Make a wish

[randbsmom]

Hello!! My son has Leukemia and he chose a Disney trip as his wish. We are going to be staying at Give Kids the World. We have nothing planned besides the parks and the other things they provide. I have been reading on here and see that everyone seems to have many things planned and reserved. Should we be making reservations for dinner or are there resteraunts that you can get into without reservations. We would like to go to Cinderallas castle and eat should we make reservations?? Also we will be there for my husbands 30 b-day and I wanted to do something special (he has been overseas for a year) so does anyone have any suggestions??? I just don't want to get there and not be able to do anything because we don't have anything planned. One more question..have any of you seen what they do for the wish kids while there. My son will probably get pretty tired and hot do they provide water or anything "extra". Thanks in advance for any help and I'm sorry it is long!!! Have a great day!!! Megan

[DisneyMom12]

Hi, You definatley want reservations for Cinderella's Royal Table. As far as anything else I'm not sure what they do. I have seen Make a wish children move to the front of the line on a ride. I hope you have a great trip to the greatest place.

[wonders10]

Hi! :welcome:

You will definitely want to make reservations for some of your meals, especially Cinderella's. There is a lot of great information on these boards and on the website itself that will help you immensely if you need it, such as park hours, restaurant menus. You name it, it's probably here.

For your husbands birthday, be sure to stop by guest relations on the park you visit that day. Tell them its his birthday and they will give him a birthday button. Make sure he wears it all day and if you park hop, get one at the other park - I think they are different. Sometimes the cast member will do something special for you. As for you son, I do not know specifically what they do that is "special". My guess is something like getting to the front of the line or VIP seating for certain shows. Not in every case but just some examples of my guesses. I have seen a lot of kids there from Give Kids the World (the child and family always have a little button on) and they always look like they are having a Blast! Enjoy your trip!

Happy Planning!
*Shannon

[duckhere]

Make a Wish sent us to DW Nov 04, we also stayed at Give Kids the World. Great Place!!! Make sure you give yourself a day just to check the place out! We had so many things going on we didn't have time. Get ahold of your wish grantors and make sure they know of anything you would like while your there! I know CRT was totally booked for our trip, but we had so much fun going to the princess breakfast in Norway. Most of the stuff you want to do they will be able to help!

Also, you will have some options once your at GKTW. They have tickets for some area attractions, Universal, Kennedy Space Center, others. Just ask at the front desk!
Most of all, have fun. Don't hesitate to ask lots of questions of your granters. IF they don't know, they can sure find out, although some of the GKTW questions they may not be able to answer. We loved our trip!!!

[duckhere]

One thing I forgot, we did have passes that got us to the front of the line. Make sure you have your GKTW and your Make a Wish pins, They really are a key to the world.

Cast members at the character greets will take you right to the characters if you talk to them. Its a special day for the kids, and everyone will make sure they know how special they are.

[coloradowendyl]

There is a great guide book out for people traveling with anyone with Special Needs. I have a copy on my desk and recommend it to all of my clients who have special needs and requests. It has a good section on resources you may need, tips, etc

Book is called Passporter's Walt Disney World for Your Special Needs. As a former Special Needs teacher, I have found it addresses many issues, obstacles, and needs very well.

Hope this helps!
Wendy

[merlinmagic4]

We had the ultimate pleasure of a Disney vacation courtesy of MAW and GKTW. It was unbelievable! I would highly recommend becoming familiar with the parks and knowing what you want to do. You will not wait in any line - not for a ride, not for a character. You and your family will be treated like royalty.

Our son was actually sick when we went so we had to take it really slow and we missed a lot. I was also not as familiar with the parks as I should have been. Nevertheless, we had a magical time!

You will also be offered passes to Sea World (which we did) and Universal (which we didn't do). I have to warn you that you will not get the same "royal treatment" as you will at Disney although they were very nice. They are trained at DIsney to spot the buttons and you won't slide under the rader even if you wanted to!! I can't say enough good things about them!

GKTW is also a magical place. Spend some time there because that is a place that you can never go back to (well, you can go back as a day guest but not to stay :))

Make sure you get to see Merlin's show near the carousel. I was told he always picks a "wish" child to pull the sword from the stone. He did pick my son. Actually, he stopped what he was doing when he noticed my son, asked for his autograph book, and went and got us one at the nearest shop when he learned we didn't have one. He asked my son to stay for the show and picked him out of the crowd for the ceremony. It is a priceless memory.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

[Bill_Lin]

Kids visiting the Magic Kingdom on Wish Trips now have their own special place in the Kingdom. The Disney Wish Lounge for Wish families in located on Main Street U.S.A. The lounge is an air-conditioned sanctuary with comfortable furniture, snacks, cool drinks and a large television. Staff are available to assist families with planning the itinerary in the park. Yeah Disney! :number1:

[Lizzie]

If you want to do Cinderellas table make sure you make reservations 180 days out.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

:welcome::wave:
We'll be glad to help you any way we can with the planning. I have seen the characters spend extra time with the kids, especially Cinderella at the castle, and really try to make the trip extra special.

[merlinmagic4]

I'm not sure if people realize this but the original post was dated 14 months ago :blush:I wish the OP had come back to let us know how it went. I hope everything is okay in their family.

BTW Bill_lin, thanks for posting that about the room for wish families. That is really cool and I wish it was there when we went!!! I could have used some help back then!

[nadisnut]

[QUOTE=merlinmagic4;852169]"You will also be offered passes to Sea World (which we did) and Universal (which we didn't do). I have to warn you that you will not get the same "royal treatment" as you will at Disney although they were very nice. "


My brother and our family received a trip through The Dream Foundation, we went to Disneyland and to Universal Studios, and we did receive the Royal Treatment at Universal, a truck load of Characters greeted my brother at the entrance and had a mini-parade for him, he felt so special!!!

[Stan]

Hi- I just wanted to say something on one of these threads about MAW and GKTW.

It is heartbreaking to know children and families have to go through things like this, but it also makes you admire how strong people can be (with help from whatever source they seek it from- hope I worded that carefully enough :)).

I started doing "digital photography" volunteer stints out at GKTW Village (http://gktw.org/) last fall, and I have privately shed a tear or 2 on a couple of occasions. GKTW is a wonderful place with a staff and legions of volunteers seeking nothing but to bring joy to these special children and families. I find it humbling when (as often happens) another volunteer tells me something like, "My husband and I have been doing horse rides out here every Monday and Wednesday morning since 1988". :jaw:

Anyway, I don't pretend to know a whole lot about GKTW, but I'm learning- so ask away and if I don't know something I'll find somebody who does.

Any other GKTW volunteers here on INTERCOT?

[Stan]

I was out doing photos at GKTW Village this morning, and I wanted to show you 3 sweet ladies who have been giving gentle rides to Wish children and their siblings for years... meet Candy (http://www.FLmemories.com/B/DSC03695s.html), Faith (http://www.FLmemories.com/B/DSC03697s.html), and Liberty (http://www.FLmemories.com/B/DSC03698s.html).

As Candy was being led into her trailer, a little girl in a wheelchair- one of the last riders of the day- called out to her, "I love you, Candy!".