Bailey's Special Wish Trip To GKTW

[moe10378]

Most of my pics were fixed today

 

[Chicago Mo]

i'm here!!! Followed you from my Crazy PTR..

I am not going to lie to you. I had tears in my eyes for you and your family. I am so sorry about Charlie and the finding out late in the boys lives. (my Father was killed in a motorcycle in 91)
Please excuse my ignorance. You can totally yell at me but what's the stars? and what do the boys have? I haven't hear of GKTW.. So i am reading about this now too! See if i can donate anything for a wonderful cause!

I do have to say everyone is simply ADORABLE!

OFF to read the TR i think???

 

[moe10378]

i'm here!!! Followed you from my Crazy PTR..

I am not going to lie to you. I had tears in my eyes for you and your family. I am so sorry about Charlie and the finding out late in the boys lives. (my Father was killed in a motorcycle in 91)
Please excuse my ignorance. You can totally yell at me but what's the stars? and what do the boys have? I haven't hear of GKTW.. So i am reading about this now too! See if i can donate anything for a wonderful cause!

I do have to say everyone is simply ADORABLE!

OFF to read the TR i think???

Thank you for following along!! I'm sorry about your dad. It's so hard to lose them so unexpectedly. We found out later the guy that hit Charlie had dropped a joint, and was reaching for it.

I'll do a post on GKTW, it's such a magic place! It's for children with life threatening illnesses. They provide a wk of pure luxury!! Each wish child gets a star, which is placed by the Star Fairy! A wish family can go back and visit any time, and see there child's star! So, each of those stars represent a child that has or is battling for there life!

My boys both have life threatening seizures. Seizures alone doesn't qualify a child, but my boys are status elepticus, meaning they don't stop w/out medical intervention. They also suffer from low oxygen during the seizures. Bailey has had to be ventilated a couple times. His general pattern is a grammal about every 3 mos., he is now having focal seizures, but they are about under control!
This is Bailey's pre and trip report. I just a continued the trip report here because there wasn't many posts. The other is Bradley's journey!!!

 

[moe10378]

Today is the day I've been waiting for, it's Universal day !!!

First let me say, we had the most amazing day at Universal Studios!! This day probably made the boys' YEAR!! I know it sure made mine!! Bailey and Bradley don't show much emotion, so to see the happiness on their faces....well for me, it's priceless!!

http://s283.photobucket.com/user/moe10378/slideshow/



Bradley was terrified of the Universal Globe, and wouldn't go near it!
















To get to Universal you have to ride People Movers (or moving sidewalks), it's a LONG way! We did have front row parking though! We headed straight to Barney! Before you enter this odd guy does a pre show while you wait. The boys were very patient, but had no idea what we were there for. They escorted us to the front row!! Once everyone was seated, they turned the lights off. Next thing you know, the lights come on, Barney's theme song starts playing, and Barney's in the middle of the stage!!! Both boys were mesmerized! There eyes never left Barney!! This alone made m whole week, no year! I could have went home today, and not complained. After the show, which Brandon recorded, they took us for a private meet and greet! We got tons of pics!! I don't think the boys knew what to think, they were in awe! The look on there faces..... They were looking like, Wow, he's real!! Bradley touched Barney, and took his hand! We then went into the play area, and played around, then into the Barney shop. Really they didn't have much for the boys, no shirts that would fit Meemaw bought them a refillable Barney cup. We went out, walked around for a few, got some drinks, then headed back for the next Barney show!! Shawn and Brandon went to explore the rest of the park! We were again escorted to the front row. The boys knew what to expect this time, and were really excited! Bailey was dancing and rocking!! They enjoyed this show probably more than the last! WE got another meet and greet, and more pics! We bought a couple of pics, and about 6 key chains!












Even Shawn Michael was excited seeing the boys' expressions!!










Next we headed to the Nick shop to meet SpongeBob and Patrick, and got pics! We bought some of those as well. By this time the boys were getting hot and tired. We let Shawn and Brandon stay, and we headed back to rest and relax a bit, and of course eat lol. We had to go back to get Shawn and Brandon, and went ahead and stopped at Krystals! This was the only meal we would eat that wasn't from GKTW!! I love me some Krystals!!

We ate ice cream, and rode the carousel several times! We also ordered pizza later lol.

At the end of the week GKTW gave us a dvd of everything we had caught on camcorder, and we have made copies! The boys still LOVE to watch that Barney show over and over and over!!!

 

[moe10378]

Meemaw is enjoying the show!!!




Bradley is on the left, Bailey on the right!






Bradley a bit star struck!!




Bradley Loving on Mommy, waiting for the show!






Bailey is to the left, Bradley to the right




Look at Bradley holding onto Barney!!


