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!