A Dream is a wish your heart makes:Day 6 - last full day
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DisneyMom5
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jenb1023
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Glad to hear you had a great time! I can't wait to hear all about it and to see the photos!
Alarm went off at 4:30AM. But of course we're going to DISNEY so I hop out of bed. Arnie and I both showered and once I was completely ready I went in to wake up Maddie. I snuggled her and said "Maddie - it's time to wake up!" she responded with "can't I sleep for another minute?" I said "Sure, but we were going to leave for Disney so..." She immediately popped up and said "HUH? I thought we were leaving in the morning!"
We had them ALL confused as to what day we were leaving so it was cute. She and I woke up Olivia. There is NOTHING sweeter than their cheeks all warm from sleeping. The girls still did not know how we were getting to the airport. We got them dressed and fed. No one asked how we were getting there and we didn't offer.
I wrote out the last of my Thank You cards and ran them to the mailbox. At 5:40AM I was going to send Maddie to bring the garbage outside when I saw the limo! It was a super stretch white limo and gorgeous! Maddie saw it first and she was SO excited cheering.gif. Olivia as well. We called my sister who came down and took pics.
We were on the road to the airport by 5:55AM. Checked in and went through security with no issues (my little seasoned travelers
). Grabbed a drink and had some trail mix waiting for boarding. Flew SW in group A 17 - 20 so we were one of the first on the plane. Take off was on time and we had a smooth flight to Orlando. Originally it was the girls and I in one row with Arnie next to us. Olivia ended up switching over to the middle seat next to Arnie halfway down and Maddie laid down across two seats for a while. 
We arrived on time and after hitting the bathroom, headed toward baggage. There we met our greeter who was holding a Give Kids the World welcomes Olivia B sign. He helped us gather everything and then walked us to the Avis car check in place. They gave us a Kia Sedona which was NICE and I think we'll end up with a minivan after driving it around for a week.
We hugged our greeter goodbye and headed to the resort. NOTE: The tolls have increased to $1.25 and $0.75 and we nearly didn't have enough to pay for the $0.75 toll (exact change with no attendant ...).
GKTW is on South Bass Rd, just off 192 near Walmart and Mid Evil Times. We pulled up to the House Of Hearts and they were expecting us (due to greeter calling ahead to let them know we're on our way?). Moira checked us in and gave us a brief tour of the area. Our villa wasn't ready so they sent us to have lunch at Katie's Kitchen. Boston Market sponsors Katie's Kitchen and it's the exact food you get there which is yummy.gif. We all ate meatloaf (M would have had more if there had been more on her plate). She finished off her lunch with ice cream from the Ice Cream Parlor (sponsored by Friendly's). Moira called to let us know our Villa was ready and we could stop back when we're ready.
We finished lunch and then another volunteer (Lisa?) drove the girls and I on a golf cart to our Villa (262) while Arnie followed in the van. Olivia got to ride up front while M&I sat in the back. She gave us a tour of what pool was open and showed us to the brand new villa near the Candyland playground in the Gingerbread section of the resort. Our villa had two bedrooms. Kid's bedroom had two twin beds and a FULL bath including a jacuzzi tub and handicapped accessible shower with double sinks. The other bathroom in the hallway had a single sink as well as a tub / shower combo. Obviously this is a place for kids wink.gif. There was a full kitchen stocked with soda, water, vitamin water and milk. Also, a full sized W/D with Tide and Bounce. That washer / dryer was a life saver and we used it daily.
After settling in we walked over to the playground. We had the place to ourselves and the girls had a ball. It was nice b/c it was covered so we had sunlight and yet it wasn't too sunny. I got some great video of them singing and swinging. We stayed for close to an hour before going back to get ready for dinner.
Dinner was at 1900 Park Fair. Holy crap could their self park be any further? It was forever away! The girls decided to wear their Minnie outfits - didn't necessarily work for Cinderella but that's what they wanted. They were adorable in them. We were seated in the same exact seat as last time. So it's OUR table. We grabbed food prior to the Prince coming out. The girls were quite smitten and both said something about not washing their hands ever again after he kissed them lol.gif. Cindy was next and she was a doll. Lady Tremaine was a riot. She complimented the girls on their red outfits b/c red is such a royal color. Also she said that Olivia reminded her of herself as a child "very serious - that means she's of good stock". I asked Anastasia about singing to us and she said she would check with her mom. As usual she and Drizella were outstanding.
