Seth's Make-A-Wish trip May 19-25 2010

[NVDadof3]

Ok, now that we have solid dates and are armed with (hopefully) a little more information, we have come up with a new and improved plan.

May 19th-We fly out of Reno at 8:45 am. First time on a plane for me, Alexis and Claire. Seth has been on the medical flights, and Mom has flown when she was younger. This will by far be the longest flight for any of us though. With one stop in San Antonio and the 3 hour time change, we will land at 7:25 pm Florida time.

We hope to get to GKTW by about 9, but that will depend on the airport and how many times we lose the kids before we get out of there. This is too late for the evening orientation, so this will cause us a slight delay leaving the next morning. The kids probably won't be able to sleep since they will still be on Nevada time, but hopefully the flight wears them all down.

May 20th-We plan to get up and have breakfast in the morning and then go to the Orientation. Once we finish this we will make our way over to Universal. This will be our only trip to Universal while there. There may be a few attractions the kids enjoy, but for the most part we are going to zoom through Universal and IOA. The GKTW Christmas party is this evening so we will be back for dinner and the party. After the flight and getting up early, the kids should be ready for an early bedtime.

May 21st-STAR WARS!!!-We are hitting Hollywood Studios in hopes to see as much of the Star Wars weekend as possible. Alexis loves Star Wars and Seth has wanted to do the Jedi Training Academy since he first heard about it. We will stay in the park as long as the kids can make it, (which will probably be around 8 pm) and then we'll head back for some very important rest.

May 22nd-Finally, the most important single day of the trip. The Magic Kingdom. We will spend the entire day here and do everything we can. Seth wants to ride the roller coasters, Alexis wants to meet the princesses, and Claire just wants to see Mickey Mouse. I honestly think she believes we are going all the way there to meet Mickey and then come home.

May 23rd-This is our as of yet unplanned day. We have a lot of options. Hanging out around GKTW is one possibility. We could go back to Universal for a day, or check out Sea World. We have also looked at Busch Gardens in Tampa. Another option would be to spend the day going shopping at outlets and/or playing mini golf. Orlando seems to have a lot of stuff to do, so we'll play this one by ear.

May 24th-Our final day before returning home. We are going to start this day at Animal Kingdom. Seth has wanted to see the Tree of Life since he watched a DisneyWorld show on the Travel channel. We plan on hanging here until around lunchtime, then eating and heading over to the Magic Kingdom to finish the trip. The perfect ending would be to catch the Wishes Show to end the night.

May 25th-Sadly, all good things must end. We don't even get the day to hang out as our flight leaves at 12:45 pm. We will have to get up and have breakfast and then make our way to the airport. We arrive home in Reno with a lifetime full of memories.

That's it. If we do one thing on this list like we expect I'll be happy. As much as it's fun to plan and good to have some ideas, we are not going to take anything too seriously while we are gone. With Seth's condition and money being what it is, we may not have a chance to do anything like this for a long time. Our #1 goal is to have FUN!!!!

 

[Canyon girl]

When we went to WDW last year, we had problems with the time change and sleeping, too. Will your kids be in school the two days before you leave? If not, why not try to adjust the kids before you go? If they don't have school on that Monday and Tuesday, maybe you could start getting them up earlier and to bed earlier starting the Saturday before your trip?

 

[Magicbus]

Gary,
I'm one of the many, many GKTW volunteers. I mainly do airport greets.
You arrive fairly late in Orlando so you may or may not get a greeter. I'll ask to be your greeter if you haven't been assigned one yet.
After doing it for the past 10 years, I know that parents do like to be greeted by someone that can help them get on their way. It makes for a stress free beginning to your trip.
We meet the family very soon after you get of the plane. Take you to get your bags. Then we get you setup with a car, if you're getting one. Then usually we give you directions to GKTW but as you'd be my last greet, you could just follow me to GKTW.
Let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of help with anything else during your visit.

 

[NVDadof3]

MagicBus...that would be great...I'm not too concerned about finding my way to GKTW as I am finding my way through the airport. Seth has seen pictures of other people being greeted and thought it would be cool to have someone there with a sign for him. Hopefully we see you there.

CanyonGirl-I thought about doing that and I thought I must be crazy for thinking of something like that. Glad to know I wasn't the first. Unfortunately Alexis is in school for those two days, but we may still try to do something to help with this. Thanks for the tip.

 

[NVDadof3]

After watching a video about DisneyWorld Seth is wavering on Animal Kingdom or Epcot. Haven't even left and plans already starting to change. This will probably not be resolved until we are ready to go to one or the other.

 

[Canyon girl]

Some people split DHS/AK for one day, MK for one day, and EPCOT for one day. That way you would get all the parks in if that is what you want. From the sounds of it, you will definitely want to spend time at the GKTW. The most important part is to take time to "smell the roses." You can make the best plans in the world before you go, but they will change once you get there. The beauty of your trip is that you won't have to wait much for characters or rides, so the time to get things done will much shorter than for most people.

 

[NVDadof3]

We got our first packages from BIG GIVE today!!! So much fun. It's like Christmas, even for mom and dad.

First, we got a card from Elizabeth in Texas.

Inside was a Cars Disney Gift Card for Seth. Thank you so much Elizabeth. Seth is already spending the money in his head.


Next up was a package from Ellen in NY, aka Ellenbenny.

Inside were some wonderful outfits for the kids.

