Please help grant a Disney dying wish

[the1nonlysinger]

Hi everyone,

I have a request going out to the WDWMagic community- I'm hoping that someone out here might be able to help me. I am a woman on a mission...

One of my coworker was recently diagnosed with a terminal cancer. She was given only a few months to live. The coworkers and family all chipped in to grant her dying wish of visiting Disney World. So she is currently booked for a trip to WDW, May 17-20 staying at the Grand Floridian.

I am trying to pull strings to add extra magic to her trip. She has said that she would like to eat in the castle (I'm assuming Cinderella's Royal Table) and to be grand marshall of the parade. Nothing like shooting for the stars, right? :animwink:

Well I know just how fast CRT books up and when I called they're completely full with no possibility for exceptions (no surprise there). I know that the food is not the best there (from what I've heard anyway) but that is where she'd like to eat so I was trying to make it happen... I will suggest several of the other fine dining experiences if I am not able to make it happen.

Well I just spent my lunch hour on the phone trying to find out what else we can do to make the trip special. Guest Services was not overly helpful. I spoke with the hotel where she will be staying and I didn't get any help there. I currently have a voicemail waiting with the Compassion Partners Liaison at Give Kids the World- which is the latest place I have been sent...

Here's what I'm trying to do- and hoping you can help me with:
1) If anyone HAS a reservation at CRT between May 17-20 and would be willing to donate it to my coworker- she is traveling with her brother and niece so it is a party of 3. You would be making a Disney wish come true!

2) If anyone knows of ways or has connections so we can create some magic moments for her- I would appreciate the help. I was hoping they might do special things like decorate her room, leave a voicemail from Mickey, stuff like that. I have no idea what to even suggest. But it's not like she's going to wear a button around the parks telling everyone that she's dying. So I'm wondering how we can make connections so that she can have those special moments like someone who is celebrating a birthday or anniversary or other happy occasion.

I am open to suggestions!

Thanks in advance for the help & ideas!! I really appreciate the help and I know that she will as well!
Erin

 

[captainkidd]

Only thing I could possibly think of is to get a hold of the Make A Wish foundation, and see if they can help, though I believe they only work with children.

Damn cancer. With all the money that gets wasted on stupid wars and other crap, and with all the technology available to scientists, you'd think by now they'd have a cure for this damn thing.

 

[Master Yoda]

Only thing I could possibly think of is to get a hold of the Make A Wish foundation, and see if they can help, though I believe they only work with children.

Damn cancer. With all the money that gets wasted on stupid wars and other crap, and with all the technology available to scientists, you'd think by now they'd have a cure for this damn thing.

Make a wish only works with people under the age of 18.

I could tell you many reasons why they have not cured cancer yet but this is not the place for that but here is a little heavy reading on the subject.

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=10761

 

[DisneyJoe]

Services such as Gifts of a Lifetime will decorate a room for you, others exist too.

Email Lou Mongello, he may have connections. wdwradio.com

 

[DizneyPryncess]

Oh my - I'm so sorry for the difficult situation you and your coworker are in. It's nice that everyone has been able to work out a trip to Disney for her. I don't have any connections to Disney, or a reservation I could turn over to you, but I wish I did.

I just wanted to say ditto to the idea of using Gifts of a Lifetime. On my honeymoon, my husband had them make me a treasure hunt around the Magic Kingdom. It was great, and made to a difficulty suitable for my age. It was a total surprise, and was absolutely magical. I know they custom make everything, based on your situation/age of people involved/favorite characters/etc. They honestly seem like they will do anything they are able to do to make your trip special.

It's expensive, but I would really suggest talking to them about custom making an activity to make your coworker feel extra special. As far as Cinderella's Royal Table goes, call every single day for cancellations. They happen ALL the time. Even try the day of, as a lot happen then. Good luck. :wave:

 

[the1nonlysinger]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions- please keep them coming!

As far as I know, the money that has been collected has already been turned over to her for her trip. So I'm not really working with any budget.

I was hoping that Disney might do some things for free. Because unfortunately I'm not in the financial place to be able to afford them myself... But I'm not really asking for things like souvenirs. I'm thinking the special little perks you get when it's your birthday. Experiences, if you will.

I would love to get her a tour of Walt Disney Suite in Cinderella's Castle! Does anyone have a hook up for that? When I called guest services, they directed me back to the same Compassion Liaison that I already left a voicemail for.

 

[tracilynne88]

Hi, Erin! I have a friend that used to work for Disney. I have contacted her and she has contacted some of her friends to contact including the Director of Community Relations. Can I have a name and email in case I need them to contact you? Please feel free to contact me personally. I hope we can get your friend a magical trip!

Traci
tracilynne88@gmail.com

 

[HouCuseChickie]

First off- I'm so sorry to hear about your coworker...but how awesome it is that you guys were able to do this for her. I got choked up reading this.

I'm not going to be a huge help b/c I really don't know too much about what Disney can do here, but I have some CRT suggestions.

I hate to direct you to another board, but DISboard has cancellation threads for each month. You can even subscribe to them to get notifications every time there's an addition to the thread. I know I know- there are many people on here who don't feel this really works, but I tried it for the heck of it with our last trip and I've seen some success with it. At the very least- what would it hurt? :shrug: Aside from that, stalk the website. CRT will show up quite a bit as you get closer to the travel dates...one of the benefits of it being a "pay up front" meal. I've noticed lunch come up more than breakfast and dinner, but just search for everything.

Good luck and keep us posted! :wave: