Kids Wish Network » Wish Department

Wishes Get Bigger as Disney World Expands!

Alicia — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:40:33 +0000

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!

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

My Very First Thank You Letter

Carrie — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:38:01 +0000

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

The Rides Were the Best!

Kids Wish Network — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:49:21 +0000

Name: Joey
Age: 10
State: WI

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 wanted to visit Disney World, and that’s just what he did! Once in the theme parks, Joey loved every second and experienced all he could. In fact, Joey loved the rides at Disney’s Magic Kingdom so much that he decided he wanted to go back a second day and even made a list of his favorite rides to enjoy again! Included in this “favorites” list were “Snow White’s Scary Adventures,” “Peter Pan’s Flight,” the famous “Astro Orbiter” in Tomorrowland and a few others.

Help Another Child with a Wish

No more ‘no,’ please…

Elizabeth — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:12:56 +0000

My job requires me to do a few different things. I have to write content for the website and press releases about our wish kids, contact families who have a child that has been referred for a wish, and also get in touch with the guardians of the children who have turned in a wish application and gather all the necessary paperwork from them.

One of the requirements of a child receiving a wish is that the child’s doctor must verify that the illness is life-threatening. In the initial application that is sent out to a family, the child’s doctor signs a form indicating that they are the physician of that child, and they are aware that the child has a life-threatening illness. Once we receive that form, we send an additional form to verify all the information. Usually the information matches, but sometimes I am disappointed at what the secondary form says.

There have been plenty of instances when the physician signs the first form stating the condition of a certain child is life-threatening and then signs the second form indicating that the condition is not life-threatening. This always makes my heart hurt a little. I imagine the families of the wish children thinking about and talking about the wish with the child. I think about how excited the children must be when they think that they could get their wish, and then I have to let them know that the doctor changed his or her mind.

I know that physicians get extremely busy and don’t always have plenty of free time during the day. I feel that for the most part, when the doctors sign the first form with a ‘yes’ and then sign the second form with a ‘no,’ that they didn’t take the time to read the initial form in the first place. This can lead to heartbroken children getting their hopes up only to have them crushed.

If I had any control over it, I would never see another secondary form returned with a ‘no.’ I hope that the doctors realize that what they are signing and reading means the world to some of these families and these children and that they take the time to actually read and make the right choice the first time. Our wish children have already been through enough and may not be able to handle another letdown.

So I am keeping my fingers crossed that no more ‘no’ forms come in and that we are able to grant the wishes of all the children who we receive an application for!

~Elizabeth
Wish Department

Excitement is in the Air!

Vanessa — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:03:44 +0000

This is just a short e-mail that I wanted to share from a wish family – post wish:

Vanessa –

Good afternoon!!

Can I tell you how excited McKenna is getting for her trip?? Oh my gosh!!! We have been talking about it every night – what rides she wants to ride, which ones are maybes and which ones are no way!!

I showed her the itinerary and she said “OH my gosh!! We are going to be sooo busy!” with the cutest look on her face!!

Thank you so much for everything!!!

Connie

Vanessa
Wish Department

Lots of Love from El Paso

Alicia — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:04:24 +0000

Hi!

Here at Kids Wish Network, we strive to make every wish truly special and go above and beyond the expectations of our wish families. I recently received a beautiful letter from the grandmother of Donny, one of my wish kids, and it completely confirmed that our hard work to make each wish unique and memorable is definitely worth going the extra mile. It is so nice to know that we are making a difference for these kids.

Donny’s only wish was for a big screen TV, and with the help of some awesome sponsors, we pulled through for him. His wish came in the form of a beautiful 46 inch flat screen, but we didn’t stop there. To make his wish even more special, we also got him a year of free digital cable.

I’ve posted below the inspiring words from his grandmother. What she doesn’t know is that I just sent another box yesterday with a personalized autographed 8 X 10 picture of Donny’s favorite musician: Gene Simmons of KISS. Mr. Simmons also sent an autographed clock! Hope Donny enjoys it!

Madeline

Wish Department

Dear Madeline,

My name is Irene. I am the proud grandmother of Donny, who today received a 46” television at his home here in El Paso from Kids Wish Network.

Now I know that “Dreams really do come true.” I also realize that your organization keeps its promises to the children. I’m also surprised at the way things materialized. Even though Donny has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, you came through for him. And, of course, we owe that to you. You are an angel in disguise. When my daughter told me about you and your concern, I seriously had doubts and I never imagined that you would follow through. I apologize! The trip to Florida sounded great, but we knew that Donny wouldn’t be able to handle the rides because he doesn’t have the strength to hold on. He can’t even lift his arms much less hold on to something.

The television is the ultimate gift a child with Duchenne can receive. He is really good at games. His concentration is unbelievable. He is very smart. He has trophies and certificates for all his hard work and accomplishments. I help my daughter and my Donny as much as possible. I don’t know if Lirna told you, I’m disabled myself, and neither one of us has a vehicle. My partner takes us when he is able. He is going through radiation therapy himself…

If there is a competition for “Mother of the Year,” I would nominate my daughter in a second. She lives, breathes, and would die for her son. She is a tiny 5’1” woman who weighs the same as Donny. And that will not stop her from anything that she has to do for Donny. She physically picks him up to transfer him from his chair to another chair or table. The perfect example would be to his doctor visits when they have to examine him.

My daughter has been to hell and back. I won’t go into specifics. She has a paralyzed finger in her left hand and has rods, pins and screws in her right arm. I could write a book on her life. I know in my heart that God chose an angel for Donny. “It’s his mother.” I can’t begin to tell you what she has gone through in her life.

I pray that you stay in touch with us, so you can see for yourself what a great family we are. If you ever come to El Paso, we would love to have you for dinner, we are great cooks. Mexican food is our specialty. Even if you would stop in El Paso for a quick and sincere hug from us.

Again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. We will never forget you. We know that you care. And “I have three angels in my world.” God Bless you now and forever.

Irene (Donny’s Grandmother)

Anthony did “See” you!

Vanessa — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:01:58 +0000

As Anthony flew into the beautiful city of New Orleans he was ecstatic with anticipation, as he was about to meet his all time favortite WWE superstar, John Cena! John Cena autographed many items for Anthony, talked with him for a bit and took numerous photos with the teen. John Cena is one amazing guy for everything he does for these kids. After Anthony’s meeting, he stayed and watched Mr. Cena do his “thing in the ring.”

Meeting John Cena wasn’t the only thing Anthony and his family did in New Orleans: they also experienced a 2-hour lunch cruise along the Misissippi, checked out the Musee Conti and visited the great Mardi Gras World.

I’m glad you had a fabulous time, Anthony!

-Vanessa

Wish Coordinator

Caitlyn Couldn’t Resist the Ocean

Vanessa — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:55:06 +0000

Caitlyn couldn’t wait for her fantasy to become reality. While Caitlyn and her family chose to drive to Disney World for her wish, they first they stopped at Cocoa Beach where Caitlyn experienced the ocean for the first time. They relaxed for a bit and Caitlyn was so excited to dip her feet in the water.

Continuing on their journey, she and her family visited many of the Disney World theme parks. She also met and received many autographs from different Disney Characters. Furthermore, Caitlyn received her ultimate makeover at her favorite place, the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique in Disney World. They made her into the princess that she is!

-Vanessa

Wish Coordinator

Caitlyn Couldn't Resist the Ocean

Vanessa — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:55:06 +0000

-Vanessa

Wish Coordinator

Music Heals!

Vanessa — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:15:19 +0000

Drew couldn’t wait to make some noise on his new drum set!

-Vanessa