Wish Trippers...Unite!! Volume One

[Queenie122]

hotmamac, I think I knew way more than the team that came to my house. I would speak directly to someone at your MAW office, I've found that is the person with the real info on things. In my experience anyway.

patticake - So glad your trip was awesome! Are you going to do a trip report? I'd love to read all about it!!! And very glad you got to bond with the family and enjoy your trip, I think that is the most important thing about these trips

 

[Iluvmickeymouse!]

I have to ask if anyone out there found that their volunteers were a little off on some of their information?
When our volunteers came the other night, I let them know that we're really not interested in Universal, since DD isn't really familiar with any of those characters and that we wanted to know if we could just go to Disney. They told us we could get whatever tickets we wanted to wherever we wanted and that we weren't limited on the number of days we spent at Disney. Well, from being on here I knew that wasn't true so I emailed GKTW just to be sure and of course they told me that it is 3 days at Disney 2 at Universal and 1 at Sea World. Now, I'm not trying to be picky or greedy or anything like that, I know this trip is a HUGE blessing and we are so fortunate to be granted the opportunity, but I just wonder how accurate all the info they gave me was. They told me the wish coordinator would call me so I'll wait till then to talk to her, but I just wondered if anyone else had any issue like this.

I hate to say this of our volunteer (because she is one of DD's preschool teachers!!) but she really didn't know anything...and she's been doing this for over 10 years! We did not use our Universal tickets, we gave them back to GKTW. We did use the 3 Disney and 1 Seaworld. I would encourage Seaworld...it is so much fun!!! I can't remember....are you extending your trip? Otherwise I know 3 days WDW, 1 day SW and one day exploring GKTW or shopping at DTD, sould pretty much take up your week. We added days and bought tickets for the additional days out of our own pocket. If I had any questions I would always contact our wish coordinator directly, since they are the ones planning the trip, it was just easier to skip the middle man!

Hi everyone - just trying to catch up after our wish trip last week, which was awesome!

Leelee, thinking of you and saying prayers that your husband is doing a little better and you're hanging in there with the move and everything else.

Misty, my experience with my MAW coordinator was kind of similar in that she didn't always have the information I was looking for, but it all worked out great in the end. I think it varies from state to state and coordinator to coordinator. We didn't stay at GKTW, but I know a few people who did and they got the typical 3 days at Disney, 2 at Universal, and 1 at Seaworld. You can word your wish request just to see Disney, but they may or may not be able to grant it that way. It's worth asking, but you also might really enjoy Universal and Sea World, so it's something to at least check out online. I think there were a few people here who requested Disney only and actually worded their wish to stay on Disney property. Something else to consider.

So our MAW trip turned out totally amazing. It wasn't the typical MAW Disney trip because my son requested to go to ESPN weekend at Disney. It turned out that ESPN planned the trip for the Wish families attending, not MAW. MAW arranged getting to and from the airport and the spending money and ESPN did the rest. The only thing that was stressful was that we didn't realize ESPN was doing all the planning until we actually arrived. We had some unanswered questions that MAW kept saying they'd find out from MAW National, but it turned out that MAW National was just waiting for ESPN to answer them. And ESPN was way too busy planning their big event to answer little questions from us - I understand that now! We ended up getting our information Fedexed to us the day before we left and a few questions were never answered, but as a family, we let the stress go, figured we'd have a great time even if we weren't sure exactly how it was going to work, and just got ready to be at the happy place! And that's how it all unfolded. We had a great time at Diseny, attended some ESPN events, rode tons of rides and saw tons of attractions, and just put all our troubles aside for a week and bonded as a family. It was everything that we hoped for and more. It's hard to explain what we went through as a family when my son was so sick. He battled life and we had some really dark times. We still face uncertainty, but our Wish trip was a week to live and let live. It was liberating and uplifting for all of us. Some things worked as we imagined, other things didn't quite work out but made us laugh, and there were plenty of great surprises. It was just awesome.

I need to do some more catching up here, but just wanted to check in and say hi. Hope you are all doing well!

Yay!!! Your trip sounds like it was so much fun. Now, are you going to do a trip report for us or what??? If not, we would love to hear the highlights here.

