Feb 3, Sunday
Hollywood Studios:
- Today is the day to get T and K into Jedi Training Academy
- Skip breakfast and walk down to Hollywood Studios early to be there by opening – surprised to find that they had let people in early – we walked into the sign up area at 2 minutes after official park opening time and we ended up being 2nd and 3rd signed up for the 5th show meaning that 60 kids had got in before us – lesson: if you want your kids to do this, get there well before opening
- While we were signing up Heather bolted and got us fast passes on Toy Story Midway Mania
- Got them signed up and did one ride through on Star Tours – got the Naboo ending for the first time – pretty cool – T was also the rebel spy on this one – he was quite excited
- We went to the Dine and Play restaurant and managed to walk right in to the character buffet after about 2 or 3 minute wait – got a good spot – wasn’t really hungry so the buffet was a bit of a waste for the cost but the kids enjoyed seeing Handy Manny, June from Little Einsteins, Special Agent Oso and Jake the Neverland Pirate.
- After breakfast headed over to do our ride on Toy Story – they split up the family this time and we were able to occasionally see each other during spinning sequences
- After that we did wander back towards the jedi area stopping to see a show in progress – K started saying she didn’t want to do it – I think she was afraid of Vader
- We talked and walked for a bit and eventually convinced her she could do it and they could both get Jedi robes after if they did it and were good and paid attention
- They did the show and were awesome – K had some trouble with the light saber activation but did well – I don’t think she understood that she was supposed to hit Vader’s saber – she hit him at least twice and the instructor once from what I could see (the instructor had a genuine smile on his face during her run so he enjoyed her performance) – T went earlier than she did and he had great stance and control – even the instructor commented on how balanced and focused he was – it shows in the pictures too – Heather got it on video and I used the Canon T4i. The video shows T swinging hard – I’m glad he was aiming for Vader’s lightsaber….
- After the show we got them their Jedi robes and grabbed ice cream and popcorn before heading out to ride the Friendship boat back to the hotel (first time for the boats)
- Wandered up to the club room for a quick snack and then back to the room for a quick rest in the sun that was coming in our windows
- Then got ready and headed out to the pool with the kids using their new Jedi robes as bath robes – played a little bit in the sand bottom pool then put life jackets on the kids and did the lazy river and the big pool – T did the big slide twice and Heather and I each went with him once – wind was a bit cold so we headed back to the room to decide what to do about supper.
- We looked at places in Epcot and thought about Coral Reef but noticed that the Captain’s Grill in the Yacht Club seemed to have multiple open reservations so we might be able to just walk in
- Heather and K got dressed up in the matching dresses that they picked up at Betty Page in Mall of America and T and I made sure we had collared shirts and off we went – the matching dresses are dark grey with maroon anchors – very nice and fits well with the Yacht and Beach Resort decor
- We took several pictures along the way with Heather and K and a few with T at various spots in the Beach and Yacht lobbies – we tried to find the Captain at the Yacht but he had gone home for the day already
- We were essentially able to walk in to the restaurant and they lead us to a special table that had balloons on it that was separate from the other areas of the restaurant and were told that we were the Family of the Day (another Disney what the? this trip)
- As part of Family of the Day we had a family photo taken (and were given a copy and a certificate before we left), the photo was put in a big book with other families that had been selected before and we had to write something in the book – it was cool and it was a neat area of the restaurants with cool moving wall murals (sail boats) – the only thing was they seemed to be rushing us through – Heather had crab legs and they took away her shell bowl before she was done and also took our dessert order before she had finished. We also never were asked if we wanted coffee or anything after the meal was done – it was here is your dessert and here is your bill – it was still a cool experience but that lessened the experience a bit for me
- After supper we went back to the room and got changed and headed out to the bus to get magic hours at Magic Kingdom – we were there at probably 8:30 and were on the buses leaving at around midnight. At Magic Kingdom:
- We watched some of the projection show on the castle
- Made our way to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad– did ride swap with T and K – first for all 3 of us – went with K first – was concerned when she screamed around the first corner but I looked down and her eyes were wide open and she had a look of sheer joy on her face – phenomenal – T had lots of fun too, yelling and screaming
- Headed over and did Goofy Barnstormer – Heather and T and me and K – did not go well for Heather – if it had been longer she would have lost it – no more roller coaster attempts for her
- Didn’t do Dumbo but the water fountains at the bottom looked fantastic the way they were lit up – very cool
- Heather needed a bit of a break after that but we continued on and did Peter Pan’s Flight, Winnie the Pooh, the carousel, Philharmagic, mad tea cups, Tomorrowland Speedway and Space Ranger Spin – all walk ons – Space Ranger Spin was odd – I maxed it out at 999999 about half way through and T got to 949700 by the end. T tried to kill me on the speedway – he decided he didn’t want to steer and he wanted to show me he could reach the gas pedal – unfortunately he hit the gas as I had one foot in the car and the other still on the gangway – could have ended badly
- After Buzz was done I had to carry K and I could tell she was drifting off – we had already planned to leave after Buzz so that sealed the deal – couple photo passes along the way that I can’t wait to see how dopey K looks in
- K fell asleep hard so I carried her out to the buses and luckily there was one waiting for us and we were able to get seats easily – K slept the whole ride and T fell asleep when we got close to the hotel – carrying both of them was going to be a challenge so luckily T woke up when we got to the Beach Club – he woke up and hit his feet so fast Heather had to hold him and steady him as we talked him off the bus – back to the room and off to bed
- They did awesome today