Andrea's Wish Trip - June 8-13

[Andreaswish]

Hi Everyone,

I am rather new to this site, but am extremely happy I have found you guys. I have many ?'s about Make a Wish trips. Some have already been answered on other threads.

I'll give you some info about our trip and family.

We are supposed to be traveling June 8 -13, 2009. We are looking forward to this so much.

My dd Andrea was born with a heart condition that was repaired at 8 mths old. She is now 8 yrs old and has been having some more heart issues and will more than likely have open heart surgery this summer. We will find out more at her cardiologist appt in May. Her cardiologist is recommending that she uses a wheelchair and not over exert herself. She is also not allowed on a lot of the rides because of her heart condition. Are MAW kids charged for the use of wheelchairs at the parks?

We are hoping she will have a magical time at WDW.

We also have a ds age 12. He is a wonderful kid, he has Aspergers Syndrome (a form of Autism). He is excited an nervouse about this trip. Will we need a seperate GAC for him??

We are from Michigan, and can't wait to travel to WDW.

I see some of you have a longer trip - are you paying for any of your stay or is GKTW letting you stay that long?? Can I possibly extend our trip by one day, we are arriving late afternoon on Monday June 8, and leave late afternoon June 13 th. I was hoping to use one last day at MK on my 40th birthday June 13th. It would be nice to have one more day to do everything we want to while down in Florida.

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

I will update more and give more information later on.

 

[Andreaswish]

Hi,

Anyone out there? Can anyone help me- any advice or tips???

Diane

 

[annie1995]

I'm bumping this up for you. I'm thinking one of our Mods should move this to maybe the disabilities board? I'm betting you will get more info over there. GL and I hope you have a truely magical vacation!!

 

[maroo]

Bless your heart!

I am so sorry that we did not see this pre-trip report!!


First of all...congrats on the Wish!!!

Second...there is a WONDERFUL thread full of Wish Trip Families and we discuss all sorts of things about Wish Trips!

here is the link to that thread...

CLICK HERE TO GO TO Wish Trippers Unite thread!!

That thread is the best place to ask any questions. I am going to put a link to this pre-trip on that thread, too! So you should have some more folks visiting over here soon!


MAW Families are not charged for a wheelchair!

I would go ahead and get a GAC for your son...just in case you guys split up so that he can ride different rides or something...and so he can have his own. You can pick this up at Guest Services when you first get to the park.

I have seen MAW families extend their trips by up to a week on their own dime...I have also know of a few MAW families that are restricted by their local chapter to only fly on the specific dates that they are given. So it basically depends on your MAW chapter. I would definitely call them and ask! And I might extend 2 days so that you can have your full birthday in the parks. They are making a big deal out of birthday's and should help you have a magical day!

You deserve that! Sounds like you guys have your hands full!



I am going to PM you this info, too...since we didn't see the pre-trippie...I want to make sure you know that we finally saw it!

 

[LindaBabe]

Come on over to the wish tripper's thread - it's great to have you aboard! Hope you have a wonderful trip and a happy Birthday!

 

[Andreaswish]

Thanks for the replies ladies Annie1995, Maroo, and LindaBabe.

I will go over to the Wish Trippers. THanks for the help. I look forward to learning more from this board.

Diane

 

[maroo]

Thanks for the replies ladies Annie1995, Maroo, and LindaBabe.

I will go over to the Wish Trippers. THanks for the help. I look forward to learning more from this board.

Diane

It is a very long thread!

The first post is a list of the wish trips (except the three I found today...I will add those tonight!)...the second post is some helpful hints (which I need to add some there, too!)...then I would just go to the "last page" and jump right in! I wouldn't read that whole thread....lol...it is long!

You can post any questions you have there or here!

 

[llurgy]

Thanks for the replies ladies Annie1995, Maroo, and LindaBabe.

I will go over to the Wish Trippers. THanks for the help. I look forward to learning more from this board.

Diane

Diane,
Welcome to the boards and congratulations on your upcoming wish trip.

We just went on a Wish trip so feel free to ask away and if I can answer I will.

If you have the time I consider the best way to find out what exactly happens before and on a Wish trip is to read loads of Pre trip report and post trip reports. The info in the planning of Wish trips I considered invaluable and I read a lot before we went.

Again, congrats and get reading

Mandy

 

[Andreaswish]

Hi,

I was telling my kids a little bit about you guys and all the trip reports. Lots of cool information. I am only part way through some of the pre trip reports and trip reports. So glad I found this site, there is so many helpful tips and hints here. So many wonderful families who have and are going through many different medical issues.

I will keep reading the many wonderful trip reports.

Diane

 

[LeeLee2U]

WELCOME Diane!! Sorry it took this long!! Glad Maroo found you! Good job Maroo as usual!!

