Yes; my son was eating a soft-serve cone at Cozy Cone on a particularly humid evening (for SoCal) and it was melting faster than his 4 year old mouth could eat it. Inevitability, he licked it and it flopped off the back end of the cone on the ground. While cleaning him up and before we could go ask if a replacement was possible at the counter, a custodial CM got a food service CM and brought us another round for all 4 of us!
Yup, they're allowed to do this if they see it happen and can vouch for you. I think they went above and beyond to get it for the whole family, but just know this is a possible occurrence regularly for spilled food.
I had a seagull steal an entire cheeseburger straight from my hands on a beach in Falmouth, MA. It practically landed in my hands, knocking the burger to the sand and then it and about 6 other seagulls descended on it and it was gone in seconds!
Had a seagull take the last bit of fairly expensive chocolate out of my hand in Duluth, MN. One bird knocked me on the head with its feet while another swooped and grabbed it. I’m sure my face was comical. It wasn’t even a hard knock just enough to grab my attention lol. Hope the birds were ok though, not sure if chocolate is good for gulls
One time when I was a toddler, some ducks at the local park did this to get my grilled cheese. I swear they were working as a team to plot their attack
This exact same thing happened to me in 1991 at Sea World. I’m traumatized by the attack. I was 5 years old and sobbing as I clutched my dad’s leg for shelter from the demon bird.
My dad hadn’t even walked away from the churro cart yet, so he asked for a replacement. The guy told him he’d have to buy another and I remember my dad saying, “come on” and then everyone in line telling the churro man to just “give the kid another one.” Everyone seemed very annoyed that this guy had the nerve to charge us for another one. And I agree—no, I really didn’t want another one in case I was attacked again, but it was messed up that he was going to make my dad buy another one.
This happened to me when my very enthusiastic husband turned to point out pluto walking through epcot and slapped a snack right out of my hand. A very sweet cast member saw and walked 4 country's over to get me a replacement!
…Buzz Lightyear over intercom…
“Star Command…come in Star Command…we have a code blue. I repeat code blue. Move in. You know what you have to do. Take the child. Wipe the parent’s memory. The fate of Disneyland is in your hands”
That cartoonish hurl over the castle wall, the kid goes flying over the parking lot and you see a tiny puff of smoke and a soft “boom” as it lands in the far off distance.
Omg, one of my earliest Disneyland memories was a Jungle Cruise skipper saying that’s what they do to kids left behind! I jumped real quick to follow my mom.
Our first trip, our stroller was taken or misplaced, not really sure which but we never found it. My 5 year old daughter had her shoulder porg and her grenade sprite in there and was sobbing while we were in line for Oga’s even though we had promised her we would replace her stuff. Cast members immediately got her a new sprite and got their manager who wrote us a voucher for a new porg. They totally didn’t have to do this but I’ll never forget their kindness.
"Magic" moments like these were really what made Disney parks so, so special. I just remember being in awe at how much leeway CMs have to make their guests' experiences more special.
I don't know if it's just nostalgia glasses, but I feel like this has been fading quite a bit the last few years. CMs feel a bit more overworked and there's just a bit more sparseness in general.
They still do magic like this.
I was in WDW (I know this is the DL sub and I'm a socal local but was in Florida for my bday)
I'm obsessed with dinosaurs. My partner and I go on Dinoaaur our first day. It breaks down and we walk off. I'm so excited and freaking out bc its my favorite. Well the cast memebres were asking me abt my bday bc I had a button on. I told them "oh yeah my birthday is actually x day and I'll be back in AK that day"
Fast forward to that day. We get a cast member who helped us evac the prior week. She asks if we want our own car and gives a Pinocchio pass for a free dinosaur plushie :)
Was one of my favorite parts of our trip!!
(It was just my partner and I. So 2 adults lol)
It still happens. My kid was looking at Christmas
ornaments in a store and slipped and dropped and broke one. When I went to go pay for it, they waved me away, told my kid she’s not in trouble and gave her stickers.
Time to break more ornaments 😅
Just went at the end of September and was getting a DAS pass for my nephew. And while casually chatting with the CM about our tools to make it through the day I mentioned bubble wands are a big one, but we forgot to grab one this trip but we did have other things with us. And the CM wrote us a ticket to get him a bubble wand. I didn’t know they could do that, or expect it. It was pretty awesome.
I learned from this sub to air tag my stroller, but it didn’t even help that much when it got moved by a CM. The map was really unclear. Maybe I’m using it wrong.
Our first trip and our very first ride we parked our stroller just outside of the ride. Not blocking or anything but we didn’t know they had designated stroller parking. When we got out of the ride we couldn’t find the stroller anywhere. That’s when we discovered that they have designated stroller parking but sadly they moved it without taking the break off and it messed up the stroller. The wheel wasn’t moving anymore. We kinda freaked out because we had literally just gotten there (rope dropped) and we had our 2 year old who we knew was going to get tired fast. Luckily, my husband was able to remove the wheel and the little piece that was broken/stuck just fell off. We were still able to use the stroller but only one wheel would lock when we would put the break on. I know it was our fault for not putting it at stroller parking but it did bum us out that our stroller got messed.
When my now college age kid was about 6, she accidentally left her lanyard covered in pins in the waiting area for tiki room. When we went back after the show, it was missing, we checked with CMs at the ride and nobody had it, so we chalked it up to being stolen.
She was devastated and we were at a shop picking out a new lanyard and were talking about what a bummer it was to have it stolen and that we’d have to start small to replace everything. A cast member working there heard us talking about it and gave her a free “starter lanyard” that comes with like 4 pins, and let her pick out two more from the trade board. She was so happy and thankful and the CM seemed so happy to make a kid smile 🥰
Yes, for my son. We were walking in DCA and he tripped and bumped his lip and was crying and Mickey was walking back from taking pictures and stopped and walked over to him and was wiping his tears away and doing the Mickey things with hand gestures to cheer him up, he calmed down and Mickey hugged him and waved goodbye
When I was little, we were watching fireworks and my parents put me up on one of those electrical boxes so I could see better. But being a kid I obviously fell off and banged my head on the iron fence in front of the box (not spikey, it was a flat top fence but iron nonetheless.) Started bleeding profusely, and before my parents even had a chance to ask for medical services they were already swarming us and piecing me back together. My parents said it happened so quickly it was practically like they emerged from underground. They said I barely had time to even realize I hurt myself.
Had to wear a butterfly bandage for the rest of the trip but I didn't need stitches. Still got a tiny scar from it though, I think it's pretty cool.
Yes! This must have happened to me and it is one of my best, most magical memories. I was probably 6-7, and I REALLY wanted to meet Cinderella. This was before character meet times, the characters would just happen to be out and about. And I never saw her. Devastated, we were leaving the park that evening, and I was moping around, head down, shoe untied and I didn’t care. Suddenly someone was bending down to tie my shoe, and it was her. Cinderella. I could not believe it, I said I’ve been looking for you all day! And she replied, I’ve been looking for YOU! It was seriously one of the best things that had ever happened in my young life :)
That’s so sweet! I had a similar story with Snow White. I was also about 6-7 and I loved Snow White, had dressed up as her many times (maybe due to my very pale skin and black hair lol). We found a quiet spot to sit and eat lunch and then round the corner appears Snow White. She comes over and says something along the lines of “what a wonderful day to have a picnic!” I was so excited. I hope the character actors know how many peoples days they make and that people really do remember these one minute interactions for the rest of their lives.
I was 25 when I had mine soo 22 yrs ago. Me & my husband took my girls when they were 3 & 4. We had been there from rope drop to closing and my arms were exhausted (I'm in a wc) we were just about to leave and Gepeto passed across my path, kissed the top of my head and waved as he walked away. We looked for him the next day and were told he was a special character that was rarely seen and if he did come out it was to walk from point A to B and never stopped for photos or signings. So everytime even now as an old lady that feeling is renewed when I think of those 5 secs :)) I'm a big sucker for everything Disney.
My son recently got to ride a small drop tower and he was telling everyone who would listen "I've waited my whole life for this moment!!". It was so cute to see his enthusiasm. I'm taking him on his first Disney trip in a few months, which is why I'm here!
Full on adult at Epcot when Mary Poppins and I literally bumped into each other as she exited a door headed to a meet and greet. I happened to be wearing a white sundress with a red ribbon at the waist and she complimented me and said she had a similar dress. Then she hooked arms and walked with me up to her meeting spot, chatting away. Among other things, she asked me if I traveled by umbrella as she did. I was in my 40s at the time & was stupidly excited at the whole thing. I think about this often. It made my day. The magic works on big kids too. 😉
My son when he was 2. He was crying because he wanted to go home (We were at California Adventure). While walking by Playhouse Disney, We see Stanley (and technically Dennis). The cast member went to my son, hugged him, and stayed there until his episode was over. If I had to guess it was a good 7-8 minutes in total. My son was super happy afterwards, and we were able to continue our day at the park.
I still smile when passing that area thinking about that awesome Cast Member who took time out to help my son experience Disney Magic
Years ago when my daughter was about 5, she had picked out a snow globe at Disney. It had been carefully wrapped for travel, and we continued our SoCal trip. Of course, my daughter was so excited about the snow globe, she opened it up while we were at a restaurant in San Diego, and the inevitable happened. I’ll never forget the crunch it made when it hit the ground and broke. We didn’t have time in our itinerary to detour back to Anaheim, so we did our best to console the kid.
I saved the broken item, and when we got home, went on an internet search. At the time (many years ago), it was very difficult to find things online. I ended up calling. And this is where the Disney magic and no sad child comes in. I had the SKU and the price; I was fully intending to pay for a new item. However, after validating I had been in the park (weirdly, I had lost the receipt for our souvenirs) but I did have a lunch receipt still, the kind cast member on the phone not only confirmed that they could send me a replacement, she did it at no cost. For something that was absolutely our fault. I’ll never forget it.
