Kdtass Alexandria's MAW/GKTW trip: dates TBA

[kdtass]

Hi all!! We've been hoping for this trip for awhile now!! Alex, my daughter, has Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2. She began crawling and pulling up when she was around 8 months old and then just stopped at around 13 months. We took her to Austin, tx and saw a neurologist who did genetic blood testing and determined that myself and he dad are carriers for the genetic disability and she happened to be the 25% chance of getting it. We were heartbroken. She now receives physical therapy, occupational therapy and lots of love! She got a g-tube put in her belly in December 2011 because she wasn't eating as much as she needed to. She's a pretty picky eater, but we make sure she eats a lot, and she hasn't had to use her tube for quite a while now. She typically only uses it when she's sick and can't eat by mouth. She's very smart, funny and always smiling! We can always count on our Allie to bring a smile to our faces! Allie was raised on Disney!! I've always loved Disney, and now, like mother like daughter, she's obsessed!! From Disney movies to the Disney channel to the Disney store, she loves it all. So when it came time to choose her wish, she knew exactly what she wanted!! (Well actually, she didn't want to have to ever go back to the dentist again, LMBO, but that just wasn't an option!!)
Now, on to the fun stuff!! We recommended Alex for the trip in February, and promptly received contact from our wish coordinators! They came out to the house and met with our little princess. She decided she was going to dress up like her favorite princess, Rapunzel (or Tangled, as she calls her), and let the two wonderful women know that she wanted to go to Disney world!! They asked who she would want to bring, because Alex is our only child, and she chose her favorite cousin Julia.
Now, we're waiting on dates to be able to go, our hopeful dates are June 7-14 but were waiting on Julia's guardian to get court documents to allow her to go. Hopefully she'll have them in the mail to the MAW office in Houston by Friday!! We're open to any and all tips or information about this wonderful experience!!! I'm getting my hopes up before we even know if we're going or not!!! LOL!!!
Here's hoping we know soon if we get to go!!

 

[Gantu]

What a lucky girl your Alex is to have a great Mommy!


Everything you would ever need to know, you will find here.

Plus lots of kind friends and well wishers!

 

[kdtass]

So, after last night I realized some pics of us might be nice!!

Here's our wish girl!! The love of our lives and sparkle in our eyes! Alex, age 5! Allie goes to school, pre-k, during the day and then comes home and plays. Her Favorite Princess: Rapunzel, followed in close second by Merida!


Here's me! Kristina, age 25! I'm a stay at home momma! Favorite Princess: Ariel all the way, but I myself am more of a Villians girl, I LOVE Ursula! (Can ya'll tell I'm a bit into The Little Mermaid??)

Here's Josh, age 30!! Alex's dad and my Boyfriend! Josh works at buc-ees as a shift leader for the back room. Favorite Disney Character: Obi wan kenobi!


And here's our MAW hopeful, Julia, age 14! (Pictured With new cousin) She goes to middle school and is a cheer leader!! Favorite Like Alex, its Rapunzel! Anything to keep our little princess happy!

 

[kdtass]

So, does anyone know how to go about getting a reservation for the Cinderella Castle? I tried to see if there was anything close to when were projected to be going, but everything is already booked up!! I read one story from another MAW family who said she tried to make a reservation and couldn't but then could get in once she was there. Should I ask our wish coordinator about possibly setting that up or just ask once I get there?? Or maybe call ahead and ask and let them know were a wish family?? So confused!

 

[kdtass]

Okay I've got more questions!!
Does anyone have any ballpark figures about souviner prices?? We want to be able to afford everything Allie is going to want for her trip but were not sure how much of a check we'll be receiving IF we get to go. see, that's my problem!!! Im thinking were already going and making plans!!! Anywho, should we bring more money?? Or do ya'll think we'll even need it?

Also, does anyone have any tips about how to navigate the parks?? Im thinking were probably not going to the Animal Kingdom because it basically seems like a zoo and in the summer it would be soooo hot!!! Allie and I have VERY fair skin and probably wont be able to stand outside for long periods of time! I thought maybe we should start at the back and work our way forwards but Im not totally sure!

Any gotta have it necessities to bring? I've read to bring ponchos, water bottles if we want, mister fans and an extra bag for all of the stuff we'll be picking up! Is there anything else I should add to that list?

Did anyone visit Universal and can let me know about how long it would take to navigate the Harry Potter grounds? This is probably one of the things Josh and I are most excited about for us, we're OBSESSED!!

Anything we should be doing to gear up for the trip? I've ordered maps from the Disney site specifying where we want to hit the most. Ive also gotten the Disney planning DVD and I watch the specials they do on the Discovery network like every time they're on!!

More to come as I think of them!

 

[kdtass]

Yay!! Talked to our Wish coordinator and she said she could get us into the BBB if we get to go! No Cinderella's castle for a meal though. Ill try once we get there and see if they can fit us in though!

 

[Kenziema]

Hey joining in. Our wish grantor wasn't able to get Cinderella's Royal Table, but they did get us the Princess storybook dining. MAW kids are allowed to go to the front or almost to thebfrontbofvthe line at Disney and Universal that might make things a bit easier at AK. Anything else feel free to ask away.

 

[G719]

Hello! your daughter is adorable!
You can dine with the princesses in Epcot at Akershus restaurant. We went June 2012 for breakfast. The characters at our meal were Ariel, Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, and sleeping beauty. We got our picture with belle as we went in and the printed photos are included in the price of the meal. Definitely an option if you can't get into the castle.

 

[kdtass]

Hello! your daughter is adorable!
You can dine with the princesses in Epcot at Akershus restaurant. We went June 2012 for breakfast. The characters at our meal were Ariel, Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, and sleeping beauty. We got our picture with belle as we went in and the printed photos are included in the price of the meal. Definitely an option if you can't get into the castle.

