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

[kimbo0569]

Great (well that doesn't even begin to describe it) ....AWESOME TR so far, Mary! Lauren is so cute in her Tink costume! What a wonderful trip for her so far, despite the little "bumps in the road".

Can't wait to read more!

 

[teresajoy]

OH NO! Where is the button! Sorry you were under so much stress Mary!

Lauren looks great to me! I'm a big fan of no makeup!
Corey is too.....

I love the picture of Lauren and Lisa with the dolphin!

Oh GOOD! Lauren got to touch a dolphin!

OOOHH evil sweet looking dolphins! WOW! Bit by a dolphin! You didn't take a picture of your hand??

Did you take that picture with the bubbles?? VERY COOL!

 

[DisneyNutMary]

Mary, are you working on another installment?
I'm waiting anxiously

 

[Khalana]

Great update, Mary!!! I CAN'T believe the dolphin BIT you!!!! I'm so sorry about you losing the button too. You guys had had enough stress already!! Looking forward to hearing about the rest!! Lauren is so beautiful.

 

[maroo]

You friends are RIGHT, as evidenced by what you have seen of me there and the many pictures from TRs.

Lauren, however, is so SO lovely I truly would not have noticed. Sharing her vanity, though, I completely understand why she cared.

Her countenance is contagious. I feel peaceful and happy just looking at her. Now THAT's photogenic.

These are the best dolphin pictures I've ever seen. I love the one of all of you touching the dolphin.

Also thanks for the bite report. I'm sorry about that. I did take a good look at his (her?) teeth and now see what's hiding behind dolphins' smiles.

Wonderful, Maroo!

You are so sweet... Lauren's counteance is contagious...what a great way to put that!

I can not take credit for all of those pics...MOST of them were taken by the Sea World photopass people! And a couple of them are "stock" pics they include when you spend $50 bucks to buy the CD of all of your pics. Because we had 24 pics and it was such a special occasion, we did buy the CD. But I can't take credit for the pics...although I did buy the rights to post them!

It is ok...the dolphin didn't draw blood or anything...I am going to try to find a picture of my hand...as someone else requested that...but it was sort of hard to see. Just some red marks where the teeth scraped my hand.

Subscribing. Great report so far!

Thank you!!! And thanks for posting!!!

Great (well that doesn't even begin to describe it) ....AWESOME TR so far, Mary! Lauren is so cute in her Tink costume! What a wonderful trip for her so far, despite the little "bumps in the road".

Can't wait to read more!

Thank you! You are so nice to say that!

I am glad she looks cute in that costume, because she is going to be in it again tonight!! Woo Hoo!

I am working on more...I promise!!

OH NO! Where is the button! Sorry you were under so much stress Mary!

Lauren looks great to me! I'm a big fan of no makeup!
Corey is too.....

I love the picture of Lauren and Lisa with the dolphin!

Oh GOOD! Lauren got to touch a dolphin!

OOOHH evil sweet looking dolphins! WOW! Bit by a dolphin! You didn't take a picture of your hand??

Did you take that picture with the bubbles?? VERY COOL!

Yeah, the button was gone forever! I just hope it just feLl on a ride and whoever got it did not know "what" it was and USE it...that would make me mad.

I think I DID take a pic of my hand! I will have to find it when I get home! I figured no one would want to see THAT... It really only scraped my hand...no blood or anything!

I can not take credit for the dolphin pics!! Most of them were done by the Sea World Photopass type people. We did buy the CD (which was like $50 bucks)...but it was worth it, considering the special moment that they captured. Some of those dolphin pics just came on the CD for "free"...

Mary, are you working on another installment?
I'm waiting anxiously

I am!! I am actually working on the next two to post at one time...because you guys would kill me if I only posted the next one...

I actually have had Lauren the past couple of nights (helping with mounds of homework) and will have her tonight (to go do Halloween stuff! FUN!) and Saturday is her Power Soccer practice. (I think I am going to take some pics of that to show you guys...you would like it!) So...maybe Saturday night I can sit down for more than 5 minutes (at home when I have my computer) and finish it to post it!!

Great update, Mary!!! I CAN'T believe the dolphin BIT you!!!! I'm so sorry about you losing the button too. You guys had had enough stress already!! Looking forward to hearing about the rest!! Lauren is so beautiful.

Thank you!!! Yeah...we did have some extra stress with that crazy button!! But we got another one...we were afraid it was a "one time deal" on the button! GKTW was just awesome...with every bump in our road!

Thanks for reading and for posting!!!!!! You guys are going to have a wonderful time, too!!!

 

[maroo]

Well…before we get to the Pirates Dinner Adventure…I need to get us OUT of Sea World…

After we fed the dolphins, we went to the little kiosk, where you can look at your dolphin pictures…and I decided we needed the whole CD. I mean…it was fifty bucks…but, they had captured this great memory and there were several pictures that we considered our “favorites” – so we got it! You only live once, right!


We did call GKTW at this point and tell them we lost the magic button. And they were very nice. I asked if we needed to come get it before our show and they told us no, that they had reserved it in her name…so we would be cool without the button.

William was very excited about showing us the stingray tank… yikes…so we went by there on our way out of Sea World.


William is a lot braver than I am!!

When we were planning this trip...Lauren was excited to be going to the dinner show…but she was more interested in the dinner…the show…was more up William’s alley! He loves this kind of stuff! We were able to get reduced tickets through GKTW. (FYI to Wish Families for planning purposes: You have to “reserve” this 48 hours in advance after you arrive…so you can’t do this until at least your third night of your trip.) I had done some research and determined this was the best show “overall” for food and entertainment of the three they offered at GKTW at a discounted price. And all of us like pirates!


We went to the ticket area to pay and upgrade our seats to be toward the front (if you upgrade, you have to pay extra, but it almost guarantees that you get to be IN the show and it was worth it for us).

Lauren, though, is really not feeling well. She doesn’t look good, either. So her mom takes her inside while Rick and I talk to the ticket people.


The employees at this venue were not all that nice...not Disney-ish at all…They said they did not have upgrade seats that were available for “handicapped seating.” They HAD upgraded seats available, just not for someone with a disability. Now, this really gets under my skin…let me get this straight...you have them, but not for Lauren? I don’t think so. After some discussion and a call to the manager (it takes a lot for us to request a manager) they determined it would be a good idea to let us buy the upgrade (you get an extra souvenir and get to be in the show) and just sit in the front part of the regular seating section. Ok, we are fine with that.

So, I head inside. And it is dark in there. Sort of spooky dark. They have a large bar area and several tables with buffet style appetizers. There were pirates doing pirate-like things with the kids…but I didn’t watch any of that, so I have no idea what they did…(sorry, guys)…



I don’t see Lauren and Lisa. So I ask an employee (there were not many people there yet) where the young lady with the wheelchair went and she directs me the bathroom. I walk in and Lauren is lying on the floor of the bathroom! And it isn’t a “nice” bathroom…it is sort of dingy and small. They were basically blocking all of the stalls. And Lisa looks MAD. Lisa had asked for a place where Lauren could rest until the show started. Lisa explained that she was not feeling well...etc...but they told Lisa that the only place to lay down was the bathroom! Definitely NOT Disney!!

So Lauren is feeling really bad…and lying on the floor of the bathroom is not helping…and Lisa is upset. Richard is with William and is unaware of this development (since he is NOT allowed in the ladies restroom). I go out to find a manager and figure out a better place Lauren can lay down a while until the show starts (we were almost an hour early). I finally found someone that helped us. She took us to the VIP room and let us use a couch there. It was really NICE in there…BIG buffet tables with shrimp and all kinds of good looking stuff. And a very NICE carpeted bathroom. (Now why did they not send us there in the first place?) And there was only one family in there…so we just lounged for a little bit. Lauren sipped a Sprite (for FREE!), I grabbed a coke and Lisa grabbed some shrimp from the VIP table! (To this day I don’t think Lisa realized it was a “VIP” table…but I figured that was the least they could do for her trouble!)


