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

[mamaVonna]

MamaVonna - What are your preferred dates again? I know you haven't officially met your Wish Granters yet, but did you tell them anything about your requested dates and did they seem to think that would work out? I've been looking for Character meals to book...but NOTHING is available! It makes me wonder if she'll even get a meal or the BBB? I will definately try and check out the princess restaurant at Epcot.

That is a great idea about the $25 gift cards. I've already been putting money aside for our 5 day extension. Our wish granters said they have some formula that figures out how much $$ to give per person, based on age and other things. I know at GKTW they recommend $45/per person, per day. Everyone I've read about said they had plenty of money for everything...and even came home with extra money.

One thing I wonder.... do you make the ADR and BBB reservations or does MAW do that? Do they pay ahead of time, or do you pay when you get there??

My first choice dates are 12/9-12/15, 2nd choice is the following week, 12/16-22.
We haven't had much of a conversation with them yet. She introduced herself and told me she would contact the second volunteer to find out when they would both be available to meet with us. She emailed a few dates for us to meet a couple days later. Seems like conversation with them will be sparse so I'll be sure to have any questions I still have ready for them Friday. I did tell her we have already gone over options with our dd (since she's non-verbal we did lots of picture boards) and she chose Disney and princesses consistently. I also told them I pretty much have it all planned. I've even found flights lol!

I was surprised to get a reservation for Akershus. It was unavailable when I first looked for any dining options on our Epcot day. Couldn't sleep last night, and happened upon 2 openings, so keep trying, people cancel all the time.

Another great thing about the gift cards, when you order from disneystore.com there are hundreds of choices of designs. I'm getting lots of different designs that'll I'll later use for scrapbooks, shadow boxes, etc. I also plan to give the kids some as their spending money. The rest I'm going to use to purchase a single card so I won't have to tote around a bunch of cards when we're actually there. Using my grocery stores rewards card to get a % off, OR wait until Black Friday and see what kind of offers are available.

I can work with $45/person/day. I didn't want to ask about money but I'd rather know what to expect so we can plan appropriately. Those character meals add up QUICKLY!

You can ask them to make your ADR's. I'm making my own because I'm a control freak. I'll let them know what I've already booked, and hopefully they add the cost of one of the meals to our expense sheet. We'll see!!

 

[mamaVonna]

So how exactly do I start my pre-trip report? I saw a thread a couple weeks ago explaining everything but I hadn't posted my 10 messages yet so I had to wait and now (of course) I can't find it. Thanks!

 

[mamaVonna]

MamaVonna, I'm so glad you finally heard from your wish granters! I'm excited to hear how that meeting went. Post here when you get your PTR started. I'm still trying to work on mine, too. We met with our Wish Granters last week.

MAW said they could definately get her in at BBB and possibly a character meal as well, but our requested dates are 10/24-10/30, so I'm nervous that we might not get a reservation. Can you mkae a reservation and then cancel if you need to change the date or time? Do you pay at the time of reservation?

Just looked at your dates again, are you guys going to the Halloween party?? Wonder if MAW would give you tickets for that instead of BBB or character meal if you wanted? I hear it's pretty awesome. Better than the Christmas party I really really really want to go to.

 

[jojuvanlaanen]

Yes, I would probably prefer the Halloween Party...but that is not Jillianne's wish. She LOVES princesses and wants to BE a princess. Every day she plays dress-up, make up hair.. the whole bit. I tell her she already is a princess but she says she wants to be a REALLLL princess....love that girl.

I haven't done my PTR yet, but I think it's just starting a new thread in the PTR forum.

First week of December is gorgeous. Christmas decor is out, weather is PERFECT and crowds are light. You'll enjoy it so much!!! and hey... let's not forget about Universal also! I hear they really go above and beyond for the wish kids, even more so than Disney!!!

 

[jojuvanlaanen]

And I hear ya about being a control freak. I told them I would prefer to fly southwest, and have already picked out flights there and back. I've been checking out crowd calendars to decide which parks to do on what days...and for sure I'll be making reservations as soon as I can. Sometimes though I have to slow down and remind myself why we are going on this trip to begin with. For us it's to give Jillianne a well deserved stress free week to celebrate HER...her bravery, her strength, her kind heart and strong spirit, all of which have gotten her where she is now. So if we don't get to do something that is on my spreadsheet (yes.. there will be a spreadsheet itinerary), then so be it.

 

[mamaVonna]

Yes, I would probably prefer the Halloween Party...but that is not Jillianne's wish. She LOVES princesses and wants to BE a princess. Every day she plays dress-up, make up hair.. the whole bit. I tell her she already is a princess but she says she wants to be a REALLLL princess....love that girl.

I haven't done my PTR yet, but I think it's just starting a new thread in the PTR forum.

First week of December is gorgeous. Christmas decor is out, weather is PERFECT and crowds are light. You'll enjoy it so much!!! and hey... let's not forget about Universal also! I hear they really go above and beyond for the wish kids, even more so than Disney!!!

