Making somebody else's Disney Magic ...

[3_disprincesses]

During planning for our trip Sept. 2009 I knew to order and pack a stroller cover. Had originally planned on taking the umbrella stroller so that's the cover I ordered...last minute took a bigger stroller and found a cover for it. I carried both of them with us each day in anticipation of Hurricane Ike. On the day of the heaviest rain, we were exiting the monorail and came across another family - with a child the same age as my daughter - trying to wait it out because the child has a simple, flimsy poncho. They were so grateful when I handed them the nice, heavy, clear, fitted for their stroller cover. They offered to pay and I just asked them to please pass it on to another family when they were through with it. It made me feel better knowing the child was protected from the rain and would be dry when they entered rides/shows.

As I read through many of these threads I sometimes wonder if I ever want to go back. I see so many people complaining about EVERYTHING!!! We have honestly never had a bad experience. I find most people to be considerate, have never had problems getting or keeping a good view of the parades, have never been rundown by a stroller or scooter, never experienced "line cutting", etc. After reading through so many post on this thread I see that there still is Magic in WDW and although it will still be two more years before we go back, I am already looking forward it! Thank you for starting this thread!!!

 

[sullins5]

I don't know if this 'counts' or not...
I have two friends that are bringing their families, and they've never been. So I made both of them poster size 'countdowns' starting from February until the month they arrive complete with Disney stickers, coloring, etc. It's a tradition that I started 20 years ago beginning with my now college grad and continue to do for my 10 year old. They were Soooo excited. I met with each friend for 2 hours, helped them with dining plans, touring plans and where to stay. I loved doing it!
And when we came in October for our 25th Anniversary with my 10yr dd, we had the dining plan. On the day we had checked out, we realized we still had a ts left. Not knowing whether I'd 'get in trouble', I told my dh to let me look around. I saw a mom, just like me, who was telling her dh to just get her and her son something to share. I asked her if she'd like to come through the line and order her meal and I'd take care of it. You could tell it was a shocker to her. I loved it! I was just worried that I had done something wrong, but it sure was nice to give this mom a meal to herself!
We are taking our first girls trip with my dd's 21 college grad and my dd 10, so we look forward in May to finding ways to 'pass pixie dust'!!!

CBR May 22-27 First All Girls Trip

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

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


Amen, Sistah!
What a great thread!

 

[bringmethathorizon]

just so it will be there every morning.
thats what i do every morning while eating breckfast is sit here and read the new post.everything on the news is depresing so i can read this and it helps me, knowing there are a few good people out there.

 

[PearlySwan]

I'm not sure how extraordinary these are but we did them during our trip:

1. Gave out FP to others as we exited the parks we visited during AM before heading back to our resort for a rest and hitting a different park in the PM.
2. Took pictures of other families with their cameras so they could have group photos of their party with everyone in them.
3. Gave up seats on the buses for young children and elderly. DH helped a mom bring a double stroller inside a bus once. She was alone with twin toddlers.
4. Shared our pens with other families so they could get character autographs.
5. Bought a kid size poncho for a young child at DHS. The girl kept asking mom to buy her one, but her mom couldn't buy her anything as her husband had their $$$ and he was still inside ToT. The mom was very grateful and asked us to stay so she could reimburse us, but we simply said to the little girl: "It's from Mickey!"


Not while at the parks but sharing the magic nonetheless:

1. Have shared the following with other families going to WDW:
a) Info. on ordering Cinderella's slipper for CRT
b) Detailed info. on BBB
c) Info. on character meals (I can't believe how many people don't know anything about them!)
d) Info. on FastPass and Rider Swap

2. We gave my DN with an entirely planned out trip to WDW. Booked resort, all her ADRs, BBB, and sent her a Mickey care package to her resort room which was waiting when she got there. It contained several goodies, including Disney themed BIG pens (Cars, Toy Story, and Winnie), Princess goodie bag, gum, beach pail and beach ball (they are going to the beach after WDW), Disney themed crayons, small Donald and Goofy characters, etc. The kids loved the goodies.