In about 15 minutes, though, they started some “pre-show” stuff. And it was LOUD! And…you know that feeling when you really don’t feel good…and you just want the lights off and everyone to be quiet…well, Lauren was not enjoying this. She looked miserable.

So, we decided that I should take Lauren back to the room and let Lisa stay at the show with Rick and William. Lisa has not been able to spend that much time with either of them so far, because we were split up so much for the last couple of days, so that was totally cool with me.


I will get back to the story with Lauren and me in the next post…but first…A review of the show….


We missed a good show! (And we did get our money back for me, we had not paid for Lauren, she was free! FREE Sprite! Go Lauren!)

They did use both William and Rick in the show. The layout works like this...There is a big pirate ship in the middle of the “arena” and there are folks sitting on both sides. Upgrade and VIP seats are toward the front and the regular seats are more toward the back…but they said that you can’t really get a “bad” seat.

They said that the show was fun and that the food was good! They were sad that we missed it…but I don’t think we will plan that for the next trip…since they have already seen it. But, I do think I would recommend it to Wish Families…it is a fairly good deal since the Wish Child is free and all other members of the party (up to 5, I think) are half price! Not a bad deal, really, for the full show and dinner.

Here is our pirate and a real Pirate!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE...
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[lilmissdisney216]

Oh my when I first read the words "Lauren on the bathroom floor" in the same sentence I had to do a double take. That really stinks that they didn't direct you to a much better room for her to rest in. Glad to read that Lauren got a bit better ant that you guys got the VIP room.

Hope Lauren had a splendid Halloween. Me and DBF gave out candy at his Grama's house for Halloween. We had a ton of fun scaring people too (hee hee hee) it was a blast. In any case, glad to read that the trip got better as the day went on.

Much love and Pixie Dust,

Meredith

 

[jham]

The bathroom floor? That is horrible! I'm so glad you were there to...well...kick some butts.

 

[maroo]

** OK guys…this section has NO pictures...........What, no pictures?!?!?! I know, I know…sorry…but you will want to read all of this…because it is a very important part of our trip!!

I will try to entertain you with smiley faces along the way…and hopefully something I will say will make you smile or laugh…actually, it might make you cry, especially if you have come to love Lauren as much as we do…so grab some Kleenex (at least I warned you this time )



Meanwhile…back at the ranch…Lauren and I were leaving the Pirates Show…

Lauren’s chair reclines back and she was feeling so bad, that she didn’t even want to drive anymore. So we reclined her chair to the point where she was almost laying down in the chair, covered her with her blanket, and pushed her out through the entire crowd there to the van to load her up. I think this sort of shocked the Pirate people. She was SICK, guys!

And, yes, Pirate people, you shouldn’t have made her lay down on the bathroom floor!! Ruh! (This still irritates me, can you tell?!?!)



So, Lauren and I make our way back to the Contemporary. Ah…the Contemporary…

The Contemporary has free valet service for anyone with a disabled parking card, so they parked the van for me. I unloaded Lauren…still reclined back with the blanket on her. We walked by guest services on the way to the room and one of the CMs stopped me to see if we were ok. I pretty much told them the whole story…probably with a tone of frustration at this point. I told them that we thought Lauren got poisoned at the Castle (she didn’t…but at the time we thought she did!)...I told the CM that this was her WISH TRIP and she was miserably sick. And Lauren really did look bad! Really…she looked bad (have I mentioned that? )

I should have taken a picture of her, to post here…but she would not let me post it if I did (no makeup, remember?)…and I was definitely not thinking of pictures or even trip reports! You will just have to imagine that sweet face…all pale…with glassy eyes…and droopy.

