This was the day of days, the focus of Lysi's original wish.
All I can say about MK and the Disney Cast Member's is WOW. They were so over the top with royal treatment. The thing I noticed most was the CM smiles. Sea World was nice and the folks were kind and polite, but I never had the feeling that they liked their jobs. At DW, everyone smiled and acted happy. I don't know how WDW pulls that off on such a large scale with so many people, but it was AMAZING! I love Disney even more now than I did before our trip.
It was the night before..... We were walking across the village when the sky opened up and it started to pour.
I just love my Pendleton hat the kept the rain off. I have had that hat for more than 10 years and it has kept me shaded from the sun, dry in the rain and warm in the snow for more walks than I could count.
It seemed to rain and storm all night. I kind of enjoyed the sound of the storm while we were inside, cozy and warm. There is nothing like a whirlpool bath to create a positive mental outlook.
We had goodies waiting for us in the room when we got there Tuesday night. Dinner at the Gingerbread House was great, as were our ice cream sundaes at the Ice Cream Palace.
The next morning, still raining, we had a quick and early "Continental Breakfast" at the Gingerbread House. We were happy to see that the strawberry waffles were up and ready. They were great every morning. The House volunteers were so sweet, kind and friendly to us. Lysi and I started a game at meals, where we would play "I Spy" using the dolls around the roof.
We headed to MK.
We were told that we were on the fringes of Tropical Storm Ivan, or Irene, or something like that. The folks back home read on line that we were in the middle of a Hurricane. Well, our storms back home are a LOT worse than that storm.
We had our matching blue ponchos to keep us dry (Lysi's has Mickey on it and was Kyle's when he went 8 years ago with Lin).
It was a tad cool, but not cold at all. As at all the parks (Except Universal which made a BIG deal about seeing our Free Parking Pass), when we showed our Give Kids the World Button, we were directed to up front Handicapped Parking. It may have helped that we had our placard on the mirror.
From Disney Transportation, we took the ferry to MK. It was virtually empty. A lot more people got off the monorail on the other side, but they may have been from the resorts as Free Dining was still on. We did not get to do LOEMH in the morning, but that was okay as we did not have time or energy for that long a day.
After clearing the Bag Check, I left the side pocket open on the Video Camera Bag and lost my first cd from Sea World and the first day at the Village as well as some blank disks. I was pretty bummed, but still had a lot of Sea World footage on the disk in the camera. Feeling downcast, I retraced my steps back to the bag check, then went to Guest Services to report the loss. They never did find the disks, but a LOT of good came out of it. Guest services at MK makes you really feel like a guest and they sure provide good service.
A CM named Jeff (I wish I had taken his picture) took my report. He saw my Make a Wish Button and asked about Elysia's wish. At this time Lysi, Lin and Kyle were meeting some characters across Main Street. I told Jeff that Lysi had wanted to stay in the castle but that we understood why that was not possible. I told him that we had not gotten our dates in time to get a meal in the castle, and could she possibly have a chance to just peak in the room. In typical Disney CM fashion he said, "Let me see what I can do," and disappeared behind the magic curtain in the back. A few minutes later Jeff came back and asked, "Can you do breakfast at the Castle in half an hour?" He did not have to ask twice. He had pulled some strings to get us in at the last minute.
I found the crew and told them the good news, then we hurried off to the castle.
We met with Cinderella and had our pictures taken, then went upstairs for brunch. Jasmine, Belle, Snow White and the Fairy Godmother each came over to spend some time with Lysi. She was so ecstatic! I was extremely impressed by the acting skill, voices and mannerisms of the Princesses. The magic sure worked for me. Lyis got her signatures in a book we purchased when we got our free double stroller (We had double strollers the whole week for free, although for Universal, we had to get "tickets" at the House of Hearts beforehand).
I really enjoyed watching Lysi make her "Wish" with the wand she received from Cinderella. It was a moment beyond magic, dreams and wishes.
When we came down stairs after brunch, I was pretty choked up by all the magic and could not talk. Lysi wanted to know why I was crying. She does not yet understand the concept of happy tears. As an added bonus, the rain was gone as well. That storm must have scared a lot of the locals away, because the park was FAR from crowded all day long. The only crowd we ran into was at the Fireworks show as the park was emptying.
After the castle, we headed to Adventureland by way of Liberty Square. At the Haunted Mansion, we asked a CM if we could bypass the line, but their literally was NO line. We went right in. The ride had just been refurbished and it was WAY better than the one at DL. There is a magic stairway room that is new and has footsteps that magically appear, kind of like in Harry Potter. The "Bride" now has a face that moves and speaks and is really creepy. Lysi did not like the elevator room and hanging man at all, but was not scared on the rest of the ride. Kyle and I loved it, and found a chance to hit the ride again later.
After HM, we did the Tiki Room, where the fake storm was kind of funny after having the real thing that morning. Then it was off to Pirates of the Caribbean. We asked about line bypass again, and were told that the line was so short, their was no bypass line open. We had a very short wait as we went through the queue. I was really glad to see the queue because it is awesome in itself. Captain Jack can be seen in several scenes and is SO real looking.
We went on to take in the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.
