Make a Wish (and other organizations!) - Wish Trippers...UNITE!! Volume 2!

[pipersmom]

Okay, just did a quick catch-up read to see what I had missed..it's so neat to see new families finding the board, so welcome to you all!

Maroo- Thank you so much for going to bat on the photopass. I know it's not anything I would be able to spend $150 on, and the pics they do are so neat..also thanks to everyone else who shot off an e-mail.

Melissa- Woohoo..you'll have to let me know what dates you use and maybe we can shoot to overlap..also..I think I owe you an e-mail..I'm honestly too tired to check tonight, but I'll get to it tomorrow night for sure..I hate the lack of comp access at the hospital. (I keep waiting for the laptop fairy to leave one on my doorstep, but I think she got lost trying to find my house!

And to everyone dealing with the flu..please be careful, while Piper was admitted I know I saw at least 10 kids(if not more) cycle through with it.. (they had special signs on their doors). Right now I'm considering keeping Piper out of school until spring just because there seems to be so many bugs going around and I'm sure it's going to get worse before it gets better

 

[CrystalSnow]

Woo hoo! We got our new dates and we are leaving next week-- November 8-14th.

I guess I need to try and re-plan a little. Things have been so crazy with a bout of H1N1 for each kid, plus two more viruses each. We are exhausted...

 

[Iluvmickeymouse!]

I was wondering the same thing. We are extending by 3 days and I assume that we need to return the rental car on the same day we check out of GKTW. I would like to just keep it, but I can probably get a better rate for the car with a little shopping around.

Has anyone done extended a Wish Trip and what did you do with your car rental?

I tend to lurk anymore around here than post....but I can tell you what we did. On our last day at GKTW I drove the family to SSR and dropped them off. I then drove the rental car back to the airport and returned it. Then I went to the Magical Express pick up area and got on the bus for SSR and got a ride back to the resort. We then used ME when we left a few days later to go back home. I called ME and arranged for me to ride to the resort. They said they normally didn't do that on a day that the flight was not coming in (make sense? ) but when I explained that we were a Wish family they agreed to it.

My guess is you will have to return the rental you have while you are at GKTW and then pick up a new one at the airport or ride ME. Our Wish chapter did not want us to keep the rental past the time we were at GKTW, which I understood. (splitting payment wise, etc.) Hope that helps!

 

[twinmum]

Hello: Just thought I'd pop back in and let you know that the Tamiflu really seems to have made a difference for Mark. Good thing we filled a prescription for Douglas too, because he went down like a rock last night. He had a temp of 39.6 in the night, wicked headache, vomiting etc. His lungs are actually probably worse than Mark's, so we're going full on with the puffers. His cough does not sound good right now. To add insult to injury, I started symptoms yesterday and got my tamiflu started today. I am still feeling rotten, though.

the boys were upset to miss Halloween, but it seemed there were lots of kids missing, a very quiet night.

At least now it seems as though we'll have had the virus. I'd been wondering about a little family vacation, but was nervous about planes, germs etc.

thanks for your good thoughts!
Alison

 

[WishMom09]

I was wondering the same thing. We are extending by 3 days and I assume that we need to return the rental car on the same day we check out of GKTW. I would like to just keep it, but I can probably get a better rate for the car with a little shopping around.

Has anyone done extended a Wish Trip and what did you do with your car rental?

We did not extend our trip...but looked into it. You have to return your car to the airport and "re-rent" it or another one. Otherwise your wish granting agency gets the bill for the entire time you rented the car...and they get MAD!
We were kinda discouraged from extending out trip for that main reason!

 

[StefaniLyn]

We did not extend our trip...but looked into it. You have to return your car to the airport and "re-rent" it or another one. Otherwise your wish granting agency gets the bill for the entire time you rented the car...and they get MAD!
We were kinda discouraged from extending out trip for that main reason!

Thanks for the info. Knowing that, I think we will just return the Wish Rental and make our own reservation. I wouldn't want the bill getting messed up and I'm fairly certain I can get a decent rate. If nothing else, we'll all cram into my BIL's car (BIL lives in Orlando and we're extending to spend some time with him) or make multiple trips.

 

[Momofwishkid]

Woo hoo! We got our new dates and we are leaving next week-- November 8-14th.

I guess I need to try and re-plan a little. Things have been so crazy with a bout of H1N1 for each kid, plus two more viruses each. We are exhausted...

Congrats on the new dates! Have fun on your trip. I hope everyone is feeling better.

