We woke up bright and early this morning for our big send-off event at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel Atlanta Airport! Our families kicked off the day with lots of fun activities, from the Carter’s Cares VIP Lounge to mom makeovers from Balance Salon to live entertainment from the folks at Imagine It! Children’s Museum of Atlanta.
The Bert Show was on hand for a live broadcast from 5:30 to 10 a.m., during which time the families had the chance to share their stories on air… and our partners shared more than stories! Here were the morning’s big on-air surprises:
- Team Direct donated a new, much-needed wheelchair-accessible van to Linda’s family — their first one!
- Marie’s family got a check from Carter’s to put toward a car, after both of their vehicles stopped working on the same day.
- Aspiring veterinarian Megan was surprised by a lap-sized visitor from Zoo Atlanta: a baby alligator! Her family also received a one-year membership to the zoo.
- Brianna’s love of dance earned her a walk-on role in the Atlanta Ballet’s 2012 production of The Nutcracker.
- Gabe’s parents will enjoy the wedding they never got to have at Walt Disney World (and a surprise honeymoon in Costa Rica)!
After the show, we packed up and headed to the ExpressJet hangar to hop aboard a private flight to Orlando. Everyone got some much needed rest upon arrival in the afternoon and met up again for dinner at Living Seas, where we were surprised (yet again!) with a visit from Scuba Mickey.
And of course, the perfect day had the perfect finish: Illuminations, Epcot’s magnificent fireworks show.
See all the pictures from the send-off and our arrival at Walt Disney World in our Day 2 Gallery.
