Horses, Disney Rides, Parades, Shows, Swimming, and Ice Cream....oh my!

Wednesday, May 5 (DAY 2 GKTW)...

Our house was right across the street from Keaton's Korral (and in our backyard was Matthew's Boundless Playground!).

You may have noticed all the venues at Give Kids the World are named after children.  This is also true of the street names.  Henri Landwirth decided early on that logos, advertising, and company recognition would not be a part of the work done here.  There is a sign on the wall in the main building with the primary donors listed, but that is all.  He wants people to give from the heart and God's leading, never for recognition or personal profit.  All the names used in the village honor children who have passed away and will always have a special place here.  Their short lives mattered.  As Henri says, "It is the children that most deserve our admiration, our respect, and our hard work."

Twice a week horses and ponies visit the village to do horseback and carriage rides.  The kids were so excited to see the horses and Carter was ready to give riding a try. He was so proud of himself at the end...

All the kids are then presented with a certificate and cowboy hat after their ride...

Julia decided to just hang out in Peyton's Pony Corral and watch this time.  The ponies were so sweet.  They are all rescued from abusive homes and are now being reacclimated to be petting animals.

After breakfast we were ready to start the day.  The local attractions in Orlando have long been supporters of Give Kids the World.  Disney and Sea World were both founding members of the organization.  Every family that arrives at GKTW, regardless of their child's wish is given 3-day Disney passes, 2-day Universal passes, and a day at Sea World (and free parking).  For the children with disabilities and limitations there are often unique transportation needs.  Very early in the founding of GKTW, MEARS transportation agreed to offer all necessary assistance for these families.  They find ways, whatever it may take, to make it work and give them the door to door service they need.  Dozens of other tickets are available as requested by the wish child.  This was a complete surprise to us.

We decided to spend our first day out at Disney Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM).

Our first ride was the new park favorite- Toy Story Mania.  You walk through the doors and instantly become a toy in Andy's room- so cute! 

Another amazing gift by Disney is special passes for all the GKTW children.  We were given tags to where that allowed us to enter the Fastpass lane of any ride or show.  They want them to experience as much as possible without any added stresses. 

 

This in itself is an absolute treasure! The wait times at Disney start at 70min and often Fastpasses are gone for the day within the first few hours the park is open.  We reminded the kids what a special treat this was for GKTW children.  Julia thought for a moment and said, "I get to go in the short line because I was so brave for all my chemo."  Such a wise soul :)

The ride was incredible.  They really did a great job with this one.  You ride in cars with little pull string blasters.  You wear 3D glasses and the ride takes you to a series of computer screens with different midway games (water balloons, ring toss, hit the plates, etc.)  All the games are fully computer animated.  The cool part is the game is designed to adjust to the skill level of every player so you are actually competing against your younger children at an equal level.

We all had a blast and squealed and cheered through the whole game.  The amazing part? We were able to go back through the line and ride it 5 times in a row!! Once in a lifetime memories!

We then headed over to see the Playhouse Disney show.  These are really the only Disney characters our kids know (aside from Cars).

The show was adorable.  It was completely interactive and included all the kids favorite shows...

We were all singing and dancing along in no time! It's always funny to me how well the parents know the words even though most of us only hear it in the background at home  :)

I have to admit I got teary when the Little Einsteins' theme song started.  This was Julia's primary coping mechanism and pain relief this past year.  We watched their DVDs in the PICU, in the car for every drive to the hospital, during hospital stays, and in the middle of the night when the pain kept her awake.  As soon as I hear he music I feel such a flood of emotions and memories, but also tremendous gratitude for the comfort it brought to Julia.  Being there was such a full circle moment for us.  God has brought her so far in just a year's time.

 
We headed over to the Toy Story Pizza Planet for some yummy lunch.  I have to say the Disney parks do a great job with food in all their parks.  The Pizza Planet salads included fresh herbs, mozzarella balls, peas, cantaloupe- such variety, yum!

After lunch the kids met two favorites... Lightning and Mater! 

Disney also gives every wish family a Photopass which electronically gathers all the photos taken in all of their parks.  They then send us a free CD with all our pictures.  Such a perfect gift! Thank you Disney for the priceless memories!

By now the heat was really setting in.  It turned out to be an abnormally hot week in Florida.  The temps were in the upper 90s- hazy, hot, and humid every day.  We limited our time at the parks to a few hours each day and had lots of cool refreshments.  Julia was intrigued by the Muppets' fountain.  We spent a long time just hanging out with our toes in the water, something I will remember always :)

Later, while Julia and I checked out the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground...

Daddy took Carter to see the Light, Motor, Action Extreme Stunt Show...

Carter was in complete awe.  They showed how movie stunts are shot and staged complete with jumps, chases, tricks, fire, and explosions.  It was a little boy's (and big boy's!) playground :)  As soon as he came out, Carter launched into a complete recap.  He talked about it almost nonstop for the next 48hrs!

After one more spin on the Toy Story ride, we stopped to see the Pixar Block Party parade on the way out.  The kids had no idea what to expect and it was tough to explain, so we just waited to let them see for themselves.  As soon as the first float appeared they were on the edge of their seats.

The party music started and the Toy Story soldier voices came across the speakers.  Turns out they run this block party.

 With the first, "Calling all you recruits out there!", Carter was completely hooked and took it very seriously.  When they told him to get up and dance, well you better believe it he did...

Gotta love this kid!

By now we were all ready to head "home" to rest and cool off in the pool.  They've done such a beautiful job with the pool and the new splash bad and beach hut...

The pools and parties were a great place to get to know some of the other families in the village.  At any given time there are 150-200 families being hosted (some are housed at nearby hotels due to space limitations on site).  It is truly an international community.  In just the first two days we met Scots, Aussies, Brits, Mexicans, Dutch, and Canadians! During their stay the village flies the national flags of all the countries represented to make them feel welcome.  GKTW works very hard to bridge any language barriers.  The families that do not speak English are offered translators for the duration of their stay, courtesy of Epcot- amazing.

GKTW has quickly discovered that nationality and language are not stumbling blocks, only unique differences between us.  Love and joy are universal languages that need no translating.  A smile is always a smile.  Henri shares this story...

"In no instance was this more clearly demonstrated than the day an Israeli and Palestinian family arrived together.  A hospice from each country had contacted the village to bring in two families simultaneously... The families arrived together and the first day stayed pretty much to themselves.  The next day they began spending time together.  By the time their vacation was over they had become best friends.  Hate was transformed into love.  Their children suffered the same.  They cried the same and fought the same enemy of disease... Through them a cultural divide dating back centuries, began to narrow."

God was using a devastatingly hard situation to transform individual hearts, thousands of miles from their homes.  We can only imagine the ripple effects of this friendship formed in suffering.  We will never understand the ways God works and the complexities of His plan, but we can fully trust that He works ALL things together for His glory and good.  This place is truly hallowed ground. 

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After grabbing some dinner, we all took baths and got in our jammies.  The best part? Heading to the Ice Cream Palace for some dessert before bed!

This place is every kid's dream.  Another neat feature... all the tables and chairs are child size.  Adults still fit comfortably, but at GKTW kids come first.

Sweet dreams everyone!