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

[maroo]

Our Make A Wish Volunteer called today and said our doctor got the paperwork right back to them and we get our first choices dates for our trip!

We will be at GKTW from November 14th to November 20th!!! The week before Thanksgiving, but all the Christmas decorations will be up and MVMCP (not sure if the letters are in the right order) will be in full swing. Not sure if we will be going to the Christmas party, but we will try to fit it in.

I know it is 6 months away, but I am already so excited and in full planning mode. Trying to decide which restaurants I want to try and get ADR's for. We have done most of the Character Dining before when we went to Disney wtih Grandma 2 years ago (she was paying!) We ate at Cinderella's Royal Table, Chef Michey's and Crystal Palace. We love Ohana and will eat there for sure.

Anyone else have any other suggestions for meals at Disney or good restaurants at Universal?

We will try to eat at GKTW most of the time, but I would like to plan 2 or 3 special meals out (one being Ohana).

Thanks for letting me share our good news!!!

Awesome news on DATES!!! I will add these to your pre-trip report on the first page of this thread!

We will also be in Disney around the same time as you. Unfortunately, we get to experience it DURING Thanksgiving week...but we are just excited to get to go!

We are attending the Nov 19th MVMCP with Lauren and her family. It will be our first day there. Not sure of the rest of our plans yet. I know we plan to take it easy...we have 8.5 park days - which is awesome.

I agree with the previous posters about 1900 Park Fare. Sounds like they really try to make that meal special.

On the day the Today show was fillming, I was told it would be shown on May 21st. A day or two later I heard May 20th. Both of these dates are "rumor based" but I plan to watch both days. I think my May 21st source is more reliable - but not guaranteed.

Katie

So...have they already filmed?? Or are they going to be filming the same day they are showing it?

This is pretty interesting!!!

Hi everyone,

We are leaving May 18th and don't have too much time to plan. One question I have is regarding strollers. I believe we will get a voucher or something at GKTW for a stroller, but I am worried about getting to and from the parking lot. Our daughter does not have much stamina in her these days and at 5 years old she is heavy to carry long distances. For those of you who have gone, do you get lumped in the general public parking lot? If so, we might have to consider shipping/renting a non-Disney stroller.

This is a valid fear.

If your child has a disabled tag - then you will want to bring that and it will ensure that you are able to park in handicapped parking.

There is a tram that will take you to the park entrance at the Disney Parks.

But it is my understanding that the Universal Parks still have quite a walk, even from HA parking.

My other concern would be the airport itself. It is quite a walk through the Orlando airport. I think I would possibly purchase a stroller and just take it with you. You could hang bags on it and she will hopefully feel quite comfortable. You can gate check it and they will bring it to you as you get off the plane.

Or you could rent a stroller from an offsite company - they will deliver it directly to GKTW - and then you will have it all week.

Another option is to just buy a cheap one at the Walmart in Kissimmee. You may even see if there is one at GKTW that has been donated to be used?? Just a thought...I am sure many parents opt to buy one and maybe they leave it when they are done? Then you could just use a wheelchair at the airport.

Sierra is choosing to have her face painted instead of doing BBB but I told her she had plenty of time to think about it so we will see She could go either way she is such a girlie girl when it comes to dresses.

I know Ty would not allow her fairy wings on his wheelchair But that would be soo cute!!

We should hear about our flights this month. I am starting to get a little nervous on the flying again. I'm really trying not to think about it but being my neighbor just flew to Reno and had a rough flight through the storms he didn't help me out by telling me

Oh how fun! I can't wait to hear how she likes the face painting!!

Yeah...I would think Ty would be against fairy wings on his wheelchair!

 

[noahsketomom]

Yeah on getting dates!

I'm interested in hearing the suggestions for US as well. As for WDW, my kiddos are huge fans of Coral Reef because of the floor to ceiling aquarium. We did Akershus last year for breakfast and everyone enjoyed it. We're doing 1900 Park Fare dinner for the first time this year and Sydney is pretty excited to see Cinderella and Prince Charming.

