Make a Wish (and other organizations!) - Wish Trippers...UNITE!! Volume 2!

[maroo]

Ok...

I am soliciting your help...but only if you are not too busy (so, if you have like 7 kids at your house right now...you don't need to feel obligated to do this. Family first!)

But...

I would like to start a letter writing campaign. I am going to ask my friends on FB, Twitter, the DIS and some more places to write a letter to the Disney Photopass Managers.


Here is their address:

Disney Photo Imaging
Attn: Manager of Disney Photopass
PO Box 10000
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830


Here are the talking points that I am going to address...but feel free to add your own.


* It is our understanding that the Photopass CD price has increased to $149.00 and that no discount is currently available for families staying at Give Kids the World - the resort for Wish Families.

* Many of our Wish families rely on Photopass to capture magical moments.

* Some of our wish families simply do not have the financial resources to purchase Photopass and even those that do have large medical bills.

* Lucas was able to open the Magic Kingdom as the Family of the Day - the only pictures of this special moment were captured on Photopass.

* Noah's family took a picture in front of the Castle this year. A picture together as a family - all five of them. Noah passed away in July and those pictures are now treasures to their family.

* Tyler made a wish to see Stitch. In a month or so he is going to meet Stitch and a Photopass Photographer is going to capture that special moment for this family.


Please consider offering deep discounts to ALL of these families staying at Give Kids the World.

Each family at Give Kids the World attends an orientation and are given many coupons to Orlando attractions and tickets to the Disney Parks, Universal Studios and Sea World.

Would it be possible to donate Photopass CD's to these children? Can this be a tax deductible gift to Give Kids the World for each of these families? Or maybe they can receive a coupon for 50% off of a Photopass CD?


Thank you for your time and attention.




Do you guys think this will work?? Let me know what you think!

 

[mommy_lisa]

We are back and very exhausted. We all had a wonderful time and have lots and lots and lots of pics. Off to sleep, oh my bed sounds so good right now

 

[maroo]

We are back and very exhausted. We all had a wonderful time and have lots and lots and lots of pics. Off to sleep, oh my bed sounds so good right now

Yeah!!!!!!

Glad you are back! I hope you had an awesome trip!

 

[yinyanggirls]

Ok...

* It is our understanding that the Photopass CD price has increased to $149.00 and that no discount is currently available for families staying at Give Kids the World - the resort for Wish Families.

Can you please list exactly what you get with that purchase? I've only been to Disneyland once in recent years, and had pics taken with a photopass. This was last March. If my memory is correct, I was given the card and when I got home I could enter in the number and view all of the images taken for my card. After viewing them I could purchase prints (and possibly the digital file, but not sure about that part). I don't remember being offered a CD, but maybe I wasn't paying attention since we had a whole entourage with us and they only took pics of us once, at the exact same time we took our own.

I assume that the CD is the high quality digital files of all photos taken with your pass. Is there anything else included in the purchase price? I would think that if it is only for files, they are not losing any money on materials by giving it to wish families for free. It does have value, I am a photographer and understand this, but not a significant cost that they can't quickly recoup from other visitors. They already own the cameras, they are already paying the CM to take pics, they will only spend 15 seconds on your family per picture, and the CD price is negligible. They don't mind sacrificing the extra minutes of a CM's time to do special character visits, or just assisting families in the lines, etc. It makes perfect sense to me that they would make some sort of allowance for the CD to be given or more affordably purchased by wish families. Just my .02

 

[kdzbear]

Ok...

I am soliciting your help...but only if you are not too busy (so, if you have like 7 kids at your house right now...you don't need to feel obligated to do this. Family first!)

But...

I would like to start a letter writing campaign. I am going to ask my friends on FB, Twitter, the DIS and some more places to write a letter to the Disney Photopass Managers.


Here is their address:

Disney Photo Imaging
Attn: Manager of Disney Photopass
PO Box 10000
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830


Here are the talking points that I am going to address...but feel free to add your own.


* It is our understanding that the Photopass CD price has increased to $149.00 and that no discount is currently available for families staying at Give Kids the World - the resort for Wish Families.

* Many of our Wish families rely on Photopass to capture magical moments.

* Some of our wish families simply do not have the financial resources to purchase Photopass and even those that do have large medical bills.

* Lucas was able to open the Magic Kingdom as the Family of the Day - the only pictures of this special moment were captured on Photopass.

* Noah's family took a picture in front of the Castle this year. A picture together as a family - all five of them. Noah passed away in July and those pictures are now treasures to their family.

* Tyler made a wish to see Stitch. In a month or so he is going to meet Stitch and a Photopass Photographer is going to capture that special moment for this family.


Please consider offering deep discounts to ALL of these families staying at Give Kids the World.

Each family at Give Kids the World attends an orientation and are given many coupons to Orlando attractions and tickets to the Disney Parks, Universal Studios and Sea World.

Would it be possible to donate Photopass CD's to these children? Can this be a tax deductible gift to Give Kids the World for each of these families? Or maybe they can receive a coupon for 50% off of a Photopass CD?


Thank you for your time and attention.




