Lexi's MAW/GKTW Pre-trip Report

[Bellerbunch]

Hi everyone,

We received notice the other day that our daughter's Make-a-Wish trip to Florida will take place March 25-31,2014 and we'll be staying at Give Kids the World. Lexi's very excited and just made a countdown chain to keep track of how much longer till we leave. We're still trying to figure out what our plans will be while there. Lexi just found out about Discovery Cove and wishes she had included swimming with the dolphins for her wish so we're trying to figure out if we can pull together the money to be able to do that. We will probably be extending our trip a few days and stay in a timeshare in the area as long as MAW is okay with that.

Lexi is almost 12 years old and is living with cystic fibrosis (CF). She's the third child of six children. Nate is 17. Adam is 14, has CF and also is awaiting news of his wish. Clara is 8. Sophie is 4. And, Lucy is 1.

We'd appreciate any tips or suggestions.

Laura

 

[Lauraatz]

Hi,

Congratulations on Lexi's MAW trip. I have a little wish boy with cerebral palsy. We are going the end of April. My name is Laura also. Hope you have fun.

 

[Marsone1]

Congrats on Lexi's MAW Trip.. Sending you some pixie dust to help you with the planning..

 

[Bellerbunch]

All of us are so excited that we aren't able to focus on much else. Lexi made a count down chain to keep track of the days till her trip. We found out yesterday today that a local high school as taken on Lexi's wish for their fundraiser this spring. It is still hard to believe that we're actually in the planning stage of her wish. We're trying to come up with a few things that each of the kids wants to make sure to do while we're there.

Since Adam and Lexi were born with CF, we've always known that they would someday make wishes. Now, almost 15 years later, they are getting to do so. It will be nice for them to get to do something so special. As so many of you know, daily medical routines can be overwhelming.

Laura

 

[Bellerbunch]

Congrats on Lexi's MAW Trip.. Sending you some pixie dust to help you with the planning..

Thank you!

 

[Redwavess]

Hi,

Hooray for Make-A-Wish Trips!!! Get ready for some magic to come your way!!!

I would be happy to share some tips with you!!!

Our #1 tip is keep in mind that Give Kids the World is a wonderful place full of great activities!! If we could do one thing differently we would have spent more time at Give Kids the World!! I mean we only got free Ice Cream once... come on that's pathetic!!!

Another important tip is if you want to go to all the parks you get free tickets to you will probably have to go to 2 parks in 1 day (unless you get more time in Florida than the standard time).

Tip 3 -- There are lots of really great restaurants but you need reservations for them, so I visited the food thread on the DIS and decided which restaurants we wanted to visit then scheduled reservations.

Tip 4 -- Give Kids the World suggested to us that we have breakfast before we leave and dinner when we get back since meals are free at Give Kids the World. That worked great for us.

Tip 5 -- Make a Plan -- Talk to everyone who is going to see what is on their must do list. Make a rough plan (that is flexible) which includes everyone must do's.

Tip 6 -- Read the Make a Wish Thread and Wish trip reports to use as resources.

Tip 7 -- Universal seems to really roll out the red carpet for many of the families who made Trip Reports (including my family) so save time for these parks if your family is interested in the attractions they have there.

I hope these help!!!

You can also find lots of ideas and suggestions by reading other trip reports if you have time!!

Make A Wish and Give Kids the World really is on top of everything so even if you don't have lots of time to plan or read trip reports they will walk you through everything!!!

Let me know if you have any more questions!!

Happy Planning,

Madeline

 

[Bellerbunch]

I would be happy to share some tips with you!!!


Thank you for all of your tips! 16 days till we leave!

Laura

 

[Bellerbunch]

We're only 16 days away from Lexi's trip!

It has been an exciting time since finding out what our travel dates were. The highlight being that MAW contacted us to see if two different high schools could use Lexi's name and fundraise on behalf of her wish. Coincidentally, one of the high schools was the high school our son's go to. They had chosen her wish without knowing that our family had a connection to the school! Our sons' school raised close to $7000 in just one week. What an amazing and humbling experience!

We've decided to extend our trip a few days so we can make sure to get some beach time in. Lexi really enjoys anything related to the medieval time period so we're also going to eat at Medieval Times.

So excited!
Laura

 

[Bellerbunch]

How do I add pictures to my posts? When I click on the "Add image" icon, it asks for an URL. Can I just upload them somehow?

Laura

 

[greenjellybean]

We're only 16 days away from Lexi's trip!

It has been an exciting time since finding out what our travel dates were. The highlight being that MAW contacted us to see if two different high schools could use Lexi's name and fundraise on behalf of her wish. Coincidentally, one of the high schools was the high school our son's go to. They had chosen her wish without knowing that our family had a connection to the school! Our sons' school raised close to $7000 in just one week. What an amazing and humbling experience!

We've decided to extend our trip a few days so we can make sure to get some beach time in. Lexi really enjoys anything related to the medieval time period so we're also going to eat at Medieval Times.

So excited!
Laura

Hello! New here and also a MAW family (will I ever get used to saying that?).

How amazing that your son's HS was one to raise money for Lexi's MAW trip! The kindness and generosity of others is amazing!

I too am a little worried in that we don't really do allot of the planning for the trip. Guess I'm more of a control freak than I thought? Also, I would like to extend our trip by a few days, if our budget will allow.

Congratulations on the upcoming trip!