Need ideas for paying it forward at WDW

[DisSarahK]

What about appreciating (thanking) the people who sweep the parks? They are always out sweeping and cleaning and are often overlooked by guests. A simple and sincere thank you (especially by a teen) goes a long way!

Maybe the teens could hit up the pressed penny machines and then give out some Disney pressed pennies to kiddos they encounter. My children *love* pressed pennies and especially love Disney ones.

 

[disney*mom*82]

I agree with any prepackaged snack or sealed drink. I wouldnt accept a cup of water from anyone.

Also agree with hitting up a dollar store and getting some stickers, figurines, glow sticks, etc to hand out.

Giving up a seat or helping somone out is great!

Kind words for different staff workers each day.

Little bottles of bubbles?

 

[nooneshome]

Don't forget that the dollar store usually has lots of cheap disney stuff. Stickers, bracelets, crayons, pirate eye patches, etc.

We go to the Dollar Tree every few months and get some small Disney figurines. Whenever we see a potential small child we ask the parents if it is okay to give them some figurines. We usually ask the child who is their favorite a,b,c or e. After they answer we reach in the bag and give them that figurine. Sometimes we may ask to pick either Toy Story or Monsters Inc. Then we give them the main characters from that movie.

 

[nooneshome]

I forgot. We bring some jewels like the ones Ariel has during Philharmagic and hand them to parents of little ones in the waiting area. They amaze their kids that the 3D image is real and they plucked jewels from the show.

 

[dsnymomof4]

I love the balloon idea. When we arrived at MCO last year, the attendant at the desk handed DS5 a balloon that someone departing had left - he was so happy! However the balloons are pretty expensive.

Maybe the teens could hit up the pressed penny machines and then give out some Disney pressed pennies to kiddos they encounter. My children *love* pressed pennies and especially love Disney ones.

I like this idea, however, the fun part of press pennies is actually making them. So, I would suggest standing by a pressed penny machine and having quarters and pennies ready for kids to make one for themselves.

I really love all the ideas though - what a great way to enhance your own trip to Disney by doing nice things for other people.

 

[kymom99]

Not sure how much time you guys have before the trip, or how much money you're wanting to invest in this, but this idea would be useful for years to come (and could be used for a fundraiser at school).

Button making machine. Have the kids come up with some sort of idea/design for the buttons, then make up a bunch of them to carry around and give to the people they help. Maybe even have a website set up that those people (if they choose) could visit when they get home and leave a note of thanks and the city/state/country they're from, so the students could see how (literally) how far their kindness traveled.

I like this idea. Maybe they could have some business type cards made up telling where they are from and explaining that they are trying to spread some magic. They could include the website and ask for feedback. That would be so cool to see when they get back home!

 

[Tink9295]

Make a bunch of beaded bracelets or loom bands to hand out. They sell Disney beads that you can add to the bracelets. They cost next to nothing to make if you buy the beads in bulk.

 

[wendybeth75]

We are doing something similar only with CM's. We had business cards made that say "Thank You for making our vacation more magical! You make the "world" a better place The Smith Family". We are going to hand them out to exceptional cast members. I love your idea too! We have given away fast passes in the past, though that is a moot point now!

 

[NEDisneyFans]

I like this idea. Maybe they could have some business type cards made up telling where they are from and explaining that they are trying to spread some magic. They could include the website and ask for feedback. That would be so cool to see when they get back home!

You can make up cards on Vistaprint.com, $10 for 250 (one-sided) plus shipping, more to print the back side as well. Here is an example of what we made up to give to CMs on our visits (we substituted photos of us for the ones on the sample card):



You can also get Disney Pins to trade from eBay ahead of time and give one to a child (with parent's permission, of course) to start her/him on their collection! (I have always had good luck buying from disneyfamily801.)

Have fun -- this is a great way to do a "service project" while they are having fun!

Ali