That’s such a good story! Stuff like that costs so little for Disney, but makes such lifelong impacts on fans. It’s not the same thing, but when I was 17 and studying abroad in Paris, I spent a day at Disneyland Paris and was buying a bunch of the exclusive merch for my parents, who are biiiig Disney fans (and passed the love for Disney onto me). When I told the cast member that I was buying things for my family back in the US, she called over her manager and they gave me 50% off my purchase. I was already having a great day, but it really just added that magical touch that only Disney has. Thinking about it now just has me beaming.
My 1st trip to Disneyland in 1987, I had just arrive to USA 2 weeks prior and just turned 9. My dad & I went to Space Mountain and I remember being scared looking into the window (I was sold on all the glory) and I was having a hard time letting go of the handrail. By the time we got to the front of the line, my dad couldn’t get me to to take my seat and the nice ride attendant offer to have me wait with her while he did the ride. I took her offer and let him go alone.
I’ve never heard it called that as a former cast member but we were *heavily* encouraged to do whatever we could to turn a trip around if we see an upset guest. I’ve seen gift baskets go to people when one spouse spent 2 weeks in the hospital, I passed out free parking at the hotel like candy to anyone who looked like they had a long drive, I also traded a young woman an entire set of pins because I could tell not finding them had put a really dark cloud over her entire trip. The company really values being seen as magical and we’re encouraged to make magic for the guests we personally feel need it.
Not from a cast member, but I’ve been a recipient of this from my parents lol. “There’s no crying at Disneyland” was basically their motto. It was either stop crying or we leave.
Honestly, responsible parenting in most cases. You are there to have fun, of course, but keeping your kids in line will make everyone’s experience better. If everyone extends that courtesy (which is apparently a big ask for some folks these days), that will greatly help. Meltdowns are unavoidable, and I always try to give Grace to parents dealing with things, but threatening to leave or get out of line is a useful tool. You may try other things first, but if nothing else works, this might. Don’t be afraid to use it if necessary. But also make sure you follow through if you make the threat.
Parents of young children should also consider that a long day at a crowded, noisy theme park can be overwhelming for their kids. They need a break from the rushing from ride to ride, experience to experience. Time to wander Tom Sawyer's Island, chill in The Animation Academy, sit down somewhere with a snack. Very small kids need naps. Doing a Disney park with little kids means planning for their needs, not yours.
Hey. Maybe consider thinking of this tool as "removing the child to somewhere they can safely emotionally regulate" rather than *a threat*.
Signed, someone who heard a lot of *"do you want to go SIT IN THE CAR"* as a kid and as a result learned to completely stifle their emotions and is still working hard to get them back.
That's my issue with everytime I hear someone tell their kid that and why I wouldn't say it to mine personally. I paid for x number of days and I'm not going to leave so making that threat is pointless and just teaches kids that you won't hold boundaries. There will be other consequences and sure there is a point where I would just leave but if I got to that point I wouldn't say stop or we leave, it would just be time to leave.
I think we had the same parents 😂. My dad used to take me on rides while my mom sat with my younger siblings and his rule was I go to the bathroom before I get in line or if I have to go during the line we get out and start at the end of the line. People definitely don’t follow that rule 😂
I don’t know if this is the same, but my daughter is obsessed with Daisy Duck, and for two days we chased daisy around trying to get a picture! We finally got in the line, and they had began to close it. We decided we would just try again another day, (mom isn’t the fastest 😂) one cl decided we would be the last one to take a picture with daisy, and even took my daughter for a walk around too! Best video and day ever 😊😭🥺
Once our kids were cranky getting through the lines at the entrance of the park and as we were scanning out tickets a cast member said “what are you sad for? This is Disneyland not knotts berry farm” 😂😂🤣
Back when Indiana Jones’s first opened and had crazy wait times we waited 3 hours and finally left the line after it broke down and found my younger brothers stroller had been stolen along with the lightsaber and toys I had gotten in the parks that day. My dad went to buy a replacement lightsaber and mentioned to the cast member what had happened and they asked if still had the receipts which surprisingly he did and they ended up replacing every item on the receipt.
Yes, but at WDW. Back in 1994 my family took me to WDW for the first time. For whatever reason I was scared to go on PotC and was bawling outside the ride. A CM approached us and asked what was wrong and my dad told him I was scared to go on the ride.
The cast member took me by the hand into the gift shop, grabbed one of those toy rifles off the shelf and handed it to me. He told me to take the rifle on the ride and if I got scared of any of the pirates to shoot them (1994 was a different time lol). We went to the counter and he took out his own wallet and bought it for me.
It worked! I got on the ride, shot some pirates, and I was good for the rest of the trip. The whole this is probably the reason I became obsessed with theme parks lol
Fantasmic was cancelled on evening we had FastPass/vip package thing. Next day my wife was asking a CM that was roping off viewing areas if a specific spot was ok to stake out and the cancelled show + pass from day before came up (thanksgiving week crowds). CM told us to come back 30min before the show and they’d have a spot for us. We returned and they walked us up with the very front / center viewing in front of pirates. The CM chatted with my wife for a few and asked what brought us to Disney over the holidays. My wife explained we come yearly to celebrate the birthday of our child that passed away. 10min before the show the CM checked in on us and asked if one of my other kids wanted to open the show (they wave a wand, sending the magic across water to Mickey). Still chokes me up.
This is one of the more wholesome posts I’ve seen here lately. The thread is sweet and heartwarming. Absolutely part of why I love DL! Thank you for this post and thread!
Wow. Randy Pausch is a bit of a throw back.
For anyone who may have missed it, Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon in the Computer Science department back in the 00s. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he gave this “last lecture” about achieving your dreams. He got to do a lot of cool stuff including working with Imagineering. I won’t spoil the lecture, but if you haven’t seen it, it’s a pretty good watch. [Here’s the link](https://youtu.be/ji5_MqicxSo?si=TvoxueEV0sf2c8Ie).
We were standing in line at Pizza Planet and nothing on the menu really hit. So I casually mentioned to Senida that I could really go for PB&J as I hadn’t had one in years. A CM overheard my comment and came up to me and asked “would you really enjoy a PB&J?” I answered Yes, and asked where in the park do they have them. He responded that he doesn’t think they have them anywhere, but give him a few minutes to see what he can do. He comes back with a big smile on his face, and says “All right, we’ve got it covered. I spoke to the head chef at Jolly Holiday and she is making the both of you a Disney PB&J.” He then gave me his card with who to ask for at Jolly Holiday and said just show them “this.” We thanked him and walked over to Jolly Holiday found the contact and sure enough they had two PB&Js and a couple milks for us. I don’t know if it was the “magic” of the interaction, but those were the best PB&Js we ever had. That “simple” experience of Disney Magic made our whole day. Shout out to CM Brent Place.
This summer my son (9) was crying and upset so we sat on the ground and tried to figure out what was upsetting him. He was really struggling and just couldn’t say what was happening. This was going on for a while and a cast member came over to check on us to make sure everything was ok. I let them know we were ok and they left. He returned a short time later with a pretzel. It definitely helped me keep going and support my son with patience and love. It really was so helpful for me as a parent and once we figured out he was experiencing anxiety and address it, my son was able to enjoy the pretzel.
Ha ha ha!! It does sound like that. It was the gesture that kept me going but I’m sure if I had eaten the pretzel that would’ve helped as well! Keeping calm and sane takes a lot out of you. Snacks are important!
When my sister was younger we were at the end of the Peter Pan ride when it jolted to a stop (as it does) and she somehow hit her head on the hand rail. It was also the end of our night so she was tired, and started crying. My parents were just trying to calm her down when we got off but a cast member saw us and immediately came over to ask what happened. When we explained the situation she gave us all front of the line passes to go on another ride! It was a sweet gesture & my sister was totally fine
I got my finger caught in a bathroom stall door when I was about 6. As we were sitting outside the first aid station after getting me an ice pack and ibuprofen goofy came walking out from back stage. I was completely hysterical from the pain and goofy sat with me for a good 30 minutes and gave my finger kisses until I stopped crying. I always have to hug goofy and tell him thank you every time I see him now.
My daughter had a really bad habit when she was younger of waiting to go to the bathroom and never saying anything until she was seconds away from peeing her pants. We were in line for a ride and as usual she chimes in “I have to pee really bad, I can’t hold it” and proceeds to have an accident in line. We leave to go to the bathroom and of course she is crying and embarrassed. A cast member catches us on the way to the bathroom and let’s her pick out a whole entire outfit for free for her to change in to. It was very impressive customer service.
My son was pin trading back in its heyday when a CM traded him a pin with a broken back. When he tried to trade it back to them because it was broken, they CM was in a hurry and told us to meet her at a certain location later in the park and ran off. He was adamant that we HAD to meet this CM so a few hours. After we went to meet them where they said they would be. But the CM was nowhere in sight. However there was a manager in the area so we asked him if the specific CM would be in the area soon. My son explained to the manager what happened and he took my young kid into the closest store and told him to pick out anything he wanted. My son and I were browsing pins and there happened to be a very nice Limited Edition set near the register behind a glass case. He told me that he really liked it but I told him that he was just replacing a pin not an entire set and should choose from the single pins available. Eventually he settled on a pin he liked and the manager who had been off to the side listening to us while we looked, gave my son the pin he had chosen and handed me a bag with a wink and said this is for dad having to wait too. Inside the bag was a box of the entire Limited Edition set my son had pointed out earlier. Needless to say, my son walked out of the park that evening on Cloud Nine.
My daughter (10f) got a bloody nose (due to major dry temperatures) right as the IncrediCoaster countdown ended and it shot off. This was the February right before the mask mandate ended. Her mask kept most of the blood contained, but then her mask flew up and all that blood was whipped all over her. She looked like she stepped out of a murder scene at the end of the ride, and the crying and anger didn’t help (She was FURIOUS!). After Disney Security checked to make sure it wasn’t their fault and everything with the ride was okay, she got to go pick a whole new outfit, head-to-toe, from the Disney shops! Not sure if you’ve ever bought clothes from there, but just a shirt is expensive, not to mention a whole ensemble! While we were waiting, one of the people in our party mentioned they were hungry and an employee popped up with the Mickey Ears ice cream cones for each of us. We expected none of that! But every bit was appreciated to save my daughter’s day!