That's awesome!! Ill have to try that. How much was it?? I know to dine with Cinderella at the castle was gonna be like upwards of 300.

 

[kdtass]

Hey joining in. Our wish grantor wasn't able to get Cinderella's Royal Table, but they did get us the Princess storybook dining. MAW kids are allowed to go to the front or almost to thebfrontbofvthe line at Disney and Universal that might make things a bit easier at AK. Anything else feel free to ask away.

Thanks for joining in!! What is storybook dining? Allie really wants to meet Rapunzel!! Did y'all see her? Everything I've read from other people's visits, no one has mentioned her or Merida!

 

[Kenziema]

Thanks for joining in!! What is storybook dining? Allie really wants to meet Rapunzel!! Did y'all see her? Everything I've read from other people's visits, no one has mentioned her or Merida!

It's the same dinner at Akershus. Rapunzel is meet and greet only. We don't leave for our trip until next month, but I have been following these boards since I found out last year. I'm a bit obsessive. Lol

 

[G719]

Akershus is much cheaper. We were on the dining plan and it was one credit as opposed to the two credits for the castle. It is around $45 for adults and $25 for child. It is kind of a combo buffet and all you care to eat meal where they bring platters of hot food to the table for sharing.

If you want to research other restaurants, this website is a great source for menus and prices: http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

Merida has a meet and greet to the side of the castle at MK.

 

[kdtass]

It's the same dinner at Akershus. Rapunzel is meet and greet only. We don't leave for our trip until next month, but I have been following these boards since I found out last year. I'm a bit obsessive. Lol

LOL! Yeah we found out a little while ago about how we may be going so I've been obsessively looking at the GKTW site, the Disney site, watching the discovery Disney shows and then I found these boards so I've been looking at others visits and viewing the pics!! I get soooo excited looking and reading about everyone's experiences!!! We'll have to try and get into the Akershus for dinner!! I really want my princess to meet the princesses!!!

 

[kdtass]

Akershus is much cheaper. We were on the dining plan and it was one credit as opposed to the two credits for the castle. It is around $45 for adults and $25 for child. It is kind of a combo buffet and all you care to eat meal where they bring platters of hot food to the table for sharing.

If you want to research other restaurants, this website is a great source for menus and prices: http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

Merida has a meet and greet to the side of the castle at MK.

Awesome thank you for the site!! Ill def check that out!! I'm super excited about this storybook dining!!

 

[NEmel]

Welcome! Alex has a wonderful smile!! I am not much help with GKTW since my kiddo picked a cruise. We have been to Disney though. On the $ front my boys like or maybe I should say love to shop. We also wanted to be able to get them pretty much whatever they wanted. We did spend money of our own. Hats are around 30 as well as shirts. Animals can run from 15 and up depending on the size.

 

[kdtass]

Welcome! Alex has a wonderful smile!! I am not much help with GKTW since my kiddo picked a cruise. We have been to Disney though. On the $ front my boys like or maybe I should say love to shop. We also wanted to be able to get them pretty much whatever they wanted. We did spend money of our own. Hats are around 30 as well as shirts. Animals can run from 15 and up depending on the size.

Thank you!! She's def a ham!!! She loves smiling for pictures and anything else!!! I find myself wondering if her cheeks hurt bc she's smiling all the time, lol. Thank you for the money perspective!! I'm hoping she doesn't want any stuffed animals!!! She has two of those nets that hang in the corners of rooms and they r filled and almost overflowing with Disney animals and nick toon animals!! But knowing my little girl, she'll want one of everything!!!

 

[NEmel]

Thank you!! She's def a ham!!! She loves smiling for pictures and anything else!!! I find myself wondering if her cheeks hurt bc she's smiling all the time, lol. Thank you for the money perspective!! I'm hoping she doesn't want any stuffed animals!!! She has two of those nets that hang in the corners of rooms and they r filled and almost overflowing with Disney animals and nick toon animals!! But knowing my little girl, she'll want one of everything!!!

Yea that was my hope too! We came home with 6!!!

 

[kdtass]

HA! We'll prolly have to buy like 2 extra bags bc she's gonna want like 10!! Lol

 

[kdtass]

Okay, so I've been looking into how the heck we're gonna be able to bring anything with us into the park, like carrying wise. My purse is HUGE!!! like diaper bag huge!!! Ive always had this thing with being able to fit EVERYTHING into my bag, since high school when I carried my books and crap in my purse(yes it was that big!!), so do yall think I should bring my bag and just pack what I need in it?? It digs into my shoulder when its loaded up and Allie will be in her electric wheelchair so I wont really have anywhere to set it. Should we get a stroller just for our crap were bringing? Or should I just suck it up and carry it like a big girl?? lol

Ive been looking into things I can attach to strollers and I found this thing called like a stroller net that attaches onto the back of the stroller and u can safely put stuff in it without it falling out. Maybe I should invest? I want to find a cupholder to attach as well, any thoughts?

Also, what kind of clothes should we bring? Ive never been to florida before but Im assuming its gonna be super duper hot in June if that's when we go. Does it get cold at night in June? Or should we be okay with short sleeves and shorts? Speaking of shorts she sooo needs shorts for the trip!! Were still in winter pants!! IN TEXAS!!! lol. Gotta get some before we leave! But shirts she A-Okay on! Im an avid Disney buyer, ive been stockpiling shirts from when they went on sale online since like October!

 

[G719]

We went last June 5-12. It was HOT, humid and rainy. You should definitely bring some kind of rain gear. The evening temperatures were still in the 70s.