A wish upon a starfish to meet Ariel and her royal friends! - Brooke's MAW wish trip!

[mom2pixies]

Chapter 1 – Zimos, zip zips and Panama Jack

So, it's been a little over a week since our return from Disney--and I'm still not certain where to begin! But, I can’t keep you waiting forever. I know you have all been very patient with us but desperately want to know how the trip went. In a word---it was amazing.

In truth, the word does not do the trip justice. The trip was spectacular. It felt so very special, so very momentous—it felt like Disney put those fireworks on just for us and it was all sparkle and bliss and celebration. I don’t know if there are enough ‘shiny’ and ‘magical’ words in the dictionary for it. I wish I had a machine where I could dump all the glitter in all the world and those wonderous words inside, shut the door and press a button. And the machine would spin and then with a ‘beep’ churn out a brand-new word, still in its protective plastic, that just perfectly conveys how wish-filled this trip was.

That being said, I hesitated to put away the suitcases and souvenirs because I knew as soon as I did that the trip would be officially over. But, after a week of pulling out things we needed and running low on underwear and pjs, I figured I'd just have to face the music. I buckled down on Sunday and emptied the bags.

And while doing the mounds of laundry that erupted from the suitcases, I mourned the end of this amazing journey. So much planning, so much wonderfully exciting build-up with the Teddy Bear Picnic, fairy godmail postcards and Big Give surprises and custom clothing and Make-a-Wish reveal party...and now it was all over. The girls couldn't be more thrilled with how wonderful the trip was—and neither could we! It was just incredible. But as sad as they were to leave behind the Ice Cream Palace and the pool, the girls were ready to get back to life--swimming classes, daycare, school, birthday parties, Thanksgiving and Halloween. Meanwhile, I'm the one longingly gazing at the photos and lovingly folding the dresses. I think I have the Disney trip blues! Is there any cure other than planning another trip?

But back to the trip!

Anyways, our trip to Atlantica began on September 8th at 4:30 a.m. I had a hard time falling asleep the night before (I was too excited!), so I only fell asleep around midnight, which gave me a meek 4 hours of sleep. I then got the girls up and changed them into their Make-a-Wish trip. Amazingly, both girls were wide-eyed and raring to go! Brooke was sooooo excited!

She's usually a grump when she wakes up, needing a good little while to really shake off the sleep, but she leaped out of bed and got changed so quickly, no questions asked. She was clearly ready to get this party started!

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A long, white limo pulled up our dirt road at 5:00 a.m. Our driver, Daniel, helped us load our luggage in the trunk and invited us to relax inside. The girls were amazed! Brooke couldn't get over it--she just kept talking about how big the 'zimo' was (limosine).

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While Pascal chatted with Daniel about the trip and Make-a-Wish, Brooke and Avie crawled all over the limo, checking out things and staring at the lights changing colour on the ceiling. Brooke then leaned over to me and said the most charming words ever.

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"Mommy, I'm just soooo 'cited!" She said it with a huge, face-splitting grin on her face. My eyes welled up.

"Me too, Peanut, me too!"

Brooke then spotted the water bottles and champagne glasses and asked if she could have a drink. Why not?

We poured a little in a flute for Brooke and, of course, Avie wanted some, too—so we gave her a glass as well. Thus, the girls got their first taste of the royal treatment—which would follow us everywhere all week long!—by sipping water in champagne flutes in a limo on their way to the airport to catch a flight to meet the Princesses! Luxe life, indeed. Not a bad way to start a trip.
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When we arrived at the airport, a WestJet representative met us outside. She took our bags and snapped some photos of us with Daniel and the limo. Then, it was off to check in!
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The WestJet lady gave us the VIP treatment. Brooke got a special VIP sticker on her ticket, got to go around the counter and attach her own tags to our suitcases and scan her ticket! And, of course, the WestJet rep also announced Brooke was on a special Make-a-Wish trip to the other passengers at our gate. It was a little early in the morning to be jubilant for the average traveller, but a few people
applauded and smiled at that.
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As the ‘special guests,’ we boarded first and the WestJet cabin crew met us at the door, taking Brooke aside to show her around. She was invited into the cockpit and the pilot allowed her to sit in her chair, pointing out some buttons to her. They continued to snap photos of her. Then, we got settled in.
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For their first flight—the girls did amazingly! Neither one complained on any of the flights. They just watched TV, amused themselves or dozed off. But, not yet!
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On that first flight from Ottawa to Toronto (which is only 37 minutes in the air), we gave Brooke one window seat, while Avie had the other. Like seasoned travellers, Brooke and Avie just slid on their earphones and flipped through the safety instruction manuals! Avie finally fell asleep with about 10 minutes left to the flight. Of course!
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So, we waited until everyone else had disembarked before we woke up Avie and uninstalled her carseat. Another WestJet rep was waiting for us and she escorted us through the airport, through security and customs. We weren’t certain about customs, because the line was pretty long and our next flight was only 40 minutes away, and we know that the folks there are very thorough. But, when they heard we were with Make-a-Wish, they allowed us to skip the line. We didn’t have to wait in a single line-up the entire time! It was wonderful.

When we got to customs, the customs officer even let Brooke stamp her own passport! I bet that’s something that NEVER happens. Those customs officials are pretty serious folks! That was incredibly sweet of them.

Then, off to the next gate to catch our flight from Toronto to Orlando (about a 2.5 hour flight). Another uneventful flight--both girls stayed awake the entire time and just watched tv. They were pretty excited by the snacks. Turns out Avie loves Bits and Bites!

Finally, we touched down in Florida. The minute we got out of the plane, we just were enveloped in sweat. It had been warm in Ottawa—the usual September weather which is comfortable and sunny, but not nearly as hot or humid as Orlando. I’d forgotten just how sticky it could get!
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We were immediately met by a lovely GKTW greeter named Betty. She had a baggage cart for us and showed us where to pick up our luggage. Then, she took us outside to get our car rental sorted out.
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Brooke chose a red van because her cousins have one. Good enough reasoning for me! Betty gave us directions and a map to GKTW and then wished us a great trip! We were finally on our way.

Well, we had just pulled out of the airport parking lot when both girls crashed. It was now about 3:00 p.m. and it had been a long day. We let them snooze while we found our way to GKTW.
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What an enchanting place! Truly—if I could live anywhere in the world, it would be in Mayor Clayton’s cottage in that tiny Garden of Hope. Yup. I think Brooke and Avie would happily join me right there. Forever.
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Anyways, we woke up the girls and in we went. We were met by Brian, who handed a stuffed Mickey doll to Brooke and a little Shamu doll to Avery (the girls later switched as Brooke, being a mermaid fanatic loved the whale and Avie was in love with ‘Mickey Minnie!’), and he guided us through the paperwork and then had a volunteer show us to our villa. We were staying at #118—a little colonial house on the older side of the resort. Brooke was kinda thrilled by the bunny sign with our last name on it.

Avie was more amused by the ‘zip zips’—those little lizards sure can move! We called them ‘zip zips’ because they would zip across the path wherever we went and before we could finish the sentence of "Look! A liz—" the little guys had already darted into the bushes.
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We opened up our villa to find such treasures inside! The girls went a little nuts exploring.

