Share Your Magical CM Experiences

[dowchick]

I want to hear your stories! The simple little moments to the above and beyond, tell us how a CM made your trip extra magical.

I will begin I have several but there are a few that really stand out in my memory.

When my husband and I went to WDW in 1994 for our honeymoon we stayed at Caribbean Beach. One day we ate at the restaurant in the resort. I had not been drinking enough water and was so thirsty and dehydrated. Our waitress noticed I was sucking down glasses of water so she brought a pitcher of water to our table. She seemed truly concerned about my not drinking enough water. The service was also excellent. I actually wrote a letter to the resort after we got home telling them how wonderful she was.

We went in 2004 to celebrate our 10th anniversary as well as our daughter’s 6th birthday. On the day of her birthday she dressed up in an Ariel dress, with an Ariel crown, Ariel light up tennis shoes and her birthday button. We stayed at Pop and while we were in line for breakfast that morning a cast member was walking past and noticed her birthday button. He stopped and asked her how old she was and she replied 6. He told her to stay right there and he would be back. As the line moved forward, she did not want to move because he told her to stay right there. When he came back he had a huge cinnamon roll with about an inch of whipped cream swirled over the entire top surface and a cherry in the middle. He got down on one knee, held up the treat and announced we were celebrating a birthday then proceeded to sing “Happy Birthday”. As he sang the guests in the lines started to sing too and at the end of the song everyone clapped and wished her a Happy Birthday! It was such a special moment for her. I will never forget the smile on her face or his kindness.

During the same trip we had a package called the Prince and Princess package, which gave the kids $50 Disney bucks to spend and VIP seating at several shows in the parks. We had to call the reservations line and tell them which show we would be attending and the CM’s at the podium knew how many “VIP’s” were attending each show. The day we were at Animal Kingdom we had VIP seats for Flight of the Hawk. When we got to the show we told the two college aged CM’s who we were and then they looked at our daughter and started telling her how excited they were to hear she was going to be there today and how much they had been looking forward to her arrival. One even asked for her autograph! After they sat us down she was so excited because they were so excited to meet her. It was just a simple little thing but it made her day.

This past October we were at WDW for my birthday. On the day of my birthday I wore Minnie ears and a red and white polka dot shirt I made with black shorts and yellow socks and my birthday button. It was my tourist version of Minnie Mouse, because I love her, and it was my birthday. While we were walking through Frontier land a cast member started singing “Happy Birthday Princess Minnie” to me. Again, a simple thing but I had a smile ear to ear on my face after that.

Now share your stories.

 

[lazer]

My son was walking towards Star Tours with me and my husband. We were explaining that darth vader isn't a real person and the ride is like watching a movie (he saw a clip in the hotel room that scared him). A CM turns around and tells him, "It's not really him in there, it's just on the movie screen, like when you watch Star Wars at home. He's not a real person. I know you're a brave guy." (Obviously those aren't the EXACT words). Two seconds later, here comes Darth Vader marching down the path towards the stage they do Jedi Training on. GREAT TIMING DARTH! My son immediately cries and says he won't ride. Obviously, we don't make him. The CM turns around and tells is to wait a minute. He came back with a star tours tshirt and a lanyard full of pins. It was the sweetest thing and my son will never forget it. And, we've been buying pins and trading ever since

 

[MomNY]

I have a great one. We were checking in at AoA. We had booked two Little Mermaid standard rooms. At check in, the CM, Raoul, said, "I think I feel like sprinkling some pixie dust!!!!" We shrieked. He upgraded us to two Lion King family suites. It was terrific. The suites turned a great vacation into the greatest vacation. Those lion king rooms were so adorable, spacious and much closer to the pool than the LM rooms.

Also at AoA, my five year old told a CM wearing a white rose on her lapel that she liked her flower. The CM gave it to her.

At Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, my daughter got a makeover. She was holding her stuffed giraffe during the makeover. The CM gave the giraffe a makeover too, including a tiny pink sash pinned to the giraffe.

I love Disney CMs. They make the difference.

 

[kittyninja]

My goal December of last year was to get a lot of characters to autograph my tshirt. My sister and I were in Fantasyland waiting for Gaston so we decided to go see Arial while waiting for his next set. We were told that there was a 30 minute wait and that it probably wouldn't be any faster. So we're standing there planning and trying to calculate if we could make it back to Gaston in time and the CM Kiki (I'll never forget her name!) tells us that she had a surprise for us and takes us through the FP+ line!! There was no one ahead of us and we got right in and made it back to see Gaston!! It was a truly magical moment!!

