Spring Break 2017 - Day 7 - Universal Studios

Ok, so more than a month has passed and I haven't finished the Spring Break blogging.  Time for the last day in the parks - Hollywood Studios!  The good news was that the park didn't open until slightly later and we din't have any breakfast reservations.  We ate granola bars in our room to tide us over until we arrived and made it about 30 or so minutes before the official park opening.  The entry way area was already open so we headed straight to Jedi Training sign-up.  B, irrationally, refused to participate in Jedi training in any way.  E was 1000% in and stoked.  M was convinced to join him and take care of him (and secretly seemed quite happy to do so).  Both made it in and were scheduled to return to training at 12:40. We then headed to the Pixar area (see above photo) for our first FastPass at Toy Story Mania

This was great fun for me. It was different than the Buzz Lightyear ride at Magic Kingdom, but still a shooting things at targets in a variety of ways that feel like a carnival.  B pointed out that it is pretty much identical to a video game we have. Brent, obviously, got the high score by a wide margin.

After this came the struggle to find food, we walked a silly long way around asking people where to eat and everything seemed closed beyond a pretzel stand, which I still regret not just eating at immediately.  Eventually, we bought the kids huge bags of popcorn (???@@) before realizing that the boat in the center had some minimal breakfast foods.  Brent and I got cinnamon rolls and coffee (apparently our #1 vacation breakfast) and hot chocolate for the kids.  In the process of sitting down with the food we briefly lost E.  This was the only time on vacation that we had this happen and it was completely terrifying.  He quickly emerged and everyone got a stern talk about sticking with us.... this morning was not our brightest moment of the trip--- hangry parents, stubborn B, and missing kids are no bueno.  The good news is Star Wars was up next and that is pretty much a sure thing with our crew :)

Our next fast pass was for "Star Tours." This is sort of a flight simulator type ride that, I'm told, takes you to different Star Wars destinations on each ride.  The standing in line area was full of cool Star Wars robots, ships, etc... too.  This was also where E lost his Magic Band..... sigh. In the ride, Vadar says there is a spy on the ship and pursues us.  It was B! (He of course says he is definitely not a spy, but isn't that what a spy would say?)

Brent had been holding off on souvenirs waiting for this park so we spent lots of time in the gift shops enjoying all the Star Wars goodies.  Each kid made their own custom, totally awesome light saber.  E's is like Kylo Ren's.  M's is sort of a Darth Maul/Mace Windu mash up.  B's is a mix of three different styles from Yoda, Count Dooku, and Kylo Ren.  They are super sturdy and awesome.  This was definitely a moment where I was glad we saved the money and drove as having the extra savings on hand to buy the really awesome souvenirs was lovely.  They still play with these multiple times a week a month later :)

We went past customer service and got E a "magic card" to replace his missing band.  Then off to our early lunch reservation at Hollywood and Vine.  While we waited, there was, of course, Lightsaber practice.  Mind you, M's is actually taller than Brent so it takes some care to use it in spaces like this.  

Brent might have enjoyed it as much as the kids (ok so did I).

Oh! I forgot to mention that M & B finally picked out mouse ears! C3PO and BD-8 respectively!  Our lunch was a big buffet with Disney Junior characters wandering around.  They don't really talk, but did make gestures.  Our kids were largely too old for them, save E who refused to actually take photos with them. The food was good, plentiful, and with plenty of variety for everyone.  I particularly liked the desserts and we all left pleasantly full, which is key.

The main point in this lunch reservation was getting VIP tickets to Fantasmic later in the day as part of the lunch package. Sophia was our last signature in our autograph book. 

Next up - Jedi training.  See, B is fine. He doesn't need training. (No idea his issue).  Brent is adorable in M's ears :)

E may have been a scared monkey for some rides on the vacation, but he was a brave Jedi all-star for this.  He talked to the trainers, answered trivial, did everything asked, and never showed a bit of hesitation or fear.  SO impressed by him as the littlest Jedi in training.

