Bella’s Very Merry WISH-mas Party ~ 10 Days of Dreams Come True MAW/GKTW Dec 3-10

[All7OfUs]

Hi Stephanie!

Just wanted you to make sure I was still here! I just read all the updates up to now, and just have to say that those outfits were indeed scrumptious enough to eat! GKTW looks like a truly amazing place !

WOW! That Christmas party was super-duper fun for the girls! I do love ALL the pix that you DO have!! I guess I don't have to tell you to treasure them well!!

 

[praisehisname]

I wonder if there is actually a cookie somewhere under all the frosting, sprinkles, and jimmies?

Is it just me, or does this G-Man seem to have an angry brow? The girls loved him either way!

Looks angry to me, too!

It was then that Bella showed me another little surprise. After I snapped the photo of her with her chosen toy from Santa, and then left for orientation, an Angel spoke with Bella about the difficulty of her decision and praised the logical way (eenie meenie miney mo) Bella had gone about choosing between the two. Then the Angel told Bella she could have BOTH toys! Now Bella had a Travel Lite Bright, new My Little Ponies, and a huge smile on her face to go with them!

Awesome!

 

[StefaniLyn]

YAY!! What great updates!! We used to have a Boston Market here but it closed several years ago. It was sooooo good! Oh my goodness--the girls outfits are ADORABLE!!!! I just love customs and these are TDF!!! The bows, earrings, shirts, skirts--soooo cute! It looks like the girls really enjoyed the Christmas party--their faces say it all--they are just beaming!!

Love me some Boston Market! I can't wait for an excuse to go next time Bella has an appointment in Milwaukee.

They had a blast at Christmas. It was a perfect way to kick off our trip!

And those clothes . . . is it wrong to hope they don't grow an inch before our next Disney trip (TBA but probably YEARS from now) just so they can wear the outfits there again?

i definetly saw your husband around GKTW once or twice!
I don't think you posted pics of you on the pre trip so i didn't know who to look for lol.
Their outfits are soo cute, and I'm jealous of their curls

Looks like they had lots of fun at the xmas party

Where in the world was I all those times you saw my DH???

I love their curls too, but the older two don't like them AJ has actually asked if she cuold have her hair straightened? In their defense, mornings can be a tug of war with their head and a hairbrush.

What a bummer that you had to miss parts of the CMas party. The girls sure had fun regardless.

At least Grandma took pictures for me! She typically rolls her eyes when I get out the camera (just like the girls) but she new how much photos would mean to me since I had to go to orientation. Bless her!

The girls were soooo cute at the parade and making cookies! Loved the My Little Pony pics too! Piper will be very excited to meet the penguin..she loves them! I'm sorry you had to miss out on so much of the fun. Here's my guilty confession..when I spoke with our coordinator about dates..I told her I did not want to arrive or leave on a Thursday! LOL. I just got our flight schedule and we'll get there prob around 5 or so, so I'll be doing evening orientation as well from the looks of it. It's a Tues night though, which is Family Fun Night..that's okay with me, Gram can get the pie in the face! Can't wait for the next update!

I purposely scheduled our arrival for a Thursday because I wanted Christmas to be our first GKTW activity. When I did that, I was HOPING for an afternoon orientation, but it was cancelled the day we arrived.

Aside from my disappointment that you had to do orientation during the Christmas party - I am thrilled with the wonderful evening you guys have had already!!

It was wondeful, and knowing that my girls had a great time at Christmas was good enough to make me happy! At least I was able to see the pictures thanks to Grandma.

Christmas sounds wonderful and the my little pony was so cool! How neat that they got a picture with her!

Kennedy was absolutely IN LOVE with Twinkle Hope. We were so hoping to see her later on in the week but no luck. I really want to buy them each a Twinkle Hope Pony, but they are never in stock at Amazon and I can't find one on eBay. I am starting to think they are a rare collectible. Anyone know?

Wonderful updates! The girls are adorable in their Christmas dresses and what a truly magical experience at GKTW

Hi Stephanie!

Just wanted you to make sure I was still here! I just read all the updates up to now, and just have to say that those outfits were indeed scrumptious enough to eat! GKTW looks like a truly amazing place !

WOW! That Christmas party was super-duper fun for the girls! I do love ALL the pix that you DO have!! I guess I don't have to tell you to treasure them well!!

Howdy! How's it going over there with all of your guests?

I had uploaded most photos from day 1 and 2 to Facebook before the FDF09. Unfortunately, aside from a handful (20 or so) that I printed before the crash, they are only usable for TReporting as I can't print them from facebook.

