Thanksgiving: Late night magic
On Turkey Day itself, we started out at the Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). We had parked close enough to walk at both Epcot and SeaWorld, so this was our first day visiting with our old friends, the parking trams:
The weather in the morning was bright, crisp, and a little breezy. The rains of the prior day had cleared out overnight.
Here are the three mouseketeers on Hollywood Boulevard:
Since the last time I was at the Studios, they've installed a huge Sorcerer's Apprentice hat at the end of the main entrance corridor. So we took some pictures there:
In fact the hat was our first stop of the day, because there was a High School Musical 3 show about to go on just a few minutes after we arrived. Anna, who by chance was wearing her High School Musical sweatshirt that day, got picked out of the crowd to help teach us a cheer:
(Yes, that's my dad and Chels doing the cheer up front.)
A few minutes later during the show, Maria got picked out of the crowd to dance with the performers:
Later in the day, Nick got his turn - he was picked out of the crowd while we were waiting to go into an animation workshop. He was supposed to count the number of people waiting to go in, but he had trouble maintaining his composure:
My dad took that opportunity to get his nap for the day:
The animation workshop was really neat - it's something we have never done before, and it was easily the most interactive thing we did in the parks. Groups of about 40 people come into a sort of classroom and learn how to draw a character, using techniques that the animators use. The kids loved it:
Maria in particular was very much in her element:
Before long it was time for Thanksgiving dinner. My mom had reserved us a table at the Wave restaurant in the Contemporary Resort hotel over by the Magic Kingdom. We had a lovely meal and really enjoyed each other's company.
After dinner, it was time for more theme park fun. We hopped on a monorail to head over to the Magic Kingdom:
The park was fairly crowded when we got there, but emptied out with each hour. And since the park was open until midnight, there were plenty of hours in front of us.
We rode It's a Small World, because - I tell no lies - it is Chelsea's favorite ride:
Next we went on Peter Pan, and then the carousel. Note the glassy look in Anna's eyes... a sure sign that she's just about done with her day:
At length we made our way over to Tomorrowland. Chelsea, Maria, and Kate had gone ahead to ride Space Mountain, but there was a very long line. Instead, they found a dance party in progress in the middle of Tomorrowland. (Leave it to Maria and Kate to find a dance party wherever they go.)
Pluto and Stitch were there, too:
After the dance party, we caught the tail end of the SpectroMagic parade in front of the castle. My folks and Kate then headed back to the ranch with the girls, while Chelsea and I stayed on with Nick for a few last rides. Nick and I had to zap some bad guys on the Buzz Lightyear ride, and Nick also wanted to take me for a spin on the racecars. We got back to the house at 1:00 in the morning and crashed.
This actually wraps up my vacation pictures. On Friday, Chels and I packed up, made our way back down to Tampa, had lunch with Ginger once more, and then caught our flight home. The rest of the gang spent another day at the Magic Kingdom on Friday and then came home Saturday afternoon.
It was a great trip, one for the ages, and we really enjoyed the time we had with family and friends.
Now, back in Philadelphia, we've been busy bees since then, and tomorrow I'll start catching you up on our Christmas preparations.
The weather in the morning was bright, crisp, and a little breezy. The rains of the prior day had cleared out overnight.
Here are the three mouseketeers on Hollywood Boulevard:
Since the last time I was at the Studios, they've installed a huge Sorcerer's Apprentice hat at the end of the main entrance corridor. So we took some pictures there:
In fact the hat was our first stop of the day, because there was a High School Musical 3 show about to go on just a few minutes after we arrived. Anna, who by chance was wearing her High School Musical sweatshirt that day, got picked out of the crowd to help teach us a cheer:
(Yes, that's my dad and Chels doing the cheer up front.)
A few minutes later during the show, Maria got picked out of the crowd to dance with the performers:
Later in the day, Nick got his turn - he was picked out of the crowd while we were waiting to go into an animation workshop. He was supposed to count the number of people waiting to go in, but he had trouble maintaining his composure:
My dad took that opportunity to get his nap for the day:
The animation workshop was really neat - it's something we have never done before, and it was easily the most interactive thing we did in the parks. Groups of about 40 people come into a sort of classroom and learn how to draw a character, using techniques that the animators use. The kids loved it:
Maria in particular was very much in her element:
Before long it was time for Thanksgiving dinner. My mom had reserved us a table at the Wave restaurant in the Contemporary Resort hotel over by the Magic Kingdom. We had a lovely meal and really enjoyed each other's company.
After dinner, it was time for more theme park fun. We hopped on a monorail to head over to the Magic Kingdom:
The park was fairly crowded when we got there, but emptied out with each hour. And since the park was open until midnight, there were plenty of hours in front of us.
We rode It's a Small World, because - I tell no lies - it is Chelsea's favorite ride:
Next we went on Peter Pan, and then the carousel. Note the glassy look in Anna's eyes... a sure sign that she's just about done with her day:
At length we made our way over to Tomorrowland. Chelsea, Maria, and Kate had gone ahead to ride Space Mountain, but there was a very long line. Instead, they found a dance party in progress in the middle of Tomorrowland. (Leave it to Maria and Kate to find a dance party wherever they go.)
Pluto and Stitch were there, too:
After the dance party, we caught the tail end of the SpectroMagic parade in front of the castle. My folks and Kate then headed back to the ranch with the girls, while Chelsea and I stayed on with Nick for a few last rides. Nick and I had to zap some bad guys on the Buzz Lightyear ride, and Nick also wanted to take me for a spin on the racecars. We got back to the house at 1:00 in the morning and crashed.
This actually wraps up my vacation pictures. On Friday, Chels and I packed up, made our way back down to Tampa, had lunch with Ginger once more, and then caught our flight home. The rest of the gang spent another day at the Magic Kingdom on Friday and then came home Saturday afternoon.
It was a great trip, one for the ages, and we really enjoyed the time we had with family and friends.
Now, back in Philadelphia, we've been busy bees since then, and tomorrow I'll start catching you up on our Christmas preparations.