They line up by height, partially for robe fitting purposes so M & E weren't close to each other, but M ate the whole thing up and practiced using the force while waiting.

Next up robe fitting, instructions, and establishing team names. Could he be any more adorable? This is also one of the few pictures of him not in his Stitch hoodie, but the ears just didn't work with the robe!

So the Jedi in training walk through the park to the training grounds.  They are in height order and the littlest ones get to carry the banner - Go E!

M was on E's team, but back with the taller/older kids.

Next up - they were taught the fighting sequence by their leader.

Then they practice--- there is a bit of a skit going on with the cast members about conquering one's fears, etc...

The wall opens and the villian to be fought is ----- Darth Vader!!!

{Practice video}

M battles Darth Vadar!

E battles Darth Vadar!!! (this is insanely cute)


Our awesome little Jedi!

After that excitement, we went and watched the march of the First Order.  Captain Phasma and her team march through the center of the park on the hour for most of the day and put on a little show in the center of the square. It is kind of intense. 

This is the big theater behind the Star Wars show stage.  Sadly, we didn't get to ride this ride.

Our next FastPass was for the Frozen Sing-a-long. M and I sang along.  The boys were less enthusiastic.  For some random reason those two people on the left just basically retell the moving in about 20 minutes with periodic pauses for the big songs. Anna and Kristoff make occasional appearances.  Elsa only shows up for the last number complete with lots of snow blowing everywhere--including all over the audience. I"m still not sure what that was made out of. s

We then visited Star Wars Launch Bay - this included a short movie about the making of Rogue One and tons of items from the Movies.

Pod racer

Actual costumes.

Meeting Jawa's in the cantina!

Rey's ship and costume.

Then gift shops where the staff will gladly have a light saber duel and more artifacts to explore. 

We went to the 3D Muppet show.  The 3D was really well done and we all really enjoyed it.

Then the kids relaxed while Brent gathered up the photo pass pictures from Jedi training.  Next up was diner (Fairfax Fare) and ice cream (Hollywood Scoops - probably my favorite dessert of the trip) along Sunset Boulevard.  We also did a little shopping as Brent and I were still looking for souvenirs. I ended up with a Christmas Tree ornament and he bought a shirt.  E got a Mickey, which we briefly lost on Sunset Boulevard where we had been eating ice cream, but it was still there when we returned. 

The storm troopers were often just sort of wandering around harrassing people. They bothered B about his BD-8 ears at one point.

Earlier, E had wanted to meet Chewbacca, but the line had been too long.  By this point, it is only a 10 minute line so we go back to the launch bay and say hi!

Kylo Ren's line was even shorter.  So, we had this slightly awkward photo op as a bad guy can't very well be friendly when meeting us.  He seemed to think between E's new Darth shirt and Kylo Ren saber he might be persuaded to the dark side. 

Then, off to Fantasmic!

 This was sort of loosely based on Fantasia (which our kids haven't seen) but really more Mickey dreaming about things.

They do characters and songs from lots of movies - some, like Pocohontas, that we hadn't seem much emphasis on in other parts of the parks. 

 And then a bunch of the villians show up and do villanous things.

This includes setting the water on fire, which is a neat trick. 

Not to worry, Mickey saves the day in the end and there are boats full of characters (literally) princesses and their princes, etc... It all ends well. Well, maybe not all of it.  As we leave it becomes clear that by going we have missed the bigs Star Wars fireworks show.  We catch pieces of it from an area near the entrance and it looks cool, but we really can't see, especially the little ones.  So we leave and B is bummed (tears)  and makes us promise to watch that next time instead of Fantasmic. We readily agree. 

I love this shot from the main thoroughfare.  It was a great day despite some bumps and signs that we're all getting a little too tired.  The Star Wars things were wonderful and I'm excited to see what comes when they open the new Star Wars section in 2019.  I will say that if you weren't as in to Star Wars this park might not take a full day, but for us it was a good fit. 

