Jedi Training Academy

 The #1 thing that we wanted to do on our entire Disney trip was to have the kids participate in Jedi training.  Both Owen and Olivia love all things Star Wars and the chance to "train" with a Jedi Master was something that they both wanted to do.  The only issue- sign up for Jedi training is limited and it's first-come-first-served.  While planning our vacation, I stressed about getting "in" to Jedi training more than everything else combined.  The general consensus seemed to be that we needed to show up an hour before the park opened, be first into the park, and run to Jedi sign-ups in order to guarantee our spot.  So, we showed up an hour before the park opened.  As we were walking to the gate (where we were going to be among the first to enter the park), we saw a employee holding up a sign that said "Jedi".  I asked her about it, and she was signing kids up for training outside of the park before it opened.  We signed up immediately, and were in the first show of the day.

 The premise of the show is that the kids are younglings training to be Jedi.  A Jedi master comes out and takes them through a few training exercises.  Then, Darth Vader and two Storm Troopers interrupt training to try and turn the kids to the Dark Side.  The kids then take turns using their training to battle Darth Vader.  It's a pretty cool show.

 Owen was the first of our kids to battle Darth Vader.  He remembered his training and did a great job.  Apparently, the force is strong with him.

 Olivia was next and she did not hold back.  I kind of felt sorry for Vader because she was really letting him have it.

 In the end, Vader was unable to turn any of the younglings to the dark side, and he was forced to retreat.  Because the kids were able to drive Vader off, they were officially made Padawans and they each received a certificate declaring them as such.  This was a definite highlight of our trip.

Hollywood Studios

I think that we chose the perfect time for a family trip to Disney.  The older kids are just getting to the point where they are interested in the more thrilling rides, and Julianna is in her "princess" phase.  The variety of activities offered by Disney really seemed to meet everyone's interests.

We spent our first day at Hollywood Studios- and it was a full day.  We arrived one hour before opening and stayed until closing.  I had only been to this park once before- and that was the year it opened (when it was still called MGM Studios).  This park has definitely grown.  Here are some of our favorite things from this park:

#1:  Tower of Terror-  One of the icons of the park is the Tower of Terror.  The older kids wanted to ride it, so Brian, Kelly, and I took them on it.  It was scary and fun- probably my favorite ride of the park.  It freaked Olivia out a bit though.  She didn't even want to look at it for the rest of the day.

#2:  Jedi Trainig- Both Owen and Olivia enrolled in the Jedi Training Academy.  This was so awesome that it's getting its own post.

#3:  Shows- There weren't many rides at Hollywood Studios, but there were plenty of shows- and we saw just about every one of them.  One of our favorites was Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage.

#4- Thrills-  Our first ride of the day was the Rock and Roller Coaster.  This was the kids' favorite ride at the park.  We probably would have ridden it more than once had the line not been so long.

#5:  Rides- Although there are not as many rides at this park as there are in others, we did enjoy those that were there.  Everyone especially liked Toys Story Midway Mania- an arcade-like game where you shoot at targets and compete against the other players in you car.

 #6:  Characters- We met several characters while at Hollywood Studios.  One of the most memorable interactions was watching Olivia play slaps with a toy soldier.

 #7:  Movie icons- We saw several props and characters from various movies- including an umbrella (a la Singing in the Rain), Lightning McQueen and Mater, and the carriage and glass slipper from the new Cinderella movie.

#8:  Fantasmic- Fantasmic is the large-scale, night time spectacular that is put on at Hollywood Studios.  I had never seen it before and really wanted to.  We booked a "Fantasmic Dining Package" so that we could get reserved seats for the show.  The performance was standing-room only, but we had seats front-and-center.  It was a great show and a great way to close out our first full day at Disney.

Happily Ever After

 After the kids got all dressed up and made over, we headed over to the super-fancy Grand Floridian Hotel to have dinner at 1900 Park Fare. The Happily Ever After Dinner was a character meal featuring Cinderella and company.  

 Our table wasn't ready when we arrived, so we had about fifteen minutes to check out the hotel lobby.  It was decorated for Easter with large eggs fixed up like various Disney icons.  There was also a classical pianist in the lobby who was playing classic Disney tunes.

 Once we were seated, we headed toward the buffet.  The food was pretty good, and there was plenty of it.  Before long, the characters started coming around.  The first to arrive was Cinderella.  She greeted Olivia as "Queen Elsa" and discussed plans to visit Arendelle.

 Cinderella was followed by a very mannerly Prince Charming.

 And then by the not so mannerly Anastasia.  She had already walked by the table a couple of times and had messed with Owen's hair each time.  He acted like he didn't like that (but he really did).

 After that came the aloof Lady Tremaine, who declared the goings-on at the meal to be "bibbidi bobbidi boring".

Finally came the very loud Drizella.  She and Anastasia were a hoot.  We were quite amused by their antics.  We had decided to only do one character meal at Disney (because they are $$). I'm glad we chose this one- it was lots of fun.

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

 After checking in at our hotel, we traveled to Downtown Disney for an appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  Here, fairy godmother Marcela gave both kids a make-over.  

 Owen was the first in the chair.  He was getting the "knight package".  This included spiking and putting confetti in his hair.

 Owen's make-over did not take long.  In no time he was ready for the "big reveal".  He was handed a sword and shield to complete the "knight" look.  He was pretty pleased with the finished product (but he was even more pleased with the sword and shield).

 Owen really got into acting like a knight.  For the rest of the afternoon he walked ahead of us, sword at the ready.

 Olivia was up next.  She was getting a princess make-over- which included hair, nails, and make-up.  Prior to getting in the chair we went ahead and changed into her Elsa dress.

 Olivia was able to choose the type of hair style that she wanted as well as the color of her nail polish and make-up.  She took these decisions very seriously.

 The look on her face during the "big reveal" was priceless.  She looked so stunning.

 Like Owen, Olivia had no trouble getting into character.  She walked around Downtown Disney with her head held high and her back straight.  Everyone called her "Princess" and complemented her look- and she enjoyed every second of it.

 Since we had already purchased the memory maker photo package, we decided to go in for a photo shoot at the Downtown studio.  I'm really happy with how the pictures came out.

Disney All-Stars

We have just returned from our long-awaited family trip to Walt Disney World.  We took this trip with my parents and with the Murray family. While we stayed together for much of the trip, we did do some things separately depending on the interests of the different parties.  (If you like to read about Disney, be sure to check out Hannah's blog as she will be posting about the trip as well.)  I feel that we accomplished a lot in our time at Disney, and I have tons of pictures- so get ready to be bombarded with Disney posts.

 We decided to try a new hotel this time, so we booked a room at the All-Star Movies Resort.  It reminded me a lot of the other value resorts that we've stayed at in the past.  The resort was well-themed with movie paraphernalia.  There was even a little movie screen and chairs in the lobby that the kids could sit in while the adults went through the check-in process.  I thought that was neat.  

Our room was in the 101 Dalmations section close to the Fantasia pool.  Olivia and Owen took advantage of the close swimming opportunities.  On two separate afternoons, the kids went down to the pool to cool off and to participate in the fun pool-side games (where they won three- count them- three whoopie cushions).

 We also enjoyed some time in the hotel arcade.

 Although we liked the hotel a lot, it was pretty much just a place to lay our heads- we were in the parks for the major part of each day.  This was by no means a relaxing vacation- it was pretty much go, go, go.  Now that we're home, I feel that we need a vacation to recover from our vacation.  It was fun, though, so totally worth it.