Make a Wish (and other organizations!) - Wish Trippers...UNITE!! Volume 2!

[littlewarriorsmom]

Okay, I'm stealing a few minutes at the office while everyone else is playing Dino Putt Putt. We're having a wonderful time! Did MK yesterday, and stayed for both Spectromagic AND Wishes! BTW, the Disney website info about parades and such ... not necessarily accurate! But when we get to the park, they'll have a printed schedule. So go with the flow!

We're in 252 -- one of the new villas, right across from Matthew's Boundless Playground. The kids consider that their personal backyard.


Thankyouthankyouthankyou to all the people that told me about free counter-service ice water. That has already saved us a bundle!

We did Sea World today ... not a lot, though. We're back at GKTW, and have ressies tonight for 1600 Park Fare.

Okay, I'm not going to ruin too much of my trip report, but I will tell you about this magic moment: during the 3:00 parade, "Bert" looked down from his float and saw Marenna's GKTW pin. He got Mary Poppins' attention, and they both began pointing and waving at her. Tom and I were both bawling behind our sunglasses, but me even more because when she and I were in the hospital the first time, the hospital movie channel kept running "Mary Poppins."

Tomorrow: Animal Kingdom in the am, Epcot in the pm!

Thank you to all the DIS-Wishers for their tips, and giant hugs to all the Big Give folks. My family has been subject to huge amounts of jealousy! Feels good!

 

[maroo]

Sammie Girl - I would try talking to the wish granters and getting the dates changed if you can stay at GKTW another time. Sounds like your daughter had her heart set on it. Please correct me if I am wrong Maroo but weren't you able to enjoy GKTW without staying there?

Yes! We were completely invited to do everything at GKTW that we wanted to! The only thing we could not do was drive up to a Villa and sleep in it. We could eat, go to the parties, play on the playground, swim in the pool, play video games, do our star, etc.

We actually stayed on site at Disney, though. So the drive to GKTW was a little much for every single night to eat there. Also, Lauren got sick, so we missed several of the parties. We actually only spent one day at GKTW. But that was partially personal choice and the fact that she was sick 2 of the full days we were there.

 

[maroo]

Okay, I'm stealing a few minutes at the office while everyone else is playing Dino Putt Putt. We're having a wonderful time! Did MK yesterday, and stayed for both Spectromagic AND Wishes! BTW, the Disney website info about parades and such ... not necessarily accurate! But when we get to the park, they'll have a printed schedule. So go with the flow!

We're in 252 -- one of the new villas, right across from Matthew's Boundless Playground. The kids consider that their personal backyard.


Thankyouthankyouthankyou to all the people that told me about free counter-service ice water. That has already saved us a bundle!

We did Sea World today ... not a lot, though. We're back at GKTW, and have ressies tonight for 1600 Park Fare.

Okay, I'm not going to ruin too much of my trip report, but I will tell you about this magic moment: during the 3:00 parade, "Bert" looked down from his float and saw Marenna's GKTW pin. He got Mary Poppins' attention, and they both began pointing and waving at her. Tom and I were both bawling behind our sunglasses, but me even more because when she and I were in the hospital the first time, the hospital movie channel kept running "Mary Poppins."

Tomorrow: Animal Kingdom in the am, Epcot in the pm!

Thank you to all the DIS-Wishers for their tips, and giant hugs to all the Big Give folks. My family has been subject to huge amounts of jealousy! Feels good!

Yeah!!!

We can't wait to hear all about your trip!!!!

 

[WishMom09]

Okay, I'm stealing a few minutes at the office while everyone else is playing Dino Putt Putt. We're having a wonderful time! Did MK yesterday, and stayed for both Spectromagic AND Wishes! BTW, the Disney website info about parades and such ... not necessarily accurate! But when we get to the park, they'll have a printed schedule. So go with the flow!

We're in 252 -- one of the new villas, right across from Matthew's Boundless Playground. The kids consider that their personal backyard.


Thankyouthankyouthankyou to all the people that told me about free counter-service ice water. That has already saved us a bundle!

We did Sea World today ... not a lot, though. We're back at GKTW, and have ressies tonight for 1600 Park Fare.

Okay, I'm not going to ruin too much of my trip report, but I will tell you about this magic moment: during the 3:00 parade, "Bert" looked down from his float and saw Marenna's GKTW pin. He got Mary Poppins' attention, and they both began pointing and waving at her. Tom and I were both bawling behind our sunglasses, but me even more because when she and I were in the hospital the first time, the hospital movie channel kept running "Mary Poppins."

Tomorrow: Animal Kingdom in the am, Epcot in the pm!

