Make a Wish Trip September 17-23, 2007 About This Page:

[Bill_Lin]

This was the day of days, the focus of Lysi's original wish.

All I can say about MK and the Disney Cast Member's is WOW. They were so over the top with royal treatment. The thing I noticed most was the CM smiles. Sea World was nice and the folks were kind and polite, but I never had the feeling that they liked their jobs. At DW, everyone smiled and acted happy. I don't know how WDW pulls that off on such a large scale with so many people, but it was AMAZING! I love Disney even more now than I did before our trip.

It was the night before..... We were walking across the village when the sky opened up and it started to pour. I just love my Pendleton hat the kept the rain off. I have had that hat for more than 10 years and it has kept me shaded from the sun, dry in the rain and warm in the snow for more walks than I could count.

It seemed to rain and storm all night. I kind of enjoyed the sound of the storm while we were inside, cozy and warm. There is nothing like a whirlpool bath to create a positive mental outlook. We had goodies waiting for us in the room when we got there Tuesday night. Dinner at the Gingerbread House was great, as were our ice cream sundaes at the Ice Cream Palace.

The next morning, still raining, we had a quick and early "Continental Breakfast" at the Gingerbread House. We were happy to see that the strawberry waffles were up and ready. They were great every morning. The House volunteers were so sweet, kind and friendly to us. Lysi and I started a game at meals, where we would play "I Spy" using the dolls around the roof.

We headed to MK.



We were told that we were on the fringes of Tropical Storm Ivan, or Irene, or something like that. The folks back home read on line that we were in the middle of a Hurricane. Well, our storms back home are a LOT worse than that storm.

We had our matching blue ponchos to keep us dry (Lysi's has Mickey on it and was Kyle's when he went 8 years ago with Lin).



It was a tad cool, but not cold at all. As at all the parks (Except Universal which made a BIG deal about seeing our Free Parking Pass), when we showed our Give Kids the World Button, we were directed to up front Handicapped Parking. It may have helped that we had our placard on the mirror.

From Disney Transportation, we took the ferry to MK. It was virtually empty. A lot more people got off the monorail on the other side, but they may have been from the resorts as Free Dining was still on. We did not get to do LOEMH in the morning, but that was okay as we did not have time or energy for that long a day.

After clearing the Bag Check, I left the side pocket open on the Video Camera Bag and lost my first cd from Sea World and the first day at the Village as well as some blank disks. I was pretty bummed, but still had a lot of Sea World footage on the disk in the camera. Feeling downcast, I retraced my steps back to the bag check, then went to Guest Services to report the loss. They never did find the disks, but a LOT of good came out of it. Guest services at MK makes you really feel like a guest and they sure provide good service.

A CM named Jeff (I wish I had taken his picture) took my report. He saw my Make a Wish Button and asked about Elysia's wish. At this time Lysi, Lin and Kyle were meeting some characters across Main Street. I told Jeff that Lysi had wanted to stay in the castle but that we understood why that was not possible. I told him that we had not gotten our dates in time to get a meal in the castle, and could she possibly have a chance to just peak in the room. In typical Disney CM fashion he said, "Let me see what I can do," and disappeared behind the magic curtain in the back. A few minutes later Jeff came back and asked, "Can you do breakfast at the Castle in half an hour?" He did not have to ask twice. He had pulled some strings to get us in at the last minute.

I found the crew and told them the good news, then we hurried off to the castle.



We met with Cinderella and had our pictures taken, then went upstairs for brunch. Jasmine, Belle, Snow White and the Fairy Godmother each came over to spend some time with Lysi. She was so ecstatic! I was extremely impressed by the acting skill, voices and mannerisms of the Princesses. The magic sure worked for me. Lyis got her signatures in a book we purchased when we got our free double stroller (We had double strollers the whole week for free, although for Universal, we had to get "tickets" at the House of Hearts beforehand).











I really enjoyed watching Lysi make her "Wish" with the wand she received from Cinderella. It was a moment beyond magic, dreams and wishes.



When we came down stairs after brunch, I was pretty choked up by all the magic and could not talk. Lysi wanted to know why I was crying. She does not yet understand the concept of happy tears. As an added bonus, the rain was gone as well. That storm must have scared a lot of the locals away, because the park was FAR from crowded all day long. The only crowd we ran into was at the Fireworks show as the park was emptying.

