Henri's Starlite Scoops

Henri's Starlite Scoops is the place where the whole family can enjoy ice cream - morning, noon, or night. Some families even have ice cream for breakfast! The menu has sugar free, soy milk, almond milk and coconut milk options!

Julie's Safari Theatre

This is the place where families can sit back with some popcorn and catch a flick together!

Amberville

Amberville is an interactive train station that includes a model railroad, a waterway with remote-controlled boats, train memorabilia, an interactive video arcade, billiards, bowling, Wii, XBOX 360, and Merlin's Magic Play Space. Families can take a ride on three wheelchair accessible attractions just outside Amberville's back door—JJ's Express, Kelly's Sunny Swing and Lori's Magical Flight.

Marc's DinoPutt

\Give Kids The World Village is an 84-acre, nonprofit resort in Central Florida that provides week long, cost free vacations to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. A stay at the Village is much more than a vacation. During one transformative week, wish families laugh, play, and create priceless memories together away from hospital visits and medical procedures. It's a magical week of "YES" where wish kids can experience the simple joys of childhood, and where families can recapture some of the precious moments that may have been missed due to illness.

Give Kids The World Village has welcomed more than 176,000 families from all 50 states and 76 countries. The Village is made possible by the support of generous donors and community partners, as well as thousands of passionate volunteers – who donate their time and talent making wishes come true.

It was started by Henri Landwirth, may his memory be a blessing, a Holocaust survivor who came to America from Germany and took up ownership of the Starlight Motel in Cocoa Beach. Yes, where the astronauts stayed.

Two books were written about Henri's story.

Gift Of Life by Henri Landwirth himself, and Love & Hate by Bill Halamandaris. Links are to the Give Kids The World store, The Memory Market, which supports Give Kids The World Village.

The story of Give Kids The World begins with a little girl named Amy, a wish, and the desire of one man to make that wish come true.

Amy had leukemia and a wish to visit Orlando’s theme parks. To facilitate this wish, Henri was asked to provide a complimentary stay for Amy and her family. Although he gladly obliged, the remainder of Amy's travel plans took too long to arrange, and her wish was never granted. Time simply ran out, and Amy had passed away.

This unfulfilled wish inspired Henri to make a vow that no child in need would ever be failed again, and his desire to ensure that Amy's story would never repeat itself is a mission Give Kids The World has fulfilled since 1986.

Henri enlisted the support of colleagues in the hospitality and tourism industries to assist him in bringing these special families to Central Florida within 24 hours if need be. He called the project Give Kids The World, because that is just what he intended to do - provide magical experiences with a vacation that means the world to children with critical illnesses and their families.

As the program expanded and the number of families continued to grow, it was apparent that Give Kids The World would need to create a place that could better serve the needs of our families. In 1989, the gates of Give Kids The World Village opened and what once was a dream was now a 31-acre reality.

Today the Village is an 89-acre resort with 166 villa accommodations, unique entertainment attractions, whimsical venues, and fun activities for children of all abilities.

With the help of many generous individuals, corporations and partnering wish-granting organizations, Give Kids The World Village has welcomed more than 176,000 families from all 50 states and 76 countries.

Now, I can't talk about GKTW and Mr. Landwirth without mentioning Pamela Landwirth and her work.

Pamela also has her own book titled On Purpose.

As President and CEO of Give Kids The World, Pamela Landwirth lives those words every day - inspiring a committed family of staff, volunteers and donors that make the Village possible.

Pamela has been part of Give Kids The World since 1992, and was chosen to lead the Village in 1995. As President and CEO, she is responsible for the operations of the Village and all strategic advancement initiatives for the organization.

Prior to joining the Village, Pamela developed an extensive background in resort operations management, human resource development, and project planning from her 16 years with the Walt Disney World Company.

At Disney, she was involved in everything from Casting to park operations to attractions sales. After leaving Disney in 1993, Pamela was a consultant to the President and CEO of Hard Rock Cafe in all areas of human resources, organizational development, and strategic planning.

In addition to her work at the Village, Pamela is a highly sought-after speaker in the nonprofit world.

She has served on numerous nonprofit boards and currently sits on the Executive Advisory Board for the Something mAAgic Foundation and the University of Central Florida’s Nonprofit Advisory Board. She has a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Rollins College.

Basically, Henri and Pamela Landwirth were and are awesome human beings.

Village Tour*

*Note: Everything at Give Kids The World Village is wheelchair accessible, which makes it even more awesome.

Venues

House Of Hearts

Open 24 hours a day, this is the “heart” of Give Kids The World’s Guest Services.

The Castle of Miracles

The Castle of Miracles is the Village's most iconic venue. Inside, you'll find a mysterious forest, a wishing well that burps and moos, Rusty the friendly guard, a magic tree that makes pillows and more. Just outside is the ever-popular, wheelchair-accessible Enchanted Carousel. What makes the Castle so special are the thousands of stars that fill the ceiling and adjoining Star Tower. Every wish child gets a star to personalize and is helped by Stellar the Star Fairy, who places their stars and invites them back the next day to see them shining above.

