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

[p00h4me]

I love this picture of Tyler and Stitch!

So glad that you had some more magical moments at the breakfast with Lilo and Stitch. That was so nice of the manager to give Tyler a gift to remember his visit there and to have Stitch spend extra time with Tyler too! The breakfast also looks yummy!

It's good to see the whole family enjoying this trip so much!

 

[kdzbear]

I LOVE the pictures of Tyler with Stich and how excited he was! And then he was so excited giving his stuffed Stich a hug!!! So sweet!!!!!!

Thank you! He does love Stitch. We knew that he wanted to go to Disney for his trip as every time he saw a commercial on TV he would say, "I wanna go" and point to the TV. However, when we first started planning his trip we would ask him if he wanted to meet Mickey and he would say, "no". Then one day he went and brought us a stuffed Stitch! We asked him if he wanted to meet Stitch and he said, "Yes". Then we had to learn the sign for Stitch. By the time his Wish actually arrived, he could say Stitch!

Phew! All caught up! I'm totally amazed at your trip so far. I guess it is charma for all the hassles you had before you left. I can understand a little of your previous frustrations. We had a very slow start to our plans. Phoebe was approved immediately, but then it took a couple months before a wish granter contacted us. Then we met with her and wanted to take a little time (one week...) to decide what wish would be most fun for Phoebe. It took weeks to hear back from her that her official wish was approved. Then it took several more weeks before she called me to say the dates we requested were full (I guess our chapter is super busy) so I requested new dates. It took several more weeks before those were approved. Now we are waiting to hear more details, such as flight times and where we are staying...She is super sweet, and I'm sure it has more to do with being a middle man. It is just nerve wracking being told that we are going, but then nothing more....I think WISH families are all appreciative of the gift they are being given, but the whole point of it is to provide a magical experience without the hassle and worry. I'm so glad your trip was magical!!!

I am a planner so it was hard for me to wait too! We have never met our Wish granter in person. I have only communicated with her through email and by phone. That is part of the 6 hour round trip distance problem between us and the closest chapter!

How wonderful that you have met another child who is so similar! That is my only reason for wanting a diagnosis at this point. Phoebe is labeled as legally blind, CP, seizures, dev. delay, etc but having a name for the whole "package" could help us know what to expect in the future. I know what you mean about the "look" too. Phoebe has some half brothers who look quite a bit like her, but there are definitely unique traits she has. Her geneticist is convinced that she has some version of Rett syndrome but so far, all the tests have come back negative. So, awesome that you have found a family to connect with! Oh, and YAHOO!!!! on having a geneticist coming to your area!!! I complain about our 2 hrs round trip for appts, I can't imagine 6...

Looking forward to the rest of the TR!

We just had a new micro-array genetics test on Tyler at the end of summer. It shows that his deletion is a little smaller than first thought, but it also confirmed what we feared. Tyler is missing 80 pieces of DNA. I am still waiting on the geneticist to come back with a detailed report of what each of those pieces of DNA control. It will not change anything about how much I love him or how I care for him, but it might help with the services he gets at school. I know where you are coming from as it is a battle when your child has something no one else has and it does not have a recognizable name!

I love this picture of Tyler and Stitch!

That picture is my favorite picture from the entire trip!
So glad that you had some more magical moments at the breakfast with Lilo and Stitch. That was so nice of the manager to give Tyler a gift to remember his visit there and to have Stitch spend extra time with Tyler too! The breakfast also looks yummy!

It's good to see the whole family enjoying this trip so much!

Breakfast was so good! Tyler's expressions throughout breakfast were priceless! It was very overwhelming emotionally in a positive way to see him so blissfully happy!

 

[kdzbear]

We left breakfast and took the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom. Our appointment was at 10:40 am. We almost made it on time. While I took the three kids to the Pirate’s League Aaron went to guest relations to meet with a manager that we spoke with after the Christmas party to see about getting Tyler to ride a ride with Stitch.

We were about five minutes late for our appointment. I am normally on time or early for everything, but transportation was not cooperating today! We checked in and they handed us a card for the kids to pick their pirate look from. Then the cast member said, “You have appointments today for Tyler and Breanna”. Breanna’s face lit up. I kept it as a surprise from her. She was so excited! They picked their looks and then we had to wait for a little while. During this time Aaron returned. He explained that Stitch could not physically ride the Dumbos. I guess his head had grown bigger since I had seen him do this about 4 years ago. However, the guest relations person told him to take Tyler to Stitch after his makeover for some quality time with Stitch. Then my husband was grinning from ear to ear as he pulled out Tyler’s GAC with the new green stoplight stamp on it!

