But no other professional Detroit sports team had pulled off a telethon either before the Pistons and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan teamed up in March for the Pistons Cares Telethon. They raised $500,000, enough to fund 60 wishes for kids with life-threatening medical conditions.

The most popular wish is a trip to Disney World, so the Pistons and the Make-A-Wish Foundation teamed up again, orchestrating a day as fantastical as any Disney tale: Four Wish families would embark on their weeklong stay at the Walt Disney World Resort on the Pistons' private jet, Roundball 2, and spend the first day at the Magic Kingdom with new Pistons forward Kwame Brown.

Here's how they did it all in just 14 hours:

7:12 a.m. - Each family is brought by limousine to the Pistons' private hangar at Metro Airport. Families like the Vandlens from Grand Rapids spent the night at the Metro Airport Marriott.

When eight-year-old Drew Vandlen walks into the lobby, he blurts out, "Look, there's a picture of Kwame Brown!" It was a picture of Joe Dumars in his playing days, but you had to love his spirit. Little did I know this was only the beginning of Drew and Kwame's day together.

7:30 a.m. - With all the families gathered, Drew quickly befriends Avery and Jordan Medlar, also from the Grand Rapids area. The brothers, 14 and 11, share their toys, including Transformers. Later in the park, Drew never strays far from Kwame, but the two brothers continue to play well together. At the perfect ages to get on each other's nerves, they do not exchange a cross word the entire day.

"Of course they do fight occasionally, but especially since Avery has been sick they just seem like they're closer," their mother Christine says. "It hasn't always been that way, but now that they're older, it's easy to take them [on vacation together]."

Decked out in a Pistons jersey and shorts, Avery, 14, had just started cancer treatments when the Pistons Cares Telethon happened on Mar. 14. Their father Kirk watched the Pistons-Spurs broadcast, unaware how deeply the telethon would impact their lives. They learned they were going on this trip just two weeks ago.

"I thought it was one of the best things I've seen a sports franchise do," Kirk said of the telethon. "You haven't seen a lot of them use their celebrity to do something like that for other people who need help."

7:50 a.m. - Drew's adorable three-year-old sister, Sophia, is transfixed on Roundball 2 as it taxies out of hangar. "Let's go on it! Let's go on it! It's ready! It's time to go!"

Sophia and Drew's father, Tim, is a little too geeked for words. "I don't think we have perspective on how big this is," he says, "but it's pretty cool."

8:04 a.m. - Kwame arrives, and here comes Drew to let the new Piston know he is biggest part of his wish, which makes everyone else go, "Awww." Drew also has to know: will you go on rides with me? "I'm a big chicken about rides, man," Kwame says, "but I'll be cheering you on." So he thinks.

8:35 a.m. - Everyone aboard, it's all systems go for Roundball 2 to Orlando.

9:10 a.m. - The families immediately get comfortable with the plane's amenities and full-flight service. When a platter of breakfast pastries is placed in front of seven-year-old Vinnie, the Wish Kid from Clinton Township raises his arms around the platter like he's about to devour them all. His mother Amy takes a picture of it. Then he orders pancakes. He laughs and covers his face when asked they were good.

Vinnie's father, Steve, said the family had planned to go to Disney World in late October, but couldn't pass on "a chance to move up and get the royal treatment." He is loving the large leather chairs, reclining the chair back while wondering which Pistons player usually sits in his seat.

"You don't need to go to Disney," Amy tells Vinnie's 10-year-old sister, Erin, who is swaying in her recliner from side to side. "This is your ride." Soon, fruit and candy are passed out as well, and Vinnie digs in again.

10:15 a.m. - In the last hour of the flight, media conduct interviews with families. After several interviews, Elijah Sanders' mother, Melisa, breaks down on camera. She explains later she was overwhelmed by "just the thought that somebody would do that for us and it didn't matter who were. That someone would go above and beyond, and they didn't have to. It just really touched my heart."

11:00 a.m. - The plane lands in Orlando. Jerry Hendon, the Pistons' security chief, points out the private travel isn't necessarily faster in the air but on the ground, where everyone steps off the plane and directly onto a bus.

Asked if he remembers another time Roundball 2 has been used for non-team travel, Hendon can recall one time in his 10 years. "When they flew supplies to New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina."

11:30 a.m. - After group pictures outside the plane, we head for the Magic Kingdom. On the bus we all introduce ourselves. Steve introduces the Pernas, adding, "This is way beyond our expectations already."

11:55 a.m. - We drive through the main entrance to the Walt Disney World Resort, passing the Epcot Center on the left. Five minutes later we pull into an employee parking lot where one of the marching bands in warming up.

After meeting the chaperones who ultimately did a tremendous job accommodating the families and media throughout the day, we step into the park from an employee entrance near the front of the park. Less than an hour after landing in Florida, we're strolling down Main Street toward Cinderella's Castle.

12:18 p.m. - It's lunch time, and we're led to a private room inside Adventureland for a catered meal that includes hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, and fruit. After eating, Drew comes to sit with Kwame, asking him again to go on the rides. Kwame still shies away from rides but says he'll go in the haunted house. "He'll go in the scary house with me!" Drew exclaims. "Are you going to protect me?"

1:20 p.m. - We take two boats on the "Jungle Cruise," passing by mechanical pythons, elephants, jungle natives and ancient ruins accompanied by witty commentary from our guide, Ann. She tells us the deal is "two heads for one of yours" as we motor by the witch doctor's shop. "No matter how you slice and dice it, you still come out ahead." Kwame, sitting at the front of his boat, gets a kick out of it.

1:43 p.m. - Kwame is urged to take a "magic carpet ride" on an Aladdin-themed ride. He resists. "I'm too big!" exclaims the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Kwame, hurriedly stepping behind the team's PR rep, Cletus Lewis, to protect him. "I can't strap in right!"