Then Bobbi from MD - character handler - stopped by and said Lady Tremaine and her daughters wished to have a private meet and greet with us. After the celebration waltz, we were to head to the courtyard where the Mary Poppins topiary was. The girls danced the waltz with the prince and then we headed outside. The step sisters were a riot. We got some great pics as well as video. And then I asked them to sing. OMG - Olivia was shaking she was laughing so hard at their singing. Lynne, restaurant mgr, gave the girls special pins. In passing to Arnie I mentioned we needed to get them lanyards. Lynne gets on her blackberry and viola - they had lanyards with special pins that you cannot buy right now!!! While we're outside Cindy and the Prince come out and we got extra time with them as well. After we headed back into the restaurant and Bobbi asked us what our plans were for the rest of the week. I mentioned we were still trying to get into Chef Mickey's but do to scheduling conflict with our orientation at GKTW, we were unable to get a reservation. Lynne gets on her blackberry and viola - we have a reservation for Chef Mickey's on the last full day of our trip. They basically overbooked the restaurant for us.
They were AMAZING. It was probably the best experience at Disney the entire week. Truly magical!
We headed back to the resort and changed into our bathing suits. The girls and I swam for a bit and then checked out the Double Dare show while Arnie went to the orientation. The girls rode the train and the carousel before we had some ice cream
.
I walked the girls back around 8:45 and Arnie got out of orientation at 9PM. We were pretty wiped out and everyone went to bed pretty fast.
Next up CRT and more magic!!!
We had them ALL confused as to what day we were leaving so it was cute. She and I woke up Olivia. There is NOTHING sweeter than their cheeks all warm from sleeping. The girls still did not know how we were getting to the airport. We got them dressed and fed. No one asked how we were getting there and we didn't offer.
I wrote out the last of my Thank You cards and ran them to the mailbox. At 5:40AM I was going to send Maddie to bring the garbage outside when I saw the limo! It was a super stretch white limo and gorgeous! Maddie saw it first and she was SO excited cheering.gif. Olivia as well. We called my sister who came down and took pics.
We were on the road to the airport by 5:55AM. Checked in and went through security with no issues (my little seasoned travelers
). Grabbed a drink and had some trail mix waiting for boarding. Flew SW in group A 17 - 20 so we were one of the first on the plane. Take off was on time and we had a smooth flight to Orlando. Originally it was the girls and I in one row with Arnie next to us. Olivia ended up switching over to the middle seat next to Arnie halfway down and Maddie laid down across two seats for a while. We arrived on time and after hitting the bathroom, headed toward baggage. There we met our greeter who was holding a Give Kids the World welcomes Olivia B sign. He helped us gather everything and then walked us to the Avis car check in place. They gave us a Kia Sedona which was NICE and I think we'll end up with a minivan after driving it around for a week.
We hugged our greeter goodbye and headed to the resort. NOTE: The tolls have increased to $1.25 and $0.75 and we nearly didn't have enough to pay for the $0.75 toll (exact change with no attendant ...).
GKTW is on South Bass Rd, just off 192 near Walmart and Mid Evil Times. We pulled up to the House Of Hearts and they were expecting us (due to greeter calling ahead to let them know we're on our way?). Moira checked us in and gave us a brief tour of the area. Our villa wasn't ready so they sent us to have lunch at Katie's Kitchen. Boston Market sponsors Katie's Kitchen and it's the exact food you get there which is yummy.gif. We all ate meatloaf (M would have had more if there had been more on her plate). She finished off her lunch with ice cream from the Ice Cream Parlor (sponsored by Friendly's). Moira called to let us know our Villa was ready and we could stop back when we're ready.
We finished lunch and then another volunteer (Lisa?) drove the girls and I on a golf cart to our Villa (262) while Arnie followed in the van. Olivia got to ride up front while M&I sat in the back. She gave us a tour of what pool was open and showed us to the brand new villa near the Candyland playground in the Gingerbread section of the resort. Our villa had two bedrooms. Kid's bedroom had two twin beds and a FULL bath including a jacuzzi tub and handicapped accessible shower with double sinks. The other bathroom in the hallway had a single sink as well as a tub / shower combo. Obviously this is a place for kids wink.gif. There was a full kitchen stocked with soda, water, vitamin water and milk. Also, a full sized W/D with Tide and Bounce. That washer / dryer was a life saver and we used it daily.
