Dear Piglet,
I would love to share dd's wish trip info with you!
Our dd was 4.5 years old when she was granted her wish. She specifically asked for, "Disney and dinner with Minnie Mouse."
Make a Wish (MaW) and Give Kids the World (GKTW) in Toronto were/are incredible. I hope your org in Penn is just as special.
We waited to get the go-ahead from dd's docs.
The Wish Granters came to our house and chatted with dd. They gave her gifts ~ even a Tickle Me Elmo when it was THE toy for have for Christmas. We told the Wish Granter to give ELMO to a child in hospital during Christmas, but they wanted our dd to have him. dd is now 7 years old and ELMO is now a fond toy of ds (16 months old).
MaW thought of everything! The Wish Granter came over to our house before the trip with all the info, tickets, even sun screen, and camera for dd. She had a photo album of KIDS VILLAGE (KV) the place you'll stay at.
We flew to Orlando and was greeted by a GKTW volunteer, Bob. He escoted us to baggage and our car, a Ford Windstar ~ WOW! (From Budget ~ hey, let's give everyone a plug).
Bob answered all our questions and gave us directions and maps.
We arrived at KV around lunch time. WOW, you will be blewn away with KV!
The place was deserted because all the families were at the theme parks. We swam in the EMPTY pool all afternoon.
We checked in and was given more info and told that one parent will have to attend a brief meeting that night to receive tickets and more info.
They are very organized. We were given a schedule of the weeks events. We had a pool party with Shamu from Sea World that night!
The meeting was short and we got more info and all the tickets we needed.
KV has expanded since we've been there.
KV has several semi-detached bungalows. Our's was 2 bedrooms, but they have even bigger ones for bigger families. We had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, full kitchen and dinning area, living room, two tv's. WOW! It's a FULL house!
We were treated to breakfast and dinner buffets daily at the Gingerbread House! (catered by Perkins)
The fridge was stocked with lunchables and MORE, WAY MORE! So you can eat free the whole time (we booked PS for a few characters meals at the parks, that was done by me separately from the wish trip). But you don't have to do that because they have three character meals a week! Two Disney and one Universal!
Many Disney characters visit KV!
They have a great indoor play area with an arcade and puppet shows. Even Santa and Mrs. Claus visit with gifts.
EVERYDAY there was a gift waiting for dd! Mickey mouse dolls,
Lego's etc.,. PACK an extra bag for the EXTRA goodies.
We got 3 day pass to Disney (we did all four parks in three days), tickets to Universal and Sea World too (too busy to do SW). I beleive you could even request tickets to other attractions like Gatorland if you like.
One day we wanted to drive to NASA to see the shuttle land, we mentioned it to a GKTW volunteer and they gave us VIP passes to be bused out to the landing area!
They truly think of everything ~ your daughter will be thrilled!
There is even a Mickey Mouse phone in the master bedroom with FREE long distance so our dd can call grandma back home and tell her about the wonderful trip!
OH YEAH I forgot ~ stretch white limo ride to and from our home airport! The drive, Ozzie, even brought coffee for dh and me and juice and milk for dd. We watched a movie from the back of the limo! I think dd thought this was the best ride!
OKAY the BEST part and DAY SAVER for dd was the GAC. Free stroller (although we bought an umbrella stroller at the Wal-Mart on the corner ~ Wal-Mart is about 3 minutes from KV). at the park. I just wanted a stroller for the walked from the car to the parks. But you'll have a handicap sticker on the car so you can park close. Still lots of walking to monorails etc.,.
dd gets a pin ~ WEAR IT! The CM's will see it and dd will get EXTRA attention. Ask a CM if dd can go into the parade, show the pin.
I thought the pin was magic. But we just got back from a trip that I planned (April 2001) and the CM's and characters were just as great to dd as with the pin.
I'm sure I am forgetting lots, if I think of more, I'll let you know.
Our dd goes thru so much medical stuff that it was a welcome break for the whole family to forget about reality for a while.
Our dd's condition has taught me to LIVE LIFE. Sometimes it seems we are living life as fast as we can ~ but we are having a ball! We don't know how long we have so we might as well make it fun.
I just spent thousands (Canadian Funds) on a Disney trip. DD is 7 years old and ds is 16 months old. I got more flack from people saying that we took the kids too young and we spent too much money. But they way I see it is that we all made a magical time AT THE TIME and that's important. It doesn't matter if the kids remember anything, it matters that they had a good time as it happened.
GOD BLESS your family and enjoy your trip!
