Princess Phoebe's Pre-WISH-Trip Report (arriving in MK 4/17/10)

[yinyanggirls]

I remembered hearing about the Toontown re-vamp and bringing in the princesses but couldn't remember when this was to happen. After a little search I found this video of the announcement. After the first 20 seconds it's got tons of sketches and really shows what they are planning. Unfortunately, it's not going to be open until 2012. So who wants to start saving up for a return trip???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08W5Os-Wnj0&feature=player_embedded

 

[pipersmom]

I remembered hearing about the Toontown re-vamp and bringing in the princesses but couldn't remember when this was to happen. After a little search I found this video of the announcement. After the first 20 seconds it's got tons of sketches and really shows what they are planning. Unfortunately, it's not going to be open until 2012. So who wants to start saving up for a return trip???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08W5Os-Wnj0&feature=player_embedded

I know you're halfway joking, but I think you, me, Piper, Phoebe and Tessa should all go together in 2012 for Jordan's peepfest! I think we'd have a blast! Of course, we'd have to start saving now, and who knows what we'd have to get involved in to raise that much cash..any good corners around you?

 

[yinyanggirls]

I know you're halfway joking, but I think you, me, Piper, Phoebe and Tessa should all go together in 2012 for Jordan's peepfest! I think we'd have a blast! Of course, we'd have to start saving now, and who knows what we'd have to get involved in to raise that much cash..any good corners around you?

You're killing me! I won't say it doesn't tempt me. Is he going in Feb for his actual bday, or later in the year? I'm wondering if the new area will be open early in the year. I'll have to ponder it. I'd say let's do it for sure but with us the airfare can be the killer. Start saving now and we'll touch base again in one year.

 

[pipersmom]

You're killing me! I won't say it doesn't tempt me. Is he going in Feb for his actual bday, or later in the year? I'm wondering if the new area will be open early in the year. I'll have to ponder it. I'd say let's do it for sure but with us the airfare can be the killer. Start saving now and we'll touch base again in one year.

They're looking at June, I want to say the first two weeks, maybe? He'll prob chime in here once he sees us discussing it I will start saving too, touching base again in a year sounds good to me!

 

[kellyw8863]

Lots of good news! I can't wait to see all the pictures of the girls in their adorable outfits. The ladies over there are so incredibly talented. I also love the pictures from the Toy Story night. It looks like it was a success!

 

[pacrosby]

Hey.......................I just caught the news about the Big Give!!! Can't wait to see the px of the girls in their outfits!! DFN looked fun too! Gotta love those Mr. Potato Heads!!!!



Pamela

Matty's Wish Trip PTR http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php:?t=2325607

Matty's Wish Trip TR "Mom, Dad, 3 Kids, and a Gingerbread Boy" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2356739

 

[jordanyosh]

PeepFest2012 is the last 2 weeks of June. CA schools don't get out until the 2nd week of June......

It would be cool if both of your families could come!

 

[yinyanggirls]

Lots of good news! I can't wait to see all the pictures of the girls in their adorable outfits. The ladies over there are so incredibly talented. I also love the pictures from the Toy Story night. It looks like it was a success!

Thanks! I was just happy we got one of the important movies done! (And yes, aren't those ladies (and gent?) amazing?!?

Hey.......................I just caught the news about the Big Give!!! Can't wait to see the px of the girls in their outfits!! DFN looked fun too! Gotta love those Mr. Potato Heads!!!!

Pamela

I really wanted to make baked potatoes too for decorating and eating but Tessa wouldn't touch them so not worth the effort.

PeepFest2012 is the last 2 weeks of June. CA schools don't get out until the 2nd week of June......

It would be cool if both of your families could come!

Ah yes, the CA late vacation. I still remember graduating on June 18th. Don't ask why I remember that, I just do. DH asks ME when his families' bdays are 'cause he knows I'll remember.
I am definitely being converted to a WDW fan during this planning process. Growing up by D-world I didn't quite understand all the Disney hype. WDW seems to be a whole 'nother place entirely.

 

[jordanyosh]

WDW is completely different than DL for sure.

It's more of an entire resort than a theme park. You literally can spend 2 weeks there and not do everything that you want to do.

