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Jeffery

Age: 14 From: AL
Illness: Cerebral Palsy and Lesch Nyhan Syndrome
Wish: Xbox 360

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Wishes Get Bigger as Disney World Expands!

July 20th, 2010

Almost half of the kids who have their wishes granted through Kids Wish Network wish to visit the awesome theme parks here in sunny Florida. Whether they prefer the Walt Disney World Resort or the Universal Studios Resort, it doesn’t matter; they just have too much fun! Either way, at both awesome parks, the kids who wish to visit there will now have some new experiences and memories to take home with them! I’m talking ALL NEW RIDES and ATTRACTIONS!

Now, as a Florida resident, I’ve been spoiled with only a one hour drive to Disney and Universal and I’ve been fortunate enough to have visited all of the parks at their respective resorts. I can honestly say that, though I’ve been excited about visiting these parks whenever I go, I’m more excited to visit them now than I ever have been before. Why? Because they’re expanding!

At Universal Studios, you can now visit the magical Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of the park that faithfully recreates the world of Harry Potter from the Hogwarts Castle down to even the tiniest Snitch. There are new shops, experiences and rides, including a state-of-the-art ride called “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” that completely enchanted our wish kid Cameron, who visited the park right as it opened.

Wish Kid Cameron and his family in front of Hogwarts Castle at Universal Studios.

However, though I am a Potter fan and one of my favorite places of all time to visit is the Jurassic Park section at Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure, I am most excited about what’s going on over at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Ask anyone here at work and they can tell you quickly that I am a Disney fan through and through. My cubicle is surrounded with pictures of the Disney princesses and I even worked for 3 years at my local Disney Store!

Back in March, Disney announced that they officially broke ground on their Fantasyland expansion – the biggest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom. Construction will continue on into 2013, when they plan to finish the final touches on the last section to be worked on.

Although the wish kids who are visiting the Magic Kingdom from now until the expansion’s completion will have to walk by the privacy walls, they will still be able to enjoy their favorite rides and wonder what sort of magic will be unleashed when the project is finished.

As for me, I’ve been reading all I can about updates and news items – anything I can get my hands on that talks about the expansion! So far, I’ve learned that there is going to be a huge new ride, a themed restaurant, new sections in Fantasyland and several new interactive experiences to immerse families in the stories of several famous Disney Princesses.

Let’s see…I’ve found out that Beauty and the Beast will get a beautiful themed restaurant as well as an interactive experience where guests will meet Belle in the library of an enchanted castle to perform shows with her. I also read that we may even get a chance to explore Belle’s house, where she lived with her inventor father, Maurice, in the movie!

Wish Kid Lily and Belle at the Magic Kingdom.

I also read that the 3 good fairies who looked after Sleeping Beauty are going to invite you to her 16th birthday party at their hidden cottage in the woods in this Fantasyland expansion! Supposedly, you’ll be able to interact with the party and surprise Briar Rose (aka Sleeping Beauty) when she arrives. You’ll also be able to make birthday greetings for her! Woo! A Princess’s party!

Wish Kid Mackenzie curtsies with Sleeping Beauty at the Magic Kingdom.

Cinderella might also get a chateau of her own where guests will have a special interactive experience with the “rags to riches” princess and even witness the magic that transformed her own rags into a beautiful gown. Oh! I can’t wait to see that! I saw it once during a show where the Disney Villains took over the show and Cinderella’s dress transformed from her beautiful ball gown into her rags, and it was something! To see it happen the way it did in the movie will be an experience of a lifetime!

MarissaP_Web

Wish Kid Marissa and Cinderella at the Magic Kingdom.

Ooh…Tinker Bell is also going to let guests shrink down to fairy size to visit Pixie Hollow and meet the famous fairy along with her friends Rosetta, Silvermist, Iridessa and Fawn! Right now, our wish kids who want to meet the fairies can visit Disneyland in California, but Pixie Hollow is now a part of the Disney World expansion here in Florida! I think this part of the expansion will be the last to open in 2013.

Wish Kid Gabby, her older sister and Fawn the fairy at Pixie Hollow over in Disneyland, California.

Dumbo’s famous flying ride will also be relocated, this time to a circus! In addition to gaining a second tower with flying Dumbo cars just like the original (in order to accommodate more guests), there will also be a new Dumbo-themed rollercoaster (which will be Goofy’s Barnstormer from the ToonTown Fair, but just made over) and an interactive circus tent to visit while you’re in line for the Dumbo flyers!

