Planning my sweet girls Make A Wish

[Olivia's_wish]

Hello all!

My sweet girl, Olivia , is getting her wish granted for late Nov/early Dec. She was DXd with cancer back in April and continues to fight and fight.

She is considered terminal now because she cannot receive a surgery for transplant or surgery for resection of the tumors.

She has a rare cancer called Hepatoblastoma, Stage III. It's liver cancer. (she is also special needs with a few other major medical issues like CP, Epilepsy, Hydrocephalus which is shunted, she's gtube fed, has a tracheostomy, doesn't walk/talk, etc)

She is currently kicking cancers behind though!! She truly rocks it and deserves this trip so very very much!

We will be staying at Give the Kids the World but I am looking for information in planning our trips to the parks, etc.

We live in Atlanta so we will have our own transportation since we are driving down.

We have never been before and I am feeling overwhelmed at the thought of it.


Thanks!

Trish

 

[SueM in MN]

Glad to hear about your DD’s wish and that you found this site.
Sad to hear about the reason for the wish, though.

If you have not looked at the WISH Trippers Unite, Volume 3"]Wish Tripper’s thread on this board, I highly recommend it. There is lots of information, so it can be overwhelming - don’t try to read the while thread. The first page has lots of information links and from there, just jump on in to the last few pages.

There are also some links in the disABILITIES FAQs thread, in post #3. I’ll post a few here for you:

• General information and trip planning
• Give Kids the World Website (many families on Wish trips stay there)
• Make A Wish Website

TO help you plan what to do at the parks - what does she like?
What kind of motion does she like (very mild motion or pretty wild?)
Is she afraid of any things like darkness?
How does she handle loud noises?
Does she like fireworks?
Can she sit in your lap for rides or could she sit next to you if you can help hold her up/support her?

That’s just a start to help you get focused. Ask as many questions as you want. That is what this board is for.

 

[casper_jj11]

Hi Trish

As Sue mentioned, there is a wish forum here. Planning a wish trip is so overwhelming at first but the people there are amazing. There is so much information available to help you plan. We just got back from Sydney's wish trip a few weeks ago. I"m trying to do a detailed trip report to help other families planning to go and it should be posted in a week or so. Check out other trip reports as well. It'll give you an idea as to what Olivia may like to do. Check in at the wish forum, maybe start a pre trip report and ask any questions you'd like. Many of us have been several times and we'd love to help. Hugs to Olivia.

 

[Olivia's_wish]

Thank you both. It's overwhelming because we have Olivia who is a 100% disabled child and then one average 8yo that will want to do some kid things too.

TO help you plan what to do at the parks - what does she like? The reasons we picked Disney were for the Christmas Lights and characters. She absolutely loves both! We also wanted Nov/Dec time frame so that heat wouldn't affect her epilepsy.

What kind of motion does she like (very mild motion or pretty wild?) I guess very mild as she still can't sit up on her own and is still working on head control.

Is she afraid of any things like darkness? Not that I can think of except maybe extremely loud noises.

How does she handle loud noises? They've been known to startle her especially if she's tired.

Does she like fireworks? She went for the first time this July 4th and LOVED it.

Can she sit in your lap for rides or could she sit next to you if you can help hold her up/support her? She could sit on my lap, that shouldn't be a problem....I didn't realize they would allow this. Are there rides that do allow it?

Some quick questions I have are

1) Do the parks allow outside food/snacks to be brought in? Olivia is 100% tube fed so this might be an issue if they don't.

2) She uses a special needs stroller instead of a wheelchair at this time. Skimming through the big thread it looks like she'll need some sort of sticker to allow her to remain in it? Are there parts of the parks that don't allow strollers or something? What is the need for this sticker?

3) We plan on going out more at night so that Olivia can enjoy the Christmas lights more. Are there night time things to be able to plan around? A lot of the things I see listed are pretty early times when we'll likely still be sleeping/getting around for the day.

4) Does anyone know what time the parks close in Nov/Dec? I can't seem to find that info.

5) We will have our own vehicle but I'm wondering if there are any trams/buses/etc that are close and easier to use?

6) How do character meals etc work? We don't have much money and definitely can't afford $30/head per meal like I saw listed.


Gosh I feel so lost! Gah

 

[SueM in MN]

Thank you both. It's overwhelming because we have Olivia who is a 100% disabled child and then one average 8yo that will want to do some kid things too.





Some quick questions I have are

1) Do the parks allow outside food/snacks to be brought in? Olivia is 100% tube fed so this might be an issue if they don't.

They don’t have picnic facilities, but do allow food to be brought in.
For tube feedings, some people do it where ever they can find a spot to do it. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, you can do the feedings in First Aid in any of the parks. They are open all the hours that the park is open and they have small private rooms or cubicles with a cot and a chair where you can feed her, have her rest or do any care.

