Disney and Make-A-Wish UK join forces to create magical Disney experience for Wish children in the UK

•   Kiah Powell from Shropshire joins Make-A-Wish UK families for A Disney Wish, the UK’s largest ever Disney wish experience 

•   Celebrities Helen Skelton, Matt Willis and Millie Mackintosh join the magical event for children and young people diagnosed with a serious illness or life-limiting condition

Kiah Powell from Shifnal, Shropshire joined a magical three-day Disney experience for children living with critical illness alongside 240 other wish families at a unique event in Staffordshire.

The Walt Disney Company UK & Ireland, Make-A-Wish® UK and The Kentown Wizard Foundation joined forces to bring the magic of Disney to children living with life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses; many who are unable to travel abroad due to their conditions.

Between 14-16th September, Kiah travelled to Hoar Cross Hall in Staffordshire, which was transformed into an Enchanted Manor for the occasion. The event, which will continue until September 28th, aims to provide hundreds of critically ill children, their siblings and parents with a tailor-made, immersive Disney experience.  

The Make-A-Wish UK families took part in a variety of Disney activities, including a Winnie-the-Pooh and Friends picnic; Jedi Training Academy; a Mickey and Minnie Bedtime Story; a Frozen Sing-Along; Story Time with Belle in the Grand Ballroom and a Marvel Training Initiative featuring Marvel Super Heroes.

Make-A-Wish UK supports children and young people diagnosed with a serious illness or life-limiting condition, by granting them their dearest wish. Medical conditions, complexity of travel and lots of specialist equipment mean it’s often difficult for families to travel abroad and get that unique Disney experience which is the heart of many wishes. 

At two-years-old, Kiah woke up one day limping which doctors were convinced was muscle of ligament injuries from playing. After a GP agreed that something wasn’t quite right, Kiah was taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for blood tests. Shocking news followed when the family were told Kiah was at stage four cancer and had 95% body covering in his bones and was given just 50/50 chance of survival. 15 months of treatment followed and amazingly his bones and bone marrow had cleared and a 15cm x 8cm tumour in his belly was blasted with chemo and shrank to about 2-3cm. The tumour is still active on his scans and will now be monitored and scanned regularly until he’s 16-years-old as it can’t be completely removed it as it’s so close to his kidneys and the fine hairs on the tumour are wrapped around the main artery to the heart.

We couldn’t stop analysing the situation and questioning if we’d done something to make him get this horrible illness. It gave us a complete and overwhelming fear of losing him and even now I constantly fear that it’s going to come back knowing he still has some of the tumour in his belly. He’s a remarkable little boy. Kiah was so gutted when our family trip to Disneyland in Paris got cancelled because of covid so this has been so exciting. Seeing his face light up seeing all the Disney and Marvel characters was priceless. I can’t thank everyone involved enough.”

“Over 60,000 children in the UK are living with a critical illness, and may not be able to travel abroad due to the limits of their condition – or because they tragically may not have long left. We’re absolutely delighted that over 200 children have had their wishes come true by experiencing the magic of Disney right here in the UK, providing light and joy right when they and their families need it most. We are extremely grateful to Disney and to The Kentown Wizard Foundation for making this event possible.”

 “I’m so pleased we are able to work with Make-A-Wish UK and Kentown Wizard to create another magical experience for hundreds of children and their families who are living with serious illness. The joy and magic of a Disney wish, featuring meet and greets with iconic Disney characters and unique interactive experiences, helps families create priceless memories they can cherish for a lifetime. This is our biggest UK wish event to date and being able to create even more Moments that Matter is so inspiring – it’s a personal highlight in the Disney calendar.”

The project would not have been possible without funding from The Kentown Wizard Foundation, which exists to have a positive impact on the lives of children and young adults with serious, life-limiting conditions and disabilities.  

“We were privileged to witness first-hand how this unique event brought laughter, joy and Disney magic to 240 children and their families at a time when they needed it most and so we had no hesitation when providing funding to make A Disney Wish 2022 possible. Reimagining the Disney experience in a central UK location is a unique concept which has allowed many more seriously ill children to make precious memories with their families. We are proud to be part of this collaboration and to witness again, the impact of a Disney Wish.”

Keen to get involved and lend their support to the wish families by volunteering at the event, several celebrities joined the Disney Wish experience. Actor and musician Matt Willis; model and TV star Millie Mackintosh and TV presenter and Strictly Come Dancing star Helen Skelton were among the stars spending time with the children and their families, hearing more about their stories and helping make sure they experienced all the Mickey magic and fairy-tale fun.

To find out more about how wishes have a life-changing impact on the whole family, visit make-a-wish.org.uk or follow the charity on social media @makeawishuk.