Day 4 - Hollywood Studios

Today was the last day mom and Allie would be with us and first on the agenda was Ice Cream for Breakfast! We also grabbed some cinnamon rolls and bagels from the Quick Start breakfast that was offered in the Ice Cream Shop. Then we were off to Disney Hollywood Studios!

They kids were clowning in the car (Trevor rode with my mom)

then we saw this:

Then finally we were here:

Make A Wish had rented us a jogging stroller but I could not even push or turn it so we put it back in the van and rented two singles (free thanks to the GKTW button). We tried the double thing at Sea World but they kids fought the entire time... singles were much better for us!

First we had our pictures taken in front of the hat

After that we found Piglet, Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore taking pictures and signing autographs...

Then we all rode Toy Story Mania and had a blast! Addison and I rode together, Craig with Elliot, Trevor with Allie, and mom rode alone. This ride was so much fun! I didn't get the greatest score, but my excuse is that I had to help Addie a lot!

Next we saw Handy Manny and Leo and Annie from the Little Einsteins...

Elliot planted a big huge kiss!

Right after that we got to see the Incredibles and Lotso, from Toy Story 3...

Craig and Trevor went to ride Tower of Terror while we sat at a Hanes booth in front of Rock n Roller Coaster and the kids decorated CD's with stickers...

After that we went to watch the new Playhouse Disney show, which was awesome! It started with Mickey and the host, followed by the rest of the gang...

The scene was changed (by a flip of the page) and Handy Manny came on...

Next was the Little Einsteins...

then Jake and the Neverland Pirates...

It ended with Mickey and the gang...

The kids really loved this show!

After that we went to see The Muppets 3D, which was another big hit! Elliot was hesitant to wear the glasses at first but after he put them on he was grabbing all the flying things and laughing.

We ate near the Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground. I can't remember what everyone ate, but I had the Greek Salad and it was delicious! We played on the playground for a little bit after that, but it was crowded and very loud.

mom and Elliot coming down the slide...

Then it was time for Mickey bars!! After that, Mom sat with Addison and Elliot while me, Craig, Allie and Trevor went off to ride the Rock n Roller Coaster, featuring Aerosmith. That ride was awesome!

We then went to watch the Little Mermaid while Craig and Trevor went back to Rock n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror for a second and third time! This time they were with a group of teens that planned to make Mickey Ears (or something?) at the camera so Craig and Trevor joined in and then bought the photo afterwards.

Mom and I love Funnel Cakes so we trekked all the way to the back of the park for one... it was completely worth it!

Mom and Allie left after that and we made our way over to Fantasmic.

By the time we got there it was already packed so I asked a CM if there was anywhere we could go and held up our GAC. She asked someone else and he told her to take us to the VIP Closed Caption section!! As she walked us over there she told me that we were getting the best seats in the place (dead center) and that we would probably be sitting close to Steve Carell and his family! She said he wouldn't show up until just before it started, but we never did see him. We bought some hot dogs and cotton candy and enjoyed the show. It was awesome and definitely a must see!! We ALL loved it!

After Fantasmic we were ready to go, but Trevor still had not found a souvenir that he wanted. Addison and Elliot had decided on bubble blowers earlier in the day. Trevor decided on this contraption that runs a string through it and makes loops. Of course, the booths on the street only took cash and I did not have enough left on me. The only store that sold it was back at Rockin Rollercoaster and the crowd was pouring out of Fantasmic from that direction. Craig decided we'd all go back to the van and sit while he ran back in to buy the toy. He seriously ran all the whole way and was back within 15 minutes! Trevor was happy and Craig was breathless. We went back to the villa and everyone crashed.

Up next... Animal Kingdom and Epcot!

Day Three Part 2 - Princesses!

So... the boys were hanging out at GKTW and later Old own while the girls went off on a surprise adventure... beginning at Downtown Disney!

We walked around and took in a few street performances and did a little shopping. Mom and I enjoyed a Margarita while Addison and Allie had slushies. Addie and Allie wanted their pictures taken all over the place so we did a lot of that!

We also saw someone painting a Minnie Mouse on the street with water!

Finally, it was time for the surprise visit to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique! We brought Addison's Cinderella dress with us so I took her into the bathroom and got her dressed. Sadly, the shoulders were itchy and she freaked out, which resulted in her getting a brand new blue nightgown to wear under the dress. We walked into the boutique and waited for a bit to be called by a Fairy Godmother in Training. Addison had an appointment, but they were nice enough to squeeze Allie in. Finally both girls were called to a chair and Addison was asked to pick her hairstyle, makeup, nail polish and crown. Allie was also asked to choose her hairstyle, but this is where we ran into issues! Allie did not want to have her hair pulled up, and instead she asked if there was anything they could do with it down. They refused to consider doing anything that wasn't in their booklet. I asked if they could just paint the colors down her hair similar to the 'cool dudes' hairstyle, with a little Pixie Dust but they refused. My mom was still willing to pay the full $55 for the girly hairstyle, but they would not budge. I was a little ticked so I asked for a manager. They called one over and she also refused to budge. They offered to call over a store manager and I almost made them, but I was starting to create a scene and decided to just drop it. Allie was upset, but she moved past it pretty quickly.

