Honoring Gold Star Families: Gary Sinise Discusses Snowball Express at Walt Disney World. Each December, Walt Disney World Resort becomes more than a holiday destination — it transforms into a sanctuary of healing, remembrance, and hope for families who have lost a loved one in military service or as a first responder. Through the Gary Sinise Foundation’s “Snowball Express” program, hundreds of children and surviving family members gather at the Most Magical Place on Earth for a life-changing, five-day retreat filled with connection, comfort, and unforgettable Disney moments. Since its start in 2006, this annual event has grown into a powerful tradition, honoring fallen heroes by uplifting the families they leave behind. This year, The Walt Disney Company sat down to talk to Gary Sinise to take a closer look at the heart of “Snowball Express,” its impact, and the moving insights shared by foundation founder Gary Sinise — a champion of gratitude whose compassion has helped bring this healing journey to life.
Each December, Walt Disney World Resort transforms into a place of healing, hope, and celebration for hundreds of families who have lost loved ones in military service or as first responders during the annual “Snowball Express” program, which is organized through the Gary Sinise Foundation.
The program brings together the children and families of fallen heroes for a five-day healing retreat filled with connection, remembrance, and the magic of Disney. Since its inception in 2006, “Snowball Express” has grown into a powerful tradition, offering comfort and joy to families who have sacrificed so much for our nation.
Since 2018, more than 23,000 children of fallen military heroes, fallen first responders, and their surviving parent or guardian have participated in the healing retreat at Disney World.
The annual retreat, held over two weeks this year, provides families the opportunity to forge new friendships and create special memories together with many meaningful activities for the families to enjoy. Some of those activities include exclusive early access to Magic Kingdom before the public and the “Walk of Gratitude” down Main Street U.S.A. at daybreak. Nearly 1,000 Disney VoluntEARS — many of them military veterans — line the route to cheer the families on as they proceed to Cinderella Castle for a heartfelt ceremony where notes to fallen heroes are placed in a magical cauldron and sent to heaven for them to read with the help of some Disney magic.
To better understand the heart and impact of “Snowball Express,” we sat down with Gary Sinise, founder of the Gary Sinise Foundation, acclaimed philanthropist and actor, best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Lt. Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump. His vision and dedication have transformed this program into a lifeline of hope for so many families of fallen heroes.
Can you talk about the origins of “Snowball Express?”
During the Iraq war, U.S. Army Private First-Class Jesse Givens gave his life for our country and left a letter [to his wife] saying, “if anything happens to me, take the kids to Disneyland.” And that was the snowflake that started this snowball rolling.
And then it turned into a great effort in that first year, and that effort has continued for 20 years now and helped a lot of young children through very, very difficult times. [Private Givens] wanted to help his children through a difficult time by going to a happy place and letting them remember that he was right there with them, and that’s the way it is for every single family.
It’s like they bring their loved one with them and they spend time there and they’re showing their loved one, their fallen hero, that they’re doing okay. And that’s what we want for every single family that struggles and suffers in service to our country. We want them to be okay.
And I started thinking about this quote from Calvin Coolidge that we use at the Gary Sinise Foundation, it’s even up on the wall: “the nation, which forgets its defenders, will itself be forgotten.”
How did the Gary Sinise Foundation get involved with “Snowball Express?”
I was contacted by the people that organized [the first program in 2006]. They wanted me to know that they had done this event and said, “Boy, wouldn’t it be great if I got involved.” So in 2007, I brought my band [Gary Sinise & the Lt. Dan Band] down to Anaheim and we set up at the Grove and brought all the kids into the Grove that had lost a parent. They’re grieving children, so let’s give them a great time tonight. Let’s just lift them up and make sure that we just wrap our arms around them, give them a lot of love.
What led Disney to become part of this initiative?
I remember going to Disney in LA and having a meeting with Bob Iger and telling him about “Snowball Express,” and pitching the idea that we would love to bring this event to Disney World. But of course, we’re talking about over a thousand kids and all these volunteers. I mean, it was a massive event. So of course, we had to have Disney really endorse it, embrace it, and become a part of it.
He saw I was very passionate about trying to just tell how important this was to the kids and what it was doing for the kids. Well, of course, that’s Disney’s thing, right? Happy kids is Disney’s thing — it’s in their wheelhouse. So, it made a lot of sense. And when Bob said green light, a lot of things started to roll.
In 2018, we launched our first event at Disney World. And it’s grown ever since, and now it’s a massive program.
It’s not just a trip to Walt Disney World — it’s a healing retreat and a chance to build community.
That’s the whole point of “Snowball.” It was always that. Yeah, let’s have some fun. But let’s put these kids together with other kids who are going through the same thing… show them they’re not alone in what they’re going through. And that’s the best part about it. That’s the most helpful part about “Snowball.”
The folks at Disney really started to see what this was and what it was doing, and what the possibilities were — to make it better, more fun, more magical, all the wonderful Disney things. And so, as time has gone on each year, we have felt like we’ve had more and more support, more and more creative ideas coming at us, more and more fun things to do.
Is there a moment you look forward to the most each year, or that’s most meaningful to you?
It’s all about just happy kids to me. The “Walk of Gratitude,” is one of the most significant parts of the event, for the kids to walk down Main Street U.S.A. to all the cheering people that got up in the middle of the night and came over to support the kids, that’s very moving. I love being up there with Mickey Mouse and talking to the kids and then firing off the fireworks and letting them play.
I would watch the kids grow up in front of me. A lot of them would come and stand right in front of me every year. They’d get their special spot at the concert, and they would stand in front of me and with the t-shirt on with their fallen hero on it, and each year they would get a little bit older, a little bit bigger, and I would watch them and I’d look at them. That’s always been very, very special.
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