Make a Wish (and other organizations) ~ Wish Trippers UNITE! Volume FIVE!!

[NEmel]

The kids loved Legoland. We headed back to GKTW and got ready for the Christmas party. We ate a big dinner, then went to see santa. The kids were pumped with their presents. We stayed for the parade then headed back to the villa for bed.
Friday- 12/7 Last day. We had planned to do Gatorland after checking out but we did a low key day at the village then headed to the airport.

We got SO MUCH stuff at the village that we filled the extra large duffel we brought and had to go buy another bag! Sea World over loaded us with souvies. Then the surprises at the village. At the airport the kids reminded us that they never bought a souvie. So we went to the Sea World store there and they picked something out.
We got stranded in Salt Lake City friday night after circling our destination airport a few times before closing the airport. Stranded without luggage with 6 kids! Fun Fun.
Well, as soon as I get all my things together I will post my trip report with pictures.

Sounds like you had an awesome trip!! You got in a lot of great memories. Looking forward to your full trip report and pictures!

 

[Nevada Jen]

Blessed, that sounds absolutely amazing! We leave in 26 days and I hear they are trying to arrange a private audience with Mickey Mouse for my DD. I really hope they can do it. I know it will be her dream come true!

Kali, it sounds like you had an awesome trip! I can't wait to take DD to Sea World. We always skip it because the cost is just not worth it for us with DD's vision limitations. I am really hopeful that the Wish button will get her some close up access.

 

[angel's momma]

Sarah - Glad you had such a wonderful trip, can't wait to read the full report. Sorry you got stranded at the airport.

We leave in 26 days and I hear they are trying to arrange a private audience with Mickey Mouse for my DD. I really hope they can do it. I know it will be her dream come true!

I can't wait to take DD to Sea World. We always skip it because the cost is just not worth it for us with DD's vision limitations. I am really hopeful that the Wish button will get her some close up access.

I hope DD's dream comes true, and also that she'll get the close up access at Sea World.

 

[kalimom6]

Love LOVE your mini trip report - thanks!!! We're leaving on Thursday, it's getting close for us. Sounds like GKTW is fabulous, as everyone says! We're going to SeaWorld too (along with Disney and Univeral), it sounds wonderful!!

...however, so sorry about the airport business with all the kids....I hope we don't have that happen....I'm scared!!

Just make sure you pack some extra clothes in your carry on. I wish i had put an extra shirt and undies for everyone but i wanted to travel light. And we were glad it happened on the way home instead of the way there.

 

[lakinbum93]

Got back 4 days ago and STILL trying to get unpacked! Let me just say for those of you about to go on your trip, be prepared to be blessed beyond your wildest imagination! GKTW is an absolutely amazing place...like no other. I was in tears so many times over the week that we were there out of pure joy and happiness!
Quick run-down of our schedule:
11/26 Travel
Greeted by a GKTW volunteer...so awesome, got our rental car and headed to village. Get used to hearing "welcome home!" When we checked in at 10:30 that night we were starving and they had a sack full of food from Boston Market for us. Yum!
11-27 Breakfast @ GKTW, Nick pics, orientation then off to Animal Kingdom.
Highlight was Lion King...I was in tears during "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" We played that song at our wedding 15 years ago!
Tip: They have alot of really cool stuff in the shops from different countries. If you want to buy it, buy it when you see it because you will never see it again! Use the package pick-up so you don't have to carry it around the parks.
Then off to Hollywood Studios. Didn't get to do everything we wanted, but the main reaso we were there was for Star Tours and the Padawan Training. Kaston was chosen and was the last to fight Darth Vader before it started raining and they stopped the show. He was also chosen as a volunteer for the Animal Actors show.
Highlight was the Star Tours Ride and of course the Padawan Training.
Tip: if you have a Star Wars fan, sign up for the Padawan Training as soon as you get there. The spots fill up quick, although being GKTW they will make it work.
11/28 Breakfast at GKTW then Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. It was ALOT to do in one day and didn't get near done what we wanted. Spent WAY too much time in Harry Potter world and we aren't even HP fans. It was really cold that day. Highlight was the roller coaster that had music in the head rests!
Had dinner at GKTW and caught the end of the birthday party...SO FUN!
Tip: do NOT wear flip flops if you have bad ankles (my feet didn't hurt at all and I live in Reefs year round, but my old gymnast ankles were very unforgiving! I was in braces the rest of trip, rubbing in icy hot and ice baths and downing ibueprofen the rest of the trip!)
11/29 slept in and had a great lunch at Katies Kitchen. Hung out at the village, swam, putt-putt, pool, video games. Then went on an air boat tour and saw wild gators and bald eagle and held my first gator! Did the star and pillow, got nails done and tatoos, dinner at GKTW and then the Christmas party. SO FUN!
Highlight-seeing so much happiness and joy and dancing at the party!
Tip: Give yourself a day at the village to rest if you can.
11/30 Breakfast at GKTW then off to Epcot. We had booked an air tour with Mauiva a couple of days before and they got us in a day after we had planned but it was do worth it! Kaston and I went up first and he actually got to pilot the plane! We flew over all the parks...it was awesome! Then our daughter and the Husband's favorite park by far! It is more adult centered and he had fun tasting beer from each country!