SPOILER ALERT!!! If you are a future wishtripper who would rather remain surprised by your entrance into GKTW, please read no further. I will describe our suite in detail the next few paragraphs, so you can simply skip ahead to the next set of stars for more on our first wish day!
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The villa was wonderful. Upon entering, we walked into a spacious dinette area (our rented double stroller--which was amazing!!! Definitely rent from Orlando Stroller Rentals. Incredible!—was already waiting for us there with a lovely orange ribbon and a plastic nametag). It had a fridge, a microwave, a dishwasher, a sink, a stovetop, some cutlery, some dishes, a juice jug, some pots, dishwasher soap, a recycling bin, a garbage can, a coffeemaker and a table and four chairs, with a breakfast bar with two stools.
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Then, the villa opened up into a living area with a sofabed, armchair, TV, coffeetables and some lamps. The TV unit could act as a drawer for more clothes, but as there was sufficient storage in both bedrooms, I used this space to hold all of the papers and goodies we accumulated during the week. I stored all of the princess dining photos, menus, certificates, maps, etc. there, as well as the daily presents the girls received (they were spoiled rotten! Insane!) that weren’t already open. I also used the TV unit to stash all of the souvenirs and bags.

The girls room was off to the left—and it was decorated in brightly coloured jungle prints—both on the walls and on the two twin beds. There was also a dresser with a Mickey-head lamp and two enormous bookshelves. They also had a portable crib for Avie (with linens), so we just pushed the two beds together and set her crib up beside the beds.
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As everyone who knows GKTW knows, the kids have their own HUGE bathroom—with both a bathtub and an accessible shower which Brooke. B got a kick out of that! She couldn’t get over how big the bathroom was! She was happy to announce that staff had left out some toiletries for her. For some reason, she was so excited by the fact that some Panama Jack sunscreen had been included. Every day, as I put sunscreen on her, she would ask if I was using ‘her sunscreen.’ I wasn’t planning on using it, as I had brought our own, but she kept insisting we needed to use that kind, so I just caved and used it. Turns out its pretty good stuff!

The floor plan was completed by another large bedroom with a king-sized bed for the parents, as well as a smaller bathroom and a closet with a washer and dryer. Included in the bathrooms were some toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste, soap, etc.), and some single-use detergent packages, as well as a laundry basket, were included on top of the washing machine. They really had thought of everything!
Inside the kitchen, we found some coffee packages on the counter, some sodas and waters in the fridge (what a great idea to have something cool to drink when you arrive! Aaaah!) and a little gift bag of chocolate treats and pretzel snacks, as well as a package of GKTW postcards. There were also some welcome goodies for the girls on the table—a box of various Hallmark cards, a little stuffed bear with figure skates on his feet and a stuffed Mr. Potato Head.

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And, just as the volunteer was about to leave, someone knocked on the door and said “Mail’s here!” Curious, we opened the door to find someone holding two Big Give packages! Big Give found us even on our trip!

Brooke couldn’t believe it. We’d only been here 20 minutes and already she was getting more gifts! So, we took a few minutes to open the pressies.
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The first package was an assortment of amazing ribbon-festooned hairbows and headbands—perfectly co-ordinated for our many outfits. There were blue, navy and white ones to go with the girls Sea World outfits, red and white striped ones to go with their Cat and the Hat outfits, candy coloured flower-shaped ones to go with their pettiskirts or candy outfits—and an adorable one shaped like Ariel. Here’s Brooke modelling the Ariel hairbow!

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The next package was for me! Cool!!! A very stylish—and very useful!—zebra-printed diaper bag, complete with changepad and insulated bottle pocket (which kept our water bottles much cooler! We didn’t think to bring a cooler bag and this acted as one. Perfect.) I used it (as well as the Mickey totes I received) every day. They all came in handy. We used a large biner clip (from our WestJet bag given to us at the reveal party) to hang the bags from the stroller handle whenever we went through bag-check and to keep snacks and water bottles close at hand. Perfect!
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Anyways, thank you so much for the bows and bag! What a way to get started on this trip....

After, we unpacked a bit and then reviewed our GKTW guidebook. Even though we had had some sandwiches on the plane, we were ready for some real food and decided to head out and explore the resort a bit before Pascal had to attend orientation. And, as I had been eagerly awaiting for months now, it was Christmas night and I couldn’t wait for the girls to find out who they would be seeing later on....

[Emilyswish]

Oh so exciting! I love that they had sips of "champagne" in the limo, how cute!

I felt the same way when we came back (and still do . . . . .) - it is truly an amazing experience and it's hard to see it end.

I look forward to reading more about your trip!

[princessmamaof5]

looks like you had an awesome jumpstart to your trip report cant wait to see the rest esepcially the part when we got to meet you all :):banana::banana:

[VBAndrea]

I'm so excited that you started your trip report! But most of all I'm so happy that you all had such an amazing time! And I love all the pictures -- keep them coming!

[hey_jude]

What an amazing first day! I can't wait to read more (and see all of your great pics - you do a fantastic job of really capturing each moment.)

Judy

[bkandreu]

Your daughters are soooo adorable! They are beautiful! What a wonderful day! I can only imagine how I would've felt as a little girl, waking up and getting into a big limo! They felt like princesses, I'm sure! What a great beginning. I can tell it is going to be good! :thumbsup2 I also love the girls' Disney pins!! It is so cute that they are already doing that!

[mphalens]

I'm doing the "happy dance" over here! :yay::yay::yay:
I just :lovestruc the pictures and I feel like I can hear your voice reading the post (not that I've ever heard you talk - you just have a very expressive writing style that makes me feel like I'm having a chat with a friend) . . .

Can't wait to see/read more!

[miprender]

:cool1: Yeah you started your Trip Report. You can see all the excitement in Brooke's face.:goodvibes

[dianemom2]

I loved the report for Day 1. I can't wait to read about Day2! Your girls are so cute! I loved the picture of Brooke playing pilot. How cool was that!

[petals]

Joining in. What an amazing start to the trip! Can't wait to read the rest!

[WDWJonasGirl]

Love it so far!!

[mom2pixies]

:bday:Just a note to say that today marks the day I received the best gift in the world! I was made a mama four years ago and I'll cherish the day forever.

Wishing my sweet B the happiest of birthdays today! May your fourth year be as incredible as your third, peanut. Lots of magic and memories, love, luck, and laughter. We love you!! Today, tomorrow and always....

[petals]

Happy Birthday to Princess Brooke princess:

[mom2pixies]

Happy Birthday to Princess Brooke princess:

Thank you! I'm going to try and post up some pics of our last-minute Ariel and Jasmine party from yesterday afternoon to share with everyone tonight. :)

[VBAndrea]

Happy 4th Birthday Brooke!!!! :cake:

[dianemom2]

:bday:Just a note to say that today marks the day I received the best gift in the world! I was made a mama four years ago and I'll cherish the day forever.

Wishing my sweet B the happiest of birthdays today! May your fourth year be as incredible as your third, peanut. Lots of magic and memories, love, luck, and laughter. We love you!! Today, tomorrow and always....

Hope that Brooke had a wonderful 4th birthday! Can't wait to see birthday pictures and to read more about the trip!

[danut]

Aw....how exciting! I can't wait to read more!

[mommy2mrb]

Just realized you had started your TR!!!

First off Happy Belated Birthday Brooke :banana:


what a wonderful start to your trip....so much pixie dust at the airport :goodvibes love the photos, the girls look so excited and happy!

