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

[pipersmom]

Thanks for the welcomes!! He really wants to do a cruise. We did a 7 night Western last year and he was getting over an exacerbation when we left. Well the sea air must have loosened up everything in his lungs b/c his cough was horrible!! We were supposed to stop in Grand Cayman but b/c of the weather we could not.....lucky for us b/c he was running low on medication and our new stop in Key West allowed me to contact his doctors and get medication refills!! He was weaning of them when we boarded so I packed what I thought he would need!! (lessoned learned...always bring extra!!!)

Normally I wouldn't mind pulling the kids out of school, but Brian has missed so much already this school year and the winter is not even here yet!!!

I'll pick some dates and see what happens!! They told me to look at 7 night cruises and they don't have any over the summer b/c the Magic is going to Europe!!

I'll keep you posted!! Glad i found this thread!!

We're another CF family, Piper is 8, and we're in the planning process now as well! A cruise is awesome, the sea air (as you found out) is like hypertonic saline x 10! I've also heard going to the beach, ocean swimming, etc can be very helpful.

As for pulling Brian out..Piper has physically attended her school only 21 days, and at this point we've pulled her out until at least March to do homebound schooling. Not sure if you've been doing homebound with him, but feel free to pm me. I can understand not wanting to pull him out, but this is a once in a lifetime trip for him..maybe check into spring break dates?

 

[Momofwishkid]

Hi...new here. My son Brian (6) suffers from cystic fibrosis. He has had a very rough last few months--port infection, surgery, surgical site infection, pneumonia, etc.... We have just started the process for Make a Wish. They are coming to meet him early next week. Brian's wish is to go a Disney Cruise, they asked me to have some dates in mind for them. My question is How soon could this be??? I don't want the kids to miss any school, so I would pick weeks like Presidents week or Easter week. Is this too soon???

Welcome!! Im so sorry Brian is having a rough time the last few months.
We also thought about doing a cruise but Disneyworld won out. We are still in the planning stage and awaiting our official dates. I would think at least Easter would be completley doable and maybe even Presidents week. Just ask Im sure your wish team will be able to tell you for sure. Keep us posted!

 

[thatkid]

I also wanted to do a disney cruise at first! I'm still really unstable healthwise, so we thought it'd be better to not be on a boat for 7 days haha.
So I'm going to DisneyWorld and i couldn't be more excited!

We just got a welcome letter from GKTW. I'm so excited, and my mom was so giddy this morning haha.

 

[Soon2B4]

We just got a welcome letter from GKTW. I'm so excited, and my mom was so giddy this morning haha.

I want a letter!!! I think it would actually make this trip seem real. I am used to being in charge of trips and usually book everything for family members too. The lack of control and not planning the flights on my own is killing me!

Someone had asked a while back about bedrails and I am not sure if they ever found out the answer or not. I called GKTW last week and asked about the availability of bedrails. I was told to ask for them at check in and they will deliver them to your villa. Hope that helps those planning their trips!

 

[Savannah's Mami]

I read somewhere on the board that you can take postcards and the characters will sign them? I am curious because we have the princess luncheon planned. We have a lot of little "Liver" friends that would love a postcard from Cinderella or any of the princesses. I was wondering if anyone had done this before? I didn't know if it was best to have the postcards pre-filled so they can be signed after a note or leave them blank and fill them in later. I thought pre-filled and then mail from the park but then we have some liver friends in England that need a nice pick me up....any suggestions? Oh...are postcards cheap at the park or is there a place you recommend?

 

[maroo]

STROLLER INFORMATION -

I am copying this over here...

Stroller...I would seriously consider either taking your stroller (do you ever use one?) or renting a special needs stroller for your trip.

The strollers at the MK are so...hard. They don't recline. I would not want to sit in them over long periods of time.

William is a perfectly healthy 10 year old and we had to rent him a double because he just got so tired. But it was not very comfortable for him. He eventually gave up and they took him back to the room before Wishes one night.

The walking is just so much in Disney. And TONS in Sea World. Not sure about Universal, but I would assume more of the same.

They have special needs strollers that can be rented and delivered and picked up right at GKTW.

Here is the main site that does this and is the one recommended by Mom's Panel, DISboards and AllEars.net.

http://www.orlandostrollerrentals.com/

You can also get a "stroller as a wheelchair" tag - which I would do so that you don't have to park the stroller as much at Disney and even the lines can be long.

