Disney Day 1 - Hollywood Studios

We checked into our resort around 9, picked up our stroller which we was delivered to the resort by the rental company, Kingdom Strollers, and headed to Hollywood Studios. (I'll talk more about the stroller rental later...I'm going to do a tips and advice post after I cover all our days at the parks.) It poured on the way to the park but stopped about the time we got there...yay! The girls were pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing and not sure what to make of an amusement park but about 2 minutes into the park Emmie spotted Donald and she was SOLD. She was so excited and wanted to go over and get his autograph. (I had purchased some cute Disney autograph books from Etsy and before we left I explained to Emmie that she could get the characters to sign them and then when we got home we could add pictures and she would have the book to look at whenever she wanted.)  I was so impressed that Emmie walked right up to Donald with her pen and book in hand. I wasn't sure how Ellie would respond to the characters but she was quite happy to be right next to Donald as long as I was holding her which I thought was pretty good for a 2 year old!
We got picked to trial Disney's new Magic Bands (I'll explain more about that later) and part of having the Magic Bands is that you can pick 3 attractions each day to get Fast Passes for before,  you ever get to the park and once you're at the park you can change your selections if you need to (which I did a number of times so I found this feature quite useful). When all was said and done we ended up with FPs for the Beauty and the Beast show, Toy Story Midway Mania, and the Little Mermaid show. We actually just walked in to the Little Mermaid early because there wasn't a wait and we used the FP for Beauty and the Beast but didn't really need it as there was plenty of seating but it was nice to know before hand that we would have seat since I didn't realize how big the theater was where the show was held. I will say we were very glad to have the Toy Story FP. I had read before I went that this was a super popular ride and often it had a wait of over an hour.
So here's what we did at Hollywood Studios:
Characters: Donald, Daisy, Sorcerer Mickey, Jake (from the Neverland Pirates), and Sofia (from Sofia the First). Sofia was our longest wait, probably about 20 minutes but we got in line before she came out and once she came out the line moved quickly.

(For some reason Emmie decided she didn't want to get in the Jake picture.)

So excited to meet Sofia!

The first time we stood in line to meet Daisy she had to go take a break before we got to the front of the line so we stalked her "spot" the rest of the day and eventually got to meet her!

She LOVED getting signatures. She would stand in line the whole time with her book and pen in hand...it was so cute!

Ellie blew Mickey a kiss.

Attractions: The Great Movie Ride, Toy Story Midway Mania, and Muppet Vision 3D 
       - The Great Movie Ride is definitely geared toward a little older audience but the girls loved the boat ride and they liked the part of the ride that focused on the movies such as Mary Poppins and Singing in the Rain. I think the scarier parts just went over their heads so that was good.
       - In Toy Story you ride in a little car and shoot slime (maybe?) at the bullseye on a screen (kind of like a carnival game). This ride is also in 3D. I rode with Ellie and spent most of the ride holding her 3D glasses on but it slings you around a little and she thought that was great. Paul said Emmie also enjoyed the ride. I don't think either girl really understood the objective but they thought it was a fun ride.
    - Muppet Vision 3D is one of my favorite things at Hollywood Studios and I was just sure Emmie would love it. Nope, it was the only thing the whole time where she cried because she was scared! Crazy! She was fine until the little bug in the show "popped" way out of the screen. I guess the characters were a little too close for comfort!
Entertainment: Disney Jr show, Beauty and the Beast show and Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Enthralled with the Disney Jr show.

      -The girls both loved all the shows. They really got into the excitement of the Disney Jr show which featured many of their favorite characters. The Beauty and the Beast show was also a hit because it has a Broadway feel to it so of course Emmie just loved all the singing and dancing. We sat for a while later in front of the Sorcerer's Hat and let them play and Emmie spent the whole time organizing a show of her own starring Ellie, another little girl who was also named Emerson, and of course herself!

Taking a break in the evening by the Sorcerer's Hat. For some reason Emmie kept asking if we could go play over there. I have no idea why, maybe because it was sparkly, but once we were over there she had a great time running around and directing her "show".

Food: We ate lunch at a quick service restaurant which was pretty decent. The girls had some chicken nuggets and Paul and I had a cheeseburger. For "dinner" we ate at Hollywood and Vine. We actually ate about 4:00 because we did the dinner package where you eat and then get VIP tickets to Fantasmic, which is the nighttime show and in order to get the package you have to eat at weird times. The food was a buffet and was pretty decent (at the time we thought the food was great until the next buffet meal when we realized that all the Disney buffets are pretty much the same food) and they had an amazing dessert bar which the girls loved of course!

 

 I will say that I'm glad we did the dinner package because Fantasmic was PACKED. It started at 8 and we got there at 7:30ish since we knew we had reserved seats. The reserved section was already pretty full but we managed to find seats pretty close to the front. The great thing about the reserved section was that it was right in the middle of the arena so we could see everything. If you've ever been to a laser show a lot of the show was like that except the laser images were projected on a fountain. There was also lots of floats, fireworks, and appearances by lots of characters. I had read that some people thought this was too scary for small children because it involves a lot of the villans but my girls did great and I thought it was tamer than a lot of the rides and other shows at the parks.

 

Getting out of the park was a mess (but honestly the show was worth having to fight the crowds). We had to wait quite awhile for the bus since everyone in the park was leaving at the same time and then Emmie fell asleep while we were waiting and both girls started crying when it was time to get on the bus. I had to manage the girls by myself because Paul had to get the stroller. It was close to 10 before we were in the room with everyone tucked in bed and we were worn out! I don't think Ellie ever took a nap that day and Emmie closed her eyes for a few minutes before Beauty and the Beast but didn't really sleep.

 

Overall though the little girls were troopers and our first Disney Day was a success!