Addison's transformation into a beautiful princess began:

this one makes me laugh!

Sadly, Addison's sandals that I brought to wear with the dress had given her blisters the day before and she was wearing flip flops. She begged me to buy her Cinderella's glass slippers, but they were hard plastic jellies that were sure to cause more blisters so I refused... We walked down a little way to guest services, where they have photo shoots for the Princesses after their makeovers. Addison had some great pictures taken. The refusal to buy the shoes came back to bite me here...

Thankfully I am pretty good in photo-shopping so I was able to provide the shoes after all!

After Addie's makeover we were ready to head to the next surprise... dinner at 1900 Park Fare with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Drizella, Anastasia and Lady Tremaine! My mom was driving and she type in the hotel in her phone GPS, well... she typed in A hotel in the GPS, just not the right hotel! Somehow she misunderstood and put in Portifino instead of Grand Floridian!! I was busy talking to the girls and not paying attention (I am kind of famous for this) and didn't notice anything was wrong until I saw Sea World and Universal signs! After turning around we hit some major traffic and ended up being a little late for our reservation! Addison was hungry and grouchy by this point so I had to start spoiling the surprise little by little to try to keep her in good spirits. Finally we arrived and handed off the car to valet so we could hurry inside. We had to wait about 15 minutes, but finally got seated. This is when I realized that that we left the autograph book in the car when we jumped and ran inside. I talked to our waitress and she brought us paper and a pen. I promised Addison that I'd cut these out and glue them in the book later and she was happy with the solution.

Addison was so mesmerized by the princesses and could not even be convinced to go get food, for fear of missing someones visit to our table. Mom and I left her and Allie at the table while we went up to get us all bread and salads. As soon as we got back to the table Drizella stopped by. I had told Addison that I read some different things to say to some of the princesses to strike up conversation... one of the things I told her about was to tell Drizella that her sister was nicer or looked prettier, etc... Addison was dying to say something of the sort but she was nervous and spilled it all out quickly... she said something like “Your sister is prettier than you. My mom said to say that!” I started laughing and Drizella started making faces and yelling at me!

After Drizella left Prince Charming stopped by our table. He held out his hand to Addison, inviting her to take it and dance but she misunderstood and gave him five instead! I guess I should have briefed her on that too! She posed for some pictures with him and then was finally able to eat her salad.

I got up again and fixed us both a plate of food. I don't remember what any of us ate, I do know that there was a lot of stuff that I was not adventurous enough to try but the mashed potatoes and corn on the kids buffet was good! Addie ate very little, but I expected that.

Cinderella came around next and gushed over Addison's outfit and how beautiful of a Princess Addison was. She asked if her sisters were being nice and then apologized for Drizella's behavior. She took some pictures and then was off.

Lady Tremaine came by next and she was hilarious and amazingly in character! She bent down to talk to Addison and asked her if she did her chores at home, like make her bed. Addison looked a little scared when she had to tell her not really, and that she didn't know how to make a bed. Lady Tremaine said with a very stern, loud voice, “You don't know how? What do you mean you don't know how. You just shake the sheet, then tug, tug, tug it up. Then you tug it down, then you smooth it out. That 's all there is to it. From now on you make your bed. You will get no tv, no new toys and no food until your chores are done!” Addison was just staring and nodding, terrified to talk back! They then posed for some pictures.

When she posed with Allie she told her to look stern, but Allie was laughing too hard!

Anastasia came over next and was very nice. After her autograph and pictures she started a Princess Parade throughout the whole restaurant with Addison and Allie directly behind her. All the little princesses were too cute!

After the parade the girls came back to the table and a gigantic ice cream dessert plate was delivered. They were not able to eat much of it, but they gave it a good go!

Two little girls were still parading around the restaurant, not wanting it to be over... Lady Tremaine walked up to them and said sternly, “Why are we still parading? The parade is over, now go back to your seats!” It was too funny!

About this time Cinderella and Prince Charming began dancing and all the little girls gathered in a circle around them. Once they were finished dancing together, they were available to dance with some of the little girls. Addison jumped at the chance to dance with Cinderella. Here is a video:
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z275/cncbrooks/?action=view&current=9da91a1e.mp4

After her dance, we finished up dessert, paid and left.

While we were gone and Craig was in charge of the boys... Elliot got knocked down by a volunteer by accident, the driver of one of the Village golf cart slammed on the brakes while they were riding and Elliot flew to the floor of it scrapping up his elbows and he managed to spray sunscreen in his eyes!! They also went to Old Town, rode Go Carts and won tons of tickets in the games. They went back to the village and ordered a pizza and were waiting for us when we got back.

Everyone was exhausted and fell asleep very quickly!! Tomorrow we head to Hollywood Studios!