Taylor's Once in a lifetime wish 3/13 ~ update 3/12 More BIG GIVES & time to go pg 30

[blessedmom4]

I find multi-quoting tedious, but it looks AWESOME! (I am a SLOOOOOOOW computer person).You did GREAT!

 

[my2girlsrock]

Love the chef mickey outfits! And the AG outfits rock! Hope all the sickies are gone soon!

Thanks!!! WE LOVE the outfits too!!!

I LOVE all of the Big Give outfits, they are amazing! Your children are gorgeous!

Thank you

Yay, you did it!!!

Aw, I'm sorry to hear that about Sami. Hopefully the good time she'll have at Disney will help her loosen up and de-stress. Gosh, I can't imagine being in her shoes, 7 and knowing that my brother (who would be 6 then and was my bestest friend growing up) was sick. I feel for her.

Poor Taylor but at least she is able to eat & drink. Can she take any lozengers? My heart really goes out to your girls, they are so adorable and I hate to hear of kids being in any kind of discomfort.

I think alot of Sami's problem is she doesn't express how she is feeling... We are working on it...

Taylor actually has be sucking on Luden's cough drops & eating snow cones... She had 2 snow cones for breakfast today

Yay, good for you and getting the multi quotes down!!

Hope you sweet girls are feeling better tonight

Thanks!!!

I find multi-quoting tedious, but it looks AWESOME! (I am a SLOOOOOOOW computer person).You did GREAT!

Thank you!!! I love the cool graphics you have been posting! They look awesome

 

[my2girlsrock]

I thought I would share the video that one of the organizers made up for the NYC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN on Feb 28th at the Today Show....

These are only few of the Histio Angels, Histio Heroes and Histio Warriors. Taylor's pic is in this video towards the 4 min mark... If any of you are on facebook please REPOST this on your wall to honor these children & help us spread the word. You can look me up too if you want & friend request me (Teresa Ryan)

Here is the link :
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1757652734089&comments

 

[wishin' on a star]

Okay, thought I was subbed to your PTR, but apparently not! Just getting caught up. Those big give outfits are just beautiful!! I can imagine my girls would love those, and they are similar ages to your girls. The Big Give outfits will make them feel SO special at all of the parks. I hope Taylor is feeling better today!! Snow cones for breakfast sounds perfect to me!! Yum!

 

[Mom2mitokids]

Coming here to see how everyone is doing? I hope all is well and the girls are feeling better.

32 more day!!!!!

 

[my2girlsrock]

Okay, thought I was subbed to your PTR, but apparently not! Just getting caught up. Those big give outfits are just beautiful!! I can imagine my girls would love those, and they are similar ages to your girls. The Big Give outfits will make them feel SO special at all of the parks. I hope Taylor is feeling better today!! Snow cones for breakfast sounds perfect to me!! Yum!

Our girls LOVE them.... Thanks for joining our PTR

Coming here to see how everyone is doing? I hope all is well and the girls are feeling better.

32 more day!!!!!

Everyone is doing well right now... FINGERS CROSSED... How is everyone on your end? We are sooooo excited to go!!!!

 

[my2girlsrock]

Everyone is feeling good & we are ALL getting soooo excited for our trip!!!!

We are around the 30 day mark & I still have not made our countdown calendar we are going to be doing that this weekend. (I hope)

I have a question for you all...we are now trying to decide about a stroller.... Taylor is a 9 year old as you all know, Sami is 7. We are trying to decide if we need to rent a stroller or not. Taylor does get tired more than normal & if it is hot she will get leg cramps.... so my question is do you think we should get a stroller if so is the one at the park good enough or if not then where can we get one? It will most likely be used just so she can sit for a rest if her legs are getting tired....

I also wanted to ask if we should have like a plan of where we want to go when we get to each park? I know that some people talk about touring plans they follow I am not sure what that means?

Do all MAW kids get a "send off" party? I have not heard yet from MAW...

Thanks again for all your input!!!

 

[tinytreasures]

I think you can get free rentals for strollers in the parks but don't quote me on that.

I think we were suppose to get a party but it never worked out so our wish granter came the night before we left and brought pizza.

 

[cogero]

Not sure how tall or how big Taylor is. I would recommend one though.

I have a 3 year old who is autistic so for us a stroller is a necessity because it gives him a safe haven. He is also about 40 inches and weighs 40lbs. We owned a City Elite from Baby Jogger which is good for 100lbs.

there are a few companies that rent and it will be at the hotel for you. Orlando Strollers, Magic Strollers or a Baby's Best Friend.

If you think she will only need it in the parks see if you can get one thru Disney.

