Disney World trip PART III

Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM Studios)

Keep in mind I'm jumping around a little...we jumped around from park to park quite a bit (or should I say hopped since we had "hopper passes" - hehe). But we usually spent the majority of a day at one park. Here are some fun photos from our Hollywood Studios day...which was also my BIRTHDAY! (Tuesday, January 22!)

Hayley and I in front of the HS icon/landmark - whatever you want to call it (Mickey's Magical Hat??) :)

Hollywood Studios is exactly what it sounds like - it has a lot of movie themed rides, plays, characters, etc. Well, the pictures tell it better than I can write about it, so here we go:
While the "big kids" were going to go on the Tower of Terror ride, Grandma and Grandpa Hatz were taking Hayley to a short version of the Beauty and the Beast Play. Only she wouldn't let me go on the "scary" ride...so I joined them at B and the B...the same show Lance and I saw while we were there on our honeymoon a little over five years ago! It was still just as good. :)

We had to get the cute Mickey Ears (guess what I'll probably be for Halloween this year? I didn't pay $16 just to wear them once! Ha!)


If you have little ones...who watch the Disney Channel...you'll definitely recognize these next few fun-loving characters:

Handy Manny


Quincy and June (I couldn't remember Quincy's name...but don't worry, Hayley reminded me EXACTLY who he was!)

Annie and Leo...and H

These next photos tell a funny story. While in line for the Back Lot Tour, a worker came to our group and said, "I hear we have some trouble makers here." Because it was my birthday, everyone instinctively pointed to me. He told us to come with him. So we stepped out of line, entered a 'backstage' door and waited for further instruction. He quickly choose me, Lance, Vickie (mom-in-law) and Jennifer (sis-in-law) to participate in...well, we didn't know at first. While we dressed in coveralls (to protect us from water - um...yeah - and boots, another worker took the rest of the gang to go and sit and enjoy the upcoming 'show'...yes, that WE would be starring in!

(Lance, Vickie, Rosanne, Jennifer - yes, Lance was marching, he really got into it!)

So this whole time I was thinking SOMEONE set this up because it was my birthday...later to find out that I really wasn't that special on my b-day and that we were just picked at random (silly me...thinking it was all about me! haha!).

The four of us received instruction to do certain things when the show host called out action, or when we heard bullets hit, etc.! Lance's scene was first, and by himself. As he got set up, one of the workers came over to us gals and told us Lance was about to get 500 gallons of water dumped on him! His coveralls didn't really help - he got soaked!


Then it was our turn - Jennifer and I were the goofy deck crew (yes, they told us to goofy). Vickie was the captain. When the guy yelled action, we were to grab the towels and clean the deck, point there, look here...just to get splashed...no bombarded with water that came crashing over the boat we were on from the 'bullets' and 'missiles' that came our way. Ha - joke was on us.


Meanwhile - the crowd (which we were suppose to be a part of) laughed and enjoyed seeing how special effects work in Hollywood. Thank you, thank you. :) After that, we got on a tram and experienced the Back Lot Tour with the rest of our group. It was actually a really fun time!

I love this photo of H. and the tall frog because we have this same picture at home, only with Lance in it from our honeymoon!


Tower of Terror and the Rock 'n' Roller Coster starring Aerosmith must be mentioned. All who rode it agreed that the Aerosmith roller coster was the best (this is everybody except Hayley, Ken and Vickie). It starts out super fast and is all indoor, in the dark, with neon lights, loops and twists. Great ride! Tower of Terror is another great one that has you freaking out until the elevator shaft drops...over and over again. Scary, but thrilling!

HS was a blast - and it made for a great Birthday!

Oh, and I guess I forgot to take a picture on my camera, but I received a beautiful bouquet of pink roses on Monday night for my Tuesday birthday! They were waiting in our hotel room when we got back from our day's adventures. Thanks mom, dad, Dianne and Mantha! That was a wonderful surprise and a great start to my birthday!