Disney 2010

DAY 1 - THE FLIGHT OUT AND EPCOT

Lori and I have been promising the girls for a few years now that one day we would go on vacation to Disney World down in Florida. We told them that we would go there once Sara reached 4-feet in height so we could go on all the rides. She hit that milestone last year, but we were already going to Maui. This year, there were no excuses. It was time to go visit The Mouse down in Florida. We made our reservations through a Disney Vacation Planner whose kids go to the same school as the girls. Besides getting us rooms at the Port Orleans Resort and Park tickets, she set us up with dinner reservations and helped us plan our itinerary. Thanks Maralee!

So the morning of July 13, we threw our bags in the truck, took Sandy to doggy daycare, and drove out to KCI so we could take the "Where the Hell Did We Park" photo.

One of the neat things about staying at one of the Disney resorts was that the Disney people would grab our bags at the Orlando Airport and transport them directly to our room. They sent us yellow luggage tags to put on our bags that had our names and resort on them.

Both flights were uneventful. We flew through Atlanta so the girls got to see what kind of a zoo that airport was.

Upon landing in Orlando, we got off the plane, took the tram to the main building, and headed straight to the Disney's Magical Express area where we would catch our motor coach to the Resort. It was strange not having to go to baggage claim to pick up our stuff. Lori and Sara staked out a spot on the bus right below one of the video screens.

Libby and I were across the aisle.

The bus was pretty comfortable. They played an introduction video on the TV screens on the way to the Resort.

After a 30 - 40 minute ride, we were at Port Orleans - Riverside, our home for the next week. Checking in was easy. I did most of the check-in process online a couple of nights previously. There was a special online check-in area at the front desk. We gave the nice lady at the desk our names, and showed some ID to prove who we were. They had our document folder waiting for us. The folder had general information about the Resort, transportation around the Disney campus, Park details and so on. It also held our "Keys to the World". The "Keys to the World", which were mag striped credit type cards were our access to everything. It was our room key. It was our Park passes. It was our Meal Plan (we were on the meal plan at Disney - we got one snack, a quick service meal, and a table service meal every day). For Lori and I, it was also a credit card. We linked one of our credit cards to our Keys to the World, so we could charge food, souvenirs, to that card and it would show up at the end of the vacation as one additional room charge. It became pretty convenient to only have to carry that one card around with us for the next week.

This is the back of the main building. You could rent the small boats that you see in the lake.

This is the side of the main building.

This is the main pool, which was located on Ol' Man Island. It had a water slide, hot tub and a waterfall. Next to the pool was Muddy Rivers, a bar (with Abita on tap).

This was our building (Building 36 -- we were in Room 3649). The Port Orleans - Riverside area has 2048 rooms, split evenly between Alligator Bayou (where we were at) and Magnolia Bend. Alligator Bayou has 16 buildings, each with 64 rooms.

We got to our room and what was on the bed, but some towels folded to look like Mickey Mouse. Another day when we came back to the room, there was a towel "sculpture" that looked like Dumbo.

This is part of one of the small pools that was near our building. There were three or four of these around Port Orleans.

Transportation between our resort and the Parks were really easy. I'm so glad that we didn't rent a car. There was no need to. At Port Orleans - Riverside, there were four different bus stops. There were separate buses for each Park that came by every 5 or 10 minutes. The buses went straight to the Park (after stopping at the other bus stops at Port Orleans). We didn't go to any other resort. Straight to the Park. The bus stops were covered and had seats and a drinking fountain.

It was after 5 PM, so since we didn't have a full day to explore a park, we decided to go to Epcot because we were all getting pretty hungry and we knew that we would have a huge variety of choices due to the 11 different countries at the World Showcase. After a quick bus ride, we were at Epcot. Everybody was excited to see the big golf ball (Spaceship Earth).

Our first family shot inside one of the Disney Parks. In the background is the Canadian Pavilion. The objects around the girls' necks are pin lanyards. Pin trading is really big at Disney. We had starter kits for each of the girls before we left, and they traded those and we bought more to keep and trade during the entire vacation.

The girls inside one of the English style phone booths.

