I went to Animal Kingdom with Sara and we were joined later by Alex. We watched Festival of the Lion King! It was just as exciting and amazing as I remember it from last year's Disney vacation. Sara and I met Safari Donald as well :)
We also did Dinosaur again. I love. That. Ride. Everest too :)
Sara and I walked a trail and saw some animals including the huge huge bats.
The three of us had lunch at the Yak and Yeti. I had sweet and sour chicken and chocolate mousse for dessert so I was soooo full but it was soooo good.
I then took a bus to the Commons to meet at the Disney Programming Office to go to Give Kids the World!!!
As a cast member we have the opportunity to participate in "voluntEAR" events. This is one that the CPs do a lot. The Give Kids the World Village is where a lot of the Make a Wish kids stay when they go to Disney World.
Only a van full of us were able to go, so it was just a handful. They were all really nice (didn't really expect anything else) and I was happy to meet them all :)
The village is absolutely adorable. It's just entirely kid friendly. They have ice cream shops, pools, games, boats you can steer, little trains, playgrounds, etc. The games room was beautiful. They had a big theatre too. It just looks like a child's fantasy.
According to their website:
Today the Village is a 70-acre resort complete with over 140 Villa accommodations, entertainment attractions, whimsical venues, and fun specifically designed for children with special needs.
With the help of many generous individuals, corporations and partnering wish-granting organizations, Give Kids The World has welcomed more than 115,000 families from all 50 states and over 70 countries.
The majority of our group was responsible for helping to run the night's talent show for "kids night out" (where kids hang out with the cool voluntEARS and parents get a little break). I was among five people who ended up going to the castle room to organize the arts and crafts closet. I didn't really mind this too much- it brought back memories of the rec department summers :) Even though we weren't working with kids directly we were still making a difference.
After our closet was clean and good to go (and they gave us some food!) we actually got to watch the talent show! It was adorable. The kids danced and sang and one duo had a comedy act. They even had kids be judges like American Idol style. We also got to play with them a bit in the games rooms afterwards :)
I'm really glad I got to experience this. I do wish I could do it more often but it's difficult to be off on nights when they offer the trips and spaces fill up fast. But it was certainly inspirational. Big props to the GKTW village, what a fantastic endeavor.
They have their own mascots :)
When I got home I went to Nicki's apartment and was the banker ("GT") for the big game of Disney Villain Monopoly with Kelly, and Nicki's room mate. It was fun :) I love my CRT friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment