Hollywood Studios

Our last day at Disney World was spent at Hollywood Studios. This park was never my favorite in the past. However, this time,we agreed that this was one of the very best days. The kids had just watched all of the Star Wars movies before our trip, and there are so many more Star Wars details now that Disney owns the films and characters.  

After catching the cute Disney Junior show, we hurried in line to meet Chewbacca and Kai Lo Ren. Claire was timid at first to meet Chewy, but once she petted him and realized he was ok, she agreed to be in the picture. 

Avery asked how the map works...Chewy was very patient. ;)

Claire was not digging Kai Lo Ren, so she waited in the wings with Mimi and Grandpa. He was pretty creepy. 

 Family pic...looking into the sun.

 We all loved the Toy Story arcade style ride (Phil creamed us all when we compared points) and caught up with these "toy soldiers" on the way out. Apparently, Avery thought that standing at attention was preferable to giving a salute. 

 The storm troopers just walked all around inside the park staying in character by saying things such as "Step aside, citizen" and "All traitors will be punished." Avery managed to run up to one to snag a quick picture.

 We also attempted to trade with the Jawas, which I had read about on a Disney insider blog. Sadly, this Jawa didn't have anything to trade for our poncho, which we didn't need all week (woohoo!). Sometimes they give out scrap metal from ships and droids, apparently. Avery wanted to keep trying, but I didn't want to spend time asking them later because I couldn't tell them apart!

 We did grab a picture with one! Love the glowing eyes...Claire's not so sure.

 Our lunch was with Disney Junior characters at Hollywood and Vine. The chocolate covered strawberries and the dirt cake for the kids were my favorite!

 We were excited to see Doc McStuffins and Sofia!

 Pirate Jake and Handy Manny also stopped by to say hello.

 We got a great spot to watch the March of the First Order, and it was one of the coolest parts of the day. Captain Phasma lead a small army of stormtroopers right through the middle of the park to the stage with scary marching music blaring. She then made a threatening speech about what would happen to anyone who aided the Resistance and fired her weapon (firework) into the sky before they marched out the way they came. Claire didn't want me to hold her too close to them, but we could have reached out and grabbed them as they walked by! So fun!

 We caught the Star Wars ride and another Star Wars show, as well as The Little Mermaid show, Indiana Jones, and the Frozen Sing Along (My favorite! So funny for both the kids and adults!).

R2D2 Mickey :)

The best part about our character lunch that day was that we received VIP tickets to the completely full early showing (7:30) of Fantasmic. It was sprinkling a little bit, and we were worried about it being canceled. Thankfully, the rain stopped, and we had wonderful seats.  The show was fantastic, although maybe a little scary for the kids at times. It was good vs. evil (Mickey taking on the Disney villains).  It included nearly all the Disney characters and was a great way to end our trip. 

 The morning we left, we had one last character meal at the Polynesian Resort (used every bit of our meal plan!). The kids have never really been too into the movie, but they were surprisingly very excited to meet Lilo and Stitch. 

 They paraded around the restaurant with Pluto and snagged last minute autographs with him and Mickey. Avery was so impressed that they'd gotten to meet Mickey twice! We were disappointed to never see Minnie up close, but now we have a goal for our next trip!

 It was an exhausting vacation, but it was so worth it to see the excitement on the kids' faces and know that they will remember this trip for years to come! It was also really special that we were able to share the experience with Mimi and Grandpa (Thanks, Mom and Dad!). We will have to rest up for a bit (or several years) before we are ready to head back. ;)