March 26, 2001
Our party consists of Dad (genuine nice guy, stay at home parent), Mom(me,obsessive planner), DS 10 year old Kevin - severe spastic quad cerebral palsy (read: extremely disabled), our two DDs - 8 year old Victoria and 6 year old Alex. We are joined by our good friend Andy.
Our wish trip started with a terrible snowstorm in our home state of Ohio! Normally this would have depressed me no end, but today made me downright cheerful! We are outta here, folks!
We were picked up in a LIMO, loaded our 7 suitcases, (why can't we be minimal packers??), DSs wheelchair and we were off. Our limo driver was very nice, and decently aggressive, but it still took us about 15 minutes longer to get to the airport. Yes, for gloating, I was rewarded with one more miserable rush hour.
We checked in, tipped all and sundry, and our youngest had to go to the bathroom ASAP. The girls split from the boys with instructions to meet at the gate. After the bathroom, the girls dutifully proceed to gate C11. No boys? Here they come, DS grinning, daddy pushing him, carrying our vital medicine and nebulizer machine, a bag of cinibuns, and a large OJ. Yes, the man had to stop to buy food. We were actually among the last loaded. I don't understand why we can never get on the plane first... we are always late. I am rewarded with a fellow passenger offering to help me carry all the stuff I have been handed by DH. Thank you, sir, where ever you are. Crisis - where is the medicine carry on??!!! oh no - left on the walkway and rescued. Thank Goodness. I was very worried it was left back by where we were dropped off!!
Plane takes off uneventfully, we sit and sit some more. I amaze myself with the thought that in two hours we will have left 18 degree temps and traded them for 70 degrees. Orlando Airport! Yet another passenger sees our plight and offers to help. Honestly, fellow passengers were more helpful than the stewards. Yes, Continental, you are on my list!! Our Make A Wish volunteer - Lorli - is from northern Germany and has a marvelous accent. She must be in her 60s but zips us all over the place faster than some of us can keep up. I forgot to mention that our dear friend Andy was also waiting at the gate - he flew in from DC to help us with our trip. We couldn't have a vacation and still have fun if it weren't for his help.
Mini van loaded - wow- it's amazing how much junk you can fit in one of those! Don't forget - we have a wheelchair, 8 suitcases, a laptop, and 6 people!!! We follow our excellent directions and arrive at Give Kids The World. WOWOWOWOWOWOW!
It's adorable. We are checked in by another Andy - this one is from South Africa, also an older gentleman. The kids are given plush animals, GKTW Panama Jack T-Shirts, and off we are whisked to our villa.
Very nice accommodations, everything within easy walking distance. We unpack, DH heads off for the conveniently located Walmart, and we go check out the place. First stop - Ice cream - you can have ice cream whenever you want!! YUM. Then a little more walking and DH returns from Walmart with the snacks. We girls take a pool break, and the boys nap.
After swimming we head back and slowly get ready for dinner. Tonight it is a pool party! The kids all get involved in games and dancing. The entertainment volunteers are exceptional. Every kid I see is smiling wide. We then ride the carousel, and then I have to go to parent orientation.
We are given a brief overview of WDW and US, IOA.. If it hadn't been for this board, I wouldn't know where to begin! But, I have a better idea than most, and could barely restrain myself from interrupting the presenter! We are told we can have a night out, that is if your child is fully potty trained. Well, DS can't walk or talk, and we never really worked on the potty stuff with him. So, no night out. But, it doesn't matter, this place is really great for us at this time in our lives. And, this coming Sunday, we are going to use Fairy Godmothers - compliments of DHs family for our night out.
If you joined in the GKTW fundraiser on this board, you can be assured your $$ are being well spent. For so many families, this trip has been the light at the end of their particular tunnel. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and we are very honored to have been able to come here. The best way to describe it is like a wonderland, where no one family is different from another. We are all in similar boats. WDW is a wonderful place for families like ours, which is why I've sold my soul to join DVC. We are treated so well at WDW. But nothing prepared me for what we found here at GKTW. Here, instead of being outside of the norm, we ARE the norm! I haven't felt this way in 11 years. This is a remarkable place. Each family here has lived through some incredibly dark times, and we are all here to celebrate our lives. And boy, are we ever celebrating. There is a carousel, an ice cream parlor (sponsored by Friendly's), video games, a little movie theater and a wonderful pool.
We are all sound asleep when at midnight a bizarre sound is heard coming out of the kids room!! It sounded like Godzilla, really! DH runs in there to find the alarm clock going off. The clock is complements of SURGE - and that's what it yells at you when going off - SURGE! Once our hearts settled down, we unplugged Godzilla and went back to sleep.
Day two is to be MGM.
More soon!
