We completed the Princess Meet n' Greet Collection! - An Early Feb Trip Report

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Four - Magic Kingdom (and Night time Fun!)

Happy Memorial Day Everyone! It is cloudy and rainy so we are "chilling out" So, I might get another day of our adventure in!

Today I planned for us to see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. So, I knew we would want to head back to the hotel and rest for a bit. No way we were going make it all day! I didn't take a picture of the Tinkerbell Gift today, but it was Glow Sticks that I ordered off Amazon. I always do glow sticks on the night that we plan to do fireworks. Works every time! They have yet to ask for anything from the glowing cart of $$$$.



As you can see from our daily sheet, I wanted to try and see the Morning Show this morning. So we got up and got moving. We had actually left with plenty of time. We got down to the dock and there was a small line. Which I took as a good sign that there would be a boat shortly.... Well, there WAS a boat out and about. Turns out it had a trainee on it and they were practicing! So we waited and waited and waited..... So long that the time we built in to get the the magic kingdom in time was long gone and then some I don't know if I will ever get to see the morning show!

I shook off my disappointment and we headed in. Today, we wanted to explore Adventureland. We hadn't spent much time over there yet, so we headed in that direction. Once we crossed over into Adventureland we saw that Jungle Cruise had a long stand by wait and Pirates of the Caribbean had a short stand by wait. So, I did a quick switch-a-roo of our fast passes. (Or maybe I switched up the Little Mermaid fast passes, because we def didn't got over the fantasyland this morning... ) Basically swapped the two and we then headed in line for Pirates. I don't have any pics. Gwen kept saying she didn't want to go on the ride. But she has done it before and liked it, so we told her to give it a try. I think she doesn't hate it, she just doesn't like it. She is indifferent to it. Which is sad because it is a good ride! One day.

After Jungle Cruise we headed over and used our newly changed fast passes for Jungle Cruise! Worked out perfectly.


And we were off on our adventure. Our girl was good. But I feel like we have never really had a "Excellent" Skipper. They all seem the same to me. Last time, we ended up riding this at night, as overtime we went over it was a long wait. So, I think it was kind of new to the girls. I don't think they really remembered it last time.

Morgan deciding if the animals were real or not...


Gwen, also not really sure about the ride. I am pretty sure for the first half they thought the animals were real...


My favorite part of the ride!




And of course, THE Backside of Water!


The girls liked the ride but it's not the ride they talk about. Next we headed over and got in line for the Tikki Room. The girls were getting crabby already. So, I grabbed some snacks to eat in line, hoping that would help them feel better. That and sitting for a bit. Morgan took this picture of Andy and I while we waited.


After Tikki Tikki Tikki Room, the girls were still crabby! Ugh. What to do? I suggested we head over and get a Dole Whip. So, we grabbed some dole whips, Gwen wanted one this time and we sat down and chilled for a bit. Andy got an iced coffee and he felt like he needed some caffeine. NOT a good idea. It was terrible! It was weak hot coffee that they ended up diluting with the ice. It was also really bitter. yuck.

We sat at a table near one of the Sorcer Mickey stations. So we got to see the different options that they have. Which was cool to see that there was in fact alternate stories for later! Gwen wanted to ride the Magic Carpets after watching them go round and round. So, once we were all done with our dole whips, we hoped in line.

I don't have pics of this either. I think we must have been tired today. Lack of photos on most of these rides! We rode the carpets and still had a little time before I wanted to try to grab lunch. So, we headed over to the Swiss Family Treehouse. And climbed up and down the treehouse 2 times! They love that thing!

But finally it was time for lunch! I was very much looking forward to trying out the new Skipper Canteen restaurant! I told the girls that it would be themed like the Jungle Cruise Ride. So, we crossed the way and put out name it. It was probably 11:30, so early but we waited just long enough for a hostess to come and walk us back.

They sat us in the main dinning room. I was kind of hoping for one of the back rooms but this was probably good for your first trip to the restaurant!


Our table was right by the passageway to one of the other rooms. We were right next to this.



A couple people stopped in this area to find the Jungle Book book. We did the same on one of the trips to the bathroom.

I just loved this place! Our waiter was very funny and had LOTs of puns for us! The girls got a big kick out of him.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We were starving, despite the fact that we had just had dole whips not to long ago, so we ordered an appetizer of the S.E.A Shu Mai (which was basically steamed dumplings) Which our whole family loves. We have eaten just steamed dumplings a couple times for dinner! These were kind of small but very tasty. Andy ordered a diet coke, Gwen a chocolate milk, the standard for both of them. but Morgan and I went with some of the more unusual drinks! Morgan ordered a Punch line Punch. And I ordered the Schweitzer Slush. Both were fairly sweet but both were sooooo good. Especially my slush. Something about the slush and the bubble tea bubbles. It was def sweet though!

Both girls ordered Tiki Tiki Fishy Fish. Both like talapi fish, thankfully. And Andy and I ordered the Dr. Falls' Signature Steak. While we waited for a meal, we explored a bit...


I just loved this table! I might have to try and request it sometime! It is def the best seat in the house!





I took Morgan to the bathroom, and told her to pose in front of it. But then she really looked at them and realized they were real butterflies.And then declared she hated it because they killed butterflies! My animal activist!