 

[mommy2mrb]

about the stroller, I saw on some other MAW threads that they will reserve you a stroller at GTKW....so hopefully someone who has been will let you know.....

I don't do the " plans" that so many people do, but here is my 2 cents...look at the parks you want to visit, have everyone pick their 3 top must do's, make a list....then if you have time after those then go see some more attractions/shows etc. take some time out in the parks to find a bench somewhere and watch the crowds, you'll see lots of fun things. Do you have the maps of the parks??? if not, go to the disneyworld.com site, go down about half way, click on order Customized maps, they will send them to you for free and they are really nice quality keepsakes!

I can't give you any advice on Seaworld or Universal since we haven't been, but I'm sure someone else will chime in on them!

let me know if you have anymore ????

happy to hear the girls are feeling better, hope you have a great weekend!!

 

[petals]

I don't do fixed plans going to parks but I would look at the maps even the day before you go to each park and pick out what you most want to do and see then go with the flow for the rest of the day.

Universal is pretty much the same as disney except if you want to see the likes of Animal planet show in Universal or Suess storytime thing in IOA you need to pick what time you'd like to do those

Seaworld I've found if you arrive early and plan your shows when you arrive you'll fit everything in without being rushed. eg: When we were there in September we went to Sealions first show, Dolphins, Pets Ahoy and then Shamu and wandered to see everything else in between!

I reckon if you just know what you want to see you'll get it all done without having to plan or rush to much.

 

[Emilyswish]

I would definitely get the double stroller, you can get one free at every Disney Park with your GKTW button. I'm not sure about Universal though. We had Em in her KidKart and the babies in the park's double stroller most days. At Universal we used a double stroller that Make-a-Wish provided for us and it was in our villa when we arrived. I will say that it was not in great shape. It worked, but I'll just say that it was very used.

As far as a plan, I had gone through each parks list of attractions and knew which things we wanted to get to first. I didn't bring a list, and there wasn't a specific order, but we did do almost everything we had wanted to. We did try to use the park maps but mostly we just walked around until we found something we wanted to do!

We did not get a send off party. Our volunteer came and brought each of the kids a stuffed mickey/minnie, Em's make a wish shirt and stickers, and gave us a gift card when she brought the final documents/flight info, and expense check. I think each chapter is different as far as that goes.

You are only a month away!!!!

 

[Emilyswish]

I would definitely get the double stroller, you can get one free at every Disney Park with your GKTW button. I'm not sure about Universal though. We had Em in her KidKart and the babies in the park's double stroller most days. At Universal we used a double stroller that Make-a-Wish provided for us and it was in our villa when we arrived. I will say that it was not in great shape. It worked, but I'll just say that it was very used.

As far as a plan, I had gone through each parks list of attractions and knew which things we wanted to get to first. I didn't bring a list, and there wasn't a specific order, but we did do almost everything we had wanted to. We did try to use the park maps but mostly we just walked around until we found something we wanted to do!

We did not get a send off party. Our volunteer came and brought each of the kids a stuffed mickey/minnie, Em's make a wish shirt and stickers, and gave us a gift card when she brought the final documents/flight info, and expense check. I think each chapter is different as far as that goes.

You are only a month away!!!!

 

[Mom2mitokids]

All theme parks will give you a free stroller rental with the button. You can pick a single or double. I can tell you...Taylor may be uncomfortable. Kylee was 5 and we rented one and she was very uncomfortable in it. They were hard plastic. Some MAW chapter will rent you one from one of the stroller rental companies and they will deliver it to GKTW. Some chapter don't..like ours. I have heard if MAW won't pay for it..Orlando Strollers will give you a discount. I would give your MAW chapter a call and ask. Oh...and you can also rent a wheelchair free at all the theme parks too with button, so that may be an option.

 

[clhemsath]

Hello! I have been catching up on your PTR and I think you are going to have a great time! For a touring plan, both times we went I used TourGuideMike. I can't remember how much it was (I think around $20), but it was fantastic. He lists out all of the rides, attractions and shows on a list as well as what type of people you have going and you pick and choose. Then it provides you a list of things and when to go there. I thought it was great for two reasons:

It prevented the struggle I have with my family after we get off a ride (Family - Where are we going? Me - Well, what do you want to do now? Family - Oh, I don't know, what are my choice?), we just picked the next thing on the list. If we didn't want to do that one, we skipped it and go to the next one.

Avoided the crowds - big one since the we were going in the 4th of July week and the crowds were crazy. Not so sure about your time or need with it being a WISH trip, but wanted to throw it out there.

I am sure if you use one or not, you will have a great time.