 

[hotmamac]

It's funny Patticake that you mentioned staying on property...we did ask if it would be possible to stay on property and were told that's never done. The reason we asked was partly due to the fact that TS and autism are closely linked and DD sometimes has severe tantrums that when they start, I need to remove her somewhere and I thought it would be easier for me to get on a bus and get her back to a room than to drive (I am geographically challenged) Also, my sister, mom and dad are planning on going to Disney at the same time. They are VERY involved in DD and DS's lives and help us tremendously. They are planning on staying at POFQ. And I felt it would be easier to get back and forth and stuff with them.
But whatever, it's not like our whole trip hinges on that, it's just the misinformation that we got. I don't mean to be grumpy, but I did feel like I knew more than they did. I'm glad to hear it's not just me.

 

[Queenie122]

I would encourage Seaworld...it is so much fun!!!

We've been back and forth about Seaworld... I thought it might be boring for my 3 1/2 year old. Could you tell me about a little more about your time there if you have a chance?

 

[Iluvmickeymouse!]

We've been back and forth about Seaworld... I thought it might be boring for my 3 1/2 year old. Could you tell me about a little more about your time there if you have a chance?

Not boring at all!!!! My DD would have been 4 and a couple months when we went last fall. She loved it!! So did my one year old. There are stingrays to pet, dolphins to feed and pet, sea lions to feed.....my DH's fav. they are hilarious! With the dolphins, since you are a make-a-wish family, you will get one free tray of fish to feed them. There is a roped off area so that only those that are feeding get the better interaction with the dolphins. I wish I had more than dial-up cause I would love to share the video of Koryn and the dolphins with everyone. She loved them and we spent quite a bit of time there. The shows are wonderful. They kept both of the girls entertained, along with snacks for the littlest one! But my wish child....very enthralled with them....kept talking about them for quite a while. There is also a play area geared towards little ones. We went in Oct. and they were having their Halloween weekends at that time, we ended up going to SW on a sat, because that is when it fit into our schedule. It was crazy busy with trick-or-treaters so we did not make it in to the play area. I wish we would have it looked like so much fun!!

Even the walk through areas enthralled DD. The sharks, penguins, etc. I would highly suggest SW. There is a sub forum here on the disboards if you have more questions. Their web site is good to. I might even be able to answer some more questions if you have them....I have been there 3 times...2 w/o kids 1 with. Definitely not an expert but I can try and help!!! You could always go look at my trip report for that day and see what I say when I actually remebered everything we did!

 

[Camster0307]

It's funny Patticake that you mentioned staying on property...we did ask if it would be possible to stay on property and were told that's never done. The reason we asked was partly due to the fact that TS and autism are closely linked and DD sometimes has severe tantrums that when they start, I need to remove her somewhere and I thought it would be easier for me to get on a bus and get her back to a room than to drive (I am geographically challenged) Also, my sister, mom and dad are planning on going to Disney at the same time. They are VERY involved in DD and DS's lives and help us tremendously. They are planning on staying at POFQ. And I felt it would be easier to get back and forth and stuff with them.
But whatever, it's not like our whole trip hinges on that, it's just the misinformation that we got. I don't mean to be grumpy, but I did feel like I knew more than they did. I'm glad to hear it's not just me.

Count us as another Wish family that stayed on Disney property. Our MAW organization did strongly encourage us to stay at GKTW; but my daughter is on a ventilator and O2, and I knew it would be more convenient for all of us to have a room on Disney property. And, besides, she wasn't interested in going to any of the other theme parks - just WDW. Stand your ground - if it's important and easier for your family to stay on Disney property - insist on it! (it can, and has, been done.)

 

[hotmamac]

Camster ~
Thank you for your words of encouragement! I've decided to call our wish coordinator today to make sure my requests are known. I've just been sort of wrestling with it because I don't want to appear greedy or act entitled, but this is my DD once in a lifetime Wish trip and I want it done right.
Thank you again.

 

[LeeLee2U]

Camster ~
Thank you for your words of encouragement! I've decided to call our wish coordinator today to make sure my requests are known. I've just been sort of wrestling with it because I don't want to appear greedy or act entitled, but this is my DD once in a lifetime Wish trip and I want it done right.
Thank you again.

