TIP(S) OF THE DAY:
Disney allows you to make dining reservations 180 days in advance with no penalty to cancel 24 hours ahead of time. Take advantage of this. We only started making reservations about 6 weeks out (when we figured out we were going) and it was very hard to get a table anywhere.
There is no PhotoPass at the Cape May character breakfast. Bring your own camera and take a lot of pictures!
Because we had the Park Hopper option we chose to split this day between Hollywood Studios and Epcot. I was bummed we missed the Fantasmic show (Hollywood Studios evenings), which I would recommend.
If you have an iPhone or a Droid, download the free wait times app for Disney. My mom, sister, and I all had this and it was great to be able to check what rides had shorter lines!
Bring a few pairs of shoes. I wore flip flops (I know it's a NO-NO on the disney boards but I wear them 24-7 when there isn't snow on the ground, and good ones-Rocket Dogs) most of the days, and tennis shoes one day. Even though no one got blisters, the standing in line or watching parades will kill your feet more than the walking. I thought being able to switch shoes out gave my feet a break here and there.
My sister's kids had done a character meal last time they were at Disney, so they had decided to opt out of this one. I tried to make reservations at Chef Mickey but they were sold out and ended up with a reservation at Cape May on Monday, and the Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom) Tuesday and Wednesday. Because we couldn't get into the Crystal Palace until after the parks opened, we decided not to waste time and go to the early seating at Cape May. The characters featured here included Donald, Minnie, and Goofy.
We drove over to the Beach Club which was very different from the Wilderness Lodge, very white and plantation like with wicker furniture and striped awnings, as well as a boardwalk out back along the water. Everyone was a little tired but once we got into the restaurant, we all started to perk up! The hostess sat us and went over our food choices as we headed to our table. There was a cold cereal bar, bagels, lox, toast, full fruit and granola station, eggs, mickey waffles, sausages, potatoes, bacon, and pastries. We got in line and grabbed some food, some of the dishes were running low but they restocked the food very quickly and if you didn't get something you wanted on the first pass you could get it on the second. As we ate, the characters came out one by one and took their time for photos and autographs at each table. It was very cool and Trey loved that he didn't have to wait in line or share. It was a bonus the food was good too. The fresh squeezed oj was the best! I felt a little stuffed when we left but it worked out because we really did not have to eat again during the day other than a few snacks and a Mickey ice cream.
After breakfast we headed over to Hollywood Studios and arrived at 9 just as it was opening. The weather was amazing and I actually think this was my favorite day (other than not seeing my sister and her family-they had headed straight to the park that morning and had their own schedule). Clear blue skies, almost 90ยบ, but a cool breeze. For some reason, there weren't a lot of lines at this park and we were able to cover almost the whole place by 2:30 pm (we also didn't ride Tower of Terror or Rock n Roll Roller Coaster, which I'm sure had long lines and skipped Playhouse Disney Live and the Indiana Jones stunt show since we had seen them before).
Our first step here was Brad went and got FastPasses for Toy Story Mania, and our ride time wasn't until 1 pm. We headed to the Great Movie Ride, and there was a 5 minute wait. This ride takes you through various classic movie scenes in the dark, I was afraid T would be scared but he loves Wizard of Oz and the ride ended up at the Yellow Brick Road. We then headed over to the Muppet Vision 3-D movie, which we all enjoyed! You get a little water sprayed at you, but it's fun and contains some (subtle) adult humor as well as lots of jokes for kids. It seemed most of the rides for Hollywood Studios were in the dark or shade and involved sitting so it was a pretty easy day. On our way to the Studio Backlot tour we passed Lightening McQueen and Mater, so Trey stood in line with my mom for that.
The Studio Backlot tour starts with a demonstration of special effects in a water area. They blow things up and create a "storm" in a water tank with volunteers from the audience in raincoats. After you watch that, you get on a tram that takes you through the costume warehouse, some old props (herbie!) and into a "movie set" where they simulate a canyon getting flooded with water and a gas truck blowing up. My mom had to hold on to Trey tight and they got a little wet.
After the Backlot tour, we decided to see a bathroom break and ran into Sully and Mike from Monsters, Inc. We posed for pictures and headed out. Trey also got to meet a Green Army Man!
We wandered over to the Little Mermaid show, where my dad and Brad decided to go see Journey Into Narnia: Prince Caspian (which they said was just a movie trailer for the movie already out) and Lights, Motors, Action!™ Extreme Stunt Show (Brad said very cool). The Little Mermaid was fun, the people working the puppets are in black and the puppets are painted in Black Light Paint. They have an actress playing Arial and she was a very good singer.
On the way out of the show is the Buzz and Woody meet and greet. The wait time was 15-20 min but because Buzz is one of Trey's favorites we waited to meet him. He was great and admired Trey's Toy Story shoes and Buzz autograph book.
Mom, Trey, and I took an Ice Cream Break and waited for Dad and Brad to go on Toy Story Mania. Thanks to the FastPass, we headed straight to the front of the 70 minute line. In this ride, you ride in a car that spins as it goes through various arcade games. We had a blast hitting the targets and competing with each other for points. My sister said my nephew loved this so much he wanted to go on it again and again, but the line was too long. We did get Trey the Wii version of this ride for his Easter basket this year!
At this point we were all sweaty and ready for a nap. We headed back to the hotel to rest up before our dinner reservations at Epcot.
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