Tuesday 28 December 2010

Dec 13 - Hurray For Hollywood!

What is with this Florida weather?!?!? Thankful that we arranged for our New York winter gear to be sent to POR, we rugged up and trooped into the dining hall for breakfast. This is where I insert my shortcut. Yes, it was another early start, we woke up at 630am and made it to Disney's Hollywood Studios for rope drop! We were at the front of the line and had great views but did I remember to take photos? Oh no. Although I maintain that it was simply too cold. One wouldn't want those precious shutter pressing fingers to die of frost bite.

An empty DHS street at the beginning of the day

Disney's Hollywood Studios

We were able to send Malcolm ahead for Toy Story Mania fastpasses and by the time we got there we hopped into the standby line which zoomed along very quickly. The ride was awesome and so much fun! Malcolm scored 153,000 but the selfish man wouldn't reveal his secrets. Rock 'n' roller coaster only had a wait time of 10 minutes, we acquired a rider swap and got everyone through within half an hour. With the arrival of the Kohs, we tried to maximise the morning for Ethel, glad that she was able to experience another WDW park before heading home. Half went on Tower of Terror and the Kohs used our fastpasses for TSM. I waited outside. Here was my chance to take photos! To my horror I had a memory card failure. A combination of panic and frustration washed over me. However, I wasn't given the opportunity to dwell on those emotions as I was swept towards the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Show.

The green men outside TSM

The much sought after ride

Not to be outdone, the new high score for the group by our theme park strategist!

We tried to have a small snack before our late lunch. Some had not so small a snack of the famed turkey leg. We had to say goodbye to Ethel again and hoped that her flight will make it today. Half of us used the rest of the TSM fastpasses and the ofther half took the girls to watch The Voyage of The Little Mermaid. Next on the agenda was lunch at the Hollywood Brown Derby as part of our dining package for Fantasmic. It was gorgeous inside. I loved the understated decorations of the restaurant although I'm not sure why they like it so dark inside. It made it hard to take photos (when I remembered)! I ordered myself some tuna tartare, duck cooked two ways followed by chocolate three ways for dessert. Yummy!!!!

Snack anyone?
A very tired child, who slept through all of lunch
Waiting for lunch


Tuna Tartare
Duck two ways
Chocolate three ways
There was much to see and much to do. We pressed on and went on the Backlot tour. It was nice to rest the legs even though we had only just finished lunch! The backlot at Universal was better but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Sharon and I continued with our Photo hussey behaviour rushing in to join the nearly non-existent line for photos with Mike Wazowski and Sully. Ah...Mike!

Jonah, now awake, on the backlot tour

Mike Wazowski!

We managed to squeeze in Muppet 3D vision. I just love all the jokes! We then had to run straight to Fantasmic to get good seats. What a show it was! A completely immersive experience that only Disney can produce with a spectacular start, amazing sets, seamless transitions, beautiful arrangements of music and of course, a spectacular finish. There were fireworks, water, fire, characters, and everyone's favourite songs. The most precious moments were the children's reaction. We had ecstatic clapping, excited shrieks, and intense concentration trying to spot and then madly wave to characters. I was so engrossed that I forgot to take photos...again!



Waiting in line with our own kindergarten
Jonah ready for some 3D action
We were determined to find the other famed snack, the carrot cake cookie. So we headed towards the Writer's Stop in search for some cookies only to be disappointed by the news that they had sold out. We had to console ourselves with some singing and dancing to the music at the The Osbourne lights. We could have taken some video footage, but was fearful of showing it to our neighbours. Chauvel St might never be the same again!

How could I have neglected to post a photo with my idol, the almight coca-cola!

We went home tired but satisfied after another full day. Malcolm, the sweet man, did the laundry while the family was sleeping. We received more bad news though. The Yeohs were involved in an accident on a Disney bus. The bus stopped very suddenly and young Samuel hurt his foot. So it looks like they will be missing their Animal Kingdom tomorrow in lieu of an X-ray at the local medical facility.

The Osbourne Lights

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