GKTW, Christopher's Dreams Come True, October 6-12

[Monie3]

This is my first time posting on anything like this, so I apologize for any mistakes! Our son has been granted a dream through our local wish granting organization, Dreams Come True. I have read several blogs of people going through the Make A Wish foundation and still have a million questions. Our son is a bit older than most I have read about. He is 18,, but because of his disabilities, (he has autism and epilepsy) he is much younger in many ways. We have been to Disney many times, but usually just a day trip. This is truly a dream for our family. Sorry, first question! His absolute favorite thing to do at Disney is watch the fireworks. The last trip we had to sit in one spot for two and a half hours and wait! We would like to make this trip special. My question, (finally!) is there somewhere special that we could have an unobstructed view without a huge crowd? Is it worth it to ask a CM? Thank you for any and all advice!

 

[Monie3]

Okay, now for my next set of questions! Christopher (our Dreamer), is. 18, but, as I said is much younger in many ways. He was mostly non- verbal until he was 13. We took him to the MK for that event and he said his first non- prompted words, Small World! It continues to be his favorite ride. The next favorite is "Yo-Ho (Pirates!). He enjoys the characters immensely! Mickey and Pooh are his favorites. Our Dream Coordinator has told us that the characters will visit GKTW, but is it still worth it to make a reservation for a character meal? Although we live fairly close to Orlando, this has not been an option we could afford. Because of his medication for his epilepsy, he doesn't do well in the heat, so waiting in long character lines has not happened as well. We usually see them from a distance! I apologize for the rambling, but I am trying to make this as special for my family as possible. I could go on and on with the questions! Any help would be so appreciated!

 

[Redwavess]

Okay, now for my next set of questions! Christopher (our Dreamer), is. 18, but, as I said is much younger in many ways. He was mostly non- verbal until he was 13. We took him to the MK for that event and he said his first non- prompted words, Small World! It continues to be his favorite ride. The next favorite is "Yo-Ho (Pirates!). He enjoys the characters immensely! Mickey and Pooh are his favorites. Our Dream Coordinator has told us that the characters will visit GKTW, but is it still worth it to make a reservation for a character meal? Although we live fairly close to Orlando, this has not been an option we could afford. Because of his medication for his epilepsy, he doesn't do well in the heat, so waiting in long character lines has not happened as well. We usually see them from a distance! I apologize for the rambling, but I am trying to make this as special for my family as possible. I could go on and on with the questions! Any help would be so appreciated!

Yeah a Wish Trip I am so excited for you!!!

I love that the first non prompted words were Small World!! Disney is just magical!! My wish child clapped for the 1st during a Disney parade. The song playing for that parade was "Welcome to our Family Time Welcome to our Brotherly Time... very up beat, characters coming down the street and cue clapping from our little princess!! It was magical!!

I have good news about the meeting the characters you won't have to stand in line on the Wish Trip!! So that will help you to see many more characters then you could otherwise. We did do a character lunch and it was a highlight for our family. We definitely would do it again. We went through Make-A-Wish and the spending money they gave us was enough to cover all are expenses including the character dinning.

I wish I could help you with the fireworks, but we never stayed late enough to figure that out. Our Wish kid was 6 then and she really loved the special activities at Give Kids the World so we did that each night. However, I do know that people will ask their wish granting team to help facilitate special accommodations for wish kids. For example, some kids get to be in the parades. So I would ask your wish granters if they can make special arrangements. If they are unable I would ask guest services when you get Disney. I know they rope off sections for guest with wheelchairs maybe they could accommodate you all in that section.

Characters do visit Give Kids the World. One day we met Shaggy and Scooby there. One day we met Sea World characters there (At the Pirates and Princesses party). One day we met Belle and Minnie and Mickey at Give Kids the World. No Winnie the Pooh I'm afraid. But we were told that the characters who visit change, so you might get lucky!!

I know what you mean about having tons of question... I fondly remember having them while I planned my daughter's Wish Trip. I'm am so happy I found the DIS and just all my questions answered. I know it helped me make the most of the trip!!

Let me know if you have any more questions!!

