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

[Feralpeg]

I have often noticed Lynn at the GF. I had imagined her to be a person who had experienced great joy, at some point, at the GF and returned to relive those memories. Seeing her always makes me feel nostalgic.

As for whether or not she should be there, I think that is totally up to the hotel. I see no harm in it at all. As a local, I will go to various hotels for a meal and just to soak up the atmosphere. I find it very enjoyable to get on one of the boats from DTD to Port Orleans. I like to ride over, walk around the resort grounds for awhile and then, catch the boat back to DTD. I am not a paying guest of the resort. I am just a person who has had a lot of good memories made at WDW and I enjoy watching others make memories. I never dreamed that some would take exception to this.

 

[december]

I have only been to GF once, to eat at 1900, and read about your sister after that trip. There have been many posts about her, and I'm so glad to know the true story. I'm glad that spending time there brings her happiness.

 

[L107ANGEL]

I have often noticed Lynn at the GF. I had imagined her to be a person who had experienced great joy, at some point, at the GF and returned to relive those memories. Seeing her always makes me feel nostalgic.

As for whether or not she should be there, I think that is totally up to the hotel. I see no harm in it at all. As a local, I will go to various hotels for a meal and just to soak up the atmosphere. I find it very enjoyable to get on one of the boats from DTD to Port Orleans. I like to ride over, walk around the resort grounds for awhile and then, catch the boat back to DTD. I am not a paying guest of the resort. I am just a person who has had a lot of good memories made at WDW and I enjoy watching others make memories. I never dreamed that some would take exception to this.

Oh come on Peg, did you forget where you are?!

 

[Disney Doll]

Disney Doll, I'm not sure if you are referring to me or not - I feel like my posts on the other thread were the ones that people felt were "nasty" - although they weren't meant to be - I simply disagreed with the prevailing opinion. At any rate, my issues weren't because of the "Grand" part of the resort at all - and we don't like to stay at the GF, either. We like the Wilderness Lodge and our DVC, too!

No, I wasn't referring to you at all. Truthfully, I don't think I ever read the other thread that everyone is referring to.

I was merely stating my impression from the times I have wandered through there.

DH & I will sometimes do the "hotel tour" on the monorail...we do the Poly, the Contemporary and the GF. I have often found that there is an air of "haughtiness" at the GF that I don't find at the others...sometimes even from the CMs. Certain shops that I go into in the GF...well, I get a look like from the CMs like "You can't possibly think that we believe you can afford to shop here, can you?".

It could also just be me, and it could be the loveliest place in the world. But truthfully, the area of CT I live in has its share of snobs (Fairfield County, about an hour north of NYC) so my "snob radar" is usually pretty accurate. You see, I grew up in the urban area, but with a lot of blood, sweat and tears, my parents sent me to parochial school in the local suburban town, so a lot of the kids I went to school with were far more "well-to-do" than us financially, so I was often exposed to snobs. They are pretty easy to spot.

 

[pattyw]

Well, we go to Disney about every two or three months and we always made time to take a special visit to GF to see Lynn. We never knew who she was, we just always knew that whenever we were there, she was there. We found it kind of strange at first, but just like a lot of you, we made up a story that we thought fit. We never thought she was homeless, but that she was in the Disney business. We always thought she was very wealthy and she did something for Disney, but we didn't know what. We always found her sitting in the lobby, in that one corner over by the main elevators when the band on the second floor was playing. We thought that she had to like, live at GF or at least work for Disney or one of our thoughts was that she payed to have the hotel built. We thought she worked for Disney or had something to do with Disney because we would sometimes see her talking to the cast member who plays the piano in the lobby. We actually thought that she was Walt's adopted daughter Sharon. But when we found out that Sharon died in 1993, we knew it couldn't be her. But, since the idea occured to us, we always referred to her as Sharon. We never talked to her or introduced ourselves to her, but now that we know who she is and how friendly she is, I will probably introduce myself when we go back in February. We hope she'll be there since on every other trip that we've gone on, she was there. Thank you for clearing that up Tracy!

 

[Tracy J]

Thank you for sharing this! I hope that I get the opportunity to meet her one day!

I hope you get to meet Lynn, too, Susan. You will like her and her personality.

Tell her her sister says Hi and I love her. : )

Joan

 

[Tracy J]

Great story! #43 be darned! I'm taking my teddy bear, Dimples, over to meet your sister and her bears next month!

Hi Linda. I'm sure Lynn will Really enjoy getting to meet your bear, Dimples, and you, too of course! What a cute name for your bear! I will have to remember that one in case I ever get another little dog. I have 3 now, but 2 are already over 10 years old, Poms, and for some reason, none of the Poms I have ever had lived beyond 11 years plus one to 3 months.

Thanks for responding.

