Day 12 - Mary's 14th Birthday at Hollywood Studios

"Whatever we accomplish belongs to our entire group, a tribute to our combined effort."  - Walt Disney

Mary's golden birthday was of course spent at Hollywood Studios complete with dinner and a Mickey Mouse cake at the Sci-Fi Dine-In.  Park hours were 9am to 10pm, so we arrived at 8:30 and closed it down after enjoying the amazing Fantasmic light and special effects show at 10:30.

Mary and Joel and Ross ALL auditioned for the American Idol Experience.  Katrina, the casting director that Mary auditioned with, said she has great potential, and she is at the perfect age to start working with a vocal coach to get her breath control and projection developed.  While none of my family ended up on the Idol stage this time, they all enjoyed the auditioning experience and Mary is looking forward to returning one day and giving it another go.

Toy Story Mania is a favorite ride for all ages.  The line just to get a fast pass was longer than any other line when the park opens.  I think we ended up riding it four times throughout the course of the day--each time attempting to better our score from the time before as it is a 3D interactive video arcade type of ride.

Ross, Mary, Andrew, and Bev rode Tower of Terror; and Ross and Andrew enjoyed the Rockin' Roller Coaster a couple of times.  Other rides and attractions included the Great Movie Ride, Lights-Motor-Action, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours, watching one of the American Idol Experience shows, and the Backlot Studio Tour.  We ate lunch at Pizza Planet and enjoyed the cool air conditioning of the ABC commissary while waiting for our fast pass ticket times.  All in all, best birthday ever for Mary!  The Seven Wonders of the World - Rohne Style--Wonder #5:  I wonder how I can possibly be old enough to have a 14 year old?