Ever Given/Received a Random Act of Kindness at WDW?

[CourtasanSatine]

I take pictures at the parks for the people trying to get pics of the family so they can be in it and I had a coke bought for me at PI(guy my age being nice ).I also got a FP last time when a family was in a time crunch and gave my share away(usually to make a PS)

 

[Eljay]

Yes, the picture taking thing is always nice & people look so stunned when I offer! Last weekend I offered to take a picture of a cute Japanese couple who were also waiting for their table at Cindy's Castle. They were so excited to sit together in Cindy's throne for the pic. BTW, they had a cool high-tech digital camera that was tiny & weighed nothing, I wanted to ask about it but I didn't speak Japanese & they didn't speak English!

 

[Kitster]

I try to pass on the pin trading spirit when I'm at WDW.....usually while I'm at Epcot. On my last trip, I happened to be walking thru Innoventions West when I saw the cutest twin girls. They couldn't have been more than 5-6 years old and they were so proud of their Princess lanyards. There was only one small problem......the few pins these girls had were ones they really wanted to keep.

I usually carry a bag of pins I refer to as 'lanyard fodder'....good pins that I use for trading with cast members. I approached the two girls and their parents and handed each girl 10 pins. I explained that these pins were for them to trade with cast members so that they could continue to KEEP the pins they had already. Mom and Dad couldn't believe it, the cast member was speechless, but the look on those two girl's faces made my entire trip..they literally glowed with excitement I did go on to say this to the girls, once they had a nice collection started, if they ever came across another little boy or girl who had just started pin trading, they should return the favor and GIVE this other child a pin. I guess this would be passing it forward too, but that's what pin trading is all about, isn't it?

 

[milmore104]

I know every women will understand this...
I will always let a young child go ahead of me in line for the bathroom.
And there are other little things we always do to be polite. Like holding a door open for someone, helping a parent carry two trys full of food to a table of screaming children. i think it's the little things that count.
We did however give away our passes to PI one night. I had forgot that I decided on the PAP instead of the AP and we had just bought a pass for PI. rather than wait through the LONG line for a refund I looked around and saw a nice young gentalman who saw an older lady drop her wallet and keep walking. The young man ran after the lady and gave it back to her. SO of course we gave the passes to him.

Quick question to all you nice people! Do you ever get really angery by the end of your trip after being polite? I find that about 40% of the people are just rude. And by the end of our trip I am etting quite angery that people can be so rude!

 

[mkymouse4ever]

My sister and I are too competitive and at the AK midway games go NUTS! So we tend to keep playing too long and wind up winning some animals, BUT we've always walked around the area looking for someone with kids that look like they could use a little "magic" and hand over the prizes. A few CM's caught us one morning and even commented! I was surprised, really don't need the extra stuffed animals (especially if its not mickey or simba)! and the look on the kids faces go a lot longer! MKY

 

[Luv2Roam]

Most pin people don't live up to the horror stories others hear.
Generally pin people (such as myself) give away pins to kids, or trade when we don't *really* want to, just to help make a kid's day. (Nothing worse than seeing a dejected kid after someone has roughly told them they won't trade with them because they don't have anything.)
I am cautious when just giving a pin to a kid, as I don't want the parents to think I am up to no good. And some parents insist on a trade, as they want their child to learn to trade, rather than to just expect something for being cute or nice.
A few times really stand out. Probably my first give away to a kid. He was probably a pre-teen. DH and I were waiting in line for that (dumb) *attraction* after Test Track.
The boy came up and asked me about lanyards and pin trading. We chatted.
Then he explained he had some pins on his hat and lost one in a ride. He was just wanting to know how to prevent that from happening again.
We chatted more, and as DH and I went inside the room, I wisked past the boy, clasped a pin in his hand and left before he could say anything.
JudithM and I gave away several of the DS Sept 11 pins that a CM had passed on to us for free.
We made sure to tell the kids how special those pins were. (More to their parents.)
Pin people generally believe in Pin Karma.
In turn, last January someone did something very special for me. I am sure what happened is someone I knew from the Dis put a bug in Scoop's ear. Scoop awarded me one of his LE pins after DH and I were grand marshals of the MK parade that day. That great guy even snapped the pic I have underneath my post.
So I have two great reminders of Disney kindness.
There are many fellow pin people, Dis-ers and guests who have the true Disney spirit.
We all rush around from ride to ride, but JudithM and her DH taught us to stop and smell the roses, take a deep breath and just enjoy our Disney surroundings.
Seems there is always someone who needs help or information. If we can, we help in what way we can. You enjoy Disney more by doing this.

