Make-A-Wish Part 4

Day 4: For the best character experiences, head on over to Epcot. There aren't a ton of rides, and the park overall isn't necessarily THE place for kids EXCEPT that that's where ALL of the characters hang out.

Group hug! We're all in there somewhere. This was the day that we really learned the beauty of the wish pass. 

We saw the first character building and figured we'd head in. We expected to have to wait in the fast pass line but once the staff member saw that pass around Andrew's neck he snatched us and took us to the very front of the line. He then said, "We'll wait for this family to finish and then let you guys have some quality time with them." Cue the tears. Who knew such a simple phrase could mean so much. And that's what we got. Sadness cried on Andrew's shoulder multiple times. Joy kept trying to get Andrew to dance (pictured.) She raised his arms for him and I wasn't about to miss out on the fun. The girls thought it was hilarious.

Next, onto Mickey's building where Mickey, Goofy, and Minnie were chillin'. This one was a bit busier so we did have to wait in the fast pass line. Funny story. As we're chilling with Mickey, Minnie comes traipsing over with a newly engaged woman and was waving the woman's hand around. Then started waving her un-ringed finger around and Mickey got all bashful. It was good times. 

Abby did NOT like Goofy. She kept trying to crawl up my body to get away from him. It was entertaining.

We do have better pics of Ella with Minnie, but I'm too lazy to squint through the bitty thumbnails, so here ya go. Liv was super excited about Minnie. She kept going on and on about how beautiful she was with her mascara, eye shadow, lipstick, and high heels. She even mustered the courage to actually tell Minnie that she looks pretty.

Mary Poppins! Best part? All the characters stay in character and it's so fantastic. She was scolding the family in front of us because they weren't using good manners (young teen boys) And everyone, especially their mom, got a kick out of that. 

Then it was off to Germany to meet Aurora. Again, we hopped the line and it was awesome. One thing with the characters staying in character-The older princesses are super sweet and speak in high and lilty voices. Aurora was telling Ella and Liv that they had been touched by Flora and Merryweather's magic (since Ella was in pink, and Liv was in blue.) They got a major kick out of that.

Our second round with Belle. They were just as excited this time around. Plus, by this point we'd gotten them autograph books so that was fun. Belle was calling Abby our little teacup and Liv absolutely LOVED that. She keeps calling her teacup and it's adorable.

For most of this day we were with Andrew's family. My parents were in the park but they went the opposite direction around. Still, everyone was there to see this magical moment. I totally held it together guys! Liv was so starstruck she didn't say much. But you can see the joy so that's all that matters. Also, this is about the time the first cloudburst hit. We got wet right after this but it was all good. The rain felt lovely.

 

Next, it was off to meet Jasmine and see the magic lamp. It still has a little magic in it even though Genie doesn't live there anymore. When we rubbed it it smoked a bit. Good times.

Before we met up with Mulan, we ate some Chinese food. It was pretty good. We were there smack in the middle of the food and wine festival they do at epcot every year so we opted for a quieter place to eat. And conveniently, this is where we were during the second cloudburst. The stroller got soaked though.

The third cloudburst was when we were hanging out with these ladies. Abby LOVED Elsa's costume.

We also went on our first ride after this. It was the frozen ride and very cool. They combined robotics and computery stuff and it was great. 

Our last stop was to meet this fella. As you can see below, he was a hit. Straight from here we went on our last ride of the day. Twice. It was the three caballero ride. The line was short and the kids loved it so we enjoyed the cool for a bit longer.

After this little meeting, we decided to head back. But...our day wasn't over yet.

Now is the part where there aren't anymore pics for the time being. Once we got back to the village, I took the big girls to the pirate party. There were mermaids, face painting, treasure maps, story time, dancing, and games. Because of the much smaller crowd, the girls were able to take their time with the mermaids and really had a ton of fun chatting with them. We had a blast and then headed back for dinner. I believe this night we had pizza for dinner.