Ticket(s) To Ride

by Laura Breen Galante

Teachers at Woodlands Elementary received a fabulous surprise just as the 2024-25 school year was about to get underway. As everyone was preparing to welcome students back for another academic year, Walt Disney World gifted two park passes to each member of the Woodlands staff. Adorable Disney characters showed up to deliver the good news and free passes, spreading a little sunshine everywhere they went.

Disney donated tickets to public schools across Central Florida, selecting one school per county in Seminole, Orange, Osceola, Polk, and Lake. In Seminole County, Woodlands Elementary was selected due to its gains in student test scores for the previous year. The Disney resort also gave $25,000 to the nonprofit Foundation for Seminole County Public Schools.

“Disney has supported our school district for years,” says Serita Beamon, superintendent of Seminole County Public Schools. “This latest investment means more kids will have access to career mentors and scholarship funds. It means expanded opportunities for students in Seminole County.”

While all the staff members at Woodlands were grateful for the gifted tickets, two 20-year veteran teachers used their passes to create especially sweet memories:

An Epic Day at Epcot

The Disney tickets turned out to be the perfect distraction for the family of Rosa Williams, a second-grade teacher at Woodlands. Rosa’s beloved mother had recently passed away, and when Donald Duck showed up in her classroom with free theme park tickets, Rosa was inspired to celebrate rather than mourn. 

“It was a huge blessing for us because it came at just the right time to celebrate her 70th heavenly birthday, which was September 12,” says Rosa. “Our thought was that we would take her on an honorary trip around the world, so we went to Epcot.”

Principal Cathy Lambert allowed Rosa to take an approved personal day off to visit the theme park on September 12.

“It was a good way to honor her but also was a good distraction, too, because it would have been a sad day for us,” says Rosa. “But at Disney, everybody’s so happy that you can’t really be sad.”

With her husband Shaun, Rosa invited her sister Shalonda Moye and her 25-year-old nephew Brendon Collins, who is on the autism spectrum, to spend the day together at Epcot. She used the two gift passes from Disney and purchased two more using the Florida resident discount rate. 

No one in the family had ever been to Epcot, so the prospect of visiting the park was exciting for them all. Rosa also learned that Disney offers a Disability Access Service (DAS) program for guests with developmental disabilities. After an application and Zoom call with a Disney employee, Brendon was offered assistance to avoid waiting in exceptionally long lines for rides. 

Similar to a FastPass, the program allows guests to register for certain experiences via the Disney app and receive a text when they are able to board a ride, to avoid standing in line. 

“We’re very careful with Brendon because he gets very anxious,” says Rosa. “The DAS assistance was huge for him – it was a double win. We got the windfall of the tickets, and we didn’t even know they had that program for guests.” 

Thanks to Disney’s generosity, Rosa was able to turn what would have been a sad day into a cheerful, memorable adventure for   her family. 

“We were so joyful, and we felt my mother’s presence with us,” she says. “We know she would have been happy for us to do something that we wouldn’t have normally done.”

The Most Magical Place on Earth  

When Kelly Siemer, a first-grade teacher at Woodlands, received her Disney passes, she knew immediately who she’d ask to join her.

“Two years ago, I had a student named Kash Harris,” she says. “He touched my heart as my student – the progress he made that year in my class, the way he was so polite to other students, the way he works so incredibly hard.”

She and her daughter Kylie already have Disney season passes, so Kelly chose to use one of her free tickets to bring Kash to the Magic Kingdom. On a different day, she invited her dad.

Kash had never been to Disney, so he was thrilled to have the opportunity to experience the theme park. Kelly; Kylie, an eighth grader at Rock Lake Middle School; and Kash, a third grader at Woodlands; had an amazing day together. 

“It was incredible, it was surreal, he just lit up,” recalls Kelly. “It was his best day ever.” 

They rode all the rides, ate all the snacks – everything Kash wanted to do, says Kelly, who kept in touch with his mom throughout the day by sending her texts and photos.

“The best part was him seeing Cinderella Castle for the first time,” says Kelly. “Seeing his expression was incredible; he was so pumped!” 

The trio were able to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure as well as Pirates of the Caribbean, which was on Kash’s must-do list. He was also thrilled to meet Jack Sparrow, who just happened to be out in front of the ride entrance. 

“Everything just lined up perfectly that day so he could have a great experience,” says Kelly.

Kash arrived home tired and happy, bearing souvenir gifts for his siblings. Kelly later made him a Shutterfly photo book to remember the occasion.

“He’s just so special to me,” says Kelly, “so I’m glad that we were able to do that together.”