Fireworks and Fireflies: Make A Wish {Monday at Disney's Hollywood Studios ~ a birthday on Batuu}

fair warning...there are a RIDICULOUS number of pictures in this post!

monday, february 17, 2020

While we decided upon an early start for our first park day, it wasn't difficult to get everyone up and moving. You could say ecitement was in the air for everyone...especially the birthday boy!

We arrived at breakfast just before the buffet officially opened (us? before something opens? chalk it up to 10th birthday excitement...it's likely never to happen again...) and were greeted at check in with birthday wishes for Nicholas. Options were plentiful, including breakfast sandwiches, an omelette station, a bountiful fruit selection and a waffle bar.

And if you want tons of whipped cream in your hot chocolate and on your waffle?

It's your birthday kiddo, have at it! Siblings included...this is after all a trip for ALL of us to enjoy to the full letter!

Appetites sated, we piled in the van and headed to Hollywood Studios, Nicholas's park of choice for his first decade birthday extravaganza. This was the moment we first began to see the magic of being a MAW family. As we pulled into the park, we flashed our badge and were granted not only free parking, but also preferential parking. Those pulling in at the same time as us were directed to park in an area that was a good ten minute walk to the gates...we just got out of the car and walked across one lane of traffic to the park entrance.

cloudy skies didn't put a damper on our excitement!

Somehow we managed to talk our camera hating teens into stopping for a picture on our way to Sunset Boulevard. After all, we had a free Memory Maker and we don't often get a full family photo...besides, we were in Disney, smiles are more abundant from those reluctant to pose!

First order of business? Nicholas's very favorite ride...

..."the Tower of the Terror!" (known to most others as Tower of Terror) What, you may ask, makes Nicholas love this ride so?

Well, that would be because he absolutely loves that feeling of weightlessness just as the elevator begins to plunge down the elevator shaft. And weighing in at just under 46 pounds, even with the seatbelt pulled as tight as it will go, he gets a good bit of airtime off his seat!

nothing but smiles after his thrill ride!

While we were down at the end of Sunset Boulevard we caught another adrenaline rush because lines were no issue. That "Genie pass" around Nicholas's neck got us into any fast pass line we desired, as many times per ride as we desired and at any time of day we desired. You are right Genie, we've never had a friend like you at Disney before!

When we feel the need for speed while in Hollywood Studios, we know where to go. The initial launch on Rock 'N' Roller Coaster of 0 to 57 mph in 2.8 seconds gets all of our hearts pumping!

With our Genie Pass we walked straight up into the pre-show area...and before we knew it the band's manager had asked for a stretch limo to arrive and we were on our way to board.

We quickly paired off and excitement (or nerves...in all fairness I suppose it was a bit of both) was running high. I was pretty proud of my big girl. She's come a long way in overcoming her terror of coasters since we visited in December of '15. That day she made it to the gates before becoming overrun with fear and heading straight to the rider switch waiting room. Then when we visited in January of '19 she rode, but was absolutely terrified (and we have ride photos to prove it).

This time she still may have been scared, but she managed to look more thrilled in the photo (though you may notice she is pretty much breaking my fingers with her death grip) and actually looks like she's enjoying herself a bit more than her brothers behind her.

How do you know this is a fast ride? We have a family measure called "Daddy's hair-o-meter." The fast ones give him a bit of a crazy look...

The line was so fast that we decided to ride again. After all, we LOVE Rock 'N' Roller Coaster!

Morning thrills accomplished, it was time to head to a galaxy far, far away. One minute you're walking down Grand Avenue headed toward an unassuming tunnel...

...and the next you find yourself blinking in the bright sunlight of another world. Welcome to Batuu on the "Galaxy's Edge."

We truly felt as though we had stepped onto another planet.

Everywhere we turned there was something reminding us we weren't in Kansas anymore. As much as we tried to slow down and take in each detail and character encounter, we...okay, I...had a specific sight in mind. Suddenly we came around a corner and there it was, "the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy."

Maybe it has to do with my early childhood love for Han Solo, but I was like a kid in a candy shop when we first caught glance of the Millennium Falcon!

Again, we were quickly ushered into the FastPass line (though it almost would have been worth going through the regular line to catch all of the details).

In true Disney fashion, they spared no expense in recreating this iconic ship.

Right down to the Dejarik table where C3PO suggested to R2D2 to "let the Wookiee win."

We all expected Han, Leia, Luke, Chewie or the droids to come around the corner at any time.

I don't know about the rest of the crew, but I almost would have been content to just walk the Falcom as a tour, somewhat like the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse and take in every nook and cranny.

But then suddenly it was time to jump into the cockpit. Each holds six people, so we split into two groups of four...Daddy with the bigs and Mommy with the littles. Obviously one of us remembered to get the camera out just before Hando instructed us to take off.

We were all assigned the role of either pilots or gunners and had varying roles of success in our 4 1/2 minute flight. Ian's team beat ours pretty badly...but we did have Nicholas in one of our pilot seats, so there's that. (If you can't read between the lines, that kid isn't going to drive my van when he turns 16!) Before we knew it we were heading out of the landing bay and back into the sunshine of Batuu, ready to find something to eat.

We wandered by Olga's Cantina and looked inside (super cool and we would have liked to have stayed, but there was a SUPER long line so we kept moving) and even considered grabbing a blue or green milk from the milk stand across from the Tie Echelon in the First Order area of Batuu.

The environment was a bit too hostile, what with all the first order troopers around, to Resistance-friendly folks like us.

