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

[paigestauffer]

How sad and awful that her Wish couldn't come true the first time I'm glad to hear they are fixing that though and look forward to hearing about your plans. Hopefully they found you a Wish Granter with a little more pixie dust in her pocket this time!

Have you met the new Wishmaker yet or is that what is happening tomorrow?

I would suggest making a reservation for the O'hana Breakfast at the Polynesian resort. Lilo and Stitch are there and your Wish Kid will be able to spend a little time with Stitch. And don't be afraid to call or talk to them ahead of time and let someone there know about her love of all things Stitch. Who knows what magic may happen?

We extended our trip as well and I just double checked our GKTW badge, the dates listed on it are the dates we were AT GKTW, not the extended trip dates. However, that does include the day you check in and check out of GKTW. I believe we extended our trip by 3 days (one of which was a travel day so we had no need for the button that day) and only spent one of those days at the parks. While at the park, we didn't have our GKTW button but we did still have our GAC and were able to obtain faster ride entry that way.

Thank you soooo much! Funny that you replied, I saw your post about FA! Do you guys know Dr. Jakub Tolar? He is my daughter's doctor, she has a FAN1 mutation, MMC sensitivity but not FA. She also has extremely short telomeres which is a DC thing, thus how I met Jakub, he is on the medical advisory board. K is currently doing a danazol trial. Do you happen to know anyone using Danazol? I hope you guys have a magical time on your return trip!

We did not meet her wishmaker today we just went to the room and she wished to spend the day with Stitch So we will see!

Thank you so much for telling us about the GKTW button. I really appreciate it!

Paige

 

[Marsone1]

Two more days and off to disney world we go.. So as of now we only got the flight details. Meeting with the MAW coordinator tonight to give us our packets.. then everything is set for us..

 

[Marsone1]

Does GKTW give passes to other attractions besides DW, Universal Studios and Sea World?

 

[paigestauffer]

I found a list but now I can't find it.

Here are the ones I wrote down b/c I thought our daughter would be interested. I was amazed at how many different things you can do thanks to free tickets!!
Disney 3 day ticket
Legoland
Sea World - 1 d
Universal - 2d
Aquatica
Wet n' Wild
Busch Gardens

Airboat Ride
Sky Diving indoors
airplane ride for 2
Gator Land
Kennedy Space Center

 

[Marsone1]

I found a list but now I can't find it.

Here are the ones I wrote down b/c I thought our daughter would be interested. I was amazed at how many different things you can do thanks to free tickets!!
Disney 3 day ticket
Legoland
Sea World - 1 d
Universal - 2d
Aquatica
Wet n' Wild
Busch Gardens

Airboat Ride
Sky Diving indoors
airplane ride for 2
Gator Land
Kennedy Space Center

Wow that's a lot. We are intetested in the lego land, gator land, and boogie boat rides. I wonder if we can use those on our extended stay..

 

[paigestauffer]

It is a lot!! From what I read the passes are good for two weeks, so I would say yes. Hope you guys have a wonderful time! I can't wait until we get to go!!

 

[alexwick]

I found a list but now I can't find it.

Here are the ones I wrote down b/c I thought our daughter would be interested. I was amazed at how many different things you can do thanks to free tickets!!
Disney 3 day ticket
Legoland
Sea World - 1 d
Universal - 2d
Aquatica
Wet n' Wild
Busch Gardens

Airboat Ride
Sky Diving indoors
airplane ride for 2
Gator Land
Kennedy Space Center

Hello firs off all....
I am pretty new to the forum here and have a couple of questions.
maybe someone can give me some feedback....

1. We stay at GKTW for the usuall 6 nights meaning really 5 days of going to parks.. which seems definetly not enought to even remotely use all the tickets that are offered. Now the good part is that we "only" live like 2 hours from Orlando. Can you ask for i.e. any other tickets like Legoland and wet and wild and use them not while at gktw, but a week or 2 later?
I guess are there expirationdates on any / or all of the tickets? do you HAVE to give them back not used?​

2. What is the "THE" fireworks you HAVE to see? and is there any "preferencial" seating area provided since staying at GKTW?​

Thanks!

Alex Wicklein

 

[alexwick]

My understanding is that the button, and other MAW perks, can't be used past the dates of your "official wish" (not including extension). You would need to get a GAC pass from Guest Services at AK, which will help you with your needs. You won't have the GKTW/MAW perks, but the GAC should help with whatever special needs you do have. You will most certainly still enjoy AK even without the "magic button"

is there a expire Date on the button?

EDIT: looks like there is.

 

[alexwick]

mmmhh... doesnt look like in this forum is currently to much going on ....

anyways.
our dates are May 11th till 17th. My 3 year old daughter got Leukemia. and she got recently her wish granted as well...

Trying to plan for the trip! *super excited*

I was wanting to go to Disney's Blizzard or typhoon Lagoon for one day? I see wetnwild on the list... but no typhoon lagoon, even though they are Disney, does anyone know if they are included?

 

[that's nice]

Hello firs off all....
I am pretty new to the forum here and have a couple of questions.
maybe someone can give me some feedback....

