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

[rcq925]

I have posted this a few times but didnt hit the enter button Ty has showed me his favorite song. And it really touched my heart. It started from a converstation on my cooking and went from there. He then told me how I know so much about medical things and I asked him if he knew "how I know". He said yea "me" I told him yes he is such a fighter. He said that is his favorite song. I said so he played it for me. It is "walk on water" by bass hunter. The words are : I will never be afraid again, I will fight until the end, I will never be afraid again, I can walk on water, I can fly, I will never give up until I die.

I am looking to get him a t-shirt that has the words"I will never be afraid again" in like the corner of his t-shirt so he can look down and read it when he has tests or procedures. Do you think this would be ok? Or do you have any other suggestions? I don't want it too big just a little thing for him not like all over the back or anything. I thought about putting Goofy just below it as he is his favorite character. You know just in like the upper corner over his heart or something.

This is totally a secrete (yeah I know Im posting it on a board but he wont' even let daddy listen to the song as it is personal to him. But I did ask him if it was ok that I get him a shirt to wear to remind him to keep on going and he can do it and he said yes. But still he wants to keep the song personal.

That sounds like a great idea and I bet the people over on the DIS design board (the ones who help design the make a wish trip shirts) could help. I know there is a link to their DIS group on here somewhere!!

 

[Adrismommy]

If you go to facebook and search for "reality wish", you will find it. There are two pages with that name - but are associated with the same thing, but the non-profit organization page (instead of the event page) is the one with her picture and the information on there. Look through the different photo albums. The one that says something along the lines of ambassadors for the wish shows all of the different "stars" that have donated. This has been the most fun distraction for me because we got discouraging news at today's MRI. It seems there is a bit of residual tumor remaining so we will be watching closely and deciding later about more surgery or chemo.

 

[Wee Annie]

If you go to facebook and search for "reality wish", you will find it. There are two pages with that name - but are associated with the same thing, but the non-profit organization page (instead of the event page) is the one with her picture and the information on there. Look through the different photo albums. The one that says something along the lines of ambassadors for the wish shows all of the different "stars" that have donated. This has been the most fun distraction for me because we got discouraging news at today's MRI. It seems there is a bit of residual tumor remaining so we will be watching closely and deciding later about more surgery or chemo.

I'm so sorry to hear about the MRI results. Glad that you have something to distract yourself with.

 

[wish_upon_a_star35]

Yay for Adris Reality Wish!! I think that is awesome!!!!

 

[yinyanggirls]

Hello all, I am helping a friend do some planning for October and just spoke to an extremely kind lady at Sea World. She said they MIGHT bring the program back for Backstage at Believe; however, it is currently not available, due to the death. She said that if they bring it back it will just be for the summer months...HTH others who are planning.

We were told that the trainers are not back in the water (or weren't two weeks ago) because it's still being investigated. But they still have a show of some sort separate from the dining thing.

Okay, I have to share this fun news with you guys.

She is raising money for MAW by setting up an online competition b/w stars & fans of the various shows to see which show can raise the most money. The event is called "Reality Wish" and it's going to be an annual event that they do. This is the first year. I am the biggest reality TV junky, so the fact that my kid is the first recipient of the "reality wish" is so fun for me!

That is awesome! What a fun way to raise money!!!

If you go to facebook and search for "reality wish", you will find it. There are two pages with that name - but are associated with the same thing, but the non-profit organization page (instead of the event page) is the one with her picture and the information on there. Look through the different photo albums. The one that says something along the lines of ambassadors for the wish shows all of the different "stars" that have donated. This has been the most fun distraction for me because we got discouraging news at today's MRI. It seems there is a bit of residual tumor remaining so we will be watching closely and deciding later about more surgery or chemo.

I will check it out on FB. I have a couple of shows that I like and it would be fun to see if I recognize any of them.

I'm so sorry to hear about the MRI. That just stinks.

 

[yinyanggirls]

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[cantwaittoseemickey]

That sounds like a great idea and I bet the people over on the DIS design board (the ones who help design the make a wish trip shirts) could help. I know there is a link to their DIS group on here somewhere!!

Thank you. I am trying to stay away from there right now due to the Big Give. I don't want to spoil anything Or is there a way to go over there without "peaking"? lol

 

[motherof4greatkids]

We have 35 days to go we are so excited we have his MAW party on the 17th of may he cant wait .

 

[maroo]

Thank you. I am trying to stay away from there right now due to the Big Give. I don't want to spoil anything Or is there a way to go over there without "peaking"? lol

They won't be over on the DISign board. They have their own website that is not connected with the DIS. There is one thread that is labeled "DISBOUTIQUERS" and you would want to stay away from that to be sure...but you can use the DISign board.