[mom2pixies]

Hi everyone,

Just a note to say thank you for the birthday wishes for Brooke and to let all of you know I have not forgotten you or my promise to update our trip report soon. Just seems like the to-do pile (as it is certainly not a list anymore!) has toppled over and DIS keeps getting shoved to the bottom! It never rains--it pours. First her birthday, then Thanksgiving this weekend, and today--I just got into the office to find a call from the school to go back home and pick her up, as they believed she has pink eye. She had runny looking eyes this morning, but I just figured it was part of the cold she acquired over the weekend. A rush to the doctor's and a confirmation--pink eye. Lovely. And, all that, while Pas is on a business trip this week! Ack!!

I do hope to get back to the story this week. I've already downloaded some of the photos and got my Photopass CD in the mail last week. So excited to relive the trip--just have to get back to work right now to make up some time lost from this morning's run around to the school.

Thanks again for still tuning in!

[miprender]

Hope Brooke is feeling better. DS6 had pink eye and it was just nasty http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sick001.gif

[mom2pixies]

Okay---sooooo many apologies for taking so long to get back to this. Seems like one thing has fallen on another all at the same time. No worries--everyone is fine, but there's just been so much going on lately.

We have the Three Wishes Gala this weekend, in honour of Make-a-Wish. All wish families are invited to go and share stories and photos of their wishes. And, of course, there are some Halloween events to get through this weekend, too! Eeek. We'll survive!

Anyways, shame on me, I am finally finishing Day 1 of our trip. Here goes!

Chapter 2: Everyday’s a wonderland at GKTW

So, after changing into our Brooke’s wish trip t-shirts, we headed over to the main area of GKTW to get our first real ‘look’ at our home away from home. Wow! I didn’t even know where to angle my lens. So much wonder and so much fun tucked away in every corner of the place. From the talking garbage cans (which were a hit with Brooke. She would feed them all of our used napkins from the Ice Cream Palace) to the Mayor’s tiny cottage—every ounce of the resort was just imagination, plus!

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On our way over to the main courtyard, we saw our first inkling of Winter Wonderland night. A horse-drawn wagon ride was meandering up the road. We waved to the driver and the folks on board.

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Our first stop was to the Castle of Miracles. We went inside and had a quick look around. There’s just so much to see! The girls explored the little cave—Brooke was terrified by the dark and the sound of buzzing bees, but Avie loved it! She went up and down the slide the entire time we were there.

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Brooke played with some Mr. Potato Heads at the centre tables, while I looked around in amazement at all of those stars! Just breath-taking to think of all the children who have passed through these halls and had their wishes come true. Amazing.

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Then, Brooke discovered the animatronic box with the crown and robe. Spoiler alert!! A very regal crown and robe are displayed in a glass case and if you stand in precisely the right spot before the glass display case, and put your head through a mirror-shaped ring, the lights will turn on and some coronation music will begin to swell and it looks like you are wearing the crown and robe. A very neat special effect—and Brooke loved it. She would have to do it two or three times every time we stopped into the Castle.

We’d barely been there maybe 15 minutes before Brooke already wanted a tattoo. So, we stopped into the La-di-Da Spa and got her an airbrush tattoo of a mermaid (Ariel, of course!) on her leg. Of course, we also had to snap a few photos of the girls enjoying the ‘royal’ waiting room. Then, we were off again to explore some more.

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By this time, a volunteer had come out to open the Carousel. Well, we needed to go on that! And, thus we truly discovered Avie’s obsession with carousels. She had been on one before at a local fairground and although she seemed a little curious at first, she really enjoyed it. Went on three times in a row and cried each time we tried to pull her off. Now, was no different—except that she is older and enjoys it even more now!

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The smile that would explode onto her face each time we went on! It was ridiculous. As you can imagine, it was probably her favourite ride the entire trip. She just adored it. I have no doubt she will be asking Santa for a carousel horse for Christmas!

So, we went on it--twice, changing horses for zebras and hippocampi or roosters. The girls just loved changing it up. Brooke especially loved the hippocampi and named her ‘sea horse’ “Seaweed.”

Finally, we decided to get something to eat. We were a little nervous about Pas making it to Orientation in time and didn’t know what to expect in terms of crowds at the Gingerbread House. No worries! The place was warm and inviting and so were the volunteers.

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They easily found us a table, showed us where the food lines were and how the meal card worked and we were all set. We enjoyed ‘Christmas dinner’ at one of the tiny, kid-sized tables. We ate turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce, while the girls munched on chicken fingers and mashed potatoes and corn. Yum! And, can I say how much I love the Hawaiian Punch pink lemonade? Delish!

We also ran into Angie, Eva and AJ and family while we were there. They had just arrived a few days earlier and had been having a wonderful, if exhausting time. It was nice to finally meet a DISer in person!

After dinner, we had been told by a volunteer to go visit Santa at Julie’s Safari Theatre, so we went over there so Pas could see the girls meet Santa before heading over to Orientation.

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We walked into the theatre and it was already crammed with people in the lobby. We got in line and the girls were so excited. Brooke went up and sat on Santa, no problem, chattering all about the plane that had taken us there and how she was going to meet Ariel tomorrow. Avie was not as keen, but with a little convincing and seeing how her sister was having a great time, she joined Brooke on his knees.

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The girls were then allowed to go back to the lobby and pick a gift. We had missed the toy racks in the swell of people at the entrance. Avery was content just to watch the crowds from the stroller, but Brooke insisted and picked out a glowworm doll for Avie. Little sister loved it!

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Brooke, meanwhile, took her time—perusing the games, My Little Ponies, baby dolls and Barbies. She finally settled on a doll I have never seen before—it’s a fashion doll (Lori, I think the name was?) about 16 inches tall with jointed hands, elbows, shoulders, feet, knees and legs. She came with two outfits and a pair of boots and her hair even comes off should you want to change her from brunette to blonde to redhead.

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With their pressies in tow, we headed outside. Pas had to race off to Orientation, but I decided to take the girls around and enjoy some of the sights. We headed up and down the main thoroughfare, checking out the Christmas decorations. The girls had to stop and look at the inflatable snowglobe—and of course, stop and get some treats. Snow cones and cotton candy? Not our usual Christmas goodies, but perfect for a Not-so-Cool Yule! (It was so hot that Santa would have surely melted outside of that air-conditioned theatre!) Brooke proceeded to gobble hers up, so we got her a second snow cone to share with Avie.

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The girls then asked to go back on the carousel. Who can refuse? So we went back on another few times, just before the parade began. Volunteers dressed up as Victorian carollers, the Grinch, a snowman, a gingerbread man, Buddy the Elf, angels and fairies, a penguin, a reindeer and a Christmas tree walked alongside a few small cars and carts, all decked out with lights and blaring with Christmas tunes. Mayor Clayton and Mrs. Merry had arrived in holiday splendour!

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The group parked the vehicles in the courtyard and started dancing. Kids swarmed them. Elves appeared with velvet sacks and handed out the little toys (like ‘Naughty or Nice?’ bracelets and snowman notepads) that kids love so much. Brooke and Avie got out of the stroller to take photos with the characters and dance with them in the courtyard in front of the theatre.

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Then, the snow began and Brooke couldn’t stop laughing and leaping in the ‘snow’ bubbles! She ran around with the other kids chasing the bubbles and picking up piles of it from the ground and throwing it in the air. I think we must have stayed there for at least an hour!
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Avie had zero interest in ‘face’ characters—she would get shy as soon as any angel or fairy came over to see her, but if the penguin or the Claytons came over, she was all smiles and hugs! Avie loved the ‘fuzzy’ characters! She couldn’t get enough hugging from them.

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The parade/dance party was wrapping up, so I bundled the girls back into the stroller and started back to our villa. It had been a very long day, but as tired as the girls were, they couldn’t stop smiling and chattering about what fun that party had been!

