Aulani Resort and Make-A-Wish Hawaii Host the First-Ever Aulani Wish Week

Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa partnered with Make-A-Wish Hawaii to host the inaugural Aulani Wish Week in fall 2023, welcoming 20 wish kids and their families for a full week of Hawaiian adventures including a Halloween Dance Party, the KA WA'A Lū'au, and a dinner with Stitch and Angel. Disney has worked with Make-A-Wish since 1980 and has granted over 150,000 wishes, making it the world's largest wish-granter for the organization — with historically one out of every two U.S. wishes being Disney-related. Plans for additional Make-A-Wish events at Aulani and internationally, including at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, were also announced.

Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa launched the first-ever Aulani Wish Week this fall in partnership with Make-A-Wish Hawaii, welcoming 20 children facing critical illnesses and their families for a week of aloha-filled celebration culminating in a Halloween Dance Party. Cast members and Disney VoluntEARS from across the resort spent months designing a week of authentically Aulani experiences — including the KA WA'A Lū'au, a dinner party with Stitch and Angel, and music programming tailored specifically to one young wish kid's love of sound. Disney has granted over 150,000 wishes in partnership with Make-A-Wish since 1980, serving as the world's largest wish-granter for the organization.

How Cast Members Built the Week from the Ground Up

The Aulani Wish Week was not an imported template — it was created from the inside out by cast members who wanted to reflect what makes the resort uniquely Aulani. Approximately 150 Make-A-Wish wishes per year involve a visit to Aulani Resort, and the resort's leadership recognized an opportunity to serve those families in a more intentional, collective way.

"Our goal, first and foremost, is to help families create memories," said Joe Medwetz, senior sales and services director at Aulani and board member at Make-A-Wish Hawaii. "We love to see the joy on the children's faces when their dreams come true at Aulani."

Disney's relationship with Make-A-Wish stretches back to 1980, spanning over 150,000 granted wishes across the United States. Historically, one out of every two wishes granted in the U.S. through Make-A-Wish has been a Disney wish.

A Week Full of Magical Moments

Building on the model of wish-granting events at other Disney properties — including the Once Upon A Wish Party at Walt Disney World Resort — the team at Aulani crafted a week that felt authentic to the island's spirit. Events included a dinner party hosted by Stitch and Angel, the iconic KA WA'A Lū'au featuring Hawaiian traditions and enchanting performances, and a Halloween Dance Party where everyone dressed in festive costumes and danced through the evening.

One of the week's most resonant stories centered on 11-year-old Elijah, a wish kid fighting an aggressive form of bone cancer whose life had been transformed by a music therapist's guitar melodies. Given music's central role in Hawaiian culture — and the frequent sound of the 'ukulele drifting through Aulani Resort — the Aulani setting was a natural fit for Elijah's wish.

Everyone looked festive at the Halloween Dance Party, where wish kids in costumes danced the night away in celebration.

The week closed with the KA WA'A Lū'au, brimming with Hawaiian traditions, delicious food, and enchanting cultural performances as the sun set over Hawai'i with 20 wishes fulfilled.

What Comes Next

The inaugural Aulani Wish Week established a foundation for future large-scale wish-granting events at the resort. Additional events are already in the planning stages at Aulani Resort, and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort was separately preparing for its own Make-A-Wish celebration in December 2023. Disney's 45-year-plus commitment to wish-granting continues to grow in both scale and geographic reach, ensuring that more families around the world have access to the kind of transformative magic that Aulani Wish Week delivered to its first 20 families.