Just returned from a trip January 28-February 3. It was a birthday trip for my daughter.
Prior to leaving, I sat by as more and more refurbs were announced for our dates. When MSEP was announced, I was sad. The night parade (then Spectro) was one of my daughter's favorite experiences on her first trip in 2009.
I tried to stay optimistic, but did post about my sadness on the boards and sent a polite email to Disney.
Shortly afterwards a gentleman contacted me, saying he worked at Disney. He wanted to throw some pixie dust our way, to make up for MSEP going dark. He requested some information, including my daughter's favorite character. (Jack Sparrow! She has a huge crush.
)
On the day we arrived at Wilderness Lodge, we found this in the room, after dinner:
20120128-DSC_8886 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
It was filled with pirate goodies:
POTC pins
A pin in the shape of her initial
A pink pirate bandana
A Jack Sparrow poster
POTC plastic drinking cups
A POTC puzzle
Birthday ears
20120128-DSC_8888 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
20120128-DSC_8890 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
The next day we went to Magic Kingdom. We attended the first Pirate Tutorial show.
20120129-DSC_9070 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
Captain Jack had been prepped. He picked my daughter as his fourth volunteer, saying he "must have her."
20120129-DSC_9068 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
He saved my daughter for last, so that she would be the one to fight HIM (rather than Mack) in the show.
20120129-DSC_9080 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
20120129-DSC_9083 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
After the show, we were escorted back stage, to a small cast-members-only space. Mack and Captain Jack were waiting for us. They were perfectly in character and bantered with each other and my daughter, paying lots of attention to her. Mack asked how old she was, and pretended to mishear when she said "eight," and responded "eighteen?" It then became a recurring joke... my kiddo, age 18.
After the fun and banter, they signed autographs and posed patiently for endless pictures.
20120129-DSC_9106 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
20120129-DSC_9109 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
20120129-DSC_9112 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
20120129-DSC_9115 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
All the CMs were fabulous, the one who escorted us and the one who remained with the characters, both went out of their way to make sure the pictures came out nicely.... suggesting dd unzip her sweatshirt so her Pirate shirt could be seen, making sure we had a nice backdrop, and taking all our various cameras and taking pictures with each one for our group shot, so we could all be in the picture.
20120129-DSC_9118 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
Afterwards, Sunshine declared it the "best day of her life." For the rest of the trip, she glowed over her autograph book and would say "Mommy, I'm the only one in all of Disney World right now who has Captain Jack's autograph!"
20120129-DSC_9126 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
All in all... it was an amazing experience, and it MADE my little girl's whole trip. And while, yes, it was nice to get complimentary goodies and nice to meet a character who doesn't normally do greets... there's something else that made it really special.
And that is simply knowing someone took the time to do this for us, four random guests out of thousands. The gentleman who arranged this doesn't know us, never met us, and never even got to see my daughter's reaction. The fact that he'd go to this effort for people he doesn't even know... well, it warms my heart and restores my faith in humanity. And it taught my daughter something about kindness, too. THAT is what made it so special.
To the CM who arranged all this... if you ever read this... please know that we are so grateful; and that it was indeed a memorable, magical moment. (Or set of moments.) My daughter was shy in the meet and greet (she is generally shy), but afterwards, she could not stop glowing. She (and I) will never forget this.
And ALL the CMs who were involved were fantastic, too, and we thank them, too.
We did stop by Guest Relations that day and put in a positive comment card, naming the CMs whose names we knew (we didn't know them all), and describing as much as possible about the experience, the precise times, and the other CMs. I hope ALL the CMs involved are somehow able to hear our thanks, and have a few kind words bestowed on them, in return for their kindness.
Prior to leaving, I sat by as more and more refurbs were announced for our dates. When MSEP was announced, I was sad. The night parade (then Spectro) was one of my daughter's favorite experiences on her first trip in 2009.
I tried to stay optimistic, but did post about my sadness on the boards and sent a polite email to Disney.
Shortly afterwards a gentleman contacted me, saying he worked at Disney. He wanted to throw some pixie dust our way, to make up for MSEP going dark. He requested some information, including my daughter's favorite character. (Jack Sparrow! She has a huge crush.
)On the day we arrived at Wilderness Lodge, we found this in the room, after dinner:
20120128-DSC_8886 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
It was filled with pirate goodies:
POTC pins
A pin in the shape of her initial
A pink pirate bandana
A Jack Sparrow poster
POTC plastic drinking cups
A POTC puzzle
Birthday ears
20120128-DSC_8888 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
20120128-DSC_8890 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
The next day we went to Magic Kingdom. We attended the first Pirate Tutorial show.
20120129-DSC_9070 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
Captain Jack had been prepped. He picked my daughter as his fourth volunteer, saying he "must have her."
20120129-DSC_9068 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
He saved my daughter for last, so that she would be the one to fight HIM (rather than Mack) in the show.
20120129-DSC_9080 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
20120129-DSC_9083 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
After the show, we were escorted back stage, to a small cast-members-only space. Mack and Captain Jack were waiting for us. They were perfectly in character and bantered with each other and my daughter, paying lots of attention to her. Mack asked how old she was, and pretended to mishear when she said "eight," and responded "eighteen?" It then became a recurring joke... my kiddo, age 18.
After the fun and banter, they signed autographs and posed patiently for endless pictures.
20120129-DSC_9106 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
20120129-DSC_9109 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
20120129-DSC_9112 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
20120129-DSC_9115 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
All the CMs were fabulous, the one who escorted us and the one who remained with the characters, both went out of their way to make sure the pictures came out nicely.... suggesting dd unzip her sweatshirt so her Pirate shirt could be seen, making sure we had a nice backdrop, and taking all our various cameras and taking pictures with each one for our group shot, so we could all be in the picture.
20120129-DSC_9118 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
Afterwards, Sunshine declared it the "best day of her life." For the rest of the trip, she glowed over her autograph book and would say "Mommy, I'm the only one in all of Disney World right now who has Captain Jack's autograph!"
20120129-DSC_9126 by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr
All in all... it was an amazing experience, and it MADE my little girl's whole trip. And while, yes, it was nice to get complimentary goodies and nice to meet a character who doesn't normally do greets... there's something else that made it really special.
And that is simply knowing someone took the time to do this for us, four random guests out of thousands. The gentleman who arranged this doesn't know us, never met us, and never even got to see my daughter's reaction. The fact that he'd go to this effort for people he doesn't even know... well, it warms my heart and restores my faith in humanity. And it taught my daughter something about kindness, too. THAT is what made it so special.
To the CM who arranged all this... if you ever read this... please know that we are so grateful; and that it was indeed a memorable, magical moment. (Or set of moments.) My daughter was shy in the meet and greet (she is generally shy), but afterwards, she could not stop glowing. She (and I) will never forget this.
And ALL the CMs who were involved were fantastic, too, and we thank them, too.
We did stop by Guest Relations that day and put in a positive comment card, naming the CMs whose names we knew (we didn't know them all), and describing as much as possible about the experience, the precise times, and the other CMs. I hope ALL the CMs involved are somehow able to hear our thanks, and have a few kind words bestowed on them, in return for their kindness.
