Disneyworld - Day 5 - Hollywood Studios

We started off our day heading to the big hat. Where else? How cool is that big sorcerer's hat? 

We had two interpreted shows that morning back to back for Jedi training and were hoping hoping hoping that N would get picked for one of them. I sent Don off to get fast passes for tower of terror. When we got over to the Star Tours/Jedi training area there was no wait for Star Tours. N had never been able to ride it before and was finally tall enough so I decided to take them on it before the Jedi show. N was thrilled. He was jumping up and down as we got closer to the front of the queue. The ride itself...eh...I hadn't gone on it in a long time so I can't remember if I liked it before or not. Kids liked it though. We got out with minutes to spare to see the Jedi show. Don was there holding space for us and was being pressured to "show us a family" or move back. We arrived in time and the kids got to see the show up close. The interpreter was really pretty good and seemed to be having a great time interpreting the show. N did not get called for the first show and was so bummed. He still enjoyed watching the show. We puttered around a bit waiting for the next show and the interpreter went back and talked to the Jedi Master and pulled a few strings...I'll take them where I can get them. N got called for this second show! He was on top of the world. So thrilled. It was all he had been talking about for months. I was relieved for him. He is such a huge Star Wars fan. The last time we went to Disneyland, H got picked to be in Jedi Training and N did not and he sat in my lap and sobbed for the entire show. It was really that important to him. So..yep...perfectly alright with the interpreter pulling a few strings in this situation. 

N was a natural. He was swinging away with his light saber...I think the Jedi Master was a little nervous. Ha ha ha.

Next was an interpreted High School Musical 3 performance. This was just for H. She is the fan. She got called up to participate and was so excited. Then Don got pulled up to participate. Weird! Our family never gets called up to do this kind of stuff so it was just that kind of day I guess.

After the show we thought we'd get in some characters. Should have gotten fast passes for Toy Story. Definitely do the fast passes for Toy Story Mania or go there first if you are going to Hollywood Studios. We missed the ride because the line kept fluctuating between 50 minutes and 110 minutes and fast passes got used up early that morning. I wasn't going to stand in line that long. The ride is at California Adventure so I guess we'll catch it there on our next trip.

We saw some Playhouse Disney characters. First up were some Little Einsteins. The line for the Little Einsteins took forever. Lesson learned. Any of the characters that are geared primarily to the preschool set...skip them. They take forever because the kids are just learning to walk and they toddle over, drool a bit, hug the characters, mom and dad take a zillion photos and video.... Definitely not respecting the "others are waiting in line" rule. Maybe that is just my rule. We never try to monopolize the characters because I know they are out for a short time and there are lots of other kids who want to have a chance too. My kids just wanted a quick photo and autograph. Way too long to wait. 

And another...Don and I split the lines. He stood in line for Einsteins with H and I stood in line with N for Handy Manny. Even doing this the lines still took forever. 

We finished in time to putter around a bit more and then went to our lunch reservation at Hollywood and Vine with ... some other Playhouse Disney characters. Again...i'd skip this lunch unless your kids are very little and really into these characters. We were trying to sample as many character meals as we could. The food wasn't that great and we saw two of the four characters because it took FOREVER for them to make their way around between the toddlers and their dancing in front of the buffets. We barely got out in time for the interpreted show of Beauty and the Beast.

I was really disappointed in the Beauty and the Beast Show. I thought the acting was really bad and the way they abbreviated the show was very very choppy and didn't flow well at all. If you ever go to California Adventure park you MUST see the Aladdin show there. It is phenomenal. Super fantastic. The costumes in this show were great but that is the best that I can say for it. H was mesmerized but she is with any drama related thing. 

After the show we used our Tower of Terror fast passes. I never went on this ride at CA Adventure park because my kids were too small so I always did something else with them while Don rode it. Holy cow! I was not prepared. This ride...you really do need those seat belts. My lanyard came up over my head when we dropped. I came up out of my seat! Fun ride. H will never go on it again. N....maybe.

Here is the point in our day when we were pretty pooped. We sat and had some snacks and watched the Block Party Bash go by. We've seen it at CA Adventure several times so seeing it down at the end of the block was just fine. After snacks we went and rode the Little Mermaid ride. That was interesting. Don fell asleep. I was nodding. Felt good to sit and rest my feet. After the show, Don and N went off to do a bit of stuff while H wanted to go see more characters. 

and even though he was one of the featured characters at our lunch, we never got to see him...

We stood in line FOREVER to see Buzz and Woody. I'm not kidding. It must have been an hour. I don't know why it took so long because it really shouldn't have.

We ended our day with me getting the photos from Jedi training added to our photopass card while Don went to ride Rockin' Roller Coaster. He said it was alright. 

We had dinner reservations at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary so we had to head out of the park. It was at this point that I realized that N was not feeling well. He was lethargic and grumpy. Felt a bit warm too. Drat! He pretty much sat on my lap for most of dinner and rested against me. I can't give you a real honest assessment of Chef Mickey's because I told Don to go pick anything for me he thought I might like because I was staying with N not feeling well. Poor little guy. It was crowded and noisy. That is for sure. Lots of people. We asked to move because there were two tables near us with people just clearly not enforcing any kind of courtesy on their children. They were loud and screaming and I wasn't up for that during dinner -- N certainly was not.

Donald Duck is also at this dinner but N was just fading so we had to leave.

Here is some food porn. Cute little desserts. I adore the little "Mickey Mousse". Sooooo cute!!!

Back to the hotel. A woman and her son took pity on my kids and gave up their seats on the bus back to POP so they could sit. (I thanked her profusely.) When we got back, I sent Don off in search of a thermometer. He found one in the gift shop for a couple bucks (the forehead strip kind)... Poor little guy was right around 101-102. Ugh. 

He fell right to sleep. I had to send an email to two pals who were supposed to meet up with us the next day to warn them we might have to miss out. Huge bummer.

Lights out. Sleep.