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

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Hi everyone,

I so miss this board. I have a lot of catching up to do. My friend from Canada will be leaving on Wed. We are having a good time. We took her to the beach yesterday. Kicking back today and most likely hitting the mall tomorrow. Tomorrow is also my birthday, so maybe I'll buy myself something:rotfl:

Mary...thank you for posting the GKTW video. Can't wait to wait it. I also need to go over the meds on airplane better too.


:bday: Hope you have a wonderful day!!!:cool1:
 
So I posted this on my PTR, but for those of you who may not be following it, let me know what you think!

So let me know what you guys think! I have read enought PTR's and TR's to know that this can change and I will have to TRY and go with the flow if it does!!!

Hayley’s Make A Wish Trip Itinerary


Sunday, Novemer 14th

- Arrive at Give Kids the World (flight arrives at 9:12am in
Orlando )
- Explore Give Kids the World (Do Hayley’s star, make pillows, ect.)
- GKTW orientation (time unknown, hopefully afternoon)
- Candyland Game at GKTW 7:30pm
- ADR at T-Rex Downtown Disney at 4pm if we want to


Monday, November 15th

- Magic Kindgom Day
- ADR at Cinderella’s Royal Table- 9:00am
- ADR at O’hana (Poly Resor) – 5:00pm
- Back to MK for Wishes ????- 8:00pm or back to GKTW for
Double Dare 8:00pm


Tuesday, November 16th

- Universal Studios Day
- Do both parks all day
- Possibly Downtown Disney for shopping if we have time
- Family Fun Night at GKTW starts at 7:30pm


Wednesday, November 17th

- Epcot and Hollywood Studios
- Epcot first (do Kim Impossible Mission in the World Showcase)
- Hollywood Studios in the afternoon
- ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In at 7:05pm
- See Osbourne Lights before leaving


Thursday, November 18th

- Sea World Day
- GKTW Christmas Party starts at 6:30pm


Friday, November 19th

- Animal Kingdom morning and early afternoon
- Afternoon break at GKTW
- Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom 4pm to 12am


Saturday, November 20th

- Departure day
- Flight leaves at 4pm
- Sleep in a little, enjoy GKTW until we need to head to the airport
- Horseback riding at Keaton’s Corral- GKTW 8:00am-11:00am
- Possibly check out Downtown Disney if we did not have time before


So let me know what you think! I am getting so excited. 2 months, 2 weeks and 1 day until we arrive at Give Kids The World!!
__________________
 
Just a quick note to the people who are going on trips soon - I just saw an announcement that GKTW has car magnets now, so I went to the gift shop website to take a peek and when I priced out a $25 order it was $17 to ship! They only use UPS and there is no cheaper option. I had heard complaints about the shipping before, but this is really bad. I was planning to get a few things for Christmas presents, but now maybe I'll wait and see if we can't plan a return trip and get things in person. When we were checking out I remember the lady telling me we could purchase something now or just get it from the website when we get home. That sounded like a good option, but I didn't know the shipping would be 60 cents for every dollar spent! So, STOCK UP ON GIFTS WHEN YOU ARE THERE!!!

I didn't see those at the front desk so it may be somethign you have to ask for. Its too bad because I was really looking for something to bring home from GKTW. I would have loved to have had a car magnet.

On another note, can anyone recomend a "fun" restaurant at US or IOA?
and if so, do I need ADR's for there? I just thought I would try and line up places to eat there (instead of winging it) if they have someplace fun.

Supposed to go to a Make a Wish fundraiser on Sunday, if we feel better:sick:
Nicky and I both have pretty bad colds, and Nicky has some kind of rash that the doctores think is an allergic reaction, but I don't know what to :confused3
All I can do is give him Benedryl.

I hope you guys are feeling better soon. Poor Nickey with teh reaction. I find Benedryl works pretty well. You may want to ask the dr about whether you can give more than the dose stated on the meds. Its often based on age but if Nicky's weight warrants it, they may up the dose and it may work better for him.

We made ADR at Mythos in IOA. I wouldn't necessarily call it 'fun' since there's no characters or antying but it was really cool inside. I was really glad I made them. Did it there because figured between Harry Potter and Seussland, we'd still be in that area around noon. They also handled Sydney peanut allergy really well.

On my iPhone.... But if u guys want something from GKTW PM me and I can get it and ship cheaper. Also... If u r a past wish family, u may get free shipping... Check your bunny book. Or u can call GKTW and they may be able to help with that. I love my GKTW magnet! :)

Check you PMs! :goodvibes

I am aware that I will get directions from the airport to GKTW, but I was wondering if I will get a map to get to the other attractions for the week? Will the rental car have a navigation system or is that something additional that I will need to reserve? I get stressed out when I get lost so I want to be well prepared for my commuting each day!