We returned to villa just a few minutes before Pascal returned, with his huge envelope of papers and tickets in hand. We gave the girls a quick bath before dressing them in their special ‘trip’ pjs and putting them to bed. They each went to bed holding their new Christmas and welcome presents. (Little did I know that this pile of toys would grow each day we were there! TIP: Totally bring a folding duffle bag for your trip home. It’s ridiculous how many toys and books and souvenirs the kids receive over the course of a week. We brought a bag—and then still had to buy a tote bag to carry it all home!)

As I was giving Brooke a goodnight kiss, I explained that tomorrow we would go to Disney and see Ariel—and that we had a whole week of fun ahead of us. She couldn’t believe it! This had just been the first day of our adventure—and it would only get better from here.

[dianemom2]

Give Kids The World looks like an awesome place and your family looks like they were having a fabulous time! Your trip looks like it is off to a fantastic start. I can't wait to read more.

[mommy2mrb]

the party looks like so much fun! the girls look like they are really enjoying themselves!

we were blessed enough to go visit Judy (blessedmom4) and family when we were there at GKTW, the place is truely a "wonderland". and got to attend the mayor's bday party! was fun and full of lots of yummies too!

[petals]

Aw I love the update so cute!

[reelmom]

Joining in on the fun. You have two beautiful little girls. Looks like you had a great flight and first day there.

ETA: I just went back and read your PTR. I am so glad that Brooke is cancer free and doing well. She really is a trooper!

[mphalens]

Beautiful! The pure joy on their faces is so precious!!! I hope you all have a very fun-filled Halloween and Gala!

[WDWRids]

Joining in!! Can't wait to hear all the details!

[petals]

Happy Not so scary halloween
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[mom2pixies]

Okay--so please forgive me for interrupting the trip report--especially, as I haven't gotten very far in it yet!--for a quick update on the Gala last weekend. Just an incredible moment!

Um....is there a word more powerful than 'pride' and 'love' and 'gratitude' for what your child can accomplish??!?!

Let me back up a bit.

Our wish rep, Anne, invited us to the annual Three Wishes Gala this year. It's a huge fundraising event where all wish sponsors and wish families come together to raise more money for MAW and just celebrate the wishes from the past year. Of course we were stoked to be invited!

Anne asked if it wouldn't be too much trouble to get Brooke to draw or paint some artwork for the gala, as they like to frame it and give it away as presents to the wish sponsors and have a silent auction of the artwork. Sure, no problem! As you all know, asking B to paint has never been a problem! She also asked that if I had time to put a collage together of some key photos of our trip. Sure, I could do that, too!

So, I had B sit down and draw some artwork, while I put together a collage that had me in tears, much less Anne and Laura and everyone else who looked at it. Brooke drew four pictures: a rainbow (shocking, I know!), a red-headed mermaid (big surprise, right?) and two huge paintings (one with just watercolours and the other was a mixed media piece using tissue paper bits from her actual wish delivery gifts—so extra magic—and glitter!) of Cinderella’s castle with a bunch of fireworks overhead. They were gorgeous--all colourful and bright and full or childlike wonder.

Pas delivered them to Anne and when he saw them, he really wanted one. He said he was going to bid on one of them because he wanted it for his office. Cool!


Anyways, fast forward to the gala. It was a huge, elegant affair, held in a convention centre. I dolled up the girls in some fancy dresses and glittery headbands (B even got to wear a little cream blush and lipgloss, which she carried around in a little silver purse! Adorable.). We went down and looked around and—suddenly 800 people knew who she was. That’s when we noticed that her photo (which I was going to save for the next chapter in the trip report, but am posting up early here because it is so wonderful and captures the true essence of the whole trip and wish) was everywhere! It was on the wish programs, on the two giant jumbotrons in the ballroom, on posters—everywhere! No wonder everyone knew who she was!

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So, we wandered around a bit, talking to MAW reps and Anne and Laura and found our wish sponsor, Wayne (who were sat with for dinner—such a nice man! We brought him a Mickey frame we picked up at Disney and had included some photos of Brooke and Avie from Disney. He loved it.). We also found the collage of photos and two of Brooke’s framed pictures—both castle paintings. Lots of photos and chatting and having fun ensued.

Pas asked Anne how much the artwork typically goes for (since he wanted one) and she said anywhere from $500 to $2,500. Okay! Pas decided he’d let someone else have it instead. (He can always get her to paint him another one! ;) She said she couldn’t wait to see the auction because even the framer was amazed by how beautiful her paintings were and how the artist was just four years old. I think the two smaller photos were framed as well, but were given as gifts. (I hope Wayne receives the picture of Ariel!)

Anyways—the night progressed and Anne asked if we would take Brooke up on the stage for the live auction, as they would be auctioning off her artwork (with two other children’s art pieces) at the end of the program. Sure. It was getting so late. Avery had dozed off in Wayne’s arms, which was a good thing, because now I was free to go up to the stage to take photos of Brooke.

When they finally got to the wish art auction, the first girl up was a teenager who went on a wish trip to England. She had taken a beautiful photo of Stonehenge one foggy morning and it was framed. Gorgeous picture. It went for $2,500! The girl was so pleased and proud.

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Brooke was up next with her first castle painting. The celebrity auctioneer tried to get her to talk about her painting, but she was too shy, so Pas explained what the picture was about while I snapped away taking pictures.

And, what happened next was kind of a stunned blur. The bidding began. I expected a couple of hundred dollars—when the bid hit $2,000, I was shocked. I was gobsmacked when it hit $5,000 but when the bid went to $10,000, I was so blown away, the tears were just welling in my eyes as I frantically wiped them away!

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It is the highest amount ever earned for a single piece of artwork.

Then, one of the wish reps who had attended our wish delivery stood up and bid $5,000 to commission Brooke to create a piece of artwork for his law office. In a few minutes, she had raised $15,000 for MAW!!!

But, Brooke wasn’t done yet!

The next boy who went up had drawn an adorable self-portrait and now that the momentum was going, his drawing also went for another $10,000. In fact, it was down to two bidders for his drawing, one at $9,000 and one at $10,000 when the auctioneer said “Tell you what. You two are bidding over this one drawing, but Brooke still has another painting. Why don’t I give each of you a painting for $10,000 and we call it a day?”

They agreed. Brooke raised $25,000 for MAW and everyone was just giving her (and the two other children, of course!) a standing ovation to thunderous applause and many, many tears from Wayne, Anne, Laura and all of our wish executives. We couldn’t believe it! B raised enough money for three children to be granted future wishes. Isn’t that amazing? There really is power in sharing a wish!

Overall, the event was a resounding success, raising over $70,000 for our local chapter—and we couldn’t be prouder of our little girl and her charming little paintings. Truly. Words can’t express how much this meant to us and to everyone in that room!

Anyways, there are lots more photos, but these are the only ones I have downloaded here! I'll post up more, so you can see us all in our gala finery and see Avie with Wayne, etc. I completely forgot to turn on the video camera for the live auction--I was just too stunned to do anything but stand there with my mouth hanging open!--and have yet to find anyone who took video, although I know there are a lot of photos of the event! If I find a vid link, I'll post it up as well.

Thanks for tuning in!

[mom2pixies]

Oh! And in case anyone is interested--maybe my Canadian friends will recognize these faces?--the celebrity auctioneers are Michael O'Byrne, a local newscaster, and Wayne Rostad, a tv host and musician. I wish we had had a proper chance to meet with them!

