Friday, September 6, 2013

Hollywood Studios

On our third full day of fun, we headed over to Hollywood Studios.  We did a bunch of stuff right when we arrived, and forgot to make any pictures!  So no evidence of Andrew riding the Rockin' Roller Coaster or Tower of Terror, but he did them like a champ!!  I rode the rollercoaster with Papack, Brent and Andrew and then went with Gigi and Coleman and Jonathan to find water and fastpasses for Toy Story Mania.  We met back up with the rest at Star Tours.  After that, we walked over to The Great Movie Ride, which we didn't do on our last trip.  It was fun, but the boys didn't know very many of the movies in it.  Then we did Legend of Jack Sparrow, which was just standing up watching a hologram.  Super glad we didn't stand in a long line for that!  After all that fun, we were glad we had an early lunch reservation!

We ate at Hollywood & Vine with the Disney Junior folks.  I picked this meal mainly for Jon Jon, but Andrew and Coleman enjoyed it a lot too.  And the food was incredible.




It's decorated in a neat art deco style.  That was neat to see, but we mainly appreciated the air conditioning.


Handy Manny came over almost as soon as we got back from washing our hands.  


And then June from the Little Einsteins came by.  I included several pictures of her with the boys because Jonathan's face is just hilarious to me.  It's like he's finally meeting the girl of his dreams and he just can't believe his good fortune!




Then we were greeted by Jake from Neverland.  We also met Agent Oso, but those pictures didn't download.


Lunch was a yummy buffet, but we were so hot the adults mainly ate salad, which was great.  But would you just look at this dessert bar?  The chef in the back was dipping fruits and candies in chocolate in the fountain.



There was also a self-serve ice cream bar that Andrew loved.  And when did he start looking like an 11 year old?!


 After lunch we saw the Indiana Jones Stunt Show.  It was Andrew's favorite thing last trip, and this time was no different.  Our seats were on the third row.




When we came out, it had started raining.  So we headed over to the Backlot Tour.  They delayed the tour for a few minutes due to lightning, but we didn't mind sitting while we waited.





We rode through various "boneyards" of used vehicles and equipment, through the prop and costume shops, and then to this "set."  There was an explosion and then a flood!



When we walked back inside after the ride, we were in a museum of sorts with all kinds of famous props and memorabilia from different movies.  Of course Gigi and I had our picture made with this.


 And then we paused for a moment of silence in awe of The Dress.


Then someone had to potty, so we hurried on.  We grabbed a quick shot with Superman's cape,


then headed to the bathrooms and to find a snack.  Here we are on the very bright Streets of America.



If you know Coleman, you know that he is our art lover.  This trip, we were able to visit the Art of Animation exhibit briefly.  We didn't get to see the film, but we'll do that next time.  We passed this artist in her office, painting the queen from Sleeping Beauty.  Coleman said in a hushed whisper, "She's  an artist!"


We walked through the exhibit and then it was time for our turn on Toy Story Mania.  I think this may be the most fun ride in all the parks.  Here are Andrew and Gigi teaming up for a high score.


And Jon Jon in his 3D glasses.


My score at the end.  I didn't beat Brent, but I think I might have had I not taken the first round to make  pictures instead of shooting.  Next time, I'll know better.


 I am not completely sure of our order after that.  We walked through the exhibit about Walt Disney and  saw his office.  Then we watched a documentary film about how he came to build Disneyland and Walt Disney World.  It was really good!  And air conditioned.


Either before or after the history lesson, we saw the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show.  Then, we got caught in a big rainstorm.  So we made more use of our Dollar General Ponchos.



Our last event was cancelled due to lightning.  We were really hoping to end our day with the Lights!  Motors!  Action!  stunt show again, but alas it was not to be.  We waited in line at the bus stop for a while and then headed back to the resort.  Jonathan fell asleep on the bus and stayed asleep while Brent carried him inside.


Brent set him down on his feet, thinking he'd wake on up, but instead he did this.


We all decided a cheeseburger and fries would taste really good for supper, so we walked over to Captain Cook's at the resort.  Almost all of us ordered a burger and fries and they were delicious!  We also got one of the famous Dole Whip treats for dessert.  Captain Cooks and one other place in Magic Kingdom are the only places that sell it, so I was super glad to get one.  It was yummy!

Gigi and I had laundry waiting on us, which turned into a hilarious event, and Brent and Papack took the boys to the arcade for a while.  We got in bed at a great time and were well rested for our last day in the parks tomorrow!

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