Monday, January 20, 2014

Christmas in Disney Part V: Hollywood Studios

We spent Christmas Day in Hollywood Studios. We didn't end up arriving right at the opening like we had every other day because our last few days of go!go!go! had finally caught up with us. Plus, we had to check out what Santa brought. I got a great video of Chandler checking out his presents, but apparently no pictures. Which I am now super mad at myself for.

Anyway, we got ready for the day and headed over to Hollywood Studios. For our first order of business Dad went to grab Fast Passes for the Toy Story ride and take the kids to a Nick Jr show while we went to ride Tower of Terror. Definitely one of the top 10 Disney rides! I was fortunate enough to get to ride it twice from the way the group swaps worked out.



I love how Hunter is clutching onto Kaitlyn in this one...


And I love how all of us are freaking out but Nick is just pleasantly smiling in this one. By his face you wouldn't be able to tell if it was Tower of Terror or just Small World.


At this point it was time for Chandler's morning nap. so we all split up. Everyone went on the Back Lot Tour and the Great Movie Ride while Josh and I pushed Chandler around and explored the park. Mom hadn't slept well the night before, so she was meeting us at the park later and I couldn't go on the Great Movie Ride without her! But here are a few shots from Lindsey of what everyone else was doing:


Riley got picked to help on the back lot tour!


While they were doing that, we ran and grabbed Fast Passes for the Rockin' Rollercoaster. Chandler loved his little sleep cave. It actually looked super comfortable. I was kind of jealous...


Also, on our exploring adventures, we went in a sweet shop and found the coolest Snow White caramel apple ever:


Dad eventually came back from getting Mom and we headed over to the Great Movie Ride. I was super disappointed because they used to have an original pair of the Ruby Slippers (anyone who knows me knows my obsession with the Ruby Slippers...) and the Mary Poppins Carousel Horse on display. But then I got really excited because I saw the Gone With the Wind Twelve Oaks dress further down the line. Come to find out, it was just a replica. Still pretty, though.


The Great Movie Ride is my other top favorite Disney Ride with Small World. I looooooove this ride. I could ride it repeatedly and not get sick of it. It takes you through scenes of classic movies, including many of my favorite like Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain, Mary Poppins, and Casablanca.


One of the stores on the set is called Madison & Co., which I think is super fitting...



After the Thrill show, Muppets 3D, lunch at Pizza Planet, and the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, we headed over to the Beauty and the Beast show where I tried unsuccessfully to get a good picture. The show had a great Belle (and that's saying something, because I have high standards for Belle and take the casting very seriously. Very.) and I tried unsuccessfully to get a good picture.


Lindsey doesn't look particularly thrilled about the show here, but I'm pretty sure she liked it.


Next, those of us that hadn't ridden it yet headed to Star Tours, which was revamped since the last time we were there and was really fun (even if it is a little nauseating). Then Nonnie and Grandpa took the kids while the rest of us headed to a group favorite: the Rockin Rollercoaster! It was just as fun as we remembered. Unfortunately, my take-a-picture-of-the-picture trick didn't work so well here.

As it turns out, Hollywood Studios was the perfect park to be in on Christmas Day. Firstly, Magic Kingdom had already closed to new entries just a few hours after opening. Secondly, Hollywood Studios had a huge street filled with 5 million Christmas lights. Mom and Dad had headed over there with the kids and told us to hurry up and head over because it was amazing. Apparently, Kenzie had gotten so swept away that she started dancing in the street and people were stopping to watch her because it was so adorable. Tanner and Chandler were just generally freaking out...they loved it. So we rushed to that side of the park and were blown away. They even had fake snow falling down . We bought some egg nog and spent a long time just taking it all in.


Josh would take Chandler out in the middle of the lights, hold him up high, and spin him in circles and Chandler would crack up. Cutest thing ever.


Brown, Bell, and Benson family pictures:




We headed over the the new Toy Story ride after that. It was my and Josh's first time on it and we loved it! Even though I kinda felt like I had carpal tunnel at the end. Now it was time for the grand finale of the night: the Fantasmic show! The line for it was a little bit of a pain, but totally worth it. This show was amazing. The set was a giant mountain landscape surrounded by water and it had fireworks, characters, a giant dragon...it is really pretty indescribable. It wasn't super conducive to picture taking, though.


The show was reaaaaally loud and Chandler hates loud noises. Josh had him strapped in the pouch on his chest and Chandler started crying when it got loud. So we pulled his beanie down low and Josh covered his ears. Within a few minutes he was asleep and stayed asleep for the rest of the show...even through the loud fireworks! And Josh loved it because it's rare for Chandler to fall asleep in our arms these days.


We couldn't have asked for a more amazing Christmas day!

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