She'll smile if you say "poopy sh^t"

[disney4dan 68]

Great start to the trip. We flew once when our oldest was 3, our family doctor recommended a decongestant (Robitussin I think) to help dry out the sinuses and allow the cabin pressure to change more easily in the ears. It had the added benefit of making him a zombie for about 12 hours. I still remember draping him across the luggage like a rag doll as we wheeled the luggage through the terminal! Everyone thought he was so well behaved....I said nothing.

[okgirlie...Brandy 6]

How neat is that place! I went to the website and looked at the pictures under the scrapbook link. :) It looks like a lot of fun.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

This is great! What an awesome place GKTW is. It's a place no one wants to stay at, but everyone is thankful is there. I can't wait to hear more of your report. Potty talk and all. :dance:

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

We ventured around Downtown Disney for a while.

Wil, doing his impression of Brickley.

This was Ali's "princess face". We didn't buy that hat. I wish we would have.

Wil couldn't wait to make a Jedi Lightsaber! He and DH had some difficulties figuring it out until a CM who was strong with the force showed them how it's done.

And of course, using the force...

We poked around and bought some things to take home. The Christmas store was so crowded, there was a line just to get in. Ali and I sat that one out while the rest of the family went in and got some new baubles for the tree. Both kids got the Mr. Potato Head fill a box thing at the one toy store and Ali did the same for My Little Pony.

After that, it was time to head back to GKTW for orientation and Mayor Clayton's Birthday Party!!!

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Great start to the trip. We flew once when our oldest was 3, our family doctor recommended a decongestant (Robitussin I think) to help dry out the sinuses and allow the cabin pressure to change more easily in the ears. It had the added benefit of making him a zombie for about 12 hours. I still remember draping him across the luggage like a rag doll as we wheeled the luggage through the terminal! Everyone thought he was so well behaved....I said nothing.

Hahahaha! That's one way to do it!!

How neat is that place! I went to the website and looked at the pictures under the scrapbook link. :) It looks like a lot of fun.

This is great! What an awesome place GKTW is. It's a place no one wants to stay at, but everyone is thankful is there. I can't wait to hear more of your report. Potty talk and all. :dance:

It really is the most amazing place. There's such a sense of peace and happiness and understanding. What always struck me too was the mix of folks who volunteer there...we had high school students, college students and retired folks...all these different groups of people that might not normally work together, all doing it to make a very special time for very special kids. It's beautiful.

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

Lovin the TR, and for the record "poopy Sh^t" makes me smile to.. :rofl2: Can't wait to read more, beautiful family!

[Lou... 3,118]

It really is the most amazing place. There's such a sense of peace and happiness and understanding. What always struck me too was the mix of folks who volunteer there...we had high school students, college students and retired folks...all these different groups of people that might not normally work together, all doing it to make a very special time for very special kids. It's beautiful.

GKTW would not exist if it weren't for the volunteers, but they also need cash, goods & services, & attraction tickets. I don't know if you found this out in your research, but Disney is the single largest contributor and we're not talking thousands of dollars but millions. They also have a large volunteer program that WDW CMs can sign up for in order to volunteer at GKTW. A lot of the decorating there was done by WDW craftspeople. So Disney's fingerprints are all over GKTW.

Also, the word "World" in Give Kids the World originally refered to WDW. It was later expanded to include all Central Florida attractions.

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

You should get everyone a "Poppy Shirt" and if anyone gets their panties in a wad, you just tell them she is mispronouncing "poppy shirt" :rofl2:

[mgsmom 9]

What a great TR! Good for you to go back and post it. I'm sure there will be some bittersweet parts, but the memories are priceless. :heart:

Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

[thecplusplusguy 7]

This is a good trip report. I already learned something, and enjoy hearing about the Give Kids The World.

Dan

P.s. Poopy SH*T

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I am enjoying this report.

Thanks for taking the time to post it!

I am looking forward to hearing more about GKTW.

GKTW would not exist if it weren't for the volunteers, but they also need cash, goods & services, & attraction tickets. I don't know if you found this out in your research, but Disney is the single largest contributor and we're not talking thousands of dollars but millions. They also have a large volunteer program that WDW CMs can sign up for in order to volunteer at GKTW. A lot of the decorating there was done by WDW craftspeople. So Disney's fingerprints are all over GKTW.

Also, the word "World" in Give Kids the World originally refered to WDW. It was later expanded to include all Central Florida attractions.

Lou- I know that you are involved as a volunteer with this charity.

Good for you!!!!

TCD

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

GKTW would not exist if it weren't for the volunteers, but they also need cash, goods & services, & attraction tickets. I don't know if you found this out in your research, but Disney is the single largest contributor and we're not talking thousands of dollars but millions. They also have a large volunteer program that WDW CMs can sign up for in order to volunteer at GKTW. A lot of the decorating there was done by WDW craftspeople. So Disney's fingerprints are all over GKTW.

Also, the word "World" in Give Kids the World originally refered to WDW. It was later expanded to include all Central Florida attractions.

You can definitely feel the Disney influence at GKTW. To me, it was even MORE magical...if that's possible.