 

[Momofwishkid]

Hello: Just thought I'd pop back in and let you know that the Tamiflu really seems to have made a difference for Mark. Good thing we filled a prescription for Douglas too, because he went down like a rock last night. He had a temp of 39.6 in the night, wicked headache, vomiting etc. His lungs are actually probably worse than Mark's, so we're going full on with the puffers. His cough does not sound good right now. To add insult to injury, I started symptoms yesterday and got my tamiflu started today. I am still feeling rotten, though.

the boys were upset to miss Halloween, but it seemed there were lots of kids missing, a very quiet night.

At least now it seems as though we'll have had the virus. I'd been wondering about a little family vacation, but was nervous about planes, germs etc.

thanks for your good thoughts!
Alison

Im so sorry the boys had to miss Halloween, you can always make it up with a movie night and lots of candy!
I hope you all are feeling better soon.

 

[maroo]

Woo hoo! We got our new dates and we are leaving next week-- November 8-14th.

I guess I need to try and re-plan a little. Things have been so crazy with a bout of H1N1 for each kid, plus two more viruses each. We are exhausted...

Awesome!

Wow! That is quickly approaching!

Hello: Just thought I'd pop back in and let you know that the Tamiflu really seems to have made a difference for Mark. Good thing we filled a prescription for Douglas too, because he went down like a rock last night. He had a temp of 39.6 in the night, wicked headache, vomiting etc. His lungs are actually probably worse than Mark's, so we're going full on with the puffers. His cough does not sound good right now. To add insult to injury, I started symptoms yesterday and got my tamiflu started today. I am still feeling rotten, though.

the boys were upset to miss Halloween, but it seemed there were lots of kids missing, a very quiet night.

At least now it seems as though we'll have had the virus. I'd been wondering about a little family vacation, but was nervous about planes, germs etc.

thanks for your good thoughts!
Alison

I hope Douglas is doing well. Glad Mark is feeling better!

I hate they had to miss Halloween. Hopefully you can make it up to them!

We did not extend our trip...but looked into it. You have to return your car to the airport and "re-rent" it or another one. Otherwise your wish granting agency gets the bill for the entire time you rented the car...and they get MAD!
We were kinda discouraged from extending out trip for that main reason!

 

[yinyanggirls]

I'm starting to feel anxious about our dates. Last week the Wish Granter called to say we needed to request them for April. I asked you guys a few questions and left her a VM with a couple of questions. She hasn't called back. I think she doesn't have much experience, so whenever I ask a question she has to go ask the chapter and wait for a reply before replying to me. I feel the clock ticking and I just don't want to end up going in summer when it is rainy and hot a sticky. I feel guilty being picky like that, but I just worry. Anyway, if we hurry up and get our dates, I won't have to worry about that!

So I'll take one last poll here, and see if you guys have any advice on what day would be best to arrive or depart. My husband works an odd schedule and does not have a preference based on work. He'll request the days we need when he knows our trip dates. We live in AZ, so the arrival day will be pretty long, flying, changing planes and flying again, I assume. I thought about Saturday or Monday being a good day, since that's a slightly less crowded day to fly. Then our first few days at the parks would be less crowded ones also. What do you think? Does GKTW have any activities that we should plan around? Am I forgetting any details that would make a difference?

 

[daughtersrus]

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed today. Our wish granters came over for lunch yesterday. They brought pizza, ice cream and a gift for Emily. Of course, she was a bit uncomfortable and cried on and off.

The wish granters were SO NICE! They are young (one is a college student and the other a young mom). They filled out all of the paperwork and brainstormed a bit on what we thought Emily's wish would be. Emily's non-verbal so they said that we, as a family, can decide what we think Emily would want for her wish.

I think that we've decided that it will be a trip but we're not sure where. We've taken Emily twice to Disney World and she loved it. Our first thought was another Disney trip but the more that we thought about it, the more that we decided that we will pick a place that she hasn't been to. We know that we can take her to Disney again with little help in accommodations (we usually drive and take everything that we need with us). We're thinking that if we don't get help organizing and making the accommodations from MAW, it would near impossible for us to go someplace that requires air travel.

I started looking into Disney Cruises but we need to travel in the summer. The cruises with Disney are pretty limited in the summer (to warm places) so that doesn't look like it will work out.

They Atlantis in the Bahamas. We don't have passports and would probably never travel out of the country in the near future so I'm not sure that I want to spend $500 on them for one trip.

Their next suggestion was Hawaii. I think that we're leaning towards that. I'd love to hear from others that have gone on non-Disney MAW trips. I know that Emily love to go anywhere. She loves to site see and "people watch". I just feel guilty asking for an exotic trip like Hawaii but from looking at their website, it looks like they do international travel as well.

