Our adventure started in December, 2003, when my eight-year-old son “Patrick” brought an assignment home from school to “make the world a better place”. One of Patrick’s kindergarten friends died from leukemia in 2001, two weeks after our neighbor’s 12-year-old daughter was also diagnosed. In their honor we wanted to do something to help, but what? A little web surfing led me to GKTW . A quick call to them told us that they were in need of 35mm film. In many cases, time is short and arrangements are made with as little as 24-hours notice. Things like film are often forgotten in the rush to get there. We now had our mission.
Suddenly, I was seeing GKTW everywhere. Commercials I had never noticed before (one with Natalie Merchant singing “These are Days”), magazine articles, etc. I learned the resort was founded by Henri Landwirth, a holocaust survivor and hotel owner who started building the resort in 1989. Working with more than 300 wish granting charities, the 51-acre resort has hosted over 60,000 families from all 50 states and 50 foreign countries. (Did you know that 1 in 4 “wish trips” are to the Orlando area?) It sure sounded cool, but we had to see for ourselves. Our 10-year-old friend “Josh” joined the project, and the boys collected over 300 rolls of film and single-use cameras. Finally, the day came to deliver.
On April 6, 2004, Patrick, Josh and I started off at 8AM from my house in Largo. (That’s in Pinellas county, the little hangy-downy piece on the west coast of Florida.) Surprisingly, we breezed through Tampa traffic and things went well on I-4 until just outside Baseball City. That’s where we hit gridlock that set us back an hour. We arrived at GKTW at 11AM on the dot.
Now, some of you may be wondering, “Just how depressing is this trip going to be?” I understand, I worried about that myself. Let me assure you, it wasn’t like that at all. As a matter of fact, I’ve never seen a place where everyone was enjoying themselves so much. The staff (60 paid employees) and volunteers (there are 3500 in their database) were warm and friendly, and not in a “freaky, Stepford-like Disney store employee” way, either. They are the real deal, very genuine. Everyone we saw at the resort smiled and said “Hello”. It’s just that kind of place. I won’t say that there weren’t times when I felt a little lump in my throat, but it was mostly upbeat.
The Tour…
After checking in at the security gate, we were directed to the House of Hearts Welcome Center. This is where guests check in and are assigned a guide to show them around. It looked similar to the lobbies at other family-friendly resorts, with a TV in one corner (showing “Shrek”) and various play tables. There was an “Easter egg” tree decorated in the corner and several kids just hanging out. We turned in the film and were then greeted by our guide “Elissa”. The tour was on…
Amberville Train Station
Adorned on the outside by giraffes, a tin soldier and a lion, the train station is the home to the GKTW arcade. On the day we visited, the pool table was being recovered , so some of the games were closed off. I did notice a nice collection of old & newer games including Pac man, skeeball and one of those ride-on motorcycle games. The model train display is set up in another room (the biggest I’ve ever seen). It’s all interactive and as a tribute to Central Florida weather, a rain storm hits every afternoon, dropping mist on the train village. Pretty cool, huh? There’s a nautical-themed room that houses the controls for the remote controlled boats outside and a small ride-on train circling the building.
Marc’s Dino-putt Mini Golf
Next, we hit the golf course. Named for one of their former guests and child ambassadors, the 7-hole mini-golf has a dinosaur theme and does something special at each hole. From dilophosaur spit to the mist cave, it’s definitely cute, well-themed and fun.
Family Villas
Now it was time to check out the digs. There are 96 units at the resort, all set up like duplexes. Each has two bedrooms, two baths and a kitchenette. There is a whirlpool tub, a wheelchair accessible shower, a fridge stocked with snacks and a washer and dryer in every unit. It will sleep seven comfortably, but if a family has more members, they will get both sides of the duplex and open an adjoining door. Whatever it takes to make them comfortable.
Mandy’s Happy Harbor Friend Ship
Located toward the back of the resort, the ship is a permanent fixture on the stocked lake and serves as a place to relax and do a little fishing. The lake is also home to the world’s friendliest ducks, which came running to us the minute they saw us. Elissa claims that the ducks are so friendly, they have been known to sit on people’s laps. I would have liked to seen that.
