Make a Wish (and other organizations) - Wish Trippers UNITE! Volume SIX!

[Redwavess]

Does anyone know if it is possible to change the title of a thread I started for my pre-trip report?
Thanks!

HI,

Yes you can change the title. I did it every time I posted an update so people who were reading could follow along.

Go to the 1st post in your thread.
Scroll down to the bottom right of you post.
Click edit.
Then click "Go Advanced"
Then you can scroll back up to the title and change the title.

Happy Planning,

Madeline

 

[Redwavess]

What are some absolutely can't miss things to do by and at Disney World? My daughter is 4 and my son is 2 and a half. Only my hubby has been before.

Also, what are some fun things to do to prepare for Disney? I have heard the chain thing, and that sounds easy and super fun, and I think we will do a Disney movie or two a week to lead up to it, but I really want to come up with some more fun things to do. What have you all done to get the kids super excited about the trip? I may do a theme night with each movie, but I would love other ideas to really make this trip and the time leading up to it really special for my little ones. I want them to really get Disney and who the characters are and everything. Is there a thread somewhere that you know of or something that I could look at for ideas? Maybe something to help me figure out what to do for my Disney themed nights, or activities to do that are Disney themed?

Hi,

Congratulations on your wish trip! I know that it will be awesome!!!

We live in California and were Season Pass holders to Disneyland, so we came to the wish trip with that in mind. We focused on the rides and activities that we had not been on at Disneyland. We loved have lunch with Cinderella that was a highlight. Our family loves animals so we really enjoyed Animal Kingdom and the Nemo Aquarium at Epcot, as well as Sea World. Our favorite parks were the Universal parks. They really put out the red carpet for us, it was awesome!! I think it is a good idea to get lots of opinions and then take your families interest into account!!

For us the biggest can't miss things for our Wish Trip were the activities at Give Kids the World. While we were planning I didn't know how great it would be at Give Kids the World, so I didn't really focus much on spending time their. From the beginning of our trip it became clear that GKTW was AMAZING, so we ended up coming back from the parks early so we wouldn't miss the nights activities. For us GKTW was our biggest must do!!

For getting ready I read Trip reports to get ideas for Disney Family Movie Nights. I ended up only doing 2 but they were really fun. What I did was went to a craft store to find fun crafts that matched a Disney movie. We made the craft and then watched the movie together. Some families get really into it and make whole dinner parties around the theme. I didn't quite get that far.

Here is a picture of the countdown calendar we had. It was a fun way to count down to Disney.

It had here favorite treats (Kit Kats and Rice Crispy Treats). She pulled off one each day for 30 days before our trip.


Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[Redwavess]

Hi, my name is Jasmine and we are just at the beginning of our journey with my brother Jesse's wish trip. We have a date to meet with his Wish Granters! August 11th. I have so many questions to ask. Jesse is non verbal, and we are worried they'll think we're asking for things that we want, not what he would want. How does a wish granter visit normally go? What should we expect and what questions should we ask?

Thank you,
Jasmine

Hi,

I am so happy you all are getting to experience the Make a Wish process. I remember when we were waiting for our Wish Granters to come it was an exciting time for sure. Like you we had questions about the process. You will likely have no trouble with this process as Make a Wish is used to granting wishes of kids at all ability levels. They will know that you know your brother best and want him to have a great wish trip.

The questions they ask are:

If you could go anywhere in the world where would you wish to go?
If you could meet anyone in the world who would you wish to meet?
If you have anything in the world what would you wish to have?
If you could be anything what you wish to be?

When our Wish Granters came they gave our daughter and our son a gift. They talked about her wishes and then saw her room (she asked them to come take a look).

They don't really have details about the wish to share, but you could tell them your concerns with staying at Give Kids the World and ask if there would be the possibility of your family stay on site.

