And the favorite park is....

The Magic Kingdom!

The Magic Kingdom was our last park adventure on this trip. I decided to skip Epcot and Hollywood Studios and return there since I knew it had a lot of rides that Summer enjoyed. We didn't ride half of the rides we rode before, but we did visit several princesses this time: Belle, Cinderella, Aurora and last, but not least, Snow White. Snow White is Summer's favorite princess and we ended up getting a picture with her for one of the souvenirs. I was amazed at how much time the princesses spent talking to her. On and on they went, speaking in soft, sweet voices.Summer, as usual, was ready to get a souvenir before the day was half way through. I kept trying to get her to want to ride more rides, but all she wanted was to pick out a souvenir for herself and Lexie. I think the thing she liked best at the park yesterday was a playground in Toon Land. If she went down the slide once, she went down thirty times. The trip was all about her, so I am just glad she had a good time. The first thing she wanted to ride when we got to the park was Snow White's Scary Adventures. Then she wanted to ride the Winnie the Pooh ride. We rode it twice. We went in Mickey's house this time and ended up getting to see him and Minnie again. They were at our village earlier that morning, along with Pluto, Goofy & Belle, but you can never see them enough. It is neat because they come here twice a week to see the kids. The first time Mary Poppins came instead of Belle. Two other days, Universal sends over a character or two. Earlier this week it was Dora. Not sure who it will be today. The only other rides she rode yesterday were the Tea Party (spinning tea cups) and Dumbo. No Peter Pan, It's a Small, Small World, space ship, race car, Aladdin or carousel rides for her that day (she rode those the first visit in addition to the ones listed above). We did get to see a different parade on our way out. Summer got to dance with Baloo during it and had a great time. At first she just sat in her stroller and watched not wanting to join in the dancing fun (she was ready for souvenirs, LOL). But, after a few minutes, she got up and danced with me.

Last night was Christmas here at the village. Santa and Mrs. Santa were here. There were horse drawn carriage rides. There were Christmas decorations everywhere. After Summer sat on Santa's lap, she got to go pick a present. I knew what she was going to pick before she did: a FurReal baby kitten. They really think of everything here and make the visit special for all the kids here. Every day when we returned from the parks, there was a special surprise waiting for Summer on our kitchen table. I can't say enough good things about this place. Well, I better run. Summer wants ice cream for breakfast!

Two more parks down: SeaWorld & Animal Kindom

What a whirlwind of a week! Tuesday we went to SeaWorld. We arrived at the park just before 10:00 a.m. and rushed to the the dolphin cove for the dolphin feeding. Summer got free fish to feed them with her pink Give Kids the World button. She didn't want to touch the fish though. I did finally get her to feed one of the dolphins the last fish. They were so friendly and swam right up to us. We got to pet them and I was surprised at they way they felt. Not slimy at all like a expected. After that, we viewed our pics and Summer decided that was what she wanted for her souvenir. Of course, she did not want it in a frame, but it came in one and there it remains....to her dismay. She wants it out so she can put it with her "collection." She has the pic of her, BJ and Baby Bop from Universal and a few postcards which make up her collection. There were a few rides at the park, including a carousel and a few spinning rides which she loves! Luckily, I can still ride them with her cause Daddy definitely can't. We saw lots of cool aquatic animals and a few good shows while we were there. She really enjoyed the Pets Ahoy show which starred mostly dogs and cats. After it was over, we headed back to the village so we could enjoy the pool some more. After dinner, we went to the icecream palace for a treat. Summer took her cotton candy she got at SeaWorld so she could put it in an ice cream cone. Not sure where she got that idea from. That night she played putt-putt for the first time. I think her daddy finally got her to hold the club semi-right by the end of our 7 holes.

