There are those moments when everything moves into place to click together. Yesterday the kids and I went to Hollywood Studios with a plan, then it seemed like it definitely would not be one of those moments. DS requested to ride Toy Story Midway Mania, whether we got on relatively quickly or got FastPasses for much later. But then we arrived and the wait was an hour - which I was willing to wait and so was DD - but DS was not, and FPs were out for the rest of the day. He then started to cop this amazing attitude, which I was not about to take. It's still a pretty new attraction and not surprising to find the wait this long, which I explained to the boy, but he persisted in his poutiness.

We moved through Pixar Place to the Streets of America and on to Muppet Vision 3D. The plan was to see the movie and get some ice cream at Dinosaur Gertie's. Anything else would just be gravy. We pretty much stuck to the plan, but as I said earlier, sometimes there are moments when everything clicks into place. This particular afternoon became one of those times.

But first things first: Muppet Vision 3D. We walked in just as the hostess was telling us we'd be the last guests for this showing. After grabbing our 3D glasses we joined the crowd and walked right into the theater, which meant no pre-show. I was a bit disappointed, the pre-show here is pretty good, anything with Kermit & Gonzo (especially Gonzo) is funny. But we walked in and sat in the third row, center, sat back and watched. The show started with Statler & Waldorf's complaints from their box seats, an AA penguin orchestra rose from the stage and started to play, then the curtains rose and the "3D" moved out from the door into the crowd. The kids and I laughed at every bit, even though we've seen it a few times already, since we're big Muppet fans. I always forget about Sweetums' appearances, which are such a delight, and as it does every time, the show ends with a hilarious bang, courtesy of the Sweedish Chef ("mm-hmm, bork, bork, bork!").

Next up is our bit of Disney magic. We've seen the Jedi Training Academy more than once, one of which our DD was chosen, much to DS's dismay. He's a huge Star Wars fan and even recreates the light saber duels as he watches the movies with friends. Just as we were walking by the stage, we noticed a relatively small crowd with 10 minutes to go. I scooted him over to the line after he gave me that "please, can I, please can I?" smile. Finally the moment came when the Jedi Master chose his students. DS was called up on the stage and DD & I were thrilled. The kids were all shown basic light saber movements, how to chop off each arm at the shoulder, then each leg, to duck, then a final swipe at their opponent's head. Then, Darth Vader invaded the lesson. Each of the young padawans had their chance to defeat him and made their moves based on the instructions of the Jedi Master. Then it was DS's turn:

Not just as a proud mommy, but as a spectator, I noticed that the crowd really cheered for him in a way they didn't for the other padawans. I think it was because he didn't wait for the Jedi Master to give commands, he just went ahead and moved with it. When he was done and received his diploma, he had the widest smile on his face. I asked what he had thought of all the cheering and he said, "people were cheering? I guess I was too focused to notice!"

Then we celebrated with ice cream from Dinosaur Gertie's. Here's our review: it's pretty much standard soft serve, which we really like, but you get it from a huge brontosaurus belly. Cool way to end a very cool afternoon.