You might want to make sure the person at The Big Give knows what you are thinking of and some of those ladies may be able to work on it.

We have 35 days to go we are so excited we have his MAW party on the 17th of may he cant wait .

awesome! That is not much time! You guys will have a blast.

You are staying at GKTW, right?

 

[rcq925]

Our Make A Wish person e-mailed and gave us a few choices for our flights. Luckily they are non-stop, just a little over 2 hours.

We chose to leave for Orlando at 7am and arrive at 9:12am. More time at GKTW! We will depart Orlando around 4:10pm coming back and arrive at 6:25pm. So awesome flight times!!!

The airport we are flying out of is 2 hours away from us, so we will be staying the night in Indianapolis at a hotel near the airport, since we will need to be there at 5am!!

We should be getting a limo ride for the 2 hour trip to Indianapolis and we are all so excited already. I can't believe it is 6 months away, but I know it will go fast!!!

 

[casper_jj11]

So I've started thinking about our day at US/IOA. We've never been before and I have no idea what to expect. I've heard the park is wonderful for wish kids but what exactly does that mean? Is front of the line available for all rides or just some? Anyone have any idea if it will be easier to tour the Harry Potter land... I've heard that the express pass that people can buy won't be able to be used on HP rides?

We're only planning on spending one day there. We'll be there at rope drop but we won't stay late, probably only until 4ish if we can do what we want by then. For those who have been, what do you recommend we do as far as rides and shows are concerned. We won't ahve time to do it all so I need to limit.

DS2 will enjoy all the rides he is allowed to ride. And Sydney and DS7 will still like the kiddie type rides as well. DH and DS7 love coasters so I need to fit a few in (Expedition Everest and Rock n Roller Coaster are favs at Disney). That said, I don't want to do too many things that Sydney can't do. She's is over 40in so she can do many of the rides at US, but its our first day in Florida so I'm not sure if its a good idea to put her on the crazy rides...she's looking forward to Barnstormer and Splash most of all. Which rides would be fairly tame for her but more exciting than the little kiddie rides?

I may post this to the US forum as well but I'd love to hear from those that have actually gone with a wish child.

 

[wish_upon_a_star35]

Our family went last year for my daughter's wish trip. She was 4 at the time and we had a blast. Universal IOA was one of our FAVORITE parks! The little ones loved Suessville and my oldest daughter had a ball on the roller coasters.

We did get front of the line access just like at the Disney parks so that was a great plus!

 

[Wee Annie]

So I've started thinking about our day at US/IOA. We've never been before and I have no idea what to expect. I've heard the park is wonderful for wish kids but what exactly does that mean? Is front of the line available for all rides or just some? Anyone have any idea if it will be easier to tour the Harry Potter land... I've heard that the express pass that people can buy won't be able to be used on HP rides?

We're only planning on spending one day there. We'll be there at rope drop but we won't stay late, probably only until 4ish if we can do what we want by then. For those who have been, what do you recommend we do as far as rides and shows are concerned. We won't ahve time to do it all so I need to limit.

DS2 will enjoy all the rides he is allowed to ride. And Sydney and DS7 will still like the kiddie type rides as well. DH and DS7 love coasters so I need to fit a few in (Expedition Everest and Rock n Roller Coaster are favs at Disney). That said, I don't want to do too many things that Sydney can't do. She's is over 40in so she can do many of the rides at US, but its our first day in Florida so I'm not sure if its a good idea to put her on the crazy rides...she's looking forward to Barnstormer and Splash most of all. Which rides would be fairly tame for her but more exciting than the little kiddie rides?

I may post this to the US forum as well but I'd love to hear from those that have actually gone with a wish child.

Okay. So not doing a TR, I promised that I would post some reflections from our trip and advice when possible. And I hate to post anything negative, but I do think it's helpful for those planning trips to hear varied experiences in order to decide what's best for their own family.

There are people who may be horrified by this (Pamela?), but our IOA/US day was the least fun of our entire trip, and were I to do the trip over again, I don't think we would go. It was probably due to many factors, but we just didn't get that much out of these parks as we did out of the WDW parks. Elke only liked the rides in Suessland in the IOA section (that being said, she LOVED "One fish two fish" and "The cat in the hat"). She did NOT like ET, and had to be taken from the preshow room of Shrek. She also took one look at the kiddie rollercoaster (Woodie Woodpecker?) and would not go on it. My older kids liked Spiderman and Shrek 4D, but Suessland was too "kiddie" for them.

