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

[jmerchlinsky]

My boys were 7 at the time of our Wish trip and their favorite party at GKTW was Christmas. They got sort of bored at the others that we attended (except for when they played "wands" with their friend and big brother !)

We never left the parks early to go to the parties .. we just happened to come back at the right times to attend them .. but they are great for younger kids or kids with greater restrictions as far as tiring easily or just needing a break.

Thank you for that info we will be there in just 3 weeks

 

[jmerchlinsky]

Wow, this is really where reality starts in, we are getting our expense check and tickets and all that good stuff tonight. Our wish granter called and he will be coming tonight. I mean it is only 3 weeks away so we are anxious enough with that, but it will really set our nerves going with what is happening tonight.....But not matter what we are looking forward to John's wish and having a great and magical time at WDW

 

[aym4Him]

Wow, this is really where reality starts in, we are getting our expense check and tickets and all that good stuff tonight. Our wish granter called and he will be coming tonight. I mean it is only 3 weeks away so we are anxious enough with that, but it will really set our nerves going with what is happening tonight.....But not matter what we are looking forward to John's wish and having a great and magical time at WDW

Yay!! I can't wait to hear about your trip since our wish kiddo is 3, too!

I tried to click on the link in your siggy and it didn't work. Brought up a ... in the address bar. Just wanted to let you know!

IT'S GOING TO BE MAGICAL!!!!

 

[GavandGraciesMommy]

Wow, this is really where reality starts in, we are getting our expense check and tickets and all that good stuff tonight. Our wish granter called and he will be coming tonight. I mean it is only 3 weeks away so we are anxious enough with that, but it will really set our nerves going with what is happening tonight.....But not matter what we are looking forward to John's wish and having a great and magical time at WDW

So excited for you! Have a wonderful time

 

[GavandGraciesMommy]

Thanks for the advice on the parties. I think the only we will actually try to make it back for is the Christmas one because I am sure the kids will be upset if we miss Santa We will just see if we get back in time for the others. Thanks again

 

[aym4Him]

No reservations available for Chef Mickey's the week we will be at WDW.

We can still book something at Hollywood and Vine, but are there any other recommendations y'all might have for an almost 4 yr old boy? He may or may not dig the characters, but he's saying he wants to eat with Mickey and all his friends and Jake, Oso, Handy Manny, etc.

I wish I knew what characters would be visiting at GKTW. I mean, if we don't get a character meal, it's not the end of the world!!! He is going to have SOOOOOOOOOOO much fun!!! I've been snagging Disney shirts when they go on sale for him to wear while we're there!!

Do any of you know the actual prices of the character meals I mentioned? I keep seeing things like $$ or $$$ and then the only numeric answer I've seen is either $15.99-35.99 or $39-59.99. Just curious.

MVMCP. Do you think it will be crazy-crowded on a Friday? (Nov 16th)

Thank you!

 

[onceagain1]

Thank you for that info we will be there in just 3 weeks

Oh my goshhhhhhhh!!!! That's soooo exciting!!! And they came tonight to see you - yippee!!! So exciting!! I'm so happy for you!! Great excuse to use the dancing bananas!!

Can't wait to hear all about it!!

 

[onceagain1]

Thanks for the thoughts on the various parties. I'm thinking we'll be back to GKTW each evening for our tired little ones.

Yeah, they are. My kids were 6 & 4 when we were there, so they loved them. The biggest thing I didn't like to be honest was, they start a little late for my taste, my kids are usually in bed by 7. And since they're on the Avenue of Angels, there isn't anywhere for the adults to really sit. Its a lot of standing.

That being said, we went to every party except for whatever happens on Wednesday nights & the Candyland game, that was on the day we left. But we never tried to be at the village for the parties, we were just always back early from the parks.

The kids favorite party and ours was The Princess & Pirates party, it was by the pool, so there are chairs, we could sit and watch the kids play and dance instead of hovering the entire time. They enjoyed Halloween, even though it rained, and Christmas was nice, we did the carriage ride, that was a big hit. The cookout by the pool was another fun one, I enjoyed that. I didn't really enjoy Mayor Clayton's Birthday party, it took too long to get started and it didn't seem like there was much going on.

 

[DelanaAndKyra]

With all of the reading of all of these posts I am getting more and more excited about the wish. I guess its a good thing Kyra cant read yet or we would both be going crazy! I am going to start giving little hints to her again as she really needs some cheering up right now. Just need to figure out how exactly I can do just this. I like the idea of little crafts, Maybe i can make some for each occasion with a disney theme?

