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

ember303 · Jul 4, 2015

Jacksons pre trip report! How do you guys get it on your signature?

http://www.disboards.com/threads/jacksons-make-a-wish-pre-trip-report.3425795/

jojuvanlaanen · Jul 5, 2015

ember303 said:
We have everything ready for when the volunteers come to see Jackson. (drivers licenses, birth certificates, car insurance info. etc.) I was under the assumption for make a wish, that you can extend your time, as long as its approved with make a wish first. Maybe call someone different than the wish granters? I am not sure at all. You have your dates, or are you still waiting on those?

I had most birth certificates, but two of them were vital record certificates, apparently not the same thing...which I didn't know. So now we wait probably another month before we get Dr approval and official dates.

I hate the waiting and not knowing and not being able to plan!

I know that we can extend, I just do t know about the rental car. We want to budget for the rental but I (and everyone I've talked to) have no clue about the cost. I think we get some kind of discount through national car rental, but that's just what I've read, I haven't heard anything directly from Anyone.

ember303 · Jul 5, 2015

UGH waiting is the hardest! So bittersweet to be given this trip thats for sure!

ceeteenj · Jul 7, 2015

My questions mostly revolve around scheduling. Will someone call before they schedule our flights? We have very specific days we can't travel, and I'm wondering if they will call us before so we can go over those days. We mentioned it to the volunteer who said he would pass it along, but I'm really hoping we won't run in to issues. Do they allow you to choose the day of the week you want to leave?

On an unrelated note, I've been curious about the parties at GKTW. Do they serve food at the parties, and if yes, how major is it? My daughter won't be able to eat the food. Are we better off skipping the parties? I know they would love to be at the parks for parades/fireworks.

KellyScarth · Jul 7, 2015

I found these great autograph books on Etsy for the trip. 61 days and counting lol https://www.etsy.com/listing/237124587/personalized-disney-autograph-book Damian my wish boy picked this one his wish is to meet Jake. https://www.etsy.com/listing/217449302/personalized-disney-autograph-book and little brother Robbie is getting that one. We got a Letter at the beginning of June saying the flights were reserved and were we would be staying its so exciting I cant wait to see my boys faces. The letter said any Charector meals or extra stuff we would have to pay for and Im fine with that but I went ahead and emailed our granters about it and still havent heard from them. Has anyone else left a day early and stayed near the airport ? We live over 2 hours away and since we have to be there 2 hours before the flight wed have to leave super early. We thought it be nice to sleep at the hotal have a nice non rushed breakfast and then go to the airport. Our trip is Sep 6th-12th. Another thing Im wondering about is the get togethers make a wish does before the trip Ive seen others in my area they do a big dinner or take them to a indoor play area. Were flying on Southwest any words of advice flying with a 2 1/2 year old lol Luckily its a quick flight. Also did anyone take personal strollers for the airport and GKTW ? Im buying a sit and stand for the airport Its just to much walking for Damian my wish boy and OIA ? ( orlando airport ) Is even bigger

Twice_as_Nice · Jul 7, 2015

ceeteenj said:
My questions mostly revolve around scheduling. Will someone call before they schedule our flights? We have very specific days we can't travel, and I'm wondering if they will call us before so we can go over those days. We mentioned it to the volunteer who said he would pass it along, but I'm really hoping we won't run in to issues. Do they allow you to choose the day of the week you want to leave?.

For us it seemed like our Chapter made our reservation at GKTW first and got dates and then came to us and, in our case, said would it be okay to move it to this time period? When we filled out the paper work we gave 3 sets of possible dates that we would want and then also there was a section to tell them what dates totally would not work at all. After we okayed the time period that they had gotten with GKTW then they arranged flights.

ceeteenj said:
On an unrelated note, I've been curious about the parties at GKTW. Do they serve food at the parties, and if yes, how major is it? My daughter won't be able to eat the food. Are we better off skipping the parties? I know they would love to be at the parks for parades/fireworks.