Beer stop number 1 was at the Rose and Crown Pub in England. And yes, it was warm (the temperature, not the beer). The whole time we were down there it was in the 90's. Lots of humidity as well.

From across the pond, it's the French Pavilion.

The Moroccan Pavilion...

The girls taking a quick break across from the Japanese Pavilion.

The Japanese Pavilion. The building in the photo is occupied on the top floor by the restaurant that we would go to on our last evening.

The American Pavilion...

After the American Pavilion, we needed to get back to the England area so the girls could go on their Kim Possible adventure. In the Kim Possible Adventure, the girls (agents) were given a super-secret Kimmunicators—interactive, handheld, cell-phone-like devices that led them through their mission. The Kimmunicator connected the girls with a variety of Kim Possible characters who provided clues to help them stop a super villain from carrying out his dastardly plan. At one of the phone booths, after punching in a code, a plastic golf ball came out of a hidden slot. They were then directed to one of the shops where they had to put the golf ball into a ball washer to receive another clue. It was a lot of fun.

This is the Italian pavilion. It's based loosely on Venice.

Lori took a break in Italy and sat next to Poseidon.

And Germany, which happened to double as our second beer stop of the evening.

With it starting to get dark, it was time to find some food and a spot to watch IllumiNations, the nightly fireworks display. I went out and found some shrimp, and the girls found a great spot right on the lake.

After the fireworks, it was time to make our way out of the park. Spaceship earth was all lit up.

If the rest of the vacation was going to be like today, this was going to be a GREAT vacation. By the way, when we got back to our room, our bags were in the room next to the bed.

DAY 2 - THE MAGIC KINGDOM

Day 2 would be our first full day down in Florida. For our first full day we had to go to the place that started it all, The Magic Kingdom. Everyone was up pretty early and we made it to the Park before 8:30 AM which was well before the Park opened at 9 AM. While we waited for the Park to open, we took some pictures of the girls.

A closeup of the facade of the train station.

The opening ceremony entailed the "Mayor" of the Magic Kingdom welcoming everyone to the Park. There was a song and dance number, then the train arrived carrying all of the Disney characters.

So, it was into the Park and time to enjoy the Magic Kingdom. The girls (and I) were excited to ride as many rides as we could. One of the things that they do at the four main Disney parks is a free service they call "Fast Pass". On five or six rides or attractions at each Park, there's a set of kiosks near the entrance to the ride. You put your Park ticket into the machine and out spits a Fast Pass. On the Fast Pass, there's a one hour time frame that allows you to get in a separate line for the ride which bypasses 90% of the regular line. There's a limited number of Fast Passes that are given out for each ride and on some rides, all of the Fast Passes for that day were done by early afternoon. Like the girls said later on in the trip, it felt like cheating when you used them. But, when it was a 5 or 10 minute wait to get on a ride instead of an hour plus, it was worth picking them up. One of the rides that we grabbed Fast Passes for was Space Mountain.

We took time out from standing in line to get a photo of the girls.

We actually purchased a photo from our first ride on Space Mountain. For some reason, Lori was cropped out of the photo. The expressions on Sara's and Libby's faces were worth getting the photo anyway.

The Haunted Mansion is another one of the rides that everyone who goes to Disney has to ride.

We rode Splash Mountain. 95% of the ride is inside and most of the ride is just through scenes from Song of the South (the Brer Rabbit movie). Except for the part you see below, the ride is pretty lame.

The centerpiece of the Magic Kingdom is of course Cinderella's Castle. It really is pretty impressive. It's hard not to be drawn to it.

We went on a lot of other rides. We forced the girls to ride "It's a Small World". Only once though. We did Pirates of the Caribbean. We did Space Mountain a second time. We rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad a couple of times. There were others too. We were having too much fun to take pictures (sorry).

Next to the carousel, Libby thought that she could yank the sword out of the stone with one hand. I think if she would have used her right hand, she would have had a chance.

Sara tried her luck too, but couldn't get the sword out of the stone.

Lori grabbed the camera and took this of the girls and I. She thought it was cute.

Here we are just off to the side of Cinderella's Castle.

Lori became enamored with these birds that hung out in Frontierland.

