Making your own magic

[princessbee]

I tried to do a search for a post like this because I know they certainly have been done, but the last one was in 2009. I love to hear stories of the ways people make magic happen for other people--after all CMs aren't the only ones with the pixie dust! Tell us your favorite story about random acts of kindness in the parks, either that you did for someone else, or someone else (not a CM) did for you; or maybe there's something you ALWAYS make sure to do during your vacation to make someone else smile (I love when people make sure to leave Mousekeeping a note or a personalized card!). I'm leaving in 50 days and I want to make sure my bag is chock full of pixie dust to spread around when I get there!

 

[peg110]

Last time at Disney, the DW (and kids) surprised me with a nice Mickey Cake for my birthday. I was TOTALLY Surprised. I thought we were just having a nice meal at the Trail's End Restaurant. The waiter was awesome. I only had a clue when our waiter came by and set a small stack of paper plates (for the cake) on our table and stated, "I am just going to set these here for now."

Then he brought out the cake.


How the DW and kids were able to keep this a total surprise from me up until the very end, I will never know. The CM was also wonderful about it too. It was truly a magical time (for me, anyway).

 

[PlutosUnDr8d]

I brought tip cards and envelopes for Mousekeeping, and we bring a sheet of character stickers for DS to hand out to other kids while waiting in line or on a bus. Brings a smile, so worth the (little) effort!
I used to like giving (and receiving) an extra Fast Pass, back when they were paper slips. It was always cool to pass one on to another group if you are leaving the parks early and couldn't use it.
In December, Mousekeeping returned the pixie dust and passed on a Mickey balloon that was left behind.
So that was cool! Had several days of life left in it and brought a smile to my son's face. Sweet!
An extra glow stick to hand out can brighten a child's night as well.

 

[msk]

Last May, I told my grandchildren that this trip was all about making magic for others. We brought small bottles of bubbles and glow sticks from the dollar store. We passed them out to other children while waiting line or for a parade.
Also my grandchildren decorated envelopes for Mousekeeping, the cleaning crew really appreciated getting these. In fact, the maid sought us out on our last day to give us hugs and say thank-you. The amount was not much but very appreciated.
It turned out that our trip was very magical!

 

[Paigevon]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/columns/4-ways-to-make-magic-for-other-guests-at-walt-disney-world.htm

There are some great ideas in the comments of the link I sent! A few that stood out was paying for two balloons and asking the CM to give one away to a child, or if using the dining plan and tired of deserts, asking a CM to give your dessert to a family with a child not using the dining plan.

 

[CooperGear]

Years ago dad and I were at AK and we got there to ride Expedition Everest but we got a paper fast pass before we got in line. After we were done we were leaving the park and I handed the two fast passes to a couple of kids in line who were waiting to get into the park.

I brought tip cards and envelopes for Mousekeeping, and we bring a sheet of character stickers for DS to hand out to other kids while waiting in line or on a bus. Brings a smile, so worth the (little) effort!
I used to like giving (and receiving) an extra Fast Pass, back when they were paper slips. It was always cool to pass one on to another group if you are leaving the parks early and couldn't use it.
In December, Mousekeeping returned the pixie dust and passed on a Mickey balloon that was left behind.
So that was cool! Had several days of life left in it and brought a smile to my son's face. Sweet!
An extra glow stick to hand out can brighten a child's night as well.

 

[AussieDisneyMum]

I tried to do a search for a post like this because I know they certainly have been done, but the last one was in 2009. I love to hear stories of the ways people make magic happen for other people--after all CMs aren't the only ones with the pixie dust! Tell us your favorite story about random acts of kindness in the parks, either that you did for someone else, or someone else (not a CM) did for you; or maybe there's something you ALWAYS make sure to do during your vacation to make someone else smile (I love when people make sure to leave Mousekeeping a note or a personalized card!). I'm leaving in 50 days and I want to make sure my bag is chock full of pixie dust to spread around when I get there!

We haven't been to Disney yet, and our trip is still about 5 years away, but planning is how I bide our time. I have collected a heap of badges for my girls to wear all over their backpacks etc to give to other kids who might need a pick me up. My eldest is a toddler who always asks if crying kids are okay - so I want to give her the ability to offer them something to make them smile. We'll bring stickers as well for the same purpose. I love this thread topic - reading with avid interest!

 

[Giraffeitis]

We haven't been to Disney yet, and our trip is still about 5 years away, but planning is how I bide our time. I have collected a heap of badges for my girls to wear all over their backpacks etc to give to other kids who might need a pick me up. My eldest is a toddler who always asks if crying kids are okay - so I want to give her the ability to offer them something to make them smile. We'll bring stickers as well for the same purpose. I love this thread topic - reading with avid interest!

OMG, I'm glad I'm not the only one who's planning so far in advance (I felt like a total nerd, ha-ha)

 

[peg110]

OMG, I'm glad I'm not the only one who's planning so far in advance (I felt like a total nerd, ha-ha)

Well, I can't say that we have been planning it 5 years out. We, however, have been fortunate enough that we can make the trek a bit more frequently then that. Planning is half the fun for us... Well except for those last few weeks, then it's like "Just hurry up and get here!" type attitude.

 

[hkkatie]

Our trip is 2.5 years away (our first time to WDW), but I've been reading these boards for 5 years already! Just finally got dh to agree to the trip last year. lol. But saving up for a few years because we live overseas and we'll be going for 2 weeks with four kids, so $$$$$.

