Hollywood Studios Part 2

The second half of our day at Hollywood Studios was awesome! We loved the Star Tours ride, Toy Story Ride and the Slinky Dog Dash.  

We decided to do a few more rides at Hollywood Tower of Terror and the Rockin' Roller Coaster.  They were our favorite at that park.  This park is very similar to California Adventures, but less rides, but more spread out.  So I would say I prefer CA over Hollywood Studios, just because you can do more there.  But it was still so magical and such a great start to our trip!  

Disney's Hollywood Studios part 1

We were so excited to get to Disneyworld on Thursday.  We were visiting Hollywood Studios that day.  We even had custom Mickey Mouse Masks to wear at the park.  Which was not the funnest in 80 degree humid weather.  But it was tolerable and worth being able to go to Disneyworld.  It was fun to compare Disneyworld to Disneyland.  There are quite a few things that are the same, like rides, food and things like that.  But still so different and a lot of rides that AREN'T at Disneyland.  

When we go there, we headed to Tower of Terror first thing and while we waited in line, we met the nicest family!  They were from UTAH! Haha!  It was a nice couple and their daughter and her husband and girls.  We talked most of the wait and then also went on the next ride, Rockin' Roller Coaster, with them as well.  It made it a lot of fun!  

We checked out the Cars show and took a break in the relaxation station while the kids and Nick waited in line for Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway.  

We bought a big tub of popcorn that would only cost $2 to fill the rest of the trip!  Yum!

We had also entered an online queue to ride "Rise of the Resistance".  It was the only way to ride the ride.  We were lucky and got in a pretty early group.  It was really cool, but I was surprised it wasn't a roller coaster.  More a tour of the inside of the really big ship.  But we aren't Star Wars fans, so maybe that is why it didn't seem as impressive as I thought it would be.  We actually really like the ride next to it called "Millinnium Falcon: Smugglers Run".  In that ride, we got to drive our own little ship and it was a blast!!!  

One of the many things that are different because of Covid, is the dining.  First, the parks are just too far away from anything to really leave and go eat, so you pretty much have to eat at the park.  Even though it is pricey, they have a great way of ordering and picking up the food.  They have a mobile app that you use to order each meal and drink.  You pay for it online, and then with a click of a button you can let them know that you are ready for them to make your meal.  It makes waiting easy and no lines to stand in or pressure to order quickly.  So it was super easy to eat every day....just expensive.  Oh well!

The nice thing about lunch, dinner and snack breaks was the mask break that came with it.  We had packed some snacks in the backpack so at least we could snack without masks on as long as possible in the ride lines.  It was a great start to our first day at Disney and the weather was perfect!!!!

Election Day and First Flight!

On Tuesday, November 3rd, I drove by the city building and just had to stop and take a picture of the beautiful flag display.  This year's election has been intense, and it is more important than ever to vote.  We dropped off our ballots a few days before election day.  Now it was just a matter of waiting to see how it was all going to turn out.  We also did a quick drive by the big Flag they fly in Coldwater canyon every year.  I really had wanted to make a hike up there, but with a crazy schedule and getting ready to leave on vacation, I just couldn't find time to make it happen.  I sure love the flag though and even just seeing it fly like that makes my heart swell with patriotism.   

On Wednesday, November 4th, we got up really early and headed to the SLC Airport to fly to Florida!  We made such a last minute plan to take the whole family to celebrate our 20th anniversary.  We had so many vacation credits, that it was pretty much all paid for.  And the majority of us had already gotten Covid-19, we weren't worried about getting sick!  This trip was the best decision we have made this year!  It was so much fun!  The next handful of posts will have a million pictures of the fun we had!  

We had made it to the airport by 6:30 AM.  We got all the bags checked in and the kids were excited to get on the plane.  Carson had been on an airplane when he was 18 months old, so he doesn't remember it, so it was pretty much his first plane ride along with Preston & Alivia.  It was fun to see them experience their first airplane ride.  We had to wear masks for the whole airplane ride, but it wasn't too bad.  We had a quick connection in Minneapolis, MN on our way to Orlando, Florida.  The plan was to spend a few days at Disneyworld before heading to Cocoa Beach for a few more days.  It was amazing!  Enjoy all the pictures! 

We got into Florida around 5:30.  It took a bit to find the rental car counter, but once we did we were able to pick up our car.  We rented a really nice GMC Yukon XL.  It was awesome!  The kids loved it and thought they were so cool in this nice ride!  We found our hotel, Embassy Suites.  We stopped at Panda Express on the way and enjoyed some dinner in our room.  The kids also spent a little time working on some homework.  The perk of having online schooling an option, is not getting too behind when on vacation!  

 Our room was on the 5th floor and worked great.  There were enough beds and they had 3 sinks and mirrors, so that made getting ready easier.  They also had an amazing daily breakfast.  Preston told me that it was definitely a "5 Star Hotel".