Spencer's Wish Trip, Day 5: Aquatica and The Pirate Dinner Theatre

Day 5 had us off to Aquatica, which is Seaworld's Waterpark.  (If I haven't mentioned it yet, all of the tickets to the parks were donated to us through Give Kids the World...the resort where we stayed.)  Aquatica is like most waterparks except they have dolphins and fish that you swim side by side with!  Of course I couldn't take my digital camera in with me because of the water, but I did take the waterproof disposables and as soon as I get them developed, I will update this with some photos.  It was amazing!  We spent a few hours there and then right when we were deciding to leave and go get lunch, a storm blew through and solved that dilemma for us.  We headed back to GKTW to grab lunch (all the food there is free), and get ready for The Pirate Dinner Theatre!  ARRRRGGGGG!!!!

On the way to the dinner theatre, we saw evidence that the zombie's are definitely emerging in Florida!  And they are getting ready....

The kids spotted this while we were sitting at a red light....

We had decided before we went that we wanted to do this dinner theatre.  It's voted the best dinner theatre in all of Orlando.  I won't spoil it for anyone who ever goes but there is amazing food, a big ship, pirates galore, and a kidnapped princess.  Oh there is also a rescue and a wedding.  

Spencer was a guest of the theatre, and they gave the rest of us 50% on our tickets, which was a HUGE savings!  The pirates sang and danced and everyone knows that Spencer is big on that!

Spencer and Aspen wore their costumes from the Pirates League a few days earlier!

Before we went into the actual show there was some entertainment in the lobby.....

He can't read.  He didn't know it was pirates only!  Oh wait, he had on his pirate costume so it was ok!

Mike and I got drinks at the pirate bar, and mine came in this coconut!

The pirates are great fans of a good drink!  They encourage it!

There was also a pre-show....(this was when the princess got kidnapped by the pirates and taken to their ship!)

Each section had it's own personal pirate.  We were in the green section and our pirate was Jose!  He loved Spencer and did alot of interacting with him.  He even brought him pirate bling from the treasure chest at one point in the show!

Later, Jose took Spencer up on the stage and the captain of the ship made him an official pirate!

Afterwards, there was a pirate party with alot of dancing and loud boisterous music.  We couldn't leave....everyone knows Spencer loves a good party!

There was also more of Jose...he came out to join Spencer for a while!

It was an amazing night full of lots of fun and laughter.  They also took a family photo of us, but I haven't unpacked everything yet!  Once I get it unpacked I will post it!

Spencer's Wish Trip, Day 4: Dine with Shamu at Seaworld!

This was our much anticipated Dine with Shamu day.  We were anxious to leave the villa and head to Seaworld, but as we were on our way to breakfast we passed Keaton's Korral at the village, and they were giving horseback rides to the kids, along with giving them cowboy hats.  Spencer has never been on a horse, so we took him over to try one out.  Spencer thought it was fantastic.  He smiled the whole time he was on the horses back and then wanted to go again.  And not just a small smile....an ear to ear smile.  He loved it so much that we may look into getting him into a theraputic riding class back here in Virginia Beach.

I'm sure by now, you are noticing that Spencer is wearing the same shirt every day.  The only thing Make A Wish asked of us, was that if the shirt was clean they wear it.  Our villa had a washer and dryer and they provided the detergent, so every night we washed that shirt.  It was the least we could do.

After horseback riding we were off to Seaworld.  Immediately we headed to feed the Dolphins.  This is something that they usually charge for but we got to do it for free.  It involved a mini dolphin training session, getting to touch the dolphins (they are extremely soft!) and then feeding them fish.  Spencer really enjoyed this, as you can tell in the pictures!

He thought being eye to eye with a dolphin was great, but then it got better...

He was a little skeptical about touching one, but giggled like crazy!

Dolphin training!

Feeding them was the best!  Spencer gave them fish right and left!

It started pouring down rain right after this so we hung out in the underwater observation area for a while and then wondered down to the sharks.  Then it was time to start on our way over to the dolphin show.  We made a quick pit stop on the way there and Mike and the girls rode the Manta while Spencer played some games.  They all agree that it is the BEST roller coaster they have ever ridden and even rate it higher than the Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion, which was previously their favorite.  Once they got off that, we headed into the dolphin show.  I took most of the pictures at the show with some waterproof disposable cameras that I haven't developed yet, but it was a great show!  I did get a picture of Spencer with the cast as we were going out....

After that it was time for Spencer to ride the Journey to Atlantis.  He loved it!  When we got off, they gave us the photo...

Spencer was just out for a little boat ride....the rest of us were terrified!

There was no doubt all day that Spencer was totally enthralled with Seaworld!

We headed to wild artic where we took a simulated helicopter ride to Antartica.  Once we got off the ride, we ended up in a COLD exibit where they had Beluga whales, a polar bear, and a Walrus.  The Walrus was my all time favorite!!!  He was HUGE!

