"I want to meet Mickey Mouse ."

 

Make A Wish provided our family with an all expense paid trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.  It was the most wonderful trip ever.  You may notice Bradley used a wheelchair in some of the photos but he was and still is ambulatory.  Make A Wish provided it so Bradley would not have to do a lot of walking which can be overly exerting on his muscles.

 

Our trip began with a prepaid overnight stay in the Best Western Camelot Inn.  The next morning before sunrise, we were driven to the airport by Cardinal Limo.  John was our driver.  We flew to Memphis and then to Orlando, Florida.  When we boarded the plane in Memphis, we got to go visit the pilots in the cockpit.  The kids thought this was really cool.  They got to wear the pilots' hats for the picture. 

 

We arrived at the airport in Orlando and the Make A Wish greeter was waiting for us and holding a big sign that said, "Give Kids the World welcomes Bradley Jones."  The greeter helped us get our luggage and led us to our free rental car.  He gave us directions to Give Kids the World.

 

As soon as we arrived at Give Kids the World Resort,  they gave the kids gifts and they gave us all that we would need to have a successful fun-filled week.  Afterward, we went to our villa (house).

 

We walked inside to find the table full of more gifts. In fact, every night, we'd come in from our busy day to find more gifts on the table. 

 

The little house had a full size refridgerator filled with soft drinks, milk and orange juice.  On top of that they had plenty of snacks for us to enjoy.

 

There was a washer and dryer in our villa with a fresh box of dryer sheets and laundry detergent.  The bathrooms had lots of toiletries that we would need.  The kids had a full size bathroom with a whirl pool bathtub. We also had a full size bathroom near our bedroom.

 

The bedrooms were really nice and comfortable.  We had a King size bed, lots of closet and drawer space, a TV and a telephone.  The kids shared a room with two twin sized beds.

 

There were so many things to do at Give Kids The World.  Every morning and every evening, we would have this huge buffet style breakfast and dinner meals.  Later in the evening, we go to the Ice Cream Palace where they would fix anything you desired without cost.

 

On most days, we'd have lunch at the theme parks.  We had free passes to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, MGM Studios, Sea World and Universal Studios.  We were able to go into a back entrance to be first in all the lines for rides, except for Sea World.  But at Sea World, the longest line was about an hour which was not bad at all. 

 

Make A Wish/Give Kids The World provided us with $740 in spending money and free film for our camera.  We also got free dinners at Hard Rock Cafe and Perkins Restaurant. 

 

Bradley turned 5 during our Orlando Stay.  Give Kids The World had a birthday cake waiting on the table that evening when we returned.  So we sang Happy Birthday to Bradley, let him blow out the candles and open presents.  Later that night, Major Clayton, the big Rabbit came to the villa to tuck the kids in and tell them good-night.

 

One of the really special things was to have Bradley's name and the year, 2002 put on a star which was placed on the ceiling of the Enchanted Forest house.  If we ever go back for a visit, we can once again look for Bradley's star on the ceiling.  And I hope we do get to go back someday for a visit.