We came back to the table and our food had arrived. OMG!!! It was sooooooo good. Prob the best steak I have had on property. (I haven't been to some of the steakhouse places but still) SOOOOOO good. I could have liked the plate. The girls liked there fish but Gwen was taking forever to eat!!! Probably the healthiest meal we ate the whole trip, well, for the girls at least.

Gwen had to go to the bathroom, in the middle of eating, as usual. So, some more photos of the restaurant!

I think this picture was in the bathroom. Those are white tiles on the wall. The bathroom was AMAZINGLY beautiful! And small!



I mean look at it! It's amazing! There was only one sink and then two stalls! Not sure if there was another set of bathrooms on the other side or something, but that doesn't seem like enough.


After the second visit to the bathroom, Gwen was still milking her broccoli but we went ahead and ordered our deserts! Morgan and Gwen ordered the kid Volcano! dessert and Andy and I Kungaloosh! dessert.

Here is Gwen with the kid Volcano! She is making that face because I told her not to eat it, so I could take a picture...


This was the desert highlight for the girls! I mean that is amazing for a kids dessert. Morgan did complain that it was a little smaller than she thought it would be. She said "I mean, it's a VOLCANO! It should be HUGE!" But non the less, she loooooved it!

This was so good, as well. It had different flavors and was delish. It was just the right size. I ate all of it but didn't feel like I was ready to explode or anything.


At some point Star Wars came up with the waiter and he made a bunch of jokes and to do about how there is a WAR in the STARS!!! The girls thought this was hilarious. He even stopped a couple other waiters passing by and asked them if they knew about this "War" in the "stars!" So, funny.

Overall, we loved this meal. Def one of our favorites this trip. I hope they modify the menu just enough to draw more folks in but keep some of the uniqueness of the place. it was fantastic. I really think that the kids menu is what might be killing them. They need a plain burger and plain mac n cheese on there. But keep the fish option. We loved it and will def go back!

With our bellies full, we decided to head over to Tomorrowland before heading back to the hotel for a rest.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

So, we headed over to Tomorrowland. I am pretty sure we switched the Little Mermaid fast passes for the Speedway in the afternoon. Morgan wanted to try them after Gwen got to ride them when we was on Space Mountain. We had some time to kill before that new fastpass. So, we decided to try Monster Inc. Laugh Floor. This would be a new one for us!



Mike's Door. I loved this. I tried to get Gwen to stand next to it but it came out all blurry.


The girls watching the video while we waited.


I loved this! We hadn't seen this before. So funny! But I do think it is hit or miss with who is "crackin" the jokes. I didn't have high expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised.

We decided to try out Stich as well. This was NOT a good idea! It was terrible!!! Why do they even have this ride! I have not pictures, isn't not really a ride to take pics anyway. But it was just bad!

Then we headed over to ride the people mover, upon Gwen's request. Why not, right? And then while riding around, I said I wanted to do the Carousel of Progress. So we did that next. This would also be new to us! (we did not spend much time in tomorrowland our first two trips, if you can't tell! )

I wasn't sure what the girls would think.

I mean it isn't super exciting! But they liked it.


This is the funniest scene! Gwen liked the boy with his "video" game!


I put this ride in the same category as Figment. It could be a really cool ride if they just applied some new disney magic to it. I am glad we did the ride. But it was now time for one last ride before heading back to the hotel for a bit! The long awaited Tomorrowland Speedway. This would be Morgan and my first time on it.

This ride is also THE WORST!!! It smells bad! The cars drive terrible! it's just terrible! I mean, I get the allure for kids, I do! But they need a major upgrade to this!

Andy took this from his car with Morgan of Gwen and I. Andy sent this to his parents, and they noticed right away that I had my phone out and made joke about texting and driving!


But I had my phone out because I was trying to take this pic!

The girls liked the ride. The adults, not so much.

It was def time to head back to the hotel and rest for a bit! We crammed ALOT into this morning and early afternoon! It really helps to try and hit all the rides in one area, for sure! We pretty much did everything in Adventureland and Tomorrowland. (Buzz was closed for refurbishment at the time).

So, we headed back to the hotel. The girls wanted to swim a bit. So, we changed and headed down. Andy and I got a couple drinks and just watched the girls play and swim.

All smiles in the pool.



You can see the construction behind them. That was really the biggest inconvenience we had on this trip. Since we were on the side we were on, it didn't really effect us that much.

And then silly faces!


After a quick dip in the pool. We headed back up to the room to rest, shower and head out for the night!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Your Jungle Cruise pics are great--I also love the elephants playing and the backside of water!! We were sort of on the fence about the Skipper's Canteen, but it sure sounds delicious and looks beautiful!! We may just have to try it out in December.

The pool looks like a lot of fun!! We usually stay at Pop Century, so it's nice to have three pools to pick from but they're really nothing spectacular.

Looking forward to the night of fireworks

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We were sort of on the fence about the Skipper's Canteen, but it sure sounds delicious and looks beautiful!! We may just have to try it out in December.

As I said, we loved it! we recommended it to our friends who came a month after us. And they loved it as well. It really depends on if anything on the menu sounds good to you. We eat lots of different foods, so it didn't seem that exotic to us. I was more worried about the girls. They wouldn't like the mac n cheese with beef in it and if I had known that the steak was going to be cooked as well as it was, I would have had Morgan try that. Def give it a try!