Later that trip, we also had our grandmother with us and we left her at one of the CS restaurants in Epcot close to Test Track. We had just eaten and my sister and I wanted to ride TT and do a little shopping before we left. My grandmother decided to stay there because they weren't very busy. She got a cup of coffee and stayed. When we returned we learned she had made a friend. One of the men who worked there clearing the tables when guests left had gotten her more coffee and chatted with her. He was on his break by the time we got back but still got our grandmother one last refill before we left!! He had only been working there for about a month but his Disney service was on point!! He was so nice!!

 

[LottiesMommy]

We were in a long bag check line at park opening with my daughter a year ago (her first visit). Our daughter was five and finally asked, "What are they looking for anyway?" The Security CM heard her and as he checked the bag of the person in front of us he said, "Nope. No poison apples here either. You know, that silly Snow White is still concerned about poison apples and asks us to check every bag coming into the park just to make sure none come in... but I've never, ever found one. Not one." It was cute and made her giggle and she mumbled something about silly Snow White as we left. The CM easily could have ignored her question since it was not asked directly to him (it was more to me...), but he took the chance to start our day with a little magic and it was cute.

Sometimes it is just the little things.

 

[lazer]

We were in a long bag check line at park opening with my daughter a year ago (her first visit). Our daughter was five and finally asked, "What are they looking for anyway?" The Security CM heard her and as he checked the bag of the person in front of us he said, "Nope. No poison apples here either. You know, that silly Snow White is still concerned about poison apples and asks us to check every bag coming into the park just to make sure none come in... but I've never, ever found one. Not one." It was cute and made her giggle and she mumbled something about silly Snow White as we left. The CM easily could have ignored her question since it was not asked directly to him (it was more to me...), but he took the chance to start our day with a little magic and it was cute. Sometimes it is just the little things.

This is the cutest!

Another one: We were leaving MNSSHP and my son wiped out leaving MK, it has rained and was really slick. It was also midnight and he was 3...haha, so needless to say it was dramatic. Two CMs came over and gave him bags of candy and filled his bag that he had been trick or treating with. He smiled really big and we left. As we were walking away someone was yelling for The Big Bad Wolf (my son's costume). We turned around to see a CM running towards us with a balloon. He said his friends told him he fell, and he thought a balloon would cheer him up...even more than candy. It was so cute and they totally went out of their way to make my little dude smile.

Love these stories

 

[suemom2kay]

It was our 1st trip to WDW. We didn't really know what pin trading was. A nice man on the bus gave DD, 7 a pin from his lanyard and explained to her how it works... So we bought her a starter set and we she started trading. She was also very into Ariel at the time. We had the hardest time finding her on the CM's lanyards. We were checking out and I was scrutinizing the CM's lanyard. He asked if we'd like to trade. I said, oh we were just looking for Ariel. He told me just a moment. He went in the back and came out with a female CM. He then asked me if it would be alright if they took her to the gift shop. I allowed them but followed at a distance.

They let DD pick any pin she wanted. It was such a magical moment. DD was THRILLED!!!

I post more further down the thread!

 

[pampam]

I know I've posted this before, but it made such impresion on me so please allow me to post again. We were staying at Pop Century, and every morning there was a fellow in rubber boots scrubbing the pool area and lounge chairs, but he always said "Good Morning Princess" to DD as we left the room. It reached the point that we were looking forward to his greeting every day. His name was Arsinio, he was from Puerto Rico, and yes, I made sure WDW knew how happy he had made us.

 

[Jennasis]

Gosh, i've had so many magical cast member moments it's almost hard to recount them all! I guess some of my favorites are:

On our honeymoon, we were staying at BC, and had paid for the cheapest possible room view just to be able to afford the trip. When we checked in the CM handed us our keys and info packet and said you're in room 5***. "5?" I replied...""but that's on the 5th floor!" I cried. DH just looked at me like I was crazy. he didn't get it. The CM got this sly smile on her face and just whispered "Have a magical stay!" The 5th floor is the CONCIERGE FLOOR! We had been upgraded to a water view room on the concierge floor. It was so beautiful!

Another trip, we were still very nervous about leaving our fledgling business for a whole week to go on vacation so I was practically jumping out of my skin every time my cell phone rang, thinking it was bad news from home! Well, DH and I walk into The American Adventure and just inside the doors a CM grabs DH by the arm and says "Are you Kris?" DH looks confused and says "Yes?" The Cm gets serious and says "There's a phone call for you." My heart dropped into my shoes! He led DH to a side table with a phone on it and directs him to pick it up. DH picks up the phone and it was GOOFY wishing him a Happy Birthday! We had forgotten DH was wearing his Birthday button with his name on it. After I recovered from the near heart attack we had a fantastic laugh about it with the CM!