Looks angry to me, too!

I'm glad I am not the only one that thinks so! It's like he has a V shaped brow, right? It makes him look mad.

 

[ladybugmom]

And those clothes . . . is it wrong to hope they don't grow an inch before our next Disney trip (TBA but probably YEARS from now) just so they can wear the outfits there again?

Not at all!! I felt the same way about the customs I had made for my girls for our May trip last year. Thankfully several of them were pillowcase dresses so when they get too short, they can wear them as swing tops!!!

 

[StefaniLyn]

I was helping DD10 clean her messy, messy room this evening in an attempt to find a library book that has been missing since our Wish Trip. Did I mention her room is MESSY? She likes to 'collect' lots of different things and her collections often spill out into the middle of her floor. Along with her clothes. And her books. And everything else that we just spent hours putting away. Where does it all come from? I am considering calling that new TV show, 'Hoarders.'

As we cleaned, we discussed the last time she remembered having the book and realized that it was on our way to Animal Kingdom. I don't believe we left it behind, it's just a matter of finding where I put it while packing for our return home. I need to check the luggage again.

We started talking about Animal Kingdom, and the safari, and then the conversation progressed to DHS and the Osbourne Lights. AJ asked me if we lost all of the safari and osbourne lights pictures on the flash drive. I told I still had a handful of each left, but most were gone.

AJ told me that she wished she could have a just Wish like Bella did. I understood - don't we all secretly wish for a wish come true?

Then AJ said to me "Mom, I don't think I should get a Wish because I'm sick like Bella, I just want a wish so I can wish for you to get all of your pictures back."

 

[ladybugmom]

Oh, how precious--and what a selfless wish!! You have such a sweet DD!!

 

[pipersmom]

Oh Stefani...I would have lost it and started crying..it was soooo sweet that she said that! I love your girls

 

[yinyanggirls]

My girls love MLPs but I had never heard of Twinkle Hope until your TR. Kind of like the MAW Barbie that Amanda is withholding from Piper. If I see it anywhere I'll be sure to share!

Love the comment from A.J. That's so sweet.

 

[that's nice]

Just got done with your last 2 updates.

The girls look like they were having a blast! The Christmas Party looks awesome! I know you HAVE to goto orientation, but what is soooo important that you have to miss this party? Could there be a better way?

I'm loving your report and can't wait to read more!!!!!

 

[kayrosek]

That comment was absolutley pricless! Just so sweet, I'm sure you will remember it forever. I did some online searching for Twinkle Hope and it was a Limited Edition pony. So I'm geussing it's probably a collectible. Now this is a long shot but DH has a freind who is amazing at finding rare toys. I'll give him a call and have him look into it. No promises but maybe he can help. I will keep my eye out too and if eigther of us find some I'll be sure to let you know.

 

[StefaniLyn]

Oh, how precious--and what a selfless wish!! You have such a sweet DD!!

I love that kid sometimes Lately she's been all pre-teen attitude so it was really nice to see her sweeter side come out

Oh Stefani...I would have lost it and started crying..it was soooo sweet that she said that! I love your girls

I thanked her for being so thoughtful, gave her a hug, and took her dirty clothes for the laundry room . . . . . where I lost it

My girls love MLPs but I had never heard of Twinkle Hope until your TR. Kind of like the MAW Barbie that Amanda is withholding from Piper. If I see it anywhere I'll be sure to share!

Love the comment from A.J. That's so sweet.

You are probably right. It was probably a limited edition snatched up by collectors.I'll just keep checking ebay every once in a while and hope I get lucky.

Just got done with your last 2 updates.

The girls look like they were having a blast! The Christmas Party looks awesome! I know you HAVE to goto orientation, but what is soooo important that you have to miss this party? Could there be a better way?

I'm loving your report and can't wait to read more!!!!!

During my planning process, I had read about an afternoon orientation and figured I would just go to that one. It was very disappointing to hear that the afternoon session was cancelled.

I'm going to try and get another installment written this afternoon between loads of laundry and dishes.

That comment was absolutley pricless! Just so sweet, I'm sure you will remember it forever. I did some online searching for Twinkle Hope and it was a Limited Edition pony. So I'm geussing it's probably a collectible. Now this is a long shot but DH has a freind who is amazing at finding rare toys. I'll give him a call and have him look into it. No promises but maybe he can help. I will keep my eye out too and if eigther of us find some I'll be sure to let you know.

