My sons wish trip

[Special4]

My name is Kristin. My son is getting a wish trip to Disney from dream factory. We’re a family of 6 with low income. So this will probably be our only trip to Disney. We’re also going to universal and Legoland. I’m not worried about those two though. I want this to be the best trip ever for my little boy. We’re not staying at give kids the world. When I started researching Disney I realized we need to reserve fast passes but when I asked about them I got no answer. I don’t know if that’s because they don’t know or if because they want to reveal it later. I’m just a very organized planner and everything about Disney says PLAN which I can’t do. Any tips or suggestions would be great. Thank you.

 

[SueM in MN]

WDW has a special type of pass, called the Genie Pass for children on Wish trips with some organizations. The Genie Pass allows the Wish family to use the Fastpass lines without having a Fastpass.
Not all wish granting organizations have an agreement with Disney to provide it, so not all children on Wish trips get Genie Passes. Your wish Granter would probably know whether or not Genie Passes are in use for Dream Factory ( I know they had been in the past, but can’t confirm if they are at this time).

 

[ChanaC]

I THINK (not positive) the Genie Passes come through GKTW. Even if you aren't staying there, are you getting your tickets through them? I know some people are considered GKTW families who are just staying off site. I too recommend calling Dream Factory and asking asking them specifically.

Do you already have your tickets for Disney? If so you can start booking FastPasses 60 days in advance if you are staying on property or 30 days in advance off property. However, you need the tickets to be linked to your account to do that. If you don't have them yet, once again call Dream Factory and figure out what the game plan is. If you don't get a Genie Pass and need to book your own FastPasses there are a TON of guides out there about which ones to pick and what strategies to go with.

 

[SueM in MN]

I THINK (not positive) the Genie Passes come through GKTW. Even if you aren't staying there, are you getting your tickets through them? I know some people are considered GKTW families who are just staying off site. I too recommend calling Dream Factory and asking asking them specifically.

Do you already have your tickets for Disney? If so you can start booking FastPasses 60 days in advance if you are staying on property or 30 days in advance off property. However, you need the tickets to be linked to your account to do that. If you don't have them yet, once again call Dream Factory and figure out what the game plan is. If you don't get a Genie Pass and need to book your own FastPasses there are a TON of guides out there about which ones to pick and what strategies to go with.

The Special access used to be handled at Make a Wish.
My understanding is that the Genie Cards started being issued directly thru the Wish Granting organizations when Disney changed from the old Guest Assistance Pass to DAS (Disability Access Service) in November 2013.
This is a link to an overview video from Give Kids the World. The written info about the Genie Pass says « for all approved participants » which is much more nebulous than it used to be.
https://www.gktw.org/pre/vacation/theme-parks.php

 

[Special4]

I did ask the wish granting place and I didn’t get an answer yet. We do not even have our dates yet. We just found out he was approved last month and were hoping for March. I learned about DAS so if we don’t get the genie pass it will still be ok. She will be letting me know the dates this month so I can ask then. I just am someone with anxiety lol. As soon as I know dates I can reserve some things the boys want to do.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I know its long but check out the wish trippers thread its super helpfull. ( its in the yellow section above)
We stayed at GTKTW so i cant help with the genie pass, but i was under the understanding that all wish kids them. Worst case scenario is you would get a DAS. The only thing that the genie pass did not get me was Jedi training so if thats something that interest you when you get to Disney Studios go sign up first thing.
Try and get your dream factory/wish shirts early. We decorated ours with ironons to become our disney shirts, the shirts get you far. They help the cast members notice you... really helps at all the parks at Studios the gold pass they give you is similar to the genie pass fits in a lanyard so they see the shirts before they see the pass...
(Also get a waterproof phone lanyard works better for your passes and little sheets of paper you get than the open lanyard type)

We were a family of 5 very low income due to our sons illness. You are not alone in that, i think a lot of wish families are in the low income category.
So its all set up so you have no worries.
They gave us cash to spend, we used the cash to buy lunchables, capri suns etc at walmart to make the money go further.
I am also a planner it was hard not knowing anything i get you. Do you know where you are staying? Maybe you could call directly

 

[Special4]

Thank you. Yes they said all our expenses will be covered except souvenirs. We are low income family but will have income tax in case we want to splurge. This will probably be the only time we will get to go. They do want to do the Jedi training. Thank you for the shirt idea. I know we get shirts and hopefully it will help to get him noticed. I will check out that thread.