Thank you to all the DIS-Wishers for their tips, and giant hugs to all the Big Give folks. My family has been subject to huge amounts of jealousy! Feels good!

I am so glad y'all are having such a great time!! I hope you are taking LOTS of pictures! I can't wait to hear all about your trip!!

 

[queengonzo]

hello everyone!!! i am so sorry i just ZIPPED right out of here and never said GOOD BYE on our way out the door to our trip but BOY it all just sorta ROLLED by that before we knew it, we were OUT THE DOOR on our way to the AIRPORT at 4:30am!!!! we have NEVER been more excited about ANYTHING other than when my dh came home on june 2008 from IRAQ!!! and right now, the short of it is that it was JUST BEYOND WORDS AMAZING and we were/are SOOOOOOO BLESSED to have experienced such a WONDERFUL adventure!!! we were all soooo sad to leave GKTW because it was just such an emotional time for us and we can't WAIT to go back and visit!!! i am soooooo telling everyone i know to PLEASE consider GKTW and MAW for their donations from work and such!!! wowowowow....AMAZING!

well, again, this is just a SMALL post to let you know i made it home and we had an AMAZING TIME...i will have to put it all down and post and put SOME of our over 700 pictures we took!! yes, that many!!! not too much video but boy, we were not shy in taking pictures....

for those that are new here....WELCOME...i have nto had ANYTIME to check post and such but i KNOW you will get all your questions ANSWERED because i did!!! THANK YOU ALL for all the info that was given to me here!!

anyway, i will DEFINETLY post more on my trip just wanted to say that we are HOME, that it was AMAZING and SUCH A BLESSING....OVERWHELMING...

i am tearying up as i write REMEMBERING everything....

those yet to go.....GET READY FOR YOUR DREAMS TO COME TRUE!!! truely a BLESSING!!!

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS....

 

[tinytreasures]

Sammie Girl
I would try and change your dates, she shouldn't feel like she did something wrong
we loved GKTW so much that is where my dd wants for go for her make a wish trip

as for money we put it in the back and used our debit cards
I took $200 in cash and came home with 150
we did use up the kids disney dollars that santa gave them so that was extra cash but they just got new shirts and hats with it

 

[maroo]

Sammie Girl
I would try and change your dates, she shouldn't feel like she did something wrong
we loved GKTW so much that is where my dd wants for go for her make a wish trip

as for money we put it in the back and used our debit cards
I took $200 in cash and came home with 150
we did use up the kids disney dollars that santa gave them so that was extra cash but they just got new shirts and hats with it

I am still cracking up at your siggie!!

I am a powerful person!

I say FREE Dining and everyone comes running!

 

[sammie girl]

Thank you everyone. I didn't realize we would be able to enjoy the GKTW resort. I guess there is some definite communication lacking between the wish organization and us. My husband called yesterday after hearing how upset Lexi was. Noone returned the call (probably swamped with other wishes as this seems to be a very busy time). I did explain today to Lexi that she would still get to go and do all of the "special" resort. That is what she calls it. She is back to being happy, especially that she will still get to meet Barney. (She hasn't liked Barney since she was 4 or 5 and I really thought she had outgrown him so it really suprised me to hear this. I didn't know that is what was bugging her so much).

O.K. Thank You Thank You Thank You for the info on the icecream. Origionally I told Lexi she could pick a couple days to splurge on ice cream but now she will get to eat it way more than that. She is so happy about that.

This board has really been a great place for me to vent and discuss everything. Thank you to all of you who have been listening to me and responding. You have really helped me out as I don't know when we will hear anything from our wish coordinator.

One thing I have to share that cracked me up yesterday, the wish coordinator asked Lexi if she could do one thing............Lexi responded she wanted to meet a real mermaid that had to stay in the water. I don't know how I held in laughter from the look on the wish granter's face. She did good and told Lexi that mermaids had to stay way out at the ocean and couldn't come to see people because they weren't allowed to come to the surface when humans were around. She then told Lexi that because Ariel was part human now she would try to arrange a meet for them. I bet these wish granters have some real stories to share. I know they are very busy but I still do wish the communication would be a little better so things wouldn't get like they did yesterday. That will save alot of money knowing we can still eat at GKTW.

Thanks again.

 

[maroo]

Thank you everyone. I didn't realize we would be able to enjoy the GKTW resort. I guess there is some definite communication lacking between the wish organization and us. My husband called yesterday after hearing how upset Lexi was. Noone returned the call (probably swamped with other wishes as this seems to be a very busy time). I did explain today to Lexi that she would still get to go and do all of the "special" resort. That is what she calls it. She is back to being happy, especially that she will still get to meet Barney. (She hasn't liked Barney since she was 4 or 5 and I really thought she had outgrown him so it really suprised me to hear this. I didn't know that is what was bugging her so much).