I told the CM that I probably needed some more Sprite…and NOT for 15 bucks! Turns out the CM was the guest services manager and was very nice …She directed me to the “Grab and Go” on the 4th floor, to get Lauren some Sprite.


And here is a much needed pixie dust moment …Lauren had said that really wanted some Chicken Noodle Soup (when we were leaving the show)…but I didn’t see any stores on the way back to the Contemporary and I didn’t know where to stop for some. But when we got to the grab and go place, they had some! Chicken noodle soup was the “soup of the day!” Was that not so cool!! So, I got Lauren some chicken soup and sprite and something for me to eat, too. And we went back to the room.

And all was well? No, not really. Lauren ate very little. She was feeling awful. So I got her in bed and tried to get her to eat and drink some…but she was just blah!

She fell asleep.

And I laid down and cried. I mean…come ON people…this is her Wish trip…this poor sweet baby! I balled. Yep...I lost it.


GKTW had called earlier in the day and left a message at our room to check on Lauren while we were out (because we had called the doctor on our first day), so once I calmed down, I called them back to give them an update. They suggested I find my “Bunny Book” – my orientation book…yeah, the one they gave us on the first day…the one that had the "emergency" stuff that I did not think we would need… - and contact the medical people listed in there. They have doctors that see GKTW families for free! Cool!


It was not long before Lisa was back to the room to check on Lauren. Lisa was on a mission…and she knows Lauren better than anyone else on this planet. And she knew what we had to do…free doctors are a very nice option, but we would have had to wait till the next morning to even call…and to salvage this trip…Lauren needed IV fluids. That was the only way she was going to bounce back from this thing.

So, I get out my Bunny Book…and call the hospital. Celebration Hospital. Now, who names a hospital Celebration? I know it is on Celebration drive or whatever…and that we are in the Celebration capitol of the world…but Celebration Hospital?!?! Goodness.


We get Lauren back in her chair (still reclined and we are pushing her) with her blanket and head downstairs to get the van back. Guys, she looked awful! I know I keep saying that...but really...

So, I have to go back and get the van from these poor valet guys that just parked it. I explained we were taking Lauren to the ER (mainly to apologize for getting the van again) and that guy RUNS to get the van. I mean HE TOOK OFF! Lauren didn’t look THAT bad, did she?!?! But I gave the guy $5.00 for his extraordinary effort…as he was very fast!



At the ER, the doctor was very nice…and the nursing staff was excellent. It was fairly crowded, but not “crazy crowded”…The doctor came in, they took blood, etc, etc, and decided she needed fluids (go Lisa! ) and some antibiotics to knock out a little infection she had.



Now, this is where the story took a crazy turn on our little rollercoaster…Rick called…while Lisa and I are sitting with Lauren…and tells us that William has it…yep…IT…William just got sick! (They had to call housekeeping …not good.)

So, then we knew...that this is NOT poison from the castle (as we had been calling it all day, sorry Cinderella )…it was a virus…a plain old virus. They probably picked it up when they were traveling.

So…that sealed it…we were taking a day OFF tomorrow. And EVERYONE was going to rest!

If you were really paying attention during the Pre-Trip report…you might remember that the next day is our character breakfast at GKTW, Epcot, lunch at Coral Reef, the SpectroMagic Parade and WISHES day.

But not anymore.

We stayed at the hospital till the very early morning hours. As we were getting ready to leave the hospital, the nurse brought us the sweetest bear for Lauren. Ok, so you guys DO get ONE picture…bonus for reading this much with NO pictures!!

The Bear - Isn't he cute!!

The nurse said that no one should be sick on their Wish trip and that she was a trooper…Wasn’t that sweet!


I think we got back to the room about 4:00 am…but it didn’t matter. We were sleeping til we were done!


