Jainie Belle was FREEZING this day! You can see no one else was quite this cold, since we piled all the blankets on top of her - hey!, she was happy!
So, today I hadn't mapped everything out and this is definitely the park I know the least. We had to stop, once inside the park, and look up where we were going. I was off picking up an extra stroller for my 7-year old. :)
We started walking down Sunset Blvd. when one of the cast members stopped and talked to Josie, this is how she tells it:
"I was just walking on the main street headed to Toy Story Mania when a man dressed in goofy clothes stopped me and asked if I was an actress. I was pretty confused until Sara started laughing, then I said no. The man said that I must be an actress and he made me make a whole bunch of faces. He had me cry which was very difficult since I couldn't stop laughing. After that he gave me a necklace that had a plastic, golden, trophy on it that said "best actress" and he suggested acting for my career!"
So, I didn't mention that the day before this, the day we went to MK, the only day we didn't drive, we got back to our cabins and Gpa's and Gma's mirror had been broken off of their rental car. (We really have no luck with rental cars). Anyway, luckily, there was a note there explaining that the maid accidentally knocked it off while driving her little golf cart thingy. It was still a hassle. Gpa and Gma had to go the next morning and talk to the manager of the Ft. Wilderness area to figure out how it was going to be all worked out. Because of all of this, we were a few minutes late today. BUT, they did give us a free fastpass to any ride we wanted. So, while someone ran and got fastpasses for Rock n' Roller Coaster, the rest of us headed to Toy Story Mania! Easily the busiest ride in the park. Really, the line is unbelievable - we got there pretty early in the morning on a cold, not-too busy day and the fastpasses were already out until 6pm that night! We were all glad we could just jump on and go. It really is a pretty great ride - who doesn't like a little competition? You can tell from the pictures who our competition was.
Dad was a little nervous about being with any of the rest of us toughies so he and Jainie were partners - I am pretty sure that Jainie won! :)
I wish I could say that we were all just excited to be here today. Unfortunately, we still had some tired, ornery kids. Jake was still struggling - not sure why it was such a rough vacation for him. Hopefully, he will remember it with fondness.
Don't let his innocent, sweet face fool you - he has an attitude! This was all within a few minutes. Honestly, I can't even remember what he wanted at this point. I don't think he knew what he wanted - just something different than he was getting, I suppose. I do know he didn't want his picture taken - but, I will love these pictures and remember it and the reality of vacations with children.
We were already getting hungry at this point but felt we had to get at least one more thing in before stopping. This is when we were in line for the Voyage of the Little Mermaid live musical show. They only had a few time slots so we knew we better get it in quick. While we were in line, Gma and some of the kids ran and bought a snack for all of us to share. It made the line more enjoyable for Jake and Jainie, well, probably everyone, but you can see Jaxon, Josh and Josie do pretty well in lines now. As long as they don't annoy each other too much.
I just love how Disney does everything so well. Aren't those flowers perfect!
We decided to go get a snack at this point, we went to the Starring Rolls Cafe. It was YUMMMY! It had sandwiches and pitas, healthy things like that but then it had the BEST desserts we had at Disney, I think. I chose a chocolate croissant, because since eating them everyday when I was in Europe, I am addicted and whenever there is a menu that has them, I have to try them out. It was tasty - but not as good as Jaxon's cupcake. This was the Butterfinger Cupcake and I am telling you - it was something else! The whole thing is not frosting on the top, but they would hollow out the cupcake, put a filling in it and then put the cupcake part back on - then frost around that part and on top of it. Then, they dipped it in a chocolate coating crust and sprinkled with butterfiger. I am salivating just thinking of it. Anyone know how to make it?
I know we had other good desserts there too. I know someone got a gigantic rice krispie treat and we got a fresh fruit tart and a strawberry parfait and an eclair and a chocolate peanut butter cupcake, and don't get me wrong, they were all delicious too! I tried as many of them as possible!
After this, we went to The Great Movie Ride (always entertaining) & the Studio Backlot Tour. It was kind of a chill day. Just enjoying and taking pictures and having fun!