Happy Planning,

Madeline

 

[Monie3]

Thank you so much for replying! We have not really been able to share the trip with Christopher because he doesn't have a real concept of time so I don't want to get him frustrated thinking it is closer than it is. I will talk to our dream coordinator and if necessary a cast member. I am also trying to make this special for our other children. They are older than most I read on here as well. Our daughter is 20 and our younger son is 14. They have had to give up so much over the years that I want them to have a truly special time. Riding Small World five or six times is not always their idea of fun. Christopher does enjoy some roller coasters so we will try and find a happy medium for everyone. I am so excited about this trip. Time to spend with our family as they are getting older. Time to laugh. Time to (hopefully) not worry about seizures. Thank you again for replying. I think about this trip so often during the day and have enjoyed reading everyone's accounts!

 

[Monie3]

Madeline,

I just started reading about your wonderful family! After crying and laughing, I am having to give up for the evening. (It's almost midnight here!). I am so looking forward to reading more. Bless you beautiful family! I do have one more question! (Well, for right now!). How do I post pictures? I am not the most computer literate, but I do have teenagers! Lol. Thank you again for sharing with me!
Monique

 

[Redwavess]

Madeline,

I just started reading about your wonderful family! After crying and laughing, I am having to give up for the evening. (It's almost midnight here!). I am so looking forward to reading more. Bless you beautiful family! I do have one more question! (Well, for right now!). How do I post pictures? I am not the most computer literate, but I do have teenagers! Lol. Thank you again for sharing with me!
Monique

Hi Monique,

Awww, thanks so much for the sweet things about my family, I'm glad you are enjoying the thread. I know how addicting the DIS boards are!!! I have been known to get myself stuck in a thread too!! It just so fun to share in others people's trips and use their ideas to make the most of your family's wish trip!!!! Oh and I can relate to thinking about the trip all through out the day. I think it is a recognized illness called Disney on the brain!!!

As you saw Mallory's brother is a teenager and he too had a magical time on the wish trip!!! This was super important for me because as we well know when there is a child in the family that is sick, the whole family, especially the brothers and sisters go through a lot!!! My teen really loved Give Kids the World too!! There is free ice cream, late night pizza delivery, basketball, an awesome pool, an arcade, fishing, miniature golf, games, and lots of other teens there to make friends with and hang out with!!! And everything is free!!! Your teen can roam and explore until his heart in content!!! Of course at the theme parks they have all those great rides teens like, Harry Potter stuff, super heroes and villains around the park. The teens can use the card that gets you to the front of the line even if the wish child does not ride the ride, so I'm sure your teen will love that just as mine did. We stayed together most of the time on our trip (me and Mallory played and people watched whole daddy and Michael rode the roller coasters)

Okay on to posting pictures!!

-Sign up for a Photobucket account (it is free and it holds the pictures you upload so you can post them here).
-Click the upload button
-Choose the pictures from your computer to upload (if you want to upload a bunch you can click on bulk upload)
-Photobucket places all your pictures into a library
-Click on the library tab
-You should see the pictures you uploaded
-Click on the picture you want to post
-Once the pictures opens you will see a box on the right side that says "links to share this photo."
-Click on the one that is on the bottom next to the letters IMG (when you click on it, it will say copied)
-Last click paste into your post here.

Wow I hope I didn't scare you from attempting with all those steps. Once you do it you'll see it is not as hard as I made it look!!!

Also you may want to edit the title of your thread to include the letters GKTW, so people will know your thread is about a wish trip. Finally you could go to the DISablities section of this board and check out the thread Wish Trippers Unite (if you haven't yet). There is lots of good info there and you can post your questions there too and meet other current and former wish families

I hope I haven't overwhelmed you!!!

I'm here to help, so keep those questions coming!!

Happy planning,

Madeline

 

[Redwavess]

Okay one last thing... I promise!!!

Here is the link for the Wish Trippers Thread (in case you hadn't come across it yet) I talked about above:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3084932

There is tons of great info there.

I can't wait to hear all about your plans and I am here for any questions!!!

Talk to you soon,

Madeline

PS -- Did I mention I have a slight smilie obsession!!