O.K. Thank You Thank You Thank You for the info on the icecream. Origionally I told Lexi she could pick a couple days to splurge on ice cream but now she will get to eat it way more than that. She is so happy about that.

This board has really been a great place for me to vent and discuss everything. Thank you to all of you who have been listening to me and responding. You have really helped me out as I don't know when we will hear anything from our wish coordinator.

One thing I have to share that cracked me up yesterday, the wish coordinator asked Lexi if she could do one thing............Lexi responded she wanted to meet a real mermaid that had to stay in the water. I don't know how I held in laughter from the look on the wish granter's face. She did good and told Lexi that mermaids had to stay way out at the ocean and couldn't come to see people because they weren't allowed to come to the surface when humans were around. She then told Lexi that because Ariel was part human now she would try to arrange a meet for them. I bet these wish granters have some real stories to share. I know they are very busy but I still do wish the communication would be a little better so things wouldn't get like they did yesterday. That will save alot of money knowing we can still eat at GKTW.

Thanks again.

I am SO glad you feel better!!!!

I definitely learned more from these boards than MAW about our wish and what we would do, etc. I was giving them info before it was all over.

That is so funny about Ariel!!

I would definitely eat every meal that you can at GKTW, obviously it will save you money, but it will also give her the most out of having access to go there!!

 

[ahkeela]

Hi everyone!
I am so behind and really trying to keep my head above water and my spirits up! Today I tried to put it all together. This last week has been hard on our wish girl, Azaria. She had two really bad seizures. One seizure was so bad, I was actually scared that would be it. The seizure just would not stop, and to top things off, we were on a weekend camping trip in the middle of the desert! It was such a scary experience and really hard on Azaria, as well as Aidan who had to witness it all. This was the second bad seizure in 10 days that required emergency intervention. Even though she has seizures everyday, these really bad seizures just come and go with no pattern or warning. Most of the time we can handle them, this time was different and very, very scary. She is doing well now.

So it's been a very busy week and I have done nothing, repeat NOTHING, to plan this trip. I didn't even realize until today that it is only 12 days away. I've been saying "our trip is not until May", now May is next week!!! (Don't know if you remember but in January I had given our wish coordinator dates for Jan, Feb, and March when we wished to go. They basically forgot about us, so in April I called to ask about it and they booked it for May, not giving me a whole lot of time to plan.) So now I'm getting nervous! I really wanted to be more involved, have a daily countdown with the kids, watch more Disney movies, etc. And I have to admit, I am kind of bummed I didn't even get involved with the Big Give! My kids would have so appreciated that. We have little to no family involvement and sometimes it just feels we are alone in all of this. My son Aidan loves postcards and is always wanting to write letters to people (and loves to check the mail!). Anyway, I guess I just feel I am really letting the kids down. But I know it's just been a hard week and next week will be better, right!

I updated Azaria's pre-trip report with the itinerary that I put together today. Thank you so much maroo for emailing me the planner, it helped me so much! I would love any comments, opinions and advice! I also put up pictures of my family so you can put faces with names.

Again, sorry to sound so down in the dumps...it's usually not like me! I am always the planner, the motivator, and usually in great spirits! I think reading everyone else's trip reports has actually made me a little bummed because of how little I've done and how I feel I've sort of let everyone down when it comes to this trip.

Ugh, now I feel like I'm just complaining again! I think I need to just go to bed and try to wake up with a new attitude. I do apologize for sounding so depressed. This is a happy time and I am excited and grateful. Just having a hard time today, I should probably stop reading trip reports to...

Debi

 

[jessica52877]

I did explain today to Lexi that she would still get to go and do all of the "special" resort. That is what she calls it. She is back to being happy, especially that she will still get to meet Barney. (She hasn't liked Barney since she was 4 or 5 and I really thought she had outgrown him so it really suprised me to hear this. I didn't know that is what was bugging her so much).

As of December there was still the Barney show at US, there is a meet n greet with Barney after the show in the exit area. This has always been one of my favorite things to do. DS is now 6 but he still asked to see Barney!

 

[WishMom09]

I just found out from reading Ahkeela's PTR that there will be a shuttle launch while we are down there. I think we might have to try and go see that!
Have any of you done that before? Any suggestions??
I know Caleb would LOVE to see that!

