...and a little bit of Pixie Dust!
I've been reading a variety of DISboard threads, and came across one that reminded me why I particularly love cruising with Disney: Pixie Dust!
Pixie Dust is when you do something remarkably kind, absolutely unnecessary, and completely unexpected for someone else - or someone does that for you! I've been the recipient of lots of Pixie Dust on these boards, and on board the ships as well. There's a whole, long thread to be found, and I would encourage anyone who hasn't yet experienced Pixie Dust to read it:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2852356
There are lots of great Pixie Dust stories there, but let me tell you a couple of mine.
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 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 cruise, we had the unmitigated luck to have befriended another guest named Jason. 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! 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!
So, my friends, if you want to truly enjoy this cruise, I suggest that you ambush people with joy and happiness. Become a Friend of Tinkerbelle ("FOT") – and spend your time thinking about how to dispense Pixie Dust to your friends, your fellow Guests, and particularly the CMs that work so hard to make your voyage magical. They work 16-20 hour days so you can have fun. Show them you appreciate it when they do something well – they love to hear it! And make sure you tell a senior person, or write Disney in the end-of-cruise surveys, or a letter specifically written for that purpose. Don't forget!
But my major point is this: If you really, REALLY want to enjoy your cruise, look for ways to help as many other people as possible find magic – Cast & Crew Members and other Guests.
All it takes is Faith and Trust...
See You Real Soon, Now!
Richard
... This AEP was thrown together with Disney real quick and we have no cruise documents yet, should get them this week, but room assignments are unknown and our training classes are in the morning. Then tons a free time, we go to the 6:30 show together as a group, then dinner. So that's why I'm semi solo! LOL