Josh actually smiling at the camera is not something you will see often, I had to include it!
You can see Sara was getting tired at this point, she rode in the stroller for quite awhile really - maybe 7 minutes. I think Dad was holding Jake.
Here we were on our way to use our fastpasses at Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Such a great ride - we made it on there at least a couple times. As many as I could go on in a row, I had had enough - but that was at the end of the day when I was tired.
Josie and I came out first and we got this sweet attitude picture of Jos. This is how the ride makes you feel - pretty cool. :)
And, here is everyone who went on the ride. Josh (in stroller), Dad, Sara, Gpa, Jaxon, Josie, Jake, and me. You can tell we are ready to play some Aerosmith on our air guitars! What a thrill!
Meanwhile, Gma didn't want to go on it and Jainie was too little (she didn't want to go anyway), so they went shopping. Gma bought Jainie this darling hat that she absolutely adored and wore the rest of the day.
This hat put a little pep in her step!
The Beauty and the Beast show was right after our ride and in that part of the park, so it worked out wonderfully. We even had enough time to get on Tower of Terror first! I LOVE that ride, have I mentioned that yet? This was Jake's first time going on it and I am not sure how he felt about it. Most of the kids don't love it yet, but I am sure it will grow on them.
We had a bit of time before the show started so we just sat and enjoyed the ambiance. Except for Jainie who was really not feeling well at this point. You can tell she has had better days, it was heartbreaking really. But, she was a trooper!
While we waited, we tried playing some games to entertain us. Dad was pretty good at these. You can tell Josh enjoyed it, as did Josie.
It was a great show and all the kids enjoyed it - some more than others. :)
After this, it was time to go to the Lights! Motors! Action! Extreme Stunt Show. It was the last one we could go to. I really wanted to let Jainie see the parade, "Block Party Bash," where you can sing and dance in the street. I thought she would like it better than the stunt show, so Jainie and I went to find the parade. She had a temperature and wasn't feeling too well so she was being pretty mellow. I thought I might be able to catch up with the show later. Off we went, our different directions.
Since I had the camera, this is the only picture we got from the stunt show - Josie took it with her camera. You can't tell unless you look closely but this is when Herbie is cut in half - yep - don't know how they do it, but at one point he is whole, then he has to go around this food stand, and so he cuts himself in half and keeps driving, then puts himself back together again! Amazing! There are also people on fire and cars and jumps and all sorts of fun stuff. Everyone loved it.
Here you can see Jainie trying to dance with the parade - she danced with Boo (from Monsters) for a minute. But, just couldn't keep up the energy - you can tell she doesn't feel well, poor thing. We finally left mid-parade so she could use a restroom. Then, we did a little shopping, well, I did. She slept in the stroller. It was very peaceful for me. I definitely enjoyed it!
After she woke up, I thought it would be fun to wait for the others in the The Magic of Disney Animation area. It is an interactive area and you get to meet various characters - usually characters from the newest Disney movie coming out. There were lots of characters from The Incredibles and Mickey is usually there - I can't remember who else was there, Jainie refused to meet all of them - except Mickey. She really did want to meet him - so glad I had the camera. We waited in line for about 15 minutes before it was her turn. Then, Mickey spent at least 5 minutes alone with just Jainie. He was so cute with her, just hugging her and hugging her and then looking at her. Then, hugging her again . .
then kissing her repeatedly. It really was darling - that is why she finally started smiling. The cast member who was helping with Mickey told us several times that Mickey must really like Jainie because he spent so much time with her. Then, she would tell us that Mickey thought Jainie was so adorable. Finally, she told Mickey it was time to move on and still Mickey gave her more hugs. It was sweet and just what made a magical day for a sick little girl. Hope we didn't get Mickey sick!
Then, we spent some time coloring Flounder with Jainie's finger. She really enjoyed this. We also took a quiz of which Disney character we were most like. I was like Mulan and Jainie was like Tinkerbell - we were both thrilled.
