We woke up bright and early on Thursday morning (well I woke up bright and early, getting the others out of bed wasn't as easy hehe), while I got the girls ready Toby ran to the food court and got us coffee and the girls some milk. After a quick breakfast (we brought the girls favorite breakfast cereals, granola bars & mini muffins with us from home) we headed back to our bus stop for the short ride to Hollywood Studios!
It was pretty chilly that morning (low 60s) so I bundled the girls up in their Disney fleeces. We also brought their favorite Disney fleece blanket in case they were cold later.
We got to the park around 9:30 am and headed straight for Toy Story Mania since it was time for our FP window. You MUST fast pass this ride if you are taking your kids to HS. We didn't last summer and the wait time was 90 minutes! The girls were bummed they didn't get to ride last June & were SO ready to ride this trip! Toby and I were excited too ;)
You wear 3D glasses and it whips you around to shoot targets. It's like a live video game. We all loved it!! It whips you pretty hard and fast and Gracen and me were sliding all over our car. She thought it was hilarious of course. At the end of the ride it tells you the high score of your car...of course it was Toby ;) Such a fun way to start our HS day!
After we rode, we walked over to the Animation Courtyard to meet some of our favorite characters. Both girls had autograph books we picked up in the hotel gift shop and they loved meeting the characters and having them sign their book. It's a full time job collecting character signatures & pictures for us parents though. Whew!
Up first, WRECK IT RALPH & Vanellope (20 minute wait). This is Toby's favorite Disney movie and Gracen is obsessed with it too. Leighton loves the movie but the sight of Ralph and all of his hugeness was too much for her. She decided to stay behind the camera with me and just wave and tell them hi. Gracen was all for it though and Vanellope was SO sweet to her and paid her so much attention. It was adorable.
Of course Toby had to get his very own picture with the Disney big guy haha!
Right next to Ralph was the line to meet Minnie Mouse. Oh my gosh this is the BEST place to meet Minnie in my opinion. The line was really short (5 mins compared to 20 at Magic Kingdom the day before) and when it was your turn you got to go in Minnie's dressing room (which was adorable & so well lit). It was so nice because each kid got quiet one on one time with Minnie. Loved having time with Minnie without the next person in line staring you down lol (Disney parents, you KNOW what I'm talking about haha).
After Minnie we walked around the courtyard for a few minutes. It's indoors with lots of little neat things for the kids to do. Gracen colored a picture and Leighton and Toby played on an interactive princess game. Before we knew it, it was time for our Disney Junior show FP. Gracen was SO excited for this show because it had both her beloved Sofia AND Doc McStuffins in it. The FP line was awesome and we ended up getting a second row seat for the show!
The show was so cute. The girls laughed, danced and just loved it. So glad we got to do this since it was (yet another) thing we didn't do in June. I'm telling you the difference between going in off season vs summer is REAL :)
After the show, we walked over to The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We were there about 15 minutes before the next show so we just decided to wait. I loved this show! It was probably my favorite part of HS. I just love The Little Mermaid SO much. The girls also loved it. Sitting down for 15 minutes sure is enjoyable too haha (especially when pregnant). Running around Disney World feels like a marathon sprint at times! Whew.
When the show was over it was time to head over to Prime Time Cafe for our Disney Play & Dine lunch reservation. Our reservation was at 1:35 and we got there about 10 minutes early. We had to wait for about 20 minutes to get seated which was kind of a bummer. We were all starving and the girls were quite restless and ready to meet Jake, Doc, Sofia & Handy Manny. FINALLY they called our name and we headed inside.
The lunch was a buffet of all different lunch options & deserts. While you ate each character came over to your table and signed autograph books and took pictures (more on this in my character dining post). My girls loved this lunch. Especially Gracen! She stalked the characters and would jump right out of her seat when they came over to our table. So fun. Both girls ran up and danced with the MC and marched around the restaurant during the parade. Gracen just keeps right up with Leighton haha. I'm pretty sure she is the most independent, free spirited, 2.5 year old around. Nothing stops her!