After settling in we walked over to the playground. We had the place to ourselves and the girls had a ball. It was nice b/c it was covered so we had sunlight and yet it wasn't too sunny. I got some great video of them singing and swinging. We stayed for close to an hour before going back to get ready for dinner.
Dinner was at 1900 Park Fair. Holy crap could their self park be any further? It was forever away! The girls decided to wear their Minnie outfits - didn't necessarily work for Cinderella but that's what they wanted. They were adorable in them. We were seated in the same exact seat as last time. So it's OUR table. We grabbed food prior to the Prince coming out. The girls were quite smitten and both said something about not washing their hands ever again after he kissed them lol.gif. Cindy was next and she was a doll. Lady Tremaine was a riot. She complimented the girls on their red outfits b/c red is such a royal color. Also she said that Olivia reminded her of herself as a child "very serious - that means she's of good stock". I asked Anastasia about singing to us and she said she would check with her mom. As usual she and Drizella were outstanding.
Then Bobbi from MD - character handler - stopped by and said Lady Tremaine and her daughters wished to have a private meet and greet with us. After the celebration waltz, we were to head to the courtyard where the Mary Poppins topiary was. The girls danced the waltz with the prince and then we headed outside. The step sisters were a riot. We got some great pics as well as video. And then I asked them to sing. OMG - Olivia was shaking she was laughing so hard at their singing. Lynne, restaurant mgr, gave the girls special pins. In passing to Arnie I mentioned we needed to get them lanyards. Lynne gets on her blackberry and viola - they had lanyards with special pins that you cannot buy right now!!! While we're outside Cindy and the Prince come out and we got extra time with them as well. After we headed back into the restaurant and Bobbi asked us what our plans were for the rest of the week. I mentioned we were still trying to get into Chef Mickey's but do to scheduling conflict with our orientation at GKTW, we were unable to get a reservation. Lynne gets on her blackberry and viola - we have a reservation for Chef Mickey's on the last full day of our trip. They basically overbooked the restaurant for us.
They were AMAZING. It was probably the best experience at Disney the entire week. Truly magical!
We headed back to the resort and changed into our bathing suits. The girls and I swam for a bit and then checked out the Double Dare show while Arnie went to the orientation. The girls rode the train and the carousel before we had some ice cream
.I walked the girls back around 8:45 and Arnie got out of orientation at 9PM. We were pretty wiped out and everyone went to bed pretty fast.
Next up CRT and more magic!!!
Our first full day. Everyone slept well and we headed for the Gingerbread House around 8AM. Had breakfast, rode the carousel and saw Blue from Blues Clues in the Castle of Miracles.
We then hopped into the car and headed to MK. Parking was free with Olivia's GKTW button. There was a line for the monorail so we took the boat over. While waiting for the boat the girls wrote their names on the pavement in chalk. I had to remind myself that crowds / timing didn't matter on this trip b/c we had the button and could bypass everything.
As we walked into the park a CM asked for Olivia's and Maddie's autographs
. LOVE when they do that... We met with the Mayor of Main St along with the choir director who was a RIOT. The walk through for the castle was closed due to the show so we walked around and ran into the Fairy Godmother! Our GKTW button allowed us to "cut the lines" for character meets and greets which was an awesome perk. Next stop was IASW, then Peter Pan, Carousel and Dumbo. Olivia wanted to visit with Ariel but we convinced her to wait until after BBB.We had BBB done - it was a pleasant experience although I wish they had sat them next to each other which would have made it easier on us. Maddie's hair - I didn't know HOW they got all of it up there (now I realize it was gel - lots and lots of gel - since her hair was short). We went to see Ariel after and she LOVED the autograph book that we had. Plus she commented that Olivia's dress was just like her "first dress!". I asked her if she was ever in the parks "with her legs" - and she said "Only in the parade ... unless I feel like taking a walk".