Emily uses a wheelchair and is dependent on adults for all of her care because of the genetic disease.

Thanks again!

Diane~mom to Emily (15yo Alpha Mannosidosis)

 

[maroo]

I'm starting to feel anxious about our dates. Last week the Wish Granter called to say we needed to request them for April. I asked you guys a few questions and left her a VM with a couple of questions. She hasn't called back. I think she doesn't have much experience, so whenever I ask a question she has to go ask the chapter and wait for a reply before replying to me. I feel the clock ticking and I just don't want to end up going in summer when it is rainy and hot a sticky. I feel guilty being picky like that, but I just worry. Anyway, if we hurry up and get our dates, I won't have to worry about that!

So I'll take one last poll here, and see if you guys have any advice on what day would be best to arrive or depart. My husband works an odd schedule and does not have a preference based on work. He'll request the days we need when he knows our trip dates. We live in AZ, so the arrival day will be pretty long, flying, changing planes and flying again, I assume. I thought about Saturday or Monday being a good day, since that's a slightly less crowded day to fly. Then our first few days at the parks would be less crowded ones also. What do you think? Does GKTW have any activities that we should plan around? Am I forgetting any details that would make a difference?

My hope is that you guys will arrive any day but Friday. When you arrive on Friday you leave on Thursday and miss the Christmas party on Thurs night.

That was our schedule...arriving on Fri and leave on Thursday and we stilll had the best trip - EVER.

I don't think any of the wish granters can actually approve dates or anything without going to the chapter.

And most of the wish granting chapters are not as on top of things as we are her on the DIS. They don't realize how much we plan and how far in advance we plan.

One thought...If you are set and really, really want to eat at a certain restaurant...I would go ahead and make some reservations. Some require pre-payment...but most don't. You could make a few reservations at that particular place for different dates around the time you want to go...then you could cancel the dates that you don't end up using.

I don't normally advocate that...but for a wish trip...I would totally do it for the one or two places you really want to make sure your children get to experience.

Now that reservations are made 180 days out...it will be a little harder for our wish families to get those really hard reservations.

 

[StefaniLyn]

Their next suggestion was Hawaii. I think that we're leaning towards that. I'd love to hear from others that have gone on non-Disney MAW trips. I know that Emily love to go anywhere. She loves to site see and "people watch". I just feel guilty asking for an exotic trip like Hawaii but from looking at their website, it looks like they do international travel as well.

DON'T FEEL GUILTY! This is for Emily, and Emily deserves this trip. People donate to causes like MAW because they want kids like Emily to have a once in a lifetime experience like this. Please, please don't feel guilty!

Also, I'm not sure what your timeline is like, but if you're torn between Disney and Hawaii, you may not need to make a choice if you're willing to wait a little bit.

In 2011, Disney will open a resort in Hawaii! I don't know a lot of the detials, but maybe this is a way to combine both wishes into one magical trip! Here is an article about it:

http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/blogs/hawaii_today/2008/10/16/Disney_first_Hawaii_resort_opening

 

[maroo]

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed today. Our wish granters came over for lunch yesterday. They brought pizza, ice cream and a gift for Emily. Of course, she was a bit uncomfortable and cried on and off.

The wish granters were SO NICE! They are young (one is a college student and the other a young mom). They filled out all of the paperwork and brainstormed a bit on what we thought Emily's wish would be. Emily's non-verbal so they said that we, as a family, can decide what we think Emily would want for her wish.

I think that we've decided that it will be a trip but we're not sure where. We've taken Emily twice to Disney World and she loved it. Our first thought was another Disney trip but the more that we thought about it, the more that we decided that we will pick a place that she hasn't been to. We know that we can take her to Disney again with little help in accommodations (we usually drive and take everything that we need with us). We're thinking that if we don't get help organizing and making the accommodations from MAW, it would near impossible for us to go someplace that requires air travel.

I started looking into Disney Cruises but we need to travel in the summer. The cruises with Disney are pretty limited in the summer (to warm places) so that doesn't look like it will work out.

They Atlantis in the Bahamas. We don't have passports and would probably never travel out of the country in the near future so I'm not sure that I want to spend $500 on them for one trip.

Their next suggestion was Hawaii. I think that we're leaning towards that. I'd love to hear from others that have gone on non-Disney MAW trips. I know that Emily love to go anywhere. She loves to site see and "people watch". I just feel guilty asking for an exotic trip like Hawaii but from looking at their website, it looks like they do international travel as well.