The pool looks like a lot of fun!! We usually stay at Pop Century, so it's nice to have three pools to pick from but they're really nothing spectacular.

I wouldn't say the pool is that special. It has a slide but my girls refuse to go on it, so that isn't a draw. They do really like the splash playground. I think they just put one in at Port Orleans, so maybe they are making there way to all the resorts. Not sure if it will get to the value resorts. On a hot day, any pool is good!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

After a little rest, it was time to head back to the Magic Kingdom!

Once we got to the park, we decided what we wanted to do. And the theme of this trip was Big Thunder Mountain. The wait wasn't too bad, so we headed that way. We didn't wait long, which was good because we were also all hungry and a little crabby...

Me and Gwen getting ready to ride! It does not look like Gwen took a bath... Hmm. Maybe we just rested.


After our ride on BTM, we decided to ride the train. We had never done it and really wanted to give it a try. So, we left the stroller parked where it was and hopped on. We figured we would ride it all the way around and then grab dinner.

The ride from Frontierland to Fantasyland was the best leg of the ride. Passing by Tomorrowland was a bit less interesting. And it felt like we waited here FOREVER!!!!


As you can tell, the sun is starting to go down and we were all getting hungry. Don't hate me but I wasn't that excited about the train ride. I think I would have scene more staged stuff but it was still a nice ride. We made it back around to Frontierland.

I made an executive decision that we needed to EAT! It was getting close to parade time, so we staked out a spot across from Pecos Bill's and I ran in to get some dinner for everyone. I got a Burger for Andy and I to split, mac n cheese for Gwen and I want to say a uncrushable meal for Morgan. I loaded up the tray as best I could and walked it across the road. By now, people were starting to fill in around us and it had gotten dark fast! All of a sudden my burger choice was much harder to eat. Oh well. We ate while we waited.

I had "THOUGHT" that this would be a perfect spot, the parade would start at this end, and then we could meander over to the fast pass spot for Wishes. Well, I am here to tell you that that IS NOT the way it happened. The time got closer and closer and they weren't blocking it off and I realized that the parade must to starting from the other way. And I started to get nervous if we would make it in time to the wishes spot. But we were kind of stuck at that point!

While we waited the girls did this with the glow sticks that they got from Tinkerbell....


This was quiet the hit with the folks sitting around us! And one person on the floats!


Soon enough we say this!

I love this parade. Andy thinks it is just Christmas lights on some floats. (Which it is) But I love it. Last time we saw this parade, I didn't see much as I was holding Morgan so she could see. So, I was glad we had a front and center view to see it.

Now, I have NO idea if these will be in the correct order...

Cinderella in her carriage.


And Of course the Fairy Godmother!

I think The Fairy Godmother was waving specifically at the girls. I do think the kids with Glow Things stand out to the characters. Most waved at the girls.

More Parade to come!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Back to the Parade!

We saw Goofy!

I always find anything Alice in Wonderland so strange... The girls have seen the movie but I don't think they get it.


This was my favorite! I am not sure if this was in the parade last time we saw it but the big jewels just shine so bright! I loved it.


The Girls were having a great time watching the parade! Morgan made this wheeling thing while WATCHING the parade! I had to keep telling her to stop and watch.


Pete onto of Puff, TOTALLY loved Gwen's Hair! He was trying frantically to get the girls attention to say that he loved it. Even the folks next to us knew he was trying to get there attention! It was very cute.


And you can never miss Peter Pan and HOOK!


The parade ended and we loaded the girls into the stroller and tried our best to high tail it over to the wished fastness area. I lead the way and Andy followed behind. I tried my best to part the way for his with the wide load of a stroller.

We made it over to the wait area JUST as the projection show was starting. I almost stopped dead in my tracks. We rushed and rushed over and then I saw the HUGE amount of people sitting in the area already! I mean I knew we were late to get in there but I just didn't think it would be that full! And more people came after us! I couldn't believe it. We tried to find a pot fairly quickly as to not get in anyones way. I didn't want to be that person who "steals" the good seat at the last minute. We found a spot and sat down.

I Love love love the projection show. To me it is even better than the fireworks. And again, I was so glad to have a decent spot to see both!


I didn't take many photos. I was just enjoying the show. Between the two shows, Morgan removed some of Gwen's glow sticks and made this.


She assured Gwen that her hair still looked "good"

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Then it was finally time for Tinkerbell!



And the fireworks began.


Starting off simple.


Getting a bit bigger.


I love the "streamer" fireworks.


Ending with the big finale!



They are great fireworks!

I snapped this as we were trying to find the best escape route. The new hub area is beautiful. This fountain was lit just perfectly.


We decided to try and go on a ride or two, see if we could take advantage of lower lines, since it was late. So, we walked against the flow of people heading out of the parks. We headed towards Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. nope. Still a long line. I pulled out my phone and looked at the wait times... not that great....

So we headed back over towards the Merry-Go-Round.


We were all getting tired and the lines were all kind of long, so we decided to just head out. We had killed enough time that we hoped that getting out wouldn't be too bad. We made a quick bathroom break and the "Best Bathroom EVER!"


And then headed home for the night.

Up tomorrow is Hollywood Studios! (Aka Star Wars Day!)

