Since we came back from the Cruise and the Kennedy Space Center on Thursday 19th January (Happy Birthday Clare!) we have been making the most of our multi use passes and have been revisiting the Theme Parks to make sure we saw things we missed last time or to have one last ride on our favourite roller coasters.
First we revisited Disney's Hollywood Sudios which ended up being a huge day, to my surprise - the first time we were there Joe and Imogen only lasted until 2:30pm before fading; this time it was 6:00pm!
The highlights of this visit were definitely the Backlots Tour, where Paul was talked into volunteering to be a stunt man in a short War movie - he was soaked but was a good sport about it, thus earning himself massive cool points from the kids.
Another highlight was the Jedi Training Academy - you have to sign up for a dozen coveted spots (kids aged 3-12) as soon as the Park opens, and turn up at the appointed time to have a turn at wearing the brown Jedi robe and being taught light saber techniques from a Master Jedi. There are about 8 sessions per day, with 15 kids in each and if you miss out on a spot you can sign on as an alternate in case one of the others on the list drops out.
Our kids were alternates 7,8,9 & 10. We calculated our best bet was most likely towards the end of the day, and sure enough at 5:00pm the three older kids were able to go on as alternates! Poor Joe missed out, but he was really a bit too tired and overwhelmed by then anyway. As usual, he accepted it with good humor. So now we have three graduates of the Jedi Training Academy in the family. Wonder if their teachers will think their qualifications are an acceptable alternative to attending the first two weeks of school?
We also returned to Universal Studios (which we really hadn't covered fully last time due to wet kids and crowds) and had a great time. One of the more hilarious attractions there is the Disaster Studios, where a "Famous Director of Disaster Movies" played by Christopher Walken is auditioning for "background artists" (the audience) in his latest blockbuster "Mutha Nature.". This time I had five minutes of fame with some green screen "acting" which ended up in a blink and you'll miss me segment of the trailer length "movie." So funny!
Today we returned to Epcot, where we had fun on out favourite rides (we were able to get Fast Passes to the ones we knew would be popular).
Curiously since the whole bag being taken by a hapless Brazilian fiasco, we have encountered the same couple of Brazilian tour groups where ever we go! Funny!
Paul's bag was finally delivered to us tonight (as I type it is Monday 23rd January), so we don't have to worry about that any more.
Tomorrow we are planning to go back to Magic Kingdom later in the day to see if the little ones can last until the fireworks. We have to pack up everything to be ready to fly to San Francisco early on Thursday, so this will be our farewell to Disney World.
Back in Brisbane our friends started a new year of school today. We hope they had a great day, and can't wait to see everyone again.