The directions fromt he airport were good but I don't recall receiving that much to get to and from other areas aside from a very small map. We brought our GPS and relied on it a lot. I'm not sure how much they are to rent but it may be worth your while. At the very least I'd get an official Orlando/ Kissimee city map to follow.

We also had a special experience at 1900 PF -- we were ushered out after our meal for a special meet and greet and photo op with Cinderella and the Prince. They were truly kind (especially since my wish kid was very very overwhelmed around the characters, and at first wanted nothing whatsoever to do with them). My one big suggestion is to somehow make sure that they know you are on a wish trip before you arrive (ie a notation on your ADR). I made certain to say something about it as a celebration on our ADR, and we were given a prominent table, etc. It appeared to me that it had been set up in advance. So definitely, if you are looking for some pixie dust, don't be shy about mentioning the circs of your trip!

Gotta say, we were really disappointed in 1900 Park Fare. We had done BBB that morning and CRT for lunch and then 1900 Park Fare for dinner. Despite noting that it was DD's wish trip, and having a 5pm ADR, we were seated way in the back far from everyting. The character barely stopped. Anastasia was wonderful and even helped DS2 put his sandles back on so he could get up for a picture with her 'mom' but I was disappointed in the time spent. They really seemed rushed. we had done the breakfast a few years ago and I said I wouldn't go back for the same reason but thought we'd try the Cinderella meal because I had heard such great things. We ended up in the same seats as the first meal there so that may have had something to do with it. We were so far from Cinderella dancing that the kids didn't even see it which was really too bad. The final price was actually the same as CRT except at CRT, the picture was free. We wanted the pic so made for that too which raised the price actually higher than CRT which shocked me. We had a great experience at CRT and that was a surprise really. They took all the time in the world with the kids and especially Sydney. They were wonderful. Just thought I'd throw in another experience so you don't get your hopes up too too much.

I'm still planningin on doing a Trip Report. I promise. Work has taken over and school is starting next week and both boys have bdays in September but I have two days done so I'll post once I get the pics downloaded.
:goodvibes
 
So I posted this on my PTR, but for those of you who may not be following it, let me know what you think!

So let me know what you guys think! I have read enought PTR's and TR's to know that this can change and I will have to TRY and go with the flow if it does!!!

Hayley’s Make A Wish Trip Itinerary


Sunday, Novemer 14th

- Arrive at Give Kids the World (flight arrives at 9:12am in
Orlando )
- Explore Give Kids the World (Do Hayley’s star, make pillows, ect.)
- GKTW orientation (time unknown, hopefully afternoon)
- Candyland Game at GKTW 7:30pm
- ADR at T-Rex Downtown Disney at 4pm if we want to If there's an afternoon orientation, you won't make it to TRex. You may want to change the ADR time. Ours started at 3pm and didn't finished til 415 or so.


Monday, November 15th

- Magic Kindgom Day
- ADR at Cinderella’s Royal Table- 9:00am
- ADR at O’hana (Poly Resor) – 5:00pm
- Back to MK for Wishes ????- 8:00pm or back to GKTW for
Double Dare 8:00pm You'll be very close to MK if you're at the Poly so it'll be easy to do if you're not too tired. It'll be an early morning because you'll need to be at the gates of MK for 830 at least so you can stop on the way to the castle and get pics with very few people in the park. Just tell them you have an adr and they'll let you in. If you don't go, its faster and easier to walk to the TTc for your car from the Poly than taking the monorail. There's a trail to follow.... hmm, ok, so I just saw that you're going to the Christmas party at MK. They have fireworks and a parade right? (never been) If so, as much as I love Wishes, I'd suggest finishing at the Poly and either heading back to GKTW or heading to DTD for an hour or so. You'll need an early start for tomorrow and its 1/2 drive from teh park to GKTW. Staying til after the fireworks so early in the week could exhaust everyone for the rest of the week. It'd be a really late night.