I feel that what goes around comes around. We were the fortunate recepients of a 20/30/40 PIN that we could apply for our vacation. Further, we were pixie dusted with some really cool gifts in our resort room. So we wanted to share our pixie dust with others any way we could.

Don't you wish the real world was as nice as WDW?

 

[TheWog]

On the 20th Anniversary of DHS DS12 and I were only there for rope drop and to get some quick rides in. Did RNR first, TOT and then back to RNR all by 8:35. Then over to TSM. We got FP for TSM and jumped in line. We rode TSM and decided we wanted to head out. FP times for TSM were getting into the mid afternoon by this time and looked to be on the way to running out. So as we were leaving the park we gave a young couple who were just married our TSM FPs and they didn't really know what they were. Must have been first time there or something. We told them they would want these and go during the window and enjoy. They were very grateful. It felt good for us too.

 

[Razorback]

Good to know there are so many wonderful people out there.

We were lucky enough to get 2 Dream Fastpasses in 2008. I did not realize how lucky we were at the time. We had fastpasses and the dream
fastfasses...we gave several away on both days and it really felt great.

We also double up on the bus seats. We have two boys ages 7 & 9. We always have them sit in our laps. I think my oldest if big enough that I
will have him stand up with me so we can pass on our seats to someone else.

I love the idea of giving away pins to those that may not understand or have very many pins.

Thanks for the tips

 

[newdeal]

Not that magical but we had a pass for the arcade in POP so we were playing there and then I started playing Stacker (I think that one I had to pay for) which I am really good at and won a couple thousand tickets and then saw a family playing some other games trying to win tickets, it was time for me to leave for my flight so on my way out I gave them all my tickets...not even so much as a thank you! I just said "would you guys like to have these tickets I am leaving and you would probobly like the prizes more than I do" and the mom said "ok" and took them LOL.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

One of our favorite traditions happens as we wait for Fantasmic. Throughout the year my kids collect glow sticks, mardi gras necklaces, noise makers, etc. We keep them in our F! party bag. Then they pass them out to the children in our section. We have the best time chatting with families. They always find a friend or two. One year they even made some pen pals from a family from Costa Rica.

Not that my kids are little snowflakes...lol...but they often give away things they have bought. They see the joy in passing along balloons, or pins, etc.

 

[duckybelle]

One of our favorite traditions happens as we wait for Fantasmic. Throughout the year my kids collect glow sticks, mardi gras necklaces, noise makers, etc. We keep them in our F! party bag. Then they pass them out to the children in our section. We have the best time chatting with families. They always find a friend or two. One year they even made some pen pals from a family from Costa Rica.

Not that my kids are little snowflakes...lol...but they often give away things they have bought. They see the joy in passing along balloons, or pins, etc.

AWESOME! We are leaving in 2 weeks, and have gone to the Dollar Tree and picked up little Disney figurines, glow sticks, princess bracelets, etc. They are quite cheap to buy, and a big help to parents with kids having a meltdown, or to put a smile on someones face!! We also will be getting FP for things we dont really want to ride, to hand out to people that do. That what the Disney magic is all about!

 

[AprilRenee]

My husband and I went on our first trip last May. Thanks to DISBoards I had read a lot about making the magic for others. We came up with plans for things to do while at the World. We had so much fun making magic for others.

We got extra glow sticks and gave them to the family sitting next to us at Fantasmic. Then on the way out I heard a little girl ask her mom "why does everyone else have those sparkly things?" Before her mom could answer I grabbed the glow stick I still had left and gave it to her. Her face lit up and it was the coolest thing!
Another day we were in Epcot and got fastpasses for Soarin' each time we rode it. By the time the last fast pass was ready we decided we were tired and didn't want to ride again that day. So on our way out we stopped back at the Land Pavilion and found a mom and daughter and offered the FP to them. The mom was so grateful and told us that they weren't going to be able to ride that night because of the long wait time.
We had lots of other little things throughout our trip. We were just always on the outlook for things we could do to make other people's trip as special as ours was.

