Hollywood Studios

Epcot was a big day for us. We were at the park for a full 12 hours.  So, we decided to make our Tuesday a slower day and just spent a half-day at Hollywood Studios!

We got to the park around 10:30 AM and the first thing we did was run to get a fast pass for Toy Story Mania, but it was broken down.  That was a big bummer for us! It started working again later, but the line was too long for us to do it at that time.  (We have some friends who recently went to Disney World and it was their favorite ride, so we were a little disappointed to miss it.  But I guess it's just another reason to try to go to Disney again in five years! )

We moved on and happily did the memorable Studio Backlot Tour instead! This "tour" was one of my favorite things I did on my child-hood trip to Disney, so it was super fun to share with the girls.

First, we were given an introduction to the "magic of movie-making"! The girls were in awe of all the special effects (based on the movie Pearl Harbor). 

Then, we walked through a big warehouse with props from movies.  It was especially neat to see the statue of Mr. Tumnus.   Our family listened to the audio book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe over Christmas this year. Afterwards, we showed the girls some clips from the Disney movie, so the girls recognized the statue.

I have no clue what movie this hot-air balloon is from, but I thought it was cool! 

A photo of our family on the tram for a tour of the backlot!

We enjoyed seeing people on the "sewing team" creating costumes for movies! 

And we love Herbie from the Love Bug!!! :-)

Then we went to the most explosive event of our entire trip to Disney: Catastrophe Canyon! (I took a photo of the fuel truck and water tank before the earthquake and everything exploded into fire!)

Afterwards, we were able to have some close-up views of more movie memorabilia.  I was so excited (and the girls were too) to discover Maria Von Trapp's dress and the puppets from Sound of Music! 

Then, Brad saw some "important" (don't ask me what it is) memorabilia from Lord of the Rings!

A nice lady saw us taking photos of one another and asked if we wanted a photo of all of us together. So, we grabbed a few trophies from the gift store and captured this impromptu photo.

Brad and the girls with giant Coca Cola bottles!


Then we watched a couple of songs and dances from a Disney Channel Rocks performance.

We captured a family photo in front of Mickey's hat. 

Then, we ate at Rosie's All American Cafe.  The hamburgers (with barbecue sauce and onion rings), chicken nuggets, and fries hit the spot and felt perfect for our day at Hollywood Studios!  The girls were especially pumped about each of them having their own large bottle of chocolate milk!

It probably was one of the highlights from Faith's trip to Disney World.  She told us, " Oh WOW! This is great. Our trip to Disney World is so SPECIAL, that's why we get chocolate milk!"

After lunch, we went to Beauty and the Beast- Live on Stage: a live, musical, Broadway-style show.

The characters were enchanting...

and the dancing was sensational. It was a perfect introduction to Broadway for the girls!

Then, we went to Indiana Jones: Epic Stunt Spectacular.  We only stayed for the first half of the show, which was excellent! The girls loved seeing the big boulder rolling down the ramp toward Indiana Jones. It looked ginormous but minutes later, they saw two men easily (not breaking a sweat) pushing it up the hill with one hand!  It was super neat for them to see the "magic" of special effects in movie making. (In the end, we decided to leave before the shooting episode, because Anna is not a big fan of loud bangs.)


Then we caught a glimpse of Darth Vadar and Luke Skywalker battling it out with their light-sabers.

Jillian, Faith, and I decided to ride Star Tours together, a 3-D adventure.  It was a really neat stimulation ride, and the girls loved it.  Unfortunately, my body has changed since having three babies (or it could just be that I am older, but I prefer to go with the motherhood explanation) and I felt a tiny bit sick after riding it!   :-) No worries though, I quickly recovered.

After Star Tours, Brad went to ride the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, starring Aerosmith (he grabbed a fast pass before Beauty and the Beast). It ended up being his favorite roller-coaster of the trip. I was really happy Brad was able to ride it, because when he went in high-school, it was broken!

Meanwhile, the girls and I went to go see Muppet Vision 3D. It was a super adorable show and all four of us giggled a lot.

Then, we met back up with Daddy and took a picture of "downtown New York"! 

Then, we briefly (it was a madhouse) enjoyed the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure.  The girls enjoyed seeing the giant sized paperclip, play-dough can, and giant leaf slides! I had the excitement of being sprayed in the head by the water while there! :-) I definitely think Epcot is more my cup of tea. ;-)

Then, we went to Walt Disney: One Man's Dream, an exhibition of historical items celebrating Walt Disney's Life and a 15 minute film.  The film was enjoyable and relaxing and a perfect break for all of us.

We had a few minutes before the afternoon parade, so Brad, Jillian, and Faith went back to Star Tours to ride it a second time.  I got Brad a Rider Swap (essentially a fast pass for three people to be used at ANY time of the day), so the line moved quickly, and they were back in time to see a portion of the parade.

Hollywood Studios: Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade

It was my least favorite parade that we saw all week, but Anna was enamored by the giant bugs and the fun dancing and music! 

I love being Anna's momma, her excitement is contagious, and she makes everything so much more fun!

Anna was especially excited to see a GIANT Mr. Potato Head. We have a pretty sizable collection of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Heads at home and it's something she enjoys playing with regularly!

And even though, Anna has never seen Toy Story (and has no idea who Woody and Buzz Lightyear are), she enjoyed the fun, colorful floats in the parade.

After the parade, we did The Great Movie Ride as a family.

While we "waited" (it was a very short wait), we saw Mary Poppins carousel horse!

Then we traveled through several classic film scenes, including Wizard of Oz.  It was the perfect ride to end our day with at Hollywood Studios.

But before we left "the Ride", we discovered Quincy and Annie from Little Einsteins.  Truthfully, when I first saw them, I did not recognize them!  But they were super friendly, and there was no line, so we took this photo.  My girls asked me, "Who are they?"  And I quietly whispered, "I am not sure, just smile!"  LOL!

Then, we briefly (about 10 minutes) watched the Mulch, Sweat, n Shears show.  They were a talented group of musicians, their song collection was great, and they were super funny too! It was a great finale to our Studios day.  

Afterwards, we made our way to the Polynesian resort for our dinner reservations.....