The kindness of strangers at DLR

[WonkaKid]

These are particularly troubling times so I thought I’d share four pleasant anecdotes about the kindness of strangers I’ve experienced at DL in the past.

1. I struck up a conversation with a very nice mom in line one morning at the park gates. It was an EMH day and I gave her a number of tips to optimize her visit with her kids. She then invited me to join her and her family so that I’d get into the park nearly an hour early. I accepted graciously, of course .

2.Another mother and daughter that I know through the Disboards have treated me to tea a few times (I’ll respect their anonymity ). Small kindnesses can live on for years.

3. More than once when my phone was completely dead, strangers have allowed me to plug into their chargers, even if only for a few moments. Once about 1.5 years ago, a girl and her mother behind me in line for HM offered to charge my phone for the entire ride. That was very kind of them and the lasted until I got back to my car, where I could charge at length.

4. These don’t exactly qualify as experiences with strangers, but about seven or eight times CMs with whom I’ve struck up conversations later offered to escort me to the front of the line of any attraction of my choosing. I’ve always taken them up on it and it’s always felt special.

Would anyone else care to share? Ideally, these would be stories about kindnesses extended by other guests but the same offered by CMs are certainly fair game .

 

[AZMermaid]

My last trip, my daughter and I were behind a mom and her three kids in line for Gadgets- A boy about my daughters age (8) a girl 6, and a Younger kiddo about 3. She had planned for her two older kids to ride together and she’d ride with the little one. Well, they couldn’t because the 6 year old was too young to ride without an adult. I’m watching this all unfold and the mom is trying to figure out what to do and she has that look of my preschooler is gonna lose it if we can’t ride. I offered to ride with the 6 year old and my daughter rode with her son, which was fine since they were both over 7. Her 6 year old wasnt over the moon, understandably, but they got to ride. After we got off, the CM pulled me aside and let me and my daughter ride again together. I wasnt expecting that at all, but it was a nice surprise and a good lesson for my daughter to be kind when you can.

 

[22Tink]

I love chatting with other guests while waiting in line. It’s a great way to pass the time! While waiting in the bag check line a few years ago we were ahead of a couple of guys who were avid pin collectors. They noticed DD’s lanyard with some of her pins and struck up a conversation. One of them gifted DD a couple of pins for her collection plus a handful of replacement backings for them as well. That same trip, a CM visiting the park on her day off also gifted DD a new pin! She still talks about those kind acts even years later. We try to pay it forward when we can!

 

[Where's Wall-E]

These are particularly troubling times so I thought I’d share four pleasant anecdotes about the kindness of strangers I’ve experienced at DL in the past.

1. I struck up a conversation with a very nice mom in line one morning at the park gates. It was an EMH day and I gave her a number of tips to optimize her visit with her kids. She then invited me to join her and her family so that I’d get into the park nearly an hour early. I accepted graciously, of course .

Curious: If you weren't eligible for EMH, how did you get in along with the family? Apologies if I'm reading this incorrectly.

 

[WonkaKid]

Curious: If you weren't eligible for EMH, how did you get in along with the family? Apologies if I'm reading this incorrectly.

At the turnstile, she simply told the CM that I was with her/them. Apparently that's all it takes. Now that I think of it, a few others have done that for me as well. I guess if you're with a party that has a Disney hotel room key and one of the group says that you're with them, that's sufficient proof .

 

[WonkaKid]

... While waiting in the bag check line a few years ago we were ahead of a couple of guys who were avid pin collectors.

I spoke with a CM at DCA this morning who I'd go so far as to call a rabid pin collector ;-). I told her that I knew a couple who, between them, have about 15,000 pins. She told me that she alone has more than 20,000, a few of which are valuable. Apparently some are issued in very small quantities -- 300 or thereabouts. She explained that she once paid $20 for a single pin that's now worth $1,000. And I thought that the people I knew were dedicated collectors ;-). It was fun to talk with her, though. I don't get to chat with too many Disney fans these days. Then again, who does?

 

[buffettgirl]

You can’t get into DL without room proof. And it’s sort of crappy to steal a benefit that others pay for.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I'm curious, if you were not eligible for EMH, why were you in line? Also, EMH is tied to your ticket, which is or is not tied to a room reservation. If it is not tied to a room reservation, you don't get in. Every guest needs to be a registered guest at a DL hotel. I don't know much about DL , but I know at WDW it would have been so easy to sneak my youngest into a room, so we wouldn't have to pay for a 2nd room because we were a family of 5. This is going back 15-20 years. When Disney considered a family to be no more than 4 people. We couldn't do that because my son would have been left out of any perks we got for having a room. He needed to be listed as a registered guest. There was no way we could just show up and say "He's with us." Nope.

