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

[Owensheart]

Hey guys.. Christmas is over and it's time for a new year!! I have my Trip Report typed up, pictures uploaded and I will get it all copied/pasted tomorrow!! Days 9-11 are on their way! I am sad our trip is over, but am already planning DISNEY 2012!!

We have a trip to Stanford for Owen's cardiac cath in Feb and then I'll start working on Disneyland for December. They are opening the news Cars Land at Cali Adventure and my kids are so excited to check that out. Goofy's sky school is open as well we Little Mermaid ride. All new stuff for my kids at DL.

I hope you all are having a great start to 2012!!

Welcome back Lindsay and Deanna!! I hope your trips were magical and can't wait to read about them. WELCOME to all you newcomers. I hope you find some help in planning your trips.. you are about to have an amazing trip!!

 

[Restrasz]

I would love to become involved with the Big give. Any information on how to become involved would be appreciated. MAW has always been an interest of mine .

 

[wbh1964]

Glad to see you !! Although sad that it's all over.

I heard it was VERY crowded last week !! The parks were at capacity .. I hope it didn't affect you guys .. I was thinking about you guys being there and fighting the crowds.

I can't wait to hear all about your trip and I hope you took lot's of pics !!

The parks were EXTREMELY crowded but we still managed to have a very magical trip...once in a lifetime! Unfortunately we are all sick (except my hubby...thank goodness since he HAD to get back to work) Please keep our son Dalton in everyone's prayers...he has to take his grad school GMAT test tomorrow and he is in bed sick right now. We all have the stomach bug and sinus "mess". Please pray that he will feel up to this very important test tomorrow! Linds is feeling worse than usual just because body aches on top of her usual pain is not good. Anyway, hopefully we will be back to a healthy family soon and I will be able to do our trip report! Thanks for thinking of us and sending love out way!
Wendy

 

[Moodyzblu]

The parks were EXTREMELY crowded but we still managed to have a very magical trip...once in a lifetime! Unfortunately we are all sick (except my hubby...thank goodness since he HAD to get back to work) Please keep our son Dalton in everyone's prayers...he has to take his grad school GMAT test tomorrow and he is in bed sick right now. We all have the stomach bug and sinus "mess". Please pray that he will feel up to this very important test tomorrow! Linds is feeling worse than usual just because body aches on top of her usual pain is not good. Anyway, hopefully we will be back to a healthy family soon and I will be able to do our trip report! Thanks for thinking of us and sending love out way!
Wendy

Oh no .. sorry to hear your family is sick ! I hope Dalton is up to taking the test .. poor kid. I'll be thinking about him and sending him pixie dust and prayers.
Hopefully Linds feels better soon too !

Meanwhile we'll be here when your ready .... to hear all about your once in lifetime trip !!

 

[xanphylus]

I would love to become involved with the Big give. Any information on how to become involved would be appreciated. MAW has always been an interest of mine .

I think you can click on any of our little buttons down below our messages, if not head over to disbiggive.proboards.com

Everyone would be glad to have you!
Just checked- can't click, but I put the website on here- hope that is ok to do. If not, my post can be deleted.

 

[luvmy3dds]

Am i in the right place???? I did a ptr Emilys wish trip -- do i continue with ?'s and posts there or here???? We do not have a date yet but our 1st choice is march and it is just around the corner

 

[Moodyzblu]

Am i in the right place???? I did a ptr Emilys wish trip -- do i continue with ?'s and posts there or here???? We do not have a date yet but our 1st choice is march and it is just around the corner

I would post most question here because this thread gets more action.

You should try to put a link to your PTR in your siggie so it's easier to find.

 

[lorasmom]

Am i in the right place???? I did a ptr Emilys wish trip -- do i continue with ?'s and posts there or here???? We do not have a date yet but our 1st choice is march and it is just around the corner

Welcome!

I'd post here, like the previous poster said - more traffic

Hey guys.. Christmas is over and it's time for a new year!! I have my Trip Report typed up, pictures uploaded and I will get it all copied/pasted tomorrow!! Days 9-11 are on their way! I am sad our trip is over, but am already planning DISNEY 2012!!

We have a trip to Stanford for Owen's cardiac cath in Feb and then I'll start working on Disneyland for December. They are opening the news Cars Land at Cali Adventure and my kids are so excited to check that out. Goofy's sky school is open as well we Little Mermaid ride. All new stuff for my kids at DL.

I hope you all are having a great start to 2012!!

Welcome back Lindsay and Deanna!! I hope your trips were magical and can't wait to read about them. WELCOME to all you newcomers. I hope you find some help in planning your trips.. you are about to have an amazing trip!!