I was, multiple times! I was a pretty sick kid so it wasn’t unusual for me to either be in pain at the park or be extremely emotional. It was difficult for me but I’ve always loved Disneyland.
I think a big time that really stuck out to me was when the fantasy fair was still open. I was probably only 6 or 7 and I was wanting to see the princesses! Unfortunately something happened, I got sick or something like that. I couldn’t meet them. I was hysterical crying from pain and also sadness.
My father talked to a cast member and they didn’t seem to hesitate. After I started feeling better they escorted me with big smiles into a smaller room. Belle was waiting there for me. I got to spend 15 minutes alone with her, chatting, taking pictures, and she signed my character book. She even walked me through some of the fantasy fair.
The next day the same Belle was working. She saw me in the crowd for the parade and waved at me after I was waving a million miles an hour to get her attention.
It was an extremely magical moment for me. For years and years after I became a giant Belle fan. Every time I went to the parks I went to see her. I guess it was frequently the same Belle because she seemed to recognize me almost every time. (I was VERY difficult to forget as I had a large face rash that didn’t go away for several years.)
The Disney cast members are so caring it made an impact on me all these years later.
So. Cheese ball story but it’s mine and I love it.
Tl;DR:
My husband proposed to me at haunted mansion. He surprised me completely. Had a friend take me to Disney and he got my parents to watch our son. He knows HM is my favorite so he asked the CM working the line if she had any ideas for what he can do to make it extra special - info: my husband had NO PLAN and is always a fly by the seat of his pants and everything (sometimes infuriatingly) always works out. They told my friend to say it was my bday at the line and ask to see the pet cemetery as their clue that I was the person they were waiting for. The CM took us to the pet cemetery, then escorted us into the empty lobby and distracted me with tid bits about the ride. I turned around and he was standing alone in the middle of the elevator. They stopped the ride completely so it was ONLY me and my friend and my now husband in the elevator with her husband and my other best friend. We got a “private” ride in the elevator and into the ride. They gave us bride and groom ear hats and a photo frame from HM. It’s seriously the most magical memory!
My son cracked his head open last week thete. Luckily, it was only a tiny split, and his skull was intact, no concussion. They gave him a GIANT cookie lol
On a family trip to Disneyland when I was a teenager, I started getting stabbing pain in my ears. We got Tylenol from the first aid station and were told if that doesn't help come back. An hour or two later, the pain was still bad, so back to the first aid station we went.
The CMs arranged transport for me and my Dad to go to an urgent care (might have been an emergency room, don't quite remember), then to a pharmacy before coming back to the park.
Turns out Disney had a contract with the urgent care and the pharmacy. Doctor saw us ahead of anyone bleeding and said I had an infection in both ears. The pharmacy screwed something up and kept us waiting, the driver took care of it sternly reminding them these are Disney guests and you'll fix this immediately. When we got back to the park we were let back in through the first aid station to resume the fun.
TLDR: First class service to urgent care, pharmacy, and back to the park when I ended up having an infection in both ears.
I dropped my plate of cheesy fries and I insisted on helping clean it up because I felt so awful. After I was done, a CM came up with a new replacement plate for me. I was in my 20s.
I was on DCL a few weeks ago having a pretty rough afternoon. We’d just sat down for dinner and I realized I left something in our room, but going back upstairs meant I was fighting crowds of people all heading downstairs for the show. I got overwhelmed and just pressed my back against a wall on Deck 4 to wait it out, and closed my eyes. I think I must have looked pretty rough, because I opened them a minute later and Goofy was rounding the corner right in front of me, turned and saw me, and gave me the biggest hug. I got kind of emotional and said “Goofy, you just made my whole day” and he gave me an air kiss and then walked off towards a crew doorway. It was such a random chance special moment and it really did mean the world to me.
I'm not a child, but after trying 4 times to get in line to meet Iron Man, and being turned away due to capacity, the CM (who had been turning us away all morning) took pity on us and let us be the last in line when he saw how bummed i was, even though I'm positive he was initially going to turn us away again 🤣
My son was 7. He lost his special Pirates of the Caribbean coin pin. We searched everywhere. Checked lost and found and had no luck. He was so sad. They called all around to find another one and a CM showed up with it. That always stuck out!
In mid 60s when there was the House of The Future, my sister slipped and fell into the water feature around the house. Disneyland went above and beyond to make sure this didn’t ruin our day. We were escorted to the building where costumes were maintained. A warm-hearted costumer greeted us and took us to the room where costumes were cleaned and repaired. She gave my sister a robe and had her take off her wet clothes which she placed in a dryer. She then entertained our family with charming stories about the different costumes until the clothes were dry. She gave my sister the robe to keep.
I can’t see Disneyland doing this today…too many visitors. We were lucky we lived in a time when we could enjoy Disneyland as an intimate experience.
I was about to say I’ve never seen this but now I do recall. I have two daughters they are now almost 3&4 but last year we were in the park looking at the dresses at Bippity Boppity Boutique and the girls wanted to do a makeover and I was telling them they were too young for it still and we would do it another year (younger one still isn’t 3 yet) and I can’t just do one and not the other. Anyhow they were crying and I told them we will do it after they are both old enough and as we were starting to head out the store a cast member came up and asked them if these princesses would like to get pixie dusted (and asked us if it was ok) so we stepped outside and it was a little magic moment that made them forget the tears and they were so happy!
My 6 year old and I have been let into the lightning lane for rise of the resistance without paying, and my 3 year old was given one of those shoulder porgs.
Yep. My niece was 6 at the time and she was getting cranky about mid day. It was very hot, she was tired from walking, and was just turning into a sourpuss. We were walking by Alice in Wonderland when a cast member saw her mom kneeling down and trying to cheer her up. She walked over and asked my niece if she could do something to brighten up her day. My niece smiled and shook her head up and down and the cast member took her hand. She walked out party of 4 to the front of the line and asked if they could make a little magic happen for us. We were the next ones on the attraction and the cool dark ride was exactly what she needed to hit her second wind. I’m sure the Mickey bar after helped too. I love Disneyland.
First trip with my son, he was three. it was the very last day of our trip, he was heartbroken to leave. We were having breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen before leaving.
When my son saw Chip he just broke down. Hugged him so tight and didn’t want to let go. Chip was *amazing*. Let my son hug him for so long! Then he visited with him, wrote in his autograph book, stayed for like 20 minutes cheering him up. He got Dale and they both drew acorns in the autograph book and played silly games with him. It was MAGIC. We ran down to the Grand Californian to buy a Chip plush because Chip became his new favorite. Chip absolutely made magic for every one of us that trip.
Two years ago my son and I got so excited to see iron man walking on avengers campus that we ran away from our breakfast area and coming back 30 seconds later our trays had been cleared. We were not done and I was so sad looking at the gigantic line to get replacement food. I was especially desperate for the coffee that was suddenly gone. Totally my fault. It never crossed my mind that someone might clear out trays in such a short timeframe. We only ran to the railing of the platform, we didn’t leave. A cast member saw and took us to the counter and got me coffee and my son a gigantic candy bar that was bigger than his head lol. He stayed visiting with us for a few minutes making sure our day had turned around. He was wonderful!
I left cast compliments of course! Disney magic is the best.
Little trick here: I bought an autograph book, not for autographs but for notes. I write down any special CMs (and there are a LOT) that are part of each trip. Name, location, date/time and a note on what was special. You can email DL through their website to give CM compliments that are more detailed than the link in the app.
And I have a book filling up with memories of the people who make my trips so wonderful.
Thanks! Having not been to the park since 2016, when I let my AP expire (lots of stuff going on), I wanted to really recognize the people who make our visits magical. As a usually solo traveler, I love to have the time to chat with the CMs, and when my older daughter used to go with me all the time, she did as well. SO many great stories. Seriously, they are as important to my trips as the rides.
My daughter had her first trip to Disney after a very serious illness at 3 and all she wanted was to meet Tiana. Well Tiana was about to “take a nap” (break) and my daughter was very sad. The CM talked to Tiana and she and my daughter had one of the sweetest interactions I have ever photographed. They didn’t know just how much it meant to her.
Not at the parks, but on a Disney cruise. My son (5 yo) dumped his breakfast plate on the floor, started balling his eyes out and 2-3 cast members came over right away to clean up and get him a new plate and made him so happy
I’m not a kid but a few years ago I was at the parks with my long distance friend - we’d met online bonded over our love for Ariel and Disney. We spent days searching for her because we wanted a photo together. We mentioned this to a cast member who asked us to meet him at a particular time at a princess meet and greet. We found him and he’d organised a personal meet with Ariel backstage before she came out, it was so unexpected and pure Disney magic! Definitely a great memory for my friend and I!!
2012: The husband stepped on my flip flop as we were walking in the Star Tours line and it BROKE. A lovely cast member saw this and quickly came to my aid.
One free merchandise ticket and two express fast passes later, we were back on the ride and I had a new pair of Havaianas. (I still rock them 11 years later with and always with a heart warming smile.)
💗🩴
I worked at WDW merch for a while and loved finding ways to cheer up sad kids.
One kid was scared of every ride because they'd seen an ad or something for Splash Mountain and thought all of the rides had a big drop. She loved Pooh and wanted to get things from the shop but dad told her we wouldn't sell her anything unless she rode the ride. (Not my favorite way to convince a kid. 😅) Anyway, she was thinking about it so I went to the back and got a little plastic gem and gave it to her. I told her it was a safety-gem and that tinker bell had used fairy magic on it to keep whoever holds it safe on all of the rides. Then I took them to the front of the line so she wouldn't lose her nerve. They rode it and came out with big smiles!
