"Is this Disney World?" Daniel's MAW trip report!

[billwendy]

Wendy,

We saw Dan and his family all over GKTW. Rode the carousel with them at least twice! Didn't make the connection until now, but kept on looking at them knowing that I should be able to somehow place them! In fact, when I complemented them on their tie-dye tees on the GKTW carousel, I pretty much thought they were Big Give tees!

How exciting to get to read the TR now! Thanks!

That is soooo cool!! DId you guys have a good trip? Tell me more!!! I got to meet Kelly and her family (Ali is the wish kiddo) and also met one more family while getting pictures with Santa, but I cant remember the exact name!!! AHHH!!! What was your favorite part of your trip??

 

[billwendy]

Wendy, I am so glad you enjoyed the day at Sea World.

I loved it soooo much Cindee!! It was really wonderful. We wished we had more time there, but Daniel had difficulty getting moving in the morning as the week went on and they closed at 6 that night. It looked like they were setting up for something really special!! THe kids ADORED Happy Harbor - the crowds were really light and they could get on things....loved climbing in the BIGGEST climby thing EVER!! Does M go up there? Samantha loved playing in the sand too ( she used to be terrified of it and freak out). I really want to go back sometime soon...I love the animals so much, but didnt get to spend time watching them....but I think I need a tourguide (or 2!!!!)!!!!!!

Thank you my kind friend!!!!!

 

[Wee Annie]

That is soooo cool!! DId you guys have a good trip? Tell me more!!! I got to meet Kelly and her family (Ali is the wish kiddo) and also met one more family while getting pictures with Santa, but I cant remember the exact name!!! AHHH!!! What was your favorite part of your trip??

We had a great trip, Wendy. Not perfect, of course, but very, very good. We had a lot of nice moments, but I think our time in the Animal Kingdom was some of the best for us. We loved the shows, especially Nemo and Flights of Wonder, the safari was one of Elke's favorite attractions, and my older girls loved loved loved Everest. We also enjoyed the nature walks, the scenery, and just "taking things in" while there. My middle daughter is really into the drums, so we enjoyed some unscripted, relaxing moments watching her and my two other girls on the drums in the Africa section. We liked all the parks, but really had a good, fairly relaxing time in the Animal Kingdom.

 

[billwendy]

We had a great trip, Wendy. Not perfect, of course, but very, very good. We had a lot of nice moments, but I think our time in the Animal Kingdom was some of the best for us. We loved the shows, especially Nemo and Flights of Wonder, the safari was one of Elke's favorite attractions, and my older girls loved loved loved Everest. We also enjoyed the nature walks, the scenery, and just "taking things in" while there. My middle daughter is really into the drums, so we enjoyed some unscripted, relaxing moments watching her and my two other girls on the drums in the Africa section. We liked all the parks, but really had a good, fairly relaxing time in the Animal Kingdom.

That is awesome! We liked AK too - until the heavens opened up!!! We were there on Monday - which day were you there?

 

[Wee Annie]

We did Tuesday (beautiful day). We were leaving the MK on Monday when the heavens opened....

 

[billwendy]

Allrighty...so we left SW and everyone was still in good spirits. Billy and I went back to the POP to eat at our foodcourt, and the Ograms went back to GKTW for dinner and ice cream. They would call us when they were done - we ended up going to Downtown Disney for a little shopping fun. They boys had been talking and talking about make your own lightsabers which Uncle Bill had promised to them and the girls wanted to do the Mr. Potato head make your own box of parts thing! We met and went back to Once upon a Toy to have some FUN!!! As soon as we got there Daniel asked me to push him around the store - he wanted to find a Thumper for his Mom (isnt that sweet), we did and he bought it and gave it to her later that night. Sarah gathered the parts they wanted and we quickly saw that it was the Large Potato Head that we needed for everything!!!

Stephen and John had a great time creating their light sabers. First John wanted a double, but then during a tester fight, he found out that he couldnt move it fast enough to win - lol!!! They both chose red lights...does that mean anything????