 

[yinyanggirls]

I checked the list of charities on Jan 2nd and was disappointed that there was almost nothing in my area, and nothing that we could do with our kids. The couple that were possible were taken of course. I checked back today and found some new ones listed and filled out the form for a couple. I heard back from one, Red Cross, about a 3 hr car wash type event in February. He said the rules exclude anyone under age 6. I replied to ask if we could bring Tessa anyway, even if not qualifying for a ticket through the program. Waiting to hear back. If he says no, I will still try to get a sitter or playdate for her. If it works out, we will have the option to extend our Disney portion by one trip if we wanted to. Or we can save it for Disneyland and have a great excuse to go visit the grandparents in CA. Just wanted to share that with you guys, because it seems the list is changing, so keep checking if you didn't find something initially.

 

[kellyw8863]

I checked the list of charities on Jan 2nd and was disappointed that there was almost nothing in my area, and nothing that we could do with our kids. The couple that were possible were taken of course. I checked back today and found some new ones listed and filled out the form for a couple. I heard back from one, Red Cross, about a 3 hr car wash type event in February. He said the rules exclude anyone under age 6. I replied to ask if we could bring Tessa anyway, even if not qualifying for a ticket through the program. Waiting to hear back. If he says no, I will still try to get a sitter or playdate for her. If it works out, we will have the option to extend our Disney portion by one trip if we wanted to. Or we can save it for Disneyland and have a great excuse to go visit the grandparents in CA. Just wanted to share that with you guys, because it seems the list is changing, so keep checking if you didn't find something initially.

That's good to know! I checked for around here the other day, but there wasn't anything then, so maybe I'll check again. Do you know off the top of your head if the tickets are transferable? We don't need them, but my in-laws are planning to come with us on their own dime, so it would be nice to help them if we can.

 

[dawnbu40]

Helping out at a car wash sounds like a fun way to volunteer! I hope you find one that works out for you!

 

[yinyanggirls]

That's good to know! I checked for around here the other day, but there wasn't anything then, so maybe I'll check again. Do you know off the top of your head if the tickets are transferable? We don't need them, but my in-laws are planning to come with us on their own dime, so it would be nice to help them if we can.

I didn't read the fine print myself, but I remember reading on another PTR that you can donate it, or use it for a FastPass pass if you are already a passholder. I don't know the details of those but I'm pretty sure I did read that it is only good for the name of the person volunteering. When I was looking for opportunities and not finding any I checked my sister's city and my parents' and of course found tons of things to do. I was thinking my dad (retired, and my mom is always complaining he's bored) could do several and earn tickets for all of us.

 

[pacrosby]

A car wash? That sounds like fun. Hopefully they will allow Tessa to tag along, she'd probably have a ball! I found an opportunity for 5 of us (again, no one under six) in an adjacent town on MLK day. How convienent hu? I'm not sure exactly what we'll be doing though - they were looking for 100's of volunteers for some community event for the holiday. It's only 3 hours so whatever it is it should be doable for the kids.

Do you know if it's limited to one opportunity per family? There were alot of opportunities we could've taken advantage of. I wouldn't want to take an opportunity away from someone else but if there's tons available and they allow it Iid be a fool not to at least consider it. Our December 2010 trip has now become a definate (barring unforseen circumstances of course) With 4 paying kids we can use all the help we can get.

Pamela

Matty's Wish Trip PTR http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2325607

Matty's Wish Trip TR "Mom, Dad, 3 Kids, and a Gingerbread Boy" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2356739

 

[StefaniLyn]

A car wash? That sounds like fun. Hopefully they will allow Tessa to tag along, she'd probably have a ball! I found an opportunity for 5 of us (again, no one under six) in an adjacent town on MLK day. How convienent hu? I'm not sure exactly what we'll be doing though - they were looking for 100's of volunteers for some community event for the holiday. It's only 3 hours so whatever it is it should be doable for the kids.

Do you know if it's limited to one opportunity per family? There were alot of opportunities we could've taken advantage of. I wouldn't want to take an opportunity away from someone else but if there's tons available and they allow it Iid be a fool not to at least consider it. Our December 2010 trip has now become a definate (barring unforseen circumstances of course) With 4 paying kids we can use all the help we can get.