[blessedmom4]

I only have one TINY moment to say....WOW! WOW! WOW!!!!!! I am so excited for you all and so happy for this incredible gift Brooke was able to give back to Make a Wish!!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!! :goodvibes:goodvibes:goodvibes:goodvibes
Love you sweet friend!!! Your TR is wonderful!!! and I am loving the pics!

[Goofin]

"And, what happened next was kind of a stunned blur. The bidding began. I expected a couple of hundred dollars—when the bid hit $2,000, I was shocked. I was gobsmacked when it hit $5,000 but when the bid went to $10,000, I was so blown away, the tears were just welling in my eyes as I frantically wiped them away! "

This paragraph along with the photo of Brooke with her painting is just amazing. Had me in tears as well. Great job Brooke! :thumbsup2

Love the Ariel photo as well! Ariel is my daughters favorite.

[mom2pixies]

Thank you, both!

Yes, well, I've never been so thankful for waterproof mascara! There were a ton of photographers snapping our photo at that moment and I just couldn't stop grinning and crying!

Welcome home Judy! We received your sweet card the other day! Thank Lisa and the family for us. :)

[mommy2mrb]

what a wonderful way for you all to give back and pay it forward! Brooke's painting is beautiful!

[mphalens]

I was so excited to open my email and see that there was an update to your Trip Report. . . even more excited when I realized we'd get to see some of the Gala action. . .

But opening that first picture of Brooke & Ariel, the waterworks started up and my throat ached. . .

And as I read on the happiness I felt was overwhelming. My older son asked what was wrong and I explained nothing was wrong, they were happy tears.

Stories like this, of little ones doing things to help others, they truly touch the heart.

Can't wait to read & see more! Although I think I need a box of tissues next to the computer :lovestruc

[reelmom]

Brooke is a fantastic artist. That's amazing how much she raised.

[miprender]

:goodvibes WOW what a wonderful night and great job to Brooke on her wonderful drawings.

PS I LOVE:love: that photo of her with Ariel:cloud9:

[petals]

Aw that's amazing how much Brooke's painting made. Well done Brooke :goodvibes

[dianemom2]

I loved reading such a wonderful and very happy story. It is so great that Brooke was able to help raise so much money. Her artwork was great and I love the pictures of her in her fancy dress and of her with Ariel!

[kimmg]

Oh my goodness. I just finished catching up on your PTR and now I read your TR and you had me in tears at least twice if not three times! Thank you so much for sharing so many wonderful moments so far. Your girls are just so beautiful and I feel like I know them now. I can't wait to read even more about your sweet families trip!

[mom2pixies]

what a wonderful way for you all to give back and pay it forward! Brooke's painting is beautiful!

Thank you. It was a wonderful painting--and it means so much to us to have been able to do this for someone (maybe several someones!) else.

I was so excited to open my email and see that there was an update to your Trip Report. . . even more excited when I realized we'd get to see some of the Gala action. . .

But opening that first picture of Brooke & Ariel, the waterworks started up and my throat ached. . .

And as I read on the happiness I felt was overwhelming. My older son asked what was wrong and I explained nothing was wrong, they were happy tears.

Stories like this, of little ones doing things to help others, they truly touch the heart.

Can't wait to read & see more! Although I think I need a box of tissues next to the computer :lovestruc

Me, too! That pic of Ariel and Brooke is all over our house--on FaceBook, on our computers, at Grandmaman's, on posters at MAW, at their exhibits, in the newspaper! It really is beautiful! Quite the moment.

Brooke is a fantastic artist. That's amazing how much she raised.

Thank you. She fancies herself a Rapunzel, now! LOL!!

:goodvibes WOW what a wonderful night and great job to Brooke on her wonderful drawings.

PS I LOVE:love: that photo of her with Ariel:cloud9:

Me, too! I'm just soooo glad the photographer captured that. I had too many tears to see straight and caught the moment before and moment after, but missed the embrace! So pivotal. THIS was the wish!

Aw that's amazing how much Brooke's painting made. Well done Brooke :goodvibes

Thank you so much!

I loved reading such a wonderful and very happy story. It is so great that Brooke was able to help raise so much money. Her artwork was great and I love the pictures of her in her fancy dress and of her with Ariel!

Thank you. It was just such an honour for our family to be involved. I hope this moment inspires a spirit of giving and volunteerism in her when she is older. We are really big proponents of it and it would be nice for our children to follow in our footsteps.

Oh my goodness. I just finished catching up on your PTR and now I read your TR and you had me in tears at least twice if not three times! Thank you so much for sharing so many wonderful moments so far. Your girls are just so beautiful and I feel like I know them now. I can't wait to read even more about your sweet families trip!

I don't mean to make people cry, but I'll assume they are happy tears! ;) It was an amazing trip--truly--and yours will be here in just a few weeks time! Ack!! You must be so excited!

[mom2pixies]

Our first real day in Orlando began as any other—with the exception that all of us were eager to get to Magic Kingdom! Because of Brooke’s 9:00 a.m. Bibbity Bobbity Boutique (BBB) makeover, we needed to be there before the park opened and as we didn’t really know our way around the highways, so we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to find the park. (It really wasn’t a problem. The signs are everywhere making it extremely easy to navigate and the traffic was nil. We arrived probably about 20 minutes after leaving GKTW.) So we woke up much too early, got the girls ready in their special outfits (arrival outfits were the first ones we received—Brooke’s purple seashell top and mermaid twirl skirt, while Avie’s was her red and white polka dot Minnie outfit) and bags packed with the snacks Pas had picked up at the WalMart the night before and headed over to the Ice Cream Palace for breakfast.

The girls ate—surprise!—ice cream and cinnamon buns, while Pascal and I actually enjoyed some delicious pancakes and sausages—and some ice cream, too. Can’t let the girls have all the fun! Then, with no time to spare, we raced back to the villa to load up the car and head out.

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As I mentioned before, we had no problem getting there. I kept snapping photos out of the window, just waiting for that first moment. Brooke and Avie spotted the Mickey-image signs and the Disney signs and their excitement just grew. We parked, walked over, found the appointments line and went right in.

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I couldn’t believe it. Finally—we were here. I was like a little girl, looking everywhere at once and focusing on nothing. The girls were doing the same along with me. Because it was mid-September, there were already pumpkins and Halloween decorations everywhere, which just totally made Brooke’s day. She kept pointing out things and jumping up and down with excitement. Avie was just clapping her hands and laughing--probably more to do with feeding off our excitement than her own, but whatever! We were all so happy!

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First thing we did when we entered the park was hit the Guest Services booth to get our buttons and our stroller pass. The man at the counter asked us what we were celebrating to decide which buttons to give us and when he heard Brooke’s story, he gave her and Avery all the buttons! They had birthday buttons, first-time trip buttons, happily ever after buttons and celebrating buttons.

After that, we headed straight for the castle. We still had a bit of time, so we weren’t racing anymore. We took our time turning that corner because I really wanted to savour the kids’ reaction. It was delightful! The squeals, the wide eyes—it was too much joy, so naturally, I teared up. Just one of many times that day!

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We got some photos of the castle without anyone around and then our first PhotoPass photographer approached us and took some family photos. He also took this adorable Tink pic of Brooke. Isn’t it wonderful? (Photo coming! Need to upload Photopass images!)

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We meandered up the castle pathways and found the BBB. It was like Brooke and I had entered princess heaven! I am always amazed at Disney theming—they really do take every detail into consideration—right down to the door and the reservation books. Amazing.

