A WISH for Cold Tea? Ana's aMAWzing Disney Trip! 12/1-12/7 ~Last Entry~ p.127

[Poolrat]

Hey Marv, that's not your house, it's mine.




Great update Tim. I see all the excitement at the beginning of a trip.

I don't thinkI would have thought of asking just for the flavor shot. Good thinking.

 

[reelmom]

Great update. And I am crying again. I can't believe that Santa picked you up in a limo. How cool. Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[tinacaplan]

What a fantastic start to your trip...and I recognize that hallway at Bradley! Thanks for posting the extra pictures of the countdown calendar, I want to do one for Max for one of his Christmas gifts, but I'm not the craftiest person around.

I just can't wait to hear more about the trip!

 

[HeatherSP]

Love your family already! I'm subbing. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[disney<333]

Tardy, but I'm here. I always get teary eyed reading Juliana's story. My grandmother is going through cancer treatment now so I can relate.
You guys sure were going to the airport in style and with the jolly old man himself as the driver! How awesome!!

 

[englishrose47]

Well I checked no update !!! Hmmmmm !!! and the insults are rolling off his finger tips !!! Kathy we are going to have us some FUN while he is gone !! Who wants to help????

 

[All7OfUs]

Awesome start!! But now I'm wishing I had sent a Dunken card. Dang!

How cool is that to get Santa to do the driving. Although, with as much practice as he gets with a car ( like none), I'd have been nervous.

Sweet ride with Wii in it!!

 

[Millie12591]

Tim! It was such a treat to show up and see two updates!! Very cool that Santa took y'all to the airport (I think it was him too)!! I love it when Disney characters call, your baby girl is such a sweet little lady.
I was trying to see if you all have an accent, but I couldn't detect one, I'll have to hear and see more video to see if you guys have one.

I'm happy to hear that things went pretty smooth to start, sounds like y'all got the better end of the deal when it came to delays, at least compared to the others who ended up waiting.

 

[englishrose47]

I am marking my spot in case Tim does another update before I get home !!!This way I don't have to go back and reread Marv's insults !!

 

[marvali]

All together now..........

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE............

 

[KatMark]

All together now..........

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE............

I'll join in (as long as we get to do this on your TR, too. )

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE!!!

 

[mommy2mrb]

its getting stale again
oh yeah,

update update update

 

[that's nice]

We are flying out of MacArthur Airport, it is about 20 minutes from our house so at least there won't be to much apprehension on the way to the airport.... or at least I hope not... LOL

Oh, you are on the Island. We fly out of White Plains a lot and even Stewart sometimes. They just did a huge make over at Stewart. It is such a nice airport.

Wait, you didn't know that Santa was coming to drive you?? What an awesome surprise for all of you then!

Not a clue! It was a BIG surprise!

I had no idea that most of the helpers are volunteers! Wow, that is amazing. What an incredible organization, people taking time out of their lives to help children and their families! Uh-oh, here come the tears again, sniffle! I'm so glad you, Mel and Juliana received this trip!!!

They both are great organizations.

Oh man, what's the cardinal rule for touring Disney? Never, EVER bring new shoes that aren't broken in! I know that from firsthand experience. I had the worst blisters from my new shoes and although I looked fabulous in them (they were so cute!) I paid the price for it with sore feet!

Mel was hurting, but I doubt she learned her lesson...

What a blessing that your pedi was able to find her tumor! I can't imagine if you'd had to wait longer for someone else to find it. Amazing that the surgeon could hardly find it himself. It just means that Juliana got the best care! And August 2012 will be here before you know!

The fact that it was found so early was a huge blessing. Her tumor was a stage one tumor. jj0plin, who has posted on this thread, son had the same tumor as Juliana but it was stage three. There is a different treatment regimen for dealing with that. Her son is doing great BTW!

Great TR so far. Love that Santa picked you guys up. What a neat surprise. MAW does the most amazing things for these kids. Also, I think you have a budding photographer on your hands. The few shots I've seen her take aren't half bad for a 4 year old. When I was that age I was lucky if I actually got the object/people in the shot I was trying to take a picture of. lol.

I'm just getting warmed up.... hopefully there will be an update tonight.

Juliana is pretty good with the camera. She has a fisherprice camera but prefers to use ours.

I agree with Marvali - more, more, more! LOL. Oh come on Tim - you just admitted earlier in the TR that you are only working on the weekends - there is plenty of time for you to write to us during the week about your trip. We can't help it we've all fallen in love with Juliana - she's too cute and hysterical!

OH NO!!!! You agreed with Marv HE is never going to forget that!

Counting you, I would guess..........ONE!!!

Surprised you can remember that long ago!!!

It wasn't that long ago.... and I'm not THAT old!

BTW Crissy, you know you are forever condemned on here now for admitting you agree with MARV???!!!

See Crissy.... told ya!

