Apply for a Magical Day Out

Welcome to our Magical Days Out application page.

We are now accepting applications for Magical Days Out exclusively from partner organisations. These organisations can apply on behalf of the children they support. Additionally, we are welcoming new partner organisations to join us in offering this magical experience to even more children.

For families with children who have a terminal diagnosis, we understand how important this experience can be, so you can still apply directly to our team by emailing us at mmw.charity@merlinsmagicwand.org

If you’re a parent or guardian, please connect with your SEN school, your healthcare provider, a charity or support group to make an application on your behalf. Before applying, please ensure that your child meets our eligibility criteria, listed below.

The child you are applying on behalf of will be eligible if they;

1) Are aged 2-18 years old, and

2) Are currently facing one of the below:

Serious/Long-term Illness

Registered disability

Living in a permanent or temporary care home

Living in foster care

Recently adopted

Impacted by domestic violence/abuse/bullying

Has a terminally ill parent/legal guardian/sibling

Has a recently deceased parent/legal guardian/sibling

Registered Young Carer

We ask all organisations to provide us with the following information:

2 registered organisation e-mail addresses (we do not accept @gmail, @yahoo etc)
The organisation’s website
(If applicable) Charity Registration Number

On occasion, to fully assess your application we may request additional documentation such as official hospital letters, Educational, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or letters from the local authority.

You can only experience a Magical Day Out once.

Due to the high demand for tickets, we only accept families that we have not previously supported. This is regardless of when tickets were received previously or if your family have additional children who meet our eligibility criteria.

Application processing times vary based on demand but typically take up to 4 weeks for an initial response.

Once you have applied you will receive an automated email from us, with a little more detail on the next stages of our process. We thank you for your patience as we carefully assess each application. We aim to complete eligibility checks within 10 days for Time-Sensitive applications – please see ‘What is a Time-Sensitive Application?’ FAQ below.

We will only ever email you.

When you apply through our website you will receive an automated response via email to let you know that we have received your application, this may go into your junk folder so please check there. All correspondence in relation to your application will come to you via email. We cannot accept any responsibility for any missed emails or missed days out because of missed emails, so please check your junk emails regularly.

You will not be able to pre-select a date until your application is successful. When this happens, you will be provided with information on selecting a date.

Here at Merlin’s Magic Wand, we provide tickets for children with life-limiting conditions. Should you need to apply for a Magical Day Out for a child with a 12 month prognosis or less, we would class this as a time-sensitive application.

Please note: applying for time-sensitive applications due to birthdays or anniversaries does not qualify as a time-sensitive application.

On the 25th of May 2018, new European GDPR regulations came into place. Due to the sensitive nature of the information and paperwork that we require to assess and process an application, we are legally required to obtain consent to terms and conditions and collection of personal information. For full information please refer to our Privacy Policy and Cookies.

Ticket validity varies for each Merlin attraction and further information will be provided in your confirmation email if your application is successful. Please note that tickets are only valid for the calendar year you make the application in.

Remember to enjoy your Magical Day Out prior to the expiry date on your confirmation email. Expiry dates cannot be extended, and tickets cannot be reissued in the event you are unable to attend prior to this date.

Once your application has been accepted, we will send you a link to the official website for your chosen attraction, as well as gift codes. You will either need to:

Use these codes and link to book a Magical Day Out on your beneficiaries’ behalf
Send these codes, link, and booking guidelines to your beneficiaries to book their Magical Day Out themselves

We will also send you the accessibility information for this attraction as a link, so please share this information with your beneficiaries should anyone visiting have any accessibility requirements.

If you have any specific questions or queries about the attraction you are visiting, we advise you to visit their website or contact the attraction directly.

Parking is included at the following attractions:

Alton Towers Resort
Chessington World of Adventures Resort
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort
Thorpe Park Resort
Warwick Castle

The option to book parking will be available when you are booking your Magical Day Out – please look out for it during the booking process.

If you are visiting as a group and are planning on bringing a coach to any of the attractions listed above, please contact us ahead of your visit.

For all other attractions, information about parking will be on the individual attraction’s website.

For all Ride Access Pass information, please visit Merlin Entertainments’ accessibility website: Merlin Entertainments Accessibility

Merlin is committed to ensuring it's attractions are as accessible as possible for all guests. Please review the attraction's Accessibility Guides before your Magical Day Out.

Find Out More Here

Our attraction-specific social stories provide a step-by-step guide to help children navigate their Magical Day Out with confidence.

Download Here

We often get asked if we can support individual fundraisers, organisations, or charities with tickets, gifts, or events. It is our mission as a charity to create magical experiences for children who need them most; however, we only create these magical experiences through our three programmes. Magical Days Out, Magic On Tour, and Magic Spaces. To find out more about specific asks, please see some questions answered below.

We often get asked if we can donate attraction tickets to individuals or charities who are fundraising. Please Note: we are gifted Magical Day Out tickets by Merlin Entertainments and we are unable to use these tickets for anything other than our beneficiaries. We cannot gift tickets for fundraising events or initiatives.

We are unable to donate Merlin's Magic Wand merchandise or any donated merchandise from the Merlin Attractions for fundraising events or campaigns.

While we work with Merlin Attractions to make our three Magical Programmes happen, we cannot support any external fundraising ideas or initiatives that you wish to create at a Merlin Attraction.

We cannot help you to plan events at or in attractions.

Organisations Apply Here

If you have an urgent request, please email us at: mmw.charity@merlinsmagicwand.org

We will not reply to any questions or queries that are answered on our FAQ page.

Please note: We are committed to providing a professional and fair charity service to everyone who applies for a Magical Day Out. In return, we ask that all applicants respect our applications team. We won’t tolerate threatening, abusive or violent behaviour; and no member of the Merlin’s Magic Wand team will be required to or feel obliged to reply to any application or communication that uses threatening or abusive language.