Wish Trippers...Unite!! Volume One

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

I'm going to try to catch up on this thread, but not sure how far I will get. The kids are getting more and more excited each day. We still have 40+ days to our trip, but as the days get closer I get more and more worried. I think it will help once I have actual documents in hand so I can make sure nothing was overlooked.

Drew is doing amazing. He's been back in school full-time for just over two weeks. He is tolerating the long days and is making so many new friends. He's really come out of his shell now that his seizures are less. He's only had a few days with a high seizure count, most days it's less than 10. It's amazing the change that's made. He is learning so much and retaining it all

I'm off to make a new list of pre-trips to read and to catch up on the trip reports I'm behind on. I love seeing all the pictures and hearing of the magic our children receive.

 

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

Oh Linda! Being organized is thee only way I keep it together! I have "C.R.S." you know

LOL oh Amber it's nice to know I'm not that only one. Now if I could just learn to be organized. I seriously need some lists like that. You are the queen of lists

 

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

Hey Linda ~
We are going in December also!! We'll be there Dec 13-19!!!
Only 80-ish more days!!!!!
Misty

It's going so fast isn't it We'll be there Dec 17-23.

, We close on Monday and move in next weekend. I don't know if I am ready for the transission from country to town living.

Karla

I hope the move went well

On a side note-so sorry I have not been posting much lately.I got a job for the first time in 10 years and have not had much computer time.I am working as a one on one aide in our local high school.I assist a young man with CP.I aslo am a teaching assisitant in some of the classrooms where kids need a little extra help.I LOVE the job but find I don't have much time for anything else! Love to you all.

How cool Heather

It's a great day!


THANK YOU THANK YOU wonderful souls who are part of the Big Give Group!

Also, my kids are on the mend. Sebastian and Siennah are back at preschool today and we are going to see Disney on Ice tonight!

Aren't the Big Givers an amazing group? I still tear up whenever I think about all they do. AMAZING!!

I'm so glad your kiddos are doing better. The pictures from Disney Ice are wonderful. Glad you all had such a great time

Amber!!! I can't agree with you more! When we were asked about the BIG GIVE I thought that I would faint!!1 I was soooo excited! I filled out the form super quick and made a bunch of errors. I couldn't see thru my tears. My dh says that I am a Lifetime movie waiting to happen!!

LOL I can so relate. They are amazing

We are over the moon to be a part of the BIG GIVE!!! I am awe of all of you wonderful DISers for giving of your time, talent and money to bring joy to the lives of MY kids! I find it incredible that ya'll have SEVEN Big Gives going!

Thanks for your kindness. Thanks for your generosity. Thanks for you support.

We feel so very blessed to have found such an amazing network of virtual friends. Ya'll are WONDERFUL ---and we are forever grateful!

Very well said Amber.

Hey guys!! I have to keep this short, since I am at work...but I wanted you guys to know WE ARE BACK! And the trip was just wonderful. We were sick for 2 of the days, but the trip overall was completely magical. Thank you so much for your prayers! We really appreciated all of them and did get better really fast! We had lots and lots of great pixie dust moments... I can't wait to work on the Trip Report!
maroo

I can't wait to hear more about the pixie dust you all had --even with being sick

Her wish if it stays the same is that Hannah Montana will take her for a day at Disney World introducing her to all of the Princess's. Well I look forward to reading about others and letting you know how our Journey goes, if it's Disney, the Rock Star or something else she desires.

Matthew

WELCOME!! What a cool wish

Nick offically got his dates that he is going to Disney World! They gave him a certificate that said.. congratulations, Nicholas, your wish to go to Disney World will be granted on Jan 19th - 25th 2009! Only three more months to wait.. they said to start packing now!

YAY!!! How cool about the museum too

While we did that Paula and Mya played and talked. She stated that she really enjoy's Arial because she is a Mermaid AND a Princess. The other's are just Princesse's. She also thinks it's cool that Arial wants to walk, I think this is her same desire. She does walk, but it is with assitance of braces and she has a staggard gate that is noticable by others.

How sweet is that. I truly hope her wish is granted

I had a Marathon day of shopping with my three kids today! We left at 9:00 a.m. and got home at 4:30. Columbus Day sales! I got a lot of the clothes Chritmas shopping done and got the requisite dressy holiday outfits from the Children's Place with my super coupon...all matching of course!

I'm getting a little worried about being overwhelmed these next two months. We've got Halloween and the three parties associated with it. I'm Room Mom for both kids preschool classes and on the party commitee for my MOMS Club and neighborhood parent's club. Then in November we have Sebastian's MAW send off patry on the 22nd, Savannah's Baptism and Reception on the 23rd, then we're hosting Thanksgiving, my annual Cookie Exchange on the 30th then we leave for Disney on December 6th.

