Then it was my turn:)
It was pretty fun!
Then we took a walk around Give Kids the World, waiting to meet the Disney characters at the Safari Theatre. We had already met Mickey and Minnie twice by this point, but we didn't want to miss out on any chance we had.
We got there right on time and were third in line. Here we are waiting in line.
Tucker did not really cooperate. By Day Four, not much impressed Tucker anymore. It was all very much "I've been here, already seen them, so what?" I told Chris "you give a kid all he wants whenever he wants for 3 days, and he gets spoiled..." Who knew?
Outside of the theatre we met Belle, we had misssed her at Epcot so we were glad we saw her at GKTW. We were upset that she wasn't wearing her yellow gown, we may write Disney a letter!
After this, we headed to Universal Studios. We had two passes to Universal. Universal is actually two parks: Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Universal has a lot more shows and rides that are based on movies, like a show that teaches you about horror show make-up, and a show and ride that makes you feel like you are in the Twister movie. We knew we wouldn't spend too long at Universal because most of the stuff was geared to older kids, or people with decent attention spans!
There were moving sidewalks, which Tucker loved! Plus he gave Chris's shoulders a break.
There were some very cool rides at Universal; unfortunately, Tucker was too short for most of them!
Then we took a walk around Give Kids the World, waiting to meet the Disney characters at the Safari Theatre. We had already met Mickey and Minnie twice by this point, but we didn't want to miss out on any chance we had.
We got there right on time and were third in line. Here we are waiting in line.
Tucker did not really cooperate. By Day Four, not much impressed Tucker anymore. It was all very much "I've been here, already seen them, so what?" I told Chris "you give a kid all he wants whenever he wants for 3 days, and he gets spoiled..." Who knew?
Outside of the theatre we met Belle, we had misssed her at Epcot so we were glad we saw her at GKTW. We were upset that she wasn't wearing her yellow gown, we may write Disney a letter!
After this, we headed to Universal Studios. We had two passes to Universal. Universal is actually two parks: Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Universal has a lot more shows and rides that are based on movies, like a show that teaches you about horror show make-up, and a show and ride that makes you feel like you are in the Twister movie. We knew we wouldn't spend too long at Universal because most of the stuff was geared to older kids, or people with decent attention spans!
There were moving sidewalks, which Tucker loved! Plus he gave Chris's shoulders a break.
There were some very cool rides at Universal; unfortunately, Tucker was too short for most of them!
We got on the Jimmy Neutron ride first. It is a simulation ride, so you sit in a movie theatre, and your seats move and there are effects. Well, we got right on through the handicapped entrance, and the ride started, only to stop after 15 seconds. Tucker started screaming "go! go! go!" but the ride was broken:( The technicians came into work on it, and over 15 minutes later, we were still stuck in the tram and Tucker was still screaming. The attendants tried to entertain us by asking SpongeBob trivia questions (I shouted out almost all the answers-I'm not sure who embarassed Chris more-Tucker or me!). The attendant came over and asked if she could help us, I said "my son is four, he has autism, and he's stuck in a ride, you can fix the ride or get us out!" So a few minutes later they let everyone out since they couldn't fix it. We did meet Spongebob on the way out at least, I didn't get a good picture of Tucker with Spongebob, but the US photo guy got a good one of him poking at Sponge Bob's mouth.
So far our day was not looking great! We headed over to the Woody Woodpecker Rollercoaster, a rollercoaster that Tucker was tall enough for. We passed Barney's Park on the way.
Then Tucker and Chris "ride da rides" and all was well, thank goodness:) So I tried the ride, blech, hated it!
We fed Tucker and then went to the Barney Show next. We got front row seats, and Tucker loved watching Barney, and especially Baby Bop. I sang and made Tucker dance to the songs. After the show, we walked out to the Barney playground. Tucker loved it, there were stairs, slides, and a little treehouse. We almost missed meeting Barney because Tucker wouldn't leave the playground.
There was this box that you press to hear Baby Bop talk. Tucker pressed it about 3223423 times. He loves Baby Bop:)
There was also a little boat. I'm not sure how that relates to Barney! Tucker grabbed the handle, so I got this pic:) He reminds us of his Poppy and Troy on Swamp People-Choot em!
Then of course we went back to the roller coaster!
There really wasn't much left for us to do; we ate lunch, which took a very long time. Maybe Universal doesn't have as many places to eat per capita as Disney, because the lines there for food were extremely long. Tucker and I waited at a table for over an hour for Chris to bring us our two slices of pizza. Once again, Tucker was SO GOOD and his Fritos and DVD player came to the rescue.