2) She uses a special needs stroller instead of a wheelchair at this time. Skimming through the big thread it looks like she'll need some sort of sticker to allow her to remain in it? Are there parts of the parks that don't allow strollers or something? What is the need for this sticker?

Strollers are generally not allowed in lines or in most attractions and even inside many buildings.
Because there are so many strollers and many families with small children would like to keep their stroller in lines with them, WDW needed some way to sort out the people who want to keep their strollers in line from people (like your family) who need to keep the stroller in line. Strollers like yours are called “Stroller being used as a wheelchair."
The purpose of the sticker is to make it easy for the Cast Members (CMs) to be able to tell which strollers are being used as wheelchairs. The sticker allows you to bring the stroller where ever wheelchairs are allowed (which is everywhere, including the loading area of rides).
The only differences between a stroller being used as a wheelchair and a wheelchair are that:

• there are some ride cars which are wheelchair accessible that you would not be able to use the stroller on because the stroller is too low or could not be secured. You will be able to bring the stroller right to the boarding area, but then would need to remove her to ride.
• shows have wheelchair ‘parking’ spots where a person using a wheelchair can sit in their wheelchair. For most of these, you would want to remove her from the stroller and sit her on your lap so that she can see.
  

  3) We plan on going out more at night so that Olivia can enjoy the Christmas lights more. Are there night time things to be able to plan around? A lot of the things I see listed are pretty early times when we'll likely still be sleeping/getting around for the day.

  Even if there are not a lot of special things going on at night, you can still enjoy walking around in the Christmas lights. During other times of the year, the parks are very pretty at night with all the lights. During Christmas, it’s even better.
  You will want to go to the Studios to look at the Osborne Family Christmas lights. It’s really awesome and not to be missed.
  

  4) Does anyone know what time the parks close in Nov/Dec? I can't seem to find that info.

  These are the park hours listed so far - they are subject to change, but probably will not change much
  

  5) We will have our own vehicle but I'm wondering if there are any trams/buses/etc that are close and easier to use?

  If you are at Give Kids the World, you would probably be best just using the car. Shuttles may not be that often.
  

  6) How do character meals etc work? We don't have much money and definitely can't afford $30/head per meal like I saw listed.
  
  
  Gosh I feel so lost! Gah

  Character meals are expensive, but they are a good way to see the characters. Since you will be staying on a Wish trip, you may find you are able to see the characters you want without doing a character meal.

 

[SueM in MN]

Forgot to answer one question.
You would be able to bring her on any ride that does not have a height restriction.
This is a link to a height restrictions calculator. If you put zero in, it will give you a list of the heights for all attractions.

Small children can be held on the lap of an adult for most of the attractions without height restrictions.

 

[peemagg]

If you go to Disboards home page, there is a tab labled "Theme Parks". If you click on that you should see something listing park hours.

 

[jbrnhrt]

Congratulations on your daughter's wish trip. We are also planning a wish trip for our son. There certainly is a lot to consider, but you will find some great advice here on the dis. Everyone takes the time to thoroughly answer any questions you have. I see most of your questions have already been answered, so I won't answer them again. But about meeting the characters, I've been told you don't wait in the lines to see them at the parks. At give kids the world you will be given a pin to wear, you just show that to the cm at the character's location and you pretty much go right up to them. gktw also has come characters at the village, and they have a photographer there to take pictures with your kids and the characters too. This was a concern of mine too, because my son's wish is specifically to meet Mickey Mouse, and I wanted to make sure this would happen. I would also suggest checking our www.allears.net. there is a lot of info on there, and there's a entire sections about visiting wdw with disabilities, and children. I found a lot of my answers there. The best advice I've heard is to not go too crazy with an itinerary. You'll never do everything you want to do, so just go with the flow. I"m a planner and this has been hard for me, but all I've done is write down park times, times and locations of show we want to see, names and locations of restaurants that have appealing menus to us(this may be good to know for Olivia's comfort too since she won't be eating, you can figure out if there are places to rule out, I know some people with g tubes have this issues). Good luck planning, enjoy it, and don't hesitate to ask any questions!

 

[weswife]

HI,

I do not have alot of answers for your questions but I wanted to extend CONGRATS!!!!! to your family! I am happy your DD is having a wish granted! It will be an amazing trip for her and family! The memories everyone will create are beyond!!!!!! Sorry about your DD's illness.

My DD has alot od medical issues and uses a wheelchair full time. She too has a shunt. Long story short she had her wish granted in 2007, after a long illness. She wanted to go ,and see the Spice Girls concert!!! We live on the east coast of Canada and we flew to Vegas!!!!!! So amazing! My DD had the time of her life, so did we! So many memories!

So HAPPY for you! As a parent is amazing! Have a wonderful trip!!!