Dream Factory Trip

[thesaurinis]

I don't even know where to start. We have been granted a trip for our son who has a rare syndrome and deals with a lot of things on a daily basis. He doesn't qualify for MAW but did for The Dream Factory. We had never heard of them until just recently and I will tell you they are AWESOME to work with. We will be traveling the end of September for 3N/4D land, then 4N/5D cruise on the Disney Dream. We don't even know where to begin to even think of what we need to do for this trip. I do have a bunch of questions and am hoping everyone here can help me out.

1. I have a Disney Visa what do I do to get my points saved for a gift card so my son can have anything he wants on the trip without mom saying sorry hunny we can't afford that, or no we don't have enough for it.

2. Suggestions for dining. They upgraded us to the Deluxe dining so I am understanding its all 3 meals and a snack credit. (Holy food)

3. Any tips for the cruise itself or things to see/do for excursions?

4. Any tips in general

5. What parks/rides are a must while on land?

We will have my sons wheelchair with us incase he isn't able to walk the whole time so do we need to know anything or restrictions with it? My understanding is we are staying at Allstar sports. (I might try to upgrade when we get there for an added surprise for him if its possible I have tons of points save on my Disney Visa because I was hoping to take him on the cruise next year with all my points, yes I have that many saved. LOL)

Going on the trip will be myself, hubby, son (8) and daughter (15).

Thanks ahead of time for any info you might all be able to give me.

 

[stargazertechie]

I don't even know where to start. We have been granted a trip for our son who has a rare syndrome and deals with a lot of things on a daily basis. He doesn't qualify for MAW but did for The Dream Factory. We had never heard of them until just recently and I will tell you they are AWESOME to work with. We will be traveling the end of September for 3N/4D land, then 4N/5D cruise on the Disney Dream. We don't even know where to begin to even think of what we need to do for this trip. I do have a bunch of questions and am hoping everyone here can help me out.

1. I have a Disney Visa what do I do to get my points saved for a gift card so my son can have anything he wants on the trip without mom saying sorry hunny we can't afford that, or no we don't have enough for it.

2. Suggestions for dining. They upgraded us to the Deluxe dining so I am understanding its all 3 meals and a snack credit. (Holy food)

3. Any tips for the cruise itself or things to see/do for excursions?

4. Any tips in general

5. What parks/rides are a must while on land?

We will have my sons wheelchair with us incase he isn't able to walk the whole time so do we need to know anything or restrictions with it? My understanding is we are staying at Allstar sports. (I might try to upgrade when we get there for an added surprise for him if its possible I have tons of points save on my Disney Visa because I was hoping to take him on the cruise next year with all my points, yes I have that many saved. LOL)

Going on the trip will be myself, hubby, son (8) and daughter (15).

Thanks ahead of time for any info you might all be able to give me.

-If you don't want to spend a TON of time eating (the Deluxe plan is a boatload of food!) try some signatures you might not otherwise pay for. They take up 2 credits.

Cinderella's Royal Table, Hoop De Doo, Le Cellier (dinner), and Jiko are some of the 2 credit meals.

When you get to the parks, be sure to pick up one of the Guide Maps for Guests with Disabilities. It will give you instructions on where to go for each ride. Most lines are mainstreamed, meaning you can take his wheelchair through the regular line. Some lines have an alternate entrance (Pirates, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Its a Small World, and Haunted Mansion come to mind).

Check the disABILITIES board- there's a whole forum of people taking wish (and other wish-granting organization) trips, along with other folks who have gone to the parks requiring special assistance.

 

[MsPeggySue911]

I would recommend you get the Unofficial Guide to Disney with kids 2011. It's very helpful in telling about each ride, what age group the ride is for, where it is located in the park. It describes how to use the Fastpass system and even touches on dining.

If you are going to be using the deluxe dining plan you are going to need to make your ADRs (advanced dining reservations) NOW or you might be locked out of getting decent table service restaurant reservations. You can investigate the different restaurants, where they are located, the menus and even the prices at www.allears.net. You can also find dining information right on the Disney website. You do not have to eat all 3 meals at table service places. You can eat some or most of them at counter service locations. You have to keep in mind the money you would need to have for tipping at the sit down restaurants if you choose to use table service credits. Some meals can cost over a hundred dollars or more so you could be looking at considerable amounts for tips if you eat all 3 meals as sit down meals.

I would contact Disney IF you have your resort confirmation number and place a room request in your reservation for a ground floor room for your son and his wheelchair so you don't have to worry about stairs or elevators.