BUT (and I think the following had a large impact on our enjoyment level), it was our first day in the parks, and Elke was overwhelmed in general, and it was raining off and on all day. Also, US/IOA WERE wonderful in that they literally "backdoored" us for everything (instead on putting us in the express pass line, they took us to the front via a back door). So yes, they give VIP treatment to the wish children, but we just didn't get the "feel good" vibe at US/IOA that we got in the days after at the Disney parks. Even my older kids (10 and 12) preferred Disney.

So take this for what it's worth -- just our own personal experience -- but we're in agreement with Amber (alaskanabbot) in that we really enjoyed our IOA/US day the least.

I do hear that there is an animal show at US that kids are supposed to really enjoy.

 

[jen-y]

I'm back Finally got my computer fixed How has everyone been doing? I am going to finally work on putting pictures on my PTR.
Also, 2 more people are meeting us down there - my grandpa (Nicky's great grandpa) and his "lady friend". That makes the total to 18 people. But we will not all be there the same dates. Its scattered, we will be there the 20-26and most of the other people will be there 16-23, so that allows us some time with them and some time alone. We are thinking about getting some kinds of t-shirts made that everyone can wear so we are coordinated. Maybe something that says Nickys wish trip and the dates or something like that. We are debating on whether or not to go to MNSSHP. I have always wanted to go, and we have never been to WDW that time of year, but the tickets are sooooo expensive

 

[maroo]

On the US/IOA - I am clueless...never been. We skipped it on Lauren's wish trip on purpose because they didn't have much that Lauren could do (or wanted to do) and we knew that we would have a hard time finishing the Disney parks.

But...I have read every wish TR out there and I have heard everything from "it was the worst day EVER" and "they were so inconsiderate of us" to "it was the BEST day ever!" and "they have wonderful VIP access!"

As far as the Harry Potter land...I have heard a lot about the land and from what I understand Universal is not as savy when introducing new things. For example - they sold "packages" to the Harry Potter land for dates starting in late May - but the thing isn't even going to be open until mid-June. They have now told those that bought the special packages that they would get exclusive access to the Harry Potter land - but this has made the Annual Passholders that have been loyal to Universal for YEARS really mad. Seems like a pretty huge tactical error if you ask me. What a mess.

I did hear that they won't be honoring any express passes on the main ride - which is supposed to be a 3-D roller coaster that will be restricted to tall kids and quite possibly will not accomodate larger people - so if you are of average height and enjoy thrill rides, it may be awesome. But if you have kids that will really want to ride, they may be really upset that they can't. This is all rumor for now, though, as no details have been officially released.

I think the key with Universal is to go into it knowing it is not Disney. If you compare it to Disney - you may be disappointed. It isn't a "feel good" park, if that makes sense. The music is more upbeat - sorta "rock" based? The rides are definitely higher in the thrill seeker catergory and some are scary or intense.

Many families love this and love the special playgrounds, etc. I think it will help to manage expectations.

As far as line access - the vast majority of wish families have reported that they got great line access - at least the express line and sometimes back-doored front of the line access. There have been exceptions, though. If you are not getting the service you expect, ask a Universal Employee to help you. I am guessing that they are in the process of hiring new people to help with the HP opening - so some employees will be new - and they are not trained like Disney employees - so those going in the near future may find some that really don't recognize the button or Universal GAC like some of the "old" employees might have - if that makes sense. If this happens to you - try to find another employee to help.

But all of this is based on my guesses and reading the TR's - and hanging out on the Universal board some in the past few weeks. I am personally looking forward to the HP land!

 

[maroo]

I'm back Finally got my computer fixed How has everyone been doing? I am going to finally work on putting pictures on my PTR.
Also, 2 more people are meeting us down there - my grandpa (Nicky's great grandpa) and his "lady friend". That makes the total to 18 people. But we will not all be there the same dates. Its scattered, we will be there the 20-26and most of the other people will be there 16-23, so that allows us some time with them and some time alone. We are thinking about getting some kinds of t-shirts made that everyone can wear so we are coordinated. Maybe something that says Nickys wish trip and the dates or something like that. We are debating on whether or not to go to MNSSHP. I have always wanted to go, and we have never been to WDW that time of year, but the tickets are sooooo expensive

Welcome back! We miss ya!

I think shirts are a great idea! Hopefully someone on the DISigns board can help you there!