After the castle, we headed to Adventureland by way of Liberty Square. At the Haunted Mansion, we asked a CM if we could bypass the line, but their literally was NO line. We went right in. The ride had just been refurbished and it was WAY better than the one at DL. There is a magic stairway room that is new and has footsteps that magically appear, kind of like in Harry Potter. The "Bride" now has a face that moves and speaks and is really creepy. Lysi did not like the elevator room and hanging man at all, but was not scared on the rest of the ride. Kyle and I loved it, and found a chance to hit the ride again later.

After HM, we did the Tiki Room, where the fake storm was kind of funny after having the real thing that morning. Then it was off to Pirates of the Caribbean. We asked about line bypass again, and were told that the line was so short, their was no bypass line open. We had a very short wait as we went through the queue. I was really glad to see the queue because it is awesome in itself. Captain Jack can be seen in several scenes and is SO real looking.



We went on to take in the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.



Next was Splash Mountain. Lysi was psyched out for that ride after doing Journey to Atlantis the Day before, but she enjoyed the Uncle Remus theme a lot. She was NOT about to try a fast ride, so Kyle and I did Thunder Mountain while Lin and Lysi went to Tom Sawyer Island. We took the GAC with us. It turned out on many occasions that it was the actual pass that made the magic happen. Usually, the Make a Wish buttons were enough, but the occasional CM needed the pass to get us through. It did not matter if Lysi was with us as long as we had the pass.



After meeting up at Tom Sawyer Island, we went to Fantasyland for Dumbo (Where there was no line bypass). We waited four rides to get on, which was not bad. We took in Peter Pan, Small World and the Carousel. After that we went to the Wish Lounge to meet the famous Matt and Alex. I told them that they were for their Disney CM magic. The Wish Lounge was a nice place to unwind, relax, get some bottled water and use a private restroom. Matt suggested that we try the Columbia Harbour House for great Fish and Chips. It was almost empty when we were there. They close at 5:00 p.m. so it was a great place for a late lunch/ early dinner.



Kyle and I ducked out early to hit the Haunted Mansion again. This time we went in the back way. It goes through a "servant's entrance" featuring servants bells for Master Gracie's room, etc. The only scary part of the ride happened for me here. As we were waiting in that hall, a door opened and a CM in costume popped out on her way somewhere. I did not even notice the door there and the whole thing scared the beejeebers out of me.

Before going to Tomorrowland, we found some more character greets including Captain Jack Sparrow. Again, we were able to "cut line." Captain Jack was so good in his speech patterns, accent, body movements, appearance and conversation that I could find NO flaw. It was JUST like talking to Johnny Depp in character. Later we met some of his friends who work as characters at MK. They were visiting the Village and told us that Captain Jack is THE best and stays in character even for his bus ride home each night. The video we shot with him is priceless.





At Tomorrowland, Kyle and I did Space Mountain and learned that I am a lot older than I was the last time I rode it. Still it was FUN. Lysi and Lin did the Transit Authority ride so they could see in Space Mountain. Next we took in the Monster's Inc. Comedy Club Laugh Floor. That was GREAT. Do not miss it. We did the go cart/ Nascar or whaterver ride. Stitch's Great Escape about freaked Lysi out. It was SO real to her that she looked up at the Castle afterward trying to see where Stitch had gotten to. Kyle left his shoulder bag with a mini camera and spyglass on Stitch. He IMMEDIATELY turned around to tell a CM he had left it, but the shows are Back to Back. He had to wait for the next show. While he waited with Lin, Lysi and I took in Winnie the Pooh. We never did get to Toon Town. The bag was not found that day, but later Disney found it and mailed it to us free of charge. Only Disney can work that kind of Magic.







We stayed to watch the Fireworks and look at some of the shops. Kyle and Lysi got souvenirs. Kyle's was the medallion from the Pirate's movies and Lysi got Minnie Pirate Mouse ears and a matching Minnie Mouse pirate doll. We checked at lost and found, then headed to the Monorail for a ride back to the parking lot, then on to the Village, and bed. Naturally there were goodies waiting for the kids when we got back. More whirlpools and sleep followed. Did I mention that we were getting really spoiled?