Best wishes for a super trip,

Madeline

 

[Jessicalynne]

Redwavess/Madeline: Thank you so much for all the suggestions! I love the idea of a candy countdown or my daughter's favorite treat type countdown! I think she would absolutely love it! I also really appreciate you telling me how to change my thread title since the old one didn't really fit anymore and I didn't want to have to create a new one. I am going to read through some of your trip report, and I will probably try to find some others to read through too, seeing as I haven't read through them as much lately since we hadn't heard from our wish granters, but I am excited to hear more about people's Disney trips again, especially now that ours is getting closer and seems more like a reality now! Thanks again!

 

[kritter47]

Wish interviews for non-verbal kids are a little bit different than those for verbal kids.

As a wish granter, what I like to see is a parent going in with an open mind as we talk through options. They may already have a "I know my child will like this best" wish in mind, and that's great. But don't become focused on that wish to the exclusion of all other possibilities. And don't try to steer every question to that single wish (so if I asked "What does your child respond to positively?" say "Bright colors, big shapes, uptempo music" and not "Costumed characters and Disney music!" unless only Disney music brings out certain responses). Our whole goal is to make sure, to the best of our ability, that we are going to grant your child's one true wish, and we take a lot of ways to get there. Just because we ask about other possibilities doesn't mean we're trying to make you choose something else.

Also remember that your child's doctor must approve the wish, which the WGs have no control over.

As far as GKTW, it's definitely worth a look on their website to see what it's about. And it will likely have a lot more handicapped accessible attractions for your child than AoA, as nice as it is. "Easy" depends on what you're looking for. The drive will be shorter, but the room will be much smaller. The free food options will not be there, and there are a ton of special experiences at GKTW that just cannot be replicated at even the most awesome Disney resort. My suggestion would be to pinpoint why you want to stay there over somewhere else, then research GKTW and see if that helps your concerns. And as with anything else, always ask your Wish Granters about it.

 

[JasmineOtt]

Redwavess and kritter47, thank you for your responses! Of course, we want what's best for Jesse, and what will make him the happiest. We will talk to his wish granters and see what happens. We're just anxious and excited to have all our questions answered!

Again, Thank you!

 

[JasmineOtt]

Hi! I had another question. We were wanting to possibly bring more people than MAW will pay for. I know people have done this and wanted to know what the approximate cost was per person to see if this is even plausible for our family. Jesse loves his family, but he is the youngest at 18, so MAW won't pay for all of his siblings. We believe it would be a huge part of his wish to have his whole family, so we are trying to make it happen.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Lilfoot93]

Hi! I had another question. We were wanting to possibly bring more people than MAW will pay for. I know people have done this and wanted to know what the approximate cost was per person to see if this is even plausible for our family. Jesse loves his family, but he is the youngest at 18, so MAW won't pay for all of his siblings. We believe it would be a huge part of his wish to have his whole family, so we are trying to make it happen.

Thank you in advance!

My Dad came along with us. He had to pay airfare, park tickets and food when he was not at GKTW. We ate at GKTW a lot! Plus we went to Walmart and bought waters and food to take in the park for snacks and lunch. That helps keep the cost down too.

Jackie

 

[Jessicalynne]

Someone mentioned we should do the Bippity Boppity Boutique for Jordyn. Is it really worth the price? Has anyone on this thread done it, and would you make the same decision to do it again? It does sound amazing, but I would love to have multiple opinions on their experience with it.

I know this will be a once and a lifetime trip, and I don't want Jordyn to miss out on anything. One thing I am concerned about is that my son Jeremy will only be 2 years and 8 months old at the time, so he might feel like he has to miss out on a fun experience since kids have to be at least three so he wouldn't even be able to do the boy one, and he loves following in his sister's footsteps and doing everything she does. He has already missed out on a bunch because of cancer, so I guess this is my biggest concern with doing the BBB for my daughter... Anyone else deal with a situation like this and how did you deal with it? Did you go along with it, or did you miss out on an amazing experience for one of your kids because both couldn't do it?...

Thanks.

 

[Redwavess]

Redwavess and kritter47, thank you for your responses! Of course, we want what's best for Jesse, and what will make him the happiest. We will talk to his wish granters and see what happens. We're just anxious and excited to have all our questions answered!

