Disney World: Day 4

On Thursday we decided to check out Disney's Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM--I suppose a rift happened somewhere along the line?) In the past, it has not been my favorite park, though there are a few good rides. But we ended up having a great morning. The difference? We concentrated on the shows, specifically the ones for the preschool set. We started off at the Little Mermaid, which summarizes the movie using puppets and movie clips. As we left the Little Mermaid in search of the stroller, I noticed a Playhouse Disney show across the way. (Emma and Madeline are HUGE fans of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.) Of course it was our next stop.


We loved the show, especially how interactive it is (everyone sits on the floor, and kids are encouraged to dance, etc.) Apparently, though I was enjoying things too much to take too many pictures. We also caught the Broadway-esque Beauty and the Beast show. Though the outdoor theater was hot even at the first show of the day (which wasn't until 11:30 am), Emma sat rapt with attention watching the whole thing. Perhaps she is ready to become a patron of the local children's theater. Maddie, though, was more interested in the snacks. :)

Our one miss was Toy Story Mania. We neglected to grab fast passes at the beginning of the day, so the wait was 80(!) minutes, and then the second time we walked by it had broken down. Next time! Otherwise it was a great morning. After lunch, we went back to the hotel for naps, in anticipation of our evening plans. Here's Emma on a random horse as we exited the park:

We all took a nap and then took some time to check out the pool. Emma went down the waterslide all by herself (with one of us waiting to catch her at the bottom). Maddie LOVED the baby pool. It was only 6 inches deep and we didn't have to worry to much about her tendency to drown herself.


After a relaxing swim, we donned our Halloween costumes and went to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. The park is open late, the characters are dressed in costumes, and there are special parades and trick-or-treating. In Disney-fied costumes:

(I'm not pictured, but just in case you were wondering, I had Minnie Mouse ears on. :) The girls loved Daisy's princess dress:

Here is Madeline eating the spoils of trick-or-treating while we camped out for the parade. Please ignore the bruises on my daredevil climber:

I left my nice camera at home so I didn't have to worry about it getting lost or stolen or bumped on rides, so unfortunately the cool villain-style lighting on the castle behind Emma didn't come out in this picture:

Some dimly lit parade shots:


The party was fun, but alas, my crew just isn't up to wild partying yet. We pooped out after the parade. Perhaps next time we'll be up for a little midnight Splash Mountain. :)