Can't wait to read it!

 

[luvmy3dds]

of course i read this after i posted there!!! i will figure out the link tomorrow.
I asked before and will try again, has anyone had any experience with food allergies while at disney and gktw???? i have been looking at pictures and was getting anxious, my daughter is contact reactive to egg, dairy and nuts. I seen creme pies at the double dare night and food seems everywhere!!! I was thinking I will have to order food to the villa, is there a full kitchen? I could get groceries?? Do you get to have a character meal ?

 

[newdrama12]

of course i read this after i posted there!!! i will figure out the link tomorrow.
I asked before and will try again, has anyone had any experience with food allergies while at disney and gktw???? i have been looking at pictures and was getting anxious, my daughter is contact reactive to egg, dairy and nuts. I seen creme pies at the double dare night and food seems everywhere!!! I was thinking I will have to order food to the villa, is there a full kitchen? I could get groceries?? Do you get to have a character meal ?

You don't have to worry about the creme pies at double dare anymore, as that event is no longer done. It has be changed to Halloween instead. As for the food allergies, just let the food people at Disney and GKTW and they will work with you, so that she is safe. The Ice Cream Palace at GKTW has procedures in place to deal with dairy and nut allergies. In your villa, you will have a full kitchen. Most families get groceries at Wal-Mart which you will pass every time you go to or from a park.

 

[balloondoggle]

Hi all!

It's been more than a year since our Wish trip, but I still like to check in here from time to time. Wow, Volume 5!

I follow GKTW on FaceBook, re-read my trip report regularly and maintain contact with our local Make-A-Wish office, but nothing reminds me of the fun we had like reading all the plans and hopes and reports from this thread.

I don't really have anything constructive to add for those still planning since my info is out of date, but I can recommend one thing that won't change: TAKE NOTES!! You'll be tired; you'll be hungry; you may even be worried. But write it all down somewhere. Photos are nice, but your thoughts are better. Besides, you don't want to experience the whole trip through a viewfinder or LCD.

Have fun planning, and remember to take time to smell the roses while you are there!

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

Hi everyone! I'm new on this thread (but not to the Dis ) and although I'm not the mommy of this child, I'm his honorary aunt (his mommy is my best friend). His mommy isn't on the DisBoards yet (I know, it's such a shame, I'm working on it) so I told her I would post for her.

Our little guy's name is Holden and he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia at 6 months of age. It has been a tough battle but he is amazing and a true fighter. The treatment takes two years, we have one down and one more to go. It appears that he qualifies for a Make a Wish but he's still a bit young (he needs to be 2 1/2 to make it - he'll be 2 1/2 in July). We do have a few questions though as his mommy is thinking that Holdie will wish for something Disney....

1. Has anyone taken a child that young on their Make a Wish? I can't find any TR for a young 3 year old - maybe I'm not looking well.
2. How does the wishing process work? Would Holden be the one to "make the wish" even though he's so young?
3. We know we have to talk to the Social Worker who will then nominate Holdie and his doctors have to confirm it, then what?

Holdie loves Mickey and every time he sees the castle on TV he says "DISNEY!" - he also loves water and big boats. He has two siblings - T who is 6 and Sisi who is 14 who have both been to Disney before so I'm thinking that's where he gets it from

Anyway, I hope it's ok for me to post here. Even though "we" haven't been approved or anything, BFF is a HUGE planner and she wants to make sure she does everything right (she's a perfectionist) so any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Below are a few pictures of Holdie so you can get to know him - hopefully once BFF decides to join the Dis, she'll be the one doing a PTR and a TR (if not, I volunteer for the job )

Holdie shortly after being diagnosed - he was admitted to the hospital with a fever and a white blood count of over 348,000 (normal is 5-10,000)

And this is Holdie now - he receives chemo almost daily but thankfully most of it as at home. He goes to clinic every other week for the "rougher" stuff -- he currently has a little bit of hair!

Thanks again everyone

 

[wbh1964]

Hi everyone! I'm new on this thread (but not to the Dis ) and although I'm not the mommy of this child, I'm his honorary aunt (his mommy is my best friend). His mommy isn't on the DisBoards yet (I know, it's such a shame, I'm working on it) so I told her I would post for her.

Our little guy's name is Holden and he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia at 6 months of age. It has been a tough battle but he is amazing and a true fighter. The treatment takes two years, we have one down and one more to go. It appears that he qualifies for a Make a Wish but he's still a bit young (he needs to be 2 1/2 to make it - he'll be 2 1/2 in July). We do have a few questions though as his mommy is thinking that Holdie will wish for something Disney....

