This is why I love Disney.....

[cat83]

That was so precious

 

[akhenaten]

Thank you so much for posting this!! I am planning a trip to wdw and all of the talk about running to Rapunzel or strategies for fast pass were starting to take away the magic feeling... I was wondering if WDW was still wonderful..

Then I saw Mickey and Baker... how sweet..truly what disney is about.. the moments of happiness.. not how long a line is or how many rides you get on in a day.... Magical!!

 

[Savannah's Mami]

So beautiful...I am in tears.

 

[kylmac]

Thank you for that story-I cried as I truly appreciate what Disney does for all of our kids. Our son is autistic and once at WDW at the Magic Kingdom when Snow White's ride had closed due to either Halloween party or Christmas party, a cast member saw my son crying and wanting to go on Snow White's ride. She asked her supervisor if she could allow him to ride-sadly, it was not allowed but I thought how nice of her to even ask! Disney always goes the extra mile for children/adults with disabilities. That is why we joined the Vacation Club so we can have somewhere Disney each year! We leave next week for Disneyland and then onto our Alaska cruise on Disney-can't wait!
Thanks for the wonderful post about Baker!
Elizabeth

 

[I Love Pluto]

Thank you so very much for sharing your story. Baker is a great kid! You can tell by the love on his face when he kissed Mickey.

Thanks again for sharing. You're an awesome person!

 

[Mama Who]

Geez, my kid wants to know why I read the internet if it makes me cry this hard. Thank you for sharing that.

 

[tinkslite]

Need to add to a positive thread so...
My DD was adopted from foster care at age 3 years 10 months. She was only moderately verbal, frightened of everything, bit her brother on a daily basis, and had been brutally abused for the first nearly 4 years of her life. The social worker told us that she would have long term "needs" but no one could tell us yet what those needs would be.
On her 6th birthday, Dad and I decided to forego the usual big birthday party (which seemed to frighten and confuse her, as social settings often did), and send her w/mom(me) to Disneyland for some birthday magic.

Well, she never liked the crowds around the characters so we are big fans of character meals. Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Resort has long been a family favorite. I had decided to take DD there for her birthday lunch, as leaving the park for a bit of break works well with her. Back then (she is 16 now) she was still undiagnosed (though clearly had developmental delays of significant proportions), and her disability (moderate autism spectrum disorder coupled w/ severe PTSD) is "invisible" upon first meeting. I had brought along a couple of gifts with a Cinderella (her fave princess, then) theme. The BIG gift was a Cinderella Ball Gown costume that Daddy and I had purchased, before the trip.......

Well, the real (as dd called her) Cinderella was in attendance @ Goofy's Kitchen that evening! I pulled our waitress aside and explained our DD's background and the occasion we were celebrating. I handed her the gift bag containing the dress, and wondered if it couldn't "be from Cinderella." She smiled took the bag, and said she would speak the PRincess about it......

Soon, Cinderella, a couple of large mice (from Cind. movie), the waitress and a couple of other cast members approached us. They had a small Mickey Mouse cupcake complete w/burning candle and sang to my DD. Each of the other CMs wished DD a Happy Birthday, and retreated. Cinderella stayed, signed autograph book, fed DD a bite of cake and then said,
"I heard that you were going to be visiting us, for your birthday;So, I got you a little gift. Would you like to open it now, Princess?" DD was wide eyed, the PRINCESS CINDERELLA was going to give her a gift!!!!!! She nodded, and tore into the tissue in the bag. She held up the dress and her smile was ear to ear!
I was crying so hard I forgot to take any photos at all,and finally said "Oh no! I forgot to take pictures!"
Well the Princess Cinderella did not skip a beat (she had already spent a lot of time with us). She asked if she could "borrow" the "little princess" for a few moments of "princess talk" and took Jessi by the hand (amazing since she HATED holdng hands and I often resorted to leashes to keep hold of her in a crowd), left the table, whispering to our waitress on her way out the door, and into a "backstage" area so I was left in the dining room waiting for them to return.
The waitress brought me a disposable camera and asked me to watch the CM door they had disappeared behind, as I would want to take photos of their imminent re entry! WOW!
When they came into the room, hand in hand, they were holding out the skirts of the identical gowns and alternately practicing the Princess Wave! My little girl had recieved Princess Instruction from the best!!!!!!
I did get that photo, and it is included below.
We have had many other magical moments over the years with our 2 special needs kidlets (2 out of 3 my families statistics are sketchy).... But this one is one of the best. Thank you so much to that Princess, wherever you are, you made magic for my little one.
BTW her birthday was in June and that gown was her Halloween costume that year, she loved it until it looked more like the original Cinderella rags!
_

 

[LisaBi]

I just love these stories! My son who has DS is now 18, but when he was younger we had a few great character encounters, and these stories bring back sweet memories. I could bore you death with them, but I won't.

 

[HsvScrapGirl]

Thank you for sharing this story. What a magical moment.
Reminds me of when we were there a couple of years ago. DS and DH were in line waiting to see Handy Manny. A child in a wheel chair was brought in. This little boy had his toy Handy Manny tool box. Manny went to work! He borrowed the little boys toy tool box and "fixed" the chain that was in place for the queue. My mom and I were standing back watching and tears were streaming down our faces. The little boys mother had made a special scrapbook/autograph book for this trip. It was huge and obviously a labor of love. Manny took a good 10 minutes with this family. A moment that I will never forget and it wasn't even my child.

 

[pampam]

I remember reading your post on another thread, but I'm so glad you posted it again. It reminds me of what wonderful memories we can make, and the special times we have with our families at WDW.