We then went over to Pecos Bill's for lunch. Arnie and the girls had a burger. I had pulled pork. The meal was "ok". We tried convincing Olivia to ride Splash but no interest so we put her on Big Thunder Mtn which she HATED. (sigh). We then took the train over to ToonTown and saw Aurora, Belle and Cinderella as well as Rosetta, Tinkerbelle and Ismarella (sp?) - the yellow one LOL). We got RIGHT in to see my boyfriend Mickey and his girl Minnie
.After visiting characters, Olivia wanted out of the Ariel dress b/c she was getting hot. So we switched her into a sundress and she played in the playground while Arnie and Maddie rode Goofy's Barnstormer. We caught part of the castle show (Dreams Come True) and then went to the Wish Lounge to cool off some. The ONE complaint I had about the lounge was that we had to walk through the First Aid area to get there.
After the lounge we caught some of the parade. The girls were REALLY into waving to all the characters and it was moving (as usual) for me. We had a little bit of time to kill prior to going to CRT so we rode Aladdin's Carpet Ride. Jasmine was not around b/c of the parade which bummed Maddie out.
CRT - we got there right around 4pm. The girls were selected as "Princesses for the Day" so they got to meet with Cinderella first and "open the restaurant". There were two packages waiting for us from another DISBoard member. They were adorable banks (one princess / one castle) along with stuffed Mickey / Minnie. The table was right on the windows and had a bunch of castle confetti on it (and yes, I scooped it all up and brought it home LOL).
Let me preface this next comment with this: I was not expecting much from this meal. We were not impressed with Breakfast here in the past and figured we were paying for the experience.
We.LOVED.This Meal!!! Arnie ordered the BLT salad, lamb chops and had a chocolate buckle for dinner. I had a greens salad, prime rib and coffee creme brulle (sp). The girls had fruit, hot dogs, fries and ice cream sundaes including crowns made out of chocolate. There was a show after dinner with the mice and Fairy Godmother. She actually talks and sings during it and of course, it's about Dreams Coming True. I was just shy of sobbing during the entire thing. Immediately after, our waiter brought us over near the kitchen where we got a private M&G with the Fairy Godmother herself. She was AMAZING and I had completely lost it at that point LOL. She hugged and kissed the girls goodbye and then hugged me LOL. Even Arnie was choked up. They had waiters on either side to block off the area so we had privacy and no one else could see the FG - just us.
We then went and got to see Pooh, Piglet and Tigger right outside Pooh's ride. Pooh kept hugging and hugging Olivia. (Again, the tears). Pooh LOVED the autograph book page with his picture on it and wanted to keep it for himself LOL. Maddie & Piglet had some special moments as well when he found out she loved him. Tigger was a riot. Just an amazing experience as always.
We rode some rides, including Haunted Mansion where Olivia dropped her GKTW button in the Hitchhiking Ghosts room. We contacted a CM on our way out of the ride and waited around for 20 minutes while they attempted to retrieve it. O was very upset - thinking we couldn't get a new one. They could see it but not retrieve it. It was late at this point - 8:15pm so it wasn't as if we would NEED it the rest of the day.
Arnie then got in line to grab funnel cakes while I went with the girls for a bathroom break as well as a hunt for lollipops. The line in the stores was WAY too long so I convinced them to eat the funnel cake instead. We grabbed a spot just past Walt and watched the fireworks. They were amazing as always and I fought the tears LOL. Tink was not flying that night and I think it was a bit too windy for her wings...
We rode the boat back to the TTC and grabbed the first tram back to the car. We were back at GKTW by 9:45pm so not bad at all!
Next up: Universal...
Pictures from Day 2:
The banks we received at CRT from a wonderful DISBoard member
He wouldn't let her go - she wasn't a Pooh fan before this ... she is now!!!
Maddie loves her some Piglet. Almost 9 years old and still sleeps with her Classic Piglet
Eyore4Ever149
Having withdrawl symptoms-reading UG'10,watching S
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So glad CRT went so well!!!
that's nice
DIS Dad #330
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Great pictures!!
I love that Fairy Godmother... she seems like she if the 'official' one! LOL It seems like the girls were having a great time so far! I can't wait to hear more!
I love that Fairy Godmother... she seems like she if the 'official' one! LOL It seems like the girls were having a great time so far! I can't wait to hear more!
jenb1023
DIS Veteran
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- Jun 11, 2007
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Woo-hoo - two updates!
I love reading about all of the special treatment the girls got - especially the private time at 1900 Park Fare and with the Fairy Godmother. Your descriptions were making me teary so I can't imagine being there. I am so glad the CM was able to get you into Chef Mickey's.
Love the minnie outfits and their BBB makeovers and outfits as well as the Ariel and Pooh and gang meet and greets.
