Disney World, Day 3 (part 2) (Hollywood Studios)

So it's now about 12:30 p.m. in our journey.

The challenge with Hollywood Studios is that so much of it is based on shows. What that means is you really have to plan more than other parks because you can't just fill a 20 minute void with a quick ride on the merry go round. It also prevents you from truly doing everything because most of the shows end by 5 p.m.

So we decided to split up which was a smart move. Kathryn took Matthew and Josh to the car stunt show that was to start at 1:20 p.m. I took Caroline and Sammy to go see Beauty and the Beast. At some point, Kathryn bought Matthew some non-Hasbro Star Wars action figures from the gift shop near Star Wars. Smart move! That entertained Matthew for quite a while while waiting for the show to start. I really liked the gift shop purchases we made as they were things that the kids played with right away (like the lightsaber, Toy Story blaster, etc.) (Oh, Kathryn and Caroline went to the store on the "Main Street" area while we were on Star Tours and got her the MInnie Mouse princess stuffed animal she wanted. Sammy got Wheezy, the penguin from Toy Story. He's pretty darn cute. Funny thing is I hear the first one they picked up didn't have a working squeaker. Isn't that the whole plot of Toy Story 2?)

We should have done lunch early, as the touring book recommends, as finding a short line around 12:45 p.m. wasn't easy, and the kids were getting hungry. Not sure what Kathryn did, but I ended up going into the ABC Commisary on the way to Beauty and the Beast and was able to get chicken nuggets et al. The line was manageable, and my two kids were great. I was rushing us a bit because we didn't want another bad experience getting closed out of a show.

So we made the trek to Beauty and the Beast with full tummies. I checked the waits and Fast Pass availabilities at the "Main Street" and saw they were gone for Rock n Roller Coaster (as it's near Beauty and the Beast, I had thought I could get one for me and Kathryn. Darn....that is the best ride in all of Disney World, in my opinion. But that's OK...we totally went into the vacation saying it was for the kids and anything we get is just gravy.)

The Beauty and the Beast show was as good as expected. Caroline loved it and Sammy fell asleep (after pooping...so I just tried to position him up wind from other patrons). I was texting Kathryn and learning that they made it to the show just fine, Matthew loved playing with his Star Wars figures while waiting for the show and all was well.

I hear they liked the show....I think they said one part of the show was having technical difficulties, but Josh and Matthew thought it was fun.

I then carried the sleeping (stinky) Sammy through the crowds with Caroline in tow to catch up with Kathryn and the boys. They had gotten out earlier than us. I stopped and got me a frozen lemonade and had hoped to get Caroline a shake but the machine wasn't working. But we worked our way over and stayed in a restaurant that overlooked the Jedi Training stage....and discovered that Matthew had been chosen to be a Jedi (in the show that started at 2:20 p.m.)! Best best best moment of the whole trip for Kathryn and Matthew. Matthew still talks about it. Every dollar spent for the trip just paid off! Details in my next post.