On a sad note...

[CastMemberDWA]

I too believe that the special Disney balloon release would be extra special. Contact Guest relations at your hotel and ask to see if they might be able to get a character such as fairy godmother to be there during the release?

Also- you might contact the "leave a legacy" folks at Epcot to see if they can use a photo you already have of you son to etch into the stones there. The memorial bricks near MK are another option.

I am sorry to hear of your tremendous loss. May God continue to send his comforting spirit to you.

 

[minkydog]

I am so sorry for your loss.

I am sure it is very difficult for your daughter (and you).

When you find the right "spot" to do your small memorial, maybe your DD could release a balloon that could go up to your son in heaven. Since she knows that is where he is, she could send him a present from WDW.

Best wishes for all of you.

I think this is a great idea. I lost a baby at 15wks when my DS was 4 and he grieved terribly for her. It was really hard for me to deal with his pain, it was so raw, and I was so sad myself. I hope you are surrounded by supportive people in your life. Life will go on, eventually, and you'll never forget him. How nice to be able to commemorate his life in such a happy place.

 

[AngieWin]

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[SueM in MN]

I read about the balloon releases and wanted to add a caution.

Mylar balloons (the kind sold in the parks) should not be released on purpose. The metalic coating on them conducts electricity and can cause problems if they come in contact with power lines.
There are no power lines at WDW, but because mylar balloons are not biodegradeable, they can float a long way where they could get into power lines and actually cause power outages.
Here is a good website with FAQs about balloon releases. They say to only use latex balloons with only biodegradable attachments (only ribbon or non-metalic strings, although they recommend stringsnot be used because animals can become entangled in them).
That website also has a link to poems/essays people have written for their memorial balloon releases. Some are really beautiful.

You may be able to get the WDW people to fill a latex balloon for you (like if you buy a mylar one in the park for your DD). I don't know
for sure, but you could probably get an answer by emailing Guest Services or Jane from the website listed previously would know.

Another possibility is a butterfly release. I know WDW does them during the Flower and Garden festival. I don't know if they do them at other times or on request.

I'm sorry to hear of your loss and hope you are able to find comfort.

 

[solferino]

Don't they do a ladybug release at Poly or GF? Maybe at The Land at Epcot as well, given the greenhouses they have there.

 

[da-winnie-pooh]

I prayed for your family, too. (((((tons of hugs)))))

My brother's son died of SIDS and my brother's mil had given him an Eeyore soon after he was born. I started collecting Eeyores in my nephew's memory. Maybe your dd could start a collection of a particular Disney character? Not to make her sad, but just as a reminder of her baby brother.

(((more hugs and prayers))))

Anita

 

[Feralpeg]

I have a question regarding a rather sad situation. Our son died this year in November. He was only 5 weeks old and up until his last few days was a fine healthy infant. Our daughter was obviously devastated after waiting so long for him and having him home for a month. She is 4 and thinks that Disney is just the greatest place in the world (which of course it is!). We took her there for her first time in May 05. We want to go every year. And were planning on coming down there in '06 and bringing my parents to help with the baby so that we could all go. She was very excited to bring her new brother down to disney.

We think it is very important to come to Disney this year. I think it will help us re-establish and refresh ourselves. So we want to take her there soon.

Does anyone know if there is anything special that Disney does for these kinds of situations or does anyone have any ideas for something I can arrange for my daughter there that would make this a special trip for her with the circumstances what they are?

She told us 2 weeks after it happened that she had a plan. She said we needed to get to Disney world as soon as we could. Because we can go to the parade and meet Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. And the Fairy Godmother could turn us all in to angels so we could fly up to heaven and get her brother and bring him home. It was so sad when she told us this but SO cute too. Hopefully she won't ask for this when we go!

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I know this is a small thing, but I might be able to help a little. When you finalize your plans for your trip, please PM me with the details of where you will be staying, the name your reservation will be under, the date of your arrival and your daughter's first name. I will have something waiting for her when your arrive at your resort. This will be my gift to your daughter.

