We're off to see the World! A Wish TR w/ pics from BigGive, Days 1-7, and PhotoPass!

[princesskayla]

Have fun on your trip!! Take lots of pictures and share when you get back!!!

 

[~*~Michelle~*~]

Today Shay Lynne got another package!! It is the CUTEST t-shirt. It has a Mickey head, with a tiara, even, and it also has her name!! She absolutely loves it! She's worn it all afternoon. It is from Michelle, and I am not sure of her DIS id (I'd love to find out, though, as I like to send personal PMs to everyone for these packages...). Michelle, thank you so very much for sending Shay Lynne this cute little T!! It was so thoughtful of you, and it truly has helped to build her excitement even more. She especially loves that her name is on it! Here are some pics...

Here she is spreading it out on the table so she could see it and so I could take a pic (she knows the drill!)

She's getting into this modeling thing! Michelle, again, thank you so much for thinking of us and for making Shay Lynne her very own personalized Mickey T-shirt!! She just loves it, and so do I.

I'm so glad she liked it! Hope you have a great trip

 

[LeeLee2U]

Just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you all and reliving our trip right now just thinking about ya'll being there!!!

Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[princessjv]

Hello DisBoutiquers who helped this awesome family!

I think... someone from the "resort" this family is staying at is looking to get in contact with you.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=26641436&posted=1#post26641436


I hope you don't mind me leasing them to you. You all have done a wonderful job for so many families! I am truly honored to have you as fellow DIS'rs.

 

[mistymouse5001]

Hope you guys had a great time! Good job on your report!

 

[GoofyDoo]

Thank you EVERYONE for wishing us well! We had a fabulous time! We've only been home about an hour, and everyone is absolutely exhausted. We had many magical moments, and we got more compliments are the kids' outfits than I could possibly count. The autograph books were a huge hit, too. One volunteer who asked about the books has already found the DISboards!! We have lots of unpacking to do (well...most of us do as my suitcase seems to have been lost on the flight home and I'm still waiting to hear--it has every pair of shorts I own in it, and when we landed at 7:40pm, it was still 104 degrees here in Texas!). We pretty much got everything major done that we wanted to do. We went to SeaWorld today, on our way to the airport!! That was our sixth and final park to visit. I look forward to posting lots of pics for you in the next couple of days!!

 

[bex271]

Welcome home, I'm happy to hear that you had a good time and that the outfits were a big hit as well as the autograph books. I hope that your luggage is found soon. WELCOME HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!


becca

 

[jessica52877]

Welcome Back!

 

[Robin+5]

I am glad you had a great time. I can't wait to hear all about it. You need a vacation from your vacation I hope your suitcase is found soon.

 

[mommyof2princesses]

Welcome home! Can't wait to read your trip report!

 

[Clutterbug]

Welcome home! Sorry to hear about your suitcase. I hope it turns up soon. I'm so glad to hear that you had a Magical Trip. I'm also beyond thrilled that the autograph books worked well for you. And you even recruited us a new Fairy Godmother for the Big Give! Now get some rest - LOL!!

 

[bigdisgrandma]

Welcome back! Sorry about the suitcase. I'm sure it will show up soon. I am so glad you had a wonderful time. 6 parks I can't believe it. You must have speed walked everywhere!

Can't wait for details.
Denise

 

[AmberGreenawalt]

Welcome home! I can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[LeeLee2U]

WELCOME HOME

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

​

 

[HeatherSue]

Welcome back!! We can't wait to hear all about your trip! But, you must be exhausted, so get some rest first!!

 

[GoofyDoo]

After a day of resting and replenishing the refrigerator with a trip to the store, I want to post a few pictures for you (we took about two thousand as we had three cameras with us the entire time!). We truly had the experience of a lifetime, and I know that all of Clay's wishes were definitely fulfilled. Everyone at Give Kids the World Village was just amazing. They spoiled us rotten!! That is the most amazing place, and Madison is already asking if she and I can go back next summer and volunteer there. I would love to do that!! I feel such deep emotion when I think of all the angels there and when I think of what they do for families like ours every day. We came home feeling like we hit the highlights of each park we visited, and the only thing I'm sad about is that we didn't get a decent spot during Spectromagic. But we saw the afternoon parade twice! The kids got to meet almost all their favorite characters. In fact, I can't think of anyone we didn't run into at some point that they truly wanted to see. We had an absolute blast at Disney, and I am so glad to have seen all four parks! And Universal--well, we had a completely amazing time at both Universal parks, and let's just say that our most magical moment happened there. More on that later--I don't want to ruin any surprises to be included in my upcoming trip report. I am so very, very glad we didn't decide to skip Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure! SeaWorld was something we probably could've done without, although feeding and petting the dolphins was a blast. It's just that we live in Texas and have been to the SeaWorld in San Antonio and we like ours better than Florida's. It was just so hot that day, and we had a very short time to cover a large, spread-out park. I'm glad we did it, though, as I could never tire of watching those whales and dolphins. This will shock many people, but after being on these boards for so long and reading of others' experiences, I had come to expect that Disney would be where we would be treated so well, but Universal Studios actually prevailed for us in this area. We were treated like royalty there, whereas the Disney CMs seemed to have a rather "ho-hum" attitude toward us for the most part (maybe the heat and the crowds made everyone grouchy). There were some that stood out, of course--mainly those at the character greets, but it didn't compare to the treatment we received at Universal. The important thing is that we did get to go to the front of the lines most of the time and were able to do more than we otherwise would've been able to do had it not been a wish trip. Nothing can replace Disney for their beloved characters and all those timeless stories they tell with their theming throughout the parks. Being there truly is like being in another world, and no amount of grouchiness could keep us from having a magical time. I can't wait to go back to all the parks, and I hope it's soon!

