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| Disney's Hollywood Studios |
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| A cozy hobo nest |
We discovered what the kids refer to as a “hobo nest” under the
stairs near our condo. Upon inspection, I found empty liquor bottles scattered
about, a bottle of barbecue sauce, and a broom to keep things tidy. The nest,
and the possible activities that took place there, was our topic of discussion
on the ten-minute drive to Hollywood Studios this morning. When we arrived at the park, we walked the red carpet through the gates and followed Sunset Boulevard directly toward the Tower of
Terror.
The Tower of Terror is our favorite ride at Disney’s
California Adventure, and it’s permanently closing in January to make way for a new Guardians of the Galaxy attraction; so, this
experience meant a lot to us because it could be the last time we ride it. Everything about today’s ride was perfect. There were differences between the California and Florida rides that we had no
idea about, which totally added to the excitement. The 13-story drop was as exhilarating
as ever and woke us up like coffee never could.
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| Isn't it beautiful? |
Our next ride was Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. I like the ride's storyline: Our group entered a recording studio where we watched Aerosmith finishing up a
session just as their manager came in to tell them that they're late for their own concert. The band told her they can’t leave their friends (us) behind and then invited us to come along as their special guests. The doors opened, we boarded the ride, which was
supposed to be our stretch limo, and then it was a race to get to the show on time. The
ride included every bit of Aerosmith cheesiness you can imagine. For instance, before taking off, a sign flashes dumb stuff like, “Freeway jammed—so we be jammin’!” and “Traffic jammed...NOT!” But the ride was fast and furious; we were rolled, looped, and corkscrewed at 60 mph and we
all loved it, even with Aerosmith blaring from the speakers behind our heads.
We walked to Hollywood Boulevard and rode The Great Movie
Ride which was a tribute to movies and movie stars. It was enjoyable, but we really just wanted to go to Launch Bay and experience Star Wars.
Like Launch Bay in Disneyland, this one contains movie props, artwork, films,
and meet and greet opportunities. For our first stop, we wanted to watch a behind-the-scenes film about making the Star Wars movies. As we entered the theater, an elderly
cast member named Jim ushered us back out saying, “This is the not
the theater you’re looking for.” Actually, Jim, yes it is the theater we’re
looking for. Your Jedi mind trick won’t work on us. So we asked another cast
member how we could get back into the theater to see the movie. The young man
apologized and brought us back to Jim, explained that we wanted to see the
movie, and put us in the front of the line. Since we had to wait ten minutes for
the next film, Jim, who was very apologetic, filled out a “No Strings Attached” slip and gave us
front-of-the-line privileges to the ride of our choice; we chose Star Tours.
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| Jim took good care of us |
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| Another first for our family |
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| Ashley enjoying a drink with a Jawa at the Cantina |
We went to an attraction called Indiana Jones Epic Stunt
Spectacular in which “Indy” and “Marion” do incredible stunts with explosions
and fights and fire, and a crew teaches the audience about the magic behind
making movies. At the beginning of the show, a cast member picked twelve
volunteer “movie extras” from the audience. They were taken off to get
instructions and sign liability waivers, and I forgot all about them. About
fifteen minutes later, I saw twelve people enter the back of the theater wearing
turbans and robes, and I’m not gonna lie, for a split second, I thought, “Well,
this is it: the terrorist attack I’ve been waiting for.” Sorry, but that was my
immediate reaction. Then I nervously laughed at myself and looked around wondering
if I was the only one whose mind went straight to terrorism. It appeared as though I was. The extras were dressed that way
because they were acting as citizens of Cairo shopping at an open-air market
place for Indy’s fight scene. Oops.
Later in the day, the girls went back to Tower of Terror,
and the boys and I watched Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage to pass the
time. During the play, every time I looked over at Chad and Jackson, they were making
faces or rolling their eyes to demonstrate their disapproval. Especially during
the scene where Gaston stabs the Beast and the Beast staggers around the stage
before collapsing. But when the play was over, those boys of mine walked out of the theater
singing Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson's version of “Beauty and the Beast” so loud (with harmonies) that I heard other people chiming in as they walked by. My boys also mid-air arm wrestled, pinched each other's nipples, and roughhoused all the way down the sidewalk.
We found the girls sitting on a bench, and the kids decided to ride Star Tours. Chad and I walked
through the line with them and then, at the last minute, jumpd out of line and
went outside to take pictures. Star Tours sits in the middle of Endor with a
giant AT-AT towering above the trees, and as the sun set, the whole scene was
stunning.
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| An enormous AT-AT |
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| Tatooine Traders with Endor in the background |
Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast
- The Niemeyers
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