Pamela

Matty's Wish Trip PTR http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2325607

Matty's Wish Trip TR "Mom, Dad, 3 Kids, and a Gingerbread Boy" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2356739

There are opportunities in our area to make no-sew fleece blankets for Project Linus. Once I saw that, I threw out the idea of a 'Wish-Anniversary' trip in Dec to DH. He looked at me all crazy like, but didn't say 'NO' Pamela, when did you start talking about Dec 10? How did I miss that?

Bella won't be 6 until April though and I'm worried that all the tickets will be gone by then.

It's definitely a wonderful opportunity for both the charities who benefit from the volunteers as well as the families that benefit from the tickets. Leave it to Disney to come up with a wonderful idea such as this one!

 

[yinyanggirls]

If you are thinking of going in December be aware that the expiration date of the Give a Day tickets are not the 31st. The exact date escapes me but make sure you check. I want to say it was like the 15th of Dec?
Also, Stephanie, you could go ahead and grab the opportunities that you see now, and then try again in April just for Bella. If there is still something like Project Linus you could obviously help her earn hers. I'm hoping they say we can bring Tessa along for two reasons - one, so I don't have to beg any friends or pay a babysitter to take her for the afternoon, and - two, because I think every exposure a child has to service is a good one. Being a "special needs" family, we are often on the receiving end, so it's wonderful to pay it forward and this program just gives us the nudge we needed to make the time for it.

 

[StefaniLyn]

If you are thinking of going in December be aware that the expiration date of the Give a Day tickets are not the 31st. The exact date escapes me but make sure you check. I want to say it was like the 15th of Dec?
Also, Stephanie, you could go ahead and grab the opportunities that you see now, and then try again in April just for Bella. If there is still something like Project Linus you could obviously help her earn hers. I'm hoping they say we can bring Tessa along for two reasons - one, so I don't have to beg any friends or pay a babysitter to take her for the afternoon, and - two, because I think every exposure a child has to service is a good one. Being a "special needs" family, we are often on the receiving end, so it's wonderful to pay it forward and this program just gives us the nudge we needed to make the time for it.

Great idea Melissa. When I mentioned it to DH (ok, maybe I more than mentioned it. maybe it was a 20 minute conversation with a lot of 'what if . . . . ?s") we talked about going at the same time we went this year because we have Bella's GKTW Passport which expires on Dec. 9th (check out of GKTWday) and we could drive down, stopping at several of the theme parks where we would have free admission along the way.

I hope they will let you bring Tessa along as well, for both reasons, lol. I think she will learn an important life lesson.

 

[yinyanggirls]

With all my happy updates lately, I'm sorry to say I have a worrisome one. My grandmother (who is approaching 85 in April) has been very sick for just over a year. She has been living with Pulmonary Fibrosis for a few years now and Nov of 08 she had knee surgery that led to her getting pneumonia. She's been in and out of the hospital all year long and several times they thought it was the end. For the last 6 months or so she's been doing fairly well and we all got our hopes up that while it wasn't ideal, and it had many challenges, she might be able to live quite a bit longer in her current state. I've been getting sad, mad, bitter, etc at my aunts and uncles because my mom (her parents) and dad have been housing them, feeding them and providing 24/7 care for them since last Feb. I'm stressed for my parents because my mom basically quit her at-home job and gave up their current income to do it. I also lost my mom (usually a huge help to our family) for the last year because she has only been able to escape that house for a few days all year (Phoebe's bday last Sept). But that may be a moot point. My grandma is back in the hospital with pneumonia again. The last time she was admitted they said she wouldn't survive another illness.

My aunt gave an update tonight saying "she's doing well, talking about going home to die but not fighting being in the hospital". Between that and the last two visits I had with her, I got chills and just felt like, not fighting means letting go. You'd think I'd be prepared for this but it stinks. My grandfather (turns 88 in a couple weeks) has been forgetting things lately and falling. Somebody has to babysit him all the time. I know it would be nice to have the stress lifted from my mom, but I know she's not ready to let go yet. She's been fighting too hard this year to keep her here. I want my mom back but not at the expense of losing my grandma. My grandparents celebrated their 66th anniversary last week and I can't imagine my grandpa making it much longer if she left us. So I'm just trying to reconcile all those human emotions that I'm sure you guys all understand. Sorry for rambling. I needed a place to get it out.

