Making somebody else's Disney Magic ...

[harpinjean]

I always try to help people with the FP system. You can tell when someone hasn't used it before because they are standing there just staring at the machine. People are always appreciative for the help. I also spread the FP word while standing in line. I know that I would want someone to tell me about it if I didn't know how the system works.

 

[eastcarolinafan]

Later when my DH and the husband of the lady came off the ride, the daughter showed him the pin I had given her and he told me after they had gone to shop in the gift shop that his wife was not doing well and that it was a difficult trip (for obivous reasons). Boy did I ever feel good then about giving her that pin.

Wow! That is like the good karma Bingo! That story made my morning.

 

[eastcarolinafan]

I always try to help people with the FP system. You can tell when someone hasn't used it before because they are standing there just staring at the machine. People are always appreciative for the help. I also spread the FP word while standing in line. I know that I would want someone to tell me about it if I didn't know how the system works.

That is nice of you. For some, it seems so foreign it's scary. But really it is so easy and saves a ton of hassle.

 

[karriemouse]

We also give away FastPasses which we won't be able to use (although occasionally we get an odd look in return and one family once refused some Soarin fastpasses saying that they didn't want to go on that ride!!) and we have had people give us their FastPasses too. Definitely Karma or 'what goes around comes around'.

Another thing I love to do is to pin trade with little ones who are just beginning to trade. Last Christmas I was at AK taking pics and shopping while the rest of the family did Everest and saw a small boy of about 3 years old being bought what seemed like his first two pins. He was being told 'but you can't trade them, they are to keep remember'. So I asked if I could give him a pin which he could then trade with the CMs and this was happily accepted. I hope he had fun trading his pin and enjoying the ones he wanted to keep!

 

[eastcarolinafan]

We also give away FastPasses which we won't be able to use (although occasionally we get an odd look in return and one family once refused some Soarin fastpasses saying that they didn't want to go on that ride!!) and we have had people give us their FastPasses too. Definitely Karma or 'what goes around comes around'.

Another thing I love to do is to pin trade with little ones who are just beginning to trade. Last Christmas I was at AK taking pics and shopping while the rest of the family did Everest and saw a small boy of about 3 years old being bought what seemed like his first two pins. He was being told 'but you can't trade them, they are to keep remember'. So I asked if I could give him a pin which he could then trade with the CMs and this was happily accepted. I hope he had fun trading his pin and enjoying the ones he wanted to keep!

Wonderful stuff. My daughter started really getting into the whole pin trading thing this past trip. I bought her a starter pack on ebay and let her go crazy. In the end, she traded all the originals, but was esctatic overall on her trades. One really sweet CM, a woman around 40 or so, had a pin my girl really wanted, but, being out of starter pins, she would have had to trade a new, nicer pin for it. The CM awarded her for wearing her ears and gave her the pin. I suspect the rules were stretched; I mean, if CMs gave pins to every kid, there would be none left, but that bit of magic was worth a smile a mile wide from all of us.

 

[Mickey'n'Me]

We were there in August and it was Hotter than H#@L!!!! We had fast passes to BTMR and decided to give them away since we were leaving the park. We noticed a couple that had just entered the line and the wait was 50 min. They were standing outside of the covered area and you could tell they were hot and were dredding the wait. We offered the fast passes to them and they were thrilled!!!!! Made me feel GREAT, you could tell it made their day!!!

 

[ginnymack]

I have young kids, so I am always prepared on that front! I buy small sticker books from Walgreens that take up no room in my purse or bag. I can then rip off a sheet for my kids whenever they are bored in a restaurant or wherever. At home and in the parks, I dole out sticker sheets to any kids that are getting antsy. The look of thanks and relief on the faces of the parents is worth it. Sometimes it is the "new item" that just does the trick!

Also, in the spring if I pass a Dollar bin in a store with a 6 pack of wedding bubbles I will grab a few for my park bag. A three year old in total meltdown mode while waiting for Pooh was instantly transformed by a small vial of bubbles. The parents were so greatful that they offered to let us go in front of them in line. Of course, we refused, but it was so nice to see it mean so much to them.

