Mystery Woman w/Teddy Bears at Grand Floridian Mystery Solved!!

[SaraJayne]

Wow. Lynn is a wonderful woman. She's not crazy, or insane, just a sweet lady that lost her husband that finds comfort at the GF and loves to listen to the music. We stop by and say hello and chat with her every trip if she's there, while we're waiting for dinner. Yes, she does have OCD and doesn't shake hands, etc. but there is absolutely nothing wrong with her to creep anyone out. And she doesn't sit around with bags and bags of teddy bears... she has a basket with a few in it.

Some of you shouldn't be so quick to judge, especially when you won't even say hello, or haven't even been in the GF.

When I saw her, she had at least 2 large plastic garbage bags stuffed full of bears. They were taking up two other chairs at the 4 chair table she was sitting at.

 

[Disneyadore]

When I saw her, she had at least 2 large plastic garbage bags stuffed full of bears. They were taking up two other chairs at the 4 chair table she was sitting at.

If this bothered you so much why didn't you just take those few steps to the front desk and filed a complaint?

 

[Mrs. Darcy]

ITA.

We've seen her many times and she is sweet and seems lonely. If this gives her a little happiness so be it.

It makes me crazy when adult posters sound like bratty bullies.

I have never met her or seen her. I'm not saying she shouldn't be there. I'm not saying she shouldn't be happy. I'm not a bully, I'm just a person saying how I feel about it. She's a stranger to me I'm not hurting her in any way and I still think its creepy. We all don't feel the same way about everything and I wasn't bratty when I expressed my opinion.

 

[momrek06]

So I am trying to figure this all out, the woman with the bears, she sits INside or OUTside the GF?

I have to say if it is INside the GF; I am actually surprised WDW allows that. I don't see anything at all wrong with it but I live in a very tourist area with many large, lovely hotels not far from me and hotels do not generally allow 'loitering' in their lobbies.

I go up to DL all the time and we always go through the Grand Californian every time to get to either White Water Snacks or Storyteller's Cafe and there is never any one sitting in the lobby like this woman day after day with bags of bears.

How does she get there? Drive over there everyday from her own home? She should go to a homeless shelter in her area and observe all the children and families in shelters today because of this economy. I am so sure she could bring allot more comfort with her bears to the needy in shelters today than the lobby of the GF. From what I have read Florida is one of the worst states hit by this decline in our economy.

 

[Mrs. Darcy]

The OP of this thread is her sister! So it may not hurt the person you're speaking cruelly about, but I'm sure it won't make her sister feel all warm and fuzzy.

I didn't know that. I do apologize. I thought this was just a bunch of DISers discussing the lady. I didn't mean to hurt the sister's feelings.

 

[Mrs. Darcy]

read post #112...obviously she knows the mean things DISers say about her or else this thread would not have been started by her sister

ps...tell your husband "thank you"

I didn't read this whole thread and I'm sorry that she knows. I would never want to hurt an innocent person. I really thought this was just regular anonymous DISers talking about it among ourselves. I should have read this from the beginning and I'm sorry.


(Thank you for mentioning my husband.)

 

[disneyhand]

Sorry the other 'thread' was closed. That is a new term to me.

The lady who is always at the Grand Floridian Hotel is my sister, Lynn, who lives near there and is definitely Not homeless.

Her late Husband, Bruce, used to be there often, too, but would often go off and do other things while Lynn listened to the music.

She takes her bags of teddy bears with her everywhere and has for many many years.

Lynn has a terrific sense of humor, but she does hear the beat to a different drummer, as the old saying goes.

Bruce suddenly passed away from a brain aneurysm October of 2007, which was a shock to all of us. He had a fantastic sense of humor as well, and the two of them couldn't have been more perfectly matched.

Lynn will be 67 in March, so she isn't as old as some thought. I am 65, and at times, websites like this one are somewhat of a struggle for me to figure out how to use, so I hope you will be patient with me.

Even as a child Lynn was rather overly imaginative. I remember when one night she got me to drag her into our closet so she could pretend she was a doll and 'catch' all of the toys come 'alive' when the rest of us were asleep. She was probably around 7 or 8 at the time. She was dissappointed the next morning that none had come to life, but she reasoned it all out that the toys must have realized that she was really a human and not a real toy.

So, Lynn is not homeless, but she is OCD. One day she will no doubt tire of going to the GF and go off into something else.

She and Bruce used to love to hand out teddy bears to children, but only after asking the children's parent's permission first. They have been going to Disney since it opened, and have spent a small fortune there, taking 4 kids there very often, spending almost more time in the place where people camp than at their own home, renting golf carts. So, if anyone thinks either of them were or are freeloaders, they are very wrong.