Right after this we were called in for Tyler and Breanna’s magical pirate transformation! First, you enter into the greeting area inside the pirate’s league to receive your pirate name. You spin the handle on a treasure chest. Breanna went first. Once you spin the handle, you carefully open the chest and take out the two dice. You then tell the pirate your birth date and from that your pirate name is created. Breanna is Catherine Shorepaddler. Her dice were 1-5, which is funny since her birthday is the 15th! Then Tyler spun the chest and his new pirate name is Benjamin Plankgun. They would be called by their names the rest of the time they were in the pirate’s league.

Then we had to sit on some pirate loot crates and guard them until it was their turn to be turned into pirates. The whole theme decor in the area was fantastic and well thought out!

Here is Hayley playing with Tyler's Stitch while we wait.

 

[kdzbear]

Now, Tyler and Breanna were called at the same time. They were diagonally back to back of one another so I tried to keep going back and forth to take photos. To allow the readers of this report to not be as dizzy as I was going back and forth, I will show one kid’s transformation at a time.

First, Tyler chose to be Captain Jack with the six eyes from the last movie. We asked him several times and he chose that look each time. The whole process was amazing. They gave him his pirate belonging throughout the process. First, they applied a pirate tattoo to his hand. He received a loot bag and pirate teeth. Then they made him up. After they made him up they let him choose which side of the reversible bandana he wanted to wear. They hooked his earring to his bandana so it would look like he was wearing it without actually wearing it. They placed his eye patch on his bandana so he could still see. Here is the amazing transformation:

 

[kdzbear]

Now, Breanna’s transformation was similar, but she was turned into an empress. She was able to pick between black and pink fingernail polish. She chose black and was so excited that she was able to keep the bottle. Then she was able to pick between pink and red lip gloss, which she also was able to keep. Then she received a sheet of sparkly facial tattoos and she selected one to wear and the rest went into her pink pouch. They pulled her hair back in little twists with bobby pins. Here is her transformation:

 

[kdzbear]

At the end of their transformation they had to recite the pirate oath. James had Tyler raise his hand and he recited it for Tyler. It was so cute! During this time Hayley was waiting so patiently in her stroller. The head pirate (I did not get his name) was infatuated with her. He declared that she was the pirateiest of the crew. So he returned and asked if he could present her with something. I agreed and he pulled a pirate bear out from under his vest. She grabbed it to hug it and the tag hit her in the face so she was a little upset. My husband offered to take it off, but the pirate did it for her. He explained that we needed to keep the tag as it was a little book about the story of the bear. She loves her new bear. Since we have returned from the trip she has been singing, “Yo Ho, Yo Ho” non-stop. It was another magical Disney moment!

Here are some more pictures of Tyler:

Here are Tyler and Breanna together:

Then they were taken to another section of the pirate’s league to receive their swords and sheaths. As with every other part of this transformation, this was so neat to watch. They each had a sheath tied around their waist. Then their loot bags were tied to it. Then they had to hear how pirates treat their swords and how they don’t hit their brothers or sisters with their swords. Then once the sword instructions were provided, they were given their swords.

Then they were told that they were going to be taken into a secret treasure room. I was informed that no pictures were allowed to be taken in the room. Once he made sure no one was looking, we were ushered into the secret room. Once inside both kids had their photos taken. The packages came with a 5x7 photo for each child. After the photos they went on a treasure hunt. They had to look for something specific and pull it out. Inside they found their pirate medallions, which they both put on right away. Then there were little cork stoppers on chains and they had to look out through the holes in the door to make sure there were no princesses around before they made their escape.

Once back in the welcoming area. I paid for their packages. They signed the pirate book with their pirate names. They received a certificate with their pirate names and the pirate oath as well as their photos. The photos came out awesome. I was also informed how to have them added to my photopass account.

The entire pirate experience was amazing from beginning to end. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Even at the full price of $50 for the package Tyler and Breanna did, it would be worth it. However, half price makes it even better. The total experience immersed the kids in the pirate world for about an hour. Thank you again for the Big Give member that paid for this experience for my kids! Then they were invited to come back for the 2 PM pirate parade that met across the street at the pirate stage.

Next up, we find Stitch again!

 

[pipersmom]

How great that the breakfast at Ohana turned out so well. Piper had mentioned possibly wanting to go there as her character meal, we'll see. It;s so cool that they were so good to you! I looooove the Pirate League pictures..is it just me or did Breanna look older when they were done with her?? She looked so beautiful..and Tyler looked so cute! I'm so glad I had good timing in checking your PTR..loved the updates and can't wait to see what happens next!

