Make A Wish {Saturday at Universal Studios}

**saturday, february 22, 2020**

And all too soon it was Saturday ~ "going home day." It is hard to fully put into words just how wonderfully amazing the Give Kids the World Village truly is...

one last walk across the grounds 
amberville  ~ with it's model railroad, remote controlled boats, video arcade and kiddie rides ~ is pictured behind

GKTW is a magical place that could easily be an all inclusive trip in and of itself.  There's the arcade with SO MANY games, pool and even bowling.  Movies, complete with popcorn are shown nightly.  There's the pool, a giant playground, horse-back riding, a spa, a fishing pond and the putt-putt course.  You can get three meals a day, which could include ice cream for breakfast from the parlor if you desire, pizza delivered to your room at crazy hours, and there's even a cookie cart that comes around in the evenings.  Oh, and then there are the nightly activities that range from a life sized Candy Land game night to a carnival style surprise party for the 'mayor' to a Village Idol competition and weekly Christmas celebration where EVERY child (siblings of the wish child included) gets a gift.

I've mentioned before that Nicholas is an adrenaline junkie, so we didn't spend as much time as other families do on the property.  But even the little time we did spend left an impact on all of our kids.  We were there because of Nicholas, but the village (and Make A Wish as well) recognizes that the whole family faces difficulty when there is a critically ill member and therefore makes the experience about the WHOLE family and not just the wish child.  The older ones asked about going to back to volunteer and one even began dreaming up a similar destination for kids that have faced trauma.  

everything is simplsy so fun a whimsical and they make sure all your needs (and most of your wishes) are met

After enjoying one last filling breakfast ~ complete with hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and maybe some ice cream for good measure ~ we went for our 'exit interview' where we learned that the magic wasn't quite over yet (free passes to partner theme parks and zoos across the country for a year) and were given information on how to stay 'part of the GKTW family.'  I have no doubt that one day we'll be back to generously serve other families in the same way were were showered with all the kindnesses imaginable during our week there.

It is quite possible that I couldn't hold back the tears when we drove off the property for the last time and was a bit of a hot mess for the next twenty or so minutes.  But the fun of the trip wasn't quite over yet.  Make a Wish had given us there choices on flight times home and if you know us, you already knew that we selected that flight that would all us to eek out all the possible park time we could.  An 8:25 pm flight was just the ticket to spend the day exploring one last park and so off to Universal Studios we went.

we did have to return our deluxe jogger stroller when we left GKTW, but thankfully Universal (as does Disney) offers free strollers for wish families, so Nicholas still had a ride for the day.

First order of business, visit Kevin, Bob, Stuart & friends (oh, and Margo, Edith and Agnes too, but for Nicholas it was all about the banana loving yellow guys) at Despicable Me Minion Mayhem.  

I'll admit to having doubts about the ride when I saw it was a simulator, but it was done well and had us all laughing and in a good dancing mood when it was over.

We took becoming Minions seriously and stopped to try on some goggles, but found none quite fit our faces just right...

Before we left the Production Central area, we decided to take full advantage of Nicholas's Guest Assistance Pass...remember those skip the queue privleges?  We stopped at the Shrek 4-D experience (we laughed through this one), Hollywood Rip-Ride Rocket (K-Boo and Caleb were champs and sat that one out with Nicholas who was ever so slightly too short) and Transformers the Ride 3D (the one and only ride outside of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter we had taken the time to explore on our 'Nicholas wants to go to Disney/Universal before he has major heart surgery trip' of 2019 ~ fast paced and enjoyable).  Catching all three of those rides, stopping for a photo opportunity, getting something to drink and snacks plus a restroom break took just under an hour.  Truly a once in a lifetime honor...

Next we came to New York and let's just say that the oldest trio are big Jimmy Fallon fans.  

This line is only by virtual queue you say?  Not if you have the Guest Assistance Pass.  We walked up and were whisked in so quickly we really didn't have time to see any of the pre-show.  With just one exception...a pause to look at The Tonight Show through the years.

Jimmy Fallon is hilarious and the motion simulation was spot on for a fun adventure through the Big Apple.  Again, this ride showed that simulators really can be fun and was the crowd favorite for the day. (And of course when I say favorite for the day, I meant favorite 'new' ride because, of course, Hagrid...) After that speedy adventure, several of us experienced the Revenge of the Mummy,  somewhat entertaining, but I would have been disappointed if I had waited in the real line ~ which was pretty long.

