Hollywood Studios was our last park of the trip. I've always known it as MGM - but the name has been changed. The guys have been looking forward to this all week because they wanted to ride Tower of Terror and Aerosmith Rockin' Roller Coaster.

First of all...Russ and I overslept, so the rest of the group went on ahead. We were about 30 minutes behind them. We went to Tower of Terror first (again, I was too scared to ride - I've ridden it before!). Kristin, Dustin, and Lee had already gotten in line, so Daddy and Russ rode together. I wish I could have seen that! While they were on the Tower of Terror, my mom and I got fast passes for the Rockin' Roller Coaster. That was SO much fun!! That tops the list as our favorite ride, I think. Yes, I did ride it - and you should see the picture!

After those two rides, we made our way to the "big hat" in the middle of the park to watch High School Musical - School's Out. It was very cute!

Dustin and I talked to Pluto while waiting on the show to start.

We also ate lunch at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. It was a fun experience. The restaurant is decorated in 50's decor, and the waitresses act like "mama" telling you to "Eat your greens!" or "Get your elbows off the table!" Dustin hid his greens under the remainder of his chicken breast...the waitress didn't even flinch. She raised the chicken and put a fork full of greens in Dustin's mouth! It was fun!

After lunch, we ran into a Star Wars parade - it was Star Wars weekend. We couldn't cross the street so we just watched. That was neat! When the parade was over, we headed over to Sunset Blvd. to watch Beauty and the Beast. It was cute, as always! After Beauty and the Beast, we rode Rockin' Roller Coaster again. Then, watched Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. Then, it was time to find a spot for the Block Party Bash! It was HOTT, and Russ and I were the only ones who would sit in the front in the sun. We got bored and took a few pics while we waited.

Notice Kristin in the background - in the shade!

The parade was SO cute!! My favorite part was the girls' outfits! I loved them!

After the parade, it was time for our reservations at the Brown Derby. By eating there, we received a voucher for special seating during the Fantasmic fireworks show. So we didn't have to wait in line.

Russ and I took a photo opportunity outside of the Brown Derby. (of course) Mama said she wouldn't want me to miss taking a picture of a single piece of grass! - sarcasm, I think

After eating a delicious meal, we finished up a few more rides and shows. It started raining - lightning too - so we weren't able to finish the Backlot Tour. Dustin, Kristin, and I had been chosen as volunteers, so we were very disappointed. We shopped around during the rain.

Russ and Lee bought a poncho from Planet Hollywood to keep dry.

When we had seen all we wanted to see, it was time to take our seats at Fantasmic. It was so nice to just walk in and have great seats without standing in line.

Mickey directing the colored water fountains - it's the best I could do!

We had a fun-filled day at Hollywood Studios. It was our last park to see. But, thankfully, we still had more planned for the week.

Hoop Dee Doo for Daddy's 56th Birthday!!!

June 27, 1952 - That is the day Daddy was born! So, in celebration...we went to the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue at Fort Wilderness Lodge, his favorite dinner show in Disney World. I have never been to Disney World when we haven't come to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. It's SO much fun!!! The first time I came with my parents, I was around 5 years old. Daddy was called on stage to play the part of an Indian during part of the show. I loved it!! That's probably part of the reason I still love to go.

Hoop Dee Doo is a "rip-roaring, rootin', tootin', down home revue." You sing and clap with the Pioneer Hall Players as you eat. It's a musical comedy that leaves you laughing and eating down home food!

As the Pioneer Hall Players were beginning their night of fun, they asked questions to the audience: "Who is celebrating an anniversary? Newlyweds? Birthdays?" Daddy was the only person in the audience with a birthday on the 27th, so he got ALL the attention! I caught part of it on video.

Then, later on in the evening, we were having a competition between the two sides of the dining hall. Our side was supposed to say "toot," and Dolly apparently heard Daddy tooting from across the room! She informed him that he had the best "toot" she'd ever heard.

After this scene, Dolly wasn't finished with Daddy. She just had to run her fingers through his hair! This was hilarious because my dad is so ticky about his hair. In fact earlier in the week, he had a bad hair day and no one told him. He scolded us saying, "If you ever let me go all day with my hair like this..." Now EVERYONE saw his bad hairdo. Ha!As if that wasn't enough!!! I was led onto stage to participate in the "big act" (you know, the one I was telling you about from when I was young...when my dad was the Indian). I was dressed up in a can-can dress and made to dance and say a bad "bear" joke. It was so funny - and embarrassing!

The guy was promising that I wouldn't have to do anything embarrassing! Yeah right!!

This is just a part of the "big act."

Our table was certainly picked on all night! It was SO much fun!! The Pioneer Hall Players do a great job of singing, dancing, and making everyone laugh! They said farewell, and we were on our way!

After Hoop Dee Doo, we went back to the Magic Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours - park was open until 2:00 am. We rode more rides with ABSOLUTELY NO lines!!! In fact, Russ and Dustin just stayed on Splash Mountain and rode it over and over. It was a fun "catch-up" day at Disney World!

Disney World Day Four - Catch Up Day

All our days so far had been jam packed, yet we still had some things we missed. So, we set aside a day to play "catch-up." I wanted to see a stage show in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom and a parade at Animal Kingdom. Kristin still had some characters she wanted to see, and the guys wanted to ride Expedition Everest, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Splash Mountain again.

