Now how about a lovely castmember thread?

[Magpie]

I'll add another!

Back on the very first day of our very first trip, our son was just seven. He hadn't been diagnosed with hypoglycemia yet, so his moods were all over the place thanks to his blood sugar being unregulated. Eating fast food while driving the length of the United States wasn't helping things either.

So there we were in the Magic Kingdom, waiting for my husband to come out of the bathroom, and my son was holding onto his composure with what passes for iron self control at age seven. In other words, he looked utterly miserable.

A young lady sweeping up nearby put her broom down and came over to us with a big smile. "Are you not having a magical day?" she asked my son sympathetically.

Well that did it. The boy looked up at her and just howled, letting loose all the pent up misery he was feeling in one big loud gush of tears.

She jumped back and started apologizing frantically. "I'm SO sorry! Was it something I said? I didn't mean to make him cry!"

I remember trying to comfort the boy, and reassure her, while trying not to laugh. My husband came out of the bathroom and had no idea what was going on.

To this day, I really hope the girl didn't go away feeling bad. Her little attempt to cheer our son up, as unsuccessful as it was, really encapsulated for us why we love Disney. In Canada's Wonderland, they would have just ignored us and our children. She actually cared!

She was our first impression of Disney's customer service, and she was wonderful.

Thank you, whoever you were!

 

[Princess Katherine]

The best maid we have ever had was Emina. We were staying Poly club level at the time.She kept our room clean and made towel animals. I was 11 and was obsessed with Disney stuffed animals and on our last day she made me a costume towel bunny, with stickers and flowers. Best CM yet.

Another nice cast member was Barbie at the Poly club. She was a concierge who showed us to our room. She was sweet and let me take as many movies and candy as I wanted. She also upgraded us to a theme park view.

Luckily I have never had to deal with rude cast members before.

 

[MyPrinceWillCome]

About ten years ago I was visiting Engel Puppen, the doll making area of the toy store Germany pavillion, and having a doll made. My mother was chatting with Helmet Engel, the owner of the "shop" and was telling him about a doll she had when she was a little girl in Sweden. The doll's legs and arms had been very damaged and she had it repaired, but was not happy with the results. He told her he was returning to Germany in a few weeks for a visit, and if she wanted to mail him the doll to his Florida address, he would bring it with him and repair it in his doll factory in Germany. When we returned home, she did just that and about a month later, the doll was sent back, repaired and wearing a brand new dress. She was thrilled!

A year or two later, I was visiting Disney again, this time with a friend of mine, and decided to make another doll. I mention to Mr. Engel what he had done for my mother, and he looked in his records to find her e-mail address and wrote her that night saying he'd seen me and saying what a wonderful doll I'd made.

Over the years, whenever we visited it was always a priority to stop in the toy shop and have a doll made and chat with Mr. Engel. Then one visit, he wasn't there anymore. The girl working the shop said he was ill, and in a hospital in Germany. We later found out from the Engel Puppen website, that he had passed away. Unfortunately, where Engel Puppen used to be, is now a Kidcot station.

I found this picture online, this isn't me, but it shows Mr. Engel with some happy customers and their creations. I miss him whenever I'm at Epcot.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

We have had many, many, many more positive CM experiences than negative ones. As a matter of fact, we just returned and two CMs really stand out. Galen at Pin Traders in Magic Kingdom and Cathy the manager at Stage On Company Store in Disney Studios. I will be writing in to Disney this weekend about both of them!

 

[PHXscuba]

DS6 and I were waiting for DH to retrieve some FPs one morning in Epcot. The CM at the kiosk nearby must have noticed how impatient/bored DS was and asked him to wear his giant stuffed Mickey glove to greet all of the people coming into the park so he could finish opening his stand. It made DS feel important and kept him busy while he was overexcited about the day.

PHXscuba

 

[touchthesky]

I want to keep this thread going because I love it and I think the CMs deserve the appreciation, so I'll add another story.

