Magic Kingdom...at night...

Even though we were both flat busted after a very very hot day at Hollywood Studios, Adam and I both agreed that we should take advantage of our last day of park tickets and hit up Magic Kingdom after dinner for a little bonus time with Mickey. 

We rejuvenated ourselves with some cool down time at the pool, showers, fresh outfits, Gatorade and dinner and then we were all set for a magical evening. The boat ride over was wonderful as we made the smart decision to sit outside up front - the breeze on our faces and chatter about what rides we hoped to hit. I think we both were hoping the park wouldn't be as crowded - a hope that was quickly squashed upon arrival. Duh! Magic Kingdom at night is all kinds of colorful, festive, and hello - much cooler - so of course it was crowded. Not to worry - we still managed to have a blast. 

We rode the Goofy roller coaster again - definitely a fun ride and while we weren't able to go 5 times in a row like we had the first day, we enjoyed that last go around and even got a little video of the fun. 

As we walked around we managed to happen upon a dance party that Mr. & Mrs. Incredible were throwing. Adam was a bit shy but it was fun to see them all the same. 

Using the Disney App (no where near as good as Tara Tour Guide) we noticed that Thunder Mountain only had a 30 minute wait so we headed over there and were thrilled to have scored seats in the back row. It was a totally different experience and with darkness setting in it was fun to see the park starting to light up - Adam was quite mesmerized by Cinderella's Castle being all pink and purple. 

From there we wandered over to the Jungle Cruise, a ride we hadn't done on our first visit, and we were pleasantly surprised when the cast member working the line let us sneak into the Fast Pass lane, saving us a 30 minute wait. The ride was a bit cheesey, but Adam enjoyed it and it was a definite trip down memory lane for me. 

By the time we finished that and had worked our way through the heavy crowds lined up for the electric parade and the fireworks we both agreed we'd had enough and decided to do just a little more shopping before our Fast Pass time slot to meet Mickey. Happily during our stroll through the shops we caught some of the fireworks which were pretty cool to see over the castle. 

Of course the icing on the cake was our meet and greet with Mickey - we couldn't possibly leave Disney without getting a hug and photo with the mouse that started it all! It was a great moment seeing Adam meet Mickey - all of a sudden my Star Wars loving, light saber fighting, nearly 7 going on 15 year old big guy was back to being just a kid who loves Mickey - and who doesn't!? 

Oh Disney, you captured our hearts (and wallets!) during this visit and we can't wait to do it all again when Harper is old enough. So for now we'll just say thank you and "See ya real soon!" 

Jedi Training...

I'm not sure who was more excited about the Jedi Training - Adam or me - well, ok probably Adam but I was super excited as well. It was great that he had Reid to do it with him too. All the little padawans got robed up (which FYI it was as hot as could be but that didn't seem to phase them at all) and then it was off to training. 

The whole experience was amazing. Everything from the "Star Wars" theme music blasting as the training began to the awesome light saber training on stage to the epic battles with the dark forces it was Disney to the nth degree! 

Watching the faces of those kids when Darth Vader arrived and hearing his theme music playing was almost too much - all I could think was "wow, my brother is going to be soooo jealous, haha!" 

Adam did awesome fighting Darth Vader and while he may have complained a little that it was such a short fight I quickly reminded him that - hello - you just battled Darth Vader!! He smiled.

Amazing job Disney - this was a day to remember for sure! 

Hollywood Studios...

I remember when I first went to Disney and the highlight at Hollywood Studios was the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" attraction - Mark & Kathleen even got to star in a live production where as I recall, Mark was hanging from the bumble bee and Kathleen was trying to hold on to him - boy if only we had iPhones back then! Of course the times have changed and now the highlight is of course - "Star Wars." Needless to say, this was what Adam was most excited about - and frankly I too couldn't wait for him to get his geek on about anything and everything "Star Wars." 

The day began with us waiting in line to sign up for Jedi Training (that deserves its own post so stay tuned) and then it was off to try the newest "Star Wars" ride - "Star Tours." It was pretty awesome and assuming you didn't get motion sick it left you feeling like you had just flown to a galaxy far far away with C3PO at the controls - or it left you feeling like you wanted to be sick - or perhaps a little bit of both. Ha! Regardless of how I felt - Adam was in total awe of the whole thing. Even the walkway to get to the ride was filled with characters from the movies. Afterwards we had the kids pose for a photo - it was pretty much hilarious seeing Adam as a young Obi Won. 

After that it was time to go meet some characters. First up was Kilo Ren who scared the you know what out of me when I walked around the corner and he was just lurking there - yikes! The kids were even keeping their distance until Reid braved up and got up close and personal. 

Our next character was far more friendly - Chewbacca!! He was huge and friendly and we all got a kick out of giving him hugs. Much more my speed! 

Adam was excited to have also met some Jawas (Adam had to just spell that for me) in the hallway. 

After that we headed to the Hollywood Tower of Terror which Reid and Ava decided they did not want to ride again (having been fully terrified after their visit two years ago) but Adam was way too excited to let their fear deter him - oh how I wish he had. After an hour+ wait (we were missing our Tara Tour Guide) we finally got to ride it and let me tell you, my stomach is still stuck to the ceiling of that elevator. Even Adam, who seems fearless about rides looked at me halfway through and asked to get off. Ha! Of course an hour later he was begging to ride it again - ummm...no. 

We had time for one more ride after that before our Jedi Training time slot so we hit up the "Toy Story" ride which was pretty much the best - and the perfect antidote to the pit in my stomach that the Tower of Terror had left me with. You walk into that ride and they've got it designed to feel like you are a toy just like Buzz & Woody. Everything is super sized. Then the ride itself is an interactive game where you are shooting down balloons, throwing pies, etc and earning points along the way. Super fun and totally Disney. 

Of course for as much fun as we'd already had the best was yet to come...on to Jedi Training young Padawan.