Disney World #3: Hollywood Studios

On Thursday of our trip, we headed to Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM Studios). Unfortunately, Cliff's dad, who was still regaining his strength from a nasty bout of bronchitis back in December, decided it was best to stay at the resort and rest that day, so we were short one person for the day. The 5 of us managed to have a very nice time, however, and the colder air finally gave way to some more "Florida-like" temperatures that day too.

Our first stop was Star Tours, a ride I had ridden back in '94 at Euro Disney. This marked the only Disney ride that I had ridden, but neither Cliff nor his parents had. The 3-D effect was fun, especially when a spaceship "crashed right through the screen" into our seating chamber at the end.

Outside Star Tours:

Another 3-D attraction was the Muppet Vision 3-D movie. Thanks to DVD, our kids have grown to love the first 3 seasons of The Muppet Show, so they were very pumped to go see this.

Ready to get in line; we love those 2 old grumpy guys that sit up in the balcony!

3-D glasses on and ready to watch the show!

The kids loved the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground. They would've stayed there all afternoon if our lunch reservations hadn't interrupted them!

We had lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. Very cool environment! As you can see, our table was a car (Cliff and I even got the backseat :) ). There was a drive-in sized movie screen where they played a continuous loop of movie trailers from old 50's & 60's sci-fi movies. So fun!

After lunch, we rode the Backlot Studio Tour, Toy Story Mania (awesome!), The Great Movie Ride (me and Cliff's mom) & Voyage of The Little Mermaid (Cliff & the kids). We also toured the Animation Studio area. Throughout the day, we were able to get a lot of character photo ops for the kids.

Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc.:

In line to see Buzz Lightyear and Woody, they had a bunch of photo-op backdrops from the Toy Story movies set up.

One of my favorite moments in the original Toy Story. "I have been chosen.....":

Strapped to evil Sid's rocket:

Nathan was very excited and proud to show Buzz and Woody his Buzz and Woody t-shirt!

Hugs and high fives from Buzz & Woody:

One of my favorite pictures from the whole trip:

Laura was equally proud to show Pooh her Pooh sweatshirt:

Later in the day, Grandma took the kids for awhile so Cliff and I could ride our 2 thrill rides, The Tower of Terror and Aerosmith's Rock n' Roller Coaster. We finally got our coaster fix!! Grandma and the kids went to visit Mickey and to see Beauty & The Beast Live on Stage. After a quick dinner, the five of us got in line to see Fantasmic, a firework, light and water show in an amphitheater at the edge of the park. What a way to end our day! An amazing show with such amazing special effects. Nathan fell asleep on Grandma's lap, but Laura was beside herself during the finale when a boat went by with all of the Disney princesses and their corresponding male heroes!

Waiting for Fantasmic to start:

So, as you can see, we had an amazing, amazing trip. The kids are already eager to go back. What a magical week. Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa!!!

Gina