When we were checking out they gave us a list of all the other corporate sponsors...there are quite a few. Big ones too. But it's a shame that more people don't know about it. If I ever hit the lottery, it's the first place I would donate to.

You should get everyone a "Poppy Shirt" and if anyone gets their panties in a wad, you just tell them she is mispronouncing "poppy shirt" :rofl2:

OMG Ed! You made me spit out my Mt. Dew!! LOL

What a great TR! Good for you to go back and post it. I'm sure there will be some bittersweet parts, but the memories are priceless. :heart:

Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

Thank you for reading along. It feels really good to finally put it all down.

This is a good trip report. I already learned something, and enjoy hearing about the Give Kids The World.

Dan

P.s. Poopy SH*T

;D

I am enjoying this report.

Thanks for taking the time to post it!

I am looking forward to hearing more about GKTW.

Lou- I know that you are involved as a volunteer with this charity.

Good for you!!!!

TCD

Thanks! High praise coming from you.

After I found out that Lou was a volunteer, I went back and tried to see if maybe we caught him in one of our pics, but I haven't spotted him yet.

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

After DTD, mom and Casey came back to GKTW with us.

Each night at GKTW is a different celebration. Our first night happened to be the birthday bash for Mayor Clayton. Mayor Clayton is the bunny mascot for GKTW. He parties with the kids and will even stop by your villa and do a special tuck in service. We did that later in the week.

So while DH, kids, mom and sis went to get their wiggle on, I attended an orientation.

At orientation, the present each family with their passes for the week...3 day park hopper passes to Disney World, 2 day park hopper passes (or whatever they call them) to Universal and 1 day passes to Sea World...all donated by the respective parks. We got a "Bunny Book" that told us when the special events were going to go on and so forth. They also gave us our GKTW button aka the "magic" button. As I understand, Cast members from all parks are trained to look for it to make sure that wish families get front of line privileges.

I have to admit, I was slightly uncomfortable with the front of line access at the beginning. And really, some of the lines were so minimal, we didn't mind waiting. But we were treated with the utmost kindness and graciousness by not only the cast, but by the other patrons. And my son was digging the whole "go to the head of the line" thing.

So, back outside, I find my kids in the midst of a giant dance party!

There was a group of college kids there volunteering over their winter break. There was one girl in particular who kept coming over to make sure Ali was dancing and having a great time. It was really sweet. And as you can probably see, there was face painting and all sorts of other fun stuff. The kids were thrilled!

Then it was time to explore a little bit.

So we headed to the Castle of Miracles.

Each child that goes to GKTW gets to put their star up in the Castle. They can write or draw whatever they want on it and then put it in the Wish Fairy's box and the next morning, that child's star is magically transported onto the ceiling and the Fairy leaves detailed directions in your villa so you can go find it.

I have to say, it really takes your breath away when you walk in there and see how many stars there are. It's sad, but heartwarming at the same time, if that makes any sense. Sad because there have been that many children with medical problems, but also that there were that many that were able to have their lives touched by this magical place.

On our first night, however, we were only checking it out and would do Ali's star later.

The Castle is filled with ultra fun stuff like a wishing fountain that burps when you throw money in and places to play and pretend!

After all this, it was time for ICE CREAM!!

[rm0530 5]

Beautiful babies! I have a student who took a wish trip to GKTW when she was 7. She has nothing but positive things to say about the experience. Thank you for going back and writing a report for us

[johnnyb aka John 15]

Thank you for putting my life into perspective, I really needed this today! I am not so patiently waiting for more... :D

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Beautiful babies! I have a student who took a wish trip to GKTW when she was 7. She has nothing but positive things to say about the experience. Thank you for going back and writing a report for us

Thanks! I'm so glad you are enjoying it!

Thank you for putting my life into perspective, I really needed this today! I am not so patiently waiting for more... :D

Hey, I do what I can...lol.

Being at GKTW is an utterly humbling experience. We are SO lucky.

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Another awesome aspect of GKTW is there is free ice cream almost 24 hours a day!!! Everything's better with ice cream!

After checking things out, we headed over to the Ice Cream Palace to grab some goodies.

With full tummies and happy kids, we headed back to our villa. DH headed out to make a Walmart run and take my mom and sister back to their resort.

GKTW stocks the fridges in the villas with water and other yummy things, but we needed just a few more things to round it out. The kids and I settled in and waited for DH to get back.

Tomorrow...MAGIC KINGDOM!!!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Magic Kingdom, I can't wait :banana:

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Today is Magic Kingdom day...and to finish it off, dinner with Cinderella at the Grand Floridian!!

My mom and sister made it to the MK before us...which isn't surprising cause we're always late for everything. It's not that we don't try to be on time, it just seems we're always about 20 minutes behind.

Anywho...we took some pics on the wall at the entrance. A million years ago, my sister and I had our pics taken in the same spot. I've been searching my mom's house to find the album from that trip (there's pics of River Country in there too) but I haven't been able to locate it. So you'll have to use your imagination and picture us at 4 and 5 years old in much the same position. LOL :rofl2:

First look inside the park...sorry, it's a little blurry.