 

[ariane37]

At first I had no interest in trying Skippers Canteen, but between your review and another one I recently read I think I may need to reevaluate I now see things I'd like to try and DH would be fine, just not sure about the boys........

Glad you enjoyed Monster's Inc Laugh Floor! We've done it countless times and I've never noticed Mikes door- something to look for when we go in Nov. I Agree with you, whoever is telling the jokes can make it funnier or not-so-much lol.
I also agree with you on the Stitch ride Our boys never wanted to try it so DH and I did it on an adults only trip in January-and walked out wondering what the hell we'd just experienced

MSEP is my favorite parade (besides Boo To You). I watch it multiple times each trip

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Six - Hollywood Studios (and LOTS of Star Wars Stuff!)

Today, was the day that Andy had been waiting for. Star Wars Day! He loves Star Wars, I like Star Wars and the girls also like Star Wars, specifically Star Wars Rebels. Which has turned into watching all of the Clone War cartoons and then all of the Star Wars movies. At any rate. Andy was excited for today. We all were!

Here is our sheet for the day! Still no picture of the tinker bell gift. But today was Rey T-Shirts! I had to try 3 different times to get them from the Disney Store. They girls wore them this day, so you will see them on them in a bit!



We splurged and got tickets for the desert party. So we knew it would be a long day, so the plan was to take our time to get ready and head out not super late but not rush. But.... Once we were all up I asked the girls if they wanted to do Jedi Training. They had been saying that they did NOT want to for like forever. But I figured I should ask. And they said YES!!! So, we switched gears and hurried up so that we could get there and try and get them signed up!

We managed to get over to the park just after it opened. As we were getting off the bus, I said ok, Let's go get you guys signed up aaaaaaannnnndddd ........................... they both chickened out. Sigh. I wasn't going to force them to do it. And it was ok, I just wish they hadn't said they would, we could have chilled a little bit more at the hotel.

But we were there. So, it was time to enjoy the day!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

So, we headed in. We discussed whether we wanted to try and get a Toy Story Mania ride in before the wait got too long or go and do Star Tours. The masses voted for Star Tours (I was out voted).

So, we headed down towards the Chinese Thearter. I know people are divided on the whole hat thing but I think it looks great without it!


Somehow we never noticed the "busts garden" on our first two visits to this park. So, we stopped and took some pics.

Really the only one that matters, though.


When we rounded the corner to Star Tours, there was a Jedi Training starting. So, we parked the stroller and watched the show.

The girls are BIG Star Wars Rebels fans, so they were very excited to see the Seventh Sister! (from afar, of course)




The show was really well done. I don't think they would have made it through the show. When Darth Maul came out, I was thinking in my head that they would have died up there!


I am don't think I have ever seen a kid chicken out or cry up there. How is that possible? Mine might have been the first if they had done it. Now, if they had Ashoka up there teaching them how to be a jedi.... that might have changed there minds! They looooove Ashoka.

After the show, we decided to hop in line for Star Tours, as the wait was short. Gwen got to be the Rebel Spy!!!! They had the new scene in the que for the new movie. So that was cool to see.

Ever since our last trip, Gwen has been talking about making a double lightsaber. So, we figured we should do it now, while it was still not to crowded.




Once they had them put together, I instantly regretted letting them make them. They were a) HUGE and b) HUGE! Gwen was happy BUT they put tape on the ends and Gwen wanted to open hers up. Sigh. So she was not happy. She took the tape off and a CM come over and insisted on taping it back up. This put Gwen in tears. The cast member said that they didn't want them hitting anyone. Which I get but it seems a bit like here kids, he is some candy but don't eat it. Sigh.

We distracted her by suggesting we take another spin on Star Tours. So, we packed up the double light sabers into the stroller and headed back in. This time Morgan was the Rebel Spy!

After our second spin, we decided it was time to check out the Star Wars Launch Bay.


We parked the stroller all the way outside of the Launch Bay area. The girls were getting hungry, so I grabbed some snack for them to much on and we headed in. But before we headed in we saw this, which I have to say was soon surreal!





I would love to see Captan Phasma. And the girls would too. But at the time, we hadn't seen the move yet, so it wouldn't have been THAT exciting. Andy def had his dorky star wars nerd on with them walking by. So much so, that I snapped these pics while he basically fumbled around like he was seeing a movie star.

After that we headed inside to see these famous words!



More Stars to come!

 

[ariane37]

I completely agree with you that it looks great without the hat. I remember BEFORE the hat was there, how cool it was to walk in and see the theatre, and on first trip back after they removed the hat (well actually, the hat was almost gone on that trip but you could see most of the theatre) it was a wonderful sight to see. That trip was just DH and I and then when we were back a few months later with our boys of course they thought it looked weird!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We've done it countless times and I've never noticed Mikes door- something to look for when we go in Nov.

Isn't it amazing how many little details there are! It is on the right hand side, so if you were in the line all the way to the left you would never see it. We just happened to be on that side. Also, the right hand side loads you in the front. The left will dump you more in the back.

I remember BEFORE the hat was there,

I don't even remember it before the hat but I def like it better. I think my girls will remember it this way, unlike your boys.

At first I had no interest in trying Skippers Canteen, but between your review and another one I recently read I think I may need to reevaluate I now see things I'd like to try and DH would be fine, just not sure about the boys........