 

[Momofwishkid]

Wonderful update!! The breakfast and seeing Stitch The pirate league looks amazing! We are trying to get in to that for our trip and after seeing your experience now We have to do it!

 

[pacrosby]

I have to commend you on this TR. The pictures! The detailed reports of all that magic! Did you keep a journal or is all this still fresh in your head. I can't imagine that I'll be anywhere near as thorough. You're really raising the bar for those of us who are following you on our trips LOL

I'm just so happy to hear that your trip was such a success after all the initial aggravation. Memories for a lifetime!

Pamela

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

 

[maroo]

Awesome updates!!!!!

Green light!! Woo Hoo!

Stitch, Stitch and more Stitch! Awesome!

I can't wait for more! And the pirate makeovers are great!!!

 

[p00h4me]

Thanks for the details and pictures of the Pirate's League for Tyler and Breanna! They both looked fantastic after the makeover. What great memories! That was nice of the CM to give Hayley the pirate bear too! Another magical moment. So glad that Aaron was finally able to get that green stoplight stamp for Tyler's GAC. Can't wait to hear about Tyler's meet with Stitch!

 

[yinyanggirls]

The pirate makeovers look totally fun! It looked like all three kids enjoyed it. Breanna does look so grown up with makeup on! I never thought hot pink eye shadow would be a flattering colort, but wow! She looked great! I love how they gave Tyler blue eyes on his cheeks. I wonder if a kid has brown, do they make the others brown???

 

[kdzbear]

How great that the breakfast at Ohana turned out so well. Piper had mentioned possibly wanting to go there as her character meal, we'll see. It;s so cool that they were so good to you! I looooove the Pirate League pictures..is it just me or did Breanna look older when they were done with her?? She looked so beautiful..and Tyler looked so cute! I'm so glad I had good timing in checking your PTR..loved the updates and can't wait to see what happens next!

We had never done this breakfast before and I loved it. I liked that it was good food that was delivered to your table so you didn't have to deal with a buffet. The characters were wonderful and did not rush with any of the kids including ones at the tables near us. The size of the restaurant was smaller than some of the big ones with buffets. It felt cozy and welcoming.

Breanna looked like a young woman when she was done with the pirate make-over. It was a little scary at how grown up she looked! She was beautiful!

Wonderful update!! The breakfast and seeing Stitch The pirate league looks amazing! We are trying to get in to that for our trip and after seeing your experience now We have to do it!

The pirate's league was a fantastic total pirate immersion experience from beginning to end. I think it is one of those hidden gems of Disney!

I have to commend you on this TR. The pictures! The detailed reports of all that magic! Did you keep a journal or is all this still fresh in your head. I can't imagine that I'll be anywhere near as thorough. You're really raising the bar for those of us who are following you on our trips LOL

I'm just so happy to hear that your trip was such a success after all the initial aggravation. Memories for a lifetime!

Pamela

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

I love to take pictures so the photos are my journal and they all have hidden time and date stamps. I also have a good memory most of the time. I knew that there were lots of Wish kids going over the holiday season and I wanted to detail as much of it as I could since I could not find much information before our trip. I just want all of you to enjoy your trips as much as possible. I also love to take pictures and it is great to have friends to share them with that appreciate them as much as I do!

Awesome updates!!!!!

Green light!! Woo Hoo!

Stitch, Stitch and more Stitch! Awesome!

I can't wait for more! And the pirate makeovers are great!!!

Thank you! The green light was an added bonus! The kids really turned into pirates!

Thanks for the details and pictures of the Pirate's League for Tyler and Breanna! They both looked fantastic after the makeover. What great memories! That was nice of the CM to give Hayley the pirate bear too! Another magical moment. So glad that Aaron was finally able to get that green stoplight stamp for Tyler's GAC. Can't wait to hear about Tyler's meet with Stitch!

You are welcome! They looked great. The photopass photos are fabulous, but I am still editing. I did not realize that now I need to go back and save all of the photos again in the various sizes. I also found out this weekend that there are special Fab 5 and Stitch left and right icons that can only be added to the Up character photos. Then there are special Christmas borders that can only be added to the fairy, Terrance. They will not show up with Tink or Irridessa. The editing is taking longer than I would like! The bear was a complete surprise, but she is still talking to it in her crib and singing the pirate song. I am uploading the photos for the rest of this day and it will take 13 separate posts to add all of the photos I want to add.

