GTKW or Staying on property?

[j-me]

We are going to WDW with Make a Wish and have heard sooooooo much good about Give the Kids the World (GTKW) resort but our son will not be able
to do any of what is offered there. He is tube fed, wheelchair100% of the time, can't use his arms or hands....so all the wonderful things they offer would it be better to get a suite on the property instead...so should be continue on with GTKW?
He will also need to return to the room several times a day and I don't want to be waiting for transportation a long time. Where staying on the property we just take him back my monorail, boat, etc. And the rest of the family can continue on at the park.
Just wondering if any other families had the same concerns and what worked best.
Thanks

 

[SueOKW]

Do you have any other children that might enjoy GKTW? Staying there is very magical indeed for the whole family. Even still though, it might be a better trip for you if you stayed on site at WDW.

I can place myself in your shoes. My son sounds very similar to yours except he wasn't tube fed at the time we were at GKTW. (he is now.) We didn't know you could choose on site or GKTW, so we stayed at GKTW.

My DDs loved it, and my son found lots of things to enjoy. One day we just stayed there and swam while everyone else went to the parks. Do you let your son go into a pool? To have a huge pool nearly to yourself is a very nice experience indeed!

I can understand the needing to go back and forth - that will be hassle. Perhaps if you took breaks at First Aid while in the park and do some of the things you would normally do back at the room? I will say that we rarely went back and forth - when we came back to GKTW we stayed there or drove around that bit of town.

GKTW is an experience the whole family benefits from. It's a little community where you are cared for beyond your wildest expectations. You would not get that if you stayed in a WDW resort. Just some things to ponder. I'm glad I didn't have a chance to make that choice.

Sue

 

[j-me]

Thank you. I think staying on the property we would be missing a blessing of the GTKW resort. Our son will not be in the pool...unless it is really really warm water.
What are the room/villas like inside? TV? Clean? Modern? I have checked out the site but there are no inside the villa pictures.
I hear they stock the frig with snacks...like what?
We are very excited.

 

[SueOKW]

The fridge was stocked with M&Ms and stuff - i can't remember really well, I'm afraid. There was one TV in the living room - that may have been the only TV. There are 2 bathrooms. The luxury of the washer and dryer was great! Our trip was about 5 years ago, so they may have updated the interiors since then, but I remember thinking the furniture was acceptible. The decor was a bit plain, but everything was clean and comfortable.

You do have other children? I think that's key as the whole family enjoys things together, and the siblings are REALLY nice to the wish kid!!

It's a very interesting place filled with caring people. When do you go?

 

[j-me]

We are not sure the date yet. We have the volunteer coming tomorrow to do the formal request. But we have gotten the acceptence of a wish. It will depend on what they think of how my son is. We just started having to use a suction machine...so we are worse then 6 months ago. And we started the ketogenic diet and that has helped the seizures go to less then 10 daily verses the 35 he was having.
My husband and I have both been before...but our 12yr old daughter has asked to go since kindergarten. So she is going to FREEK tomorrow. We haven't told her he received a wish yet.
If you have any tips on what to do that are not always thought of I am taking any ideas. Alex..our son..loves music and loud anything. This is the best place to take him. I would like to go to most all the shows because he will love the action and music. Then the luau at the Polyensian (sp?) he will love the dark with the fire.
I am just all excited and can't even sleep the last 2 nights ..

 

[jennydep]

I am loving all these threads about GKTW. My daughter was diagnosed with leukemia in Dec. and we have applied for a wish. She wants to go to see the princesses and Shamu. I am so excited already, and we don't plan to go till early summer 2006!! We want to give her plenty of time to build her strength up once she's on maintenance so we're waiting a while to go. I'll be reading everything I can about GKTW and wish trips between now and then!

Jenny

 

[Dragonfly8124]

jenny,

We were just at GKTW. It was great. The villas are nice and clean. They are two bedroom, two bath, living room, kitchen/dining area. There is a TV in the living room and one in the parents room. They have different kinds of drinks and water in the fridge, they have some frozen dinners in the freezer, and a goody basket with chips, candy and other gifts. There were many children there that were able to participate in activities regardless of being wheelchair bound. They have face painting, the carousel that you take your wheelchair on (my girls loved this, they wanted to ride the horse and chickens every day), and many other special things. Music, pictures, character meets, so many things that the children can do regardless of their mobility issues. Plus a gift is left for the children every day and it was always fun to come home to see what was there. Make A Wish got us a rental car so we didn't have to wait for other transportation and with GKTW you don't have to pay to park at any of the parks. We also found a lot of nice places to stop and rest as needed. Epcot even has a couple of VIP rooms for GKTW families to enjoy. Wow without a doubt opt for the GKTW stay.

 

[j-me]

Ok Now I am even more excited and probably won't sleep much tonight after the Make A Wish people leave. You have TOTALLY eased my mind on staying at GTKW. When you drove to the parks wasn't it a long wait to park? And as long as there are resting places for us ...we may be able to stay longer. Do they tell you about the VIP rooms? And is it better to have your own car there? or rest on GTKW transportation?

 

[Anne MN]

We were at GKTW in sept. (bugged out before jeannine hit) MAW provided a rental vehicle for us. whe we went to disney, we went thru the regular lanes, just show the button. The Bunny book- that is what they give you at orientation gives you specific direction for driving and where you can park. Epcot has the VIP lounges. I did not go into the one for test track, but hubby said it was really cool. we also went to the one at mission space. it was a nice quiet space that had air conditioning (was really hot to us, we live in MN!) there were drinks and a private bathroom available.

 

[MarieS]

Another option for resting at the parks are the first aid stations. Both of my boys are in wheelchairs. We stopped at the first aid station in MK. They showed us a cubicle with cots that the boys were able to rest on. My younger one fell asleep as it was quiet and low lit. I tube fed my oldest there and they even had an IV pole we could use to hang the tube. We stayed over an hour. This gave my boys the rest they needed to be able to stay in the park another couple hours.

 

[SueM in MN]

We have used First Aid in all the parks to rest over the years. They are all a little different set up, but they all are quiet and dim and have cots in individual cubicles.
The staff are very nice and are apparently used to having people come in to rest.

Another option is to leave the park and go to one of the nearby hotels. All the delux hotels have huge lobbies with comfortable chairs and couches. You will find lots of people sitting or reclining on the couches to rest. Some of them have one area set up with a TV running Disney videos.
At MK, you can take the monorail to GF, the Contemporary or the Polynesian. There is a boat that goes to WL.
From Epcot or MGM, you can take the boat or walk to BW or Beach Club.

A third option (but not quite so quiet) is the Child Care Center in each park. They are usually located close to First Aid.