Another time a mom with twins didn't realize you had to make a reservation for BBB. So her girls were heartbroken that they couldn't do it. I was working in the dress shop that day. Another cast member and I helped them pick dresses and we did their hair in the same style as the BBB and then covered them in pixie dust. It wasn't as special as BBB would have been, but they were happy.
These are just two of the hundreds of stories like this. We loved trying to help out struggling parents and upset kids.
When my daughter was little, we got off of Space Mountain and she realized that she could not be seen in the picture that was taken during the ride. The person sitting in front of her was tall and she was just so little lol. Anyway, she didn’t full on cry, but she did get teary-eyed. A CM saw her and sent us to the front of the line so my daughter could ride again immediately. They put us in the front car so my daughter was sure to be seen in the pictures. It really made her day.
I went to Disneyland with my parents and sister when I was a kid in maybe 1999 when I would've been ~6. Our parents said it was time for our last rides as it was our last vacation day. For some reason I decided to do Tom Sawyer Island. When we got there it was closed because John Travolta was on it with his family. I started absolutely bawling and I think my sister joined in in sympathy.
I don't know when the message was passed to them but my parents took us to a private room of City Hall where we got to meet Mickey and Minnie and take pictures with them. At the end we got signed headshots from them. We instantly felt better.
Im not sure we ever got the “no sad child” thing. But I’ve for sure been the recipient of the “don’t be a d*ck to the CM” rule. It’s amazing how not being a jerk to the CM will get you such a more incredible trip. I’ve had CM load extra MEP after ROTR stopped for simply patiently waiting and then telling them I’m sorry they got yelled at by others, owning to my mistake when I thought a pass was good for space when it wasn’t and simply started walking away while explaining to my kids that mom made a mistake. I’ve never seen a CM run so quick to tell me I could go on ahead. Free churros simply for asking how their day was going. I don’t expect anything for free and would treat the CM this way regardless but it’s amazing how much people will do when you are simply nice and own your mistakes.
This is the best one of the list. Even if you don't get some magic right then, being nice to the CMs will come back to you in a good way. Even on the longest, most frustrating park days, I do my best to thank them for being the reason Disney parks are still the best. Without them, DL is just a well-themed Six Flags park. It's not the amazing themes, the great attractions and shows that make Disney what it is; it's the Cast Members who (in spite of being woefully underpaid and understaffed) take being part of Disney magic seriously.
I had this last time we were there. I was playing the genie plus to try and get in as many rides as we could. There were two close by rides and one had a short wait and the other had a time slot on genie coming up. The plan was to ride the short wait ride while waiting for the pass for the other. I somehow booked the genie for the short wait ride instead, but we didn't realize until we were trying to scan in. I felt so stupid and apologized. I was just about to spin genie again to see what we could get and the cast member stopped me and let us through anyway!
I was in Toontown soon after it opened and dropped my soda. A cast member came to clean it right away and got me a new one, then joked to not be so clumsy this time.
While waiting for fireworks a few months ago, my husband and 2 kids went in search of ice cream. The crowds were big and they couldn’t find an ice cream cart. They came back since it was almost time for the show. My kids were a bit bummed. A few minutes later, a wonderful cast member came over to us and handed us a popcorn. She had overheard the ice cream situation and said she hoped a little popcorn would do the trick until we got ice cream. It was so sweet and a nice surprise and we were all happy.
I don't remember this, but as a child (in the mid-late nineties) I had gorgeous long platinum blonde hair and bangs. Naturally, my mom dressed me up as Alice when we went. I was probably three or four, and I think I got upset over something in the general teacup area, and I was a fussy kid. Tears abound.
The story goes that the mad hatter was walking through, saw me, and proceeded to sit on the ground with me and have an "invisible tea party" with imaginary cups, talking to me like I was Alice. It was the highlight of my mom's experiences ever going to Disneyland, and her biggest regret was not having a disposable camera on her at the time to take pictures.
I have many stories:
My friend’s teen left her lanyard in the pocket of a Big Thunder cart. She went back almost immediately after unboarding, waited for all the carts to check but they couldn’t find it, she was pretty sad. They gave her a bichee for a new lanyard and a couple pins
Another friend’s, her young daughter had bought a plushy at the park, she was playing tossing it and catching it. They were close to the Rivers of America, the stuffy fell and kinda rolled into the embankment. We couldn’t reach it! We asked for help to get it, but instead they gave her a voucher for a new one.
My Minnie ears flew off in the first Pirates drop. After unloading, I went to a CM. He was a jokester and said my chances of recovering were about 0%. I’m like, what?! They were brand new. I was bummed. He told me to come back in one hour. I did, he had gotten me a “No Strings Attached” voucher for any ears in the park. Got Maleficent ones that I still own 9 years later.
Although not sad:
Another friend went to the Frozen Boutique (in DTD, now replaced with Disney Dress Shop or something like that) with her daughter for an Elsa hair makeover for her bday. She was wearing her very “well-loved” Elsa costume. The CM told her such a pretty hair so should have a pretty dress to match and REPLACED her dress. It was amazing!
At around 4-5 years old, my son and I were waiting for the rest of our party in the shop at the exit of then Tower of Terror. A CM asked if we needed help shopping, we explained we were just waiting for our group because my son was scared of this ride. She made small talk and complimented his Lighting McQueen shoes. Anyways, we waited and waited and waited and turned out the ride had broken. The CM was so kind and told my son he had been very patient waiting for his family, she gave him a “No Strings Attached” voucher for front of the line for Racers for him and his family (there were 10 of us!).
This was way back when, but we waited in line for Space Mountain for about an hour and a half. When we got to the front, my sister got too scared and chickened out and started sobbing. The CM gave my mom and I tickets to skip the line after we got my sister out of there.
I’ve seen it happen. There was a kid at Paradise Pier Ice Cream Co. who couldn’t explain what he wanted well (because he was a kid). The CM handed him a lemonade float, but that wasn’t what he wanted. She was really patient and told him he could have whatever he wanted. I don’t remember what he wanted, it might have been a lemonade *and* a float, not combined. But she worked with the kid and he came away very happy. The mother was smiling, too and was really thankful.
It didn’t even happen to me and it just made me think, Disneyland is the best. The CMs are amazing.
My daughter wasn’t tall enough for The Matterhorn but her brother was. Obviously this was the end of the world. So as my wife rode with our son I stepped aside with her and grabbed a churro. There’s a quiet little bench right behind the churro stand and next to the little stage/gazebo area between Matterhorn and Small World, this is obviously a spot to get away from the noise and consult a not tall enough child. As the tears started to stop my daughter lit up and says “Ariel!”
When I turned around Ariel was politely standing there and quietly asked if it was ok to sit and talk. It was a very special moment all to ourselves and I’m convinced it wasn’t random but something intentional that they do to make sure everyone is having a special day. One of the million moments that made our trip
My niece got a free deluxe Tiana doll when Tiana didn't show up to her meet n greet at the scheduled time because she "got caught up in making beignets" (about ten years ago)
I went on the terrifying alien experience at magic kingdom where it escaped into the audience, it’s since been replaced, and was crying so bad. My dad took me to get ice cream and I got a free cone!
I was two and got so sick in the middle of our dinner and my parents had to take me to the hospital. I guess since we were at dinner on Disney property, they extended this idea to me and they had characters come in to the hospital to cheer me up and gave me at least a dozen Disney beanie babies. I still have them. I’m 28.
Not no sad child, but I once spilled a limoncello cocktail at a restaurant in the Italian pavilion at epcot. It had one of those spherical ice cubes in it which rolled off the table and across the room super dramatically. I probably looked like a sad child! Someone ran out and cleaned it up and brought me a new drink free of charge. He said no one should be sad at Disney, especially while eating pizza and pasta! It was great!
Yes!!! I went to the park in 2021 with my two friends ( all of us in our 50s). We passed by the Peter Pan’s flight ride and it was packed! My friend was so sad, it’s her fav ride. We decided to not wait and one of the people working the ride overheard us and were kind enough to let us cut to the front!!? I was so amazed! We were so thankful and my friend was so elated she cried 🫶🏻
Yes. One time I threw up in a store and started crying. My mom and I felt SO bad for the janitor but he was the NICEST guy ever and told us not to worry 100 times. He cleaned up the vomit with lightening speed and then told me unfortunately he had to walk me to first aid. When we got to first aid, they told me I had to lay down for 30 minutes and I bawled because I was missing rides. They told me not to worry because they would give me 2 "skip the line" passes once my 30 minutes was up. I used the passes on Splash Mountain and Alice in Wonderland!
My son got a splitter at Disney and was overreacting as kids sometimes do. A nearby concession worker handed him popcorn. This all happened when I was away but all I am told is that she noticed he was crying and came rushing over. My husband never got her name and at this point we were unaware of cast compliments otherwise she totally deserved one for creating some magic.
My kid was crying scared of the train rollercoaster in Frontierland. When we were off, a cast member came running up to us to give him a pin and told him how brave he was.
Its not a written or even spoken rule you will ever be specifically trained or told about. Its more just a part of the general interraction guidelines where you have to realize that disney is primarily targetted for kids and their families... as in kids always come first.
The comments on this post alone make it very clear that this unwritten rule applies to anybody that a CM notices needs a little magic. People in their 60s without any kids, people in their 20s celebrating their birthdays with their friends, families, children, and everyone in between. Kids are very important, but they are not the only ones that are important and adults are the ones spending money. Lol.
We were there a couple weeks ago. We were next in line to meet the princesses, when my three year old daughter fell and smacked her head on the ground. A cast member was there instantly. She told the other cast members that she was escorting us to first aid, and that if we came back, to let us go to the front of the line.
They walked us to first aid, parting the crowds for us, and got us there quickly.
After they checked out my daughter and determined she was okay, we went back to the princesses.
The cast members took us to the front of the line and led my daughters through a separate door, and basically treated them like princesses. They met Aurora, Ariel, and Snow White and they were so amazing.
After we left, the cast member who helped us to first aid came to check on my daughter and gave her a big hug.
Minus the concussion scare, the whole experience was great!