Claytonburg Park of Dreams
Moving on, we stopped at the main pool and water park. I know from personal experience that the pool is the most important part of any resort, and this one truly shines. With a wheelchair ramp running INTO the pool along one side, all kids have the opportunity to enjoy it. There’s a water playground (which is turned off when not in use to conserve water) and an amphitheater which hosts a pool party every Monday evening. There is also a smaller pool nestled in the middle of the villas for those looking for a little peace and quiet.
Gingerbread House
This is the dining hall, which provides breakfast and dinner each day. Breakfast is a buffet offering typical morning fare, but the dinner menu theme changes day to day. All food is provided by Perkins restaurant, one of the major contributors to the resort. The tables and chairs are all kid-sized and the inside is decorated with the favorite dolls and toys of past guests which, according to Elissa, are sent by the parents “afterward“. (Lump in throat moment.) Elissa also pointed out that they recently added a new dining room to the gingerbread house in the form of… a cupcake, what else?
Castle of Miracles
Once the dining room and theater, this building is now a play area with massive amounts of Legos, puppets and toys. There is a wheelchair accessible carousel (under a mushroom cap roof), Ol’ Elmer the animatronic tree, and a magical wishing well. Each “wish” kid gets to personalize a star, which is mounted on the ceiling by “fairies” later that night. According to Elissa, this is the only time that the “wish” kid is singled out from their siblings. She also said that parents have come back “afterward” (that horrid A-word again) just to search the “sky” for their child’s star.
Ice Cream Palace
Now we hit the place the boys had been looking forward to most of all! With it’s bananas, cones and ice cream bowl booths, the theme on the outside of this building certainly conveys what’s going on inside. Unlimited, free, all you can eat ICE CREAM!!! Serving Friendly’s brand ice cream (a division of Perkins), anything is available here. Sundaes, floats, banana splits, you name it, you got it. They also have submarine sandwiches for those wanting a meal. (Usually, the guests have lunch in the theme parks, but just in case they stay back, lunch is provided here.) For quality control purposes, Elissa insisted the boys try something, so Josh had a vanilla milkshake with whipped cream and a cherry and Patrick had a cup of chocolate ice cream (he’s a purist, no cone, no toppings).
Julie’s Safari Theater
The theater was our next stop, but it’s is only open at night, so we couldn’t go in. Elissa told us that they show cartoons and classic family movies, as well as important sporting events, like the Super Bowl. It seats 100+ people, with special accommodations for those that need it, and offers movie theater-type snacks.
Chapel
The final stop was the chapel. Although “fun is a full-time endeavor” at GKTW, sometimes family members need a quiet place for solitude and reflection. The non-denominational chapel is just the place. There are four stained glass windows, each depicting a season and emblazoned with one of four words that mean everything to the families that visit: faith, hope, love and peace. The resort also has connections with area churches so that if a guest feels the need to speak with a member of their faith, it can be done at any time, regardless of their religious belief.
We ended the tour back at the House of Hearts. At this point, Elissa cut us loose to walk around and enjoy the facility. The boys hit the arcade first, but spent more time driving the boats than anything else. We walked through the golf course, pushing all the buttons to see what would happen. (We also met some really nice young men who were spending their spring break volunteering here.) After snapping some pictures, we left . We were at GKTW for less than 2 hours, but looking back, it seemed so much longer (in a good way). I can only image how awesome 6 days would be.
Just a few other things that I would like you to know about a trip to Give Kids the World: the transportation is arranged through the wish-granting charities, which pays for airline tickets and rental cars. Disney provides 3-day passes for all family members, Universal and Sea World each give a 1-day pass. The staff and volunteers are dedicated to doing everything they can to see that every want, wish, or need is met.
Downtown Disney
Lunch at The Rainforest Café, a short visit to the toy store, and an hour outside the Lego Store watching kids beg, borrow and steal to get their hands on Lego wheels. After spending the morning at GKTW, nothing here seemed too impressive. Besides, this report is long enough. (I did have to smirk a little, though, when I saw the parents lining up to pay $2 a pop for their kids to ride the mini-train and carousel.)
To see pictures of our trip, go to http://photos.yahoo.com/debw_davis and click on the “gktw” book. To visit Give Kids the World’s website go to www.gktw.org.