Do you guys think this will work?? Let me know what you think!

I think that this is a great plan. Could you send it via email to guest services? I have always had a good response from them for any area of the park. I may try to send an email later today and see what sort of response I get.

 

[maroo]

That is a great idea...To write guest services.

If you will give me their email address, I will definitely email them today, too.


I called Disney PhotoPass today and they said that this was the final policy on this. So...Now it's on.

If you are on Twitter...please send out the following TWEET:

Hopefully the people that follow you on Twitter will RETWEET it to their friends and so on. This could be very effective.

This is exactly what I am tweeting:

FW this tweet if you agree that Give Kids the World Wish Families should get a big discount on Disney PhotoPass!



Thank you so much for your help! Feel free to forward this information to anyone you know.

 

[kdzbear]

That is a great idea...To write guest services.

If you will give me their email address, I will definitely email them today, too.


I called Disney PhotoPass today and they said that this was the final policy on this. So...Now it's on.

If you are on Twitter...please send out the following TWEET:

Hopefully the people that follow you on Twitter will RETWEET it to their friends and so on. This could be very effective.

This is exactly what I am tweeting:

FW this tweet if you agree that Give Kids the World Wish Families should get a big discount on Disney PhotoPass!

Thank you so much for your help! Feel free to forward this information to anyone you know.

Here is the email address: guest.mail@wdw.disneyonline.com

Here is the letter I sent this morning after stealing Maroo's letter and revising it a little bit:

Disney Photo Imaging
Attn: Manager of Disney Photopass
PO Box 10000
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830


Dear Disney World Photopass Department,

I am writing to you today regarding an issue that it dear to my heart. My son, Tyler, is special needs. He will be coming to Disney World for his Wish trip from Nov. 20th- 25th, 2009. I am a participant on a discussion group called Disboards. There is a special section there that is just for Make a Wish families. They gather support from one another and encourage one another through tough times.

These Wish families have just learned that you can no longer pre-order a Photopass. I understand that the Photopass CD price has increased to $149.00 and that no discount is currently available for families staying at Give Kids the World - the resort for Wish Families.

Many of the Wish families rely on Photopass to capture magical moments. Unfortunately, these may be the last moments that some of these families have with their children. It means a lot to them to have a professionally taken photo to remember their magical visit and to look back fondly at the last time their child smiled on this earth.

Many wish families simply do not have the financial resources to purchase Photopass and even those that do have large medical bills. I know that they are always welcome to take pictures with their own cameras, but sometimes a professional photographer can capture a moment better than a family member that is emotionally wrapped up in the situation. These children were granted a Wish due to their serious illnesses and while at Disney they are encouraged to be a child again for just a few days and to forget all of the illnesses and hospital visits that have become normal everyday life to them.

I am including some examples of recent Wish children below:

Lucas was able to open the Magic Kingdom as the Family of the Day. He was also able to meet a Disney train engineer and ride the train will all of his Disney friends to open the Magic Kingdom for the day. The only pictures of this special moment were captured on Photopass. His family was lucky enough to receive the gift of a Photopass CD from a family friend or they might not have these special memories on film.

Noah's family took a picture in front of the Castle this year. They were able to capture a picture together as a family with all five of them in it. Noah passed away in July and those pictures are now treasures to their family.

My son, Tyler, made a wish to see Stitch. In a month he is going to meet Stitch and a Photopass Photographer is going to capture that special moment for us. We only hope to be able to have the resources to purchase the CD to save this once in a lifetime memory as you never know how long a Wish child will grace us with their presence on this Earth.

Please consider offering deep discounts to ALL of these families staying at Give Kids the World.

Each family at Give Kids the World attends an orientation and is given many coupons to Orlando attractions and tickets to the Disney Parks, Universal Studios and Sea World.

Would it be possible to donate Photopass CD's to these children? Can this be a tax deductible gift to Give Kids the World for each of these families? Or maybe they can receive a coupon for 50% off of a Photopass CD?


I know that this would not benefit our family as our Wish organization has placed us at All Star Sports to help accommodate my son’s Wish, but if it could even help another family preserve the memory of a lifetime, it would be a fabulous gift for Disney to provide these families.

Sincerely,
Then I added my name, address, phone number and email address

 

[alizesmom]

Disappointedly saying that we had to cancel Ciara's wish trip in December. Too much to explain but Ciara is healthy at this time. Karen

 

[maroo]

Oh no!! You guys had to cancel the trip??

I am so, so sorry.

I hope you all are doing ok!

 

[maroo]

I don't know why I am surprised.

But I am getting reamed on the Community Board for my Protest.

People just don't get it.

 

[LindaBabe]

I get it. Those are the same people who thing people with disabilities shouldn't get special bus loading etc. They only think of them selves. I pray they should walk a mile in the shoes of some of our families. I'm sorry, Maroo.

 

[Soon2B4]

I don't know why I am surprised.

But I am getting reamed on the Community Board for my Protest.

People just don't get it.