Finally...the big one...on our honeymoon trip we were on the KTTK Tour and it was awesome! Our guide was just fantastic. We had a blast interacting with him. At the end of the tour we asked him about that evenings MNSSHP that we were attending. Since it was our very first party ever we wondered if we would be the only crazy adults in costume? He chuckled and assured us that we would be in good company. Then he asked what we were dressing up as. I told him we were Mouseketeers. He said that was awesome and then asked us to stop by City Hall when we arrived to show him our costumes. We said we'd try, but we had dinner reservations at 5:30 at LTT. When we came back to the park that evening for dinner we didn't have time to stop by City Hall, and I figured he was just being polite. I mean, he must see thousands of guests in a day right? So we're sitting at LTT enjoying dinner and lots of attention from CM's and guests over our costumes. The place was PACKED with people....and here, through the throng of people comes our guide from the morning's tour! He is out of breath but smiling. "Thank goodness I found you!" He cried. Turns out he had not only rememberd us from the morning, he remembered what I casually mentioned our costumes were and plans were! Then he hunted us down in a super crowded restaurant just to invite us to be Grand Marshalls in the MNSSHP parade that night! We were blown away! What an amazing guy. And the parade was so amazing!!

 

[JubileenaBingBing]

We were in the MK Christmas shop in October 2012 and my dd who was four at the time was in love with all of the Disney ornaments! One of the CMs that worked there was talking to her about how much my dd loves to decorate our Christmas tree. Do the CM asked my dd if she would like to decorate the store tree that day. My daughter was thrilled! They pulled out a big box of ornaments and let my dd go to town. Then they put her name on the sign on the top of the tree so it said 'Todays tree decorated by Gabriella.' After she was all finished, they gave her a keepsake Mickey Mouse ornament to take home! Now, every year, that's the first ornament she hangs on the tree when we decorate!

 

[richmo]

Not really magical, but I'll share one from my last trip.

I was solo on this trip and happened to be waiting in line at BoG for lunch. A couple young ladies started up a conversation and, after a few minutes, I realized they were both off-duty CM's. They were so nice, and told me quite a bit about their jobs and about the college program, since I have a daughter that may be interested in applying. It was so nice to get this kind of insider perspective on the life of a CM. To me it says a lot when you have someone return to their place of employment as a guest and see the same appreciation and enjoyment in them that the rest of us civilians have.

 

[cseca]

I love everyone's stories!

I have a bunch but I couldn't forget this one. I just wish I knew back then about getting CM's name to write back to Disney.

Way back in college (way way back) I went for the 2nd time as an adult to Disney. Epcot was just opened for the day and I remembered walking around the lagoon with my then BF. Then out of nowhere this seagull swooped down and decided to drop his doodoo on my shoulder ...AAACK!!!...
I think I froze for a minute because I couldn't believe what just happened. I went to the bathroom real quick and saw that there's really no way to save my shirt for the day (we were staying offsite). So I decided to just stop by one of the stores by the lagoon which was empty and picked out the cheapest tshirt there (college student remember? ). The CM asked me what happened since she saw my laughing/upset/bewildered look. I told her the story and she couldn't stop laughing. Then when I went to pay it she said " it's on the house". I couldn't believe it. That was my most favorite shirt for years
And I still run away when I see seagulls at EPCOT. DH laughs at me but I have no intention of being pooped on by any more birds thank you very much.

 

[hsmamato2]

Like I said in the other thread with an opposite question...Over the years, very few bad experiences, and LOTS of great ones!
The reason we became so addicted to visiting Disney was WAY back in the day when we discovered my son had a severe food allergy,this was far before allergies became commonplace...it was so difficult to travel with him,we brought suitcases of food with us everywhere, restaurants were very challenging (can you say plain french fries 1000 times?)
Then we experienced Disney for a week with an allergic toddler, and all we had to do was tell any wonderful cm/or chef what he was allergic to.... and suddenly it all became so easy! The chefs, the food over the years, the awareness before everyone else seemed to catch on was priceless.
That hooked us. Even still the caring chefs who come out and ask if he enjoyed his food, etc, could they provide anything else,etc...it's so overwhelming. The first time he ordered a Mickey pancake at Disney, I almost cried. I still love that photo.

 

[smallworldnh]

I love reading all these sweet and positive threads. There are still many CM's who go out of their way to make someone's stay a little more magical!