The place was packed, however, so while Pas took Avie around, Brooke and I went in, but we didn’t even have to wait. A fairy-godmother-in-training (FGIT) showed us the dress wall and then handed Brooke her little hair package brochure.

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What I loved was that the FGIT didn’t talk to me—she talked directly to ‘Princess Brooke.’ (And they all called her that! She loved it. ) The FGIT got down on one knee and explained that Brooke could choose whichever hairstyle she wanted and whatever dress she wanted. Only then did the FGIT look up at me to confirm that the whole outfit was to be purchased. Uh—yeah—go big or go home. Wrap up the shoes and wand, ‘cause this princess ain’t going home without ‘em!

So, Brooke looked at all of the costumes—and not surprising—chose the green Ariel dress. I was hoping that would be the case, as this special green dress can only be bought at Disney. All other Ariel costumes are the tail outfit or the pink dress. The green gown is extra special! But, I didn’t say a thing—this was Brooke’s wish and she was to make the decision herself.

She then took a seat on an elegant chaise in the waiting area and Brooke, trying to be very regal, sat there and perused her brochure for a few moments. Before I had even gotten a few photos, another FGIT swooped in to ask Princess Brooke to the back.

We walked through the styling area to the back dressing room. The FGIT held closed a curtain and asked Brooke to say the magic words: “Bibbity Bobbity Boo!” She swept back the curtain to reveal the entire green Ariel collection, displayed on the dressing stool. It was a moment of pure magic. The little shimmery jewel shoes sat there with the light-up seashell wand and pearlized tiara, while the beautiful (and very well-made!) little dress hung on the back wall.

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Brooke tried everything on and it was a perfect fit. (Honestly, I don’t know how they picked the perfect shoe size! Brooke’s feet are always a little small for her size!) She stood there, grinning at herself in the mirror.

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The FGIT arrived to bring us back to the styling area, where Brooke proceeded to get ‘princess-ified.’ Her new FGIT managed to sweep up Brooke’s short hair into a tiny little bun on the top of her hair and then asked Brooke what hairstyle she wanted.

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I would have loved it if Brooke had chosen the ‘Princess’ look with the tiny tiara, but no—she wanted the ‘Diva’ look with the long hair extensions. And, what’s worse—she wanted PINK hair extensions. Not red like Ariel or blonde like herself, but pink like a princess. Okay—her wish, so that’s fine. (But I totally anticipated the hair driving her crazy. No surprise—she wanted it off her head about an hour or two later!)

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Brooke was just so pleased to be sitting there making all of her own decisions. The hair stylist was also putting together a little giftbag (which is part of the full package—it includes two full-size nail polish bottles, a little eyeshadow/lipgloss makeup palette, two jewelled hairclips and a comb) and asking Brooke what colour she wanted for these items. They also added Ariel’s seashell purse and long white gloves (part of the full package, again).

And just then, I heard a gasp from the front of the store. I whipped around my head to see the sea of FGITs part to reveal Princesses Tiana and Jasmine holding hands, with Aladdin behind them. Tiana’s skirt was a foot away from me, so I flipped on the video camera switch to capture the moment and Brooke’s gobsmacked look from her chair at her first glimpse of Disney princesses.

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The princesses couldn’t come very far into the styling room because of Tiana’s ballroom and the zero space, but they came right up to where I was seated in front of Brooke. They waved from the entrance and Tiana explained that they just wanted to welcome everyone to Magic Kingdom and wanted to come by and say hello and that they hoped to see all of the girls later.

Brooke was just starstruck—and I thought I had it on video! But it turns out, I forgot to hit another button and didn’t end up recording any of it! I did get a few snapshots, though. Brooke was just so happy to have been there to see them—even if it was for just a second.

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Pascal and Avie returned while Brooke was getting her makeup done and the FGIT was sprinkling pixie dust on her. Pas explained that Avie (who is obsessed with shoes) had started to cry when she realized that the shoes in the costume display were attached to the rack and she wasn’t able to try them on. A FGIT overheard as she was passing by and said,

“We make the sparkly shoes in her size, too, Mom.” I looked at Pas and we both shrugged and grinned.

Fair’s fair.

“Bring us a size 3 then!” I smiled. Sure, enough, they brought out a tiny little pair of shoes, an exact match to Brooke’s shimmery shoes, and Avie just started cooing over them. She immediately put them on and started twirling in the styling area so proud of her new princess shoes. The PhotoPass photographer stopped snapping at Brooke for a few minutes to capture Avie’s princess twirls.

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The FGIT thought Avie needed some pixie dust, too. So, she added some sparkles to Avie and a little face jewel like the one she had put on Brooke. She then put on Brooke’s special ‘Birthday Princess’ sash and both girls were proclaimed princesses. Brooke looked gorgeous—just like a little princess—but the best part was by far, her genuine smile. She decided she needed to show off her beautiful dress to her father, so she did a little twirl. I was in tears, again!

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We went outside and were instructed where Castle Couture was, so that Brooke could get her princess photo session taken, but before we did, we saw that Fairy Godmother was outside in Cinderella’s courtyard. We went right up and used the magic pass—for the first time!—and sure enough, Brooke was meeting Cinderella’s godmother in no time flat. She was amazed! Fairy Godmother was the first character she had interacted with at Disney and she kinda stood there in awe of her. We got a few photos and had her sign our books, while she kept insisting that Brooke be back by midnight if she wanted to keep those new shoes!

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Afterwards, we went right over to Castle Couture and Brooke had a few professional photos taken. She just couldn’t stop beaming! While we were waiting for the photos to be completed, Avie and Pas were wandering around Cinderella’s courtyard and rushed back in to tell us that Cinderella’s stepfamily had just arrived.

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So, back outside to meet Cinderella’s step-sisters and mother. They were wonderful! They just stayed in perfect character, complimenting Brooke on her outfit and talking about Avie’s shoes. Then, fighting over the Sharpie pens and making ugly faces for the camera. Lady Tremaine even signed her name on Cinderella’s page, saying “She doesn’t deserve her own page.”

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Pas and I had been to Disney once before (when we were newly married and had no children), but when we went, our focus was on attractions. Although we had seen characters from afar, we had never bothered to wait in line to take photos with them or get autographs. It wasn’t really something that interested us then—but this trip—it was totally about meeting the characters!

On this trip, we made it our mission to see every princess in the Disney pantheon, along with their heroes, princesses and fairy godmothers. And, already, in the span of an hour we had seen four of Cinderella’s family and friends, two princesses and a prince! We were just sooo stoked!

And, they were totally worth it. Seeing the detail in their costumes up close, watching how they interact with the children and totally stay in character—just amazing. They do a wonderful job at entertaining the whole family!

Now that the girls had been given their princess transformations and we had already got a few autographs for the books, what next?

Pas looked at me and we both said in unison: “Find Ariel!” So, that's exactly what we decided to do--so off, we went!

P.S. I've got some Photopass pics I want to add to this page, but as I don't have them with me right now, please check back for the rest of the photos! More coming!

[mommy2mrb]

Brooke is a beautiful princess and love that Avie got a little pixie dusting too!
fun photos with the "steps", fairy godmother and the princesses!

[petals]

Aw I love Princess Brookes transformation and when you said about their reaction to the castle I teared up as well!
Alos way cool that they got all the buttons! :goodvibes

[hey_jude]

Definitely lots of smiles and a few happy tears here as we read through the post on the auction! WOW!!!!!:banana::banana::banana::banana:

And then what an amazing start to the trip! Could you possibly have had a more perfect first park day?