We headed back to the hotel with fireworks in the distance, sleepy, but happy.

I'll do one more wrap up post on the journey home and final thoughts and memories. Thanks for reading alot as I know it is very lengthy and detailed, but I truly want to remember it all!

Spring Break 2017 - Day 5, Part 2 - Magic Kingdom

March 14th, we headed out of our hotel around 7am, caught the bus, and were at the Magic Kingdom and through security by a little after 7:40.  They let you in to the Main Street area pretty soon after that, and per our instructions from our guide back home.  

We headed straight for the castle to watch the welcome from Mickey and friends (you can see some video on this earlier post).  Somewhere around here I almost cried as it was really happening.  We were at Magic Kingdom with our kids. Big deal moment. The gates open and we rushed in.  What to do first had been debated, but ultimately we went on the Peter Pan ride.  It is one of the most popular, classic, and we didn't have a fastpass so if we were going to do it at all it had to be first.  The ride is a flight over London and a neat perspective.   I'm glad we went as it ended up being Brent's favorite ride of the day!  The fun stuff to do and watch while waiting in the, maybe 10-15 minute line was great.  I spent time worrying if we were going to miss lots of other rides, but trusted the plan/app and had a great time. 

Right across the way, was It's A Small World -- also super classic and pretty unchanging.  There was zero line so we hopped right on a boat and off we went.  This ended up being one of E's favorite rides. He especially liked that it was on a boat.  

Next the plan sent us to Big Thunder Mountain in the Frontier Land portion.  The kids made a stop at the stocks.  Big Thunder Mountain was a good, short roller coaster.  Not too spooky, and great to be there early in the day.  We could have done Splash Mountain then with no wait as it was early and cold, but decided to hold off on getting wet on a cold day until our fastpass time in the afternoon.  Next stop was the Pirates of Carribean.  E also loved this one (seeing a slow boat ride theme?) It takes you through the scenes of a pirate adventure. It has been updated a bit since my prior visit and Captain Jack Sparrow is featured here and there throughout along with a few scenes from the movie. 

Next up, Aladdin's flying carpets.  This is a pretty standard type ride with the arms going up and down. The people in the "carpet" have some control over how high or low they go, etc... It was pretty similar to the one fish, two fish ride from Universal, but without getting wet! We began our search for breakfast and in the general direction of Tommorowland. 

E really, really wanted to ride the carousel in the very center so we did! I'd love to say M is snuggling here and maybe she is, but she is also freezing.  You'll note in just a few pictures she has on a hoodie as do Brent and Everett.  It was way colder than anticipated.  After the Royal Carousel, we headed to Gaston's Tavern for some amazing cinnamon rolls (after a lengthy wait).  We then had to eat them while rushing to Space Mountain for our first fastpass time slot. 

E is too short for Space Mountain so we rode the people mover. I was super impressed as it takes you through several rides, is a great view of Tomorrowland, and no line all day. 

This is the view of Space Mountain, but it also takes you inside the ride, which is nice as E wouldn't have been able to see it otherwise and likes space too.  

Rides with height restrictions allow for rider switch.  This is lovely on several levels.  Not the least of which is that one or more of our kids always gets to ride twice when we switch out.  Here is the first crew heading into the Mountain. 

This is B and I going through for his second time.  This was his favorite ride of the day so he was stoked to get to head to the front of the line twice!

Next up, Tea Cups! Very classic, and good fun.  Brent was nervous as he gets motion sick, but he hung in there and had a great time.  He even took a video (see it here).

We were really hungry so we at at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe near this ride.  It was not on the recommended list, but it was close and we were hungry.  I wouldn't recommend it, but fine.  Had to take a picture with Alice before our next adventure. 

