Make A Wish Sends Lauren to Disney World! * IT IS FINISHED...* *Updated 1/28/09*

[HeatherSue]

If there were a limit on exclamation marks, I would have been kicked off the Dis long ago!!

The Contemporary!? In the tower?! I can't wait until the kids find out where they're staying!

They are just about the cutest family ever, I must agree!

I love that you had a banana split after your ice cream breakfast. I dream about all you can eat free ice cream!

 

[bex271]

I can't wait to see more pictures of y'all at GKTW. I can't wait to hear how the kids react to where they're staying or when they get to see the "train in the sky" and ride it.


becca

 

[SueM in MN]

Very nice report.
The rainbow was WONDERFUL and I'm sure was a great surprise.
After you get a few more pages done, I will post a link to your report in the disABILITIES FAQs thread. There is a link to that thread in my signature and post #3 in that thread has links to past thread that I think would be helpful (or just enjoyable) to read. Your trip report hits on both counts.

 

[shane&jakesmom]

Terrific TR yes, you made me cry too. It is truly wonderful what they do for make a wish children. Lauren looked fabulous with her crown. Lauren is a beautiful girl. I can't wait to read more

 

[snubie]

And Lauren looks beautiful. The crown just tops it off!

Lauren tells me all about her flight. Including the RAINBOW...(ok, I won't show you ANOTHER picture)
...the man that handed her a HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL in the airplane (we have NO idea who this guy was...but thanks!)
...and her flight attendants...

First the rainbow and now the random act of monetary kindness... this report makes me cry every time I read it.

 

[maroo]

*** * * * DISCLAIMER!!! STOP>>> If you are a WISH parent...THIS POST CONTAINS SURPRISES!! Please don't read it if you are heading to GKTW! I don't want to ruin any surprises for you! ****

Wow, we did a lot of stuff at GKTW...in fact, after going through the pictures, I am not sure this is going to be just one post...but we will see...

So, we have had ICE CREAM (twice for me!) ...and it is time to play! First we head over to play Putt Putt. On the way we find some great photo ops...

Lauren is beautiful, isn't she...

And this is a large lizard (dinosaur, whatever)...

And on the lizard is A LIZARD!

Then to the Putt Putt. This was no ordinary Putt Putt! First of all, it was accessible!
Lauren has never been able to get down on a Putt Putt course. But this one...was totally accessible! She could go everywhere! Here are some pics...

Lauren is ON the green!!

Isn't he CUTE! (Putt Putt decorations!)

One of the holes was in a CAVE...with glow in the dark stuff...
my attempt at a photo...in the dark...

and in the light...

William and Lisa played...

And then almost got EATEN ALIVE by THIS...

That DINO was MOVING up and DOWN...and smoking...and it scared Lauren!
And then William was ready to beat it down with his putt putt stick...Isn't he cute...
I would say that he was protecting Lauren...but I really think he wanted a PIECE of that Dino!


Now...I hope this works...I took a little video ...of one of the putt putt holes.
One particular hole had a few surprises...like water shooting out of a dino!
And then another one makes some noise a little later!

Here it is...
SUPER SCARY PUTT PUTT DINO ATTACK!

Now, you must understand...that at the end of that video...It got a little shaky because the dino also scared ME!!! So...watch it all you like...it still cracks me up...or did you have to be there?


OK...more to come...but I am at my limit on pictures for this post....

So...you know the drill...stay tuned!

OK...HERE IT IS...

Give Kids the World - Part THREE!

 

[maroo]

If there were a limit on exclamation marks, I would have been kicked off the Dis long ago!!

The Contemporary!? In the tower?! I can't wait until the kids find out where they're staying!

They are just about the cutest family ever, I must agree!

I love that you had a banana split after your ice cream breakfast. I dream about all you can eat free ice cream!

Lol on the quotation marks!! I think DISboards would kick me off the island if they were keeping track!

And we were psyched to get to stay in the Contemporary. We really enjoyed it!

Yeah, all you can eat free ice cream is quite fun!! It is probably a very good thing we did NOT stay at GKTW all week long...or I would have gained MORE DW pounds!

I can't wait to see more pictures of y'all at GKTW. I can't wait to hear how the kids react to where they're staying or when they get to see the "train in the sky" and ride it.


becca

I have posted the Putt Putt pictures...and I will have more to come soon, I promise!! BUT...be careful! I don't want to ruin any surprises for ya!!!

Very nice report.
The rainbow was WONDERFUL and I'm sure was a great surprise.
After you get a few more pages done, I will post a link to your report in the disABILITIES FAQs thread. There is a link to that thread in my signature and post #3 in that thread has links to past thread that I think would be helpful (or just enjoyable) to read. Your trip report hits on both counts.

