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

[balloondoggle]

I don't want to put it on here but I just noticed you live in the same city as I do!! Hi neighbor!

Howdy! Seems to be a few of us here, I think I noticed at least 2 but that may have been you twice. Who wants to set up a MAW Meet Up? (could be tough if we refrain from posting our city though....)

 

[jen-y]

Love the Good Morning Vietnam comparison. "Seeing as the VP is such a VIP, we need to keep it on the QT" lol.
I needed to ask what CRT (Cinderella's Royal Table" and ADR (Advanced Dining Reservations) was.

 

[jen-y]

Maroo, What is the special party ticket? I am not familiar w/that.

Thanks,
Jen-Y

 

[cajunfan]

Maroo, What is the special party ticket? I am not familiar w/that.

Thanks,
Jen-Y

Jen-Y...WDW sometimes has what they call "hard-ticketed" events. (Most notably the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party(MNSSHP) and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP)). Basically the park (Magic Kingdom in these cases) closes early (7pm), and only people with the "hard ticket" are allowed in the party. Basically the hard ticket is just a seperate entrance ticket (separate cost from a regular ticket) to get into the park for that specific event. Once in the park Disney has various ways to determine that you "belong" there...in the past it was a special wrist band, but they have been experimenting with (not sure if it is permanent) different methods to do this. And they supposedly usher those that don't belong (discretely of course) out of the park.

Bottom line, if you are going during the time that they are having either of these events, you might want to spurge for the extra tickets )Or ask your Wish Organization for them). We have been to the Halloween party and had a blast! I have not been at Christmas time before, so I can't comment on that. Also, what Maroo was also talking about, was with these tickets, you can enter the park at 4 pm (only the park that is having the event). So, you can go to Sea World or US during the day and then have an extra night in Magic Kingdom if you have these tickets.

I hope this makes sense...I tend to ramble...

Lynn

 

[teskak]

Please go to MyaRose's care page and support Shardai.

Her poor baby is dying and in agony with only strong pain meds keeping it at bay - but there are those of her family that want her to dial back the pain meds so Mya is more awake.

Shardai needs all of the love the Dis WishTrippers can give

 

[maroo]

Maroo, What is the special party ticket? I am not familiar w/that.

Thanks,
Jen-Y

See Lynn (cajunfan) response! She was right on the money.

The only thing I would add is that purchasing a "hard ticket" to one of these events is a fairly cheap way for a wish family to get one more "day" at a Disney park...

For example: GKTW gives you a 3 day Park Hopper ticket...but if you buy a "hard ticket" (usually about $20 cheaper than a "regular" day ticket) then you basically get an extra day to enjoy a Disney Park - not to mention the benefits of being a the party.

I have gone to both the Halloween and Christmas party and consider them both to be a don't miss for anyone going to Disney during a time when they are offered. The parades, special fireworks, decorations and atmosphere are just something I think everyone should experience at some point.

Some wish organizations will do one special thing for the wish child - so if you let them know you want to go, then sometimes they will let this be the one thing and then free up some of your spending money to use as you guys wish... Does that make sense?

 

[maroo]

Please go to MyaRose's care page and support Shardai.

Her poor baby is dying and in agony with only strong pain meds keeping it at bay - but there are those of her family that want her to dial back the pain meds so Mya is more awake.

Shardai needs all of the love the Dis WishTrippers can give

I talked to Shardai yesterday - she is so strong and is doing an awesome job with the balance of making sure Mya is not in pain - but also not drugging her so much that she can't breathe.

Mya is considered terminal and they are just waiting - but Shardai holds on to hope that Mya will be healed of this. Mya went into remission despite the doctors all saying that she would never go into remission. Shardai is a Christian, and like me believes that miracles CAN happen!

One way or another, God is going to heal Mya - but in the meantime - I really hope that we, as her DIS family, will surround her with love and support.

 

[Wee Annie]

Okay, so we're going in oh, what, 10 days and I'm finally getting to planning.

Question: are there Wish Lounges in all the Disney Parks, or just the MK? Are they open all day, or just certain hours? Inquiring minds want to know....

Thanks!