I went to Disneyland for my high school graduation, and we did the (at the time) Lilo and Stitch breakfast at the PHC Grill. Stitch is my absolute favorite Disney character and I was wearing a shirt with him on it. Well, Stitch absolutely loved it and made a point of telling me so. I told him that he was my favorite and that I loved him and he signed that he loved me too. He also noticed my graduation button and congratulated me.

This was all before we were seated. PHC, for those who aren't familiar, is set up kind of like CRT, where you get a picture with a character before going in. At PHC, though, the characters rotate through the dining room as well. Well, every time Stitch came by our table (3 or 4 times, it was a slow day) he would tell me he loved me and would insist on taking another picture with me. One time, he even saw how little I had on my breakfast plate and tried to give me some of my mom's breakfast to make sure I had a good meal. He made me feel so special that day, and I've never forgotten him.

 

[touchthesky]

About ten years ago I was visiting Engel Puppen, the doll making area of the toy store Germany pavillion, and having a doll made. My mother was chatting with Helmet Engel, the owner of the "shop" and was telling him about a doll she had when she was a little girl in Sweden. The doll's legs and arms had been very damaged and she had it repaired, but was not happy with the results. He told her he was returning to Germany in a few weeks for a visit, and if she wanted to mail him the doll to his Florida address, he would bring it with him and repair it in his doll factory in Germany. When we returned home, she did just that and about a month later, the doll was sent back, repaired and wearing a brand new dress. She was thrilled!

A year or two later, I was visiting Disney again, this time with a friend of mine, and decided to make another doll. I mention to Mr. Engel what he had done for my mother, and he looked in his records to find her e-mail address and wrote her that night saying he'd seen me and saying what a wonderful doll I'd made.

Over the years, whenever we visited it was always a priority to stop in the toy shop and have a doll made and chat with Mr. Engel. Then one visit, he wasn't there anymore. The girl working the shop said he was ill, and in a hospital in Germany. We later found out from the Engel Puppen website, that he had passed away. Unfortunately, where Engel Puppen used to be, is now a Kidcot station.

I found this picture online, this isn't me, but it shows Mr. Engel with some happy customers and their creations. I miss him whenever I'm at Epcot.

That is such a sweet story about what he did for your mom! I wish the dolls were still there. One of my favorite things to do when I was younger was go there and look at all the dolls made up to be the princesses. They were always so beautiful.

 

[RandFamily]

Thanks, OP, for starting this thread. I'm so glad to be sharing positive experiences about CM's. Every trip I end up writing about one or more of them in my survey.

On our last trip we lost a whole deck of Sorcerer's of the Magic Cards in MK that we'd been saving over the course of a few trips. We checked with Lost and Found everyday but we never got them back. We resigned ourselves to not getting them back.

About two weeks after our trip, I got a phone call from a CM in the jewelry store on Main Street. He had our deck of cards (the box had our phone number on it) and said he'd send it to us.

Well, the package arrived a little while later and in with our deck of cards, he also included a package of the special booster pack. We were so surprised and delighted. Disney magic!!

 

[MyPrinceWillCome]

That is such a sweet story about what he did for your mom! I wish the dolls were still there. One of my favorite things to do when I was younger was go there and look at all the dolls made up to be the princesses. They were always so beautiful.

All the dolls I had made by him are dressed up as princesses -- and one as Minnie Mouse. The last one I got, they no longer hand the princess dresses, so I picked out a Native American outfit and that one is Pocahontas

 

[Jennybump]

I wasn't on the Dis at the time, and hadn't been to WDW since I was a teenager oblivious to the kind of service they provide. Although now that I think of it we had a funny CM moment even On our high school choir trip. My best friend and I were going on HM with a boy we both had a crush on, and we're on the belt about to get into a Doom Buggy, and the cast member asks our crush Kenny in a funereal voice, "are you sure you're going to be all right, sir?" Kenny replied that he'd be fine, and the CM looked at the two of us, looked back at Kenny, and said in perfect deadpan fashion, "let me know if you need any help" and drew his finger across his neck. He timed it so perfectly, it was hilarious.