[disneydani]

Sounds absolutely magically, starting with the surprise breakfast at the Castle! I have met your CM Matt a couple times...turns out he grew up one town over from us!

I am so happy this trip is truly magical for Lysi and your family.

danielle

[Bill_Lin]

Thursday morning, September 20th, we went to breakfast at the Gingerbread House. While we were stuffing ourselves on the amazing food (and more waffles) Lysi looked out the window and saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto. She about went ballastic and had to HURRY to get pictures with them. Pluto and Goofy were available for photos outside, but for Mickey and Minnie, we had to wait in line at the Safari Theater. It was really special, since we had missed Toon Town Fair the day before. This was one of those times when I saw that it would save us more time to see them at the village and leave later, than trying to track the characters down at Animal Kingdom during the day. Lysi was so thrilled to see that her character friends had come all the way to the village to meet her.

Since we had a few moments, we got Lysi's star started at the Castle of Miracles and made Lysi and Kyle's special pillows on the pillow maker. The star fairy animation came down to "take Lysi's star" and told us to come back the next day to see it on the ceiling. The main ceiling in the castle is almost full of stars.

The Star:


The Magic Mirror:


Just a really cute picture:


On her Royal Throne:


The Pillow Machine:


Meeting the Characters:







All in all, it was a magical start to another wonderful Disney Day!

[Colexis Mom]

What an absolutely magical day at MK I'm so sorry you lost your pictures, but my gosh, what a great CM who got you into breakfast Love all the pics And another great start to another day as well

[DISNEY03]

Great stories, we're really enjoying reading all about your trip.
You all remain in our thoughts and prayers!

[Bill_Lin]

Thursday, at Animal Kingdom, held more special Disney Magic for us. After the cool day before, it was kind of surprising to find that it was HOT. We had our Disney neck coolers and our misting fan. We kept the fan on the handle of the stroller so anyone could use it. This also served as a great way of marking our stroller so we could find it after rides. (For some reason, Universal has a rule against hanging things from stroller handles, but we found a way to hang it on the inside there).

Park Ambassadors, Balou, King Louie, and Stanley:




The Tree of Life:


We really loved these drummers:


And got a chance to try it our for ourselves, later:


Our favorite part of the trip was the Kilimanjaro Safari Ride. Our GAC pass really saved us a lot of time on this ride line. We sure did get to love that little piece of paper, and guarded it like it was King Solomon's Mine.



Animal Kingdom was one of the two main places I had, personally, been looking forward to seeing. I love animals, African music and clothes and animatronics. This made AK, the perfect park for me. It was really hard to get good pictures on the bumpy ride, but I managed to get a few that were decent enough:











The African animal trail was worth the walk. We really enjoyed the Ciclid Pool, but only the videos turned out. We ended up skipping the Asia trail for lack of time, but I hear the Tiger exhibit there is awesome.

Lin and Kyle went on Everest while Lysi and I looked around Asia. We all enjoyed the Kali River Rapids, and were thankful that we had brought the Towel Poncho that Linda had made for Lysi. I can't believe I did not get a picture of her wearing it after the ride.



I worked for weeks trying to de-sensitize Lysi to the Dinosaur Ride so she would not be terrified. It really paid off. The ride is dark, the car is very jerky and bumpy and the dinosaurs are awesome.



Near this ride, we ate at (can you believe it) McDonalds. Here the food was better than the typical McDonalds. We met out only grumpy Disney CM here. Lin went looking for napkins. She asked him where they were. He said, "I am only one person and I can't do everything." She just pointed to her Make a Wish button, and that was all it took to make him look sheepish and apologize. This event stands out in our minds because ALL of the other CMs treated us like royalty, no better than that because there were no Paparazzi.

Here we had a melt down experience. Lysi and I wanted to go on the Triceratops Spin, but Lin was starting to feel her cold a bit by then. Lysi tried to go too fast in her Crocs and fell. The sidewalks in AK are really BAD and full of cracks. I don't know if this is part of the ambiance or what. Lysi skinned her knee and there was real blood. This was TOO much for her, with being tired and all of the excitement. All she could think about was going back to our Villa at GKTW. I finally talked her into staying for the Festival of the Lion King. First, I bribed her with a Mickey-Shaped ice cream bar. We had been planning to go to the Asia trail, but I am glad that this changed our plans. The ONLY thing she was willing to stay for was the Lion King.

