MGM Hollywood Studios

We started off our Saturday with an extra Magic Hour at MGM Hollywood Studios. I loved the larger than life Sorcerer's Hat from Fantasia. The whole park is designed like a movie studio with props and backgrounds everywhere.



I'm not a huge movie buff, but I'm sure H would LOVE this place. We skipped some of the bigger attractions- like the Star Wars show, the Indian Jones stunt show and the American Idol Experience so we could spend the other half of our day at Animal Kingdom.



One of the great things at ALL the parks was the amazing attention to detail, especially in their landscaping. I loved all the topiaries that were characters from the movies.



I rode all the roller coasters by myself, but the Aerosmith Rock 'n' Roller Coaster was the first real one I'd been on in years.



The great thing about Disney is that all the rides are created with tons of detail and attention to the whole experience. This ride had an area where you waited that included a sound booth with a short movie/skit by the band & the whole ride was themed with going for a cruise with the band. Being in the dark was neat & scary, but I really enjoyed the ride.



We also caught a live short version of the Little Mermaid that included tons of super-cute glow-in-the-dark puppets mixed with background video and a few other surprises. This was our first Disney show- so we were very startled by the special effects!



We also caught the Muppet Vision 3D show, which was amazing to see how far the 3D technology has come in the last few years. And...who doesn't love the puppets and Miss Piggy?



Walking through the park, you felt like you were on the back lot of a studio somewhere & there was even a special Studio Backlot Tour you could take.



While we were waiting, we also had time to tour the Walt Disney: One Man's Dream, about his life and the legacy that he left on movie, TV and the parks. He had such vision and creativity- it was neat to see some of his old stuff & remember all the great movies Disney has made over the years.


The big thing we'd been waiting all day for was the Toy Story Mania ride that we'd got a Fastpass on as soon as we walked into the park. The ride has little cars that go through an arcade & you try to get the most points by throwing rings around the targets. It was a total blast & one of my favorite rides in all of Disney.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Just booked a trip to Chicago for August!