What does "got to " mean ? "got to " tend to be used in oral English , I could't relate it well . "got to " shows up three times in a paragrah below . "A lot of children pretend to be superheroes for fun, but thanks to the Make-A-Wish foundation, one boy got to be one for real for a day. Seven-year-old Alex ..., has leukemia. He loves watching "Batman" ..... The Anaheim Police Department teamed up with the Make-A-Wish foundation to make it happen. After getting sworn in by the police at the station, Alex got to ride around in the Batmobile to Knott's Berry Farm and then...., where he ....... He then got to ride in a helicopter to Angel Stadium.... Please explain these three "got to " to me . I also check it in the dictionary , it gives me example "We also got to ride on a pirate ship." Why can't I just say :' We also rode on a pirate ship.' ?