It breaks my heart that people who have never had a sick child can be so cold. It's like they are saying "If I'm staying off property and can't get the discount, why do you deserve it?" or "If I have to pay for my trip and you are getting everything else pretty much free (in their eyes-we all now how difficult day to day life can be and the amount of bills) you can pay full price for the photo pass." What they don't understand is the amount sacrifices the families make for their children. It isn't like Disney is a small company that can't afford to give a few families a little break on photo pass. Some of these children will never make it back to Disney and pictures are all the families have.

 

[Mickydees]

It breaks my heart that people who have never had a sick child can be so cold. It's like they are saying "If I'm staying off property and can't get the discount, why do you deserve it?" or "If I have to pay for my trip and you are getting everything else pretty much free (in their eyes-we all now how difficult day to day life can be and the amount of bills) you can pay full price for the photo pass." What they don't understand is the amount sacrifices the families make for their children. It isn't like Disney is a small company that can't afford to give a few families a little break on photo pass. Some of these children will never make it back to Disney and pictures are all the families have.

Well said. During our wish trip last week we got several of those "stares". People can be so rude. We also got those ugly looks when we went right up for character pictures. No one really said anything but body language says a lot. I did have a reply ready if anyone had gotten ugly. "I would gladly trade you these few minutes waiting in line for the many hours we spend in the hospital on regular basis." Never used it but had it ready. Hopefully Disney will reconsider their Photo Pass. Keep it up Maroo & Soon2B4

 

[ndloewen]

I don't know why I am surprised.

But I am getting reamed on the Community Board for my Protest.

People just don't get it.

Wow.

That makes me so, so sad. People will just never get it...

Our photopass pictures are our last family pictures that we have with Noah. At the time, photopass sharing was allowed on the board, and that was the only way we could afford to buy the cd.

I shudder to think that we would not have gotten the cd if the price were as high as it is now. So many families like ours spend every extra penny on expenses related to their sick child.

Those pictures are now priceless...

 

[maroo]

Thank you all for coming to my rescue today, by the way!


It has worked out in a VERY GOOD way for our Wish Families.


If you are going to be going on your wish trip in the next couple of weeks...make sure you get a code from me before you leave.

You will find SIGNIFICANT savings. I won't say it... but you will have no trouble affording it.

But we can keep that just over here on the nice thread.

 

[kdzbear]

Thank you all for coming to my rescue today, by the way!


It has worked out in a VERY GOOD way for our Wish Families.


If you are going to be going on your wish trip in the next couple of weeks...make sure you get a code from me before you leave.

You will find SIGNIFICANT savings. I won't say it... but you will have no trouble affording it.

But we can keep that just over here on the nice thread.

Way to go Maroo!

 

[2specialkids]

Thank you so much Maroo for all that you do for our special families. I have to say, I've worked in the medical field since I was 19 (20yrs next month) and until I had the day-to-day of a special needs child I never realized how draining it can be. It's such a huge emotional, physical, mental process every day 24/7. I wouldn't trade my son for ANYTHING in this world-he's priceless in my eyes. Those who give us "the stare" or talk about how we "must be lazy because he's on Medicaid" have no idea what it's like. While there are times I wish they had to walk my path for 1 full 7 day week (24hrs wouldn't explain anything) I still pray that they never have a child who's going in for their 7th brain surgery at 10 weeks old or have a child with Aspergers that has a school system who thinks "she's just being lazy" because she's not "working to potential" and misses frequently due to illness (I don't send my kids if their temp is 99.7 or higher).
I bite my tongue most of the time but there are times when my patience is at it's end and someone elderly gives me a dirty look or makes rude comments because I park in the last van accessible spot so I can get my son's wheelchair out of the van and they must park in a different handicapped space 2 slots down. I have been know to tell them how lucky they are that they can walk and care for themselves & my son has as much right to be in public as they do. (Yes, that was during a rough patch with DS's health.)
I am slowly understanding that many will never "get it" and I'm ok with it now. I just wish they would stay quiet if they have nothing positive to say. We're not all about freebies...just tryin' to make it like everyone else.
God Bless all of you who help us-we appreciate it more than we can ever express. (oh, and I'll be sure to get that code since we leave in a week... )

 

[CrystalSnow]

Thank you, Maroo, for doing what you're doing. I have to say, honestly, that we are one of those families that wouldn't even consider doing the Photopass for $150 because there is no way we could afford it. The trip we are getting from MAW is amazing, but we have no money of our own to spend on that trip. We don't go on vacations. We don't buy clothes. We don't have cable or any other number of things. But we do have lots of medical bills. I don't know what was said on the other threads, but we appreciate all that you do from a place of pure selflessness.

Hugs!

 

[Ppufi]

I don't know why I am surprised.

But I am getting reamed on the Community Board for my Protest.

People just don't get it.

Is there a link? This Wish kid wants to rip some people a new one.

 

[thatkid]

Maroo is awesome!
it stinks that people don't understand, it's hard, but i'm happy for them that they don't understand. they could just not say anything at all, though.

I got an email from my wish coordinator last week, and she booked us a character dinner! its a princess one, but i don't know where its at
I'm happy just to eat out at a real restaurant, we don't get a chance to do that here