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

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

Here's the info that was reported about guests eating at the Gingerbread House

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27942938&postcount=365

 

[LindaBabe]

My best advice is - do NOT over pack! There is a washer/dryer there for clothes, and if you forget some necessity, there's a Walmart at the end of the street.

Remember, almost everyone you run into will be a volunteer - and, although we are well trained, not everyone knows every answer. No excuse for not being friendly though.

There is a new donor for the ice cream parlor, which may have something to do with the amount allowed. I will check this out when I go to my volunteer shift tomorrow. Any other GKTW specific questions - post 'em!

 

[special-angel]

Gosh I really hope this is the case, cause it would be a nice treat for my sister as she is paying big bucks to go as my second or third set of hands with Jake, it would be nice if she did not have to pay for the food their. Also would be nice if my step son is included too, cause WOW, I am shocked at just how much it costs for ONE person to fly to Disney, and get the passes would cost...and that does not even include a place to stay.

Did anyone even know she paid her own way? Thanks for the tip on the GAC card, and also will my sister and my stepson get a GKTW button to wear so they can come with us in the line, or do you really just need the GAC card?

I called MAW about 6 weeks before our trip to ask if my niece could stay at GKTW with us .They did stress that airfare , park tickets,& food in the parks would be at her expense.Lucky for her ,her Mom works for US Air so she was able to fly for free .I picked up snacks & water bottles to bring to the parks with us at the Walmart down the road from GKTW to save $$ .You can save quite a few bucks doing that .We did all counter service meals in the parks , mostly because my kids would never stop long enough for a sit down meal !
The only person that gets a GKTW button is the Wish child & you'll only get 1 GAC for the Disney parks ,so you can all go together with that .

 

[llurgy]

My best advice is - do NOT over pack! There is a washer/dryer there for clothes, and if you forget some necessity, there's a Walmart at the end of the street.

Remember, almost everyone you run into will be a volunteer - and, although we are well trained, not everyone knows every answer. No excuse for not being friendly though.

There is a new donor for the ice cream parlor, which may have something to do with the amount allowed. I will check this out when I go to my volunteer shift tomorrow. Any other GKTW specific questions - post 'em!

I have a question please

We are going on the Wednesday the 21st and return home on the Tuesday the 27th.
The flight home is at noon so we reckon we will have to leave pretty early from GKTW to be able to get to the airport, return the rental and still leave time to check baggage and deal with security.
Are they pretty easy going with checkout times or are we going to be in a muddle, we figure the latest we can leave is 9am.

Rebecca is going to be bummed. She was really looking forward to riding on the horses at GKTW but we arrive to late to take advantage of the Wednesday horse riding and we leave too early to take advantage of the Tuesday Horse riding. We havent told her yet

Mandy

 

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

Are they pretty easy going with checkout times or are we going to be in a muddle, we figure the latest we can leave is 9am.

Rebecca is going to be bummed. She was really looking forward to riding on the horses at GKTW but we arrive to late to take advantage of the Wednesday horse riding and we leave too early to take advantage of the Tuesday Horse riding. We havent told her yet

Mandy

Mandy
That was the same for us - Arrive Wed, leave Tue. We also should have been out of GKTW by 9am and missed out on the horses.

They were very good to us getting us checked out quickly. They had staff waiting for us. It takes about 15 mins or so to go over everything quickly and you have to be totally out of the villa before they will start checkout

 

[llurgy]

Mandy
That was the same for us - Arrive Wed, leave Tue. We also should have been out of GKTW by 9am and missed out on the horses.

They were very good to us getting us checked out quickly. They had staff waiting for us. It takes about 15 mins or so to go over everything quickly and you have to be totally out of the villa before they will start checkout

I read on your trip report that you were all a bit rushed Would you have been able to do the check out earlier if you had all been ready to vacate?

 

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

I read on your trip report that you were all a bit rushed Would you have been able to do the check out earlier if you had all been ready to vacate?

YEP! That was totally a time crunch of our doing. It took longer to get all 5 kids moving and packed than I thought. I forgot to account for an overtired momma

 

[maroo]

My best advice is - do NOT over pack! There is a washer/dryer there for clothes, and if you forget some necessity, there's a Walmart at the end of the street.

Remember, almost everyone you run into will be a volunteer - and, although we are well trained, not everyone knows every answer. No excuse for not being friendly though.

There is a new donor for the ice cream parlor, which may have something to do with the amount allowed. I will check this out when I go to my volunteer shift tomorrow. Any other GKTW specific questions - post 'em!

Thank you SOOOO much for being here! It is so helpful!!!!

Just talking abou that Ice Cream Parlor makes me HUNGRY!

