Walt Disney World Day 3: Lights, Camera, Action!

Step inside, you leave everything else behind. Once you enter, there is no going back. –The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Screenplay by Doug Miro, Matt Lopez, Carlo Bernard

Monday, January 20, 2014
Destination: Disney's Hollywood Studios
Weather Forecast: High of 70˚

8:00 am, EST [6:00 am, MST]: OK. I'm up.
9:19 am, EST [7:19 am, MST]: Bathing, dressing, herding of the cats successfully completed.
9:40 am, EST [7:40 am, MST]: Today we are going to Downtown Disney to visit the LEGO store there. Grasshopper and LadyBug have a little spending money and they want to take advantage of a whole store full of LEGOs in close proximity. We are taking the Sassagoula Water Taxi again. It is a beautiful ride. Then again, everything here is beautiful to me. While it's not exactly the season for lush green lawns, they are mostly green and not covered in snow. That qualifies as beautiful to me. Mr. Bug lived in Florida for 4 years when he was serving in the Navy and he said he got absolutely bored with the weather, so I guess there is something to be said for having four different seasons rather than hot and less hot.
10:17 am, EST [8:17 am, MST]: We've arrived at Downtown Disney and decided that the breakfast menus aren't all that appetizing. We're going to do our shopping first and then we'll find some lunch.
12:02 pm, EST [10:02 am, MST]: Our shopping is done. Grasshopper and LadyBug both chose to make their own LEGO mini figures. There were probably 16 containers which you could sift through to find exactly the right parts to assemble to create the perfect little LEGO man or woman. Grasshopper also picked out a small LEGO set on which to spend the remainder of his money. LadyBug and I went to The House of Disney, where she picked out a Stitch {as in Lilo and Stitch} stuffed animal/alien to use the rest of her spending money on. I choose a few more Disney Trading Pins and a pair of Mickey silhouette earrings. Mr. Bug is looking for a polo shirt, but hasn't found the right one yet.

12:13 pm, EST [10:13 am, EST]: Today, we're eating at Wolfgang Puck Express. This is a Quick Service {as in, fast food} restaurant. We rarely pay as much for a sit-down meal as this cost. I'm completely sold on the Disney Dining Plan. When we booked there was a really great special going on, or I probably wouldn't have got it. But now that I've seen what meals cost and what you're allotted on the Dining Plan, I am a believer. It is much less stressful to pay for it all up front and then be able to order what you like from the menu, tap your MagicBand, enter your pin and go. Granted, we would be doing things differently if we were on the pay-as-you-go plan {i.e. sharing meals, skipping desserts, etc.}, but this is a lot less stressful, as I mentioned. And not much food is going to waste. Grasshopper has vowed to eat his weight in whatever he's having at any particular meal. And sometimes he eats what's left of other people's meals too.
1:00 pm, EST [11:00 am, MST]: We thought we could take a shuttle from here to our park of choice for the day, but we cannot. We have to go back to our hotel via shuttle or Water Taxis. That's a little stressful as we're running short on time. Our first FastPass for today is available between 1:00 pm {a.k.a. now} and 2:00 pm.
1:05 pm, EST [11:05 am, MST]: Lucky for us, there was a water taxi waiting to leave just as we arrived at the dock. We're on our way back to the hotel. It is a very lovely ride. I want to take some pictures, but I'm afraid I'll drop my phone over the side of the boat. That would not be good.
1:34 pm, EST [11:34 am, MST]: Having stopped in our room for a quick potty break {sidebar: it seems like when you're traveling you're always in pursuit of a bathroom or a meal.} and to drop off our purchases, we just missed the shuttle to Disney's Hollywood Studios, or so we've been informed by the other people waiting for a shuttle {obviously to a different park}. The app won't let me change the time on our FastPass, so now I'm starting to sweat it.
1:42 pm, EST [ 11:42 am, MST]: The shuttle is here. It seems like we were waiting forever. I hope the driver has a lead foot.
2:17 pm, EST [12:17 pm, MST]: We made it to the park, took photos out front, rented a locker, took another bathroom break and checked at the FastPass Kiosk, but could not change our FastPass, so we missed Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. The current wait time in 70 minutes and no one wants to do that. {Sidebar: Surprisingly, it is possible to be grumpy in The Most Magical Place On Earth.}

2:40 pm, EST [12:40 pm, MST]: After milling about for a bit, our FastPass at The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror has become available. Grasshopper is not going to ride. I am torn between not wanting to miss anything and not wanting to be dropped from 13 stories high. Repeatedly.
2:41 pm, EST [12:41 pm, MST]: I left my phone with Grasshopper and have joined LadyBug and Mr. Bug, who can't wait for the ride to begin, in the line.
3:04 pm EST [1:04 pm, MST]: Grasshopper got creative with the camera phone while we were in The Tower of Terror.

4:10 pm, EST [2:10 pm, MST]: We've had frozen lemonade, ridden The Great Movie Ride, made an attempt to catch a show, but it was packed by the time Grasshopper and Mr. Bug finished in the restroom, so we milled about for a bit and now our Fast Past for Star Tours is available.

4:25 pm, EST [2:25 pm, MST]: My cover as a spy for the rebellion has been blown. I can even by a t-shirt that says so. {Sidebar: Star Tours has changed since I last rode it.}

5:15 pm, EST [3:15 pm, MST]: We just finished the Muppet Vision 3D show and are seated and waiting for the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular to start. I'm really glad to have a place to sit and rest my feet. We are definitely going to soak our feet again tonight and use that nice peppermint-y lotion on them.
5:53 pm, EST [3:53 pm, MST]: Today was nice and sunny. For a minute there, I wondered if I should have applied sunblock. It's starting to cool off now, so we're going to get our coats from the locker. And find a bathroom.
6:07 pm, EST [4:07 pm, MST]: After some milling about, we've stopped to consult the map and check the wait times.
6:35 pm, EST [4:35 pm, MST]: After consulting the clock, we realized that we didn't have time to do anything but check in for our 6:20 pm dinner reservations at Hollywood and Vine. They seated us a few minutes ago. LadyBug is having a complete meltdown because there is nothing on the entire buffet that she wants to eat. Not even the chicken nuggets. I'm wondering if I heard/remembered right everything the chef told that had dairy in it as we walked me down the buffet.
7:36 pm, EST [5:36 pm, MST]: Mr. Bug got LadyBug some chocolate ice cream from the dessert bar. Eating dessert first is always bound to improve your mood, so eventually she did eat something. A very little something. And then some more chocolate ice cream. When on vacation . . . We haven't decided whether we want to wait in line for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster or not. The wait is down to 40 minutes, which is the best it's been all day.
7:42 pm, EST [5:42 pm, MST]: After some more milling about, and contemplating the possibility of me staying to ride the roller coaster {because I'm the only one whose interested, I guess} we've decided to all head for the shuttles.
8:00 pm, EST [6:00 pm, MST]: Ah, home-away-from-home sweet home.
10:19 pm, EST [8:19 pm, MST]: LadyBug and I soaked our feet and then I massaged them while Grasshopper put together his new LEGO set. About an hour ago, LadyBug decided she was hungry {because chocolate ice cream and roast beef does not a dinner make, even in The Magic Kingdom}, so Mr. Bug took her to find some food. I tooled around on the interwebs and now it is time for bed.