Disney World Day 11: Hollywood Studios part 3

I had read that it was good to get to Fantasmic up to an hour and a half before showtime if you want a good seat. We got there about an hour before. We did get good seats and found many ways to entertain ourselves to make the time go by.

My parents got some cotton candy...

About halfway through our wait my mom and I went to use up some more snack credits. I got some water, some more popcorn, and a churro.

Maddy latched onto that churro and didn't want to let go.

Abi enjoyed her popcorn and making friends with the girls in front and in back of us.

The biggest hit of the evening was the bubble gun I picked up on the way to the snack cart. It was crazy. It lit up and blew bubbles all over the place when you pulled the trigger. I was a little nervous that it would bug some of the people sitting around us but they seemed fine with it and I kept telling Abi to aim it up so it wouldn't go right onto people. We actually had a few people come up to us to ask where we got it and pretty soon there were bubble guns all over.

I had bought a bunch of glow sticks and things at the dollar section at target and we got out some here as well. The kids in front of us didn't have anything that glowed and you could tell they wanted something so Abi gave their kids some of hers. It was very sweet.

Pretty soon the show started. It was amazing!

We all loved the boat that came by at the end that had all the characters on it.

It was kind of crazy getting out of the arena after the show but it was definitely worth it.

I had made our dinner reservations to be right afterward.

We went to the Sci-Fi Drive In Theater.

You eat in this huge room made to look like a drive in movie. The tables are set in old cars facing the screen that plays vintage, cheesy sci-fi movie clips...Ed Wood type movies.

It was a really fun atmosphere.

Doug had the shrimp pasta which he said was good. He also had a strawberry shake.

Abi had the macaroni and cheese and fries.

I had the steak with potatoes and asparagus. The asparagus was great, the potatoes were really good, and the steak was... interesting. I kept thinking it had kind of a wine taste to it and after the juices got into the potatoes and made them taste that way too I began to wonder if they put the wine on after rather than cooking it in it.

For dessert I got the chocolate volcano thing. I can't remember the exact name but it was good. I couldn't eat half of it but it was very tasty.

Abi had the ice cream sundae..

Doug had some kind of cheesecake...

I think we all enjoyed our food and although it wasn't the best we had on the trip, the atmosphere was so fun.

We had to quickly run around the corner after dinner to catch the end of the Osborne Festival of Lights.

This Osborne family had all of these lights on their house and in their yard. The guy actually bought the house next door to his so he could do more. Eventually the city made him take them all down and Disney bought them and decorated this entire street with them. It is hard to believe when you are standing there that they were on two houses in a neighborhood. That must have been crazy!

They have the lights set to music and it is just magical!

They even sprinkle some fake snow down on you!

It was closing time so we made our way to the front of the park stopping by the Photo pass guy to get another family picture in front of the park icon.

It was another really great and full day!

Next up: Our last day at Epcot

Disney World day 11: Hollywood Studios part 2

After lunch we went to the Muppet Vision 3D show. We had seen this the week before but didn't mind going again with my parents. Abi wanted to make a wish at the fountain out front...

We had tried to plan our day around a lot of the shows that we really wanted to see so next we had to get over to the Indiana Jones Stunt Show.

While we were waiting for it to start Maddy fell asleep...

I thought it was a really cool show. There was a lot of fire in this show as well and Abi began to get really frustrated with it. Finally, at one point when it was super loud and chaotic and there were explosions she just yelled out, "I HATE FIRE!!" No one really heard her except those of us right around her but I thought it was so hilarious.

After that show we hurried over to the other end of the park to catch the Beauty and the Beast show. This was one I was really excited about. Have I mentioned Belle is my favorite princess and I love that movie? This was a really great show. It was definitely Maddy's favorite thing. She was standing up on my lap with her hands in the air swaying and bouncing and giggling the whole time. I have no idea why we didn't get a picture of this but I was laughing so hard I was crying at one point because it was so cute and some of the people around us were pointing and talking about her as well. One lady came up to me afterward to tell me how much they enjoyed watching her watch it.

I had to get a picture of the girls in front of the sign afterward...

My parents wanted to ride The Great Movie Ride but we knew we didn't want to go on that one again. While they rode it we used some snack credits to get popcorn for Abi and some drinks and we hung out by the big sorcerer hat watching the Block party.

I have to say that this Christmas twirl shirt is one of my favorite things I made for the trip. I love it.

I wanted to go try to get into the Animation class since we hadn't got in last time so we headed over that direction. On the way we saw some very special characters were out meeting the kids. The Little Einsteins!!

Leo and Annie weren't there. It was only Quincy and June but June is Abi's favorite (because she loves to dance) so it worked out great. This was pure magic for Abi because although she doesn't watch the show all the time anymore, this was the first show she loved. She started watching it when she was just under two.

There were some Photopass photographers outside the Animation Academy and they came over and started taking pictures of Abi and Maddy. They asked us if we wanted a family shot.