Thank you so much for researching Twinkle Hope. I appreciate you having DH's friend look into finding one for the as well. I am going to keep my eyes out for one on the internet as well, and just hope that they weren't so limited in their release that the price is rediculous.

 

[kdzbear]

I am caught up! I do love the photos you have. The shared ones are in the mail. I hope that they get there soon. I had a minor problem trying to copy some of them, but they are all on disks and on the way! I hope they fill in some of the gaps!

 

[pacrosby]

Those outfits the girls wore on the night of the Xmas party were just adorable!!! Just love it when little girls look like.......well, little girls! They are beautiful

Twinkle Hope didn't make an appearance the night of our Xmas party unfortunately. Liv would've liked her. I did notice a number of things that were different about the parade/party (by looking at your pictures). Maybe it depends on the volunteers that are on hand.

So you think Murphy's name should be changed to Matty??? How 'bout they just give him a son! Entertainment Mary told me they actually will be introducing a girlfriend for Murphy soon soooooooooo........could just be a matter of time


Pamela

Matty's Wish Trip PTR http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2325607

Matty's Wish Trip TR "Mom, Dad, 3 Kids, and a Gingerbread Boy" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2356739

 

[Momofwishkid]

While I headed off to enjoy orientation, (honestly, I did enjoy it, but I would have enjoyed it much MORE if it wasn’t in the middle of Christmas.) DH, Grandma, and my Christmas Pixies enjoyed Christmas at GKTW. They made Christmas cookies first.

​

Bella can’t eat cookies because of her Celiac Disease, so she made this cookie for Daddy.

I wonder if there is actually a cookie somewhere under all the frosting, sprinkles, and jimmies?

Then the girls wanted a Sno-Cones.

After selecting Sno-Cone flavors, we ran into Matty’s Gingerbread Man. I seriously think they should either rename the one they have after Matty or make another G-Man and name it in honor of Matty. Who’s with me? Is it just me, or does this G-Man seem to have an angry brow? The girls loved him either way!

They found this adorable penguin to play with! Anyone know his name?

Behind the Gingerbread house (where I was just starting my orientation) we met these festive folks, but they didn’t have much to say!

It was time for the parade to begin!

The Ice Cream Truck:

I think these were the courteous gentlemen who greeted us at the Gingerbread house earlier that day.

Miss Merry (Mayor Clayton’s girlfriend? Wife? Not sure which)

And Mayor Clayton, the mayor of Give Kids the World Village

My Pony Loving little girls were giddy at the sight of Twinkle Hope, a real life My Little Pony!

After the parade the girls sought out Twinkle Hope so they could meet her in person! I’m so jealous!

And to cap off the evening, a special horse drawn carriage ride.

At some point during the evening, my family made their way into the Ice Cream Palace where they were lucky enough to meet up with Sunny and her family. It would be the first of many times on this trip when my DH would meet fellow DISers . . . . without me!!! Apparently Sunny and Bella had selected the same toy from Santa and chatted about it for a while.

Christmas at GKTW was magical. I just wish I’d been able to enjoy more of it. By the time my orientation was finished, Christmas was also. DH, Grandma, and the girls met me at the House of Hearts and we walked back to the villa.

It was then that Bella showed me another little surprise. After I snapped the photo of her with her chosen toy from Santa, and then left for orientation, an Angel spoke with Bella about the difficulty of her decision and praised the logical way (eenie meenie miney mo) Bella had gone about choosing between the two. Then the Angel told Bella she could have BOTH toys! Now Bella had a Travel Lite Bright, new My Little Ponies, and a huge smile on her face to go with them!

We all put on our pajamas and within a matter of minutes, we were all sleeping like babies.

Up Next: Act 2

I dont know how I keep getting so far behind on your TR. I just love it. Im sorry you werent able to get a castle villa though, and you had to miss half of Christmas. That was so sweet Bella was able to get both the toys she wanted. An amazing first day. Cant wait for day 2!

 

[paintnolish]

Their outfits are seriously so cute and festive. Also, the gingerbread man totally looks sinister!

 

[that's nice]

We ended up with $30 in Kohls cash and were going to let Juliana spend it. We were looking for a list of Pony's to see what one's Juliana didn't have and saw Twinkle Hope on the Hasbro website. It even has a Give Kids the World logo on it. I never knew about this Pony... although I am a guy and what should I know about My Little Ponies? LOL

 

[buzz for boys]

Im all caught up now and just wanted to say I have loved your updates.
My little princess has coeliac disease also so I can relate to Bella having to make cookies for daddy - lucky man !!!