 

[AprilRenee]

We always offer our seats on the bus, to older guests and parents with little ones.

But on our last trip.....
I first did this for my DS, but when I told my DD and her 2 friends, they wanted to do it. I called the pay phone in UK when DS went in there, he thought it was cute. Well my DD's friend ( Lauren 15yr old -1st time to WDW) wanted to call.

Well there was this big group (all in blue shirts) looked like they were from a different country. They were taking pictures in the phone booth. Lauren called. A young guy ansrewed, she said "Hi, how are you, I hope you are having a wonderful trip", he was so excited, then she said "I like your blue shirts", he was amazed, he said "who is this", she said "its Tinker Bell, I am flying over Epcot". He made her say hello to others in his group, they were all laughing and really enjoying the phone call. Later we walked over there to take a pic, and he told us, "Tinker Bell might call you, she called us." Lauren was so excited, she was telling me she was having so much fun, and wanted to work at WDW. It was one of the highlights of our trip, bringing joy and excitement to others.

Our new plan for next trip? I think yes!!!

 

[Melani]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=37583928#post37583928

This is the cutest little card made by a DISigner.
You tape a penny to it & while in one of the parks near one of the fountains, pull it pout & hand to some little kid to make a wish.


http://s940.photobucket.com/albums/ad245/bababearbucket/Magical Wish Penny Cards/

 

[2_Eagle_Mom]

I love all these ideas. Does anyone know how much the normal laytex and mylar balloons cost? I want to give my kids the money to purchase them to give away.

 

[TomD]

We usually give out our fast passes that we are not going to use when we leave the park to someone.
Once while waiting for Fantastic my kids handed out glow sticks to all the kids in our section.

Our biggest giveaway was

Back in 2007 my dad and mom were suppose to go to Disney with us. My Dad ended up with a GBM stage 4 brain tumor so they did not go. all the tickets were bought including MNSSHP tickets. At his urging we still went. To make a long story short we decided the first couple we saw that were pleasant would suprise them with 2 tickets 2 the MNSSHP. One the bus to MK we met an older couple who were celebrating their anniversary . They were the lucky couple to get the tickets and boy were they surprised. The woman hugged us and had tears in her eyes. Her husband was shocked.

I must say with all the drama going on in life at that time spending it at Disney esp at AKV made it all bearable. Nothing like calling home at 4am to get an update on my Dad while watching the animals wake up.

 

[ilovejsparrow]

This is exactly why WDW is so amazing.. the magic is contagious!

We always give away FPs that we aren't using. I'm a get to the parade route early and grab a spot kinda girl, so I can get a good seat. But I always make sure that if there are little kids behind me, I let them come in front and see. The kids are always so excited to get a front row seat and their parents are happy too.

 

[Missytara]

A few years ago, I asked two girlfriends to go along. We are all in our late 40's, early 50's, all single and living pretty good. We decided to do some really expensive stuff, like go to the spa and Cirque de Soliel, etc.

A third, good friend in our office, does not make nearly what we do per year, and finally bought her first house. She was really struggling to make ends meet. Then her father passed away suddenly, and she was left to care for her ill mother for several months, really draining her emotionally.

We decided to forgo the expensive stuff and pay for her to go with us. We had already paid for the room, tickets, etc., so it was just getting her a plane ticket, park ticket and a meal plan. We gave her a $200.00 gift card for spending for souveniors for herself. We didn't want her to feel as though she couldn't afford to do the things that we could do.

It was worth just the look on her face when we took her to lunch, with the package in hand including her - she honestly thought we just invited her to lunch to "gloat" about going to the World, but when she saw her name listed too - she burst into tears in the middle of a very crowded restaurant.

