From wish tripper to greeter - Ali's MAW trip report 4/19 - 4/25 FINALLY FINISHED!!!

We'll be praying for Ali and you, Kelly!
:hug::lovestruc:hug:

Hope the pedi has some good information and a good plan!

Blessings,
 
Thanks, everyone. We're home. No pneumonia but we're still having a hard time controlling her fevers. Praying that it runs its course with no real damage.
 
I'm here! All caught up! I actually subbed days ago but was making myself wait to read it until I got my own started. Then I changed my mind.:lmao:

It's funny to see Ali with her hands on her ears so much because Phoebe is the one with SID but Tessa covers her ears just like that anytime she is near loud noise or thinks there could be noise.

It looks like you guys really got to spend a lot of time at the village. When we were at the pool Tessa was using a little kickboard that I thought was GKTW's because I didn't see any other kids around. Also the volunteer who was hanging around the pool went and got some beach balls from somewhere, blew several up and tossed them in the water. Either he wasn't following rules or they've loosened up on the pool toys precaution. :confused3 I can't believe what Amber and her family went through!

Loved the Cindy and Prince interaction! And the girls are looking totally adorable in every shot, as usual. :cutie:

I hope she feels better soon! It just stinks to be sick, and with no meds to take, ugh!!!
 
Thanks for all your thoughts, ladies.:grouphug: I was home with her today, as she started running a high temp again last night and her autonomic issues are just crazy right now (heart rates in the 170s and issues with breathing). I'm hoping that since she's been fever-free all day that we are turning a corner. I hope!

I'm here! All caught up! I actually subbed days ago but was making myself wait to read it until I got my own started. Then I changed my mind.:lmao:

It's funny to see Ali with her hands on her ears so much because Phoebe is the one with SID but Tessa covers her ears just like that anytime she is near loud noise or thinks there could be noise.

It looks like you guys really got to spend a lot of time at the village. When we were at the pool Tessa was using a little kickboard that I thought was GKTW's because I didn't see any other kids around. Also the volunteer who was hanging around the pool went and got some beach balls from somewhere, blew several up and tossed them in the water. Either he wasn't following rules or they've loosened up on the pool toys precaution. :confused3 I can't believe what Amber and her family went through!

Loved the Cindy and Prince interaction! And the girls are looking totally adorable in every shot, as usual. :cutie:

I hope she feels better soon! It just stinks to be sick, and with no meds to take, ugh!!!

You're too funny.:goodvibes Ali's sensory issues grow exponentially whenever she is stressed, so she spent the better part of the trip with her ears blocked and fearful of anything touching her. I wished that she could have enjoyed it more instead of worrying all the time, but it is what it is, right?

The first day we were in the pool, we also saw the kickboard and the balls, but that was the only day we saw them. We originally brought a three pack with us, but there was only one swim ring. Garth asked one of the volunteers about leaving them for others before we went and bought more rings (we wanted Ali and Maya to each have one, but we also didn't care to go home with a suitcase full of floaties), and we were told that we could not and that in fact, he preferred that we not even share them. So my guess would be that it was either a volunteer not up on the rules, or they changed the rules. We did end up bringing them home with us, but it was nearly impossible not to share them.

We did spend a lot of time enjoying GKTW. I do really want to go back someday so that we can experience more of Disney, but for now, no regrets. I can't wait to read your TR! What villa were you guys in? I kept hoping that we would run into you at the playground.
 
I took Ali back to the villa so that I could give her meds, and then I promised I would take her to Wal-Mart so that she could pick out another float. I had brought a three-pack with us, but it only had one ring float in it, and both girls thought it was the bee’s knees. So what’s another $2.00 for hours of unadulterated fun?! I did love that Wal-Mart was so close to the village. It made it very easy to just run out for any forgotten items.

After our errands, we put on our suits to head back over to the pool area to meet up with everyone else. We ordered sandwiches from Katie’s Kitchen and brought them poolside, where we continued to relax and enjoy just being together.
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I think that was the best part of the trip for us. Since it was Ali’s wish trip, there was no question that we would not only spend our days together, but that we would really be together. I don’t think I even took my book out once. Okay, I may have taken it out, but I certainly didn’t do any reading. I was having too much fun reconnecting as a family.

After spending the afternoon at the pool, we headed back to the villa to get cleaned up for dinner. We decided to eat at the Gingerbread House because it was burger night, and it's one of Maya's favorite foods. I will say that overall, we did not enjoy many of the meals (aside from breakfast) there. At this point in the trip, we started ordering pizza the night before to have in the fridge for the kids. It worked out well, as they got tired of Boston Market and didn't find too much in the Gingerbread House that they really liked.

Since there wasn't much going on at the village that night, the girls decided that they wanted to play miniature golf.
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We learned in orientation that the golf course was designed by the folks over at Universal Studios and had a lot of hidden surprises. It must have been turned off on this particular night because when we went back a couple of days later, it was a way different experience. But, we still had a blast. Putt putt is one of our favorite past-times.

After miniature golf, we went for ice cream cones and then for a walk around the village to see the areas we had yet to see.

