Lydia's Make A Wish TR - 11/29-12/05 - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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My family will also be taking a MAW trip in the spring. Our daughter is almost finished with 2 years of treatment for leukemia.
I'll be praying for your daughter. I hope you all have a fabulous vacation. I'm sure it's well deserved and much anticipated! So sorry MAW wasn't able to come through with your every wish. We had several stumbling blocks with MAW along the way with our planning, but in the end everything was perfect.
I'll be praying for your daughter. I hope you all have a fabulous vacation. I'm sure it's well deserved and much anticipated! So sorry MAW wasn't able to come through with your every wish. We had several stumbling blocks with MAW along the way with our planning, but in the end everything was perfect.
Shelly
Thanks SHelly, it's great to know it was a fantastic trip. We actually got a call from Make-A-Wish today asking us to pick three dates as options for our trip and they should have it booked in about a week.
I can't wait to read about the rest of Lydia's trip and see more pictures of her having a great time.
What a wonderful start to your trip. Sounds like everyone is having a gret time at the MK - glad you were able to get the green light pass during your stay. What a great meeting between Ariel and Lydia, I saw her doll all dressed up like Ariel, I am sure that will be a special memory from that trip. Hope that the "big heads" do not keep you from your Chef Mickey dinner. Can't wait to hear all about your lunch at the castle.
Update later tonight, then I'm punching out until next week
I'll have an update posted later tonight.
I can't express enough how meaningful everyone's encouragement is to me! I've given Stacey directions on how to view this TR so that she can relive the magic and benefit from all your kind words. With 3 kids under 6 years old, she has her hands full trying to get ready for Christmas, but she looks forward to being able to sit down soon and catch up.
That being said, I'm going on TR writing hiatus until after Christmas. I have unwrapped gifts stacked to the ceiling (praise God for providing!) and 4 things left to buy. So after tonight's update, I hope to see you back next week.
A little background... When MAW came to Lydia’s home for the initial interview they asked her what she wished for in a Disney World vacation. Staying at Polynesian was one thing the family wanted, a fireworks cruise was another, and swimming with a dolphin was another. (Hey, they encouraged the family to dream big, so they did) MAW was not able to grant any of those. Another of the wishes was to eat at the castle and see all the princesses. Time was ticking and they still had not been able to get an ADR, so I started trying myself.
I LOVE the online reservation system. I was up there night and day looking for anything at CRT. About 2 weeks before our trip I was sitting in bed with my beloved MacBook searching in vain for anything, ANYTHING at CRT. I typed in my first choice of day and time and waited for the screen to change to “Sorry! There's no availability at the restaurant you requested. Below are offers for alternate restaurants.” I don’t know how many of you have experienced the rush of joy you feel when you finally find that impossible ADR, but that night at 1:00am I felt it too. Again, came the involuntary squeal. I could not believe we had THE day and time we wanted! I kept re-reading everything on the confirmation page to be sure it was real. When, finally, I was convinced, I transferred the confirmation number to my Passporter and tried to sleep.
Join me, if you will, back at Day 2 – Lunch at CRT… I had dined at CRT on a previous trip and it was so magical, so I knew Lydia would love it. As requested, we arrived 15 minutes early to check in and we were told that they cannot check us in any earlier than 15 minutes. So, apparently there is a 60 second window that is acceptable to check in. The lady at the desk seemed to be having a bad day so I did my best to shield her foul attitude from the rest of our group. When it was time to see Cinderella and have photos taken, we were rushed through by the CM’s. Not one smile or kind word – very unmagical. I didn’t have the opportunity to take photos or get an autograph, but I knew we would see Cinderella later in our trip so no worries.
Up the curly stairs and to our table. We were seated at a window which was a treat! Our food came fast and the meal was great. We were one of the first tables each of the princesses stopped at when they came out.
I think this is when Lydia learned the art of “proficient character greeting techniques” (PCGT). When practicing PCGT, you must first sense that the character is coming your way and your turn is near. Time your bites of food correctly, so as not to have a mouth full of pizza when he/she arrives. Autograph book needs to be open to the correct page for signing and your pen must be ready for him/her to use. As soon as he/she signs, you give a big hug then pose for pictures. After pictures, you give another hug and promptly return back to your meal. Let me tell you, she is PCGT certified!
By the time we left CRT, it was around 2pm, which is rest-time at their house. They headed back to the resort for a quick nap to keep the good moods flowing. I couldn’t stand the thought of being at WDW and resting, so I took a trip around the resort monorail to see all the Christmas decorations. This was my first solo touring experience and I can see why some of you love it so much. I had a blast! And look who I ran in to at GF (and just wait until you see who I run in to on day 6!):
Yes, it’s the teddy bear lady. I sat and talked to her a few minutes and I could tell she loved sharing her story. She showed me her bears, but never explained why she carries them around. I didn’t want to risk sounding derogatory, so I never asked. Before heading on my way, asked if I could take her photograph since I knew my fellow Passporters adore her and would love to see that she's doing well. She obliged. She was just darling to talk with and looking back, I wish I had spent more time with her. Before heading back to our resort, I picked up a gingerbread shingle. Either I don’t like gingerbread or that was one of the pieces they made in June.
When I arrived back to our room, everyone was just waking from their nap and not long after, we heading back to MK. The main objective was to catch the Castle Lighting Ceremony. That was the only night we had available to see it and it was something I didn’t want them to miss. I watched it on Youtube ahead of time in an attempt to get the boo-hoo’s out so that I could concentrate on picture taking and watching the kids during the live show. To no avail… Tears welled up once again. So sorry I cannot report Lydia’s reaction. I was sucked in to the magic. Absolutely breathtaking!
We headed back to the monorail. Lydia, Luke and I got off at CR while Willie and Stacey traveled around to GF for a date night at Citrico’s. Stacey reported that the meal was nice and they were able to catch the fireworks during dinner! Perfection! I took Lydia and Luke shopping downstairs, then we had dinner at Contempo Café. Good times, good times…
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