Next came San Francisco which was fun to walk through as the kids recalled our trip in February of 2018.  We admired the wharf and decided to grab lunch at Richter's Burger Co.  Low-bloodsugar crises averted, we started to get in line for Fast and Furious - Supercharged, but quickly realized no-one was really 'Jonesing' to ride.  So we made a plan to skip over London (and the entrance to the Wizarding World via the Leaky Cauldron) check out the rest of the park and then spend what time we had left back in Diagon Alley.

First order of business?  Mission Men in Black.  

apparently nicholas would make a poor agent n...he smiles too much

This ride was just plain fun.

We're all fans of Will Smith's Agent J and enjoyed the competition of shooting the aliens (think Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin but easier to hit the targets) and seeing some of the movie aliens come to life.

We continued on through Springfield (none of us being big Simpsons fans, we found it slightly overstimulating and confusing).  We didn't stop and went on to Woody Woodpecker's KidZone where we did ride the ET Adventure, but the kids were somewhat mystified as we've had a major parent fail moment and haven't featured ET for a family movie night yet.  Oh, and the end scene with all the psychedelic flowers was a bit, um...strange, even for the two of us for whom ET was a familiar part of life.

We continued on into Hollywood and decided to skip the Bourne Stuntacular to save time for Diagon Alley, but before we looped back to London and the Night Bus we came across a reminder Back to the Future and had to check out the Delorian.  

d loves all things cool cars!

And then finally, what we were all waiting for, an Escape from Gringotts followed by a ride on the Hogwarts Express back to Hogsmeade.  

We did ride the Forbidden Journey one more time for grins.  But that was only after climbing on motorbikes and taking a magical journey with Hagrid.

And then maybe riding again..

...and again.

All to soon we realized it was time to begin to make our way back to reality.  So we gave a fond "pip, pip cheerio" to Hagrid...

...and Hogwarts...

...and Hogsmede...(where we *may* have all enjoyed one last Butterbeer)

...and the Hogwarts Express...

note our super cute shirts i found on etsy from LoveCommaEll
ellen was so helpful and got our shirts to us super quick when i realized at the last minute we both needed a hp theme shirt

...and made our way as quickly as we could through the Lost Continent and back to the Port of Entry.  

And while we were pushed for time (which had one of our family members frequently checking their watch), we did make one ~ perhaps ill advised ~ slightly longer than planned stop at Islands of Adventure Trading Company to check out the HP merch.

This stop *may* have set us up for a dining disaster at the airport.  (**note** when you are advised to show up three hours ahead of a domestic flight leaving from MCO, no matter how seasoned of a traveler you think you are, you should heed that advice.  We've gone through busy airports all over the US, Europe and China and never experienced anything as crazy as what was the excuse for a line to get to security.  We *thought* two hours was plenty of time ahead of a a 8:30 flight...the three would have been much more advisable)

Even with a rough 're-entry' to normal life because of the airport snafu, it was still an amazing trip...truly the dream Disney/Universal trip of a lifetime.  Before I had a child with a critical illness I didn't understand the whole 'Make a Wish thing.'  But now I get it...and we'll be lifetime supporters!

Make A Wish {Friday at Animal Kingdom. And Hollywood Studios. And Epcot!}

**friday, february 21, 2020**

Well, we didn't see any snow in Florida, but the temperatures sure did drop overnight!

Our mid-80s blue skies traded for mid-50s with a stiff breeze and clouds.  And we found ourselves woefully unprepared.  Yes, I know it can be cold in Florida.  No we didn't pack winter coats.  Just don't ask questions and roll with it...we did.

Thankfully getting into line for Avatar took us inside the building where we were at least out of the breeze and much more comfortable.  

While on Pandora we decided to give the Na'vi River Journey another go despite not getting anything out of it when we rode on our previous trip. 

(If I'm being perfectly honest it was part that we had fast passes and part that it too is indoors and out of the wind).

 Turns out actually watching the movie before going makes all the difference as we all had a better appreciation for the recreation of the world of the Na'vi.

At that point we headed to Asia.

Because even the cold an our lack of preparedness couldn't keep us away from our favorite thrill ride in Animal Kingdom, Expedition Everest.

And even if the speed of escaping the Yeti put more of a breeze in our faces, we couldn't help ourselves and did the run back in line repeat...with new seating partners of course! 

Before we headed to Africa we stopped to grab a quick snack.  Because when you're cold you need more calories, right?  Plus we still had SO MUCH left on the Make A Wish debit card.

have i mentioned kylie is there for the theming and food?
she was so excited about her Simba pretzel that she bit his head off before we could fully capture the moment

Appetites sated, we continued on to a new continent. 

And when in Africa you take a safari. 

