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

[nesser1981]

Sounds like a great trip, That totally sucks about the feeding pump!! I agree, the Pirate League & BBB are so worth money. We did 4 character meals on our trip and if we ever go back we'll just do one. The food is expensive and its not that great, at least the breakfast buffets. Our favorite meals of the week were when we ate at Margarittaville @ the City Walk and Cracker Barrel! LOL! I'm sure the sit down restaurants @ Disney were great, but we only hit character meals & quick service on our trip in the parks.

Hey everyone. I'm back. The trip was 90% successful. The limo rides were awesome. The air flight wasn't too bad. Being at Universal Studios was great. They treated Matthew like a King there. They took us to the front of the line for rides and meet character with ease. I say are best times were at Universal Studios even with the exception that Matthew and Emmy couldn't get to on a few rides because of their height. Now Disney was a whole nother story. The first day at Magic Kingdom was good. We didn't have to wait to long to see characters which was awesome. Getting on rides they just put us in fast track lane. Not like Universal Studios were the actually took us to the front of the line. Matthew became a Pirate at the Pirate League he looked so good and Emmy got dressed up at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and she looked so precious. At first i was hesitant to do those because its costly but its worth it. The only negativity on doing those is its time consuming. We ate at 1900 Park Fare. Not worth it. The food was expensive and not much of a selection. The only thing that is worth seeing is Cinderellas family. Then we left early. Matt, my husband had formed a blister on his foot and was in a lot of pain. We went and got some ice cream. Then the next day we went to Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Epcot was so boring for the kids the only thing they liked was the Seas area and Figment. We walked all around the countries. That was a waist of time. We wished we had left and spent more at the Magic Kingdom. The only reason we came back the Magic Kingdom was to see the night time spectacular. Oh boy, the only thing that was great was the rides and the projection show on the castle. The workers were so ignorant to us when trying to find a spot for the electric parade and the fireworks. They kept pushing us and denying us every location we were parking are stroller at. We only got a good spot for the projection show. We even saw are picture on the castle. We had to move for the fireworks because the trees were in are way. I got so upset with the workers ignorants, I ended up chewing them out and left. I went to the guest services and all we got was them trying to calm me down that was it. So word of advice. If you want a good seat for the night time show. Get a seat at least an hour or more before the shows begin. On our fourth day we went to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Animal Kingdom was fun. The Safari was nice and the rides were great. The Nemo show was the best. We didn't get to explore Dino land or Lion King show. We had a late start that day. So we didn't see much. The Rainforrest Cafe was really good and fun to experiance. Then off to Hollywood Studios. Another advice Hollywood Studios should be an all day trip. The park consist of more shows then rides. We ended up missing a lot because the time we got to the park the last shows were just starting. Matthew did ended up seeing Buzz and Woody. They were so nice. They were heading for break when the CM's called them back so Matthew could meet them. We at 50's Prime time cafe and they were great and stayed in character. We highly suggest this restaurant. The waitress was so nice she even gave us proferred seating for Fantasmic show. We got awesome seating for the show. This was the best show that Disney had to offer. I ended up recording the whole show. The fifth day was awesome. We headed back to Universal Studios. We finished the right side of Universal studios where Matthew and Emmy got to splash around Curios George and Fievel Land. The Simpson ride was fun. The Men and Black wasn't that great. Then we headed over to Adventure Island. We had a blast all over that park. The kids favorite ride was the Hippogriff ride in Harry Potter World. The only bad part of the day is when we got back to are villa and i started packing everything i notice Matthews feeding pump was missing. Matthew feeding pump was stolen. I couldn't do anything. The parks were closed and when we called yesterday they had not found it. So i am borrowing my nieces extra pump until are supply company ships us a new one. The ride home yesterday was very sad. At first we were happy to go home because we were tired but when we got in the limo we started to cry. We even started crying last night when we went through all the photos. I have them posted with in a week or two .

 

[threelittlebakers]

Im going to do a TR once i order the disney disc. I have to custumize the photos first and then order them. I can not wait to show you all Matthew's and Emerald's PL and BBB pics. We have a total of a thousand photos. We are all depressed that we are home. Matthew and Emerald are playing pirate and princess right now. We are planning on going back next year. This time we will know how to do things right.

 

[threelittlebakers]

As a relative "oldtimer" to some of you (my daughter went on her MAW trip two years ago), I was checking in and saw the discussion about trip "disappointment" with some interest. I think it's really important to have realistic expectations about these trips, even though they are MAW trips.

Not everything was "magical" about our trip, and so much of it was unpredictable and beyond our control. First, my daughter was in great pain for much of the trip, requiring morphine often to get her through a morning at the parks. Don't overestimate your child's stamina, or the extraordinary amount of over-stimulation these children are subjected to. After all, our children are getting these wishes because they are, often, seriously ill (I know some go after treatment ends, but for many, they are still in the throes of treatment for their conditions). Don't overplan if you have a child who fits this description. Make use of wish lounges and know when to "call it a day" and return to GWTW, even if there was more you wished you had accomplished in the parks.