I also tried to get Spencer to get his photo taken with this imitation Polar Bear, but he was having none of it.  The girls however had no reservations....

From there we headed toward Shamu Stadium, which is where our Dinner with Shaumu was  going to be at.  Behind the stadium they have some smaller rides and Spencer couldn't wait to jump on the kiddie coaster....

After that, we headed out to Dine With Shaumu!  This experience was everything we hoped it would be!  The dinner was buffet style and yummy, and we had great seats right up near the glass.

Spencer loved the food and ate great!

The action was going on the whole time we were having dinner!

Spencer was right up front, glued to his seat the whole time!

One more happy smile!

Then we headed to Shamu Stadium for the main event.  As we walked into the Stadium, we were stopped by a park employee and asked if we wanted to get wet.  OF COURSE we wanted to get wet!!!  He sent us right up front and center, to an area that is reserved for Make A Wish kids!  The whales came right up on platforms in front of us during the show!  Pictures will have to wait until I get the waterproof disposables developed but the show was phenomenal and Spencer LOVED it!  At the end Shamu came right up in front of us and drenched us with a splash of his tail.  I think it was the highlight of Spencer's day!

Seaworld employees were all phenomenal.  They all stopped and talked to us.  They gave us the best tips and directions and told us where we wanted to go next.  They sat us in the best spots, and they gave us photos.  Like this one.....

And it was only day 4.....

Spencer's Wish Trip Day 3: Universal Studios!

Everyday we thought it couldn't get any better....then another day would roll around and amazing things just kept happening.  It's no exaggeration when I tell you that every single one of us thinks this is the best vacation we have EVER taken.  There is no way to describe everyone's love and compassion for Make A Wish Kids.  On day 3 we decided to do Universal Studios...none of the kids had ever been.  This park was a DREAM for Spencer.  At all the parks, they give you special treatment, and you usually don't have to wait but just a few minutes in a line to ride a ride or meet a character.  At Universal it was so much more than that.  Spencer owned that park.  Anytime we walked up to any park employee to ride a ride, they immediately radio'd in that they had a special VIP guest and a park representative came and got us and took us through secret entrances, RIGHT onto the ride.  And they put us there first, and in the best seats.  Sometimes they even went beyond that.....

To get to Universal you have to walk through CityWalk.  We stopped here and made a reservation for dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, and then took a right turn to Universal.  (Citywalk is in the center and Universal Islands of Adventure is to the left.)  We weren't expecting much from this park and though it would be a quickie...we were so wrong.  Mike and I had both been there years ago and hadn't liked it.  They have done so much more since then and I think it is now one of our favorites.  (Islands of Adventure is top of the list too....don't skip these parks if you ever get down that way, you just might like them better than Disney!!)  On the way, my husband HAD to have his picture taken with something he found in front of the Nascar Cafe.....

Once we got in the park, we rode the shrek ride, and headed over to become a "minion" on the Despicable Me ride.  When you come off of this ride, you end up in a room where there is music and dancing and it projects you up on a big screen dancing with the minions.  We stopped to do this because everyone knows Spencer LOVES to dance.  As the room started to thin out we started getting ready to leave and we were stopped by two park employees who asked us to wait because.....Stuart wanted to meet Spencer!!!!  We waited for the room to clear out and then Stuart came in arms wide to dance with the kids and give Spencer hugs!

This was actually Madi's dream come true, as she is a HUGE minion fan!  Spencer loved that Stuart wasn't much taller than he is.

We worked our way on down the street after that, and ended up at the Twister movie simulator.   We knew we had to take Spencer to see that, as he's been watching that movie over and over again for the past few weeks.  A really cool gentleman took us in the back way and set us right up front.  It's basically the scene from the movie where they are at the drive in and the big twister comes through.  They even added a flying cow.  (Spencer was yelling "It's a cow!!!")  When it was over the same guy came back and told us to stand right where we were....he said once everyone cleared out the scene would reset and go backwards.....which was pretty darn cool and something most people don't get to see.  Tornado's times two....Spencer was in heaven.

As we were leaving, we passed this tourist who just kept getting in everyone's way!

From there we were off to ride the "Disaster" ride.  It was already in progress and we had to wait a few minutes.  They put us right outside this special door, and it had started to rain.  People had croweded under a small awning that was there and we were just outside of it.  This really awesome lady came out from under the awning with her umbrella and stood with us the whole time we were waiting and HELD HER UMBRELLA OVER SPENCER'S HEAD.  A random act of kindness from a park visitor who didn't know us and will likely never see us again... We must have thanked her a dozen times.  And it still probably wasn't enough. There was no way I wasn't taking a picture....

And if you're not crying by now, you probably will be before you are done reading today's blog.  (Just a warning, get your tissues...)  This ride by the way was pretty cool, but not as cool as who we met later.  Spencer's one and only.....

It's hard to tell it in the picture, but Spencer is running.  Spongebob was happy to see him!

