Make-a-Wish Trip, Day 1

Day 1

Exhaustion. Pure exhaustion, and the trip is just beginning. Hopefully, we will be efficient sleepers, so that we can be ready for the next few days…

We started off this morning at 4:30, getting ready to be picked up by a limousine, which was a first for all of us. The driver was very kind, and gave us the first of many thrills for the day. We were met at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport by a Make-a-Wish volunteer named Martha. She escorted us through check-in and security, and waited with us a while at the terminal.

When we boarded the plane, Ian was allowed to sit in the cockpit for a few minutes and work the controls.

We had an uneventful flight (the best kind), and arrived at Orlando to 70 degrees and lots of sun. We were met there by a volunteer from Give Kids the World (the name of the complex where we are staying) named Helen. Helen took us through the baggage claim to the car rental.

Half an hour later, we pulled into Give Kids the World. This place is amazing. It’s perhaps the most kid-friendly place I’ve ever seen (and, yes, I realize that how close we are to Walt Disney World). Within minutes of arriving, Ian was given a stuffed Mickey Mouse, and that wasn’t the last gift he received. We ate a quick lunch (with ice cream), checked in and then explored the village.

After supper at The Gingerbread House (an on-site restaurant), it was Christmas. Every kid got an age-appropriate present; Ian chose a Sorry game.

Click here for pictures of the trip. Click on a thumbnail to enlarge it, or just view the slideshow.

Tomorrow, we hit Disney Hollywood…