Planning a very special celebration! Any help appreciated!

[racechick79]

I am new to this forum, so I'm hoping that I'm posting this in the right place!

We are in the beginning stages of planning a Disney trip for the end of February 2016. This is going to be for a very special celebration! My son, Isaac, was diagnosed with leukemia when he was only 17 months old, back in 2012. He has been enduring treatment for over 2 years now and will continue treatment until January of 2016. He will only be 4 years old but will be a cancer survivor! He will have surgery to remove his port in January which is why we want to wait a month to give his body time to recover; and also to give his immune system a little time off of treatment to bounce back a bit!

We have another son that will be 6 at the time of the trip and a daughter that will be 2. We have a number of family members that will be making the trip with us. In total we will have 4 families (8 adults and 7 children).

I have a few key questions. We want to make this as special of a trip as possible. All three of our children deserve to have the time of their lives after what they have endured! But we are on a tight budget. So we are looking for suggestions on how to have the best time, best place to stay, etc - while still being cost conscious!

And then I'm just wondering if there are special things that anybody could suggest that would make the trip extra special, at least for our immediate family (we are trying to plan the trip with the big group, but for the most part each family will kind of be on their own most days). Are there things that we could do for him being a cancer survivor that are kind of above and beyond what normal WDW families do?

And the last thing. We have some extended family that lives in Florida that would like to meet up with us for a dinner and possibly the fireworks while we are there - to celebrate this special time in Isaac's life with him. We may have upwards of 20-30 people at that point. Does anybody know if there is somewhere we could have such a large group for eating and watching the Fireworks some night?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[BigRedDad]

I'll try to answer this in pieces. But first, congratulations on the recovery!!!

Cost: Timing can be key here. If you are partially flexible with your dates, you may be in great shape. There is a 1 week period at the end of February that is sandwiched between big holidays that keeps the cost down. It is after President's weeked, hopefully after Mardi Gras, and before Spring Break season. We were there once at this very week. The weather is excellent, crowds relatively low, and good rates.

How much you can save depends greatly on a number of factors. Are you driving? Flying? Willing to stay offsite? Assuming you are flying and want to stay on-site, staying at a Value resort will be the most cost effective. The added benefit is the theming is over the top and kids love it. You have a total of 5 in your immediate family and that poses a problem though. Value resorts require you to be in a Suite which more than doubles the price. Depending on how the families fill each of their rooms, adding your 2yo to one of the rooms with 3 or less people is perfectly fine.

There are other options as well and can be very beneficial. You can look for people that are renting their DVC points. You can sometimes (almost all of the time for me) get a 1 Bedroom Villa for the same price or slightly more than a Value room. There is some risk because you have zero control over the reservation itself until you check-in. You can add dining reservations, fastpasses, etc like normal. It is just that the DVC owner could cancel it and you have no recourse in that matter. If you want to look offsite, assuming you have a car, I cannot say anything more positive about Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Gorgeous resort, less than 5 minutes away from Pop Century, Art of Animation, and Boardwalk. You can get 2, 3, or 4BR units for a good price shopping around from owners. We had a 2BR Deluxe unit in December for $500 for 7 nights. There are a whole set of other things you need to take into consideration if you go this route though, allbeit minor.

Dining: This is a little more tricky with a group of that size. All restaurants can accommodate it, but it is not easy to get it done. Calling Disney Dining may be the easiest way.

Special things and fireworks: You can easily find a place for everyone to be to see the fireworks. However, dining during them with that many people may be tough. You will need to get more guidance from others on that. As for special things to do, it all depends on how much you want to spend and what he enjoys. He may like the Pirate dressup place that does makeup and costumes. My daughter loves getting her hair wrapped. I think being there will be special enough. I know you probably want to do as much as possible, I know I do for my daughter, but budgets eventually come in to play. Something that is free is Sorcerors of the Magic Kingdom. It is a free card game with neat ways to explore the park.

 

[Figgy1]

Congrats on your ds being a survivor! Have all the kids wear birthday buttons, they'll get at least a few happy birthdays from the CMs. If money is really tight might I suggest renting a condo off property, you might just save enough to add a day or 2 to your visit. Or even better if you time things right you might just get free dining. If you can swing eating at Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace try and do so as character meals are so much fun. If any of your children like Star Wars try and sign them up for Jedi training academy in DHS, do this first thing in the morning and the child(ren) must be with you to sign up. Last but maybe the most important get a copy of the Unofficial Guide to Disney!!!!!!!! It will answer soooooo many of your questions. Good luck and have a magical time!