 

[onceagain1]

No reservations available for Chef Mickey's the week we will be at WDW.

We can still book something at Hollywood and Vine, but are there any other recommendations y'all might have for an almost 4 yr old boy? He may or may not dig the characters, but he's saying he wants to eat with Mickey and all his friends and Jake, Oso, Handy Manny, etc.

I wish I knew what characters would be visiting at GKTW. I mean, if we don't get a character meal, it's not the end of the world!!! He is going to have SOOOOOOOOOOO much fun!!! I've been snagging Disney shirts when they go on sale for him to wear while we're there!!

Do any of you know the actual prices of the character meals I mentioned? I keep seeing things like $$ or $$$ and then the only numeric answer I've seen is either $15.99-35.99 or $39-59.99. Just curious.

MVMCP. Do you think it will be crazy-crowded on a Friday? (Nov 16th)

Thank you!

Eeek!! Your trip is coming up too!! I can't wait to hear all about it. And if you do decide to go to MVMCP, please let me know what you think of it, including crowds/views. I'm not sure yet if we'll take it in. I think we will, I think we'll plan a day at GKTW or elsewhere for the morning, then head to Disney late afternoon or something...now wait...did I read that someone else said that if you buy tickets for this event, that you then have access to Disney at 4pm?...so in theory, that could be on a separate day than our 3 day pass? Ooh the thoughts that are swirling.

As for the prices that you're seeing for character dining, I saw that too, and I think it's per person. I actually started a reservation and picked a date that we were there and it was available, I couldn't believe it! I can't remember which restaurant it was for, but I was so surprised that a time slot was available that I closed it out - as I wasn't actually ready to pay, I hadn't yet really decided. And for that matter, I'm still not sure, as it would then be $60 per person, so actually $240 for us for a meal...doesn't seem quite right...



And in other news for us (instead of making yet another post - yet to figure out how to multiple reply), we received a care package from a Fairy Godmother, as I call her. A beautiful handmade scrapbook pre-set for Chatterbox's wish trip - so pretty. Chatterbox was so excited! I posted a few (oversized) pics on our PTR. She was bouncing with excitement!!

 

[jjmomof4]

My daughter, Ally, is supposed to go on her wish trip in October, but we don't have our dates yet!! (it's so close eek I wish we'd get them already!)

If we get our first choice of dates this is the schedule I'm considering. We get three park hopper passes for Disney, one day at Sea World, and one day at Universal Studios. We have chosen Wednesday as our arrival date each week we sent in as preferred dates:
Wed-Hang out at GKTW
Thu-Magic Kingdom
Fri-Epcot
Sat-Universal Studios
Sun-Relax at GKTW and then Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (we'll be buying the tickets ourselves and we'll get an extra Disney day this way!)
Mon-Hollywood Studios and/or Epcot/Magic Kingdom
Tue-Departure (not sure what time we'll be leaving-can always do Sea World that morning if time permits I suppose)

We are arriving on a Wednesday as well and were supposed to be leaving on Tuesday, however the way our chapter booked the flights we won't get there until late on Wednesday and leave very early on Tuesday, so we really only had five days, which gave no time for rest. Thankfully we asked if we could stay two days more, as the same flight for the same price was offered then, so they switched our flights. Today I just confirmed and paid for a 3 day, 2 night stay at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, with a 3 bd suite. That helped me relax on planning a whole lot! I've planned lots of breaks this way and we can spread it all out. I'm still working on my timeline, I hope to post it tomorrow for input. We are adding one night at Disney by going to MNSSHP, because I just found out the military discount is nearly 40% for this and it essentially gives us another day at Disney.

When are you hoping to be at GKTW? We'll be there Sept 26 to Oct 2nd. The boys do want to attend at least the Santa Claus night there and Colin wants to do the Big Splash Bash (they can't eat food, but he loves to swim, so we might skip the rest of the parties).

And I can't remember if you posted it or someone else did...it depends on your chapter if they will pay for MNSSHP or not. Ours chose not to, but said we can purchase it on our own. They only grant one "wish" and Colin's was to do Jedi Training and they are planning something special around that.