From the videos I have seen online and the pictures I don't believe the parties revolve around food at all. I would imagine they do have some snacks at them and treats but from what I have seen there are a TON of activities and other things to do that are not food related at all. I am sure that they are used to having lots of children who can't eat the food that they have so they know to have other aspects.

redberyl · Jul 7, 2015

KellyScarth said:
I found these great autograph books on Etsy for the trip. 61 days and counting lol https://www.etsy.com/listing/237124587/personalized-disney-autograph-book Damian my wish boy picked this one his wish is to meet Jake. https://www.etsy.com/listing/217449302/personalized-disney-autograph-book and little brother Robbie is getting that one. We got a Letter at the beginning of June saying the flights were reserved and were we would be staying its so exciting I cant wait to see my boys faces. The letter said any Charector meals or extra stuff we would have to pay for and Im fine with that but I went ahead and emailed our granters about it and still havent heard from them. Has anyone else left a day early and stayed near the airport ? We live over 2 hours away and since we have to be there 2 hours before the flight wed have to leave super early. We thought it be nice to sleep at the hotal have a nice non rushed breakfast and then go to the airport. Our trip is Sep 6th-12th. Another thing Im wondering about is the get togethers make a wish does before the trip Ive seen others in my area they do a big dinner or take them to a indoor play area. Were flying on Southwest any words of advice flying with a 2 1/2 year old lol Luckily its a quick flight. Also did anyone take personal strollers for the airport and GKTW ? Im buying a sit and stand for the airport Its just to much walking for Damian my wish boy and OIA ? ( orlando airport ) Is even bigger

We flew sw, it was 20$ to reserve seats that maw did not pay for, so we didnt do it. Then we got bumped from the flight, it was overbooked and they bumped almost 20 people! Worth the peace of mind to pay. Absolutely take a stroller, there is a tram that goes around gktw but its very sporadic and hard to catch. The village is large so depending where your house is it could be a lot of walking to the restraunts, pool, playground, etc. Also i dont think you can rrnt strollers at downtown dismey. Get something large and distinctive to mark your stroller and use zipties or some other eay to attach it that is hard to remove. We had two strollers stolen during our stay, one a case of mistaken identity but the other they took all our stuff out of the stroller and threw it on theground to take it

ember303 · Jul 7, 2015

ceeteenj said:
My questions mostly revolve around scheduling. Will someone call before they schedule our flights? We have very specific days we can't travel, and I'm wondering if they will call us before so we can go over those days. We mentioned it to the volunteer who said he would pass it along, but I'm really hoping we won't run in to issues. Do they allow you to choose the day of the week you want to leave?

On an unrelated note, I've been curious about the parties at GKTW. Do they serve food at the parties, and if yes, how major is it? My daughter won't be able to eat the food. Are we better off skipping the parties? I know they would love to be at the parks for parades/fireworks.

My understanding is there are treats at some of the parties. You can always call GKTW and ask them to find out.

ember303 · Jul 7, 2015

KellyScarth said:
I found these great autograph books on Etsy for the trip. 61 days and counting lol https://www.etsy.com/listing/237124587/personalized-disney-autograph-book Damian my wish boy picked this one his wish is to meet Jake. https://www.etsy.com/listing/217449302/personalized-disney-autograph-book and little brother Robbie is getting that one. We got a Letter at the beginning of June saying the flights were reserved and were we would be staying its so exciting I cant wait to see my boys faces. The letter said any Charector meals or extra stuff we would have to pay for and Im fine with that but I went ahead and emailed our granters about it and still havent heard from them. Has anyone else left a day early and stayed near the airport ? We live over 2 hours away and since we have to be there 2 hours before the flight wed have to leave super early. We thought it be nice to sleep at the hotal have a nice non rushed breakfast and then go to the airport. Our trip is Sep 6th-12th. Another thing Im wondering about is the get togethers make a wish does before the trip Ive seen others in my area they do a big dinner or take them to a indoor play area. Were flying on Southwest any words of advice flying with a 2 1/2 year old lol Luckily its a quick flight. Also did anyone take personal strollers for the airport and GKTW ? Im buying a sit and stand for the airport Its just to much walking for Damian my wish boy and OIA ? ( orlando airport ) Is even bigger