I have a question please

We are going on the Wednesday the 21st and return home on the Tuesday the 27th.
The flight home is at noon so we reckon we will have to leave pretty early from GKTW to be able to get to the airport, return the rental and still leave time to check baggage and deal with security.
Are they pretty easy going with checkout times or are we going to be in a muddle, we figure the latest we can leave is 9am.

Rebecca is going to be bummed. She was really looking forward to riding on the horses at GKTW but we arrive to late to take advantage of the Wednesday horse riding and we leave too early to take advantage of the Tuesday Horse riding. We havent told her yet

Mandy

Aww....and she really wanted to do that!!! That makes me sad. But she may forget? After she is there? So much to do!!

See if you can talk to the Manager On Duty when you get there. Maybe someone will still be around that could let her ride? I am sure they have special volunteers for that, so they may not be there when you would like for them to be? But that is a total bummer!

Our schedule...it made us miss THE CHRISTMAS PARTY!! We got there on Fri and left Thurs... I was so sad...but the kids didn't really know...so they don't know they missed out on anything.

But Becca knows...bummer!!! Gosh...let us know how that turns out.

Since Lauren got sick while we were there, we are planning on going back. It will probably 2010 or 2011, but we will plan a long trip and plan some time at GKTW when we are there. Maybe we can catch the Christmas Party.

 

[llurgy]

Thank you SOOOO much for being here! It is so helpful!!!!

Just talking abou that Ice Cream Parlor makes me HUNGRY!



Aww....and she really wanted to do that!!! That makes me sad. But she may forget? After she is there? So much to do!!

See if you can talk to the Manager On Duty when you get there. Maybe someone will still be around that could let her ride? I am sure they have special volunteers for that, so they may not be there when you would like for them to be? But that is a total bummer!

Our schedule...it made us miss THE CHRISTMAS PARTY!! We got there on Fri and left Thurs... I was so sad...but the kids didn't really know...so they don't know they missed out on anything.

But Becca knows...bummer!!! Gosh...let us know how that turns out.

Since Lauren got sick while we were there, we are planning on going back. It will probably 2010 or 2011, but we will plan a long trip and plan some time at GKTW when we are there. Maybe we can catch the Christmas Party.

We will probably mention about the horse riding when we are there but we dont hold out much hope as there is probably a good reason why they have to horse activities close together like that. We can whine to them a little though, maybe they will take pity

When you go again you all need to go for 2 weeks! At least 2 weeks!!! I think preferably it should be 3 weeks though. With all the stuff you all have to do just to get out of the door in a morning if cuts into the day sooooo much. Plus this time you have to allow for down time, just to rest up a while to try and keep everyone fighting fit.

I know that if money was no object for us we would plan the same as we are doing now but take every other day off just to relax and enjoy. So we would need 2 weeks

Becca is going to be so tired on this trip.
We are being wise and doing the Must Do's first, we are not going to save the best until last because if we do that we may not get it done at all.
As long as we manage the "Got To Do's" we wont begrudge down time if we have to take it, and I am betting we have to take it.

Mandy

 

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

I was reading through our trip again and a thought came to me.

Those that have read with us know Ryan's great love of Crush and how badly he wanted to talk with him, and then Madilynn got picked. He left the sign he made for Crush and the CM said she would make sure to get it to him.

I was wondering if someone that is headed on a trip soon would mind sending Ryan a postcard from Crush thanking him for his note (it said "I love Crush").

That would just make his day.

 

[AmberGreenawalt]

This might be a first...but it is sorta on topic...I am commenting on a TV show!

Is anyone watching (or watched) Grey's Anatomy tonight (Thurs 1/8)...There is a little boy that has something wrong that has required 12 bowel resections and they are saying he won't qualify for a Wish! (I know...it is just a TV show)...

They keep saying that you "have to be dying"... It is really irritating me. MAW has changed so much in the past years...and the general public has not really caught up yet. And shows with story lines like that are not helping any!

Do you know what I am saying?

I know...that was another random thought from Maroo!

One woman at Disney who was next to us at a parade was appalled that Sebastian got a wish when he isn't "terminal"

If MAW only had a certain number of wishes they could grant then we would not have sought one for Sebastian. But it wasn't like him having his wish was keeping another sicker child from having theirs. KWIM?

 

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

One woman at Disney who was next to us at a parade was appalled that Sebastian got a wish when he isn't "terminal"

How absolutely RUDE of her. I'm sure she would think differently if she had to walk even a day in your shoes

If MAW only had a certain number of wishes they could grant then we would not have sought one for Sebastian. But it wasn't like him having his wish was keeping another sicker child from having theirs. KWIM?

Exactly. And our kids deserve this too. I've heard about MAW for years and years but I never understood the full spectrum of actually having a wish granted. It is definitely a life changing experience and just what our kids need (and the rest of our families too)

How's your sweet baby girl doing??

 

[LindaBabe]

We will probably mention about the horse riding when we are there but we dont hold out much hope as there is probably a good reason why they have to horse activities close together like that.

