The Start of a Plan

How do I decide which parks to do on which days?!?!

We will be arriving at GKTW on a Thursday, which is awesome because we can start the week off with Christmas! Every Thursday at GKTW is Christmas! Santa comes, there is a parade, snow, sleigh rides, and presents! The only downside is that we won't land until 3:10 (still haven't gotten confirmed times but that's what I was told) so we will miss the afternoon orientation so I will have to go to the 7:45 one, which means I'll miss some of Christmas. I wish I could send Craig to the orientation, but he'd forget what they tell him before he even walked out!

Now for planning... how in the world do I decide which parks to do first, in which order?? Since we are starting out on a weekend, should we avoid MK until Monday or later to have less of a crowd?

Going with a 3 year old, 5 year old, 15 year old and 34 year old kid.... do I need to plan 2 days for Universal and IOA or can they both be done the same day while pleasing both the big and small age groups?

I am not really interested in going around to all the countries in Epcot, but would like to still go for the popular rides and attractions. Could these be done in a partial day? Are we missing out on too much by skipping the World Showcase? Do you end up meeting a lot of characters going through?

I really can't decide what to do about character dining. I have seen so many posts about it and I feel like we are going to be missing out on something if we don't try it, but I have no idea what we'd want to do and if it would really be worth it. I know I don't want princess dining for the sake of the boys, and would prefer lunch over breakfast since we get free breakfast at GKTW but that's all I know. Any suggestions??

Give Kids The World

We will be staying at Give Kids The World during our stay in Disney. GKTW is the most amazing place ever!! This Village was created especially for Wish Families. Everything there is completely free and it has enough fun that you wouldn't even need to go to a park! They have 2 bed/ 2 bath villas, free dining, an ice cream shop that's open from 7am to 9pm, pizza delivery to your villa, a carousel, a train, a movie theater, fishing, and so much more. They do a theme night each day of the week and have activities during the day. They also provide 3 days at Disney parks, 2 at Universal, 1 at Sea World and lots of extra tickets if you want them. We can do indoor skydiving, take a plane ride, go to Busch Gardens and so much more!

here are some pictures Give Kids the World

We Have Dates!!

We Have DATES!!!!! March 31st - April 8th!!! MAW gives us 7 days/ 6 nights but we are going to find an inexpensive hotel and stay for two more nights so we don't feel too rushed. It will also give us a chance to visit with family. We are so excited!!!!

Make A Wish FAQ's and a few of my own

Elliot's Wish Granter called me on Thursday because she was sending me a few forms that I have to have Trevor's dad sign so he could go too. She also told me that they checked and there is availablity at GKTW during the time we want to go. They were going to begin looking at flights next!

She mailed me the forms for his dad and with it was a packet of info. In that packet were the "Top 22 FAQ." Within those Q&A's, they mentioned that our chapter does not provide transportation to or from the airport. Our airport is only about 20 minutes from our house so it isn't a big deal but we will not want to leave our truck at the airport that long. We are a family of 5 so it's going to be hard to ask someone to take us. I am going to have to figure out two people who can go get the truck and take it back home, plus do it again on our return day I guess.

Another part I am trying to figure out... I still have Addison (5.5 years old) in a 5 point harnessed carseat, as well Elliot (will be 3). They are Radian 65's, which means they are FAA approved and they also fold flat for travel (or storage under airlplane seat) BUT they weigh around 22 pounds each! I really am not sure I want to travel with them. I don't think I'd want to put the kids IN the seats on the airplane. My FAQ paperwork said the car rental people could provide a carseat and a booster but I am a little uneasy about that... first they have to be so germy, plus they might have been in accidents and I wouldn't know it. My husband thinks I overthink things too much and we need to just leave ours behind.

We own a double stroller (one with a seat in front and a "jumpseat" in back) and thought about bringing it, maybe even to push the carseats around the airport. But now I am thinking I'd rather have GKTW get us one from the rental place that is side by side and reclines in case someone wants to nap.

Any suggestions?

A Visit from the Wish Granters

Elliot's Wish Granters came for a visit! They brought gifts for all the kids and Elliot officially made his wish to go to Walt Disney World (hopefully during Spring Break)! When they asked him what he wished for he said "A Banana!!" this was all credited to his wonderful big brother! The night prior Trevor asked Elliot what he was going to wish for and Elliot wouldn't answer so Trevor said "A banana?" Elliot said "Yes!" and then was stuck on that!

They brought Elliot a mini potato head, play-doh, a Toy Story lunch box and Toy Story silly bands. Addison got a princess calendar, coloring book and crayons, a mermaid tiara and some wands. Trevor got an itunes gift card!

His wish granters were awesome! Cate played with the kids while Jamie went over paperwork. They had so much fun crawling all over her, playing potato heads, being robots and more!

A Star and a Heart

We received a packet from Make A Wish and it really makes this seem a little more real! In the packet was a parents guide that explained how wishes go, info on what I need to provide, plus had the contact info of our Wish Granting Volunteers. It also had a wooden star in it for Elliot to decorate. It went on to say that the star will be used to thank volunteers, donors and special friends of the foundation.

Before sitting down to paint the star, I bought some some wooden hearts for Addison to decorate so she didn't feel left out. They painted and then added glitter glue and they turned out perfect!

The Start of a Wish

On December 1st, at one of Elliot's routine oncology check-ups we were given the Make-A-Wish information. While we were at clinic, one of our favorite nurse showed us an album from another patient full of GKTW and Disney pictures. Elliot was so excited and all the way home he talked about going to see Mickey and Goofy. Later I asked where he wished he could go and he said “the beach and see Mickey!” I got home and submitted the forms right away. A few days later I received a call from Make-A-Wish to verify my phone numbers, sibling’s names and ages and to be told that they were sending in the HIPAA forms to the doctor’s office. I received all the paperwork, completed it and returned it immediately. I got a call back a few days later and was told that Elliot's wish would be granted. Wish Granting Volunteers would be contacting me within a few weeks to set up a visit and ask Elliot his wish.