Unschooling Disney Day #2-- Hollywood Studios and Jedi Training!
We headed to Hollywood Studios for our second day of vacation. Still keeping our unschooling roots in mind I was on the lookout for new learning opportunities for the boys. They are so easy to spot even in Disney!
At Hollywood Studios they do have a Jedi Training stage show kids can participate in, if they sign up early. There weren't that many people in the park and the boys were able to sign up for the 11:50 show.
Since it was only 9 we had plenty of time to walk around and check out some rides.
Toy Story Mania is one of the most popular rides at Hollywood studios and we have seen lines with wait times of 90 minutes.
So we decided to head right there. We only waited less than 20 minutes!
That was the only time we needed to wait for a ride or attraction all day!
Since the park wasn't that crowded we didn't need to cross and zig zag around like usual either so we actually did a bit less walking than usual and took things at a much slower pace.
We took the boys on the Backlot Studio Tour for the first time ever.
It's really quite neat.
From there we headed to Star Tours and then we stopped for a quick snack-- Mickey Mouse ice cream bars. So yummy in the hot Florida sun.
By this time the boys needed to get back to the Jedi Training Academy and get all checked in for the stage show.
They donned robes, listened to the instructions and us "parental units" waited outside for them to come out. It was probably the only time during the day in which the sun was out for the full duration and there was no shade. It was HOT, but the boys didn't seem to care.
They loved being on stage, facing Darth Vader and battling the dark side.
This is the first time we've been able to enjoy this attraction and the boys had an amazing time.
Alec made such a mean face and was so serious, the Jedi Master asked him if he had anything to say to Vader and he rambled off such a long string of words (we couldn't hear all that well in the audience since he didn't have a microphone), that the Jedi Master mumbled "well, you lost me on that one" into his microphone and we all laughed.
It was great!
They have been talking about getting up on stage to do this since our last vacation and it was the main reason we headed to Hollywood Studios today so that made me doubly glad. After they battled with Darth Vader individually, they defeated him together as a crowd of Padawans using the force to push him back.
Once Darth Vader was gone they returned their light sabers and robes and received diplomas from the master to become younglings.
Alec's Turn:
Ian's turn:
Evan's turn:
As soon as the boys were off the stage we headed to the nearest food building (that was air conditioned) and ordered a few chicken nugget meals for us all to share as well as free ice water.
Every place that sells food will also give out free ice water all day (if you bring your own re-fillable water bottle or mug they'll even fill up that for you).
We took our food and drinks with us next door into the Indiana Jones Stunt Show Spectacular and watched another great show.
It was shady and a perfect place to rest and cool off.
They took us behind the scenes to show us how they film stunts in the movies.
It was a rather large box and we didn't want to carry it around all day so we had it shipped (for free) to our hotel, another nice perk of staying on site.
Ian had been waiting patiently to ride the Rock n Roller Coaster so we headed into that part of the park and while the board said we'd have a 10 minute wait I don't think we waited much at all, maybe 5 minutes.
From there we got him to try the Tower of Terror again. The last time we took him on the ride it was late at night and very dark so we convinced him to try it during the day. He loved it!
Though, the Rock N Roller coaster is still is favorite.
It started to rain and for once I didn't bring our ponchos into the park with us. When we left the hotel in the morning our plan was to go to Hollywood Studios for a bit, then head to a water park, and then finish up our evening at Hollywood Studios... but this vacation I vowed to be flexible and not worry about plans.
We finally decided to just ignore the rain and head to Star Tours since the kids wanted to ride again. As soon as we left the shelter of the awnings it started to pour. Luckily it was a hot day and we didn't mind getting soaked a bit.
After riding star tours we decided to head back to our hotel and the boys wanted to swim in the pool. They changed and headed out to go swimming. They spent the next hour or so swimming all around the deep end, going off the water slide, and having a ball.
We talked the boys into getting dressed and heading to the Magic Kingdom for dinner; just a quick service meal at the park and then we enjoyed some rides and attractions.
We were near Splash Mountain, which Ian really wanted to ride, and the sign said the wait was only 10 minutes so they headed on and walked right onto the ride without waiting.
We watched the Monsters Inc. comedy show, rode on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover.
They're working on Space Mountain right now and we were able to see the inside of the ride with the lights on while going on the people mover. It was very neat.
By the time we got off the ride it was already 5 minutes to 10 and the park was closing at 10. They have their Wishes Nighttime Spectacular (the reason we came too the park tonight), but the boys decided they didn't want to watch the fireworks so we headed back to our hotel.
It was another great day at the park and for once being flexible worked out really great.
Unschooling Disney:
Day #1- Travelling, Saratoga Springs Room Tour and Downtown Disney
Day #2- Hollywood Studios and Jedi Training
At Hollywood Studios they do have a Jedi Training stage show kids can participate in, if they sign up early. There weren't that many people in the park and the boys were able to sign up for the 11:50 show.
Since it was only 9 we had plenty of time to walk around and check out some rides.
Toy Story Mania is one of the most popular rides at Hollywood studios and we have seen lines with wait times of 90 minutes.
So we decided to head right there. We only waited less than 20 minutes!
That was the only time we needed to wait for a ride or attraction all day!
Since the park wasn't that crowded we didn't need to cross and zig zag around like usual either so we actually did a bit less walking than usual and took things at a much slower pace.
We took the boys on the Backlot Studio Tour for the first time ever.
- We got a behind the scenes look at how movie props and costumes are made.
- We got to see both sides of the facades, watch staged explosions, see how they make it look like rain, and look at old the movie vehicles they keep on hand just in case they could use them again.