Then Tucker and Chris "ride da rides" and all was well, thank goodness:) So I tried the ride, blech, hated it!
We fed Tucker and then went to the Barney Show next. We got front row seats, and Tucker loved watching Barney, and especially Baby Bop. I sang and made Tucker dance to the songs. After the show, we walked out to the Barney playground. Tucker loved it, there were stairs, slides, and a little treehouse. We almost missed meeting Barney because Tucker wouldn't leave the playground.
There was this box that you press to hear Baby Bop talk. Tucker pressed it about 3223423 times. He loves Baby Bop:)
There was also a little boat. I'm not sure how that relates to Barney! Tucker grabbed the handle, so I got this pic:) He reminds us of his Poppy and Troy on Swamp People-Choot em!
Then of course we went back to the roller coaster!
There really wasn't much left for us to do; we ate lunch, which took a very long time. Maybe Universal doesn't have as many places to eat per capita as Disney, because the lines there for food were extremely long. Tucker and I waited at a table for over an hour for Chris to bring us our two slices of pizza. Once again, Tucker was SO GOOD and his Fritos and DVD player came to the rescue.
Chris kept saying how much he wanted to ride this rollercoaster:
It was huge and looked wild. I told him it was our Dream Come True, too, so he could use the GAP pass to go to the front of the line. We got an attendant, and told him Tucker was the wish kid, could Chris go to the front? He brought Chris right up! Tucker cried, "ride da ride!" but he had to be over 50 inches to ride it, so he had to sit with me. Chris loved the ride, so I'm glad he went. I guess we know where Tucker gets his bravery! Not me!
And the next picture is one of my absolute favorites. I can't figure out how to rotate the pictures! :( This was what most of our trip looked like, Tucker riding on Chris's shoulders....I swear, the two of them got even more attached on this trip, which I didn't think was possible.
After that, we headed back to GKTW. But we weren't done yet! Our villa was right across from Matthew's Boundless Playground. It is a fully inclusive park, so that kids with all kinds of special needs can all play together. We had waited until now to show Tucker the park, because we knew once he went, that was all he would want! And we were right:)
It was huge and looked wild. I told him it was our Dream Come True, too, so he could use the GAP pass to go to the front of the line. We got an attendant, and told him Tucker was the wish kid, could Chris go to the front? He brought Chris right up! Tucker cried, "ride da ride!" but he had to be over 50 inches to ride it, so he had to sit with me. Chris loved the ride, so I'm glad he went. I guess we know where Tucker gets his bravery! Not me!
After we left Universal, it was still pretty early. I really wanted to go to Downtown Disney to see the Once Upon a Toy store. I wanted to get Tucker the Potato Head parts for his Potato Head "tay-ta hade" lol. So I got out the GPS on my phone and figured out how to get there (I am sure by now Chris was so tired of my plans and detours! lol, but he was a trooper, he knew I wanted to get every experience and smile out of this week that I could).
So it was easy to find, but Downtown Disney is basically an outdoor shopping mall, and it's huge. The toy store was on one end, and we parked on the complete opposite end, because it was so packed.
For anyone who goes to Disney, I definitely recommend shopping here. We wouldn't have gone there if it weren't for the Toy Store, but it's really neat.
There is a Lego Store, there is a transformer, dinosaur, and dragon all made out of legos.
There are tons of restaurants, bars, and stores, and we saw all of them;) It was a long walk, and Tucker rode on Chris's shoulders the whole time. We finally got to the store.
Tucker was SO excited to see Potato Head! I thought we might find him dressed up at Pixar Place, but they told me they cut up potato head and ate him! So this is the closest he got to actually meeting him.
We bought a box for $20, and we filled it up with potato head pieces. The only rule is you have to be able to close the box. Since we already had a potato head at home, we stuffed the box full of Darth Vader hats, Mickey Ears, and Minnie Bows. Tucker was so proud of his box, it was so cute:)
There are tons of restaurants, bars, and stores, and we saw all of them;) It was a long walk, and Tucker rode on Chris's shoulders the whole time. We finally got to the store.
Tucker was SO excited to see Potato Head! I thought we might find him dressed up at Pixar Place, but they told me they cut up potato head and ate him! So this is the closest he got to actually meeting him.