Yes we will be bringing a stroller for Bayleigh (Jackson's twin) The parks are crazy for little kids to have to walk, and it is just too much. Of course I am still up in the air on renting wheelchair vs bring Jacksons. Ugh decisions! I am sure they will be fine with you renting a hotel night before. I have read that each chapter differs on the send off trips. Some do them and some do not. I wonder if it depends on the wish granters.

ember303 · Jul 7, 2015

redberyl said:
We flew sw, it was 20$ to reserve seats that maw did not pay for, so we didnt do it. Then we got bumped from the flight, it was overbooked and they bumped almost 20 people! Worth the peace of mind to pay. Absolutely take a stroller, there is a tram that goes around gktw but its very sporadic and hard to catch. The village is large so depending where your house is it could be a lot of walking to the restraunts, pool, playground, etc. Also i dont think you can rrnt strollers at downtown dismey. Get something large and distinctive to mark your stroller and use zipties or some other eay to attach it that is hard to remove. We had two strollers stolen during our stay, one a case of mistaken identity but the other they took all our stuff out of the stroller and threw it on theground to take it

Thanks for letting us know about the reserving seats! Getting bumped would be terrible!!!

KellyScarth · Jul 8, 2015

Who would we need to reserve the seats with ? I would hate getting bumped from our flights. and just to think of our stroller being stolen at Disney or Universal is stressing me out. I'll diff pack something to mark the strollers as ours. Thanks for the tips

SirDuff · Jul 8, 2015

ember303 said:
Thanks for letting us know about the reserving seats! Getting bumped would be terrible!!!

You cannot "reserve" seats with SW. What I think that the PP is actually referring to is Early Bird Check-in (EBCI). With EBCI, you are automatically checked in 36 hours before flight time rather than having to wait until the 24 hour mark and checking in yourself. This gives you an earlier boarding number which, in turn, gets you on the plane when there are more seats to chose from. I'm not sure of the relationship between EBCI and IDB (Involuntarily Denied Boarding - getting bumped from a flight), but if SW bases IDB on the time you check-in (which is a reasonable approach), then those using EBCI would have earlier check-ins and be less likely to be bumped.

You can learn about EBCI here - https://www.southwest.com/html/generated/help/faqs/earlybird_checkin_faq.html

redberyl · Jul 8, 2015

SirDuff said:
You cannot "reserve" seats with SW. What I think that the PP is actually referring to is Early Bird Check-in (EBCI). With EBCI, you are automatically checked in 36 hours before flight time rather than having to wait until the 24 hour mark and checking in yourself. This gives you an earlier boarding number which, in turn, gets you on the plane when there are more seats to chose from. I'm not sure of the relationship between EBCI and IDB (Involuntarily Denied Boarding - getting bumped from a flight), but if SW bases IDB on the time you check-in (which is a reasonable approach), then those using EBCI would have earlier check-ins and be less likely to be bumped.

You can learn about EBCI here - https://www.southwest.com/html/generated/help/faqs/earlybird_checkin_faq.html

Perhaps im wrong about which airline we flew, or maybe policy has changef, because we definitely had the option to go online and select our seats ahead of time, for $20 each. We checked in 2 hours before the flight, which we were kind if at the mercy of maw scheduling there.

jojuvanlaanen · Jul 8, 2015

I was under the assumption that being MAW families, we get early boarding anyway....is that not correct? My mom just recently flew with Southwest and she was online checking in right at the 24 hour mark. She said It's first the people with disabilities get to board, then people with babies and strollers, then business class, then those that paid for Early check-in....THEN the regular people. So I think we would be in the disability category, or at least the stroller category.

SirDuff · Jul 8, 2015

redberyl said:
Perhaps im wrong about which airline we flew, or maybe policy has changef, because we definitely had the option to go online and select our seats ahead of time, for $20 each. We checked in 2 hours before the flight, which we were kind if at the mercy of maw scheduling there.

Then you weren't flying SW. SW does not (and never has had) the option to select your seats ahead of time.

