AmazingGrace
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- Joined
- Jan 1, 2004
- Messages
- 3,008
Friday, 2 July, we headed to New Orleans Airport to catch our flight. We flew on SouthWest Airlines, which was awesome, by the way. The Flight Attendants were really sweet to the kids, who were pinging off the wall with excitement at this point.
We landed in Orlando at about 11:AM EST, where we were greeted by a volunteer from Give Kids The World. This woman helped with everything, from getting our luggage, to getting our rental van from Avis, to giving us directions to the village. When we walked into the the terminal, and saw the GKTW sign with Benji's name on it...well, let's just say, it set the tone.
After finding the Village with no problem, we were greeted by more GKTW volunteers. The village itself was awesome. Our first stop was the House of Hearts welcome center, where the kids were presented with some fun surprises to welcome them. We sat through a briefing explaining what we could expect, and some of the different opportunities afforded by staying at the Village.
Our villa wasn't quite ready yet, so we headed over to the ice cream palace for some lunch. Friendly's Ice cream donates to the Ice cream Palace, which is staffed by yet more volunteers. The food was delicious. The atmosphere was that of a old time ice cream shoppe, with carousel horses and toy trains.
Our Villa was amazing. It was a two bedroom house with a full kitchen stocked with snacks and refreshments, and even more surprises for the kids. In the kid's room, there was a handicapped accessable shower with a jacuzzi tub! There was a washer dryer unit, and plenty of toiletries and thing that a family would need on vacation. There are 96 Villas. Each duplex is a different style and color. Ours had a southern plantation feel about it.
We decided to explore and take advantage of the pool at Claytonburg park of dreams. As if the pool wasn't fun enough, there was also an area with all kinds of fountains and sprinklers to run throug. There was also a stage to put on shows and just play.
Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. The folks at perkins sponsor the Gingerbread house restaurant. The restaurant itself was a sight to behold. When you walk in, the first thing you notice is a rack going all around the restaurant just filled with dolls, donated by families who had stayed there. (Mommie2Angels, I was able to find your doll right away. It was just where you said it would be. ) The tables were glass topped tables with starlight mints inside of them. I know I'm not explaining them right, it was so neat. The food was good, but the high light was a visit from the baloon lady, and mayor Clayton himself!!! Again, completely staffed by volunteers who were just waiting to carry trays, wipe up spills, and generally help the families.
After we ate, we found the Amberville train station, an arcade with a huge toy train, and all kinds of neat surprises for the kids.
The high light of the exploring was the Castle of Dreams. It really was the stuff that dreams are made of. It had a carousel, and when you went inside, it was truly magical. It looked like the inside of a castle. There was a cave with lights the looked like Pixie dust, and a dressup room, with all kinds of fun things for the kids to wear. On the Ceiling, there shining mirror stars. Each child signs the star, and leaves it in the basket, and the star fairy places the star on the ceiling.
I also attended orientation. We were given maps of the different Disney parks as well as tickets. We were given a Three day park hopper for Disney, a one day Park hopper for universal, and a one day pass to SeaWorld. We were also given the opportunity to go to Midieval Times, or another Dinner/show restaurant. The generosity was amazing. Thanks to the Dis, I was able to hold my own orientation with a few of the families about things like priority seating, fast pass, and park hopping. It's amazing how many people there are who've never heard of fast pass!!!
Everywhere we went in the village was magical, and whimsical. To see Benji's eyes light up with the knowledge that this was HIS wish, was totally precious and unforgettable!!!
Tomorrow, Epcot!!!!!!!
We landed in Orlando at about 11:AM EST, where we were greeted by a volunteer from Give Kids The World. This woman helped with everything, from getting our luggage, to getting our rental van from Avis, to giving us directions to the village. When we walked into the the terminal, and saw the GKTW sign with Benji's name on it...well, let's just say, it set the tone.
After finding the Village with no problem, we were greeted by more GKTW volunteers. The village itself was awesome. Our first stop was the House of Hearts welcome center, where the kids were presented with some fun surprises to welcome them. We sat through a briefing explaining what we could expect, and some of the different opportunities afforded by staying at the Village.
Our villa wasn't quite ready yet, so we headed over to the ice cream palace for some lunch. Friendly's Ice cream donates to the Ice cream Palace, which is staffed by yet more volunteers. The food was delicious. The atmosphere was that of a old time ice cream shoppe, with carousel horses and toy trains.
Our Villa was amazing. It was a two bedroom house with a full kitchen stocked with snacks and refreshments, and even more surprises for the kids. In the kid's room, there was a handicapped accessable shower with a jacuzzi tub! There was a washer dryer unit, and plenty of toiletries and thing that a family would need on vacation. There are 96 Villas. Each duplex is a different style and color. Ours had a southern plantation feel about it.
We decided to explore and take advantage of the pool at Claytonburg park of dreams. As if the pool wasn't fun enough, there was also an area with all kinds of fountains and sprinklers to run throug. There was also a stage to put on shows and just play.
Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. The folks at perkins sponsor the Gingerbread house restaurant. The restaurant itself was a sight to behold. When you walk in, the first thing you notice is a rack going all around the restaurant just filled with dolls, donated by families who had stayed there. (Mommie2Angels, I was able to find your doll right away. It was just where you said it would be. ) The tables were glass topped tables with starlight mints inside of them. I know I'm not explaining them right, it was so neat. The food was good, but the high light was a visit from the baloon lady, and mayor Clayton himself!!! Again, completely staffed by volunteers who were just waiting to carry trays, wipe up spills, and generally help the families.
After we ate, we found the Amberville train station, an arcade with a huge toy train, and all kinds of neat surprises for the kids.
The high light of the exploring was the Castle of Dreams. It really was the stuff that dreams are made of. It had a carousel, and when you went inside, it was truly magical. It looked like the inside of a castle. There was a cave with lights the looked like Pixie dust, and a dressup room, with all kinds of fun things for the kids to wear. On the Ceiling, there shining mirror stars. Each child signs the star, and leaves it in the basket, and the star fairy places the star on the ceiling.
I also attended orientation. We were given maps of the different Disney parks as well as tickets. We were given a Three day park hopper for Disney, a one day Park hopper for universal, and a one day pass to SeaWorld. We were also given the opportunity to go to Midieval Times, or another Dinner/show restaurant. The generosity was amazing. Thanks to the Dis, I was able to hold my own orientation with a few of the families about things like priority seating, fast pass, and park hopping. It's amazing how many people there are who've never heard of fast pass!!!
Everywhere we went in the village was magical, and whimsical. To see Benji's eyes light up with the knowledge that this was HIS wish, was totally precious and unforgettable!!!
Tomorrow, Epcot!!!!!!!