Hi Joanne! I don't have any US suggestions, but wanted to throw out there if your kids like the Coral Reef, that there's a "Shark's Underwater Grille" at Seaworld. We got a fantastic table next to the tank and there were some pretty big sharks that swam right by! The food was BIG and YUMMY, but pricey too ($25-30 for adults, $9 for kids). Just an idea to throw out!

On the day the Today show was fillming, I was told it would be shown on May 21st. A day or two later I heard May 20th. Both of these dates are "rumor based" but I plan to watch both days. I think my May 21st source is more reliable - but not guaranteed.

Katie

Thanks Katie -- gotta get the DVR set!

Hi everyone,

We are leaving May 18th and don't have too much time to plan. One question I have is regarding strollers. I believe we will get a voucher or something at GKTW for a stroller, but I am worried about getting to and from the parking lot. Our daughter does not have much stamina in her these days and at 5 years old she is heavy to carry long distances. For those of you who have gone, do you get lumped in the general public parking lot? If so, we might have to consider shipping/renting a non-Disney stroller.

Hi there,
Make sure you ask your wish organization. And make sure you specify a specific type if you need (jogger, non-jogger, double, etc.) The wish organization will work with the stroller companies that GKTW deals with and they will have a stroller delivered to your villa. It's really helpful even at the village if you get a villa that is aways from the main area (Castle, Gingerbread House, etc.) We used ours ALL the time and got another at the parks (we have 4 kids -- 3,4,7 and 9 and they ALL got tired!)

Also, you will get priority parking (blue line usually), but sometimes there is still a long walk at some parks (US/IOA and MK come to mind)

HTH!

 

[yinyanggirls]

Hi everyone,

We are leaving May 18th and don't have too much time to plan. One question I have is regarding strollers. I believe we will get a voucher or something at GKTW for a stroller, but I am worried about getting to and from the parking lot. Our daughter does not have much stamina in her these days and at 5 years old she is heavy to carry long distances. For those of you who have gone, do you get lumped in the general public parking lot? If so, we might have to consider shipping/renting a non-Disney stroller.

From MK and Epcot it is a short walk from the handicapped parking to the monorail or ferry. If you don't have a handicapped placard you get priority parking which is the first section after the handicapped (we forgot our placard one time). It's only a few rows further, so not too bad. SW was not a long walk from parking to the stroller rental. US is quite a walk but they have the moving sidewalks about half of it. My husband usually carried our 4 yr old on his shoulders until we got our stroller. She wasn't tired we just wanted to move faster and not lose her.

 

[wish_upon_a_star35]

I'm glad you guys had such wonderful experiences at 1900 Park Fare. That's one of the places that I have ressies for!!

I have a question! How do I make a ticker in my sig? I'd really like to add one. Thanks!

 

[casper_jj11]

Beth - Thanks for the recommendation about Sharks Grille. I had been thinking about it but wasn't sure. We're only doing 1/2 day at Seaworld this time but we'll need a place for lunch. WE did Seaworld a few years ago and it wasn't our favourite park. It was crowded, near impossible to get counterservice food and felt very chaotic. That said, when originally asked what she'd like for a wish, she said she wanted to eat with the princesses and see dolphins so Seaworld is a must. The plan is to spend a whole bunch of time at the dolphin feeding area and visit briefly other feeding spots since the kids enjoyed that more than anything last trip. We also plan to try and see the dolphin show. Sharkes Grill would be something different for us and it would take away the lunch time problem ... we tried to eat starting at 11am last trip and at 1pm ended up getting popcorn for everyone. Crazy.

I have a question about the priority parking. Does GKTW have provide a pass for that or do the attendants send you there when they know you're on a wish trip. We'll be on site but plan to drive to HS and AK. Its not a huge issue for us but if we can park closer, that would be nice.

Last thing, can someone tell me how to multi quote? I know the quote button is there for a single quote but how do people quote more than one person?

 

[Wee Annie]

I have a question about the priority parking. Does GKTW have provide a pass for that or do the attendants send you there when they know you're on a wish trip. We'll be on site but plan to drive to HS and AK. Its not a huge issue for us but if we can park closer, that would be nice.

