We spent five days in the magical kingdom.
Five days of such high emotions.
Five days of watching strangers doing their best to make our boy happy.
There were no queues we could go on any ride as many times as Ethan wanted to. Each and every staff member that worked in the park knew Ethans name. Isn’t that amazing?
When Ethan got tired, we were shown to a VIP area, which was full of DVD’s, teddies, sweets and giant bean bags where Ethan could just relax, calm himself and we could all have a break, away from the hustle and bustle of Disneyland.
There was one show in particular we were asked to attend. We were told to wait in a small dark room until it was time to sit. We were also asked not to take a video or pictures, thats my main regret, I wish I had ignored that instruction.
We were shown into a dark room, the very front row was marked reserved with the Make-a-wish logo. We instantly knew- this would be special. We sat and waited. The room began to fill with happy children while our two boys sat surprisingly still.
“Welcome to Stitch Live” a woman’s voice boomed in our ears. She said this in all different languages as Ethan began to fidget in his seat. I held his hand. “Stitch!!!” Ethan leaped as Stitch appeared on stage, like a hologram.
The show began. Stitch interacted with the audience, adults and children alike. We thought the show was over when Stitch suddenly reappeared, telling the audience that there was a very special boy in the audience. I knew what was coming, well I thought I did.
Stitched pulled a photo out from his pocket, kissed it and then showed it to the now laughing audience. I began wiping the tears with the back of my hand, while Ethan stood up yelling “It’s me Ethan!!!”.
The audience clapped and cheered. Stitch told them that Ethan was a very special boy who had in fact superpowers. He started interacting with Ethan while Ethan jumped up and down on the spot, repeating “Stitch”, “It’s me Ethan” over and over. He ended his interaction with Ethan and us, by ripping up the photo, eating it, burping and telling us and Ethan that he will always be with him, he rubbed his round blue belly. Ethan yelped with excitement and laughed and laughed as Stitch ate the photo. “Stitch loves Ethan…bye bye Ethan, bye bye everyone” he was gone and the lights came up.
A staff member handed me a tissue and rubbed my back as I tried to compose myself. Ethan was still ‘high’, screaming “whoo hoo Stitch” over and over. D was whispering in J’s ear as J was trying to leave, he had clearly had his fill of Stitch! I looked at my now husband and saw tears rolling down his cheeks as he whispered into J’s tiny ear.
We left a few minutes after the crowd had gone. It was a bitter sweet experience, that I would not wish for anyone to have but feel privileged that we had it. I don’t know if that makes much sense.
D took my hand, kissed it and said ”Dinner time mom?”, the boys heard their daddy and began groaning for food. “Yep, I’m just not sure how much more I can take. This is heart breaking D.” I felt my bottom lip wobble. He wrapped his strong arms around me, kissed my forehead and held me tightly. “Are we having dinner with Mickey Mouse mom?” J pulled at my coat. I wiped my eyes. “We sure are kiddo” I patted his head as D pushed Ethans chair.
Taking a deep breath I linked D’s arm and held J’s hand in mine as we walked to the Disney Cafe where we would be greeted by all of Ethans favourite characters and have a meal with Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
This was going to be tough…