Last Wednesday . . .

It was so refreshing to wake up in a much cooler room (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, be sure to read Tuesday’s trip report!) Getting ready was a much more comfortable experience!

My girls both LOVE Hollywood Studios, so we were all excited to get our day started and, even with depending on Disney busing, we made it to the park before opening!  We had time to leisurely stroll into the park while taking pictures of my favorite attraction (Tower of Terror) and we stopped for a Photopass picture as well (which reminds me, I can’t wait to see how our Photopass pictures turned out!)

Much like our experience with Soarin’ at Epcot, we had a 5 minute walk to Toy Story Mania.  September might be HOT in FL, but they aren’t kidding when they say the crowds are low!  Afterwards, we got a Fast Pass to come back and ride again a bit later, then got in line to meet Buzz & Woody.

We stopped for coffee and a pastry (aka the Carrot Cake Cookie) at Writers Stop, then took in Ian’s favorite attraction – Star Tours. 

I love that we’ve been able to visit Disney more often in the past few years.  It means that we don’t have to “attack” the parks with gusto and a list of everything we absolutely have to do or can’t miss.  But, instead, we can take our time and stroll through the parks, sometimes stopping to notice things we might not have noticed before, or whatever.  No agenda, no plan – a different world for me, but I like it!

We had lunch at Pizza Planet because there was NOBODY in line – another first for us! We watched the Indiana Jones show, which we hadn’t seen for a few years, and really enjoyed it.  And we took in Beauty and the Beast again – another favorite that we hadn’t taken the time for on our past few visits.

The chicken sub was on the kids’ meal – it was delicious and I wish they’d offer it for adults!  They seriously give you way too much food here though.  The ceasar salad is yummy, but those cappuchino cupcakes – delicious!  I could eat one right now, for breakfast!

I have to admit, I enjoyed watching these two (lower left) perform sign language as much as I did watching the “real” show.  Beautiful – and so moving!

I still remember some pictures that I took of my little 5-year-old diva, Ashley, on her first visit to Walt Disney World, at this very location.  We stop here almost every visit for more photo ops:

Here are a few other “favorites” from our day at Hollywood Studios:

Yes, that really is the Rock ‘n Roller Coaster with NO PEOPLE in front of it!  Go figure!  This was mid-day too!  If anyone is looking for a Christmas idea for me, I’ll take a Lotso Pillow Pet.  Just sayin’ . . .

After a trip through one of our favorite attractions – the Great Movie Ride – and a short brush with fame helping to make a “commercial” (who knows?!) – we met up with my friend Kim and her family for the Backlot Tour.

We finished off our day with supper at the Sci-Fi Dine-In.  This was a new experience for us, and we loved it!