Disney Hollywood Studios

Our third and final park day was spent at Disney Hollywood Studios. Matt and I love this park the best, and I think it's probably because it's the smallest, doesn't feel as busy, and has lots of opportunities to sit down at shows. We are so darn tired by this point, that a "slower" pace feels really, really good.

We got to the park right as it opened (Matt skipped the conference this day and we got to take a direct shuttle--whew!) and ran for the Star Tours ride. We didn't have a fast pass for this, and Matt and I really wanted to go on it. It was a new Star Wars experience that was a 3 D flight simulator. We happily coasted on, buckled our seat belts, threw on our glasses....and then nearly vomited. Neither one of us could handle the effects and motion from the 3D inside the small and warm simulator. We took our glasses off and tried to just calmly breathe through the ride. I sat with my eyes closed and prayed I didn't vomit all over myself. The girls were having a fabulous time, laughing and giggling away, thank goodness. This is a perfect example of the difference in vestibular systems between children and adults! We finally got off the darn ride and it took Matt and I a solid 2 hours to recover. We took the kids to the Honey I Shrunk The Kids park, and let them play while we nursed our motion-sick selves back to function.

Once we were back in action, we took the Great Movie Ride, which was a really cool trip through the history of movies with awesome scenes and effects--it all felt very real. Adrienne was scared in some parts because movie characters seemed real, and the Western era part had you riding amidst fake gun fights between our driver and the real-looking puppet cowboys.  The Wizard of Oz scene was the winner as our favorite--our car took us right through a live munchkin-land with singing munchkins and an appearance by the wicked witch (side note: why aren't my kids scared of her??? She petrified me as a child). After the movie ride, we grabbed lunch at Pizza Planet and then headed to the Frozen Sing Along show. Jillian was less than enthused that we had to go to this AGAIN (because, you know, she's too OLD for Frozen). Teenage-looking drama before the show began--

Guess who was excited?

Let it be known that the queen teenager was laughing and singing along about 30 seconds into the show.

Other things we did that day included a walk through the Walt Disney museum that ended with a 15 minute preview of The Good Dinosaur (which looks amazing!), the Little Mermaid Show, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, and desperately grabbing an afternoon pick-me-up at the one Starbucks in the park. Praise the Lord! I can't help but wonder how much Disney had to pay Starbucks for these cups...

Soon it was time for Disney Jr Live. We were shuffled into an open theater and had to sit on the floor. Not comfortable for tired parents, but the kids had a blast dancing and singing along to some favorite characters like Jake and Sofia The First and Doc McStuffins.

After the daily souvenir shopping, we needed a rest. We sat at some open tables and let the girls play with Jillian's Disney Villains set, and Adrienne's baby Maleficent. It was cute to watch.

Finally it was time for our last fast pass (and everyone's favorite), Toy Story Mania. Matt and Adrienne rode together....

Jillian and I did our best to achieve a worthy score in this video-game simulator. Matt and A of course beat us, thanks to Matt's mad video gaming skills

Lastly, we took a leisurely walk to dinner and snapped a few pics of the girls.

Dinner was a super-cool experience, and by far the best Disney restaurant we've been to in terms of theme. We had reservations at the Sci-Fi Dine In Theater. It's hard to see in pictures, but the restaurant is rows of 50's cars (three rows of 2 seats in each), all facing a movie screen that shows clips of old sci-fi movies and some commercials. Really cool. The girls got to sit in front of us, and the waitress gave them driver's licenses.

We ran for the last bus of the day, and then had just a couple minutes to stand and watch fireworks from the bus stop.

About 5 minutes into the bus ride, Adrienne declared she had to go potty--BAD. This kid and her potty drama. We implored her to please hold it, that we were almost there, on and on. Then as we turned into the community where the resort was located, she said--"Mom, I peed my pants just a little bit". Sigh. I prayed that the seat wasn't wet and endured glares from Matt (I don't know why dads always look to moms like we have complete control over this?!). We parked, I scooped up A (thankfully felt a dry seat and dry skirt) and we RAN for the lobby bathroom. She made it just in time--with completely dry pants. Not sure why she told me she peed just a little, but I am grateful for that mistake. Before we could head back to our room, we had to help Matt shop in the resort store for a shirt. He forgot to put a button down shirt in his suitcase, and needed one for his talks the next day. Let's just say that was an expensive mistake. I hope he loves that shirt and wears it out....it cost more than most people spend on groceries in a week. Live and learn!

The girls were always delighted to see what housekeeping had done to their toys when we got back to the room.

And then they added the day's purchases to the mix to create quite a scene...

Love watching these two play and imagine together. One of my greatest joys.