Joan

 

[Tracy J]

Tracy, thank you for taking the time to come here and fill everyone in on your sister. My family and I had the pleasure of seeing her last month during our visit. As others mentioned, we too assumed that she simply enjoyed sitting in the lobby enjoying the music, as we do. I hate that there were posters here who felt the need to say cruel things about her without knowing her true story. When we glimpsed her sitting on a settee close to the entrance to 1900 Park Faire she in no way whatsoever appeared homeless or destitute. Quite the opposite, in fact. People sometimes feel the need to be unnecessarily cruel when posting "anonymously" on message boards. There truthfully is no excuse for bad manners. We hope to see her again during our June visit!

Thank you so much, Robin, first, for letting me know your name, and for what you said about the needless unkind things said about my sister. I think many people either have too much time on their hands, or never learned what we were taught as kids, "If you don't have anything nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all." Very wise words. The other old saying that "Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you" has proven to be so wrong, it is pathetic. Kids bully other kids, then the bullied kids at times committ suicide and or kill other kids at their schools, all because of unnecessary cruel words. When will our society learn to undo these kinds of things? Sooner than later, I hope, for the kids' sakes and everyones.

Thanks again for your kind words.

Joan

 

[s&k'smom]

Oh thank you for telling us who she is, I saw her at least twice last October, usually in the same chair. When I'm there again, I will consider it a privledge to say hello to her.

 

[MushyMushy]

I'm so sorry to hear that people were being nasty about your dear sister. She sounds like a sweet woman!

I think Disney attracts more than its fair share of people who march to the beat of a different drummer. A lot of people fear others' differences, and it's very easy for them to get caught up in witch hunts on the internet.

 

[Family Fun Mom]

I have not seen the "Teddy Bear Lady," I have only been to WDW once, but I have heard about her and found it fascinating. I have heard of a few people who don't like it, but most people enjoy having her around. I have heard many nice things about her, and her husband as well. She sounds like a very interesting lady. Thank you for stopping in and giving us a little insight about her.

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

We had seen her once when we went to GF for dinner. We had to wait and while we waited she caught my eye. I watched her for about 15 minutes and my first thought was that I could picture my little one sitting there just like her when she was her age. She is very much a free spirit and marches to the beat of her own drum. I pointed her out to my mom who agreed. She made us smile. I love it and I can't wait to go back.I hope that your sister will be there.
I don't see why it would be a problem for to her to be at the GF . She isn't doing anything to anyone except to remind us to stop and enjoy the little things in life.

 

[Feralpeg]

Oh come on Peg, did you forget where you are?!

Silly me!

 

[Liberty Belle]

I've never been to the Grand Floridian and haven't heard of her before this, but she sounds like a fun person.

 

[Micca]

Just out of curiosity, would she like being addressed by name(Hello Lynne!), or would that be too weird?

 

[Loverly]

Could someone PM me the closed thread-I can't find it. I want to see what it was about

 

[bavaria]

I missed all of this, so let me get it straight...

A woman is hanging out at the GF and gives teddy bears away to little kids. People are upset about it.

Is that right?

Sounds like a nice thing to do, IMO.

Yes, Brain, you are correct

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1657051&referrerid=93883

I stand by what I said on that thread - she is not an attraction in an amusement park and none of us have the right to demand her story. It was kind of her sister to come here and clarify, but it wasn't required that she do so.

Hopefully her sister will continue to find peace and pleasure in a place where so many do.

 

[L107ANGEL]

Yes, Brain, you are correct

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1657051&referrerid=93883

I stand by what I said on that thread - she is not an attraction in an amusement park and none of us have the right to demand her story. It was kind of her sister to come here and clarify, but it wasn't required that she do so.

Hopefully her sister will continue to find peace and pleasure in a place where so many do.

Beautifully put Bavaria!

 

[amybippy]

Having only been to WDW once, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Lynne. But I feel strongly that the world would be so much more dull and colorless without those who "march to the beat of a different drummer". I find people watching facinating and I am sure I would enjoy meeting Lynne and sharing in her seeming endless enjoyment of the happiest place in on earth. One of the greatest moments I have ever experienced was at the now closed jazz club at Pleasure Island. There was a young mentally challenged couple who were having an obviously wonderful time and were very vocal about their appreciation of the jazz trio playing. They danced, they clapped and they shouted approval between songs, and their excitement seemed contagious. Soon others were dancing, and clapping as loudly. Sometimes I think we need to be reminded to ENJOY life and all its wonders. Cheers to Lynne.

Amy

 

[bzzelady]

Tracy J,

We (myself, DD9, and DM) encountered your sister on our last visit while waiting for our tea time reservation at the Grand Floridian. My DD9 was in quite a mood that day...she has ADHD and sometimes the norepinephrine in her brain, even with medication, just makes her practically headstrong and not very social. The time she spent playing bears with your sister (almost a half hour) calmed her and transformed her into a different child. Somewhere I have pictures from that encounter and if I can find them, I will PM them to you. I never knew that your sister was a bit of a fixture in the place until I read this thread. Thank you so much for taking the time out to explain and I'm sorry that some people look down their noses and don't take the time to see the good in life.