Making somebody else's Disney Magic ...

[dawnbu40]

I love this thread! It is heartwarming to hear so many random acts of kindness! My family always tries to help others feel the magic at WDW. In Sept, my DH and I had our first "mom and dad only" trip and we were celebrating our anniversary. At Chef Mickey's they gave us a cupcake which we passed along to the kids at the next table and we also offered to take the family's pics with the characters so the whole family could be seen. Since we didn't plan to use the arcade voucher I walked into the arcade and offered it to the first little girl I saw. Her mom was thrilled and said her DD had wanted to play games but she hadn't brought her wallet. We also always try to give away any extra FP we have at the end of the day.

Helping others always makes you feel good but there is something extra special about helping make WDW more magical for others!

 

[KellyNY]

I do not have any special stories but we do take pictures for people, we actually offer, we let kids infront of us during parades, small things like that.

 

[seobaina]

I always end up with kids sat around me during parades, etc. We're always there early and we spread out (just a little) because we find we always get squished just before the parade. Well, just beforehand we often squish ourselves up to make space for a child or two further back. During Spectromagic 2 years ago a father left his 7 year old daughter sat with us while he stood in the crowd on the other side. She didn't speak a word of English but she beamed the whole way through and we made sure she got back to her dad safe and sound afterwards.

In 2006 P&PP we dressed as pirates and after having some pics taken with Mickey, etc we handed our swords to the first family of two kids we saw. It was much harder than you'd think to find two kids together that didn't have swords already LOL but they seemed thrilled.

In DLC last sept I got talking to a family from Australia. As a diser and UK CM I've gathered info so while we were waiting for Manhatten Bobsleds with them I was giving them a few tips about rides, parades etc. The youngest daughter was about 6 (Annie). Well, we were chatting about the ride and I told Annie that I loved it and thought she would too. As we loaded up in the bobsled behind her & her dad, I told her I'd look to see what she thought about it afterwards. At the end she was waiting for me with a big smile and said she'd loved it. This was her first trip to any disney park and I had some 'London' store pins on me (long story) so I gave her one and said it was help her celebrate her first disney day. She said thank you and gave me a huge hug before she left. My friends laugh that I was doing my 'disney thing' for that family that day but I know her smile and hug was the highlight of my trip, so I think I got the best deal


Don't know if it counts but my fellow cms are spreading Disney magic for me right now. We get a couple of passes to the park each year (just single day ones). Well, there are 3 of us going in April for 11 nights and so far my colleagues have gathered 31 tickets together for us - that they have just given us. They could keep them for themselves but they all said they didn't know if they'd get to use them and that as we were going, we should . See, sometimes CMs spread magic to other CMs too...even outside the park!

I think Uncle Walt would be proud of this thread and the legacy he's left!

 

[tink576]

Whenever we have extra fast passes left over and are leaving the park for the day we always go the ride and look through the end of the standby line for some single parent and child group (we'd have 2 maybe 3 passes to give away). It's aways a great feeling to see their faces when they are standing in a 1-2hr line and suddenly they realize they get to jump to the 10 min line.

 

[Caitsmama]

Well, my lil' story is nothing grand.. but it made me proud of my dd..

We were in Epcot, my dd was about 6 at the time (she's 9 now) and my dd was trying to get over to see something in one of the countries -- she accidently bumped into an elderly woman - and my dd immediately said "Oh, Excuse Me!" in her cute lil' voice.. LOL

The woman was impressed by my dd's good manners - and ended up giving her a special pin off her lanyard.. My dd still has this pin and talks about how she met a nice lady that gave it to her.. The woman complimented my DH on my dd's manners and said it was nice to see a child react the way my dd did. That makes me feel good!

That story sticks with me and makes me feel proud as a mama! My dd didn't mean to "do anything" by saying Excuse me to the lady - but the lady's response was so wonderful, it warms my heart.

 

[eastcarolinafan]

I can't believe this thread is still going! Awesome! I just assumed people were kind of over it. I just checked in to re-read some of the responses. That is soooo cool.

 

[eastcarolinafan]

Had to revive the thread I've always done small things like taking pictures for families, pointing out if something falls or if someone leaves something behind running after them. I also love to get stickers from the CM and give them to kids and ever since I got into pin trading years back I constantly give pins to kids that I see are celebrating or are just sharing that Disney Magic with their siblings and just being utterly wonderful. The parents are always soooo grateful and surprised and the kids are just ecstatic with their pins. I also share parade seats with kids so they can see or squish a little closer to the family to make room for another. It always feels absolutely amazing to share some of that Disney Magic. Chasing people down to give them extra fast passes is hilarious my husband cracks up because people look at me like I have 8 heads.

