I do not own these characters or places…..Stephenie Meyer and Walt Disney do :(
Chapter 6: Disney's Hollywood Studios…Continued
Bella's POV
The "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" Movie Set Adventure was a huge play area for little preschoolers…and Emmett. After Nessie finished her speedy lunch Emmett picked her up and ran her, at not so human speed, to the playground. Of course he took his camera and took pictures of her climbing a 40-foot tall bumblebee. He also took her down the slides made from oversized film strips. Nessie soaked Emmett with the 52-foot long leaking water hose that sprayed water, and she climbed on the 30-foot tall blades of grass. Emmett lifted her up so she could stand on the giant Play-Doh container.
"Look how tall I am daddy," Nessie yelled waving at Edward.
"Wow Nessie I think you might be taller than me," Edward replied smiling brightly.
After about thirty minutes Emmett and Nessie returned laughing hysterically.
"That was sooo much fun!!!" Nessie said once her breathing returned to normal.
"That's good to hear," Esme said buckling Nessie back into her stroller.
We all headed over to see Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. We sat down on the bleachers and waited for the show to begin. The show followed a movie director, stunt manager, and production crew as they worked on a "Live" film set. We got a behind-the-scene look at the filmmaking process. Secrets were revealed in a thrilling combination of complex vehicle stunts choreographed with split-second precision. There were motorcycle stunts that would make Charlie's heart stop. Motorcycles flew through rings of fire, engines revved, tires squealed, breaks screeched, cars hurdled over trucks, and a stunt person fell from a 5-story bell tower. The finale was amazing, there was an all-vehicle chase that involved cars, trucks, motorcycles, pyrotechnics, and sometimes high-power jet skis that rocket across a water canal. The whole show was filmed "out of sequence" and after the finale; the shots were edited chronologically to create the complete sequence. The extraordinary video was played back on a wall-sized screen.
"That was one of the best shows I have ever seen," Rosalie said as we exited the arena.
I knew she would like it because of her love of cars. After the show we headed over to see another show, Muppet*Vision 3D. We made our way into the warehouse of the Muppet Theater. We watched a pre-show extravaganza that featured Rizzo, Gonzo, and Fozzy Bear. After the pre-show we headed into the theater and received our 3D glasses for the main show. Kermit, Miss Piggy, and the rest of the gang took us on a behind-the-scene tour of Muppet Labs. We met Waldo C. Graphic, the world's first computer-generated Muppet, as he wreaked havoc on everybody in his path. He interrupted Sam the Eagle during his patriotic grand finale, which cause the fireworks to shoot off towards the audience. The show was over and we deposited our glasses in the purple bins.
As soon as we left the building Nessie spotted the character greetings. We stood in line and she got autographs from the Little Einsteins pals, June, Leo, Quincy, and Annie, Cars stars, Lightning McQueen and Mater, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Buzz, Woody, and Jesse from the Toy Story movies, Mike and sully from Monsters, Inc., the Power Rangers, and JoJo and Goliath from Circus Town. While we were inline waiting for the characters, Emmett was off to the side dancing to the music coming from the live show, High School Musical 3: Senior Year-Right Here! Right Now!
"I have Wildcat Fever," he yelled jumping up and down and waving his arms around.
We just chose to ignore him and pretended like we didn't know him. After Nessie got her autographs and pictures we headed to Star Tours. The front of the building looks like an Ewok village, and out in front stands a towering AT-AT. Once the line moved inside the building we saw some Star Wars props and set pieces. We passed C-3PO and R2D2 working on a space shuttle. After walking through the prop-filled building we were put into lines in front of the loading doors. An informational video started to play telling us there was to be no eating or flash photography. There were some Star Wars characters in the video and they showed us how to put on our seat belts and store our belongings safely under our seats. The doors opened a minute or two after the video was over and we walked in and took our seats. I helped Nessie with her seatbelt and we stored our belongings under our seats just like the video told us to.
"I hope Yoda's on this ride," Emmett whispered.
"He's not Em," I said remembering from last time I was here.
He crossed his arms and sank into his chair pouting like a three year old. The lights went down and a little droid started to tell us that we were going on a tour to Endor, and that it was his first flight. A screen came up from the ground and our tour began. Somehow our droid tour guide makes a wrong turn and we end up out in the vast solar system. Along the way to Endor we flew through comets, and came face-to-face with a massive Star Destroyer, and the dreaded Death Star. We shook and bounced along during the entire ride, but we somehow made it back safely to the station. We walked through the exit doors and down the ramp into the gift shop. Emmett and Jasper raced ahead each grabbing a Light Saber from the shelf, Emmett grabbing Yoda's green light saber and Jasper grabbing Darth Vader's red light saber. After their little duel (Emmett won by jumping on Jasper's back and "cutting his head off") we headed over to Pixar Place and Animation Courtyard.
