I woke up at 6:30 this morning to make pancakes.  I bought a new portable griddle for this purpose since our other griddle is really big.  It’s nice to be able to make pancakes and grilled cheese to supplement meals we buy. 

I let the girls sleep as long as possible then woke them up.  Back at home, we had planned some “Disney bounding” outfits with items we thrifted and found in our closets.  Basically you wear “regular” clothes that represent a character.  Nova wasn’t in the spirit this morning and was hating basically everything she brought along to wear including her Disney bounding outfit.  There were many tears and many suggestions and more tears because her face was red from the original tears.  Overall not a spectacular start.  But I knew she would feel better once she had time to fully wake up and feel some fresh air and sunshine.

We left the hotel later than I would have liked but made it to the park entrance around the time they were opening.  We rode Rise of the Resistance first.  It’s a Star Wars ride and neither girl was super confident about going on it.  It’s not a roller coaster but a “trackless ride” that combines live actors, video segments, and simulators.  We read reviews and by the time we boarded, we had both girls convinced. 

Before we left home, Nova said she did not need her ear covers but I packed them anyway and she wore them in the queue and on the ride which helped keep her calm. 

They both enjoyed the ride so we got in line for Smuggler’s Run, another Star Wars ride, next.  This one had a really long line.  We waited about 85 minutes before riding. 

Next was the park’s Toy Story land.  We skipped the spinning saucers because it’s similar to the Teacups which we can ride tomorrow.  The newer Slinky Dog Dash which is a family friendly coaster.  The girls were just too intimidated looking at it.  Disney hides a lot of their rides from sight which helps ease some of the anxiety. 

Instead, we headed to one of Nole’s favorites, Toy Story Mania.  It’s an inactive shooting game ride where you win points in carnival style games.  This was our third long wait in a row so we were going a little stir crazy but the ride was fun and Nole had the highest score in our group with 177,000 points. 

It was time to get lunch so I ordered using the park app.  After lunch, Nole took the girls to Beauty and the Beast Live and shopping while I did Tower of Terror (no one else was interested in joining me!).  I wasn’t so sure about doing it right after lunch but it turned out fine.  While waiting in line, I also got a chance to write some of this post!

We met again at Villains: Unfairly Ever After, a new show.  It was a pretty cool show with some new catchy songs. 

Then it was off to ride Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.  It was new to us and a pretty fun ride!  We went to Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular next, I wasn’t sure the girls would like this one but they did.  We also got cotton candy (only $5 a bag…the food here is more reasonable than I remember!).

Then it was time to meet the characters we were dressed up as.  Nova had a few secrets in her bag and was able to put together a Mickey-inspired outfit after all. 

Donald was so excited to see Esme.  It was a truly special experience that Esme won’t easily forget. 

We jumped on Star Tours a ride that has been here since 1989!  There’s not much of a line these days so we walked right on.  There are over 250 possible variations of the experience so we rode it again after dinner too! 

We got photos with Goofy (who I dressed as) and Mickey (Nova) and Minnie too!

We went to the Frozen Sing-Along next.  It “snows” indoors at the end!

A quick run through Star Tours again and then we split up so I could ride the Aerosmith Rockin’ Rollercoaster.

This is my last chance to ride Aerosmith, a ride I first rode when I was 13 years old and came here with Aunt Chris and Cheryl. They’re closing this ride soon to re-theme it for Muppets.  I think it will be a fun take on the ride.  I did the single riders line but it still took about 50 minutes to get on the ride.  It was another chance to write more of this post too!

We met at The Little Mermaid (a live show which has recently been reimagined for 2026). 

There were two “nighttime spectaculars” tonight.  One was the Wonderful World of Animation, a nostalgic look back through some Disney classics projected on the side of a building.  Esme caught a few winks waiting for it to start while Nole and Nova took advantage of a low wait time at Rise of Resistance to go on another ride.  Yes, the same ride she had to be convinced to ride when we arrived.  It can be hard to know when to push your kids to try something new and when to let it be.  I knew the first ride would set the tone for the rest of our theme park visits this trip and I’m really glad she decided to try it this morning! 

Fantasmic, Hollywood Studios long-running (since 1998!) nighttime show finished off the night.  We arrived late because we came from the Animation light show so we got some pretty crappy seats waaaay in the back.  Nova was pretty sad about this but we still could see most of the show.  I suggested leaving the show a few minutes before the end to get a head start to the buses and that meant we got on the first bus and got seats (the bus was packed with people standing as well by the time it pulled out of the station). 

Back at our resort, we spent a short time prepping for tomorrow (especially those who are NOT morning people) and hit the hay.  It will be another early and LONG day tomorrow!