Hang with us, guys…It DOES get better! I promise!!! The rollercoaster...it is coming to a stop soon!

The magic has not left this trip…This is just a bump in the road…A really big POT HOLE actually!...but we can see light at the end of the tunnel…really…really. Stay with us.



More on our day of rest tomorrow…


But for now...A hijacking of this TR for some Halloween pics!

 

[maroo]

Oh my when I first read the words "Lauren on the bathroom floor" in the same sentence I had to do a double take. That really stinks that they didn't direct you to a much better room for her to rest in. Glad to read that Lauren got a bit better ant that you guys got the VIP room.

Hope Lauren had a splendid Halloween. Me and DBF gave out candy at his Grama's house for Halloween. We had a ton of fun scaring people too (hee hee hee) it was a blast. In any case, glad to read that the trip got better as the day went on.

Much love and Pixie Dust,

Meredith

You are so fast!! Faster than I got to post the rest of the story...sorry...the day gets worse... But...It will get better!!! I PROMISE!

I am about to post some Halloween pics of her... To lighten the mood a little bit!!

The bathroom floor? That is horrible! I'm so glad you were there to...well...kick some butts.

Yeah...I don't want you to think we were totally cruel to her...she was on a blanket ...that girl was SICK!

 

[Khalana]

Oh, Mary, now you've made me cry... That is just SO sad.... I just feel so terrible for Lauren!! Lying on a dirty bathroom floor! Being so sick she has to get to the ER! Missing out on so much! Poor girl!!!! I really hope things turn around for you during the trip soon or else I'll be eternally depressed... I guess I do need to remind myself that you are in fact home now and all is well, but this is just so terribly SAD!

I do enjoy your writing, though, Mary, so keep up the good work. Pictures or no pictures I love it!

 

[jamal]

Oh Mary, I am soooo sad about the way your evening unfolded.

The bathroom FLOOR!?!?!??? What restaurant suggests THAT!???? I had to read it twice to believe it.

Yes, Celebration (the town) Hospital. This portion reminded me of when my husband got sick--I mean siiiick--the year we stayed at the Contemporary. I had to take a taxi to get him some medicine our friend (traveling with us) had called in and hated to leave him....on the bathroom floor! Yes, it was our room, but still...

I have hope that things are going to turn around now that Lauren has some fluids in her. I expect the rest did you all good.

 

[oklamomof4boys]

This is cruel- you can't leave us here! We have to get to the happy part!

I can't believe they made her lay on the bathroom floor! I hope they felt terrible when she left!

Oh no! Oh no! Not just one sick child but 2!!!!! On the trip of a lifetime!!!!

 

[mom2lilnick]

Awwwww.. I am so sad for Lauren! I can't wait to hear more good parts, I hope that the rest of the trip made up for this icky part.

Getting sick like that is my #1 fear of putting Nick in an airplane.. who knows what germs lurk in there.

 

[maroo]

I am hijacking my own TR to show you some pics of Halloween...

This is totally on topic because, as we know, Lauren wanted a "do-over" for her Tinkerbell costume!

So, we spent...(oh yeah, I can't tell you)...a LONG time...getting Lauren all "Tinked" up...(nevermind that some of that time was spent getting her Tinkerbell costume fixed because I didn't put it on right the first time...)


Isn't she cute! She is pictured here with one of her best friends from school...who will remain nameless until her Mom says I can put her name in here... (I did get permission to post the pic, though!)

Here I am as Cat in the Hat again...

But we were outside about 30 minutes...and Lauren looked like this... (sorry for the blurry pic...we were all laughing at something?)

Yep...completely covered in a blanket!! Go figure!! At least she is still gorgeous! and warm!

We also got to trick-or-treat with one my best friends from church, Rachel. (She is an adult and doesn't care if I put her name on here.) Lauren is also friends with Rachel, so we all decided to go together. She was dressed as a punk rocker, as you can see...and Lauren says she is stealing that idea for next year...so take note!