It is not Greedy to let them know what you would prefer. We stayed on property and while I just talked to a young girl in our school district that jst went on her Wish Trip through MAW to WDW 3 weks ago and LOVED GKTW. Staying on Site was perfect for us. That is what Braetons request was (Mickey Mouse and Pooh Bear) so that is what we did. As our 4 character meals testify.

About the SeaWorld thing. We went after Hurricane Rita B was barely 3 and he LOVED it!!! Everyone was so nice to him. We are trying to plan a trip for 2009 where we can stay several days!!!

 

[NicoleDisneyFan]

my ds wish trip isnt until the end of September. I wanted to add a few extras like going to the mickey halloween event and to chef mickeys to eat breakfast one day and maybe to cinderellas castle to eat lunch one day. It is our first time ever going and may never have a chance for a long while so I want to make the most of the trip. I think the cinderella's meal and the halloween event you have to pre pay and chef mickey is good to make advance reservations. Should I tell my wish granter what we want to do? She told me that it is really early to plan things because she has a lot of wishes to grant now. I really dont want to miss out and dont mind paying out of pocket if I have to. Its hard for me to not plan the trip since I like it to be done in advance. Any suggestions. Thanks

 

[alizesmom]

my ds wish trip isnt until the end of September. I wanted to add a few extras like going to the mickey halloween event and to chef mickeys to eat breakfast one day and maybe to cinderellas castle to eat lunch one day. It is our first time ever going and may never have a chance for a long while so I want to make the most of the trip. I think the cinderella's meal and the halloween event you have to pre pay and chef mickey is good to make advance reservations. Should I tell my wish granter what we want to do? She told me that it is really early to plan things because she has a lot of wishes to grant now. I really dont want to miss out and dont mind paying out of pocket if I have to. Its hard for me to not plan the trip since I like it to be done in advance. Any suggestions. Thanks

I would make the reservations on my own. If they want they can reimburse you. Either way you can be reassured that things that matter to you get done. Karen

 

[Camster0307]

my ds wish trip isnt until the end of September. I wanted to add a few extras like going to the mickey halloween event and to chef mickeys to eat breakfast one day and maybe to cinderellas castle to eat lunch one day. It is our first time ever going and may never have a chance for a long while so I want to make the most of the trip. I think the cinderella's meal and the halloween event you have to pre pay and chef mickey is good to make advance reservations. Should I tell my wish granter what we want to do? She told me that it is really early to plan things because she has a lot of wishes to grant now. I really dont want to miss out and dont mind paying out of pocket if I have to. Its hard for me to not plan the trip since I like it to be done in advance. Any suggestions. Thanks

I agree with Karen - if it's important for your family to do, I would just make the ressies myself. I'm a planner by nature, so I made sure we had ADRs at all the restuarants my daughter would enjoy and also purchased my tix to the MVMCP. We got an expense check from MAW; so alot of it was covered with that!

hotmamac - I had a hard time, at first, speaking up for what my daughter wanted. I was just so grateful to have this trip taken care of; but as others have already said - this trip is about what your child would want. Your not being greedy at all - just looking to make your child's wish come true in the best way possible.

Good luck to both of you with your planning!

 

[OneBlessedFamily]

It was so interesting to see that your son has tricuspid atresia. I do, too! Not a lot of "blue babies" out there...but it's nice to know that there's at least 1 other DIS-er going through the same stuff.

I hope your son's surgery goes well, and that the time until your trip passes quickly. You will have a great time.

Thank you so much!!!! We are SO excited about the trip!!!

I do have a question for all of those who have btdt. You can only do Disney for 3 days? That's a bummer. We don't like Universal that much, and we already get into Sea World and Busch Gardens for free (military), so we were going to do Disney the whole time. Do we buy our own tickets if we want to stay longer than the 3 days at Disney?

Mary

 

[NicoleDisneyFan]

We are most likely going to stay at the GKTW when we go on our wish trip. I keep hearing about the 3 days with disney and one with universal and one with sea world. After hearing about how fun sea world is then we would like to go there but there is NO way we will go to universal. I brought both kids a few years ago to universal in hollywood and they were SCARED. My dd still talks about how scared she was when we went. Should I talk with MAW about changing the one day at universal for another day at disney? Our main reason to go was for disney since my ds LOVES mickey mouse. I just think now it would also be fun to go to sea world and if it wasnt for that then we would have just wanted to visit disneyworld. Sorry, I have so many questions and hope some of you who have gone before cab give me a heads up on what might happen.