Lol these girls with their Princess fantasies!! Is she dressing up like one in particular or creating her own special Princess look? I saw on FB a lady whose daughters had every. single. princess. costume. and they're taking each one to the parks every day in a gallon sized bag. They plan to slip the dress on over their clothes while waiting in line for each Princess lol, smart girls!

 

[mamaVonna]

And I hear ya about being a control freak. I told them I would prefer to fly southwest, and have already picked out flights there and back. I've been checking out crowd calendars to decide which parks to do on what days...and for sure I'll be making reservations as soon as I can. Sometimes though I have to slow down and remind myself why we are going on this trip to begin with. For us it's to give Jillianne a well deserved stress free week to celebrate HER...her bravery, her strength, her kind heart and strong spirit, all of which have gotten her where she is now. So if we don't get to do something that is on my spreadsheet (yes.. there will be a spreadsheet itinerary), then so be it.

I've got our itinerary done. Adjusted it over the weekend according to the crowd calendar, then got busy trying to make ADR's. I've printed park maps, and plotted our trek thru each one ride by ride and show and food stands, gift shops, etc.; and have a pretty doable timeline for each day lol! Madness. Knowing us, everything I've spent many HOURS planning will be tossed aside, because nothing ever goes as planned with 2 sick kiddos, a teen, and a preschooler. I've made peace with the fact I'm just entertaining myself and keeping busy and likely it'll be utter chaos.

 

[mamaVonna]

Yes, I would probably prefer the Halloween Party...but that is not Jillianne's wish. She LOVES princesses and wants to BE a princess. Every day she plays dress-up, make up hair.. the whole bit. I tell her she already is a princess but she says she wants to be a REALLLL princess....love that girl.

I haven't done my PTR yet, but I think it's just starting a new thread in the PTR forum.

First week of December is gorgeous. Christmas decor is out, weather is PERFECT and crowds are light. You'll enjoy it so much!!! and hey... let's not forget about Universal also! I hear they really go above and beyond for the wish kids, even more so than Disney!!!

I'll give the ptr a try later. Thanks. Mommy duty calls, great "talking" to you. Have a good day!

 

[jojuvanlaanen]

I've made peace with the fact I'm just entertaining myself and keeping busy and likely it'll be utter chaos.

HAHA!! LOVE IT!!!

What's your plan for what parks to do when? And are you extending your trip? Sorry if you've posted this before...

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

Well we heard yesterday that we will be having our reveal party in August so about 30 days out.



Ack I have to keep this secret all summer now somehow. Our local chapter said that they like to do it close to because then the kids are even more excited and don't have to wait as long until the "big day" I totally get it but planning wise it makes it hard. LOL They have our plane and GKTW booked so at least my hubby could book the time off work needed already.

I think I am going to book a dining ressie or two just in case now, just to be safe. Then ask them about it later, so as to not bug them with questions all the time.

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

This is also my new tattoo I got 2 weekends ago

 

[mamaVonna]

HAHA!! LOVE IT!!!

What's your plan for what parks to do when? And are you extending your trip? Sorry if you've posted this before...

12/9 (day of arrival) we're going to downtown disney for ADR at T-Rex Cafe at 4. We'll hit Once Upon a Toy to do the Mr. Potato head box and Build Your Own Light Saber; Goofy's Candy Co.; LEGO store; Ghiradelli's; Disney Pin Traders then back to GKTW for the night.
12/10 Universal and Islands of Adventure, lunch at Bubba Gump's at CityWalk then back to GKTW for the Christmas party
12/11 Epcot, breakfast at Akershus at 9:45, Park for the rest of the day; Illuminations at 9:30
12/12 MK, all day. Undecided on Character dining here. Planned to pack nutritious snacks & buy junk like the infamous turkey leg, mickey bars, popcorn, etc.
12/13 Downtown Disney, souvenir shopping. Drop the teen at Disney Quest while we shop. Maybe the DH too!
12/14 Animal Kingdom (hoping to snag an ADR at Tusker House for breakfast); leave around 2 or 3 and head to HS
12/15 Departure day if time allows, we will go to either Sea World for a few hours or the outlet mall
I'd love to extend our trip, I'll ask them Friday. Not getting my hopes up though.
We have another dd with the exact same condition. She will likely qualify for MAW in the future.
This will be our very first vacation since our family has been complete. Last vacay was Gatlinburg in 2008!

 

[mamaVonna]

Well we heard yesterday that we will be having our reveal party in August so about 30 days out.



Ack I have to keep this secret all summer now somehow. Our local chapter said that they like to do it close to because then the kids are even more excited and don't have to wait as long until the "big day" I totally get it but planning wise it makes it hard. LOL They have our plane and GKTW booked so at least my hubby could book the time off work needed already.

I think I am going to book a dining ressie or two just in case now, just to be safe. Then ask them about it later, so as to not bug them with questions all the time.

Isn't the wait just agonizing?!?!? How have you managed to keep quiet? I try to stop talking about it but the words just keep spilling out. I have no control whatsoever.
So what kind of plans do you have for the big reveal?

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

Isn't the wait just agonizing?!?!? How have you managed to keep quiet? I try to stop talking about it but the words just keep spilling out. I have no control whatsoever.
So what kind of plans do you have for the big reveal?