Anyway, the next time 1 went was with dh and our kids 18 years later. My 6 yr old and I are waiting outside POTC for the rest of our party to meet us, he's hot and hungry and so am I, and a CM walks over to him and says, "Captain, why are you unarmed in hostile waters?? Pirates be everywhere! Here, take MY sword, Captain." And he hands over this plastic toy sword with a smile. Honest to God, at the time I just thought it was weird, lol, but I know now he was trying to help us recapture the Magic. And it worked! DS got a giggle and a sword to play with while we waited, so I got a break from entertaining him. It was just what we needed.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Thanks Magpie......excellent idea!

Gee..so many excellent CM's over the years, I really don't ever remember a mad or even marginal CM at Disney!

The one that stands out was years ago and was at FW. My daughter was and is a horsey person and it it was our last day and Kristin wanted to go see the Belgium's one last time.

We'll as timing would have it, the barn was closed to guest visits.

she was upset and a young gal CM's over heard her almost pleading voice to see the horses and came over and let us in and introduced her to each and every horse.

To top it off they had harnessed up the wagon for the hay wagon trip from the HDDR and let her ride with her up front out to the Pioneer hall.

As you can guess Kristin was in her glory and loving it all. As a last surprise he gave Kristin one of the used horse shoes which Kristin has in her living room to this day.

There are other resorts and other theme parks but it is these wonderful little extra Magic times and Pixie Dust that sets Disney head and shoulders above all the others.

AKK

 

[Goofygirl17]

My girls' favorite CM is Russell who is/was a waiter at the Grand Floridian. We went for dinner to see Cinderella, the stepsisters etc. Russell was so funny. He taught the girls to how to shoot straw papers at Prince Charming. He had a bunch of them in his waistcoat and would even "arm" them for the girls by getting part of the paper off. then he would shoot them with the girls. Every time we go we ask for Russell but unfortunately he hasn't been there.

Last summer we met a very nice CM on Thunder Mountain. We got stuck part way up a hill and had to wait a while before being evacuated. Michael was the CM who hung out with us and helped us evacuate. The girls took a picture with him while we were stuck. We ran into him a few more times in the following days.

 

[cocofifi]

Our first night at WDW, my 8 year old daughter and I had 9:00 BOG reservations. I knew it might be a recipe for disaster after an early morning flight. But, I took my chances because its the only BOG reservation I could get for our entire stay. There were three rides my daughter wanted to hit before our reservation - all three were down. Her goose was cooked with being tired, hungry and disappointed. Our BOG server was concerned that we were having a less than magical first night (even though most of it was our own doing.). She had her manager call and check on the status of all three rides. She was so kind and attentive during our meal. It really changed the tone for the beginning of our trip. I am still kicking myself for not asking for management in order to commend her. I won't make that mistake the next time a cast member goes above and beyond.

 

[stephm0188]

It happened at California Adventure and not WDW, but I figure CMs are all pretty amazing.

My four year old wanted to play a game to win a little stuffed horse that looked like Bullseye from Toy Story. I played with him, and I accidently won. He was appalled. Whoops. So we played again so he could win the horse he wanted.

An adult couple behind us commented about how easy it would be to beat a little kid and sat down to play. Without missing a beat, the CM running the game politely told them it was a private game and he'd set them up as soon as our was over.

There's no other theme park where that would ever happen. It was such a small gesture that made what could have been a disappointing situation into a great one.