I know what you mean, and it has the potential to get reallly expensive. I can also relate to chasing people down with FPs and other stuff. What is that all about anyway? How come we feel compelled to do that? It's like I can't help but to want others to have as much fun as I am, and I ALWAYS have fun at DW.

 

[Stephanator]

I've given away fast passes before, but hadn't thought of grabbing them on the way out of the park for the day. That's a great idea! I've brought dollar store Disney goodies to share while waiting in line and at Fantasmic with kids around us. I love the idea of paying for someone's parking behind me. I have an AP so I never pay for parking anyways. Oh, and as a pressed penny fanatic, I also love the idea of making an extra pressed penny and just leaving it in the machine as a random token of pixie dust. Great ideas everyone. Keep 'em coming!

 

[Cdn Gal]

We have given up seats at the parades to younger kids and have shared our space with a couple from ummmm, what's north of Mexico? Anyway it's that state. (ask me about Canada and I can tell you lots!) We have also given up our seats on the bus to families and older people. I like the idea of bringing stickers- I can do that! We also tip the maids really, really well. They appreciate it with soaps and towel animals! I would like to get into the habit of bringing down something from Canada. Perhaps maple candy suckers? This is a wonderful thread. It is very inspirational!

 

[ElliePeters]

We enjoy buying for someone behind us in line for a Dole Whip or other snack stand. We have given away extra Disney items we brought we just never wound up using. We do love to hand out FP's we weren't able to use as we walk out of any of the parks...always makes someone's day!

 

[hopeandtink]

We always give fastpasses, toys, etc. We have also had many magical momemts givien to us.

My DH was in the Army and we had just found out he would be deployed for 8months. Our three boys were 5,3, and 2 and loved Buzz and Woody. We decided to go to Disneyland for a few days before deployment. We had little money, drove 12 hours, stayed a a Super 8, and packed most of our food. On our first day we were walking and Woody walked up to us and took my oldest DS hand and started pusing the stroller! He walked us up to the Buzz Lightyear show and led us to front row seats! After the show Buzz came up to the boys and gave them special guest awards. My Olderst DS is now 12 and still talks about this day!

Our last trip we stayed at All Star Music. We were celebrating our sons remission from cancer. On 2 day before our trip was over a CM called our room and asked me to come to the front desk. When I arrived I was told that we were upgraded to the Beach Club and they would be moving our stuff that AM. I was blown away because My DS had not been able to swim over the summer because of the chemo and this was to be our pool day, now it would be at Stormalong Bay! Our room was a suite and club level!!! My DS LOVED the pool and water slide. This was a great gesture by the CM's and they have no idea what that meant to our family.

 

[f15steagle]

I love this thread.....the best ones are of the children who share the magic out of the kindness of thier hearts.

Like many others on the board I offer to take pictures for familys/couples and that always seems to go over well. I was with my family (all adults) in December and as we were getting ready to leave DHS I remembered we had not used our FP for TSMM since we stood in line. I collected the tix from my family and found another family of four to give them to. They were so pleased as the wait was over an hour and no more fastpasses were being given out. It made my day to bring a smile to another family.

Although I don't remember it (outside of seeing the info in my scrapbook) my family was on the recieving end in the 80's. We usually went to a FL beach prior to going to WDW and a family at the beach gave us their unused park tickets. It allowed 3 out of 4 of us to save a day on tickets. I'm sure my parents were absolutely thrilled.

I think the idea of buying a balloon or two and giving them away will be on my list of things to do on my next trip.

 

[Tosie]

Great thread - love all these terrific stories!

We've done the fastpass thing, the photo thing and the extra dining credit thing. It's always great to see those smiles when people realize you want nothing in return but to see them enjoy their day!

Last August we did the Beachcomber Shack at Typhoon Lagoon (which I thoroughly enjoyed!!) We had a TON of bottled water left over at the end of the day. As we were standing at the bus stop with a very heavy bag of bottled water in the August heat, I leaned over to dh (who is the outgoing member of our team) and said "Wanna offer out our water?"

So he made a general announcement to the group of about 25 tired, sweaty adults and kids and at first I think people were a little taken aback. Then one guy said "Sure, I'll take one!" People started raising their hands and we were able to hand out all the bottles - no more heavy bag to carry, and a bunch of refreshed folks to ride the bus home with. They were all very appreciative and of, course, it made us feel good!

I forgot to add: A few years ago we were the recipients of some FP pixie dust. We were in AK and dd wanted to ride Kali (again) but the standby line was pretty long. A woman heard us talking and said "Here - take these - we can't use them." There were 3 (and 4 of us) so I told my family to go ahead and I would grab a water and wait for them. A few minutes later the woman came running back to us (the line hadn't moved very far) and said "I found another one!" So we all got to ride!

