Tyler's Wish Trip - Nov. 20-25, 2009 / Dream Factory

[kdzbear]

Here are more parade photos………

The next for photos are for Matty! I was starting to think that they would not appear. Enjoy!

 

[kdzbear]

And more parade photos……..

 

[kdzbear]

Here are the last three parade photos….

After the parade we headed to the Cosmic Ray’s Dance Party. I stood in line for apples, apple juice, hot chocolate and cookies while Aaron went to change Tyler. We found a table and watch the dancing characters and party guests. It was packed with people. Tyler stood up in his chair and did the chicken dance. I guess I did not take any pictures at the dance party????

Then they announced that it was time for Wishes. We headed outside and tried to make our way across the bridge to the castle, but I could not get even one quarter of the way across with the double stroller. We missed a lot of the fireworks due to trees being in the way. I was able to watch all of the sprinklers going off in the nearby trees and greenery to keep them from catching on fire. I had never paid attention to that before. Aaron made it farther down the bridge and tried to tape it for me. I have not watched the video to see how it turned out.

See that little green blip of a light in the sky? That is Tinkerbell flying by!

Here are a few of the fireworks, but my little point and shoot camera does not capture them so well!

 

[kdzbear]

We moved from the bridge to the line to see Belle's Christmas show. The cast member that was supposed to provide the all clear to move the rope to allow people to sit for the show forgot to do so. When they dropped the rope it was utter chaos. We found a seat near the back, but there were people standing in front of people that were seated. Cast members would repeatedly ask them to move and they would not. The show was the same show as the daytime with guests playing the characters. The only difference was the Christmas theme.

After the show we went to meet Beauty and the Beast. We were told that there was no special line for GAC guests. We started to stand in the regular line, but it was long and not moving. The same cast member that told us to stand in the regular line asked if we were not waiting and I explained that my son was special needs and he could not wait that long. One of the character handlers heard me and took us right to the front of the line. The cast member that had told us that we did not have the access explain that it was her first night working with characters and that she normally ran the Dumbos. This lesson was the first of many that I learned this trip. Keep asking until you get the answer that you want as every cast member will give you a different answer.

We then walked over to Adventureland and found Aladdin and Jasmine.

 

[kdzbear]

At this point it was getting later in the evening and the second parade was about to start. We decided to find Stitch. I was told to look around the corner to the left of where we were and follow the lit up sign for cookies and hot chocolate. Inside a restaurant that has been closed for years and that is empty space that is only used for special events we found Stitch. We waited in line as there were only three or four guests in line. We were chatting with the two character handlers, Diane and Christopher. We explained Tyler’s Wish to them and they asked us to hang out for a little while. Once the parade started Tyler had Lilo and Stitch to himself for over an hour. It was amazing! Stitch sat on the floor with them and they had a blast. At one point Stitch had to use the restroom and Christopher assured us that we wanted to wait until Stitch returned. Stitch returned and he had eaten some sugar while he was on break. He was hyper and bouncing all over with the kids! It was the most magical time for Tyler to have so much one on one time with Stitch!

Then the character handlers told us to go and see Tim at the Magic Carpets and then come back to see Stitch. So, we made our way to visit Tim, who was Timothy from earlier at Epcot! He let us take pictures with Al and Wendell.

Then Tyler rode the Magic Carpets with Wendell!

We went to Main Street to make a small Christmas Party purchase. I tried to take a picture of the snow.

Then we headed back to Stitch and Tyler played with Stitch more, but I don’t seem to have more pictures. I think this is because I was discussing details with Diane and Christopher. They just happened to be working at the Animal Kingdom the next day and it was the park we were already planning to go to! They were going to try to get us in the parade. Diane told us to meet her in Camp Minnie / Mickey and that she would be with Goofy. Christopher said that he would be with Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore. I will tell you know that you have to be five to ride in the parade so that magic didn’t happen, but something even better did! We said our good nights to Lilo and Stitch.

We then had about ten minutes until the party was over so we went to see Snow White. We were told that the line was closed at 11:30, but the person I had talked to originally was there and let us in line!

Here are some more pictures of the decorations from our way out of the park.

 

[kdzbear]

Hayley was worn out after our magical Christmas night!

As you can see we did not meet all of the characters we had planned to meet or see all of the shows we had planned to see, but what we experienced was so much more magical!