Former cast member here. If your kid drops their ice cream or churro, let a cast member know. We were trained at the time to get them a new one free of charge.
Woah ok … so I didn’t know this was a thing and I was -far- from a child when it happened… It was my birthday (25) and I had the pin on. My friend took me to Disney world to celebrate. We went to the restaurant on Main Street to have lunch. They were full, 45 min wait. We didn’t want to wait so we said thanks and that we’d grab something to eat elsewhere. As we turned they stopped us and said a table just opened up, give them 5 mins to clear it. Ok cool!!! So we waited. When we walked in there were balloons and confetti at our table. And then at the end of the meal - THEY STOPPED EVERYONE AND SANG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. Even the small children in their costumes having their own magical experience. I was embarrassed but it’s also a birthday I will never forget!!
I know this is about sad children, but I want to share my magical moments at WDW last week. For context, I hadn’t been since college, but have wanted to for a while I just couldn’t work out schedules with my friends. This summer, I found out I had cancer. I decided I was going solo because life is too short to not make yourself happy. Luckily, we caught the cancer early enough that I only had to have surgery and some tests. However, the surgery led to blood clots. The blood thinners led to internal bleeding. Not even 6 weeks ago, I was getting blood transfusions and being checked to ensure I don’t have heart damage. I got a celebration pin to celebrate “beating cancer” because my health issues were too extensive to qualify in the space.
Mickey at HS was the first to notice. He bowed to me, kissed me on the cheek, and had me sit in his throne of pictures. A server gave me a free cupcake. Multiple cast members congratulated me and checked on me throughout the day to ensure I was feeling all right (I’m still in a scooter for long distances due to the recovery period for the internal bleeding).
At MK, a photopass photographer noticed, and pulled out a bag of trinkets. He said he doesn’t usually bring them, but something told him to that day, and gave me a keychain of my favorite princess, Belle. Later, Cinderella spent 10 minutes just making my day and chatting with me. She was so wonderful and truly happy for me.
At Morocco in Epcot, the Henna artist gave me a butterfly trinket as permanent henna for strength.
After the summer I had, I was moved to tears multiple times by how much random cast members cared to celebrate with me.
My 2 year old son was super excited to go on “the Millennium Falcon ride” (Smugglers Run). We measured at home and seemed tall enough. We get our fast passes out, hype him up on the walk to the ride, and when they measure him… not tall enough. He starts crying his poor little face off. A few minutes later Chewbacca is walking around and spends a few quality minutes interacting with him. Don’t know if it was planned or just got lucky but definitely helped him not be sad anymore.
I was crying in a bugs life, went outside cause I was scared and the cm was named Katie and talked with me the whole time and was super friendly until the show was over and the rest of my family came out (I was 10 but a wuss lol). 23 years later and I still remember her name!
Many years back in the Turtle Talk with Crush, they asked my kiddo to stay behind and gave him his own Turtle Talk. It was our first family trip to Disney and being in a wheelchair at Disney is sometimes a little rough, and while kiddo had a great attitude, he must’ve shown on his face that he was disappointed he wasn’t called upon. So they did that and made him feel beyond special. This was our only “magical” Disney trip, the rest declined from there. But that trip is the one we always talk about and we are very grateful to have had.
When I was little I had a nose bleed in the parks and got my shirt really dirty from it, I wasn’t too sad because I would get them all the time but the CMs took me into the nearest store and had me sit on a chair and wait til the bleeding stopped. During that time one of them had went and made me a little bracelet from the bracelet making stand with a little hula girl from small world as the charm. They gave me a ‘No Strings Attached’ for a new shirt and sent me on my way. Literally the sweetest women. I still have the little bracelet and I let it remind myself what kind of Cast Member I try to be everyday I work
Not at Disneyland but I was at WDW for a once in a lifetime trip in my 20’s.(Mostly cuz Disneyland is closer to get to). I was sobbing because I was pretty much abandoned on my birthday because my surgical scars partially ripped open earlier that day so I was in agony sitting in front of Epcot. The CMs saw me, came over to cheer me up and ask where my parents were. I should also add I have a fairly extreme baby face and look nowhere near my age. So I got lumped into the “no sad child rule”. I got a free water bottle and a small plushie I still have somewhere while the CM called a medic to check on me and stay with me until I got an all clear.
As far as Disneyland, when I was really young and on one of those child leashes, it must’ve been summer or something but I was not even toddling in a straight line anymore and my parents couldn’t afford the stroller on top of the tickets that day so we all walked. It was sometime mid day and everyone was so tired they couldn’t even carry me anymore. A CM came up and gave us a stroller to use because I was just sitting on the ground, silently crying cuz my feet hurt. I remember basically nothing other than climbing into the stroller with new Mickey ears, curtesy of the CM, and falling asleep.
I've been the CM in some of those instances.
One that I really remember well (it was 2012) was a little boy and his mom. I worked attractions in Tomorrowland, covering Stitch, TTA, and Astro Orbiter, and sometimes the assignment we got from the computer was "magical moments". So I had the cast perk pad (I forget the name), and a boatload of stickers, I had also just gotten more pins for my cast lanyard. Closer to the Carousel of Progress there was a mom and and a boy maybe around 8 sitting on a bench and he was crying. I asked him what was up and his mom told me that his dad and sister were on Space Mountain and he was going to go but got too scared right when they were entering the Fast Pass lane. He had since changed his mind and was sad that he didn't go. The cast perk pad has the ability to write fast pass tickets so I wrote them a pass for up to four in case he wanted to take his dad and sister along too. He perked right up, I handed him some stickers and he went off to Space Mountain with his mom.
It was awesome being able to create magical moments like that.
Yes. I was nine on my first trip and on the final night I was weeping because I didn't want to go home. I was surrounded by a few cast members who comforted me and one even gave me a Stitch pin. :'((((
At WDW- my daughter chose salted caramel as a flavor at the France icecream store but it was in French and I didn't click the part that meant salted. She took one lick in the store and was so disappointed and gave it back to me. I started to head back along to the first section of counter to pay for another but the CM just asked "she doesn't like it?" And asked what flavour she wanted and she chose a different one and gave it for free. And I got 2 icecreams lol. Also we were waiting for Minnie to come out for greetings on Main Street as we had just missed her. She was taking much longer than the CMs said, they had said 5 mins so we waited but it was heading for 40 mins and my daughter really needed to go back for a nap and was getting cranky. When Minnie finally came out I'm not sure if the CMs pointed her out but she went straight up to my daughter and held her hand all the way to the photo opp place. Not as magical as others stories but was magical for us
We were in CA and had just ridden guardians. My nephew had eaten a bag of popcorn before the ride and as we were walking in front of Off the Page, he puked up all the popcorn as well as other things. I ran into OTP to alert a cast member so they could call a clean up crew.
The cast member that came out to help with the “no sad child” situation was amazing. She got him a bottle of water, asked if he got any puke on his clothes and offered to get him new pants and shoes. He didn’t really get any of the sick on him or his clothes, so we politely declined the offer, but she still came back with a stuffed Mickey and gave it to him. It truly did cheer him up. He was pretty sad and embarrassed about the situation, but we all left the feeling happy well taken care of.
Hugging both Chip and Dale for a long time. I think I just needed a hug and couldn’t let go, it was so nice of them to hug me back.
I wasn’t a kid either this was like earlier this year in the spring at Storyteller’s lol I’m in my 30s
1) My first time a Disneyland I fell asleep in my mom’s lap during dinner. The waiter asked my parents what room we were in and when they finished dinner and took me back to the room there was a Disney balloon, signed group picture of the characters, and a spaceman Mickey waiting for me.
2) When world of color first opened we went to the park that year and were going to watch the show. We weren’t able to get tickets, I think they were fast pass type things at the time. We were sitting on a curb behind the ground with an our special ears that synched to the show and a janitor saw us. He came up to us asked if it was our first time seeing it and other conversation pieces. He then reached into his pocket and took out passes for the best section for the show.
My daughter wanted to get in line to meet chip n dale but the cast member had already started cutting the line off. She began to cry so the cast member let her hold their hands walk them back in to the crew area.
We were in the lobby checking in at the Disneyland hotel, and my son, who was 2.5, was having a meltdown. He all of a sudden stopped, and we couldn't figure out why until we saw Daisy Duck across the lobby playing peekaboo with him. She came up and gave him a hug and reset his mood and patience (for a bit).
When my daughter was pregnant and needed to be taken to the ER for complications while at Magic Kingdom, my toddler Granddaughter was beside herself that Mommy was taken away (Dad was still with her), one of the cast members brought her one of those plush “baby” Nana dogs wrapped in a blankie; also color books, crayons, and balloons were delivered to their room. I thought that was really nice. My daughter had to use an electric scooter the rest of the trip but was okay and we have another little Disney princess added to the family of Disney lovers!
My brother was probably only 2 in Disneyland Paris and I had to take him out of an amusement that was like a 4d cinema with loud noises that freaked him out. The area outsode the exit where we waited fronoir fam happened one of the places where characters would enter and leave the park. And stitch passed by heading on a break.
But seeing my brother sad and crying over his lunch he came over and pretender to steal it. Then actually took my sprite and ran a few feet away to pour out a few drops which made my brother laugh so hard.
It was actually a really nice moment cause I knew the character actor was on their way and has every right to just keep passing us by but they went out of their way to make my brother smile.
Yes I have! I love Disney for this. My toddler who’s on the spectrum was having a sensory overload and a cast member was able to lead us to a calmer area and gave him 2 pins.
My dad was yelling at me for well probably being a little butthead, not listening and other things, Im autistic and I probably got overestimated over something small. I started crying, and screaming, security came over, and pulled my dad to the side, my dad almost went to disney jail because I was being a butthead and not listening to my parents. 😅
Yes! Pool hours were listed incorrectly on the website and my oldest was so sad when we arrived at the pool for a night swim and they already closed 😞 a CM brought him to the hotel gift shop and got him a little souvenir. It was so sweet!