Still holding onto Barney!!

 

[moe10378]

 

[moe10378]

Bailey LOVES the pillow he got at the Castle of Miracles!!! Still loves it to this day!!






Next up?? Magic Kingdom! Will our day be filled with magic?????

 

[Chicago Mo]

oh as soon as i read your intro i googled GKTW, and read up on such a wonderful place. the pictures are priceless. i am so glad the boys were able to go and enjoy! the look of pure excitement on them is well.. just over the top.

Excited to read more!!

 

[moe10378]

Thank you Chicago Mo! For Christmas we had books made for them, and they LOVE looking at them!!! If I coulda, I woulda drug that dinosaur home w/ me lol. GKTW is amazing!! Next time you head to Orlando, consider spending a day volunteering! They allow kids to volunteer also!! I plan on becoming a volunteer!

 

[moe10378]

Trying to post pics from my phone

 

[moe10378]

Day 4: Magic.....Villa
We got up and ate breakfast, and Bailey was acting really weird, pretty sure he had a small seizure. He's just not acting himself. We all decided to stay back at the villa today, relax, and enjoy what GKTW has to offer. Not a big heart break, this place is MAGICAL!!! They even have their own mini golf course designed and built by Universal Studios!! It's called Dino Land! Shawn and Brandon went and played, but we never did get the chance.

We ate, and of course got ice cream!!


My ice cream!! MMMMM


Meemaw's ice cream!!
The boys got milk shakes!

One of the volunteers gave Brandon an apron, and had him make his own banana split. This was priceless, and I have pics and a video somewhere. Brandon has plans to volunteer here, and I hope they don't put him in the Ice Cream palace!! Or anywhere near food, because he'll eat it all!!!

We ran to Walmart and got matching Disney shirts to wear either at Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom, and of course some Mtn. Dew and Diet Dew. Once Bay was feeling better, we also went swimming. Did I mention how hot it has been? It has been mid to upper 90's all wk. We chose Sept/Oct for cooler temps lol. So, the swimming really felt good and refreshing. We needed today. It was a nice, relaxing day. Tomorrow we will really head to the Magic Kingdom. Watch out Disney World, here come the Carpenter's!!!

 

[moe10378]

Day 5: Magic Kingdom, where's the Magic???

We ate breakfast and headed to Magic Kingdom! It wasn't long b4 we saw this...



We chose to take the ferry over!!










Poor Brad is already HOT!!












Check out our cool shirts!! Mickey LOVED them!! He insisted we get this shot!! For those that do not know, the puzzle pieces represent autism.




Mickey was wonderful!! He even kissed my hand! I promise you, that is the ONLY mouse I will EVER get near.....
So, we did have some magic.

This was def. the busiest park we had been to yet, which we expected! Today was rated a level 2, I cannot imagine what a level 10 would be like. We did get a group shot in front of the castle also...



Almost immediately this Cast Member started following us around. He didn't want the boys in a wheel chair (said safety), didn't want them on a scooter, and didn't want them walking in case the bolted. When we went in to see Mickey, I thought, ok, he'll go about his business. Nope, there he was. He started in b4 we even got down the steps. He was in most of our pics, and followed us around for two hours. We only got to ride It's A Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the boat safari ride. It wasn't because we had to wait either, it was this particular CM. We decided to head back up to the front and report him. We showed the nice lady the pics (I had asked this CM if I could take a pic of him, and he said yes), and pics throughout the park in our background. The lady was super nice, and apologetic. She stepped out to see if she could see him, and sure enough, there he was! She went to him, and told him not to even look at us again. By this time, the magic was gone, our day was ruined. We were upset, so we just left. I expected better from a Disney park.

So this particular CM ruined Magic Kingdom, but not our whole day! This evening is Christmas at GKTW.......Day 5 Continued.....stay tuned

 

[moe10378]

More pics from Magic Kingdom











Daddy and Bay




Bay




Look how hot Brad is!! This is not sunburn.....Bless his heart






Did I mention today was my 35th Birthday???

 

[Chicago Mo]

Did you find out why this CM was following you?

 

[moe10378]

Did you find out why this CM was following you?

He didn't want the boys in a wheel chair, walking with us holding hands, or on a scooter. No matter what we did he wasn't happy. I asked him what his suggestion was. I told him they had just as much right to be there as anyone else. IMO, it boiled down to him being uneducated about autism

 

[Chicago Mo]

He didn't want the boys in a wheel chair, walking with us holding hands, or on a scooter. No matter what we did he wasn't happy. I asked him what his suggestion was. I told him they had just as much right to be there as anyone else. IMO, it boiled down to him being uneducated about autism

this is just shocking to me...

