Day 2: Lions and tigers and RAIN... oh my! (and Epcot too)

I am sorry it is taking me forever to post day 2 of our trip.  I have been waiting to get the photo pass CD Disney is sending us in the mail, but that can take up to two weeks so I am just going to use the low-quality pictures I have.  They will have to do for now.  I will replace them with the high-resolution ones when the CD gets here.  So- sorry that some of these pictures are a little blurry.  

OK, now on to day TWO...

The kids woke up so excited to see that Grandma Di-Di had arrived! They couldn't wait to get going.  After eating an amazing breakfast of waffles, strawberries and whipped cream at Give Kids the World we looked outside and it was POURING rain!  I suggested we stay at the resort and just have a relaxing day but, Cami said "we aren't going to let a little bit of rain stop us... are we?!"  but, it was NOT just a little bit of rain, it was a DOWNPOUR!  We decided that it was Cami's wish, so we loaded up our mini van "carriage" and decided to go to Animal Kingdom (we heard if you go while its raining you can see lots of animals because they come out when its cooler).  By the time we got to the park, the rain had stopped and it turned out to be a beautiful day.  

Little Cami was right after all!  

Animal Kingdom is so beautiful, and in true Disney form the Tree of Life is magical.

The trunk is 14 story's tall and has 325 animals carved into its trunk.

I felt like I was in a movie every time I looked at it!

We had to take some family shots...

These were our "golden tickets" while at the theme parks.  Cami wore the magic button, it told people that she was a wish child.  The amazing people who work for Disney take this button VERY seriously!  She was constantly being called princess and the staff would bow to her.  The other card was to help us with the long waits.  Cami gets exhausted very easily so waiting in all the long lines would have been extremely hard on her.  Disney took care of everything for us and with this pass we were able to go straight to the Fast-Pass line and if that line was too long, they'd take us up the handicapped entrance or walk us up the exit.  It really was a blessing because there is NO way Cami could have made it through all those lines.  I am so grateful to Disney for helping with Cami's needs and also to all of the understanding people who we "cut" in front of.  It can't be easy standing in those lines and watching a family sail right through.  With Cami's hair growing back it can be hard to tell she is even going through chemotherapy, but people were so nice, understanding and willing to help.  That definitely helped with the guilt factor.

Here is what our "lines" looked like (thanks to that golden ticket)...

Here's Cami and Grandma Di-Di on the first ride of the trip...Kali river rapids.

This was a pretty intense ride, but look at Cami's face... NO FEAR!!

Can you see them on the left???

Caden was too little to ride this ride and he was SOOO sad, but after a treat he was back to being a little monkey in no time.

Cami just couldn't let her day continue without getting her face painted like a proper princess.  Like I said in my last post, the magic just seemed to follow us everywhere on this trip. This sweet lady not only did a wonderful job and made Cami feel so beautiful, she wouldn't let us pay when she was finished.  Cami was treated like royalty by all of the Disney staff, she was definitely a VIP and she felt so special (as she is).

As we were headed towards the next ride, the kids spotted the first characters of the trip.  We weren't quite sure how the "magic button" worked with the characters, but the character assistant saw Cami's button and brought us right up through the exit rope.  The kids literally ran to give them hugs.  The characters were definitely aware of the magic button and what it meant because they were so cute with the kids and took extra time interacting and playing with them.  Caden couldn't get enough of Pluto, he just wanted to snuggle him all day.  I don't think he even knew who Pluto was before, but he remained his favorite throughout the entire trip.  

Here is a tired Pat and Cami relaxing on the safari.  

I didn't see the sign when I took this picture, but I LOVE that it is there now.  

It is SO true!

We saw some amazing animals on the safari

We went on almost every ride at Animal Kingdom and we went to the Lion King show.  It was fabulous and Cami loved every second of it!  They sat us right up in front.  The characters and dancers would come up and give Cami and Caden high-fives and dance for them.  It was just another special treatment we got from the magic button!

Cami found Tink...

 We had an excellent lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.  

Cami of course loved the frogs!

The kids had a nap and we got to Epcot around dusk.  It was so beautiful and Pat and I were able to go on a few rides by ourselves and enjoyed walking through some of the world.  We HAD to go to France to get hot chocolate and dessert... YUMMY!

The photo-pass lady made us take this picture and I felt so cheesy, but I love it now.

When the kids woke up we took them to talkin' with Crush.  Someone (Im not sure who) had told Cami about this attraction and she was SO excited!

I know this is a dark and blurry picture, but Crush talked to Cami almost the entire time.  Crush called Cami "little dudette" and asked her if she was having an awesome time.  She said "OH YEAH, TOTALLY" and was really hamming it up for the audience and then he wanted to meet her "parental units" so he talked to Pat for a minute.  Being an animator, Pat was really impressed with this attraction and how they were able to make it so interactive.

The last ride of the night was soarin'.  For those of you who don't know, soarin' is a HUGE screen and multi-sensory ride that makes you feel like you are flying over California.  Here is Cami running up the fast pass lane.  She loved the lights...

 When we were on the ride, Cami put her little arms out and leaned all the way forward she stayed that way the whole ride, she looked so peaceful and free.  I swear with all she has gone through she has an old soul, its almost like she was taking the moment in and just enjoying it.  When I looked over at my mom during the ride, we were both just watching Cami with tears in our eyes.  It was such a perfect example of how peaceful, special and amazed she felt on this trip.  

It really was her moment to feel free and just FLY...

We ended the day with the fabulous Epcot fireworks.  

Happy and exhausted.