They seriously need a burger on that menu. Just something for the crowd that doesn't want to be adventurous. I would hope you could order the mac n cheese without the beef in it? Maybe? Do your boys like meat? There is a kids steak on there, and I would imagine it is just a smaller version of the adults. Maybe just ask for the chimichuri sauce on the side?

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

So, we headed into the Launch Bay. OMG! Andy could have spent days in there!

We had the girls pose in front of the iconic Star Wars logo.


Andy took lots of pictures, I will try and weed them down. First was some replica vehicles.

Some small...


Some life size. Gwen liked this one as it is in her favorite movie, "The Ewok One" (as she calls it)


They were interested in Rey's Speeder.


Then we progressed farther in and found the "Canteena" Area.

Blue Milk anyone? I just love Gwen in this photo. Something about how she is posing. Andy was just happy someone wanted to participate with him.

This one is pretty awesome too. Although, it is kind of crammed into a nook. Luckily the girls are small and squeezed themselves in.


Then we headed through some more and found THIS!!!

C3PO's Arm!!! We almost walked right by it! It is in a nook built into the wall, and you could easily breeze by it without noticing. This impressed me for some reason. Maybe because I had C3PO Under-Roo's as a kid.

Somewhere we saw this as well, which was pretty cool.


So, we were all starting to get hungry and the snacks I brought in with us wasn't holding the girls over. So, I suggested we head out and try and find a quick snack and then come back in to do the meet and greets. We had asked a CM and they told us we had some time before the Visa Meet N Greet started.

So, we headed out. I didn't know where to grab something, so we kind of wondered... Which is never good when you are hungry as well. We went into Starring Rolls. I have heard great things about this place but I couldn't believe how small it was! I grabbed chips for Gwen. Morgan didn't "want" anything from in there. So, we ventured out for something for Morgan. I am not even sure what we ended up getting Morgan, popcorn maybe? I know we contemplated getting a BB8 cup. But we decided against it since I knew we were getting 4 Chewbacca Steins with the desert party. Morgan might have just had other snacks that I had packed from the stroller. After we pulled up a bit we headed back in.

On our way back in we say these guys again.

After the fact, we got a kick out of the Silver Fox behind them, who I assume is the handler. Pretty assume.

Coming up LOTs of Light Sabers and some of the best meet n greet photos EVER!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

So, I promised the best Meet N' Greet Photo ever, well we will see what you guys think. So, we came back into the Launch Pad and wanted to get in line for the Disney Visa Meet n' Greet. For some reason, I thought it was both Darth Vader & Chewbacca. I didn't think about it We hoped in line. It wasn't too bad.

A couple steps forward and I see the sign that it is Darth Vader. Uh Oh.

A couple MORE steps forward and we start to be able to hear Darth's voice. Morgan starts to freak out. That she doesn't want to meet him. Gwen keeps saying it's not the REAL Darth Vader that he died in the movie.

We were already in line and Andy def wanted to met him, so I just kept trying to talk to Morgan. I told that she didn't have to be in the picture if she didn't want to.

Morgan was also kept saying that Darth Vader was going to be mad because they were wearing Rebel shirts! So, there was discussion on whether Darth Vader would know who Rey was and the timeline and all of that. Really dorky nerdy Star Wars stuff. The couple in front of us got a kick out of how much the girls knew.

And then it was our turn!

So, we go in. Morgan is totally glue to me. Completely using me as a shield. Gwen was being brave, standing her own ground. Then Darth started talking directly to her.... I can't remember what he said to her. (Memory Maker needs to start doing videos of the character interactions! I would TOTALLY buy that!) Anyway, Darth started talking to Gwen and she was holding her ground.


They are pointing at her, with some sort of "Are you a rebel?" kind of thing. She keeps being brave.... I can see in her face already that she isn't so sure about all of this. Morgan still hiding.


Here Andy is telling her to stick her tongue out at Darth. Gwen's face looks like 'Are you crazy?!?!'


And then.... Gwen breaks down! She can't handle it anymore. She can't be brave! I mean come on it is DARTH VADER!!!! So, Gwen freaks out and then so does Morgan!


Somehow we get them to calm down kind of.... We get the family photo with the meanest bad guy in the galaxy! Some how Morgan found enough courage to be in the photo. But Gwen...... she was done with the whole expeirence... Poor thing. Her little head hiding behind Andy is heart breaking and just down right hilarious all in one.


After the photo above, I decided that was enough fun for the girls and bring them over to the side. Andy wanted a pic by himself with Darth.

Here he is asking Darth if he will give him the Force Choke Hold. (a No Go on that) you can see me holding Gwen in the side of the photo. She was still crying at this point.


Andy and Darth Vader. Andy is suuuuuuppppperrrrr excited.


And after that we headed out. I have to say, all of these photos were taken as part of the official photo pass person or the other person that was with them, that used our camera. Obviously, they did a great job capturing the whole saga that unfolded.

Gwen needed some time to calm down and regroup. There was a room with Disney Infinity stations set up with the Star Wars game running. We sat down in there for a bit and Morgan tried to play for a bit. She was emotionally drained by now. We chilled out for a bit and then headed over to get in the regular line for Chewbacca.