 

[bushdianee]

I just had a very pleasant experience today with one of the Photo Pass phone reps. I just returned from WDW with 7 family members. We had pre-purchased Photo Pass Plus on my recommendation. We had taken my 2 nieces ages 3 & 7 to BBB and did the photo shoot afterwards. Each girl was done alone and then together. When we got home and I pulled up the pictures none of the ones from the photo shoot were there
I filled out the form online for missing pictures and waited the 48 hours with no response (the form states that there will be a response in 24-48 hours). I filled out a second form and still no response. This morning, 48 hours after the 2nd email I called and was helped by a very patient and friendly woman. She found the missing pictures in a short amount of time and loaded them my account (there were about 50 pics)talking to me through what she was doing and commenting on how nice the pictures were. As soon as I hung up I logged on and there were our missing pictures!

 

[AliceandAriel]

Oh oh oh I have one!

My first day back in Disney in May had been rough- we were celebrating my birthday, but between fighting with the DBF over trivial things (we were tired, hungry, a little put out between the flight) and everything else, I was having a horrible day.

We stopped at MK for the evening, planning on seeing some of the end hurrah after walking through a few shops. Almost every single one was empty; everyone was outside ready for the night to kick into gear. A CM in one of the shops spotted me with my birthday button, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Someone in on the phone for you."

At first I was dumbfounded. I wondered if somehow my Dad managed to find where I was in the parks and call, or my Mom, or someone else. Me and my silly imagination.

I went over to the phone and picked up the receiver, and nervously asked, "Hello?"

The CM grinned the entire time as Goofy sang Happy Birthday to me on the other line. Of course I cried. It was the perfect way to remind me to enjoy my time, and to forget the little things. I still regret not hugging him, but made sure to say thank you a million times over before we left for our hotel for the night.

 

[touchthesky]

I just had a very pleasant experience today with one of the Photo Pass phone reps. I just returned from WDW with 7 family members. We had pre-purchased Photo Pass Plus on my recommendation. We had taken my 2 nieces ages 3 & 7 to BBB and did the photo shoot afterwards. Each girl was done alone and then together. When we got home and I pulled up the pictures none of the ones from the photo shoot were there
I filled out the form online for missing pictures and waited the 48 hours with no response (the form states that there will be a response in 24-48 hours). I filled out a second form and still no response. This morning, 48 hours after the 2nd email I called and was helped by a very patient and friendly woman. She found the missing pictures in a short amount of time and loaded them my account (there were about 50 pics)talking to me through what she was doing and commenting on how nice the pictures were. As soon as I hung up I logged on and there were our missing pictures!

I'm so glad that worked out for you! I'm having problems with some missing pictures myself, and I'm planning to call Monday. Here's hoping I get someone as nice as you did. And I'm sure the pictures were beautiful.

 

[Maleficent53]

We were at HS and decided to buy popcorn. The couple ahead of us were on the dining plan and after their purchase, the cm told them how many snacks they had left (lots!). I (quietly, I thought) said to my sister "They can pay for our popcorn for us...". We placed our order and the CM told us "No charge today. This one's on Mickey!"

Pixie dust is so nice!

 

[honeybunches]

Love threads like this!!!

On our first trip we had Cape May on our last night. After dinner while we tried to figure out how to get back to WL my daughter said she was feeling sick. I think she had sun poisoning from being in the heat all day. We had no idea that we could take a cab......we were going to take a bus to one of the parks then catch the WL bus. We were the only ones on the bus to MK and when the driver realized what we were trying to do, he made a quick call to get permission to drive us straight tot the WL. My husband tried to give him a tip but he wouldn't accept it, told us to spend it on the kids instead. We barely made it back to the room before my daughter got very, very sick. There is no way she would have made it to another bus in time. I wish I had gotten that kind man's name, I am still so grateful for his help.

 

[kddisney502]

I'm so glad someone started this thread. I saw the other thread and thought...well CM's are human too.

Mine's a really simple one. I visited in November and took my mom who hadn't visited in 20+ years. A lovely CM granted us access to the New Fantasyland during the previews. It was probably not a big deal since it was pretty empty. But it meant so much to my mom, that little bit a magic is my favorite memory from the trip.