GKTW will give you a parking pass. We found that at AK, we were told to "follow the blue line" and then parked in disabled parking (we don't have a regular placard/tag). That being said, AK was the only park where the parking toll person waived us through to disabled parking. At HS, after we had parked and were getting on the tram, some parking attendants saw we were with MAW and told us that if we returned we should park in disabled parking. So I think if you just ask, you should be able to do so without much trouble at the parks. Since we had a stroller for Elke, we didn't consider it that big a deal to just park wherever and take the tram. But, come to think of it, it would have been much easier not to have folded the stroller up each time.... So do take advantage of the more convenient parking.

 

[maroo]

Beth - Thanks for the recommendation about Sharks Grille. I had been thinking about it but wasn't sure. We're only doing 1/2 day at Seaworld this time but we'll need a place for lunch. WE did Seaworld a few years ago and it wasn't our favourite park. It was crowded, near impossible to get counterservice food and felt very chaotic. That said, when originally asked what she'd like for a wish, she said she wanted to eat with the princesses and see dolphins so Seaworld is a must. The plan is to spend a whole bunch of time at the dolphin feeding area and visit briefly other feeding spots since the kids enjoyed that more than anything last trip. We also plan to try and see the dolphin show. Sharkes Grill would be something different for us and it would take away the lunch time problem ... we tried to eat starting at 11am last trip and at 1pm ended up getting popcorn for everyone. Crazy.

I have a question about the priority parking. Does GKTW have provide a pass for that or do the attendants send you there when they know you're on a wish trip. We'll be on site but plan to drive to HS and AK. Its not a huge issue for us but if we can park closer, that would be nice.

Last thing, can someone tell me how to multi quote? I know the quote button is there for a single quote but how do people quote more than one person?

Joanne - We LOVED the Backstage at Believe lunch. It is not terribly expensive and was the best meal we had the whole trip.

It is a buffet and is located near the Believe stage. You eat backstage and they do a presentation about the whales and usually show the guests some tricks and such. You also get preferred seating for the show without having to wait. We would do this meal/show again in a heartbeat!

It is something you have to pre-pay for - you just call Sea World and they will sign you up for it. The meal is only set up for a limited number of people - I would say less than 80? So I would go ahead and sign up. We had an issue where Lauren and Lisa could not make it and they refunded the money with no problem.

Having said all of that...I am not sure if anything has changed since the Killer Whale incident - I believe that occured at a similar event - so it is possible that they have scaled it back? Not sure. But the food was great and the benefit of the reserved seating was worth it all. You are treated like people on a VIP tour - William loved it!

 

[motherof4greatkids]

Hi everyone just stoping in to see how everyone is doing we have 37 days til our wish trip so excited we are trying to get everything together. We live in hamilton ohio in other wish families close to here....

 

[choochmac]

Hope I am doing this multi-quote thing right....

This is a valid fear.

If your child has a disabled tag - then you will want to bring that and it will ensure that you are able to park in handicapped parking.

There is a tram that will take you to the park entrance at the Disney Parks.

But it is my understanding that the Universal Parks still have quite a walk, even from HA parking.

My other concern would be the airport itself. It is quite a walk through the Orlando airport. I think I would possibly purchase a stroller and just take it with you. You could hang bags on it and she will hopefully feel quite comfortable. You can gate check it and they will bring it to you as you get off the plane.

Or you could rent a stroller from an offsite company - they will deliver it directly to GKTW - and then you will have it all week.

Another option is to just buy a cheap one at the Walmart in Kissimmee. You may even see if there is one at GKTW that has been donated to be used?? Just a thought...I am sure many parents opt to buy one and maybe they leave it when they are done? Then you could just use a wheelchair at the airport.

Thanks for the info and ideas. I hadn't really thought about the airport as well.

Hi there,
Make sure you ask your wish organization. And make sure you specify a specific type if you need (jogger, non-jogger, double, etc.) The wish organization will work with the stroller companies that GKTW deals with and they will have a stroller delivered to your villa. It's really helpful even at the village if you get a villa that is aways from the main area (Castle, Gingerbread House, etc.) We used ours ALL the time and got another at the parks (we have 4 kids -- 3,4,7 and 9 and they ALL got tired!)

