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Scott Fox & The Z103.5 Morning Show
DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT
Last Thursday I had the honour of representing Z103.5 on a 1 day trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando for the group called Dreams Take Flight.
Dreams Take Flight is an organization of volunteers who try to make a Disney dream come true for some very special kids. These are kids who have had to face unbelievable circumstances surrounding their young lives. Some of the things these kids have to endure range from mental or physical illness to horrific home lives and in some cases, terminal illness.
So, the goal of the Dreams Take Flight team is to take these kids on a one day trip to Walt Disney World where they have an entire day that is completely and totally, all about them.
This year’s trip was special as it was the 20th anniversary of the first flight. Over the 20 years that Dreams has put together this adventure, 20,000 kids have had the chance to travel to the Magic Kingdom to meet Mickey Mouse at his home in Florida.
None of these kids had ever been to Disney World and most had never even been on a plane.
Our purpose and the purpose of the various celebrities on board, was to ensure that the kids had the time of their lives. I think in the process, we kinda did too.
The day started off at 4:45am at one of the hangers at Pearson Airport decorated as one enormous party room where the kids were treated to breakfast, face painting, animals from the Bowmanville Zoo, a live band and various vehicle displays from Toronto and Peel Police and so much more. By the way, kudos to everyone who had the organizing down to a science as I can imagine how tough it is to get everything done so quick and efficiently with that many kids.
After the kids were registered, they walked into this room as the stars of the party. At that point I could see just how special this day was going to be for them.
One of the great things about Disney World is the autograph booklet that kids carry around with them for when they meet their favourite Disney characters. I saw something that almost brought me to tears before 5am even rolled around… One of the volunteers approached a shy little girl who couldn’t have been older than 6 and seemed completely overwhelmed by everything around her. The volunteer bent down and with a pen and booklet and asked the little girl for her autograph.
The little girl looked at her, sprouted an ear to ear smile and happily signed her name on the page for the elated volunteer. This was one of the sweetest moments I have ever seen. It was an instant message to me that I was now a part of something truly special. These kids were the stars here.
I should mention some of the celebrities that were part of the trip brought in to hang out with the kids.
This year former Maple Leaf great Doug Gilmour (I choose to remember him as a Canadiens star), Walter Gretzky (Wayne’s dad), singer Jully Black, Former and current WWE Divas Trish Stratus, Mickie James and Tiffany and a good collection of TV and radio people in Toronto.
Another great moment was when all the kids lined up at the foot of the red carpet and once the ribbon was cut, they ran down the carpet together to the planes.
The 2 airplanes were provided by Air Canada and they were tremendous aircrafts. The flight staff all volunteered their time to be part of this event and were all decked out as various Disney characters.
I was warned of this in advance and I’m glad I was, but as soon as the seatbelt sign turned off as we were in the air, I became a part of what had to be a world record for the biggest pillow fight at 30,000 ft. Kids running down the aisles with pillows loaded up and ready for battle! The flight was like no other I had ever been on, tons of games and challenges kept everyone busy and happy. It felt like the shortest flight I’d ever been on.
Once we landed in Orlando, we were greeted by members of the Toronto and Orlando Police who provided an unbelievable escort from the Orlando Airport to The Magic Kingdom. The entire highway was shut down to the delight of the kids on the bus who thought it was pretty cool that there were no other cars allowed on “our highway”. As we drove past all of the exits on the highway, people got out of their cars to wave to the buses bringing the kids to Disney World.
At Disney World, the kids were in groups and free to go wherever they wanted throughout the park. The celebrities would meet up with the various groups and ride the rides or eat lunch with them which everyone enjoyed.
For the majority of the day I was teamed up with Mickie and Tiffany and Trish which I can tell you was not a negative. Tough to be me, huh?
Loved seeing the Toronto Police as part of the Celebration Parade outside of Cinderella’s castle!
The weather was less than desirable with crazy thunderstorms most of the day. The great thing was that no matter how much it rained, the kid’s smiles shone right through the clouds. I don’t think any of them minded as I didn’t hear one complaint from a single one.
The flight home was another party for awhile, but I think everyone tapped out and fell asleep at the same time. We arrived back in Toronto at 2:15am and brought to a close, an incredible day filled with laughs and smiles and memories that will last a lifetime for the kids to the volunteers to everyone involved. So a less than 24hr turnaround and everyone was home safe and sound and a little bit soaked…
Just the chance to make those kids happy meant the world to me and I’m already looking forward to doing it all again in 2010!
Dreams Take Flight is completely run by volunteers and they rely on fundraising to make this incredible undertaking happen. You can help by making any kind of donation online @
www.dreamstakeflight.ca.
Take this thought with you today: These kids are some of the bravest people on the planet and we can learn as much from them as we teach them.
Dave