Our first big sit-down meal was at the Liberty Tree Tavern which was a replica of an 18th Century Colonial restaurant. It was hearty, New England fare, served family style. Lots of ham, pot roast, and turkey.

After dinner, we went towards Cinderella's Castle. There's a pretty cool courtyard next to the castle with statues of some iconic Disney characters as well as a large statue of Walt himself. Here's Sara being mean to Chip and Dale.

Libby pulling her best Goofy impression.

We had to take at least one family shot in front of the Castle.

From the steps of Cinderella's Castle looking down Main Street USA.

One of the interesting things that we encountered at Disney was the number of people from outside the United States that were there. At times, it seemed that there were more foreign visitors than visitors from the United States. I don't know if that's a statement on the U.S. economy versus the state of the economy around the world or if it's simply the world-wide draw of Disney. Who knows. By far, the country that was most represented was Brazil. It was their Winter Break, and I think every teenager from Sao Paulo and Rio were there. There were several different tour companies represented and all the kids in each group were wearing matching shirts and backpacks. Each group had around 50 kids and a lot of the tour companies had multiple groups (and each group within each tour company had different colored shirts). They were everywhere. And, unfortunately, for the most part, they were pretty rude and ill mannered. In this shot, there's at least five different groups represented (light blue, dark blue, green, orange, and purple).

We decided to call it a day a little bit earlier than we originally thought. It was hot and we didn't want to kill ourselves on the first full day. We went back to Port Orleans and hit the main pool. There was a waterfall and a water slide and the pool wasn't that crowded. Plus, there was a bar next to the pool. Bonus!

DAY 3 - HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS AND DOWNTOWN DISNEY

Day 3 would find us at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The Park is a homage to the movies and TV. There are a few rides, some stunt shows, an animation studio exhibit (we stayed for the drawing class - we all drew Stitch), 3D movies, Star Wars stuff, High School Musical shows, stuff like that. The really big draw at Hollywood Studios is the hardest ride to get get onto at any of the Disney parks. In fact, the Fast Passes for the entire day are usually gone before noon. The ride: Toy Story Mania.

We arrived at the park about 20 minutes before the scheduled 9 AM opening. We were able to maneuver our way to near the front of the pack so the girls could see the ceremonial opening of the Park for the day. This time it was by a movie director and his favorite actress. Then just after 9 AM, the Park officially opened. The funny thing was that there was a line of Disney Cast Members with a rope who slowly walked their way into the Park, keeping all of the Park guests behind them. This was obviously done to keep the stampede from rushing to get on Toy Story Mania.

Just like a vast majority of the earlier arrivals, our first stop would be at Toy Story Mania. Before getting in line though, we stopped by the Fast Pass kiosk to guarantee that we could go on the ride later in the day. After grabbing our Fast Passes, we got in line for the ride.

On Toy Story Mania, you put on 3D glasses then board a 4-person car two people per side, and each side back to back. You then go through 5 different areas that look like Midway type games where you shoot darts to bust balloons, toss rings around various objects, throw baseballs to break plates, stuff like that. At each area, one of the Toy Story characters (Woody, Jessie, Buzz, Rex, or Hamm) gives out instructions and yells out hints. It's really addicting and a lot of fun. While you're in line, you encounter Mr. Potato Head (the animatronic version) that is voiced by Don Rickles who welcomes you to the attraction.

Now it was over to the Hollywood Tower of Terror. You ride in something that resembles an elevator, up to the 13th Floor. Then the elevator goes crazy, going up and down rapidly.

The inside of the Tower of Terror looks like a hotel that hasn't been occupied in over 50 years. I think they succeeded.

After the Tower of Terror, the time was right to use our Fast Passes for Toy Story Mania. The normal line was over an hour long, but we were on the ride within about 10 minutes. Here's Lori and Libby in 3D.

Sara and I with our 3D glasses on.

After coming out of Toy Story Mania the second time, we ran into some of the Green Army Guys from the Toy Story movies.

I think I was wearing the wrong colored shirt today.

The Brazilians were out in force at Hollywood Studios too!