Also, you will get priority parking (blue line usually), but sometimes there is still a long walk at some parks (US/IOA and MK come to mind)

HTH!

Thanks, I will check with them to see to see what they can do.

From MK and Epcot it is a short walk from the handicapped parking to the monorail or ferry. If you don't have a handicapped placard you get priority parking which is the first section after the handicapped (we forgot our placard one time). It's only a few rows further, so not too bad. SW was not a long walk from parking to the stroller rental. US is quite a walk but they have the moving sidewalks about half of it. My husband usually carried our 4 yr old on his shoulders until we got our stroller. She wasn't tired we just wanted to move faster and not lose her.

Many thanks.

 

[blessedmom4]

Joanne - We LOVED the Backstage at Believe lunch. It is not terribly expensive and was the best meal we had the whole trip.

It is a buffet and is located near the Believe stage. You eat backstage and they do a presentation about the whales and usually show the guests some tricks and such. You also get preferred seating for the show without having to wait. We would do this meal/show again in a heartbeat!

It is something you have to pre-pay for - you just call Sea World and they will sign you up for it. The meal is only set up for a limited number of people - I would say less than 80? So I would go ahead and sign up. We had an issue where Lauren and Lisa could not make it and they refunded the money with no problem.

Having said all of that...I am not sure if anything has changed since the Killer Whale incident - I believe that occured at a similar event - so it is possible that they have scaled it back? Not sure. But the food was great and the benefit of the reserved seating was worth it all. You are treated like people on a VIP tour - William loved it!

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.

 

[maroo]

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.

This is great information! Thank you so much for posting it!!

 

[Adrismommy]

Okay, I have to share this fun news with you guys. MAW called me last week and asked me to email a picture of Adri. The lady explained the reason why, but honestly, last week was so crazy with her MRI, her being sick, I ran into my garage door, I had the incident with passing out and the stitches... and they called in the most chaotic of moments, that I just emailed the picture without really understanding why they needed. So then I emailed back and asked her if she could tell me again why she needed it. I thought it was cool but didn't fully understand until tonight.

Basically there is a casting director out of Columbia (our capitol) who has casted for all the major reality TV shows. 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. Well, Adri was chosen to be the child whose wish they are raising money for. So right now the competition is taking place and stars & fans from The Amazing Race, Big Brother, Survivor, The Biggest Loser, and King of the Crown are raising money for Adri. It's been going on a week and nearly 3K has been raised for her trip. The cool thing is that on the page, the casting director is keeping a photo album updated of all of the reality stars that donate money, and there are so many of my favorite reality stars on there - donating to Adri! So cool. She also says that they are going to have a party and invite any of the stars that are close enough to come (probably none of them) to come meet her. So we are just so excited. You guys have no idea how appropriate this is for me. 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!

 

[casper_jj11]

Oh my gosh! I'm a reality tv nut! That's so exciting.

 

[maroo]

Okay, I have to share this fun news with you guys. MAW called me last week and asked me to email a picture of Adri. The lady explained the reason why, but honestly, last week was so crazy with her MRI, her being sick, I ran into my garage door, I had the incident with passing out and the stitches... and they called in the most chaotic of moments, that I just emailed the picture without really understanding why they needed. So then I emailed back and asked her if she could tell me again why she needed it. I thought it was cool but didn't fully understand until tonight.

Basically there is a casting director out of Columbia (our capitol) who has casted for all the major reality TV shows. 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. Well, Adri was chosen to be the child whose wish they are raising money for. So right now the competition is taking place and stars & fans from The Amazing Race, Big Brother, Survivor, The Biggest Loser, and King of the Crown are raising money for Adri. It's been going on a week and nearly 3K has been raised for her trip. The cool thing is that on the page, the casting director is keeping a photo album updated of all of the reality stars that donate money, and there are so many of my favorite reality stars on there - donating to Adri! So cool. She also says that they are going to have a party and invite any of the stars that are close enough to come (probably none of them) to come meet her. So we are just so excited. You guys have no idea how appropriate this is for me. 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!

OK...

That has to...by far...be one of the COOLEST THINGS I have ever heard!!!!

How awesome is that!??!?!