Kwame, who has brought his son Jaden and daughter Kwameeri to Disney World a few times, says he's not comfortable on the rides. He finally relents, buckling in next to Donovan, a 10-year-old Wish Kid from Lansing.

2:06 p.m. - The families gather at the Rose Garden in front of Cinderella's castle. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck soon prance into closed-off green space for a private audience. Other families watch enviously as the Wish families get their pictures with Disney's legendary characters.

All except Elijah, who positions his wheelchair at the other end of the Rose Garden. Mickey and Donald are little too much excitement for him. So why come to Disney World if you don't want to meet Mickey? "He just loves to see how it's all made and how everything works, the magic of it all," Melisa says.

Elijah is most looking forward to the Hall of Presidents, an original attraction inside the Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square with "Audio-Animatronic" figures (speaking robots) of all U.S. presidents.

The sixth grader attends Smart Middle School in Walled Lake, which can better serve his needs than schools near his home in Farmington Hills. He loves history and politics, Melisa says. It was evident on the trip, as he entertained fellow passengers on the flight with his extensive knowledge of past presidents, Barack Obama and John McCain.

2:20 p.m. - The kids take unlimited turns on the Mad Tea Party, known as the "teacup ride." Kwame rides with Donovan and Drew, his biggest fans on the trip, but makes them promise not to spin the wheel that makes this ride famous for its dizzying, disorienting effect.

3:30 p.m. - The day is growing long, and after the walk up Main Street some of the kids are growing tired. Sophia, who had unlimited energy at the airport, is asleep in a stroller. Her mom, Jennifer, makes sure to wake her up when the Walt Disney's "Parade of Dreams" passes by, including more than 50 characters.

3:56 p.m. - At Tomorrowland Speedway, the futuristic race car ride, Jordan Medlar stands in front of the ride's "You must be this tall" sign. It's a good thing he didn't get a haircut before the trip, because he makes it by this much. Jordan turns to his parents with a huge grin, fist pumping like Tiger Woods just won the Masters.

Once on the racetrack, Avery steals the show - and his car - when he takes a second lap instead of getting out at the gate. "He waved me through," he half-heartedly defends himself afterward. Not that anyone minded. Asked if it was as fun the second time as the first, he tries to hide his smile. "Yeah."

4:40 p.m. - Coming out of the "It's a Small World" boat ride, we make our way to the Haunted Mansion, where Kwame had promised to protect Drew. Our chaperone warns everyone it's scary, and it's perfectly alright to wait outside. Nobody bites.

4:45 p.m. - Inside the Haunted Mansion's first room, Drew and Donovan decide Kwame's protection isn't enough. They take the first exit.

5:58 p.m. - After an hour to ourselves to explore the park, we return to the gate where we entered. Two buses are idling. The families will take one bus to "Give Kids the World," the resort exclusively for Wish families, where they'll stay for their duration of their trip. The rest of us (reluctantly) board the second bus for the airport.

Kwame's best buddy Drew comes aboard our bus to get an autograph and say goodbye. "That's a funny little dude there," Kwame says later. "He and Donovan were great. And we had a good time, went on all the rides. I don't even ride rides, but he told me he had my back, so I jumped on a couple rides."

Drew's father Tim waves goodbye to the staff from the Pistons' community relations department and Make-A-Wish of Michigan. "Thank you so much," he says with a weary smile. "Only five more days."

Tim revealed to me earlier in the day that Drew has another surprise coming. His grandparents and other family members are flying to Orlando to join them for the last days of the trip. "We never would have gone this long by ourselves," he says appreciatively.

6:50 p.m. - We board the plane, where trays of bread, pesto, feta cheese and tomatoes are waiting on each table. Half an hour later, it's wheels up for home.

7:30 p.m. - Barely off the ground, Donovan is already on his third and fourth slices of pizza. The sixth grader is the lone Wish Kid to return with us. His "real" wish was fulfilled in February when he attended the NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. He met all the All-Stars, including his favorite player, Chauncey Billups, and had celebrities like Chris Tucker visiting his suite throughout the game.

While Donovan's acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) - the most common and treatable cancer found in children - had been in remission during the trip (he's been cancer-free since August), his father, Larry, was also ill at the time. Larry passed away in the spring, "so it was the last family trip we had actually," said Donovan's mother, Bobbi.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan didn't want to leave Donovan with bittersweet memories, and that's why in circumstances like his they deliver "wish enhancements," says Susan Lerch, president of Make-A-Wish of Michigan. Well aware of Donovan's fondness for the Pistons and the NBA - he wore his Rasheed Wallace jersey on the plane - the foundation invited Donovan and Bobbi to the Magic Kingdom.

Donovan's favorite activity was "the log ride when you get wet," referring to Splash Mountain. He felt the same exhilaration on the flight to Orlando when he took his turn in the cockpit. All five Wish kids had a chance to fly the plane. Still, his favorite thing about Roundball 2, was something much simpler. "You get to eat on it."

9:30 p.m. - Thirteen hours after takeoff, Roundball 2 returns to its hangar at Metro Airport. Kwame departs feeling good about his first impression on the Detroit community. He also likes what he's learned about his new employer.

"It was first class for Detroit as a team and as an organization to raise money and put on an event like this and put them up in Orlando," he said. "I was happy to be a part of it. I was as excited and happy to be there as some of the kids."

Kwame didn't have the opportunity to see Disney World when he was growing up. So he doesn't know that when you're seven or eight or 10 or 14 years old, you can't match the euphoria of walking through the Magic Kingdom with your own personal giant. It's the first thing today that hasn't felt possible.