 

[annie1995]

I'm so happy you are getting all the help you need!!

 

[Andreaswish]

Hi everyone,

I am back to give more information about our family and our wish girl.

My dd Andrea was born with Transposition of the Great Vessels (the main vessels in the heart were switched). More kiddos with this defect have a surgery to switch the vessels, but my dd couldn't have this surgery because she also had a few other defects. So the doctors put a shunt in to improve her blood flow and let her grow. At 8mths she had a Rastelli procedure done which a type of bypass surgery. She has been doing well, until about a year ago. Her left ventricle is moderately impaired. She has been through numerous test lately to find the extent of the problem. She has had an MRI, a few heart echos, EKG's and others. She has had new meds added to try to help with the ventricles pumping function. We go back in May to see if this is working. If it is improved her cardiologist will send all info to her surgeon and we will see what the next step is. If it hasn't improved then we maybe looking at a heart transplant> So we are praying that the meds work.

My dd is in second grade and my son is in fifth grade. They are both wonderful special kids.

I will see if I can figure out how to add pictures, and will add more. I need to go do some laundry now.

So glad I found this site so far it is great

Diane

 

[maroo]

Wow...

All of that sounds very scary for all of you!

Thanks for sharing about your family! We definitely look forward to helping you plan!!!

 

[Andreaswish]

I'm back to update some more.

My ds is 12 yrs old and has Asperger's Syndrome at type of Autism. He is quite high functioning. He has some sensory issues, hates loud noises, he has very little patience when it comes to waiting. He is extremely bright, loves science, video games, reading, yu-gi-oh, pokemon, star wars, and many more things. I think he will enjoy visiting Epcot. He wants to do the Kim Possible adventure, Buzz Lightyear ride, and anything hands on. He is afraid of heights, and gets motion sickness very easily, so some of the rides and shows will be out of the question for him. He wants to visit the Japan showcase to see if there are any yu-gi-oh or pokemon items there.

My dd is looking forward to many rides a lot of which she will not be able to ride because of her heart condition. She really wanted to see the Presidents show, but unfortantely that is suppossed to be closed for rehab. She loves anything presidents. She is also looking forward to China at Epcot, she is hoping to see pugs (her favorite dog), fortune cookies and pretty jewlery.
She wants to see the pretty princesses, and she is supposed to be getting a princess makeover at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique downtown on the first night we are there. We decided since we get to Orlando around 3:00 p.m. we will go to Downtown Disney and Walmart. She is so excited to go - she can't wait. She received a countdown calendar from her Make a Wish manager, and she also got some stickers to use.

So far this is a tentative schedule for our trip:

Monday, June 8 at 3:00 p.m. - GKTW and Downtown Disney

Tuesday, June 9 -Epcot

Wednesday, June 10 - Sea World or Magic Kingdom

Thursday, June 11 - Magic Kingdom or Sea World

Friday, June 12 - AK and DHS

Saturday, June 13 - Universal before we leave at 3:30 p.m.

I really wished we had one more day but we can't afford the extra day and plus my dh needs to get back to work.

Do these plans sound good? Does anyone know what days to avoid certain parks? and what events not to miss.

thanks for reading, more to come later...

Diane

 

[maroo]

I'm back to update some more.

My ds is 12 yrs old and has Asperger's Syndrome at type of Autism. He is quite high functioning. He has some sensory issues, hates loud noises, he has very little patience when it comes to waiting. He is extremely bright, loves science, video games, reading, yu-gi-oh, pokemon, star wars, and many more things. I think he will enjoy visiting Epcot. He wants to do the Kim Possible adventure, Buzz Lightyear ride, and anything hands on. He is afraid of heights, and gets motion sickness very easily, so some of the rides and shows will be out of the question for him. He wants to visit the Japan showcase to see if there are any yu-gi-oh or pokemon items there.

My dd is looking forward to many rides a lot of which she will not be able to ride because of her heart condition. She really wanted to see the Presidents show, but unfortantely that is suppossed to be closed for rehab. She loves anything presidents. She is also looking forward to China at Epcot, she is hoping to see pugs (her favorite dog), fortune cookies and pretty jewlery.
She wants to see the pretty princesses, and she is supposed to be getting a princess makeover at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique downtown on the first night we are there. We decided since we get to Orlando around 3:00 p.m. we will go to Downtown Disney and Walmart. She is so excited to go - she can't wait. She received a countdown calendar from her Make a Wish manager, and she also got some stickers to use.

So far this is a tentative schedule for our trip:

Monday, June 8 at 3:00 p.m. - GKTW and Downtown Disney

Tuesday, June 9 -Epcot

Wednesday, June 10 - Sea World or Magic Kingdom

Thursday, June 11 - Magic Kingdom or Sea World

Friday, June 12 - AK and DHS

Saturday, June 13 - Universal before we leave at 3:30 p.m.

