bellaririsa (Malia) Wish Trip MAW/GKTW June 2009

[bellairisa]

Hi everyone, Finals are done!! whoo whoo!! Now I can totally just enjoy planning for this trip! So since we're going for two weeks we're def. planning to hit all 4 WDW parks at least once, prolly MK twice, so we're gonna buy some extra tickets for that one, but it'll be worth it.

Must Do List: AK
Everest
Dinosaur
Triceratop Spin
Primeval Whirl
The Boneyard Playground
Kilimanjaro Safari
Kali River Rapids
Camp Minnie-Mickey
The Lion King Show
Jammin Jungle Parade

Must Do List: HS
Toy Story Mania
Star Tours
Rock n Roll rollercoaster
Muppet Vision 3D
Studio Backlot Tour
Playhouse Disney Live
It's Tough to be a Bug
Jedi Training Acedemy (let's hope she gets picked)
Block Party Bash
Fantasmic!

We're planning one day at Universal, and another for IOA

Seaworld gets it's own day too.

But we're also gonna do some relax days and just enjoy GKTW, Downtown Disney, etc., and recoop after some park days.

I don't really know much about the whole character dining arena, I know it's probably extra in cost? And advanced reservations? Can anyone shed some basic info or recommend a good one? That would awesome.

In general news, my dd has a CT scan scheduled for this Friday. That means an IV start ( "the pokey") and she'll be under sedation since she can't lie still for the length of the scan. Let's cross our fingers and hope it comes back with good news!!!!

 

[maroo]

Hi everyone, Finals are done!! whoo whoo!! Now I can totally just enjoy planning for this trip! So since we're going for two weeks we're def. planning to hit all 4 WDW parks at least once, prolly MK twice, so we're gonna buy some extra tickets for that one, but it'll be worth it.

Must Do List: AK
Everest
Dinosaur
Triceratop Spin
Primeval Whirl
The Boneyard Playground
Kilimanjaro Safari
Kali River Rapids
Camp Minnie-Mickey
The Lion King Show
Jammin Jungle Parade

Must Do List: HS
Toy Story Mania
Star Tours
Rock n Roll rollercoaster
Muppet Vision 3D
Studio Backlot Tour
Playhouse Disney Live
It's Tough to be a Bug
Jedi Training Acedemy (let's hope she gets picked)
Block Party Bash
Fantasmic!

We're planning one day at Universal, and another for IOA

Seaworld gets it's own day too.

But we're also gonna do some relax days and just enjoy GKTW, Downtown Disney, etc., and recoop after some park days.

I don't really know much about the whole character dining arena, I know it's probably extra in cost? And advanced reservations? Can anyone shed some basic info or recommend a good one? That would awesome.

In general news, my dd has a CT scan scheduled for this Friday. That means an IV start ( "the pokey") and she'll be under sedation since she can't lie still for the length of the scan. Let's cross our fingers and hope it comes back with good news!!!!

Looks like a great must do list!!

To answer some of your questions...

http://www.allears.net has really good Dining information that is easy to find. They have each restaurant and a menu with prices...

They also have a special "character dining" section...

http://allears.net/din/cb.htm

The character meals are pricey...but several MAW families have reported recently that they were treated like royalty at those meals...some even reporting special meet and greets. Particularly at 1900 Park Fare. There is no guarantee that will happen...but it seems to be more likely at 1900 Park Fare, based on recent Trip Reports.

If you decide to do one...call each day and try to get ressies...As people change trips or decide to swap a schedule, they are likely to cancel an ADR and possibly open one up for you guys. You can tell the CM on the phone that you are a wish family and they may be able to squeeze you guys in, too.

Having two weeks is going to make this trip so relaxed!! I am so excited for you guys!


I will pray that the CT procedure goes well, with as little pain as possible and pray that those results are good, too!!

And congrats on being done with exams!!!!!!!

 

[bellairisa]

Thanx for those website links, they totally helped me out! Off to find a either a one piece or a tankini to cover Malia's G-tube while she swims.

 

[bellairisa]

Yay! Just heard from Malia's MAW coordinator, she informed me that she will be sending out reminders to my dd's MAW volunteers to get in contact w/ me about planning her send off party! I wasn't even sure if she was going to be having one, because it's getting close to trip time and I hadn't heard anything about it yet.

Malia's off to a CT scan tommorrow, so it's off to the peds infusion clinic for an 9 am IV start, oh the fun we'll have there LOL before heading off to radiology.

 

[thatkid]

Hi!
i love reading other people's MAW pre trip reports, they're so exciting haha

I love your daughter's name!