Daniel and Billy then went into the pin store while the rest of us sat outside and enjoyed the evening - it was VERY nice out that night!! We were also entertained by the Star Wars performance!! Johnnyn thought that Billy should buy me the Mickey Mouse lightsabre!!The boys got a kick out of making movies for me!!

We then all walked down to the Lego store and they had fun playing and building there....what a nice nice evening!!! It was going by so quickly!

What another great day!! We all got along very well and enjoyed each others company. And we were able to keep Stephen from getting eaten by any type of creature!!! Tomorrow we would not meet up until later in the day for swimming and the big Christmas party at GKTW!

Next up -Christmas in APril!!!!!!!

 

[ellenbenny]

I am loving reading your report. I'm so happy that everyone was having a good time!

 

[Haganfam5]

Your trip report is so wonderful Wendy! I love the entire crew in matching Mickey Eagles shirts! The group picture is so great! It looks like you all had a great time in Sea World! I am happy that you all stayed dry that day!

Don't you just love the toy store at Down Town Disney?! I don't think they had a "large" Mr. Potato Head when we were there! We will have to check that out......although I don't know how we would get in back home....on the flight...I think it would need it's own suitcase! lol The Tigger Cathy dress looks adorable on your niece. It came out just great!

I can't wait for more Wendy!

BTW, what was the temps like when you were there? Everyone looks pretty happy so I hope it wasn't too bad.

 

[billwendy]

Your trip report is so wonderful Wendy! I love the entire crew in matching Mickey Eagles shirts! The group picture is so great! It looks like you all had a great time in Sea World! I am happy that you all stayed dry that day!

Don't you just love the toy store at Down Town Disney?! I don't think they had a "large" Mr. Potato Head when we were there! We will have to check that out......although I don't know how we would get in back home....on the flight...I think it would need it's own suitcase! lol The Tigger Cathy dress looks adorable on your niece. It came out just great!

I can't wait for more Wendy!

BTW, what was the temps like when you were there? Everyone looks pretty happy so I hope it wasn't too bad.

Thanks so much for reading along!! Sea world was fun, and we only got wet when we went on the flume ride - well, except Stephen who needed to practically be in the ray tank to pet them!!!!

The Tigger dress was Adorable (thanks Anita) and was given to Sam via the Big Give. It seemed so cool and flowy for her - she loved it!

Maybe the big Mr. Potato Head could be your carry on??? But, they might make you purchase a ticket for him!!! We brought it home for them since we were driving - lol. They really jammed him full of pieces!!!

The temps were in the 80's until Friday when it got really HOT!!! lol - at least for us northerners!!!! Since Dan couldnt take the sun, we spent time in the shade keeping us cooler. It was a GREAT trip!!!!!!

 

[HeatherSue]

Your friend with Sea World connections is pretty awesome.

It must be so frustrating for Daniel to not have the strength that he remembers.

That is so cool how you can almost get inside of the fish tank like that!

It does look like Stephen is going to jump right in that water! I’m with you on the Stingrays!

Now I’m crying looking at the picture of Daniel and Sarah in front of the dolphins. They’ve all been through so much.

Okay, crying again when I read that Hoss said he hasn’t been so happy in a long time.

Love the drumming video!!

Oh my gosh, that gives me a heart attack thinking of Stephen climbing up there!

It looks like you had such a nice day at Sea World!! I can’t wait to go to the one in San Diego in a few weeks! Sawyer is going to LOVE it!

That is so sweet of Daniel to want to buy something for his mom. Such a great kid!

Love the light saber movies! LOL!

My kids love making stuff outside of the Lego store! We’ve spent some fun hours out there with a couple of my Diser friends! Hopefully someday I'll get to meet you!

 

[Haganfam5]

Your welcome! I love reading along, you are such a great story teller, and your pictures are so wonderful.