 

[TTomlinson]

I'm new to the boards but have already invested HOURS pouring over all the information here... I'm a bit overwhelmed but totally excited too. We meet with our MAW wish screener in about an hour!

I have 4 boys ages 14, 11, 8 and 5 (almost 6!). The youngest Tyler has autism/ADHD/SPD and was just recently diagnosed with Friedrich's Ataxia. FA is a rare neuromuscular genetic disease that causes loss of motor function and control in the legs/feet/hands and also can have scoliosis, diabetes and cardiomyopathy. Thank goodness we don't have several of those yet, but he has a rare form of the disease (leave it to him to want to be super special and rare of the rare). He does already have pretty progressed balance/gait/coordination problems but is still somewhat mobile. He has moderate cardiomyopathy that is different than they have seen in kids with this disease at this level of progression. So that is very scary and serious. We just started ACE inhibitors to help the heart function if we can. There is no cure or treatment for his disease, unfortunately.

On the bright side, he is the most happy, loving, funny little kid and he can't WAIT to go to Disney. He also wants to be Steve from Blues Clues for part of his wish so we will see.

Since we are just starting our wish planning I have no idea when we will go or details. With the way his heart problems are progressing and his mobility decreasing so fast, I hope they can make it happen soon. His birthday is in May as well as one of my other kids and we are hoping to go for that. If we can't pull it off that fast I'm going to ask them to wait until fall when it cools back off a little and hopefully is not as busy (school and all).

I have found so many answers here and just want to thank you all for sharing! I was really concerned that we wouldn't get to stay at GKTW because we have 4 kids and 2 adults (if my mom is allowed to go with us, I'm a single mom) but it looks like we might still be able to make it work which makes me so happy!

I'm kinda sad I don't have a girl anywhere in the group to do princess stuff... I'm the only princess around in this house full of boys! Heheh

Anyway, just wanted to say HI and thanks and introduce ourselves. I'm sure I'll have more questions and posts as we actually start planning!

Hugs,
Tami

 

[TTomlinson]

Oh yeah, forgot to add..... here is Tyler's caring bridge site if anyone is interested...

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tylercarpenter

Hugs,
Tami

 

[xanphylus]

Oh yeah, forgot to add..... here is Tyler's caring bridge site if anyone is interested...

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tylercarpenter

Hugs,
Tami

Hi! I think it's great you will get to go to Disney! It will be magical- and this is def the place to start and to ask questions!!!

 

[TTomlinson]

Woo hoo the MAW screeners just left and we are so excited! We are going to be getting our wish trip towards the middle/end of May so we will be celebrating Tyler's birthday and my 11 year old's as well. We did find out we will be staying at the GKTW which I am so excited about! I didn't know if we would be able to with so many people (2 adults and 4 kids). I have been gathering info from here and other sources for a couple of weeks but now that its reality I'm freaking out and don't know where to start LOL I will try to start a pre-trip soon but have no idea what I'm even supposed to include

All I know is we are all on about this adventure...

Hugs,
Tami

 

[pouty_tink]

Woo hoo the MAW screeners just left and we are so excited! We are going to be getting our wish trip towards the middle/end of May so we will be celebrating Tyler's birthday and my 11 year old's as well. We did find out we will be staying at the GKTW which I am so excited about! I didn't know if we would be able to with so many people (2 adults and 4 kids). I have been gathering info from here and other sources for a couple of weeks but now that its reality I'm freaking out and don't know where to start LOL I will try to start a pre-trip soon but have no idea what I'm even supposed to include

All I know is we are all on about this adventure...

Hugs,
Tami

Congrats on the MAW!!

Starting a PTR (pre-trip) is easy. I was kindda nervous to start one too as I"ve never done one. But I read a few and thought it cant be that hard.. It all kindda works its way together!! I look forward to following along on your journey!! There are a bunch of us planning right now and with each one I get more and more excited if thats even possible!!!

Kirsten

 

[wishin' on a star]

Woo hoo the MAW screeners just left and we are so excited! We are going to be getting our wish trip towards the middle/end of May so we will be celebrating Tyler's birthday and my 11 year old's as well. We did find out we will be staying at the GKTW which I am so excited about! I didn't know if we would be able to with so many people (2 adults and 4 kids). I have been gathering info from here and other sources for a couple of weeks but now that its reality I'm freaking out and don't know where to start LOL I will try to start a pre-trip soon but have no idea what I'm even supposed to include

All I know is we are all on about this adventure...