And your other children could even ride in it. They will get tired, too.

 

[maroo]

I read somewhere on the board that you can take postcards and the characters will sign them? I am curious because we have the princess luncheon planned. We have a lot of little "Liver" friends that would love a postcard from Cinderella or any of the princesses. I was wondering if anyone had done this before? I didn't know if it was best to have the postcards pre-filled so they can be signed after a note or leave them blank and fill them in later. I thought pre-filled and then mail from the park but then we have some liver friends in England that need a nice pick me up....any suggestions? Oh...are postcards cheap at the park or is there a place you recommend?

We got a TON of autographs for Williams entire class. They actually filled out a sheet with their favorite character and each got a signature. It was crazy getting all of those!

Postcards are a great idea.

The only tip I have would be to make sure you are prepared when you get to the character to have them sign. All face characters should be able to sign with a regular pen, but the furry ones need a big sharpie marker and they sign pretty big!

I think I would fill them out after the fact...since it is really hard for the furry ones to see and to write exactly where you want them to.

They USED to put a "Main Street" stamp on mail that was given to Guest Services on Main Street. You may want to check in to that...because that would be super cool...to get the mail stamped with Main Street!

 

[Savannah's Mami]

Oh...I have another question. Can Wish families enter the park during the Extra Magic Hours...I started to fill in an itinerary but am not sure if I should put the early hours or regular hours on it.

Thanks!

 

[chrissid7]

Oh...I have another question. Can Wish families enter the park during the Extra Magic Hours...I started to fill in an itinerary but am not sure if I should put the early hours or regular hours on it.

Thanks!

My understanding is no that is for resort guest only. I just planned on not going during those hours but I would imagine they wouldnt tell you no either, but im sure like most things it will be up to the CM you are facing at that moment. Sorry Im not much help

 

[maroo]

Oh...I have another question. Can Wish families enter the park during the Extra Magic Hours...I started to fill in an itinerary but am not sure if I should put the early hours or regular hours on it.

Thanks!

Technically...no.

It is supposed to be for on site guests only.

And honestly...there are so many activities in the morning and at night at GKTW, that you probably won't really have a need for them. They also tend to be VERY crowded.

However...if you find yourself in a park and it is time to close and your children really want to stay a while, I would go to Guest Services in the park and ask the CM if they will make an exception for a wish family and let you stay.

I know of one wish family that was able to stay for EMH at Animal Kingdom (which is one park where it would be nice since it normally closes so early!)

 

[momma_mouse]

We just met with a someone from Dream Factory today. We will be going to GKTW in the next couple of months! The wish kid, my son Sloan, will be almost 4 when we go. He is diabetic and also suffers from sensorry processing disorder and is developmentally delayed. My daughters, will be 6 and almost 3 will also be going with us. My husband and I would love any tips you have as we will be planning things very soon.

 

[maroo]

We just met with a someone from Dream Factory today. We will be going to GKTW in the next couple of months! The wish kid, my son Sloan, will be almost 4 when we go. He is diabetic and also suffers from sensorry processing disorder and is developmentally delayed. My daughters, will be 6 and almost 3 will also be going with us. My husband and I would love any tips you have as we will be planning things very soon.

to the Wish Trippers thread!!!

We are glad to have you guys!

Do you guys have dates?

Feel free to ask questions as you would like...and if you want to start a pre-trip report, that would be awesome, too!

Post 2 on the first page of this thread has a lot of information about GKTW and how to start a pre-trip report on the DIS, etc.

Glad you are here!

 

[momma_mouse]

Our dates are not set in stone yet, but I'm thinking January 23-30.

As of right now it is my husband, myself, and our 3 kids (2,3 and 6) going. My mom is possibly going to go along with us. We were told she would have to pay her own way, make her own ressies and stay somewhere else. So, we're not sure if that will happen or not. I hope so though. It would be a tremendous help with the kids.

I guess a good question would be what is the weather like in late January? How do I need to dress the kids?

I'm also curious about free stroller rental thing? I read that it's for a single. Is there anyway they upgrade to a double? If not we're going to have to take ours and gate check it. (and hope it makes it there unharmed) All 3 kids will need a stroller. We're having one of them marked as a wheel chair. We want to make sure we can keep it with us at all times for Sloan dues to his anxiety and sensory issues. Also so that we can keep his insulin and supplies close by at all time. (and out of the sun from stroller parking)

I'm trying to figure out about a couple of character meals. Will the spending money we get be enough to cover those?