Then we had a minor problem when we arrived back at our room. Before we left for the parks I called and asked for 2 bed rails and a pack and play. When we returned to our room we had the pack and play! We also had two folding beds on wheels! We could barely move in the room. I called down to the front desk and they said they would send someone up right away. It is now 1 am. Aaron pushed the two rolling beds over by the door. When the guy came to the door to pick them up. I had to yell just a minute as I could not reach the door handle to open the doors. When I finally got the doors open he was laughing so hard at the sight. I did not blame him at that point it was very comical. He took away the two beds and apologized as he could not understand how anyone would think that those two beds would fit in our room. He delivered the bed rail, but he only had one. We told him we would use Breanna as the second rail to keep Tyler in the bed. Then it was finally time for everyone to get some sleep. I wish I had taken a picture of the two beds and the pack and play crammed in our little room!



We still had a magical evening that Tyler will remember forever!

 

[p00h4me]

Thanks for the Pooh and friends pictures during the Christmas parade! So glad Tyler got to spend so much time with Stitch and all the special moments of that evening. And this is only your first day at Disney World! Can't wait to see what other special moments occurred the next day at Animal Kingdom!

 

[Momofwishkid]

Wow, it looks like you had an amazing first day. The pictures are wonderful! That is so sweet that Tyler was able to spend so much time with Stitch. Cant wait to hear how your second day was.

 

[SueM in MN]

After the show we went to meet Beauty and the Beast. We were told that there was no special line for GAC guests. We started to stand in the regular line, but it was long and not moving. The same cast member that told us to stand in the regular line asked if we were not waiting and I explained that my son was special needs and he could not wait that long. One of the character handlers heard me and took us right to the front of the line. The cast member that had told us that we did not have the access explain that it was her first night working with characters and that she normally ran the Dumbos. This lesson was the first of many that I learned this trip. Keep asking until you get the answer that you want as every cast member will give you a different answer.

Actually, if the person who said that there was no special line/treatment for GACs (Guest Assistance Cards) was correct. They are used for the permanent character greeting areas - like in the Epcot Character Greeting by Innoventions and at MK in Toontown. They are not used for the more casual meet and greets that are outside, not in a permanent location.
But, they do make exceptions to that for children on WISH trips to allow expidited access.

Your report is great and the pictures are great (even though you wrote you just have a point and shoot camera). The Stitch and Lilo ones are so cute (how neat an experience to actually get to play with them!). The castle ones are beautiful and the 'crashed' baby is so cute!

 

[princess&her4princes]

WOW, what an amazing 1st day!!!!! Love all the pics and love seeing the Christmas decorations and parade pics, too, we were there this week coming week last year, brings back good memories!!! It's SO magical this time of year, isn't it?!

The visual I had in my head with the extra beds in your room is too funny....those rooms are tiny to begin with, i can only imagine!!!

 

[pipersmom]

Great updates! I haven't been on much all weekend, but it was fun to catch up on everything at once The castle was soooo pretty all lit up, a part of me wishes I had tried to plan around the holidays! I'm so glad Tyler got that time with Stitch, and now you have me all curious as to what happens at AK!

 

[StefaniLyn]

Great pictures and great details on the MVMCP! I can't wait until we go next Sunday! I'm so looking forward to hearing what happens tomorrow at AK!

 

[MomTo4+more]

Deyki had so much fun looking at your pictures with me. He was yelling, "Mommy, Mommy, we went there. Mommy, we met him!" He was so excited to remember our recent trip. I can't wait to read more!

 

[pacrosby]

WOW The px are fabulous. And the GINGERBREAD MEN Thanx for thinking of my Matty. He hasn't seen them yet (he's in bed) but I'll be sure to show him tomorrow. I'm glad to hear the trip is beginning on such a wonderful magical note. I can only imagine what the coming days had in store for you. I'll be waiting......(and hopefully this computer will cooperate)

Pamela

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

 

[maroo]

WOW!

I just love your TR so far!!!

The parade pictures are WONDERFUL and you guys have had so much magic already!!!

 

[kdzbear]

Thanks for the Pooh and friends pictures during the Christmas parade! So glad Tyler got to spend so much time with Stitch and all the special moments of that evening. And this is only your first day at Disney World! Can't wait to see what other special moments occurred the next day at Animal Kingdom!