The first ride we came to was a newer ride called Toy Story Midway Mania! We grabbed our 3D glasses and climbed into our carnival-themed tram vehicle. Each one of the games was hosted by different Toy Story characters. A very large Mr. Potato Head welcomed us to the attraction. He told us corny jokes as we were whisked away to other parts of the attraction. Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Rex, Hamm, and other members of the Toy Story gang called out helpful hints and cheered us on as we participated in the different games. We had a spring-action shooter that we could aim at the targets. Before the actual games started there was a pie-throwing practice round. After the practice round we launched virtual darts at balloons, rings at the Little Green Men, eggs at the barnyard targets, and baseballs at plates. There were some hidden targets with bonus points that moved us up to different levels of play. At the end our scores were recorded and compared to other players' tallies.
"I can't believe you beat me," Emmett whined handing Nessie a five dollar bill.
"Don't be such a cry baby Uncle Em, it's not my fault you lost to a five year old," Nessie replied stuffing the money into her pocket.
"Emmett lost to a little girl," Alice sang as she danced out through the door swiftly avoiding Emmett's grabbing hands.
We made our way over to the Voyage of The Little Mermaid show. It was a fifteen minute show recreating the movie The Little Mermaid with colorful puppets, live performers, special effects, and movie clips. We walked into the theater and took our seats. There were bubbles floating lazily down from the ceiling and little mists of water. We take Ariel's journey with her from sea to land. There are many memorable songs like "Part of Your World, and "Under the Sea". My entire family seemed to be having a good time; it definitely wasn't the worst show we've seen. Nessie sang along to almost all the songs and especially enjoyed when Sebastian and Flounder came on stage. She was a little frightened when Ursula appeared but it wasn't her reaction that concerned me.
"Where did Edward go?" I questioned in a hushed tone.
"I don't know but I haven't felt that much fear from him since you almost got killed by James," Jasper whispered in my ear.
The show continued on and Ursula belted out "Poor Unfortunate Soul", Ariel finds her prince, Ursula is defeated, and the show ends on a happy note. We exited the theater to find Edward pacing back and forward and pinching the bridge of his nose.
"That show is entirely inappropriate for little children," he ranted.
"Edward the show was fine, what's the matter with you?" I asked grabbing both sides of his face and making him look at me.
He sighed and I heard Alice giggling in the background.
"Ursula scares me," he admitted a little defeated.
"Hahaha, Eddie's scared of a puppet!!" Emmett laughed.
"Aww, it's ok, we are all scared of one thing or another," I said trying to comfort him without letting out my pent-up laughter.
He just rolled his eyes and sighed again. He took hold of Nessie's stroller and started pushing her towards the Playhouse Disney-Live on Stage! show. I knew better then to bring up the Ursula issue again. We sat down on the floor in front of the stage.
"Hey isn't that Mike and Jessica over there?" Jasper asked pointing to a couple who were practically sitting on the stage and bouncing up and down with excitement.
"Holy Crow!! It is!!" I said letting out the laughter I was currently holding in.
Jasper took a candid snap shot just as the show was starting. We helped the characters from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, and Little Einsteins plan Minnie Mouse's surprise party. We helped Goofy bake a cake, Handy Manny fix a bubble machine, and we supported Rocket as he competed in the great sky race. All the preschoolers, Nessie, and Mike and Jessica all danced and clapped to the music. Much to our delight the show was over and we headed down Sunset Boulevard.
We were going to go on the rides first, but the last showing of Beauty and the Beast-Live on Stage about to start, so we decided to watch that first. We made it into our seats just as the show was beginning. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie, it reminds me of my relationship with Edward, and the main character's name is similar to mine. The show recreated the beloved movie with extravagant costumes, vivid set pieces, amazing dance numbers, and 5 classic songs including "Be Our Guest", and "Beauty and the Beast".
"That Gaston guy reminds me of Jacob," I whispered quietly to Edward.
He laughed and nodded his head in agreement. Nessie swayed to the music and clapped extra loud when Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, Chip, and Cogsworth came on stage. I sniffled a little when the Beast "Died" but was soon smiling again once he woke up as the handsome prince. After the show we headed a little further down the road to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.
