Danows in Disney

One of the funnest parts of visiting the different shops throughout Disney World is trying on the different hats and accessories. They're really great about letting you take pics of each other in them too.

Now, mind you, I did NOT start out looking to buy a hat, but I do have some affection for them, and we forgot our hats this year, so I was motivated to try on a bunch in search of the ever-elusive "perfect hat".

Just thought the Mickey ears on this one was too adorable.

Honestly thought this was the perfect hat for me (Indiana Jones is a huge favorite of mine) until I saw the price. Forty bucks for this little gem, and I'd be wearing it for what? A couple of days. I'll pass.

This is from the Tower of Terror shop. The ride is based on a story about a hotel, and this is a bellhop hat with Stitch ears. We also saw this hilarious t-shirt with Stitch holding a pair of scissors in a bellhop uniform with the caption "Don't forget to tip your bellhop!"

Now, we're getting somewhere!

With a full night of sleep under our belts, we headed for MGM Studios and our first two rides were the most essential of any trip to Disney for the Mommy every year.

First, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. (Caedyn took the bypass on this, so Mike and I had to take turns. Disney's kid switch policy rocks for that.) After a walk through the lobby of the Hollywood Tower Hotel and a quick introduction of the story of the particular episode you're in by Rod Serling himself, you're directed to the service elevators for a trip into the Twilight Zone. They've programmed the drop sequence for the elevators randomly, so you never know how it's going to go. It's a thirteen story drop. When you drop all the way. Often, they play with you - drop you a little at first, then suddenly the rest of the way about the time you've caught your breath - and in the end, you've done the thirteen story drop at least once, and some smaller drops and ascensions along the way. It's trippy. I giggled so hard the entire time.

Then, next door to the Aerosmith Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. (Caedyn chickened out at the last moment. He 'nervous'ed himself right out of it.) 0 to 60 in 8 seconds in a 'stretch limo' with Aerosmith blaring through the speakers. My favorite ride.

Next, Caedyn's favorite MGM ride. Star Tours! This ride is cool, but what I love is the whole outside queue area that looks like it's been taken right off the Endor moon complete with a big AT-AT that squirts water on the crowd from it's guns. Disney actually holds Star Wars weekends here in May which are big fan events, and the whole place is really fun to walk through. You head into a hangar-type area to get to your touring vehicle for what is supposed to be a leisurely trip to Endor, but end up over-shooting your mark (cuz your pilot's never actually flown before) and in the end, get to do the trench run from Ep IV with the Rebellion. The shop for this place looks like something out of Tatooine, too, filled with SW toys that have me trying to drag my kid (or my mom when she goes with us) out for something close to an hour.