Day 6: Hollywood Studios (day 2)

So I thought we were going to Magic Kingdom on Wednesday but our morning started with  a broken camera fiasco that we tried to replace at Target and Walmart with no luck… Oh well, that’s what iPhone’s are for right?  But since our morning was very interrupted again, we decided to do day two at Hollywood Studios to save the longest day for Magic Kingdom.

I think we were finally at HS by 12pm and again headed right for Tower of Terror!  The wait was a whopping 10 minutes again…

Too many stupid faces made by me on this trip..

After ride number one, we grabbed fast passes (just in case) and headed to find some lunch.  We went to the Backlot place which is what we thought we went to last year but turned out to be different but we were still successful in the food department.  We all went the healthy hot dog route today + french fries + a cantaloupe/green pea/champagne vinaigrette dressing salad (strange but good!)

After we’d been lunched, we headed back for the Tower Hotel for another ride.  Turns out our fast passes were not required today because the wait was literally zero minutes by this time of the day.  So we went twice in a row!  (Pre TOT, we also grabbed Rock ‘n Roller Coaster FP!)

After the three rides on TOT today + one yesterday, I think we were all officially elevator’d out so we retired that ride for this Disney trip.  Then it was on to the Aerosmith one to wear that one out!

One trip through the stand by line (15 minutes, maybe?) and then a trip through with our fast passes and we were ready to call this ride quits for this trip at well.  Those lead in videos get SO OLD!  Gaaaahhhh!

Since we’d had all the fun we could stand on the rides, we switched into show watching mode!  All the signs and brochures said that the Beauty and the Beast show was down for refurbishment but they must have opened it back up early because they added show times for late afternoon!  So we walked right in for the 3pm show and got to watch that performance.

Then it was on to the American Idol Experience!  That is really a fun one – they bring in actual park guests and I guess the last season of AI, 5 of the top 13 started out in DisneyWorld?  No idea if that is true but that’s what the host said!

We had a quick snack after AI and then waited for Star Tours.  I don’t know if I have ever been on this one before… in a way I think maybe?  But it also seemed so unfamiliar that maybe I have not!  We had a little technical difficulties before our “flight” could take off but everything turned out just fine

We were going to go on the Backlot tour but it turned out that ended at 4:45 so I guess we missed that one this trip… oops.  But we though we lucked out by bumping into a new Jack Sparrow ride.  Turns out we totally should have missed that one.  We waited for about 45 minutes (longer than all our waits this week combined) for the stupidest “Jack Sparrow Experience” thing.  Why someone thought this was a necessary addition is beyond me… ouch.

I will remember this view, not the horrific new thing we had to wait forever for.

After that horrific thing, we called it a day.  Standing for an hour in line/in the “experience” put my knees over the edge.  So back to the tram and car it was.

We decided to do Whole Foods sushi again tonight since sister thought she “didn’t like sushi” but then tried mine on Saturday  We also got some ice cream and Crispin cider.  YUM!!!

After dinner, we did some more swimming and hot tubbing and then crashed (after watching the kind of awkward Dr. Oz/Charlie Sheen interview).  TOMORROW we will finally make it to Magic Kingdom!  We have been thinking ever since Monday that we would go there… ha!

Day 5: Hollywood Studios (day 1)

We had to switch from our Disney hotel to a condo today so we lost our entire morning again but decided to do a bonus day at Hollywood Studios today and then spend a full day when we go back on Thursday.  I can never ride Tower of Terror too much even though that stupid lead in video gets old really quickly…

Having to pack up everything to move to another place was a little annoying but since our condo has two bedrooms and is really nice, I’d say it was totally worth it!  Plus, the Disney “value” resorts don’t have hot tubs and our tired legs NEEDED hot tubs so everyone was glad we’d planned this move off Disney property.  We will have to pay to park now but I think that’s worth it.  It’s a must to stay on Disney property for a race though if you don’t want to spend an hour+ waiting parked on a highway to drop off your runners… hence our choice to stay on property again this year!

By the time we finally got to Hollywood Studios, we went straight for Tower of Terror!!!  No wait at that point of the day, yes!  And then we wandered over to pick up a Fast Pass for Rock ‘n Roller Coaster.  Since it was only about 1pm, we decided to walk back to the Lights, Motor, Action Stunt show to watch that today since it always takes up a big chunk of time.

I was glad to see it was slightly different than in past years but still gets a little redundant after 20 minutes.  Sister and I left early so we didn’t miss our fast pass return time.  R’nR was as fun as ever though!  I wish the wait was not always SO long on this one for stand by…

We had a 2:55 Linner reservation at Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano that was part of the Fantasmic VIP seating package and also served as our post Marathon celebration lunch/dinner.