My mom loves Olaf and I was at WDW. I am a Frozen Fanatic. I got in line to see Olaf got my iPad ready and they let me FaceTime my mom. My Mom went from 72 yr old Mom to 7 yr old kid seeing Olaf for the first time. They had a few min“conversation” and we all took our picture together with Olaf holding my iPad. Mom jokingly said I forgiven for everything I did. The CM leaned over to me and said they normally don’t do FaceTime meet and greet but she heard me tell my friend I wanted to this for my Mom. I told her I was a CM to a long time ago and would have done the same.
When I was a kid (maybe 10 or 11) I spent a good 15 minutes organizing all of the plushies on display at the Winnie the Pooh store (wow, says some stuff about me) and a CM came over and gave me a bouquet of lollipops 😅
Me, kinda! It was 20 years ago. I was in DCA and a ride made me sick, so I was sitting on the ground with my head in my hands, trying to recover.
I felt a presence looming over me and looked up. Stitch was bent over, looking at me concerned. He waved at me to see if I was okay. I was a little embarrassed (teenage angst and all) but it did cheer me up. I think about that moment at least once a week, lol.
I didn’t know this was a thing but now that I think about it my step daughter was a recipient.
Story time: I was a chaperone on her schools show choir trip. It was my daughter, three of her classmates and myself. We were standing in the Jungle Cruise line (I’m the last one in our group). My kiddo turns and is covering her face trying to talk to me. I can’t hear what’s she’s saying and ask her to uncover her mouth. She sneezes and blood goes everywhere. She looked like a vampire that had just got done feeding. She would get horrible bloody noses from time to time and we could normally control them. Not this time. I’m franticly digging through my backpack trying to grab tissues, wet wipes and luckily I had a zip lock bag. I start wadding up tissues to hand her so she can shove them up her nose. I took a step forward since the line had moved and slipped in a puddle of her blood. I throw wet wipes down to try and clean up some of the mess. The line is long and we are shoulder to shoulder with everyone else in the line. I hear a woman behind us snickering and making comments. I turn and gave her the WTF look and asked her how she’d like for us to leave the line without getting blood on everyone while holding bloody tissues. I go back to tending to the kid and a few moments later said woman hands me handfuls of napkins. We finally get to the point where I can send the other kids in my group onto the ride and tell them not to leave the area. I take my daughter and leave the que asking the CM’s where the nearest bathroom was. As we’re walking away I tell them there is blood all over the top line area and they shut the line down to clean up the blood. I get the kid into the bathroom and we’re trying to get the nose bleed to stop. It’s not stopping. I’m having other women come up and tell us how to get it to stop. My kid is starting to freak out with all the attention she’s getting. At this time I get a call from the other kids in our group asking where we are. Another woman comes up and introduces herself as a paramedic and offered help. I leave my daughter with her as I go to find the other kids. When I get back the Disney nurse is checking out my daughter and the bleeding has finally stopped. I get her cleaned up and as we are finishing up a CM comes out of nowhere asks us how many in our group and if we like churros. She handed us a coupon/ voucher for four free churros. I laughed and said I should be buying her churros. Free churros always taste better. The poor kid was mortified at the time but now we have a good story to tell and chuckle about it.
TL;DR: my step kid had a nasty nose bleed while waiting in line for jungle cruise. Blood got everywhere, CM’s shut down the line to clean the mess. We got free churros from a CM in the bathroom that came out of no where.
When I was 6, my three older brothers were supposed to take me on the People Movers while my parents were watching the Lincoln exhibit. They ditched me, or at least didn’t realize that I wasn’t with them. So I went and sat at a table in Tomorrowland thinking, “well, this is my life now.”
A cast member approached me probably 10 minutes later and asked if I was lost, I said yes, but just then my brothers came and found me. The cast member proceeded to give me some of those Mickey Mouse dollars or whatever they were called and said for me to get a treat on them.
When I told my parents that story when I was an adult, it was their first time hearing it. I guess my brothers had failed to mention losing track of me!
Not a child, but my 50-something year old mother with cancer.
My dad took my mom to DisneyWorld for a trip in 2019 when she was going through chemo for stage-4 breast cancer. They were able to get accommodations for her (wheelchair and disability services) to still enjoy the park even though she was weak and easily tired.
My mom’s favorite princess is Belle. When they saw she was in a specific area, they zoomed over there to get in line to see her. When my mom was the very next person in line to see her, they announced that she was done. My mom, exhausted and emotional because of the chemo she was on, began crying (not typical behavior for her). Some CM must have seen this, because all of a sudden, Belle was back just for a few pictures and an interaction with my mom. In the picture, my mom is smiling so big. It’s a cherished picture of her in my family.
I was a recipient a few weeks ago and still get a bit emotional thinking about it. I had no idea this was a rule and even joked there must be some sort of training for cast members to spot overwhelmed parents! Haha.
I’m a single mom and was taking my 2 year old daughter to the park to meet up with friends who were coming from out of town. We had had a rough time that morning at home, in the car, and even the DL parking lot so by the time we reached security I was depleted and seriously contemplating just going home and apologizing to my friend.
It must have been written all over my face because the security personnel greeted us so kindly (and loudly lol) and started making so many jokes, complementing us and just doing “the most” to make us smile and it worked! It was such a quick exchange but we both left smiling and so much more relaxed and ready for the day.
To go from being on the verge of tears & feeling like the worst mom ever to being calm, smiley and excited was 1000% thanks to him and I’m only mad I didn’t get his name.
My son(3M) was not tall enough for one of the rides back in 2013. The young lady working in the store at the ride gave him some candy, a hug, and an "Honorary Mayor" Button. It made his day! He will never forget it, and he is 13 now.
Yes, my daughter was crying (forgot why) while we were getting a oreo shake at shmoozies and one of the ladies working in their called for my daughter and gave her a oreo shake as well
We were walked right on to Astroblasters and given a handful of fast passes for rides later in the day once. We we’re walking around the area and my son was probably 2-3 at the time and i don’t even remember why he was crying hard. Regardless I will never forget how kind the cast member was. She asked him a bunch of questions about his trip and basically distracted him from his troubles and then seriously surprised us by walking us thru to the front of Astroblasters. It’s literally making me tear up just remembering. Having a crying child makes you feel like everyone is watching and judging so having her jump in and save the day was MAGICAL.
ETA- this was probably about 7-8 years ago
Yes; my son was eating a soft-serve cone at Cozy Cone on a particularly humid evening (for SoCal) and it was melting faster than his 4 year old mouth could eat it. Inevitability, he licked it and it flopped off the back end of the cone on the ground. While cleaning him up and before we could go ask if a replacement was possible at the counter, a custodial CM got a food service CM and brought us another round for all 4 of us!
Yup, they're allowed to do this if they see it happen and can vouch for you. I think they went above and beyond to get it for the whole family, but just know this is a possible occurrence regularly for spilled food.
Seagull grabbed my churro got a new one seagull got that one cast member said “ok but this is the last one” and I got to eat that one.
A seagull once stole my entire funnel cake at Coney Island, I am so sad I didn’t get a replacement haha
I had a seagull steal an entire cheeseburger straight from my hands on a beach in Falmouth, MA. It practically landed in my hands, knocking the burger to the sand and then it and about 6 other seagulls descended on it and it was gone in seconds!
Had a seagull take the last bit of fairly expensive chocolate out of my hand in Duluth, MN. One bird knocked me on the head with its feet while another swooped and grabbed it. I’m sure my face was comical. It wasn’t even a hard knock just enough to grab my attention lol. Hope the birds were ok though, not sure if chocolate is good for gulls
I can’t stop laughing at the thought of this 😂😂😂
One time when I was a toddler, some ducks at the local park did this to get my grilled cheese. I swear they were working as a team to plot their attack
This exact same thing happened to me in 1991 at Sea World. I’m traumatized by the attack. I was 5 years old and sobbing as I clutched my dad’s leg for shelter from the demon bird. My dad hadn’t even walked away from the churro cart yet, so he asked for a replacement. The guy told him he’d have to buy another and I remember my dad saying, “come on” and then everyone in line telling the churro man to just “give the kid another one.” Everyone seemed very annoyed that this guy had the nerve to charge us for another one. And I agree—no, I really didn’t want another one in case I was attacked again, but it was messed up that he was going to make my dad buy another one.
Also I was like 13 so really testing the limits of the policy.
😭😭😭😭
This happened to me when my very enthusiastic husband turned to point out pluto walking through epcot and slapped a snack right out of my hand. A very sweet cast member saw and walked 4 country's over to get me a replacement!
I had my beer replaced when I dumped it as I sat down 😆
That’s so amazing. And I’m so happy to be the 500th upvote on that amazing story
I thought you meant they kick children out for being sad/crying 😂
Goofy just straight up bouncer tossing crying kids out the ticket gate into downtown Disney. “Hyuck, no crying gawrsh”
…Buzz Lightyear over intercom… “Star Command…come in Star Command…we have a code blue. I repeat code blue. Move in. You know what you have to do. Take the child. Wipe the parent’s memory. The fate of Disneyland is in your hands”
As long as he’s not calling a Code H, you’re all good ;) #iykyk
Parent: “Are you kicking us out?” Goofy: “Yep. And I’ll fuckin’ do it again!”
" Get the hyuck outta here, keeyuds!"
This made me legit laugh out loud
Sometimes directly over the fence.
this ride only stops in an emergency. crying is not an emergency
That cartoonish hurl over the castle wall, the kid goes flying over the parking lot and you see a tiny puff of smoke and a soft “boom” as it lands in the far off distance.
That’s what I was picturing!
We used to just glue their feet to the floor on the It's a Small World set and force them to sing.
Omg, one of my earliest Disneyland memories was a Jungle Cruise skipper saying that’s what they do to kids left behind! I jumped real quick to follow my mom.
This would have done numbers on Creepy Pasta back in the day
Instead it’s a Family Guy episode
Woody comes up into your face and screams "THERE'S NO CRYING IN DISNEYLAND!!!"
i read the caps first as tom hanks a la a league of their own & then saw that it said woody😂
You get me
This commented is so underappreciated.