You get to meet them!!!! That is so incredibly awesome!!!

I am so excited! Not just for you guys - it is totally awesome for you guys - but also for the whole organization! The "free" press they will get from doing this is really awesome!!

Woo Hoo!!

 

[that's nice]

Basically there is a casting director out of Columbia (our capitol) who has casted for all the major reality TV shows. 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. Well, Adri was chosen to be the child whose wish they are raising money for. So right now the competition is taking place and stars & fans from The Amazing Race, Big Brother, Survivor, The Biggest Loser, and King of the Crown are raising money for Adri. It's been going on a week and nearly 3K has been raised for her trip. The cool thing is that on the page, the casting director is keeping a photo album updated of all of the reality stars that donate money, and there are so many of my favorite reality stars on there - donating to Adri! So cool. She also says that they are going to have a party and invite any of the stars that are close enough to come (probably none of them) to come meet her. So we are just so excited. You guys have no idea how appropriate this is for me. 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!

This is so cool!!!!

I hope you guys get to meet a ton of Celebrities!!!!

I've only met a few (right Maroo?)

 

[blessedmom4]

This is great information! Thank you so much for posting it!!

My Pleasure

I LOVE the news about Adri! That is AMAZING!!!
Congratulations!!!
I am with Maroo, how cool for your family AND for MAW! I LOVE BB and Survivor, I bet you WILL have a lot of people come to meet you. Don’t forget, these reality stars LOVE the camera…You are going to have TONS of additional fun with this, I am so happy for you all!!

Blessings,
Judy

 

[wishin' on a star]

That is SO cool!!!

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

Okay, I have to share this fun news with you guys. MAW called me last week and asked me to email a picture of Adri. The lady explained the reason why, but honestly, last week was so crazy with her MRI, her being sick, I ran into my garage door, I had the incident with passing out and the stitches... and they called in the most chaotic of moments, that I just emailed the picture without really understanding why they needed. So then I emailed back and asked her if she could tell me again why she needed it. I thought it was cool but didn't fully understand until tonight.

Basically there is a casting director out of Columbia (our capitol) who has casted for all the major reality TV shows. 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. Well, Adri was chosen to be the child whose wish they are raising money for. So right now the competition is taking place and stars & fans from The Amazing Race, Big Brother, Survivor, The Biggest Loser, and King of the Crown are raising money for Adri. It's been going on a week and nearly 3K has been raised for her trip. The cool thing is that on the page, the casting director is keeping a photo album updated of all of the reality stars that donate money, and there are so many of my favorite reality stars on there - donating to Adri! So cool. She also says that they are going to have a party and invite any of the stars that are close enough to come (probably none of them) to come meet her. So we are just so excited. You guys have no idea how appropriate this is for me. 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!

This is amazing!! I just love hearing all of the things that MAW and sponsers do for our kids.

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

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.

 

[rcq925]

Okay, I have to share this fun news with you guys. MAW called me last week and asked me to email a picture of Adri. The lady explained the reason why, but honestly, last week was so crazy with her MRI, her being sick, I ran into my garage door, I had the incident with passing out and the stitches... and they called in the most chaotic of moments, that I just emailed the picture without really understanding why they needed. So then I emailed back and asked her if she could tell me again why she needed it. I thought it was cool but didn't fully understand until tonight.

Basically there is a casting director out of Columbia (our capitol) who has casted for all the major reality TV shows. 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. Well, Adri was chosen to be the child whose wish they are raising money for. So right now the competition is taking place and stars & fans from The Amazing Race, Big Brother, Survivor, The Biggest Loser, and King of the Crown are raising money for Adri. It's been going on a week and nearly 3K has been raised for her trip. The cool thing is that on the page, the casting director is keeping a photo album updated of all of the reality stars that donate money, and there are so many of my favorite reality stars on there - donating to Adri! So cool. She also says that they are going to have a party and invite any of the stars that are close enough to come (probably none of them) to come meet her. So we are just so excited. You guys have no idea how appropriate this is for me. 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 so awesome!! I love Big Brother, Survivor, and Amazing Race! How cool is that! Do you have a link to the website so we can all check it out?