 

[bellairisa]

Well I've finally got some time to update, so here we go:

My dd's CT scan went surprisingly well during the procedure, and I just got a call back from her doctor and he told me that her scans came back clear. No signs of any new tumor development!

I haven't heard anything yet from her volunteers about planning her send off party, I plan on calling her wish coordinator again tomorrow to see if she called the volunteers, that poor woman must feel like I'm constantly calling her, I can't help it, I'm so excited for my dd (and me too).

Starting to pack now and feeling slightly worry that I'm going to forget something, lol. Malia keeps asking if tomorrow we're going to WDW. She has a calendar that she crosses off the days on, and when we get to the Tinkerbell sticker that means we're leaving.

I bought the Disney Scene It game today as a celebration present for her scans, and man, she may be 4 going on 5 soon but she totally whooped me up Disney style. I was pretty surprised at how throughly she beat me and how much Disney trivia/memory she has.

I can't believe we're leaving soon!!

 

[bellairisa]

Yay got a call from Malia's wish volunteer, her send off party is this coming up Monday!! Funny thing is with Malia's changing tastes in what her favorite food is, I can't remember what she told the volunteers when they were interviewing her so many months ago

Only a week and 4 days to go, we're all getting so excited, but I really need to start packing lol. Anyone have good ideas for the flight to pass the time? We're flying out from Sacramento, so it's basically an all day flight, it will be the longest flight that Malia has ever taken.

At the moment she's taken to saying movie quotes from "Bolt," she likes to play/switch between characters in the scene, her favorite scene to quote so far is when Rhino joins up with Bolt in the beginning.

As for non Disney related: We went to the Sacramento Zoo today as a treat for Malia. I will post pics as soon as I can get them uploaded.

 

[bellairisa]

Malia is getting more excited with everyday that we mark off on her calendar and the countdown numbers get smaller and smaller. I can't believe next Monday we'll be flying off to WDW/GKTW.

Malia's MAW volunteers are coming by tomorrow for her sendoff party, I haven't told my dd yet, I'm keeping it as a surprise for her, gonna stop by the grocery store and pick up her favorite cake for her as well.

Packing..packing..packing...I keep feeling that I'm going to be forgetting something let's cross our fingers and hope that doesn't happen lol. Malia has already packed her carry-on backpack, she loaded it with so much books, when I placed it on her back just to see if she could carry it, she toppled right over, to which she said, "um mommy I think it's a little bit heavy."

I will post pics of tomorrow's party when I get the chance, but first, as promised a couple of pics from the zoo:

 

[maroo]

Malia's comment about her backpack made me laugh out loud!

Awesome news on the clear scans!!!

It is getting close!!! You guys are going to have a blast!!!!

 

[bellairisa]

Yesterday was Malia's send off party from MAW and it was a blast. Her volunteers came over to the house around 6 and they came bearing gifts from my dd. We answered the door together, and my dd shouted "hi hi" then took off running for the dining table to show them where they could put all the things they were carrying They had brought pizza and a strawberry ice cream cake from Cold Stone. But first the more important stuff (to Malia that is) : presents!
She got a pink bear in a ballerina dress and shoes from Build-a-Bear, and a backpack from MAW filled with lots of stuff to occupy her on the plane, plus a MAW visor which was pretty cool so now she has a hat and visor.

As we were eating we also went over the packet that they had brought over. Wow! I did not except the amount of money that they give us. They are very generous I must say. We got all our airline info as well, as well as some more stuff on GKTW, and packing tips. Then it was was time for the best part...ice cream cake! It was really good, it was the first time any of us had had one from Cold Stone and it was in Malia's fav. flavor, strawberry. My dd ate all the ice cream and icing but the left the cake

Malia's volunteers were amazing, they kept making jokes with Malia n stuff. She was very talkative with them which was great because when we first met them she was extremely shy with them.

6 days left! It's getting harder to sleep at night because I'm getting so excited!

Malia with her volunteers

Malia with her loot

 

[maroo]

You guys are going to have so much fun! Coldstone...yummy! I might have to get some ice cream later!

I am glad she got some goodies to take on your trip! I can't wait to hear all about it when you guys get back!

 

[kdzbear]

Wow! Two weeks in Orlando is amazing. The send off party sounded like lots of fun. Your daughter and I share the same favorite cake flavor, Strawberry! Have a great time on your trip!

 

[sammie girl]

It looks like you have had the start to a wonderful disney vacation. Your DD is so cute. Two weeks at Disney will be awsome. Hopefully you will be able to catch all GKTW has to offer.

 

[Andreaswish]

Hope you guys have a wonderful magical trip. Can't wait to hear about it when you get back.

Diane