Today is my first day back at work.
We had an absolutely WONDERFUL time in Orlando. We did some geocaching, attended the pirates dinner theater, and spent 6 days visiting Sea World, Universal Studios , Islands of Adventure, and all 4 Disney parks. Man, did our feet ever hurt!
I was SO impressed at how well GKTW children were treated at these parks. We never had to wait in a line longer than 5 minutes. On many of the rides we took shortcuts directly to the front of the line. We got to go behind Pirates of the Caribbean and in the elevator in The Hulk!
Often, we were allowed to ride twice in a row. We even got to go directly to the front of the lines for character meets.
The best thing I’ve seen in a long time occurred at one of those meets.
We were going to see Ariel and there was another GKTW family there at the time. They came in a different route, but I told them they could go first since it looked like they had been there first. Their little girl had some growth stunting and severe facial disfigurement.
When she went up to see Ariel, Ariel treated her like she was the most beautiful child in the world. She hugged and kissed her and made her the center of attention. She never once shied away from her, as most people probably have. There was sincere love in that little room. Ariel made this girl out to be a true princess. I don’t think she even saw the outside of this little girl. She only saw the inside and THAT was what made it so special.
I know there is lots of criticism of Disney as a corporation but this single event made me appreciate the Disney organization. If an actress can stop acting and live the love she’s showing, then Disney must be doing something right. I wish I had some way to express my appreciation to this young lady playing Ariel for the gift she gave that little girl.
I only hope that I can show that kind of unconditional love to people that I encounter in my daily life. If I can, then I will have learned a great lesson from a cartoon character.
GKTW was an amazing place. Such love there. All of the volunteers were great. There were young and old. Retired people and those who obviously just got off their shift at their regular jobs. I especially appreciated the paramedics that were there. For some reason, they made the biggest impression on me.
I also appreciated the younger people that were there. Late teens, at the most. There was one young woman, in particular, that we saw several times at different places. What a giving soul she was.
We went to Florida so Allie could have breakfast with Cinderella, but as it turned out, she was not at the breakfast. Our worst fear was a reality. Allie was obviously disappointed. On Friday, though, we headed to Magic Kingdom to search her out. No matter what, we were going to find her, even if it meant waiting for several hours in line. We asked at the front gate where we would find her, and headed to where she was. Along the way we spotted Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. We hopped in line to get their autographs. We were half way through the line when an employee saw us and immediately came over and chastised us. “You don’t need to wait in line” she said. Our GKTW button, it seems, allowed us to go to the front of any character meet line.
We had a nice chat with this lady, and after getting autographs and pictures, headed over to Cinderella. We were whisked to the front of the line this time, now that we knew the secret.
As soon as Allie saw Cinderella, her disappointment from the day before was easily forgotten. She finally met Cinderella, got her autograph and lots of hugs. Then Lizard met her and next was Torrie. I’m not sure what Torrie said to her, but somehow Allie was back with Cinderella. They exchanged more hugs and talked a bit more. Again, it was like they were the only two people in the world.
Later that night, we watched the parade where everything was lit up. When Cinderella came by, she noticed Allie..gave her a special smile and a wave of recognition. Even hours later she still remembered Allie.
That was our longest day at the parks, but that last part made it all worth it.