I have nothing to compare to some of the really wonderful stories that have been posted, but the great thing about Pixie Dust is that it comes in all sizes: large, small, and in-between!
We had the Cruise of a Lifetime when we did the Amazing, Wonderful, Absolutely Stunning, Westbound TransAtlantic Crossing in September of 2010. We were late getting to the Sail Away party, and went up the forward stairway to Deck 10 in order to search out a possible vantage point as most of the good places had already been staked out. We had just walked through the doors when we realized that this was where the Disney characters gathered before they went on stage for the show. Well, we started to back out, afraid that we were interfering, when Goofy turned and saw us and literally sprinted across the ship to where we were and grabbed me in a great, big hug! I'm a BIG Goofy fan (and you can read that any way you want), so my heart immediately melted, and the rest of the cruise was just magical. He could have waved. He could have ignored us. He could have said "hi!", but he ran across to greet us as if we were his greatest friends (instead of his biggest fans)! That's Pixie Dust!
Later that same cruise, we got the chance to stand and chat with any or all of the princesses and have our pictures taken. Being a guy, I generally hung back to let the little (and not so little!) girls be with the princesses, but I saw an opening, and went up and chatted with Belle. I said "I wanted to speak to you, because we have something in common!"
She looked surprised, and said, "What's that?"
I replied, "We both love books!" and it was as if I'd turned on a tap! We stood and chatted about books, and what books we loved, and why, and I'm sure everyone around us was wondering what this 60-something guy was chatting about with Belle! She could have nodded and smiled, but she was truly engaged and engaging! Pixie Dust!
And throughout that 14 day cruise, we had the unmitigated luck to have befriended another guest named Jason, whom we met in the Barcelona terminal before boarding. In normal life, he was a hard-bitten, bottom-line driven, software security consultant from northern England, but on this cruise, he really let his inner self out. He became Peter and Tink's best friend. He was in every line for every photo. He smiled at every person he met, and laughed and joked with everyone. The princesses lined up to have their pictures taken with HIM, and they all knew his name! He was everything anyone with a heart wanted to be on a
Disney cruise, and he LOVED it! And we all envied him - but not one of us had a bad thought or word for him, because he made everyone who was in his presence feel as if they were the greatest person in the world.
He got much, MUCH more than his money's worth, because he knew the value of Pixie Dust!
And the lesson I took from Jason is: Pixie dust doesn't just come from CMs, but, if they're smart, from guests, too!