Disney Days - Hollywood Studios

  Today was our first day at Disney!  The kids were tired from the long journey down so they slept in which was nice.  Charlie was the first to wake up and when he saw what we were having for breakfast he ran over to the sleeping boys and shook Will saying "Wake up Kamey!  It's forty o'clock, it's donut time!"  Recently Charlie has discovered time and forty o'clock is his favorite time of day.

Ready to start the day

  Because today is Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you!) we headed over to Hollywood Studios where they had all kinds of Star Wars events.  Unfortunately we got there too late to sign the boys up for the Jedi training camp but they quickly got over their disappointment when they saw the Star Tours ride.

  After a couple rides through the Star Wars universe, we headed over to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area which was designed to look like a huge backyard.  Naturally the boys loved it.  It was impossible to keep track of all three boys at once but thankfully Noel stayed at the exit to make sure no one slipped out.  Not that escape was ever an issue; we had to drag the kids away once it was time to leave.  Charlie particularly loved the three levels of ant holes that were too small for an adult to get through.  And Jon and Charlie found a place that periodically sprayed water where they had a blast trying to get wet.  I have no good pictures of Will in this area because he wouldn't stay still long enough.

Jon by a blade of grass

Jon and Charlie try to get caught in the water

Jon trapped in a spider web

  Before lunch we went to see the Muppet Show.  Charlie wasn't quite sure what to think about the 3D effects though.  He was a little nervous about the things that were jumping out at him!  I believe that Will and Jon enjoyed it too although I have less stories about them because they spent the entire day with Diana.  They LOVE her.  Every ride we went on they wanted to sit next to her, every where we walked they wanted to hold her hands.  They were happy to spend time with the rest of us too, but only if they could also be with Diana.  

Will with Diana

Heading into the park this morning

  I am glad the boys are having so much fun with her and she is so wonderful with them!  Diana was a huge help today and was so cheerful about having two shadows all day long.  Of course we did have some tears when Camille sat next to her at lunch, but Grandma was happy to switch seats once Jon explained (nicely) why that seat was so important to him.  Speaking of lunch, I am very happy with the quality of food here.  I was expecting typical amusement park food but everything has been good and quite tasty.  Of course the price is a whole other matter which is why I am so happy that we are on the dinning plan.

Jon hiding from his brother

McQueen and Mater!

  After lunch we headed over to the very fast Rock N Roller Coaster.  Only Noel, Greg, Will and I wanted to ride so we left the others resting in the shade.  I was very nervous about Will going on because it was by far the biggest roller coaster he has ever been on and I thought he would be scared.  But he wanted to go and insisted that he would be fine.  As we buckled in I kept rechecking his harness just in case.  I love roller coasters but they scare me and usually I spend my time in line quietly freaking out.  But instead I spent my time thinking about Will and so I was much calmer by the time we got on.

  After Will was buckled I couldn't see his face over the big harness but I wouldn't have been able to see him anyway once the ride started.  It began by shooting us into darkness at 60 miles per hour which took all my breath away.  We went through loops, tight turns, drops and (seemingly) tight spaces all at high speed.  When it was over Will looked pale and shaken but also calm.  He said that he had been too scared to scream and that it made him a little ride sick.  I don't know that he enjoyed it exactly but he didn't cry and he didn't swear off roller coasters forever.  Will did say though that he would stick to smaller coasters for now and only go on that one again "when I am twenty... or maybe eighty."  I was very proud of him.

  After we met up with everyone we only had time for one more ride before dinner (the lines were really long!) so we choose the Toy Story ride where you shoot at 3D targets.  I like these kind of rides and thankfully all 9 of us were able to go on this one.  Will and Jon loved it and I beat James' score by 2,000 points!  Yes, I will celebrate while I can.  :-)  Greg though won the day and crushed us all by 30,000 points!

waiting in a very long line

  Our scheduled dinner was... disappointing.  We had reservations but after waiting over half an hour we had to decide to either leave and delay dinner or skip the last showing of the Indiana Jones stunt show.  I'm glad we decided to make it to the show because the kids loved it.  I was sitting next to Jon and I barely wanted to watch the show since it was much more fun watching his face!  He was nervous and excited and amazed.  At one point he yelled out "Oh no!  Don't do that Indy!"  And Jon was really happy that he recognized some of the sets from his Lego Indiana Jones game.  

Watching the show

Worried for Indy

     When the show ended we decided to head home instead of finding another restaurant for dinner.  I was feeling pretty awful (dizzy, nauseated and with a pounding headache) so I was glad to leave the park.  We ate at our hotel cafeteria (another good meal) and thankfully I was feeling much better when we were done.  

  By this time the boys were desperate to swim but when we got to the pool we found it closed for maintenance.  So James put a too tired Charlie to bed while Will and Jon played in the kiddie splash pool.  After about half an hour the big pool opened again and Diana and Noel joined us for a swim.  We had a great time and I had to drag the boys away for their very late bedtime.  I'm sure though that my little fish will visit the pool again soon!

  Tomorrow we are off to Epcot and hopefully some fun rides!  Epcot was James' favorite place when he was little so I'm interested to see it through his eyes.