- We saw Herbie the Lovebug, a few ships from star wars, and a few planes they mocked up for the new movie Planes.
- We walked through main street USA and saw the facades they use to actually film movies.
- We looked at how they make these flat paintings appear real and three dimensional.
It's really quite neat.
From there we headed to Star Tours and then we stopped for a quick snack-- Mickey Mouse ice cream bars. So yummy in the hot Florida sun.
By this time the boys needed to get back to the Jedi Training Academy and get all checked in for the stage show.
They donned robes, listened to the instructions and us "parental units" waited outside for them to come out. It was probably the only time during the day in which the sun was out for the full duration and there was no shade. It was HOT, but the boys didn't seem to care.
They loved being on stage, facing Darth Vader and battling the dark side.
This is the first time we've been able to enjoy this attraction and the boys had an amazing time.
Alec made such a mean face and was so serious, the Jedi Master asked him if he had anything to say to Vader and he rambled off such a long string of words (we couldn't hear all that well in the audience since he didn't have a microphone), that the Jedi Master mumbled "well, you lost me on that one" into his microphone and we all laughed.
It was great!
They have been talking about getting up on stage to do this since our last vacation and it was the main reason we headed to Hollywood Studios today so that made me doubly glad. After they battled with Darth Vader individually, they defeated him together as a crowd of Padawans using the force to push him back.
Once Darth Vader was gone they returned their light sabers and robes and received diplomas from the master to become younglings.
Alec's Turn:
Ian's turn:
Evan's turn:
As soon as the boys were off the stage we headed to the nearest food building (that was air conditioned) and ordered a few chicken nugget meals for us all to share as well as free ice water.
Every place that sells food will also give out free ice water all day (if you bring your own re-fillable water bottle or mug they'll even fill up that for you).
We took our food and drinks with us next door into the Indiana Jones Stunt Show Spectacular and watched another great show.
It was shady and a perfect place to rest and cool off.
They took us behind the scenes to show us how they film stunts in the movies.
- We got to see stage sets moving around, fog, explosions, battles where they guys were thrown from roofs and landed on cushions.
- We saw old fighter planes and a mock up of the City of Cairo, Eqypt.
It was a rather large box and we didn't want to carry it around all day so we had it shipped (for free) to our hotel, another nice perk of staying on site.
Ian had been waiting patiently to ride the Rock n Roller Coaster so we headed into that part of the park and while the board said we'd have a 10 minute wait I don't think we waited much at all, maybe 5 minutes.
From there we got him to try the Tower of Terror again. The last time we took him on the ride it was late at night and very dark so we convinced him to try it during the day. He loved it!
Though, the Rock N Roller coaster is still is favorite.
It started to rain and for once I didn't bring our ponchos into the park with us. When we left the hotel in the morning our plan was to go to Hollywood Studios for a bit, then head to a water park, and then finish up our evening at Hollywood Studios... but this vacation I vowed to be flexible and not worry about plans.
We finally decided to just ignore the rain and head to Star Tours since the kids wanted to ride again. As soon as we left the shelter of the awnings it started to pour. Luckily it was a hot day and we didn't mind getting soaked a bit.
After riding star tours we decided to head back to our hotel and the boys wanted to swim in the pool. They changed and headed out to go swimming. They spent the next hour or so swimming all around the deep end, going off the water slide, and having a ball.
We talked the boys into getting dressed and heading to the Magic Kingdom for dinner; just a quick service meal at the park and then we enjoyed some rides and attractions.
We were near Splash Mountain, which Ian really wanted to ride, and the sign said the wait was only 10 minutes so they headed on and walked right onto the ride without waiting.
We watched the Monsters Inc. comedy show, rode on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover.
They're working on Space Mountain right now and we were able to see the inside of the ride with the lights on while going on the people mover. It was very neat.
By the time we got off the ride it was already 5 minutes to 10 and the park was closing at 10. They have their Wishes Nighttime Spectacular (the reason we came too the park tonight), but the boys decided they didn't want to watch the fireworks so we headed back to our hotel.
It was another great day at the park and for once being flexible worked out really great.
Unschooling Disney:
Day #1- Travelling, Saratoga Springs Room Tour and Downtown Disney
Day #2- Hollywood Studios and Jedi Training
Linking Up With:
I'm loving the Jedi school - how cool. Sarah #ExplorerKids
ReplyDeleteThe Jedi school was amazing! HOT on that stage but they had so much fun.
DeleteWe are very jealous! We've love to visit Disney and my folks and I are massive Star Wars fans so the Jedi school would have been perfect for us! Maybe one year.... #ExplorerKids x
ReplyDeleteWe are HUGE Star Wars fans too so we were thrilled to learn the kids could participate. They had so much fun. I'm pretty sure it was the highlight of their trip.
DeleteWow! What a fun filled day! I love: "well, you lost me on that one" Lol! That really got me laughing. Well done guys for being able to grab this opportunity. I bet they will be talking about it in many years to come. I really like the idea that you can also bring your own refillable bottle for the ice water - it is very thoughtful of the parka and not just all about money making. I also love that the boys get the chance to see how the movies were make. Fantastic! Ethan has already asked me if we can go to Egypt. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for linking up with us on #FabFridayPost
Yeah the Florida sun can be brutal (as I found out when I almost passed out one day and spent a good hour in the air conditioning battling wave after wave of nausea) and they do want to make sure everyone stays well hydrated. It's not well advertised though and it's not always fun waiting in long food lines for free water but it's definitely something we've learned to take advantage of.
Delete