Yesterday, we got up and ate breakfast while daddy went to the walk-in clinic down the street to discover he had an infection in his arm below where his picc line was a few weeks ago. He got a shot in the rear, :D, and a few prescriptions to knock it out. While he was gone, we went to the horse corral and Summer took a ride on Ginger. When he returned and ate breakfast himself, we headed to Animal Kingdom. The safari experience was pretty cool, just like being in Africa. One part of the park featured a veterinarian office where they treat and do check-ups on all the animals at all of the Disney parks plus any injured animals they find along the way. Summer was completely enthralled by the vet talking about animals they had treated and showing their x-rays. But, afterwards when I asked her if she still wants to be a vet, the answer was no. Now she wants to be nothing when she grows up. She did finally decide she will just be an "eater." LOL We have a long ways to go though before she really decides what she wants to be in life.

Last night we went to the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament just down the street. It was a great experience for us all. No silverware, but Summer did say they plates were silver. :) Our team was the green team which was the bad guy. He almost won, but of course in the end did not. I am glad we got a good discount there because it was rather expensive. But, I guess we were worth whatever it would cost anyway.

Today we are headed back to the Magic Kingdom for our last full day here. I am sad to see this vacation come to an end, but all good things must I suppose.

Wish trip - Days 1 & 2

We headed to the airport early yesterday morning. When our first plane landed, we got to sit in the cockpit and get our picture made. On our next plane, Summer napped and we landed in Orlando around 11 a.m. After getting our rental car, we made our way to Give the Kids the World Village where we are staying. We were greeted and Summer was treated with her 1st Mickey Mouse doll and a Give the Kids the World t-shirt. After a brief orientation, we were escorted to our villa where another goody bag awaited Summer. Spoiled much? :) After we unloaded our luggage, we headed out to explore the village. We went to the ice cream palace which serves ice cream from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. - all you can eat: FREE. Daddy had two ice creams. :) Everything here is free. I don't think we will spend a dime at this place other than the postcard stamps I am going to buy in the morning. Even the postcard are free. I can't say the same for the parks though. We dropped about $90 at Universal today on food and a Barney doll, but thanks to Make-A-Wish it wasn't our money. After the ice cream, we found lots of other fun things to do. An arcade, a carousel, a train, remote controlled boats, swimming pools, a miniature golf course, and a huge playground with a Candy Land theme. There is also a Castle of Miracles with a La Ti Da Spa for nail painting, make-up, face painting and airbrush tattoos. The castle also has lots of games and other cool things. Summer loves it here. I must agree that it is amazing.

Today, after a big breakfast, we headed to Universal Studios so Summer could see Barney. The first ride we rode was Nickelodeon's Jimmy Neutron. Not a good choice. It was a simulation of flying through a cartoon city and was a little jerky. Summer did not enjoy it. However, as soon as we exited, we got to see Spongebob so that made it better. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we get to skip to the front of the line at all the parks with our special guest assistance pass. SWEET!!! We went to Shrek next and after the intro to the ride, decided to skip it because she was scared. I really do not think theme parks around here were built for kids under 5. Everything besides the kiddie section was too old for her. But, she did enjoy the Barney part and so did I. They had a little show with singing and dancing. It really got me going. LOL We actually came to Universal two years ago about this same time so we had experienced it before, but she doesn't remember it. After we explored Woody Woodpecker Kids zone, Summer was ready to go back to our resort. But, I wanted to get the other Universal park out of the way so we don't have to go back although we do have another day free. We just have so much to do and so little time. The Dr. Suess area was the only place we went to at Islands of Adventure. It was pretty fun, but she was scared and didn't even want to ride the train. I think the roller coaster we went on in the kiddie section at the first Universal park really put the fear of rides in her. I hope we will have better luck getting her to try things tomorrow at the Magic Kingdom. There was a carousel in the Dr. Suess area though and it was a hit. She can never ride those things enough. We rode in some fish that went up in the air and around in circles. We got a little wet which she also did not enjoy.

She passed out on the couch a few minutes ago while waiting for her teddy to dry. He had a "bath" with our clothes this evening. It was a long and exhausting day, but fun, fun fun! I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us. Thanks so much Make-A-Wish for making Summer's dreams come true!

P.S. The nail stamps are something we got for Christmas. I forget now what they are called, but I will look on the package when we get home and post the info. You can stamp designs which are on metal plates with special polish onto your nails. I guess it could be called nail art. :) It's pretty neat!