They were funny because there were two of them and they just kept following Maddy around taking pictures. I noticed some people that wanted their picture taken trying to get their attention and pointed them out to the photographer. So, they finally stopped taking pictures. These are some of my favorites...

We got in and were told that it would be about a twenty minute wait for the class while we waited for the one that just started to get over. We decided to wait but my parents wanted to catch the last Lights! Motor! Action! Extreme Stunt Show- a stunt show with cars. They wouldn't have made it over if they waited so we split up.

Abi and I explored the animation area while Doug held our spot.

When we got in we picked some seats close to the front.

We each had a little swivel chair, a table, a piece of paper, and a pencil. I held Maddy on my lap. The instructor announced that we would be learning to draw Mickey Mouse. I was glad. You don't know who you'll be drawing until you are in the class and I was hoping it would be one of our favorites.

At one point Maddy just started making this growling, grunting noise that is hard to explain but is so funny. I tried to get her to be quiet but she just kept doing it. The kids behind us started chuckling and pretty soon the whole place was laughing. The instructor said, "Someone needs to be filming that for Funniest Home Videos."

It was great.

Here are our finished drawings. Mine is on the left, Doug's is in the middle, and Abi's is on the right.

We knew my parents wouldn't be done yet so we played with a few more of the animation exhibits.

Sorcerer Mickey was out to meet and greet and Abi wanted to get in line so we did that next. Maddy wasn't so sure about him but Abi was glad to see Mickey again and liked his costume.

They had a Photo pass guy there to get the pictures...

Now it was time to go meet up with my parents to go get in line for Fantasmic.

Next up: An evening at Hollywood Studios

Disney World day 11: Hollywood Studios morning

We got up early again for the Early morning hours at Hollywood Studios. Most days one park has Extra Magic Hours. These can be extra hours in the morning or extra hours at night that can be enjoyed only by guests of the Disney resorts.

We got into the park pretty quickly and Doug ran ahead to get Fast passes to Toy Story Mania for all of us. One person can get them for multiple people but they have to take all of the tickets to the machine with them.

My parents, the girls, and I were able to take our time walking back to that part of the park.

We met back up with Doug and we had a while before our time so Doug decided he wanted to go ride Tower of Terror again. He ran off to the other side of the park and was able to ride that and Rock N Roller Coaster with no wait.

While he was gone, we had some granola bars for breakfast, browsed in some gift shops, and found the Singin' in the Rain umbrella. Other times of the year you can push a button underneath this on the ground and it will rain on top of the umbrella but I'm thinking they don't turn it on in Winter because they have the Osborne Lights all over the place (more on those later). I made my mom kind of lean back over the barrier so we could get a picture anyway- we love that movie!

Then we got in line for the Backlot Tour which was just opening up. It was perfect timing because Doug met back up with us right when it was time to go in.

The line was interesting with lots of props from different movies but we couldn't browse much because we just walked right through.

We got in the tram and began going all over the backlots checking out some sets and movie props.

The guide said this was the 'money' shot. I took her word for it.

One of my favorite parts was when we got to go past the costume making area. There was so much fabric!! There were people in there making costumes. It was pretty cool.

Then we hit Catastrophe Canyon and got to watch the truck start on fire and then have a flash flood threaten our safety. Abi was not enjoying this at all. She didn't like the fire... this comes into play again later.

We drove past many vehicles from various movies. One of my favorites was this spacecraft from the movie Flight of the Navigator... one of my favorites as a kid.

Doug enjoyed seeing some from the Star Wars movies...

After the tour we exited through an area that had more props and costumes from movies. I really liked seeing costumes and this chariot from the Narnia films. I love those movies.

After this we went to the Little Mermaid show. It was very cool. You sit in a theater and there is a stage with actors, a screen with some animation, and they have these projections on the walls and in the air above you that makes you feel like you are under the sea (with a little imagination of course). Abi really enjoyed it and Maddy loved it because it was musical.

Now it was time to go back to ride Toy Story Mania. The line was huge again so we were so glad we got to get in quickly with our fast passes rather than waiting over an hour in stand by.

I took some pictures inside the ride because Maddy and I were in a different 'car' than everyone else and I had a good view of them...

Dad and Doug on one side and my mom and Abi on the other...

Everyone enjoyed the ride. Doug got high score followed by my dad. I did better than last time but still not great considering I didn't play part of the time while I was taking pictures. My mom and Abi earned close to the same amount of points and Abi still talks about being frustrated she didn't get higher points.

We were ready for lunch. We walked past the Star Wars ride on our way. The ride was closed for refurbishment but we had to get a picture of Doug and Abi on one of the props.

Lunch was at Toy Story's Pizza Planet! It was great. They have the truck outside just like the movie and inside they have the arcade games. The pizza was pretty basic but the atmosphere was so much fun.

Up next: MORE Hollywood Studios!