 

[Monie3]

Madeline,
You are so wonderful! Thank you for all the help. I have never been on anything like this, so I seem to be spending a lot of time figuring out how it all works! I am in the process of getting pictures uploaded. I was so excited last night after reading your thread, I woke up at 3 45 too excited about the trip to sleep. Reading everyone's stories gets me even more excited. I was so happy to hear that the other children will not have to have Christopher with them to enjoy the pass. I would like to stay together as much as possible, but, like I said, Small World gets old quickly for the average teenager! (I personally could ride it over and over!). Elizabeth and Phillip (our non-dream children) are most excited about Universal. They have been with friends and absolutely love it. I am happy to see that it is also little kid friendly. Christopher LOVES Barney and Dr. Seuss.
Again, thank you for taking interest in our family.
Monique

 

[wiigirl]

Following along.

 

[Monie3]

Thank you!

 

[Monie3]

Okay, I can't post pictures until I post ten times. So, I apologize now, but I will be posting a few times! Madeline, I just finished your trip thread! Wow, what an amazing time you and your family had! Also, you told me about Wish Trippers. That is how I happened upon This and I honestly thought that I was posting there. Can it be moved? I am so confused! Thank you again!

 

[Monie3]

Okay, I hope I did the right thing. I copied my original post and "replied" in the "wish trippers" thread. I hope that is acceptable. I am open to any and all suggestions and want to do the right thing!

 

[Redwavess]

Okay, I hope I did the right thing. I copied my original post and "replied" in the "wish trippers" thread. I hope that is acceptable. I am open to any and all suggestions and want to do the right thing!

That's perfect! It takes a little time for people to come across threads and questions, so don't be discouraged if the posts don't get answered right away. Keep posting and they will come!! Another thing you can do is post a link to your thread in the signature (bottom of the posts where mine says Mallory Makes a Magical Wish). If you include a link in your signature it will help people find your thread when you post in the Wish Trippers Thread or other threads. You can create a signature that will post to each time you make a new post by

-Clicking on User CP (near the top left in the light blue bar)
-Scroll down look at the left side and click on Edit Signature
-Type the signature you would like to post on all threads in the box.

Here is mine for a sample:

Me Madeline Wife, Mom, & 1st Grade Teacher Extraordinare Husband Jason Michael 15 Mallory 5

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2602026 Mallory Makes a Magical Wish! -- UPDATE -- I wish for... Rudolph!? pg. 4 Post #46

Okay, I can't post pictures until I post ten times. So, I apologize now, but I will be posting a few times! Madeline, I just finished your trip thread! Wow, what an amazing time you and your family had! Also, you told me about Wish Trippers. That is how I happened upon This and I honestly thought that I was posting there. Can it be moved? I am so confused! Thank you again!

That's right I forgot about the 10 posts rule!! I'm anxiously awaiting your family pictures!!!

I can't believe you finished the whole thread so fast!! Yes we did have a totally magical experience and so will you and your family!! Hooray!!

Oh and don't worry about moving your question into the wish trippers thread. The way you did it was just perfect!! Most people have their own thread and also ask questions in the Wish Trippers thread so you are on the right track!!

Madeline,
You are so wonderful! Thank you for all the help. I have never been on anything like this, so I seem to be spending a lot of time figuring out how it all works! I am in the process of getting pictures uploaded. I was so excited last night after reading your thread, I woke up at 3 45 too excited about the trip to sleep. Reading everyone's stories gets me even more excited. I was so happy to hear that the other children will not have to have Christopher with them to enjoy the pass. I would like to stay together as much as possible, but, like I said, Small World gets old quickly for the average teenager! (I personally could ride it over and over!). Elizabeth and Phillip (our non-dream children) are most excited about Universal. They have been with friends and absolutely love it. I am happy to see that it is also little kid friendly. Christopher LOVES Barney and Dr. Seuss.
Again, thank you for taking interest in our family.
Monique

I too had to learn how to navigate the threads and set up everything, so I totally understand where you are coming from!!! Pretty soon it will feel like second nature to you and you will be helping others figure out how to do it!!

I can relate to the excitement!! Enjoy this time... it is such a fun planning process!!!

We loved Universal!! When Mallory wished for Disney I had no idea we would get tickets to Universal as well. Since she loves Disney so much we even considered skipping one of the Universal parks (because you get enough tickets for 7 days, but are only there for 6 days, therefore if you decide to use all the tickets you have to go to 2 different parks on one day), but once we went to the 1st Universal park and were treated so well we know Universal was a must do for us!!

I can't wait to hear more of your plans and help in any way I can!!