It is agonizing, i have caught myself a couple times already almost spilling the beans.

Our chapter plans and does the reveal party so I don't know what their plans will be. They have just said it will be "worth the wait" and be BIG. It's exciting.

 

[jojuvanlaanen]

So the wish reveal.... I have read news reports and seen AMAZING reveals where it's like a HUGE deal, the whole community comes out.. I've seen them hire a princess to deliver the news, or invite them to a stage play and then be invited on stage... awesome stuff. And then I've seen, and heard, of a wish reveal/wish send-off party at your house or your local pizza hut with your immediate family. So my question is...who makes the call on the party? Our wish granters said they will host a send-off party at our house and bring a cake. like... no big deal. That's totally fine, but I can't say I wouldn't mind having a bigger get-together..or doing something a little more special. I have a hard time complaning about anything this organization does....But I'm just sayin'....it would be cool to do something a little different, to make it more special.

What I'd love to do is get her school involved. Do a big pep rally type thing, or an assembly.. .and then during the assembly have the wish granters come and have balloons or whatever.. and call Jily up to the stage.

haha... this is what I daydream about.

 

[potsiemom]

we get no party at all.Our orginization just says you will get the stuff in the mail by this Friday call if you have any questions.I wonder if its because my daughter is older.We had wish granters at the beginning who came to our house but then she moved away and they never assigned us new ones.Brittni is 17 but i know her siblings and her would have liked to have somekinda party.

 

[mamaVonna]

we get no party at all.Our orginization just says you will get the stuff in the mail by this Friday call if you have any questions.I wonder if its because my daughter is older.We had wish granters at the beginning who came to our house but then she moved away and they never assigned us new ones.Brittni is 17 but i know her siblings and her would have liked to have somekinda party.

Wow, that's disappointing. Do you think you'll have time to throw something together yourself and invite some family and friends?

 

[mamaVonna]

So the wish reveal.... I have read news reports and seen AMAZING reveals where it's like a HUGE deal, the whole community comes out.. I've seen them hire a princess to deliver the news, or invite them to a stage play and then be invited on stage... awesome stuff. And then I've seen, and heard, of a wish reveal/wish send-off party at your house or your local pizza hut with your immediate family. So my question is...who makes the call on the party? Our wish granters said they will host a send-off party at our house and bring a cake. like... no big deal. That's totally fine, but I can't say I wouldn't mind having a bigger get-together..or doing something a little more special. I have a hard time complaning about anything this organization does....But I'm just sayin'....it would be cool to do something a little different, to make it more special.

What I'd love to do is get her school involved. Do a big pep rally type thing, or an assembly.. .and then during the assembly have the wish granters come and have balloons or whatever.. and call Jily up to the stage.

haha... this is what I daydream about.

I totally understand. That's one of my questions for the wish granters this weekend. Like you said I've seen everything from enormous send-offs with huge crowds and everyone cheering (and crying) to pizza at home with a little cake, even a quick send-off at the airport with just the wish granters. I'd love to know what's involved with the planning. It's obviously very different from chapter to chapter. I know Tyana would love to celebrate with our family and a few kids from school. Besides...I've already started planning it. In my head. Ok I wrote a quick mock-up of some details and *maybe* started buying decorations

 

[jojuvanlaanen]

I totally understand. That's one of my questions for the wish granters this weekend. Like you said I've seen everything from enormous send-offs with huge crowds and everyone cheering (and crying) to pizza at home with a little cake, even a quick send-off at the airport with just the wish granters. I'd love to know what's involved with the planning. It's obviously very different from chapter to chapter. I know Tyana would love to celebrate with our family and a few kids from school. Besides...I've already started planning it. In my head. Ok I wrote a quick mock-up of some details and *maybe* started buying decorations

MamaVonna, you crack me up! You sound so much like me with all this obsessive planning! (And I mean that in the most respectful, understanding way possible) hehe!

One of our wish granters texted me this morning and answered a few of my questions. I told them I prefer southwest and would like an early flight....if possible. She said they can't guarantee any certain airlines or certain flight times. It's all based on donated miles. UGH! That's scary cause I'm not a flyer. I know Southwest has a great record for safety. I've been trying to calm my nerves by looking up the flight number and it's history and the type of plane and all that.. They also said that my youngest daughter will be a lap baby because she will be under 2 (22 months). That terifies me also, because she is a climber, and a busy body. I know it will be so difficult to try and keep her seated on our laps for 2 hours on the plane! Maybe it won't be so busy and there will be an empty seat somewhere. *fingers crossed*

She also said we CAN extend our trip, but we can NOT use any of our park tickets during the extension. We wanted to use Sea world later, and I have read other trip reports where people did do that...but maybe that's all changed now?

 

[potsiemom]

I called give kids the world and asked about the tickets when we decided to extend.They told me the disney tickets expire 14 days after you arrive.So we are doing universal,seaworld and aquatica doing the wish trip and saving our disney tickets till we move onto disney property.I added the meal plan to that part so we will be able to try out alot of disney restraunts doing our extension.