Part of the Hollywood Studios Park looks like the set from a movie that takes place in a large urban area. Even the streets are distressed. I caught Libby and Sara jaywalking.

Lori's back in her element on the streets of San Francisco.

Libby's deep in thought in front of one of the rowhomes.

Lori and Sara coming up from the subway.

We went and saw the Muppet Vision 3D movie which took place in a theater that looked like the one in the Muppet Show TV program. It was a combination of a 3D movie, animatronic puppets (including Statler and Waldorf) and folks dressed up in costume. Outside the theater, is a large fountain with Miss Piggy as the main attraction.

And one of my favorites, Animal.

On our way to lunch at the Sci-Fi diner we ran into some more Brazilians.

We finally rode the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster after lunch. The premise of the ride is that Aerosmith has invited you to their next gig, and you're speeding through Hollywood to get to the venue. The coaster is all indoors and you actually go upside down a couple of times. The track isn't as dark as Space Mountain and part are lit up with some bright neon signs and lights. The Aerosmith music that was played on the ride was a fun addition.

We tried to go see the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, twice in fact, but the mid-day Florida rain shower, which turned into a thunderstorm, meant that the vast majority of the show couldn't be performed since it was outside and there was lightning in the area.

The big parade at Hollywood Studios is the Block Party Bash that happens around mid-day. It's really a parade that stops and turns into a party, or something like that.

In going with this afternoon's theme, the girls were dancing in the rain.

Since we didn't get to see the Indiana Jones show, we went over to the Studio Backlot Tour. We got to see how various stunts were done, including a strafing scene from Pearl Harbor, and a generic "let's blow up a tanker truck for the fun of it" scene. We also got to see a lot of movie memorabilia including the "shack" from the Hannah Montana movie that Lori just had to pose in front of.

After the Studio Backlot Tour, the girls started getting hungry, so we caught the bus and made our way to Downtown Disney, which is a large retail and restaurant area on the Disney campus. The girls ate at the Fish & Chips shack that's attached to Raglan Road (an Irish bar & restaurant that has their other location in the P&L District in Kansas City). Libby tried to steal my Guinness.

After dinner we wandered around and ended up at Disney Quest, which is a five-story arcade, which was free with our Park passes. I got to play several games that I haven't played since high school. After leaving Disney Quest, we went back to Port Orleans. Instead of taking a bus, we were able to take a boat from Downtown Disney to the resort. Another mode of transportation knocked off the list.

DAY 4 - EPCOT & THE MAGIC KINGDOM

Day 4 would be our first full day at Epcot. Epcot is of course divided into two areas: Future World and the World Showcase. Future World is where the rides and the interactive stuff are located. The World Showcase has the 11 different country pavilions. We would be going through both. Just like at the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, there was a show/ceremony to open the park. We got a glimpse of Goofy at the Opening Ceremony.

It wasn't going to be all fun and games this morning. After dashing over to the east side of the park to grab Fast Passes for Soarin', it was off to the Norway Pavilion to have a Breakfast With the Princesses over at the Akershus restaurant. The inside of the place was definitely castle-like, so it was a pretty nice setting. When we walked in, the girls had their picture taken with :

Belle (from Beauty and the Beast)...

Then we were escorted to our table for breakfast. It was half buffet and half table service. They brought a huge plate of eggs, sausage, potatoes, and bacon to our table. The buffet had yogurt, pastries, fruit, stuff like that. Then, throughout breakfast, the Princesses came to our table for a bit of a chat and posed for pictures. Who was there you ask?

Cinderella...

Snow White (she even had the high pitch Snow White voice!)

Jasmine (from Aladdin).

I didn't want to be left out on the Jasmine action, so I jumped in.

After breakfast, it was back over to the Future World side of the Park. We used our Fast Passes to ride Soarin' which simulates a hang-gliding flight over California. The video portion appears to be an IMAX type unit which made everything pretty realistic. We also went to "The Land" which is a ride that goes through this large indoor experimental garden, and to "The Seas" which includes a pretty good sized aquarium with sharks and manatees (but not in the same tank).

We also ran into our good friend Stitch. After we took a picture with him, he was bum rushed by a huge group of Brazilians.