 

[nhmomx2]

My DH is very outgoing, therefore, not afraid to approach people. He always offers to take a picture of other people for them so they have a "family" photo. He also will not leave the parks with a fast pass. He will wait until he sees a family of the same size as ours and offer them the tickets. You would think he gave them gold - well, I guess sometimes they are more valuable

We've also offered snacks to kids in line with us - teaches our kids to share (and for the trusting part, I think if someone offers you something like this that you are partaking in youself then they assume it's fine!)

It's all in the spirit of Disney!!

 

[tmli]

On our last trip my ds(6) was patiently waiting for his turn to look thru the pin book to make his trade. He' already picked the pin he wanted as he watched others flip the pages. The last child before him was flipping thru and chose my ds's choice. My son may an oh no type sound and the young man (9 or 10) told my son you can have that one. My son was so grateful--I had tears in my eyes. I told the CM what he had done and she let him pick any pin off the cart he wanted.

I was glad to have my ds on the receiving end as he is normally the child who does things like that.

 

[BabyMo]

I didn't a RAoC thread had been started. I ended up posting my "nice" Disney story on the shock board.

My father and I were riding Splash Mountain at DL. We were sharing our boat with two young Japanese tourists. OF course, you can purchase a photo of your log going down the big drop. The prices were 1 for $6 and 2 for $10. My father told the young tourists that if we bought our pictures together, it would only cost them $4 instead of $6.

 

[Claudia2002]

When my DD was a toddler, a desparate mom came up to me in the waiting area of the airport and wanted to buy a diaper from me. I just gave it to her(and some wipes) and asked her to help out another mom sometime.

 

[Shannon G]

Not at WDW, but at Six Flags New England... I was meeting some family members at the park, and I had gotten tickets ahead of time. Well, DH ended up not going with me, so I had an extra ticket. It was October, and the park was going to be closing for the season in a couple of weeks, and then the ticket would be no good anyway. So, I approached a woman in the parking lot who had two pre-teen boys with her, and asked if they wanted the ticket. She was so surprised that I was just giving them a ticket to get into the park. But, it worked out perfectly - she and her son had season passes, but the other boy was a friend of her son, and they were going to have to buy a ticket for him. I think it really feels great to be able to help someone out like that - I get as much out of it as they do!

 

[disneyfan551]

During our trip last year, we had parked our brightly decorated stroller while we were in an attraction at MK. When we came out, we had 3 fast passes on the stroller tray to Space Mountain! It really made my day! We weren't even considering doing it, since we had our 7 month old dd, but we did & had a blast!

 

[RickinNYC]

I love this thread!

We live in New York City so it's random acts of kindness like these that remind me that not everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere, won't hold open doors, give up their seat for an elderly person, and so many other infractions I can't even count.

In fact, this is exactly why we go to WDW as frequently as we have!

I have labelled my other half as the Official Photographer of Walt Disney World. He falls all over himself and runs windsprints just so he can offer to take a family's photo. It never fails to make me shake my head and chuckle! It makes his day, makes the day of the anonymous family, and it certainly makes mine!

We also do the Fast Pass sweepstakes. It really makes for a nice ending to a great day to give a couple of a tickets to someone who looks like they've had a rough/hot/sweaty/good god my feet hurt/sunburn day. The look on their face is priceless.

And we do one other thing that I mentioned in another post. We stop by the Disney Store on in Times Square or Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in the weeks and months preceding our next trip. We buy as many of the NYPD and FDNY disney pins as we can afford at the time, whether it's one or two or ten or twenty. Apparently, you can only buy these pins in NYC (or Ebay).

Anyway, when we get to WDW, on each morning of a park visit, we take a few along with us. When we see a child (or adult for that matter) who doesn't seem to have too many of their own pins, or who is looking like they're having a bad day of it, or for whatever reason under the sun, we sidle on over and start a little chat. We ask where they're from, how long they've been collecting, then ask if they have an NYPD or FDNY pin (only available in New York !!!! Woo hoo!) Of course, if it's a child, we chat with their parent!!

In any case, we then hand the pin over and refuse to take a trade. We simply say, "Everyone from across the country/world sent such wonderful thoughts and prayers to New York City after 9/11, this is our small way of saying 'Thank you'." And we move on. We never ask for anything in return!

 

[stinkerbelle]

my fiance and I have been on the recieving end of FP's and pictures many times, that we always jump at the oportunity to help others.

alway always always...no matter how hot/stinky/tired we are, if we are on a bus and a harried looking woman gets on with 3 kids, she has our seats. I forget how it happened one time...but I remember having the cutest little girl sitting on my lap telling me about her day with Mickey on our ride back to the resort. It just made my day...seeing how excited she was and how the magic just infected her!

 

[HairyAriel]

I love to shoot baskets on the Boardwalk.Since I am such a deadly accurate shooter I frequently win basketballs and stuffed animals which I immediately give to some little guy or gal who was not able to reach the basket.

Its always fun to see the reaction from the kids and their parents especially when the dad has just spent 10 bucks shooting right next to me and has come away empty-handed.

The other thing I like to do at the Boardwalk area is push the Surrey riders who cant manage to pedal up the hill near the Dolphin under their own steam. This prevents them from having to get out of the Surrey and walk it up the hill. It is also pretty good exercise for me. If you hang around that spot for any length of time you will come across many riders that cant get up the hill without a push.

 

[Safari Steve]

One evening I was at Wolfgang Puck Express on the West Side. When I got to the outdoor seating area with my food, there were no empty tables. After waiting a couple of minutes, I found a table getting ready to open up, so I positioned myself to take a seat as soon as it was empty. When I sat down, I noticed an older couple come out with their food and nowhere to sit. Since there were four chairs and only one of me and only two of them, I offered to share the table. We had a very nice chat and I found out that both of their children had been CMs at one time.

Another time, at the same restaurant, I was enjoying my rosemary chicken when I heard this funny voice behind me, it was W. Puck himself, standing beside a table making sure that a young boy was enjoying his chicken fingers and macaroni. He was supervising a VIP party in the upper level and had come down to visit the express during a break (very friendly. The little boy didn't know who he was talking to, but Mom and Dad were impressed... so was I.)

 

[laurabelle]

During our very first trip to WDW, as hubby was checking us into the ASMu, I was waiting with my kiddies watching cartoons when I noticed a wallet sitting by itself on a chair. I didn't even open it, but took it to the CM behind the counter. Seconds later a guest was searching around frantically, it was his wallet. He and his family were here from the UK, just checked in, and ALL their vacation money was in his wallet. I hope if that should happen to me someday that another honest person would be the one to find it.

 

[LynnF]

I like this thread....My story happened at the airport. My DS was 12 at the time. (NOW 17) We were waiting for our flight with other families who had been to Disney. (All the Disney bags and stuffed animals gave it away...LOL) A small girl was crying, and when I asked what had happened, the mother said her Mickey she had gotten at the MK got lost in the crowd. Well, my son looks at the little girl, then looks at me, and I knew what he was going to do. He gets his backpack, pulls out the Mickey he bought
and tells the little girl he found him wandering around looking for her. She was thrilled!! I was so proud of him! Nothing says Disney like the smile of a child!


Lynn

 

[stinkerbelle]

LynnF - you raised a very special DS. You deserve to be congratulated. If I was standing next to your son when he did that...I would have given him MY mickey too! What a sweet little boy...err...guess he's a man now, eh?

Along with all the other parents out there that have children that do good deeds/respect others/mind their manners in public - you ALL deserve a great big hug.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I did the pin give-away to a little girl just last week. She was about to trade with a CM for a princess pin she wanted. I happened to have that exact pin in my pocket, along with several other princess pins I'd gotten. So I just went up to her, handed her the pin and quickly disappeared. This was my first pin give-away, but it gave me a great feeling and I'm sure I'll do it again. Did I do it in the right manner?