Wish Trippers...Unite!! Volume One

[NicoleDisneyFan]

My ds wish trip isnt until September but I was wondering on how the place is chosen when you have your pre-trip party. Also, do you get a rental car when you go?

 

[bex271]

I called our coordinator and she said that they usually don't purchase the tickets for mvmcp or any other of the ticketed events. Oh well we're still going to disney.

becca

 

[Iluvmickeymouse!]

As far as your Disney tickets go, they are 3 day park hopper tickets, so yes, you can park hop to your heart's content. You can't use the Disney Transportation System to do that though since you are not staying on property. You will have to drive there, but remember to let them see your GKTW button for free parking and if you have a blue placard for special needs parking, they will direct you to the front area of the lot. If you don't have a blue placard, and your wish child needs to be close for limited mobility reasons, you can show them your GKTW button, your GAC (that GKTW will give you) and let them know you need medical overflow parking.


~Elisa

This is not necessarily true. They say that the transportation system is for on site guests, but they never check to see if you have a WDW room key, etc. We have always used WDW transpo, whether staying on property or not. For example, we had ressies at 1900 park fare...we were at MK that day, we just hopped on the monorail and off to the Grand Floridian we went. We could have taken the boat there to if we wanted. Now, say you go to AK and you want to park hop to DHS (MGM), parking at AK and then using WDW transpo to go to DHS would not be a good idea because you would not get a ride back to AK since no busses go back there after they close. If you were at Epcot and wanted to go eat at one of the resorts, go for it, park at Epcot, hop on a bus to the resort, eat, hop on the bus back to Epcot. Make sense? I hope so. There are LOTS of people that use the WDW transpo system that don't stay on site.

I was told it was okay to use the Disney Transportation System even if we weren't staying on property. As to Sea World, we did do one day there and loved it. Alize got free fish to feed the dolphins and the stingrays, we got a free picture and found the whole place fun/relaxing. Karen

We loved Sea World. Very relaxing park, even with it being Halloween time when we were there. We also got free fish for the dolphins. We didn't make it the entire day there because my DD's were getting tired and it was raining. But, we got to see A LOT and DD's loved all of it.

My ds wish trip isnt until September but I was wondering on how the place is chosen when you have your pre-trip party. Also, do you get a rental car when you go?

Not every one gets a pre-trip party. I've discovered it depends on the wish granter/wish agency. Has your wish granter said you are having one? Many on here had some sort of going away party. We did not. Our wish granter just came and gave us our package and that was it. Yes, you get a rental car. We requested a mini van since it was 3 adults and 2 DD's in car seats. Talk to you wish coordinator.

I called our coordinator and she said that they usually don't purchase the tickets for mvmcp or any other of the ticketed events. Oh well we're still going to disney.

becca

I'm glad you asked them, because you never know!!! We didn't think they would buy the MNSSHP tix, so we bought our own. Lo and behold they did!! Luckily we were able to return ours. If you can afford to pay out of pocket for them now, I would, because you will have enough in your expense check to cover them when you get it. I LOVE MVMCP!!! I think the "extra" parties at night are wonderful. If you decide to go to MVMCP, I would suggest taking it easy in the a.m. and head to MK at 4. You can enter the park at 4 with just your party ticket, you would not need to use a day on your park hopper. The party doesn't officially start until 7, but you can get in at 4.

 

[GoofyDoo]

Regrettably, we had to skip Sea World. I was disappointed, but there just wasn't enough time in the week for everything. The Sea World tickets are good through the end of the year but don't transfer from park to park. Something you will get when you check out of GKTW is what they call a world pass. The Association of Amusement Parks (or some name close to that) gives everyone who was on the wish trip a "world passport" to a list of participating amusement parks that are literally all over the world. I believe that Sea World San Antonio is one of them. Several Six Flags parks are on the list as well, and the passport is good for one year after your check out date. We did two days at Universal, mainly because of bad weather, and not wanting to "waste" one of our Disney days on a rainy, miserable day. Since most of my kids were not roller coaster kids, we could have done the things that we wanted to do at both Universal parks one day, but we didn't know that ahead of time. We had a dining reservation with Spiderman on Thursday, so that was a must do for us, but we could have easily combined the two. If you have roller coaster fans in your crew, the #1 rated steel coaster is at IOA, The Incredible Hulk. I love coasters, but had to skip it in favor of the family needs. Next time