The person who wrote #43 on the original site about my sister needs to learn compassion for those less fortunate than she is. With the way the world is today, she could be homeless right now. I hope that is NOT the case, but if it is, I can't help but wonder if she would even give a thought to what she wrote about homeless people when many thought Lynn might be, and she really didn't like the idea of Lynn being in the hotel if she was homeless. I seem to remember that she didn't even want Lynn there if she wasn't a guest at the hotel. My goodness, don't you think there are literally thousands of people that go into these hotels to eat in the restaurants, or listen to the music, etc. It is a public place.

Lynn has a LOT of friends at the hotel, as well as a few like the above person, who resent her being there daily.

Who is she hurting? No one.

At any rate, I hope this satisfies everyone's curiosity. Thanks to all of you who were kind in your remarks about her.

Lynn's Sister,
Tracy Joan
Nashville, TN

For those of you that haven't read both threads maybe reading this will help some......

 

[disneyhand]

Hi,
We always stay at the Grand Floridian Resort, and I have always seen your sister. She always says "hello" with a warm smile. This trip I got up the nerve to speak to her. We were there for 11 days, I started talking to her on the 2nd day there. And afterwards I spent hours talking to her, just talking. It was so calming. Your sister has a sweetness that comes from within. She smiles and is so sweet to everyone. Whenever we went out I would make sure to say goodnite and let her know where we were going. If she was there when we returned I would spend time with her. On my 11th anniversary she gave my husband and myself two bride and groom teddybears. They are beautiful. As soon as I returned home, my husband put them in my entertainment center (which is where I have my Disney Statues, since 1985). These statues are priceless to me as is my new teddybears. I lost my grandmother 11 years ago, and she feels like my grandmother. I am looking forward to seeing her again very soon. Special people like that are VERY hard to come across, and I am so glad that she crossed my path. God bless your sister and yourself....

Creepy or sweet?

 

[C.Ann]

Instead of treating Lynne as an attraction at Walt Disney World, someone should really take the time to get her the professional help she so desperately needs.

I mean this with the utmost sincerity, even though it is hard to convey that on a message board.

Please. This woman needs help.

Is this a professional diagnosis - having interacted with her yourself on a regular basis? Everything I have read here - save a very few posts - indicate that she is a very lovely woman.. She seems happy, helpful, is enjoying her life, reaching out in kindness to others, and making the world a better place.. What we need in our society is more people like her - not less..

I agree with you. We saw her on our trip a couple weeks ago and I avoided her and steered my family away from where she was sitting.

After reading this entire thread - posted by her sister - and hearing all of the positive comments and joy she has brought to others - do you still feel this way?

I've never had the pleasure of meeting her, but I would love to! Nothing makes me happier than to be around other people who are happy, kind, caring, generous, thoughtful, and dedicate their days to bring others happiness.. When and if I ever do get back to WDW, I'm going to go out of my way to find her..

 

[disneyhand]

We had the pleasure of meeting Lynn back in 2008 (but didn't know it until recently). We were having our DD's 4th birthday dinner at 1900 PF. We came out of the resturant with DD very sad and crying because the cake we got for her was ruined when a server was backing up from a table and ran right into me knocking the cake out of my hand. (we had the leftover cake boxed up to take back to our resort.) It was a beautiful Castle/Cinderella cake and they offered to get us a standard cake to take back, but we didn't want it.

Anyway, we left the rest. with DD sobbing in her Cinderella costume and DH and I trying to calm her down, when this sweet lady came up to us and pulled this beautiful white teddy bear out of a bag that had on a mini Fairy Godmother costume with a wand in the hand. DD's eyes lit up and she smiled so big and said a big thank you to this lady. I was crying also by then and couldn't say much, when the lady said, "A beautiful teddy for a beautiful little birthday girl."

She totally turned my DD's mood around and she carried that teddy bear around with her for days after! She referred to the lday as "her REAL fairy godmother". All I could say to this lady was thank you so much and then she just said your welcome and walked away. We came back to the GF the next day and tried to find her so I could give her a proper thank you without crying, but I couldn't find her. I was seriously thinking she was a ghost or something who just poofed away!

Now that I know the real story of Lynn, it touches my heart even more. On our next trip I will be going over to the GF every chance I get to try and find her to finally say thank you!!

Is this creepy or is she spreading pixie dust in her own Disney magic-like way? I know I would be honored to "meet" Lynn!

 

[sjs314]

Originally Posted by princesspiglet
We had the pleasure of meeting Lynn back in 2008 (but didn't know it until recently). We were having our DD's 4th birthday dinner at 1900 PF. We came out of the resturant with DD very sad and crying because the cake we got for her was ruined when a server was backing up from a table and ran right into me knocking the cake out of my hand. (we had the leftover cake boxed up to take back to our resort.) It was a beautiful Castle/Cinderella cake and they offered to get us a standard cake to take back, but we didn't want it.

