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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

If you would like to apply for a Magical Day Out there are some specific forms of documentation that we will need from you. All of the information we need must be sent on official headed paper, with an official name and logo on it. It must also include the child’s full name, date of birth (or the age of the child if documentation is dated) and confirmation of diagnosis/reason.

If you are applying due to disability you will need to provide either:

• A hospital letter 
• A letter from a senior teacher at the school the child is in attendance, or
• A statement of Educational Needs (SEN) or Educational, Health & Care Plan (EHCP).

If you are applying for a child who is in care you will need to provide one of the below:

• A letter from the foster agency
• Letter from the local authority
• If the foster child has a serious long-term illness or disability alternatively you can supply a hospital letter (please see above under disability)
• Applications for children in a care home must be made by the care home directly. If you are a team member of the care home please apply via the organisation application form

If you are applying for a child who has been recently adopted you will need to provide either:

• An adoption certificate or
• A letter from the adoption agency

If you are applying on behalf of a child impacted by domestic violence/abuse/bullying you will need to provide either:

• Court Order or any letter from court/police/solicitor/refuge or
• Letter from the Headteacher of the school the child is in attendance of

If you are applying for a child who has a terminally ill parent/guardian/sibling you will need to provide:

• A hospital letter 
• We also require supporting evidence to confirm that the child detailed on the application is the sibling or child of the person who is ill. This can be in the form of a birth certificate or a tax credit form if it’s a sibling who has a terminal illness (the tax credit must detail both children’s names).

If you are applying for a child who is a young carer you must provide either:

• A letter from a young carer’s organisation or
• A letter from the Headteacher/senior teacher at their school
• If the child is not a registered young carer then we will require paperwork to show the parent/guardian diagnosis and tax credit, birth certificate or similar to prove parent/guardianship of the child.

We cannot accept the following as proof of condition or circumstance for a Magical Day Out:

• DLA's, Personal Independence Payments, or DWP letters
• Badges or children's disability registration passes
• Appointment letters
• Doctors' surgery letters without headed paper and logos
• Handwritten letters with handwritten children's details
• Documents in Microsoft Word format

You can only experience a Magical Day Out once.

Due to the high demand for tickets, we only accept applications from 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. While we try to accommodate changes to applications where appropriate, we cannot assist if you have been unable to use your tickets on two or more occasions.

Application processing times vary based on demand but typically take up to 4 weeks* for individual applications and 8 weeks for group applications.

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.

*at present, our application processing times for individuals are taking up to 8 weeks. We will regularly review and update accordingly

You will need to provide supporting documentation and some personal information.

When you click the Apply button, you will be taken to our online application form, where we will ask a series of questions in relation to your child’s eligibility for a day out. Please read through these FAQs before you apply to find all the information you will need to complete our online application form. You will need to attach some documentation as proof of eligibility, ready for assessment. Please note that all your information is safeguarded appropriately by our team as per our privacy policy, which you can read here.

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.

No, please do not arrange your visit until you have received confirmation from us.

When you have had your application accepted, and you have received an email from us, you will be sent gift codes to book your Magical Day Out on your chosen attraction’s website. Before this, you will not be able to pre-select a date of entry to the attraction. Please do not assume you will be able to attend specific dates before you have received your gift codes. We cannot accommodate requests for tickets for birthdays or special occasions, and therefore do not take responsibility for any pre-booked accommodation or travel before you have received your gift codes.

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 rapidly deteriorating medical condition, 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 guidelines in our website footer below. 

Ticket validity varies for each Merlin attraction and further information will be provided in your confirmation email if your application is successful.

If you have booked your Magical Day Out with the gift codes you have been given but do not use your tickets by the expiry date, then tickets will need to be returned to us (along with any travel contribution paid). If you were provided with electronic tickets you will need to advise us of their non-use no later than 4 weeks after the expiry date of the ticket. If you do not use your tickets on 2 separate occasions, we will be unable to support you with any further tickets.

Once your application has been accepted, we will send you a link to the official website for your chosen attraction, as well as ticket gift codes. You will need to use these codes and this link to book your Magical Day Out. We will also send you the accessibility information for this attraction as a link, so please look at this information should you or 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. 

A Ride Access Pass is designed for people with additional needs who would have difficulty queuing. You can apply for a Ride Access Pass with Merlin's partner, Nimbus Disability via your chosen attractions' website.

The decision of eligibility for a Ride Access Pass will be down to the attraction/Merlin's partner Nimbus Disability. 

Please be aware that not all attractions have, or can support, Ride Access Passes. 

We know that complimentary tickets are a big help but that you may also need assistance with the costs of travelling to your chosen attraction. When you apply online for tickets, you will also have the chance to request a financial contribution towards your travel costs. Look out for this section in the application form. 

Please note that we can only provide parking for Merlin Resort Theme Parks. 

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. Should you want to fundraise for Merlin's Magic Wand we have some great fundraising packs and year-round campaigns. 

We welcome ideas for fundraising, however, cannot plan events at or in attractions.