Maddox's WISH Trip PTR May2012

[tracibulkley]

Not having dates is so hard! I really wanted to book some character dinners, so I booked them for 2 weeks. Neurotic? Maybe a little. Hopefully some of you can sympathize with me.

We are hoping to hear next week though, then I can cancel the dates we don't actually need. Watch, the dates will come back completely different than we requested and I'll have to start over anyways.

Oh well. We did sit down and work out a schedule, which days we are going where. Shouldn't make a difference even if our dates aren't exactly what we asked for.

I also ordered some new lanyards and some pins to trade off of ebay. When they get here, I'm going to put them away until closer to our departure. Maybe I can use them as some kind of countdown?

Oh, and our business card thank you's arrived today. I'm so glad we decided to do that! Thank's Melynda for the great idea!

 

[blessedmom4]

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On Lisa's Wish trip I handed out cards at the Parks with a Thank you note written on it, thanking them for making out wishes come true and Lisa's MAW reveal video link. The CM's loved it. I ordered them free from Vista prints and even got free shipping (I use them frequently).

 

[tracibulkley]

I am so anxious to get dates! Hopefully this week?? I wouldn't worry so much, except that my parents want to meet us out there and want to get their flights booked.

Maddox has to go on Tuesday to have ear tubes placed (again!) in an effort to keep him as 'healthy' as possible before surgery. Not looking forward to any of this, but hopefully it'll go smoothly Tuesday and we can 'breath easy' for the next couple of months.

Our business cards came last week, they turned out so cute!

Want to get to know the rest of us??

So there's myself (Traci), Dad (Luke) and sister (Bailee). Luke and I were married in August of 04, so just over 7 1/2 years ago. We spend our time watching/playing sports (especially basketball) and chasing the kids around. Is there time for anything else? Not these days. Well...except for the time I spend reading... when it comes to choosing between a good book and doing the dishes/laundry I go for the book most often. Lucky for me DH can't sit still after work and cleans up anyway. He's amazing in so many ways.

Bailee joined our family in 06 and is our resident princess. The girl loves all things sparkly, makeup, fancy dresses, and princes. Yes, she's a little young for those 'princes'. I hope she has a 'non-boy-crazy' stage. Bai has been the best big sister to Maddox. She has been patient and loving through all of the craziness and has been a huge blessing in my life. She's mostly drama and sass with a little sugar on top. Did I mention she's 5 going on 15? She is most excited to see the princesses at WDW, especially Rapunzel as the movie Tangled had not come out when we were at DL a couple of years ago. She "wishes with all the dreams of her heart" that she will also get to see Flynn, but I've told her there's not much of a chance that will happen. Next up on her list, fast roller coasters. She does not get that from me! But she and Luke will have fun with that while Maddox and I track down as many characters as he cares to see.

Our requested dates are just a month away...time is going so fast!

 

[tracibulkley]

We got the call that Maddox's wish has been approved! Super exciting. However, the earliest dates at GKTW were May 16th-May22 and we can't be gone on the 18th or the 22nd. The 18th is Bailee's year end dance recital and the 22nd is Maddox's pre-surgery Cath lab appointment. So, our other option is to stay somewhere else. Kind of sad, but our wish granter said we still get to do everything at GKTW we just won't sleep there. I have a call in to the travel coordinator to hopefully finalize the dates and where we're staying. So hopefully we'll have more news today!

 

[4monkeys]

YAY on approval. I have seen others that have requested to stay at other locations. It will all work out and his wish will come true!! Cant wait to see when you go!

 

[Moodyzblu]

I'm sure they'll make it all work out !! At least you know everything s approved.

Keep us posted !

 

[tracibulkley]

We have dates! We are going May 8th through May 14th! Yeah! We should find out where we are staying tomorrow or Monday.

 

[kayand11]

Hey
Were coming from the UK on May 12th! Shame about gktw although im sure youll have an amazing holiday just the same. A good friend of mine has a daughter with HLHS, she is 3 and just had her 3rd op in January.

Happy Planning

 

[tracibulkley]

Just got a call and.... we get to stay at Give Kids the World! I am so excited. I know it will be magical wherever we stay, but GKTW is just amazing and I was a little disappointed (though understanding) at the thought of not staying there.

Now I have the who, the what, the when, the where and an idea of a budget, I can finalize some plans!