 

[WishMom09]

Oh my GOSH...I just looked at my siggy after my last post and saw it say 1 week and 6 days.....seeing that 1 week part almost made me swallow my tongue! WOW! I can't believe we are finally so close!

 

[jessica52877]

I just found out from reading Ahkeela's PTR that there will be a shuttle launch while we are down there. I think we might have to try and go see that!
Have any of you done that before? Any suggestions??
I know Caleb would LOVE to see that!

How exciting! I saw the shuttle launch when I was 3 and remember everything about it.

My only suggestion is don't get the kids all excited about it. It seems they hardly ever go off when scheduled. I was watching a special about them not too long ago and couldn't believe all the factors that NASA cannot control in order for it have the go ahead from mission control!

 

[WishMom09]

How exciting! I saw the shuttle launch when I was 3 and remember everything about it.

My only suggestion is don't get the kids all excited about it. It seems they hardly ever go off when scheduled. I was watching a special about them not too long ago and couldn't believe all the factors that NASA cannot control in order for it have the go ahead from mission control!

That is awesome that you remember seeing that as a child! How exciting!
Thanks for the advice.....I might just keep it a surprise just in case it doesn't happen!

 

[LindaBabe]

Good morning!

Personally, I would NOT go out to the Cape to see the shuttle launch. It's extremely crowded, with people getting there hours early, traffic jams for miles, etc., and sometimes it doesn't go as scheduled. It is possible to see at some level from Disney world, although of course, you don't get quite the same impact as being there.

Remember, if your kids would like postcards, pm their names, ages, snail mail addy's and favorite charactors to me - when I go, I send postcards!

Debi, please don't feel bad that you haven't done "more" to prepare. I think lots of us 'over prepare' and then if things don't turn out JUSt the way we planned, we're disappointed. Just watch the videos between now and then, throw some clothes in a bag (remember to take the empty duffle or tote) and GO! You *WILL* have a magical time!

Maria, SO glad you and your family had such a great tril! I can't Wait to read your trip report! (And so glad your military hubby came home to you safe and sound! )

SammieGirl, I know you can certainly visit and spend time at GKTW as a wish family, eat, have ice cream, attend the parties, etc, even if you're not staying there. That is where you will go for your orientation and tickets and so forth, in any case. If you attend the Christmas party, your dd will get her gift, she'll get her pillow and her star. But, that being said, offsite is NOT the same as staying there. So, if that is truly important to your wish child, I would surely try to change the dates to when there is availablity.

If, by some stretch, you feel the need to supplement the souvenirs your children receive, the Walmart at the end of Bass Lake Road has an amazing selection of themed stuff and most of it is quite reasonable.

 

[SueM in MN]

Good morning!

Personally, I would NOT go out to the Cape to see the shuttle launch. It's extremely crowded, with people getting there hours early, traffic jams for miles, etc., and sometimes it doesn't go as scheduled. It is possible to see at some level from Disney world, although of course, you don't get quite the same impact as being there.

I agree with LindaBabe.
We have not been to the Cape to see a shuttle launch, but did drive there to just see the sights. It is a long trip and will take a big bite out of your time just to drive there. And a lot of them don't go off as scheduled, so you could do the travel, the crowds, etc for nothing.
We have seen a number of shuttle launches from different places in WDW. The biggest problem is keeping track of the time, any delays and making sure you can see in the correct direction without being blocked by a lot of buildings. If you are outside when it happens, there will usually be some people who know what's going on, staring up in the correct direction waiting for it. Others (who don't know what's going on) will also look up and all of a sudden, there is a crowd looking the same way at the same time.

If, by some stretch, you feel the need to supplement the souvenirs your children receive, the Walmart at the end of Bass Lake Road has an amazing selection of themed stuff and most of it is quite reasonable.

That is a good Walmart for that sort of stuff.
I can't remember where exactly it is, but there is a Target that also had a big WDW area.

 

[HeatherN]

Hi all!!! Remember me?? Probably not. I was active here last summer when we went on our daughter Hannah's wish trip(see link in siggy)We were the first Make a wish family chosen for the Big Give. I was unpacking summer clothing yesterday and brought out all the beautiful clothing and it got me reminiscing about our trip. The kids got so excited to see the clothing and we are happy to report that they still fit and we will be able to use them this summer also. I still read here all the time and think of you all often.Welcome to all of the new families.