Oh my gosh...you are so sweet! I LOVE the disABILITIES thread...that has been my home on this board for a while now! I would be honored to help others planning trips...I do wish I had taken more pictures while we were there of "accessibility" things...I did get caught up in the moment and missed some of those opportunities. But we did pretty good for our first time! I do have some pics of accessible rides, so that will help someone down the road, I am sure.

Terrific TR yes, you made me cry too. It is truly wonderful what they do for make a wish children. Lauren looked fabulous with her crown. Lauren is a beautiful girl. I can't wait to read more

Aw...I hate to make everyone cry. I hope that it is a "good" cry! I have cried reading my share of these Wish reports, too. It is wonderful to see a wish fulfilled!!

First the rainbow and now the random act of monetary kindness... this report makes me cry every time I read it.

I am so glad you posted! I see that people are reading it by the number of views...but we love to hear from you guys! I am sorry that I keep making you cry, though!! Thanks for posting!!!

 

[teresajoy]

Teresa just e-mailed me and asked if I read your lastest update. She said I HAD to read it because it would make me cry. She was SOOO right! I was crying when you mentioned that Lauren has her pillow with her all the time, and then to see that she really did have it with her and William with his pillow. You have no idea how much that means to me. Then, just reading about this wonderful family, how you met them, and then a RAINBOW!! Oh my gosh, this is wonderful!

Plus, you're too darn funny and I love the way you write! I am LOVING it!!

Can I just say: I told you so!


Mary, yes, Lauren is GORGEOUS!!!! I have a 16 year old son..........

Ice cream!!! YUMMY!!!!!!!! The Compere family is just so much fun!! I can tell!No wonder you are all friends!!!

Hi Compere Family!!!

Anxiously awaiting another installment!

 

[jamal]

Oh Maroo, I stumbled on to your report as it was at the top of the TR board. I have never been so happy reading about Disney. Your heart is so beautifully expressed in your love for this family, humility in what you've done for Lauren, and enthusiasm for Disney and GKTW.

I am thrilled to know about GKTW and the way Disney makes Make a Wish dreams come true.

Thank you so much for taking time to share your most magical memories with us.

I can't wait to read more!

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

Maroo - What a great report!

I can't wait to read more.

I absolutely loved the rainbow picture!! Glad you posted it many many times.

And thanks to jamal for sending me here!

 

[SueM in MN]

Oh my gosh...you are so sweet! I LOVE the disABILITIES thread...that has been my home on this board for a while now! I would be honored to help others planning trips...I do wish I had taken more pictures while we were there of "accessibility" things...I did get caught up in the moment and missed some of those opportunities. But we did pretty good for our first time! I do have some pics of accessible rides, so that will help someone down the road, I am sure.

Don't worry, I have tons of pictures of accessibility inside the WDW parks (and I'm gathering more as I write this).
The more pictures we have, the better though.

 

[AmberGreenawalt]

LOVING it! What a great trip report Maroo. I can't wait to read more about your fabulous adventures

p.s. I'm sorry that as a "Wish Parent" I could not resist your warning not to read. I had already read up to the point and could not stop...enjoying it way too much!

 

[mom2lilnick]

I couldn't not read it either! I am loving your TR!!

 

[KittyKat08]

Just started reading and I can't wait to hear more about this simply wonderful, fantastic and magical trip. Lauren is a beautiful girl and I'm glad her trip started off so superb. Keep the lovely pictures coming as well.

 

[vdarrell]

I too am still reading and loving every word and picture.
The rainbow picture is awsome.
It is wonderful that someone had the heart to build a place for these little angels that God has blessed us with.
Also thank God for beautiful people like you.
Keep posting it is helping me get through the next 50 days till my trip.

 

[maroo]

Can I just say: I told you so!


Mary, yes, Lauren is GORGEOUS!!!! I have a 16 year old son..........

Ice cream!!! YUMMY!!!!!!!! The Compere family is just so much fun!! I can tell!No wonder you are all friends!!!

Hi Compere Family!!!

Anxiously awaiting another installment!

Ha! The Compere's say hello back! Hello, Teresa!

And Lauren said, "Where do they live? We are MOVING!"

Oh Maroo, I stumbled on to your report as it was at the top of the TR board. I have never been so happy reading about Disney. Your heart is so beautifully expressed in your love for this family, humility in what you've done for Lauren, and enthusiasm for Disney and GKTW.

I am thrilled to know about GKTW and the way Disney makes Make a Wish dreams come true.

Thank you so much for taking time to share your most magical memories with us.

I can't wait to read more!

I am so glad you stumbled upon us! We are having as much fun telling about the trip as we had ON the trip! And are already planning a return trip (but don't tell Lauren's mom! )

I do love this family very much! I am so glad you can tell. And I LOVE GKTW, Make a Wish and Disney, too! And when they all meet at once to make a dream come true...they certainly do a grand job!