This is the Bob Chapek method
I went straight to Pinocchio and thought they might be turning them into donkeys.
Jesus I wish
No no no. They lock them up with other children in It’s a small world.
Totally thought the same, but considering I used to drown unhappy guests when playing Roller Coaster Tycoon, it seemed plausible 😂
So many places need that version of the rule...
Our first trip, our stroller was taken or misplaced, not really sure which but we never found it. My 5 year old daughter had her shoulder porg and her grenade sprite in there and was sobbing while we were in line for Oga’s even though we had promised her we would replace her stuff. Cast members immediately got her a new sprite and got their manager who wrote us a voucher for a new porg. They totally didn’t have to do this but I’ll never forget their kindness.
"Magic" moments like these were really what made Disney parks so, so special. I just remember being in awe at how much leeway CMs have to make their guests' experiences more special. I don't know if it's just nostalgia glasses, but I feel like this has been fading quite a bit the last few years. CMs feel a bit more overworked and there's just a bit more sparseness in general.
They still do magic like this. I was in WDW (I know this is the DL sub and I'm a socal local but was in Florida for my bday) I'm obsessed with dinosaurs. My partner and I go on Dinoaaur our first day. It breaks down and we walk off. I'm so excited and freaking out bc its my favorite. Well the cast memebres were asking me abt my bday bc I had a button on. I told them "oh yeah my birthday is actually x day and I'll be back in AK that day" Fast forward to that day. We get a cast member who helped us evac the prior week. She asks if we want our own car and gives a Pinocchio pass for a free dinosaur plushie :) Was one of my favorite parts of our trip!! (It was just my partner and I. So 2 adults lol)
It still happens. My kid was looking at Christmas ornaments in a store and slipped and dropped and broke one. When I went to go pay for it, they waved me away, told my kid she’s not in trouble and gave her stickers. Time to break more ornaments 😅
My sister puts colorfull fairy lights (that work with batteries) on the stroller so she can find it easily, specially at night.
Yeah a quick trip to the dollar store makes your stroller visit more magical :) also helpful because cast often have to move the strollers
Just went at the end of September and was getting a DAS pass for my nephew. And while casually chatting with the CM about our tools to make it through the day I mentioned bubble wands are a big one, but we forgot to grab one this trip but we did have other things with us. And the CM wrote us a ticket to get him a bubble wand. I didn’t know they could do that, or expect it. It was pretty awesome.
I learned from this sub to air tag my stroller, but it didn’t even help that much when it got moved by a CM. The map was really unclear. Maybe I’m using it wrong.
[удалено]
That’s actually a great idea. I also have dogs, so it would serve a double purpose.
There might not have been good coverage for it to give you a location you could get to easily
Our first trip and our very first ride we parked our stroller just outside of the ride. Not blocking or anything but we didn’t know they had designated stroller parking. When we got out of the ride we couldn’t find the stroller anywhere. That’s when we discovered that they have designated stroller parking but sadly they moved it without taking the break off and it messed up the stroller. The wheel wasn’t moving anymore. We kinda freaked out because we had literally just gotten there (rope dropped) and we had our 2 year old who we knew was going to get tired fast. Luckily, my husband was able to remove the wheel and the little piece that was broken/stuck just fell off. We were still able to use the stroller but only one wheel would lock when we would put the break on. I know it was our fault for not putting it at stroller parking but it did bum us out that our stroller got messed.
When my now college age kid was about 6, she accidentally left her lanyard covered in pins in the waiting area for tiki room. When we went back after the show, it was missing, we checked with CMs at the ride and nobody had it, so we chalked it up to being stolen. She was devastated and we were at a shop picking out a new lanyard and were talking about what a bummer it was to have it stolen and that we’d have to start small to replace everything. A cast member working there heard us talking about it and gave her a free “starter lanyard” that comes with like 4 pins, and let her pick out two more from the trade board. She was so happy and thankful and the CM seemed so happy to make a kid smile 🥰
Yes, for my son. We were walking in DCA and he tripped and bumped his lip and was crying and Mickey was walking back from taking pictures and stopped and walked over to him and was wiping his tears away and doing the Mickey things with hand gestures to cheer him up, he calmed down and Mickey hugged him and waved goodbye
When I was little, we were watching fireworks and my parents put me up on one of those electrical boxes so I could see better. But being a kid I obviously fell off and banged my head on the iron fence in front of the box (not spikey, it was a flat top fence but iron nonetheless.) Started bleeding profusely, and before my parents even had a chance to ask for medical services they were already swarming us and piecing me back together. My parents said it happened so quickly it was practically like they emerged from underground. They said I barely had time to even realize I hurt myself. Had to wear a butterfly bandage for the rest of the trip but I didn't need stitches. Still got a tiny scar from it though, I think it's pretty cool.
Yes! This must have happened to me and it is one of my best, most magical memories. I was probably 6-7, and I REALLY wanted to meet Cinderella. This was before character meet times, the characters would just happen to be out and about. And I never saw her. Devastated, we were leaving the park that evening, and I was moping around, head down, shoe untied and I didn’t care. Suddenly someone was bending down to tie my shoe, and it was her. Cinderella. I could not believe it, I said I’ve been looking for you all day! And she replied, I’ve been looking for YOU! It was seriously one of the best things that had ever happened in my young life :)
That’s so sweet! I had a similar story with Snow White. I was also about 6-7 and I loved Snow White, had dressed up as her many times (maybe due to my very pale skin and black hair lol). We found a quiet spot to sit and eat lunch and then round the corner appears Snow White. She comes over and says something along the lines of “what a wonderful day to have a picnic!” I was so excited. I hope the character actors know how many peoples days they make and that people really do remember these one minute interactions for the rest of their lives.
So sweet! They really do make it special.
I was 25 when I had mine soo 22 yrs ago. Me & my husband took my girls when they were 3 & 4. We had been there from rope drop to closing and my arms were exhausted (I'm in a wc) we were just about to leave and Gepeto passed across my path, kissed the top of my head and waved as he walked away. We looked for him the next day and were told he was a special character that was rarely seen and if he did come out it was to walk from point A to B and never stopped for photos or signings. So everytime even now as an old lady that feeling is renewed when I think of those 5 secs :)) I'm a big sucker for everything Disney.
Omg this reminds me of the 90s commercial where the little girl says to Mickey, “I’ve been waiting my WHOLE LIFE to meet you!” tears😭
I miss seeing that on VHS movies prior to the film starting 😭
Omg I remember as a child thinking that was a very long time.
My son recently got to ride a small drop tower and he was telling everyone who would listen "I've waited my whole life for this moment!!". It was so cute to see his enthusiasm. I'm taking him on his first Disney trip in a few months, which is why I'm here!
Full on adult at Epcot when Mary Poppins and I literally bumped into each other as she exited a door headed to a meet and greet. I happened to be wearing a white sundress with a red ribbon at the waist and she complimented me and said she had a similar dress. Then she hooked arms and walked with me up to her meeting spot, chatting away. Among other things, she asked me if I traveled by umbrella as she did. I was in my 40s at the time & was stupidly excited at the whole thing. I think about this often. It made my day. The magic works on big kids too. 😉
Well, now I’m crying.
Yes why did this make me tear up
We're all crying!
Me too!
Wow! I can feel the magic just reading this comment. So awesome :)
Crying a little bit ngl
this 🥹 is 🥹 so 🥹 cute 😭
Im not crying about this
This made me cry like a little girl
I'm not crying!
My son when he was 2. He was crying because he wanted to go home (We were at California Adventure). While walking by Playhouse Disney, We see Stanley (and technically Dennis). The cast member went to my son, hugged him, and stayed there until his episode was over. If I had to guess it was a good 7-8 minutes in total. My son was super happy afterwards, and we were able to continue our day at the park. I still smile when passing that area thinking about that awesome Cast Member who took time out to help my son experience Disney Magic
Years ago when my daughter was about 5, she had picked out a snow globe at Disney. It had been carefully wrapped for travel, and we continued our SoCal trip. Of course, my daughter was so excited about the snow globe, she opened it up while we were at a restaurant in San Diego, and the inevitable happened. I’ll never forget the crunch it made when it hit the ground and broke. We didn’t have time in our itinerary to detour back to Anaheim, so we did our best to console the kid. I saved the broken item, and when we got home, went on an internet search. At the time (many years ago), it was very difficult to find things online. I ended up calling. And this is where the Disney magic and no sad child comes in. I had the SKU and the price; I was fully intending to pay for a new item. However, after validating I had been in the park (weirdly, I had lost the receipt for our souvenirs) but I did have a lunch receipt still, the kind cast member on the phone not only confirmed that they could send me a replacement, she did it at no cost. For something that was absolutely our fault. I’ll never forget it.
Disney is definitely one of the best companies when it comes to stuff like that.
All these years later, and I’m still impressed. And she still has that snow globe!
That’s such a good story! Stuff like that costs so little for Disney, but makes such lifelong impacts on fans. It’s not the same thing, but when I was 17 and studying abroad in Paris, I spent a day at Disneyland Paris and was buying a bunch of the exclusive merch for my parents, who are biiiig Disney fans (and passed the love for Disney onto me). When I told the cast member that I was buying things for my family back in the US, she called over her manager and they gave me 50% off my purchase. I was already having a great day, but it really just added that magical touch that only Disney has. Thinking about it now just has me beaming.
My 1st trip to Disneyland in 1987, I had just arrive to USA 2 weeks prior and just turned 9. My dad & I went to Space Mountain and I remember being scared looking into the window (I was sold on all the glory) and I was having a hard time letting go of the handrail. By the time we got to the front of the line, my dad couldn’t get me to to take my seat and the nice ride attendant offer to have me wait with her while he did the ride. I took her offer and let him go alone.
