Disney Vacation - Day 5

Don't you just love this picture of our family at the entrance to Hollywood Studios?  You win some, you loose some, right?

The first thing we did at Hollywood Studios was go see Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage.  Olivia was a little rowdy, but I think that was just a product of being too far from the stage to be entranced.  But Carter and the adults really enjoyed it.

Once the show was over, Gwlynda took the kids over to the Animation Courtyard where we knew there would be some familiar faces.

And Dave, Nick & I rode this:

the Hollywood Tower Hotel.  Probably the most iconic ride at Hollywood Studios, justifiably so, and I'm really glad we got to ride it.

After meeting back up with the gang, we took our chances on Muppet*Vision 3-D, and it actually paid off.  No one had to leave the theater early, and if there were tears, I didn't see them.

"Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" Movie Set Adventure was next on the list.  The attraction is just how it sounds; we stepped into an over-sized play area where the blades of grass were 15 feet tall, and a 35mm roll of film was a giant slide.

If it hadn't been so crowded, and if my kids hadn't been the among the smallest in there, they might have played a little longer, but it is definitely a recommended attraction in my book.

And speaking of recommended attractions, we hit the jackpot on the next one: Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage.  It's no secret that the Eason children watch their fair share of "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", so when we found out there was a show centered around Mickey & the Gang, Handy Manny & Little Einsteins, we knew we had to see it.

Our.kids.LOVED.it.  Seriously, if there had been another performance time later in the day while we were still there, we would have seen it again.  Twice maybe.  They loved it that much.

Then, Nick and I left the kids in very capable hands and sneaked off to ride the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.  We had an awesome posed picture taken in front of the ride, which I'll share later when the professional photos come in, but for now, I'll leave you with this snapshot I took with my phone when we got off the ride.

We returned to the best part of Animation Courtyard: the character greetings, in an air conditioned building, no less.  Even though Olivia was still a little unsure, Carter was right at home by this point.  He had the walk-up-to-character, give-character-a-hug, pose-for-picture-with-character routine down pat.

{Lotso, from Toy Story III}

{Stitch}

{Chip & Dale}

{Captain Hook & Mr. Schmee}

{Pinocchio & Geppetto}

{Goofy}

{Aladdin & Jasmine}

And just as we were leaving, we ran into Snow White in a different area of the building, so of course we had to stop and see her.  Check out Olivia's progression in the pictures below.

Watching from a safe distance...

getting closer...

 no smile, but a pose nonetheless...

and finally,

a hug.  There's really something special about Snow White.

And with that, we considered the day a success and left on a high note.


Epcot is next, my friends - Day 6 soon to come