Anyone watch BT this morning?

[braydensmom]

They are showing the trip to WDW yesterday for Children that are terminally ill, with disabilities, etc., (sorry don't know the name of the organizstion this was through) and its got me all choked up. Looks like the kids had an amazing time. What a magical experience! I can't imagine my child not getting a chance to experience such a wonderful place!

 

[DisneyDaddy-O]

My wife just called and was watching it and the company is called Dreams Take Flight. She said the kids looked like they were having an amazing time even in the rain. Bravo to all involved.

 

[5boyz]

I did not watch this morning but seen some yesterday!!! My friend works for Air Canada and she was there in the hangar and she said it was so emotional. She brought home tons of balloons for her kids last night.

 

[TimNDansMom]

Dh and I were sitting in the doctor's office yesterday and it was on their flat screen wall TV. Walter Gretzky was at WDW too! What a coincidence to have that come on while we were there, we had no idea about it! It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling seeing the Castle and knowing those kids were having a ball down there.

 

[braydensmom]

It was really cool, they had Toronto Police Motorcade from MCO to Disney (flew down Toronto Police, that in itself was very cool), the highway was shut down to let the motorcade go by...it just was all so cool. I would really like to get involved in helping this organization (thanks for PP who posted the name). I worked with the Sunshine Foundation when I was a teen, and really miss seeing the excitement on kids faces when something so incredible happens for them. Thats probably why I brought my own son to Disney at such a young age lol.
If any of you had kids that went yesterday, I really hope that they had an amazing day!

 

[sean-1966]

A couple cameraman from one of the companies I shoot for shot that footage. I've done it before and it's pretty cool to see the kids faces when they are in the park. It's a great charity. This was their 20th anniversary.

It's a really long day. You start off at the hangar at around 5. Load the plane around 7 and head South. Spend the day in the park and head back to the airport after fireworks. I talked to one of the cameramen last night around 10 and he was on the bus back to the airport. You usually land at YYZ around 12:30 or 1.

 

[Reese]

Is that why there were Toronto Police in line at MK yesterday? We were leaving MK around noon to catch ME and we noticed a couple of TO police officers in line and on our way towards the buses we noticed a great big group with an airplanes with a maple leaf on their shirts.

 

[krazy4crusing]

It would be so cool to be down there while CP was shooting the footage. To know that a CDN group was there and serving such a great cause.

 

[tigger2on]

The sad thing about these trips and Wish organizations is there are some really deserving kids who more than deserve to go on such trips/ wishes and don't get them because they are unable to communicate their wish to the organizations. Therefore, they don't allow the parent to make the wish unless they are on deaths door and they end up losing out. My daughter is severely disabled (wheelchair, non-ambulatory, 100% dependent and non-verbal) and doesn't qualify for anything. We have been trying to get her a wish for 8 yrs but still she keeps getting rejected due to "inabilty to communicate her wish".
It's so unfair. I know kids who have gotten more than one wish granted by different wish foundations an she can;t even get one. She'll be 18 in 5 years...
Happy for the lucky kids who did get a fantastic and well-deserved magical day though!

 

[LSmith]

The sad thing about these trips and Wish organizations is there are some really deserving kids who more than deserve to go on such trips/ wishes and don't get them because they are unable to communicate their wish to the organizations. Therefore, they don't allow the parent to make the wish unless they are on deaths door and they end up losing out. My daughter is severely disabled (wheelchair, non-ambulatory, 100% dependent and non-verbal) and doesn't qualify for anything. We have been trying to get her a wish for 8 yrs but still she keeps getting rejected due to "inabilty to communicate her wish".
It's so unfair. I know kids who have gotten more than one wish granted by different wish foundations an she can;t even get one. She'll be 18 in 5 years...
Happy for the lucky kids who did get a fantastic and well-deserved magical day though!

That's absolutely awful if they reject wishes due to "inability to communicate her wish". Very sad. I did notice in your signature that you've been many times, hopefully with your daughter?

 

[Mickey1Fan]

I was part of the Dreams Take Flight trip and it is an amazing day. I was a group leader of eight children. It was the wettest day I have ever spent at The Magic Kingdom but it was well worth it.

One of the many criteria for the Dreams Take Flight children is that can never have been to Walt Disney World. It is the first and maybe only day they may ever spend in The Magic Kingdom.

I have spent most of today sleeping after my 22 hour adventure yesterday. I just can't put into words what this day means to the children and the many volunteers that work all year to put this day together.

DTF is 100% volunteers. The aircraft are donated by Air Canada and the entire flight crew volunteer their time. I have been involved for the last few years and this was my second time as a group leader.

