Limos, Planes, AND Puke~ OH MY! Allison's Wish Trip Report*3/27 COMPLETED *

[4monkeys]

The Cast: My name is Amy. I am the mother of four wonderful kids and Navy wife to my high school sweetheart. Our oldest son is 15 (soon to be 16), our wish princess is 12 then we have 2 more little guys. 4 years and 9 months.

The Why: My daughter was diagnosed almost 2 years ago with Indeterminate Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Although, they are now saying it is more specifically Crohn's. She has had symptoms since she was 2 and it took 8 years and A LOT of doctors to finally figure out what was wrong. Allison has always been a trooper. Happy and goes with the flow. Rarely did she complain, but when she did.....you knew she was sick. After several failed treatment plans, they finally found one that seems to be working. That's the nutshell anyway. So here we are!!

Once I figure out how, I plan to make some sort of table of contents with links... Anyone want to PM with instructions???

Where Make Wish comes In: She was referred to MAW by the nurses in her hematology/oncology treatment center. It took quite a while to hear anything back (MONTHS) because the doctors papers "didn't make it back" to MAW. Once they got them, it moved VERY quickly. We got the letter in the mail that our Volunteers would be calling. Less than 2 hours after opening the mail they called. They were at our house 2 weeks later. They brought Allison a MAW Barbie!!

So cute. It is displayed on a shelf in her room. More paper work, birth certificates, more papers for the dr. Which by the way, her dr. was deployed very suddenly to Afghanistan in October. So the one doctor that finally figured out what was wrong AND gave her quality of life back..... Is now gone. But that's a whole other story. So the papers again finally make it back to MAW. Her first wish was to meet Harry Potter's George and Fred. We were told we would have to be willing to leave within 48 hours of being notified, which with a Sailor you just can't do. Her second wish was to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. They decided to have us go to GKTW and visit the Orlando parks, which includes IOA where Harry Potter is. She is a huge Potter fan. Our Wish Granter calls and literally wanted us to leave in 2 weeks from when everything was approved. We decided to hold off and go in a month.

Allison during the Send Off Party

Allison and her Make-A-Wish Volunteers
During my short time on DISboards, the wonderful ladies from DISboutiquers “adopted” Allison and our family and sprinkled a very generous amount of PIXIE DUST on us!! We certainly don’t have the words to express to them how much we appreciated it! Nor how much more special and magical it made Allison’s WISH trip.

Day 1~ Allison's Wish is coming True
Day 1 ~ Welcome Home~ Villa 247
Day 2~ Who All does Alli meet?
Day 2~ Part 2 You broke what??
Day 2~part 3 Wishes do come true!
Day 2~ part 4 COMPLETE!!
Day 3~ Part 1 Ice Cream
Day 3~ EPCOT & More PIXIE DUST COMPLETE
Day 4~ part 1Mickey Waffles and Stitch start the day!!
Day 4 We meet TInk Complete!!
2011 YEAR IN REVIEW, why I got sidetracked from my TR
Day 5~ Wish Upon A Star!
Day 5~ Wish upon a Star COMPLETED
Day 6 Back to Universal~ Trip is almost over
Day 7~ Last Day of Wish TRip
Day 7~Goin Home TRIP REPORT IS COMPLETE!

 

[4monkeys]

Sunday DECEMBER 12, 2010 DAY 1
The morning starts off quite early 0500. Mom is up to feed the baby and grabs a quick shower. 0545 Time to wake up the three older kids. Not the most fun thing to do, but at least I could say it was so we could ride the LIMO to the airport…. For DISNEY!!! I can’t believe it’s the day!

Kids drag themselves out of bed, Husband and I help get the last few things together. 0620 everyone is waiting anxiously for the LIMO to arrive at 0630. At 0625 the LIMO arrives!! A great big white Limo! All for Allison!! She is so excited as are Jake and Jonathon. So Dad and Jake carry out the luggage and start to put it in the trunk. Naturally, there isn’t enough room for the OVER ABUNDANCE of luggage that I packed for the 6 of us, for 1 week in Disney. One of the large suitcases had to go inside on the floor with us. Baby’s seat is buckled in, kids are situated, Mom and Dad are in….. Off we go to the airport!

