My Magical Moments with Baloo

[portia9]

That is so awesome that you had all that time with him. The photos captured your joy perfectly. Thanks for sharing them.

 

[Reto]

I just returned from my 3rd visit at WDW and had a great time. Best thing is, I had another magical experience with my favorite bear friend. And this topped all I've ever was able to to before.

Here's the story:

On November 7, 2012, I happened to be at the MK, where I attended the 11:00am performance of the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party. With the idea of dancing along with Baloo, I positioned myself at the hub, where the float with Baloo and King Louie was supposed to stop for the dance routine.

Well, the float stopped and my beary friend looked right at me, jumped down from his float and even pushed King Louie aside. Neverminding the choreography he was supposed to do, he ran right into my arms. I think, Baloo remembered me from the last time I met him in his "jungle" back in November 2009 and November 2010. Now how cool is that?! But things went on: Baloo took me by his paw and neverminding all the other dancing guests around, he spent the whole dancing routine just with me. That was awesome - dancing with Papa Bear right in front of my beloved Cinderella Castle!

While busy dancing, I hardly noticed that one of the cast members starring in the parade approached friends traveling with me. The CM surely has noticed my special bond for Baloo. When the dancing was over and the parade floats were due to leave, one of my friends told me what the CM told her, although in a clever, not straight-forward way. Somehow, I smelled a surprise was around the corner. So I did what I was basically told: Follow the parade behind the last float, all the way down Main Street to the Trolley barn, holding the end rope while walking. This was a fun experience and Barbara, one of the CMs on my side at the end rope sure was fun, too. How cool walking down Main Street with guests looking at you and taking pictures. When we got to the point where the parade left to the backstage area, I and my friends were given "I'm Celebrating" buttons and we posed for a photo. "What a special moment!" was my final thought.

I almost wanted to leave when a couple minutes later, a Cast Member approached me again and told me to follow into the barn where the horse trolley is stored. Coming in from the sunlight, it was quite dark at first. I recognized two eyes, something furry and blue. Of course - it was my biggest friend, Baloo! He stood there, with open arms and paws and at the moment I realized this, I ran up to him, yelling "Papa Bear, Papa Bear!" and we shared the biggest bear hug ever! There it was - a private meet & greet with my favorite buddy! I was so surprised, that I had tears in my eyes! The whole thing lasted for 5 minutes (but it seemed much longer to me) and the friends who were with me took photos and videos of that moment. This was very emotional - and Baloo did such a great job. He was like I knew him from the Jungle Book movie. That big, cuddly friend! I always loved the strong relationship Baloo had to Mowgli in the movie. Now I really did feel like Mowgli with my friend at my side! I told him how much I love him and that he's my favorite. Baloo just couldn't let go of me. During the whole time, he gave me hugs over and over. How sweet that is, cuddling with Papa Bear! And he did that all just because of me! Very special! And I'm telling you - I was not the only one who shed tears during this.

I thought, that something like this would only happen to special people or special needs kids. Well, I have special needs, too, since I have a birth defect which requires me to eat via a feeding tube, along with other side effects that affect my daily life. But Baloo surely didn't knew since I've never told about. Belive me, when you're not always at the sunny side of life like Baloo is, it makes you appreciate moments like this even much more. There was more than one moment in my life where I thought I'd never been able to travel again. What Baloo knew from my previous visits is, that I have come all the way from Switzerland where I live to see him. Maybe that was the reason he remembered me. Not too many Walt Disney World fans over here. Or bears just have a very good memory.

