Make a wish question....

[Bearshouse]

Okay so I wasn't sure where to post this....

First let me start with we had a first ever WDW vaction planned for our son's 10th birthday in 8 days. Everything was planned from where we would eat and sleep to going to MVMCP.

DH was laid off from work on monday, our van's engine seized up on tuesday (not worth fixing) and the inside of our oven caught fire on thursday. All in all a very bad week. Of course we cancelled our trip and took back alot of the Christmas presents.

My question is this. Our DS should qualify for a make a wish trip. (I called and they are checking) But is it possible to basically hand them the list of places he would love to eat at, where we know he loved to stay and would they make that happen? Or do you eat and stay where they offer.

We are not trying to be difficult it is just that we spent so much time planning this vacation to make his birthday so special only to have to cancel it. Our DS has moderate CP, epilepsy, nonverbal, Failue to Thrive (we hate this one) and DD.

Thanks Bearhouse

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

First you will need to quailfy (which it sounds like you will). Then they will conduct an interview. Part of the process is they will separate you and your son and try to find out from him what he wants (there is a nonverbal interview the wish granters can do). They want to make sure this is about what the child wants, and not what parents are pushing them to choose.

Since this is not an imminent thing, he is most likely not going to qualify in time to go on his birthday. It will take some time to get it all put together.

My advice is to take this one step at a time. Get the forms to your doctor and get him qualified first. Then get through the interview process, and be ready to accept that it might not be a Disney wish if that is not what he wants. It is not uncommon for parents to think they know or to want a specific wish but the child chooses something else.

If he does qualify and does choose a Disney vacation, go from there. Most of the time the families make their own ADRs and are given a set amount of money for the trip. MAW (depending on your chapter) may pay for one specific dinner or special thing, and depending on your chapter they may set that up, or you might and they would just put that in the expense check. You'll need to find out how your specific chapter works.

 

[SueM in MN]

Just agreeing with what Eeyores Butterfly wrote.
They will try their best to figure out what your child's wish is and to make it happen.
Non-verbal makes it harder - does he understand and just not speak (my DD's situation) or does he also not have ability to understand? If he understands, but can't speak, how does he indicate what he wants or chooses?

If you want to check out more information from other people who are planning or have been on MAW trips, there are some helpful resources in the disABILITIES FAQs thread in post #3. Look for the section about Wish Trips. There are links to Make a Wish, Give Kids the World Village website (a really wonderful place that many families on WISH trips stay) and a link to a thread called Wish Tripper's Unite - which is a thread by and for families planning WISH trips.

 

[Bearshouse]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will check out the links. He understands and we are fortunate enough for him to make one sound for yes and a sound for no. They sound similiar and he likes to tease so he will say the wrong answer but always has dimples on his face when he is teasing.

Bearshouse

 

[maroo]

Okay so I wasn't sure where to post this....

First let me start with we had a first ever WDW vaction planned for our son's 10th birthday in 8 days. Everything was planned from where we would eat and sleep to going to MVMCP.

DH was laid off from work on monday, our van's engine seized up on tuesday (not worth fixing) and the inside of our oven caught fire on thursday. All in all a very bad week. Of course we cancelled our trip and took back alot of the Christmas presents.

My question is this. Our DS should qualify for a make a wish trip. (I called and they are checking) But is it possible to basically hand them the list of places he would love to eat at, where we know he loved to stay and would they make that happen? Or do you eat and stay where they offer.

We are not trying to be difficult it is just that we spent so much time planning this vacation to make his birthday so special only to have to cancel it. Our DS has moderate CP, epilepsy, nonverbal, Failue to Thrive (we hate this one) and DD.

Thanks Bearhouse

Hello there!

I am so sorry that you had to cancel your trip.

Feel free to join us over on the Wish Trippers Unite thread (blue link in my signature) - we plan wish trips over there

And PM me if you have any questions, as I will be more than happy to help you guys plan!

Most children who are granted a wish through the Make a Wish foundation qualify to stay at Give Kids the World - which is the most amazing place! But you may have an option there?

Also - it is possible your son will wish for something entirely different - as the sky is the limit for a wish trip!

 

[Mskanga]

As for meals and things like that they will give you a set amount of money , trust me you will not be able to do nice sit down dinners with that ( except for maybe one or two ). WDW they also think you will be getting a lot of the meals there so they will give less $$.

 

[maroo]

The amount of spending money you get varies greatly from chapter to chapter. A few families have privately reported what their spending money has been in the past couple of years.

It also depends on how many adults and children you have in your party, where you stay (whether it is at GKTW or a Disney resort) and even what the gas prices are.

I have heard of families getting only a few hundred dollars to cover all expenses (tips, travel meals, souveniers, snacks and meals in the parks) and I have heard of families getting a few thousand dollars for the same...totally depends on your chapter and how they have worked their budget.

The unfortunate part is that you won't really know until about a week or so before you go. In our case, we had 3 plans...the budget plan (where we ate as many meals as possible at Give Kids the World - even though we were staying on Disney property and did not eat hardly any sit down meals in Disney), the normal plan (where we had one or two sit down meals on Disney property and the rest were counter service - we also went to Walmart and got lots of snacks to use in the parks) and the "extras" plan...where we were able to do a few extra things for the family.

Plan ahead and you should be fine. And I would save up for things like souveniers or a special meal, if you are able to...just to make sure you have it available to you.