Tuesday, November 16th

- Universal Studios Day
- Do both parks all day Good luck with this. We planned the same thing. We ended ups taying in IOA until about 330 and then got to US. We did do most of the fav things on our list but I would have liked to have more time there. We left at 8pm absolutely exhausted.
- Possibly Downtown Disney for shopping if we have time US is a really long day. If you really want to do DTD, you may want to schedule it for another day as well just in case.
- Family Fun Night at GKTW starts at 7:30pm


Wednesday, November 17th

- Epcot and Hollywood Studios
- Epcot first (do Kim Impossible Mission in the World Showcase) World Showcase doesn't actually open until 11am so if you're doing Epcot first, stay in Future World and do the rides there first and head to WS at 11am. Get a Kimunicator (warning: it'll take about an hour) and then grab lunch. Don't wait too long for lunch because the lines will be long. Then since you're in the WS anyway, you can grab the boat to HS instead of going back for the car if you want to. Only thing is, you'll need to return to Epcot to get your car at teh end of the night.
- Hollywood Studios in the afternoon
- ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In at 7:05pm
- See Osbourne Lights before leaving Are these at HS or Epcot? If Epcot, leaving the car there in the morning will work great. If not, best to take the car to HS because otherwise you may not be able to get back into the park to get to the parking lot for the car.


Thursday, November 18th

- Sea World Day
- GKTW Christmas Party starts at 6:30pm


Friday, November 19th

- Animal Kingdom morning and early afternoon
- Afternoon break at GKTW
- Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom 4pm to 12am


Saturday, November 20th

- Departure day
- Flight leaves at 4pm
- Sleep in a little, enjoy GKTW until we need to head to the airport
- Horseback riding at Keaton’s Corral- GKTW 8:00am-11:00am
- Possibly check out Downtown Disney if we did not have time before I didn't notice this early. Good to have a second day. My only question is, if you're already packed, where are you going to put the things you buy at DTD?


So let me know what you think! I am getting so excited. 2 months, 2 weeks and 1 day until we arrive at Give Kids The World!!
__________________

HTH! :goodvibes
 

I didn't see those at the front desk so it may be somethign you have to ask for. Its too bad because I was really looking for something to bring home from GKTW. I would have loved to have had a car magnet.



I hope you guys are feeling better soon. Poor Nickey with teh reaction. I find Benedryl works pretty well. You may want to ask the dr about whether you can give more than the dose stated on the meds. Its often based on age but if Nicky's weight warrants it, they may up the dose and it may work better for him.

We made ADR at Mythos in IOA. I wouldn't necessarily call it 'fun' since there's no characters or antying but it was really cool inside. I was really glad I made them. Did it there because figured between Harry Potter and Seussland, we'd still be in that area around noon. They also handled Sydney peanut allergy really well.



Check you PMs! :goodvibes



The directions fromt he airport were good but I don't recall receiving that much to get to and from other areas aside from a very small map. We brought our GPS and relied on it a lot. I'm not sure how much they are to rent but it may be worth your while. At the very least I'd get an official Orlando/ Kissimee city map to follow.



Gotta say, we were really disappointed in 1900 Park Fare. We had done BBB that morning and CRT for lunch and then 1900 Park Fare for dinner. Despite noting that it was DD's wish trip, and having a 5pm ADR, we were seated way in the back far from everyting. The character barely stopped. Anastasia was wonderful and even helped DS2 put his sandles back on so he could get up for a picture with her 'mom' but I was disappointed in the time spent. They really seemed rushed. we had done the breakfast a few years ago and I said I wouldn't go back for the same reason but thought we'd try the Cinderella meal because I had heard such great things. We ended up in the same seats as the first meal there so that may have had something to do with it. We were so far from Cinderella dancing that the kids didn't even see it which was really too bad. The final price was actually the same as CRT except at CRT, the picture was free. We wanted the pic so made for that too which raised the price actually higher than CRT which shocked me. We had a great experience at CRT and that was a surprise really. They took all the time in the world with the kids and especially Sydney. They were wonderful. Just thought I'd throw in another experience so you don't get your hopes up too too much.

I'm still planningin on doing a Trip Report. I promise. Work has taken over and school is starting next week and both boys have bdays in September but I have two days done so I'll post once I get the pics downloaded.
:goodvibes



I have never been to 1900 Park Fare, but I have been to CRT. I would rate CRT as just ok, but nothing to write home about. We actually had the best princess experience at Akerhaus. The restaurant itself is nothing fancy, but the princesses all came around more than once, and took their time. Also, a CM came by our table to make sure that we had seen all the princesses and were satisfied before we left. And that was not even on a wish trip, just as regular customers.
 
I am almost done with my itenerary, so I will update my PTR.

One question though. We are renting a car and driving from GKTW to Disney. But we will be doing some park hopping on a couple days. For example, we have breakfast reservations at Chef Mickey (contemporary) and then we plan to spend the day at MK. And then on another day, we will start the day at Animal Kingdom and end at Epcot.
For the Chef Mickey day, should we park our car and MK and take the monorail to the Contemporary and then back to MK after breakfast?