The horses don't "live" at GKTW village. They are brought and handled by trained volunteers.


I found two other options if the free riding doesn't work out.

There is a stable called Horse World abbout 3 miles up the road.

HORSE WORLD RIDING STABLES 3705 Poinciana Blvd. Kissimmee, FL 34758. Reservations Suggested (407) 847-4343

And, Disney offers trail riding at Ft. Wilderness.

Of course neither of those are 'theraputic' riding, so if your child can't sit the horse by herself, those options wouldn't work, unfortunately.

Those that have read with us know Ryan's great love of Crush and how badly he wanted to talk with him, and then Madilynn got picked. He left the sign he made for Crush and the CM said she would make sure to get it to him.

I was wondering if someone that is headed on a trip soon would mind sending Ryan a postcard from Crush thanking him for his note (it said "I love Crush").

That would just make his day.

Do I have Ryan's address? If I can find a ccrush card, I'll send it to him. PM me please.

 

[maroo]

One woman at Disney who was next to us at a parade was appalled that Sebastian got a wish when he isn't "terminal"

If MAW only had a certain number of wishes they could grant then we would not have sought one for Sebastian. But it wasn't like him having his wish was keeping another sicker child from having theirs. KWIM?

I TOTALLY agree with you!!! And I can't believe someone said that to you guys to your face?!?!?

Yeah...You would not believe what someone wrote on the video I posted on You Tube. The one documenting Lauren's trip. I set it up so that no comments could be posted without my approval and it did not get approved...but one of them was about how someone with CP should not be given a wish. That they should be reserved for kids with cancer. And that we "should be ashamed of" ourselves for taking a trip when another child could have. It broke my heart! I wanted so bad to reply to the person...but it was a "fake" acct...they actually signed up as "Lisa." Which means they either knew us (I hope not!) or they know us from these boards. Probably from the boards...because they might think that her mom made the video. It broke my heart.

Precious Lauren puts up with some much junk all day...having someone give her a shower and get her dressed every single morning...the hours and hours she spends on homework because she is slower than her classmates...(WHY, OH WHY am I telling all of you this?!?!?) Anyway...you get it.

I get it...I know that there are children out there that are doing a lot worse than Lauren. Sweet Noah is fighting for his life every single day, for example. And we have a lot of kids on this thread that are in the same or similar boat.

But MAW has plenty of wishes...especially Disney wishes...

Do you know, they asked Lauren if she would want something different...like to go to Paris and shop...or to New York...or California...

And do you know what she said, "No, I don't want to take a wish from another child. Isn't a Disney wish easier for ya'll?" She also wanted to know if there was something that we all knew that she didn't...she evidently thought it was a "terminal only" trip, too.

Bless her...

Anyway...SORRY for the rant...But it did irritate me. Almost enough to write a letter to the producers of Grey's...they can add it to the stack of mail they get about silly stuff, I guess!

How absolutely RUDE of her. I'm sure she would think differently if she had to walk even a day in your shoes



Exactly. And our kids deserve this too. I've heard about MAW for years and years but I never understood the full spectrum of actually having a wish granted. It is definitely a life changing experience and just what our kids need (and the rest of our families too)

How's your sweet baby girl doing??

Yeah, Amber!! How is Savannah???

 

[Khalana]

This might be a first...but it is sorta on topic...I am commenting on a TV show!

Is anyone watching (or watched) Grey's Anatomy tonight (Thurs 1/8)...There is a little boy that has something wrong that has required 12 bowel resections and they are saying he won't qualify for a Wish! (I know...it is just a TV show)...

They keep saying that you "have to be dying"... It is really irritating me. MAW has changed so much in the past years...and the general public has not really caught up yet. And shows with story lines like that are not helping any!

Do you know what I am saying?

I know...that was another random thought from Maroo!

Isn't that so frustrating!??! We had that a lot too, even from family! I just wanted to ask them "aren't you happy for us?!?"
And Amber, I can't believe how rude that lady was!!!!

 

[macntosh]

One woman at Disney who was next to us at a parade was appalled that Sebastian got a wish when he isn't "terminal"

If MAW only had a certain number of wishes they could grant then we would not have sought one for Sebastian. But it wasn't like him having his wish was keeping another sicker child from having theirs. KWIM?

WOW, I would have slugged someone. I really think I would. If they knew half the crap our children go through each day, and how their da** children stair at ours, and the therapy and the..... Well you all know, I'm not saying anything you don't, but I swear some people deserve to be hung by their toenails.

Have I ever said how much I hate people? What is wrong with people forgetting about if you got nothing nice to say then shut the .... up!

Ok off my soap box, but if MAW didn't want to give my NON terminal child a wish they could have said NO at the beginning. However tell me another organization that will take care of a child that will have to do therapy every week for the rest of her lives, while "normal" people stay at her?

 

[dmbfan]

This might be a first...but it is sorta on topic...I am commenting on a TV show!

Is anyone watching (or watched) Grey's Anatomy tonight (Thurs 1/8)...There is a little boy that has something wrong that has required 12 bowel resections and they are saying he won't qualify for a Wish! (I know...it is just a TV show)...

They keep saying that you "have to be dying"... It is really irritating me. MAW has changed so much in the past years...and the general public has not really caught up yet. And shows with story lines like that are not helping any!

Do you know what I am saying?

I know...that was another random thought from Maroo!

I did and I was shocked when I saw what they said to that child. Being the mother of an 8 year old that has not gone thru 12 bowel surgey's but has gone thru a couple, has a horriable small bowel disorder, that has sent him to the hospital at least 40-50 times in the last two years, that struggles with daily and violent vomiting, who eats nothing by mouth, who lives off an IV in order to live, really ticked to me off....to here them say "this is for kids that have life threaten issues and who are dying ( which by the way, what he had is considered life threaten), not you, your fine" and than Izzy say " oh are you trying to scam them", just made my mouth drop.

We are very blessed that my son's GI dr put him in for a wish, given all my child has gone thru, and will continue to go thru, even as I sit in the hospital with him tonight ( admitted due to three days of non stop vomiting and small bowel shut down) it is about time places like MAW start looking at kids suffer these horriable GI diaeses. We see them all the time up here on the GI floor.

Ok I am sorry that I totally went off on a vent on that too... In the end I am glad that they did sign it for him, just wish it did not come off the way it did before they said he needed a transplant....KWIM

 

[dmbfan]

Here's the info that was reported about guests eating at the Gingerbread House

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27942938&postcount=365

Thank you for that link. Wow that would be great if all they had to pay was $1 for a whole meal...not bad at all.

 

[dmbfan]

I called MAW about 6 weeks before our trip to ask if my niece could stay at GKTW with us .They did stress that airfare , park tickets,& food in the parks would be at her expense.Lucky for her ,her Mom works for US Air so she was able to fly for free .I picked up snacks & water bottles to bring to the parks with us at the Walmart down the road from GKTW to save $$ .You can save quite a few bucks doing that .We did all counter service meals in the parks , mostly because my kids would never stop long enough for a sit down meal !
The only person that gets a GKTW button is the Wish child & you'll only get 1 GAC for the Disney parks ,so you can all go together with that .

Thanks for heads up on the Walmart, I was reading that on another thread. Again thanks for the information, I feel less stressed now.

 

[oklamomof4boys]

One woman at Disney who was next to us at a parade was appalled that Sebastian got a wish when he isn't "terminal"

If MAW only had a certain number of wishes they could grant then we would not have sought one for Sebastian. But it wasn't like him having his wish was keeping another sicker child from having theirs. KWIM?

That is so terrible! Don't they realize we would give up all the the trip and all the "perks" of MAW in a heartbeat if our children didn't have to endure all that they do?

I TOTALLY agree with you!!! And I can't believe someone said that to you guys to your face?!?!?

Yeah...You would not believe what someone wrote on the video I posted on You Tube. The one documenting Lauren's trip. I set it up so that no comments could be posted without my approval and it did not get approved...but one of them was about how someone with CP should not be given a wish. That they should be reserved for kids with cancer. And that we "should be ashamed of" ourselves for taking a trip when another child could have. It broke my heart! I wanted so bad to reply to the person...but it was a "fake" acct...they actually signed up as "Lisa." Which means they either knew us (I hope not!) or they know us from these boards. Probably from the boards...because they might think that her mom made the video. It broke my heart.

Precious Lauren puts up with some much junk all day...having someone give her a shower and get her dressed every single morning...the hours and hours she spends on homework because she is slower than her classmates...(WHY, OH WHY am I telling all of you this?!?!?) Anyway...you get it.

I get it...I know that there are children out there that are doing a lot worse than Lauren. Sweet Noah is fighting for his life every single day, for example. And we have a lot of kids on this thread that are in the same or similar boat.

But MAW has plenty of wishes...especially Disney wishes...

Do you know, they asked Lauren if she would want something different...like to go to Paris and shop...or to New York...or California...

And do you know what she said, "No, I don't want to take a wish from another child. Isn't a Disney wish easier for ya'll?" She also wanted to know if there was something that we all knew that she didn't...she evidently thought it was a "terminal only" trip, too.

Bless her...

Anyway...SORRY for the rant...But it did irritate me. Almost enough to write a letter to the producers of Grey's...they can add it to the stack of mail they get about silly stuff, I guess!



Yeah, Amber!! How is Savannah???

What a sweet girl- thinking of others. That literally makes me sick that somebody posted that. I sure hope Lauren didn't see it!