Thank you! I am glad you liked the Pooh pictures! Tyler loved the time he spent with Stitch! I promise to work on Day 2 soon!

Wow, it looks like you had an amazing first day. The pictures are wonderful! That is so sweet that Tyler was able to spend so much time with Stitch. Cant wait to hear how your second day was.

Thank you for the compliments on the pictures!

Actually, if the person who said that there was no special line/treatment for GACs (Guest Assistance Cards) was correct. They are used for the permanent character greeting areas - like in the Epcot Character Greeting by Innoventions and at MK in Toontown. They are not used for the more casual meet and greets that are outside, not in a permanent location.
But, they do make exceptions to that for children on WISH trips to allow expidited access.

Your report is great and the pictures are great (even though you wrote you just have a point and shoot camera). The Stitch and Lilo ones are so cute (how neat an experience to actually get to play with them!). The castle ones are beautiful and the 'crashed' baby is so cute!

Thank you! I know that the GAC should not work for outdoor character lines, but I kept having cast members with other characters tell me to go in the exit lines even for the outdoor characters. Even one of the trainers told me this! I guess it must be the Wish trip exception. Tyler and Hayley loved playing with Stitch! The castle was breathe taking! Thank you for the comment on Hayley too! She is cute awake and asleep!

WOW, what an amazing 1st day!!!!! Love all the pics and love seeing the Christmas decorations and parade pics, too, we were there this week coming week last year, brings back good memories!!! It's SO magical this time of year, isn't it?!

The visual I had in my head with the extra beds in your room is too funny....those rooms are tiny to begin with, i can only imagine!!!

The beds were too funny. I think I would have thought to have taken a photo if it wasn't so late and everyone wasn't so tired! It was comical afterwards! The Christmas decorations are amazing. Halloween is my favorite holiday, but I now love Disney's Christmas decorations more than any other decorations I have seen. I could have stared at the castle all night!

Great updates! I haven't been on much all weekend, but it was fun to catch up on everything at once The castle was soooo pretty all lit up, a part of me wishes I had tried to plan around the holidays! I'm so glad Tyler got that time with Stitch, and now you have me all curious as to what happens at AK!

Thank you! Bre had the whole week of Thanksgiving off so it was easy to pick that week. Tyler missed 3 days of school and I found out today that they are unexcused. I am not sure what that means. He is in pre-K. I am not too worried about it. I gave the school plenty of notice that he would be gone and why.

Great pictures and great details on the MVMCP! I can't wait until we go next Sunday! I'm so looking forward to hearing what happens tomorrow at AK!

I am going to try to get at least the first part of the AK update today! You will love the decorations next week! Take lots of memory sticks or film, whichever your camera takes. You will take so many more pictures than you could ever plan too!

Deyki had so much fun looking at your pictures with me. He was yelling, "Mommy, Mommy, we went there. Mommy, we met him!" He was so excited to remember our recent trip. I can't wait to read more!

I am so glad that Deyki is enjoying the pictures too! I hope he is feeling better now!

WOW The px are fabulous. And the GINGERBREAD MEN Thanx for thinking of my Matty. He hasn't seen them yet (he's in bed) but I'll be sure to show him tomorrow. I'm glad to hear the trip is beginning on such a wonderful magical note. I can only imagine what the coming days had in store for you. I'll be waiting......(and hopefully this computer will cooperate)

Pamela

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

I hope Matty enjoyed the Gingerbread Men too! I treid to take lots of pictures of them, but in the dark the flash takes a little longer than I would like to re-set. I know that he will love seeing them in person!

WOW!

I just love your TR so far!!!

The parade pictures are WONDERFUL and you guys have had so much magic already!!!

The trip just gets more magical each day! I read before I left a post that you wrote that each Wish trip has one magical moment and I could not imagine how Tyler's would have this with all of our obstacles, but the trip exceeded everyone's expectations! I promise more soon!

I just wanted to give everyone a brief update of the holdups with the trip report. First, I was trying to get all of our PP photos edited by last night as there was a special offer for a free $75 video if the PP was ordered by the 30th, but I kept getting error after error when editing and at 11:40 pm last night I gave up with about 40 more photos to edit. I spent almost two full days editing.