1. Has anyone taken a child that young on their Make a Wish? I can't find any TR for a young 3 year old - maybe I'm not looking well.
2. How does the wishing process work? Would Holden be the one to "make the wish" even though he's so young?
3. We know we have to talk to the Social Worker who will then nominate Holdie and his doctors have to confirm it, then what?

Holdie loves Mickey and every time he sees the castle on TV he says "DISNEY!" - he also loves water and big boats. He has two siblings - T who is 6 and Sisi who is 14 who have both been to Disney before so I'm thinking that's where he gets it from

Anyway, I hope it's ok for me to post here. Even though "we" haven't been approved or anything, BFF is a HUGE planner and she wants to make sure she does everything right (she's a perfectionist) so any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Below are a few pictures of Holdie so you can get to know him - hopefully once BFF decides to join the Dis, she'll be the one doing a PTR and a TR (if not, I volunteer for the job )

Holdie shortly after being diagnosed - he was admitted to the hospital with a fever and a white blood count of over 348,000 (normal is 5-10,000)


And this is Holdie now - he receives chemo almost daily but thankfully most of it as at home. He goes to clinic every other week for the "rougher" stuff -- he currently has a little bit of hair!


Thanks again everyone

Holden is adorable!!! We just returned on my dd (16yrs old) MAW trip to Disney. We had a wonderful time but I can share with you that the first time we ever took her to Disney she was 2 years old and it was MAGICAL to see Disney thru her eyes!!!! Downside is that she does not remember it so luckily we have LOTS of pictures!!! I wish you all the best of everything!!!

 

[Corrine 1973]

Hi everyone! I'm new on this thread (but not to the Dis ) and although I'm not the mommy of this child, I'm his honorary aunt (his mommy is my best friend). His mommy isn't on the DisBoards yet (I know, it's such a shame, I'm working on it) so I told her I would post for her.

Our little guy's name is Holden and he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia at 6 months of age. It has been a tough battle but he is amazing and a true fighter. The treatment takes two years, we have one down and one more to go. It appears that he qualifies for a Make a Wish but he's still a bit young (he needs to be 2 1/2 to make it - he'll be 2 1/2 in July). We do have a few questions though as his mommy is thinking that Holdie will wish for something Disney....

1. Has anyone taken a child that young on their Make a Wish? I can't find any TR for a young 3 year old - maybe I'm not looking well.
2. How does the wishing process work? Would Holden be the one to "make the wish" even though he's so young?
3. We know we have to talk to the Social Worker who will then nominate Holdie and his doctors have to confirm it, then what?

Holdie loves Mickey and every time he sees the castle on TV he says "DISNEY!" - he also loves water and big boats. He has two siblings - T who is 6 and Sisi who is 14 who have both been to Disney before so I'm thinking that's where he gets it from

Anyway, I hope it's ok for me to post here. Even though "we" haven't been approved or anything, BFF is a HUGE planner and she wants to make sure she does everything right (she's a perfectionist) so any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Below are a few pictures of Holdie so you can get to know him - hopefully once BFF decides to join the Dis, she'll be the one doing a PTR and a TR (if not, I volunteer for the job )

Holdie shortly after being diagnosed - he was admitted to the hospital with a fever and a white blood count of over 348,000 (normal is 5-10,000)

And this is Holdie now - he receives chemo almost daily but thankfully most of it as at home. He goes to clinic every other week for the "rougher" stuff -- he currently has a little bit of hair!

Thanks again everyone

Your nephew is super adorable. I hope your friend decides to join us. We wont bite I promise.

Though he wasn't the wish child, my youngest son was only 2 years and 4 months when we went on our wish trip and had a great time. The only problem is now two years later he doesn't remember much about our trip, though there are tons of pictures to remind him. I think it is really up to the child and the parents when they think it is the best time to take the trip, but kids of all ages enjoy the parks and GKTW.

It veries on how long a it takes for a child to get approves so just be patient (they have to get it approved my doctors first). When it is approved they will send you a packet that tells you a little bit about the process. We got a few coloring pages with our packet that had: Where would you like to go? Who would you like to meet? What would you like to do? The volunteers are very good about talking to the child to understand what he wants to do. That first visit will have a lot of paperwork, but MaW is good about keeping everything painless.

 

[Moodyzblu]

Hi everyone! I'm new on this thread (but not to the Dis ) and although I'm not the mommy of this child, I'm his honorary aunt (his mommy is my best friend). His mommy isn't on the DisBoards yet (I know, it's such a shame, I'm working on it) so I told her I would post for her.