1. We stay at GKTW for the usuall 6 nights meaning really 5 days of going to parks.. which seems definetly not enought to even remotely use all the tickets that are offered. Now the good part is that we "only" live like 2 hours from Orlando. Can you ask for i.e. any other tickets like Legoland and wet and wild and use them not while at gktw, but a week or 2 later?
I guess are there expirationdates on any / or all of the tickets? do you HAVE to give them back not used?​

2. What is the "THE" fireworks you HAVE to see? and is there any "preferencial" seating area provided since staying at GKTW?​

Thanks!

Alex Wicklein

We stayed at GKTW in December 2010 and we never made it to Universal but were able to use the tickets on another trip to Florida. I don't think you can ask for tickets to every park and try to use them. I can say that GKTW will give you a guide that will offer you discounts to multiple theme parks in the US when you leave.

The fireworks to see are Wishes in Magic Kingdom. They usually close the park with Wishes every night unless there is a ticketed party that night.

is there a expire Date on the button?

mmmhh... doesnt look like in this forum is currently to much going on ....

anyways.
our dates are May 11th till 17th. My 3 year old daughter got Leukemia. and she got recently her wish granted as well...

Trying to plan for the trip! *super excited*

I was wanting to go to Disney's Blizzard or typhoon Lagoon for one day? I see wetnwild on the list... but no typhoon lagoon, even though they are Disney, does anyone know if they are included?

This thread goes in spurts… Many of the posters are former Wish families who have a lot going on. It is once to see some of the old time posters come back every once in a while. :good vibes

Sorry to hear about your daughter. Hope her treatment is going well.

I'm not sure if you can get tickets to the Disney water parks… maybe someone else can answer that.

 

[that's nice]

Hello! We are a former WISH family (2009) and heading back to WDW on Feb 20th for 10 days. After my daughter's WISH trip, she was diagnosed with Fanconi Anemia, a very rare disease. Fortunately, we have been able to connect with a few other families affected by this disease at a summer family camp. Bella (Wish Kid) was able to meet other children like her and our family felt a little less alone in the world.

The best part about our upcoming trip is that we get to meet with two other Fanconi Anemia families who will be there on their Wish trips while we are in Orlando! One family's dates match ours almost exactly and the other family, whose daughter happens to be Bella's best friend, will overlap our dates by 2 days. We will be able to spend a day at Give Kids the World Village with them (our whole family is volunteering at GKTW one day on our vacation) and for the last day of our vacation we will spend it at Magic Kingdom with them.

I am hoping to make the Wish Trips (especially for Bella's BFF's family) extra magical and memorable just like ours was. I have already given them some of my extensive knowledge of Disney and Make A Wish and GKTW. We were blessed to be a part of a Big Give back in 2009 and I am passing along some of the outfits that Bella has outgrown to the other family. Ironically, Bella was the same size as her BFF's sister and my oldest daughter was the same size as Bella's BFF when we went so I am able to provide them with 4 outfits that we used on our trip.

I was hoping to also call upon the expertise of more recent Wish Trippers and find out if anything significant has changed including additions or removal of privileges and/or perks from 2009. Like I said, especially for Bella's BFF's family, I am hoping to do what I can to sprinkle a little pixie dust on them for a magical trip. If you have any advice or suggestions as to how I can do this, please let me know! Thanks in advance!

forgot to add: One question I have already....on the day we go to Magic Kingdom (Saturday, March 1st) we plan to arrive at 8am (park opens at 9) and try to capture the attention of the CMs. I hope to somehow get the Wish family selected as the "Family of the Day" for the Rope Drop Ceremony. Any other advice or suggestions as to how we can make that happen. Should I tell some of the CMs that this is a Wish Family and suggest them as the FotD? Thx again!

Hey Stefani! How exciting that you guys are heading back! I hope Bella (and everyone else) is doing well.

So we are leaving March 3rd for our daughter's MAW trip! We are all very excited!! Anyway i just ran into these awesome pages thisnesser1981 made to plan out their days at each park. Sorry i can't link yet since i don't have enough posts, but they are like scrapbook pages. I'm wondering if this is something i could do myself? I'm just in love with them and i think they would really help us stay organized. This is our very first family vacation with 4 little kids, so anything that could help us like this would be great!

I can't help with crafts but just wanted to wish you a great trip!

We just received a message that our 14 year old will receive her wish to cruise on the DrEaM - December 1-5, 2014! She does not know yet, but I am already in super planning mode!

Awesome!!!!! Sounds like you guys are going to have a great time!

My daughter also had Wilms! Glad to hear your daughter is doing so well. Keira is 8 now, and she's at 2 years cancer free. We did have a Wilms Recurrence, the doctors were shocked it came back, she was 6 at the time, but they just attributed it to the light chemo they'd given her the first time. Praying she stays cancer free!!!

Oh wow. I'm so sorry to hear that Keira had a recurrence. I'm sure that was a trying time. We still worry every time Juliana has her scans which are yearly now. It breaks our hearts every time we see all the kids in the clinic.

 

[Lilfoot93]

Hello firs off all....
I am pretty new to the forum here and have a couple of questions.
maybe someone can give me some feedback....

