We are back from Katie's MAW trip to Give Kids the World. We had an awesome time! We were concerned that Jake wouldn't tolerate it with the long drive and the crowds at Disney but he did great (mostly LOL). Very few meltdowns (mostly waiting at the Disney Christmas parade at Mickey's Big Christmas Party, he's not much for having patience) Katie did great too.
We stayed at
Give Kids the World, which if you've not heard of it, is just about the most awesomest place ever! LOL Seriously, if you are thinking of applying to Make A Wish, this is the wish you want! And if you are wanting a worthy place to donate to, please consider GKTW.
The houses are wheelchair accessible. They have a wheelchair accessible swimming pool and water play area. A merry-go-round with wheelchair tie downs. Accessible minigolf, train ride, playground (we could push Jake's wheelchair up and let him slide down to someone waiting for him). Horseback riding!!!! Free meals. And free ice cream all day long!!!!!!!!!!! Yes indeed, Mike and I both gained a bit of weight!! And I have a very "nice" picture of Megan downing her second package of dippin dots ice cream, as well as her surrounded by 2 bowls of ice cream and a milk shake a half hour later.... after the pool party cookout of hot dogs and hamburgers!! unfortunately, she also had a camera and has informed me that she has retaliation pictures of me should I decide to post the ones I have of her, so....
GKTW also have nightly parties. We had a Halloween party where the kids could dress up and trick or treat. A Christmas party. A birthday party. A pool party. Not sure what else there was as we were out late at Disney and universal a couple of night. There were costume characters from Disney and Universal in the mornings to meet the kids. They have nightly tuck ins from their own characters Mayor Clayton and Ms. Merry upon request. The kids also get gifts left for them at your house everyday. And when you leave you get a cd with all the pictures of your kids taken while you were there (they have photographers walking around during the parties, etc) And you also get a cd of pictures from Disney if you have your kids picture taken there with their characters. I think it usually costs $150, but you get it free.
My kids rode the merry-go-round there so many times I can't even count! And it was the first (and only) time they will ever ride a horse, which they really loved, especially Jake (Katie would have loved it too but she was having an off day and was having lots of absence seizures and was kinda spacey. She had 3 days like that. She still had fun, but the smiles were less frequent.
When you go to GKTW, you get tickets to the Disney parks (3 day passes), Universal (2 days), and SeaWorld (1 day). The kids really didn't care much for SeaWorld surprisingly. I thought they would like all the water but they weren't much for "shows". We didn't stay long there but were totally surprised (and HAPPY) to meet up with Elmo and friends on the way out. So I am glad we went. And I also got to touch a dolphin, so that was cool. Katie shoved her hand in a dolphins mouth while I was feeding it. Mike nearly had a panic attack at that! LOL
They both loved all of the rides. Of course Mike's back may never be the same from lifting Jake in and out of his chair into the rides so much. A lot of the rides did have wheelchair tie downs but we opted for transfer, but if we are ever able to go again to an amusement park, Jake will be too heavy. He's about 110 pounds right now. Megan and I rode everything with Katie and Mike rode with Jake. Katie LOVED LOVED LOVED the characters at Disney. No really... she LOVED them! she's a total Mickey Mouse fan now! In fact, the day after we got home, Mike took her to his dad's and she fell asleep in the van. When he stopped and open her door, she popped up and still half asleep started signing MOUSE and RIDE. I think she might have been dreaming about being at Disney!! LOL
So now we are planning on saving for a couple... (er several) years and go back to Disney. Of course it'll be nothing like being able to stay at GKTW! They made it so fun and easy. But I kow it'll be worth every dime to be able to take the kids back.
To all my sewing friends out there: if you are looking for an idea for sewing for a charity, Give Kids the World gives small pillows to every child and could use donations of pillowcases. I believe they have the info on their site, if not you can google Give Kids the World pillowcase pattern and it'll come up. I plan on sewing up a bunch and sending down to them myself.
I have WAY too many pictures to post. I'll post a few and then try to add a slide show.