 

[Camster0307]

We are most likely going to stay at the GKTW when we go on our wish trip. I keep hearing about the 3 days with disney and one with universal and one with sea world. After hearing about how fun sea world is then we would like to go there but there is NO way we will go to universal. I brought both kids a few years ago to universal in hollywood and they were SCARED. My dd still talks about how scared she was when we went. Should I talk with MAW about changing the one day at universal for another day at disney? Our main reason to go was for disney since my ds LOVES mickey mouse. I just think now it would also be fun to go to sea world and if it wasnt for that then we would have just wanted to visit disneyworld. Sorry, I have so many questions and hope some of you who have gone before cab give me a heads up on what might happen.

NicoleDisneyFan - We too just wanted to do Disney - no other parks. Our MAW org. here in Boston worked with GKTW; we took the 3-day WDW park hoppers from GKTW and gave back the SW & US passes; the MAW then budgeted money into our expenses to purchases 2 additional days at WDW - for a total of five. We technically were there for 7 days so I paid OP for our final two days of park hoppers. I hope I now haven't confused you too much. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

 

[hotmamac]

Well, it certainly sounds like there are several of us in the same boat. I just keep telling myself, my DD's wish is to "see Din-eze" not to see Universal. She loves all kinds of Disney characters and I know there is no way she will get to do everything in 3 days. I talked to my Wish coordinator today and told her my concerns...of course she tried very hard to talk me into GKTW and the regular package. I'm totally into GKTW and think we will have a great time staying there, but we definitely only want to do Disney. She said she's never done it where a family does only Disney, but I find that hard to believe. All she would say is that they will appeal to the wish granting committee. Really what I care most about is getting the dates we want. If they won't give us the days we want at Disney I plan on just buying the extra days at Disney myself and giving the other tickets back.
Good luck to you ladies and thanks to everyone for the support. I never sought out a TS specific support group, but after being here, I can totally understand their benefit. THANKS!!!

 

[oklamomof4boys]

We got our letter today that Nathan was approved for a wish- now we have to wait to hear from his wish team. They said that could be up to a month. I am starting to stress a little about dates. With 4 kids ( and the 3 oldest very active) it is hard to find "free" time. The best time for us would be end of May but I don't know if there is any way they could get things arranged by then. Our second and third choices would be Christmas break and Thanksgiving break. I'm sure those are VERY popular times. Other than that, the kids would have to miss school. I'm sure their teachers would be fine with that, but I know it would stress my oldest son- he will be a Jr. in HS and is taking AP classes. He already worries so much about Nathan- as you all know, these illnesses effect the ENTIRE family- not just the wish child. Also, I am a contract employee to several school systems. They would give me the time off no problem, but I wouldn't get paid since I am considered self employed.

His first choice of a wish is a Disney Cruise. If he gets that ( I have heard some states are no longer doing Disney Cruises), we might be able to go some other time in the summer. The older boys would miss baseball, but their coaches would understand- I hope! But his second choice is WDW ( where we would run into the same problem as many of you- he DOES NOT want to go to US. We went their last summer and he hated it!) and we discovered last summer the June-Aug. are way too hot for Nathan in Florida- end of May might already be too hot, I'm not sure.

But then if we do WDW, Thanksgiving and Christmas would be incredibly busy! I know, I need to just relax about all of it, but like many of us, I am a compulsive planner.

I thought about giving them the possible date of our already planned trip to DL the first of August, but we have been planning that trip for quite a while. DL is our refuge and we haven't been there for a while. I hate the thought of giving it up.

 

[NicoleDisneyFan]

Are the tickets to WDW that you receive are park hopper tickets? Does it include the water park? Also, if my ds grandmother comes too and pays for her way, can she stay in our villa since she will be traveling alone. And can the tickets be used on the days that you pick because I want to make my dinner reservations and not sure what day during the week will work if I choose or they choose. thanks

 

[Iluvmickeymouse!]

