Spectacle of Lights

Despite our best efforts to sleep in, I guess we were a little too excited about our plans for the day. So, wide awake we once again made our journey out the door and to Hollywood Studios.

First thing first: you have to get the fast pass for the Toy Story ride first thing in the morning. Already, it was telling us to come back at 2:30. Can you believe how popular this ride is? This would be the first time we'd ride it - but that's later.

The next thing on our list was a major disappointment: we were hoping Madison would get to be in the Jedi Training Academy. So we went to that location and waited first in line and everything - only to find out that we were supposed to go somewhere else and make reservations first. You'd think there'd be a sign there that told us to do that. But no. And to make matters worse, we went immediately over to make the reservations only to find out that they JUST FILLED UP. Translation: if we hadn't wasted all that time waiting there, we would have had a chance to get Madison fighting Darth Vader. Further translated, IF THERE WAS A SIGN THAT TOLD US WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO, Madison would have had her lightsaber fight with Darth Vader. To say we were disappointed is an understatement: Daddy was waiting for this a very, very long time. And now we shall wait again...if only there was a sign or a helpful employee there. This would be one time that Disney dropped the ball. But it felt like a bowling ball dropped on Daddy's big toe.

We recovered by getting to ride on Star Tours, which was worth the hype in every way. Madison measured up and was indeed 40" tall, which was a big thrill for her: she's a big girl now! We boarded the starship and blasted off for space, visiting Hoth and Geonosis, Madison squealing all the way. It was a bumpy ride, but she loved it!

Next, we spent time with the Muppets. This time around, Madison was really into the 3D effects. She was laughing and pointing - and popping bubbles too. We don't have a favorite muppet yet, but this isn't the last time she'll be seeing them this season: we've got the movie coming up and of course the Muppets Christmas special.

Finally, it was time to eat:

Back to Hollywood and Dine we went, where Madison met June, Handy Manny, Jake the Pirate and Secret Agent Oso. Of course, she got their autographs too! The food here was very good, and all three of us filled up so much that we weren't really needing anything much to eat the rest of the day. It was a great, relaxing meal with good service and great company. Manny was Daddy's favorite - he spent a long time with Madison. The two had a great time together!

Things went by fast after that! We took Madison to the Indiana Jones Stunt Show next, where Madison told Daddy exactly what was going to happen before it happened. You see, everyone knows that when you go up there and grab the golden idol that a big ginormous ball is going to come rolling after you. And that's just what happened. Daddy was thrilled to watch Madison all the way through the show - her eyes were wide open, really focused on the action! Now we'll have to go home and play some more "Lego Indiana Jones 2!"

Afterwards, we made our way to the Disney Junior Show, which we made it right in for. That's been a great puppet show that Madison really enjoys. The new feature here was the addition of Jake and the Neverland Pirates, a segment that ended with golden "coins" falling from the ceiling down on all of us.

We left the show just in time to ease into the "Little Mermaid" show, which was a bit wetter than I remember it! Still, it was a great time. Madison enjoyed the show, particularly the "Under the Sea" routing, which featured lots of puppets and black light effects. The lasers are neat in this show too - it's such an old-school technology, and yet it's still fun. It works for what it is, and Madison had a great time here too.

So we got out of there in time to set up for the parade, which was huge. A Disney employee showed us a good place to sit in the shade, which turned out to be perfect for viewing the parade. It was called Pixar's Countdown to Fun Parade, which featured nothing but Pixar characters, including Boo!

That ought to be good enough for another 100,000 hits on this site! Anyway, the parade was fun. One highlight was Carl Fredrickson, the elderly hero from the movie "Up." He saw an older woman behind us and gestured for her to give him a call sometime! It was hilarious.

After the parade, we finally got to go on the Toy Story ride! It was actually pretty fun. Madison sat in Daddy's lap, and shot all the targets that popped up in front of us, while Mommy sat beside us doing the same thing. Mommy got the bigger score in the end, but we all had a good time.

Satisfied at our expertise, we next aimed for the Beauty and the Beast show. After the major misstep in the morning, we timed everything else so very well: we walked right in before the show, and caught Belle, Gaston and Beast in a great musical that Madison thoroughly enjoyed. It wasn't as over-the-top as the performance we saw earlier this year, but it was still very fun for everyone.

We still had some time to kill before dark, so we next decided to collect a few autographs. Back to Pixar Place! We stood in one of those long lines for autographs, a sort of rite of passage for parents: we got Madison to meet with Buzz and Woody! We snapped some pictures and got some autographs, and Madison talked with them both about some really deep stuff.

But it was getting dark. Which meant it was time to go see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, which was one of the main reasons we came to this park this time. We found a spot along the curb, and each had a Mickey-shaped ice cream - and then we waited ...three ...two ...one!

The lights came on and everyone there gasped! We're talking millions of lights. Here's the stats:

The Spectacle of Lights includes:
-- 5 million lights
-- 32 miles of extension cables
-- 66 snow machines
-- 100 gallons of snow fluid a night
-- 43 hidden Mickeys

It was simply amazing! All the lights are actually choreographed to Christmas music too! And again, there was snow: Madison danced around looking to catch snow as it fell down all around us. Here it is, November, and we've already seen two snow showers!

We walked around the light display, listened to the Christmas music, and even spent time by the Nativity set:

It was a glorious night! And really quite a spectacle. "Spectacle" is one of those words that tends to get overused, but this light show really was spectacular.

A perfect ending to a great day, we caught the bus home afterwards, and made our way back to the Wilderness Lodge. We trudged back into the room, but the neat thing was this: remember how I said we could see Cinderella's Castle from our room? Well, within twenty minutes of us getting back, the Wishes fireworks show began, over the castle.

We shut off the lights, opened the balcony door and stretched out on the bed. Just before going to sleep tonight, we sat there on the bed together watching yet another incredible fireworks display - without ever leaving the bed! Goodnight!