Check them out at dreamstakeflight.ca You may even want to donate and their is an opportunity on the site.

 

[LSmith]

I was part of the Dreams Take Flight trip and it is an amazing day. I was a group leader of eight children. It was the wettest day I have ever spent at The Magic Kingdom but it was well worth it.

One of the many criteria for the Dreams Take Flight children is that can never have been to Walt Disney World. It is the first and maybe only day they may ever spend in The Magic Kingdom.

I have spent most of today sleeping after my 22 hour adventure yesterday. I just can't put into words what this day means to the children and the many volunteers that work all year to put this day together.

DTF is 100% volunteers. The aircraft are donated by Air Canada and the entire flight crew volunteer their time. I have been involved for the last few years and this was my second time as a group leader.


Check them out at dreamstakeflight.ca You may even want to donate and their is an opportunity on the site.

It makes sense to me for a charity organization to take children to Disneyworld who would normally not have the privilege of going. I would think the money is donated by people who no doubt believe that the child would not get the opportunity otherwise. Good for you for volunteering Mickey1Fan! There are living angels among us.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We have had the honour of participating in the pre-flight festivites with Dreams Take Flight. A few years ago my daughters dance team was asked to entertain the kids before they boarded the planes. It was an incredible morning for everyone of us. We had to be in the hanger ready to perform at 4am. The kids start to arrive shortly after that. I have to say that it was hard for us to be there at that time but I reminded my daughter (16 at the time) that it was only one day in her life and the kids she was going to entertain have it hard every day. Watching everyone board the plane put me into massive tears. I was so happy for the kids, just knowing where they were going and how much fun they were going to have.

The proudest moment I have had of my DD was that morning. When we were leaving at about 8am she yawned and said 'that was so worth it'. Finally, she got it.


DTF is a 100% volunteer organization. Air Canada donates the planes and the flight crew & chaperones donate their time. Also, they rely heavily on monetary donations.

 

[mom22belles]

The sad thing about these trips and Wish organizations is there are some really deserving kids who more than deserve to go on such trips/ wishes and don't get them because they are unable to communicate their wish to the organizations. Therefore, they don't allow the parent to make the wish unless they are on deaths door and they end up losing out. My daughter is severely disabled (wheelchair, non-ambulatory, 100% dependent and non-verbal) and doesn't qualify for anything. We have been trying to get her a wish for 8 yrs but still she keeps getting rejected due to "inabilty to communicate her wish".
It's so unfair. I know kids who have gotten more than one wish granted by different wish foundations an she can;t even get one. She'll be 18 in 5 years...
Happy for the lucky kids who did get a fantastic and well-deserved magical day though!

I don't believe you need to be ill or need to communicate your wish for this organzation.
In fact I know a boy who was on the trip yesterday. He is not ill, he is in fact social disadvantaged . I think some one from CAA put his name in for the trip but I am not sure.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I don't believe you need to be ill or need to communicate your wish for this organzation.
In fact I know a boy who was on the trip yesterday. He is not ill, he is in fact social disadvantaged . I think some one from CAA put his name in for the trip but I am not sure.

The kids that are selected come from 3 groups...mental/physical disability....social disadvantage.....terminal illness.

When we were there the organizers warned us to be very careful about photographing the kids because some were in protective custody.

 

[ChisJo]

I work in a pediatric hospital in Edmonton, and let me tell you, the kids that I have seen get to participate in these organization talk about it for a long time. And if they are unable to communicate, just showing them pictures lights up their face! These organizations are amazing....raising a disabled child is incredibly expensive, even with the subsidies from the government! It takes around the clock care to care for some of these kids, and parents just cannot do these kind of trips with the time and money it takes. It's unfortunate that not all the kids who make a wish get to go, but hopefully in time they will be able to take everyone.

 

[tjbaggott]

I guess the Dreams take Flight organization may be the only one out there that grants wishes to disabled and or disadvantaged children?

I know the "WISH" Foundations like Children's Wish and Make A Wish and Rainbow something or other, only grant wishes to Children who have been diagnosed with a life threatening illness. I'm a big supporter of The Children's Wish Foundation because they granted my daughter her wish.