Judy

[mom2pixies]

Brooke is a beautiful princess and love that Avie got a little pixie dusting too!
fun photos with the "steps", fairy godmother and the princesses!

Yes, they really don't forget anyone in the process! It was nice of them to think of Avie, too.

Aw I love Princess Brookes transformation and when you said about their reaction to the castle I teared up as well!
Alos way cool that they got all the buttons! :goodvibes

Yup--they got pretty heavy to wear all the time, but the girls kept them on their lanyards for souvenirs.

Definitely lots of smiles and a few happy tears here as we read through the post on the auction! WOW!!!!!:banana::banana::banana::banana:

And then what an amazing start to the trip! Could you possibly have had a more perfect first park day?

Judy

Judy--it only got better! We had only been there about an hour or two by this time! More magic to come....


Everyone: Added some Photopass images as promised!

[mphalens]

When will I learn??? Your family just has a special magic to it - I cannot read your TR (or your PTR) without tearing up! It's like Brooke is the embodiment of what Disney Magic is all about. I know you know this, but you have one special little girl :hug:

[kimmg]

When will I learn??? Your family just has a special magic to it - I cannot read your TR (or your PTR) without tearing up! It's like Brooke is the embodiment of what Disney Magic is all about. I know you know this, but you have one special little girl :hug:

ITA! I'm so happy you guys had this moment. And can I say, despite how beautiful and special it is seeing Brooke getting done up, I teared up most at sweet little Avie and her shoes. Oh, she's just so cute and maybe it's because K is a similar age but I squeed with happiness for her too. Our non-sick kiddoes sometimes get overlooked and they're forced to sacrifice too. I'm so thrilled Avie got something special. I may have to look into those shoes when I go. princess: Were the soles terribly hard? K always trips in hard-soled shoes. Thank you so much for sharing all of this.

[that's nice]

I finally got to your TR... :surfweb:

What a great first 2 days so far! Brooke looked so happy once she was transformed at BBB. How cool that the princesses came in to the BBB to greet everyone.

What a great experience at the MAW gala. Brooke is quite the accomplished artist! ;) How awesome that her artwork raised so much money to help other kids get their wish!!!! pixiedust:pixiedust:

[miprender]

Love the pictures of the BBB. Your FGMIT was the same lady that put the makeup on my DD in 2010:lmao:

[mom2pixies]

Just wishing all of my American friends a very happy Thanksgiving weekend! I'm a day late, but I hope you are all enjoying time with your families and creating special memories to love and cherish! :)

[mom2pixies]

Hi everyone,

Long time, no write! I have been MIA since November and it certainly wasn’t intentional! Life just keeps getting in the way of my DISsing. I apologize to anyone who was reading this Trip Report for abandoning it for so long, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if no one is tuning in any longer. I also apologize to Big Givers who have been waiting so long to see photos of their creations in action. I haven’t been keeping my end of the bargain very well.

I almost wish I had a proper excuse, but am glad to report that everyone is doing well and no large mishaps have occurred. In fact, it was the first Christmas in about three years that we were not at the hospital, and for that we are exceptionally glad! I will make it my New Year's resolution to get this story finished! It's a beautiful one and I love reliving it through words and photos....

I hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday season and started 2012 on a happy and healthy note!

If you are still interested in reading about Brooke’s wish trip, then I’ll bring you back to conclusion of Day 2. Egads! I am still on Day 2 of the trip....

Chapter 4: The Wish Moment

So, we took off in search of Ariel...but we still had to cross Magic Kingdom to get to her. We headed out with me snapping pics at everything and the girls shouting out and pointing at attractions we promised we’d return to see. I guess Pascal and I were just super worried about missing her that we wanted to make certain that meeting her was the first thing we would accomplish.

On our way to meet Ariel, we passed through Frontierland—and spotted Donald taking photos with tourists. Avie nearly freaked out, she was so excited! She was climbing out of the stroller to run up to him before we even had a chance to stop her! She raced right up and I whipped out the wish kid creds. They stopped the photos and she went right up to Donald and gave him a huge hug. She just kept chattering away and showing him her teddy bear and hugging him.
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It was that day that we discovered Avery has little interest in face characters---but LOVES the fuzzies! For most young kids, it’s the opposite! So, we had to make certain she got her fill of Minnie, Mickey and Donald, too!

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Back on the Ariel hunt, we decided to stop in at Pixie Hollow and got some photos of the girls with Rosetta and Tinkerbell. Rosetta was wonderful, very chatty with Brooke and they spent quite a few minutes together, even blowing kisses goodbye. Our time with Tink was quick, but I managed to get a pic with her, as she is my absolute favourite character.

Then, we went back on the trail. But, before we could get any closer, we spotted Jasmine and Aladdin! We decided to stop and grab some pics before continuing on. As I mentioned, we were afraid of missing a princess! Brooke, who insists that Jasmine is her second favourite princess, was shy with Jasmine (or maybe it’s because Aladdin was there? Or she was just tired of the heat and racing around?), burying her face in Pas’ shoulder. Brooke was getting a little annoyed with the picture snapping at this point, as she really just wanted to go on Cinderella’s carousel. So we promised we’d just go see Ariel and then hit the rides.

After some more wandering and oohing and ahhing, we found where she was supposed to be. And, there she was—and our hearts began to trip---Ariel resplendent in her shimmery green dress! And, Eric—dressed in his sailor’s shirt and tall boots, just like he does in the movie. Brooke’s annoyance dried up immediately, as she asked me to get her autograph book ready.

The line-up wasn’t bad—just a few people--and we weren’t exactly certain how to get up to show our pass, as both times earlier, the CMs spotted us and kind of us brought us through. We stood in line for a few minutes, but then I decided to go and find the CM responsible for Ariel and Eric and I was glad I did! He insisted we didn’t need to wait and shouldn’t have (it was only a few minutes, really) and then whispered into Ariel’s ear about a special girl here to see her.

Well, it didn’t matter what he said to her—because as soon as she saw Brooke in her identical green dress—she lit up and cried out in excitement! And, so did Brooke! She just went right up to her and wrapped her arms around her, giving her the biggest hug. This was the Wish Moment! This is what it was all about.
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I was trying to film the moment and Pas was trying to take pictures and we were failing miserably we were so choked up and the tears were flowing for me. Luckily, the PhotoPass photographer got it all.

Brooke and Ariel chatted for a moment about Brooke’s dress and shoes and wand and I explained that Ariel was Brooke’s special wish and that we came all the way just to see her. Ariel was so thrilled to find a page of herself in Brooke’s book, so she signed that while Eric chatted with Brooke. Then, I asked Ariel if she would sign Brooke’s ‘Birthday Princess’ sash and she said she would be honoured to do it. So, she signed that as well. Then we got some group photos.

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It was a wonderful moment—and every time I look back at that photo, I see how special that moment was for those two mermaid princesses. After that, it didn’t matter what we did! The wish had been fulfilled.

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We decided to make our way back to the castle to be close by for our lunch with the princesses and get some carousel rides in. As we were passing by, we saw the little grotto were Rapunzel was meeting and greeting. So, we stopped in there, too to ask where was Flynn and Pascal? Flynn was away on royal duties, while Pascal was somewhere hiding on the wall behind us. Brooke had had enough of pictures and was getting a little grumpy, so we made it a quick visit.

