The most magical day yet . . .

We were ready to go fairly early. The Magic Kingdom day was finally here. We had a pretty good plan of what we wanted to do. More Disney characters were at the village and Belle gave Carson and Grace kisses (lipstick kisses). After breakfast at GKTW, we were on our way.

Carson decided we would take the ferry boat to the Kingdom. Once in, we got a stroller. Next stop was a set of mouse ears for each of the kiddos. We found a shop that embroidered their names, so that was even cuter.

We paused for pics along Main Street. Carson was very excited to see the castle.

We ventured into Tomorrowland. Carson and Trav enjoyed two rounds of Buss Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and a cruise on the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway.

Next we went through Fantasyland. The boys rode the tea cups in the Mad Tea Party. We stopped for pics with Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck. Carson, Grace and I rode on Dumbo. We all enjoyed Mickey's PhilarMagic -a 3D movie. There was a 180 degree screen. Everything about it was impressive. It was also air conditioned and since it was heading into the mid-80's with high humidity, it felt wonderful. We all went on It's a Small World. It was beautiful and the song didn't get stamped too heavily into our brains. We ate a quick lunch. We checked out the castle. It was beautiful and breathtaking. We also met Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. She knew a little bit of sign language, which Carson was amazed by. After an "I love you" from the Fairy Godmother we were on our way again.

We made our way back to the Main Street area and found the Wish Lounge. Since there are so many 'Wish' kids that come to the Magic Kingdom, Disney created a beautiful lounge exclusively for the kids and their families. It is always staffed. It has the Aladdin theme (since the Genie is all about making wishes come true) with a magic carpet, Genie stained glass window, Aladdin-type couches, pillows and stools, and a big screen TV. It was also air-conditioned. We were treated to refreshments as well. Grace and I hung out there for a bit while the boys went off to The Haunted Mansion. Grace took a good nap and I visited with the Disney staffer.

We joined up with the boys about 2:45, since the parade started at 3:00. There were sign language interpreters for the parade, so we were in a preferential seating area for Carson in the Liberty Square area. The parade was beautiful - we all enjoyed all of the characters. When we saw the Fairy Godmother on a float we waved. She picked Carson out of the crowd and signed 'I love you' to him. After a few more waves, she looked back to him and signed 'I love you' again to him. I was crying by this point. Carson was in awe and Travis was choking back the tears. It was so special...so magical.

We all enjoyed the Magic Carpets of Aladdin attraction in Adventureland. While the boys went through Pirates of the Caribbean, Grace and I found a shady spot and cooled of with a yummy Popsicle and frozen lemonade.

We walked to Frontierland and Carson and Trav enjoyed Splash Mountain. Once again, Carson loved the thrill of the roller coaster. I was happy taking videos and pictures and was amused with the father using a walkie talkie trying to find his son's 'copy' on the Splash Mountain ride. It was annoying and entertaining all at the same time, but this guy was taking things way too seriously. Grace giggled as I rolled my eyes at her and made silly faces (based on the craziness of the guest next to me).

After Splash Mountain, we ventured back to Main Street. We all went into the Wish Lounge again - felt good to cool off. Trav and the kiddos stayed and I ran to do some quick 'Magical' shopping. I went back to the Wish Lounge when I was finished and we started to make our way out of the park. We met a very sweet Disney staffer - she is from Wisconsin. She visited with us for a bit and gave Carson an extra-special pin that you can only get from a staffer. They traded pins and he was thrilled.

We took the monorail back to the Transportation Center. As we were waiting for a tram to the parking lot, I planned to show Carson something I bought for him. I soon realized the staffer only gave me one bag and she hadn't put all of my purchases in that bag. We walked over to a small gift shop by the waiting area and a wonderful staffer worked to help out. After several calls, it was discovered the clerk had tried to find me to no avail. They did indeed have my merchandise. By this time, Trav and the kids had gone on to the parking lot and car. Since it was Christmas night back at GKTW, I asked if my items could be shipped (since they anticipated another 20+ minutes before they would arrive and we had already waited 45 minutes to try to figure everything out). They were more than willing to do so and even sent me on my way with a number of complementary items from the gift shop. I was very impressed with how the whole thing was handled.

Back at the village, the kids and I went to celebrate Christmas. Every Thursday night is Christmas at Give Kids the World. We saw the wonderful parade down the Avenue of Angels. Everyone was dancing and celebrating. We waited in line for a bit to see Santa. Trav was over picking up food-to-go for the kids. Soon he joined us. The kids had their pic taken with Santa (Grace wasn't to sure about this fellow, but she didn't cry) and we also had a family pic with him. Then each kid got to pick out a toy from three huge carts of toys. This was sponsored by Hasbro, so many toys were options. Grace picked a Glo-Bug doll and Carson picked a Star Wars set.

Carson and I stopped for ice cream (now virtually a night ritual). We all settled in to the villa. We got the kids settled into bed and we worked on laundry and packing. Tomorrow was our day to return to Minnesota!

Our day at the Magic Kingdom was just that - magical. To end it with a night of celebrating Christmas was very, very special. It was hard to believe that our trip was coming to an end. So many wonderful and special memories!