I really wished we had one more day but we can't afford the extra day and plus my dh needs to get back to work.

Do these plans sound good? Does anyone know what days to avoid certain parks? and what events not to miss.

thanks for reading, more to come later...

Diane

Hello again!!

I would check www.touingplans.com...but not until about 30 days before you leave. I think your plans look GREAT and I like that you will try to hit Downtown Disney that first day...good use of that time!

To really see the "good park, bad park" stuff, you will need to have very set hours and Disney has started to only publish 3 months in advance and has been changing them only weeks and sometimes days in advance. Those changes can greatly affect what night you catch what thing, etc.

As far as GKTW...Thursday night is the big Christmas party, which to me is a don't miss...but probably the only real don't miss at GKTW. Although the other parties are good, too! Christmas is just the favorite of most that have been.

Therefore, since you would want to be back at GKTW that night, I would tend to recommend Sea World for that day rather than MK. MK will be a long day, hopefully capped off by the SpectroMagic parade and Wishes fireworks and you would miss that for the Christmas Party.

You can also easily hop over to MK, though, on the day you are at Epcot. If you are ok with missing Illuminations, you could hop the monorail and see Specrto and Wishes on your Epcot night, if you wanted.

But...the bottom line...you will want to get more details a little closer to your trip...UNLESS...you want to eat somewhere nice or a character meal...Then you might need to go ahead and decide so that you can get that Advanced Dining Reservation.

 

[maroo]

Oh yeah!! I almost forgot...gosh, I get caught up in some planning!!!

It was great to "meet" your DS! You could, if you just want some more reading, check out KathyRN137... Her TR's are really good and she has an autistic son, too! She talks about touring the parks with him and gives a lot of good insight about doing Disney with an autistic child. It sounds like you guys have a similar situation (high functioning, sensory issues, etc)...

I can post a link or send by PM, if you are interested.

 

[WishMom09]

Just found your TR...looks like some great plans in the works!
Sounds like you have 2 great and deserving kids!
I can't wait to read more!
Oh...and Welcome!!

 

[Andreaswish]

Oh yeah!! I almost forgot...gosh, I get caught up in some planning!!!

It was great to "meet" your DS! You could, if you just want some more reading, check out KathyRN137... Her TR's are really good and she has an autistic son, too! She talks about touring the parks with him and gives a lot of good insight about doing Disney with an autistic child. It sounds like you guys have a similar situation (high functioning, sensory issues, etc)...

I can post a link or send by PM, if you are interested.

Maroo I would love a link or a PM. It would be great to talk to her or at least read her TR to get some ideas for planning for my son.

We figure we have to be flexible for both kids sakes. So we want to get some lists together of both kids must see things and at least try to do that and if they are up for more then we will do more.

Thanks for the advice on the Christmas party at GKTW.

I am trying to read some of the pre trip and trip reports when I have a chance. There are lots of reading to do.

Is there a way my dd link to her wish pre trip could be added to first page with the other links? I would love for others to come over and see it and give their advice also.

Thanks, Thanks, Thanks for all you have done so far.

 

[5dwarves]

Diane:

So glad to see you start a PTR. I saw your post on Somer's PTR. I am sorry to hear your daughter has had a recent setback.

I see where you say your DS has Aspberger's. We thought my son had high functioning autism and there were some rough times for him at the magic kingdom. The crowds and heat and a little disappointment about the color of the dumbo he rode on caused a melt down and we left early. Since our trip, we have found out that a grand mal seizure he had after his surgery probably caused some brain damage and that is his issue, not autism. Before we went I was very intune to the autistic families. There are others on the dis who are not wish families who have autism issues. I was lurking on some of their threads. One lady created a social story book for her son to give him some structure and advanced knowledge about what each day would look like. She had some great ideas, and it was very helpful for her son. Here is the thread link, it may help you out as well.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1774902

If you have any specific questions, please ask away. There are a lot of good, experienced people on your thread already who have a wealth of knowledge and are all very helpful.

~Elisa

 

[maroo]

Here is the link to Kathy's most recent Trip report. You can also find other Trip Report links in her signature.

You could also PM her with any questions you have. She is very nice and is on here a lot...so I am sure she would get back with you.

This TR is very, very long! In fact, it is one of the "most viewed" TR's I have ever seen. You can scroll past all of the comments and fairly easily find where she has posted the real TR updates and she has a table of contents of sorts on page 1.

She has lots of adventures and works in the tips and tricks in helping make sure her son has an enjoyable time in Disney. I would imagine you guys will have a lot in common. She is also a nurse, so she understands medical stuff, too!

Link to KathyRN137's TR