Our little guy's name is Holden and he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia at 6 months of age. It has been a tough battle but he is amazing and a true fighter. The treatment takes two years, we have one down and one more to go. It appears that he qualifies for a Make a Wish but he's still a bit young (he needs to be 2 1/2 to make it - he'll be 2 1/2 in July). We do have a few questions though as his mommy is thinking that Holdie will wish for something Disney....

1. Has anyone taken a child that young on their Make a Wish? I can't find any TR for a young 3 year old - maybe I'm not looking well.
2. How does the wishing process work? Would Holden be the one to "make the wish" even though he's so young?
3. We know we have to talk to the Social Worker who will then nominate Holdie and his doctors have to confirm it, then what?

Holdie loves Mickey and every time he sees the castle on TV he says "DISNEY!" - he also loves water and big boats. He has two siblings - T who is 6 and Sisi who is 14 who have both been to Disney before so I'm thinking that's where he gets it from

Anyway, I hope it's ok for me to post here. Even though "we" haven't been approved or anything, BFF is a HUGE planner and she wants to make sure she does everything right (she's a perfectionist) so any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Below are a few pictures of Holdie so you can get to know him - hopefully once BFF decides to join the Dis, she'll be the one doing a PTR and a TR (if not, I volunteer for the job )

Holdie shortly after being diagnosed - he was admitted to the hospital with a fever and a white blood count of over 348,000 (normal is 5-10,000)

And this is Holdie now - he receives chemo almost daily but thankfully most of it as at home. He goes to clinic every other week for the "rougher" stuff -- he currently has a little bit of hair!

Thanks again everyone

My "wish" kid went to Disney for the first time before he was even a year old .. and obviously he doesn't remember it ... but I sure do and I know he loved it. He has a love for Disney that has grown each year and so although his "actual" wish is to go to Harry Potter World ... he knew Disney would be a part of the trip so thats what he asked for.
Usually the MAW people will get to know the child a bit .. I think with younger kids they get info from the parents as to what they think their child would like. I was fortunate enough to be able to wait until Jayden was older .. but not all illness's allow that luxury.
Holden will LOVE Disney and GKTW !
Also .. you don't have to have a social worker nominate him .. anyone can do it. I nominated Jayden myself .. and then his Dr approved it.

Good luck and let us know how it goes !!

 

[Owensheart]

YEAH!! I finally finished my trip report!! You can read about our amazing 10 days at Disney in December by clicking the link ''TRIP REPORT" below.

Now I have time to catch up on some of your PTRs!! I know that this thread had it's moments where there is no action, but let's keep it going.

It was such a saving grace for me to find when I was planning Owen's Make A Wish trip!!

 

[melissa924]

We are going on Joelle's wish trip Febuary 5-11!!!! Still new at this and trying to figure things out. I have seen a lot of people talking about the snow cones at gktw on Christmas. Is that the only time they have them. My daughter can not eat ice cream but can have a plain snow cone. I am hoping she can get one more than just one night.

Here is a link to her ptr if anyone is interested

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2856369

 

[wbh1964]

We are going on Joelle's wish trip Febuary 5-11!!!! Still new at this and trying to figure things out. I have seen a lot of people talking about the snow cones at gktw on Christmas. Is that the only time they have them. My daughter can not eat ice cream but can have a plain snow cone. I am hoping she can get one more than just one night.

Here is a link to her ptr if anyone is interested

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2856369

If she likes snow cones you much go to Epcot in the Japan area. There is a small stand there that sells the BEST snowcones very reasonable!!! We love the melon flavor and the cherry flavor. You will have to try one and let me know what you think. We look forward to that each time we are at Disney!

 

[Restrasz]

Message to xanphylus. Thanks for the info on The Big Give, quite a process to gain access to site but I'm very interested in what I'll find out. I can't wait to be part of that special group. Thank you so much!

 

[alamode237]

My 11 year-old son Jack was just approved for a MAW trip! We are so excited! The MAW reps are coming over soon to help Jack figure out his wish but we already know what it is. Jack absolutely adores the "Dream Along with Mickey" show that is presented several times a day in front of Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom. His wish is to appear in the show! Hopefully, MAW can make this happen for him, but even meeting the characters and performers in the show would be magical for him!

I'm so happy to have found this forum! I look forward to getting to know you and sharing our story with all of you! I'm already enjoying the trip reports & can't wait to add our own PTR soon!

Tess (loving mom of Jack)