Hollywood Studio

One our third day at Disney World, we visited Hollywood Studio.  Day #3 was probably our hardest day.  

We arrived back at the Floridian around 10pm and everyone was asleep around 10:30 after our exhausting night at Epcot.  That is extremely late for our crew.  Morris handled it with no problems.  Thomas was a different story.  He went to bed great, but woke up around 4am.  At 4am, there was no convincing him to lay back down.  We are so blessed  that Morris is a champion sleeper.  He did not even budge through all the tears going on in the room.  Thomas, who never sleeps in the bed with us, laid back down in our bed from around 6:30am-8:30am.  This was a Disney miracle.    

When we all woke up at 8:30, it felt so late; like we had slept forever, but somehow we were all exhausted.  We started slowly moving and getting ready for Hollywood Studios.  

I had booked a Character Breakfast at Hollywood and Vine for 11am.  Morris was the most excited about this meal.  We were going to meet: Jake, Agent Oso, Handy Mandy, and June from the Little Einsteins. 

 

The "plan" had been for us to hit Hollywood Studios early that morning.  We were going to get fastpasses for the Toy Story line.  We had heard it was notorious for being long and hard to deal with.  Of course our tough night of sleep threw us off!  We didn't arrive at Hollywood Studios until 10:30am.  We quickly ran to the fastpass line for Toy Story.  The return time was at 5pm.  Unbelievable!  We knew we wouldn't be there that long.  

We simply kept going.  We thought after lunch we might attempt to wait in the line.  We were off for a great brunch at Hollywood and Vine.  I decided that we couldn't change not getting a fast pass.  It was time to go enjoy the characters from Disney Junior.  

The Hollywood and Vine Disney Junior Show was AMAZING.  It was interactive and perfect for toddlers/younger elementary school.  Just like Chef Mickey, they told us how to watch for the characters and when they would be coming to our table.  Before we could even meet a character, the music from Jake and The Neverland Pirate started blasting through the restaurant   Jake runs out of the kitchen with a man who was acting as an MC or host.  All the children were invited up to the front of the restaurant to dance and sing with Jake.  It was fabulous.  They taught them the words to the song, motions, Morris ate it up.  He was in pure bliss.  Quickly Handy Mandy, Agent Oso, and June, joined all the kids upfront to sing and dance.  There were plenty of parents up there dancing and encouraging their child.  This happened about every 20 minutes in the restaurant.  The kids loved it.  By the end of our meal, Thomas was up on stage with the characters having a blast.  Even though Chef Mickey was great, this was 100% better.  The participation from the children with the characters made it a moment I want soon forget.  

After our fabulous brunch with the characters, we were off to explore Hollywood Studios.  It was very chilly this day.  The sun was out and it was beautiful, but the wind was briskly blowing.  Maybe it was the coolness or Jared and I being so tired, but Hollywood Studio was not our favorite place.  

We attempted to go back to the Toy Story ride.  I tried to convince Jared we could wait in the line with both boys.  When we arrived back at the line, the wait time said 70 minutes.  Still, I was persistent!  I knew how much the boys love Woody and Buzz.  Jared agreed and we started our wait.  About 15 minutes into it, we knew there was no way we would ever make it 70 minutes.  We walked away knowing that we wouldn't get to ride the Toy Story ride while we were at Disney.  

While we were at Hollywood Studios we conquered:

Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground (Jared/Morris) - Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (Jared/Amy) - Disney Junior Interactive Show (all)

I honestly think that was all we did.  I told you it was a disappointing day.  Besides the meal, the only other highlight was the afternoon parade.  It was fabulous.  I think that was mostly because the boys loved all the characters in the parade.  They were the more current Disney characters: Toy Story, Bugs Life, Incredible's, Up... all the most current movies!

We decided we could pack it up early and head back to the Floridian.  We roamed around the hotel enjoying the piano and all the people walking around.  It was nice to go the room, take a shower, and feel fresh before we headed out for our big night.  

I knew it would be a little obstacle for us to stay awake for the Electric Parade and Fireworks at Disney.  Our crew staying awake and being enjoyable until 10pm, just isn't an easy task.  Day #3 was the day we were going to make another late night happened.  

Dimming the lights at Disney preparing for the Electric Parade and Fireworks.

We didn't have specific reservations for dinner.  Our main objective was the parade, fireworks, and riding some of the boys favorite rides.  What did they pick to ride... Buzz Lightyear!  I don't know what it is about Buzz, but he's a toddlers hero.  We rode a few rides enjoying ourselves, picking up a quick dinner, and waiting for the night activities to begin.  

Our night went seamlessly.  We got an ideal spot for the parade and fireworks.  The boys stayed snuggled up in their stroller and we just enjoyed the sights.  I know I've said it on every post, but Disney is magical.  Jared said during the Electric Parade, not a single light was out!  Everything at Disney is perfect and magical.

     

The boys adored the parade, especially Peter Pan and Captain Hook.  Morris loved pointing out all the characters to Thomas.  We capped our perfect night off with fireworks!  Morris loved them and Thomas was somewhat scared.  He finally warmed up and enjoyed the magic too!

Day #3 was different, but just as special!