Other things beyond our control on our trip? The second day we received a call that my dear FIL's cancer was back and he was terminal. Talk about bringing the whole tenor of the trip down. We even spoke briefly about leaving then and there, but decided to stay (with his blessing). And the weather -- we had quite a bit of serious rain in the beginning. The Candyland game at GKTW that we had so looked forward to was cancelled, etc. These things are all entirely unpredictable, beyond anyone's control, and happen. Life happens, even on MAW trips.

Our chapter arranged for a lunch at CRT, but beyond that, all the planning, etc, was done by me. Which was fine with me, because I love to plan Nothing "special" was done for my daughter in the parks above and beyond the GAC that allowed her to enter all fastpass lines. Oh, and very nice CMs that allowed her front access to characters. But I didn't expect anything more to be done.

What made our trip so special, and such a wonderful family time, regardless of all of the difficulties we sometimes encountered, was GKTW, plain and simple. We were treated so kindly and warmly there, and it is truly such a special place. Yes, it was great to get instant fastpass access to attractions, etc, but GKTW is what made it a "wish trip" for us. My best piece of advice? Do not shortchange your time at GKTW. That's the one place where you are assured that you will be treated like royalty, and where your wish kiddo will really, really be made to feel special. The rest is just icing on the cake. Yummy icing, often, but icing nonetheless.

GKTW is simply magical.

The one thing was truly great full about the trip to GKTW was the family time. With me working and kids in school and then my husband with be starting college in the fall we definitly needed some family time. It was great. And now we have wonderful photos to remind us of the great times. I really can't wait for next years trip.

 

[Moodyzblu]

Im going to do a TR once i order the disney disc. I have to custumize the photos first and then order them. I can not wait to show you all Matthew's and Emerald's PL and BBB pics. We have a total of a thousand photos. We are all depressed that we are home. Matthew and Emerald are playing pirate and princess right now. We are planning on going back next year. This time we will know how to do things right.

That's the spirit !! nothing like planning another trip to help get rid of PDD (post Disney depression).
Glad you had a mostly ok trip. I imagine it's very overwhelming the first time. We were lucky to have a few trips under our belts.
My boys really loved Univeral and we will plan that park onto our next trip.

Looking forward to seeing your pics !!

 

[Amerch]

Ok so its been over a month since all of the paper work has been done . How long dose it take for the chapter to approve your date ?

 

[sarsop524]

I think every chapter is different. We turned all of our paper work in Feb, and are still waiting for a date. We did get a letter last week saying that they were missing one piece of paper work, and as soon as they got that they would get the ball rolling!! All they were missing was a picture of Sarah I can handle that!

 

[nesser1981]

Yeah, it varies from Chapter to Chapter. It took us like 2 months to get dates after we talked to the wish granters. The whole process took only 6 months for us from start to finish. But if you haven't heard anything in like 2 months, I'd call and ask for an update. I did because our first choice dates were in February, and I called December 29th and we had our dates like 47 days out from our trip.

Ok so its been over a month since all of the paper work has been done . How long dose it take for the chapter to approve your date ?

 

[Amerch]

We got the call from MAW today we will be going on Oct 1 - Oct 7th 2012 . We do not know where we will be staying yet . We do know that we will get to do Mickeys not so scarey party ....

 

[Hopem19]

Who has suggestions for me on how to handle the expense check? Asking my parents to come to me for money is kinda

 

[Moodyzblu]

Who has suggestions for me on how to handle the expense check? Asking my parents to come to me for money is kinda

Not sure how your chapter does it, but our check was broken up into 2 .. $100 for souvenir's for Jesse and Jayden .. the rest was for food for the whole family. If me or Jeremy wanted to buy something other than food we were expected to use our own money. I assume you'll eat most meals together and so will only have one food bill each meal and that would come out of your expense money.
I would try to figure out a budget for each day and try to figure out whats left over. But I know food is very expensive in the parks and we pretty much spent just about everything they gave us on food and we didn't have any full service meals !

 

[alyssaswish]

I have a question for everyone who have just gotten back from your trips. Is it a good idea to leave the parks and drive back to GKTW for naps in the afternoon and then try to head back to the park? We are going in November and most of the parks close at 8. I didn't know if it would be worth it to walk out to our car and drive to the villa, try to get the kids down, try to get them back up and ready, and head back to the park in time to do anything before it closes. On the days we have scheduled to go to MK and DHS, we aren't interested in the parties at GKTW and didn't know if we should just try to stay in the parks as long as possible before the meltdowns start. On our other days we hope to hit IOA and Seaworld early and leave by early afternoon for naps before the GKTW parties. My son will be 6 and I think he will be fine but my daughter will be 3 and can be moody. I'd appreciate any advice!