Cell phone charger question.... Doesn't DL have places where you can plug in and charge your phone? Never mind that, how do you plug into someone else to charge your phone? I'm confused. If my phone was dying, I wouldn't even know what to ask a stranger how to help me with that.

 

[Corpsebride]

A few years ago, during Halloweentime, we were at the Halloween party, dressed as Snow White and Her Prince, for our wedding anniversary. We were in the crowd waiting for the fireworks. A CM approached us and saw our anniversary button's and congratulated us. Then she told us to hang on, , got on her walkie talkie, and nit 5 minutes later, we were escorted to the VIP? Seating fot the Halloween fireworks. We felt like Disney Royalty. I couldn't believe it! It still makes me smile to this day. Disney CMs are the best!

 

[DontSpamMe]

I'm curious, if you were not eligible for EMH, why were you in line? Also, EMH is tied to your ticket, which is or is not tied to a room reservation. If it is not tied to a room reservation, you don't get in. Every guest needs to be a registered guest at a DL hotel. I don't know much about DL , but I know at WDW it would have been so easy to sneak my youngest into a room, so we wouldn't have to pay for a 2nd room because we were a family of 5. This is going back 15-20 years. When Disney considered a family to be no more than 4 people. We couldn't do that because my son would have been left out of any perks we got for having a room. He needed to be listed as a registered guest. There was no way we could just show up and say "He's with us." Nope.

Cell phone charger question.... Doesn't DL have places where you can plug in and charge your phone? Never mind that, how do you plug into someone else to charge your phone? I'm confused. If my phone was dying, I wouldn't even know what to ask a stranger how to help me with that.

I may be interpreting your post incorrectly, but I'm pretty sure taking advantage of the early hours for hotel guests is as simple as providing an active room key with a valid ticket for entry. I've stayed at the DLH multiple times using different types of tickets (multi-day through 3rd party, AP, and packages through Disney travel). The process was the same for all of them. I have seen multiple times while waiting at the gates for California Adventure a group will come in from the Harbor side and join a hotel guest for early entry. I come to this conclusion because someone entering from Harbor more than likely did not sleep at a DL property hotel the night before.

Also, I take 2 portable battery packs with us to charge our phones throughout the day. Despite charging 3 phones all day there is usually plenty of juice to spare on the battery pack. So it isn't out the question someone could/would share.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I'm curious, if you were not eligible for EMH, why were you in line? Also, EMH is tied to your ticket, which is or is not tied to a room reservation. If it is not tied to a room reservation, you don't get in. Every guest needs to be a registered guest at a DL hotel. I don't know much about DL , but I know at WDW it would have been so easy to sneak my youngest into a room, so we wouldn't have to pay for a 2nd room because we were a family of 5. This is going back 15-20 years. When Disney considered a family to be no more than 4 people. We couldn't do that because my son would have been left out of any perks we got for having a room. He needed to be listed as a registered guest. There was no way we could just show up and say "He's with us." Nope.

Cell phone charger question.... Doesn't DL have places where you can plug in and charge your phone? Never mind that, how do you plug into someone else to charge your phone? I'm confused. If my phone was dying, I wouldn't even know what to ask a stranger how to help me with that.

For the DLR on site hotels, the guest limit is 5 per room. Not going over that is not so much about perks per guest as it is about obeying the rules set by the Fire Marshal.
As for sharing a charger with other guests, this is not uncommon at DLR. There are charging lockers, but not everyone knows about them or wants to pay for them. We usually have at least one charger in our bag (during certain times of year we have 2) because DH can get work calls while we're in the parks. If we don't need to use the chargers and we see someone whose phone is dying, it's no big deal to ask if they want to borrow a charger. (The other guest doesn't have to ask -- we offer.) This has happened while we've waited for WOC, F!, a parade, fireworks, etc.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Reminder to everyone participating in this thread: Please keep your comments respectful and courteous. It is possible to express disagreement without being disrespectful or demeaning to others. Especially in a thread focused on kindness, there is no need to be rude.
Now let's get this discussion back on topic!

 

[cruisehopeful]

how do you plug into someone else to charge your phone? I'm confused. If my phone was dying, I wouldn't even know what to ask a stranger how to help me with that.

Many people carry portable battery packs with them because they have to charge their phones throughout the day. I wouldn't ask someone if they had one, but I can see where someone may offer to let another person use theirs.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

This was a while back, a few months after Carsland opened (we were there in October of 2012), but a CM once let me and my Son in for EMH even though we were not otherwise eligible (I sent a somewhat ambiguous letter to City Hall as I wanted to alert them of the kindness but wasn't sure of protocol).

