Cheeky's First Trip - Day 4 - Brrrrruuuuummmmm

[Jezzerinos]

Joseph woke up at 4am this morning but luckily went back to sleep. Maria however couldn’t go back to sleep so she got ready and woke me and Joseph at 6:30 and 7am. After the usual preparations of getting ready, we headed down to the Food Court for our breakfast. Joseph enjoyed his toast while I had a breakfast croissant and Maria had a chocolate croissant. With our tummies full, we went to get the bus for today’s destination, Hollywood Studios.

The plan for the day was I went on the *cough* walk *cough* to get the Fastpasses for Toy Story Midway Mania due to the ‘stampede’ that occurs each morning whilst Maria went to get another Anniversary button and have a look for some new shoes for Joseph as he seemed to out grow his Mickey sandals Nanna had only got for him a few weeks prior. We arrived at the Studios at 8:15am and had some pictures taken outside before queuing to get in. With the 45 minute wait for the park to open a bit too long, Joseph got a bit bored waiting. Unfortunately, we had also forgotten to pack the iPod which we had a few videos Joseph could watch but somehow, we passed the time.



Now, there was a bit of confusion with the park opening. The lady at our turnstile thought she had seen the ‘signal’ to let the guests in but she was corrected after letting quite a few of us in. After a about a 30 seconds, they let everyone in. With the rope drop system taken away, it was a really nice calm walk to Toy Story Mania and there was no stampede. I set off to get the Fastpasses just as planned. After getting the golden tickets, I noticed that the queue was non-existent. With that in mind, I rushed back to find Maria and Joseph so we could get a ride in early. Luckily for me, they were just finishing in the shop at the end of Hollywood Boulevard. Off we went to ride Toy Story Mania and it was only a 5 minute wait.

We had never been through the main queue before as we have always had to get Fastpasses due to the big crowds. It was amazing. Mr Potato Head was an amazing animatronic and all the toys and board games you walk through are so well done. Getting on the ride, Joseph sat on my lap and we had a really good game. He really enjoyed it so it was a good thing we had Fastpasses for 45 minutes later!

Exiting the ride, we had some time to spare before our next ride so we made our way to meet Woody and Buzz which barely had a queue. Yet again, Joseph was in his element and loved meeting Woody and Buzz. Both got big hugs and Joseph got their autographs.





With time still in our favour, we went over to see the ‘brums’. Lightning McQueen and Mater have their own little pit tent over next to Muppetvision 3D. IT WAS EMPTY! There was no-one there which was great. Joseph wasn’t too sure though. As much as he loves them both, they were a bit loud for him and they didn’t interact like all the other characters did. As there was no-one else there though, we took our time and we did get some pictures. He wouldn’t touch them though. At least he got to see Lightning McQueen though. The CM was really good and let Joseph play with one of Mater's spare tires which was great.





After our exclusive time with the stars of Cars, we went back to ride Toy Story. I sadly didn’t get the highest score but we all enjoyed it once more. With this done, it was time for daddy to go and ride a big ride, Rock’n’Rollercoaster. While I did this, Maria and Joseph took a stroll down Sunset Boulevard. I got 2 Fastpasses for Tower of Terror as the standby queue was a long one, right out the entrance. I managed to get on Rock’n’Rollercoaster through the Single Rider entrance. Whoever came up with that idea is a genius! Whilst I was getting in my limo, Maria made the bad decision of going in the exit and letting Joseph see the limo zooming to the exit. Of course, being a little adrenaline junkie in the making, he wanted to ride. As I got off the ride, I found them outside the exit happily waiting for me.

We decided to go and have a look in the shops before we got something to eat. In one of the shops down Sunset Blv, we saw an offer on some Matchbox cars which were Lightning, Mater, Finn and Francesco from Cars 2. We thought ‘what a great offer’ and picked them up. After finishing our browse around the shop, we took them to the till. The Cast Member scanned the cars and it wasn’t coming up with the offer. She went and checked the shelf and we did see correct. Back at the till, Joseph was starting to get bored so I took him to go and get something to eat while Maria waited for the manager the Cast Member had called.

