The boys wore their Captain America shirts and Hannah's BBB 'do was on day 3 and still looking fine, so we let her keep it in. Why not?!
We had FastPasses to see Disney Junior - Live on Stage to begin the day, but when we walked up, Sofia and Jake were outside in Animation Courtyard with short lines so we did that first. They also didn't allow food or drinks in this theater and we had just gotten coffee/tea and breakfast to-go from Starbucks.
We typically watch a Jake and the Never Land Pirates episode every day. Hannah likes it, too, but oftentimes she chooses Sofia the First for her "one show". This means that both kids are very familiar with both characters. We met them on the cruise with Doc McStuffins, another favorite show, but that's been a while.
Can you tell Joseph was excited to see Jake?
Some advice we had received was to skip the Disney Jr. show, so we did and instead headed for Animation Courtyard to Star Tours before the line got too long. Joe had been waiting for this ride (his first go-round) and was probably the most excited.
We picked up our 3D glasses and boarded a Starspeeder 1000 (some sort of space ship, I don't know...not up on all things Star Wars like Joe and apparently a lot of people). Anyway, it's a flight simulator and very intense, especially for kids. It was fun, though.
One of the not-reserved things I really wanted to see was Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage. We walked down Sunset Boulevard to the Theater of the Stars. Thankfully it wasn't too crowded and we got in to the 11am show.
Again, A+ for Disney. Notice a theme here? Just like on the cruise, they rarely disappoint when it comes to entertainment.
It did seem like we criss-crossed the park quite a bit, passing Echo Lake several times, but fortunately the park is relatively small. After the show, we went to Streets of America for Muppet Vision 3D then a stop at It's a Wonderful Shop to buy this year's Christmas ornaments.
The Jedi Training Academy was right around the corner and, as you can imagine, Star Wars fans everywhere. While our kids aren't into it (yet), the outside show is a main attraction.
After lunch at Backlot Express (with Star Wars themed cupcakes for dessert), we headed towards our main attraction: the "For the First Time in Forever" Frozen singalong. Hannah changed into her Elsa dress for the occasion and we excitedly awaited the doors opening. We had FastPasses which put us closer to the doors and betters seats - close to the front. We were on the third or fourth row, right in the center. It was perfect!
Two hilarious narrator "Arendelle historians" tell the story of Frozen and we sing along the way to words on the gigantic screen. At the end Elsa comes out and the whole place sings Let It Go as snow falls. You get to see Anna and Kristoff, too.
It was so much fun and I loved every minute as much as Hannah and Joseph did. I took a few videos, bouncing back and forth between the performers on stage and my daughter. She was the better view for sure, her face lit up and focused on the stage as she watched and sang. As much as she loves to perform the songs from the movie at home, we knew she would love this. We all did.
Then we headed to Pixar Place to ride Toy Story Midway Mania (another FastPass).
This was Joseph's favorite attraction for sure. You go through a 3D virtual shooting gallery, taking aim at various targets and racking up as many points as you can as you shoot with your pull-string canon. It is a lot of fun and the wait time is super long all day.
Next came the Tower of Terror. We walked down Sunset Boulevard to the eerie Hollywood Tower Hotel.
This girl wasn't scared as we waited in line. However, it did scare her. Not the elevator dropping part but the spooky story and tour through the haunted hotel before the drop. She was very concerned with the ghosts and kept asking me if they were real, if this was a true story, etc. She actually liked the random ride-and-drops of the elevator which made me feel a little queazy even if I didn't get scared!
I rode with her the first time, then she went again with Joe while Joseph and I hung out.
Our last stop of the day was the 5 o'clock Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. Joseph and I got to the theater first and secured seats close to the floor. The show was great. We got a behind-the-scenes look at how movie stunts are done. There is a bunch of action and, to the kids' delight, fiery explosions. Again, I found the view next to me better than the view in front of me...
Before leaving the park we joined a dance party at Center Stage with one of the best Disney characters ever, Sebastian.
A little bit later, Chip and Dale joined the party.
What great fun...and exercise before catching the bus to Magic Kingdom and then the monorail to The Contemporary for dinner at Chef Mickey's. We ended up staying at Hollywood Studios longer than I thought we would (several friends told us we could do that park in 1/2 a day) but I liked how it turned out. We weren't in a rush and could be spontaneous.
Chef Mickey's wasn't as great as we thought it would be. The children enjoyed it - making return trips to the dessert buffet and greeting the characters that came by our table. But Joe and I didn't like it as much. While the food was good, the service was not. There was about half an hour where we never saw our server for drink refills. And when it was time for the check, she all but disappeared.
Obviously this was just our experience, but to us this restaurant was way more about seeing Mickey and friends than enjoying a nice table service meal. The kids did meet Pluto, who we had not seen yet, and got one last picture with M&M. They were thrilled and that's all that matters.
We rode the monorail back to MK and then the bus back to our resort. It was a late night and we had breakfast reservations the next morning at Magic Kingdom. We hurried to bed and slept hard.
Another day of Disney magic in the books!
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