Enjoy the photos from this pixie dust moment:


Dancing with Baloo in the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party - Magic Kingdom - Walt Disney World by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr


Dancing with Baloo in the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party - Magic Kingdom - Walt Disney World by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr


Dancing with Baloo in the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party - Magic Kingdom - Walt Disney World by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr


Dancing with Baloo in the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party - Magic Kingdom - Walt Disney World by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr


Walking Behind the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Parade - Magic Kingdom - Walt Disney World by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr


Private Meet & Greet with Baloo after the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Paryt - Magic Kingdom - Walt Disney World by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr


Private Meet & Greet with Baloo after the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Paryt - Magic Kingdom - Walt Disney World by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr


Private Meet & Greet with Baloo after the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Paryt - Magic Kingdom - Walt Disney World by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr

Of course, after that, I went to City Hall to leave an appreciation note for Baloo and all the CMs that made this happen. Also, I'm about to send an e-mail to WDW Guest Communications.

Magical moments still happen at WDW - even with less popular characters. I'm proud I was able to experience that - it's something I'll never forget. I plan on returning to WDW in mid-October 2013 for my 4th visit and who knows, what might happen then.

Speaking of City Hall - there's a real nice CM working there. It's Nicole from Leipzig, Germany. She's a friend of mine that I know from a German Disney forum similar to the DIS. She had a day off and was with me during the parade and the private meet & greet. When I first met Nicole after I arrived at WDW, she handed me a very special, personal welcome note, courtesy of Papa Bear:


A Letter from Baloo to me! by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr

And even if nothing "special" happens, I consider even a standard meet & greet with my favorite hero to be a magical moment. I'm glad Baloo and Louie can still be met every day over at the AK, where I went to see him quite often.

Finally, here's my favorite Photopass picture from one of my meets with Baloo over at the AK:


Meeting Baloo - Disney's Animal Kingdom - Walt Disney World by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr

 

[eeyorefan107]

What an amazing experience! Thank you for sharing. This is why I keep going back to Disney. I'm so glad you had a wonderful time with Baloo.

 

[molitva]

Thanks for posting a follow up. So glad that you had another wonderful experience.

 

[Tltorrez]

What a great story! Magic really does happen at Disney!

 

[bcrook]

I too am a huge jungle book fan. Loved your photos and stories. I have a picture of me and king Louie that I am proud of.

 

[Ninja Mom]

This has to be the best ever character meet and greet story! THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing this! I think your idea of bringing something associated with a character for the pictures is brilliant! I'll be sure to look for Baloo on my next trip!

~NM

 

[WedgieSock]

THIS is Disney .... this is what sets Disney apart .... this is why we go back again and again. Its not about napkins, coffee, cinnamon buns, strollers, evc's .... its about the magic that takes you to a different level of imagination & emotion that we left behind in our childhood.

Thanks so much for sharing your magic moment Reto

 

[DeluxePrincess]

Very sweet.

 

[aaarcher86]

THIS is Disney .... this is what sets Disney apart .... this is why we go back again and again. Its not about napkins, coffee, cinnamon buns, strollers, evc's .... its about the magic that takes you to a different level of imagination & emotion that we left behind in our childhood.

Thanks so much for sharing your magic moment Reto

Couldn't have said it better!

 

[WonderlandsMostWantd]

You've brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my face! Thank you so much for sharing that magic with all of us.

 

[justakrazymom]

This has to be the best ever character meet and greet story! THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing this! I think your idea of bringing something associated with a character for the pictures is brilliant! I'll be sure to look for Baloo on my next trip!

~NM

Couldn't have said it better.

Thank you for sharing this!!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Thanks so much for sharing again, Reto, that was fabulous!!!! What a magical moment (well, many magical moments) you had with Baloo. A pretty neat bear to be sure. So glad he remembered you. And that special discount with Nicole was pretty cool too.

Hope to see more magical moments in the future, Reto. Have a wonderful holiday season ahead.

 

[KapBoy77]

That was just awesome man!!! I'm so happy for you.

Now I'm going to go back to work and hope nobody sees my eyes... Lol

 

[lustergirl]

What a great story.

 

[blestmom]

What a beautiful story of such a special time! I got teary just reading about it, and seeing the photos. Thank you so much for sharing.

 

[WedgieSock]

Bumping this because it deserves bumping. Happy Thanksgiving