Marv, that's why I didn't agree with you.

Smart move Kathy!

Come on, Tim, we need more than two updates a week!

I'm trying... I'm trying!

 

[that's nice]

I saw our pic on the fridge!! I really think that WAS Santa!! Yay for getting out before the storm. Can't wait to see GKTW!

The pic has been there since we got it. Although, now it came down because that is where all our picture Christmas cards go.

GKTW coming up in the next update!

Wow! A call from Cindy and Santa taking you to the airport! Now that trip got off to a truely magical start!
Hope it stays that way! Can't wait for more!

It was a great start to our trip!

Hopefully you will have some more to read tonight.

hi tim, im in. i fell behind the last two weeks but ill be standing in the back with carl. i love the limo driver and the shot of her pulling her case down the ramp. again, im glad we got to meet up, i just wish i wasnt sick that night. i went to cp for dinner and didnt eat anything. went back to the room and a was shackin with the chills. glad i didnt get anyone sick. hopefully well meet up again one day. looking forward to reading the tr.

Dave!!! Oh, man. I didn't realize you were THAT sick. What a bummer. It was great meeting you and your daughter. With the amount of trips you take, I'm sure we will have the chance to meet up again.

Tim - I'm finally here! (and I'm secretly excited to see if I get called a celebrity again in this trip report)

LOL I'll see what I can do Barry. Let me get working on that...

I'm a newbie so the story was fresh for me and heart wrenching. I'm s thankful things are going so much better for your daughter.

HI! I've seen you around before... I think on Liesa & Jordan's threads. Welcome!!

What a great start! First a call from Cinderella and then for Santa to be your driver. I love magical trips! I can't wait to read more.

Thank you! More to come....

 

[that's nice]

Hey Marv, that's not your house, it's mine.

I don't thinkI would have thought of asking just for the flavor shot. Good thinking.

It was Melody's idea... but I had to be the one to try to get it.

Great update. And I am crying again. I can't believe that Santa picked you up in a limo. How cool. Looking forward to hearing more.

It was such a surprise to all of us!

I'm trying to get my pics uploaded for the next update.

What a fantastic start to your trip...and I recognize that hallway at Bradley! Thanks for posting the extra pictures of the countdown calendar, I want to do one for Max for one of his Christmas gifts, but I'm not the craftiest person around.

I just can't wait to hear more about the trip!

We haven't flew out of Bradley for a few years. They really have done a nice job with it. What part of CT are you from? We are near Waterbury.

Believe me... we aren't really crafty in this house either.

Love your family already! I'm subbing. Can't wait to hear more.

Thanks for joining!

Tardy, but I'm here. I always get teary eyed reading Juliana's story. My grandmother is going through cancer treatment now so I can relate.
You guys sure were going to the airport in style and with the jolly old man himself as the driver! How awesome!!

Hi Barbara! I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother. I hope she is on the road to recovery really soon.

It was a great start to our trip!

 

[that's nice]

Well I checked no update !!! Hmmmmm !!! and the insults are rolling off his finger tips !!! Kathy we are going to have us some FUN while he is gone !! Who wants to help????

Oh boy... here we go.

Awesome start!! But now I'm wishing I had sent a Dunken card. Dang!

It's OK... Juliana doesn't drink coffee.

How cool is that to get Santa to do the driving. Although, with as much practice as he gets with a car ( like none), I'd have been nervous.

LOL He was pretty good... we hit some rush hour traffic in Hartford and he didn't even mess up our Bowling!

Tim! It was such a treat to show up and see two updates!! Very cool that Santa took y'all to the airport (I think it was him too)!! I love it when Disney characters call, your baby girl is such a sweet little lady.
I was trying to see if you all have an accent, but I couldn't detect one, I'll have to hear and see more video to see if you guys have one.

Hi Millie! I have a few more clips that I will post. I took about 2 hours of video but those are on my video camera and are such a pain to get off. I won't have them ready for this TR. So you will have to watch the video I am able to shoot with my regular camera...

I'm happy to hear that things went pretty smooth to start, sounds like y'all got the better end of the deal when it came to delays, at least compared to the others who ended up waiting.

We were VERY lucky to get out when we did. It was so windy and it only got worse as the day went on.

I am marking my spot in case Tim does another update before I get home !!!This way I don't have to go back and reread Marv's insults !!

LOL POOR ROSIE!!!!

All together now..........

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE............

I'll join in (as long as we get to do this on your TR, too. )

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE!!!

its getting stale again
oh yeah,

update update update

OH MAN... I'm getting heckled on my own thread!

 

[that's nice]

We had just gotten the rental and were finding our way out of the airport. It was sunny and warm, about 67 degrees. I must say that that Florida sun is still strong in December. We found the right highway and were heading south towards GKTW. It was just after the first toll that Juliana passed out. It doesn't matter how tired she is on the plane, she will NOT sleep on it... just like her DAD!