Thank you so much for saying that the characters loved the autograph books!!! I am so glad they worked out okay! (They were my first ones so I was a little nervous.)
Can't wait to read more!
I love reading about all of the special treatment the girls got - especially the private time at 1900 Park Fare and with the Fairy Godmother. Your descriptions were making me teary so I can't imagine being there. I am so glad the CM was able to get you into Chef Mickey's.
Love the minnie outfits and their BBB makeovers and outfits as well as the Ariel and Pooh and gang meet and greets.
Thank you so much for saying that the characters loved the autograph books!!! I am so glad they worked out okay! (They were my first ones so I was a little nervous.)
Can't wait to read more!
3princesses+aprince
DIS Veteran
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Great updates so far!!! Looks like your girls had a nice time!! My kids don't know about our limo either, can't wait for them to see it!
maroo
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Fantastic!! How cool that you guys have gotten TWO private meet and greets and have only had one day in the parks! I am sorry you guys lost the button... I know how stressed we were when we lost it!
I am enjoying this and all of the pics are great! Your girls were so beautiful with their hair all up.
I am enjoying this and all of the pics are great! Your girls were so beautiful with their hair all up.
We let the kids "sleep in" which means 7AM wakeup from them LOL.
Grabbed b/f at the Gingerbread House, rode the carousel and we were off to Universal.
We were parked pretty close. Man, is it a HIKE from the car to the park. The only good thing is the shade both in the garage and on the walking path. We get in the gate and they ask us to stop so they can do a quick survey for us. Sure, no problem. We're standing there and some JERK makes a comment "Nice place to stop" - My head snapped around and I would have said something to him but he was gone. Jerk - obviously we're not in Disney anymore
. I was ticked, ticked, TICKED. Then the CM proceeds to tell us how he got written up b/c of an altercation he had with a guest b/c the guest was rude (again, we're not in Disney anymore).
First stop was Jimmy Neutron. Olivia is NOT a fan of being bounced around so she and I did the stationary seating at the front of the ride. She loved the movie that played with it so she was happy and enjoyed it. Cute ride / show. Right across the street was Shrek 4D. We got spotted with our button right away so we were brought in the back door. Cute show - loved the preshow with Pinocchio and the 3 Little Pigs. Olivia enjoyed this one as well.
Leaving Shrek, we saw the Shrek Meet & Greet area. Shrek was out with Donkey. Shrek noticed our button and pointed us out to the CM so we waited NO time. Donkey talks and he was AMAZING. He poses and had me rolling. At one point he asked the girls a question and they didn't respond so he had his mouth closed and was mumbling "they're IGNORING ME!" == it was great! We wanted to see Fiona but she wasn't out and by the time we came back it was too late. Oh well...
We then saw Shaggy riding the van with Scooby Doo. Shaggy stopped the van so we could get a pic with the girls. Another person after wanted to get a pic and he said "Sorry - gotta run!". It was so nice to see the special treatment we were getting already.
Now, I'm Miss Disney. I can get you anywhere at any park without a map. However, at Universal - I'm completely out of my element LOL. So we wandered a bit trying to find Terminator and finally found it. We saw Woody Woodpecker and his g/f (what IS her name?). We waited in line for them and got "scolded" for waiting in line. No waiting in line for us!!! Terminator had just started so we decided to hang out and wait for the Madagascar characters to come out. We got to see them first and they were GREAT. The penguins were hysterical.
We got some lunch advice from the character handlers and ended up eating at Mel's Diner (indoor a/c counter service). The food was "ok" - edible and not horrific but not "OMG THIS IS THE BEST I'VE EVER EATEN". We then headed over to ET and rode that ride. Olivia tolerated it, but wasn't a fan (jerky movements are not her favorite thing). We saw the Man in the Yellow Hat with George. The Man was great - reminded me to keep an eye on my monkeys. Since I call them that we had a good chuckle about that. The character handlers then brought us right over to Shaggy and Scooby so we got their autographs and more pictures with them. Next Arnie and Maddie rode Woody's rollercoaster while Olivia checked out the Curious George section. Bring bathing suits for this area - we didn't and she was bummed out.
We skipped Barney because neither girl was ever into it that much. We then headed to the Simpson ride. We got as far as getting into the room where you get into the ride vehicle and Olivia decided it wasn't something she wanted to do. Hindsight - thank GOD we didn't ride it b/c it was the old Back to the Future Ride and she would have LOST it on that ride.