 

[yinyanggirls]

We ended up with $30 in Kohls cash and were going to let Juliana spend it. We were looking for a list of Pony's to see what one's Juliana didn't have and saw Twinkle Hope on the Hasbro website. It even has a Give Kids the World logo on it. I never knew about this Pony... although I am a guy and what should I know about My Little Ponies? LOL

Here is a link to the actual pony for sale, but it doesn't have a link to be able to buy it from them. Weird.
http://www.hasbro.com/mylittlepony/...8BF0-9EFBF894F9D4&product_id=22857&src=endeca

and for the press release about GKTW
http://www.hasbro.com/corporate/med...E-HOPE-SPA-at-GIVE-KIDS-THE-WORLD-VILLAGE.cfm

and one more from GKTW
http://www.gktw.org/corporateHeroes.asp?a=4&page=hasbro

 

[StefaniLyn]

I am caught up! I do love the photos you have. The shared ones are in the mail. I hope that they get there soon. I had a minor problem trying to copy some of them, but they are all on disks and on the way! I hope they fill in some of the gaps!

Thank you so much for the CD. I will keep an eye out for it in the mail. Glad you are all caught up now. I got sidetracked the other day and never made it around to posting an update but I told DH I won't be helping him take down the Christmas tree until I post one today.

Those outfits the girls wore on the night of the Xmas party were just adorable!!! Just love it when little girls look like.......well, little girls! They are beautiful

Twinkle Hope didn't make an appearance the night of our Xmas party unfortunately. Liv would've liked her. I did notice a number of things that were different about the parade/party (by looking at your pictures). Maybe it depends on the volunteers that are on hand.

So you think Murphy's name should be changed to Matty??? How 'bout they just give him a son! Entertainment Mary told me they actually will be introducing a girlfriend for Murphy soon soooooooooo........could just be a matter of time


Pamela

Matty's Wish Trip PTR http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2325607

Matty's Wish Trip TR "Mom, Dad, 3 Kids, and a Gingerbread Boy" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2356739

One of my favorite songs is "Let them be little." because kids truly grow up too fast. It seems so many clothing manufacturers try and make little kids, especially girls, look like mini adults. I was thrilled to see the outfits we recieved in the big give were not only amazing and adorable, but also conservative and CUTE.

I'm sorry Liv missed Twinkle Hope. I think she was the hilight of the parade for us. But of course, your parade had an entirely different hilight for obvious reasons!

I dont know how I keep getting so far behind on your TR. I just love it. Im sorry you werent able to get a castle villa though, and you had to miss half of Christmas. That was so sweet Bella was able to get both the toys she wanted. An amazing first day. Cant wait for day 2!

The light bright came in very handy throughout the week and I am soooooo glad they allowed her to have both toys. We used the light bright for Bella's meals. One bite for one peg!

Their outfits are seriously so cute and festive. Also, the gingerbread man totally looks sinister!

I'm just happy that Murphy (G-man) was able to adjust his attitude before Matty met him the following week. They must have more than one costume because the pictures from the following week do not have the angry brow. My girls didn't even notice and to be honest, neither did I until someone saw my facebook photos and said he looked angry.

We ended up with $30 in Kohls cash and were going to let Juliana spend it. We were looking for a list of Pony's to see what one's Juliana didn't have and saw Twinkle Hope on the Hasbro website. It even has a Give Kids the World logo on it. I never knew about this Pony... although I am a guy and what should I know about My Little Ponies? LOL

Tim, you have a daughter. In the next 18 years you will learn more about American Girl Dolls, My Little Ponies, Barbies, and Polly Pockets than you ever thought possible. I saw the Hasbro site. I wish they would just sell them on there!

Im all caught up now and just wanted to say I have loved your updates.
My little princess has coeliac disease also so I can relate to Bella having to make cookies for daddy - lucky man !!!

I hope your princess is doing well with her celiac disease. Bella doesn't eat much and we prep all of her food, so I can't imagine how difficult it is when a child is able to eat everything. It breaks my heart when Bella asks if she can taste something and I have to tell her no because it either has gluten in it or I don't know it's ingredients.

Here is a link to the actual pony for sale, but it doesn't have a link to be able to buy it from them. Weird.
http://www.hasbro.com/mylittlepony/...8BF0-9EFBF894F9D4&product_id=22857&src=endeca

and for the press release about GKTW
http://www.hasbro.com/corporate/med...E-HOPE-SPA-at-GIVE-KIDS-THE-WORLD-VILLAGE.cfm

and one more from GKTW
http://www.gktw.org/corporateHeroes.asp?a=4&page=hasbro

Thanks for the articles and info Tim. From reading, it appears that they were only available for sale at Wal-Mart during Christmas 2008. They also gave them to Wish Kids last year. I will keep my eyes peeled on ebay and hope one appears within my price range!