Sunday we had brunch with our extended family. Then everyone took naps. We also finished putting up Christmas decorations.

Monday night I had to go to a meeting and my '95 Saturn would not start. So, I took the minivan and my husband removed the battery. When I came back from my meeting two and a half hours later he took the battery to O'Reilly's and it was fine. Now he thinks it is the started. He also thinks that he and his friend can fix it tonight. We will see. Then today Tyler had his two hour appointment with the Developmental Pediatrician. Since it was the first time for her to see him, she had lots of questions and evaluating to do. Now she needs to look over more reports, medical records and get back to me in 6-8 weeks. I guess that is not too long as I had to wait six months to get Tyler in to see her and the normal wait is one year. We also received some good news at the appointment. There is a medical resident that should be able to start practicing here in the next few weeks and she is a geneticist! She is going to set up her practice here! I will not have to drive a six hour round trip drive to see a geneticist anymore!

Then I needed to go back to the University today. I am the Chapter Operations Advisor for the Delta Gamma sorority. It basically means I volunteer my time to help the collegians that serve as vp finance and house manager. Today I needed to go and oversee the new composite company. We had some problems last year and the advisory team wanted to make sure an alum was present to handle any concerns. There were none! The girls at the house think Tyler and Hayley are too cute!

Then I needed to come home and make sure all of my Junior Girl Scout parents had permission slips for our field trip tomorrow, fax a report to the doctor's office and deal with a billing error for another doctor's visit that Bre had. Now I am spending a few minutes catching up on Dis prior to picking Bre up from choir practice and taking Tyler to gymnastics. Then I should have time later tonight for at least a small update. I should be able to get the morning surprise part done! Thank you all for sticking with me!

 

[2 princess 3 princes]

WOW! Looks like you guys had an awesome trip and we're only up to the end of day 1. I can't wait to read/see more! I am in Disney withdrawl! We had such a great trip too, always running, but wouldn't change a thing!

 

[kdzbear]

WOW! Looks like you guys had an awesome trip and we're only up to the end of day 1. I can't wait to read/see more! I am in Disney withdrawl! We had such a great trip too, always running, but wouldn't change a thing!

Here are five more posts of updates and photos to get you to halfway through Day 2!

 

[kdzbear]

This morning everyone slept in a little since we were out so late the night before. Aaron took the three kids to the End Zone dining hall for some pastries / cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I stayed in the room to organize the pins, autograph pages and misc. items needed in the park for the day. Then I heard mousekeeping knock on the room next to mine and I was ready, but they weren’t back yet. I headed out. It turns out they went back to the room, but took a different path. Aaron was frustrated when he answered the phone. Tyler spilled blue PowerAde down the front of his shirt. He took it back to the room and tried to wash it out as best as he could. While I waited for them I took a few pictures of the resort. The one with the tennis ball can stairs has Aaron walking back with the three kids between the trees.

We finally made it to Animal Kingdom a little before 10 am. We stopped and took pictures of the large tree up front.

We stopped to do PP photos of Stitch breaking through the pavement. It took me four days after we returned home to get Stitch to appear, but he is there now! Then I took some photos on the way to Camp Minnie / Mickey.

When we arrived at the entrance of the Camp, Pocahontas was standing there by herself. The kids visited with her. Hayley and Tyler kept looking over the slates of the bridge into the little stream so Pocahontas joined them. I still cannot tell you what was so interesting.

 

[kdzbear]

Then as soon as we walked into Camp we were greeted by a warm welcome from Elaine. She gave me the biggest hug. She told me that she was supposed to call her supervisor as soon as we got there. They needed to come and look at Tyler and Hayley to see if they could ride in the parade. We had talked about Aaron not riding with Hayley so the other three of us could be in the parade. It did not work out, but they were insistent about making Magic happen. We visited with all of the characters while they worked out the details. They told us to go by a special door and we would have VIP seating and a special meet and greet for the Lion King show.

First we saw Minnie and she led the kids by the hand to a bench to take the perfect photos.

Then we met Goofy. Hayley was scared at first.

Then it was on to Donald.

Mickey was up next.

Then Chip and Dale were being silly.

I took more pictures of the decorated trees. You can tell by the decorations on the trees which trees belong to which characters. I loved these!