The BEST "WISH" story I personally know of is:
There was a little boy we met at our Children's Hospital here in Ottawa, He Wished for Christmas! It was summer time a few years ago, he was in remission from his cancer (with a less than 5% survival rate). He was 6 years old, and also had developmental delays. He had only just started to really communicate around the time of his diagnosis. This child dreamed of Christmas! End of summer came and then his first time at school, EVER. And then came a new scan of his little body. Bad news, his cancer was back, and it was back big time in his chest. Palliative care was next, and still he dreamed of Christmas. The Wish Foundation contacted his parents and asked if he had a wish. His mom said, all he keeps asking for is Christmas, but it's only September. The Wish Foundation, said NO PROBLEM. Mid October, his Christmas day was set for. His parents told him, Christmas was coming, very soon. He was SO happy. On there Christmas Eve morning, he was looking out his window and told his mom, Christmas couldn't be here because there was no snow.
His mom later was speaking with someone from the Wish Foundation, who asked her how every thing was. The mom said, (not really expecting an answer, but said it more or less because it was something she couldn't do for her son and was sad) "Can you Make it Snow?" Guess what? Later that afternoon, City Of Ottawa Trucks drove down their street, TO THEIR HOUSE. These trucks were laden down with SNOW! It was all dumped on the Front Lawn. He was SO THRILLED! He got to sit in the front seat of one of the trucks. The photo his mom has of him in that seat, shows a Happy Happy but Oh SO tired little boy.
THe next day they had Christmas, with a visit from Santa and his elves, gifts and a Huge FEAST! Christmas HAD finally arrived! The photos and memories forever to be treasured.
3 days later, he passed away.
His name was Bryan.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I guess the Dreams take Flight organization may be the only one out there that grants wishes to disabled and or disadvantaged children?

I know the "WISH" Foundations like Children's Wish and Make A Wish and Rainbow something or other, only grant wishes to Children who have been diagnosed with a life threatening illness. I'm a big supporter of The Children's Wish Foundation because they granted my daughter her wish.

The BEST "WISH" story I personally know of is:
There was a little boy we met at our Children's Hospital here in Ottawa, He Wished for Christmas! It was summer time a few years ago, he was in remission from his cancer (with a less than 5% survival rate). He was 6 years old, and also had developmental delays. He had only just started to really communicate around the time of his diagnosis. This child dreamed of Christmas! End of summer came and then his first time at school, EVER. And then came a new scan of his little body. Bad news, his cancer was back, and it was back big time in his chest. Palliative care was next, and still he dreamed of Christmas. The Wish Foundation contacted his parents and asked if he had a wish. His mom said, all he keeps asking for is Christmas, but it's only September. The Wish Foundation, said NO PROBLEM. Mid October, his Christmas day was set for. His parents told him, Christmas was coming, very soon. He was SO happy. On there Christmas Eve morning, he was looking out his window and told his mom, Christmas couldn't be here because there was no snow.
His mom later was speaking with someone from the Wish Foundation, who asked her how every thing was. The mom said, (not really expecting an answer, but said it more or less because it was something she couldn't do for her son and was sad) "Can you Make it Snow?" Guess what? Later that afternoon, City Of Ottawa Trucks drove down their street, TO THEIR HOUSE. These trucks were laden down with SNOW! It was all dumped on the Front Lawn. He was SO THRILLED! He got to sit in the front seat of one of the trucks. The photo his mom has of him in that seat, shows a Happy Happy but Oh SO tired little boy.
THe next day they had Christmas, with a visit from Santa and his elves, gifts and a Huge FEAST! Christmas HAD finally arrived! The photos and memories forever to be treasured.
3 days later, he passed away.
His name was Bryan.

Wow....what an incredible story. Very touching.

Right now my 10yo is going through something that is yet to be diagnosed but I don't feel that it's anything terrible. Reading stories like that make me very grateful for my kids and the life that we have.

 

[tigger2on]

That's absolutely awful if they reject wishes due to "inability to communicate her wish". Very sad. I did notice in your signature that you've been many times, hopefully with your daughter?

Yes Ryleigh is a avid disney tripper (My dad bought us DVC points after we took her for our familymoon and we saw how accessible it was for her) but the kids can make a wish for anything. Disney would not be her wish... probably something she could use at home for entertainment as she does not get out too much on weekends... a special needs bike??? Who knows all I know is she doesn't "qualify" nor do 3 of 6 students in her special needs class. :O(

 

[tigger2on]

I don't believe you need to be ill or need to communicate your wish for this organzation.
In fact I know a boy who was on the trip yesterday. He is not ill, he is in fact social disadvantaged . I think some one from CAA put his name in for the trip but I am not sure.

I believe one of the criteria is that you have to be able to direct self-care ( ask of a drink, bathroom/diaper change, hunger etc...) to do the day flight! We know many kids who have gone on it and it is a wonderful opportunity.