NEWS: Disney Unveils Reimagined Wish Lounge

Every year Walt Disney World hosts a festival of sorts that most guests have never heard of. Most guests won’t be part of the festivities, but it’s the best thing to happen at Disney World all year. This is the Week of Wishes. A week where Disney celebrates its partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation (more information on Make-A-Wish below). As part of the celebration this year, Disney World rededicated a newly reimagined Wish Lounge.

We hope that in addition to enjoying the good vibes the story below gives you, you’ll consider giving back by supporting the important work of the Make-A-Wish Foundation at Wish.org.

Full details below.

As Disney kicks off its annual Disney Week of Wishes – which celebrates the company’s longstanding relationship with Make-A-Wish – Walt Disney World Resort rededicated its newly reimagined Wish Lounge.

The Wish Lounge is a space reserved exclusively for wish families to rest and relax during their day at Magic Kingdom Park. It opened in the late 2000s and was recently rethemed, with special touches and artwork that focus on wish-granting moments in favorite Disney stories. A Disney wish is granted every hour of every day, and the Wish Lounge offers a quiet, dedicated place for the families to spend time together and experience the magic of their wish.

At the heart of the rededication moment was Abigail Hoyle, a Disney cast member whose own Make-A-Wish trip brought her to Walt Disney World in 2011. During that visit, Abigail and her family spent time in the Wish Lounge, and today, she has returned to Walt Disney World to be a WishMaker for others. Disney wishes renew hope, uplift spirits and unite families during some of their most challenging moments, something Abigail knows firsthand.

“As part of the entertainment team, I help kids and their families meet their favorite characters,” said Abigail. “It’s so special to be able to do that because that’s what the cast members did for me on my Make-A-Wish trip. So it really is a full-circle moment.”

Abigail was joined by 6-year-old Paxton, a wish kid from Pennsylvania who is living with a gastrointestinal disorder, and his family to help rededicate the space. Paxton wished to come to Walt Disney World, and Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum, Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle and Abigail teamed up to surprise him and his family with a special moment with his favorite characters: Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Together, they marked a meaningful new chapter for the Wish Lounge, representing both the start of new wish journeys and the impact of past wishes.

During the reconstruction of the room, Abigail and her fellow cast members who are Make-A-Wish alumni were invited to sign a wall of the Wish Lounge, becoming part of its ongoing legacy and leaving a message of hope and support for wish families who will visit the space in the future. Today, those cast members are helping to grant the more than 7,000 wishes that happen at Walt Disney World each year.

Disney Week of Wishes is a weeklong campaign celebrating 45 years of wish-granting with Disney and Make-A-Wish. As the organization’s largest WishMaker, Disney grants a wish every hour of every day and has helped grant more than 175,000 wishes for children with critical illnesses worldwide.

Make-A-Wish America: Make-A-Wish creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Founded in Phoenix, Arizona, Make-A-Wish is the #1 most trusted nonprofit operating locally in all 50 states throughout the U.S. Together with generous donors, supporters, staff and nearly 20,000 volunteers across the country, Make-A-Wish delivers hope and joy to children and their families when they need it most. Make-A-Wish aims to bring the power of wishing to every child with a critical illness because wish experiences can help improve emotional and physical health. Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 650,000 wishes in nearly 50 countries worldwide; more than 400,000 wishes in the U.S. and its territories alone. For more information about Make-A-Wish America, visit wish.org.