 

[maroo]

Our dates are not set in stone yet, but I'm thinking January 23-30.

That is a great time to go to Disney!

As of right now it is my husband, myself, and our 3 kids (2,3 and 6) going. My mom is possibly going to go along with us. We were told she would have to pay her own way, make her own ressies and stay somewhere else. So, we're not sure if that will happen or not. I hope so though. It would be a tremendous help with the kids.

I definitely would make her a reservation...but several families have come back and said that their "extra" family were allowed to stay with them in their villa. The villa sleeps 7, I believe.

She would have to pay for her meals. I believe they charge "extra" people $1.00 for each meal voucher that they need at GKTW - to cover the cost of the food.

And she would need to get her own tickets...which can honestly be fairly expensive.

I guess a good question would be what is the weather like in late January? How do I need to dress the kids?

Weather can vary greatly. I was listening to a podcast the other day that was talking about the Marathon Weekend (which is two weekends before you guys get there) and they said that one year it was in the 30's when they started the Marathon and the next year it was in the 60's when they started. Totally different. I would plan for layers and just check the forecast before you head out, I suppose.

I'm also curious about free stroller rental thing? I read that it's for a single. Is there anyway they upgrade to a double? If not we're going to have to take ours and gate check it. (and hope it makes it there unharmed) All 3 kids will need a stroller. We're having one of them marked as a wheel chair. We want to make sure we can keep it with us at all times for Sloan dues to his anxiety and sensory issues. Also so that we can keep his insulin and supplies close by at all time. (and out of the sun from stroller parking)

You have a few options. See above...the info on renting a stroller. I would plan to bring the one from home for your wish child...mostly because he may be more comfortable and feel "safe" in it...as opposed to a "strange" stroller. The strollers at Disney are not comfy. I don't think you will have any trouble getting a double stroller. We rented one each day and they asked us which kind we wanted.

Stroller as a wheelchair is a great idea! There is also a First Aid in each park, if you want to keep some insulin in a fridge?

I'm trying to figure out about a couple of character meals. Will the spending money we get be enough to cover those?

Spending money varies GREATLY. I have heard everything from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars. Totally depends. You may want to check out "sammie girl" Trip Report from page 1 of this thread...they went with Dream Factory (she also has diabetes) and their trip may give you an idea?

You are going to have a BLAST!

I hope you will do a pre-trip report!

 

[maroo]

Ok guys!

I decorated for DAX tonight!!!

Check it out...

http://www.decoratefordax.com

 

[momma_mouse]

Thanks for all the info Maroo!

I wonder if I could call GKTW after we have everything ironed out and ask if my mom could stay there with us? She's ok with getting her own tickets and everything. I think the big thing is having to stay somewhere else, away from us and alone as my step-dad would be not going with her.

I'll have to check out the trip report. The lady that came today said we won't need any money (I had mentioned that it would be a good time because of our tax refund as well as the weather.) that they will give us spending moeny to cover everything. We plan on using it as wisely as possible. I would just really love to take Sloan to Chef Mickey's or something.

I'm sure I will do a trip report as soon as we figure things out a bit more. Maybe in a month or so when we get more details on everything.

Does GKTW have the same schedule every week or does it change up? I would like to sort of half way plan our trip (as relaxed as possible of course) and want to maybe sure we're able to do the activities they offer there.

 

[thatkid]

you should ask your wish granter about the character dinner, mine booked ours for us, so we don't have to worry about taking the money out of the "extra" money, because its already done.

 

[livinlife25]

OH Maroo! Thank you so much, you almost made me cry!!! the email for it is pictures@decoratefordax.com

I also found this youtube video on facebook and there is a facebook group, just search Decorate for Dax..

The video is very touching, but about 8 minutes long, but make sure you watch about half way through. 200 people showed up on his lawn to pray after decorating the neighborhood and him and he family came out and were very touched. Breaks my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM8wxsSdJlM

 

[livinlife25]

 

[MomTo4+more]

I just typed out a lengthy message twice and got knocked offline before I hit send! Ugh!

The summary is, Deyki is hospitalized with pneumonia. He is getting better though and hopefully will go home sometime tomorrow. We need his blood cultures to be negative one more day in order to be discharged.

Gotta run, phone ringing!