Make a Wish trip Day 5 - Animal Kingdom/Magic Kingdom

Get ready for picture overload! This was my FAVORITE day of our wish trip. Before our trip started I spent days... literally, days planning our trip. I had seven different travel guides checked out from the library, all the maps of the different parks printed out, a daily itinerary of what we would be doing each day at the parks and Give Kids the World AND reservations for two restaurants that I FOUGHT for. 

We started out the day at Animal Kingdom which was just awesome! We wore our Make a Wish attire and you wouldn't believe how people treated us. Like royalty I'm telling you! We walked to the front of every line and the characters spent about three times the amount they would've with other kids. It was amazing. We started out going to see Mickey and Minnie in their cute safari attire. After I knew Pocahontas was close from our map but it took us a while to find her! Once we found her she sat and talked to Avery for about 10 full minutes it felt like. Watching Ave interact with the characters was one of my favorite things. She would automatically get a little shy and use her hands a lot when she talked but she would have a smile on her face the whole time. 

We were headed to Kilimanjaro Safari's when Ave decided she NEEDED pizza. It was 10:30 so we had a heck of a time trying to find the one pizza place in the Animal Kingdom! The whole staff there was so sweet when they found Avery was a wish kid! They brought out an adult personal pizza and a cupcake for free! Her cupcake even had Mickey shaped sprinkles on it! 

After eating we headed to Kilimanjaro Safari's. You get in this big open bus and start traveling straight through the animal habitats! There are no fences or anything between you and the animals so we got up close and personal with a few of them! 

I had read in a travel guide that Animal Kingdom wasn't the "best" park for toddlers because there weren't a lot of rides for them. They have Expedition Everest which Ave wasn't tall enough for and Thomas really wanted to try out the adult rides for himself. So we headed to Dinoland which is specifically geared towards smaller children while he went by himself. Avery LOVED Dinoland! They had a similar ride to Dumbo where you ride in dinosaurs and she could've done that one all day. While we were there we met Goofy and Pluto and Flik and his friends from a Bug's Life came out to have a dance party! 

We hurried and headed over to see Donald Duck, Balloo (who Avery was terrified of) and Pooh and Tigger! 

This was the only day I could get reservations for the Be Our Guest restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. I had read about it in all of our travel guides and knew I had to see it! The only way you can see inside is to actually eat there and I'm pretty sure it's the only place you can see the Beast. We had reservations at 4:30 so we left Animal Kingdom and drove to Magic Kingdom. We were cutting it SO CLOSE because when I had planned out our days I didn't actually know that in the middle of the day they don't run the trains to the Magic Kingdom so we had to take the ferry. It would have been fun if I weren't so worried about missing our reservations! Be Our Guest is at the very back of the Magic Kingdom park so Thomas stood right at the back of the boat so he could RUN there before us to check in for our reservations. We docked at 4:22 (I think I was going to have a heart attack) and we speed walked to the back of the park. I actually ended up with three huge blisters from this day - and when we actually got there Thomas told us they wouldn't check us in until our whole party was there! Lol. Sorry Thomas! 

When they check you in at Be Our Guest they give you a beeper and a candlestick to hold. When your beeper goes off you carry your candlestick while one of the waiters escorts you to your table. In Be Our Guest there are three rooms, the main ballroom (where we sat), the West Wing, or the Rose Room. As long as you're eating there you can walk around inside each of the rooms and take pictures. The In the main ballroom they have the painted ceiling like in the movie and windows that make it look like you are sitting on top of a mountain in the middle of winter! After we were finished with our food our waiter wheeled in The Dessert Cart! Of course we had to get "The grey stuff"! Ave thought it was pretty delicious. :) 

 Halfway through our meal the Beast showed up! Avery pretty much automatically crawled under our table while Valerie and I went to stand in line to see him. It was so nice having someone else there who wanted to see the characters!