 

[StefaniLyn]

Why is it that no matter what time we get up in the morning, we are always rushing to get out the door to make it somewhere one time? This morning was no different. We were all excited for our first day at a theme park, but before we could leave, we needed to get showered and dressed, eat breakfast, and meet some special friends at the GKTW Castle of Miracles.

Looking out our villa window, we saw ominous Rain clouds as far as the eye could see. It was already sprinkling and showed no signs of improving anytime soon. A quick switch to The Weather Channel confirmed our assumptions. Rain all day today. Scattered thunderstorms. Highs in the 60s. Did nobody inform the man upstairs that this was Bella’s Wish Trip?

Prior to reading the forecast for today, I worried that the outfits I had chosen for the girls today would be too warm. This clearly would not be a problem. The sweatshirts I bought on black Friday for $3 each, combined with skorts from TCP Outlet at 2.75 each and the FREE GKTW/Panama Jack t-shirts would be perfect. And I was pretty proud of dressing all 3 girls for less than $20!

We double checked the backpack for ponchos, ditched the sunscreen, and made it out the door by 8:30am, just a half hour later than I was hoping for. I snapped a quick picture of the girls in their official Universal Studios outfits.

Ok, maybe I took 2.

I can't decide which one to use in my scrapbook - in the first, everyone is looking at the camera, but Bella and Kennedy have
'real' smiles in the 2nd one.

We jumped in the van and drove over to the Castle of Miracles. This photo was NOT taken by me on this day. Thanks GKTW for the stock photo!

GKTW’s schedule of events advertised Universal Characters at the Castle of Miracles this morning until 9:15 but didn’t specify who it was. We quickly scurried from the van to the Castle, pausing only to wait for the castle door to magically open on command (and after daddy pressed the handicap button on the sly). Doo you know who would be waiting for us behind the magic door?

We rounded the corner and our eyes bugged out as we saw some all-time favorites – Scooby Doo and Shaggy! DH is a dedicated Scooby fan since childhood and always enjoys an excuse to educate the girls in his ways with his collection of Scooby Doo videos.

We waited just a few moments for one other family to finish their photos before the girls were able to meet Scooby and Shaggy. This was their first character meet for this trip so they were a bit reserved. AJ offered Shaggy a HANDSHAKE? um, ok?

Within seconds, their apprehension melted away and the girls warmed up to Scooby and Shaggy.

Shaggy, in his totally 70’s hippie voice, was awesome, Dude! He was, like, totally loving the girls Spongebob sweatshirts. He even asked Grandma to make him one for Christmas.

Bella loved Scooby Doo. Why are kids so drawn to the noses of these life-sized characters? I swear every time we meet a dog, she has to touch his nose!

The GKTW photographer and I were both snapping away with our cameras. For future wish trippers, please take note that during character meets and other events, a GKTW photographer will take photos and they will be included on the CD you receive at the end of your trip.

AJ wanted Grandma to join in the photo . . . . . no such luck!​

Of course, we had to get a picture of DH and his idol, Scooby Doo. I think meeting Scooby was one of the hilights of the trip for Ben. But I swear, if I find a slobbery copy of this under his pillow he’ll be in the doghouse.

The girls were each given a balloon as we said our good-byes to Scooby and Shaggy. We decided to try a quick service breakfast this morning and headed over to the Ice Cream Palace.

I’m not sure if the pony and piano are intended to be played with, but the girls busied themselves with those while the Angels prepared our quick serve breakfast.

​

We ordered eggs, bagels, coffee and hot cocoa!

I enjoyed my bagel and the hot cocoa was …….mmmmmmmmmmmmmm scrumptious! It *almost* rivals MVMCP cocoa. Almost.

I grabbed my food to go and headed over to the House of Hearts.

As everyone else ate breakfast, I was busy checking out a video camera. We don’t own one, and I was thrilled when I heard GKTW offers them for families to use during their trips. The wonderful Angel in the media center gave me a quick lesson in camera use and care. He also included 4 mini discs and an extra battery.

By the time I finished, DH was waiting with the van outside the House of Hearts. I jumped in, buckled up, and programmed our GPS to take us to Universal Studios!

Act 2: Scene 2 - The US/IOA Adventure begins!