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We came upon this "toy soldier" while trying to find a location to eat. He was barking orders to some other toy soldiers while a crowd watched on. I don’t know what his mission was, but if I was them it’d have been my mission to get out of the bright sun and 90+ heat before I melted into a green puddle.
Hey all. Due to a hectic work schedule (both work at work and at home), I took a week off of blogging. Now that I’ve cleared a few things off my plate, I’m ready to resume my tale of our Disney World trip.
When I last left, we had just enjoyed the Toy Story Mania ride. After leaving that, we walked around for a bit and eventually wound up by the Muppet Vision 3D theater. B and I had seen this show when we went to Disney World on our honeymoon. We knew that the kids would love it too and they definitely did enjoy seeing the 3D exploits of Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, and the biggest Muppet star of all: Ms. Piggy!
After exiting the Muppet Vision 3D theater, we noticed that a few Disney cast members were setting up the Cars meet and greet area. Here you could get your picture taken with Lightning McQueen and Mater. There was a very short line, so we joined it and before we knew it, NHL was posing between the two stars of Cars. Then the rest of us (B, JSL and I) joined in and got some photos of all of us. While NHL was excited, JSL wasn’t too sure about the whole setup. Mater was making far too much noise for JSL so we had to move him more to Lightning’s side.
After Cars, we headed back to Toy Story Mania for our Fast Pass ride. This time, I took JSL with me and B took NHL. Following the Toy Story Redux, we split up. B’s parents went off to Fast Pass Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster and generally walk around. We wandered around until we came to the Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage show. The line for this was short and the show was about to start, so we got on line. Once inside, we took our places on the floor and waited for the show to start.
The show started out with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse – a favorite in our house. Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Daisy were planning Minnie’s surprise party. They split up to do various tasks (write a song, bake a cake, put up a banner), but needed some help. In true Mickey Mouse Clubhouse style, they called upon Toodles to assist them with some Mouse-ka-tools. The Mouse-ka-tools took the forms of stories from the characters from Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, and My Friends Tigger and Pooh. NHL and JSL watch all of these shows at home and they enjoyed seeing the characters come to life in front of their eyes.
After the Playhouse Disney show, we met back up with B’s parents. While B and her father went on the Rockin’ Rollercoaster, I got Fast Pass tickets for the Tower of Terror. Then, JSL, NHL, B’s mother and I went to find a place to eat lunch. After a few less-than-perfect possibilities, we settled on the Backlot Express. JSL fell asleep during the walk over there, so NHL, B, B’s parents and I ate lunch. Although, it was hot out, I opted for a veggie ciabatta, cheesecake and lemonade. The entire meal was tasty and we left ready to do more.
Unfortunately, on our way back towards the Tower of Terror, B noticed that her glasses were off. A quick glance showed that a nose pad had fallen off. We searched the immediate area, but it was quite obvious that we wouldn’t find it. After all, it was a small, transparent nose pad and Disney’s Hollywood Studios was so big. So, with B putting up with the annoyance of cockeyed vision, we continued on to Tower of Terror.
We spent our first full day (Mother’s Day) at Disney World in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We arrived before the park opened and waited for the gates to open. Our plan was for everyone to walk through the gates, hand me their passes, and then I would run to Fast Pass the Toy Story Mania ride. The plan didn’t work out quite that way, however. As we walked through the gates, I collected the cards. Meanwhile, B and B’s mother were handed flowers for Mother’s Day. After I had all of the cards in hand, I wound my way through the crowds to the front of the pack. Then I hit the rope.
Apparently, when they open the park, they don’t *really* open the park. They just let people in so they can see the opening ceremony. In it, a "casting agent" drove up with two audience members (possible honeymooners). He introduced the "director" who drove up in another car. The director, in turn, introduced us to his "stagehand" and told us that we were part of his latest film. We were instructed to say our lines and then *WALK* down Sunset Blvd. He couldn’t stress enough that we would all *WALK* down the street. At his signal ("1… 2… 3…"), we all chanted "Light, camera, action!" The two chosen audience members then shouted "Hollywood, here we come!" The director, stagehand, casting agent, and two chosen audience members drove off and we were allowed to *WALK* into the park. To make sure no running was involved, Disney employees walked in front of us with their arms outspread.