I can't wait to tell you more!

Maroo - What a great report!

I can't wait to read more.

I absolutely loved the rainbow picture!! Glad you posted it many many times.

And thanks to jamal for sending me here!

Yeah, thanks Jamal! I love that picture too! I am having to fight to keep from posting it again! I am sure it will appear later in the story, though!

Don't worry, I have tons of pictures of accessibility inside the WDW parks (and I'm gathering more as I write this).
The more pictures we have, the better though.

Cool! I have a couple...but probably stuff you have...if you see a pic in my report that you need access to, just let me know and I can email it to ya.

LOVING it! What a great trip report Maroo. I can't wait to read more about your fabulous adventures

p.s. I'm sorry that as a "Wish Parent" I could not resist your warning not to read. I had already read up to the point and could not stop...enjoying it way too much!

Ha ha! Oops!! At least you won't tell your kids!! And you won't jump when that dino spits on you, either! But you can have your camera ready when they get spit on for the first time! Or their head gets bit off by the dino!

I couldn't not read it either! I am loving your TR!!

I am so glad! It was so fun!!!

Just started reading and I can't wait to hear more about this simply wonderful, fantastic and magical trip. Lauren is a beautiful girl and I'm glad her trip started off so superb. Keep the lovely pictures coming as well.

Yeah! Welcome! And I like your DIS name. KittyKat...fun!

I too am still reading and loving every word and picture.
The rainbow picture is awsome.
It is wonderful that someone had the heart to build a place for these little angels that God has blessed us with.
Also thank God for beautiful people like you.
Keep posting it is helping me get through the next 50 days till my trip.

I hope we can entertain you for 50 days! I figured I would have this written in a week and it has been more than a week and I am not done with the first day!! Goodness! I just have so many pics!!!!

Another installment is coming soon!! Hopefully in the next few min.

 

[bex271]

Lol on the quotation marks!!
I have posted the Putt Putt pictures...and I will have more to come soon, I promise!! BUT...be careful! I don't want to ruin any surprises for ya!!!

I'm enjoy reading it and i like to half way know what to expect too. It's going to a total surprise for Jonah though and that's who counts on the surprises. I like to know so i can explain it a little better to him while it's happening, he doesn't do good with total surprises either. He's a very schedule orientated kinda guy.

becca

 

[maroo]

After we played a game of Putt Putt, we headed into to Amberville to check that out!

We checked out the arcade...

And the train set...now this was cool!
It was big! The pictures really do not do it justice! There were buttons all over the side of it that allowed the kids to turn the train on and off, turn lights on, make things fly in the air...it was cool!
I have to admit that the adults got carried away, too!!

William and his Dad played some pool...

And everyone took a turn trying to control these boats!

Lauren drove, too! And I have to say that she drives her chair a lot better than she drives a boat!

William also got to be the CONDUCTOR of the "big train"...Which was completely cool!!
In fact, he could stop and start the train!

Which was cool, especially when Lauren got stuck on the tracks!!!!!!!!!

JUST KIDDING!! Totally staged shot... Did we get ya??


We spent quite a bit of time in the Castle of Miracles.

See the stars all over the ceiling...

Each wish child gets a star when they come to Give Kids the World.
They write their name (or whatever they want) on the star.
This is Lauren's star.

Lauren put her star in this box...and the star fairy puts it on the ceiling for her!

We think Lauren's start probably ended up somewhere around here...Around the first "B" section...

(but we never did see it, for reasons that you will hear about later in this TR...)...so, if you are a wish parent, and you are going to GKTW...let me know and maybe you can get a picture of it up in the ceiling!


Once the star is put in the "sky"...it stays there forever. This was a very special moment for us.





Gosh...I guess I will end this one on that note...sorry, I am out of room...again...maybe I use too many smiley faces? Or am posting too many pictures?? But more to come...soon...I promise!!!

And here it is....Give Kids the WORLD - Part FOUR!

 

[maroo]

Lol on the quotation marks!!
I have posted the Putt Putt pictures...and I will have more to come soon, I promise!! BUT...be careful! I don't want to ruin any surprises for ya!!!

I'm enjoy reading it and i like to half way know what to expect too. It's going to a total surprise for Jonah though and that's who counts on the surprises. I like to know so i can explain it a little better to him while it's happening, he doesn't do good with total surprises either. He's a very schedule orientated kinda guy.

becca

I was the same way...That is why I read every TR out there! But it was fun to be surprised by a Dino...but I could see why you might want to know about that beforehand...sort of prepare him, I guess? Lauren was surprised...and even after seeing the pics and reading all of the TR's I was still surprised (pleasantly) about a lot of aspects of GKTW. You guys will have a BLAST!!!!

 

[mommyintn]

What a great report!! I can't wait to hear about the reactions to staying at the Contemporary!