 

[sarsop524]

Our wish coordinator called today!!!! She actually told me the summer was pretty open and to choose our dates!! Unfortunately, the heat can tend to make Sarah's seizures worse, so we are waiting until fall. I am a teacher and I am trying to minimize my days off of work, so if they can find reasonable airfare...we will be traveling November 18-24. Has anyone else been at GKTW over Thanksgiving or Christmas? Is it still pretty busy then?? If they can not find reasonable airfare that week, we are shooting for the week before or week after Thanksgiving. Is it generally warm enough to swim around that time??

 

[Moodyzblu]

Our wish coordinator called today!!!! She actually told me the summer was pretty open and to choose our dates!! Unfortunately, the heat can tend to make Sarah's seizures worse, so we are waiting until fall. I am a teacher and I am trying to minimize my days off of work, so if they can find reasonable airfare...we will be traveling November 18-24. Has anyone else been at GKTW over Thanksgiving or Christmas? Is it still pretty busy then?? If they can not find reasonable airfare that week, we are shooting for the week before or week after Thanksgiving. Is it generally warm enough to swim around that time??

We've gone to Disney the week after Thanksgiving and there were NO crowds and the weather was perfect ! We were able to swim in the afternoon .. evenings and mornings were chilly. We had to wear gloves on some nights. But the daytime was awesome.

 

[newdrama12]

I have a question for everyone who have just gotten back from your trips. Is it a good idea to leave the parks and drive back to GKTW for naps in the afternoon and then try to head back to the park? We are going in November and most of the parks close at 8. I didn't know if it would be worth it to walk out to our car and drive to the villa, try to get the kids down, try to get them back up and ready, and head back to the park in time to do anything before it closes. On the days we have scheduled to go to MK and DHS, we aren't interested in the parties at GKTW and didn't know if we should just try to stay in the parks as long as possible before the meltdowns start. On our other days we hope to hit IOA and Seaworld early and leave by early afternoon for naps before the GKTW parties. My son will be 6 and I think he will be fine but my daughter will be 3 and can be moody. I'd appreciate any advice!

There are wish lounges in MK and Epcot that you will have access to. Not sure what all is in them, since I have never been in one, but it is a good place to get away from the crowds and take a break. Maybe that would be a place for your daughter to nap. Hopefully, one of the Wish families will be able to be a better help then me on this one.

 

[alyssaswish]

There are wish lounges in MK and Epcot that you will have access to. Not sure what all is in them, since I have never been in one, but it is a good place to get away from the crowds and take a break. Maybe that would be a place for your daughter to nap. Hopefully, one of the Wish families will be able to be a better help then me on this one.

Thanks! I had forgotten about the wish lounges. Looking forward to meeting you in November!

 

[Amerch]

Is any one else on here going the first week in oct? We are trying to make all are plans on what to do and must sees any good suggestions ?

 

[LakelannsWish]

Happy to have found you all and to have figured out how to register and subscribe to this forum!

I have had a lot of the same questions circling in my head about logistics from GTKW to the parks and fitting it all in. I haven't read the most recent posts in this thread, so forgive me if this is repetitive: How do you suggest splitting up the days in each park given the parks vs # days allotted by MAW/GTKW??

My daughter is the wish child, at 6 years old. Her brother is 10. This is our first trip to Disney. Our dates of travel are next month, June 6th - June 12th.

 

[newdrama12]

Thanks! I had forgotten about the wish lounges. Looking forward to meeting you in November!

I will be there. Do you have dates yet?

 

[JimShockz]

We've gone to Disney the week after Thanksgiving and there were NO crowds and the weather was perfect ! We were able to swim in the afternoon .. evenings and mornings were chilly. We had to wear gloves on some nights. But the daytime was awesome.

Based upon our trips you cant rely on past experience to judge the amount of people that will be at the park,it always varies.

-JH

 

[Teamtori]

Hi everyone, my name is Michelle and I am new. I just posted my "Team Tori" PTR in that forum, I think I did it right.

My daughter Tori is 6 and she is my wish kid. She wants to be a REAL princess at Disney World. We are waiting for confirmation, but I think we are going July 21 to 27th.

Tori has a genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis. She is adopted from foster care and her biological mother has the disorder and passed it on to Tori. Her biological brother Jon was also adopted by us but he does not have it.

I began fostering Tori at 21 months and she was adopted four years later. She is the most amazing little girl! She is always smiling and making friends with everyone.

During an MRI in February, they found three brain tumors. They removed one in an 8 hour surgery in February and now she is undergoing fifteen months of chemotherapy. She has a website which I can't post but if you google Tori Gaga, you'll find it.

I'm looking forward to learning more and more!!!