Heather just reminded me that I forgot to write about the beautiful dolphin tank picture of Daniel and Sarah. Oh my, is that just amazing! It does bring tears to my eyes (in a happy way), I can't imagine how you must feel seeing it. I am so happy he had the strength to endure the trip. Trips to Florida can be exhausting for anybody, I hope he was able to enjoy himself. It does look like you were all having a great time so far.

The pictures of John with his fish face and Stephen climbing into the tank are just priceless! We bought some food for the Sting Rays on our trip and that was some of the grossest stuff I have ever seen ! Yuck ! My children somehow still enjoyed feeding it to them though!.....I wouldn't touch it.... lol!

 

[billwendy]

Hi Everyone - thanks so much for reading along - you have all been with us on our journey!!! Today is Thursday, and the Ograms were going to do their own thing and go to Universal and we went to the Magic Kingdom and then Billy took a nap and I went swimming until we met for swimming and the Christmas Party at GKTW.

Our morning went great! We enjoyed Buzz Lightyear and went on it twice. I maxed out my score on the first ride through and Billy didnt, so we had to go on it again - lol. Fortunately we had fass passed it as we got on the ride as the MK was hoppin!!! We enjoyed the Monsters Inc Comedy club, the TTA and a few other things before lunching at Pecos Bills and then heading back to the POP when it got hot and crowded in the afternoon. Grad night was this weekend, and there were sooooo many Sr trips happening during the week. Plus, we met many Europeans that were stuck in the US due to the volcano and we think that also added to the large crowds.

The Ograms had gone to Universal Studios and they didnt really love it. Hoss also commented that he didnt like being the leader of the tour - lol. They went on a few things and then came back to the village. I think they were also a but worn out as everyone gets at WDW!!! They called us around 3pm to come on over to the village for some swimming!!!! We started out at the pool by their Villa (did I mention how cute it was to hear the kids say Villa?) but it was really warm so we headed over to the Pirate ship area. This area was so well decorated. It was very beachy. You went through a little surf shack where there were facilities and lockers. Then there was a large pool that you could walk right in to. It had fountains squirting around the edges. We had a great time jumping and playing. They were even shocked that Samantha has decided to like the water this year! Daniel loved swimming alot! Stephen learned some jumping moves such as a cannonball, the nestea plunge and he even developed his own flip!!!! John loved me to hold his hands and swoosh him around (he is pretty big for swooshing, but he loved it so much)! We had a great time. Daniel was suddenly very drained and needed to go back to the Villa - and that was the last that we saw of him for the night - and actually Billy and I didnt see him or Shelly for the rest of the trip - I think he was just worn out too far to recover very quickly.

They also had this really cool pirate ship parked on the lake that they said the Disney people built. Eventually it will house a big movie screen and you will be able to watch movies while in the pool!! Another cool thing was the way that they had this wave and surfboard photo set up so all you had to do was lay your camera on the platform and shoot! Dan was too tired to stand up and walk over to it though....bummer...

Me and my Big Kahuna

Billy and I changed in the bathrooms at the pool area and explored some of the village while all the Ograms bathed and changed - and fell asleep (Dan was asleep before Hoss even finished changing!).
The Gingerbread House restaurant

The Carousel

Ice Cream Shop (you can sit in those big bowls out front)

Movie Theater

Arcade, train, mini golf course, train display etc.

cont in next post (too many pics),,,,

 

[billwendy]

cont.....
They really decked it out for Christmas! The decorations were so cute. They had Santa there with gifts (thanks to Hasbro toys), cookie decorating, snow cones, cotton candy and even some snow (bubbles!). There was a parade with lots of music and dancing - really festive! Mrs Clause was in the Gingerbread house to greet everyone - Steve and John had questions for her!!! lol. Dan and Shelly were back at the Villa - but the rest of us wore our red MAW shirts and Samantha wore her snow white dress!! We had a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings. There was also a kids meal station with grilled cheese, hot dogs, spaghetti, chicken nuggets and french fries. We were treated like royality! Lots of volunteers were here - all different ages too!! IT took a lot of help to pull this big party off!!! Soooo fun!!

