waiting on main street (or the nightmare of getting off main street) to deal with. Aidan had a blast but P was being a pain tonight (really tired).
We headed straight back to the room afterwards, skipping the Peter Pan meet and greet and both kids totally crashed.
Tomorrow is day 1 of Epcot- and we are only doing the Future World part (science and tech based rides) which Aidan is excited for. Day 2 will be our last day at the parks and we will do the World Showcase then.
Oh- and we counted 15 geckos from the pool to our room today. A little creepy.
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