So we ditched the milk stand and headed back to Rontu's Roasters to grab a quick lunch. We had a magical Disney moment at checkout when I gasped at the price (even with our Make a Wish debit card the cost of three wraps, four orders of jerkey, four soft drinks and four Tatooine sunsets gave me pause), we'd been spoiled with free dining plans both of our most recent trips. The girl at checkout saw our card and when she realized we were a Wish family she comped our sunset drinks which took about $24 off the ticket.

Bellies full, it was time to do a little exploring and shopping. The Market Merchants area truly felt like another world.

The market ended very close to an X-wing Starfighter which of course we had to check out...was it once flown by a legendary jedi apprentice?

That led us to an A-Wing Starfighter...what rebels and resistance leaders had once fought from this cockpit? In the moment, would we have had the guts to commit to the cause?

Inspired with all we saw, we were ready to join the "Rise of the Resistance," but unfortunately the First Order was overpowering the Resistance and there was no boarding at the time.

Instead of just sitting around and waiting, we decided to return to Earth to spend some time with Andy and his toys.

Slinky Dog Dash is such a smooth ride with fun surprises and character moments that it brings out the kid in all of us.

we *heart* Wheezy!

We enjoyed it so much that we looped back around and got right back on giving further proof that the Genie Pass is pretty much the best thing that could happen to a person at Disney.

And no visit to Toy Story Land is complete without giving the 3-D cardinal type games on Toy Story Mania!

Still eager to join the resistance, we decided to head back to Batuu. Looking back now we realize how we added to the distance between Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge by thinking we knew the park and failing to pick up a map. It could be said that we doubled our steps by failing to realize there was a wormhole in space between the two lands.

at least passing back by Star Tours provided a cool backdrop for Darcy to pose with her new friend

Thankfully we made a pit stop at Woody's Lunchbox for a few Pop Tarts. The sugar rush ensured fewer grumbles as we made our way back to the Resistance area of Batuu.

As we made our way back into the land, we got a chance for Nicholas to entertain Chewie and Rey. This was a pretty rare occurrence because while you frequently see them walking through Batuu, they typically don't stop for impromptu meet and greets.

That Genie Pass got us more than fast access to rides, that's for sure! We had a good conversation with Chewie...via his interpreter...and before we moved on Rey walked by. She carried on conversation with Nicholas (who clammed up as he was initially star struck) for about five minutes before moving on. While I know she couldn't have actually been, it would not have taken much to convince me that this actually was Daisy Ridley. She certainly looked the part and her accent was spot on! Her parting words included a promise not to tell Chewie if Nicholas crashed the Falcon. She had no idea just how prophetic those words were...

Our hopes of joining Resistance were still being squelched by the First Order, so we headed back to fly the Falcon one more time, this time getting the shot I wanted of all six kids at the Dejarik table.

And I can confirm it was a good thing Rey made the promise she did to Nicholas. He was one of the pilots in my cabin on our second flight and even the second time left some considerable damage in his wake!

When we stepped out we took a few more pictures. After all, I had just turned four when my friend's cool Aunt Liz took us to the movies to see Han Solo...I mean Star Wars...for the first time! This was a series of movies that have pretty much spanned my lifetime and here we were in front of the Millennium Falcon!

By this point we had learned how to check on the MyDisney app to see if new recruits were being taken to join the resistance. With a screen result that could be translated to, "Not at this time," we decided to explore just a bit more.

We found landspeeders,

droids,

and were interrogated by first order troopers. They asked if we were sympathetic to the Resistance.

Good thing they didn't realize that's where we were headed! Finally the force was working in our favor. Once again, the Genie Pass saved the day. All we had to do was inquire about the ride and we were immediately ushered in...no virtual boarding group necessary.

As we made our way into the cave Daniel lit up the darkness with his new saber.

It was easy to imagine we were actually entering a resistance bunker!

And then we were ushered back out into the daylight where a Poe Dameron's x-wing was center stage...

but we were urged to quickly board a transport ship.

I won't give all the details of the experience, but at one point we had been captured by the first order and while waiting to be put into a detention unit, Caleb was determined to protect us.

Adventure complete, we were hungry and decided to head to Epcot to get dinner and stroll a bit. After spending most of the day on our feet, it was a great chance to rest our legs and check out the newest form of Disney transportation, the Skyliner.

We were surprised how breezy the cabins felt and enjoyed our fifteen(ish) minute ride. This was the first time we entered Epcot at the International Gateway. While the original plan was to walk over to China to grab curry pockets and potstickers, Ian and I quickly realized the sugar crash situation with some of the kids was getting critical. Since we were super close to the UK and could smell the fish & chips, we decided to explore the culture of the younger boys' teachers.

take a picture of me and send it to mr guille!

We quickly devoured our food...most of us properly by dipping in malt vinegar...and I was reminded of the mass amounts of fish & chips I consumed during my study abroad days at Elon. There was the BEST fish & chips stand near the school I did my practicum in and if I didn't eat at the local pub on Tuesday and Thursdays, I for sure grabbed a cone of fish & chips and enjoyed them in the schoolyard while the children played.

Sugar crash averted, we decided to head up to the Land and Soar over iconic places in the world. There was a ton of construction going on and while the walls often prevented us from taking the shortest route, at least they were decorated nicely.

My girls made beautiful butterflies!

And then before we knew how exactly the day had faded away, it was fully dark and the lights appeared around the edge of the World Showcase. While we all agreed that evening is the best time to walk around the country pavilions, it had been a long day and we decided to save more exploring for the afternoon of the day we visited Animal Kingdom.

With one last glance across the water, we made our way back to the Gateway, caught the Skyliner back to Hollywood Studios, climbed into the van and drove back to GKTW. We were all pretty tired but there was one last thing to do...enjoy birthday cake!