Hong Kong Disneyland Resort collaborates with Make-A-Wish® to fulfill children’s dream

Teamed up with Make-A-Wish®, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (HKDL) hosted Summer Snow Day Wishes celebration at the immersive new land World of Frozen today.

Jill Estorino, President and Managing Director of Disney Parks International, stated that Disney is delighted to be the largest wish granter for Make-A-Wish in the world. "Making wishes come true is some of the most important work that we do at Disney. HKDL joined that journey when it opened in 2005 and has been bringing Disney magic to the local community and beyond ever since."

11 Wish children living with critical illnesses and their families worldwide were invited to the celebration and have their wishes granted.

They are among the approximately 130 guests traveling from local Make-A-Wish affiliates from Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines and Taiwan.

“This is a remarkable day for Make-A-Wish. For the first time ever, we are granting wishes from the Southeast Asia region at Hong Kong Disneyland,” said Dr Kevin Lau, Board Director of Make-A-Wish International.

“I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Hong Kong Disneyland for inviting us to this special event celebrating the power of wishes at the kingdom of Arendelle and joining hands with Make-A-Wish in bringing hope to children from all around the world,” he added.

Witnessing dreams come true 

A young child's desire to meet the Imagineers working on the brand-new World of Frozen served as the inspiration for the entire event.

Dominic, a wish child from Singapore, is interested in meeting the Imagineers who worked on making World of Frozen to gain more insight into Disney's imaginative storytelling. 

He was diagnosed with hemophilia seven days after birth. Despite the incurable condition that will require lifelong treatment, he is driven by a passion for science, engineering, mathematics, and space exploration.

After watching the documentary "The Imagineering Story" on Disney+ during the pandemic, he was greatly inspired by the Imagineers' creativity and innovative use of technology to create Disney parks and attractions.

Jo Phoa, the Director of Creative Development at Walt Disney Imagineering Hong Kong, and Angus Chan, the Principal Ride Control System Engineer, specifically designed an exploratory tour for the Wish children in order to fulfill his dream. They take a tour of the recently opened Frozen Ever After attraction, which features state-of-the-art Audio-Animatronics technology.

Dominic was excited about his first visit to a Disney park. "The work of Imagineers combines robotic techniques, architecture, engineering, and other disciplines, turning imagination into reality through numerous trials and experiments," he enthused.

Ali’s dream is to visit the fantastic realm of Arendelle and meet Elsa. Her favorite character is brave in the face of hardship, and Ali was motivated by her to face her illness with a smile and optimism and would like to become a nurse or doctor when she grows up.

Ali received his first phase of chemotherapy in June following her diagnosis of medulloblastoma. Her family said that she felt hopeful after the visit and was able to temporarily forget her illness whilst nursing priceless memories.

Looking forward 

Together, Disney and Make-A-Wish have granted more than 150,000 wishes inspired by Disney to people all over the world for more than 40 years.

The cast members at HKDL are inspired by the bravery, tenacity, and optimism displayed by the Wish children, which drives the resort to keep enchanting and uplifting visitors. To grant wishes and make lifelong memories for Wish children living with critical illnesses and their families, HKDL will keep working with Make-A-Wish Hong Kong and other Make-A-Wish International affiliates.

In honor of World of Frozen's debut and the 25th anniversary of Make-A-Wish Hong Kong, the resort will donate HK$10 to the organization for each transaction completed at Tick Tock Toys & Collectibles in the Arendelle kingdom from today until Jan 10, 2024.

HKDL intends to contribute a total of HK$600,000 to the development of Make-A-Wish Hong Kong, including proceeds from the resort's recent "Wish Upon A Chocolate Cake" charity sales.

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