Day 3 & the last one

Here you go ... Day 3 ... Hollywood Studios!

Somewhere along the way, Disney's MGM studios changed to Hollywood Studios. That's where we spent day 3 of the vacation & MY BIRTHDAY!

Just as the day before, we packed up the car & left early in the morning, headed to Disney. As soon as we got into the park, my mom insisted that we go get me a birthday pen. It's one of those things where you're like nooooo and really thinking yesssssss. I secretly liked having everyone in the entire park tell me happy birthday.

Hollywood Studios is different from Magic Kingdom. It's for the older crowd I'd say. It has a lot of more grown-up things like Tower of Terror & Rockin' Roller Coaster. 

We rode Tower of Terror first. It really never gets old. In the theme of The Twillight Zone, it takes you in an "elevator" up to the very top of the "hotel" and drops you. Such a rush!!

Mid drop

 In between rides, I insisted that we see the Beauty & The Beast show. Drew was absolutely thrilled, let me tell ya. 

But, we got to do the Studio Backlot Tour, one of the rides he really wanted to do, so it made up for it. I ended up really liking the ride too. It was much more than a ride. It was all about seeing all of the special effects from movies & they had a ton of props from movie sets too. A really fun 45 minute ride!! 

For lunch, my mom made reservations at Prime Time Cafe which is set like the 50's. When we sat down at the table, the waiter came & told my mom to get her elbows off the table. He even pointed out that the manners were on the menu, if she wanted to see them. Drew had never had a Malt Shake, so obviously I had to introduce him. We got 2 stacks of onion rings as the appetizers & then my meal came - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes & green beans. Needless to say, when they came & sang Happy Birthday & presented me with a cupcake, I was in so much pain I couldn't even eat it. 

Even so, the day was fabulous & I wouldn't have rather spent my birthday anywhere besides the happiest place on earth. 

If you're going to Disney World, or thinking about it .... 

• Stay on Property if at all possible. Staying on property is probably more expensive than not, but it really does add to the experience. Plus, it's nice to have the free transportation & early admission into the parks. Staying on property means being able to go back to the hotel half way through the day & nap & then come back at night
• Pack your lunch! I saw a lot of people that had packed lunches this time around & I think it's brilliant. Food at the parks is absolutely outrageous & there are pretty much no options besides a hamburger & fries. 
• Try to keep your kids on schedule. Like I said, staying on property means being able to go back to the hotel & nap mid-day. Disney world is supposed to be fun & I saw way too many exhausted kids & frustrated parents at the parks.

Happy Friday, everyone!