The Santa Clause was wonderful. I sat down in the front of the theater to wait for the kids turn and watched him with all the beautiful children. I was very emotional - to think that these kids and families had been through so much and were able to enjoy this special time together was just incredible! I prayed for each one as they got their picture taken. When it was our turn, we were amazed as Samantha walked right up to Santa and sat on his lap!! This girl was turning over a new leaf on this trip!! But then to Sarah's dismay, he called her Mom!!! She just about fell over!!! and says she is scarred for life!!! They even took a picture of Bill and I with Santa, but that is on their MAW disc of pictures and we havent seen it yet.

I also forgot to mention that we met Kelly and Ali and also Melissa and Phoebe who were other Big Give recipients at the Party. Kelly - do you recognize these guys????? It was so cool to meet them!!!! AT least I can finally say I met some fellow Dis'ers!!!!

It was an Amazing night! Poor Dan, he missed all the fun. We ended the night with ice cream and it was soooo good! THey picked up a nerf football for Dan, JENGA for Stephen, A transformer for John and a Fur Real Baby Monkey for Samantha. We ate our ice cream and dreamed of all the fun we would have at EPCOT and Hollywood Studios the next day!

NExt - last day of vacation blues - Its tooo hot - and can we just go swimming???

 

[disneymomof1]

Love your trip report. Looks like so much fun. Sorry that Daniel was so worn out, but Disney can do that to ya !! Sea World looks great, I haven't been there in years!!
The GKTW village looks awesome, what a special place !! You brought tears to my eyes when you said you were praying for each child, I think I would be a total mess at the village, just thinking about what these children go through and the long journey the children and their families have gone through, makes you very grateful for what you have.
Can't wait for more report !!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

uggghhh!!! 4 whole pages late! Subbing so I can go back to read!

 

[babynala]

What a great trip report. Your pictures are priceless. Too bad Daniel ran out of energy but you can tell he is having a great time in all the pictures you posted - even when waiting in line with his brothers. That was so sweet of him to buy his mom a gift. I love how Hoss shared that they were having such a great time. I'm sure having you and Billy there really helped and it made the trip more special to share it with you guys.

I love all the coordinating outfits and t-shirts. Everyone looks so happy in the pictures.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[HeatherSue]

I never even considered that people would be stuck at Disney because of the volcano, until I read it in your TR. I guess if you’re going to be stuck somewhere, that’s the place to be!

You need to e-mail me with your super secret Buzz Lightyear strategy. I never get a high score!

The pool area looks so cool! It will be so neat to be able to watch movies by the pool! Hey, was that your voice I heard saying “Good twist!”? If so, I think that’s the first time I’ve really heard your voice!

I’m really loving the picture of you and your “Big Kahuna”! LOL! You two are so cute!

Mommy Sarah! LOLOLOL!! Too funny!!

Poor Daniel. It just stinks that he had to miss out on things.

 

[billwendy]

THanks for reading along! It really was a GREAT trip in just about every way. I especially love the fact that I got to know my neices and nephews so much better - to me that is priceless!!

Heather - yes! That was my voice = lol...that is really weird that we dont know each others voices!! Hmmmmm - sharing my strategy,,,,,hmmmm but then if we ever get the chance to go on it together you'll beat me!!!!!

 

[jessica52877]

That special someone is so giving! Glad it made your day for you and Bill extra special!

Stingrays kind of freak me out after the whole Steve Irwin too. What a shame! Bindy is so cute now, I hate that she lost her father and I don't even know the little ones name who never hardly got to know him. Such a sad story.

What a sweet picture at the Dolphins.

Glad Hoss and Shelly are having a good time!

Loving the downtown disney shopping. I love the doubles but only one side lights up. I guess it makes sense but when we built it I never thought about it. It makes for a BIG lightsaber!

I love stuffing a box full of potato parts! It is so fun to see how much you can cram in!