The girls loved their skirts. Alexis asked if she could wear her outfit to school tomorrow. Claire cried when it was time to take it off. Alexis specifically said to tell Ellen that she loves hers so, so, so, so, so, so much. (I may have left a few so's out.)

Sorry there are not more pictures. We just got a new camera and haven't got a memory card for it yet so we could only take 2 pictures then download them and take 2 more. It was pretty slow going but provided for some extra fun.

Thank you Ellen and Elizabeth.

 

[jessica52877]

The kids look adorable! Okay, Seth looks handsome! He might not want to look adorable! I am glad they loved the outfits!

 

[llaxton]

Glad he liked it! There is more coming just waiting on a couple of thing for the girls!

 

[ellenbenny]

So glad they liked the clothes and that everything fit! Tell Alexis I am so, so, so happy for all of you and can't wait to read about your trip, which is coming up very soon. Your kids are cuties, hope you all have an amazing and magical trip.

 

[wishin' on a star]

Oh goodness, those outfits are just adorable!!! Great job, Ellen! And I'm sure Seth will have no trouble spending his money! The Big Give is just amazing...your kids are going to be watching for the mailman every day now! Something else to add to all the excitement!!

 

[TTomlinson]

Looks like your plans are coming together We will be there at about the same time and I have a kid birthday on the 19th too! We get there on the 16th though. We are going to be at DHS on Friday for SWW too and my middle boys cannot wait so maybe we will see you there, or the Christmas party, or both!

One thing you should check out if you want to before you get there, is the Village guide. I found a link to it in one of the GKTW newsletters and there is a section that explains some of the other extra activities that they can help you get tickets to at a reduced rate. I'm trying to find the link but can't find my bookmark lol... I'll get back to you with it. There is a Pirate dinner show kind of like MT but with a pirate theme instead and a Cessna plane ride and a couple of other things.

Also, since you have a boy (I have all boys!) you might want to check out Ridemakerz... http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2010/03/ridemakerz_1.html I emailed them and explained our situation (our expense check is not that much) and that I had two boys with birthdays and they really wanted to do this but I wasn't sure we could afford it so could they give us a discount or something. They came back and offered to throw a private, complimentary bash for us before the store opens one morning. Unfortunately its the morning of the day you guys get there or I would just ask them if we could invite another wish family to join us Still though, it might be something Seth would love if he likes RC cars at all.

We decided to skip SW and spend a day at the beach and after talking to another wish family that has a son with the same disease as mine that went last year in May, I'm glad we are doing this. My boys have never seen the ocean before and I think we will love just building sand castles and letting them put thier feet in the ocean. There are several beaches within about 1-2 hours drive from Orlando from what I understand.

Looking forward to hearing more about your plans and hopefully meeting you guys!

 

[NVDadof3]

Thanks everyone. The kids are definitely excited and the magic in the mail is making it seem so real.

TTomlinson-We are not going to SW either. I don't know if we will go to the beach either. Seth is just getting his immune system back completely and I don't want to risk anything with him getting in the water. We have talked about our plans so many times that I don't think we will know what we are going to do until we are actually doing it.

 

[NVDadof3]

Well, we got tired of guessing about the expense check today so we called and asked. It should certainly be more then enough to do what we want/need to do. We are scheduled for dinner most nights at GKTW, but we will probably go out some of those nights. I feel pushy calling and asking about it but it has already made even small plans so much easier. For any wish families that are curious, just ask your wish coordinator. I'm sure if they know they won't have a problem telling you.

 

[MCazer]

Gary, sorry about the delay, but the autograph books are in the mail!

 

[NVDadof3]

We got another BIG GIVE today!!!

Thank you very much to Jennifer from Maryland (DIS name scouthawkk).

There was a big package waiting on the doorstep when we got home today.

Filled with all sorts of goodies for the kids.

Seth got stickers, Silly Putty, a dry erase board and a notebook.

Alexis got bubbles, notebook, stickers and a dry erase board.

Claire got a notebook and dry erase board also. Bubbles, stickers and so much more. The kids also got some great snack containers and lunch bags we can use on the trip.

Thanks so much Jennifer. Everything is wonderful.

 

[scouthawkk]

We got another BIG GIVE today!!!

Thank you very much to Jennifer from Maryland (DIS name scouthawkk).

You're very welcome. I'm glad it all made it to you. Enjoy the trip!

Edit to add: By the way, what was all the wrap on the outside of the box? It didn't leave DC like that Can you tell what happened to it in Nevada?

 

[NVDadof3]

We got another BIG GIVE. This one actually came last night but I didn't have time to post it.

This one was from Naomi in AZ. (DIS name Canyon Girl.)

Inside was a little something for everyone.

The kids all got great activity books for use during the flight.

And even some stuff for mom and dad. This package included sunscreen, moleskin, aleve, carmex, snacks, wipes and other amazing little things that we would probably have forgotten to bring, It also included a great insulated bag that we can use.

Thanks so much Naomi. The time and thought put into everything is just amazing. You guys are making this all so easy for us, and we really do appreciate it.

 

[NVDadof3]

Edit to add: By the way, what was all the wrap on the outside of the box? It didn't leave DC like that Can you tell what happened to it in Nevada?

You know, it was just like extra strength USPS plastic wrap on the outside. It was an adventure opening it. The kids tried for like 10 minutes before they gave up.

 

[jessica52877]

Fun, fun, fun! Look at all that stuff! It is just so wonderful to have such caring people here on the dis! Glad the kids enjoyed it all and love the little adult package too!