On Saturday, 24 military families traded the chilly Colorado cold for Florida’s sunshine, boarding a jet called the Snowball Express for an all-expenses-paid getaway.

The yearly event sweeps families of lost military service members who served after 9/11 away to Florida for a five-day experience at what some would call the most magical place on the planet — Disney World.

The trip is funded by Gary Sinise, an actor best known for playing Lt. Dan in “Forest Gump.” Its goal is to provide families an opportunity to escape their world of painful memories and take them to a magical place where the everyday stressors don’t exist.

“When he (Sinise) thinks of magic, he thinks of Disney World,” said Snowball Express ambassador Pam Swan.

But the magic started at the gate in the Colorado Springs Airport for Jennifer Freitas, 49, and her daughter.

After attending their first Snowball Express in 2007, Freitas said they’ve bonded with other families, who understand what it’s like losing a loved one.

Her husband, Cesar, was a helicopter pilot in the Marines and served during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. His aircraft went down during a search and rescue mission, and he lost his life. While Freitas said her daughter never met her father, his memory still lives on in her, and the trip is a great opportunity to capture that.

“Having the chance to step back, enjoy each other, reconnect with families and honor and remember Cesar. Those are the most meaningful parts,” Freitas said. “It can be sometimes hard to honor a loved one who is gone because it makes other people very uncomfortable, and, here, it doesn’t.”

Like the other families, the two came from across all of Colorado.

The Christmas festivities started early at the airport as a band of trumpets played and therapy dogs dressed in elf outfits scurried around to let the kids pet them. Catering was provided by SSP America and had a “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme to it.

The excitement was palpable as boarding began. Many kids had a spring in their step as they prepared to board, their plane ticket in one hand and a miniature “Pirates of the Caribbean”-themed paper boat in the other.

Guiding the families to their gate and into the plane were bikers from the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, who stood in a line while carrying American flags in an effort to honor the families and their lost heroes.

“Our goal is to make them feel like nobody’s been left behind,” said William “Theo” Thielfoldt, chapter commander for the association.

As a veteran himself, Thielfoldt said he knows the feeling of loss all too well, and he’s made it his mission for the past eight years to make sure the kids don’t feel lonely in those moments.

“We want them to feel like their parents stood for something. We want to make sure that they know they didn’t die for nothing,” he said.

Over 1,500 families nationwide landed in Orlando for the five-day trip. The Snowball Express started in 2006 and has seen changes and growth over the years, Swan said.

Originally, the trip took children to Disneyland in California, but it was changed to Dallas until Sinise took it over and moved the trip to Disney World.

What’s stayed constant from the change are the bonds families create over shared experiences, Swan said.

“It’s like they are in this club that they never want to be in, and they’re so grateful they have it. You’ll see them sneak off into lounges and just catch up. … They get to talk about these things that they don’t necessarily get to talk about in their normal classrooms because (others) can’t understand,” she said.