I ended up wearing Ali's "magic button" on my lanyard because I was pretty sure it would somehow come off of her and be lost forever.

First up, Chip and Dale.

Ali has NEVER been the type of kid to shy away from characters. She LOVES them and usually runs up and immediately poses with them...even before she hugs them. There was only a small line for Chip and Dale and I was slightly nervous about using the button, so we waited.

When we got to the front of the line, the cast member (nicely) admonished me for waiting in line and told me to be sure to let everyone know we had the button.

Chip and Dale were wonderful!! They both came over and tapped the button and gave me hugs too. It was great. As soon as we were done, the cast member asked us if we would like to meet Daisy and then she escorted us across the way to the front of the line to meet Daisy.

Then it was on to Pluto...who also gave me some loving after pointing to the button.

We then decided we needed some hats!!

So we headed over to the hat shop where Wil got his green eared Mickey Hat, Ali got a pink one with princesses, DH got a baseball hat and Casey and I got Santa Mickey hats! Wil wore his Mickey ears faithfully most of the rest of the trip. Ali wouldn't keep hers on to save her life! I just think it was a phase thing, cause now she wears things on her head all the time. We went to Great Wolf Lodge back in April of this year and she still wears the wolf ears we got her!

It was at this point that Wil lost his brand new autograph pen and sharpie I bought him before we went down. We think he must have set it down in the hat shop and never picked it back up. We didn't realize it right away...by the time we did it was long gone. DH went to lost and found, but no one had turned it in. On the bright side, they gave him a new one, free of charge!!

This however was not the end of the story. Shortly after we got home to Pittsburgh, I got a curiously lumpy package from Disney World. Yep, someone had turned it in and, because I had put Wil's name and address in the front, they sent it to us!! It must have been a little girl that found it, because after the signatures of Pluto, Daisy and Chip and Dale there was a page signed "Clara" and it was obviously done by a child. It was so sweet. I called the number to Lost and Found and promptly burst into tears while I thanked them for sending his autograph book back to him.

Ok, time for some rides!!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

This however was not the end of the story. Shortly after we got home to Pittsburgh, I got a curiously lumpy package from Disney World. Yep, someone had turned it in and, because I had put Wil's name and address in the front, they sent it to us!! It must have been a little girl that found it, because after the signatures of Pluto, Daisy and Chip and Dale there was a page signed "Clara" and it was obviously done by a child. It was so sweet. I called the number to Lost and Found and promptly burst into tears while I thanked them for sending his autograph book back to him.

Wow! What a great story.

I'm not sure if I can keep on reading this trip report.

I keep on getting choked up when I read it.

I am so glad that you family, and especially your daughter, was able to experience this much magic at a very difficult time in your lives.

TCD

[okgirlie...Brandy 6]

Wow! What a great story.

I'm not sure if I can keep on reading this trip report.

I keep on getting choked up when I read it.

I am so glad that you family, and especially your daughter, was able to experience this much magic at a very difficult time in your lives.

TCD

I keep getting choked up, too.

Loving this report, though. :heart:

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

I keep getting choked up, too.

Loving this report, though. :heart:

Me too! Great report!

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

Poppy Shirt! :banana:

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Wow! What a great story.

I'm not sure if I can keep on reading this trip report.

I keep on getting choked up when I read it.

I am so glad that you family, and especially your daughter, was able to experience this much magic at a very difficult time in your lives.

TCD

Awww...thanks! I get slightly choked up reliving it all, but in a good way. But hang in there...there's more magic on the way. :dance:

I keep getting choked up, too.

Loving this report, though. :heart:

Thank you!! So glad you are along for the ride!

Me too! Great report!

Thanks! And thanks for joining me.

Poppy Shirt! :banana:

:rofl2: You know I have to make a shirt now that says that!?!

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Up first was Haunted Mansion! I apparently didn't take any pictures over there. But this was DS's pick for the first ride.

After that, it's a bit of a blur. I know we did all the major rides/attractions...just don't remember in which order.

We went on the Jungle Cruise and the we got to sit right up front. Our tour guide was actually from PA and was really sweet to the kids. We rode POTC and saw the new Jack Sparrow parts.

And who doesn't love Dumbo?

We got to meet Buzz Lightyear!!

Here's the one we used for our Chirstmas card that year. If you notice, I'm holding Ali's hands down cause she wanted to rip her hat off. :rofl2:

My kids LOVE the Tiki Room Song...mostly because I love the Tiki Room Song (it's currently the ring tone for my phone) and played it all the time in the car before we went. So no trip would have been complete without a stop here...

This is another one where we have several pics of my sister and I in the same place. Every time we go to Disney, we have a pic of us by this Indian.

Of course, this time my behind is all wet cause we just got off Splash Mountain.

We had a ball at MK!! And then stayed to watch the Castle get all lit up! And to see all the amazing lights and decorations come on.

I've got some super pictures of the tree and the castle, but everytime I post them, they are sideways. Photobucket and I are going to have a smackdown and then I will see if I can't get those pictures put in here.

It's so beautiful there at Christmas!!!