See why I'm Chrsitmas shopping now?!
Amber

((Amber)) I hope it all goes smoothly the next few weeks. I need to start shopping. I know our trip is going to be here before we know it. And I haven't even begun to think about Christmas outfits

Grumpy Grandma's editorial comment here - IOA is not my favorite place - almost everything is either a coaster or gets me wet or both, although Seuss landing is very cute for the littles.

Seuss Landing is one of the only reasons we're going to US. My boys also love Spidey & Scooby

We will be in Florida from 12/19 - 1/3! We are SO excited!!! First week is at GKTW and the second is on our own.

Mary

How very cool. We'll be at GKTW Dec 17-23

In other news, unless Disney comes up with an even better deal for MLK week than they did for the week before Christmas, we'll be going back December 14-24. I'm still holding my breathe for a great deal to come out in the next couple of days though. We really want to go in January for Danae's b-day and because it won't be so crowded but Christmas will be nice too.

Well I (selfishly) hope they don't come out with a better deal for you. Because then you'll be there the same time as us

I updated our PTR! Sebastian has received a super special song created by the Songs of Love Foundation.

How COOL is that!!!!

Still got lots of packing to do, but everything is all set out. The car is coming for 8:00, which means that we are less than 12 hours away!!!We'll be in touch when we get back!

Hope you all are having the time of your lives! I look forward to hearing about all the magic

I made an appointment to get my haircut in a few weeks.

I'm thinking of doing Locks of Love.

First off, what a cute picture. Second, I think it's wonderful for you to do that. Personally I too would wait.

Can you believe it?!?!?!? We leave in only 4 days!!!! And guess what I still don't have anything packed!! I just started working on a list of what to pack!!

I am getting stressed and nervous about this trip and I'm not sure why. Someone tell me tell me that this trip will work out and will be magical for us.

That means you are probably at GKTW now

We finally got our dates.We will be arriving on Dec 14th.are there any other wish families here that will be there that week.My kids are so excited.They have made a papr chain countdown and have it hung in the dining room.

We will be there Dec 17-23. I still need to do an official countdown.

Just a heads up if you are thinking of doing any special dining or characters meals make your ADRs rightaway. I have been calling since JULY and the grid ahs been completely full (except for 9:30 p.m. table for 2) for ALL of the most popular restaurants for all the days that we will be there. I managed to get a few ADRs so it's still wort ha shot We also plan to do T Rex in downtown Disney which just opened and is not taking reservations until 2009.

Amber, just wanted to say we finally got reservations for the Candlelight dinner. It took calling every day but there was finally an opening. I guess some that have over booked are canceling their "extra" reservations

We leave in the morning!!! Can't wait to come home and let you all know how it went!!!

Have a WONDERFUL time

 

[Khalana]

I'm going to try to catch up on this thread, but not sure how far I will get. The kids are getting more and more excited each day. We still have 40+ days to our trip, but as the days get closer I get more and more worried. I think it will help once I have actual documents in hand so I can make sure nothing was overlooked.

Drew is doing amazing. He's been back in school full-time for just over two weeks. He is tolerating the long days and is making so many new friends. He's really come out of his shell now that his seizures are less. He's only had a few days with a high seizure count, most days it's less than 10. It's amazing the change that's made. He is learning so much and retaining it all

I'm off to make a new list of pre-trips to read and to catch up on the trip reports I'm behind on. I love seeing all the pictures and hearing of the magic our children receive.

It's getting closer!!! We are cutting off a chain in our chain calendar every morning now, and we have 29 days left!!!! WOOHOO!!!! It's too bad we will miss each other by just a few days.

That's great that Drew is doing better and can be in school again. It must make you feel so relieved too. When he has seizures, how long do they typically last? Ten still sounds like a lot to me. But it's great that he's doing better!

 

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

It's getting closer!!! We are cutting off a chain in our chain calendar every morning now, and we have 29 days left!!!! WOOHOO!!!! It's too bad we will miss each other by just a few days.

That's great that Drew is doing better and can be in school again. It must make you feel so relieved too. When he has seizures, how long do they typically last? Ten still sounds like a lot to me. But it's great that he's doing better!

It is too bad we'll miss each other. We need to have a big MAW-DIS meet

I am very relieved Drew is doing better. His seizures can last anywhere from 30seconds -2mins. Thankfully most of them are stopped within just a couple seconds once we activate his VNS. His body responds so well to it. Ten is more than I would like him to have but is so much better than the 200+ he was having.

We had his IEP evaluation. It was totally amazing to hear what the teachers and therapists had to say about his progress. This time last year he wasn't even reading. Now he's up to 1st grade, 4th month level in reading. He's less than a year behind in Math now. And he graduated PT/OT He is able to retain things now that he couldn't before and is soaking it all up. He loves to learn

 

[iu97alum]

Ok, I need some opinions please. We got our documents from MAW for the crusie. Understand, the four of us were under MAW and DH and I are paying for MIL to come along. MAW declined insurance on our travel docs. DH is talking to MAW to have them look into this but shouldn't we get trip insurance? Especially for my MIL since we're paying out of pocket? Does MAW have their own insruance policy? I'm concerned (worst case scenario) if something happens to any of us and we have to be airlifted or taken back to the states, and we DON'T have TI what would happen.....
dana

 

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

MAW declined insurance on our travel docs. DH is talking to MAW to have them look into this but shouldn't we get trip insurance? Especially for my MIL since we're paying out of pocket?
dana

I don't know if MAW has their own insurance, but I'm very surprised they don't have it already. That would make me uneasy too. I wonder if our trip has it. We did purchase the insurance for my mom (she's joining us on her dime).

 

[AmberGreenawalt]

Deanna, glad to have you back on the board

 

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

Deanna, glad to have you back on the board

Aww......thanks Amber. It's so easy to fall behind. Hopefully it will be easier now that my mornings aren't so hectic.

I can't believe you're only a month away from leaving

 

[bex271]

We are going to have a split day on Jonah's birthday between DHS and Animal Kingdom is there something special you can help me come up with we can do at either of these parks. I'm not looking at restaurants because he is tube fed so food wouldn't interest him. It's also going to be our last day at the parks too. I'm going to get him a birthday button, but i don't know what else to do.

becca

 

[oklamomof4boys]

We are the type that likes to spend every possible minute in the parks. First of all, do they open up part of the parks early? At Disneyland, if the park opens at 9:00am, they open Main Street an hour early. Do they do that at WDW? Also, how long should we allow for driving to the park from GKTW, park and get in line?

Also, will they give us a schedule of all the activities at the Christmas party at GKTW? We want to go to the party but it is on the day we are planning on splitting between AK and Epcot and we don't want to leave Epcot too early to go to the Christmas Party if it is not things my boys would really enjoy. The Christmas Party starts at 7:00pm, right? What do they do from 7:00pm-8:00pm?

 

[mom2lilnick]

Okay.. another GKTW question. I just read that they provide laundry supplies, does anyone know what type? Nick and I are both severly allergic to perfumes so we can only use All free and clear or tide free.. something along those lines. Can we request that or should we bring our own?

 

[mom2lilnick]

okay.. I am just full of questions today. I was thinking what if Nick gets sick while we are there? Is there a list of what hospitals are close to GKTW and Disney, just to make sure they are on our insurance list?

 

[HeatherN]

Okay.. another GKTW question. I just read that they provide laundry supplies, does anyone know what type? Nick and I are both severly allergic to perfumes so we can only use All free and clear or tide free.. something along those lines. Can we request that or should we bring our own?

When we were there in August the laundry detergent was regular tide.I know that GKTW relies on donations from procor and Gamble for this so I don't think they would be able to provide a different kind.There is a Wal Mart right on the end of the street so you may not have to bring it with you.

 

[AmberGreenawalt]

okay.. I am just full of questions today. I was thinking what if Nick gets sick while we are there? Is there a list of what hospitals are close to GKTW and Disney, just to make sure they are on our insurance list?

I've called GKTW several times these past few days to ask about all sorts of things...the orientation times (3:45 and 7:45 BTW), what kind of car seats they provide (we need 3!), what kind of van we'll get, will the seats collapse, do they provide cribs etc. If I think of something I call.

My point is that if you call they are more than happy to answer any little question.

I think once you get there they also give you a book of info called the Bunny Book.

Oh and I remember reading that they have doctor's who work for free.

Good luck! I bet you are over the moon excited! We're at 4 weeks and counting and can't wait!

 

[mom2lilnick]

Thanks! I ordered the 2009 passporter tonight. We are all getting really excited. I am super thrilled that there are quite a few families going soon so there will be A LOT of trip reports to read before we go!

 

[macntosh]

I just want a date. This new sale is making all the eating locations fill up.

 

[iu97alum]

I just want a date. This new sale is making all the eating locations fill up.

Have you talked to your wish granters? I think they are used to planners like us! I email mine and get same day response. Do you know if all the paper work has been approved? Including the approval from the Dr saying she's ok to travel? I'd just call or email them.

 

[macntosh]

Have you talked to your wish granters? I think they are used to planners like us! I email mine and get same day response. Do you know if all the paper work has been approved? Including the approval from the Dr saying she's ok to travel? I'd just call or email them.

That stuff is all good. I wrote them last week and they say they haven't heard anything yet. We had asked to be able to attend the Pirate and Princess Party and those dates were announced just a few days ago. So we shall see.

 

[Khalana]

Amber, just a question for you (since we're in Canada and phoning is more expensive): what did they say about cribs? I know they have playpens but do they have some cribs too? Just curious.