In front of The Seas, they have animatronic versions of the gulls from Finding Nemo (The "Mine, Mine, Mine" guys.)

After The Seas, we crossed through the middle of the Park to get to some stuff on the other side.

Next it was off to Mission Space which was a simulator of a trip to Mars. Lori and Libby were on an "Orange" crew, while Sara and I were on a "Green" crew. The ride of the "Green" crew was a little less intense which suited Sara just fine. This is the entrance area to the ride.

On the walls outside of Mission Space, they have quotes from people involved in the space program. Since the girls attend Christa McAuliffe Elementary, we thought it was appropriate to take this picture.

Another fun ride was Test Track, which simulates the testing that a car goes through in the design stage. Cobblestones, evasive driving maneuvers, speeds over 60 mph, and so on. While waiting in line, Lori and I took a picture together.

After the rides and attractions, we took another lap around the World Showcase area so the girls could get their passports signed and stamped at all of the Pavilions. At the Norway Pavilion, the girls were ruthlessly attacked by one of the ever present Vikings.

The Chinese Pavilion. We got to see some acrobats doing their thing and there was a museum with some pretty old Chinese art and replicas of the Terra Cotta warriors.

Germany. It was pit stop time for beer and pretzels.

And Canada. Again we ran into more Brazilians.

After spending most of the day at Epcot, we had dinner reservations at The Wave, an American/Fusion restaurant at The Contemporary Resort. The Contemporary Resort is the big white hotel building that the Monorail passes through. The girls were excited to take the Monorail from Epcot to the Contemporary. Dinner was great. The portions this time were manageable. I had a fillet with an avocado sauce and an organic Pale Ale (Wolaver's from Vermont).

After dinner, it was back to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the evening. From the Contemporary Resort, we got back on the Monorail and it was a quick ride over to the Magic Kingdom. Here's another view of the Train Station right as you enter the Park.

The main reason for going back to the Magic Kingdom was to see the Disney Electric Parade and the fireworks in front of Cinderella's Castle. The best place to watch the Electric Parade is on Main Street USA at the entrance to the Park. We were told that in order to get a seat along the curb, you needed to be there an hour or an hour and a half before the parade starts. Luckily, we got there in time to get spots right on the curb and got to sit and enjoy the parade.

After the girls set up along the curb, I went out to get some pictures of the Castle, which is lit up in different colors as the night goes on. Here's when it was pinkish-red.

It was still probably about 45 minutes before the beginning of the parade, but all of the curb spots along Main Street USA were taken. The building at the far back is the opposite side of the Train Station.

Now the Castle is blue-green. The statue is of course, Walt Disney.

Libby waited patiently on the curb for the parade to begin.

Finally the parade started...

And another of the parade floats. This one with an American theme.

After the Electric Parade, we grabbed something to drink and then moved a little bit closer to Cinderella's Castle for the Summer Nightastic Fireworks display. More pyro and music. It's a great venue with the castle in the background.

DAY 5 - ANIMAL KINGDOM, BLIZZARD BEACH, AND EPCOT

Today we were going to try to go to three different parks. I love having the Park Hopper option on the tickets! Our first stop was going to be at the last of the four main parks, Disney's Animal Kingdom. It's a combination zoo and amusement park. The centerpiece of the park is the Tree of Life.

The big ride at Animal Kingdom is Expedition Everest. It's a good sized roller coaster that goes both forward and backward. About halfway through the ride, the coaster comes to a complete stop as it looks like the track has been destroyed by the dreaded Yeti. Next thing you know, the coaster is going backwards, but on a different track than the one you going on before. Pretty unique. Everest is in the background. The point where you enter the ride queue is inthe foreground.

Another ride that we went on was the Kali River Rapids. It's nice getting soaked when the temperatures are in the 90's.

After a couple of rides it was off to the Maharajah Jungle Trek. It's a walk through what's supposed to be the jungles of SE Asia. Komodo dragons, tigers, deer. Lots of cool stuff. The coolest? Big bats. Bats up to 5 pounds each. Just hanging around.

The entire walk was pretty cool. It was like you were walking through a village in the middle of the jungle. Here we came upon what appeared to be the gates to the village. The girls did their best to get in.

