Sunday Make-A-Wish

It was a temptation to enjoy one of the many theme park opportunities, but we agreed that Sunday is the Sabbath, and we went to church.

After lunch at the Gingerbread house, Daddy and Caleb took a nap while the rest of us headed out to explore Give Kids the World Village.

I am glad we left a day for the village, and even so there was a lot we didn't get to see or do in the village. We simply ran out of time.

We rode the village train to Matthew's Boundless Playground, a fully accessible, life-sized Candyland game board.

We met a crowd of kids whose church youth group had come to Kissimee for the weekend to volunteer at the village. They were getting a tour before heading home.

We had our first experience at the Ice Cream Palace, where you can get ice cream for breakfast and on past dinner. As much as the kids loved this place, I think I loved it even more.

We also took a few turns on the magical carousel and took a peek inside the Castle of Miracles.

I was ready for a nap, and the kids wanted to check out the splash pad or the pool. Lightning shook up the swimming plans, so Daddy and the kids spent the afternoon at the Amberville Train station and arcade instead. The model train set is fabulous and there are plenty of fun things to play with there.


We made a reservation to have dinner with Cinderella and her family at the Walt Disney World Grand Floridian Hotel. We have never before done a character meal, and I don't know that we will again. I am glad that we did get to have the experience.

Prince Charming was certainly charming and Cinderella was lovely.

Cinderella's stepmother, Lady Tremain, was quite funny; but the real stars with the ugly stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella.

Drizella announced that she had found her prince charming in Caleb, screamed accross the dining room to her mother about him, and generally made a fuss.

He wasn't sure whether to be afraid of her, and pretty soon decided that she was funny. She later came by and tried to get a hug out of Tommy who wasn't about to let her get a good picture with him.

Anastasia was just as funny.

The buffet was fabulous. The desserts were intensely tasty. The cold strawberry soup was very nice.

The bite-sized corn dogs were really really incredibly good. I admit to taking Emma back to the buffet for seconds and getting myself a plateful of corndog bites and tater tots, because that is a food that has not been replicated outside Disney's parks to my knowledge.

The walk between the restaurant and the car was a beautiful one. The hotel is, I think, one of the most expensive on Disney property and is certainly beautiful and quite large.

The rain continued to pour as we headed back to the village. Sunday evenings are scheduled for playing Candyland, and we really wanted the girls to get a chance at the La-Ti-Da spa.

Since Candyland was rained out, they were having a Candyland party in the Castle of Miracles. We started with the La-Ti-Da spa where the girls had their nails done and their faces painted, and all three big kids got paint-on tattoos. Tommy's motorcycle was my favorite and lasted the longest. Indeed, by the end of the week as the motorcycle finally faded, Tommy was left with a pale motorcycle shape in his tan.

The kids joined Murphy the Gingerbread man and Mayor Clayton the 6-foot bunny for a dance party. Lizzy was determined to fill out her bingo card with every candy-related riddle and activity. The kids also got their special GKTW pillows made just for them. Lizzy came away with a violent pink plush zebra and Emma came away with a giraffe that has sparkly pink butterfly wings.

We got back to the villa quite exhausted, but the night wasn't quite over yet. Once the kids were in pajamas, there was a knock at the door. Mayor Clayton had arrived to tuck them in. This involved a great deal of silliness and giggling and not going to bed. After the 6 foot bunny left, we tried to settle the kids down to sleep.

Lizzy resisted, but ultimately the kids all did go to sleep, and so did the parents.