Looking back if I had known that it was only Darth, we should have done Chewbacca first and then headed over to Darth after. But unfortantly I didn't realize that, and well, there isn't much I could do about it anyway. But we HAD to meet Chewbacca! So, we pressed on. The line for Chewbacca has helmets and lightsabers from the movies and Star Wars Rebels. So, Gwen was really excited to see those.

First we saw Ashoka's Light Saber.



There was lots of talk about why her light saber was so small. And where the other light saber was. She ends up with two by the time she shows up on Star Wars Rebels.

They made us take multiple photos of it!


We found Ezra's from Star Wars Rebels, as well. They were super excited about this as well!


More light sabers, helmets and Chewbacca next!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

So, still in line for Chewbacca... we found Sabine's Helmet!!! Like I said, the girls are HUGE Star Wars Rebels fans and they were soooooo excited to see Sabine's Helmet.


Pretty sure they both let out little "wow's" It was pretty cute.

Morgan and Gwen standing in front of there prized discovery.


If only they had a meet n greet with someone from Rebels. There were rumors that they were casting for Ezra and Sabine the week we were there. So, I was a little bummed that we were missing them. But doesn't sound like they have shown up in the parks as of yet, still. So, that makes me feel a little better.

One last light saber, before we head in to see Chewbacca.

Yoda's Light Saber! The girls were sooooo obsessed with how small his was.


The girls and us really enjoyed waiting in this line. Ha! Silly to say. But all of the items in line where very fun to see. (As long as you have seen the movies and are a fan) Then again, why would you be waiting in line to meet Chewbacca if you weren't those things. They also had tv's set up with trivia running on them. It was some serious hard core fan trivia. Some of it Andy didn't even know, and he is pretty good with that stuff.

I like how they had these big doors that they slide open and closed to let folks in closer to Chewbacca. I didn't grab a photo as we were too busy looking at helmets and light sabers. But in we went!

Chewbacca was very polite and cordial! Formal Hellos!

Morgan was fine with meeting Chewbacca. She knew he was a good guy. Gwen was just over ALL of it. And stood against the wall the whole time. Which I told her was fine. I felt bad that she just wasn't having it at this point. But what can I do.

Our "family" photo with Chewbacca.


Chewbacca looked like Chewbacca! I mean I felt like it was him! It was crazy amazing. I would assume it is basically the same outfit that they wore in the movie. He was a little scratchy... But still lovable.

After our meet n greets were done. We wondered though the exhibits again and headed out into the gift shop.

Andy found LOTS of things that he wanted to get but all of them were WAY to pricey for us!



Andy and Gwen were obsessed with these over-sized action figures!

Andy wanted all of them but they were all about $100 for ONE!



Gwen posing with the one she wanted. I told her that was the best she was going to get!

Andy didn't actually want these but I still had to take a picture. Who is buying this thing? And I assume you don't take that on the plane.


It was finally time to move on to other things. You know, the rest of the park...

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

So, we left The Launch Bay and headed over to Star Tours! We were going to try and catch the tail end of our fast passes for Star Tours. So, we hustled over. Rode Star Tours. I want to say Gwen was the Rebel this time!!! Can't fight that curly blonde cuteness!

After that, we headed over to do Toy Story Mania! Yeah, my favorite!!! I just love this ride, maybe because you can never ride it more than once a trip. Or at least that is the case for our family...

The girls waiting in line. Right before this Gwen was TOTALLY melting down. She was tired today. The trip was catching up to her bad today.


The loading Que. Almost there....


I believe I went with Gwen and Andy went with Morgan. This is always fun.

I believe these was Gwen and My scores. I was impressed that Gwen was slightly more accurate than me. Just means she didn't shoot as much. I always remember the first time we rode this, Gwen was not even 3 yet, and she was just pulling that cord to save her life and she just kept screaming "I'm doing it!! I'm Doing It!!!" It was so cute.


And then these are Morgan & Andy's scores. Andy beat me slightly!! Grrr. Oh well. But Again, Morgan was pretty good with accuracy! I wonder what the average score is and average accuracy? Does anyone get close to 100% accuracy?


After Toy Story Mania was had a little bit of time to kill before lunch. I had made a late lunch, thinking we would get to the park later and we were doing the dessert party. But at the moment I was really wishing it was a little earlier...

We headed over and let the girls play in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area for a bit. I hate that place but I know they love it and I knew it was going away. So, we went over. (No pictures, cause, you know, I hate the place) Andy and I were checking out the weather, because the forecast was calling for Rain and thunderstorms! We had good weather the all week and today of all days it decides to rain! I only cared because we had the Star Wars Dessert Party tonight. But so far the rain had held out! There was about 3 or 4 groups of adults all doing pretty much the same thing, checking out the weather forcast on there phones and discussing what to do.

After a bit, we told the girls that we should head out. I was hoping to see Muppet Vision 3D before lunch. We figured we had just enough time.

So, we headed over to just that.


We had never done this yet, so I wanted to check it out. I loved the props in waiting area. It took awhile in the waiting room and I was starting to get nervous about our lunch reservation.



They finally let us in and we found a seat. We were committed now. So might as well enjoy it.

And these guys were always one of my favorites.


I have to say I wasn't too impressed with the show. It was ok but just meh. Weigh tailed it out of there and over to the restaurant. It was time for a much needed lunch!

Andy parked the stroller while I went in and checked us in.

The girls took the usual photo. I totally missed his whole photo opt.