So, part of my rambling brain worries about our trip. It's only Jan and we're three months away, but if she went in April I'd have to cancel. I could not miss the funeral. If she goes sooner, but my grandpa goes downhill....Ugh. I hate this. Oh well. All I can do is hope and pray that they are at peace and ready to go. Thanks again for listening...

 

[pacrosby]

There are opportunities in our area to make no-sew fleece blankets for Project Linus. Once I saw that, I threw out the idea of a 'Wish-Anniversary' trip in Dec to DH. He looked at me all crazy like, but didn't say 'NO' Pamela, when did you start talking about Dec 10? How did I miss that?

Bella won't be 6 until April though and I'm worried that all the tickets will be gone by then.

It's definitely a wonderful opportunity for both the charities who benefit from the volunteers as well as the families that benefit from the tickets. Leave it to Disney to come up with a wonderful idea such as this one!

Sorry to hi-jack your thread Melissa


Stephanie - I started talking about a Wish anniversary trip (exactly what I referred to it as too) pretty much on the airplane ride home No, but seriously.................I did. I'd love to make it a yearly thing, finances allowing. I've always thought of WDW as a 5/6/7000 dollar trip, something to only be done every 3+ yrs but being exposed to this DISboard has taught me better. My dh is on board and I've even suggested to my mom that she and my dad should come along (they're 80 and 81). She looked like she liked the idea...........................alot! It's more than just wanting to go back and do Disney again. It's specifically a chance to continue to celebrate Matty's Wish Trip. I'd love to go back to GKTW and even volunteer while we are there.

I'll see you there ok?????


Pamela

Matty's Wish Trip PTR http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2325607

Matty's Wish Trip TR "Mom, Dad, 3 Kids and a Gingerbread Boy" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2356739

 

[pacrosby]

With all my happy updates lately, I'm sorry to say I have a worrisome one. My grandmother (who is approaching 85 in April) has been very sick for just over a year. She has been living with Pulmonary Fibrosis for a few years now and Nov of 08 she had knee surgery that led to her getting pneumonia. She's been in and out of the hospital all year long and several times they thought it was the end. For the last 6 months or so she's been doing fairly well and we all got our hopes up that while it wasn't ideal, and it had many challenges, she might be able to live quite a bit longer in her current state. I've been getting sad, mad, bitter, etc at my aunts and uncles because my mom (her parents) and dad have been housing them, feeding them and providing 24/7 care for them since last Feb. I'm stressed for my parents because my mom basically quit her at-home job and gave up their current income to do it. I also lost my mom (usually a huge help to our family) for the last year because she has only been able to escape that house for a few days all year (Phoebe's bday last Sept). But that may be a moot point. My grandma is back in the hospital with pneumonia again. The last time she was admitted they said she wouldn't survive another illness.

My aunt gave an update tonight saying "she's doing well, talking about going home to die but not fighting being in the hospital". Between that and the last two visits I had with her, I got chills and just felt like, not fighting means letting go. You'd think I'd be prepared for this but it stinks. My grandfather (turns 88 in a couple weeks) has been forgetting things lately and falling. Somebody has to babysit him all the time. I know it would be nice to have the stress lifted from my mom, but I know she's not ready to let go yet. She's been fighting too hard this year to keep her here. I want my mom back but not at the expense of losing my grandma. My grandparents celebrated their 66th anniversary last week and I can't imagine my grandpa making it much longer if she left us. So I'm just trying to reconcile all those human emotions that I'm sure you guys all understand. Sorry for rambling. I needed a place to get it out.

So, part of my rambling brain worries about our trip. It's only Jan and we're three months away, but if she went in April I'd have to cancel. I could not miss the funeral. If she goes sooner, but my grandpa goes downhill....Ugh. I hate this. Oh well. All I can do is hope and pray that they are at peace and ready to go. Thanks again for listening...

Melissa. I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother. Scary stuff to think about. Things that none of us can truly ever be prepared for. Take it one day at a time. Don't worry about the trip right now. Everything will work it's way out. Things always happen the way they are 'supposed' to. At least that's what I believe.

Prayers sent your way.

Pamela