Day 5: Who Knew Drill Sergeants Were So Much Fun?

When in Disney, there are generally a couple of times when it's universally accepted that there will be few lines: first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and during the parade. As a result, I've never really watched a lot of parades at Disney World. There are people that sit down on the sidewalk and wait for an hour to get a good spot, but that's never been me.

On this vacation, I decided it was important to me to try some things I'd never done before, so parades went on my list. I thought the kids might really enjoy it, and even if I hated them, at least I was hating them in the Florida sunshine. With that in mind, we headed into the Disney Hollywood Studios on the afternoon of Day 5 to catch the "Block Party Bash".

We were cutting it a bit close to the start of the parade, and people we already lined up on the sidewalks in anticipation. We grabbed a map, and tried to figure out where we should be. Having never done this before, I decided that we should go to the very end of the parade route, and then we'd be sure to see everything as it went by. We grabbed a bench near the "Star Wars" area, and started to wait out the last few minutes. Thank goodness a friendly cast member walking by mentioned that the Block Party was not really a parade in the traditional sense, and that if we stayed where we were we would miss the whole thing.

Thank you, Anonymous Cast Member! Your tip allowed us to move down the street and grab a spot in the midst of the action. Instead of travelling continuously, the parade floats stopped, and all kinds of dancers and acrobats and performers took to the street. The music was pumping, and Griffin felt the urge to DANCE! He let loose and boogied to the disco classics pumping out of the speakers. If I was more technologically inclined than I am, I would include a clip of the video, because you know I didn't get any pictures!

The Block Party was "directed" by one of the little green Army men from Toy Story, and he was a hoot! Cracking jokes, ordering people to shake their rumps. It was delightful, although he looked VERY sweaty in his green makeup. I thought it was so cool that we were standing right next to the guy directing the whole thing, until the party packed up and moved on. I realized that each float had it's own Army man, and we were not quite as special as we thought.

After the parade, we experienced the sheer, unmitigated nightmare that is the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground. In theory, what could be more fun? The set of the classic 80's movie turned into a fun playground for kids! The reality: pure terror. This playground has tunnels and caves and multiple entrances and exits to each section, allowing children to disappear into its depths with no way for a parent to know where they would emerge. In a word, hell.

Ted took Griffin into the playground in good faith. Griffin quickly banded together with a group of other children, all of whom realized how much fun it was to HIDE from their parents inside. My poor husband had to band together with other parents in order to herd the children into a manageable space and separate them.

After the trauma of the playground, we just went home and went to bed!