Day 3: Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios Pictures
   We had a 10:00 reservation for the Play & Dine breakfast over at Hollywood & Vine in Hollywood Studios. This is where all the Disney Jr. characters hang out so we made sure to do this one for the girls. They got to see Jake (from Jake & the Neverland Pirates) who was a huge hit with Ari. He came by several times and Ari really enjoyed herself each time. Next we saw Handy Manny (without his tools, which disappointed Ari, but she got over it). He was a hit as well. Up next was Special Agent Oso, who the kids don't really watch but Ari knows who he is. He actually scared Lily a little but Ari had fun with him. Last was June from Little Einsteins. Again she was a hit. All of them made it around again so we got to see all the characters at least once.
   The food there was really good. The ham was excellent and the burrito scrambled eggs were probably my favorite thing there. There were tortillas there, but I just had the eggs with a little cheese and sour cream. Ari had a few pancakes and I had too much food. I didn't eat lunch and ended up only having a small dinner, but I guess it saved on food expenses.
   After breakfast we went over to see the Disney Jr. show. It's basically a large puppet show Ari the kids loved it. It has Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Little Einsteins and Handy Manny all weaved together to tell one big story. I especially liked the Skully animatronic and the Sharky and Bones puppets. All very well done.
   Next up was a meet and greet. We went to see Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz in Game Central Station. I think this one was as much for me as the girls. Both of them loved the movie and were excited to see them. Lily can even say Wreck-It Ralph so she was yelling it while we were there. Also, I did wear my Donkey Kong shirt on purpose this day and both Vanellope and Ralph had a good laugh at seeing it. 
   After leaving Game Central Station (in the Animation building) we saw the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show. Still the same show after all these years and the kids loved it. So far we were making good time and catching things with little to no wait even for the shows. We just seemed to keep getting to things right at start time.
   We kept heading down the path past the Little Mermaid and made our way to The Legend of Jack Sparrow. It's a fun walk through/show involving a story where you are training to join Jack's crew. It's hosted be a floating skull, which confuses Jack quite a bit. The imagery here is wonderful and they somehow have a very realistic looking video of Jack during the scenes where he is present. Nicely done overall, although very cheesy at points. True Jack Sparrow style throughout.
   After the show we headed over towards the Tower of Terror. Here we split up with my parents. They took the kids to see the Beauty and the Beast stage show (with front row seats) and Amanda and I went to Tower of Terror followed by Rock 'n' Rollercoaster. I have pictures from both the rides which I will post as soon as I get the CD from Disney.
   We next headed over to the Great Movie Ride. No wait again here. There was a bit of a line although we used the handicapped entrance. It didn't really save any time but it saved my back and Ari's legs. There would have been a good amount of walking for her to get through the whole queue. She did pretty well through this ride although some parts were too loud for her. The gangster scene and Alien were really the only two problem areas. The Wizard of Oz scene was a little loud for her but she seemed to still enjoy it.
   When the ride was over we caught Max (Goofy's son) in the courtyard so we stopped to say hi before heading over to Star Tours.
   Amanda and I went in while my parents stayed out with the kids. We walked right in and rode. We got Darth Vader looking for the spy followed by the pod race on Tatooine, the message from Princess Leia and ended with the Death Star. The second time I went with my parents. This time it was Darth Vader again, followed by Kashyyyk (the Wookie planet), message from Yoda and Naboo. So at the end of the day I left the part with two ride throughs and only missed one scene from each set (Stormtroopers, Hoth, Ackbar and Coruscant). Not bad for only having seen it twice. Also, I know people who have ridden a dozen times and have yet to see the pod race. I got to see it one my first ride.
   After wandering a bit we stopped to see Mater and Lightening McQueen and then decided to head over to get a seat for Fantasmic. Again, we kept Ari in her stroller and the crowds were just too much for her. She was asleep at this point anyway. We got a handicapped seat in the back row and let her rest. She woke up part way through and got to see some of the show. We were more worried about her being awake for the Osborn lights so we didn't force the issue with her.
   When we arrived at the Orborn lights, we were corralled around the Streets of America towards the back. Once in we headed over to see Santa Goofy. By the time that was done it was almost 8:00 and the part was getting ready to close. Luckily, Disney doesn't shut down the lights right at 8 so we took our time seeing everything before leaving for the night.