If your crew loves Sea World, then I would try and make it a priority. As with the other parks, you will get a voucher for a free stroller from Sea World if you need it, and you will also get some free fish to feed the dolphins. When you check into GKTW they will give you a "Bunny Book" (bunny because their mascot is Mayor Clayton, a rabbit). The bunny book goes over some of the benefits that wish families get at the various parks, and the GKTW staff member at orientation goes over the rest. I truly wish we could have done Sea World....if I knew then what I knew now

As far as your Disney tickets go, they are 3 day park hopper tickets, so yes, you can park hop to your heart's content. You can't use the Disney Transportation System to do that though since you are not staying on property. You will have to drive there, but remember to let them see your GKTW button for free parking and if you have a blue placard for special needs parking, they will direct you to the front area of the lot. If you don't have a blue placard, and your wish child needs to be close for limited mobility reasons, you can show them your GKTW button, your GAC (that GKTW will give you) and let them know you need medical overflow parking.

We did AK and the park formerly known as MGM in one day. Just remember that AK shuts down at dusk (which is about 8:00 in the summer) and that most of the big shows at MGM have their last showing at 5:00, so if you go there late (say 3:00 or 4:00, you may not have time to see all the shows). There is a guy named Steve Soares who has a website and he updates it fairly regularly with the show times...here is the link.

pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/

GKTW will have flyers from each park in the Gingerbread House and they have current show times on them. The GAC you have will, for the most part, speed up your ride waiting time. It isn't a front of the line pass though, and there were attractions (Pirates at MK, Harambi Safari at AK, for instance) where it took us longer than it would have if we were in the mainstream lines. It is very helpful to have a "plan of attack" (that is flexible) when you go to the parks. If you know ahead of time the things that everyone wants to do, you can put them in order, so to speak, and get those things checked off your list, and then the rest is gravy. If you don't have a plan, there is a lot of time wasted with "what are we doing now...what do you want to do...which way do we go." The Birnbaum guides have what they call touring plans, and TGM (tour guide mike) has a subscription service where you give him info on your dates of travel, the age of your group and their riding preference (thrill, medium, mild) and he gives you recommendations on which day to go to which park, which ride to go on first, second, etc....if you sign up for his site through the Disboards banner then you save $3 ($17 instead of $20). Something else you can get for free from Disney are souvenir maps of the park. If you go to the Disneyworld site, and click on the "My Vacation" link on the top right it will take you to a vacation planning site where you can request customized maps and they will mail them to you. The closer summer vacations get for families, the longer it takes to get these. It took two weeks for me to get mine, but I ordered them in April.

Lots of info, I know...hope it helps!

~Elisa

I can't tell you how much I appreciate this info! It will take awhile to sink in, but WOW--you are awesome for sharing all of this!! Thank you so much!!

 

[lotferg]

I was told it was okay to use the Disney Transportation System even if we weren't staying on property. As to Sea World, we did do one day there and loved it. Alize got free fish to feed the dolphins and the stingrays, we got a free picture and found the whole place fun/relaxing. Karen

I too have used Disney Transportation while not staying on site...felt incredibly guilty about it, though. I have never been asked for a WDW key. Don't plan on having that problem again, though. With the exception of this special trip, we plan to NEVER stay off-site again!

 

[bex271]

we are going to purchase mvmcp tickets ourselves . We know that he'll get enjoy it.
Iluvmickeymouse, thank you for the suggestion of going in later. I know we have a while before we go, but we've never been at this time of year and i'm excited already.

becca

 

[bex271]

lotferg,
I know y'all are getting excited hope y'all have a save trip and a magical time.

becca

 

[Iluvmickeymouse!]

lotferg......have a magical trip.....can't wait to hear all about it!!!!!

 

[GoofyDoo]

lotferg,
Bon voyage!!! I wish you a fabulous trip -- your family is very deserving. Be safe, your family will be in my prayers, and I can't wait to hear all the details!!! You've all earned this!!! xoxoxo

 

[5dwarves]

Lotferg -

Only one day left! Woo Hoo! I just peeked at weather.com and it looks like you will have more pretty days than potentially rainy ones. Wonderful! Enjoy every minute!

