Make a Wish Trip Day 3 - Universal Studios

We were so exhausted from being at the Magic Kingdom that we decided to sleep in and explore Give Kids the World before heading to Universal Studios for the afternoon. Everyday we got up an enjoyed breakfast at the Gingerbread House. I can't explain how magical GKTW is in words but when you go anywhere you just feel happy. You walk into the Gingerbread House and all of the volunteers smile at you, ask you how you are, where you're going today - things like that. They are all genuinely happy to see you and to serve you! There is no place like it.

I really loved breakfast this morning because we all went in our pj's and really took our time. There was another family eating close to us and the little girl was upset for some reason. Avery went right over to her and told her it was ok and they became instant friends. I love watching how friendly and caring she is and I hope she never outgrows it.

After breakfast I took Avery over to the carousal they have by the Castle of Miracles. They have someone waiting there all day so the kids can ride it whenever they want! 

After getting dressed we spent the rest of the morning exploring GKTW. They have these special garbage cans that talk to you and suck up any garbage you have! Avery was so scared at first but we started taking our garbage from wherever we were so we could put it in these garbage cans. 

After we explored a little bit we took Avery to the Castle of Miracles to place her star and get her pillow. They have this large interactive tree where an owl lives and asks you all kind of questions. Afterwords each child gets their own pillow to take home. These pillowcases are handmade and donated from all over the world. Avery's is a small pillow with frogs and flowers on it and she still carries it around with her. 

This is the ceiling of the Castle of Miracles. When each wish kid arrives they are given a welcome packet with a small star inside. At some point in their stay they come to Castle of Miracles to have the Star Fairy place their star. They have now run out of room and had to built a separate tower to put more stars. Avery's is in the tower in the Apple Galaxy. :) When we left they gave us a Star Passport that says we can come back and visit Avery's star whenever we want. It is so special to me that her star will stay there.

We had lunch at Katie's Kitchen - a cute little walk up window where they have chicken salad and sandwiches. Squirrels hang out there at lunch time hoping to get something that someone drops. Avery actually fed one or two of them and got such a kick out of it! 

After a quick nap we headed right to Universal Studios. Going to Harry Potter World was a must for me so after riding a few Cat in the Hat rides we headed up there. Avery took one look at the castle and said No way! She wouldn't even go near it! So Thomas took her back to Dr. Suess land while Valerie and I rode some of the HP rides. The ride inside the castle was really spectacular. The technology was amazing but I couldn't keep my eyes open for most of it! I got so motion sick and would've thrown up if I tried to watch the whole thing!

We hurried back to Dr. Suess land so we could ride a few more rides with Ave. There was a ride exactly like the dumbo ride except the fish spray water at you so I finally convinced Ave to put on a poncho and Thomas decided he was going to brave it without one! He ended up getting soaked and Avery just laughed and laughed while he got wet! 

The park closes pretty early on the off season so we hurried to have dinner on City Walk at Bubba Gumps. Thomas decided to take the Genie Pass and go ride the Hulk Ride by himself because we were too scared to go with him! He had a blast and said they let him to go the front of the line and choose his seat. We went and got a table and Ave was so tired she almost fell asleep while we were waiting for dinner. We were all so tired after dinner we went right home and went to bed. 

Make a Wish Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

Day 2 of MAW trip

We got up super early to get ready to go to Magic Kingdom. We wanted to make sure Avery got to meet Ariel first thing since that was her actual wish! In WDW everything is so spread out that it takes a super long time for you to get into the actual parks! We had to drive about 15 minutes to the parking lot, park, get on the tram, get on the monorail, go through security and bag check, then they will check your tickets so you can get into the park. Disney gives GKTW guests a photo pass where you get all the pictures for free so I tried to take advantage of this as much as possible. So of course we had to get our pictures taken right outside the park! Before we left we had these cute matching shirts made for all of us going. They have the Cinderella castle and they say TEAM AVERY - WHERE WISHES COME TRUE. I absolutely LOVED having these t-shirts and they were great souvenirs to wear even at home.

After getting into the park it was complete chaos! It was a lot colder then we had expected and the jacket I put on Ave was just not going to cut it. So we were running all over main street trying to find a sweatshirt that would keep her warm and that she would actually wear! I was also trying to find a lanyard that I could put my photo pass in as well as my special "Genie Pass"! The Genie Pass is a large blue card you get at GKTW that basically says - Go to the front of the line. EVERY LINE! It was AMAZING!

Here is Ave in her new sweatshirt with her new Ariel pin. I couldn't resist, ok?? :) 

Right away we headed to Fantasyland, which is the part of the Magic Kingdom with all of the princesses and the new Ariel ride. We saw Rapunzal, Cinderalla, Snow White, Aurora and right after headed over to meet Ariel. 

I only kind of cried when she met Ariel. ;) 

Today I was so grateful that I thought to buy ponchos before we came. Ave refused to wear one and she really hated when I wore one but it kept my clothes dry so I was a lot warmer otherwise. It rained ALL DAY LONG. We still had so much fun but the outside rides were a little miserable because we had to keep our heads down or we'd get rain in our eyes! 

Store time with Belle

It's a small world

Dumbo ride - this ride is actually so popular that they built two of them! To get in line you go through a large tent with a ton of activities for kids to do while you wait. Luckily we never had to go in that line because we had our Genie Pass. And we would've ended up spending all day on this ride because Ave loved it so much. After this we went and got on the Barnstormer - which is the only roller coaster type ride that Ave was tall enough for. She was so funny before our trip saying that she couldn't wait to get on roller coasters and when she finally got on one the whole time she was saying, "I wanna go home!" 

Before we left for the trip, Thomas and I decided that we would have to go back to GKTW in the middle of the day for Avery to nap but after getting there and seeing how long it took to get to each of the parks we decided she would just have to sleep in the stroller. Luckily there is a special Wish Lounge in DisneyWorld that only wish kids can go in. We went in there because it was very quiet, warm, and out of the rain. She only slept for about an hour while I held her but it was the best we could do! I wish I would've gotten pictures of the Wish Lounge!

After she woke up we ended up back in Tomorrowland and Avery just had to have ice cream. She told me she wanted chocolate and after I got it she refused to eat it. The lady who sold us her ice cream overheard and walked over and gave us a vanilla one for free! It was so so nice of her! 

Here is Ave riding the carousal. I wish I would've gotten more pictures of her on rides. This is how she was on almost all of them! 

That night the Electrical Parade started at 8 or 9 and the firework show one hour after that. It was really great because they had a special section roped off for us to stand so we didn't have to line up super early. This was REALLY great because Ave decided she loved the Buzz ride more then anything. We must've rode that ride 15 times that night while everyone was lined up for the parade.

Avery absolutely loved the Electrical Parade and even made a friend while we were sitting there. Another little girl came to sit by us and I swear that was the best part for Avery.

I don't think I will ever forget this firework show! The rain had cleared up just in time for the Electrical Parade but as soon as it was time for the fireworks to start, a really thick fog began to roll in. It was pretty funny because you could hear the fireworks going off and the sky would end up turning green or red but you couldn't actually see any of the fireworks. I must say it was pretty disappointing. Luckily we got to see the firework show on another clear night. :)