Magical Places

Let me tell you about 2 magical places here in Florida. I live about 1 hour and 20 minutes from Orlando, the home of Disney, Universal, not far from Legoland and so much more. For many of our kids, these parks are merely a dream because of the difficulty and expense a trip like this would cause but there is a way for them and their families to experience the dream!.

I have been made aware of 2 awesome, magical places in Orlando that are there strictly to make sure our kids have a time they only dreamed about. The first is called Sunshine Foundation's Dream Village. Here amongst the hustle and bustle of the city is a place where our special kids and their families can come to spend a week going to theme parks and, at each day's end, they will come back to one of nine villas, designed to accommodate the entire immediately family right on the Dream Village property. These invitations are "all expenses paid" vacations and the answer to dreams of Mickey and Minnie, hot dogs and cotton candy and all things magical. The limitations are listed on the web site, Sunshine Dream Village is only available to those from somewhere in the USA. If you are interested here is the web site where you can get further information


The other place is actually in Kissemmee, Florida, a hop, skip and a jump to Disney and all the attractions in Orlando. It is called, Give Kids The World. When checking out the website, make sure to check out the story of how this awesome place began.


My husband, daughter (who has CP) and I are volunteers there. We had to go through a background check and, 2 hours of informational training. GKTW has 70 villas on premises, it accepts families from all over the world and pays all expenses, including: plane tickets, rental cars, all housing expenses one of the 70 - 6 person villas, assuring that the entire family will be able to enjoy this respite from therapies, sickness and simply have the chance to enjoy being a family together. The premises are truly magical. I can't remember it all but, there is a train that goes around the village, a pool, a pirate ship, castle, 2 restaurants, a cookie truck that goes around giving out cookies, many times there is special entertainment, a theater and so much more...and, most important, ice cream anytime you want it, even for breakfast...and a snoring tree!! Accessible buses pick the guests up and bring them to the park of their choice. In the late afternoon or evening, the guests return to GKTW from their day of fun upon their return, GKTW keeps everyone busy with special entertainment and fun things to do. There is even one designated evening which is called Parents Night Out, the volunteers provide a fun evening for the kids so that the parents can enjoy some very much needed quiet time usually GKTW provides discounts or gift cards for free dinners in Orlando.


No one can apply directly to GKTW for a visit, you must apply through and be recommended by one of the many agencies that works with GKTW, such as, Make-A-Wish or Dream Foundation. In total, applications are accepted from over 70 agencies both here and abroad. If you need to find one of the agencies, contact GKTW and they will lead you to the connection.


Please look at this information and give your child a dream to enjoy and, your family the chance to spend time together without having to be on schedule, going to doctor's appointments or brace fittings. A chance to be like every other family on a vacation together.

When I had my orientation to be a volunteer, our trainer said, "Welcome to GKTW, this is a place where you leave all your troubles outside the gate and it is your choice if you want to pick them up on the way out or remember the time you spend here and it will change your life!" That statement was meant for the volunteers and, also for the guest families.