Ok, so maybe it was Disney's Hollywood Studios but we still had fun. The day began with Lights, Motors, Action! A show that lets you see how vehicle stunts are done for movies. It was pretty cool. A guy catches on fire at the end. You can imagine Will liked that. We saw the Power Rangers on our way out. Liam isn't into them but my 1st Lane was and I thought of him. Liam couldn't wait to ride Star Tours. This is a Star Wars flight simulator. The seats don't move but you could've fooled me. It was fun in a sickening way. Will told me to look at something still if it was too much. It worked. Liam was ready to go again as soon as it was over. I think he thinks he's a Jedi in training. Will had to see the Muppet Vision 3-D movie. It was cute. We did the Studio Backlot Tour. It was kind of boring I thought. Except for the part where water comes crashing down on the train you're riding in. That'll get your attention. Liam loved Playhouse Disney--Live on Stage! I did too. We saw Little Einsteins, the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters, Handy Manny and My Friends Tigger & Pooh. Liam's face was priceless each time a new set of characters came out. We waited safely on the ground while Will dropped 13 stories on the aptly named Tower of Terror. He assured me the life insurance policy was good. I called to check. They went on The Great Movie Ride while I stayed outside and people watched and listened to Christmas music. We left to go eat at The Coral Reef which is in Epcot. It wasn't all that. Bonefish Grill is much better. Our waiter was thrilled we were there (insert sarcasm here). We did walk right on to Nemo though. We rode in a giant clamshell. We saw real dolphins, jellyfish and stingrays in the aquarium. I loved this part. The night ended with another fireworks and laser show called Illuminations. Thursday of course was Thanksgiving. We started the day by going back to Hollywood Studios for the sole reason of riding Toy Story Midway Mania. It was the best ride down there. We were lucky enough to ride twice. My score was less than desirable, even Liam beat me, but hey I had an awesome time. Just the walk into the ride is cool, larger than life toys everywhere, complete with a huge talking Mr. Potato Head. The ride or rather the carnival games you play are in 3-D. When you pop the 'balloons' with the 'darts' you can feel the air. On the way in a lady's sweater got stuck on the zipper of Will's backpack. He was oblivious to this and kept walking with both me and her telling him to stop. Luckily she was able to free herself and we went our separate ways. This other lady with her said "I told her not to wear that." It was funny. We wound up taking their picture for them in front of Mr. Potato Head. After two attempts to let Will ride Aerosmith's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster we gave up. Even with the coveted fastpasses it was still almost a 2 hour wait, that's just too long to stand around even if you are being serenaded by Steven Tyler. I was a huge Aerosmith fan back in the day and was looking forward to people watching and listening to them while Will lived dangerously. It goes upside down in the dark. In the words of Will, "I'm out!" Liam wasn't having any part of that one either. Maybe next time. We weren't at home but we didn't let that stop us from celebrating Thanksgiving. We had lunch at the Wilderness Lodge with 2 other Franklin Firefighters and their families, turkey, dressing and all. It was so much fun that 2 hours had passed before anyone realized what time it was. I missed Lane but otherwise it was one of the best Thanksgivings I've had. It was off to Epcot's World Showcase next. We wandered thru France, Morocco, Japan, the U.S., and Italy. This was as far as we got because I got distracted by Italian jewelry and perfume. We didn't have enough time to ride Soarin' or Test Track both of which I was sort of willing to do. It was all too soon time to head back to Hollywood for Fantasmic! This may have even beat the fireworks over Cinderella's castle. It was very cool. As the night drew to a close we tried not to think about leaving the next day.
Well it was inevitable. Friday came and we only had a few hours left in this magical place. The only consolation was that I knew my precious Lane Carter would soon be back in my arms. Liam was determined to conquer his fear of DINOSAUR, so back to Animal Kingdom we went. We were there early enough to see Minnie, Goofy & Mickey open the park. They headed of to Dinoland while I tried to find Lane a shirt. Will said Liam got right up to the car and said he couldn't do it. They found me in front of Primeval Whirl which is an outdoor roller coaster and Liam decided he could handle that since none of it was in the dark. I'm suprised, most everything else there is. It rated 'awesome' on the aforementioned Liam fun-0-meter. I must warn anyone that might go to Disney in the future and want to ride this that it can cause your child to shrink. Yes, shrink. Liam rode, loved it, went to ride again and was told he wasn't tall enough. Apparently you come off shorter than you go on. Just a friendly warning. I was so mad. We let it go and went on our way. By this time the kid had changed his mind again and was ready for his Jurassic journey. He rode this time, got off and said he "took a nap". In other words, he hid his face on Will's lap but he was ready to go again. This time he said he looked until the end which is where the T-Rex is. Well in the end my brave boy rode that horrible thing 4 times. The final verdict: "It was AWESOME!" He was so proud of himself and so was I. To be 6 and keep doing something you're afraid of when you don't have to, just to prove to yourself you can is pretty cool. Of course this is a pretty cool kid we're talking about. Will got to visit the Yeti on Expedition Everest again. We watched as he rode. I am very proud to be married to someone so brave. I hope he's proud to be married to the world's biggest wimp when it comes to rides. Fast cars and a straight stretch of road... now that's a different story. Up until now Liam refused to ride, not because of the drops and sharp banks but because of he was afraid of the Yeti jumping out. First of all, the Yeti does not jump out at you and 2nd of all he'd just got off the dino ride from hell. Will rode twice and by then Liam wanted to. I said we'd pass up eating, forget the souvenirs, whatever it took to get my daredevil in training to ride. This is a big coaster and I really wanted him to try it. I wasn't about to but I want him to have his daddy's sense of adventure and fearlessness. Well it turns out the wait was 45 minutes and that was cutting it too close to make it back to the hotel to leave for the airport. I was SO disappointed. There's always next time. We ate at The Restauranta-saurus and then sadly made our way back to the hotel. We caught the bus to the airport and the next thing you know where waiting to board the plane. All too soon the pilot announced "Welcome to Nashville". How depressing. It was 70 degrees and sunny when we left Orlando. It was cold and dark by the time we landed. Oh well, I'd soon see my beautiful baby. Pops & LeLe kept Lane while were gone and they picked us up at the airport. I was so happy to see him. As soon as we got home Liam trashed the house and Lane screamed through his bath. The only thing missing was the dogs. They were gone for one more night. Back to reality. It was a truly magical experience. Thank you Will for giving us the chance to put all the attention back on Liam. He so deserved it. I know he will never forget one moment of it. So long for now Disney, you can bet we'll be back one day.
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