One of the highlights of the Animal Kingdom is the Kilimanjaro Safari. You board a safari truck with about 20 other people and your guide drives you onto what looks like the savanna in Africa. Lots and lots of animals including, but not limited to...

A giraffe...

A big family of elephants...

Some sleepy looking rhinos...

And a couple of ostriches...

After the safari and riding the Kali River Rapids one more time, we took a train to another area of the park that had a petting zoo. As a bonus, the girls got to meet Jiminy Cricket.

Sara got to groom one of the sheep.

If Lori sees a goat she has to go pet it. This little guy was no exception.

Around 2 PM we left the Animal Kingdom and took the very short bus ride to Blizzard Beach, one of two water parks on the Disney campus. No pictures since we didn't want to get the cameras wet. We split up (Libby and I - Lori and Sara) since the girls wanted to do different things. Sara and Lori floated around Cross Country Creek, the lazy river while Libby and I waited in line for over an hour to go on Summit Plummet, which is a 120-foot tall water slide (straight down!) where you hit somewhere between 50 and 60 mph. We did meet up eventually, riding Teamboat Springs, a raft ride a couple of times together.

It was around 6 PM when we left Blizzard Beach and I was getting extremely hungry. So, we decided to go to Epcot since they had the widest selection of stuff to eat. We made our lap around the World Showcase

Dinner tonight was not a sit down meal, but we did quick service instead. Sara had some shrimp from one of the stands, while I insisted on Moroccan. I had a big plate of chicken and lamb, bread, cous cous, a couple of other North African salads, and baklava for dessert. I could eat there all the time!

After dinner, it was over to the American Pavilion for a couple of Sam Adams. There is an outdoor theater there where they were having a Summer long series of cover bands play every night. That week, it was 'Slippery When Wet', a Bon Jovi cover band. The lead guitarist looked a lot like Richie Sambora.

Heading back around to the Park entrance, we went by Morocco. It was pretty cool to see in the early evening.

This may have been a laid back day, but it was along laid back day.

DAY 6 - TYPHOON LAGOON AND THE MAGIC KINGDOM

Today we were going to our sixth different park at Disney which means that we hit all of them. In the morning we were going to go to Typhoon Lagoon (the second water park) followed up in the mid-afternoon with going back to the Magic Kingdom.

Just like with Blizzard Beach, we didn't take any pictures since we didn't have a waterproof camera with us. Typhoon Lagoon was less crowded than Blizzard Beach, and overall, the rides and pools were a lot more fun. Some of the high points were Crush 'n' Gusher which is kind of like a water roller coaster, but on two-person rafts. There were three different tracks, and there was no line, so I think Libby and I went on it five times in a row. Sara and Lori went on it a couple of times in a row themselves. There was also a big salt water pool called Shark Reef where you could snorkel and see fish and a couple of types of sharks (harmless ones, so no worries). There were also a number of water slides and raft rides, and another lazy river that wrapped its way around the Park. The main attraction though was the huge multi-acre Surf Pool which is a wave pool that had 6 to 8-foot waves. Lots of fun!!

Mid-afternoon, it was back to the Magic Kingdom. This is the view of the Main Street USA Train Station from the area just before the entry gates.

While walking into the Park, Sara met up with Miss DaPointe.

Over in Toontown they have the actual houses of Mickey and Minnie Mouse (they have separate home for tax purposes). Here's Minnie's House.

Mickey's House....

Another one of the iconic rides is the Teacup Ride (actually called the 'Mad Tea Party'). I stayed off of it due to my aversion of rides that just spin.

Messing around with the camera, we took a widescreen shot of the castle at mid day.

Sara wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad one more time, so it was back over to that side of the park and onto the ride. We took a video of the entire ride, with commentary from Sara and Libby, which was pretty cool.

The sky darkened after riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and one of those 30 minute Florida rains hit. We found a place that was dry to hide under, so we didn't get too damp. After the rain, it was over to Main Street USA for the late afternoon parade.

And a closer shot of Mickey and Donald...