Also, not sure why you state that you were at the mercy of MAW for checking in only two hours before. With most (all?) airlines you can check in online starting 24 hours ahead. And you should - you can choose seats if you haven't done so or change to better ones (unless flying SW) and it puts you ahead for bumping (depending on the airline's rules).

Not saying this to jump on you - but to make sure that others aren't getting incorrect information!

jojuvanlaanen · Jul 8, 2015

Hey, so I was looking around to see if there was some community group online somewhere for Wish families...and I didn't find any, so I created one! Just putting it out there... I hope it's not against the rules, if it is I'll delete this post.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1586937848223317/

I think it'd be awesome to connect to other Wish families in the planning stages, and post trip!!

SirDuff · Jul 8, 2015

jojuvanlaanen said:
I was under the assumption that being MAW families, we get early boarding anyway....is that not correct? My mom just recently flew with Southwest and she was online checking in right at the 24 hour mark. She said It's first the people with disabilities get to board, then people with babies and strollers, then business class, then those that paid for Early check-in....THEN the regular people. So I think we would be in the disability category, or at least the stroller category.

The "official" SW boarding is:

- people with disabilities
- those with A group boarding passes (Business select are A1-A15)
- family boarding (this is sometimes skipped if there are a huge number of families)
- those with C group boarding passes
- those with C group boarding passes

So, families (the official SW site says with children four and under, but I understand that they are testing new rules) can board after A group (assuming that they don't have A group boarding passes). Using ECBI gets you a better chance of getting A group. There is no "stroller category" (other than the fact that many families with children four and under will have strollers).

I don't know if SW has a official policy of letting MAW families board early (though, I suspect that some/many gate agents make it happen with/without an official policy).

You can read more here - https://www.southwest.com/html/travel-experience/boarding-your-flight/index.html

ember303 · Jul 8, 2015

SirDuff said:
Then you weren't flying SW. SW does not (and never has had) the option to select your seats ahead of time.

Also, not sure why you state that you were at the mercy of MAW for checking in only two hours before. With most (all?) airlines you can check in online starting 24 hours ahead. And you should - you can choose seats if you haven't done so or change to better ones (unless flying SW) and it puts you ahead for bumping (depending on the airline's rules).

Not saying this to jump on you - but to make sure that others aren't getting incorrect information!

Oh perfect! Thanks for that info!!!! When we have flown in the past they have always boarded early.

ember303 · Jul 8, 2015

SirDuff said:
You cannot "reserve" seats with SW. What I think that the PP is actually referring to is Early Bird Check-in (EBCI). With EBCI, you are automatically checked in 36 hours before flight time rather than having to wait until the 24 hour mark and checking in yourself. This gives you an earlier boarding number which, in turn, gets you on the plane when there are more seats to chose from. I'm not sure of the relationship between EBCI and IDB (Involuntarily Denied Boarding - getting bumped from a flight), but if SW bases IDB on the time you check-in (which is a reasonable approach), then those using EBCI would have earlier check-ins and be less likely to be bumped.

You can learn about EBCI here - https://www.southwest.com/html/generated/help/faqs/earlybird_checkin_faq.html

Thanks so much! I thought when I flew southwest we did not have to pay to reserve seats. However that was a year or so ago! So I thought maybe it changed. Thanks a ton!

redberyl · Jul 8, 2015

SirDuff said:
Then you weren't flying SW. SW does not (and never has had) the option to select your seats ahead of time.

Also, not sure why you state that you were at the mercy of MAW for checking in only two hours before. With most (all?) airlines you can check in online starting 24 hours ahead. And you should - you can choose seats if you haven't done so or change to better ones (unless flying SW) and it puts you ahead for bumping (depending on the airline's rules).

Not saying this to jump on you - but to make sure that others aren't getting incorrect information!

It would have cost us $120 to get our seats ahead of time. We really didnt have the money, and assumedlike others on here that since people with disabilities board early it wouldnt be a problem. But it was, we clearly stated we were with maw, had a letter from maw for the airline, and you could see my daughter is obviously disabled. We still got bumped. Maybe the airline didnt follow their own policy, but either way we were bumped. If you can check in ahead of time, reserve your seat, whatever, do it.

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

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