Done at the dentist, so I will finish up later!

 

[angel's momma]

lakinbum93 - So glad that you had such a wonderful trip. Sorry about your ankles Hope you get unpacked soon.

 

[onceagain1]

Lakin, thanks for the mini update. Love reading these!! We have almost 2 days for universal but will make sure not to over do it, so as to ensure enough time for GKTW. We leave in 2 days. Currently at chatterbox's Christmas concert, waiting for it to start. I had to make sure we didn't miss her concert when booking dates for the wish. As of tonight, it will be all thoughts on wishes!!!!!

 

[blessedmom4]

Judy, that was absolutely amazing!

Blessed, that sounds absolutely amazing! We leave in 26 days and I hear they are trying to arrange a private audience with Mickey Mouse for my DD. I really hope they can do it. I know it will be her dream come true!

Thank you Jen and Christi! Christi, you are always so sweet to include everyone. Jen I am CERTAIN your DD will get her private meet with MM! No matter what special treats come your way, each and every wish trip is special...it truly is. When things don't go as planned, just take a deep breath and remind yourself how awesome it is to be away from all of the medical stuff. It truly WILL sustain you through many difficult days ahead. For those leaving soon...you are in for the trip of a lifetime.

 

[mspols]

Hello everyone

I so love reading everyone's reports... They all sound so magical. I can not believe we leave Jan 3.... And I do not have a set plan!! Any favorites for meals in the parks? I think my boys would love to go to gatorland if we get the chance. It seems there is so much to do that there won't be enough time or energy ....

Mandy

 

[kalimom6]

Hello everyone

I so love reading everyone's reports... They all sound so magical. I can not believe we leave Jan 3.... And I do not have a set plan!! Any favorites for meals in the parks? I think my boys would love to go to gatorland if we get the chance. It seems there is so much to do that there won't be enough time or energy ....

Mandy

We, on purpose, did not schedule a lot of stuff. I knew it would be too much with all 6 kids, especially our wish child. Her wish was Sea World and after that day, all she wanted was to go home. So that meant we had to change a few things. We had hoped to do Gatorland on the day we left. We didnt have to be at the airport until 4pm. But we were so exhausted and not ready to leave the village, that we just stayed there. The only thing on schedule we kept was Legoland as they were closed some of the other days.

 

[NEmel]

Our local carousel cares for MAW today raised $14,000! The radiothon in our nearby city last week raised $45,800!! They were able to grant 6 wishes last week. So excited that people are so generous!

 

[angel's momma]

Hello everyone

I so love reading everyone's reports... They all sound so magical. I can not believe we leave Jan 3.... And I do not have a set plan!! Any favorites for meals in the parks? I think my boys would love to go to gatorland if we get the chance. It seems there is so much to do that there won't be enough time or energy ....

Mandy

So excited your trip is so close - I'm sure your trip will be magical as well. A set plan isn't always necessary, it all depends on your family. We met a little girl at clinic that went to GKTW this summer, and she was just so happy swimming there that her family ended up spending most of the days at GKTW.

 

[disneymom04]

Good Morning,

Sitting here planning our wish trip that we will hopefully be taking in early February. Staying at GKTW.
I have a quick question. If we check out of GKTW on Friday, could we still use one of our Disney tickets on Saturday. I realize we probably wouldn't get special GKTW attention.... but will the ticket still be valid?
JUst want to soak up as much of GKTW as possible and then stay an extra day to do MK.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[kalimom6]

Good Morning,

Sitting here planning our wish trip that we will hopefully be taking in early February. Staying at GKTW.
I have a quick question. If we check out of GKTW on Friday, could we still use one of our Disney tickets on Saturday. I realize we probably wouldn't get special GKTW attention.... but will the ticket still be valid?
JUst want to soak up as much of GKTW as possible and then stay an extra day to do MK.