Hee hee…I’ve saved my favorite for last. If you’ve never been to the Magic Kingdom, I can tell you that there used to be a Grotto where Ariel, the Little Mermaid, came out to greet guests. Although they are taking this Grotto down, Ariel is now going to have a ride of her very own!!!

Wish Kid Maxim meeting Ariel in her Grotto at the Magic Kingdom.

From the looks of the pictures of the model that Disney made that details the expansion, Prince Eric’s castle by the sea will be built, surrounded by water. Oh! All my dreams are coming true! One section will be the newly redesigned Ariel’s Grotto, where everyone’s favorite redheaded mermaid will “swim” out to meet guests and sign autographs. The other section will be a ride that will take guests on an “under the sea” journey with the Little Mermaid!!! So, in 2012, the Disney Princess updates are scheduled to finish, including Ariel’s new ride, and in 2013, Pixie Hollow will be open for guests to meet Tinker Bell. I can’t believe it!

You won’t believe how many wish kids just love the Disney Princesses and Fairies; they’re all going to be so excited! I can’t wait until 2013 to see the pictures that the wish families will send to us – just so I can see the smiles on the faces of these kids as they interact with their favorite princesses and fairies on a level that they’ve never been able to enjoy before.

Oh yeah!!! AND at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the awesome Star Wars ride, Star Tours, is now undergoing an amazing update as well! The ride will reopen next year and it’s going to be fantastic!

Oh wow. So many dreams are going to be realities very soon. I can’t wait!

Alicia
Editorial Department

Tags: Disney, florida theme parks, Wish Department, Wish Granted
Posted in Blog, Wish Department | No Comments »

I want to go to Disney Land!

July 20th, 2010

Name: Liam
Age: 4
State: IL

Liam is a 4-year-old who loves the color yellow. He likes to watch “Little Bear” and his favorite movies are “Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel” and “Shrek.” Liam likes to play with electronics, especially his V-Tech and Leap Frog Books. Recently, he has been working on his alphabet and also enjoys flashcards. His favorite thing to do is play with action figures and toy characters.

Liam was born at 27-weeks and spent the first 3 and a half months in the hospital. Liam is a triplet and he, along with one of his siblings, was born with Cerebral Palsy. Liam is immobile and must use a stander, specialized chair or gait trainer for mobility. He is totally dependent upon his parents for all his basic needs. A simple cold will usually land Liam in the hospital, as it goes straight to his lungs. To date, he has had two eye surgeries and will have another one very soon. Liam has to take various meds to maintain his illness, including medication for low muscle tone.

When it came time for Liam to decide what his wish would be, he said he wanted to go to Disney Land in California. Get ready to have an exciting time, Liam, because you are getting your wish!

Tags: Disney, Wish, Wish Department
Posted in Waiting for Wishes | No Comments »

My Very First Thank You Letter

July 19th, 2010

How exciting! I just finished granting a wonderful wish for a little boy named Adam, who wanted a greenhouse to grow vegetables. Today, I received a very warm and appreciative letter from Adam’s parents. It made me so happy to read it! I don’t know who was more excited: Adam when he received his greenhouse, or me while I was granting such a special wish!

Here’s a picture of Adam, celebrating the 4th of July with a salad he grew in his garden:

And here is what was in the letter:

Dear Carrie,

We cannot appropriately thank you and Kids Wish Network for taking Adam’s “unusual” wish and making it come true, and then some! It was easy to see that you put your heart and all of your energy into Adam’s wish. A greenhouse, a team to build it, irrigation systems, growing pots, a heater, tools, soil, books, seeds, seeds and more seeds. You can see the magic of the wish in Adam’s smiles in the images we are sending you, and the wonderful, generous people who came together to support Adam’s wish. That you thought to include Adam’s sister Shannah (see images of Shannah opening her packages) was truly kind.

This has been a magical ride for our family and we are very thankful for the pleasure that this wish has brought to Adam.