Hugs,
Tami

Hi, and welcome to to the boards! So glad the wish granters were able to give you dates so quickly!! We are going to be at GKTW May 17-23rd, so maybe our paths will cross!

I'm sorry for the problems your son has had, but so glad to hear that he has received a wish. It's been an amazing process for us, and we are so excited to go on this trip of a lifetime. Can't wait to hear about your plans! We are doing some of the princess stuff, but I have a little boy as well, so pirates and Star Wars are in our future as well! The first Star Wars weekend is May 21-23rd, if your boys are at all into that. I know it's a highlight of the week for my DH and DS!

 

[wishin' on a star]

I have a kind of silly question, but should we bring our own beach towels to GKTW? They take up so much room in a suitcase, and I'm thinking we could just use the towels there, but I thought I'd see what others do. We are not planning on doing any of the water parks, just using the pool at GKTW. Thanks for any info you can help with!

 

[livndisney]

Mya's Caringbridge has been updated:

" I am worried and am asking that we all pray for God's will for Mya and that she may be pain free and at peace. "


Please pray for this sweet little one.

 

[Adrismommy]

I have a question about the Wish Lounges... I've seen reference to them on here. Where are they? What are they like? Last year I found out about the baby stations or whatever they're called and they were pretty nice... are the Wish Lounges similar? I'll still be nursing my son when we go in July and I know with a 3 year old and baby in tow we'll need a place to take a break.

I'm also curious to get some opinions on what's worth seeing and what isn't for a toddler. I want to get the most out of the trip while still allowing time to enjoy GKTW so I don't want to overdo it at the parks. Does anyone have advice? Is SeaWorld worth taking a toddler and baby to? What about IOA - is there even anything there for small kids? I thought of that as more of a roller coaster-type park.

 

[myasma]

A very special person from Mya's guestbook made a video collage of Mya that is beautiful and captures the spirit of Mya. If anyone wants to watch it they can here.

 

[livndisney]

I have a question about the Wish Lounges... I've seen reference to them on here. Where are they? What are they like? Last year I found out about the baby stations or whatever they're called and they were pretty nice... are the Wish Lounges similar? I'll still be nursing my son when we go in July and I know with a 3 year old and baby in tow we'll need a place to take a break.

I'm also curious to get some opinions on what's worth seeing and what isn't for a toddler. I want to get the most out of the trip while still allowing time to enjoy GKTW so I don't want to overdo it at the parks. Does anyone have advice? Is SeaWorld worth taking a toddler and baby to? What about IOA - is there even anything there for small kids? I thought of that as more of a roller coaster-type park.

Well Sea World has an Elmo show. They also have the Sesame breakfast. They have a pretty cool kids area. Sea World also has a Babycare center in the playground area.

 

[alaskanabbott]

Well Sea World has an Elmo show. They also have the Sesame breakfast. They have a pretty cool kids area. Sea World also has a Babycare center in the playground area.

I already wrote about this in my TR but our two cents is WE LOVED the wish lounge at MK. We tried to use the one at Epcot, but it's closed on week-ends, FYI...but at the Magic Kingdom it's in the same building as the first aid, and it's quiet, air conditioned and there is a fridge with cold bottles of water. Anytime James or one of the girls needed to use the bathroom we went back to the Wish Lounge becuase it was pretty centrally located, and no long bathroom lines (and James is in a wheelchair so it was easier for him too). The room had several comfy seats, toys, a tv and movies. We needed to check our voice mail that day and hubby went to use the phone, and forgot it was long distance, only to realise afterward he had just spent about 5 minutes calling back to Alaska on the phone. We told the nurse we owed them some $$ and she just smiled and told us to "make ourselves at home." We were encouraged to each take a bottle of water too. James needed his stoma cleaned and bandaged and the nurse helped with that too. We adored the wish lounge and fear we can never go back to Disney World again knowing it's off limits to us now