When we left there we were headed to the E.T. ride.  Aspen had been looking forward to this one all day, as  E.T. is her hero.  On this ride you ride bicycles through the sky with E.T. in your basket...and end up on E.T.'s home planet.

On the way to the Terminator Ride (which was Madison's favorite show the whole trip) we came across some stars in the pavement.  This star was for Jerry Lewis....you may know him as the spokesman for the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.  It deserves a place in my blog.

After the terminator ride it was time for our Dinner at Margaritaville.  The food here is AMAZING.  The atmosphere was AMAZING.  The people were AMAZING.   Dinner has an island feel with lots of singing and dancing.  Entertainers are walking around (on stilts) singing and making balloon hats for the patrons.  The kids thought this was the bees knees, and they got hats and swords made for them.  (Spencer ended up on the elevator with the girl on stilts later and she simply dropped off her stilts right by him and her legs just shrunk....he thought it was hilarious!)

After we finished our meals, everyone (except me...I was stuffed) ordered dessert.  Spencer loves chocolate icecream, and couldn't even be bothered with a spoon....

By the time we were finished we had probably run up about a $250 tab.  The food, while excellent, is pricey and they had all had huge desserts.  As we were waiting for our bill to come, a manager walked over to us to  ask how our meal was and if everything was ok, and then told us that we were free to go and didn't owe a thing!!!  Our bill was completely taken care of.  If you are ever in Citywalk, eat at Margaritaville.  The food and atmosphere are phenomenal and the staff has a heart of gold.

Once we got over the shock of hundreds of dollars of free food, we were headed into Island's of Adventure to find Spiderman.  It was 8pm and they were closing at 9 so we ended up being his last visitors of the day.  He took pictures with us and gave us this one to take home...

Spiderman is a great character and one of the few characters that can talk, so Spencer had a merry time with him and then we were off to ride the Spiderman ride.  It's a 4D ride that travels on a track through a building.  It's probably one of the best 4D rides we've ever ridden and it's Spencer's favorite.  In addition to putting us right on it, they also allowed us to ride it a few times in a row.  Spencer immediately asked to "do it again".  By that time, the park was closing and after a quick stop in the spiderman gift store, where spencer got some toys and a tshirt, we were headed back to our villa for some much needed rest.  We were exhausted!!!

Wish Trip Day 2: Airboat Ride, Magic Kingdom, and Christmas in August!

We've been so busy that we're already on day 5 and I'm still blogging about day 2...but I'm determined to get the details about every day in, so here goes...

Spencer's favorite part of every morning seems to be the carousel ride he jumps on right after breakfast.  This is right outside the Gingerbread house (where we eat), and it's attached to the Castle of Miracles.  It's also where I almost stepped on a snake.  You know that old saying, "if it was a snake it would have bit you?", well that won't work on my kids anymore.  That snake nearly was beheaded by my size 8 1/2 foot and it never even noticed.  I think in the snake world, it would have been considered a slacker. 

After jumping on the carousel (he picks a different "horse" every morning), we strolled around the village and look who we ran into!...

A big Mouse trumps a little ole snake any ole day!

But then we were off in search of gators!  There is an airboat company here in central florida called "Boggy Creek Airboat tours" that gives free airboat tours to wish families.  We've been watching that show on tv where they hunt the gators, and knew we had to do that.  First thing they did when we got there was send us to see a lady who took this photo (and gave it to us!)...

And then we were off!

Spencer thought it was amazing,and we did see some gators...most of them sitting on nests trying to hatch some babies.  We also got to meet a small gator who later tried to eat Aspen.  We told him she tasted like chicken, but he wouldn't bite...

After that, it was off to Magic Kingdom, where the kids were hoping to get made up as Pirates!  Arrrrggggg!  Once we got there we had to make a pit stop so that Tinkerbell could yell at Spencer though...she's really good at that....

But then it was time to walk the plank and put our eye patches on at The Pirates League.  The kids were given new names (Spencer became Joseph Wavewrecker), and the Pirate transformation began...

This took about an hour and was an AMAZING time.  All of the workers are also in costume and totally stick to their characters.  There is alot of pirate talk and loud carrying on, and the kids LOVED it.  Everytime a kid completes the transformation, they are announced to the crowd.  Spencer could not contain his enthusiasm. 

Spencer and Aspen became pirates, and Madi was turned into a mermaid...

Then it poured down rain, so we grabbed some lunch at Cosmic Rays Cafe.  We were able to hit a couple of rides after that and head back to GKTW Village...where it was Christmas!!!! 

The kids all got gifts from Santa, there was Christmas dinner, and even a parade!

After the excitement of the holidays we all needed to cool off and relax some to so we headed to the pool!  This is one of Spencer's favorite places here at the village!

Then it was back to the villa for some much needed rest!  Who knew wish trips were so exhausting!

P.S. Everyday at the village, they leave gifts in our Villa for each of the kids to find when we come home.  Plus today they got gifts from Santa!  It really is a good thing I brought an extra suitcase!