? About Make A Wish

[MAJ RN]

My 5 yo DS is being granted a wish by the Make a Wish program. I was curious if anyone has any info on how this works. I have heard that most people who go to WDW stay at the Give the Kids the World resort, but my son would like to stay at the "Momorail hotel" Aka the CR. Is this ever allowed? Any info would be helpful. He has chosen WDW for his wish and is very excited!!!


Thanks,
Melissa

 

[Anne MN]

It depends on your make a wish chapter. If your son is set on staying at the contemporary, that should be made known so that they can plan for it, or they can tell you that everyone has to stay at the village.

GKTW is great- it is about 20 minutes from disney. lots of stuff to do at the village. every day has something. mon and thurs are disney characters around breakfast time. friday is barney and friends, thurs is christmas, i forgot what night the shamu pool party is, and sat is mayor claytons birthday party.

we got back about 2-3 weeks ago. if you have any questions about the village or anything else, i can probably help you, just ask away or you can send me a PM (private message. there is a buttom on the bottom)

anne

 

[SueM in MN]

Here's a link to the Give Kids the World website.
If he can't stay at Contemporary (like Anne said, it can't hurt to ask), maybe he'd like to do a character meal there. I've heard lots of good things about Chef Mickeys.
Here's come Pixie Dust for a great trip.

 

[JinniLynn33]

look under the post about how much money for make a wish or on page 2 of the posts. Some one on there had a wish trip and they didnt stay at the GKTW village.

 

[lovewdwdvc]

Our son is doing an internship at Disney right now. On his days off he goes over to Give the kids the world and volunteers to go with a family to Disney..

He goes with them where ever they want to go and gives them lots of insider tips and generally does anything that he can to make the experience memorable.

It is a nice litle perk for those families. He also knows lots of the other CP (college program) interns so he has lots of insider help for the kids.

Hope that info helps

 

[SueOKW]

Make A Wish goes with GKTW because it costs less (if it costs at all) to house people there. I believe you only get to stay on site IF GKTW is full. I believe in those cases WDW donates the rooms.

Good luck getting your request - one never knows what magic the wish grantors can pull off, so it never hurts to ask!

One of the beauties of GKTW is free ice cream from morning till night!!! I thought I would be unhappy there, wanting to stay on site, but I learned it is a very special place - I never felt more at home in my whole life. Everyone has a problem but everyone is happy. It's amazing.

 

[roseprincess]

Hi Melissa,
My dd had her Make-A-Wish/ WDW trip in June.
We did stay at the Contemporary Resort ( one of the monorail resorts) when we went.
Both my dd and ds wanted to stay at the Contemporary b/c of the monorails and they wanted to get as much Disney as possible.
Both my dh and I did mention to our Wish Granter when he did his first visit with us that we prefered to stay at the Contemporary resort or whichever resort they will pay for (any other deluxe or moderate resort on property).
Our Wish Granter did really try to talk us into GKTW at his first visit. But he also did say whatever my dd's wish is, they will really try to grant it. Our Wish Granter did fax a letter to the local MAW office stating my dd preferred to stay at the Contemporary resort and to see if the Wish Coordinator will approve it. He told me it may take a few weeks to approve.
A few weeks after that, he gave us the good news that we were able to stay at the Contemporary! tho, he said we would have to lose a day at Disney in return to stay at the Contemp. I guess that was their policy.
Usually, when you stay at GKTW, the recent policy is you can stay 7 days, 6 nights. If you stay at a resort on property, the most you can stay is 6 days, 5 nights.
So, it depends on your Wish Granter, how much he/she is willing to make your ds's trip specialized for him. And also the local MAW office, if they are willing to spend the money, if they have enough funds for the resort.
I also live in Illinois, Chicago area, and I know the Chicago MAW chapter office will do whatever they can to make your ds's trip special.
We were so blessed to stay at the Contemp. resort! Both my dd and ds enjoyed staying there, taking the monorails. Also, it was nice not to have to drive back and forth during the day for a break or to drive at night after the fireworks are over. It was nice to just get on the monorails back to the resort.
Also, when MAW approves you to stay on property, the local MAW office has to negotiate with the Orlando MAW office to see what room they will give you at the resort and also MAW Orlando takes care of your Hopper Passes, they reserve your Hopper Passes for you.
I hope this helps.

Keep us posted on your ds's MAW planning and what the Wish Granter says.

Rosemarie

 

[MAJ RN]

Thanks to all of you for your replies. I am really going to try to get CR for him as this is what he really wants. I just did not want to overstep my boundries. This is such a gift!! I would like to see if we would be able to extend our stay at Disney on our own. We had originally planned to be at Disney in March, then my son was diagnosed with DMD and the medical bill started. So it would be nice if I can go for a few extra days so we have a wonderful Disney experience!! There is nowhere else where your troubles can melt away and everything seems perfect, in my opinion!!! Again thank you and if you have anything else to share please, I would love to hear it!!!


Thanks,
Melissa

 

[SueOKW]

We were able to extend out trip - paying for the rest of the car hire, (the car people allowed us to continue to use the excellent GKTW rate), and room. Since they were already paying for the return ticket it was not a big deal. (a few eyebrows were raised, but back then you only had 5 nights!)

Ask for the moon!

OH - does anyone know - it's the GKTW badge that the characters see and respond to - for those of you that did NOT stay at GKTW did you get any badge to wear?

sue

 

[roseprincess]

Hi SueOKW,
Re:badges. Since my family did not stay at GKTW, we did get Make-A-Wish buttons to wear. Our Wish granter gave all 4 of us the buttons and 2 children MAW t-shirts( for my dd and ds).
It seemed like we did get a little extra attention for wearing the MAW buttons during our trip.

 

[cuddlebugz]

I am learning so much from these post for our big WISH trip coming up in dec. I just spoke with my wish person and we were confirmed for dec. 2- 8 and well be staying at give kids the world village. As I get new info I well promise to pass it on to those that need it.. Thank-you all for such wonderful ideas and tips.

Tammi

 

[Anne MN]

If you go to GKTW website- and look under news- you will see that there are some special fewtures coming out soon.
NBC in Miami was filming when we were there, I hope it gets aired nationally!
the village is also being featured in a luxury homes and estate magazine- it is due out soom i think.

 

[SueOKW]

Be sure to take advantage of the people that work at GKTWwho can tell you about all the special things that can happen for you.

I was a big know it all and didn't talk to them, and I think I missed a few joys for my son.

I will also say at Universal you get awesome treatment as well.

A wish trip - no matter where you choose to stay - is SO special.

GKTW was super special because of the people that work there and stay there. I would go back there in a heartbeat if I could. I cried when we checked out - and I was told that is a common occurance.

ENJOY the moment - no matter where you are!