Thanks in advance!!!

Our disney tickets from GKTW have an ex date of 2014!! Im not sure if they allow that or anything. Our universal tickets expire this coming friday, 12/14/12, a week after we checked out of GKTW.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have a quick question. If we check out of GKTW on Friday, could we still use one of our Disney tickets on Saturday. I realize we probably wouldn't get special GKTW attention.... but will the ticket still be valid?

Yes.

Disney tickets are valid for the number of days on the ticket for up to 14 days from date of first use.

So if your first use is a Sunday, the last possible day o use is the second Saturday following, or when you have used all your entries, or the "not valid after" date (if any) printed on the ticket, whichever comes first.

 

[kalimom6]

Yes.

Disney tickets are valid for the number of days on the ticket for up to 14 days from date of first use.

So if your first use is a Sunday, the last possible day o use is the second Saturday following, or when you have used all your entries, or the "not valid after" date (if any) printed on the ticket, whichever comes first.

I have a question...the exp dates say 2014 on the back. So if you do not use them at all during your trip, can you save them? This doesnt pertain to us, but at GKTW I was visiting with another parent as our children played together at the train station. She said they were going to use their 2 days of Universal, 1 day at Sea World, 1 day at Legoland, then a day at the village. She said she was going to save the Disney World tickets for a later date beings as they dont expire for 2 years. Is that possible? We have no plans to go back in the next 2 years so it doesnt pertain to us (we have other big trips planned).

 

[Nurserynurse]

Hi! I'm Holly. I'm new to both this thread and the DISboards, so bear with me. I'm mom to Austin (5) & Evan (3), and wife to Dan. Austin was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on 1/20/10 and is scheduled to finish treatment on 3/26/13. Woo hoo! He has been saying for some time now that he wants to "go to the castle and see the fireworks." Every time a Disney movie comes on and they show the castle in the beginning he says he wants to go there. When we were referred to Make-A-Wish and they found out what he wanted, we made the (hard) decision to wait until he went off-treatment to go. He has been pretty dependant on IVIg (antibodies) to stay healthy and not have constant fevers.

Well...

I spoke with our MAW coordinator yesterday, and we have decided on the date of 4/6/13 to leave for Florida!!! 4/8/13 is Evan's birthday, and we thought that would be a great way to make this special for him too! We are sooooo excited! I haven't been to Disney since 2000 (I was there twice in the same year and those were the only times I have ever been there. My parents had planned a trip for November, and my sister won a Disney Cruise from McDonalds, so we went on that in August and spent a few days in Disney afterwards.), and my husband hasn't been to Disney since around the same time.

Anyhow, I have been reading through some posts and got some great tips/ideas. Thank you all! Any advice you have will be appreciated. I do have a question...

Since his wish is seeing the fireworks at the castle, is there any way to make this more special? Is there something with the castle we could plan for or a special place to see the fireworks from? Because this is the main part of his wish, I would love to make it as special as possible, I'm just not sure of what to ask for or do!

Thanks in advance! I have enjoyed just dipping my toes in this thread, and hope to learn a lot before our trip!

Holly
www.caringbridge.org/visit/austindaniel

 

[angel's momma]

Hi disneymom04 - Have fun planning Do you have a pre-trip report?





Holly. Sorry Austin, and your family, has gone through so much. So glad he is almost done with treatment, and that he's getting his wish to go to the castle & see the fireworks, and for his birthday - yay!. Sorry I don't have the answers you need, but this thread is full of very helpful people.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have a question...the exp dates say 2014 on the back. So if you do not use them at all during your trip, can you save them? This doesnt pertain to us, but at GKTW I was visiting with another parent as our children played together at the train station. She said they were going to use their 2 days of Universal, 1 day at Sea World, 1 day at Legoland, then a day at the village. She said she was going to save the Disney World tickets for a later date beings as they dont expire for 2 years. Is that possible? We have no plans to go back in the next 2 years so it doesnt pertain to us (we have other big trips planned).

Yes. Normally Disney MYW tickets remain valid until they first go through a turnstile, and then are valid for up to 14 days. However, the tickets you get at GKTW are complimentary (free) tickets from Disney and must be used before their expiration date or until all entries are used up, whichever comes first.

 

[disneymom04]

Thanks everybody for the replies. Glad to hear this.

Angelsmama, no I do not have a pretrip report. I am so busy... I have my 3 year old wish child plus 3 older children and I barely have time to sit and ask questions.

But I will definitely be coming here more often as February approaches.

Thanks!!