Disney World Day 8

Since our flight out of Orlando didn't leave until Saturday evening, we decided to spend our last morning at Hollywood Studios for one more chance to rope drop Rise. Initially, I planned to just relax and maybe go to Disney Springs for the day, but I'm so glad we reevaluated our plans and added on an eighth park day, because we had an awesome morning.

We were up and out of the resort by 7:30 on Saturday morning. 

We had no idea this would happen, but when we arrived at Hollywood Studios 45 minutes before early entry officially started, they were already running the rides which was a great surprise. We walked on to Rise of the Resistance, then walked on to Millenium Falcon with no wait at all. Crazy!

I was hoping for a better reaction from the First Order Soldiers with our Rey onboard, but they just shuffled us through the line. 

I'm not a big Star Wars Fan, but Rise is still one of the most incredible full experience attractions I've ever experienced. We're still trying to figure out how they made everything work.

After we finished riding Millenium Falcon, the park still had not officially opened, and Matt grabbed my hand and pulled me back into the Rise line. We basically walked on it for a second time. Crazy! I had hoped we'd maybe get to ride it twice (it closes a lot for maintenance), and we ended up riding it three times during our trip (and scored 5 fast passes from the time it broke down before we could ride it). 

We said goodbye to Star Wars land and decided to ride Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway another time. That's such a cute ride! The Daisy Duck dance studio part is Katherine and my favorite. She recreates it at home for us sometimes. I also really felt like we were going underwater. The simulations are crazy!

After that, unfortunately, the park had actually opened to other people, and we actually were going to have to wait in line, so we split up for a bit. The big kids, me and Grandma and Grandpa rode Rockin' Rollercoaster. To minimize our waits, we used the single rider line. Sometimes I'm still amazed at how brave my kids are (especially Elisabeth), that she'd ride next to a stranger. I guess Matt and I are raising them right to love roller coasters!

Meanwhile, Matt and Katherine met some friends and watched the Disney Junior Dance Party another time. 

Katherine dancing along and enjoying that Dance Party so much is one of my favorite memories of our trip. 

It takes me back to our first trip and how much the older three danced with joy and magic during the show. 

And even how much Toddler Katherine loved it. 

And now I'm crying thinking that we probably won't go to that show ever again. My babies are growing into awesome big kids, but I'd do anything to go back and relive one of their toddler days. 

We met back up in Toy Story land and rode Midway Mania one last time. I learned that Katherine is a much better seat mate than Nathan. Nathan actually hits the targets, and I wasn't able to beat my score on our last ride because of it, ha! Toy Story Midway Mania was my very first Disney World ride, and it was each of my kids' first rides too! I don't know why we always start usually start our vacations at Hollywood Studios (except this trip), but I do know that Midway Mania will always have a special place in my heart for the fun and joy it brings to all of us!

For our last ride of the day, we hopped on Star Tours! Classic Dinsey magic, that my kids never grew tired of even with all the fanciness of the new Star Wars Land. 

We caught a quick cavalcade, and then did some shopping before leaving for the day. 

I love that my Sweet Samuel chose a Baby Dug as his souvenir. He's growing up so fast, but that Baby Dug reminds me of a little boy Samuel that's fading way too quickly for my liking. 

We left Hollywood Studios around 2:00 that afternoon. I was so happy with how much we got to do in our half day there (thanks to Disney opening early). 

We headed back to the resort to say our final goodbyes. 

We had easy flights home and arrived home with a heart full of memories, and very tired feet. During dinner one night after our trip, we all shared our favorites from the vacation.

Nathan's Favorites

1. Rise of the Resistance

2. Tower of Terror 

3. Rockin Rollercoaster

(All his favorites are at one park!)

Samuel's Favorites

1. Tower of Terror

2. Rise of the Resistance

3. Flight of Passage

Elisabeth's Favorites

1. Rise of the Resistance

2. Rockin Rollercoaster

3. Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway

(I'm surprised she didn't put Tower of Terror in her top three. She really loves that one too!)