Are the tickets to WDW that you receive are park hopper tickets? Does it include the water park? Also, if my ds grandmother comes too and pays for her way, can she stay in our villa since she will be traveling alone. And can the tickets be used on the days that you pick because I want to make my dinner reservations and not sure what day during the week will work if I choose or they choose. thanks

If I remember correctly, they were park hoppers. As far as water parks...I don't think so, but I am not positive. We wouldn't have had time for the water parks anyway!! My MIL went with us and paid her own way. She was able to stay in the village with us. You need to talk to your Wish coordinator about it though, because they need to know and GKTW needs to know. Plus, we had to work with MAW as to scheduling the flights, etc. so that MIL was on the same flight we were. The tickets are for you to use on the days that you want. You could do 3 straight days of Disney, then US and SW, or alternate where you go....totally up to you. Don't forget that GKTW has activities going on each night that you might want to go to also. We attended the christmas party, mayor clayton's birthday party and I think the pirate and princess party with shamu. I had to do our schedule of parks around some of the activities that we wanted to do at GKTW!!

 

[oklamomof4boys]

We haven't heard from our wish team yet, but now we have something else we have to work around.

My 11 yo son ( not the wish kid) had a horrible accident on the trampoline ( he didn't fall off, he just stepped on his foot wrong, breaking both the leg bones above the ankle. Actually, it nearly severed his foot- it looked like someone took an ax to his leg. He is EXTREMELY lucky he didn't lose his foot). Anyway, we are looking at a 6-9 month total rehab.

Would they approve what our trip is going to be now ( first choice Disney Cruise, second WDW) and then set the date in a couple of months. Since summer is completely out now, we would really like to go over Thanksgiving so I don't miss so much work ( the kids are ok now with missing school, but I am a contract employee to the schools and when I don't work, I don't get paid). Maybe they go ahead and see if they can schedule it then, and then if for some reason he is not rehabbed ( not sure if that is a word!) by then to go - and I pray that he is- we can reschedule?

 

[Camster0307]

We haven't heard from our wish team yet, but now we have something else we have to work around.

My 11 yo son ( not the wish kid) had a horrible accident on the trampoline ( he didn't fall off, he just stepped on his foot wrong, breaking both the leg bones above the ankle. Actually, it nearly severed his foot- it looked like someone took an ax to his leg. He is EXTREMELY lucky he didn't lose his foot). Anyway, we are looking at a 6-9 month total rehab.

Would they approve what our trip is going to be now ( first choice Disney Cruise, second WDW) and then set the date in a couple of months. Since summer is completely out now, we would really like to go over Thanksgiving so I don't miss so much work ( the kids are ok now with missing school, but I am a contract employee to the schools and when I don't work, I don't get paid). Maybe they go ahead and see if they can schedule it then, and then if for some reason he is not rehabbed ( not sure if that is a word!) by then to go - and I pray that he is- we can reschedule?

OMG - so sorry to hear about your son! I'm glad he's going to be ok.

After we heard my daughter's wish was granted, MAW then asked us when we wanted to go. We wanted to go after Thanksgiving; so we asked for the weekend after Thanksgiving and our backup was the first week in Dec. It was left totally up to us to decide the time of year we wanted to go. I'm sure you'll have your choice as to when to go - it's YOUR child's wish! They may not be able to get the exact dates you request; but will try to get something as close as possible. I think you should definitely wait until your son is rehabbed (it's a word now! )

Are the tickets to WDW that you receive are park hopper tickets? Does it include the water park? Also, if my ds grandmother comes too and pays for her way, can she stay in our villa since she will be traveling alone. And can the tickets be used on the days that you pick because I want to make my dinner reservations and not sure what day during the week will work if I choose or they choose. thanks

They are park hoppers, but like Iluvmickeymouse said, I'm not sure if that includes the water parks. That might be an added "option" to the park hopper that is extra. As far as ds grandmother staying at the villa - again - don't be afraid to ask. I think it will depend on how busy they are. I didn't stay at GKTW but when we first starting planning our trip and talked about staying there, I was told my brother would have to stay in a hotel right outside of the property. Now, I'm a single mom with my two DDs; my DSIL helps me alot with my special needs DD -- so they were going to let her stay with us, but not my brother. I thought that was ridiculous! We wound up staying at the BWV and my brother was included in the reservation. It seems my MAW org. had it's own set of rules; and GKTW has another.