Disney Day 3: Hollywood Studios

Warning! Massive amount of pictures in this update. This is also the reason it has taken so long to get this update on the blog. I really should have split this into two posts. Wednesday definitely felt like two entire days as well. We woke up and found Drew sideways in the bed. If you'll notice this is the first day in Drew's daily "picture on the porch" in which it is dark outside. We were up and moving early that morning because we had a little surprise for Drew. We spent the entire day at Hollywood Studios. The entrance has huge shrubs of Lightning McQueen and Mater, and once you walk in you are greeted by the huge Magic Hat- another obsession for Drew for the day. First we had to go to Hollywood & Vine, a restaurant where the surprise was waiting for Drew- a character breakfast! There weren't any openings for Mickey breakfasts, so we booked the next best thing in Drew world, breakfast with the Disney Jr. character. We had Handy Manny, Leo and June of the Little Einsteins, and Special Agent Oso. Drew loved it. There was someone coming by about every 5 minutes for photos, autographs, and general silliness. They even got the kids up to dance around and put on a little show. Dad even jumped up to do the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Hot Dog Dance, a favorite around our house for years now.

After breakfast we headed straight for Star Tours, the recently redone Star Wars ride. It was a motion simulator with 3-D effects, giving you the feeling that you are flying in a spacecraft fighting Storm Troopers, firing at other ships, diving in the water and avoiding being eaten, before finally landing in a docking bay. It was pretty awesome and Drew, lover of all things Star Wars, immediately declared it his favorite ride. After that we took Drew to play on the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, where Katie got stuck in a huge spider web. We then watched a Muppet 3-D movie, walked around on the movie set that resembles New York City, and rode the tram and saw the special effects on the Backlot Tour. We were kind of regretting how long the Backlot Tour had lasted when we saw the Monsters, Inc. crew, Mike and Sully, walking out to take their places at their character spot. Because they were close to the exit of the Backlot Tour, we were one of the first ones in line. We all love Monsters, Inc., so even mom and dad had to get their pictures with the monsters.

After that we ran into a Green Army Man from Toy Story. Drew loved him and the Army Man tried to get us into the Toy Story ride in the Fast Pass line even though we didn't have Fast Passes. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful, so we had to wait in line for a full hour for Toy Story Midway Mania. It was worth it though. It's like a 3-D arcade game where you shoot targets for points to beat the other people in your car. We also took a lot of pictures while we were in line because it was decorated with a lot of toys, including Drew as a shark, a picture of Dad with the fictional game Dr. Malpractice, and the talking, interactive Mr. Potato Head. I think it was about this time that Drew took Mom and Gigi to a Disney Jr. show while Dad and Papa went and rode the Tower of Terror and the Rockin' Rollercoaster featuring Aerosmith.

We met back up for the parade after that. But first Drew wanted to visit Mickey's Magic Hat. Again there wasn't much actually inside, except wouldn't you know, a gift shop. Drew was very good the whole time about not asking for a lot of stuff. He finally asked for some Mickey ears and found the perfect set- one with Mickey wearing his Magic Hat. Then it was time for the parade. Notice Drew's face. He's not bored, just tired. This was his second straight day without a nap, maybe not the smartest choice. But it was a pretty cool parade, featuring more of the Monsters, Inc. people, including Boo! this time, the old man from Up!, and the Toy Story characters.

We had an early dinner at the Brown Derby, a replica of the old Hollywood restaurant featured in a famous episode of I Love Lucy where Lucy spies on celebrity Bill Holden. Katie and Drew turned around in the booth to see if they could see any celebs, just like Lucy. They even had their famous Cobb Salad, which Katie got, and all the famous caricatures all the walls. That night we stayed at Hollywood Studios for their fireworks and show called Fantasmic, perfect for Drew because it featured Mickey and his Magic Hat again. It was a great show which combined multiple characters and scenes, fireworks, and a laser and waterworks show, which came together at the end with all the characters finishing together. Whew! I'm tired just from typing. Two days left.