I'm on pins and needles! The wish granters don't come until the Friday before we leave! It's cutting it very close and I'd feel so much better if we had our itinerary from them, as it's hard for me to plan which days we are where, not knowing when they have Colin scheduled for the Jedi experience.

Jennifer

 

[carebearkidney]

Wow, this is really where reality starts in, we are getting our expense check and tickets and all that good stuff tonight. Our wish granter called and he will be coming tonight. I mean it is only 3 weeks away so we are anxious enough with that, but it will really set our nerves going with what is happening tonight.....But not matter what we are looking forward to John's wish and having a great and magical time at WDW

I understand the nerves - we have months til we go and I sometimes still get nervous. I know you will have a magical time and everything will go as it is meant to be, not necessarily how you plan it. And it will be perfect!

 

[aym4Him]

Eeek!! Your trip is coming up too!! I can't wait to hear all about it. And if you do decide to go to MVMCP, please let me know what you think of it, including crowds/views. I'm not sure yet if we'll take it in. I think we will, I think we'll plan a day at GKTW or elsewhere for the morning, then head to Disney late afternoon or something...now wait...did I read that someone else said that if you buy tickets for this event, that you then have access to Disney at 4pm?...so in theory, that could be on a separate day than our 3 day pass? Ooh the thoughts that are swirling.

As for the prices that you're seeing for character dining, I saw that too, and I think it's per person. I actually started a reservation and picked a date that we were there and it was available, I couldn't believe it! I can't remember which restaurant it was for, but I was so surprised that a time slot was available that I closed it out - as I wasn't actually ready to pay, I hadn't yet really decided. And for that matter, I'm still not sure, as it would then be $60 per person, so actually $240 for us for a meal...doesn't seem quite right...



And in other news for us (instead of making yet another post - yet to figure out how to multiple reply), we received a care package from a Fairy Godmother, as I call her. A beautiful handmade scrapbook pre-set for Chatterbox's wish trip - so pretty. Chatterbox was so excited! I posted a few (oversized) pics on our PTR. She was bouncing with excitement!!

I promise to let you know how it goes. Yes, you are correct- I have heard the same thing about being able to enter MK at 4pm on the day of the party. We are thinking the same thing about an "extra Disney day."

Yes, the cost of the meals has got us, too. I mean, I know that we will get spending money but it's just hard to think about a meal being that expensive. Then again, we may never get that experience again (b/c of the cost!!). Oy. What to do, what to do?

YEEK! Yay for Fairy Godmothers!! Very cool!

I need to figure out a way to make E a countdown calendar and also try and keep myself from buying every Disney trinket I come across between now and November! I'm tempted to head out to the Disney outlet in Grapevine tomorrow to scope things out...... I do think I want to try and make him an autograph book. Mulling that one over.

Ok. I need to get back to it. Took a nice break for DH's birthday this evening and went out to dinner while SIL watched E.

 

[carebearkidney]

No reservations available for Chef Mickey's the week we will be at WDW.

We can still book something at Hollywood and Vine, but are there any other recommendations y'all might have for an almost 4 yr old boy? He may or may not dig the characters, but he's saying he wants to eat with Mickey and all his friends and Jake, Oso, Handy Manny, etc.

I wish I knew what characters would be visiting at GKTW. I mean, if we don't get a character meal, it's not the end of the world!!! He is going to have SOOOOOOOOOOO much fun!!! I've been snagging Disney shirts when they go on sale for him to wear while we're there!!

Do any of you know the actual prices of the character meals I mentioned? I keep seeing things like $$ or $$$ and then the only numeric answer I've seen is either $15.99-35.99 or $39-59.99. Just curious.

MVMCP. Do you think it will be crazy-crowded on a Friday? (Nov 16th)

Thank you!

Sorry you didn't make it into Chef Mickey. Have you looked at the Garden Grill (EPCOT) or Cape May Cafe breakfast (at Beach Club)? Both of those have Mickey and gang. And it gives you the option of one at a resort and one at a park depending on which days you are where. Hope one works out. I do know Mickey, Pluto and Goofy are usually at GKTW on a couple of mornings too.

 

[nesser1981]

Our son turned 4 the week we were there. We did Hollywood & Vine, manny, oso & jake were there.

And we did Tusker House @ Animal Kingdom, Mickey, Donald, Goofy & Daisy. Our breakfasts were about $100 for our family of 4. We did 3 breakfasts & 1 lunch. If you look up the Disney World Magic Guide app, it will give you the exact prices & complete menus for every place to eat on the Disney property! Thats what we used to plan & budget our meals.