FastPas #2 - 7 Dwarfs Mine Train.  This was my favorite of the rides.  E said it made him a scared monkey. I liked that it was tied in to the movie, not too long, but fun.  Sort of similar to Big Thunder Mountain, but I liked it more. 

We wandered back towards Frontierland.  We were early for our next fastpass time so we took a little river raft over to the island, explored some caves, a fort, and this windmill and did a little hiking in the woods before taking a raft back across. It was low key, but a good place to explore. 

 

Our third FastPass was for Splash Mountain.  Thankfully, it was marginally warmer and a bit sunny so a better time to go.  This ride is based on Disney's Song of the South movie, which our kids have never ridden, but it was a pretty classic log boat water ride.  We actually didn't get nearly as wet as I expected.  It was enjoyed by all.

It was nearing parade time so we took the train around the edges of the park, counter clockwise from Frontierland to Main Street.  Definitely good to have a walking break at this point!

This is the view towards Tomorrowland from the Main Street train station.

It was almost parade time so we hung around a bit enjoying the view and watch a high school band march by before the main show.  The parade was pretty spectacular.  Fascinating to think they do this daily. Beauty and the Beast, the live action version, was opening in a couple of days so they got to lead the way!

Really all the princesses (and princes) were in the parade, but we have to show Anna and Elsa, right?

Rapunzel

and Flyn

and Ariel

followed by Peter Pan and Wendy (hook is under the ship swinging on an anchor).

Guess who is next?

Merida!

The fairy godmothers came skimming along.

With this awesome fire-breathing dragon

There were some other classic friends along the way, but of course the parade ended with Mickey & Minnie

We attempted a photo on main street with a random marching band behind us.  E is not feeling the family photos for almost the entire trip, but I promise he was having a good time.

We had a little time before our dinner reservation so we headed over to Mickey's Toontown Fair.  The lines were too long to bother with, but E really wanted his picture with this train and his new sword.

Somewhere in there we bought a Belle dress, which made me irrationally happy.

Here we are waiting for our names to be called for dinner, but I love his smile.

Dinner was a bit early, but these reservations are hard to get and I really wanted to eat in the Beast's ballroom.

So we did! I think this meal ended up being my favorite of the trip.  The food was excellent was the entire experience, location, decorations, staff, etc... Loved it!  (Ps. Yes, they serve the "grey stuff'" as discussed in the movie).

We visited the rose while our food was prepared.

And this room with the Beast's art collection. 

E found a knight while we waited to meet the Beast. 

M was a little nervous about meeting the Beast, but all was well and this is one of the better family photos along the way and the beginning of our kids warming up to meeting characters.

M then wanted pictures with everything - including this gargoyle

and the rose window.

We headed back to our hotel to rest and find some warm clothes before the evening fun.  Yes, she is wearing a hoodie and a ballgown. She definitely danced in the Beast's ballroom and had a magical time.

We returned in time for a FastPass to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin before the fireworks.

This ride is more interactive like a video game where you shoot your laser gun at various targets. 

Then we headed off to see the fireworks, which are mostly in my prior video post. 

Brent had wanted to ride the Go Karts all day and I managed to get a FastPass after the fireworks.  While we waited, we all rode the people mover because E and I had enjoyed it so much earlier. 

I am pretty sure this is the only ride where we got to sit next to each other so we took advantage :)

B was big enough to drive by himself.  The Go Karts were a little misleading as they are on a track so you do pretty minimal steering, but it was fun to try. 

We began walking toward the exit and watched a light display on the castle.  I got a FastPass to say hi to Tinkerbell because I wanted to and convinced M to join in the fun.  Tinkerbell was very chatty and convinced B must be a pirate as he didn't want to be in the pictures. This was our first autograph fun too.  

And that was that, we bid farewell to the Magic Kingdom and headed off to sleep before an early breakfast with the princesses at Epcot. I love the Magic Kingdom and definitely think we could have spent another entire day there.  Maybe someday!  I really cannot express how glad I am that we got to share this magical experience together.