Towne Hall

Towne Hall is a 53,000 square-foot, two-story building covered in chocolate kisses, swirly lollipops, and colorful gumdrops. Inside are various dining options at Café Clayton: Nancy’s Kitchen, Mama Merry’s Pizzeria and Katie's Kitchen. In the mornings and evenings, dining takes place in Gingerbread House. When Florida's summer thunderstorms come knocking on our door, The Hoppening Place serves as the perfect gathering area for our nightly entertainment.

Hey! Guess who just found out Magic Your Band has Give Kids The World themed customizing options!

Give Kids The World Charity Design Face Mask - Personalized $15.00

Show your support for GKTW with this charity design. All proceeds from this design go to Give Kids The World.

All our face masks are made with two layers and are approved for current Disney face covering rules; they have an opening at the back to allow the insert of a disposable filter. One filter is included and additional filters are available. These are not medical grade masks and shouldn't be used as such. They are only to be used as a face covering.

Note: As the proceeds of this mask go directly to charity, it is excluded from all discounts and does not count towards discounts on other items.

*Straps may be black rather than the white shown.

Due to the nature of this product for health and safety reasons we can only accept returns if the item is faulty.

In the window above you can choose exclusive DIS Unplugged designs and add your own name, date or other text to personalize your design.

Polyester outer with soft cotton inner

Compliant with current Disney face covering policies

Comfortable elastic ear bands with adjuster

Size: Aprox. 180mm x 125mm

Dispatched within 5-7 working days

Reusable and machine washable

Free international shipping on all Magic Your Band orders

Note: The design preview may not look sharp in some web browsers but the final printed image will be as clear and sharp as your original artwork. This page uses WebGL technology. For a list of supported browsers and other WebGL information please refer to our FAQ.

Give Kids The World Charity Button $6.50

Show your support for GKTW with this charity design. All proceeds from this design go to Give Kids The World!  You can even personalize the design in the edit window above.

Note: As the proceeds of this button go directly to charity, it is excluded from all discounts and does not count towards discount on other items.

Buttons made to order using professional grade materials and parts. Our buttons are metal-fronted and plastic safety backed.

3"/75mm Round Metal Button

Glossy Finish

UV resistant and lightfast

Safety backed

Great discounts when you order more

Despatched within 24 hours of order*

Free international shipping

*Monday through Saturday.

GKTW Charity MagicBand 2 Skin $7.00

Not only is the design of this MagicBand 2 Skin awesome but 100% of the price you pay for this Skin will go to the Give Kids The World charity.

Note: As the proceeds of this Skin go directly to charity, it is excluded from all discounts.

Our specialist adhesive ensures that the Skin stays firmly in place while allowing for trouble free removal when you are ready to change your style.

All of our MagicBand covers are precision cut and professionally produced to ensure a perfect fit to the colored portion of the MagicBand and are suitable for both smaller and larger MagicBands.

Waterproof

UV resistant and lightfast

Precision Cut to the same shape as the MagicBand

Ultra-flexible

Pre-punched holes for smaller sizes

Despatched within 24 hours of order*

Free international shipping

Give Kids the World Village has opened registration for its fourth-annual Challenge for Hope 5K fun run. The 5K race had previously given people a rare opportunity to run (or stroll) through the whimsical village where children with critical illnesses stay when they have a wish to visit any of Central Florida’s world-class attractions. However, because the Village closed in March due to COVID-19, the 2020 Challenge for Hope has shifted to an entirely virtual event.

“The safety of our wish families, supporters, staff and volunteers is always our top priority, so this year our Challenge for Hope fundraiser will be completely virtual,” said Pamela Landwirth, president and CEO of Give Kids the World. “We’re thrilled that with this change our supporters around the world will have the chance to participate, bringing the spirit of Give Kids the World to wherever they are.”

Participants can register for $39, and will receive all materials needed to tackle the Challenge. Next, complete a 5K any way possible — walk, run, roll, cycle, skate, skip, swim, you name it — anywhere in the world to earn a special medal featuring the art of a wish child. Virtual participants can also earn prizes like running socks and t-shirts by completing fundraising challenges.

Even though Give Kids the World is closed indefinitely until wish families can return, fundraising is as important as ever to maintain the facilities and grounds. Previous editions of the Challenge for Hope have raised nearly $400,000 for the Village.

“While our resort is temporarily closed, more than 700 children each month wait for their life-changing wish. By participating, you’ll join a community of supporters who will help us emerge from these challenging times and resume fulfilling these wishes as soon as possible,” said Landwirth.

Plus, being a “virtual runner” is fun, and allows you to connect with the positive spirit of Give Kids the World no matter where you may live. My daughter and I were virtual runners for a previous event and dedicated our training to raise money for Give Kids the World. It was a fabulous way for us to bond with each other as well as connect with something greater than ourselves; something that’s needed during this global pandemic now more than ever.