We all really had a good time. It got pretty cold...so we were not outside too long...but it was fun! And just for the record...I got 5 times more candy at the MNSSHP in just a few trick-or-treat spots!

Back to the TRIP!! Downtown Disney!!

 

[mom2lilnick]

Love the Halloween pics! Great costumes!

 

[AmberGreenawalt]

Oh Mary. How awful. I'm sending you and Lauren and the crew BIG virtual hugs.

I'm looking forward to reading about the post sickness magic!

 

[maroo]

Everyone... You guys are so sweet...

I promise, promise, promise that this trip is going to get better soon!

To give you an idea...Lauren rates this vacation a 8 out of 10...10 being the PERFECT vacation...and it included 2 days in the hotel room and a trip to the ER! It gets better...I promise!

Oh, Mary, now you've made me cry... That is just SO sad.... I just feel so terrible for Lauren!! Lying on a dirty bathroom floor! Being so sick she has to get to the ER! Missing out on so much! Poor girl!!!! I really hope things turn around for you during the trip soon or else I'll be eternally depressed... I guess I do need to remind myself that you are in fact home now and all is well, but this is just so terribly SAD!

I do enjoy your writing, though, Mary, so keep up the good work. Pictures or no pictures I love it!

I am so sorry...but I did warn you guys this time. And we really did have a wonderful vacation! Really!!

Oh Mary, I am soooo sad about the way your evening unfolded.

The bathroom FLOOR!?!?!??? What restaurant suggests THAT!???? I had to read it twice to believe it.

Yes, Celebration (the town) Hospital. This portion reminded me of when my husband got sick--I mean siiiick--the year we stayed at the Contemporary. I had to take a taxi to get him some medicine our friend (traveling with us) had called in and hated to leave him....on the bathroom floor! Yes, it was our room, but still...

I have hope that things are going to turn around now that Lauren has some fluids in her. I expect the rest did you all good.

Oh no! Bless your heart! So, Celebration is a town? Uh, I didn't know that. I guess I have made fun of their town name... whoops...

This is cruel- you can't leave us here! We have to get to the happy part!

I can't believe they made her lay on the bathroom floor! I hope they felt terrible when she left!

Oh no! Oh no! Not just one sick child but 2!!!!! On the trip of a lifetime!!!!

Sorry! I tried to not leave you guys hanging with the "I will tell you later how Lauren is" post...so I posted two at the same time... but still a cliffhanger...sorry!!!

Well, they might feel worse when a bunch of people read about it. The wonders of the internet....

Awwwww.. I am so sad for Lauren! I can't wait to hear more good parts, I hope that the rest of the trip made up for this icky part.

Getting sick like that is my #1 fear of putting Nick in an airplane.. who knows what germs lurk in there.

Honestly...the next time Lauren flies...we might actually put a mask on her. Seriously...I have not actually suggested it yet, but I would seriously consider it...especially before a wish trip...

I think you can get a mask from any drug store. But they are hot when you breathe in them...so it may not be worth it?

And I promise...this trip is a wonderful vacation...and the missed time in the room just gives us a real good reason to go back!!!

 

[eyor44]

Oh Maroo, how sad that everyone got sick. I hope you and Rick didn't also. Can't wait to hear about your next day, after resting that is. Rests days are nice too, at least that is what DH keeps telling me.

 

[jessica52877]

Aww, I feel so sad yet happy at the same time. Happy because I think going to the ER and getting fluids was great! Celebration is an adorable little town, with a cute little main street, a few shops and restaurants and a fun lake to sit by! You'll have to check it out on your next trip and NOT for the hospital!

I am so upset that Lauren had to lay on the bathroom floor! I can only imagine how it made her feel! I am so sorry! You can definately tell you weren't at disney!

Can't wait to hear it get better. I think rest days are wonderful! and hope everyone recovers with this one day of rest!