15 minutes later, I had got Joseph his pizza and Maria had emerged from the shop. The Cast Member ran the cars through at the offer as the manager hadn’t shown up. Never mind though, Joseph had his cars and something to eat. Me and Maria had chicken nuggets.



Once I had finished my lunch, I went to pay a visit to the Hollywood Tower Hotel. It may sound like I’ve never been to Walt Disney World before but on this trip, I was seeing things from a different perspective and really taking in everything. This ride is no exception. The attention to detail from the outside in is unbelievable. One of my all time favourite attractions.

12:25pm was upon us so we tried to make a quick dash over the Disney Junior Live but just as we arrived, they closed the doors. Not to worry, we would go and meet up with some more of Joseph’s favourites from Disney Junior, Handy Manny and Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates! Yo Ho lets go! Seeing as the show was going, the queues were minimal so we didn’t have to wait long before we got to meet Manny……



And Jake.



Joseph was in the mood to do some more hugging, not with us but with some more characters. Into the Animation Studios we go and to meet ‘Pooh Pooh’ and ‘ki ki’ (Mickey) in his Fantasia robe. Pooh bear got a big hug...



...but Mickey was the one we thought went the extra mile. Joseph was wearing a Lego Darth Vader t-shirt today. Once our picture was taken with Mickey and the autograph signed, Mickey saw Joseph’s shirt and pointed to Darth Vader’s face. He then asked the CM for some stickers and then proceeded to cover the face of the dark lord with stickers of Mickey’s face!




A great meet and greet and yet another piece of that Disney Magic.

There was still a bit of time before the next Disney Junior show so in this time, we sat down and had an ice cream. I went for the Mickey cookies and cream sandwich and Maria went for the strawberry bar which Joseph liked too. 1:30 came and we made our way into the show building and claimed our place on the floor. We felt right at home when Mover Music started to play on the speakers. Now, during the show as many of you know, there are parts where the kids are encouraged to get up and dance and interact. I can’t remember which part it was but all of a sudden, I felt something leaning then put their arms round my neck like a piggy back ride. It wasn’t Joseph because he was on my lap. Strange! I turned round and there was a little girl comfortably holding onto me as though she knew me enjoying the show. The parents were apologising but it didn’t bother me, as long as she was happy and could see.

The show was great with the addition of Jake along with Captain Hook and Smee. Joseph really enjoyed it and loved catching the bubbles and gold doubloons. Once we were out of the show, Joseph was pooped and fell fast asleep once put in his stroller (after a mini protest). It had been a long morning for him so it was understandable. With the little chap sound asleep, we headed over for my first go on the new Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. The first incarnation was an amazing ride and I couldn’t wait to try out the new one.

Over then to the familiar sight of the AT-AT walker and the Jedi Training Academy.



*SPOILER* If you don’t want to know what has been done to Star Tours, skip this paragraph

Inside the Star Tours building and it is as great as always. The first area has been given a lick of paint and a new giant screen with some fantastic video clips. Into the second area where the broken droids used to be and it is now a sort of Spaceport with luggage being scanned and Rex is now ‘Defective’. Some great work done here.

I managed to get 2 rides and 2 different scenarios on each one which was amazing. A downside though was that whilst I was on one of the rides, Chewbacca was out for a meet and greet and I just missed him! I was not disappointed for long though as he came back out again and we got a picture with him!





After meeting one of the stars from arguably the best saga ever created, we went to find one of the hidden treasures of Hollywood Studios that you won’t even find on the park map, The Writers Stop.

If you have never been before, you must! It is located around the corner from the Sci-Fi Diner and just before the Streets of America. It’s a small coffee shop which has a small seating area at the end which is meant to look like a working studio. It’s a very quiet little shop and never busy. A perfect place just to chill for a bit. There are books you can sit on a couch and read, a TV on and they sell kitchenware.

We went for a chocolate croissant and a blue slushy. A-MAZING! Although they are probably the same everywhere else, the croissant tasted sooooooo goooooood! Mmmmmmmmmm……. Again, a true hidden treasure and must be visited when you go. We would go in again on another visit to the Studios later on in our trip.

We had a little look down the Streets of America before heading for the exit and found an awesome Star Wars TK-421 t-shirt which must be purchased, so we did! You’ll get to see that later on in the trip!

