Ever Made A Wish? Pt 2

Does it surprise you that the first place we went was the Magic Kingdom? At our GKTW village orientation, we were given special pins and passes that would entitle us to basically skip lines. We made it a point to meet all of the characters we could. We came across Woody's Roundup, when they saw Fiona's pin, they brought the girls into the show. After it was over, they took us behind the scenes to a special area and took the time to sign books and talk to the girls. Buttercup also spotted an area where the characters are all holed up together. While we were standing in a very short line, Belle came out of her area to talk to Fiona and was so sweet. We had a bit of a problem with Snow White when she called Fiona a handsome fella, Hubby insisted the next day I was to girly her out.
We were a bit uncomfortable cutting during character signings, but as we stood outside watching Aladdin and Jasmine signing autographs, a cast member caught us and marched us right over to meet them. The girls absolutely loved Mickey's Philharmagic, they hadn't ever seen a 3-d show before.


The next day we went to Universal Studios. If we thought we had gotten the special treatment at Disney, watch out here! Instead of going through Fast Pass or the handicapped entrance, workers here would take us through freight elevators or whatever we needed in order to get to be the first in line. We ate lunch at the Hard Rock cafe there. They made us feel special, even bringing Fiona a free ice cream sundae. Buttercup and I rode the Jaws ride together, which was great, she ended up in my lap by the time the ride was over (but in a good way).
Another fabulous part of GKTW was they would give discounts to various places around the area. We went to Medieval Times for dinner. We got to cheer on our knight and he even threw a flower to Buttercup, which totally made her night.
Contrary to what they tell you, they will bring you silverware. It was a great time.

Make A Wish calculates what they think you will spend on things like food, gas, etc and then give you a check to let you spend the money however you want. They even designated money specifically for Fiona's souvenirs. That was truly special.
Then we went to Animal Kingdom the next day. It was the only day we had bad weather and we were prepared with those plastic ponchos from the dollar store. We rode the safari twice in a row. The 'guide' was so cute and funny and we had such a good time. The animals were out in abundance, due to the rain, and the guide said she had never been on a safari when she got to see all of the animals, like we did that day.

Before we left the Village, voluntEars (yes I spelled that right, like Mickey Ears) came and did crafts with the kids and painted faces, Fiona got a rainbow. We ate in the Rainforest Cafe, but we had to switch seats, the first place we got made Fiona anxious due to the noise. We were prepared to deal with some issues for her. We brought Chex Mix to deal with nausea issues, which worked out great for all of us. We were given a free double stroller, which I highly recommend because it kept both girls from getting tired. I sort of wanted to get into one myself. But the sheer fun and excitement kept me going.

Can I make a plug for Walmart?There was one right down the street from where we were staying and I went there late one night to look through their souvenirs and stock up on water. They were so cheap and plentiful, I picked up tons and I could've bought even more, but I didn't want to horrify Hubby, haha. It was fun to find things for Fiona to earn later that would also bring some great memories to her.