Coming up next Lunch!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hi Everyone!

June has been a busy month for us. The girls had end of school parties, and a ballet recital that they weren't totally loving to do. It was a long and busy month but we survived! And then survived the dance recital! Which was a HUGE event for them. So proud of them.

Before I get back into the Hollywood Studios, I found a picture of Gwen's Young Explorer Card.
I thought it was a nice touch to help kids not quite tall enough feel special and really make the time that they are tall enough really cool. Now I just need too keep ahold of it!

I left off heading into Sci-Fi for lunch. There was a number of people waiting in the waiting area and again I was trying to brace ourselves to wait awhile. Which I thought wasn't going to go well. But..... we only waited 5 minutes before they called our names and we were off to our car!

This was a first for all of us and the girls loved it! The dark space, cool air and some down time was much needed at this point. We were all tired. We settled into our car, the girls sat in the front to "drive" and Andy and I the back to be passengers for once.

Once the girls realized that they got to sit and watch "tv" while they ate, they were hooked. Ha. Morgan really enjoyed the old clips and cartoons. We ordered our food. I don't remember what the girls ordered, prob mac n cheese and cheeseburger. Gwen might have decided to get a burger as well and didn't eat it. Morgan did get a milkshake. I got a Cookies and Cream Milk shake. So good! But it totally filled me up. Andy got a special burger of the day that was soooooooo messy! And I got a Sci-Fi Burger. It was really good but HUGE and messy to eat. Especially in the dark!



We were all stuffed before dessert even came but we decided to still get something, since it was "free". While we waited for dessert the waitress brought out Driver Liscense for the Girls. Gwen thought this was particulary funny.


For dessert, Andy and I order items to share, Warm Glazed Donuts (Morgan saw these at another table and wanted them) and the Sci-Fi Candy Bar. The girls basically ate the donuts and Andy and I shared the Candy Bar. The donuts were just ok. They were a little dry for my liking. The Candy Bar was good but I was so stuffed I just wasn't feeling it. t believe I picked Fruit for both girls figuring I could just take it with us. Which worked out fine except they never got hungry and I lugged grapes around for no reason.

Before we left, Andy snapped a picture of us in our car. We were there so long that the car next to us had two families come and go! (This was becoming a theme with us)


It was time to go explore more things! We had more never done things to do!

Andy and I wanted to do the Great Movie Ride, we had yet to ride it. So we headed that way. The girls were sure of the whole thing but we figured it couldn't be that bad. The wait was short so we parked the stroller and got in line.



I think the girls liked it but I just think they didn't know what to make of some of the scenes since they didn't know most of the movies.

They did know this movie! And were def loving it.




They also knew this one...


Sadly, I think that might have been all they knew. They liked it but were just meh about the ride.

Andy and I enjoyed it but they need to update it a bit. Alien is silly to have in there. While we were on the ride, my phone was blowing up! I had it on vibrate and I could feel it all through the ride. I was wonder, what was going on? Once we got off, I took my phone out and it was the school! Now I was worried! Turns out that it was just a late bus, but I get text, emails for all announcements. And at the same time my mom was texting me about vacation days! Ugh.

Since it was nothing we needed worry about I focused on what our next thing would be. Everyone was just tired and crabby but we had night time fun planned, so we had to find a way to power thru. I suggested we try and check out the One Man's Dream exhibit. Another thing Andy and I have wanted to hit but just never squeezed it in. So, we headed that way. Gwen was really hitting the wall about now. We put them in the stroller and headed over. This was a day I was glad we had the stroller! It was a short walk, so they really didn't rest much. But onward we went.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We headed into the exhibit. The girls liked seeing all the items in but didn't want to spent a ton of time in the area. So, we tried to take in as much as we could.

I particularly like this model of the peter pan ride.



I can see how an average visitor wouldn't be interested in looking at all of these items. But I thought it was pretty cool. I really think they should put this in EPCOT. They have so many empty pavilions that they could fit this into. They were showing Zootopia preview when we were there, so we hoped in to see that. It was an extended version, so the girls liked that!

Then we headed out not sure what to do. I checked the time for Toy Story Mania, not happening... I checked the times for the Indian Jones Show. That wasn't for awhile. I checked the times for Beauty and the Beast show. That was for awhile either. So, we wondered over toward Beauty and the Beast. Morgan and I talked about riding Tower of Terror. She thought about doing it last time and was thinking about it this time as well. But she saw how tall the building was and just said nope. Sigh. We were going to grab snack and sit down but no one was hungry! And then Gwen just lost it. TOTALLY melted down. I wanted to let her sleep in the stroller but Andy didn't want to... Sigh. So, I dragged her into the theater. She sat on my lap the whole time, which wasn't comfortable.



The show is always great but we have now seen it 3 times and it is starting to feel old. Maybe that was the exhausting setting in.

At this point, we were all spent! We found out stroller and decided to just find a place to sit and relax for a bit. We ended up over by Toy Story Mania. I was still hoping maybe we could squeeze one more ride in. The wait time was slowly getting lower and lower but we still didn't have enough time. So, we did some pressed pennies and just rested.