~Elisa

 

[lotferg]

Our plane leaves at 9:00 am, tomorrow morning...limo picks us up at 6:00am. I am nervous with excitement! The kids know about the trip, but they don't know we are leaving tomorrow. They've been huddled around a calendar trying to figure it out for weeks.

Thanks for all of the well wishes! I will add a few updates to my TR via my cell phone, so you can all share in this much anticipated trip.

Adios!

 

[twinmum]

Lotferg: Have a fabulously magical trip! I think it's so neat that you have told the children about the trip, but there's still the surprise of "we're going today!" You'll have to tell us all about their reactions.

We'll look forward to any udpates you can send!

Here's a neat story. We're spending the weekend at a family resort - it's a long weekend here in Canada. Think "Dirty Dancing" and you've got the kind of place. Last night, the entertainment was a hypnotist. Our 9 year old wish kid was really excited about the show and really wanted to volunteer. Thankfully, you had to be 14 to be on stage, but you could still try the relaxing and being hypnotized from the audience. He's been thinking that "more confidence is all I need to be able to walk by myself" - his physio is going really well right now and he can take about 10 steps on his own. He's right - if he was more confident he probably would walk better.

Anyway, he ended up being hypnotyzed completely- he wanted it so much and was focused. He did all the silly things the guys on stage did (all good clean family fun) - putting on sunscreen in the hot sun, driving a red sports car, giggling himself silly whenever anyone said "Gucci" - all per the hynotist's suggestions. They were told at the end of the show that they had paid $1000 for the show and that the stuffed bear (it's a lodge) in the lobby had taken their money but the hypnotist hadn't shown up. In other words, they'd been ripped off, they were told. They were to go out to the lobby, be really angry, talk to the bear, then put their hands on his head and they'd by un-hypnotized but remember everything they'd done. When he "woke" everyone up, our son woke right up. When I told him it was time to go back to our suite, he said "I can't go home! I have to talk to that rotten bear. He took my money and the crummy hypnotist didn't even show up. I've been ripped off!" I took him over to the bear and he was utterly stunned to realize all that he'd done.

Now he wants to go back home and try hypnosis for his walking!!!

 

[Iluvmickeymouse!]

Lotferg: Have a fabulously magical trip! I think it's so neat that you have told the children about the trip, but there's still the surprise of "we're going today!" You'll have to tell us all about their reactions.

We'll look forward to any udpates you can send!

Here's a neat story. We're spending the weekend at a family resort - it's a long weekend here in Canada. Think "Dirty Dancing" and you've got the kind of place. Last night, the entertainment was a hypnotist. Our 9 year old wish kid was really excited about the show and really wanted to volunteer. Thankfully, you had to be 14 to be on stage, but you could still try the relaxing and being hypnotized from the audience. He's been thinking that "more confidence is all I need to be able to walk by myself" - his physio is going really well right now and he can take about 10 steps on his own. He's right - if he was more confident he probably would walk better.

Anyway, he ended up being hypnotyzed completely- he wanted it so much and was focused. He did all the silly things the guys on stage did (all good clean family fun) - putting on sunscreen in the hot sun, driving a red sports car, giggling himself silly whenever anyone said "Gucci" - all per the hynotist's suggestions. They were told at the end of the show that they had paid $1000 for the show and that the stuffed bear (it's a lodge) in the lobby had taken their money but the hypnotist hadn't shown up. In other words, they'd been ripped off, they were told. They were to go out to the lobby, be really angry, talk to the bear, then put their hands on his head and they'd by un-hypnotized but remember everything they'd done. When he "woke" everyone up, our son woke right up. When I told him it was time to go back to our suite, he said "I can't go home! I have to talk to that rotten bear. He took my money and the crummy hypnotist didn't even show up. I've been ripped off!" I took him over to the bear and he was utterly stunned to realize all that he'd done.

Now he wants to go back home and try hypnosis for his walking!!!

I love that story!!!! I went to see a hypnotist show one time. I definitley did not want to be hypnotized! It was quite funny though watching those who were. Even the ones in the audience that did it. The funniest thing I remember was that he told them that every time he had his back to them, they would think he had no pants on, it was hilarious watching those hypnotized! I say, go for the hypnosis and his walking, whatever works!!!

