Wish Trip Part 2

Our first full day in Florida for our Make-A-Wish trip was busy. We knew this was a once in a lifetime experience so we were determined to do as much as possible since Jaycee was in good health at the time. We visited the characters from Disney at the village first thing. That day it was Mickey, Goofy, and Pluto. Jaycee was in heaven already. After breakfast, we drove to the Animal Kingdom. We have been to the Disney parks before, so we had a good idea of what we wanted to do and not do again. There is no way you could ever see all the Disney parks in just 3 days, so we were glad this was our second Disney experience.

Being with Make-A-Wish gave us a pass at all the parks to be given access to the front of almost any ride and character line. Depending on the ride or the park, sometimes we entered through the exit, the disability wheelchair entry, or the fast pass line. This saved time everywhere!! It was the best part of the trip, skipping all those long lines. We also wore our Make-A-Wish shirts or buttons and the pink Give Kids the World button so we were easily identified by park staff. Jaycee was supposed to be the one wearing her pink button to identify her as the wish child, but she hated having something pinned to her shirt. She kept taking it off, so I wore it. Elijah was given a special Lightning McQueen ribbon by the village. He called it his special ribbon, and he was pleased to wear it everyday.

We enjoyed the Animal Kingdom until lunch when the rain started. We darted into the Rainforest Café to stay dry. Jaycee's meal and drink were free since she was the wish child. That was a nice surprise!

After lunch, the rain stopped and we headed to Hollywood Studios. There are so many great rides and shows here that we had never done before. The wish pass allowed Jaycee to sit in the front row in most shows. After the Frozen show, Jaycee was asked to stay around and meet all the characters. It was amazing. She loved it! They were genuinely sweet and caring to Jaycee. It was an unbelievable moment!

When we were walking through Hollywood Studios, one the green army men (from Toy Story) spotted my shirt. He literally waved us down and gestured to follow him. I didn't know what we were doing but we followed. We were soon surrounded by 2 more army men who danced with Jaycee and acted silly. Again, didn't know what we were doing since the army men didn't talk.

 

Then we were taken to a room to meet Buzz and Woody. The picture we got was awesome!! Jaycee felt so special and so did we!

 

 

 

We finished up our day there and headed back to the village. It was Halloween that night, which we don't celebrate. Still, there was plenty to do with the rides and ice cream. There was a volunteer with his big telescope that the children were able to look through. There were neat surprises like that all over the village all week. And of course, there were gifts for the kids waiting for us in the room when we got home.

 

On this day, we started paying attention to the volunteers that serve in the village. They come from all over the country and some were outside the country. It was neat to see so many people joining together to make this place run. There are volunteers that help run the rides and volunteers that carry your meal trays for you. They make the place special. What can I say? -Give Kids the World is neat!

 

We went to bed that night completely exhausted from all the walking and activities but ready for the next day! 

 

To be continued.....