 

[kellyw8863]

Everyone is feeling good & we are ALL getting soooo excited for our trip!!!!

We are around the 30 day mark & I still have not made our countdown calendar we are going to be doing that this weekend. (I hope)

Woo hoo for everyone feeling good!

I have a question for you all...we are now trying to decide about a stroller.... Taylor is a 9 year old as you all know, Sami is 7. We are trying to decide if we need to rent a stroller or not. Taylor does get tired more than normal & if it is hot she will get leg cramps.... so my question is do you think we should get a stroller if so is the one at the park good enough or if not then where can we get one? It will most likely be used just so she can sit for a rest if her legs are getting tired....

Our chapter rented a stroller for Ali, but it ended up being an infant stroller, so it did not work. Orlando Stroller Rentals has a special needs stroller, but it is HUGE. I'm not sure I'd want to deal with the size of it unless I absolutely had to. On our second go with MK, we rented (for free) a double stroller, and it was pretty tight quarters for our five and seven year old. But, if it's not something that you need to really rely on, it would probably do the trick.

I also wanted to ask if we should have like a plan of where we want to go when we get to each park? I know that some people talk about touring plans they follow I am not sure what that means?

We did not have a plan for our first day at the parks, and it was a disaster with a capital D. We had never been to Disney before, and it was a completely overwhelming experience. We got swept up with the crowds and it was a waste of a day. We used touringplans for our day at AK and for our second go around with MK, and had amazing days. His plans were right on the money, and we had no problems at all. We weren't "strict" with our plans, by any means, but it was good information as to what parts of each park to hit in what order.

Do all MAW kids get a "send off" party? I have not heard yet from MAW...

We were told we would, but we didn't. They asked what kind of cake and everything. When they came to drop off all our "stuff," they brought stuffies for the girls, t-shirts, and a bunch of other goodies. The girls were ecstatic regardless, and honestly, it was so close to our departure that it was almost easier not to have one more thing to add to our list of things to get done.

Thanks again for all your input!!!

You're welcome! You're getting close!

 

[sheridee32]

Everyone is feeling good & we are ALL getting soooo excited for our trip!!!!

We are around the 30 day mark & I still have not made our countdown calendar we are going to be doing that this weekend. (I hope)

I have a question for you all...we are now trying to decide about a stroller.... Taylor is a 9 year old as you all know, Sami is 7. We are trying to decide if we need to rent a stroller or not. Taylor does get tired more than normal & if it is hot she will get leg cramps.... so my question is do you think we should get a stroller if so is the one at the park good enough or if not then where can we get one? It will most likely be used just so she can sit for a rest if her legs are getting tired....

I also wanted to ask if we should have like a plan of where we want to go when we get to each park? I know that some people talk about touring plans they follow I am not sure what that means?

Do all MAW kids get a "send off" party? I have not heard yet from MAW...

Thanks again for all your input!!!

The parks have a single and a double stroller the double would be great I don't think Taylor would be to big for one when we were there last spring my 28 year old daughter was pregnant and she sat down in my grandaughters and it held her with no problems we always get a stroller for our grandaughter just because she gets tired and it also works good to carry things in if they arent sitting in it once you rent one at the park if you change parks all you have to do is take the receipt to the other park and get another stroller the rental is good all day at each park just keep the receipt

 

[Mom2mitokids]

This is a picture of Steven and Kylee in one. Steven was 8 and Kylee was 5. Unless they changed the strollers, my kids complained. We had to buy some blankets to try and make it softer. Because of the seat part..Kylee could sleep in one. Maybe Taylor and sami will do fine in it.

 

[Mom2Miracles]

We are getting a double stroller rental through our wish foundation (Children's Wish Doundation - which is similar to MAW) which will be waiting at GKTW for us, so maybe call your trip co-ordinator to find out if they can get one for you. My kids are 3 & 4, and Peanut tires very easily so it is something we have to have. I know that Magic Strollers doesn't offer a discount on stroller rentals though - even for Wish families (I've been in touch with them), but maybe some of the other ones will if you got in touch with them.

I'm glad the girls are feeling better, the trip is just around the corner!!

 

[billwendy]

I think I would talk to Taylor about it and see which one she'd Rather ride in. I have to say that when we went with Daniel who was 3 weeks or so past chemo that he became exhausted to the point of sickness, and really missed the whole end of the trip (2 and a half days he missed!!) which was terrible!! He just tired out so quickly. At her age, she may feel a stroller is too babyish? and would rather be in a wheelchair, plus the size of it may be more comfortable for her. We want our girl to enjoy her wish trip!!!