To update you on the Nichols family: Life has been pretty good this year.We have had a few ups and downs but still have many blessings in our lives.I enjoyed returning to the work force after being a stay at home Mom for ten years.I work at our local high school as an aide to kids with disabilities.I LOVE the Job.Unfotunately, due to the economy my position was eliminated for the next school year(along with 25 others in my district) I am pretty sad about it but hoping something will open up again in the future. Paul is still working hard ,but nervous with talks of layoffs of 12,000 state workers coming in July. Logan is enjoying his first year in kindergarten. Hannah is a forth grader and loves school.Lately she has been having a big problem with her hip.For years she has had issues with it partially dislocating.This is due to the fact that she has Down syndrome.This causes low muscle tone.The muscles and ligaments around that hip have become very streched and loose(kind of like an over streched rubber band) So anyway , due to the constant dislocating it has deteriorated her hip socket to the point in which she really needs a hip replacment.She is only 10 years old so this is not possible at this point because she is still growing.This is super frustrating because now she is in pain a LOT and starting to limp. We have been working with a Dr about 2 and a half hours away from us who says he can do surgery but there are no guarentees about the long term sucess.Our next step is getting an evaluation at Boston Childrens hospital.(this is where she had her open heart surgery)So life is never boring around this house. Just thought I would give you all an update and let you know I think of you all.I have not dropped off the face of the earth yet, it only feels like it.

 

[jessica52877]

Hi Heather! Thanks for the update! It is wonderful to hear from you guys. I love being kept up to day with everyone! That is a shame about Hannah and her hip. Being that she is so young is there nothing they can really do until she is 18 or so? I hope they find something to relieve her pain.

 

[5dwarves]

Hi everyone!
I am so behind and really trying to keep my head above water and my spirits up! Today I tried to put it all together. This last week has been hard on our wish girl, Azaria. She had two really bad seizures. One seizure was so bad, I was actually scared that would be it. The seizure just would not stop, and to top things off, we were on a weekend camping trip in the middle of the desert! It was such a scary experience and really hard on Azaria, as well as Aidan who had to witness it all. This was the second bad seizure in 10 days that required emergency intervention. Even though she has seizures everyday, these really bad seizures just come and go with no pattern or warning. Most of the time we can handle them, this time was different and very, very scary. She is doing well now.

So it's been a very busy week and I have done nothing, repeat NOTHING, to plan this trip. I didn't even realize until today that it is only 12 days away. I've been saying "our trip is not until May", now May is next week!!! (Don't know if you remember but in January I had given our wish coordinator dates for Jan, Feb, and March when we wished to go. They basically forgot about us, so in April I called to ask about it and they booked it for May, not giving me a whole lot of time to plan.) So now I'm getting nervous! I really wanted to be more involved, have a daily countdown with the kids, watch more Disney movies, etc. And I have to admit, I am kind of bummed I didn't even get involved with the Big Give! My kids would have so appreciated that. We have little to no family involvement and sometimes it just feels we are alone in all of this. My son Aidan loves postcards and is always wanting to write letters to people (and loves to check the mail!). Anyway, I guess I just feel I am really letting the kids down. But I know it's just been a hard week and next week will be better, right!

I updated Azaria's pre-trip report with the itinerary that I put together today. Thank you so much maroo for emailing me the planner, it helped me so much! I would love any comments, opinions and advice! I also put up pictures of my family so you can put faces with names.

Again, sorry to sound so down in the dumps...it's usually not like me! I am always the planner, the motivator, and usually in great spirits! I think reading everyone else's trip reports has actually made me a little bummed because of how little I've done and how I feel I've sort of let everyone down when it comes to this trip.

Ugh, now I feel like I'm just complaining again! I think I need to just go to bed and try to wake up with a new attitude. I do apologize for sounding so depressed. This is a happy time and I am excited and grateful. Just having a hard time today, I should probably stop reading trip reports to...

Debi

Debi:

Don't feel too bad about not having obsessed about planning. MILLIONS of people wander into Orlando without ever having gone to a forum or looking at the Unofficial guide to Disney....Ask your kids what their "must do's" are...check the disney website and maybe You Tube, and let them watch it...then loosely plan around the things they are really interested in. Have fun...enjoy the moment.

If you miss the shuttle launch and Aidan wants a postcard, send me a PM. I live in "rocket city" close to Marshall Space Flight Center. This is the "brain trust" of NASA, where all the engineers are. There are TV stations in my town who have slogans that are something like..."because we know you are a rocket scientist." They say we have more PhDs (not me) here per capita than in Boston where there is a University on every corner. Who knows...probably just the Chamber of Commerce talking...anyway... SPACE CAMP is here as is the National Space and Rocket Center. They completed a new museum facility last year and Saturn V is on display. They have a very nice gift shop, complete with child size astronaut suits, patches from various space missions and lots and lots of postcards. I would be happy to send your kidos a space post card...just pm me an address.

~Elisa