Just to give you a little background without re-hashing everything. We arrived at Give Kids the World on a Monday and foolishly planned a full day at the Magic Kingdom for Tuesday. It was a disaster. The girls were tired and overwhelmed, it was incredibly hot according to us Northerners, we were way overpacked and left to lug everything around, and on and on and on and on. We honestly were like fish out of water. Very miserable fish.
However, we persevered and after having a very successful day at Animal Kingdom, we decided to give it another go with some very important lessons learned.
1.) Pack light. As in bring nothing except for the absolute bare essentials (sunscreen, tube feeding supplies, autograph books with pens, wallet/pocketbook, and pins for trading). The first time, we packed as though we were preparing for the end of days with no food or drink in sight.
2.) Don't be afraid of that GAC! The GAC is the special card given to all wish families that enables them to skip to the head of the line. Our first day in, we were still uncomfortable with the idea and hesitant to use it (aside from the fact that we didn't really know <em>how</em> to use it. As a result, Ali got very overheated (she can't regulate her temperature) and very miserable.
3.) And finally, have a plan. We thought we had a plan (Magic Kingdom on Tuesday, Epcot on Wednesday, Animal Kingdom on Thursday), but we didn't have a plan for inside the parks. The first time, we let ourselves get swept up in the crowds and ended up in a part of the park we didn't really want to be (Tomorrowland). We ended up wasting a lot of time there and never really getting to what the kids would have enjoyed the most.
So with this all in mind, we decided to attack Magic Kingdom one more time on day six. We were up early and out of the villa with the goal of getting to MK for rope drop. We had breakfast at the ice cream parlor, and while the kids were finishing up, Garth went and got the car so we could hop right in and head over to the park. Unfortunately, we didn't make it there for rope drop, but we did get there pretty darn early.
We also hit a little glitch. The girls' grandparents had misplaced their park tickets. This created a moment of panic in us all considering how much they paid out of pocket for a three day park hopper for two. But, Disney being Disney, it wasn't a problem at all, and before we knew it, we were inside the park. We went right to the stroller rental and picked up a stroller. We did have Ali's stroller with us, but another lesson learned was that it was too hot and too much walking for Maya. She really needed a place to sit in between rides and since wish families get strollers for free, we decided to take advantage of it. Just one more thing that made a huge difference.
After that, we bolted directly towards Fantasyland. This is where the bulk of the rides the girls were interested in are locatedt. First, we walked right on to It's a Small World.
Already, our day was 100x better than it was the first time we attempted MK. The CM asked us if we wanted to ride a second time, to which all of the adults quickly responded, "No, thank you!" As fun as the sights were, we had all had enough of the music.
After It's a Small World, we headed across the way to Peter Pan. I can't tell you how important it was for us to get there early - Fantasyland was like a ghost town. It was great! For whatever reason, we don't have any pics of the girls on this ride, but they loved it (and so did we). After we went through once, we were asked if we wanted to stay on, which we did.
After riding Peter Pan twice, Ali wanted to go see the castle, and since it was still so quiet, we decided to move in that direction. We couldn't figure out how to get in there from the back (or if it was even possible), but we did meet the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella right outside. Of course, the girls wanted her autograph.
This is the first time that we encountered rudeness from another guest for using our GAC. We walked up to the CM, showed him the GAC, and explained our situation. He asked us to step aside and after a short wait, the girls would be able to meet the Fairy Godmother. While we were waiting, a man stepped out of line, approached Garth, and said, "Hey, the line is over there," to which my husband graciously responded, "Thank you, I know." The man returned to his spot in line, and no other words were exchanged.
After meeting with the FG, we stepped across the way for another picture in front of the Cinderella statue.
Despite it being early and not terribly hot yet, Ali was sweating buckets (you can see her hair is wet in the picture), so we took a time out on a bench in the shade to give Ali some extra Pedialyte through her tube. I did have a couple of snacks in the medical bag, so the girls also had a granola bar. While we were sitting there, Peter Pan appeared out of nowhere, crept up behind the FG, and frightened her. It was pretty funny.
After the girls were recharged, we decided to head back to Fantasyland because the girls still wanted to ride Winnie the Pooh and Snow White. Everyone loved Winnie the Pooh (who doesn't?), but the girls were frightened on Snow White. I wasn't frightened, by any means, but wasn't particularly moved, either. Here is one of my favorite pics from the trip.
Since we wanted to see as much as possible in as short a time as possible, we then headed back towards Mickey's Toontown Fair. Ali really wanted to ride Goofy's Barnstormer, and both girls wanted to meet Tinkerbell and the princesses. We had done the carousel, the teacups, and Dumbo on our first time there, so we figured we would hit those again later if we still had the time and the energy. Here is a rare family photo at the entrance to Toontown.
We headed straight for the Barnstormer for Ali. We tried so hard to get Maya on it, but after her experience with Space Mountain, it just wasn't happening. So Garth took Ali, and they were lucky enough to get in the first car. Here's Garth giving me a thumbs up to let me know that Ali was liking it so far.
I don't know who was having more fun: Ali or Daddy?
After that, we went over to get in line to meet Tinkerbell and the princesses. Since technically the GAC isn't for bypassing the character lines, we were given numbers and escorted to a separate waiting area with seating and videos for the kids. There were a couple of families in front of us, so we waited about twenty minutes before being taken back to meet the Fairies. It was so worth the wait, because when we got back there, we had the entire room to ourselves and were not rushed in any way.
The first Fairy we met was Rosetta. She was absolutely hilarious (and all attitude). She tried her darndest to get the girls to talk. Maya talked a bit, but Ali was just too overwhelmed. You can tell by the look on her face that she was enjoying herself, though.
The girls were being too quiet for Tink's liking.
Ali is a delightful although serious child. Tink was great with the girls and even managed to get her to smile!
After Tink, we were passed over to Silvermist, who sang a fabulously hilarious song about how Tink smelled bad. We were all giggling.
Silvermist asked the girls if they wanted some "pixie dust," and of course they answered yes. I love Maya's face in this picture.
Then, we were on our way.
Next Up: Princesses!
back!
But so glad you took some time to enjoy GKTW! 
Great to see you back hun. I am sorry that Ali is sick. 
I hope the abx kick in soon so she can get to feeling better. I have enjoyed reading your tr. I was really hoping you would come back and finish someday. I understand how hard it was for you. 
It just took us way too long to get ready and get out of there 
)
I know I have already read it on your blog; however, now everyone else can as well!!! 