 

[moe10378]

Trust me, it was for me too! I had heard such great things from other wish families. We were given a 3 day Hopper, and only went to Animal Kingdom after this

 

[moe10378]

We headed back to GKTW and got some lunch and swam awhile. While we were gone, the Gift Fairy had left the boys a surprise on the table...


My aunt Bead (the one who flew down with us), and my cousin Jenny was coming to visit and eat dinner with us. We got ready, and headed to eat first. When we got to the Gingerbread House Mrs. Claus was at the door! She was passing out a pic of herself, and posing for pics. I have a pic of her with the boys, but I have to find the rest of my pics from this night.... I'll add them soon, I promise. The Gingerbread House had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, all kind of good stuff. Not to mention the chew chew train with the kids choices. We enjoyed dinner, then headed over to see about seeing Santa. The line at Julie's Safari was crazy long. We waited for a few, but the boys were getting pretty antsy, so we gave up. We headed over the Castle of Miracles to show Bead and Jenny Bailey's star, and explore. Then we went and looked at the decorations. Next we headed to the Carriage Ride, which is really a horse drawn wagon. They even had it decorated with Christmas lights!! We rode it around, and then walked around the village. By this time Shawn and Brandon were already back in the pool.... lol. We got ice cream, and headed back to our villa and just hung out and talked. We ordered pizza later, imagine that....lol. Then laundry, baths, and bed!

Next up??? Animal Kingdom.... Will our day at a Disney park be better????

 

[moe10378]

Day 6: Animal Kingdom, also Fri, our last full day in Orlando

We got up this morning and got breakfast, and Meemaw offered to watch the boys while we went to Animal Kingdom. The boy were wore out, and really enjoyed GKTW. It was also lookin to be a very HOT day. So, after some thought, we decided to go for it.

We headed out, and after about 20 min we were there. The boys have a handicap placard, so we have had amazing parking all wk at every park!!












Goofing off!!



We can't wait to get to this!!







Shawn and I have very little "Husband and wife" time, so this was a nice break. The boys require constant supervision, so your mind is always going. It was also super nice to spend some quality time with Shawn Michael, and get to ride some rides with him!







Day 6 Continued......

 

[moe10378]

We rode the safari, which was pretty awesome, but I love animals so I'm partial! Then we just couldn't wait to get on Expedition Everest. Now DH isn't a ride person, never has been, and never will be. So, he sits this out. I couldn't wait to ride, for two reasons. One being, this would be the first real roller coaster (besides kiddy ones), that Shawn Michael and I had rode together. The second reason is a bit devious.... hahaha. I did my homework! Brandon's not a big ride person, but he really relaxed and let go, and rode a lot this trip, he experienced a lot of firsts. I knew the track "ended", and then sent you backwards! He did not!! Can you see where this is going? LOL. So, we get on, and when we get to the broken track I start screaming, "Oh my God, what are we gonna do?" Brandon says, "Mindy, oh no, don't do this to me!!" I'm literally about to pee myself Then we go backwards!! HAHA, priceless!! He had his head buried in my shoulder almost the entire ride!! Then we decide we just gotta ride again! I want to ride in the front, and Brandon doesn't. Shawn Michael is like his Momma, so he's gonna ride up front. Another guy comes in behind Brandon, and is gonna ride with Brandon. While we waited (for literally maybe a min), we talked. I told Brandon he couldn't bury his head in that guys shoulder, next thing I know, him and Shawn are switching places!!!

Yep!! The old lady showed them both up!!!

Next we wanna cool off, or at least me and Shawn Michael do, so we head to the rapids (not sure what they are called here). We got a bit wet, but really not bad. It was a nice ride, and cooled us off!

Off we go again, and next thing you know we see this...





Your never to old for Minnie!!!


Even though you can't see his face, this pic melts my heart. Super shocked that my teenage son allowed Minnie to hug him!!







Now I gotta say, even my tough, redneck husband enjoyed meeting the characters. We also met Chip and Dale, Donald and Daisy, and Pocohontas. Gotta find these pics also! Funny little story about Pocohontas, they were all so excited to meet her. She was on break when we got up there, but they took us in through a separate entrance, and we were the first ones up. When she comes up my husband says, "she's to beautiful, I'm not going up there"!!

We only spent a few hrs at Animal Kingdom, but we really did enjoy it! We left, and headed back to the villa. We grabbed a bite to eat from Katies Kitchen this time. When we got back I took Bailey swimming (Bradley did not wanna go). Brandon and Shawn also went. They were having the Pirates and Princess Party, and even Shamu was partying!! Bailey had a blast! My sensory overloaded child was all over that pool!! He was so brave!

Next thing I know, I look at the time, and oh my, we have GOT to get back to the villa, like NOW!!! Why you ask, stay tuned and you'll find out!!!