HUNTER'S MAKE-A-WISH TRIP

To Disney World, Universal Studios Orlando, Daytona Beach, Race Rock ,  and  Hard Rock Cafe

Hunter and mommy on the plane.  Hunter loved flying.  He enjoyed landing the most.  He got to see the Tennessee  mountains and a lot of other things on the way there.  On the way home, he and his brother were fast asleep before we even took off.

Hunter and Logan waiting at the airport to board our plane.  The plane is in the background.  It was the first time on a plane for both of them.

Logan and daddy on the plane.

Living room couch and breakfast bar.

Rest of living room and television.

The dining room/kitchen area.

We stayed  at the Give Kids The World Village.  This is a 51 acre resort that is specifically for the wish kids and their family.  Imagine  a  world governed by a rabbit, where ice cream is  endless and having fun is a full-time endeavor. The kids are treated special.  They can have ice cream all day long, endless train rides, carrousel rides, arcade games.  There is a movie theater that plays a different movie each day; a train station ; trash cans that talk, a fishing pond, two pools and a water play area, a place to eat breakfast and supper everyday  that looks like a gingerbread house.  I could go on and on about the village.  It is a remarkable place.  Hunter also received a special pin that gave him special "front of the line" privileges at the parks.  We also received tickets to all of the parks, a free meal at Hard Rock Cafe, Christmas Day Buffet at The Golden Corral, a gift certificate to Perkins and  a Chevy Lumina rental car.  We also received snacks and the boys received a special gift everyday.   There was so much to do there.  The kids had a good time.

Gingerbread House where they served breakfast and dinner daily.  There were child sized tables and dolls all around the ceiling.  Each table top was decorated in hundreds of peppermint candies.

This is a view across the pond a the center of the village.  There are 97 two bedroom /two bath villas around the village also.

This is the movie theater where a different movie was shown each day.  They also had popcorn and  pop.

This is an old tree that brings good luck to people.  I wish I would of written down the saying on the post.  It was cute.

The two pictures above are of the huge train they had set up inside of the train depot.  You could push many buttons to make different things move, light up or begin to play music.  It was nice to look at and fun to do.  The kids really enjoyed this.

This is the train that you could ride around the village.

There was also an arcade area that had  many different games... it was all free.

This was also in the train station.  Hunter had fun here too.

The second day we were in Florida, we took Hunter to see the Daytona International Speedway.  We took a tram tour around the track and got to see the garage area, and pit road.  We also got to make a stop at victory lane.  After we toured the track, we took the boys to see the  Atlantic Ocean.  Both stuck their feet in, but pulled it out fast when they felt how cold it was.  It was nice to see the waves and breathe some ocean air.   On our way back to the village, we stopped to have supper at a super charged restaurant called Race Rock.  They have different racing vehicles all around the restaurant....on the ceilings, walls, hanging out front.  They even have the world's biggest truck-Big Foot.  Hunter loved that!

Daytona Speedway...from Pit Road.

The Atlantic Ocean...Daytona Beach Shores.

Big Foot at Race Rock.

Race Rock Semi Truck

Our first day at the parks began on Christams Eve with the Magic Kingdom.  The weather was nice and the sun was bright.  It was a very nice  day to be at a park.  They had security at the entrance to the park.  They searched all bags and strollers.  Hunter's Give Kids The World button was nice to have.  Some lines for the rides were 75 minutes long.  We just showed his pin and were moved to the front of the line.  We got thru most of the Magic Kingdom in about 3 hours.  Hunter and Logan both loved Dumbo, Winnie The Pooh, and The Buzz Lightyear Ranger Spin.  Hunter also went on his first roller coaster ride here.  He went on the Goofy Barnstormer and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  Logan was too small for both of these rides.

They fell asleep in the park after a long day.

Each got a souvenir to take home.

Christmas Day we visited the MGM Studios.  This is home to Hunter's favorite......Buzz Lightyear and Pizza Planet.  His Christmas Day was extra special because he got to meet Buzz , Woody and three army men.  He was grinning from ear to ear.  He also got their autographs.  The weather was a bit cool and it showered later in the day.  We got to see and do everything we wanted to.  Hunter's button worked at every park, so we had no wait again.

Disney Playhouse Live on stage.

Afternoon parade.

Hunter and Logan meeting Woody and Buzz.....He was very, very happy about this.

Enjoying games at Pizza Planet.

On December 26th, we visited both Universal Parks.  It was very cold that day so we tried to get through everything as quickly  as we could.  We visited Island of Adventure first.  We  went on One Fish Two Fish, The Cat In The Hat, and the Carrousel.  We used our free meal at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch.  Hunter enjoyed this.  He got a free t-shirt too.  After we warmed up, we went to Universal Studios.  After we saw the Barney show, they cleared out the studio and Hunter got to meet Barney personally.

Beetle Juice Graveyard Revue...music by the Wolfman, Dracula, Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein.

Picture with Barney...I wish it had shown up better.

One Fish Two Fish....Hunter loves this ride.

Our last day in Florida, we went to Disney's Animal Kingdom.  We went on the animal safari.  It was a nice way to see all of the animals of Africa.  You will see from the pictures below that you got a pretty good look at the animals.  It was a little chilly out again, and the boys were a little grumpy.  We went to the airport and waited until our flight.  We had a good trip, but it was nice to get home.

The tree of life.  It is amazing to see in person.  The detail of the animal carvings are too hard to see in pictures.