Katherine's Favorites

1. Slinky Dog Dash

2. Seven Dwarf's Mine Train

3. Peter Pan

Matt's Favorites

1. Rise of the Resistance

2. Tower of Terror

3. Star Tours

Angela's Favorites

1. Rise of the Resistance

2. Flight of Passage

3. Tower of Terror

Can you tell from our favorites list, which park the Baughers love the most?  I didn't realize how many of our favorites are at Hollywood Studios. Maybe we'll need a one day stop at Hollywood Studios on our next Universal Studios trip, ha! It's bittersweet thinking of us moving out of the Disney stage and into the Univeral Studios stage, but I'm so, so thankful for the magical memories of this trip. Vacationing with my family is one of my very favorite things to do! I know there are many more adventures ahead of us!

 

Disney World Day 7

Friday was our full EPCOT day. After I learned about a tip from a friend about rope dropping the Remy ride, we started our day on a bus to Hollywood Studios. From there was hopped on the Skyliner and rode it to EPCOT. We all enjoyed the ride on the Skyliner, and we even more enjoyed being at the front of the pack to ride Remy. 

We rode Remy for the second time of this trip. It's such a cute ride. 

Then we walked across the park to ride Frozen. On our way we ran into Snow White and posed for a picture and a little chat. Disney does a good job with the unexpected magical moments like running into a princess on a walk. 

We ran into some good luck because Frozen Ever After had a delayed opening and we caught it right as it was opening, so we didn't have to wait long at all in the line for it. We did get to see Oaken in the sauna though. I guessed I missed that part of the queue during our last trip. 

After Frozen we rode Mission Space (twice) and played in the Space Lab after the ride. The kids were so proud to successfully land their spaceship on Mars. Katherine was too short to go to Mars, so I rode the green side again with her, and she filled me in on every detail that I might need to know, including information about the special box she sat on that I wouldn't need. I love experiencing life with her!

We had a big lunch planned in Space! We were so excited to take the Space elevator 220 miles up to eat at the Space Station. The food was delicious, and it was such a unique atmosphere. Even the bathrooms were themed with the restaurant. 

We looked around for astronauts doing space walks, Jedis fighting in space, and even saw a space dog. 

After lunch we spent the afternoon riding rides. After long lines and huge crowds earlier in the week at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, EPCOT was a breath of fresh air with low wait times for everything and plenty of space to walk around without running into people. It was certainly a more laid back, relaxing day that we all were thankful for. 

We rode Test Track which is always a favorite. The kids couldn't wait to design their own cars. I think they liked that part as much as the actual ride. 

The speed testing is the best part of the attraction. It's always more fun and exhilarating than I'm expecting. 

 

We also rode Soarin again. Everyone loves that ride. Katherine always calls it the Polar Bear ride where you get to fly, and of course we had to reride Journey into Imagination wtih Figment. Nathan also bought a Figment shirt at the giftshop at the end of the ride. I don't get it, but the kids can't get enough of that silly dragon. And we rode Living with the Land, which I thought would bore the kids, but Samuel told me it was one of his favorite rides. The others said they liked it too. That was our school for the week, ha!

We ran into Minnie during our afternoon too. 

Elisabeth asked to do some shopping on Friday, so we made that happen. Katherine had to have this Baby Mickey, but not as much as a jewelry set she had picked out, so we hugged Mickey, took a picture and put him back on the shelf. That girl loves her some stuffed animals!

During the evening we watched the American Adventure show in the America Pavilion. My kids always surprise me with what attractions they like. They all really liked it. I guess even educational documentaries are magical at Disney. 

Katherine puttered out early on Friday night, so I found us a spot for the fireworks while she slept, and Matt took the big kids to ride Mission Space for a third time that day. 

He was also sweet to stop and take some pictures for me. I had really wanted a picture of the boys in their EPCOT shirts in front of the big ball. I made those shirts, and it about killed me with all the weeding it involved. I should have paid closer attention when Nathan chose it before I agreed to it!

So I remember not really being a fan of the EPCOT fireworks from past trips and after the disappointment of the new Magic Kingdom show, I had even lower expectations, but they were wonderful! The water show along with the lasers, projections, and the music and fireworks all combined for a stunning show! It was a long show too and just kept getting better. The songs were sung in different languages, but we all recognized the melodies, and with the added projections from the classic movies, it was just great! It was a huge highlight of our trip and the perfect ending to a wonderful day at EPCOT.