As I shared with you in the beginning, as soon as you called to tell us Kids Wish Network was granting Adam’s wish, I picked up a shovel and began digging a garden next to where the greenhouse would go. Adam started planting vegetable seeds in the house in germination pots in the late spring and we knew that even though an outdoor garden could only work at our altitude if plants were started in a greenhouse, his excitement to begin this adventure was written all over his face daily. The outdoor garden was hit by 3 hailstorms in June and another one yesterday, along with torrential rains that flooded our basement on the 4th of July! We had moved some plants like lettuce from the garden to the greenhouse as soon as it was built and not only did the lettuce survive the hail, but Adam harvested the greens (which grew like crazy in the greenhouse) for a 4th of July salad! See the included picture with Adam’s beaming smile and fist-pump for his first harvest.

During the construction of the greenhouse, Adam went to the garden where we had temporarily put in cherry tomatoes and he plucked 4 of the 5 fruits and carried them past neighbors and reporters and brought them to Pat, Jill and Rod and proudly handed them over to them. Adam’s heart and generosity made our volunteer team feel that they were truly volunteering their time for a very special boy. Adam was thrilled that we were able to transfer the plants from the cool outdoors into the warm and humid greenhouse environment where they are now starting to really grow.

Carrie, from a health standpoint, this wish is a gift that will keep giving. Adam is thrilled to nurture his seedlings and plants, and he is so joyful when he eats a vegetable that grew from seed at his hands. The benefit to the rest of the family is important as well, as we share in Adam’s bounty and take pleasure in his energy to explore where food comes from.

Again, thank you for your heart, thoughtfulness and energy in providing a gift of a lifetime to Adam. Our family will share our thanks with your management team so they know how much you gave of yourself to make this dream spectacular.

Warmly and with extreme gratitude,

Karen and David

Adam’s parents

Carrie

Wish Department

Tags: greenhouse, Recent Wish, Wish Department
Posted in Blog, Wish Department | No Comments »

I Want to Meet Cinderella!

July 16th, 2010

Name: Chelsea
Age: 7
State: IN

Chelsea is a sweet little 7-year-old with a love of all sorts of cartoons. She collects stuffed animals and she’s also very interested in nature. Chelsea’s favorite activities are playing with her toys and doing arts and crafts.

When she was 9-months-old, Chelsea was diagnosed with having a chromosomal abnormality that caused a range of different problems for the infant. In addition, Chelsea also suffers from a cleft palate, autism and a curvature of the spine called scoliosis. When she was 3-years-old, Chelsea stopped eating and her large intestine ceased functioning so her doctors inserted a feeding tube so that she could get nourishment. A year later, her stomach motility stopped and she had to have a port installed in order to flush her system out every other day. Currently, Chelsea has undergone 30 surgeries, including her most recent to correct an abnormality in her feet called congenital vertical talus; this surgery put pins in her feet, left her in leg braces and has also made her somewhat reliant on a wheelchair for long distance mobility.

For her wish, Chelsea wants to meet her favorite Disney Princess, Cinderella! Get out your magic wand, Chelsea, because you are about to meet the princess at her Florida “home” in Walt Disney World!

Tags: cinderella, Disney World, Wish Department
Posted in Waiting for Wishes | No Comments »

I Want to Meet Dora the Explorer!

June 18th, 2010

Name: Joey
Age: 10
State: WI

Joey is a fun-loving little 10-year-old with a passion for all things Nickelodeon, especially anything having to do with their “Dora the Explorer” show. He also likes to make movies with his little video camera and he even collects DVDs. When he’s not playing with his video camera, Joey can be found making up his own characters and drawing them with his markers.

Before he was born, it was discovered that Joey suffered from a condition called Hydrocephalus. Also known as “water on the brain,” Hydrocephalus occurs when there is an excessive buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the skull that causes increased pressure over time. In order to drain the fluid, Joey’s doctors implanted a shunt in his head during a surgery on the day he was born. At 6-months-old, Joey developed an infection in this shunt and he had to be rushed into another surgery, after which he suffered cardiac arrest. When he was a little over a year old, Joey’s condition worsened when his Hydrocephalus caused him to lose most of his vision in his right eye and he suffered through an eye surgery to try and remedy the situation. Since then, Joey’s also had to undergo a revision surgery for the shunt in his head. In addition, Joey suffers from migraines related to his Hydrocephalus as well as Asperger’s syndrome, which is a developmental disorder.

For his wish, Joey wants to meet Dora the Explorer at her home in Universal Studios Orlando. Get out your sunglasses, Joey, because you’re going to visit the Sunshine State!

Tags: Dora the Explorer, theme parks, Wish Department
Posted in Waiting for Wishes | No Comments »

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