We started out with a Bellini

gluten free bread + oil for dipping

and then caprese salad

and then I had the most delicious Fish Piccata

topped off with this flourless chocolate cake!

And the best part is how awesome Disney can be about allergies when done correctly.  Everything was gluten free and everything was delicious!  Gold star, Disney, gold star!

To say we left full would be an understatement

We walked around for awhile and then decided to check out the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show.  After the show sister decided she needed her sweater (it was 76+ degrees) so we headed back for the car and then back in the park to wait for Fantasmic!.

Having the VIP seating is AWESOME!!!  We had a whole section roped off until 15 minutes before the start and didn’t have to wait in any line to get into the show.  They also say you are supposed to get in the general seating line 60-90 minutes before vs our 30!

The show was really cool and really crazy if you think about all Disney goes through every single night of the year just to entertain people for 30 minutes!

We eventually got out of the park and made another stop at Babycakes… (I mean how often can we get gluten free, vegan baked goods that taste amazing??)

 

and then headed back to the condo to hot tub, swim a bit and then go to sleeeeeeeppppp! Disney World is really so much fun but also really so tiring!  I find myself wondering why children are still awake and in the pool when I am past ready for bed… don’t they ever sleep?  An uninterrupted day at Magic Kingdom is on tap for tomorrow!

Disney Marathon Trip: Day 4

So today is Wednesday which means it is One Wish Wednesday but since I am kind of a few days off from being on vacation, I am going to meld my OWW and my day 4 memories of our recent WDW trip by saying that my wish this week is that I could turn the time back to Sunday so I could once again spend a day with Sister and Mom walking around a Disney park while still fresh in the post race excitement from the Half the day before!

Day 4 of our trip was our only true full day that we could spend at a park.  We chose to go to Disney Hollywood Studios because it has the best rides and is top 1 or 2 for Mom, Sister and me as far as park preference goes.  We didn’t get a super early start on the day because we were all a bit tired from race day and the SUPER early wake up call involved but we did make it to the park by about 10am or so.

Our first mission was of course Tower of Terror!  We grabbed a FastPass and then got in line to wait.  It was supposed to be about a 40 minute wait but I think we only waited close to 25 maybe?  Mom was initially not going to go on but we talked her into it and I think she ended up being glad!  Since we had grabbed Fast Passes, we were actually able to go right back on within 5-10 minutes!  And by the time that ride was over, the stand by wait was 10 minutes so Sister and I went again!  We ended up going 3 times in about 40 minutes which was awesome!  I could have gone another 3 times if I could have avoided watching that stupid Twilight Zone movie they show you in that little room… that really drives me nuts!

Making my "special face" at Sister's request!

After we had our Tower of Terror fill, we were in time for the 12:45 Beauty and the Beast show so we decided to go to that so we could sit down and rest for a bit.  The show was really good and I am pretty sure it was one of Mom’s top things from vacation

After the show, we walked to find some lunch and kill some time until our Rock n Roller Coaster Fast Passes were ready.  We ended up at the Studio Catering Co. where Sister and I shared a very delicious pressed turkey sandwich on a Ener-g bun and a Greek salad.  Delicious and much healthier than other options we could have gone with!  Again Disney impressed us all with their awesome handling of food allergies!

After that, it was time for our FastPass so Sister and I walked to do that while Mom went to stake out our best ever seats for the afternoon parade!

Not sure why I am screaming like that... it's really not THAT scary...

When we went to Disney in 2004, you could say I was a bit obsessed with all things Disney and therefore read everything I could about making your trip the most enjoyable and also read about all the secret “best spots” for things.  Once again, our spot did not disappoint!  I must say this parade was not nearly as good as the one they had in 2004.  The floats back then were so much more elaborate and the music was way better!  The floats this time were very boring and the music was one refrain sung over and over and over and over and over………

After the parade, we walked over to watch the Muppet 3-D movie.  I don’t recall ever doing this before and it was kind of cute!  You’ve gotta love a dose of Kermie and Gonzo!

By the time this movie was over, we were all pretty spent.  We ended up walking around a little more but then decided to just call it a day and head back to the hotel to rest.  We printed our plane boarding tickets for Monday and then headed to our favorite, Sweet Tomatoes, for dinner once again!  I am going to miss this place!!!  We then walked around Downtown Disney a bit more and got one last round of donuts and some souvenirs from the World of Disney.  Then we just kind of hung out in the room for awhile before heading to bed.  It was another fun day in Disney although Sister and I were feeling a bit of pain every time we say down and stood back up.  Getting into the TOT seats was ROUGH!  One more day to recap and then our Magical vacation will be at a close

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