What about on the AK/Epcot day. I don't know if technically we are supposed to use their bus system (since we are not staying on property), but the last time we went, we took the monorail to the Luau for dinner, and were surprised that when the luau was over, the monorail was closed for the night, so we had to take a bus from the luau to the transportation center, and then wait for another bus to get us back to our hotel (in the pouring rain)and it took forever.

I am rambling on, but the point is that I don't want to drive my car from park to park, but I don't want to get stranded with my car on the other side of the world either.:confused3
 
I love to read and make notes in travel books so I am hoping people will have recommendations for Disney World books they have found helpful so I can do some reading. Thanks in advance for the info and have a great day!
 
/
I am almost done with my itenerary, so I will update my PTR.

One question though. We are renting a car and driving from GKTW to Disney. But we will be doing some park hopping on a couple days. For example, we have breakfast reservations at Chef Mickey (contemporary) and then we plan to spend the day at MK. And then on another day, we will start the day at Animal Kingdom and end at Epcot.
For the Chef Mickey day, should we park our car and MK and take the monorail to the Contemporary and then back to MK after breakfast?

What about on the AK/Epcot day. I don't know if technically we are supposed to use their bus system (since we are not staying on property), but the last time we went, we took the monorail to the Luau for dinner, and were surprised that when the luau was over, the monorail was closed for the night, so we had to take a bus from the luau to the transportation center, and then wait for another bus to get us back to our hotel (in the pouring rain)and it took forever.

I am rambling on, but the point is that I don't want to drive my car from park to park, but I don't want to get stranded with my car on the other side of the world either.:confused3

We actually find it easier to drive everywhere we go with the exception of the monorail. I despise the Disney bus system and find it faster with three kiddos and a stroller to go by car anywhere. You can also go based on your own schedule.

As for the contemporary, if you valet park you can leave the car there for quite awhile. That said, I've only done that with a dinner ADR. For breakfast, I'd park at the TTC, take the resort monorail to the contemporary (it'll stop at the Poly, GF and MK first). After your ADR, walk to the contemporary (only about 15min slow walk with paved path) then take the monorail or boat back to teh TTC when you leave MK at the end of the day.

As for your AK/Epcot day, there's no way I'd use Disney's transport. I'd drive to both. Show your GKTW button and you should get parking in the disability, medical or preferred section which is right next to the park entrance. They knew we didn't need the disabled parking so sent us to the section right next to it which was right next to the entrance. You'd waste so much time on Disney transport because the buses don't go from park to park, you'd have to transfer at a hotel or TTC. The only exception really is the boat between Epcot International Gateway and HS.
 
I love to read and make notes in travel books so I am hoping people will have recommendations for Disney World books they have found helpful so I can do some reading. Thanks in advance for the info and have a great day!

I really like the Unofficial Guide to Disney World. If you're doing Seaworld and US, the same authors have an Unofficial Guide Beyond Disney which is also really good. We've used the Burnbaum Official Guide. While its great for the kids because of the pics, it really doesn't have that much detail for plannign a trip. I bought teh Frommers guide last time for the first time and hwile it was nice to have something different, I preferred the Unofficial Guide as far as content is concerned.
 
Where would you get an official Orlando/Kissimee map? We won't have a GPS so I thought of just printing some maps from on-line. Should we get an official map?

Along the lines of Jen-y's ?... I'm starting to over analyze parking/driving! On Friday of our trip we were thinking of possibly hopping from Epcot to MK, BUT we are playing by ear so we may just end up at Epcot all day (note: we are going to MK for a full day earlier in the week). We have never been to Disney so we want to see what the kids like. Where do I park for that day? :confused3

I know I'm overthinking this, but I don't know how far Epcot is from MK, etc. Should we just park at TTC incase we hop to MK, or park at Epcot then drive to TTC IF we decide to hop. :confused:

Thanks for you help.
 
Where would you get an official Orlando/Kissimee map? We won't have a GPS so I thought of just printing some maps from on-line. Should we get an official map?

Along the lines of Jen-y's ?... I'm starting to over analyze parking/driving! On Friday of our trip we were thinking of possibly hopping from Epcot to MK, BUT we are playing by ear so we may just end up at Epcot all day (note: we are going to MK for a full day earlier in the week). We have never been to Disney so we want to see what the kids like. Where do I park for that day? :confused3

I know I'm overthinking this, but I don't know how far Epcot is from MK, etc. Should we just park at TTC incase we hop to MK, or park at Epcot then drive to TTC IF we decide to hop. :confused:

Thanks for you help.