 

[derncare]

I just want to say that I'm such a sap - I just read this whole thread through and have teared up many times. Once I even had to leave my desk and go pat my eyes dry in the restroom. lol I love hearing about this stuff.

I'm the type of person that loves doing for others. We went to Disney for our first time last year and I bought a HUGE box of glow sticks with us. My husband sat and made necklaces, bracelets, and glasses out of them while my DS (6) handed them out to children all around us. With the fireworks going off at the Magic Kingdom, it was such a magical moment and one I'll never forget.

We are heading to WDW again this November for 8 days. I just emailed my husband and told him about this thread and told him that I wanted to theme our trip. I even came up with a name:

The "Give the Magic Away, At Least Once Every Day" Trip

I made a list of 8 things that we could do, thanks to some ideas from this thread, at least one per day (since we are staying for 8 days) to spread the magic.

1) Pay for someone's parking behind us

2) Give our unused dining/snacks away to pay for someone else's meal

3) Make up a few of those little CM care packages

4) Purchase a few of the mickey balloons and give those away

5) Bring sheets or rolls of stickers to give away to children in lines

6) Bring extra pins for trading with children

7) Bring lots more glow sticks again

8) And the big one that I thought of, I think I'll start saving $100 and before I leave, I'll get 10 of the $10 Disney dollar bills and hand those out to random children at the park so they can use them to buy something they want

I love it! Thanks everyone for the tears of joy and for loving stuff like this as much as me. My husband replied to me with "you're such a cheeseball". I've been called that more than once in my life and that's okay with me!

 

[Amanda_the_awesome]

Great thread, I love to read these stories.

 

[paintnolish]

We were stuffed from days of DDP and had several untouched bakalavas on our tray after a lunch at TC. I told my mom I was going to offer them to a group of teens next to us. She thought they'd never take them. They did and loved them!
I also like giving FPs we won't use.

 

[seobaina]

I just want to say that I'm such a sap - I just read this whole thread through and have teared up many times. Once I even had to leave my desk and go pat my eyes dry in the restroom. lol I love hearing about this stuff.

The "Give the Magic Away, At Least Once Every Day" Trip

I'm with you on being a sap...and your trop idea made me well up too! I love it!

 

[deepmagic]

OK, I know this is a WDW board, but I have only gone there once...and my story happaned in DLR...I hope that is OK.

I was sitting in Tomorrow Land Terrace waiting for the start of Jedi Academy. Both of my young boys were picked. I saw a young girl, probably 9 years old, picked for Jedi Academy. Her younger brother, however, was not picked. The younger brother was around 5 or 6 years old and was soooo verrrry sad. The parents convinced her to give up her spot for her little brother. She obeyed, but you could tell that she was very sad about it.

After the show, I saw her standing, watching her brother all excited and telling his parents about the event. She looked so sad and it just made me feel so bad. So, I don't know what made me do it (normally I am a very shy person, except on the DIS boards ), but I walked up to all of them and said that I saw what she did for her little brother and I thought that was the kindest and most unselfish thing I ever saw.

I happaned to have a bunch of pins we had bought for friends and families to take home as gifts and I let her pick one of the tinkerbell pins. She was so excited to get a pin (she had one of those travel package lanyards with just one pin on it). Her mom's eyes just teared up. I was so glad to reward her for her unselfish behavior and it made me feel so good.

Thanks so much for sharing this story. My DD is very kind & generous. She often gives up something that means a lot to her b/c she wants to bless other people. We've had times when strangers have approached us to tell us how impressed they were w/our daughter's generous spirit.

I'm glad you had the courage to go to them & share a special reward with this little girl. AND thanks for sharing your story!

 

[flicx]

We have given fast passes before and have gotten them too.Always a pleasant surprise to get one especially if there is somewhere you have to be and don't know if you can wait 45 min or more in line. Disney sent me a couple of pins a few years back.One to keep and one to give. I gave one to a little boy and his face just lit up.What a great idea.The free leftover meals is a fantastic one.Never did the dining plan but will have to remember it if I ever do.It's amazing how the little things can make someones day.Some don't even cost a penny,just a little time.Well worth it!

 

[DisMomAmy]

We have shared glow sticks, seats at SpectroMagic and fastpasses. We also gave away an unopened case of bottled water at CBR last year the night before we left. It always feels good to spread the magic!

Sorry if this has already been discussed, I didn't read the whole thread yet... But has anyone had trouble giving away fastpasses? I had a pair of Expedition Everest FPs that I had trouble getting rid of on our way out of AK last year... I guess I didn't do a good enough job explaining what they were to possible newbies??