Next was Splash Mountain. Lysi was psyched out for that ride after doing Journey to Atlantis the Day before, but she enjoyed the Uncle Remus theme a lot. She was NOT about to try a fast ride, so Kyle and I did Thunder Mountain while Lin and Lysi went to Tom Sawyer Island. We took the GAC with us. It turned out on many occasions that it was the actual pass that made the magic happen. Usually, the Make a Wish buttons were enough, but the occasional CM needed the pass to get us through. It did not matter if Lysi was with us as long as we had the pass.
After meeting up at Tom Sawyer Island, we went to Fantasyland for Dumbo (Where there was no line bypass). We waited four rides to get on, which was not bad. We took in Peter Pan, Small World and the Carousel. After that we went to the Wish Lounge to meet the famous Matt and Alex who had done so much for WendyGrace and her family. I told them that they were famous on the DISboards for their Disney CM magic. The Wish Lounge was a nice place to unwind, relax, get some bottled water and use a private restroom. Matt suggested that we try the Columbia Harbour House for great Fish and Chips. It was almost empty when we were there. They close at 5:00 p.m. so it was a great place for a late lunch/ early dinner.
Kyle and I ducked out early to hit the Haunted Mansion again. This time we went in the back way. It goes through a "servant's entrance" featuring servants bells for Master Gracie's room, etc. The only scary part of the ride happened for me here. As we were waiting in that hall, a door opened and a CM in costume popped out on her way somewhere. I did not even notice the door there and the whole thing scared the beejeebers out of me.
Before going to Tomorrowland, we found some more character greets including Captain Jack Sparrow. Again, we were able to "cut line." Captain Jack was so good in his speech patterns, accent, body movements, appearance and conversation that I could find NO flaw. It was JUST like talking to Johnny Depp in character. Later we met some of his friends who work as characters at MK. They were visiting the Village and told us that Captain Jack is THE best and stays in character even for his bus ride home each night. The video we shot with him is priceless.
At Tomorrowland, Kyle and I did Space Mountain and learned that I am a lot older than I was the last time I rode it. Still it was FUN. Lysi and Lin did the Transit Authority ride so they could see in Space Mountain. Next we took in the Monster's Inc. Comedy Club Laugh Floor. That was GREAT. Do not miss it. We did the go cart/ Nascar or whaterver ride. Stitch's Great Escape about freaked Lysi out. It was SO real to her that she looked up at the Castle afterward trying to see where Stitch had gotten to. Kyle left his shoulder bag with a mini camera and spyglass on Stitch. He IMMEDIATELY turned around to tell a CM he had left it, but the shows are Back to Back. He had to wait for the next show. While he waited with Lin, Lysi and I took in Winnie the Pooh. We never did get to Toon Town. The bag was not found that day, but later Disney found it and mailed it to us free of charge. Only Disney can work that kind of Magic.
We stayed to watch the Fireworks and look at some of the shops. Kyle and Lysi got souvenirs. Kyle's was the medallion from the Pirate's movies and Lysi got Minnie Pirate Mouse ears and a matching Minnie Mouse pirate doll. We checked at lost and found, then headed to the Monorail for a ride back to the parking lot, then on to the Village, and bed. Naturally there were goodies waiting for the kids when we got back. More whirlpools and sleep followed. Did I mention that we were getting really spoiled?
to Jason, hope he is doing better now.
I don't know what was up with us and our cameras!!! Hope I didn't jinx the rest of you!!!!
I CAN 'T WAIT TO READ THE TRIP REPORTS!!!! Sounds like everyone had a magical time and it makes it even more exciting for us. I have become addicted to the Disboards while you were all away since I didn't have your updates to read. There is so much information on here it's crazy but none of it will be as exciting as reading your TR's. Thanks guys...
She did a good job trying to minimize it and kept going like a trooper. She started dragging on Friday, but seemed a bit better on Saturday. Unfortunately, she gave it to me. It hit on Monday when we got back to Washington. I was pretty much doing okay on Tuesday at work, but Wednesday was worse. We had my work's annual retreat starting that evening. I took a bit of a rest at home before going up to the retreat (in the mountains near our ski resort). It really hit me when I was on my way up a high tree on the ropes course. 
but I finished. 
Well they were sure right. The day before we were to leave for Grandpa's house in Davenport WA, Jason, the 26 year old announced that he was hurting too much from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy and might not make the trip. This really stressed everyone out, including Lysi. 
We told him to rest and wait and see, and reminded him that he could be in a wheel chair the whole time, or just hang around at Give Kids the World Village if he did not feel like going to a theme park. He did not want to try this. The rest of us, Bill, Lin, Kyle 13 and the Princess Elysia left for Grandpa's. The next day was Sunday. Jason called to say he would not be coming. We debated rescheduling the trip, but decided that was not fair to Lysi. With a cancer kid, you cannot just assume things will always be all right. There was no guarantee Jason would be better at a later date anyway. It was uncertain about scheduling time around my work as well. We decided to go without him.
I can't wait to read more trip report!!!
Grandpa drove us in his minivan for the 45 minute drive to Spokane. 
There was NO traffic on US Highway 2 at that hour and the stars were bright. Everyone was too excited to sleep in the van.
I noticed a very different smell the whole time we were there, but it was not unpleasant. It was fun seeing all the palm trees. The toll roads were a bit odd for us, as we do not have such things where we live.
) when she didn't feel well. 