 

[racechick79]

Thanks for the reply BigRedDad! So much great information and gave me stuff to think about. Just for clarification - you had a 2BR Deluxe for $500 for the entire 7 days? We were thinking about 2, 2 bedroom villas to accommodate our 4 families….but most of them are a few hundred dollars a night on site. If we could find something like you mentioned for that price - we would all be able to save enough to rent cars!!!

Thank you for replying figmentfan423! I will definitely be looking into the jedi training - our oldest is getting into Star Wars- so that might be perfect!

 

[Figgy1]

Last trip we found a 4br condo for $99 a night off sight it slept 8 if that helps

 

[Disney4family]

Congratulations on your wonderful news!

The kids can color a Duffy or Perry in Epcot at the Kidcot Fun Stops for free. Cast Members will stamp the sticks with a Mickey from each country. They'll also write their names in Chinese and Arabic on them. You could also purchase a small passport kit for them. Cast Members will write a welcome to them in their language. Kids will enjoy decorating them with stickers.

They have great ideas and tips on www.allearsnet.com - First Timer Primer, "Mini-mizing" Costs, For Families, Activities for School-Ages Children, Birthday Ideas, etc. They mentioned Chip and Dale's Campfire Sing-Along as free. Check out Disney's site to see if that's still true.

Bring your own strollers from home to save on rentals. You also have them for your travel and resorts. Do purchase the stroller rain covers. They are see-through and have vents for the kids.

Call and let Disney know all the wonderful things you are celebrating. Their pixie dust is quite magical and I'm sure they will give you many special moments while you're there.

Congrats again and God bless!

 

[BigRedDad]

The 2BR was at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. You can look for deals on that resort on eBay, VRBO, and other sites. On site will be 4 times that at a minimum. That last week of February is a value season most of the time. You just have to search for good deals.

Something else to consider is to rent a house. You can get a 5BR house with pool, sometimes a game room, and just minutes from WDW. You can find them for $1,200 - $2,000 and it would accommodate your entire group.

 

[DisneyJoe]

You have a total of 5 in your immediate family and that poses a problem though. Value resorts require you to be in a Suite which more than doubles the price. Depending on how the families fill each of their rooms, adding your 2yo to one of the rooms with 3 or less people is perfectly fine.

Value resorts can sleep 4 plus a child UNDER the age of 3 in a crib in a single room without needing a suite.

 

[PinnySmart]

Congratulations to your son! I am an oncology practitioners so I know what an awesome thing you will be celebrating! God Bless you all and have a magical time!

 

[JillC LI]

Congratulations!
Others have given excellent tips already. I'll just add that if you stay on Disney property, you can ask at check-in for an "I'm Celebrating" pin for your DS to wear. When asked what he is celebrating, you can reply "Being cancer free!" While it may not bring any extra perks (although it might), it will likely at least bring extra attention to his celebration. If you are staying off property, you can ask for the pin at Guest Services near the entrance to any park.

 

[Britt]

Sooooooo happy to hear about his recovery! WOW! <3

Bumping this thread for more ideas for you!

 

[Disneykings]

Thats such an amazing thing to do for your family after what must have been a horrible few years. I strongly recommed contacting disney and telling them. We are new to WDW so not sure how it works in america yet, but as regular Paris visitors I contacted DLP regarding my daughter finally getting the all clear when she was 4. I wont go into detail as it was all private and behind the scenes but she got the full royal princess treatment. It still remains our Disney highlight and makes me cry when I think about it. Then when we visited the following year, they suprised her again with a smaller but equally lovely experience. My daughter is 8 this year and we have booked our first WDW trip. Including dolphin swim etc. Each year feels like a milestone and each year we aim to make it better than the last. No idea how we will ever top first USA trip though!!

Good luck for the future and have an amazing trip.

 

[iluvMainStMagic]

..... If any of your children like Star Wars try and sign them up for Jedi training academy in DHS, do this first thing in the morning and the child(ren) must be with you to sign up......

Just something to be aware of if you decide to try for the Jedi Training - it's Very popular and they only take a limited number of kids for each show during the day. Because of this, if it's important to you, everything I've read always recommends getting to DHS at opening and heading straight to the Jedi Training sign-ups First Thing. If you are there at a less crowded time, it may help, but with the limited # they can take for this (vs the typical demand), I would still head there asap that morning.
So happy for you and your family - Congratulations!! & what a great way to celebrate!

 

[TXDisney]

Hoping for a great recovery for your son 1st and foremost.

As for the trip it will be pricey with that many people. Sounds like all your kids are at the age they'll love disney which is great. Little things like meet and greets with characters will make their day as well as maybe doing the face painting for your son to look like a pirate. Dining will be tough for you with that big of a group. Either do a lot of qs meals or start planning ADR as soon as you can. Good luck and hope you have fun!!!