The pirate makeovers look totally fun! It looked like all three kids enjoyed it. Breanna does look so grown up with makeup on! I never thought hot pink eye shadow would be a flattering colort, but wow! She looked great! I love how they gave Tyler blue eyes on his cheeks. I wonder if a kid has brown, do they make the others brown???

Breanna turned into a young lady with the makeover. She is always beautiful, but she looked gorgeous and so grown up after the make over. The eyes on Tyler were tattoos so I am not sure if they came in other colors. In some of the photos you can barely see his glasses and his glasses add to the affect. I think it highlights his eyes more than the boy next to him with the similar design at the register next to Tyler. I would do the pirate make over again in a minute. The total package was a true Disney experience from beginning to end!

 

[Jenvenza]

That is awesome! I have never seen any pictures from there before and it looks like so much fun! What great pirates they are!

 

[kdzbear]

That is awesome! I have never seen any pictures from there before and it looks like so much fun! What great pirates they are!

I am glad you liked the pictures. I had never seen detailed photos of the Pirate's Leauge before. I also had never seen it described in so much detail so I wanted to do it justice!

 

[kdzbear]

After my crew had become pirates, we headed out to see Stitch. My husband approached one of the character handlers and gave him the information guest relations told him to give him. Next thing I knew all three kids were hugging Lilo and Stitch again!

Then after visiting with Stitch, Tyler wanted to ride Buzz Lightyear. This ride I think is one of his favorite rides!

Then we decided to ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Tyler was not happy about this.

Aaron decided to take a picture of the three girls and as you can see Hayley attacked Bre right as the picture was being shot!

While we were riding the loop around Tyler saw Buzz Lightyear. So, we headed off to meet him. The character handler looked familiar, but the name, Amanda, did not ring any bells. She asked if we had been at the parks recently. I told her that we were there in September. In September she had brown hair instead of her current blonde hair and she was wearing a borrowed name tag for the week since she had left hers at home. In September she was Rosa. She remembered Tyler and told us that she hoped to see us again during our trip!

 

[kdzbear]

After visiting with Buzz we decided to let Hayley continue her nap while viewing the Carousel of Progress. I know that you are not supposed to take photos on this ride, but I turned the pre-view window and the flash off so I would not disturb anyone else watching the show.

Do you like the Mickey Mouse nutcracker? I think it is considered a hidden Mickey!

When the ride was over we still had a little bit of time before the pirate parade so we headed toward Liberty Square and stopped to meet Princess Tiana and her prince.

Then Tyler saw the Magic Carpets and wanted to ride again. I stayed with the sleeping Hayley. It is hard to get a good photo since the carpets move so fast and it is hard to tell which carpet your family is in.

 

[kdzbear]

Then we made it to the stage in time for the pirate parade. It turns out they were supposed to have their swords, but I had them shipped back to the resort with the pictures so they wouldn’t get broken. They loaned them some new ones. I was following the parade until it went in the building. My husband went with them while I stayed with the sleeping baby in the stroller. When the parade was over they were given plastic jewels as their pirate reward. Now they had more treasure in their pouches. Then they also received a magical moment’s certificate stating that they were in the pirate parade and it was personalized with their name and dated!

Then we rode the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We were taken in another different back entrance. I think that each time we rode we were taken in a different handicapped secret entrance. Maybe pirates never use the same entrance twice. When we came out we caught the end of the pirate tutorial.

Then we were going back to the resort to take naps since the Magic Kingdom closed at Midnight for normal guests and at 3:00 AM for resort guests! On the way we saw the ropes for the parade that was supposed to start in ten minutes. There was no one behind the ropes in the center area at the start of Main Street so we asked if we could stand there and we were told, “Yes!” We had the perfect spot for the start of the parade while families were lined two and three deep up and down the rest of Main Street. I darted across the street to add Tyler and Breanna’s Pirate League photos to our photo pass with the card they had handed me. The line did not move for five minutes. I thought that the parade would start. Finally, it was my turn and the pirate photos added with no problem, but I also wanted the Ohana ones from the morning. She actually found them quickly with the time frame I gave her. I was able to run back across the street and I made it to my family before the parade started.

Many of the characters stopped to give my kids high fives. However, Lilo and Stitch were the only two characters that stayed on the other side of the street despite Tyler’s yelling to Stitch. However, he shook hands with more than his share of characters.

 

[kdzbear]

Here are the rest of the parade photos:

 

[maroo]

Awesome update!

Look at all of that character interaction in the parade!!! That is so cool!

Enjoying your TR! Love the pictures!