Hayley's Make A Wish Trip MAW/GKTW (Nov/Dec 2010)

[kissesbykim]

We went on Tyler's wish trip less than a month ago and we just cashed the check at MAW gave us. I believe with the prepaid visa at the grocery stores they have some sort of service fee..I could be wrong though . Although there isn't a safe at GKTW, we never felt like it wasn't okay to leave a large amount of cash there while out visiting the parks. I just kept it in one of the suitcases. They also don't have a daily house keeper....so you don't have to worry about someone coming in your house every day messing with things. They do come in to leave gifts though . GKTW felt like the safest place we've ever stayed. I hope you have an amazing time! I wish we were back there right now! The trip goes by so quickly!

 

[rcq925]

Not sure if you care; however, I am a newbie to your report as well, having posted a few times here. No advice, just excitement for you!


Praying this is your BEST TRIP EVER, Full of Pixie Dust!

You could cash the check then go to the Disney Store and put the money on a gift card. That way you don't have to carry cash and you can use the card everywhere on Disney property for food etc. I would save a little cash if you are going to Sea World or Universal as you can't use the disney gift card there. Or go and get a prepaid Visa card from the grocery store.

4 days!!!!!

I hope you guys have the most amazing trip!!!!!

If you are able to I would bring some cash and deposit the rest into your checking account if you use a debit card. I like having a hundred dollars or so in cash and use my debit for big purchases or meals. Putting it on a Disney gift card isn't a bad idea either, but if you don't spend it all in Disney, you could come home with money still on a gift card.

Thanks for all the replies. I wanted to keep the MAW money separate from "our" money, so I make sure I use that first, so I did not want to put it in our account and use the debit card. I am thinking of getting one of those prepaid Visa travel cards (you can also take money off of them at the ATM), if I can find one. Has anyone used one of those before?

 

[blessedmom4]

Thanks for all the replies. I wanted to keep the MAW money separate from "our" money, so I make sure I use that first, so I did not want to put it in our account and use the debit card. I am thinking of getting one of those prepaid Visa travel cards (you can also take money off of them at the ATM), if I can find one. Has anyone used one of those before?

For us, the prepaid Visa's are a pain (Yes, the stores do charge a service fee when you purchase them). We have received several as gifts and some of the stores have sent them to us in lieu of checks for rebates. You have to know exactly how much money you have on the card and the cashier has to put it in exactly or the card will be declined. At restaurants, they automatically deduct a certain amount when you call it in and we had ours declined TWICE before I called the Visa company number from the card to discover what was going on. I was told at restaurants they only count a certain percentage towards the meal. I have forgotten why at this moment in time; however, I know when we told them we had a $25 card, they only gave us credit for a card with a value of $24 and change and it was declined....This has been our experience. I did a focus group on Tuesday and instead of paying me in cash as they have in the past, they gave me a Visa gift card. My husband and I both groaned when we saw it because we have NOT had great experiences with them. I hope someone else chimes in with their tips and tricks on how to use them easier!

 

[rcq925]

For us, the prepaid Visa's are a pain (Yes, the stores do charge a service fee when you purchase them). We have received several as gifts and some of the stores have sent them to us in lieu of checks for rebates. You have to know exactly how much money you have on the card and the cashier has to put it in exactly or the card will be declined. At restaurants, they automatically deduct a certain amount when you call it in and we had ours declined TWICE before I called the Visa company number from the card to discover what was going on. I was told at restaurants they only count a certain percentage towards the meal. I have forgotten why at this moment in time; however, I know when we told them we had a $25 card, they only gave us credit for a card with a value of $24 and change and it was declined....This has been our experience. I did a focus group on Tuesday and instead of paying me in cash as they have in the past, they gave me a Visa gift card. My husband and I both groaned when we saw it because we have NOT had great experiences with them. I hope someone else chimes in with their tips and tricks on how to use them easier!

I have also had trouble in the past using them and I think I will avoid them this time as well. I will probably keep a little cash and get some traveler's checks. They seem to be the easiest to use. Thanks for your reply!!

 

[LydRos]

The prepaid visa's are really a lot of trouble. Some of them charge a service fee to activate and some of them even have a service fee on every transaction that is as high as $2 per transaction. Sometimes you can get them through your bank and those are better, but you do have to know EXACTLY how much is on it when you go to purchase something because if you run a charge for more than what's their it will decline.
Travelers checks are a pain too though! I am having the same problem as you trying to decide how to carry our expense money.

 

[rcq925]

So the limo is picking us up at 1pm tomorrow and we will then drive 2 hours away to a hotel near our airport to spend the night. We have to be at the airport at 5am on Sunday. Our plane leaves at 7am and we are scheduled to land in Orlando at 9:15am!!

Just planning to spend Sunday hanging out and GKTW and soaking it all in! Monday will be our first park day at the Magic Kingdom and we are starting it off with breakfast at the Princess Castle at 9am!

We are SO EXCITED!!!

I want to thank all of you on this thread for all of the wonderful information and advice!!

I especially want to thank EVERYONE INVOLVED WITH THE BIG GIVE!!! Words can never express how truly greatful our family is to have been chosen to be a part of the BIG GIVE!

We are all going to look fantastic in all of our BIG GIVE clothes!!!

I promise to get on and do a full TR when we return with lots of pictures!!!

 

[ellenbenny]

Have a great trip, and I can't wait to hear all about it when you return!!

 

[that's nice]

Becky... I hope you, Nathan, and especially Hayley have the most wonderful time at GKTW & Disney! You know we will be waiting to hear all about your adventures.

I hope you find some time to relax and get away from reality.. even if for just a short week.


HAVE FUN!!!!!

 

[Mom2mitokids]

I hope you all have a Magical trip!!I can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[Emilyswish]

Hooray!! Have a great trip!

 

[blessedmom4]

I hope your trip is magical in EVERY way! Thank you for sharing your journey to this point with us all!

 

[cajunfan]

Have a MAGICAL trip!

I can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[my*2*angels]

HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A MAGICAL TRIP!! Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

I hope you are all having a wonderful trip!!!

 

[cajunfan]

Welcome back!

I can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[Emilyswish]

Hope you had a truly magical time!

 

[rcq925]

So we are back from the most WONDERFUL time at GKTW, Disney and all the parks! We are exhausted and our feet are aching, but we managed to fit in all of the parks. We got so much accomplished with our GAC and Hayley's magic button! We met SO MANY characters and got so many autographs!!!

I will start a TR soon I promise! I have over 1,000 pictures so I have to sort through all of them!

 

[ellenbenny]

So we are back from the most WONDERFUL time at GKTW, Disney and all the parks! We are exhausted and our feet are aching, but we managed to fit in all of the parks. We got so much accomplished with our GAC and Hayley's magic button! We met SO MANY characters and got so many autographs!!!

I will start a TR soon I promise! I have over 1,000 pictures so I have to sort through all of them!

Welcome home, I can't wait to hear all about it and see the pics!! Glad you had a great time!

 

[4monkeys]

So we are back from the most WONDERFUL time at GKTW, Disney and all the parks! We are exhausted and our feet are aching, but we managed to fit in all of the parks. We got so much accomplished with our GAC and Hayley's magic button! We met SO MANY characters and got so many autographs!!!

I will start a TR soon I promise! I have over 1,000 pictures so I have to sort through all of them!

Glad everyone had a wonderful time. WOW 1,000 pictures!! Can't wait to see some!!

 

[my*2*angels]

SOOOOOO glad to hear you had such an AMAZING time! Can't wait to hear all about it!