After a 45 minute drive, we arrived at Newport News/Williamsburg airport. Having never flown with kids, I was a bit overwhelmed. We didn’t have tickets, as MAW had it set up for us to check in and get them. So up to the counter we go. Easy enough…. 4 kids and a TON of luggage. The lady at the counter was having a bad day. I think she must have rolled out of bed on the wrong side, because she was grumpy from the moment she said Good morning. Obviously, to her nothing about it was good. She begins to check us in and I inquire about the luggage rates. (I had contacted Airtran ahead of time and found out they don’t charge MAW families for luggage~and brought the email with me) This apparently frustrated her because she kept doing the “typing” on the computer keyboard “looking” for something?!?! After what seemed like forever she called her supervisor to see what to do. Apparently there was no “note” on our reservation that it was a wish trip. Anyway, he said to waive the fees and now we are ready to check our bags.
You seriously weren’t thinking Ms. Ray O’ Sunshine was going to make this process any easier than the tickets!?!? First bag up, over by 5 pounds, OK let’s check the next… over by 4 pounds. Call back to the supervisor. Hushed tones on the phone. “OK, my supervisor says that we can waive the luggage fee, but not the overage fee” WELL~ at the rate they charge for heavy bags, it wasn’t worth it. We brought two extra duffle bags for our goodies, let’s just take one out and put stuff in it and check that as well. “Fine” she said and walked away. We got the stuff out, stuffed it into another bag, reweighed the bags and were good. Everything under weight. Ready to move on and check the bags. After all, we still had security to get through. At least 20 minutes go by before she graced us with her presence again. Back to weighing and typing on the computer. FINALLY our bags were on their way to our plane. But if we don’t hurry, it will make it to Florida and we won’t.

Luckily the airport was small and security wasn’t hard to find. All of us had carry-ons and shoes and coats. The security people were fantastic! They helped us through, and even though they had to check our medication bag we were through in less time than it took to check in!! We are waiting at the gate, get some breakfast and wait for them to board us. Once we are on the plane, our oldest walks in first with the 4 year old. They decide to sit together. Jonathon (4) closest to the window, then Jake (15) in the middle, and Alli (12) on the end. My husband, baby and I sit behind them. Take off was smooth, the baby did great. We gave the kids gum to chew, and Jonathon only got a small piece as he has never had gum before. A little into the flight we hit a bit of turbulence. Nothing too bad…. At least that’s what I thought. Next thing, I see Jonathon “choking” on his gum. I figured he tried to swallow it. I told his brother to help him, and no sooner did the little guy PUKE! EVERYWHERE! Just him and his brother…. So the seatbelt sign is still on, we hit the button for a flight attendant. They were very nice! The moved Jake up a row, Alli moved back with me and Daddy moved up with Jonathon to “clean” him up. It seemed like it took forever. They got situated, and within 5 minutes he was fast asleep. 40 minutes later we were landing in Orlando. We made it. Not without a few glitches.. But we were there!!!

GIVE KIDS THE WORLDTwo wonderful GIVE KIDS THE WORLD greeters met us as we came out. They helped us to the luggage pick-up where we had to stop to change Jonathon. (As you may remember he puked all over himself mid-flight) They then took us to our rental pick-up and off we went to GKTW!!

30 minutes later we were passing Wal-Mart and pulling up to the gates of GIVE KIDS THE WORLD!!!

We check-in and get the run down for orientation. The Volunteer takes us to our Villa so that we can quickly order lunch and get to orientation to get our tickets!

 

[4monkeys]

Allison was so excited that we were staying at the "Princess Castle"!

The Villa was decorated for Christmas, and even had a tree!

We quickly order lunch from Katie's Kitchen so that Dad can get to orientation. Our plan was to go to SeaWorld when he was done. Apparently the kids had other plans.... This is how I found them when I finished feeding the baby.