Our first stop was at the Magic Kingdom. We weren't there when the park opened, but we weren't too far behind. The stage show started at 9:40, so we headed there first. It was very cute! All the characters sang - princesses too - about dreams coming true.

Waiting for the show to start

Mickey and friends

Princes and princesses

After the show, we finished up more requests at the Magic Kingdom before heading to Animal Kingdom. We were able to catch a few of the characters we missed earlier in the week.

Rafiki and the "kids"

Goofy and Daddy

The cutest outfit ever - Minnie Mouse

After seeing the characters, it was time for Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade!! This is what I wanted to see.

When the parade was over, Kristin and I wanted to see the Pocahontas show (with live animals). It was unbelievably HOT, so we had to do a little convincing. But, we made it! It was good.

We had special reservations that night for my dad's birthday, so we left Animal Kingdom a little early. We went back to the resort to shower, nap, and change. We were all exhausted!! Russ seemed to be especially tired.

Disney World Day Three - Magic Kingdom

The family on Main Street, USA.

Magic Kingdom was a jam-packed day of fun!! Kristin and I stayed up the night before and circled what we wanted to do -- EVERYTHING! First of all...we neglected to read the itinerary the night before - BIG MISTAKE! Because this was an early entry day and we only woke up in time for regular entry - still arriving at the bus stop at 7:30. Lesson learned - READ ITINERARIES!!!

So...when we arrived, we went straight to Space Mountain to get a fast pass! We rode and saw everything else in Tomorrowland while waiting on our fast pass to be valid. One of the rides was the new Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. You use laser guns to shoot targets throughout the ride. Russ scored an amazing 127,000 points, and I scored 18,000. Lee, however, came out with 3,100!


After exploring everything in Tomorrowland, we walked on over to Mickey's Toontown Fair to see Minnie and Mickey's houses.

Kristin and me in front of Minnie's house. Notice the cute mailbox!

Kristin and I also wanted to take pictures with characters, including the princesses! Yes...I'm telling you - we are still kids at heart.

Goofy tried to steal me away from Russ!

Kristin and me with Kristin's favorite princess - Belle. This was a little awkward because these girls are probably younger than ME!

The guys would have nothing to do with the princesses!
Notice Dustin's spinner hat - VERY popular with the characters and during the parades.

After Mickey's Toontown Fair, we headed over to Fantasyland where we rode all the classics: It's a Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Scary Adventures, and Mad Tea Party. The Mad Tea Party was hilarious. Kristin, Lee, Russ, and I crammed our adult bodies into one tiny "kid-sized" teacup. Dustin refused (Russ and Lee had no choice - they had the force of Kristin and me). While everyone else is leisurely twirling throughout the ride, the guys have us on a massive spinning adventure. Kristin and I were sure we were going to go spinning right off the platform!!

After Fantasyland, it was time for the Disney's Dreams Come True Parade.

We went straight from the parade to our dinner reservations in Cinderella's castle. That was so neat! As we entered the Royal Table, Cinderella greeted us and posed for photos. The girls received wands, and the boys received swords. Then we were seated and called "Princess, Sire, Your Highness, and prince." The food was great! During our dinner, the Fairy Godmother and mice came out to sing and interact with the dining room. It was so cute!!
The boys weren't so interested!

After dinner, we kept making our way around the Magic Kingdom. We went through Liberty Square, going to the Haunted Mansion and the Hall of Presidents. Frontierland was next with Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad. We also watched the Country Bear Jamboree - another classic. It had started raining by this point. So, the entire family of 7 had on Disney ponchos that we bought at one of the shops. We wanted a group picture...and we found the perfect one!!

Please click on the picture so it will enlarge, and you can see everyone's faces! It's hilarious!!

Our last part of Magic Kingdom was Adventureland where we rode the Pirates of the Caribbean. After finishing this, we went back and rode a couple of rides in Frontierland again.

We finished just in time to find a good spot for the Spectromagic Parade and the fireworks show-Wishes Nighttime Spectacular.

We were all exhausted after this day!!

Daddy laid out after the parade...waiting on fireworks.

Good night, Magic Kingdom!

Dustin on the bus ride back to the resort.

Resting for another packed day!!

Disney World Day Two - Epcot

After Animal Kingdom, we went on over to Epcot around 4:00. We waited in the 120 minute line for Soarin’, the new flight simulation attraction. Obviously, it’s very popular!!! It was incredible! This was one of Russ’s “Top Three” rides of the week. You literally feel like you are soaring…so much so, you might even lift your feet so they won’t get in the ocean or get stuck in a tree! The best thing to do for that is to GET A FAST PASS…but they had run out by the time we got there. So we waited! We also did many of the “Classic Epcot” rides. We didn’t have as much time as we wanted there, but we made the most of the time we did have.

We wanted to watch Illuminations, a fireworks/laser show in the World Showcase area at 9:00. So, we went on over to Japan to eat a quick supper before securing a spot for the show. It was beautiful, as always!!

I just love Epcot at night!!!

This was my FIRST attempt at capturing the ball at night...not too successful! Take note that this was the end of a LONG day. So Kristin and I look like just that - a long day!

I practiced a bit and got better.

I am most proud of this one!