I have also shared this awhile ago, but it still stands out in my mind after a lot of years. My daughter was around 5-6 years old and we were at the character buffet at the Contemporary. She picked up a dish and it slipped out of her hand and fell and broke. She was very upset and started to cry and one of the CM's came over holding Donald by the hand, with Donald looking all embarrassed and told her it wasn't her fault because Donald was being naughty and greased all the dishes so that they would slip out of peoples hands. Donald "apologized" and gave her a big hug and she was so thrilled with that.

I see so many stories like that and they are very heartwarming and give you that special feeling that keeps the magic going. Luckily I think they outnumber the rude CM's!

 

[shyjade]

We have had many great experiences but this one always reminds me why Disney is a step above.

Back in 2008 my DD10 and I took my parents to Disney for a very special anniversary trip. On our last night, we went to Epcot and DD10 got a candy horse from the Candy Lady. She is a serious horse lover (and had just gotten her mustang the year before).

As we were approaching SE to leave, DD10 tripped over a young child who had been chasing bubbles a CM was blowing in the dark - none of us saw the little boy until my daughter hit the cement. Her candy horse shattered, and she scraped up her palms and bloodied her knees. Nothing serious, but she lost it...tired at the end of the day of a long trip and breaking that horse just crushed her. The CM came rushing over and felt so bad, he wouldn't let us leave the park. He insisted on giving her a toy from the nearby shop and got bandages for the bloody knees. We kept insisting it was fine, DD10 stopped crying, and we felt a bit foolish the way he fussed over us. We got to talking and he was just a huge Disney fan like us, loving his job as a CM. He insisted on getting DD10 a new horse from the Candy Lady, but she had just left for the night. He took down our name and where we were staying and promised to get her another horse.

A few days after we arrived home to Wisconsin, a package arrived (via overnight delivery) to my daughter and inside was a new candy horse...in perfect condition. We were shocked!

 

[linskypens]

I always bring a small red gem with me to pluck out of the air during Philharmagic. Christmas week 2012, We had taken my daughter's friend with us as well, and my DD wanted me to pull two, one for her and one for her friend, who had no idea what Philharmagic even was. I had placed two red gems in my pocket that morning, but apparently they had fallen out when I reached into that pocket for something. The girls were off riding something else, and I frantically began hunting for a bag of gems in Fantasyland.
There was a gift shop next to where Snow White used to be, and I asked this older CM if they sold gems....
She told me they used to , but didnt anymore. She said she thought there might still be some out back somewhere, and vanished. She came back and said they didn't find any, but if I could hold on a couple minutes, she might know where there were some.
I waited another two or three minutes, and she came back with a whole handful of gems. She had gone through the back to another store, and had found some out back in that one.
She handed me the pile, and told me to have a magical day. I cant tell you how much I appreciated her taking the time to not only hunt in her store, but others as well.
This year, on my final Daddy Daughter trip before my DD now 18 goes off to college, I will pull one of those gems she found me out of my pocket, and smile again as I remember where they came form

 

[KristenRB]

This past trip, it was my birthday celebration. Everywhere I went I got the usual "Happy Birthday" with a smile and a wave. I know this is usual for anyone with a birthday pin. But it really did make me feel special!

One day it had rained and we decided to go to MK after it let up a little at night. Splash was a walk-on and our CM let us ride it back to back so we could watch part of wishes as we went up and down! She was super sweet and so friendly.

It's the things like that which keeps me coming back again and again.

 

[orion2185]

Great stories and pleased to see there are still some fantastic CM at WDW

Just wondering what can be done to recognize such a CM?
Other than talking to their manger?

There use to be a card you could fill out at GS...but was reading here on the board they don't offer this card anymore.
Or, they call it something else...was a bit confused.

But really want to know what's the best way to recognize a amazing CM and ensure that they get recognition from our positive feedback

 

[chrismb22]

and I'm crying! Thanks guys. Sitting here, eating my chicken salad sandwich at my desk with tears rolling down my cheeks.

 

[Oathkeeper13]

I can't really call this magical, but I did have an experience where cast members went above and beyond the call of duty. We were at the Little Mermaid section of AOA and about to head out to the parks for the day when one of my best friends began puking her guts out into a trash can. Like I said magical isn't the best term for this experience. I told her to go back to the room while I ran off to get her some tea to settle her stomach. When I returned she was surrounded by members of the cleaning staff. They had brought her a chair, a bottle of water, and a towel. They went out of their way to make everything a little nicer for a sick friend.