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We were determined not to have a repeat of our first day at MK, so feeling rejuvenated, we put the kids to bed and sat out on the patio for a nightcap and a planning session. We decided to abandon our original itinerary and tackle AK the next day instead of EP/DHS because the weather on Saturday, our original day for AK, was predicted to be the hottest day of the week. And since Ali's actual wish was to go to AK and see the "real tree," we wanted the day to be perfect for her.

Next up: Day four - did we achieve perfection?
 
We were up nice and early for an 8:40am reservation for the Lilo and Stitch Best Friend's Breakfast at 'Ohana's. We were all in great spirits ready to tackle another day at the parks. As much as we enjoyed the previous day just hanging out at GKTW, I think we were all looking forward to trying things again.

We arrived at the Poly just in time for our reservation and only had to wait for about 10 minutes before being seated at a table. I had done my research the night before and knew exactly where to go. It made a huge difference in the sense that we didn't waste any time standing around wondering what to do, and we were able to keep going with the momentum of the morning.

Breakfast was absolutely delicious, and probably one of the best meals we had the entire trip. It was served family style, which was nice, so I didn't have to worry about getting the kids' plates before going back to a buffet to serve myself. I loved that it all just came to the table. We had warm pinapple bread waiting for us, and our server quickly came with juice and coffee. The girls didn't like the guava/orange juice, but we had no problems getting them apple juice in cups with lids and straws. Breakfast itself consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and bisquits, and there was plenty of it!

There was lots going on from the start, and Maya jumped right into a parade shortly after we started eating.
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I did mention to our server that we were on our daughter's MAW trip and one of her all time favorites is Stitch. I thought he was giving us the brush off as he brusquely said, "The characters visit all the tables.";)

The character interactions here were fantastic, and it was a lot of fun watching the girls since they had already had their first taste of getting autographs when we were at MK. I did make separate autograph books for the character meals, so they were all ready for when the characters came around. Mickey was first, and was actually pretty quick.
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Not a big deal since the girls were still a little awe struck and were really waiting for Lilo and Stitch, two of their favorites.

Next was Pluto, and he was absolutely hilarious. He was all over everyone, making sure to hug and kiss everyone in the group. The girls got a big kick over the fact that he signed autographs by balancing the paper and pen on his snout. Really, it was quite impressive!
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After Pluto was Lilo. She spent quite a bit of time with the girls, and as you can see, they were just glowing. She liked the girls autograph books and pointed out that she had her own personalized page.
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She noticed Ali's dress and then proceeded to cover her with hugs and kisses. It was so funny.

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At this point, Stitch was still pretty far away from our table and time was ticking. The music came on indicating that another parade was in the works, and I actually had a moment of frustration that we would have to wait at least another 20 minutes to see Stitch, which meant even longer before we could get out of there and head over to AK.

I kept waiting for the parade to start, but it didn't. Another five minutes passed, and they made the announcement again. And sure enough, there was Stitch heading for our table where he proceeded to take Maya and Ali by the hands and lead the parade with them. Ali was beside herself, and yes, the tears (mine) did start flowing.
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After the parade was their time to have pictures and autographs with him. He spent quite a bit of time with the girls before moving on.
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When our server came back, I thanked him profusely. He was so kind in return, offered coffees to go for all of the adults, and fresh juice for the kids. It truly was another magical character meal experience.

Next up - Animal Kingdom and Ali's wish comes true!
 
What a great start to the morning! What fun with Stitch! Glad he could make the breakfast even a little more special! I love Ali's Lilo dress!

Hope the rest of the day continues to be great!
 
Awww I am so happy that you guys had a wonderful breakfast there! Ali's dress is adorable!!! :)

We have the very same breakfast planned so I am getting very excited!! I was really hoping that I would read that you guys had a wonderful day on your AK Day!!! :goodvibes
 
I am loving your TR!!! What a wonderful character breakfast! So glad they got to be in the parade with Stictch, how cool!!

Can't wait to hear how she loved the Tree of Life!!!
 
What a great start to the morning! What fun with Stitch! Glad he could make the breakfast even a little more special! I love Ali's Lilo dress!

Hope the rest of the day continues to be great!
Thank you! The dresses with the holes in the seams were a HUGE hit! Ali didn't stay on continuous fluids because the backpack made her miserable, but it made it so we could attach her extensions without lifting up her dress, which was great!

Awww I am so happy that you guys had a wonderful breakfast there! Ali's dress is adorable!!! :)

We have the very same breakfast planned so I am getting very excited!! I was really hoping that I would read that you guys had a wonderful day on your AK Day!!! :goodvibes
You will love it! We had such a wonderful time. And out of all the parks, AK was by far our favorite. It was just beautiful and felt calmer than the other parks. And, they were so, so good to us there.

I am loving your TR!!! What a wonderful character breakfast! So glad they got to be in the parade with Stictch, how cool!!

Can't wait to hear how she loved the Tree of Life!!!
Thank you! I just uploaded a bunch of pictures from my phone and was pleasantly surprised to find a great picture of the girls in front of the tree. If Garth puts the girls to bed, I might even get it up tonight.:goodvibes
 

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