It was really worth it, on the last day, we were sitting on the curb by the Emporium on Main Street, waiting for the parade to start and just chit-chatting about how relaxed she was and how hard it was going to be to go back home to "deal" with her mother again. Well, the parade started and along comes Goofy - her favorite character. She waved wildly at him, and he waved and blew her a kiss back. Here was a woman, 48 years old, crying like a baby, and saying, "See, he saw me, he saw me, he blew a kiss right at me. It is all really REAL!"

We had the best time ever - just four single girls having a blast. We didn't need to do all those expensive things to have a good time.

 

[snykymom]

A few years ago, I asked two girlfriends to go along. We are all in our late 40's, early 50's, all single and living pretty good. We decided to do some really expensive stuff, like go to the spa and Cirque de Soliel, etc.

A third, good friend in our office, does not make nearly what we do per year, and finally bought her first house. She was really struggling to make ends meet. Then her father passed away suddenly, and she was left to care for her ill mother for several months, really draining her emotionally.

We decided to forgo the expensive stuff and pay for her to go with us. We had already paid for the room, tickets, etc., so it was just getting her a plane ticket, park ticket and a meal plan. We gave her a $200.00 gift card for spending for souveniors for herself. We didn't want her to feel as though she couldn't afford to do the things that we could do.

It was worth just the look on her face when we took her to lunch, with the package in hand including her - she honestly thought we just invited her to lunch to "gloat" about going to the World, but when she saw her name listed too - she burst into tears in the middle of a very crowded restaurant.

It was really worth it, on the last day, we were sitting on the curb by the Emporium on Main Street, waiting for the parade to start and just chit-chatting about how relaxed she was and how hard it was going to be to go back home to "deal" with her mother again. Well, the parade started and along comes Goofy - her favorite character. She waved wildly at him, and he waved and blew her a kiss back. Here was a woman, 48 years old, crying like a baby, and saying, "See, he saw me, he saw me, he blew a kiss right at me. It is all really REAL!"

We had the best time ever - just four single girls having a blast. We didn't need to do all those expensive things to have a good time.

What a wonderful thng to do!

I've done a couple of things, but nothing like this! Of course, I always give my seat to people with strollers or to older folks. Although I do have to say that I must be getting up there; last time, someone gave up their seat to ME! Same with fast passes. And I look around to let little kids stand in front of me for parades, etc.

One thing that I always do, which I'm not sure enough people do, is smile at CMs, look them in the eye, and thank them for the wonderful jobs they do! I think too many people act as if the CMs are invisible.

I think next trip, I'm going to look for some more wonderful things to do!

 

[mommy2paisley]

I love these stories and some make me almost teary-eyed!I'm an emotional person, lol!!!! I think these stories are great!!!! We're not frequent partk goers -- last year was our first family trip -- so we don't have any stories to share. Our first trip, we were just trying to exist, lol, among the madness!!!!!

Anyway, as I'm reading this post, I can't help but wonder, if everyone, in everyday life would try to be half as kind and reach out to people in our backyards/neighborhoods/workplaces/city/you get the picture, how different this world would be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Becky521]

Back in Dec of '08 we were eating at the Rose and Crown on our last night. We had late ressies so we were going to be able to sit there and watch Illuminations from our table. Soon after we were seated an other family that consisted of grand parents, parents and two kids were seated next to us. Now we had the delux dining plan and we had several meals left that we were not going to be able to use before we left. We struck up a conversation with this other family and offered to buy their dinner. They first refussed, but then agreed as long as we let them buy drinks. So we had a GREAT time eating a nice meal watching Illuminations and getting to know our new friends! After we all tried to get a pic of all of us together but the young couple we asked in front of the rest. couldn't figure out our cameras. SOOO... we invited them into the pic and and got a nearby CM to take a huge group picture for all of us. It is one of our best memories from the world.