Anyway, we left the rest. with DD sobbing in her Cinderella costume and DH and I trying to calm her down, when this sweet lady came up to us and pulled this beautiful white teddy bear out of a bag that had on a mini Fairy Godmother costume with a wand in the hand. DD's eyes lit up and she smiled so big and said a big thank you to this lady. I was crying also by then and couldn't say much, when the lady said, "A beautiful teddy for a beautiful little birthday girl."

She totally turned my DD's mood around and she carried that teddy bear around with her for days after! She referred to the lday as "her REAL fairy godmother". All I could say to this lady was thank you so much and then she just said your welcome and walked away. We came back to the GF the next day and tried to find her so I could give her a proper thank you without crying, but I couldn't find her. I was seriously thinking she was a ghost or something who just poofed away!

Now that I know the real story of Lynn, it touches my heart even more. On our next trip I will be going over to the GF every chance I get to try and find her to finally say thank you!!

Is this creepy or is she spreading pixie dust in her own Disney magic-like way? I know I would be honored to "meet" Lynn!

This story in particular brought tears to my eyes as I read it. I think it is wonderful that this elderly woman spreads such happiness to others, when she herself has been dealt such a sad hand in life to have lost her dear husband, companion and no doubt her best freind in the world and instead of living out her life as a bitter person, spreads joy to others.

 

[wtccheermom]

When I saw her, she had at least 2 large plastic garbage bags stuffed full of bears. They were taking up two other chairs at the 4 chair table she was sitting at.

when was this because I was there in April of this year and I can assure you there were no garbage bags surrounding here or anywhere near her. You know it is funny everyone talking like she is some sort of dirty homeless person when in fact she is dressed very nice more so than some of the guest staying or visiting the hotel!

 

[momrek06]

Well after reading the last few pages of posts I still believe she would be a wonderful advocate in spreading her pixie dust to those less needy.

To those who do not ever get to WDW for a vacation. To those that do not have teddies.

How many homeless children even get a birthday cake? I would bet anything that a homeless child would love any birthday cake whether or not it was "backed into by a server".

 

[Disneyadore]

when was this because I was there in April of this year and I can assure you there were no garbage bags surrounding here or anywhere near her. You know it is funny everyone talking like she is some sort of dirty homeless person when in fact she is dressed very nice more so than some of the guest staying or visiting the hotel!

I fully agree but can't tell more. One of my descriptions of a guest and the wonderful views we had at breakfast was so good that it got me interfraction points because it was not child friendly.

Well after reading the last few pages of posts I still believe she would be a wonderful advocate in spreading her pixie dust to those less needy.

To those who do not ever get to WDW for a vacation. To those that do not have teddies.

How many homeless children even get a birthday cake? I would bet anything that a homeless child would love any birthday cake whether or not it was "backed into by a server".

Well she is not baking cakes nor is she just handing out those bears to everyone. And why would she be banned to an ugly shelter or sit outside in the cold or heat?
The lobby of a Disney resort is free for everyone. Paying and non paying visitors. This is stated a million times in this board but obviously some people are more entitled to sit there than others.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Let me ask you all this one simple question: Would you go gallivanting around town talking to complete strangers you see along the way? I think most of us would answer "no."

This is why it is disturbing and disconcerting to me that people find Lynn as an attraction or "must see" while on vacation. She sits all alone minding her own business. I would love a plausible explanation as to why anyone would make it their mission to seek her out while on vacation.

I won't get into why she needs to find help (and yes, I do hold a masters degree in social work if you would like to question or challenge my credentials or level of education).

From my post, I am simply hoping that SOMEONE who knows her will heed my advice and take action.

A person suffering from an untreated mental illness is usually unable to cope with life's daily routines and demands. This is also why she cannot sustain any interpersonal relationships. Her behavior may be triggered by psychological trauma suffered as a result from the loss of her husband. It could also be environmental, and bringing her to the very place where she shared memories with her husband might only be enabling and flaming the illness. Although her illness cannot be prevented, it does require ongoing treatment.

As to her repetitive coping mechanisms- eccentric clothes, wig, makeup, nails, garbage bags filled with old bears, ritualized behavior she feels compelled to perform each day, etc. This is part of the illness, NOT part of the judgment.

May God bless each and every one of you who don't suffer from a mental illness.....over 22% of Americans are.

Sorry for such a long post. It is with sincere intentions that I had to elaborate on my concern.

 

[wtccheermom]

The lobby of a Disney resort is free for everyone. Paying and non paying visitors. This is stated a million times in this board but obviously some people are more entitled to sit there than others.

Funny thing is obviously her presence is obviously not that big of an issue to the rest of the guest because if it was I am sure the GF would address it. In fact I saw several GF cast members stop and chat friendly with her. It is amazing to me what some people on here find offensive just happy to know that the rest of the world does not think that way. What a novel idea to go on vacation and worry about you and your family!!!!!!