 

[billwendy]

Well, Im so sad that this is actually coming to an end. All of you have been so wonderful and have been with us since Daniels original diagnosis back in 12/08! I can't believe so much time has gone by. Today was the last day of our trip together and Daniel didnt feel well enough to come to the parks. So he and Shelly enjoyed time at the villa - Daniel sleeping alot - and Hoss and the rest of the Kids met us at EPCOT. Everyone was kinda punky - tired, hot, bummed that this was the last day of our trip and of course missing Dan and Shelly. We walked in through the back entrance of EPCOT and walked around the world to get Pokemon cards and swedish fish. We then headed towards Test Track, and to our dismay the wait was over 60 minutes! YIKES so we headed over to the Living Seas and did the ride with Nemo and Friends, looked at the sea animals and then decided to go to Hollywoood Studios - EPCOT was mobbed!! Even the ball had a long line!! We did take a few hat pictures before we left!

We took the bus over to Hollywood Studios - which the kids loved!!! lol - isnt that funny? Here we are at Disney World, and the kids love riding the BUS!!! Hoss tried calling Shelly and Dan, but then all of the sudden Billy said "I hear the diaper bag ringing!!" can you believe it!!! SHelly's phone was in the diaper bag!!!!!

Oh well.....we headed right to Star Tours because we knew John had to get on that ride! We had to get fastpasses, but they were for an hour later. So we went to Pizza Planet for lunch. It was nice and cool in there and we enjoyed our Pizza! Hoss was concerned about Dan and it was decided that I would take Sarah and the boys on Star Tours, and Billy, Samantha (who was asleep) and Hoss would go to guest relations and ask for the number to GKTW so they could call. They did call and found out that Dan's medicine was starting to kick in, but he was still so tired he had no interest in coming into the parks. The heat would have done him in for sure. I sat between Stephen and Johnny on the ride - they were hysterical!!!!! They were so into it - and wearing their Star Wars shirts too!!! When we got off the ride we asked John how he liked it - "It was kinda cheesy, but I did like it" was his reply.... I almost fell over!!!! That kid is so hilarious and he doesnt even know it!! Hoss and John took the remaining fast passes and went on the ride while the rest of us held a spot for the parade.

The parade was really fun - but we were standing right in the sun and we were just sooooooo hot. THe kids did get to dance with Bo Peep and they each caught a ball that was thrown out at the end which made them very happy!

We went to check the ride times and they were all so long!! At this point the kids were saying that they were hot and tired and just wanted to go swimming. Sarah was disappointed that they werent going to get to see Fantasmic. But that was like 5 hours from now. They decided to go back and just relax at GKTW for their last night. Since the crowds were so thick, Billy and I decided to go back to the POP for a swim!!

We then headed back into Hollywood Studios. Although we would have liked to do the MK, it was Grad night, so the park had closed early. We also noticed that a lot of cheer teams had arrived - so the crowd never thinned - lol. We went and rode Toy Story Mania (yeah, we waited in a crazy long line) and then just walked around the park looking for someplace to eat - which we couldnt decide on. The line for the 10:30 Fantasmic was already full and it was only 8:45. We decided that it wasnt worth standing there for all that time if we werent sure we could go in.

So we slowly left the park, went back to the POP to eat (tie dye cheesecake!!) and unfortunately, pack. We called to make sure Dan was okay, which he was and wished them a safe trip back home. We left the POP around noon on Saturday morning - stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch and a book on CD and headed back home. Our book was really good and was 10 hours long - at that point it was 1am and we were around Richmond, VA. Billy felt good so he got some coffee at Wawa (I fell asleep here) and drove us the rest of the way home - we got in around 4:30 am!! What a wonderful TRIP!!!!

I just dont want it all to end. It has been a journey from beginning to end. I hope you'll all join with me in praying for Daniel's full recovery physically and that his brain scans all come back clean for the next 5 years. Thank you all for being there for me - its amazing how technology has actually allowed us to form friendships with people who we've never met in real life!! If any one has any questions please feel free to ask!! Love you all and Thank you soooo much for all you have done to support us and make this a truely Magical Make a Wish Trips!!!!