We bought a box for $20, and we filled it up with potato head pieces. The only rule is you have to be able to close the box. Since we already had a potato head at home, we stuffed the box full of Darth Vader hats, Mickey Ears, and Minnie Bows. Tucker was so proud of his box, it was so cute:)
And the next picture is one of my absolute favorites. I can't figure out how to rotate the pictures! :( This was what most of our trip looked like, Tucker riding on Chris's shoulders....I swear, the two of them got even more attached on this trip, which I didn't think was possible.
After that, we headed back to GKTW. But we weren't done yet! Our villa was right across from Matthew's Boundless Playground. It is a fully inclusive park, so that kids with all kinds of special needs can all play together. We had waited until now to show Tucker the park, because we knew once he went, that was all he would want! And we were right:) He loved the big purple swings.
He even liked the slides:)
We finally got him off of the playground to go and meet Santa. GKTW has a big Christmas party every Thursday night, complete with Santa and Mrs. Claus and presents for every kid! No matter what time of the year. Tucker didn't really like Santa at the mall in December, but I thought we would give it another try. On the way there, we met the snack cart. This guy drives the cart around and offers everyone cookies and hot chocolate, how neat is that? :)
Of course, Tucker didn't want any of that! He wanted to ride on the cart!
Then we kept walking to the carousel, where Tucker rode a few times.
We also went to the Amberville Train Station, which had little rides outside.
Tucker likes these type of rides at Wal Mart, he puts the quarters in and loves to go. Well at GKTW of course they are all free! So Tucker kept screaming "money! money!" and trying to dig money out of our pockets. He finally understood that it was free, and he could ride as long as he wanted:) Then Chris and I got a little break! We each went to get ice cream and ate our ice cream while Tucker "rode da rides."
Then of course Chris and Tucker took a ride on the train.
And rode the elephant.
So then we tried to take him to see Santa, and after that long day, he fell apart :( Poor baby, he just couldn't go anymore, and he freaked out when we got to the theatre. So we didn't care, we told him we could go to the hotel. On the way out, a volunteer told us to go in the back, he didn't have to meet Santa to get a gift. So we took Tucker to a huge wall of toys! He of course chose a dump truck to add to the massive collection he got for Christmas. Then we headed back to the hotel, and Tucker threw a fit the whole way there, and after we were there. He had just had too much that day.
He even liked the slides:)
We finally got him off of the playground to go and meet Santa. GKTW has a big Christmas party every Thursday night, complete with Santa and Mrs. Claus and presents for every kid! No matter what time of the year. Tucker didn't really like Santa at the mall in December, but I thought we would give it another try. On the way there, we met the snack cart. This guy drives the cart around and offers everyone cookies and hot chocolate, how neat is that? :)
Of course, Tucker didn't want any of that! He wanted to ride on the cart!
Then we kept walking to the carousel, where Tucker rode a few times.
We also went to the Amberville Train Station, which had little rides outside.
Tucker likes these type of rides at Wal Mart, he puts the quarters in and loves to go. Well at GKTW of course they are all free! So Tucker kept screaming "money! money!" and trying to dig money out of our pockets. He finally understood that it was free, and he could ride as long as he wanted:) Then Chris and I got a little break! We each went to get ice cream and ate our ice cream while Tucker "rode da rides."
Then of course Chris and Tucker took a ride on the train.
And rode the elephant.
So then we tried to take him to see Santa, and after that long day, he fell apart :( Poor baby, he just couldn't go anymore, and he freaked out when we got to the theatre. So we didn't care, we told him we could go to the hotel. On the way out, a volunteer told us to go in the back, he didn't have to meet Santa to get a gift. So we took Tucker to a huge wall of toys! He of course chose a dump truck to add to the massive collection he got for Christmas. Then we headed back to the hotel, and Tucker threw a fit the whole way there, and after we were there. He had just had too much that day.Chris and I didn't know what to do, none of the usual tricks worked. So I pulled out the preschool video as a last resort, and that did the trick. He just sat watching it with his little tears flowing. We needed some downtime! So we all went to bed by 9, and Tucker slept about 10 hours that night.
Day Four was still great, but the vacation was beginning to wear on al 3 of us by that point;) There are still 3 great days to go, hopefully I post about them soon!
Day Four was still great, but the vacation was beginning to wear on al 3 of us by that point;) There are still 3 great days to go, hopefully I post about them soon! 
Wow, I think Disney would be like thaqt for Garrett, too.....almost too much fun after a few days!! LOVE the photos and I so appreciate your sharing them with us!!!
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