Hollywood Studios

I fully intended to get the pictures from our vacation on the blog by now but....I haven't. 

On day three we went to Hollywood Studios. My feet had so many blisters on them by this day, that I was seriously contemplating never walking again. In fact, I still have places on my feet where the blisters were. I guess next time I need to invest in a better pair of shoes. Or new feet. Or a scooter.

We mainly went to Hollywood Studios so Dallas could see some Star Wars things. Star Wars was the main attraction there. We started off with the Star Wars - The Adventure Continues 3D motion simulator ride. I get sick riding in the passenger side of the car, so I really wasn't looking forward to this. There were a couple of times I thought I was going to have to take my glasses off or do something...what I have no idea. But in the end I survived, with only a slight headache. Dallas absolutely loved it. To hear him yelling out, "Woohoo" with the biggest smile on his face made it all worth it. Lauren liked it, but Kristen wasn't a fan. She had a headache afterwards too.

We did get to meet this guy. Isn't he soooo cute. The kids didn't get his autograph because he doesn't sign autographs. I guess it would be hard. Not having a brain and having sticks as arms and all.

 

The girls also got to meet Sophia the First and Doc McStuffins. 

It was hot. I have no idea how these people were staying in these costumes outside. All to make my kids day....and the other many thousands.

Meanwhile, Dallas and Paul went to go ride the 3D motion ride again, but it was temporarily shut down. I wish he could've ridden it again. 

Somethings are just so awesome they never change. That would be the Beauty and the Beast show. It was there in 2004 when Paul and I went. We have a million pictures from it. You could probably put them together and make a flip book. This time I didn't take as many, since it really was the same show. The girls loved it. I think Paul and Dallas were a little bored though. I was so exhausted I could've taken a nap. Lauren was so confused with the whole animation is now real concept. She kept asking if they were real people. Then kept saying she thought it was a cartoon. I tried to explain that the movie is animated, but then just gave up, because I was so exhausted that I was now confused. 

There was a Star Wars march that would come through. It was pretty cool. Once they passed you, you  could follow them and they would put on a show on stage. We hung out, taking a break, waiting for them to come by.

Paul tried to talk the kids into riding the Tower of Terror ride. He couldn't convince them. Once he got off he said he didn't remember most of it and the kids would have been petrified. 

Hollywood Studios was fun. I wish we would've stayed, or went back, for the Star Wars light show at night. 

Since we finished up early, we decided to head back to Magic Kingdom. The kids still wanted to get Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbelle's autograph. And Lauren only wanted to do one thing. Go to Ariel's Groto and see her favorite Princess. Dallas had no problems getting his picture taken with Ariel.

Mickey's costume actually spoke like him. Other than the princesses, no other character in a costume spoke. They just motioned with their hands. It was pretty neat. Not worth the hour wait, but still pretty neat. 

We had a fast pass for the Jungle Boat ride. Kristen still talks about this ride. I think it was one of her favorites. The guide was hilarious, or at least Kristen and I thought her jokes were funny. Maybe we were just extremely tired. Not as tired as the lady across from us. She totally fell asleep. These were the only two pictures I got. I can't tell you any story behind them, because I can't remember, which brings me to my previous assumption that maybe I was very tired and if I rode it again I would find it very corny. Maybe that's why I was the only one laughing. I was just happy to be sitting because of my poor feet. 

We also went up into The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. It was pretty neat. And a book I have put on our reading. Not sure if it will be our chapter book we read together, or if I'll have Kristen read it on her own for her reading. 

Here are a few random pictures I took while waiting for Mickey Mouse.

And we ended the day with a visit to the candy store and the biggest pixie sticks EVER!

Animal Kingdom

Day 2 we headed to Animal Kingdom. The day was overcast and a little cool. It looked like rain, but luckily it held off. 

Animal Kingdom was much more laid back than Magic Kingdom. Not as crowded and overall a very pleasant experience. 

The tree of life in the park is amazing! So much detail! You could look at it all day and still find something new. 

We started our day meeting Pocahantas. 

We then had a fast pass for the dinosaur ride and headed over to it. It was really one of the few rides everyone could ride. I had no idea it would be so scary. Even though the description said: Take off on a scary, prehistoric tour aboard a rip-roaring Time Rover to save a dinosaur from extinction. Both Lauren and Dallas were crying by the end. Kristen said her favorite part was when they said, "Mission Accomplished!" So, we started day two off in tears too. Who knew Disney could be so scary!

Since we were already in Dinoland U.S.A, the kids rode the flying dinosaur ride, TriceraTop Spin. Dallas really wanted to ride the Primeval Whirl, but he was too short. It was a ride that spun around. They also had The Boneyard, which was a playground type area designed to look like a dinosaur dig site. This area became a favorite. One we went back to and let them play. They all loved this area. They also had a big box that you could dig for dinosaur bones in. 

One of my favorite things about this day was the Kilimanjaro safari ride. We had the funniest driver/guide. We got to see some unusual animals.

Like the Bongo. Both male and female Bongo's have horns. The are also the largest African forest antelope. 

The Kudu reminded me of a deer with stripes.

I can't remember what this was called, but their horns are hollow. 

We also saw some zebras. One of my favorite animals. I loved Melman in Madagascar. 

And this guy (or gal) followed us for a little bit on our journey doing her business, which made the kids laugh hysterically. 

Here are some not so pink flamingos. 

If you look off in the distance you can see a baby elephant. 

Here was a congregation of crocodiles, or alligators. I know we were told, but I can't remember....and they look the same...sooooo....it's one or the other. 

Here is a rhino just chillin. Probably wondering why there are so many vehicles driving past interrupting the peacefulness of the African habitat. 

And, if you look very closely, you can see some hippos in the water. 

This is a Baobab tree. It looked a lot like an upside down tree and something in a haunted forest. 

We also saw some gorillas. 

Paul hates shows. I love shows. This was one of the very few shows we saw. It had real people and puppets. Sounds lame, but it was really good.

Animal Kingdom had different continents you could travel through, like Africa and Asia. The shops and restaurants were designed to look like things from those places. They also had live entertainment that would be from that culture. It was very neat walking through. Just like you were there. 

Here are some other random pictures taken from the park.

We ended our day with some ice cream in the shape of Mickey Mouse. Lauren had chocolate and ice cream all over her.

One of my very favorite things from Animal Kingdom was the water and light show they put on at night. Pictures do not do it justice. It was phenomenal!