Make a Wish/DW Need answers please

[mamajennie]

Hey folks! I am a newbie here looking for some answers & suggestions. I am a host of a support & help group here on the net. One of our members has a little girl that has been diagnosed with a terminal disorder & has been referred to make a wish by her doctor. She has a disorder called mitochandrial complex 1 & from what I hear it is very bad.

This little girl has stolen our group's heart & we want to help see that all of her wish comes true. She has requested a disney world wish trip & has it planned out to the last detail. Her dream wish is to visit the attractions in orlando (disney, sea world, universal) along with a visit to the beach which is somewhere she has never been. When she found she was chosen, she knew where she wanted to go & believe me, has added her own creative twists to her wish with these requests. She has a wonderful imagination lol

She asked her brother to help her look online & with a visit to the disney site, seen cinderella's suite in the castle. her imagination ran wild with that & here is what she came up with. She wants to stay in cinderella's castle, ride in cinderella's carriage, eat with cinderella and be a princess. She also wants to take her best friend which is disabled for companionship.

I am not familiar entirely with make a wish so hope that someone here can give me some insight. Here is that thing, from what they have been told, make a wish will not grant taking a friend with her. The friend can go however they will not cover her expenses. Also, when explaining to the make a wish rep about the details of the child's wish, they informed that they could grant the trip but the details such as cinderella's suite, carriage ride & eating with cinderella would most likely not be possible. It was explained that the wish trip recipients are lodged in GKTW, given tickets to the attractions and eat at GKTW. The way it was understood is that this was the extent of the wish trip.

Here is where I am a little confused. On the make a wish site, they encourage kids to "be creative & let their imagination soar" when making a wish. They also state that there is no limit or restriction to a child's wish as long as it is their own, wishes are only limited by the imagination & for the child to "be specific with the details of their wish." I am saddened by this because when our group found out about this, we encouraged the mother to let the child enjoy the process of coming up with her own wish & let her imagination soar so to speak. After hearing the details that the little girl had came up with, the mother was concerned that the child had "wished too big" & based on what the make a wish site stated, we encouraged her to let the child wish as big as her heart desired. Now, after hearing about what the rep told her, I feel so bad that I encouraged her to let the child's imagination soar so to speak. This child has now set her heart on this & I may have a hand in dashing her dream. I am just heartbroken about this.

My questions - does anyone know if this is common for make a wish to limit the child's wish? I myself, do not consider this wish any more expensive than some of the others I have read about. I have read about international trips which cost quite a bit more. Make a wish states clearly that a child's wish will not be clouded by money. The family has even stated that they would drive as opposed to fly to cut down on the expense so the child could have her wish for the friend. I can understand that they will not grant the additional night at the beach because this could be considered as an additional wish. My next question is, if they will not allow a friend to go, could there be another way to fund the additional expenses of the wish, say with a fundraiser or could it be possible for a sponsor such as a business to fund the additional expenses? Additional expenses would be attraction tickets & food for the friend and possibly lodging for a day or two at the beach. It seems I heard that if someone did want to sponsor, it could not be for a specific wish, but would go into the pool & would make no difference in the process of this child. Could it be possible for someone to contact disney relations & see if this would be possible? Is disney compassionate about these types of situations?

I am now thinking the difference may be the make a wish chapter that they are working with because I know our chapter has always went above and beyond to grant a child's wish details. I would appreciate any input. This little girl is just the sweetest little angel I have ever had the pleasure to know & she deserves the world. I am just horrified that I had part in encouraging this child & her heart be broken but I was under the impression that this was the idea. A child's one big wish granted. Thanks to all who respond. I really appreciate it!

 

[mamajennie]

Another question....

Does anyone know any contact info for the dept that handles this at disney? Thank you

 

[Monty]

A good place to start would be wdw.guest.communications@disney.com

If they can't help, certainly they can put you in contact with the appropriate department.

I'm not at all familiar with how Make-a-Wish organizes what they do for kids, but I suspect they are limited in what they can provide by availability and Disney's cooperation.The Cinderella Suite is already committed for I believe 340 nights as a prize in the YOMD contest. Disney can't legally remove one of the prizes to accommodate a wish. I don't know what they have planned for the remaining nights, but I expect the calendar is full. So although the wish isn't necessarily limited by fiscal restraints, there may be other restraints.

The disabled friend's trip could be financed through means independant of Make-a-Wish, but that would be up to you and your organization to organize. If the friend's disability warranted a Make-a-Wish trip, they could apply themselves.

 

[CleveRocks]

Monty Mon is 100% correct. There are practical considerations well beyond the Make-A-Wish chapter's control. The Cinderella Castle suite is a prime example. It is part of Disney's Year of a Million Dreams promotion -- in fact, it was created specifically FOR that promotion and only opened last month.

Let's say a child's creative wish was to go surfing with Donald Trump. All good and well, certainly creative, but what if Trump simply doesn't want to do it? Is Make-A-Wish being mean and uncaring? Of course not -- the wish is beyond their control.

I think you have to look at it this way ... the wishes have to be activities that are generally available to the general public. Going to Disney World is a wish that can be accommodated because the chapter can purchase plane tickets and park admissions. But going to Disney World with Denzel Washingtom isn't something M-A-W can offer unless Mr. Washington agrees to do it.

I'll take a hunch that Disney would possibly be open to doing something personal and special that wouldn't totally upset their operations, such as a 15-minute private meet-and-greet with Cindy or another princess. I'm just trying to help you be realistic.

And no, I'm not being heartless at all, just realistic. I don't want to go into my background with M-A-W, but let's just say I know how they operate, and it's a wonderful mission that they totally accomplish.

