Yippee! Our much needed MAW trip at GKTW Dec. 5-16

[kimmg]

We are going to be at GKTW on the exact same dates! We will have to meet up for ice cream or something! We too are extending and added a few Disney days. I created an itinerary somewhere on our ptr if you want to check it out. We are trying not to overplan, but I did make all our dining reservations so we have them. I'm not so good at going with the flow. Ha. Can't wait to keep up with your plans...

I just posted on your PTR. Your itinerary I'm sure will help! I'm still trying to figure out dining reservations. So many choices and not much time.

 

[miprender]

Hi just read your whole PTR and what adorable family you have.

I can't believe all the issues your hospital has given you but Thank God they did sign off and you can go on your WISH trip

 

[kimmg]

Hi just read your whole PTR and what adorable family you have.

I can't believe all the issues your hospital has given you but Thank God they did sign off and you can go on your WISH trip

Thank you so much for reading along! I'm so thankful it all worked out. We were so worried it was going to end in disappointment but it all worked itself out. Now we can just excitedly plan!

Any thoughts on the best character meal to try to make an ADR for the kids? They really like the playhouse disney characters(or I guess it's Disney Jr. now). So the Mickey and friends gang, Pooh, etc.

I did a quick look around for the schedule of events at GKTW but now I can't find it. The pirates and princess party is Monday correct? And then the Christmas party is on Thursday? Any other important events there to schedule around. As I'm looking at Youtube videos of US and IOA it looks like there's more to do at IOA for the kids than US. I wonder if we could fit both in one day? Or US and SW in one day maybe? Or we could just save one for the following week I suppose. I feel like I've been reading for 3 days straight on DW info and I still have no idea on what we're doing.

In other news, being away from J all week is so rough! He's home on his days off but I feel like I'm drowning in housework without a break and it's impossible to stay ahead. I'm so thankful he's working though and he seems to really like his new job and his bosses and co-workers have been incredibly supportive and seem to believe in him so that's such a blessing.

The kids and I got out to the L.A. Zoo for the day yesterday with a couple of other homeschooling families and had an amazingly relaxing time. The kids studied the maps and E was so interested in them. I'm going to have to find out how to get the custom maps for him before we go. K just loves it there and was so happy with my friends 11 year old daughter. That poor little girl carried her almost all day but she didn't want to give her back to me since her and K love each other so much. If she lived closer to me I would pay her to come play with K for a bit so I could get some housework done.

Her other daughter has had multiple surgeries and health problems her entire life so I'm forwarding her wish organization information to see if she can qualify. They are such a sweet, wonderful big family and I'd love to see something wonderful like this happen for them.

I've probably rambled enough for the day. Thanks for following and for all the support! I don't know what I'd do without the DISboards.

 

[Piper]

I don't think they have the Princess & Pirate Party anymore (unless they have just brought it back.)

You might want to eat at Crystal Palace...it has Pooh & his gang. It is also a buffet and has good food!

 

[kimmg]

I don't think they have the Princess & Pirate Party anymore (unless they have just brought it back.)

You might want to eat at Crystal Palace...it has Pooh & his gang. It is also a buffet and has good food!

Oh, good to know. See, I'm a confused mess. Too much swirling around in this brain of mine.

Crystal Palace sounds like it might fit right into what I was thinking. I'll check it out. Thank you!

 

[billwendy]

Oooh, sounds like FUN!! I love character meals!! The Crystal Palace in the MK is really fun. LOVE their breakfast especially. Also, Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary has Mickey and Friends, I've been there for both breakfast and dinner, and liked each one. I do think there is a breakfast at Hollywood and Vine that has some of the playhouse disney characters, but Im not positive which ones.

Another thing you might be able to look in to is doing the campfire and sing along at the campground? I believe its free and you can bring your smore stuff and then watch a movie afterwards????

 

[aksunshine]

Such a sweet story!

We will be in WDW Dec 3-10. Hope we get to see little Evan and your family (and Owen and his, too)!!!!

 

[miprender]

We ate at Hollywood & Vine last December for lunch and they had Agent OSO, Handymandy and some of the Little Einstein characters. The food there isn't the best but the character interaction was great. Plus if you get one of the later seatings the characters come around multiple times.

 

[petals]

Our trips are overlapping.. I'll be in disney til the 8th of Dec!

 

[kimmg]

Oooh, sounds like FUN!! I love character meals!! The Crystal Palace in the MK is really fun. LOVE their breakfast especially. Also, Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary has Mickey and Friends, I've been there for both breakfast and dinner, and liked each one. I do think there is a breakfast at Hollywood and Vine that has some of the playhouse disney characters, but Im not positive which ones.

Another thing you might be able to look in to is doing the campfire and sing along at the campground? I believe its free and you can bring your smore stuff and then watch a movie afterwards????

I was looking at the character breakfasts you suggested all morning. We love character breakfasts at DLR. You can have characters visit and then you get to fill up on lots of our favorites. And E just loves getting pancakes or waffles made GF somewhere besides home.

Since we usually see many of the Mickey and Pooh characters I'm leaning towards the playhouse disney characters. He loves collecting autographs and has almost filled his book and mostly has the standard characters. It might be a nice change.

A campfire and sing along sounds great. That might be a really nice evening sometime the second week. I'm going to look into it. Thank you for the idea!

Such a sweet story!

We will be in WDW Dec 3-10. Hope we get to see little Evan and your family (and Owen and his, too)!!!!

Thank you! I hope we get to see you too! Is there a way to set up meets that's standard for DIS? It sounds like there are quite a few going that time.

