After our nap and solving the luggage mystery, we headed off to Hollywood Studios. It was late afternoon, and there weren't many people on the bus. We were sitting across from a family of 5. The littlest look tired and Mom commented that he was fading fast. She was right; it wasn't long before he was asleep. As the ride continued, the middle one started nodding off as well. I whispered, "and another one bites the dust." There was a bump in the road and his head, which had been fairly upright, landed on his mom's shoulder. She asked " is he out too?" To which we replied, "yep, for a few minutes now." She just laughed, shook her head. This was (my) Mom's first lesson in how tiring Disney can be.
What A Bunch of Characters
Soon we were at the park. We went through bag check and headed toward the entry, when I realized there were characters hanging out over by the sign - Mulan, Gepetto, Robin Hood, the Evil Queen from Snow White, and Aladdin. So I grabbed Mom and dragged her over to the line for pics. Mulan was on my list of characters to meet, and since the line was short, we were meeting her.
We were greeted with a " Hello Princess," and had a fun little conversation. She warned us to keep eye out for any Huns and to let her know if we saw any. We got a few pics and moved on. I should have asked her how Mushu and Crickee were, but didn't think of it until after.
Next up was Gepetto; I've heard he is kind of rare to meet, so I jumped at the chance. He bowed, kissed our hands, and posed for pics.
It was hot, there wasn't much shade, and the lines were long, so we skipped the other three characters and headed off to go into the park. But first, we stopped for a few pics by the sign (if you know my Mom, and have ever looked at our family vacation pics, you know she has a thing for pictures by signs).
Mom's First Ride
As we entered the park, we stopped for more pics with the Chinese Theater in the background (I miss the Sorceror's Hat) and discussed our plan of action. We were too late for the Storm Trooper march, so that was out. I checked wait times, and decided we needed to do the Great Movie Ride. I knew Mom would enjoy it, and the wait was only 25 minutes. I did check for a fast pass+, but the next available time was 25 minutes away. We'd be waiting either way, so into the stand-by line we went.
As expected, she loved the ride and seeing all the scenes from all the movies. First Disney ride was a success. We came out of the ride right at the end of the Star Wars show, so we got to see some Storm Troopers, Chewbacca, and Kylo Ren walking by. It was too quick for pictures, but was still cool to see.
A Blast From The Past, and Some Food, Too
It was hot and muggy, and I still wasn't feeling well, so we searched for some air conditioning. We went in the store at the end of Star Tours (Tatooine Traders) but it was small and crowded, so we didn't stay long. We had a 7:05 dinner reservation at the Sci Fi Dine In Theater, so we didn't want to wander too far way. We were started to feel the early wake up, and were trying to conserve our energy. It was early, but since we were close to the restaurant, we decided to see if we could get in to eat.
They told us they were pretty booked up, but would check us in anyway. They said we might not get a table until our reservation time, but that was fine with us, since the waiting area was inside in the air conditioning. I don't think we waited 5 minutes before they called us back.
We sat in the back row of one of the car tables and settled in to watch the silly sci-fi film shorts and previews (some of which Mom thinks she saw at the drive-in theater in Punxsy with her cousins when they were kids). We tested out the theory of ordering something that wasn't really on the menu and asked for regular BLTs instead of the fancy ones on the menu ( we got them). I ate a few fries and the bacon off my sandwich, but was afraid to eat more because I didn't want to get sick.
And We Call It A Night
While we were eating we made the decision to skip the Star Wars fireworks and just head back to our room to go to bed. I really wanted to see them, but also really didn't want to fight the crowds and busy busses that we were sure to encounter after. It was disappointing, but with the way I was feeling, and as tired as Mom was, it was the right decision.
We left the restaurant (at our original reservation time) and headed toward the park exit. We did some window shopping on the way out, and Mom fell in love with a Mickey Mouse watch. But she didn't buy it then. At that point we just wanted the bus and bed.
When we got back to the room, we were greeted by the happy sight of our suitcases, so we were in our pajamas and settled in for the night in no time. We had to rest up for our trip to the Magic Kingdom the next day.
(And for the record, I did eventually get hungry and eat the leftover chicken nuggets and fries.)
Next up - Day 2 and the Magic Kingdom...
No comments:
Post a Comment