If you met Dylan Cazin today, you would meet a Cast Member who has a love of Disney and a love of sharing the magic. At first glance, Dylan is a happy Cast Member who is one of the thousands of Cast Members at the Disneyland Resort. His story, however, shows a much deeper motivation he has for creating and sharing magic.
Dylan was a Make-A-Wish kid. In 2017 he was diagnosed with leukemia. A high schooler at the time, this diagnosis and disease dramatically changed Dylan’s life. While his fellow students and twin brother were living that was in line with the life most high school students live, Dylan found himself spending his time in a hospital room. In this hospital room, he found comfort from Disney’s The Little Mermaid as he wished to someday be a “part of your world.” That wish seemed very far off while spending time in a hospital room. However, that was just one part of the story and Ariel was an important part of this chapter. “Ariel gave me a sense of hope. I identified with her determination to break free from her underwater realm, much like my own drive to overcome my illness,” Dylan shared.
The determination to break free eventually came true but unfortunately Dylan soon found himself relapsing. Once again Dylan was facing a horrible disease and a life being stuck in a hospital room. Thankfully, this was not the end of Dylan’s story, but only the beginning. The relapse led to Dylan receiving a bone-marrow transplant in June 2018. This was done through Be The Match, an organization that matches donors with patients that desperately are in need of blood stem cell or marrow transplant. This thankfully led to Dylan seeing his health improve greatly.
Make-A-Wish makes many magical dreams come true for children by creating life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. When Dylan was well enough to travel, he was able to go to Walt Disney World thanks to Make-A-Wish and Disney. There, he was able to meet the character who provided hope and inspiration during his illness and recovery, Ariel. He was no longer in the hospital room, but instead out in the world where he had longed to be. The wish was for an Imagineering experience. While at Walt Disney World, he spent time with Imagineer Diego Parras, who gave him a behind-the-scenes tour of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. This trip left a profound impact on Dylan and changed the trajectory of his life.
Upon returning home, Dylan wanted to not just leave the wish in Florida. He wanted to pay it forward and share the “transformational power of a wish” he had received with others. “I wanted to use my story to make a difference. I re-joined Make-A-Wish’s Greater Bay Area chapter in 2020 as a volunteer to help build the Wish It Forward program and also served as Marketing intern the following summer. I also became involved with Be The Match at my university, Saint Mary’s College of California, to honor my selfless donor, Ryan, who saved my life and is ‘Part of My World’ today.”
As time went by, Dylan realized that he wanted to do even more. “I not only wanted to experience Disney magic… I wanted to be part of it.” Starting in June, Dylan joined the Disneyland Resort as a Cast Member with a Disney Professional Internship on the Disneyland Resort Executive Communications team.
In this new role as a Cast Member, Dylan loves to see the impact that comes with a wish coming true for other Make-A-Wish kids. He shared how these wishes give kids strength, hope and inspiration to draw on. For many, Dylan included, this comes from Disney princesses. It is only fitting that during World Princess Week that Disney would make princess wishes come true through the Once Upon A Wish Party. This is the first time this party has happened and will bring over 50 families from around the country to Walt Disney World Resort for this very special event.
Dylan shared about the Once Upon A Wish Party saying, ” It will be a full-day affair filled with enchanting surprises, inspiration and adventures fit for a hero or heroine, including a royal ball with some favorite Disney characters. Word in the sea is that Ariel is attending!” To say there will be magic in the air would be an understatement. This will be an incredible wish-giving event that will provide a healthy dose of Disney magic to kids going through struggles just like Dylan did.
A popular fireworks show once had the words sung, “Make a wish and do as dreamers do,” sung by a kid. This song and show was about the power of wishes. Dylan is a walking testament to this. “I’m so grateful to be part of a company that helps make wishes and dreams (like mine) come true,” Dylan said. And Dylan has gone forward from making a wish to doing exactly what dreamers do, he now helps make the magic and make dreams come true. Perhaps this will inspire future Make-A-Wish kids to also follow in his footsteps and become magic makers with The Walt Disney Company as well someday!
Make-A-Wish and Disney have been partnered in making wishes for over 40 years. Earlier this year, three windows were dedicated on Main Street, USA at Disneyland. It was the first time that a window on Main Street was dedicated to a non-profit organization. The three windows included a center window which was dedicated to Make-A-Wish along with all the wish kids past, present and future. The side windows honor Chris Greicius and the wish that inspired the creation of Make-A-Wish. The other window honors Frank “Bopsy” Salazar who had the first official wish granted by Make-A-Wish, which also happened to be the first Disney wish.
“We know the power of the Disney brand when it comes to evoking positive emotions,” said Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Josh D’Amaro, who is a board member for Make-A-Wish America. “And we take great pride in the fact that we have granted 150,000 wishes with Make-A-Wish since 1981.”
There is incredible power that comes with a making a wish come true. The partnership between Make-A-Wish and Disney continues to help kids like Dylan to not just get through difficult times in life, but also inspire them to thrive and share positivity later in life. For more information about what Disney and Make-A-Wish do together to grant wishes, visit wish.org/Disney.
