Have you ever been pleasantly surprised...

[VelvetGloves]

On our wedding trip, a very nice lady gave us two meal vouchers, which allowed us to have breakfast at the Crystal Palace the next morning for free! It was one of the best meals of our trip. It was totally unexpected and greatly appreciated! Thanks to you, wherever you are!

VelvetGloves

 

[gigi1313]

while i cannot recall extra pixie dust that was bestowed upon us at wdw, i do recall sprinkling some...

when in the ladies room there was a small girl in a stroller who was in mega meltdown mode and mom was not far behind her... the girl was pitching quite the fit so while mom piddled and big sister watched on (holding on to the stroller as instructed) i knelt down and tried chatting w/the screamer... took my new tink hairbrush out of my purse and showed it to her, shared it with her and after a minute or so she had gulped enough to respond and smile... i thought mom was going to cry when she came out of the stall to find her screamer quiet and smiling... she just had such a look of relief on her face... it was a simple thing to do, it was a great lesson for my kids who asked "why'd you do that?" and it felt great to help another family salvage their day...

other things we've done is give away fastpasses, give away fantasmic reserved seating vouchers from FDP when we opted to go swim or sleep instead, give a new to wdw family the lowdown on park touring in a nutshell while riding the bus, etc...

i like sharing the magic as much as i like having it shared

 

[ReneeA]

We were on a packed bus with our 2 & 3 year olds last August and were standing up because there weren't any more seats left. I was having a hard time standing and trying to hold onto DD2, stroller, bags, etc. A very nice lady from Australia started talking to DD and you could tell my DD really liked her...she kept scooting closer and closer to her until she was touching her knees. The lady scooped her up in her lap, held her and sang to her the entire bus ride. It was a relief to not have to worry about holding her and keeping my balance.

 

[maelstrom]

I love talking to people on the busses. I once sat for about 25 minutes on a bus chatting with an older couple. They actually thought I worked at WDW!

I also love to alleviate children's fear of certain rides. Since I know most of the rides so well, I can tell them what to expect and when to expect it. When I think it's appropriate, I let them know that some parts of the ride are fake (like on TT, I tell them it's going to look like they're going to hit a wall [and you know after that screening video a lot of people think they're going to] but that I promise it isn't a real wall and it will open like a door).

We've been offered extra food from other families (usually a dessert the child does not want but came with their meal) and have offered our extra food to other families.

I just remembered one of my best experiences at WDW. It happened just last month. We were waiting for the boat at the WL and I started talking with a little boy of about four. He was telling me the stops on the monorail and how he has his monorail at home set up differently. Then he was telling me all the rides on the park maps and what number they are on the map. He was quite the kid! I talked to him all the way to Ft. Wildy and on to the MK. He told me how he had just gotten back from DLP. At one point his dad reached into his wallet to get the kid's complimentary AP and I noticed what I thought was a CM ID. And then it all clicked. The kid's dad works for Disney. That's why this kid is such a Disney genius. And that's why the dad kept asking me how I felt about certain new attractions and seemed very pleased about my stories of how many times I've been to WDW and how much it means to me. The best part, though, was that the kid's favourite attraction (remember, he's four) is the Carousel of Progress. And he sang me "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow". People like that make me so happy.

 

[Lizzybee]

Another mom heard my daughter asking about getting a lanyard for pin trading. My son bought one with his money and at first my DD wasn't interested. She wasn't having a fit, it was just a convo the woman overheard and she gave us an extra Incredibles lanyard for my daughter.
Honestly more people were nice than not. For the most part people were friendly, happy and cooperative. I wouldn't worry about crazy evil psychotic child mowing down maniacs in the parks. Since the other thread call this kind of behavior "shocking", I'd definitely say it's out of the norm. Have fun!

 

[lyzziesmom]

when in the ladies room there was a small girl in a stroller who was in mega meltdown mode and mom was not far behind her... the girl was pitching quite the fit so while mom piddled and big sister watched on (holding on to the stroller as instructed) i knelt down and tried chatting w/the screamer... took my new tink hairbrush out of my purse and showed it to her, shared it with her and after a minute or so she had gulped enough to respond and smile... i thought mom was going to cry when she came out of the stall to find her screamer quiet and smiling

Hey gigi, did you happen to be there in May of this year? That sounds exactly like me & my girls!! My little one actually didn't have *too* many meltdowns, and they are usually over fairly quick, but when that girl cries, it's like the world is coming to an end. We call her "the saddest baby in the world" It's funny only because 2 minutes later she will be laughing just as hard as she was crying.