Emily uses a wheelchair and is dependent on adults for all of her care because of the genetic disease.

Thanks again!

Diane~mom to Emily (15yo Alpha Mannosidosis)

First - please don't feel bad at all for not choosing a Disney trip.

I am not sure, though, how much traffic we get over here to give input on another type of trip.

There are several DIS families that have gone on Cruises...and I know some have posted here and ended up doing other things once the wish granters came to see them...

I googled Wish Trip to Hawaii and came up with some hits that were interesting. One even wanted tips on Disney wish trips and I sent them over here.

I hope you will find lots of info out there about Hawaii (or any other place you guys would like to go)...

The trip is as much for the family as it is for the child. Well...more for the child...but you know what I mean.

Feel free to keep posting on this thread about whatever you choose and let us know how it went!

 

[maroo]

DON'T FEEL GUILTY! This is for Emily, and Emily deserves this trip. People donate to causes like MAW because they want kids like Emily to have a once in a lifetime experience like this. Please, please don't feel guilty!

Also, I'm not sure what your timeline is like, but if you're torn between Disney and Hawaii, you may not need to make a choice if you're willing to wait a little bit.

In 2011, Disney will open a resort in Hawaii! I don't know a lot of the detials, but maybe this is a way to combine both wishes into one magical trip! Here is an article about it:

http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/blogs/hawaii_today/2008/10/16/Disney_first_Hawaii_resort_opening

Bella's Mom and I are totally on the same page! \

But what a GREAT idea...to do the resort in Hawaii!

 

[daughtersrus]

I have another dumb question. Do we have to pay taxes on the value of the "Wish"? I didn't think so but a relative said that he thinks that we do. This relative in particular does not appear to be happy for us but instead seems very jealous. It's really sad because I'm sure that all of us here wish that our children were healthy and didn't meet the qualifications for having a wish granted.

 

[maroo]

I have another dumb question. Do we have to pay taxes on the value of the "Wish"? I didn't think so but a relative said that he thinks that we do. This relative in particular does not appear to be happy for us but instead seems very jealous. It's really sad because I'm sure that all of us here wish that our children were healthy and didn't meet the qualifications for having a wish granted.

No...you don't have to pay any taxes.

At least... uh ... ur... we didn't.

I am sure that someone would have said something to us if we had to pay taxes? I think it just considered a gift and would not be taxable income. It isn't like prize money or anything like that. Even though it may feel like it sometimes!

Besides...I know no one in the IRS wants to fight that battle.

ETA: We had this issue, too...of jealousy. Particularly with one of Lauren's parent's work environments. Like...seriously...we will trade! Good grief!

 

[StefaniLyn]

I have another dumb question. Do we have to pay taxes on the value of the "Wish"? I didn't think so but a relative said that he thinks that we do. This relative in particular does not appear to be happy for us but instead seems very jealous. It's really sad because I'm sure that all of us here wish that our children were healthy and didn't meet the qualifications for having a wish granted.

Not a dumb question at all. In fact, I wish I had thought of it earlier because it actually gave me a little scare. I think Maroo is correct in her answer. I googled it and WikiAnswers came up with this:

A "gift" is NEVER taxable, unless it can be considered compensation for services (as when an employer gives a "bonus"), or it can be considered a "prize".

I'm pretty sure Wish Trips are not considered compensation for services (unless you count the labor of love we endure while caring for our little ones) and the thought of a Wish Trip as a prize actually made me giggle

so I'm pretty sure the answer is no, but if you're still questioning it, your Wish Coordinator probably knows for certain.

 

[pipersmom]

Not a dumb question at all. In fact, I wish I had thought of it earlier because it actually gave me a little scare. I think Maroo is correct in her answer. I googled it and WikiAnswers came up with this:



I'm pretty sure Wish Trips are not considered compensation for services (unless you count the labor of love we endure while caring for our little ones) and the thought of a Wish Trip as a prize actually made me giggle

so I'm pretty sure the answer is no, but if you're still questioning it, your Wish Coordinator probably knows for certain.

Okay, the wish trip as a prize thing totally made me laugh too..I can just hear the game show announcer in my head..."and because your child has a life threatening illness...You win a trip to Disney...Congratulations..enjoy your trip!!" Sheesh..okay, maybe I am a wee bit tired..

Also on the Piper front...we meet with our wish granters Thurs evening..woohoo!!

 

[maroo]

Ok...the game show host thing made me laugh!

If you run into any strange people in Disney that give you "the look" - you know the one I am talking about - you could always go into your game show host routine...