The Time I Became Supersticious

SO, to end our vacation we headed over to Hollywood Studios for the evening. We had planned to see a few characters we still hadn't had a chance to see, get a quick dinner, then hang out for the Friday the 13th VILLAIN party!! The kids were really excited, because the villains aren't out to meet and greet much, so it was a rare treat to have them all together.

We didn't think anything about it when we got there and there was a really long line to get in the gate. Manly stood in line with Eli and the backpack while I went on ahead with all the other kids to stand in line to see Wreck-It-Ralph. It's a really cool waiting area, so although we were in line for about 30 minutes it didn't seem that long. The kids have only seen this movie once, but they LOVED it. The characters are HUGE!!

 

See how big Ralph's hand is?! Wowzah!

Once we left there we went straight to stand in line for Buzz and Woody. This place is ALWAYS crowded because it's right in front of what is probably Disney's most busy ride, Toy Story Mania. We waited for close to an hour. It was while we were waiting that we started noticing the crowd was getting much thicker, and they were all in the 15-25 range. Most of them were dressed VERY risqué. We were starting to wonder if the Villain Dance Party might be a little different than what we imagined. Still, we waited in line with plans to grab a quick bite afterwards.

The great thing about waiting in line here is that there are GREAT places to take pictures.

HaHa!! Olivia is such a character these days!

Loved this one of my Mia. Ha!

Hysterical! Love these pictures so so much.

Olivia strapped to a rocket.

HAHA! Addi strapped to a rocket. Her face is PRICELESS!

CLASSIC! KK strapped to a rocket. HA!

Isaiah strapped to a rocket. Pretty nice "strapped to a rocket" face for a 3 year old.

Mia, trying to be strapped to a rocket.

Stinky Pete must have been stinky. Isaiah is trying to cover Mia's nose.

Daddy tries to join in on the party.

Totally worth the wait! The kids LOVED meeting Buzz.

When we got finished and walked out we knew we were in trouble and we needed to leave. It was obvious this wasn't the sort of dance party we wanted to be part of. There was a DJ mixing music on the main stage, a BAJILLION people gathered around, and suddenly the park was standing room only. Like we're talking we could hardly move our strollers around. We tried to stop and get something to eat, but EVERYTHING(even the pretzel stands) were PACKED and had mile long lines.

Although we really wanted to get to see the villains(who were still about 2 hours away at this point) we decided we needed to leave ASAP. We headed to the bus stops, and quickly decided to head over to Epcot to eat our last meal. We decided we'd be able to eat somewhere yummy, then watch the fireworks(which we hadn't seen this trip yet.). When we got to the bus stop there were only a handful of people there, and everyone was talking about how CRAZY the crowd was.

After about 30 minutes or so we realized we hadn't seen many buses. Still, we decided to wait in this line thinking that a bus would come soon. After an hour with no bus we decided we needed to find a different option. The kids were hungry, we were all tired, and it was getting late. We started hearing through the grapevine that there was a terrible wreck, and the buses were not running.

After about an hour and a half a random bus came by and stopped at a stop where there weren't any people. At this point there were about 50-75 people waiting at our stop. I decided to run up and ask the driver what was going on, and he said they were really backed up, and there really wasn't a good way out. I started to panic a little, and decided we needed another plan. I found some other transportation workers and they suggested the boat(that I knew NOTHING about for some reason!!). We headed over to the boat dock and were quickly aboard the boat. We had to make several stops, but we made it to Epcot just in time for the start of the firework show(that means it was over three hours since we had started trying to leave).

We didn't even get to watch the show because the kids were so hungry. We ended up just going to the first available place to eat(which was somewhere in "France"). They were ready to close, but were so kind to feed us first. We were the last ones in and the last ones out. I hated keeping them from closing, but we were so thankful they let us eat!

We finally left the restaurant and headed for the monorail exit, which was on the other side of the park. By this time we were among the last people in the park. That was kind of neat, but we were mostly EXHAUSTED and knew we still needed to make a trip to get back to our car and to our hotel for the evening.

I learned a LOT from this night. The short list? ALWAYS know EXACTLY what you are getting yourself into. I had read about the Villain Party on the Disney site, but didn't research it on any travel sites. If I had I would have likely decided we didn't need to go and saved us a LOT of issues. Also, KNOW your travel options from EVERYWHERE to EVERYWHERE!! I never thought I'd need to know the fastest way to get from Hollywood Studios to Epcot, so that wasn't something I had looked up. If I HAD we wouldn't have been waiting for hours for a bus while the boat was making 20 minute rounds!! KNOW YOUR OPTIONS!! Chances are your plans will have to change. Lastly, be willing to come up with another plan(or plan for it and have a back-up plan ready) when things go downhill.  

Luckily, we had no problems getting onto the monorails, and we were back to our car after about an hour or so. We loaded everyone up and headed back to the hotel we had been at the weekend before. We checked in, put the kids in bed, and fell FAST asleep. At least for a while... 