I also stock up on glow sticks from the dollar store and will pass them out before the parade or fireworks. It really helps pass the time for the little one for the last few minutes.

We have also passed out unused fastpasses, but I never though about grabbing an extra set on our way out with the sole purpose of giving them away. Very cool idea! I am in for our next trip!

 

[DjdBrit]

My DH gave a couple of people FP's for Space mountain as he entered with my daugher we were a party of 5 and only 3 were returning since we already rode earlier, the lady almost kisses him she was SO happy. It was such a simple thing that made someone happy, with no effort at all

I usually bring glow sticks to entertain my kids waiting for Fantasmic, last year I had a package of 15 in my bag so I made bracelets aand necklaces for all the kids sitting around us.... simple.

It must come back to me, because on the first day of our last trip we were waiting for the bus at SSR and my kids were admiring pins on a older lady's lanyard, especially the Fastpast pins. They all got talking and before I knew it she had given each of my 3 kids 4 pins! You RULE who ever you are! This made my kids trip and it was very generous of you! Thank you!

 

[eastcarolinafan]

We were there in August and it was Hotter than H#@L!!!! We had fast passes to BTMR and decided to give them away since we were leaving the park. We noticed a couple that had just entered the line and the wait was 50 min. They were standing outside of the covered area and you could tell they were hot and were dredding the wait. We offered the fast passes to them and they were thrilled!!!!! Made me feel GREAT, you could tell it made their day!!!

Bet it made your day too!

 

[newtodis]

You are truly part of what is so right about Disney World. Thank you so very much!

Thank you very much for the very kind comment!

We've given away the fastpasses, taken pictures, let people go ahead in line and given up our seats which I love doing for the other guests. But I love doing things for the CM's. I give them those CM appreciation cards which they love to get and are always surprised to get. I will also go out of my way to find a manager/boss of a CM to tell them what a great job that CM is doing. I do this in everyday life too. And OP, your right, it does feel a bit selfish to feel so good for doing for others. I dont know why it doesn't catch on more. I love the feeling and so does my family.

Oh I forgot all about that! I always make sure when I get back from every trip to send an email to Disney about the GOOD things that happened. (I've been known to send a couple emails about the bad things but I always send a good one as well) I also carry around cute little cards from the Creative DISigns board to hand out to CMs throughout the parks.

One thing I try to do every time we go is bring a handful of stickers (usually Tink, Cars, and/or Princesses) to leave here and there and/or give away. It's a lot cheaper than balloons (though of course, not as cool), but usually gets a smile.

Great idea! I need to buy like the big rolls of them like they use at the doctor's office! They wouldn't take up much room if you ripped them all up and I'm sure my boys would LOVE handing them out waiting for the shows to start or while waiting in line or something! You've just given me a great idea for our next trip!!! Thank you so much!

 

[eastcarolinafan]

They all got talking and before I knew it she had given each of my 3 kids 4 pins! You RULE who ever you are! This made my kids trip and it was very generous of you! Thank you!

Holy Guacamole! Those bad boys run around $8 apiece. That's a lot of green for kids she didn't know. Fantastic. Man, I swear, if I had the means, I would be like Santa on every trip. I probably wouldn't be able to ride rides because I'd be so busy making smiles. That person definitely has the Magic in her.

 

[eastcarolinafan]

Can somebody tell me how to bump this thread up to the top of the page. I am just not ready to end it yet. I mean, if you all are still into it, that is. If not, that's cool. Thanks for talking!

 

[newtodis]

I'm sure there's much more Disney magic out there to be shared!

 

[ambertides]

Bump!

Another thing: I try to hit one penny press machine each day we go. Some penny presses are 4 coins, some 3, so I bring enough for a four coin press, and if I hit a three, leave the coins for the fourth in the machine (these are also often good places to leave stickers to be found).

It's expensive ($14) so we don't do it often (after a bonus or tax return, usually), we will pay for our parking and the parking of the person behind us, too. It's mostly locals, so our "neighbors" so that's why it's meaningful to us. There are a lot of times we've been that the $14 was *all* of our fun money for the pay period - and well spent - a day at Disney!, but still...