By now, the skies were really looking like rain. Boo. Any other day, I wouldn't have cared, we would have just headed back to the hotel and called it a day. We headed over to see where the alternate place would be. They said they would be letting people in shortly. So we just hung out around the area. By now a couple other families were waiting as well. So, a group of kids started playing together. We were waiting outside of the Disney Junior show, so they were exploring the meet n great areas. And then we were finally allowed in! We had survived and made it!!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Star Wars Dessert Party!!!

We made! I was really worried that we wouldn't a couple times during the day. But we did. We were all looking forward to this. We headed in and found a table. I really wish they had chairs at this thing! I don't know why they don't. I am sure it is easier to set up table and not tables and chairs but you have a room full of people who probably have been in the park all day. Doesn't Disney think they want to sit?!?

I didn't mind that we were inside, it was actually kind of nice since it was air conditioned. We pulled our stroller over to our table and started to explore and see what our options where. I wanted to try it all but I was still so full! But we pressed on!

We wondered around and looked at our options. Andy took Morgan and I took Gwen. This looked amazing but I am not a bread pudding fan. Andy and Morgan loved it!


We had to try this! Blue Milk Pudding. It was just ok, I think it was to be blueberry flavored which is a weird flavor...


Gwen grabbed a couple of the mini rice krispee treats and mini pastries. Morgan took, one of everything, I think!

After Gwen was settled with her selection, I got in line to try the specialty drinks. The bar tender had a HEAVY hand with the drinks! I got two different ones to try. They were good, but strong! So, I got some of the Ewok juice and tried to even it out a bit. Speaking of Ewok juice! Gwen was in LOVE with it. I think she just liked the name but still. It made her happy.

There were a few handicap accessible tables next to us and once it looked like everyone was inside and we saw that there was only one couple that needed one, we let the girls move over to one. It was the perfect height for them.


There faces in the picture above totally shows there review of the party. Morgan liked it, Gwen just ok... But they also look exhausted in this pic too!

We enjoyed our desserts. I got 2 more drinks trying to get my moneys worth since the desserts were just not doing it for me. Which made me sad but oh well. They started to had out the complimentary mugs.

So we went up and claimed our 4 mugs.


Super cool but creepy looking all at the same time. I was pleased with the sureness of the mugs. They were heavy duty. I just wish we could have had an option, to get 2 and 2 of something! We grabbed a couple more sweets and started to try and pack up to head out. By now, it had started to poor! sigh. But we were going to see the fireworks!!!

I tried to pack up things as best I could to stay dry and be ready to leave after. Then we headed out with everyone. We all had umbrellas, jackets and/or ponchos so we were ready-ish. They led the group out to the area. Not very well, we almost lost the group! But thankfully figured out where it was. We got in just as the fireworks started. It was pouring so hard!!!! Gwen was not happy to be out in the rain, so she sat in the stroller but Morgan stood and watched.

OMG!!! We Loved loved loved the fireworks!!! I am so glad we stayed!


They were so moving. John Williams music is so powerful and really added some to the effects!


We had never seen fireworks at Hollywood Studios, so I don't have anything to compare it to. But I loved how they shot fireworks off from the Chinese Thearter.


Like I said, it was pouring rain, so it was a bit cloudy and heavy. So the smoke kind of lingered after the fireworks but it was still amazing. Andy isn't a big fireworks person and he just loved these. He said he though the lingering smoke actually added something to the effect.


Morgan really liked them as well. She said it was worth standing in the rain for them! Such a trooper!

I don't know if we would do the Dessert Party again. I know we didn't get a real experience but it was just ok. The desserts were good but not great. It was nice to get a good viewing area, of course with the rain, we probably didn't need it.

Now it was time to head home! Yikes, we made our way out of the park with everyone. It wasn't too bad, since it was raining so hard it was moderate level of folks. We made our way to our bus spot and waited. I tried to consolidate stuff and figure out how we were going to hold everything on a packed bus. A bus came fairly quickly as I was not ready when it got there.

We had (2) double light Sabers, (4) Wookie Mugs, (2) Wet Umbrellas, (2) Backpacks already full of junk, and (2) VERY tired girls. As we got to the front of the line, we weren't sure we would fit on the bus. I handed both light sabers to Morgan to hold. And Gwen a back pack. Andy tried to fold up the stroller and it just wasn't closing! I was still trying to stuff into a backpack and Andy was fighting the stroller. We were becoming a line jam. The bus was so full already, we told the couple behind us they could go ahead of us. And THANK GOD for the lady in the group. She said no thanks. Take your time, you need to get those girls home! How nice was that! Finally Andy got the stroller folded up and I sent him and the girls onto the bus. I grabbed the rest of our junk and headed on. The couple behind us got on as well and then I think that was it! The bus was PACKED. We were all standing, which I expected at this point. I want to say someone gave up a seat for the girls but I also feel like I remember Gwen standing in the middle of the bus practically asleep standing up. I managed to get the light sabers back into a back pack so that they were contained. And we finally made it back to the hotel. we got off So happy to be back!

We slugged up to our room and un soaked ourselves.

The girls put all of the pressed pennies they had made into there book. And discussed what "order" to put the pennies in! But I told them they needed to get some rest and that would have to wait till tomorrow.


Once they were settled. I decided to try out one of our Wookie Steins! I deserved it after that bus ride! Right? The beer def tasted better in it.


It was a long day but a great one! Lots of Star Wars fun! But tomorrow is Mystery Day! Where will we decide to go?!?