Ok, so I'm really bummed today. Our house that we rent, went on the market today. This house is perfect for us!! It is in the country, and literally just up the hill from where I grew up. My mom still lives in my childhood home, and I love having her so close! In fact, we are going to walk down to her house in a little bit and help her with her garden. Back story....when I was expecting with DD4, we moved back to our hometown and moved in with DMIL until our house sold. Well, we ended up living almost 3 years with DMIL because of DD4's medical issues. We could not afford to even look for anything at that time. When I became preggo with DD1, we decided that it was time to look for something to rent/buy. This house had just gotten sold, but my mom knew that the owner was not moving in, he wanted the house for when he retired (he's a doc...he grew up just down the road). So, we talked to him, he was looking for LONG TERM renters. That was us!! Like I said it was perfect. UGH!!! I am just so frustrated!!!!! What the heck happened to long term??????????????? He has listed the house/shed/acreage for 250,000 more than he paid for it. He is not willing to negotiate the asking price. So, there is a good chance that it will not sell, given today's market. But you never know!!! We have 5 months to wait it out...that is how long his contract is with the realtor. We were going to get the girls a swing set this year....not going to spend that money now if we are not going to be here. I do not want to move!!

 

[bex271]

I just ordered our tickets for the mvmcp and they will be here in 2-3 weeks I know i've said this before and it's so far off, but i'm just really excited about getting to go and watch his face. He's getting excited too. His speech therapist asked him the other day about going to see donald duck and he got so excited and then i asked him about seeing goofy and started making his little noises. Now it's just going to be the waiting game.


becca

 

[bex271]

Iluvmickey,
I hope that you'll get to stay in the house where are I understand about wondering though. We rent a house too and someone just bought property next to us and is planning on putting a little subdivision next to us so we're hoping it doesn't happen to soon because we like being a little secluded. I hope everything will work out for you

becca

 

[Queenie122]

Hey everyone! We're back from our trip! 10 days was not enough and we're all very sad to be home

We had an AWESOME time. Took us a few days to get into the groove - particularly of using the GAC for rides my daughter couldn't get on (I felt guilty using it when she wasn't riding until a CM told us to do it). That would have saved us a lot of heartache if we figured that out sooner. But we did all the Disney parks with MK twice - the second was the Pirates and Princesses Party plus we did Seaworld and the Pirates dinner show. We also did Christmas at the Village but that was the only "event" we made - we did use both pools, the ice cream palace, train, boats, carousel, etc... So busy! We're exhausted.

Now I have to start writing up trip report while it's still fresh in my mind. We had lots of magical moments, lots of special treatment everywhere we went and it was just a trip of a lifetime!

 

[5dwarves]

Hey everyone! We're back from our trip! 10 days was not enough and we're all very sad to be home

We had an AWESOME time. Took us a few days to get into the groove - particularly of using the GAC for rides my daughter couldn't get on (I felt guilty using it when she wasn't riding until a CM told us to do it). That would have saved us a lot of heartache if we figured that out sooner. But we did all the Disney parks with MK twice - the second was the Pirates and Princesses Party plus we did Seaworld and the Pirates dinner show. We also did Christmas at the Village but that was the only "event" we made - we did use both pools, the ice cream palace, train, boats, carousel, etc... So busy! We're exhausted.

Now I have to start writing up trip report while it's still fresh in my mind. We had lots of magical moments, lots of special treatment everywhere we went and it was just a trip of a lifetime!

Welcome home. So glad to hear you had a great time, and we are all looking forward to the TR.

Elisa

 

[wendygrace]

Welcome back Queenie! So glad to hear you had a wonderful time.

So, I am starting to make plans for our trip in January. Anyone else planning a trip then?

 

[LindaBabe]

WElcome back, Queenie!

WendyGrace, what are your dates? I'm not sure about January, although I usually do - but for a chance to meet you and your little ones . . . I could move mountains to make it happen!!!

 

[wendygrace]

Linda, we are going the day after MLK day, I believe. Danae's bday is the 21st so the goal is to be at MK that day. We would so love to meet you!