Again, Thank you!

I can totally relate to the feeling of being excited and anxious and seeking out more information. We felt the same!! It just such a special, unique time and planning it out is half the fun!!

I wish I could help you with your question about the costs of including the whole family in the wish!! But I'm not sure of the costs. I have heard people say that airfare is the biggest expense (unless you live close enough to drive). If you all will need to fly then you could look into the costs of that to get an idea of how much money it would take. I know what you mean about your brother wanting his whole family to join him. Of course he would!! I hope that this works out well for you!! I have seen Make A Wish allow a favorite cousin to come along, as well as caretakers who were not immediate family, so maybe they will say yes to all of you as well!! That would be awesome!!

Let me know if you have any other questions!!

Happy planning,

Madeline

 

[michiml03]

When we left GKTW last year we were told whenever we were in the area we should return to GKTW. I was just wondering has anyone returned? Can we eat at the Gingerbread House and get ice cream at the ice cream parlor if we do return? Of course I don't expect to get anything for free and that is fine. I was interested if anyone has done this in the past?

 

[blessedmom4]

When we left GKTW last year we were told whenever we were in the area we should return to GKTW. I was just wondering has anyone returned? Can we eat at the Gingerbread House and get ice cream at the ice cream parlor if we do return? Of course I don't expect to get anything for free and that is fine. I was interested if anyone has done this in the past?

HI!! Madeline (redwavess) asked me to come over and answer this question. YES, as an Alumni family you can go back and take part in ALL that GKTW has to offer...you just can't spend the night. You can join in ALL of the parties, you can eat ice cream and have as many meals as you want at the village. The first meal is free for the family, subsequent meals are $5 per person per meal. You can swim, golf, play at Amberville, explore... you are a WELCOME BACK FAMILY and you will be treated quite well!

We had the pleasure of going back to Florida last September thanks to my BIL unable to use his time share (and the same thing happened this year, we are returning AGAIN September 21). Not only did we have the pleasure of being a Welcome Back family, we volunteered (at the pool and the Ice Cream parlor) and had a blast!! We spent three wonderful day sat the Village on our return!

I hope you have a FABULOUS time!!! Just tell them at the gate you are a welcome back family, then go to the main desk and sign in, they will explain everything you ned to know.

 

[kritter47]

Hi! I had another question. We were wanting to possibly bring more people than MAW will pay for. I know people have done this and wanted to know what the approximate cost was per person to see if this is even plausible for our family. Jesse loves his family, but he is the youngest at 18, so MAW won't pay for all of his siblings. We believe it would be a huge part of his wish to have his whole family, so we are trying to make it happen.

Thank you in advance!

This is another great question for your specific wish granters. The feasibility and cost of bringing along extra people varies by the situation, time of year, chapter, wish and all sorts of other things. Someone else's approximate cost isn't going to help you much at this point because it's dependent on so many things (cost of transportation, from your location, how many people, how many days, how much will they participate in, how much will they eat, etc.).

 

[Monie3]

This is my first time posting on anything like this, so I apologize for any mistakes! Our son has been granted a dream through our local wish granting organization, Dreams Come True. I have read several blogs of people going through the Make A Wish foundation and still have a million questions. Our son is a bit older than most I have read about. He is 18,, but because of his disabilities, (he has autism and epilepsy) he is much younger in many ways. We have been to Disney many times, but usually just a day trip. This is truly a dream for our family. Sorry, first question! His absolute favorite thing to do at Disney is watch the fireworks. The last trip we had to sit in one spot for two and a half hours and wait! We would like to make this trip special. My question, (finally!) is there somewhere special that we could have an unobstructed view without a huge crowd? Is it worth it to ask a CM? Thank you for any and all advice!

 

[Monie3]

I originally posted this somewhere else but it was suggested that I ask in this thread. I truly am knew to this and thought I was posting here. Any and all advice is very appreciated!

