RainbowGirl
I plan therefore I am...
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2006
- Messages
- 82
Hey PodCrew! Ive been floating around the DISboards for a couple of years now but have only discovered the podcast in the last month after receiving my first MP3 player and being motivated to find some good content to load on it. I cant wait for every Tuesday!
I heard the call for stories about great CMs and wanted to share mine. I was going to leave a voicemail but I had visuals and figured the story was best told in the forums.
Our familys first (and only) trip was last April (after Easter) to the Polynesian. We had connecting rooms with my inlaws for a week. It was a fantastic week made even more fantastic by our Mousekeeper, Gladys.
I spent endless hours on the DISboards researching my holiday. It had been a dream of mine to do this trip. My FIL had expressed a desire to stay at the Poly which we were happy to do. The rest of the planning was left to me (gladly!) After lots of reading/browsing I decided on the building I would prefer at the Polynesian. I requested 3rd floor connecting rooms in Tokelau based on our familys needs. When we checked in we were told we had our 3rd floor connecting rooms but they were in Rapa Nui. I had done enough research to ask...on the parking lot side?. The answer was no, so I was happy. There was a reason we were put in Rapa Nui instead (other than Tokelau is a lot more popular!)...we got to meet Gladys. We walked into our beautiful rooms and found a smiling Aloha done in wool and marker and googly eyes on one of the bathroom towels. I knew it was going to be a good stay!
I had brought Mousekeeping tip envelopes (another DISboard discovery!) and after our first day, left our first tip and wrote a thank you on the back expressing our appreciation. Each day this continued. We would find towel animals or stick puppets for the kids or the bed toys arranged cutely/cleverly waiting to sleep with my daughter.
There was always a housekeeping card with Gladys name on it so I knew her name. I always left a note with the tip sharing our thanks or some exciting news from the day (like our Dream Fastpasses from the MK on our first morning in that park!). Partway through the week, my MIL, DD and I were walking down the hall and I saw a housekeeping cart and a housekeeper. She had her name badge on...it was Gladys! I introduced myself and part of my family. She excitedly went to her cart and showed us all the notes she had saved from me and told me that shed showed them to her supervisor and got special recognition for receiving them. It made us feel as great as it made her feel. She then proceeded to talk to my daughter (always calling her princess) and got down on the floor with her and showed her how to make a towel animal (a bunny in a skirt) which she was presented as a gift.
She then had activity cards and got princess to pick one. She was given an assignment to find Hidden Mickeys in our room. She also had her look for them in the carpet in the hallway while she stood with us.
My MIL inquired after Gladys schedule and wondered if shed be with us the duration of our trip. She was. We learned where she was from & a bit about her life outside the World. Our visit was a good 20+ minutes and my DH, FIL and DS had emerged from our rooms at this point and said hello as well. DS was referred to as prince the entire encounter as well. We all parted ways and finished off an incredible week (the info from the DISboards was invaluable in helping to plan a lot of the details!).
At the end of the trip we encountered Gladys who was rushing over to find us...she had been reassigned to another area and wouldnt see us on our departure day as had been previously discussed. She brought gifts, but not for the kids, they were for myself and my MIL as an early Happy Mothers Day. Mine was a colourful towel pirate Goofy and MILs was a colourful towel Tigger.
She said they were special ones that she had learned to do on her own. We all shared a thank you and a warm goodbye. She was such a special part of our trip. Gladys has her own scrapbook page as a very special part of the memories of our time at Disney. A year later, my 8 year old still remembers her name and sharing time with her (we still have the towel animals!)
It would have been a wonderful time without meeting Gladys but those interactions with her really enriched our experience.
Julie
Port Hope, Ontario, Canada
I heard the call for stories about great CMs and wanted to share mine. I was going to leave a voicemail but I had visuals and figured the story was best told in the forums.
Our familys first (and only) trip was last April (after Easter) to the Polynesian. We had connecting rooms with my inlaws for a week. It was a fantastic week made even more fantastic by our Mousekeeper, Gladys.
I spent endless hours on the DISboards researching my holiday. It had been a dream of mine to do this trip. My FIL had expressed a desire to stay at the Poly which we were happy to do. The rest of the planning was left to me (gladly!) After lots of reading/browsing I decided on the building I would prefer at the Polynesian. I requested 3rd floor connecting rooms in Tokelau based on our familys needs. When we checked in we were told we had our 3rd floor connecting rooms but they were in Rapa Nui. I had done enough research to ask...on the parking lot side?. The answer was no, so I was happy. There was a reason we were put in Rapa Nui instead (other than Tokelau is a lot more popular!)...we got to meet Gladys. We walked into our beautiful rooms and found a smiling Aloha done in wool and marker and googly eyes on one of the bathroom towels. I knew it was going to be a good stay!
I had brought Mousekeeping tip envelopes (another DISboard discovery!) and after our first day, left our first tip and wrote a thank you on the back expressing our appreciation. Each day this continued. We would find towel animals or stick puppets for the kids or the bed toys arranged cutely/cleverly waiting to sleep with my daughter.
There was always a housekeeping card with Gladys name on it so I knew her name. I always left a note with the tip sharing our thanks or some exciting news from the day (like our Dream Fastpasses from the MK on our first morning in that park!). Partway through the week, my MIL, DD and I were walking down the hall and I saw a housekeeping cart and a housekeeper. She had her name badge on...it was Gladys! I introduced myself and part of my family. She excitedly went to her cart and showed us all the notes she had saved from me and told me that shed showed them to her supervisor and got special recognition for receiving them. It made us feel as great as it made her feel. She then proceeded to talk to my daughter (always calling her princess) and got down on the floor with her and showed her how to make a towel animal (a bunny in a skirt) which she was presented as a gift.
She then had activity cards and got princess to pick one. She was given an assignment to find Hidden Mickeys in our room. She also had her look for them in the carpet in the hallway while she stood with us.
My MIL inquired after Gladys schedule and wondered if shed be with us the duration of our trip. She was. We learned where she was from & a bit about her life outside the World. Our visit was a good 20+ minutes and my DH, FIL and DS had emerged from our rooms at this point and said hello as well. DS was referred to as prince the entire encounter as well. We all parted ways and finished off an incredible week (the info from the DISboards was invaluable in helping to plan a lot of the details!).
At the end of the trip we encountered Gladys who was rushing over to find us...she had been reassigned to another area and wouldnt see us on our departure day as had been previously discussed. She brought gifts, but not for the kids, they were for myself and my MIL as an early Happy Mothers Day. Mine was a colourful towel pirate Goofy and MILs was a colourful towel Tigger.
She said they were special ones that she had learned to do on her own. We all shared a thank you and a warm goodbye. She was such a special part of our trip. Gladys has her own scrapbook page as a very special part of the memories of our time at Disney. A year later, my 8 year old still remembers her name and sharing time with her (we still have the towel animals!)
It would have been a wonderful time without meeting Gladys but those interactions with her really enriched our experience.
Julie
Port Hope, Ontario, Canada