At one point, I thought I spotted a shortcut and made a break for it. Unfortunately, I was told by a Disney employee not to go that route. (Plus, I stepped on a woman’s sandal on the way, causing it to pop off. I fought the crowds to retrieve it for her.) After returning to the crowd, I made my way back towards the front. I got to the Fast Pass and got our tickets just as B and everyone else caught up with me.
Since everyone else was Fast Passing Toy Story Mania, the actual line for it was quite small. We decided to take advantage of this and go on the ride right then and there. The entrance/line area was amazing. Tons of giant toys were scattered everywhere. Everything from Bucket Of Monkeys to Candy Land to drawings by "Andy." At one spot was a giant talking Mr. Potato Head telling jokes. ("I’m a potato. I comment on things. I guess you could call me a commentater.")
I got in a cart next to NHL and we went for a ride. It was NHL’s first real Disney World ride and it was amazing. You ride on a cart with a gun mounted in front of you and 3D goggles on your head. By pulling the string in front of you, the gun "fires" off rings, balls, or pins (depending on the section of the ride). The game is a series of carnival games. In some, you are popping balloons. In some, you are firing off rings to loop around the little three eyed aliens. In some, you are tossing balls to hit targets. In all, you are having a ton of fun as balloons and other objects fly past you (complete with little breezes of air). Needless to say, everyone had a blast. (I was very pleased to hear that they’re working on a version of the ride for the Nintendo Wii complete with 3D effects.) It was a very nice introduction to the kinds of rides that we would experience on our Disney World trip.
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While at Hollywood Studios, B’s parents bought a snack for themselves and shared it with the boys. Their snack was a small bag of pretzels. Of course, this *is* Disney World, so the pretzels were shaped like Mickey’s head. Not just simple mouse ears, though, but his entire face. Nice touch.
After the Magic Kingdom, we headed over to the Contemporary Resort for our first Disney Dinner: Chef Mickey’s. Since this was going to be not only an all-you-can-eat buffet, but a character dinner also, we planned ahead and bought NHL an autograph book and pen. Once we got our table, NHL, B, and B’s parents left to get some food while I sat with JSL. B and NHL quickly returned, however, as Donald was approaching our table.
We wondered beforehand how NHL would handle the characters. Previously, he’s expressed fear over costumed characters, but we were hopeful that this Disney trip would cure him of that. Unfortunately, this wasn’t to be. At least not this first night. NHL was willing to say hi to the characters, and have them sign his autograph book, but not to go close to them. He always kept a wary eye down the aisle to where the characters would be coming from.
NHL, however, didn’t have the worst reaction that night. That honor belonged to JSL. The minute he saw Donald Duck, he freaked out. He grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. He didn’t care when Donald left, he still looked around for any other characters that might surface. He refused to eat, even cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza and macaroni and cheese – four of his all-time favorite dishes. He even refused the birthday cupcake that they brought out. Eventually, JSL fell asleep.
The meal itself was phenomenal. The Mickey-shaped raviolis were great as were the salmon and vegetables. The desserts were spectacular as well. After eating, we went window shopping in the stores there. That’s when I found my first must-have. A small Stitch figure dressed up like Yoda. As a Star Wars buff as well as a Lilo & Stitch fan, I knew that I was just *going* to have to buy it.
We didn’t actually buy anything at that moment, but we got a few ideas for later. As we were quite tired, we went back to our room. The boys were extremely overtired and ran wild between the two rooms. (We got connecting rooms to increase the space they could run in.) As they ran wild, the stress of the day took its toll on us as well. B searched for the phone charger cord and we got into an argument as to whether it was really packed or not. Clearly, we were all in need of some sleep. We got the boys to sleep then settled down ourselves for some much earned rest.
