Planning for Make-a-Wish Trip & GKTW

[KMandarino]

I'm new to this whole forum. My son, Alex, is 4 years old. He has neuroblastoma cancer and we are taking him and my 2 year old daughter to Disney World for his Make-a-Wish trip in October. We're planning on staying at Give Kids the World.
I was wondering if anyone has good tips/secrets for making the most of our week at Disney. We want this to be a memorable and fun vacation. Some of the questions we have are:
Are the tickets they give you hopper passes. I thought someone told me that once you go to a park you can't go back?
Is it easy to get to the front of lines?
How far of a drive is it from the airport to GKTW? From GKTW to the parks?
How much extra luggage should we bring with us? I heard the kids get tons of gifts.
Are there certain nights we should plan on staying at GKTW. I heard they celebrate Christmas and Halloween. Do they do those on certain days of the week?
My son wants to do the pirate league where he can get his face painted like a pirate. Does anyone know if I have to make reservations for that?
My son also wants to go to Blizzard Beach? I don't think that's included. How do I get tickets for that park?
I'm sure I'll have many more questions. Thanks for your help.

 

[Piper]

Go to this thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2807833 There is a wealth of information from people who have "been there, done that" and those whose trips are yet to come.

 

[eternaldisneyfan]

All make-a-wish kids stay at give kids the world. They are given a give kids the world button which if shown to a cm will let you skip the line. you can get waterpark tickets at the disney store, the website, or onsite. each child & sibling gets a small gift every night & are given spending money so an empty suitcase or two is a good idea. hope that helps.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

having been on 2 Make A Wish trips with 2 grandsons last year, if you are on facebook, find the Give Kids The World page. you can get a lot of info on GKTW there. if still the same Halloween is Monday night and Christmas is Thursday. one of your night get Mayor Clayton and Miss Merry to tuck your kids in. follow the directions that they give you from your greeter and it is not hard to get there. if you have been to WDW before and been to the route 192 Walmart, GKTW is a little way behind that Walmart. it is an easy drive to all the parks. Disney bends over backward to give you a great trip. that as many photo pass pics as possible as we were given the cd free. you are given front of line at most attactions and even the characters most times. there are characters that make appearances at GKTW. there are horseback riding for the kids Wed and Sat. the angels at the village are there to take pics for you so you can enjoy your time there. GKTW has a cd of pic that they take of your family that is sent to you. you will be give so many things to do that you will have to pick what is most important to your family. if Pirate League is a must do for your family, you will need to make a ressie for that but last year there was a pirate party one night at GKTW also. i will try to answer any other questions.

 

[kritter47]

Almost all MaW kids stay at GKTW. The exceptions are a.) kids who request a specific hotel/resort and b.) at times when GKTW is booked to capacity and the family does not have flexible dates on which to travel.

Tickets are hopper passes (three days at Disney properties, two at Universal, one at Sea World).

Front of the line access is not guaranteed, though the "magic button" and special wish-kid GAC cards do help expedite the process tremendously. Most families I've known who have taken wish trips there have had FotL access, but some have reported having some rides be FP entrances with waits of 15-20 minutes. FotL is also not guaranteed for character visits, though again, many times it does happen.

Extra luggage for gifts is up to your own discretion. Most MaW chapters pay for one checked bag per person if on an airline that charges for that. GKTW typically gives 1-2 gifts per child per night, with some being small and some being as large as a board game. I usually recommend that families bring one empty medium-sized duffel bag rolled up in their luggage to take the gifts home in.

Christmas is always Thursday, Halloween is Monday, and there are other parties on the other nights as well (see here, though be warned this is a very extensive document and includes things like how much GKTW charges a wish organization per family: http://www.gktw.org/wgo/pdf/wish-step-by-step.pdf ).

I can't help you with the other two questions, but I'm sure your wish-granting team would be more than happy to help you with anything you might be needing!

 

[jmerchlinsky]

What are your dates for your October Trip, we are going to be there on our MAW trip from October 1st through the 7th.