Our oldest was passed out in the bedroom. I decided to lay down with the baby until Dad got back. When he did, we all fell asleep!! Oh well, it was such an exciting day.. right?!?!?

Once our nap was done we decided to go across the street to "Matthews Boundless Playground" Jake stayed behind, he needed more beauty rest.

Back to the Villa to eat some dinner. The Gingerbread House was already closed, so we ordered Pizza and had it delivered to the door! Then to bed for what is to come!! ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE~ WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!

 

[jj0plin]

Great start, can't wait to read more! My 14 year old sister's name is Allison Taylor!

 

[smileycrissy]

Yay you started!!

Wow, that was quite an adventure at the airport and on the plane. So sorry to hear the lady at the counter was a grump. I can't believe she wanted to charge you for the extra bags and for the bags being overweight. I guess they've never come a MAW family before at that airport. It's a good thing you did that research. I can't wait to read more!

 

[kailatilear]

YAY!!!! I am so happy you started!!!! I cannot wait to follow along

 

[brookerene]

Alright you made it! I'm looking forward to following your story!

 

[Emilyswish]

I'm subbing! Uggh, sorry about the bit of a rough start. Us too! And puke on the plane for us too! Maybe it's something about being named Amy/Aimee and having 4kids!!!

Can't wait to read about your Harry Potter Day!!!!

 

[HeatherSP]

What a great start! It sounds like you got a much needed nap. We are also flying air tran with a large group (7) so I am worried about the plane ride and seating arrangements. I can't wait to hear more.

 

[4monkeys]

Great start, can't wait to read more! My 14 year old sister's name is Allison Taylor!

Thank you! How sweet, they picked a GREAT name!

Yay you started!!

Wow, that was quite an adventure at the airport and on the plane. So sorry to hear the lady at the counter was a grump. I can't believe she wanted to charge you for the extra bags and for the bags being overweight. I guess they've never come a MAW family before at that airport. It's a good thing you did that research. I can't wait to read more!

Finally, right?I just couldn't seem to catch a break to be able to do it. I wanted to wait for my pictures and some of Alli's input. Right now the baby is sick, so it I am trying to catch up while he snuggles with Daddy. We will see how much I can get done.

YAY!!!! I am so happy you started!!!! I cannot wait to follow along

Thanks! I can't wait to get it all out!!

Alright you made it! I'm looking forward to following your story!

Hopefully it won't take me as long to post the second day

I'm subbing! Uggh, sorry about the bit of a rough start. Us too! And puke on the plane for us too! Maybe it's something about being named Amy/Aimee and having 4kids!!!

Can't wait to read about your Harry Potter Day!!!!

Welcome! Gotta love the luck Amy's (Aimee's) with 4 kids have!!I am finally starting to catch up on things. I am looking forward to reading more about your trip. LOVE the mickey/minnie family picture.

What a great start! It sounds like you got a much needed nap. We are also flying air tran with a large group (7) so I am worried about the plane ride and seating arrangements. I can't wait to hear more.

I am not sure how your flight was arranged, but we were given our seat assignments when we checked in. We weren't able to check in early for the seats. I am sure they will do 3, 2, 2 . I doubt they will put someone alone. Good luck, have fun!! Thanks for joining!!

 

[blessedmom4]

AWESOME Start! I am subbing in! I am happy you didn't let little Miss Sunshine ruin your flight...You had enough to deal with (I was covered in Puke by Lisa on a flight ...and had nothing to change into...I was REALLY ripe by the time we got home). Tell us more about the Princess villas if you have time. That is where Lisa is **hoping** to stay (She wanted Cinderella's Castle but I explained they wouldn't let us do that). I can't wait to hear about Harry Potter and Universal, We have never been and I want to go! Loved the pictures!!!

 

[Mom2mitokids]

Great start to your TR. Sorry you had problems in the beginning. Yucky on the puke. Poor little guy. Glad Air Trans waives the baggage fees for MAW families. Delta does not. That's ok..we will all have carry ons and just check in our bath stuff. Can't wait to see and hear more.