You can tell me how you want me to handle the card. You could give me the message to add. I will let you decide how it should be signed. If you want, you could put something in it about your son. You know your family and how they would react. I will leave that part to your discretion.

Peggy

 

[Maliki2]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I know this is a small thing, but I might be able to help a little. When you finalize your plans for your trip, please PM me with the details of where you will be staying, the name your reservation will be under, the date of your arrival and your daughter's first name. I will have something waiting for her when your arrive at your resort. This will be my gift to your daughter.

You can tell me how you want me to handle the card. You could give me the message to add. I will let you decide how it should be signed. If you want, you could put something in it about your son. You know your family and how they would react. I will leave that part to your discretion.

Peggy

Thats very considerate of you to do for WDWstu and family.

 

[Alysa]

so sorry for your loss

 

[WDWstu]

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone! You all have wonderful ideas. We were looking forward to going before, but now we have some ideas to make this an even more memorable trip.

I contacted the people at Epcot in charge of the Legacy Tiles. Hopefully I will hear back soon as to whether they can make a tile for my son with a digital picture of him. I would love to keep it a secret then when we get to Epcot lead my wife and daughter to it. It would be a wonderful surprise.

 

[mask_w03]

I'm so sorry for your loss and maybe call and check with Disney on if there is anything special they can do for you all while there. I like the balloon idea since she sends him balloons like you said. Maybe pick a fav spot in the park so every time you go she can go to that spot and send him another balloon.

Hugs to you and your family and she is one lucky little girl to have such a great mom like you!!

 

[bedgraynexl]

You are definately going to the right place for a healing. When my mother-in-law passed away unexpectedly it totally blew DW and her brother away. A day after the funeral FIL gave DW some money and said for her to take her brother to Disneyland. It gave the two of them a chance to honor their mother's memory in one of her favorite places. I think that by doing this you will create that special bond between siblings, and some happy memories for your daughter to carry with her. For me, it was good to see DW and BIL laughing and smiling while remembering their mom on this ride or that.

Grace and peace to you and your family

 

[PrincessNED]

WDWstu- You are an outstanding Father !!

My condolences to you and you family and I hope the tile at epcot can work out.

 

[mask_w03]

WDW your a great husband/father.. hope epcot is able to help you all out!! Best of luck with the picture idea!!

 

[lorli]

I'm so sorry for your loss. As a grieving parent myself of a dd (4), it is my dd that has made the loss bearable. We lost our dd at 4 months old due to complication of prematurity, 3 years ago this June. dd (4) was 2 at the time and she often comments about missing her baby sister or going to heaven to see her. Once she even said, "I wish heaven was right around the corner so we could go get her and bring her home." This past March my mother died and now dd(4) sends baloon messages to her sister and grandma, because Grandma can read them to her. God Bless you and your family!

 

[agnes!]

A previous poster mentioned releasing your "memory balloon" at the wishing well near the castle. I think the Memory Balloon ideas are all great!
I have another idea...how about your DD (or you and your DW as well) tossing a shiny new penny (or maybe one for each of his days here on Earth) from your baby's birth year into the wishing well to honor his memory? I think that the change is collected periodically and donated to charity, so the pennies would actually end up doing good for others as well as your family.

My sympathies to you and your family on your loss.
agnes!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

My daughter and I did one of the "Leave a Legacy" photos at Epcot when were there in the fall, and I know that we were given the option of doing the photo OR leaving a text message. So perhaps you might want to do one with your son's name and birthdate or a message saying "In Memory of..." or something similar.

Teresa

 

[AnaheimGirl]

I don't have any ideas, but just wanted to add my condolences. I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[mommyceratops]

I am so sorry for your loss.

I was thinking of doing the stone for him also in front of the Magic Kingdom that way you can visit every year. The wall at Epcot is not gaurenteed to be there forever, but the stones will.

The spot you pick make sure it isn't something that will be covered up or moved one day.

Blessings.

 

[byoung]

I'm so sorry for your familys loss.