I definitely had a lot of "helpers" on our WDW trip when it was just me & the girls, much more so than when we visit our local amusement park. A big Thank You to everyone who takes a moment to go out of their way to brighten someone else's day. It's people like you who enable us single parents to have a magical time at WDW without losing our cool.

 

[Skroops]

With soooo many different types of guests, WDW has it all. One thing that I noticed was that if you looked for annoying behavior, it was everywhere, and if you looked for nice folks, they are everywhere too! My advice, is don't look for the bad and you most likely wont see it.

One lady gave us her Atlanta Braves poncho during an extreme downpour to help us cover our baby. It definately wasn't a dollar store type, and her kindness we will never forget.

Somebody turned in my pink Gucci sunglasses at the Brown Derby last week.(thank you!!)

Somebody turned in my wallet at Epcot after I had one too many while drinking around the world. I left it on the counter after a wine tasting in Germany (last year).

We have met so many people from all over the country and all over the world. It is fun to have the common ground of WDW to start conversations with everyone you meet.

Enjoy!

 

[Mom to a Princess]

Oh man I can remember the best pixie dust that came from a complete stranger on a crowded bus.

This was on our trip in 2002. It was me, my dd and my mom. My mom had just found out that she had end stage lung cancer and had decided to take her only grand kid to WDW before she started chemo. So there we are in the world. It was great. One night my mom was too tired to go out with us but really wanted DD to see something so dd and I were off to the Magic Kingdom. At the time dd was only 18 months old and needed all the stuff an 18 month old child needs. On the way we were fine dd was in great spirits and the bus was empty. Well it was the opposite on the way back. The bus was packed and dd was not in a good mood. I had my diaper bag, dd, and an umbrella stroller in my lap (in one seat so that we would not take up a seat someone else could use.) Well about two minutes into the ride dd starts screaming for her bottle. Well I could not reach my backpack. This went on for a few minutes. DD kept getting more and more upset. Well some kind man saw the bottle in the side pocket and got it for me. I was never so relived in my life. DD was happy and so were all the other passengers. So thank you to that kind man! I have sense learned to keep my backpack within reach!

 

[Diznotyzed]

One trip many moons ago, our daughters were 6 and 9. We went to dinner at the TS restaurant at POFQ. We were seated next to an older couple who told us when they were leaving how well behaved they thought our girls were. Our girls were beaming, and it obviously meant enough to me that I remember it fondly to this day. A simple kindness that meant a lot.

 

[makinorlando]

Since I moved to Florida, and go to the parks as often as I can, I see way more good things than bad, Have a magical vacation.
Lynn

I have to agree! The good far outweighs the bad!!!!

Have a great trip

 

[Mickey1122]

We try to give away fastpasses when we leave a park, as you can only use them that day. We also heard about someone on their last day paying for some family's dinner with leftover credits.

 

[Fitswimmer]

I'm forever handing out fastpasses. I've had people look at me oddly, but if standby is short, I don't need them. I always try to let the little ones stand in front when the parades are on too. (but not Mom, Dad, Uncle Fred, Aunt Marian and Cousin Jo-Ann)

A few years ago I was on line for Splash behind a mother and daughter-daughter was very excited to ride, Mom not so much. Mom kept asking me about the drop, and she just seemed really scared. She said "I'm here alone with her and she wants to ride all this stuff and I'm just a wreck!" Her daughter was about 10, I guess. I offered to ride with her if it was ok. The daughter was relieved! She said that she knew Mom was scared but she didn't want to go alone. So, Mom stepped out and daughter and I rode and had a great time. Then, we went over to BTMR and rode that together. We all got pixie dust-Mom didn't have to ride the scary ride and her daughter and I didn't have to ride alone. Ever since that night, I keep an eye open for scared parents.