While waiting for Arnie and Maddie, we saw Lisa, Bart and Homer Simpson. Lisa wrote in their books "Lisa loves you. Bart smells" LOL.
We then went over to Men In Black. I was hesitant about putting her on this. Go figure, she LOVED it and rode it twice (they let us ride again immediately after getting off). The spinning part of the ride makes me want to be sick but she loved it so I gave in LOL).
We headed over to the Jaws ride. I'll ALWAYS remember this story when we're in that part of the park: Back in '01 we went to Disney / Universal with my parents, sister, brother in law and my nephew who is the same age as Maddie. A couple came over to us near the Jaws ride and gave us a stuffed Bugs Bunny that they won on those carnival games. We kept that Bugs for a LONG time and it's just funny b/c they probably forgot ALL about it, but I remember every time I think of Universal.
The girls enjoyed Jaws although were not a fan of the flames / heat caused by the gas explosions. Maddie got a bit wet and was mad that we laughed. She's always trying to be FIRST so we let her go first into the boat and she got wet LOL.
Next we did Twister (man, did you know Bill from Big Love was in that movie? I was so excited to see that LOL). The girls did NOT like the heat caused by the explosions and Olivia did NOT like the floor shaking. What are you going to do?
Finally - the Mummy ride. Arnie rode with Maddie first. She is JUST tall enough to ride it and she found it too intense for her so I rode solo. Note: Universal has a GREAT baby swap location for this ride. It's inside and they show cartoons in there. Olivia would tell you it was too cold in there LOL.
We found Dora in the store before she we outside. It was a very emotional moment for me - because Olivia LOVES Dora. I think Livvy was just in shock to see her. They hugged a lot and it was beautiful (sob).
We headed out and grabbed dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. Maddie didn't want anything on the kid's menu so we shared an appetizer plate. And Yes, the Hard Rock store does give 50% discount to MAW families but not everyone is aware of it, so you have to ASK for the discount. Arnie took advantage of that LOL.
We then headed back to the resort for the Princess & Pirate party (I think). The kids first went to the Spa at GKTW, got their nails done, faces painted and tattoos. Then they got makeup applied as well as got purses, jewelry, wands, and made Pirate maps. Got pics with all the characters. They had this cute coronation ceremony where they announced EVERY child's name (Pirate Sam, Princess Olivia, etc). And they announced at the end "may they live happily ever after" (sob sob sob).
After the party we went BACK to have more ice cream where they were highly entertained by the raccoons eating out of the garbage cans. So cute!
Note: some details about what we did in the am / pm are missing b/c the first time I loaded the pics from my camera to Kodak Gallery they got messed up so I'm missing chunks of events and the order of things in the evening.
Grabbed b/f at the Gingerbread House, rode the carousel and we were off to Universal.
We were parked pretty close. Man, is it a HIKE from the car to the park. The only good thing is the shade both in the garage and on the walking path. We get in the gate and they ask us to stop so they can do a quick survey for us. Sure, no problem. We're standing there and some JERK makes a comment "Nice place to stop" - My head snapped around and I would have said something to him but he was gone. Jerk - obviously we're not in Disney anymore
. I was ticked, ticked, TICKED. Then the CM proceeds to tell us how he got written up b/c of an altercation he had with a guest b/c the guest was rude (again, we're not in Disney anymore). First stop was Jimmy Neutron. Olivia is NOT a fan of being bounced around so she and I did the stationary seating at the front of the ride. She loved the movie that played with it so she was happy and enjoyed it. Cute ride / show. Right across the street was Shrek 4D. We got spotted with our button right away so we were brought in the back door. Cute show - loved the preshow with Pinocchio and the 3 Little Pigs. Olivia enjoyed this one as well.
Leaving Shrek, we saw the Shrek Meet & Greet area. Shrek was out with Donkey. Shrek noticed our button and pointed us out to the CM so we waited NO time. Donkey talks and he was AMAZING. He poses and had me rolling. At one point he asked the girls a question and they didn't respond so he had his mouth closed and was mumbling "they're IGNORING ME!" == it was great! We wanted to see Fiona but she wasn't out and by the time we came back it was too late. Oh well...