After dinner we went on a few more rides and ended up on the Buzz Lightyear ride. This was around the time when everyone was starting to go line up for the parade and since we had already seen it we stayed and road a few more rides! Thomas and I (for the first time ever) went on Space Mountain and met Avery back by the Buzz Lightyear that she wanted to ride about 15 more times. She could've stayed on that one all night! 

 We headed out just in time to catch the fire work show. Really there isn't a bad place to watch them in the entire park and since we were already by Tomorrowland, Tinkerbell went RIGHT over our heads! It was pretty late and so we headed out and Ave fell asleep right in the stroller. 

Make a Wish Trip Day 4 - Sea World

On day 4 our plan was to get up and eat breakfast and then meet in Julie's Safari Theater to meet the Disney Characters that were visiting that day. Ave started out her morning with leftover pizza while the rest of us ate breakfast food from the Gingerbread House. After we were done we headed over to meet Mickey.

Meeting Mickey at Give Kids the World was a really special experience for me. Of course meeting Mickey is always special, but it is so different there. Right in front of us there was a family with a little boy - he must have been around 10 and he was blind. I remember him walking up to Mickey with a huge smile on his face. He asked Mickey if he could touch his face and his hands and feet and you could see the little boy kind of making a picture of what Mickey Mouse is supposed to look like in his mind. Once he had knocked on Mickey's large black shoes he stood up and gave Mickey a HUGE hug! It was so special to watch and I don't think anyone who was there wasn't crying. 

After that I was so excited to get Ave up there who of course was instantly terrified of him! I went up without her at first to get him to sign our stuffed Mickey on the foot (they won't do that at the parks) and to get a picture. We had pretty much given up on her coming any closer after several attempts when Mickey came all the way off the stage to meet her. He spent SO much time making sure Ave was comfortable and gave her high fives and kisses until she would actually pose for a picture. I can't believe that Disney does so much for these Wish kids and I wish I could've really thanked the Mickey inside the costume to tell them what the experience meant to us.

After meeting Mickey we went to the Castle of Miracles to meet Goofy and Pluto. Both of them were so sweet sitting down on the ground so they wouldn't seem so daunting to Ave. She was still pretty afraid but did better then with Mickey! 

After we headed to Sea World! This was much less crowded then the Disney parks which was nice. We played a few games and won a little turtle for Ave and after went to the Dolphin feeding. Each Wish child at Sea World gets to feed the dolphins for free. As soon as the worker saw my button she told us to go to a special waiting area where we would wait to go in before all the people who had actually paid and waited in line! Talk about royal treatment. :) 

Ave and I were too scared to touch the dead fish but Thomas fed this cute dolphins TWELVE fish! This guy wasn't going anywhere once he figured out we had fish! After he flipped his tail up so he was laying on his side and we all got to pet him. 

After we saw a few more animals, Thomas wanted to do the "adult rides". He went off with our special pass to do Atlantis and a Manta Ray ride which both looked only like insane people would go on them (to me anyway! :) ) I took Avery in the Arctic section and it looked like you were walking through huge glaciers! I took her on this special interactive penguin ride and she ended up crying for her daddy the whole time!

Afterwords we met back up in the "Happy Harbor" where there are rides that are specifically geared towards little kids. Perfect for Avery and this was probably her favorite part. 

She was pretty exhausted when we left. :)

We headed back to GKTW and Ave and Thomas went swimming in their HUGE pool. It was way too cold for me to get in the water but she loved it! 

After baths and getting dressed we headed to the Gingerbread house for dinner. Each night GKTW has activities going on for all of the families. That night was Halloween and we got to take Ave trick or treating down the Avenue of Angels and they had fun crafts and games at a few different tables. GKTW also offers one "tuck in" per family by Miss Merry or Mayor Clayton. When I scheduled it they asked who I preferred and made sure I knew Mayor Clayton has a reputation of riling up the kids and jumping on beds! I thought that might scare Avery so I requested Miss Merry and I was so glad! Avery just ADORED Miss Merry and still talks about her four months later! 

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. :)