MNSSHP - we LOVED this party! It is expensive...and if you are buying tickets for a lot of people, it may be too much. But for us...it "added" a Disney day for less than a one day ticket would have cost. Even though the party starts at 7:00 - you are allowed in the park by 4:00 - so you could spend the morning at GKTW and sleep in and then plan to do your "MK" stuff that night. The party lasts until midnight, but we were there until almost 1 AM.

They have a really cool parade (one of the best in Disney) and fireworks - and they have cool trick or treating, even for adults (we had BAGS and BAGS of candy) - but the best thing to me was the characters - and you are going at the perfect time because you will have the magic button...so you could actually see all of those characters. I know they have the 7 drawfs and villains and such. And the regular Disney characters all dressed up in costumes! So cute!

We had the most fun at the Dance Party! They have a couple of these at the party and the characters are out on the dance floor dancing with the kids. It was here that we got one of our favorite pictures of the whole trip - Chip/Dale dancing with Lauren. Her whole familiy got into the fun - it was a blast and something I would pay for again and again if I had to.

We sorta did our costumes at the last minute - and if I were able to do it again, I would plan that out a bit better and make sure we had fun costumes planned!

I loved the party and think it adds value since you would normally have to pay $79 to add a day to your vacation as a wish family - it makes the party seem a bit less expensive. Then you can use your 3 day park hopper for the other parks and maybe half of an MK day to catch anything you missed.

 

[pacrosby]

Just to echo this, I thought I should add that on the extended portion of our trip we had several CMs actually really read the GAC pass carefully and check the dates and number of people allowed in, This tended to happen at the more popular rides. So if you try to "extend" your "green light" stamp on your own you might be in for a really uncomfortable encounter, where you have to explain why you are using a GKTW pass after it has expired. As mentioned, my husband and I would not have felt comfortable using it past its expiration date regardless. But if you don't care about that, know that there are practical reasons why you shouldn't do so. And the last thing we need is for WDW to think that there are people out there misusing the GKTW GACs. It might make things difficult for wish families in the future.

We were more than prepared to make do with a "stoller as wheelchair" GAC and the umprompted reissuance of the "green light" GAC by a Disney employee was a bit of magical pixie dust thrown our way, which we appreciated beyond belief. Again, I was just totally upfront with the CM, and he decided to do that all on his own.

Also, as mentioned by others, the other GAC stamps can really help out with your child's medical needs, whether they be stamina concerns, heat, etc. Don't sell them short. Disney is very good to people with disabilities.

One last tip: since I have two much older children, on the trip we sometimes separated for rides. I easily dealt with this with a little planning by getting fast passes for the big name rides my older ones wanted to do (like Space Mountain, or Splash Mountain), while retaining the GAC for my younger child to use on nice things like Winnie the Pooh and the Carousel in the meantime.

Just a quick note..........

We extended our trip by a couple of days. During the final sit-down with the gktw rep I happened to mention our extension to him and said "but of course we can't use our GAC/button anymore". His response "of course you can!" and he promptly changed our GAC so that the date was extended another two days.

Just thought I'd throw that out

 

[pacrosby]

So I've started thinking about our day at US/IOA. We've never been before and I have no idea what to expect. I've heard the park is wonderful for wish kids but what exactly does that mean? Is front of the line available for all rides or just some? Anyone have any idea if it will be easier to tour the Harry Potter land... I've heard that the express pass that people can buy won't be able to be used on HP rides?

We're only planning on spending one day there. We'll be there at rope drop but we won't stay late, probably only until 4ish if we can do what we want by then. For those who have been, what do you recommend we do as far as rides and shows are concerned. We won't ahve time to do it all so I need to limit.

DS2 will enjoy all the rides he is allowed to ride. And Sydney and DS7 will still like the kiddie type rides as well. DH and DS7 love coasters so I need to fit a few in (Expedition Everest and Rock n Roller Coaster are favs at Disney). That said, I don't want to do too many things that Sydney can't do. She's is over 40in so she can do many of the rides at US, but its our first day in Florida so I'm not sure if its a good idea to put her on the crazy rides...she's looking forward to Barnstormer and Splash most of all. Which rides would be fairly tame for her but more exciting than the little kiddie rides?

I may post this to the US forum as well but I'd love to hear from those that have actually gone with a wish child.

Well I think I am the resident US/IOA nut around here and am happy to claim the title : In fact we (that's my whlole family) actually prefer US/IOA to some Disney parks and as far as the others........it'd probably be a tie. We had such a phoenomenal experience there. They shuffled us to the "very front" of every line on every attraction without exception. When we waited in line for px/autographs someone would immediately come grab us and pull us up front. On more than one occasion people asked us if "we were enjoying ourselves", if "everything was ok", if "there was anything more they could do for us". I will say, however, that there was never any doubt that we were a Wish family. We all wore MAW buttons placed prominently for everyone to see and Matty (my Wish child) had both his MAW and his GKTW button on at all times. I can't say for sure but I assume that may have helped a bit. Not all Wish families are so easily identified.