Dinner this evening was going to be at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. The resort that it was at was pretty close to the Magic Kingdom, and the most direct mode of transportation was a boat. Before we got on board, there was a leftover rainbow from the earlier shower.

Dinner was at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. The cuisine was big steaks, huge chunks of meatloaf, bottomless milkshakes, that kind of thing. The waitstaff was great at interacting with all the guests. Sara dropped her fork on the floor at one point, so our waiter brought her a replacement.

This is what the inside of the Wilderness Lodge Resort looks like. There's also a floor to ceiling fireplace in here that's pretty impressive.

The whole dinner took over two hours, so we decided to call it an early night and head back to Port Orleans.

DAY 7 - HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS AND EPCOT

On our final full day down in Florida we decided to go back to Hollywood Studios. We all wanted to go on Toy Story Mania a couple of more times and Libby wanted to go upside down on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. I didn't need any more convincing. After getting into the Park, we grabbed our fast Passes for Toy Story Mania, then got in the regular line anyway. (We'd come back later and use the Fast Passes.) The wait in the regular line was only around 30 minutes which wasn't that bad and it was all indoors. While waiting, it was picture time.

And Sara in the same spot.

Just across from Toy Story Mania is a couple of gift shops and an area where they hold character Meet and Greets. The Green Army guys were trying to send a message with some Tinker Toys and a Scrabble board.

And what would Andy's Room be without the giant version of a Barrel of Monkeys!

Another appearance by the Green Army Men! Today they were recruiting new members for the troop. We made Sara join the platoon.

At Hollywood Studios, they block off parts of some of the streets at various times during the day to "film a movie". It's just a lot of fun interaction with the crowd. The main "actress" was taking pictures after the "filming", so I stepped in for my TMZ moment.

One of the interesting attractions that we didn't see the first time, was the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" play area. Here are the girls riding an ant.

We decided to try to see the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular one more time. Today, the weather cooperated. We got front row seats again (the theater seats about 2,000) and settled in to watch the show. The girls got Lori to volunteer to be one of the crowd extras in the show. They dressed her up and she got to portray a shopper in Cairo during one of the action scenes. We've got video, but it's too big to put up here. But, we do have an "after" shot.

After the Stunt Spectacular, Sara said that she wanted to go to the American Idol Experience. It's just like the real American Idol. Every day, people audition to be a part of the program. During the day there are six shows where three people at each show vie to compete in the "finals" show at the end of the day. The winner at the end of the day then gets their own "Fast Pass" to the head of the line at any of the real American Idol auditions. The whole thing seems like a mini version of the show, from pre-taped videos, to the three judges, to the voting by the audience members. It was a fun little show.

Our final 'big' ride was the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster which was Libby's favorite ride. Here she's flashing her rock moves in front of the big guitar.

After leaving Hollywood Studios, we went back to the resort to clean up, change clothes and head over to Epcot for dinner. We finally went into Spaceship Earth, which is the big golf ball looking thing as you enter the park. The girls also finished up getting all of the stamps on their World Showcase Passport. We visited England, where I grabbed a Harp, and France where I got Lori a very nice French red wine. For the final country on the passport, we stopped in the Moroccan pavilion where Lori found a fez to match her dress.

Dinner was at Teppan Edo, a Japanese steakhouse. It was the usual eat at the grill and have the chef make a volcano out of an onion place. The girls and the newlywed couple that we shared the grill with seemed to enjoy it. I'd rather dispense with the show, and just talk with the chef and enjoy the food (which was pretty good). It was a late dinner, so we got to see the fireworks again. Then back to Port Orleans to finish packing for the trip back.

DAY 8 - BACK HOME

No pictures from Day 8. I was too tired to take any. Our plane was scheduled to leave Orlando at 8 AM. This meant that we needed to catch the Disney Magical Express Bus from our resort at 5 AM. (Disney rules, not mine.) So, we were up around 4 AM, and were on the bus at 5. Plane left a little late due to traffic in Atlanta, but we made our connecting flight in Atlanta and were back in Kansas City pretty much on time (around Noon). Got our bags, picked up Sandy from Doggie Daycare, then back home where we had to break into our own home to get in. But that's another story for another time!