Hmm, you have two options really, well three actually.

1. You could park at Epcot. Spend the day, if you want to go to MK you could hop on the Epcot monorail and change to the MK monorail at the TTC. Stay at MK then repeat... ie: hop on the MK monorail to TTC then switch to the Epcot monorail to get the car. The monorail unloads outside the park so you won't be faced with having to get 'into' the actual park to get the car.

2. You could park at Epcot. Drive to the TTC and park if you want to go to MK, monorail to MK and then at the end of the day just monorail back to the TTC.

3. You could park at TTC, monorail to Epcot, stay the day, then either monorail to the TTC to leave or monorail to the TTC and switch monorail to MK. When leaving MK, monorail to TTC to leave.

What would I do? Hmm, depends on how sure I am I'd be going to MK. If really unsure, I'd likely park at Epcot spend the day and if we want to go to MK, drive to the TTC and take the boat or monorail to MK from there. Much less hassle if you're not sure of the plan. If you're sure you're doing a split, I think I'd park first at the TTC, monorail to Epcot (about 10min), then monorail to TTC and monorail to MK for the evening. Then its just one monorail back to the TTC at the end of the day with no need to switch monorails when everyone is tired.
 
Hmm, you have two options really, well three actually.

1. You could park at Epcot. Spend the day, if you want to go to MK you could hop on the Epcot monorail and change to the MK monorail at the TTC. Stay at MK then repeat... ie: hop on the MK monorail to TTC then switch to the Epcot monorail to get the car. The monorail unloads outside the park so you won't be faced with having to get 'into' the actual park to get the car.

2. You could park at Epcot. Drive to the TTC and park if you want to go to MK, monorail to MK and then at the end of the day just monorail back to the TTC.

3. You could park at TTC, monorail to Epcot, stay the day, then either monorail to the TTC to leave or monorail to the TTC and switch monorail to MK. When leaving MK, monorail to TTC to leave.

What would I do? Hmm, depends on how sure I am I'd be going to MK. If really unsure, I'd likely park at Epcot spend the day and if we want to go to MK, drive to the TTC and take the boat or monorail to MK from there. Much less hassle if you're not sure of the plan. If you're sure you're doing a split, I think I'd park first at the TTC, monorail to Epcot (about 10min), then monorail to TTC and monorail to MK for the evening. Then its just one monorail back to the TTC at the end of the day with no need to switch monorails when everyone is tired.

Thanks for the info. I'll take your advice. Hopefully we will be more sure of the plan when we go since we would have spent a full day at MK earlier in the week and Friday will be our last full day of our trip.
 
Do I need to pack beach towels? or does GKTW provide them? what about water wings or floatables?
 
we've been reading tr's not on dis, and some people were saying they only got 5 nights, or even 4 nights at gktw. I thought everyone got 6 nights?
 
Here is a technical question. We have 7:00 dinner reservations at CRT on a night they are doing spectromagic. I think spectromagic starts at 8:00 and I am not sure how long dinner will last. Does spectromagic pass by the Castle so that we could possibly see it while we are eating?
 
Do I need to pack beach towels? or does GKTW provide them? what about water wings or floatables?

I've been told they have beach towels for the pool and splash pad, not sure about floats or water wings, we're bringing dd2's water wings from home
 
Here is a technical question. We have 7:00 dinner reservations at CRT on a night they are doing spectromagic. I think spectromagic starts at 8:00 and I am not sure how long dinner will last. Does spectromagic pass by the Castle so that we could possibly see it while we are eating?


We've usually watched from Frontierland but I'm pretty sure it goes through the hub in front of the castle. As for if you'll be able to see it, that will depend on how much fairy dust you get :goodvibes The dinner will definitely last past 8pm I would think. CRT breakfast is about an hour from teh time you check in, take pictures and get food. Now, if there are no pcitures at dinner (which I'm not sure), that'll make things a bit faster but you could eat slower. The thing is too though that it starts at 8pm at the front of main street. It will be going slowing down mainstreet and once you start to see it, I figure it lasts a good 20min or more. So, will you STILL be inside to see the whole parade... I doubt it. The other issue is seating... hence the need for fairy dust :goodvibes I asked for seating near the window or at the very least in the main room. They did their best and we were in the main room but we were on the complete opposite side of the windows. It could have been night out and we wouldn't have known it. Have you tried to change your time? I spoke with someone at MK that got a walk up to CRT for lunch one day in mid August :scared1: Anything can happen!
 
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