I remember this vividly as it was such an unexpected surprise. I was at the end of a business trip and my Son flew down solo. He was 10, so he was accompanied by an airline employee whom I met at the gate. She told me how mature he was for his age and was just pleasant all around, another kind gesture from a stranger. The next day we were up bright and early to make sure we got to see Carlsand and get on RSR. We were about 90 minutes early and lined up at a non EMH gate and chatted with a CM for a while about our short weekend trip. My Son was very excited to see Carsland. The CM then excused herself, I assumed later she went and talked to her lead. She then came back and walked us over to an EMH gate, scanned our tickets and let us in. We were so thrilled and thanked her profusely. We got on RSR after about a 30 minute wait, walked around Carsland for a bit and then got in line for a FP. Such a wonderful surprise for our short trip.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

You can’t get into DL without room proof. And it’s sort of crappy to steal a benefit that others pay for.

The person that let him into the park paid for the benefit. It’s likely that someone in their party is not an early riser, so they had an extra key that they used to get him in. That’s the only scenario I can think of that would allow that to happen.

 

[mom2rtk]

The person that let him into the park paid for the benefit. It’s likely that someone in their party is not an early riser, so they had an extra key that they used to get him in. That’s the only scenario I can think of that would allow that to happen.

If you take someone else's key with you to the park, I sure hope they don't plan on popping downstairs for some coffee or a snack and returning to the room before meeting their group at the park.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

The person that let him into the park paid for the benefit. It’s likely that someone in their party is not an early riser, so they had an extra key that they used to get him in. That’s the only scenario I can think of that would allow that to happen.

It's also possible that the CM at the turnstile made some magic and allowed that group to include an extra guest. (As other posters have said, CMs can do this.)
Whatever the reason, the main point of that post was that someone did a random act of kindness for someone else -- which is something to be celebrated, especially during these dark times.

So, let's get this thread back on to the topic of acts of kindness!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Our story happened recently: We were in DTD enjoying the holiday decorations and trying, rather clumsily, to take some photos. A very nice woman approached to ask if we would like her to take photos so DH and I could be in the photos together. That hasn't happened in SO long that it just took my breath away. (Such a simple thing, but so appreciated!) Of course we accepted and offered wipes and sanitizer. She laughed and took some great photos. We reciprocated. And we ended up using one of the photos in our Christmas card (masks and all)!

 

[DisneyMommy77]

A few years ago we were waiting in a pretty long line to ride the boat from POR to Disney Springs.

One of the ski boats that you see being driven around by CMs around the various WDW waterways (I assume they are patrolling?) came by and told us they would give our family a private boat ride to Disney Springs. It was a ski boat, so if went much faster than any of the Disney boats, so my kids loved it.
That CM was so kind and made us feel so special!

 

[Kender]

These are old, but two of my earliest magic moments at Disney that had a huge impact on me (I've had so many more too, but these were both when I was 15 and a couple months before I turned 17):

DLR 2000:
I was big into collecting beanie babies. I had found the Scorch beanie buddy at our hotel gift shop (had the matching beanie baby version) and really wanted Magic (beanie baby). Both are dragons for those who didn't follow beanie babies.

My mom and I got to chatting with a CM at Indy and she told us where to find a store that she was mostly sure would have Magic. We actually went! Sadly no Magic. But on our last day, we ran into her again and she had been worried they wouldn't have Magic to the point she almost took one of her extras with her to work in case she ran into us.

She asked for our address, we gave it, and a couple weeks later Magic showed up. There was no return address so I never was able to send her a formal thank you, but I still have Magic to this day along with the note that CM sent with her. She's one of my most treasured beanie babies.

WDW 2002
I was not into pin trading, but I'd been collecting for as long as I'd been taking trips (lapel pins are cheap souvenirs lol). But the one thing I really wanted was a 101 Dalmatians pin and I so hoped I would find one on this band trip. No luck

But on AK day, Primeval Whirl was new and having new ride issues. A couple other members of my marching band saw me and a friend and gave us their return FPs they'd been given when the ride broke down (they didn't want to waste anymore time on it). Later when the ride was back up, we got in line. A CM was walking out as we walked in and I stopped in my tracks, pointed to his lanyard, and asked where he had gotten the first 101 Dalmatians pin I had seen since we got there. Explained it was my favorite Disney cartoon and I had been looking for one since we got to Florida.

CM said someone had recently traded it to him and it was mine for any Disney pin I wanted to trade. My heart sank. I had no pins on me since I didn't trade and I hadn't bought any yet for AK (always saved it until closer to leaving). I was about to walk away after thanking the CM for his time when the CM looked around, removed the pin, and handed it to me with a "shh!".

I still have that pin too.