We In Tha Pink Limousine

You guys seem to really be liking our journey through Disney Smittle style, so let's jump in with Wednesday.
We spent all day Wednesday in Hollywood Studios. There is lots to see and do in this park for the whole family. There was a lot that we'd never done before, so we followed the frog family tour. We were able to see and do everything we wanted except meet Wreck-It Ralph. The only reason we didn't get a chance to do that was because of when our dinner reservation was planned, and when the meet and greet closed. We made plans to go back and get that on our last day, but that's a different story...

Our first stop was for our Mia to officially meet Minnie Mouse, her favorite.

 



This was the first time Manly and Livi were able to do the "big kid" rides, so that was fun for them. They rode Rockin' Rollercoaster first. Manly lost his phone on one of the upside down loopty loops. Luckily the cast members were able to find it for him because we had just bought new phones a day before leaving for Disney World. They also rode Tower of Terror. KK was actually able to do that one too. Since I'm no fan of thrill rides I took the babies to the Disney Junior show and to meet and greet Jake.

Looks like Addi is going to be like her momma about rides. This is her trilled reaction to the Toy Story Mania ride(which we aren't too fond of, btw). Ha!

 

The big littles watching the Disney Jr. show with wonderment. I had Mia and Eli both in my lap.

 

First time to meet Jake. He's Isaiah's new favorite.

 

The kids recently saw this movie for the first time, so this was an AWESOME moment for them. That is, until I asked Frozone, "WHERE'S MY SUPER SUIT!?" and they were all embarrassed! Ha! 

 



We had lunch at the kids favorite quick service place, Pizza Planet. It's a super cool place for anyone who is a fan of Toy Story. Most of the bottom floor is a huge arcade. There are lots of fun details for the kids, and the pizza is actually pretty tasty.

Buzz Lightyear glad to back in his own galaxy.

Daddy and Brubbs a little worried over the alien invasion. Ha!

Eli gumming a pizza crust to death.

Sleepy Jessie. She later woke and said, "Where is MY pizza?"

Me and my sweet girl.

Oh these two. If they aren't doing this they are clawing each others eyes out.

 After lunch we watched several new to us shows including the new Star Wars show that uses audience participation, and the Indiana Jones show(which I think has been around for a long time, but we'd never done.).

A pic of the Star Wars show. Isaiah was too young to be in it this time(must be 4), but he already has plans to do it next time.

 



Our last show of the day was the AMAZING Lights! Motors! Action! show. WOWZAH! This is our new favorite at HS! There are LOTS of fast cars, motorcycles, and jet skis. You even get to see Lightning McQueen drive, which is cool for the kids. There are lots of explosions and high speed chases. They also show how lots of stunts are made which is cool. Isaiah watched with wide eyes, and later said that was the coolest thing he'd ever seen.

My boys ready for the show.

 

The set for the show. Well, part of it.

 

Lightning was only in the show for a few minutes, but it was still super cool.

 

"Meeting" Lightning and Mater.

 

Brubbsy was in heaven!

Our dinner reservations we for the Sci-fi Dine in theater. We'd never been, but after reading rave reviews we decided to try it. We only waited a few moments(not even long enough for us to go to the bathroom) before they were ready for us. We were seated in a pink limousine. For those of you who REALLY know my husband you know that he has...interesting taste in music. One of his favorite songs that he sings with the kids is a Rootbeer(yes, love, I looked it up and found who did the song) song called "Pink Limousine." The kids LOVE this song, so they were delighted that we were in "tha pink limousine." Our waitress was very friendly, and willing to let us order even for the kids who were not part of the dining plan, which was very nice. We asked for her recommendations for shakes and entrées, and we were not disappointed in her choice. Manly later said this was his favorite meal of the trip. The atmosphere was AMAZING. It feels like you are at a drive-in movie theater. There are kid-friendly videos playing on a huge screen ahead, and there are "stars" overhead making it feel like you are outside. The food comes from the "concession stand," which is cute. It was a really fun place to eat. If we go back we'll be sure to try it again. 

This is outside the restaurant for kids to play in or get pictures in. Olivia is so clever to make it look like she's pushing on the glass. It's actually just open. 

 

This one is even better! I told her she should grow up to be a mime. HA!

 

My pretty princess was my dinner date mate.

 

Our car full of Smittles! Isn't that cool!?

We ended the evening with my favorite firework/light show, Fantasmic! We got the kids all HUGE lollipops using our dining plan snack credits, and settled in for the show.

 

Isaiah was telling Eli that next time he would get to have a lollipop too.

Mia was a little strung out on lollipop sugar!

This was the moment KK had been waiting for since her special trip 2 years ago! She could NOT wait to get a lollipop and watch Fantasmic! She loves the show because it has a lot of villains in it.

Me and the pink sucker girls. They kept getting it on me. SO gross!

This is part of the show. It's an amazing use of water and special lighting.

 

Afterwards we went back to the hotel for a late night dip in the pool, which turned out to be one of the kids favorite moments of the entire trip. They LOVE to swim. 

The silly boys not staying still long enough for me to get a picture. Isaiah said, "He just wants to go swim, Mom! He doesn't want to take a picture!!"