Esme took Nessie to get dinner, and the rest of us went to wait in the 45 minute line. The line moved quicker than I thought, and we soon found ourselves inside the building. There were movie posters and posters of concerts along the wall. We came to a spot where there were old record players, microphones, and recording equipment. After a while we came to a large window that was looking into a recording session with Aerosmith. Their manager came in and told them they were going to be late for their concert and that there was a stretch limo waiting out back for them. Of course they couldn't forget about us, so the manager said she would get us a limo as well.
"I think we should get a limo," Alice said deep in thought.
"Alice, we don't need a limo to feed your shopping addiction. There is plenty of room in your car for your bags," Edward said reacting to whatever Alice was thinking.
"Fine," she said sticking out her tongue.
We continued on through the doors into what looked like an alley. After following the line for a while longer we finally came to the front. We stepped into the car and pulled the safety restraints over our heads. Each "car" had a 125 speaker, 24 sub-woofer, and a 32,000 watt, onboard audio system. The car started moving forward, and then pulls back again before shooting from 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds. We raced through the neon-filled streets of Tinseltown, through loops, and past street signs before making it back to the loading station.
"WOW!!!" that's all I could say after stepping out of the car.
"I know exactly what you mean," Carlisle said patting me on the shoulder.
Nessie and Esme met us at the end of the ride inside the small gift shop.
"You guys better hurry, the line was really short for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror," Esme said causing us to rush past her.
Esme was right and there was barely anyone in line for the Tower of Terror. We entered into what looked like a hotel lobby. There was a front desk with a bell, and an old TV. The TV played the beginning of the show The Twilight Zone, and it also gave us information on the events that took place in the hotel. We learned that 5 unlucky souls were riding down the Hollywood Tower Hotel's maintenance service elevator one Halloween night. A violent storm struck the building, and they were never seen again. After watching the TV, we followed the line down into the boiler room in the hotel's basement. We climbed into the elevator and took our seats along the rows of benches. The elevator slowly crept forward towards the elevator shaft. Along the way we saw the ghosts of the 5 lost souls. We finally made it into the elevator shaft, and the windows opened showing us an amazing view of the entire Disney's Hollywood Studios park.
"AHH HALE NO!!!" Rosalie and Jasper shouted just before the windows shut and we plummeted down a few stories.
We were pulled up and down like a yo-yo at least three times before our ride was over.
"That was pretty awesome," I said once we reached Esme and Nessie.
"Well it looks like most of you had fun, but what's with those two?" Esme asked pointing to Rosalie and Jasper who were clutching each other and shaking with fear.
"They got a bit scared," I said taking the stroller from Esme.
The ride ended just in time for us to find our seats for Fantasmic. We picked a spot that was close to the front and in the middle of the huge auditorium. We were inside Sorcerer Mickey's dream. There were explosives, pyrotechnics, shimmering laser lights, and dancing water effects with Disney songs and animation.
"Wow this is amazing," Edward said as Mickey's dream brought forth characters and spirit of Disney classics.
There were incredible floats featuring characters from Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Aladdin, Pinocchio, The Lion King, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Tarzan, and more. The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs gathered villains to turn Mickey's pleasant dream into a nightmare. She gathered Cruella de Vil, Scar, Frollo, Jafar, and much to Edwards dismay Ursula. Jafar turned into a giant snake, but was quickly defeated. The worst villain she brought was Maleficent who turned into a huge dragon. Mickey uses the power of imagination to save his dream. The finale featured 26 Disney Characters. They cruised across the moat aboard a replica of the Steamboat Willie boat.
Once the show was over we quickly made our way to the boat to go back to our hotel. Nessie was sleeping peacefully in Edwards arms as we waited for the boat to pull up to the dock. We walked past Mike and Jessica as we made our way to the back of the boat. The ride seemed shorter coming back. Edward and I walked slowly back to the room with Nessie still sleeping, as the others walked ahead. Unfortunately our "slow" walking caused us to have to share an elevator with the Newtons.
"Looks like somebody got tired out," Mike joked pointing at Nessie.
We just smiled and nodded. Luckily they were staying on the third floor and we didn't have to make "polite conversation". We said good night to them as they left the elevator, and breathed a sigh of relief. We made it to our room quickly and changed Nessie into her pajamas and tucked her into bed. We kissed her lightly on the head and went into the TV room.
"Anyone up for a game of BS?" Carlisle asked waving a deck of cards.
We all agreed, and began playing. I knew that in just a few short hours we would be starting a whole new adventure in Epcot.