Sometimes I'm too shy to do things, but I'm working on it. A couple opportunities passed up were helping someone who had a slip and fall at Boardwalk (I had Band-Aids and Neosporin, but didn't get to her until after a CM had run for help, then got really shy about approaching her and her companion), and not giving a pin to a little girl (I was afraid her parents would object - she didn't have a lanyard or anything, but obviously loved Tink, and I had a Tink pin I was planning on trading away anyway. Any parent with tips on a good way to do this? We tried for 10+ years but never became parents, so I'm always a little uneasy in this area.)

One thing done for me, that I am still so grateful for - I was taking my camera out of my bag at Osborne Lights and dropped my ID and ATM card and didn't notice or hear it - but someone else did and let me know. That was really awesome.

 

[C.Ann]

In the past - when I spent a few days alone there until my sister could join me - I invited people to eat with me at a table outside Cosmic Ray's; I helped an elderly couple on the Monorail ( first-timers who had many, many questions); and I spent several hours walking around MK - looking for families who were carrying cameras - and then offered to take photos of the entire family together..

Doesn't matter if I'm at Disney or at the local supermarket.. If I can help someone or put a smile on their face, it makes my day..

 

[jpolak]

We always give the FPs we will not be using to other families. On this one occasion we gave a family FPs for splash. The father looked at us and said "thank you, but the time on these have passed" I explained that the CMs at the rides will let you on even after the FP window. I think he was more appreciative of the info as they had been running around all day trying to get back to the rides during the actual FP window.

 

[JerseyMamaBear]

for my Birthday weekend this past January I was lucky enough to recieve several gifts to my room during our stay. All of them were tied with easily 10 balloons including one that sings. Since it was a short trip and we were leaving for the airport I brought all of the balloons to the Magic Kingdom and handed them out to any child (with thier parents permission) who was wearing a Birthday Pin. It made me feel good to share my Birthday gifts with others.

 

[LJC1861]

I started pin trading and collecting in 1999. While I still have a few that I will never trade, sell or give away I have had thousands over the years that I have done just that with. For several years I had a lime green sash....similar to a girl scout sash that I would fill with pins before every trip to WDW. I used that sash to trade exclusively with kids, following the same rules that the CM's follow. More often than not however I just gave away pins off the sash. These days, I generally just keep a lanyard, or a pocketful and when I see budding pin traders I ask their parents first, then engage them in conversation about their pins. I almost always end up giving away several with each conversation.

I am also a former Disney Store CM, and I worked in the NYC Disney Stores during 9/11. The Disney Stores in NYC, and all the Disney Cast Members received Liberty Bell pins that came on a card several weeks after 9/11. The NYC Disney stores received thousands to hand out to every guest who entered the stores. At the end of the promotion my store still had several big boxes left over. I had heard they were going to be destroyed, so I asked my district manager if I could have them to hand out to people at WDW on my next trip. He agreed. For the next 2 years I handed out every single one of those pins on my trips to WDW. It was a great opportunity to engage families in conversation on so many topics, including 9/11.

Although I no longer have any of the 9/11 pins, except for the one that I kept for me, I still have a small box of "give away" pins. I am headed down in a few weeks and cannot wait to make some more pin magic when I am there.

Linda

 

[Dan Murphy]

I have met up with many folks from the DIS over the years, and many of their families also, both at WDW and elsewhere (hi Linda ). If I know I am meeting and know there will be kids there, I always try to have something to give them, just a little trinket of some sort, key chain, little Mickey or Minnie, or whatever. They always really enjoy them.

Good thread, eastcarolinafan.

 

[eastcarolinafan]

We always give the FPs we will not be using to other families. On this one occasion we gave a family FPs for splash. The father looked at us and said "thank you, but the time on these have passed" I explained that the CMs at the rides will let you on even after the FP window. I think he was more appreciative of the info as they had been running around all day trying to get back to the rides during the actual FP window.

you know, that really is some valuable info. I guess we all just take it for granted that everybody knows about the FP times, but why would first-timers know that? Well done, amigo.