Clay got kissed by more princesses than we could count...

Shay Lynne LOVED meeting all of her favorites...

Here are a few more favorites (Goofy was pretty popular!)...

We had a variety of adventures...

Everything was tiring, but FUN!!...

We did entirely too much of this...

...which is why my arm looks like this...

Clay was glad to get to see Goofy one last time, on our last morning at GKTW...

All in all, it was a magical time for everyone!!

I promise I have TONS more to show and tell, but for the moment, let me just say that everything you DISboutiquers did for my family just made it all so perfect. It was beyond awesome to be walking through the parks and have people comment on the twins' outfits and autograph books and to ask where we got them! I had so much fun ironing all of it, folding it, packing it, and spreading the outfits across the bed each morning. It was just perfect, and that's all I can say. I assume I'm not banned from your thread anymore? Let me know as I'd like to come over and say a "thank you" there!!

By the way, for the past few weeks I have been praying fervently about several things regarding our trip. For one thing, my eighty-nine-year-old grandmother has been very sick and I was worried to death about something happening to her--but so far, so good. For another, I have been down in my back all summer, and I saw a neurosurgeon five days before we left and learned that I have two herniated disks. However, I was miraculously able to be admitted for shots in my spine that made me virtually pain-free during the entire week of the trip. Also, Lance got home from his trip on Sunday before we were to leave on Tuesday, and he had a toothache. He was miraculously able to get into a dentist who has never seen him before for an antibiotic and pain meds--he has to have a root canal, though, but he did fine during the trip! And then with four kids it seems that someone is always sick. One morning during the week, Ty told me is throat hurt. I almost panicked because my kids get strep throat all the time--even Madison, who has no tonsils! But Ty ate breakfast and felt better immediately. I just prayed everyone would stay healthy and nothing bad would happen through our trip. One night at the pool, Clay got over into some deep water and couldn't stay afloat, but I was studying a map of EPCOT and didn't see it! Lance saw, though, and jumped in, clothes and all, to pull him out at the same instant that another dad saw him and swam toward him. All was well there, and instead of succumbing to the horror of it, I just said a prayer of gratitude and accepted it as a reminder of how blessed we are to have Clay. And then today--the very day after flying home--Shay Lynne has run a temp of 101 all day! I think it's viral, but I am so thankful she didn't get sick any sooner!!! I am so thankful we were all miraculously healthy and safe for our trip. So it has been evident that God was smiling upon us during these past few days because more than a few miracles occurred for us so that we could have the trip of a lifetime!

p.s. My suitcase was delivered early this afternoon!!

 

[HeatherSue]

THANK YOU for the TR teaser!!!! LOOOOOVE the pictures and the commentary!! I'm sorry to hear the CMs were grumpy. We had a LOT of grumpy CMs on our trip. I write about every one of them in my TR! Okay, maybe not ALL of them, but lots of them. Oh no! It looks like you had the same Wendy we did! Here's hoping she was in a better mood the day you saw her! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[bigdisgrandma]

Love the pictures. Everyone is so cute, or darling or handsome or whatever the appropriate adjective would be. I am still in awe that you did all six parks. I think with our smaller people, we will be hard pressed to achieve such a great accomplishment. I can't wait for details. Your Big Give things are so cool. We are starting to see packages at our house and it has been so much fun.

I finished all my Hawaiian projects and today took on a kind of rush job that I hope to have done in a day or two. My girls are pitching in to help and that will cut the time down as well. It is similar to the Big Give but no where near as wonderful as the things we have seen from those folks.

Glad the suitcase showed up! They usually do but the worry is awful Again, welcome back.

Denise

 

[princessjv]

What a great precursor for the report to come. The pictures are great! Your appreciation is uplifting.

 

[jham]

Wow! I'm so glad you had a great trip! I'm already bawling and the official TR hasn't even started yet! Thanks for some preview pictures though! Welcome Home!