We're here!

Well, we finally made it here!  I think for most of us, there wasn't much actual sleeping on the bus.  And we had some delays and arrived at the park around 11am.  And, there was no park keycard/ticket for me when we arrived, but that was quickly sorted out.  So, even though we were tired, we were so happy to get here and see the beautiful entrance to Disney's Hollywood Studios Park!

Annah's group of friends was so sweet to allow me to hang out with them all day.  Welcome to the "Crossroads of the World" Alexis, Lauren, Annah, and Shelby!

Dawn, Shannon, and Reece had arrived at their hotel last night and got to the park early this morning, but they came to greet us all with hugs at the park entrance!

All fast passes were given out for the day, so girls decided the #1 thing they wanted to do was ride the Tower of Terror.  

Annah didn't think I could take a successful selfie while we were walking down the street.

We found the line for ToT was 2 hours when we arrived.  It was still nice to stretch our legs while we waited.

And, we saw several others from our group waiting in line too.

One of the great things about Disney is that, even though the lines are long, there are interesting or beautiful or fun things to do in line while you wait.

Stepping onto the elevator, and into the Twilight Zone... 

Outside the ride, we stopped to press some pennies.

 I had to meet the rest of my girls at 1:15 to give them their lunch cards.  For those who had never been to Disney World before (most of them), it was a bit of a shock that their $10 lunch card required very careful use to get them enough to eat.  They all managed it well though.

After lunch, we did a bit of wandering and shopping.

I had Annah take this picture of the BB-8 Mickey ears to text to Caeden.

 Next, we had to hit Rock'n'Rollercoaster!

When we reached the right place in line, the girls were determined to touch the back of the giant guitar.

We were all warm and sleepy by mid-afternoon, and decided to get some Starbucks frappacinos to cool us down and wake us up!

The person at the register kept hearing us wrong, so Annah's drinks and mine all said "Hannah."

We did some more shopping and made our way over to the Muppets area.  It's really cool to look at.

We thought the Miss Piggy fountain was pretty cool.

We went into the Muppets 3-D attraction, which is fun.

Bubbles!

Sweetums and Statler and Waldorf are all there in the theater.

Next, we went on the Star Wars ride.  It has been updated with scenes from the 7th movie, and is cooler than ever.

,As we had entered the line for Star Wars, a cast member handed us each a ticket.  While we were waiting in line, we realized she had actually handed us FastPasses to use on any ride we wanted!  It was cool for the girls to get to experience that little bit of Disney "magic!"  They decided they wanted to go back on Rock'n'Rollercoaster.

Outside the ride, the girls all picked cute related temporary tattoos. 

Annah's is Tigger.

None of us were really hungry for another meal, so the girls chose icy treats.

 We are all enjoying the palm trees!  (None of those in Illinois!)

We were to meet our group at the first show of Fantasmic!  Having missed out on the show when we came in 2009, Annah and I knew we need to get into the stadium very early to get a seat. Folks filed in steadily over the next hour and a half and filled this place.

Our whole group ended up in the same section though.

Fantasmic is Annah's very favorite thing at Disney World.  It is an incredible show, for sure! 

 I didn't bring my camera on the trip, only my phone, so these images are probably only clear to those who have seen the show.

 It is incredible the way these scenes are projected onto mist!

Although this show incorporates all of the Disney villains, I do love the story that good always triumphs over evil, and that we are in charge of our own imaginations, thoughts, and decisions.

Happy ending...

I love watching Annah watching this...

 Yay, Mickey! 

After the show, it was time for our group to leave the park.  We met at the entrance.  Loved seeing the topiary of Sorcerer Mickey from Fantasia.  Always a special movie to Annah, as the music of it inspired her as a tiny little girl to want to play the violin.

It was fun to see some of our HS boys that bought light sabers today, playing with them while we waited for the rest of our group.  These kids are all so excited to be here.  Most of them have never been before, and may never get another opportunity to come back.  They are all being so sweet, and enjoying these fun moments of their childhood with great gratitude. 

 Back on the bus, Mr. M gave the "Do not open your hotel room door after lights-out under any circumstances!!!" speech about 10 times on the way to the hotel.  I'm pretty sure everyone understood and obeyed.

It was really a great day!