Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Day 2 - A Birthday in Hollywood!

Monday, December 22nd was Grandma Carmen's birthday. What a fun way to spend the day...celebrating a birthday at a Disney Park. It was definitely her special day, as she got to wear a special button to let everyone know it was her birthday. People who saw it were sure to give her special attention, many happy birthdays and lots of exposure. Pretty special.

We spent the day at Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). Rudy and Bianca headed off upon entry to get FastPasses for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride. The rest of us found a gift shop to raid. We walked the streets of the park and found Handy Manny, then Leo from The Little Einsteins. What a kick!


As three of us went to ride the Tower of Terror (pure terror for one of us!), Dominic and Donovan got to meet Mickey Mouse inside a building along Mickey Avenue. Little did they know they should have had their autograph books. Thankfully Grandma Gertie had her camera at least! Devin took a snooze in the stroller while waiting with Papa outside the building.

Next, while cruising for something to eat, we came across Green Army Men, Yellow Ranger and Blue Ranger - a truly magical sighting for this mom of a 6-year-old boy! Dominic was in awe; just truly stunned at the findings. Bianca got some pointers from Blue Ranger on how to pose, and a group photo was taken.
The kids played at the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids play area. Papa Gertie got lost and found his way back toward the entrance/exit in hopes of us returning. The kids were all over the place! Donovan loved stomping on the tree stumps that made music. Some great pics were taken here, but I'll spare you the overload for now.

For the birthday girl, we enjoyed a VIP seating pass to the
Fantasmic Show after a buffet-style dinner. This was the coldest night of our entire trip and it very much reminded us of being home in California. This was really odd weather for Orlando!


Our magical day concluded with The Osbourne Family's Spectacle of Lights. Simply stunning. We really felt like we were in a winter wonderland, as it was so cold. This display of lights reminded us that this really was Christmas! It was truly amazing to stand within the illuminated Streets of America.

For Day 3, our planned visit to Epcot was interrupted and rescheduled after an unexpected illness. Three of us didn't get the needed sleep for a full day of exploring ahead! Stay tuned....

2 comments:

Joan said...

How exciting! I cannot wait to read of the rest of the trip! Those lights were amazing!

Thanks to you , you have inspired us to look into a trip the year after next =)

Kelli W said...

Hollywood Studios sounds like so much fun!! I am just hoping my boys aren't terrified of all the characters! Were your boys scared of them at all {it doesn't look like it from the pictures!}??