We ate at Hollywood & Vine last December for lunch and they had Agent OSO, Handymandy and some of the Little Einstein characters. The food there isn't the best but the character interaction was great. Plus if you get one of the later seatings the characters come around multiple times.

Thank you so much for sharing that. I'll have to check out the menu and see if they have things everyone would like.

Our trips are overlapping.. I'll be in disney til the 8th of Dec!

Yay! I hope we will run into each other.

I spent a good part of the day watching youtube videos and going over rides and shows with E to see what all he liked. He's still pretty sensitive to graphic/dark/scary stuff so I thought it would help him prepare and decide what he could handle. It really helped cement my plans and made me realize we probably won't have much to do at Universal with two little ones so I think I'll combine that with something else. I also realized he LOVES animal shows and he giggled uncontrollably at the Pet show in Sea World. I wonder if I can arrange for him to meet any of them? It's worth a shot. He also saw pictures of people petting penguins and he flipped. He really, really wants to do that so I think I'll ask our wish coordinator if it's possible. I should have known anything that had to do with animals would get him the most excited. One of his favorite things to do is watch funny animal youtube videos.

It's all coming together!

 

[babynala]

Yeah for everything coming together. My DH and I did Universal/IOA a few years ago and there really wasn't much for the kids to do. You can also meet lots of the Playhouse Disney characters in Hollywood Studios near the area where they have the Disney Junior Live on Stage show. We were there last month and saw Handy Manny, June and Qunicy. I'm not sure if Agent Oso signs autographs outside of Hollywood & Vine character meal. We ate there for lunch a few years ago and the food wasn't the best but we did have a great time with the characters.

I bet your little ones will have a blast at Sea World.

 

[Corrine 1973]

Just read your thread and I must say that your kiddo's are soooo cute. I am so glad that you were able to get your doctor to sign off on the trip. I know you guys are going to have a great time. Give Kids the World is truely a magical place. Only a few more weeks to go.

 

[kimmg]

Yeah for everything coming together. My DH and I did Universal/IOA a few years ago and there really wasn't much for the kids to do. You can also meet lots of the Playhouse Disney characters in Hollywood Studios near the area where they have the Disney Junior Live on Stage show. We were there last month and saw Handy Manny, June and Qunicy. I'm not sure if Agent Oso signs autographs outside of Hollywood & Vine character meal. We ate there for lunch a few years ago and the food wasn't the best but we did have a great time with the characters.

I bet your little ones will have a blast at Sea World.

Thank you! Yeah, Ds definitely didn't seem as interested in the Universal stuff. He really wants to see the Dr. Suess land though!

We'll definitely have to go over to the Disney Junior stage then. I don't think he's ever met the Little Einsteins before. It's so hard for me to make ADR's because I like to play it by ear so much with little kids.

I do think they are going to love Sea World. They love places like the zoo and aquarium so much that I'm sure it will be a hit.

Just read your thread and I must say that your kiddo's are soooo cute. I am so glad that you were able to get your doctor to sign off on the trip. I know you guys are going to have a great time. Give Kids the World is truely a magical place. Only a few more weeks to go.

Thank you so much! The anticipation grows daily.

We got a couple of rolling dufflebags at Costco the other day. I got home and measured and they were close to 61 inches and I started panicking that they would be considered oversized but when I looked at the airline webpage it looks like they don't start charging until 63. So hopefully we're safe!

 

[Corrine 1973]

.

We got a couple of rolling dufflebags at Costco the other day. I got home and measured and they were close to 61 inches and I started panicking that they would be considered oversized but when I looked at the airline webpage it looks like they don't start charging until 63. So hopefully we're safe!

Don't forget to bring an extra bag for all the goodies at Give Kids the World. You will get some goodies left for you every day when you get back from the parks. We recieved a fold up duffle when we went but I am not sure if they give them out to everyone. I know the gifts change to what they are donated.

 

[kimmg]

Don't forget to bring an extra bag for all the goodies at Give Kids the World. You will get some goodies left for you every day when you get back from the parks. We recieved a fold up duffle when we went but I am not sure if they give them out to everyone. I know the gifts change to what they are donated.

Thank you! I'll have to find a place in our bags to put the extra bag.

The kids were playing dress up tonight and I snapped this with my phone.

They crack me up!

 

[mom2pixies]

Thank you! I'll have to find a place in our bags to put the extra bag.

The kids were playing dress up tonight and I snapped this with my phone.

They crack me up!

Your kids slay me. They are so adorable!

 

[Corrine 1973]

The kids were playing dress up tonight and I snapped this with my phone.

They crack me up!

Is it a bird, is it a plane? No it's super E and K.

 

[that's nice]

Hey there!!!!!

You have a beautiful family! Our daughter was diagnosed with a Wilms Tumor a few weeks after her 1st birthday. She was only a stage 1 though and didn't need radiation, but she had a nephrectomy and needed 6 months of chemo too.

We went on my DDs Wish trip last December 1-7. It was a great time of year to go. While the crowds were a little busy, it was great seeing all the resorts and parks decorated for Christmas. I haven't read through every page of your PTR yet but if you have any specific questions let me know.

Tim

EDIT: I just realized my DD and E birthdays are only 5 day apart! Her birthday is March 11!!! And she just turned 5 this year.

 

[WDWRids]

SOOOO excited for you all as you get ready for this fabulous experience! The kids are just adorable and win over my heart. I know its alot to plan for and think about but just remember the wonderful time you will have with the kids and create amazing memories of a happy, happy time!!! Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back.

 

[Owensheart]

Love the pictures of the kiddos.. so cute!!