Seth's Make-A-Wish trip May 19-25 2010

[maroo]

What a beautiful cake! And how funny he is hiding!


And the other news!!!!! WOO HOO!!

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

What a pretty cake! Too funny. Peek a boo Seth

What a great day for you all. Im so happy to hear Seth gets to drop two meds. Yay on the good labs and less clinic appointments.

The broviac going out the door befor the tripCalls for my favorite dudes the happy dancers!

 

[NVDadof3]

we got dates!!!!!

MAW called today and booked our flights. We will be arriving in Orlando on the 19th and returning home on the 25th. Now we can really start looking into things we want to do and when.

I will try and post an updated itinerary tonight.

Does anyone know what times the orientations are at GKTW? Would like to make it to the evening one on the 19th.

 

[maroo]

we got dates!!!!!

MAW called today and booked our flights. We will be arriving in Orlando on the 19th and returning home on the 25th. Now we can really start looking into things we want to do and when.

I will try and post an updated itinerary tonight.

Does anyone know what times the orientations are at GKTW? Would like to make it to the evening one on the 19th.

They can vary (isn't that ALWAYS the answer...sorry about that!)...

But usually they are around 7:00 or 7:30 at night. They also have one at 3:00 (or 3:30) in the afternoon - sometimes. If you miss those they have one at 9:00 AM and you can catch that the next morning.

You can also ask for a private orientation if none of those will really work - we have had a couple of families find that works for them.

 

[NVDadof3]

Thanks for the help. We really want to get an early start the next morning, so we were hoping to get it done the night before. Our flight doesnt land until 7:25PM so I guess I'll just have to call them and see.

Thanks Maroo.

 

[jessica52877]

Check your PM's (private messages)! Top right of the disboard screen!

 

[NVDadof3]

Woo-Hoo...just got a great PM. They have asked our kids to be part of the Big Give!!!! This is great. I really hadn't expected it because of the time being so soon, but it is truly wonderful. Kids are excited about being measured although they don't know why. What another great day this is turning out to be. Hopefully these type of days continue. Thanks so much to the Disboutiquers!!!!!

 

[maroo]

Thanks for the help. We really want to get an early start the next morning, so we were hoping to get it done the night before. Our flight doesnt land until 7:25PM so I guess I'll just have to call them and see.

Thanks Maroo.

Aw man! That really is a late landing. I hate that. My guess is that you may have an issue getting them to do one before the following morning?

But...I know the DIS says a LOT about getting to the parks early...it really is not as big of a deal when you have the magic button. You will be able to jump in the fast pass line of all the rides and should be carried to the front of most character lines - so you will be able to get a lot done in a short amount of time - as opposed to being a typical family in the parks. So...hopefully that will help you guys some. I don't think we ever made it to the parks before 11 and we had a blast.

 

[NVDadof3]

I think we are taking your advice and doing the first day at Universal, so it really isn't the worst thing but the last thing you want on the first day is more waiting...lol.

We'll make do getting there a little late I'm sure.

 

[Momofwishkid]

What a great day. Disney dates and the Big Give!! Congrats. Those women and a man or two are just so amazing and generous and so talented.

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

Yayy a date and the Big Give too Did anyone in your house get any sleep last night? I can't imagine how excited you all are. Time is going to go by so fast with everything. I hear these Big Givers spread quite a lot of pixie dust

 

[wishin' on a star]

Hooray for dates, BIG GIVE, good lab results...getting the broviac out!! You're family must be SO excited. I can say this, because our trip is coming up almost as fast as yours is...and the excitement in our house is unbelievable.

 

[NVDadof3]

I contacted Medieval Times earlier this week about going there for dinner. We knew it would be very expensive to go there, and didn't know if it was in the budget. A very nice woman from there emailed me this morning and let me know that during a wish trip, the wish child gets free admission and up to 4 family members get 50% off. This makes what would have been about a $250 meal into a much more reasonable $95. I hadn't seen anything on here about them before, so I don't know if this is something they tell you at GKTW or not. Seth seemed pretty interested in it, so I think we'll probably try and squeeze that in one night.

I also contacted GKTW about Claire's birthday being the 19th. I don't want her birthday being lost in the shuffle. They said they don't do cakes anymore but they would make sure to have her some balloons and let her pick a present from the birthday box. They also said the following morning at breakfast they would make her some special birthday pancakes. Sounds like something she would get a real kick out of.

Our planning is coming along a lot better now that we know our dates and flight times. We aren't making any ADR's at Disney because of the small amount of time. The kids don't really care about character meals or themed meals, they just want to eat and get going again, so this isn't really an issue. I'll have the revised itinerary posted tonight or tomorrow.

Quick question...I forgot to ask when I called earlier, but can someone tell me what time the Christmas party is thursday night?

Thanks,

 

[NVDadof3]

Hooray for dates, BIG GIVE, good lab results...getting the broviac out!! You're family must be SO excited. I can say this, because our trip is coming up almost as fast as yours is...and the excitement in our house is unbelievable.

Yes!!! Not 3 minutes goes by without someone asking or talking about Disney. Everything seems to be coming together the last week and a half or so. It's almost overwhelming. We'll definitely have to meet while there. Our kids are all so close in age that I'm sure they'd get along fabulously.