 

[WaltzingMatilda]

Hi. I was moved by your post...you are obviously a very caring and loving person. I can only imagine that in a situation like this it sems crucial to provide every aspect of a cherished wish. I have never been involved with Make-A-Wish, but I do know some little ones and I know that while they can dream big, they can also adjust to creative explanations as to why certain things can't happen. My own daughter asked me repeatedly to take her to Cinderella's room while we were at Disney, and I had to do a lot of explaining as to why we couldn't (she's napping, out to dinner, having work done on the house {true, actually, renovations were going on}).

You have done nothing wrong in encouraging this little girl to express her dearest wishes. As parents and people who love children we all do that, and we should. She will be thrilled with the trip either way, believe me, there is so much magic everywhere at the world. I do hope it works out that her friend can go with her.

My prayers and thoughts are with you. Please keep us posted.

 

[mamajennie]

Thanks

oh no, I hope this was not taken wrong. I wasn't saying anything about make a wish negatively. I think they are the most wonderful organization operating today. It was myself and my habit of not thinking before getting involved in such things that I am talking about. I have gotten myself into a jam encouraging a child, yet not realizing that I was not completely in the know. I was going on mere website info when I tried explaining this to the Mother therefore, set the wheels in motion and just feel really bad about it. Thought maybe I could fix it but it doesn't look like there is much I can do.

I appreciate all of your comments and suggestions and am so sorry if I seemed to be speaking against mac. I would never want to demean mac in any way. My husband and myself had given to mac every year through his company up until he retired and i have participated in one of their fundraisers and knowing the fiscal details, their organization spends most of it's percentage on hand with the wishes unlike many charities which apply much to this and much to that. I applaud the fact that make a wish applies most of the donations strait toward a childs wish. Thanks so much for responding and I am sorry fo any misunderstanding. Have a blessed day

 

[Monty]

oh no, I hope this was not taken wrong. I wasn't saying anything about make a wish negatively. I think they are the most wonderful organization operating today. It was myself and my habit of not thinking before getting involved in such things that I am talking about. I have gotten myself into a jam encouraging a child, yet not realizing that I was not completely in the know. I was going on mere website info when I tried explaining this to the Mother therefore, set the wheels in motion and just feel really bad about it. Thought maybe I could fix it but it doesn't look like there is much I can do.

I appreciate all of your comments and suggestions and am so sorry if I seemed to be speaking against mac. I would never want to demean mac in any way. My husband and myself had given to mac every year through his company up until he retired and i have participated in one of their fundraisers and knowing the fiscal details, their organization spends most of it's percentage on hand with the wishes unlike many charities which apply much to this and much to that. I applaud the fact that make a wish applies most of the donations strait toward a childs wish. Thanks so much for responding and I am sorry fo any misunderstanding. Have a blessed day

Not to worry, I for one didn't think you were slamming the charity. The good news is the little girl will enjoy whatever she does at WDW. Kids aren't as fixed on getting everything they want and can be very happy getting what they get. It's we adults that set expectations and allow ourselves to be disappointed when they aren't met.

Nothing wrong with you wanting more for such a special girl! :sohappy:

 

[snakeislandboy]

Maybe there could be some way that Disney could ask if the winner of the Cinderella Suite that night give up their stay to make that little girl's dream come true.

 

[snakeislandboy]

I just want to add that no matter what can be booked or not, it will be an amazing expirence for her and her family. My brother recently passed from cancer. I took my brother on our first trip to Disney world a couple years ago (we were 25). He always said of all the things we did through our life, that was his favorite. My brother had cancer for 8 years, and for those days in the park it was like he never had it. That my friends is true Magic.

 

[ClemsonTigger]

My understanding of how most Make a Wish chapters work is that they try to at least make part of the dream come true. In the case of your example, they may make a trip to Disney OR it may be a trip to Seaworld OR a trip to the beach, but not all.

As Disney is a very popular destination, many chapters (including our local) annually have a charter flight for one day in the MK. Guests and friends accompanying the child pay their own way. I believe they coordinate with a group within Disney letting them know who the group is and when they are coming, Disney does not as a rule add anything on to the experience or definitely does not provide for individualized special treatment. I believe Disney often assigns a CM as group coordinator, and they often have individual visits with characters during their visit.

Not meaning to sound cruel, but there are hundreds if not thousands of similar cases to the one you described helped by Make a Wish and other similar agencies every year. I'm sure your special child will be happy with getting to visit and not be too concerned about the extra's she had thought of. Possibly the parents or you could contact Disney directly and arrange for something additional if need be.

 

[sarabi]

Some suggestions:

My best friend's son was diagnosed with leukemia and they went to WDW through Make a Wish. While it may be hard to accomodate a stay in the castle, perhaps you could get in touch with Make a Wish and show her where she would stay as part of the program. From what I hear it's a cute little village with lots of kids, free ice cream all the time, and experienced caregivers and medical staff on hand (to ease the parents' minds). I hear it's quite the neverneverland and she might actually want to stay there after all.

As far as dinner with Cindy, that may be arranged through Guest Services. If all else fails, a priority seating at the princess breakfast in the castle would be great, and if word is passed that this girl is on a Make a Wish trip, she will certainly be showered with attention from the princesses.

As far as the friend going along, that can't be financed through make a wish. If it could, people would expand their trips to roughly 40 people per trip as part of their "wish" and there just would not be money to go around for other needy children. However, the family may be able to raise money through the community or other organizations to get that friend in on the trip too.

 

[CleveRocks]

Maybe there could be some way that Disney could ask if the winner of the Cinderella Suite that night give up their stay to make that little girl's dream come true.

Nice idea, but couldn't really happen. The people staying in the Castle Suite tonight were randomly picked late this morning. The people staying tomorrow will be randomly picked late tomorrow morning. There would be no way to try to arrange with anyone until right when it happens, so there's no way to arrange it in advance.