 

[Sue Sullivan]

I once had a nive conservation with a cast member who I believe worked as a cleaning woman. We talked about the parks and our children while riding the monorail. When she got off she gave me a pin that was made exclusively for cast members. She was really sweet.

It's also interesting to note that this was just before Pop Century was to open and she said workers and their families were invited to spend a night there and try out all the facilites as a dry run for the opening.

 

[kidpluto]

i dont know if my family looks friendly or if is because of my little baby brother (then 6 months) but we have had so many great talks on the buses, and on line for the buses. We even think we met some DISers in disguise on one of the buses. The father and son were both wearing lime green and they were def. from southern USA (i forgot where they were from. but we talked about having little kids at disney and that we were both going to MNSSHP and it was a lot of fun.

 

[FOV]

We've met too many nice people to count! Once my Dad left his camera on the monorail and someone turned it in. We've been given fast passes. An extra special thank you to those who have given me kind looks of understanding when my toddlers or babies were having melt downs.

One trip on arrival day my ds fell, skinned his knee and began crying. A kindly CM came by and told my ds that WDW felt sad when they saw nice children cry and he gave him a Tigger pin. I still think about that nice man and what a difference he made in our WHOLE trip. We still talk about it. Little deeds can make a HUGE difference!

We try to pass on the pixie dust whenever an opportunity presents itself.

 

[sbsteel]

Just this last trip, we had late a late ADR (8:50) at LeCellier. DBF and I were seated between two tables of 8-10 - one large group consisted of all parents and the other large group consisted of all their kids ranging between 5-12. The kids were somewhat behaved, but the little ones were starting to break down and kept running back and forth to their parents...constantly past us. I knew the parents just wanted a nice meal and a drink , but it impacted our meal as my purse kept getting knocked off the back of my chair, DBF getting bumped into, and having to repeat ourselves during conversation as the kids were forgetting their indoor voices. I was mildly irritated, but hey - it's Disney!

As we were wrapping up our dessert, two more glasses of wine appeared that we did not order. Just then, one the dads from the adult table came over and apologized to us for the kids running back and forth and wanted to make sure our meal wasn't totally ruined!

We chatted for a little bit and repeatedly thanked him for something he didn't need to do. Just typing this puts a smile on my face as I remember how nice people can be - I just wish the 'magic' that we often experience at Disney could be carried over to our everyday lives.

 

[Melwood23]

I am the camera operator

I get asked all the time to take families/couples pics with their cameras. I had one give me a really nice Nikkon SLR, they were impressed that I knew how to use the camera (adjust for a nice close up) lol.

It is also nice when others offer to take my pic with my camera before I ask

 

[LSUDis]

I give away my dollar store ponchos to someone in line after I ride the rapids !!!!!

OT--Love that Yorkie! A friend of ours is a Yorkie breeder here in Cenla. We just got a shih tzu from her and we LOVE her!

Okay, back to the discussion. . .we share our umbrellas during rainstorms while standing in line; we spray little kids (w/ parents' permission) with our mister; we give away band-aids, antiseptic wipes, etc.

Also, we take photos/get autographs of the character assistants who stand out in the sun, too, and never get any "positive" attention.

Buy a popsicle thingie for a child in line behind you at the concession stands.

 

[Syrreal]

There are so many times that people have done nice things for us that there are too many to count. Everything from giving us unused fastpasses (which made my friend's day b/c it was his one day in the parks <we were there for a conference> and he had not been to disney in 15 years), to just making our days that much brighter.

In turn we always try to spread a little dust around. Try to help people that look a little lost or scared. Or helping a lost child to a CM. Or just taking someone's picture so the whole family can be in the picture.

 

[donna in Oz]

. . .and now I'm worried that I will only run into drunk, half-naked, line-cutters who will ram me with their strollers after they defacate in public while beating and swearing at their child who has just puked on a stranger.

( . . I'm lovin' this thread MUCH more than that one!!)

Even though I'm a motion-sickness sufferer, I always get a FastPass anyway when the rest of my family does. Then a little later, I'll spot someone obviously touring alone, and hand over the FP. Haven't been turned down yet, and it usually sparks a friendly conversation.

And we've had wonderful conversations with SOOO many folks while standing in lines, waiting for parades, etc.