Sue
<img width="200" src="http://www.geocities.com/dmurphydis/cleveland.gif">
Our party consists of Dad (genuine nice guy, stay at home parent), Mom(me,obsessive planner), DS 10 year old Kevin - severe spastic quad cerebral palsy (read: extremely disabled), our two DDs - 8 year old Victoria and 6 year old Alex. We are joined by our good friend Andy.
Our wish trip started with a terrible snowstorm in our home state of Ohio! Normally this would have depressed me no end, but today made me downright cheerful! We are outta here, folks!
We were picked up in a LIMO, loaded our 7 suitcases, (why can't we be minimal packers??), DSs wheelchair and we were off. Our limo driver was very nice, and decently aggressive, but it still took us about 15 minutes longer to get to the airport. Yes, for gloating, I was rewarded with one more miserable rush hour.
We checked in, tipped all and sundry, and our youngest had to go to the bathroom ASAP. The girls split from the boys with instructions to meet at the gate. After the bathroom, the girls dutifully proceed to gate C11. No boys? Here they come, DS grinning, daddy pushing him, carrying our vital medicine and nebulizer machine, a bag of cinibuns, and a large OJ. Yes, the man had to stop to buy food. We were actually among the last loaded. I don't understand why we can never get on the plane first... we are always late. I am rewarded with a fellow passenger offering to help me carry all the stuff I have been handed by DH. Thank you, sir, where ever you are. Crisis - where is the medicine carry on??!!! oh no - left on the walkway and rescued. Thank Goodness. I was very worried it was left back by where we were dropped off!!
Plane takes off uneventfully, we sit and sit some more. I amaze myself with the thought that in two hours we will have left 18 degree temps and traded them for 70 degrees. Orlando Airport! Yet another passenger sees our plight and offers to help. Honestly, fellow passengers were more helpful than the stewards. Yes, Continental, you are on my list!! Our Make A Wish volunteer - Lorli - is from northern Germany and has a marvelous accent. She must be in her 60s but zips us all over the place faster than some of us can keep up. I forgot to mention that our dear friend Andy was also waiting at the gate - he flew in from DC to help us with our trip. We couldn't have a vacation and still have fun if it weren't for his help.
Mini van loaded - wow- it's amazing how much junk you can fit in one of those! Don't forget - we have a wheelchair, 8 suitcases, a laptop, and 6 people!!! We follow our excellent directions and arrive at Give Kids The World. WOWOWOWOWOWOW!
It's adorable. We are checked in by another Andy - this one is from South Africa, also an older gentleman. The kids are given plush animals, GKTW Panama Jack T-Shirts, and off we are whisked to our villa.
Very nice accommodations, everything within easy walking distance. We unpack, DH heads off for the conveniently located Walmart, and we go check out the place. First stop - Ice cream - you can have ice cream whenever you want!! YUM. Then a little more walking and DH returns from Walmart with the snacks. We girls take a pool break, and the boys nap.
After swimming we head back and slowly get ready for dinner. Tonight it is a pool party! The kids all get involved in games and dancing. The entertainment volunteers are exceptional. Every kid I see is smiling wide. We then ride the carousel, and then I have to go to parent orientation.
We are given a brief overview of WDW and US, IOA.. If it hadn't been for this board, I wouldn't know where to begin! But, I have a better idea than most, and could barely restrain myself from interrupting the presenter! We are told we can have a night out, that is if your child is fully potty trained. Well, DS can't walk or talk, and we never really worked on the potty stuff with him. So, no night out. But, it doesn't matter, this place is really great for us at this time in our lives. And, this coming Sunday, we are going to use Fairy Godmothers - compliments of DHs family for our night out.
If you joined in the GKTW fundraiser on this board, you can be assured your $$ are being well spent. For so many families, this trip has been the light at the end of their particular tunnel. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and we are very honored to have been able to come here. The best way to describe it is like a wonderland, where no one family is different from another. We are all in similar boats. WDW is a wonderful place for families like ours, which is why I've sold my soul to join DVC. We are treated so well at WDW. But nothing prepared me for what we found here at GKTW. Here, instead of being outside of the norm, we ARE the norm! I haven't felt this way in 11 years. This is a remarkable place. Each family here has lived through some incredibly dark times, and we are all here to celebrate our lives. And boy, are we ever celebrating. There is a carousel, an ice cream parlor (sponsored by Friendly's), video games, a little movie theater and a wonderful pool.
We are all sound asleep when at midnight a bizarre sound is heard coming out of the kids room!! It sounded like Godzilla, really! DH runs in there to find the alarm clock going off. The clock is complements of SURGE - and that's what it yells at you when going off - SURGE! Once our hearts settled down, we unplugged Godzilla and went back to sleep.
Day two is to be MGM.
More soon!
Sue
<img width="200" src="http://www.geocities.com/dmurphydis/cleveland.gif">