Going at the end of September you might want to be prepared for the fact that it is still very hot in Florida in September and pack accordingly to have cool clothes.

That's all I can think of right now from everything I have read on these boards. Spend a lot of time reading on these boards and you will gain a lot of information about a wide variety of issues.

Make sure you get a GAC (guest assistance card) for your son when you first get to the park. It will help you get through lines easier with his wheelchair.

 

[thesaurinis]

Thanks so much for the tips already. I am jotting them all down in a notebook so I have them to go back to for quick reference. I was thinking the same thing about the deluxe dining plan, that its a boat load of food. My hubby & son don't mind eating non stop but still they won't eat that much. I was told about some of the specialty dinners. i would love to do cinderellas royal table but not sure if he would be interested. he is 8 and all boy. LOL The daughter that is 15 would love to be in castle. LOL

I never thought about a ground floor room. Maybe the dream team already did that for us but I will check it out. I just saw the MNSSHP is 1 day while we are there so debating if I should get tickets to that. The DH will flip if he sees the cost of that but I am looking at it as hey its a chance of a lifetime. He will look at it as the tickets for the day have already been purchased why double purchase? I was debating the water park too.

 

[stargazertechie]

Thanks so much for the tips already. I am jotting them all down in a notebook so I have them to go back to for quick reference. I was thinking the same thing about the deluxe dining plan, that its a boat load of food. My hubby & son don't mind eating non stop but still they won't eat that much. I was told about some of the specialty dinners. i would love to do cinderellas royal table but not sure if he would be interested. he is 8 and all boy. LOL The daughter that is 15 would love to be in castle. LOL

I never thought about a ground floor room. Maybe the dream team already did that for us but I will check it out. I just saw the MNSSHP is 1 day while we are there so debating if I should get tickets to that. The DH will flip if he sees the cost of that but I am looking at it as hey its a chance of a lifetime. He will look at it as the tickets for the day have already been purchased why double purchase? I was debating the water park too.

With it being such a short trip, I'd skip the waterparks and MNSSHP. You'll have the Aquaduck on the Dream, as well as your stop at Castaway Cay.

When I went to CRT, the princesses were SO good with the young boys around me. I do believe that he gets a sword for the wishing ceremony (your DD will get a wishing wand).

 

[thesaurinis]

I have the Disney Visa card and have lots of points to use. Does anyone know whats best to do? Do I contact someone to get it transferred to a gift card so that way we can use that to pay for anything we want or need? If so who do I contact and about how far in advance should I do it?

 

[Sandy321]

Also come join the discussion of other families that have had or are planning Dream Trips (Dream Factory is listed there - and I love the hints on post 2!!)


Here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2626769

I dont have experience with Visa Cards but someone here will chime in for you!

 

[kimgof]

If I remember correctly, you can do it all online for the Disney Visa. You just go to your account and let them know you want your points. They send you a card (like a credit card) in the mail that's "loaded" with your points which are basically dollars. You can use this card pretty much anywhere on WDW property. I get my card a couple of months before my trip. If I need to add more points to the card I can do that online. Just go to your account and add the points(it pretty much is self explanatory directions). The only points that can be added are from your most recent statement. You can't buy something during a day and add the points that night online. The points are added to your card directly. The card I believe expires like 2 or 3 years from when its issued. Once the points are on the card they can't be removed you have to spend them. I hope this helps. Sounds like a great trip you have coming up...enjoy it!

 

[Belle83]

One thing about the food is that you will probably be a lot hungrier in WDW than you normally would be at home. I'm not a big eater at home, but all that walking made a difference. You may eat more than you think you will. I would still take the opportunity to try the restaurants that are 2 credits instead of 1. If you are using the buses, getting to restaurants at other hotels can be a huge pain. Make dining reservations for sure (online at Disney's website).

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would suggest you go over to the disABILITIES Forum. There is an extremely large thread dealing with WISH trips, even if the granting organization is not MAW. When you get there, that thread is always on Page 1 of the index; it is easy to find as it currently has over 2,000 posts. It will really be a very good place to start.

 

[DisMN]

One thing about the food is that you will probably be a lot hungrier in WDW than you normally would be at home. I'm not a big eater at home, but all that walking made a difference. You may eat more than you think you will. I would still take the opportunity to try the restaurants that are 2 credits instead of 1. If you are using the buses, getting to restaurants at other hotels can be a huge pain. Make dining reservations for sure (online at Disney's website).

This is an excellent excellent point. We find we eat very different when we're at Disneyworld and being diabetic I have to do a bit of adjusting and readjusting my food intake.

Good luck and have a great time!!