Late afternoon had hit and Joseph had woken a bit upset as we were leaving but another great CM helped cheer him up as we were going though the exit by giving Joseph some stickers. Sobbing over, we took the Friendship boat round to the Swan hotel (where we stayed on our Honeymoon) as we wanted to go to Downtown Disney.



We got to the Swan’s bus stop and waited……………… and waited……………………. and waited………………………….. and waited. I think we had 3 Animal Kingdom buses come by but no Downtown Disney bus. Luckily Joseph was happy enough climbing all over us and playing with his cars. More buses pass for Magic Kingdom and Epcot but still no Downtown Disney bus and more people turning up also wanting to head in our direction.

This brought back memories of our stay 3 years ago in that the buses were not very frequent. Finally a Downtown Disney bus turned up over an hour later and was a bit full once everyone got on but we still had 3 more stops at the Dolphin, the Yacht and Beach Club Resort and the Boardwalk yet! Let’s just say it was fairly crammed (think sardines in a tin). Joseph proved yet again what a star he was and held onto me tightly (as I had him holding onto my neck) throughout the whole bus journey with no problems at all.

We eventually got to the Marketplace where I think everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief! We walked around the corner and were back at the fountains. Joseph was pointing wildly at them so we got him out of his pushchair and he ran to the fountains to have a good play.





After a good play and a change of clothes for the cheeky chappy, we headed over the Earl of Sandwich for dinner for the first time ever. I went for the Earls Club, Maria had the Meatball sub and Joseph had the grilled cheese. Needless to say, they were very yummy. With us being very satisfied with our meals, we went into Once Upon a Toy.

Now, 3 years ago on our honeymoon, we brought 2 Mr Potato heads for our unborn child which wouldn’t even be thought about for months after that. One was a generic Mr Potato Head and one was a Spudtrooper. Again, for our unborn child, not me *cough*.

Now Joseph knows who Mr Potato Head is and has played with him, we decided we would buy some more accessories for him so we had a bit of variety. They do small boxes that you can fill to the brim so that is what we did! It’s like a game of Tetris, each piece will get into a certain position so another can be put nicely in next to it to fit more in. Seeing as Joseph had been watching the Duffy channel each night before going to sleep, we brought the Duffy The Disney Bear story book which was the exact story they read on the channel so we could read it to him back home.

With our first few purchases done, we then moved onto the Wonderful World of Disney store. Not before Joseph got a chance to be spat on by Pirate Stitch.



Weirdly, we came out of there without actually buying anything (don’t worry, that would change on a return visit). With tiredness setting in with all of us, we headed to the bus stop and yet again, we timed it right as a bus had just turned up. We were looking forward to returning to a nice cool room and once back at the hotel. We opened the door to a sauna! For some reason, the air conditioning had been reset to 30 degrees so it was hotter than it was outside (and it was a hot day)! The door was propped open and the air-con turned down to I think 10 degrees. After cooling down in the bath, Joseph was peckish so he had a bit of left over pizza we had in the fridge.



Once the room had cooled down, Joseph was off to bed and asleep shortly after. It seemed like a long day for all of us but Joseph yet again proved he can handle anything. We were still amazed he had not been suffering with any jet lag or trouble with the time difference at all.

We thought (and had planned) a chill out day was required for the next day. Well, it sort of was a chill out day.

Click here for Day 5

[Mrschopper]

Really enjoying reading your updates, cant wait for the next one! Going with young ones makes it all the more magical, i cant wait to go with my 2 for the first time

[KarenG]

What a great day!

[caramelapple]

Loving your reports. Your little boy is adorable.

[tclaireh]

Great report, LOVE the picture of your son with Mickey, that's one for you to treasure!

[Milner]

Lovely day and photos.

[scotsprincess]

Great day

[Jezzerinos]

Originally Posted by tclaireh

Great report, LOVE the picture of your son with Mickey, that's one for you to treasure!

See more...

Thank you. It really is a great picture and one of the top pictures but it's not our favourite one of the holiday. The best it yet to come!

Glad you're all enjoying the trippie!

[belfastbabe]

i'm totally hooked -- and absolutely adore your little boy! what a magical report and beautiful memories for your lovely family! more please asap!

[Lpf]

More more! Loving this report!