After lunch we were stuffed! The good thing about a buffet is you can guarantee you will be well fed haha! We walked over to Star Tours so Toby and Lei could ride (we used FP for this). Gracen was too short & I couldn't ride because I was pregnant. Oh well. Gracen was tired and didn't seem to care about staying in her stroller and resting while they rode ;) We found a high curb and parked and waited for them ride :) Of course Leighton loved it (she loves any ride) and Toby said it was fun too!
Since Gracen was awake still we walked over to the Muppet 3D experience. There was a 10 minute wait. It's a 3D show and we all loved it. What's not to love about Kermit ;)??
After the show the girls wanted to get a tattoo in the courtyard outside. Leighton chose Stitch and Gracen chose Ariel (of course hehe). Nine days later, Leighton's is still pretty much on all the way but Gracen's had all rubbed off by the time we left. Oh the differences between these girls are endless ;)
On the way to let the girls play in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie set we passed a street that had a bunch of characters out and Leighton got the scare of her
Obviously not toy soldiers O_O Whoops, who knew ;)
Playing in the movie set cheered her up and stressed Toby and me out a bit. So many kids and places for them to hide. Thankfully, there is only one exit out of the set so I posted up by that and we let the girls play for a good 30 minutes haha. When we finally dragged them out we realized it was our last chance of the day to meet Mike & Sulley. We rushed over and got in line (just in time). We love Monsters Inc. Leighton was SO excited to show Sulley her baby Sulley :) I love how the Disney characters make the effort to recognize the little details of each child's experience. Oh Disney, we love you :)
On our way to ride the Great Movie Ride we passed a Coca Cola display and I just had to get my picture with it. I am a huge Coke lover (it makes me sad I can only have a little these days). Nothing can compare to a cold Coke in my opinion and NO NO NO Pepsi is NOT the same. Eww :) Dork alert, I know!
We had a short wait (10 minutes) for the Great Movie Ride and by the time we got on Gracen has passed out on her Daddy ;) We were front row for the ride and right next to the driver/tour guide.
There was one fake shooting scene that was supposed to be like an old time gangster movie and our tour guide was replaced by the "gangster." Leighton's eye were huge as saucers when the new driver took over. When we got off the ride she said, "I really liked it but it was a leetle scary when dat gurl was driving!" Haha.
After our ride it was starting to get dark and close to park closing time. HS closes earlier than the other parks (it closed at 7pm this day). Toby wanted to ride Tower of Terror before we left and since we knew the wait was 15 minutes thanks to our My Disney Experience app, we headed over that way. We stopped and got a hot chocolate with whipped cream and it was SO good.
Walking over, Lei was debating whether she wanted to ride with Toby. She rode it in June and it scared her. She kept saying she wanted me to ride with her (because I had before) and since I couldn't ride because I was pregnant she decided to stay back. Of course after Toby walked off she was still debating whether she should have gone with him. Tough Disney decisions. I reminded her that we would be back at Disney sometime and she could ride again then. She seemed satisfied with that and both girls had a sucker while we waited for Daddy :)
While Toby was riding, I thought about walking the girls over to watch the Fantasmic Show (they do nightly at HS) but both girls were so content with their suckers and I was SO exhausted from walking around all day sooo I opted to just sit and wait. I was feeling a little lazy. There's always next trip ;)
When Toby got off ToT it was time to head back to our hotel. It was nice to be back at a decent hour (around 7:45 p.m.). I gave the girls baths and then Toby & Lei headed off to play in the arcade for a little while. Gracen hung back with me and we watched some Disney Jr and played on her itouch. Toby brought back two bacon cheeseburgers, fries, drinks & more yummy chocolate cake for us all to split (used 2 quick services from our dining plan). After we ate we headed to bed to prepare for our very last day at Disney...
Another great day with magical memories :)
No comments:
Post a Comment