Try to contain that excitement and get some sleep (notice I said "try").

Happy Friday!!

Madeline

 

[Monie3]

Thank you for all the advice! As for planning, I know the first day will be enjoying the village. We have the gift of living a few hours away, so we are going to try to leave a little early (it's not like there will be a lot of sleep) and just swimming, playing and relaxing. The next day will start with a character visit and a trip to the MK. That makes him so happy. So far, the only other day we have planned is Thursday. Since the calendar says it's Christmas at the village, I thought we would do Seaworld, since it closes earlier and Christopher loves Christmas. This was the first holiday that he understood gifts. He asked for a gift for the first time two years ago. (A Spot video (FYI, they don't really make Spot anymore, thank God for the Internet!!!!)). His gifts are a little different than most, last year he wanted a vacuum! It is also our anniversary and my in laws will be coming for a visit, so we thought that day would be a little???!!! slower. We kind of have to play it by ear based on how Christopher is feeling, but I have a feeling he will be so excited that it will be go go go! Again, any and all advice is appreciated. My biggest goal is to see as many fireworks as possible, ride Small World and YoHo to his hearts content, try to introduce him to some new things and have a true family vacation!

 

[Monie3]

URL=http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/riik2/media/image_zps7bedbbe7.jpg.html]

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My first attempt to share a picture. Lets see if it worked!

 

[Monie3]

This is Christopher. He love the beach! He will sit on it for hours and bounce sand off his belly (his way of stemming) while laughing happily! Thus the really dirty shirt. He was having a great time on this day!

 

[Redwavess]

Thank you for all the advice! As for planning, I know the first day will be enjoying the village. We have the gift of living a few hours away, so we are going to try to leave a little early (it's not like there will be a lot of sleep) and just swimming, playing and relaxing. The next day will start with a character visit and a trip to the MK. That makes him so happy. So far, the only other day we have planned is Thursday. Since the calendar says it's Christmas at the village, I thought we would do Seaworld, since it closes earlier and Christopher loves Christmas. This was the first holiday that he understood gifts. He asked for a gift for the first time two years ago. (A Spot video (FYI, they don't really make Spot anymore, thank God for the Internet!!!!)). His gifts are a little different than most, last year he wanted a vacuum! It is also our anniversary and my in laws will be coming for a visit, so we thought that day would be a little???!!! slower. We kind of have to play it by ear based on how Christopher is feeling, but I have a feeling he will be so excited that it will be go go go! Again, any and all advice is appreciated. My biggest goal is to see as many fireworks as possible, ride Small World and YoHo to his hearts content, try to introduce him to some new things and have a true family vacation!

That is cute that the 1st gift he asked for was a Spot video. He wanted a vacuum... that is cute?!? Did you get him one?

The planning sounds great so far and lucky you guys that you live so close and can get there early!! More time for fun!!! Hooray!! Amen to having a true family vacation!! Small World and YoHo here you come!!

And I love that he loves fireworks!! How perfect of a wish it will be for him!! Oh, I'm not sure if you have come across the Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party!!! You should check it out!! I read the information on the Disney website and it said that that:

From outside on the covered patio, enjoy a nearly unobstructed view of Cinderella Castle and the skies above. Watch the mesmerizing Wishes Nighttime Spectacular—the biggest and brightest fireworks extravaganza in Magic Kingdom history—and look for Tinker Bell as she flies right above the patio!


Here is the web address for more information.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/magic-kingdom/tomorrowland-terrace-fireworks-dessert-party/

It sounds MAGICAL!!

I hope you have a great weekend!! I'll be back!!

Madeline

 

[Redwavess]

This is Christopher. He love the beach! He will sit on it for hours and bounce sand off his belly (his way of stemming) while laughing happily! Thus the really dirty shirt. He was having a great time on this day!

Oh no I don't see the pictures!! Can you see them?!?

If not it time to get the teenagers help!!

 

[Monie3]

We did get him a vacuum. We have no carpeting in our house, so we haven't owned one in a few years. Apparently he missed having one! Autism can be a very mysterious disability! I attempted to create a signature, but I don't know if I did it properly! I think I have the picture adding down, though!

 

[Monie3]

Foley, I will try again! Teenagers are all in bed! URL=http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/riik2/media/image_zps7bedbbe7.jpg.html]

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