We've been talking back and forth about what will be the most memorable for the kids. I think we've decided making memories will be better than buying stuff. So I think we are going to go ahead with the Character Lunches for our time there.

Eating with Mickey was our first priority, because that's what Maddox wished for, but they would love some of the other ones too. I have lunches scheduled at Crystal Palace, Akershus, and Hollywood and Vine, and Dinner scheduled with Mickey at Garden Grill. Sea World has Breakfast with Elmo, so I was thinking that would be a hit with the kiddos too.

At Universal we want to hit Green Eggs and Ham or Circus McGurkus for lunch.

The rest of our meals we will plan on being at GKTW for.

Our tentative schedule is:

Arrive Tuesday afternoon, check into GKTW and get settled there.

Wed: Magic Kingdom, Crystal Palace for Lunch, Garden Grill for Dinner, Electrical Parade, Fireworks

Thursday: Universal/Universal IOA

Friday: Epcot, lunch at Akershus,

Saturday: Animal Kingdom/DHS, lunch at Hollywood & Vine

Sunday: We're going to probably hang out at GKTW, visit the Orlando LDS temple, maybe drive to the beach?

Monday: Sea World, Breakfast with Elmo

I'd love feedback and suggestions!

 

[tracibulkley]

I just spoke with Maddox's wish grantor last night and we scheduled our send off party for April 21! (Which also happens to be my birthday) We are just waiting on a time and then we can start inviting people! They told us to invite as many friends and family as we want, so I need to start putting a list together.

Bai overheard me telling Luke about the phone conversation but really only caught on to the "cake and ice cream" part. So I told a little lie and said we are having a birthday party for me. Good cover up. They will be surprised for sure.

Just preparing for our trip by getting copies of prescriptions and arraning the oxygen for the flight. It's a bit early to start packing though, right?

 

[alyssaswish]

We are waiting to meet our wish granters next week. Can't wait to read about your upcoming trip!

 

[tracibulkley]

So we got the time for our Send Off party, but we also found out they had to change the date. So it's set for May 5th, just 3 days before we leave! I hope it works to keep it a secret from the kids that long!

 

[Delaney21]

We have dates! We are going May 8th through May 14th! Yeah! We should find out where we are staying tomorrow or Monday.

I just found your trip report! We'll be there the same time as you and we're easy to spot because we'll have the babies with us!

Our tentative schedule is:

Arrive Tuesday afternoon, check into GKTW and get settled there.

Wed: Magic Kingdom, Crystal Palace for Lunch, Garden Grill for Dinner, Electrical Parade, Fireworks

Thursday: Universal/Universal IOA

Friday: Epcot, lunch at Akershus,

Saturday: Animal Kingdom/DHS, lunch at Hollywood & Vine

Sunday: We're going to probably hang out at GKTW, visit the Orlando LDS temple, maybe drive to the beach?

Monday: Sea World, Breakfast with Elmo

I think your schedule looks great!!

So we got the time for our Send Off party, but we also found out they had to change the date. So it's set for May 5th, just 3 days before we leave! I hope it works to keep it a secret from the kids that long!

That's awesome that he is getting a send off party! I don't think they do that here.

 

[tracibulkley]

So Wish granter K called again last night. She was following up on some questions I had. First, there will be car seats and boosters available with the rental car so I think we will leave ours home. Second, I had asked about meals at GKTW for visitors, she said they told her our visitors could pay $5 a day and eat there for any of the meals. A bit of conflicting information, but we figure it's not a huge deal and we'll see what happens when we get there.

She also said they'd be dropping by sometime to bring a countdown chain for the kids. I let her know that we hadn't figured out when and how to tell them that the wish has been granted. We talked about a few options and decided we'd let the wish granters tell them when they stop by. It'll be fun! She just said she'd call when they figured out their schedules.

My OCD'ness is coming out for sure. I've got 2 packing lists running in my head. One for our trip and one for Maddox's hospital stay when he has surgery. I actually pulled out a suitcase and started dropping things in it for our trip. Just odds and ends that we won't need until then. Time is going by so fast, it'll be here before I know it!

 

[tracibulkley]

We are home! It was amazing. I will be posting pictures and details on our blog in the coming days. Thanks for the help I received from you guys!

 

[Moodyzblu]

Welcome back !! Looking forward to seeing your p s and hearing about your trip !!