Disney's Hollywood Studios

I am really hopeful I will have more pictures to add to this post. However, when I began downloading the pictures from my camera this morning, the camera informed me that there were no images in the memory. Are you kidding me? First, my cell phone, and now my camera..... I have no idea what happened, this time I was not at fault by getting it wet or anything. I am going to try to take the memory card and put it in Mikayla's- but if it doesn't work, I'm really going to try hard to not let it get me down - despite some very special memories being lost.

These first set of pictures were taken with our big camera - that John's usually in charge of. They show the beginning of our adventure, but little more than that - as John left the park after the first ride. Poor guy - it's almost as if he got some sort of 24 hour flu deal. He did NOT ride the Aersosmith Rockin' Rollercoaster, so that's not to blame - but, boy, he sure looked green when I got off of it. He was dying waiting for me to get out so he could run to the bathroom, while I watched the girls he had been taking care of. So, he went home. He slept all day - felt very achy this morning....but, as the day has progressed, he has thankfully improved. Praise the Lord.



So, what these pictures do not show you, is how great of a day we had at Hollywood Studios, despite the 93 degree temps with 90% humidity. (Aaaaahhhh, this Oregonian was melting!). Perhaps the biggest highlight for me was lunch at the "Sci Fi Diner". We entered as it opened, so we were seated in side by side "convertible catillacs" - six to a car (kids and Michael in one vehicle, the Whites, Michele and I and Mom and Dad in the other). There were three "bench seats" that all faced forward, so that we had optimal viewing of the black and white nostalgic movie clips. Everything from old-time drive-in theater refreshment advertisements, to very, very cheesy horror flick previews (think "Creature from the Black Lagoon" or "Frankenstein Meets the Aliens") The kids were mesmerized, the air conditioning was perfect, and even though the food was "just okay" compared to the "Liberty Tree Tavern" - we were all so happy we hardly noticed.

Regarding the rides we took - well, I think Ellie rode "Tower of Terror" 11 times. She held the record from our group as it was her FAVORITE - and she rode that while an adult (me or Michele) alternated with her while the rest of the group rode "Rockin' Rollercoaster" (conveniently very close to each other). This picture shows her getting the honor of announcing the ride when they found out how often she had ridden it.
I think Traig might hold the record on that one at about 8 rides. Stand-by gave us immediate entry into "Tower of Terror" while accumulated Fastpasses did the same for the rollercoaster.

By far, the HUGE attraction at that park was "Toy Story Mania". There was a line just to get the Fast Passes! The whole group managed to ride twice with Fast Passes - and because of John's absence, Michele and I got one more run at it. I never did beat her score, but I did surpass 100K in my score. I think that might be my all-time favorite ride - for sure, we'll be purchasing the Wii game based on it when we get home!

We also did "Star Tours" which was just "eh" for most of the group. The "Lights, Motors, Action" stunt show was very impressive - as was the "Backlot Tour". Dad and Mom saw the "Indiana Jones Stunt Show" too - but, at that point, our kids had had it with sitting still for one more thing.

I will admit, by 5ish, my day was done. The heat, that last roller coaster ride (the acceleration really strained my neck), and general go-go-go had put me over the edge with a headache only a good night's sleep could take care of. While it was a bummer to have to miss out on the social fun of hanging with everyone last night, I'm super thankful I awoke pain free- as today was a day there was no way I would be willing to miss........