Children battling severe illnesses took off from Philadelphia International Airport this week bound for Walt Disney World, part of a Make-A-Wish send-off that turned an ordinary departure gate into a celebration. The trips are the latest example of a decades-old partnership designed to give critically ill kids a week of pure escape in Central Florida.
The send-offs, covered by CBS News Philadelphia, saw Make-A-Wish make dreams come true for children heading out on the special trip. American Airlines is Make-A-Wish America's longest-standing airline partner, according to Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, Delaware and Susquehanna Valley.
The airline's involvement in wish trips is part of a relationship that has connected families with Central Florida. The Walt Disney Company has granted more than 150,000 Disney-themed wishes globally since beginning its partnership in 1980, per The Walt Disney Company.
Where Wish Families Stay in Orlando
Some families traveling to Central Florida for a Disney wish stay at Give Kids The World Village, an 89-acre non-profit resort in Kissimmee that provides cost-free, weeklong accommodations, meals, and accessible entertainment for critically ill children and their families, according to Give Kids The World Village. The resort features wheelchair-accessible rides, themed villas, and a Castle of Miracles. Hoodline previously reported on Disney character visits there for other wish families staying at the resort during their Orlando trips.
Locally, the Bala Cynwyd-based chapter, Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, Delaware & Susquehanna Valley, has fulfilled more than 8,300 wishes across the region since it was founded in 1986, according to the chapter's own accounting on its Founders Wish Circle page. Its service area includes eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the Susquehanna Valley. The chapter receives support through corporate sponsorships, special events, and private donations, per the Food Industry Association.
A New Headquarters and a Milestone Year
On November 18, the chapter opened The Vince & Lynne Laino Wishing Place, giving children an interactive space to begin designing their wishes before they ever reach the airport, according to CBS News. The facility includes specialized rooms meant to help kids discover what their wish should be. This year marks 40 years of wish granting for the local chapter, with a Wishes & Wonder anniversary celebration scheduled for November 19 at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia to honor corporate partners and community supporters who help fund local wishes, per the chapter's own announcement.
Beyond the celebration, these trips can mean more than a vacation for families navigating pediatric illness.
The scale of the need remains enormous even as individual families celebrate their trips. The Delaware General Assembly has recognized World Wish Day and Make-A-Wish's work, according to a resolution from the Delaware General Assembly. For the families who boarded flights out of Philadelphia this week, that recognition became a lived reality — a week of Central Florida sunshine carved out amid ongoing medical battles back home.
