The Duncans Do Disney, Day Five: Disney-MGM Studios

Well, here we are. We have finally arrived at the last day of our amazing Disney Extravaganza. I remember waking up on Friday morning and being surprised by how very NOT exhausted I was. I was ready to go full-speed and stay another week! It is safe to say, however, that by the end of this day the adrenaline was running out and I was nearly falling asleep standing up!

On Thursday afternoon (the previous day), we were watching one of those channels in our room that played nothing but informational shows about Disney. We happened to see a special on MGM which portrayed it as extremely kid friendly, what with all the Playhouse Disney stuff and other movie attractions. We made the decision then that we would be at MGM on Friday morning when the park opened so we could cram everything in to our last day. (Phillip and I had been to MGM briefly back in 1998, but really didn't remember enough about it to know that this assesment of ours was pretty much false.In actuality, there are a lot of kiddie things to see, just not a lot of kiddie things to do - and Jack and Spencer are do-ers!) No one else was ready to leave as early as we were on Friday, so Phillip, Jack and I headed out first.

As soon as we arrived, we headed straight for the Playhouse Disney area. We were just in time for the first show of the day. As we were waiting, I was approached by a Cast Member and asked if we would like to be the Family of the Show. Family of the Show? Are you kidding me? Of course we want to be the Family of the Show! It took me a minute before I realized that this was a part of the Year of a Million Dreams , where Disney grants wishes big and small to selected park guests. I couldn't believe it! I know it was a small thing, but it just made us feel so special to be chosen - to be allowed into the show early and to be able to sit right in the center on the front row! We even got a certificate to Commemorate the occasion - eat your heart out, Scott!

The show itself was just OK -It has yet to updated with the newer Playhouse shows that we watch regularly. We saw Bear in the Big Blue House, Pooh and Friends, JoJo and Stanley. Jack likes Stanley because he has a Dinosaur Roundup movie! But...when we exited the show, can you guess who was waiting to see us? Can you? Yep - Leo, Annie Quincy and June - the Little Einsteins! Jack was so excited to meet his friends, even giving the two girls a kiss because (in his own words), "Jack loves the ladies!".

Next, we met up with the fam and headed on over to meet two of our very favorite movie friends - LIGHTNING MCQUEEN AND MATER! Boogity, Boogity boys! Let's go racin'! It really was cool seeing these characters up close and personal,especially when we are used to playing with them on a much smaller scale.

Next came lunch at Pizza Planet - you know, the place where Andy goes for his birthday in Toy Story. The boys had fun "playing" the video games. (They aren't old enough yet to realize that you have to insert quarters to really play!) We all enjoyed our pizza, salad and the few minutes of rest. Because then...Phillip and I took off for on our own for our only Grown Up Ride experience. And we chose the (drumroll, please) Tower of Terror! We rode this one while at Disney on our honeymoon - back in the days when you got only one drop. Well, now they have it so that the computer randomizes how many drops you get so that the experience is different every single time. And wouldn't you know, just after lunch, that we were yanked upwards and dropped thirteen stories FIVE times! What a rush! It was absolutely horrifying, yet exhilirating at the same time. I pretty much opened my eyes to look out the big windows at the top and then long enough to see my camera bag levitating in front of me. And I screamed so loud that I'm pretty sure you could hear me in Kentucky.

By early afternoon, I was pretty much tapped out, as was everyone else. The kids just wanted to go back to the Castle and the grown-ups wanted to go to bed! We hung around for a while outside the Chinese theater playing, being silly (yes, Phillip, I am talking about you)and taking a breather while waiting on the parade to start.

The parade was festive and beautiful - different from the ones in the Magic Kingdom, but equally fun and fabulous. It was the perfect way to end the last day of our amazing trip.