We hadn't eaten since breakfast and the 1 ounce package of crackers just didn't cut it on the plane, so we looked for a place to stop. Taco Bell anyone? We pulled in and I went to the drive-though but the gas company had it blocked off. The whole restaurant was closed. Maybe it was a sign? Oh well, we were less than 10 minutes from GKTW, so we decided just to head there.

We took a turn off of 192 and in one minute we were pulling into GKTW.

We told the lady at the guard house that Juliana was here. She laughed and said, 'Oh, Juliana? That's my name too!' What are the chances? The gate opened and we drove up to the House of Hearts which is where I had to check in. I told them Juliana's name and they were searching for her folder. They were looking everywhere, and couldn't find it. I started questioning myself if we were arrived on the correct day. The girl went into an office and came out with a big box of folders of people checking in and we were in there. Whew! We were there the right day!

I had to sit down with a volunteer and sign a few papers and go over some information. She told me to have Juliana come in but I explained how she was passed out in the car. She said that it happens all the time and gave me a stuffed Mickey doll to give to her. It was so soft! We finished up talking and then I went back to the car. The volunteer was going to show us to our village. She drove over in a golf cart while I followed in the car. On the short ride to our villa, Melody woke up Juliana. She was a little groggy for a minute, but woke up pretty quickly when we told her we were here.

Our villa was #239, which was right across from Matthew's Boundless Playground.

Our guide opened the door to our villa and it was amazing! On the kitchen table were a few stuffed animals for Juliana. After a quick tour of the villa, the guide left. Here are some pics of the villa.

A few goodies in our fridge.

Juliana's room.

Juliana's bathroom.

Parents room.

Looking from the hall towards the kitchen.

The villa was great. It was a nice size and could fit up to a family of 7. I grabbed our suitcases and pretty much just plopped them down because Juliana made up her mind that she wanted to go to the playground which was directly across the street from us.



Continued HERE!.....

 

[dizneeat]

Yeah, it pays off, to be six hours ahead and already up to get ready to work! My day is started with an update about my favourite princess!

The villa looks great, but will you all be fed?

 

[that's nice]

All Juliana wanted to do was play at the playground- and I didn't blame her. This was the view from our driveway.

We started walking towards the playground but I stopped Ana for a quick picture. The sun was blasting her.

Time to play at the playground.

The playground has a Candyland theme.

Next to the playground was a little pond. You can see some of the cool houses in the distance.

We were staying in the right hand side of this house. The houses were all shaped and painted differently. It was really neat.

After playing for a while we went back to the villa and the phone rang. It was the front desk and they said they had a package for us. We had time before dinner, so we went for a walk to check out more of the village and to stop at the House of Hearts.

This is Ol' Elmer. A huge tree that is always sleeping. He actually snores!

Here is the carousel at the Castle of Miracles. The kids can ride it as many times as they like from morning to night. It is also wheelchair accessible- there is no step up. The carousel is flush to the ground. Very cool!

The Gingerbread House- where they serve breakfast & dinner.

We walked into the Castle of Miracles and you can't help but notice the ceiling. There are thousands of stars on the ceiling. Each Wish kid gets to decorate a star and it gets placed on the ceiling. There are close to 100,000 stars on there!

There is a wishing well that makes noise when you drop a coin in. Of course, they give you the coins to throw in. Your money is no good at the village, except in the gift shop.

There was an activity table where you can color, play with legos, and make a Mr. Potato head. Ana played with legos for a few then made a Potato head.

We played for a while then we kept on our walk over to the House of Hearts. We walked towards Amberville Train Station which has an awesome train set inside.

The village was in the process of decorating for Christmas. Each day during the week there were more and more decorations. This guy was already set up.

We finally arrived at the House of Hearts and I went to the counter to see what possibly could have been dropped off for us. I was handed a cute, HEAVY Mickey Bag, with our name on it, that came from Disney Floral & Gifts. There was a note attached and I read it out loud. Kathy and Marv sent the bag to us and we were really touched by their kindness and thoughtfulness. It was time to get back to the villa, unpack a little, and get ready for dinner. We were hungry!

Once we got back to the villa, we opened up the bag to see what could be inside- and making it SOOOOOO heavy.

There were pretzels, candy, rice krispy treats, fruit, water, juice, crackers, cheese, trail mix, and light up Mickey Heads (which BTW at least 15 people asked us where we bought them!). Thank you Kathy and Marv so much. You really made us feel special! Thank you for thinking of us!!!!!

We started to unpack a bit, get ready to explore the village a bit more, and eat some DINNER!



Up next.... Our evening at GKTW!

 

[Wherem I Now]

Well it figures that this would be on page 10 before I found it. It's amazing how quickly the pages add up on your TRs. I guess you've got lots of friends here (and apparently a few antagonists... ).