No reservations available for Chef Mickey's the week we will be at WDW.

We can still book something at Hollywood and Vine, but are there any other recommendations y'all might have for an almost 4 yr old boy? He may or may not dig the characters, but he's saying he wants to eat with Mickey and all his friends and Jake, Oso, Handy Manny, etc.

I wish I knew what characters would be visiting at GKTW. I mean, if we don't get a character meal, it's not the end of the world!!! He is going to have SOOOOOOOOOOO much fun!!! I've been snagging Disney shirts when they go on sale for him to wear while we're there!!

Do any of you know the actual prices of the character meals I mentioned? I keep seeing things like $$ or $$$ and then the only numeric answer I've seen is either $15.99-35.99 or $39-59.99. Just curious.

MVMCP. Do you think it will be crazy-crowded on a Friday? (Nov 16th)

Thank you!

 

[aym4Him]

Our son turned 4 the week we were there. We did Hollywood & Vine, manny, oso & jake were there.

And we did Tusker House @ Animal Kingdom, Mickey, Donald, Goofy & Daisy. Our breakfasts were about $100 for our family of 4. We did 3 breakfasts & 1 lunch. If you look up the Disney World Magic Guide app, it will give you the exact prices & complete menus for every place to eat on the Disney property! Thats what we used to plan & budget our meals.

Thank you!!! I'm not sure we'll be at HS in the morning as we were THINKING of splitting the day between AK and there. I am not sure about what all E will be able to do at Hollywood Studios.

Ok. I thought Donald was the only one at Tusker House. Good to know!!! It would make sense to do a breakfast there b/c we will be hitting that park first, whichever day we decide to go.

Thanks so much! I will definitely check out that app!

 

[Momtokcc]

We finally have out dates and they are OFFICIAL We will be going on Emma's wish trip March 23-29th This has been such an AWESOME experience for the whole family. Much love and heart-felt THANK YOU to MAW, GKTW, and everyone who works to put these Wish Trips together. Emma got a package from Minnie Mouse today too. All I can say is they have this planned out to the "T". The package said To:Emma From: Minnie
See you soon! She flipped her lid about that and when I told her we would be at Disney World for her birthday on March 25. Prayers and well wishes to all planning/going on wish trips.

Yay!!! So glad you got your dates and how exciting to be there on Emma's birthday!!!

 

[Momtokcc]

Hi fellow Wish families we finally got our dates and we are going to WDW on 10/14-10/20 and staying at GKTW . Now mt ? is whar are the events at GKTW and the days? I checked the website and got the events,days and times then I went on the village guide and it gave me different info. Can anyone verify when and what the parties are? TIA

Glad you got your dates!!! We will just miss you - we are arriving on the 20th. I know you will have a great time, can't wait to hear about it.

 

[Momtokcc]

Molly had some "wish enhancement" this weekend when she got to be a queen for the day in a smaller town parade. completely and totally awesome and could have been a wish in its self! check our PTR if you want the whole story.

and yes the sneezer was sneezing all day and has me freaked out.

Love this!!! Not the sneezing part though - that stuff always worries me too!

 

[aym4Him]

Ok. Looking at where to go with our 2 day park hoppers (Universal/IOA/Sea World). It seems like there is more for E to do at Universal/IOA but that's just on paper. DH thinks we should maybe skip Sea World and take him to the one in San Antonio later.

I would love to hear from those of you who have been to both parks. Again, E will be a little less than a month shy from turning 4 but he is hovering around 39" tall. He has told me a few times he does NOT want to see super heroes (though he loves them), so there's always the chance we will be sprinting past characters to avoid any meltdowns!! I hope not. DH will be really disappointed. He's already feeling like we are taking this trip too soon. I'm the kind of person that will feel responsible for things that go wrong whether I had a hand in it or not. I need this trip to go pretty smoothly, especially since my in-laws will be tagging along. Since SIL is only going to be with us Sun-Wed, I need to figure out what parks we will hit on those days so she can get tix. Do you know if tix can be bought the day of or is it better to do so ahead of time? I had thought, initially, we'd break up our Disney days by doing Universal/Sea World in between but now I wonder if we should do all three days at the beginning. I dunno.

Why am I having such a hard time with this??? Is there a whiner's forum somewhere?