At the Lion King, we had the second-most magic experience of the trip. First, our GAC got us in for the last show of the day, second, a CM took Lysi to help teach the audience the "Hand Jive" before the show. Next, a CM gave her a Tinkerbell Pin. We did not have any pins up to that point because, frankly, we could not afford to get into that. After that, a CM took Lysi and a few other kids up during the show to play maracas and dance in a "follow the leader" circle around the main stage. She was transformed. Her owie suddenly was forgotten and she was a Star. She totally loved it. Finally, another CM gave Lysi a special Gift Pin. These pins come in sets of two, one to keep and one to give to a special person she might meet on her trip. These pins also had Tinkerbell, who is on Lysi's list of favorites. The show was WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL and MAGICAL. I only got video footage of the show, so I don't have any pictures of this magical time. Here are some screenshots from our video. You can see that, even in the dark, the GKTW video cameras took some decent footage.


When the show was over, the CMs in the stores really tried to shut down IMMEDIATELY and shoo everyone out of the park. This seemed just plain weird from a marketing standpoint. We did not find this happening at any other park. The fact is, we had figured on half an hour to an hour to shop after closing and planned to spend a good amount on souvenirs.

After closing, we had the privilige of meeting up with LeeLee2you and family that we had met at DISboards.com. The kids hit it off right away and got into a misting fan water war. We also met Donald as you can see.





Back at GKTW it was Christmas. There were decorations up, artificial snow was coming off the roof of the Caring Center (until the rain started to fall and messed that up a tad). In the Castle of Miracles, we met Santa and the kids each got a lovely stuffed bear and a Polar Express Puzzle. Then each child was allowed to pick out a Hasbro toy from a table FULL of toys. Kyle chose a HUGE transformer and Lysi picked out a Mrs. Potato Head.



We met up with Who'syourMickey and family, that we had met on DISboards.com, at the Christmas Party. That was really special. We took pictures of the family that night, but I cannot find them. We ran into her right before we headed home from Florida.


Our favorite part of the evening was meeting some Disney CM's who were parading by in costumes with a Christmas theme. These young people (on a student internship at WDW) were SO sweet to Lysi. We talked about some of the CMs at MK, like Capt. Jack, who was a good friend of these folks. We were able to deduce that the girls we met, ordinarily played some of the major costumed characters that we had met and apparently they recognized Lysi. They offered to get us into Blizzard Beach for free on Sunday, but we were TOO tired to even think about it by then.

The day ended with more Whirlpool bubbles and a GREAT sleep.

[disneydani]

What a day... AK in the morning, Christmas in the evening! Glad Lysi recovered from her skinned knee and you all could enjoy FotLK and meeting some friends.

danielle

[mcc0313]

The updates were amazing....I am so happy Lysi got to have her princesses...you couls see the happiness in her face...as her wish had been granted. You got so much done at MK...dorry about the film mishap but happy that Kyle got his camera back once he got home.

The village sounds wonderful between the food and the characters, so much for them to do...

A star of the Lion King....what a special event and a great way to gte rid of the Boo Boo....

Glad that your trip was so magical and that you met wonderful people along the way....

[Jody]

How magical! I have been crying frequently catching up on your post. I am in awe of the GKTW and Disney. It is amazing what each organization does for children who have suffered more than any of us can even phathom.

I can't wait to read more. I love the smiles on all of your faces in your pictures. I can tell you had a truly magical time...all of you.

[Colexis Mom]

Another great day Bill Glad you guys had a great time at AK, and Lysi got picked for the FOLK More please

[snoozin]

Awesome TR! Can't wait for more. Brings back many memories of our GKTW trip.

[mickeycrazy]

Your trip is sounding so magical! Thanks for sharing and keep it coming!!

[lauriep]

Fantastic reports, Bill. Your description of the castle breakfast and the photos of Lysi with the princesses moved me to tears. That smile is priceless.

[bsblady01]

more please

[Nimros]

Wonderful report, Bill! Thanks for sharing so much detail with us, and the photos. Lysi is just beautiful and I am so happy her wish came true!!

Off to grab some tissues (It's a happy cry!!)