 

[Monie3]

Here is our dreamer, Christopher! He is 18 and loves the beach. He will spend hours bouncing sand off his belly while laughing happily! (That's why his shirt is so dirty!).

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[NEmel]

This is my first time posting on anything like this, so I apologize for any mistakes! Our son has been granted a dream through our local wish granting organization, Dreams Come True. I have read several blogs of people going through the Make A Wish foundation and still have a million questions. Our son is a bit older than most I have read about. He is 18,, but because of his disabilities, (he has autism and epilepsy) he is much younger in many ways. We have been to Disney many times, but usually just a day trip. This is truly a dream for our family. Sorry, first question! His absolute favorite thing to do at Disney is watch the fireworks. The last trip we had to sit in one spot for two and a half hours and wait! We would like to make this trip special. My question, (finally!) is there somewhere special that we could have an unobstructed view without a huge crowd? Is it worth it to ask a CM? Thank you for any and all advice!

Welcome! So glad Christopher is getting his wish! My son wished for a firework cruise, so a little bit the same. Sorry can't help you on any of the GKTW info. The fireworks at MK are AMAZING!! Can't wait to hear more about your planning!

 

[NEmel]

Hi, I am Jessica and I have been lurking for awhile, but we finally got our dates for our MAW trip today, so I am going to introduce myself. My daughter is Jordyn, and her brother is Jeremy. Jordyn is my wish kid and she was diagnosed on June 12th, 2012 with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. We are going on our wish trip on October 4th, 2013, and are super excited to get away and enjoy ourselves!

Here is my daughter:

Here is my son:

Welcome!! So excited to hear that Jordyn is getting her wish! She is so cute and so is her brother! You will have a wonderful time and it is a great time of the year to visit. Our MAW trip was so amazing and no words explain how much it meant to us. Hope you all have the same experience, can't wait to hear more!

 

[Monie3]

Thank you so much for responding. We are very excited. So far our plans are to arrive on Sunday and enjoy GKTW. Christopher truly LOVES the MK, so Monday we will have to stop there first and of course enjoy the fireworks that evening. Our other children are 20 and 14 so I want to make this special for them as well. Christopher will ride Small World over and over again so their past trips tend to be limited. He will ride the bigger rides so hopefully we can expand his horizons on this trip! The only other set plans we have are to go to Sea World on Thursday to enjoy Christmas at the village. Grandpa and Grandma will be joining us on that day. We are very open to any and all suggestions. He does love Barney and Dr. Seuss so I hope Universal will be positive. Jessica, we will be there at the same time. I am having so much trouble containing my excitement. I talk about this trip a lot! I am assuming many on here understand. Madeline (redwavess) helped me to understand that it is common.

 

[Redwavess]

Thank you so much for responding. We are very excited. So far our plans are to arrive on Sunday and enjoy GKTW. Christopher truly LOVES the MK, so Monday we will have to stop there first and of course enjoy the fireworks that evening. Our other children are 20 and 14 so I want to make this special for them as well. Christopher will ride Small World over and over again so their past trips tend to be limited. He will ride the bigger rides so hopefully we can expand his horizons on this trip! The only other set plans we have are to go to Sea World on Thursday to enjoy Christmas at the village. Grandpa and Grandma will be joining us on that day. We are very open to any and all suggestions. He does love Barney and Dr. Seuss so I hope Universal will be positive. Jessica, we will be there at the same time. I am having so much trouble containing my excitement. I talk about this trip a lot! I am assuming many on here understand. Madeline (redwavess) helped me to understand that it is common.

Hi again!!

It's crazy but true!! When playing a wish trip it is so hard to focus on anything else!!! I think it's because we get that this is a trip of a lifetime and feel so blessed to be able to be a part of the wish granting process!!

We are lucky to have the DIS so we don't completely bore to tears everyone we run across with all the details of our trips!!

Keep up the planning!! It's half the fun!!! Also, it helps so to make the most of these once in a lifetime trips and be sure we don't miss things our wish kids want to do the most!!

Happy continued planning,

Madeline