The animals were mostly out and active and we saw pretty much every species on our vehicle checklist.  Highlights of our ride included not only seeing a tower of giraffes, but getting to see the teenage giraffes run.  Let me tell you, you've never seen anything quite as awkwardly graceful as a running giraffe...makes you feel good about your own teen years.  

The other highlight was hearing one of my teens (who shall remain nameless) mumbling incredulous responses to the safari driver's decision to stop super close to the crash of white rhinos seconds after telling us that black rhinos were nervous animals that often respond to being startled with aggression.  (hence the term 'a crash of rhinos' I suppose).  Said child was having none of the two different types of rhinos with two different basic behavior patterns and was quite disturbed until we started moving again.

Following the safari we stopped briefly to observe the silver back gorilla and learn from the cast member giving a talk, but did I mention it was cold?  Some of our 'insulated challenged' kids were having none of standing still in the elements, so back to Pandora we went.  

After all, this fully immersive experience is easily the most excellent overall ride.  And it's inside!

Once again the Genie pass to the rescue shortening the 180+ minute wait to under 10 for us.  At that point it was lunch time.  Because the prepaid Make A Wish Visa card had plenty of money left, we enjoyed lunch at Satu'li Canteen popular in our family because of the customization possibilities for their noodle, rice, or salad bowls.  

And of course the blueberry cream cheese mousse.  Partially because it is beautiful, but mostly because it is delicious!  The cast member at the register saw we were a wish family and added a free cupcake for each of the kids to our order 'just to make sure everyone got a sweet ending' to lunch.  

At that point we had covered all everyone was interested in seeing on a cold day and decided to head back to another planet ~ Batuu.  

We were ushered directly into the adventure of Rise of the Resistance.  

So many details to take in everywhere you turn!

And then back one more time to try our hand piloting and smuggling coaxium on the Millennium Falcon one more time.

Okay.  Two more times.  But why not?  

Oh, and Darcy lost a hand to the sarrlacc.  But no worries, we were able to secure a fantastic animatronic hand before we left Galaxy's Edge.

At this point it was nearly 5 and we had to call a family meeting to decide what to do next.  Our hopper passes allowed us the opportunity to continue exploring parks or head back to the Village for a leisurely dinner (but obviously no time in the pool).  Because we had cut our time in Epcot short on Nicholas's birthday Monday and we had a few that love to walk around the World Showcase Lagoon to admire the different world pavilions and the vote was 5 to 1 from the kids on continuing on, off to Epcot we went.

What stop in Epcot is complete without taking a tour in the 'golf ball."

There is so much construction going on in Future World right now.  Many of the areas have screening fences to distract guests from the actual building.  The littles happily hopped from character image to character image, totally missing the fact that former shortcuts were blocked off, so I guess it worked. 

On the way toward the World Showcase we stopped for a quick photo opportunity (after realizing we had taken so few pictures on Monday during our brief time at Epcot) but didn't ride...we had covered that the other day and we were on another mission...a walk around the world.

But before we did that, a quick stop to find some long sleeved Disney merch was necessary.

And who can resist checking out the numerous types of 'ears' available?

apparently not my son...this kid keeps us in stitches!

Ears tried on, lovies squeezed (and purchased) and extra layers procured we began to make our way toward the Lagoon by way of Soarin'.

Did I mention that wind and the rapidly dipping temperature?  We all wanted to venture 'around the world.'  We really did.  

But we. were. COLD!

We made it as far as Disney Traders.  And when everyone wanted to go inside to 'look around,' even the ones that had complained about the length of time we shopped in Mouse Gear, we realized that while Ian and I could tough out the cold for the sake of the experience, perhaps it wasn't in our best interest to expect the kids to do the same.

So we stepped outside and took a glance at the World Showcase at its finest...with its lights twinkling in the nighttime.  

And then we double-timed it back toward the car, but not before passing to capture perhaps the best family selfie of the trip...

We came so close to the 'quadfecta' of Disney park hopping.  We approached the monorail station at 7:30 and the Magic Kingdom was open until 9 that night.  I came so close to talking everyone into hopping on the monorail and running into the Kingdom to the first ride we could find just to say that we hopped all four parks ~ and rode the best ride in each thanks to the Genie pass ~  in one day.  In the end though I looked at the happy (but tired) faces around me and decided to keep that crazy goal for someday in the future.

Finally it was time to bid adieu to Disney.  Always hard to leave the magic, but there's always 'next time' to look forward to.  Besides, even though we were flying home the next day, we still needed to make one last stop to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal before we left Florida!