 

[eeyoresnr]

Let me ask you all this one simple question: Would you go gallivanting around town talking to complete strangers you see along the way? I think most of us would answer "no."

This is why it is disturbing and disconcerting to me that people find Lynn as an attraction or "must see" while on vacation. She sits all alone minding her own business. I would love a plausible explanation as to why anyone would make it their mission to seek her out while on vacation.

I won't get into why she needs to find help (and yes, I do hold a masters degree in social work if you would like to question or challenge my credentials or level of education).

From my post, I am simply hoping that SOMEONE who knows her will heed my advice and take action.

A person suffering from an untreated mental illness is usually unable to cope with life's daily routines and demands. This is also why she cannot sustain any interpersonal relationships. Her behavior may be triggered by psychological trauma suffered as a result from the loss of her husband. It could also be environmental, and bringing her to the very place where she shared memories with her husband might only be enabling and flaming the illness. Although her illness cannot be prevented, it does require ongoing treatment.

As to her repetitive coping mechanisms- eccentric clothes, wig, makeup, nails, garbage bags filled with old bears, ritualized behavior she feels compelled to perform each day, etc. This is part of the illness, NOT part of the judgment.

May God bless each and every one of you who don't suffer from a mental illness.....over 22% of Americans are.

Sorry for such a long post. It is with sincere intentions that I had to elaborate on my concern.

are you for real?

 

[C.Ann]

Well after reading the last few pages of posts I still believe she would be a wonderful advocate in spreading her pixie dust to those less needy.

To those who do not ever get to WDW for a vacation. To those that do not have teddies.

How many homeless children even get a birthday cake? I would bet anything that a homeless child would love any birthday cake whether or not it was "backed into by a server".

I am totally confused..

The "birthday cake" was not in Lynne's possession.. A PP said that her DD was upset that the leftover cake got ruined, Lynne saw her crying after they left the restaurant, and gave her a teddy bear.. So - how could Lynne give the cake to a "homeless child" when the cake wasn't hers (or in her possession) to begin with?

And how did the whole concept of a homeless shelter get into this? The teddy bears are hers to do with as she pleases.. She enjoys them.. Just like other Disney folks enjoy collecting Disney pins.. She has a home - just like all of the rest of us do..

If people are concerned about what children and/or adults do or don't have in the many homeless shelters across the country, they are more than welcome to gather up their own belongings that they no longer need or want and drop them off.. However, I don't think you would find an awful lot of people dropping off their prized possessions that they are still enjoying themselves..
Lynne sounds like such a pleasant, caring, generous person - for all we know perhaps she does make contributions of one sort or another to the homeless shelters in her area..

I just don't understand why some posters on this thread find this so distasteful.. "Happiness" is not a fatal disease.. It's a blessing - whether you're on the giving end or the receiving end.. Thank God for people like Lynne!

 

[momrek06]

Well she is not baking cakes nor is she just handing out those bears to everyone. And why would she be banned to an ugly shelter or sit outside in the cold or heat?

Banned, who said banned ... ?

All I stated was that I feel if she wants to make allot of people/families/children happy I feel she would find tons of happiness if she were to VISIT some (as you stated) "ugly" homeless shelters throughout the central Florida area.

She would see so many needy children that would love to see her and her teddies.

No one is needy or homeless if they are stating at the GF.

But Florida is struggling with homelessness as are many states with our horrific economy. There are no children in those (as you stated) "ugly" shelters wearing princess gowns crying over birthday cakes ... there are NO princess gowns in homeless shelters and there are no birthday cakes in homeless shelters. Her teddies would be such a warm, welcome sight to those (as you stated) banned to ugly homeless shelters.

 

[momrek06]

I am totally confused..

The "birthday cake" was not in Lynne's possession.. A PP said that her DD was upset that the leftover cake got ruined, Lynne saw her crying after they left the restaurant, and gave her a teddy bear.. So - how could Lynne give the cake to a "homeless child" when the cake wasn't hers (or in her possession) to begin with? And how did the whole concept of a homeless shelter get into this? The teddy bears are hers to do with as she pleases.. She enjoys them.. Just like other Disney folks enjoy collecting Disney pins.. She has a home - just like all of the rest of us do.. If people are concerned about what children and/or adults do or don't have in the many homeless shelters across the country, they are more than welcome to gather up their own belongings that they no longer need or want and drop them off.. However, I don't think you would find an awful lot of people dropping off their prized possessions that they are still enjoying themselves..Lynne sounds like such a pleasant, caring, generous person - for all we know perhaps she does make contributions of one sort or another to the homeless shelters in her area..
I just don't understand why some posters on this thread find this so distasteful.. "Happiness" is not a fatal disease.. It's a blessing - whether you're on the giving end or the receiving end.. Thank God for people like Lynne!

Oh bother ... you just do not get it do you. Well you did say you were confused.