When I was six years old I was granted a Make-A-Wish. My wish was to meet George Lucas. Well, apparently he was busy and was not meeting anyone. He was probably busy writing the Clone Wars. So, I guess I forgive him since that is one of the greatest shows of all time. However, if he was not, what the hell man. I digress. They then gave me two choices: visit the Skywalker Ranch or attend the Star Wars weekend at Disney. Could you guess which I picked? It was Disney of course. I was six; I didn’t know or care what Skywalker Ranch was. I heard the magic word, Disney. Looking back on it, I would love to go to the Skywalker Ranch. However, I think I made the right choice for my age.
Little did I know, the journey I was about to go on would be a game changer. A kid who faced death had an amazing experience that is still one of his best moments.
This wish gave me something to look forward to after seeing Revenge of the Sith the year before, supposedly the last Star Wars movie. The trip took place in May, right around my sister’s and my birthday. We were actually there the day of my sister’s birthday.
A limo which took us to the airport picked us up. It amazed me; I thought it was so cool to be in a limo; it felt like I was someone important. When we boarded the plane, also a first for me, I got to meet the pilot and go in the cockpit. The journey already mesmerized me and we had not even made it to Florida yet.
When we landed, everywhere we went, we were treated like royalty; the hotel, Disney, and Universal. The customer service for a Make-A-Wish kid was unmatched. At the hotel, they would always ask how my day was and what I did. They even left a birthday cake in the room for my sister’s birthday. Disney put us in the fast lane, before they were actually a thing–so just me. In Universal, when they saw me coming with my Make-A-Wish button, they would radio someone who would escort me to the front of the line. There is nothing else like it.
Now for Star Wars weekend, what this whole wish was about. During Star Wars Weekend, they took me into a building that you may not go in as a regular visitor to Disney. There they gave me an enormous chest full of Star Wars gifts. I tore open that chest, tossing things all over the place as I eagerly dug deeper to see what I had gotten. During this, unbeknownst to me, I was sitting next to the producer of Star Wars Episode one, two, and three Rick McCallum. I found that out after the fact. My parents were cleaning up after me when Mr McCallum intervened and asked them to stay with me and they would clean up later. While I was there, I also met Warwick Davis and Peter Mayhew, the actors of Wicket the Ewok and Chewbacca. Lucky for me, this time I was told who they were. It was an incredible experience that I still cherish to this day.
While I was there, I also had character meets with characters like Chewbacca, Anakin, Mace Windu, Clone Troopers and R2-D2 which was a fully working robot. It was absolutely incredible to watch him move around the room. My favorite character in Star Wars was Darth Maul, unfortunately they said he was very busy and could not meet with me. However, I looked out the door and caught a glimpse of him passing by. I screamed Darth Maul and started running towards him, and fell on my face. Rick McCallum sent people after him, so I got to meet him and get his autograph. I was treated like Darth Vader would treat Emperor Palpatine.
Now for the big finale, the Star Wars Jedi training. They picked me to go on stage and learn to fight like a Jedi. They gave me a lightsaber and taught me a sequence of moves. During all of this I was wearing a Jedi cloak that was made by the Disney costume designers. I wanted to fight Darth Maul, who was also there, but since I was on stage I fought Darth Vader. It was an amazing experience; I was already efficient with a lightsaber as I taught myself all the saber spins from watching the movies so much. So I fought him with great haste. The instructor said I must have had a lot of sugar beforehand.
This journey was truly life changing. During that time in my life, I was not happy and my parents knew it. They said this trip changed everything. I seemed like a different person; I was happy and glowing. That had not been the case for almost three years. Make-A-Wish is amazing. They allow kids like me to experience something truly special during even the darkest times. I hope to one day repay them for such an incredible experience by sponsoring others like me to experience something truly special like I did.
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