Anyway, I LOVE these ideas. I would have never thought of doing it, otherwise!

 

[AussieDisneyMum]

Our trip is 2.5 years away (our first time to WDW), but I've been reading these boards for 5 years already! Just finally got dh to agree to the trip last year. lol. But saving up for a few years because we live overseas and we'll be going for 2 weeks with four kids, so $$$$$.

Anyway, I LOVE these ideas. I would have never thought of doing it, otherwise!

So glad I am not the only one. When you have to fly half way around the globe to get to the World, it is gonna get pricey. You: 2 weeks with 4 kids. Us: 4 weeks with 2 kids. Our 3YO is already asking to go. She met Anna, Elsa and Kristoff from WDW (I assume) at a special event staged by Disney we won tickets to. I don't think she understands in the slightest how rare it is to meet all 3, but she thinks they are all her friends and she wants to see them again. It has been cute and heartbreaking at the same time to have her asking to visit her friends all the time.

It will be a long wait. DH wants to go too because we are looking forward to the new Star Wars land. I hope it is open by 2021!

Maybe we should start a long-term planners club with Giraffeitis. I need a ticker like that one. Unless the airline fairy drops 4 international air tickets in the mailbox, we will be on a similar timeline!

Back on topic. Getting back to the pixie dust. Just getting to WDW is plenty magical, but there are little things I can do to add to the fun. For any attraction that features a character they like, I will make them a 'personal' invitation from that character with a 'signed' photo. They will get invited to visit WDW by 'Mickey'. I am collecting trinkets that Tink and her friends can leave in our room that relate to their day.

I am also planning to stop by Guest Services on the first day for a fistful of the Cast Member favourable report card thingos, assuming they let us take a few. One of the kids' activities will be to identify any CM who goes out of their way for us so that we can thank them (in a way that may help the CM's promotion prospects). We will bring our own thank you cards also, just in case. I want to make a game of looking out for CMs to praise and ways to make other kids' days brighter. Nothing like looking for other kids who might need cheering up to distract from any minor downers of their own that they might otherwise focus on. Hence the badges/stickers etc.

I hope these are the kinds of things you mean, OP.

The benefit of lots of planning time is... lots of planning time!

 

[Jules76126]

This was a few years ago, but one point we had gotten two of those "No Strings Attached" cards as we had had a bad experience on Splash Mountain. Those cards basically act like fastpasses (or sometimes they are for a free drink, ice cream bar, etc). We had two that were made out to parties of seven (as that was how many were in our party the day of the splash incident). Well when we went to use them a few days later, we were only a party of two. We felt that it would be sad to waste the passes on two people. So we were at AK and wanted to ride the safari so we looked for a family that seemed like they could use a Disney moment. They were so surprised and grateful. We then went to EE and wanted to do the same thing. The family we found was a little hesitated (I think they thought it was some kind of scam), but we eventually convinced them and at the end they were so happy they went with us.

 

[Loodlow]

When my kids were little, I wrapped little dollar store gifts for each morning and told them Mickey left them. This is still one of their favorite memories. So, when my friends take their kids I send Mickey or Tinkerbell gifts for their kids. I also like to make matching family t-shirts and embroidered pillowcases. And I send personalized letters to kids from their favorite character the week before they go. It is all so much fun for me to share the magic!

 

[Duckiedee]

We've only went once, but we also did a few of the ideas here. My 5-year-old handed out stickers to kids all over.
My birthday was at Tusker House and my hubby had a cake brought over... I brought it table to table and shared it with many families. That was fun.
Handing out Fastpasses to other families that we had left over.

I love the idea of sharing the dessert and of buying a Mickey Balloon for another child.

 

[BaltimoreLauren]

When I'm in the parks I like to help people who look genuinely lost, and I offer to take pictures for families.

One of my coworkers is taking her daughter for their very first trip. This may be a once in a lifetime thing for them, so I made them a reservation at 1900 Park Fare for breakfast, and I'll be giving them a gift card to cover the cost (unless Disney allows you to pre-pay, which would be better). My best friend and I are planning on either paying for her Photopass, or just giving them a buttload of gift cards to make it an extra magic trip.

 

[patlakpok]

We always bring extra glow sticks. Amazing how much joy dollar-store glow sticks can bring to tired kids around you!

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We always bring extra glow sticks. Amazing how much joy dollar-store glow sticks can bring to tired kids around you!

We do that.

I ride a scooter and put the glow sticks around the basket. It alerts people that it is there but I also hand them out to children.

Last trip we had a child just screaming on the bus. A glow stick helped, at least a little.

I leave our room with 10 to 12 and pull back in totally empty of them.

 

[WDmommyof4]

We were in Epcot one day and a man came up and gave us some cards that were free popcorn and maybe some free sodas too? I had never seen the cards before, they were paper and I want to say they had Lion King characters on them? Anyway, he gave us about 6 of them. We only used 3 I believe and passed the others on before we left the park for the day. We have also brought glow bracelets and other toys to hand out and play together with other kids with at parade time.

 

[Mage of Disney]

Someone once came up to my mom, and legit said "I have a certificate to get as many people in the Fast Pass line on Space Mountain that I want, but only me and my daughter want to go on. Does your family want to go with us?", and it was actually legit. We had a party of six.

As for something I've done, I always strike up conversations in line. I like hearing about people and where they're from!

 

[Mattysmom]

Thanks for the tips!