We then saw Shaggy riding the van with Scooby Doo. Shaggy stopped the van so we could get a pic with the girls. Another person after wanted to get a pic and he said "Sorry - gotta run!". It was so nice to see the special treatment we were getting already.
Now, I'm Miss Disney. I can get you anywhere at any park without a map. However, at Universal - I'm completely out of my element LOL. So we wandered a bit trying to find Terminator and finally found it. We saw Woody Woodpecker and his g/f (what IS her name?). We waited in line for them and got "scolded" for waiting in line. No waiting in line for us!!! Terminator had just started so we decided to hang out and wait for the Madagascar characters to come out. We got to see them first and they were GREAT. The penguins were hysterical.
We got some lunch advice from the character handlers and ended up eating at Mel's Diner (indoor a/c counter service). The food was "ok" - edible and not horrific but not "OMG THIS IS THE BEST I'VE EVER EATEN". We then headed over to ET and rode that ride. Olivia tolerated it, but wasn't a fan (jerky movements are not her favorite thing). We saw the Man in the Yellow Hat with George. The Man was great - reminded me to keep an eye on my monkeys. Since I call them that we had a good chuckle about that. The character handlers then brought us right over to Shaggy and Scooby so we got their autographs and more pictures with them. Next Arnie and Maddie rode Woody's rollercoaster while Olivia checked out the Curious George section. Bring bathing suits for this area - we didn't and she was bummed out.
We skipped Barney because neither girl was ever into it that much. We then headed to the Simpson ride. We got as far as getting into the room where you get into the ride vehicle and Olivia decided it wasn't something she wanted to do. Hindsight - thank GOD we didn't ride it b/c it was the old Back to the Future Ride and she would have LOST it on that ride.
While waiting for Arnie and Maddie, we saw Lisa, Bart and Homer Simpson. Lisa wrote in their books "Lisa loves you. Bart smells" LOL.
We then went over to Men In Black. I was hesitant about putting her on this. Go figure, she LOVED it and rode it twice (they let us ride again immediately after getting off). The spinning part of the ride makes me want to be sick but she loved it so I gave in LOL).
We headed over to the Jaws ride. I'll ALWAYS remember this story when we're in that part of the park: Back in '01 we went to Disney / Universal with my parents, sister, brother in law and my nephew who is the same age as Maddie. A couple came over to us near the Jaws ride and gave us a stuffed Bugs Bunny that they won on those carnival games. We kept that Bugs for a LONG time and it's just funny b/c they probably forgot ALL about it, but I remember every time I think of Universal.
The girls enjoyed Jaws although were not a fan of the flames / heat caused by the gas explosions. Maddie got a bit wet and was mad that we laughed. She's always trying to be FIRST so we let her go first into the boat and she got wet LOL.
Next we did Twister (man, did you know Bill from Big Love was in that movie? I was so excited to see that LOL). The girls did NOT like the heat caused by the explosions and Olivia did NOT like the floor shaking. What are you going to do?
Finally - the Mummy ride. Arnie rode with Maddie first. She is JUST tall enough to ride it and she found it too intense for her so I rode solo. Note: Universal has a GREAT baby swap location for this ride. It's inside and they show cartoons in there. Olivia would tell you it was too cold in there LOL.
We found Dora in the store before she we outside. It was a very emotional moment for me - because Olivia LOVES Dora. I think Livvy was just in shock to see her. They hugged a lot and it was beautiful (sob).
We headed out and grabbed dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. Maddie didn't want anything on the kid's menu so we shared an appetizer plate. And Yes, the Hard Rock store does give 50% discount to MAW families but not everyone is aware of it, so you have to ASK for the discount. Arnie took advantage of that LOL.
We then headed back to the resort for the Princess & Pirate party (I think). The kids first went to the Spa at GKTW, got their nails done, faces painted and tattoos. Then they got makeup applied as well as got purses, jewelry, wands, and made Pirate maps. Got pics with all the characters. They had this cute coronation ceremony where they announced EVERY child's name (Pirate Sam, Princess Olivia, etc). And they announced at the end "may they live happily ever after" (sob sob sob).
After the party we went BACK to have more ice cream where they were highly entertained by the raccoons eating out of the garbage cans. So cute!
Note: some details about what we did in the am / pm are missing b/c the first time I loaded the pics from my camera to Kodak Gallery they got messed up so I'm missing chunks of events and the order of things in the evening.
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