If time was limited must-do attractions for us (and ones that we'd recommend to others) would be SuessLand and Cartoon Lagoon over at IOA and the Simpson's Ride and Shrek over at Universal. There's also a kiddie area that we never got to at Universal that looked like alot of fun for very young children with a Curious George play area, a Fieval play area, a kiddie roller coaster, a Barney show and an animal show. I'd suggest spending some time over at the US/IOA site which will provide you some real detailed info on each of the attractions. I've got alot of px on my 'Gingerbread Boy TR' too but we went at Christmas time..............it's alittle different then.

We are planning another trip this coming December and when we suggested that US/IOA might not be in the budget (we're a famiily of six) my kids were devastated I know many here can't believe anyone could love US/IOA as much as we do but................it's true...................................we really do!



btw: I did kind of a 'summary' on US/IOA a ways back on this Wish Trippers thread when there was alot of talk about whether those parks were worthy of peoples' time..........page 45 post # 668. It might prove helpful to you if you want to check it out.

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

If you go to facebook and search for "reality wish", you will find it. There are two pages with that name - but are associated with the same thing, but the non-profit organization page (instead of the event page) is the one with her picture and the information on there. Look through the different photo albums. The one that says something along the lines of ambassadors for the wish shows all of the different "stars" that have donated. This has been the most fun distraction for me because we got discouraging news at today's MRI. It seems there is a bit of residual tumor remaining so we will be watching closely and deciding later about more surgery or chemo.

I am so sorry to hear the news on Adri's MRI. I hope it doesnt grow anymore.

We have 35 days to go we are so excited we have his MAW party on the 17th of may he cant wait .

Wow it's really close! Can't wait to hear about his MAW cool1:

They won't be over on the DISign board. They have their own website that is not connected with the DIS. There is one thread that is labeled "DISBOUTIQUERS" and you would want to stay away from that to be sure...but you can use the DISign board.

You might want to make sure the person at The Big Give knows what you are thinking of and some of those ladies may be able to work on it.

Thank you Maroo I think someone was able to help us out.



awesome! That is not much time! You guys will have a blast.

You are staying at GKTW, right?

Our Make A Wish person e-mailed and gave us a few choices for our flights. Luckily they are non-stop, just a little over 2 hours.

We chose to leave for Orlando at 7am and arrive at 9:12am. More time at GKTW! We will depart Orlando around 4:10pm coming back and arrive at 6:25pm. So awesome flight times!!!

The airport we are flying out of is 2 hours away from us, so we will be staying the night in Indianapolis at a hotel near the airport, since we will need to be there at 5am!!

We should be getting a limo ride for the 2 hour trip to Indianapolis and we are all so excited already. I can't believe it is 6 months away, but I know it will go fast!!!

2 hours in a limo!!?? How cool is that!!! I love going to that airport the night before and just watching all of the airplanes come in and take off from our hotel window.

I'm back Finally got my computer fixed How has everyone been doing? I am going to finally work on putting pictures on my PTR.
Also, 2 more people are meeting us down there - my grandpa (Nicky's great grandpa) and his "lady friend". That makes the total to 18 people. But we will not all be there the same dates. Its scattered, we will be there the 20-26and most of the other people will be there 16-23, so that allows us some time with them and some time alone. We are thinking about getting some kinds of t-shirts made that everyone can wear so we are coordinated. Maybe something that says Nickys wish trip and the dates or something like that. We are debating on whether or not to go to MNSSHP. I have always wanted to go, and we have never been to WDW that time of year, but the tickets are sooooo expensive

Wow you are having quite the group of people. That is great!

 

[Wee Annie]

Just a quick note..........

We extended our trip by a couple of days. During the final sit-down with the gktw rep I happened to mention our extension to him and said "but of course we can't use our GAC/button anymore". His response "of course you can!" and he promptly changed our GAC so that the date was extended another two days.

Just thought I'd throw that out

I think the general point we're all trying to make is don't just go and "extend" your GAC yourself. Talk to someone, either at GKTW (like Pamela did) or WDW, and there's a good likelihood that something similar will happen to you (since it happened to Pamela and me). But you don't want to be in the position where a CM asks to look at your GAC and sees that it's outdated, because some DO look. The upfront and honest approach seems to work out well in this regard.