We went back to the Courtyard area and went on Prince Charming’s Carousel. The girls were in heaven! Especially, Avie—she didn’t want to get off! So, we around and got back on! Brooke’s grumpy mood evaporated, too. We had time for one more ride before lunch, so Brooke chose Dumbo. We flew the elephant for a bit and then headed back to the Castle for lunch.

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By this time, we were all glad to get out of the heat and sun for a bit. Brooke removed her pink hair and we went inside for lunch.
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The meal was very tasty and well-organized. The girls each got a wishing star and wand and Brooke received a birthday card signed by the princesses. Avery ate well, eating all of her pasta and most of Brooke’s meal, too! Brooke also celebrated with a cupcake that she could decorate herself. She loved that! We got photos and autographs with all of the princesses (at this meal there was Snow White, Belle, Aurora and Ariel), although each stop by the table was quite quick.
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After lunch, we enjoyed more of the Courtyard. We visited the Winnie the Pooh ride and play area, went on Snow White’s ride, the Tea Cups, It’s a Small World (twice) and went to Philharmagic. The girls loved the show so much, they wanted to do it again. It must have started to pour while we were in the theatre, because it was gushing down when we were exiting. Didn’t matter—we had already decided to go back in, so a quick dash through the rain and we went back in to watch the show a second time.

By the time we exited for the second time, the rain had stopped. We had purchased our official Disney $8 ponchos (one for me, one for pas and one for over the stroller) anyways, so we were prepared if the rain should start up again.

The girls were in need of a little nap, so we strolled around for a bit more, while both of them rested. Pas was in need of a coffee fix, so I enjoyed a few minutes with the snoozing princesses just sitting and watching the magic of Disney. Pas and I then caught a bit of the Jack Sparrow show, while the girls were out, and then went into the Tiki House to watch that show. Avie woke up about halfway through, but Brooke was still out.

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Brooke woke up just in time to catch a parade, so we parked the stroller right along the route and got the girls some ice cream. They clapped and pointed throughout the parade! Tiana blew Brooke a kiss, Genie patted Avie on the head and the Queen of Hearts came right up to Brooke and put her hands on her hip and gave her a stare. Yikes! Brooke wanted to collect some of the pixie dust that had been thrown our way, so we grabbed some confetti and headed off once again.

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As we meandered, we came across Tiana’s gazebo and got to take some photos with the Frog Princess. She was very sweet and took her time with us and her CM insisted we come back to get a photo with Naveen later.

It was already getting late and the park was closing early that day for the Night of Joy, so we decided to call it a day. We went to pick up our umbrellas (each girl had picked out an umbrella and had it personalized and painted to their linking: A red-headed princess, castle and hearts for Brooke and cupcakes and Mickey balloons for Avie) and made our way back to GKTW.

Not surprisingly, the girls both crashed in the car, which was fine because they really needed it. We made it back in time to get some dinner at the House of Hearts and catch the last part of the ‘Pirates and Princesses’ party at GKTW.

Brooke received her second wind by then and happily went on stage (still wearing her Ariel dress from that morning). She was the most adorable princess on the stage. We were saving Avie’s Cinderella dress for later in the week, so we dressed her up in her red Minnie dress for her ‘princess debut’ on the stage. The two of them went up, received their crowns and wands and certificates—and, sure, I’m biased, but I swear—they were the prettiest princesses on stage! ;)

Afterwards, they enjoyed some dancing, face-painting and candy-eating. Finally, it was time to wrap up our first day of Disney and head back to the villa for a much-needed sleep. We had many new adventures to dream about—and there were still more awaiting on the horizon!

[nesser1981]

I can't wait to read more!!

[blessedmom4]

I am SO glad you are back and shared the "EXACT WISH" Moment with us! Thank you for taking the time to do this for us all! I LOVE the pictures, how much fun you all are having and I am THRILLED to see you in there as well! :goodvibes:goodvibes

[miprender]

:wave: I am still here!

What a wonderful update and love that picture with Ariel:love:

[newdrama12]

Well, it didn’t matter what he said to her—because as soon as she saw Brooke in her identical green dress—she lit up and cried out in excitement! And, so did Brooke! She just went right up to her and wrapped her arms around her, giving her the biggest hug. This was the Wish Moment! This is what it was all about.
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LOVE this pic!! It brought a tear to my eye. Brooke is such a beautiful princess! I know when I met her, all she was talking about was wanting to meet Ariel. Hope that all of you are doing well!

[petals]

Aw I love your update. Her Ariel meet brought tears to my eyes and those pics with Avie and Donald are just to cute

[mommy2mrb]

what sweet pictures....my fav though is when Ariel and Eric look like they are just entranced with what Brooke is telling them! How wonderful her Wish came true!!!

happy to hear everyone is doing well!


looking forward to reading more about your trip!

[mphalens]

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Again -when will I learn that your girls just turn on the water works for me??? How precious are these pics???? OMG! :goodvibes

This was the Wish Moment! This is what it was all about.
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Oh! Oh! OH! OH! Honestly, it's 11:55pm and I'm sitting at my dining room table flapping my hands in front of my face trying not to scream at how absolutely precious this picture is!!!! :surfweb: <-------I'm like that guy, only I'd have thrown the coffee on the ground and would be trying to wrap my arms around the monitor with a big dopey grin on my face. :rotfl2:


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LOVE this pic!!!! :lovestruc too cute!

[dianemom2]

Great update! I love the picture of Brooke hugging Ariel. What a special moment. It is so cute that Avie was not afraid of the big furry characters. The picture of her with Donald is adorable. You have so many wonderful pictures and so many great memories from this trip. Hooray! Can't wait to read more.

[kaileighbug]

What a great trip so far. WOW amazing on the paintings for make a wish! pixiedust:

[mnmrmustard]

Hey there, just giving your TR a little bump. I know life gets busy and we understand. It took me almost a year to finish mine!

We are a patient lot and are waiting here when you have some more time :goodvibes

[blessedmom4]

http://dl.glitter-graphics.net/pub/2555/2555521bw8ea5jpmt.gif (http://www.glitter-graphics.com)

[miramargaret]

this is so cute! Truly a trip fit for a Princess!

[mom2pixies]

Oh! Thank you so much for continuing to check in. I really feel guilty about how long this is taking me to get this story done. There's just too much to say and I don't want to do the story an injustice by zipping through it. I'm not a person who likes to rush through the details, but this break between chapters is just insane!

I keep wanting to sit down, but I never seem to find time during the day and then, the evenings have been getting away from me. Between work, kids, activities, Make-a-Wish meetings (I have joined our local group as a Volunteer and a Wish Granter! Very exciting!!), there just never seems enough time in the day. So, I'll start writing a chapter, but then I won't get time to download photos to Photobucket and it stimies the whole process. It's not just the DISboards, either. I used to be a semi-reliable blogger, but I've slacked off in the last few months there, too. Life really has been getting in the way lately!

I apologize profusely to anyone who has been waiting so patiently for Brooke's story--it really is a good one.

I just want to thank you all for sticking by me and tuning in. I need the encouragement I see here to get me to take the time to sit down and get back at it, so thank you so much!

And Happy National Princess Week!!! :)

[kaileighbug]

We understand how life can get in the way. Just waiting patiently, hoping all is well. Congrats on becoming a wish granter that has to be so cool.

[mommy2mrb]

how wonderful you became a wish granter and giving back :goodvibes

hope life will settle down a bit so we can read the rest of the trip!

[blessedmom4]

I am still here when you have time to update! :goodvibes