Disney Junior at Hollywood Studios

 

This area was really neat.  I wondered how they would do shows with characters that were suppose to be children.  Princess Sofia was the only one to have a mask on and not talk (Maddi later informed me that Sofia was the only princess she met that wasn't real; she was wearing a costume.  I guess the rest of them seemed so real because they interacted with her... Tinker Bell talked about pixie hollow, Belle asked her what books she liked, Ariel talked about her Mermaid friends, but Sofia just stared at her and pointed to the Sofia shirt Maddi was wearing) Then we went to see the Disney Junior show that ended up being an interactive puppet show with Doc McStuffins, Sofia, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  All of Maddi's morning cartoon favorites!  Her favorite part of the show was during the Sofia portion when Cedric had them all raise their hands and caste a spell to make it snow.  As soon as they finished the chant, snow started pouring from the sky.  It really was magical. Next we went to see the Mermaid Show, and we all loved it!  They had actors, clips from the original movie playing behind them, puppets, but our absolute favorite part was when the show started and we went underwater.  Mist poured down on us and lights reflected off of the mist making it look like swirling oceans above us.  It was completely captivating.

Hollywood Studios

 

I love sitting down every day and reliving our Disney trip.  I get all bubbly and happy all over again.  We went to Hollywood Studios on day four.  This was Drew's favorite because of all of the stunt shows, but Maddi enjoyed it too because of the Disney Junior area.  I really liked this area.  It was decorated like old Hollywood, and it had a DELICIOUS bbq restaurant where we enjoyed lunch together.

park hopper

Animal Kingdom closes early because all of the animals go to sleep, so we hopped on over to Magic Kingdom for a little more fun.  We shopped on main street, caught a few of the ride that we missed on the first day like the people mover, the train from circus to frontier land, the ferryboat ride, and the carousel.  We also ate at a little diner on main street and sat by the window so we could watch the fireworks show over the castle.  Such a fun ending to an incredible day!

jungle parade

authenticity

I loved how authentic they made each area of Disney feel.  From the music of the culture being played in the streets, the food, the signs, the telephone booths, and even the garbage cans, every little detail helped transport you into a different culture.  One of my favorite transitions was after we left the Nemo show and were walking over a bridge back into the India / Napal area, and as I looked out over the water, you could see laundry hung to dry on the rocks and boats docked along the shore line.  I loved and appreciated every little detail.

Dinoland and a musical

Dinoland wasn't really a hit with our family.  We rode one ride and it was pretty rough, so we made a quick exit and headed for Finding Nemo The Musical.  I wondered how they'd do a musical with the characters being fish... I expected them to have flashy costumes or little fishy face masks, so we were completely suppressed when the curtain opened to see a man standing there with a fish puppet.  At first it was distracting.  I didn't know whether to focus on the man standing there singing or the puppet he was swishing through the air, but as the show progressed, I became transfixed on watching them both interact.  They played off of one another, and became a character together.  I really, really enjoyed it... so much that I forgot to take pictures past the opening screen.  Oops! :)