 

[MCazer]

Gary, I am sending you a PM, please check it out and get back to me!

 

[pacrosby]

I contacted Medieval Times earlier this week about going there for dinner. We knew it would be very expensive to go there, and didn't know if it was in the budget. A very nice woman from there emailed me this morning and let me know that during a wish trip, the wish child gets free admission and up to 4 family members get 50% off. This makes what would have been about a $250 meal into a much more reasonable $95. I hadn't seen anything on here about them before, so I don't know if this is something they tell you at GKTW or not. Seth seemed pretty interested in it, so I think we'll probably try and squeeze that in one night.

I also contacted GKTW about Claire's birthday being the 19th. I don't want her birthday being lost in the shuffle. They said they don't do cakes anymore but they would make sure to have her some balloons and let her pick a present from the birthday box. They also said the following morning at breakfast they would make her some special birthday pancakes. Sounds like something she would get a real kick out of.

Our planning is coming along a lot better now that we know our dates and flight times. We aren't making any ADR's at Disney because of the small amount of time. The kids don't really care about character meals or themed meals, they just want to eat and get going again, so this isn't really an issue. I'll have the revised itinerary posted tonight or tomorrow.

Quick question...I forgot to ask when I called earlier, but can someone tell me what time the Christmas party is thursday night?

Thanks,

Don't know if you've gotten the answer to this yet but in case not...................the Christmas Party itself starts at about 6:30. Definately a do not miss (but of course I'm biased as my son was actually IN the Christmas parade )

And just as an aside.................given your comment about the 'budget'..............you might keep in mind that MAW, generally speaking, provides an 'expense check' that allows for some serious splurging on extras. I actually called and asked them directly since I was trying to maximize my planning (while trying to minimize my budget ) and they readily offered up the info. Just something to keep in mind. Truthfully, if I hadn't been prepared with the amount beforehand we would've wasted it on frivolous things. Knowing how much we had to work with really allowed us to make the most of special extras that could never have been pulled together last minute.

Hope that helps

 

[pacrosby]

oh yeah...............and I got your pm. The info is waiting for you





.

 

[maroo]

I contacted Medieval Times earlier this week about going there for dinner. We knew it would be very expensive to go there, and didn't know if it was in the budget. A very nice woman from there emailed me this morning and let me know that during a wish trip, the wish child gets free admission and up to 4 family members get 50% off. This makes what would have been about a $250 meal into a much more reasonable $95. I hadn't seen anything on here about them before, so I don't know if this is something they tell you at GKTW or not. Seth seemed pretty interested in it, so I think we'll probably try and squeeze that in one night.

I also contacted GKTW about Claire's birthday being the 19th. I don't want her birthday being lost in the shuffle. They said they don't do cakes anymore but they would make sure to have her some balloons and let her pick a present from the birthday box. They also said the following morning at breakfast they would make her some special birthday pancakes. Sounds like something she would get a real kick out of.

Our planning is coming along a lot better now that we know our dates and flight times. We aren't making any ADR's at Disney because of the small amount of time. The kids don't really care about character meals or themed meals, they just want to eat and get going again, so this isn't really an issue. I'll have the revised itinerary posted tonight or tomorrow.

Quick question...I forgot to ask when I called earlier, but can someone tell me what time the Christmas party is thursday night?

Thanks,

Christmas starts around 6:30 - and the main hint there is to see Santa first, if you can. That line can get long because Santa spends a lot of time with each family.

As far as the Medieval Times - they do provide all the information at GKTW. The main thing you already know...which is that the wish child gets in FREE and the rest of the party is 50% off!

But the other main thing is that you can't sign up for the tickets until you get to GKTW - and they need 2 days notice to be able to get the tickets...so you technically can't go until the 3rd night or later on your trip.

I went to see the Medieval Times show when I was a child and LOVED it! I hope you guys can go, especially since this is something he really wants to do! It is really a pretty good deal.

 

[NVDadof3]

I just want to take a moment and say that the kindness shown on this board toward my family has been nothing short of outstanding. You guys have shown me that there are still some decent and caring people out there. While I know this to be true, it helps to be reminded occasionally.

Maroo-that's good info about Medieval Times. We were probably gonna go on our last night so the timing works out.

pacrosby-As for the expense check, I asked MAW about it a couple weeks ago but the budget wasn't finalized yet. I'm sure I can call back again and find out but don't want to seem too pushy about it, although I'm sure they wouldn't care. We should know before we go, and since we aren't making any ADR's, we shouldn't have any money "spent" before we get there. Hopefully it works out.

Thanks to everybody for helping with questions that I had.

 

[The Lurker]

I went to Medieval several years ago with my adult children and adult cousins. We had a good time. The dinner was very good - -steak but not outstanding. The program has loads of horses and jousting is the main thing I remember. I think any child who likes knights in shining armour, horses and that stuff like that would have a great time. One thing I do remember, the directions that came with the ticket said that we should arrive something like an hour early - totally unnecessary. The tour groups arrive about 15 min early. The real reason for suggestion the earlier arrival is to give you lots of time to shop in their souvenir shop.