 

[4monkeys]

AWESOME Start! I am subbing in!popcoorn:: I am happy you didn't let little Miss Sunshine ruin your flight...You had enough to deal with (I was covered in Puke by Lisa on a flight ...and had nothing to change into...I was REALLY ripe by the time we got home). Tell us more about the Princess villas if you have time. That is where Lisa is **hoping** to stay (She wanted Cinderella's Castle but I explained they wouldn't let us do that). I can't wait to hear about Harry Potter and Universal, We have never been and I want to go! Loved the pictures!!!

Welcome!! There are 3 of these "castle-like" villas from what our hostess told us. All of the villas are the same inside from what I understand. THey all have the same accomadations anyway. The outside is just different. So the towers and all give it the look of a castle..... Sorry not more exciting than that. But Alli was a princess regardless!!

Great start to your TR. Sorry you had problems in the beginning. Yucky on the puke. Poor little guy. Glad Air Trans waives the baggage fees for MAW families. Delta does not. That's ok..we will all have carry ons and just check in our bath stuff. Can't wait to see and hear more.

Yes, yucky on the puke. But we just went with it... what else can you do, right?? I read your post about Deltas response. that stinks. I hope they do once you get there!! Good luck!

 

[brookerene]

I love the hitch hiking ghosts shirt...! I haven't seen any of those before!

 

[MelMel11]

Sorry it got off to a rough start on the plane. But Im sure it gets much better. Cant wait to hear more.

 

[kayrosek]

Subbing can't wait to hear more. M best friend as a kid was named Allison and come to think of it she looked alot like your Allison, maybe that's why pics of her look familiar

 

[Glo's wish]

I'm subbing and cant wait to read more! We will be flying Airtran as well. How did you go about getting the fees waived? I wouldn't know where to begin or what to even say!! With 6 of us flying this has me a bit concerned!

 

[4monkeys]

Subbing can't wait to hear more. M best friend as a kid was named Allison and come to think of it she looked alot like your Allison, maybe that's why pics of her look familiar

Beautiful Allison's!!! Welcome to our journey

I'm subbing and cant wait to read more! We will be flying Airtran as well. How did you go about getting the fees waived? I wouldn't know where to begin or what to even say!! With 6 of us flying this has me a bit concerned!

Welcome! Airtran flight attendants were very nice. And nice at Orlando. I emailed them and asked about luggage. They emailed me back that they waive MAW luggage fees. Try to email them. If it's in your ticket info, they will automatically waive it!! Good luck.. we had 6 of us too

 

[4monkeys]

Day 2 Monday December 13, 2010
I set the alarm the night before since we had the naps, figured it would be good to get an early start. Afterall.... TODAY was THE day for Alli's WISH TO COME TRUE!! We were going to Islands of Adventure~ The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!

So the alarm goes off and I promptly get up and start to wake the older kiddos. Daddy stayed with the younger two. I guess this is a good time to say both Jonathon (4) AND Christopher (9 months) slept in the bed with us!! Thank goodness it was a King size bed. I am ready and figure the older two are almost ready. NO Allison is still in bed ASLEEP!!!! So I manage to get her up and we all get ready. We want to see Mickey and Minnie before Breakfast. We wanted to beat the crowd so we could eat and get to Harry Potter!!Finally on our way to Julie's Safari Theatre.

We are about to meet Mickey and Minnie!! WOO HOO!!Here we are waiting in line

Jonathon meeting Mickey

Christopher meeting Mickey and Minnie

Family Shot

The kids.....

We start to leave and I hear "Amy" So I look over toward that direction... and I see "Bearshouse"!! We chatted a few minutes and out the door we go. Once outside we are surprised to see some more Disney favorites!! We stopped to say Hi and get some Pictures!

Off to the Gingerbread House we go!!

After breakfast, we headed to the van. Buttons, passes and directions in hand..... We are Ready To GO!!

NEXT STOP THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!!

 

[smileycrissy]

Ok the breakfast pics of the kids is hysterical!! I love their faces! Was it too early in the morning for them?