1. We stay at GKTW for the usuall 6 nights meaning really 5 days of going to parks.. which seems definetly not enought to even remotely use all the tickets that are offered. Now the good part is that we "only" live like 2 hours from Orlando. Can you ask for i.e. any other tickets like Legoland and wet and wild and use them not while at gktw, but a week or 2 later?
I guess are there expirationdates on any / or all of the tickets? do you HAVE to give them back not used?​

2. What is the "THE" fireworks you HAVE to see? and is there any "preferencial" seating area provided since staying at GKTW?​

Thanks!

Alex Wicklein

We went on my sons wish trip in June. From our experience there is no way to use all the tickets while you are there! You need to decide what is important for your family to see and go from there. Don't forget to spend time at GKTW as that is a magical place too! We came from the West coast so we too only had 5 full days to try and use all the tickets! We did go to Gatorland on the last day on the way to the airport. I do not remember if it had a date on it or not. If it were me I would not take the extra tickets if I were not going to use them while on my wish trip.

As far as the firefworks I am not sure... It rained A LOT (Tropical Storm came through) while we were there and we only got to see one firework show. It was the one at HS. It was a great show though!

Jackie

 

[Lilfoot93]

Welcome to all the new families!! I hope those going on their trips soon have a magical time!! And for those just starting out happy planning! Can't wait to hear about your magical trips!!

Jackie

 

[mom2pixies]

My daughter also had Wilms! Glad to hear your daughter is doing so well. Keira is 8 now, and she's at 2 years cancer free. We did have a Wilms Recurrence, the doctors were shocked it came back, she was 6 at the time, but they just attributed it to the light chemo they'd given her the first time. Praying she stays cancer free!!!

Wow--pretty rare. Glad she is doing well now!

 

[kiddupy76]

Hello all. chis is such an amazing discussion forum. My family is going to Florida in october 2014 and most likely staying at gktw. My maw child is my 8 year old son with muscular dystrophy and another unknown syndrome. I also have a 4 year old and a husband. I love reading the trip reports and other info. I cry at least once everY time I check this site out. I am sure I will have questions in the future.
Thanks
Evelyn

 

[alexwick]

We have the bibidi bobbedi boutique scheduled for a Wednesday at 11:00 am . since they will all be dressed up I was wondering of you have any suggestions what to do afterwards.... It is the one downtown, not at MK.

addon:

So i was also wondering if you can get tickets to Water Lagoon, and blizzard beach? Since reports seem to say they do... but the village guide doesn't say so...
http://www.friendswithfop.com/2013/03/mirandas-make-a-wish-trip-2013/

Also iFLY seems to be an option... do you make a appointment though gktw or through your Dream coordinator? Anybody done this?
http://orlando.iflyworld.com/flight-info/first-time-flyer

 

[dawnp15]

So we leave March 3rd for our daughter's wish trip, the trip was planned pretty quickly and now we are not able to get reservations for almost everything. One thing our DD and her sister really wanted to do was go the BBB and get their hair done, of course they had no openings already. We are not going through MAW, but a small local wish organization. Do you think they could help us in anyway, or could GKTW help us? It's hard when you don't have control over when you leave on your trip and everything is all booked up

 

[mom2pixies]

So we leave March 3rd for our daughter's wish trip, the trip was planned pretty quickly and now we are not able to get reservations for almost everything. One thing our DD and her sister really wanted to do was go the BBB and get their hair done, of course they had no openings already. We are not going through MAW, but a small local wish organization. Do you think they could help us in anyway, or could GKTW help us? It's hard when you don't have control over when you leave on your trip and everything is all booked up

I would definitely check with your organization to see if there is anything they can do. Did you check with the BBB in Downtown Disney in addition to the one with at MK? If there are no BBB reservations available, perhaps try Pirate's League--the girls can still get girl pirate (pink bandannas, facial gems, nail polish, glitter) and mermaid (sparkle makeup, jewels, sash, tutu, special t-shirt) makeovers there. And, while GKTW isn't exactly BBB, they do have a little spa there that is open every evening. Kids can get manis, pedis and temporary tattoos there. We were there in 2011, but there might be other makeup and hair styling available there now. (?) Still lots of fun for the kids!

 

[paigestauffer]

So we leave March 3rd for our daughter's wish trip, the trip was planned pretty quickly and now we are not able to get reservations for almost everything. One thing our DD and her sister really wanted to do was go the BBB and get their hair done, of course they had no openings already. We are not going through MAW, but a small local wish organization. Do you think they could help us in anyway, or could GKTW help us? It's hard when you don't have control over when you leave on your trip and everything is all booked up

I would contact your wish foundation as well but keep calling back. Our trip isn't until May and I started calling and couldn't get anything. On subsequent calls I was able to get an 8:15 in the morning appointment so I think repeated calls may yield results. Hoping someone cancels so you can get the girls in!!

Paige

 

[spacecanada]

If you cannot get into BBB, try buying a dress and having the girl(s) done up at the Ivy Trellis at the Grand Floridian with the flower girl plus makeup package (princess makeover):
http://disneyways.com/2013/06/13/ivytrellis/
I'm sure they will be able to help you out!