She had a lot of fun in here, but after about 35 minutes, we were wondering where everyone else was. We found out that something in the stunt show had broken down or burned or something so the show had to stop for awhile making it take longer. It was really nice to spend some one on one time with Beller - she is a doll.
Jake loved this part! You can see Josh's misery in the background.
Together again and everyone is still pooped! You can see her sweet necklace/award here.
Time for Fantasmic! Gpa and Gma decided not to go to the show, but the rest of us headed off to get good seats. Actually, Dad, Sara, and the kids went and rode one more ride while Jainie and I went and saved spots. Everyone else made it pretty quick though. Then, we got some snacks - churros, hot chocolate, a turkey leg, and sat down to enjoy the show. It is always a fun one to watch, but I have never fully appreciated the big fire scene like I did this year - it toasted things right up!
This is the finale - where we get to see all the characters together and Mickey has defeated the villains - YEA! Go Mickey!
Star Tours was the one ride that was closed while we were there. Most of us weren't too sad about it, but Jake was. We did walk by and see this sweet ride and decided to take advantage and get some pics.
Oh no!, here come the stormtroopers!
AHHHH! Jake is falling off!
We are going too fast! Everyone is falling off!
We had to hurry to go the Spectacle of Lights because our dinner plans were immediately following this and we had to hurry to get home. So, we went and enjoyed the light party for a few minutes, singing and dancing up and down the street before we left Hollywood Studios!
Gpa enjoying the Christmas ambiance. It really is amazing, don't you think?
Good-bye Hollywood Studios - it was a great day! We had a wonderful time and we all wished we would have had more time to stay and explore all your secrets.
Our dinner reservations were for the Hoop-de-Doo Revue, which is one of my all-time favorite dinner shows. We went back in 2000, with the Oldroyd family so I remembered some of it. I knew the kids would LOVE it, especially the older kids who understand the slap stick humor a bit more.
Gpa and Gma had taken Jainie back a bit early with them, since she wasn't feeling well. So, they were already back at their cabin. We had to book it. We had to drive back to our cabin, drop off the car then catch the bus out to the right spot. The show is in Ft. Wilderness, so it wasn't too far as soon as we got home, we just had to get to Ft. Wilderness. So, off we went. Gpa and Gma had been waiting for the bus for quite awhile and luckily we caught up with them right before the bus got there. Obviously, Dad and I had to drop off the car before we could get on the bus, but we dropped all the kids off and then we figured we could run if we had to. We got there at least 15 minutes after everyone else and one of the manager's found us, saw that we were rushed and I think felt bad for us. So, he told us he would show us to our seats and then took us to the very front, center table! It was great! Just the two of us, enjoying the show, drinking strawberry lemonade. It lasted a few minutes before we decided we had better go sit by all of our kids and not leave them with Gpa, Gma, and Sara. So, we went back and sat by the fam. Which was actually more fun. For a while. Then, Jainie started feeling worse again, so I had to hold her. Then, all of the sudden, Josh came over to us crying and holding his cheek and his night was ruined as well. His tooth was killing him and he was miserable the rest of the night. Stink! I hate that vacations always have to have something like that.
During part of the show, they pass out these washboards and you get to play them, Jaxon, Josie and Jake all took a turn.
Our sweet waitress asked if she could take our picture, so, of course, we let her. This is us for the show. It was a delicious meal too - all you can eat - and there was lots! You definitely get full during this meal, with entertainment. There was salad, baked beans, fried chicken, smoked BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, cornbread, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. YUM! One of the entertainers - can't remember her name - is in the yellow-checked dress in the background. It really is a fun time!
Whew! We didn't get back to the cabins until about 11:30 so we were pooped. We were somewhat packed but stayed up VERY late packing most of the rest up. The kids all fell asleep quickly though, that was good. And, this darling display is what the maid set up for us while we were gone. It really was a magical vacation, Disney sure does know how to make you feel special. I am ready to go again immediately - even in the heat! This time I would like to go to a beach though. :)
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