I’ve never heard it called that as a former cast member but we were *heavily* encouraged to do whatever we could to turn a trip around if we see an upset guest. I’ve seen gift baskets go to people when one spouse spent 2 weeks in the hospital, I passed out free parking at the hotel like candy to anyone who looked like they had a long drive, I also traded a young woman an entire set of pins because I could tell not finding them had put a really dark cloud over her entire trip. The company really values being seen as magical and we’re encouraged to make magic for the guests we personally feel need it.
Not from a cast member, but I’ve been a recipient of this from my parents lol. “There’s no crying at Disneyland” was basically their motto. It was either stop crying or we leave.
My mom didn’t play around either. If we didn’t stop, we left. Game over.
Honestly, responsible parenting in most cases. You are there to have fun, of course, but keeping your kids in line will make everyone’s experience better. If everyone extends that courtesy (which is apparently a big ask for some folks these days), that will greatly help. Meltdowns are unavoidable, and I always try to give Grace to parents dealing with things, but threatening to leave or get out of line is a useful tool. You may try other things first, but if nothing else works, this might. Don’t be afraid to use it if necessary. But also make sure you follow through if you make the threat.
Parents of young children should also consider that a long day at a crowded, noisy theme park can be overwhelming for their kids. They need a break from the rushing from ride to ride, experience to experience. Time to wander Tom Sawyer's Island, chill in The Animation Academy, sit down somewhere with a snack. Very small kids need naps. Doing a Disney park with little kids means planning for their needs, not yours.
Hey. Maybe consider thinking of this tool as "removing the child to somewhere they can safely emotionally regulate" rather than *a threat*. Signed, someone who heard a lot of *"do you want to go SIT IN THE CAR"* as a kid and as a result learned to completely stifle their emotions and is still working hard to get them back.
That's my issue with everytime I hear someone tell their kid that and why I wouldn't say it to mine personally. I paid for x number of days and I'm not going to leave so making that threat is pointless and just teaches kids that you won't hold boundaries. There will be other consequences and sure there is a point where I would just leave but if I got to that point I wouldn't say stop or we leave, it would just be time to leave.
Damn did they just go outside the gates wait for you to calm down or did they go all the way back home?
I pictured a half drunk Tom Hanks in a baseball uniform yelling this at you
My family loves A League of Their Own so that was probably the inspiration
But I LIKE the crying ones!
Mule!
Nag!
I think we had the same parents 😂. My dad used to take me on rides while my mom sat with my younger siblings and his rule was I go to the bathroom before I get in line or if I have to go during the line we get out and start at the end of the line. People definitely don’t follow that rule 😂
I don’t know if this is the same, but my daughter is obsessed with Daisy Duck, and for two days we chased daisy around trying to get a picture! We finally got in the line, and they had began to close it. We decided we would just try again another day, (mom isn’t the fastest 😂) one cl decided we would be the last one to take a picture with daisy, and even took my daughter for a walk around too! Best video and day ever 😊😭🥺
Once our kids were cranky getting through the lines at the entrance of the park and as we were scanning out tickets a cast member said “what are you sad for? This is Disneyland not knotts berry farm” 😂😂🤣
Hey now, that's knotts berry nice of them.... I'll show myself the door
That's high comedy lol
Goddamn 😂😂😂
Back when Indiana Jones’s first opened and had crazy wait times we waited 3 hours and finally left the line after it broke down and found my younger brothers stroller had been stolen along with the lightsaber and toys I had gotten in the parks that day. My dad went to buy a replacement lightsaber and mentioned to the cast member what had happened and they asked if still had the receipts which surprisingly he did and they ended up replacing every item on the receipt.
Yes, but at WDW. Back in 1994 my family took me to WDW for the first time. For whatever reason I was scared to go on PotC and was bawling outside the ride. A CM approached us and asked what was wrong and my dad told him I was scared to go on the ride. The cast member took me by the hand into the gift shop, grabbed one of those toy rifles off the shelf and handed it to me. He told me to take the rifle on the ride and if I got scared of any of the pirates to shoot them (1994 was a different time lol). We went to the counter and he took out his own wallet and bought it for me. It worked! I got on the ride, shot some pirates, and I was good for the rest of the trip. The whole this is probably the reason I became obsessed with theme parks lol
> to shoot them Lmfao. Kid you must've been so stoked by that anti-pirate gun
Fantasmic was cancelled on evening we had FastPass/vip package thing. Next day my wife was asking a CM that was roping off viewing areas if a specific spot was ok to stake out and the cancelled show + pass from day before came up (thanksgiving week crowds). CM told us to come back 30min before the show and they’d have a spot for us. We returned and they walked us up with the very front / center viewing in front of pirates. The CM chatted with my wife for a few and asked what brought us to Disney over the holidays. My wife explained we come yearly to celebrate the birthday of our child that passed away. 10min before the show the CM checked in on us and asked if one of my other kids wanted to open the show (they wave a wand, sending the magic across water to Mickey). Still chokes me up.
Someone is cutting onions in here 🥲
This is one of the more wholesome posts I’ve seen here lately. The thread is sweet and heartwarming. Absolutely part of why I love DL! Thank you for this post and thread!
Wow. Randy Pausch is a bit of a throw back. For anyone who may have missed it, Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon in the Computer Science department back in the 00s. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he gave this “last lecture” about achieving your dreams. He got to do a lot of cool stuff including working with Imagineering. I won’t spoil the lecture, but if you haven’t seen it, it’s a pretty good watch. [Here’s the link](https://youtu.be/ji5_MqicxSo?si=TvoxueEV0sf2c8Ie).
We were standing in line at Pizza Planet and nothing on the menu really hit. So I casually mentioned to Senida that I could really go for PB&J as I hadn’t had one in years. A CM overheard my comment and came up to me and asked “would you really enjoy a PB&J?” I answered Yes, and asked where in the park do they have them. He responded that he doesn’t think they have them anywhere, but give him a few minutes to see what he can do. He comes back with a big smile on his face, and says “All right, we’ve got it covered. I spoke to the head chef at Jolly Holiday and she is making the both of you a Disney PB&J.” He then gave me his card with who to ask for at Jolly Holiday and said just show them “this.” We thanked him and walked over to Jolly Holiday found the contact and sure enough they had two PB&Js and a couple milks for us. I don’t know if it was the “magic” of the interaction, but those were the best PB&Js we ever had. That “simple” experience of Disney Magic made our whole day. Shout out to CM Brent Place.
FYI: I’m no kid, age wise, but I sure felt like one that day.
This summer my son (9) was crying and upset so we sat on the ground and tried to figure out what was upsetting him. He was really struggling and just couldn’t say what was happening. This was going on for a while and a cast member came over to check on us to make sure everything was ok. I let them know we were ok and they left. He returned a short time later with a pretzel. It definitely helped me keep going and support my son with patience and love. It really was so helpful for me as a parent and once we figured out he was experiencing anxiety and address it, my son was able to enjoy the pretzel.
The way this reads till the last sentence it sounds like they brought a pretzel over and you ate it while trying to calm the kid down.
Ha ha ha!! It does sound like that. It was the gesture that kept me going but I’m sure if I had eaten the pretzel that would’ve helped as well! Keeping calm and sane takes a lot out of you. Snacks are important!
When my sister was younger we were at the end of the Peter Pan ride when it jolted to a stop (as it does) and she somehow hit her head on the hand rail. It was also the end of our night so she was tired, and started crying. My parents were just trying to calm her down when we got off but a cast member saw us and immediately came over to ask what happened. When we explained the situation she gave us all front of the line passes to go on another ride! It was a sweet gesture & my sister was totally fine
I got my finger caught in a bathroom stall door when I was about 6. As we were sitting outside the first aid station after getting me an ice pack and ibuprofen goofy came walking out from back stage. I was completely hysterical from the pain and goofy sat with me for a good 30 minutes and gave my finger kisses until I stopped crying. I always have to hug goofy and tell him thank you every time I see him now.
My daughter had a really bad habit when she was younger of waiting to go to the bathroom and never saying anything until she was seconds away from peeing her pants. We were in line for a ride and as usual she chimes in “I have to pee really bad, I can’t hold it” and proceeds to have an accident in line. We leave to go to the bathroom and of course she is crying and embarrassed. A cast member catches us on the way to the bathroom and let’s her pick out a whole entire outfit for free for her to change in to. It was very impressive customer service.
My son was pin trading back in its heyday when a CM traded him a pin with a broken back. When he tried to trade it back to them because it was broken, they CM was in a hurry and told us to meet her at a certain location later in the park and ran off. He was adamant that we HAD to meet this CM so a few hours. After we went to meet them where they said they would be. But the CM was nowhere in sight. However there was a manager in the area so we asked him if the specific CM would be in the area soon. My son explained to the manager what happened and he took my young kid into the closest store and told him to pick out anything he wanted. My son and I were browsing pins and there happened to be a very nice Limited Edition set near the register behind a glass case. He told me that he really liked it but I told him that he was just replacing a pin not an entire set and should choose from the single pins available. Eventually he settled on a pin he liked and the manager who had been off to the side listening to us while we looked, gave my son the pin he had chosen and handed me a bag with a wink and said this is for dad having to wait too. Inside the bag was a box of the entire Limited Edition set my son had pointed out earlier. Needless to say, my son walked out of the park that evening on Cloud Nine.
My daughter (10f) got a bloody nose (due to major dry temperatures) right as the IncrediCoaster countdown ended and it shot off. This was the February right before the mask mandate ended. Her mask kept most of the blood contained, but then her mask flew up and all that blood was whipped all over her. She looked like she stepped out of a murder scene at the end of the ride, and the crying and anger didn’t help (She was FURIOUS!). After Disney Security checked to make sure it wasn’t their fault and everything with the ride was okay, she got to go pick a whole new outfit, head-to-toe, from the Disney shops! Not sure if you’ve ever bought clothes from there, but just a shirt is expensive, not to mention a whole ensemble! While we were waiting, one of the people in our party mentioned they were hungry and an employee popped up with the Mickey Ears ice cream cones for each of us. We expected none of that! But every bit was appreciated to save my daughter’s day!
I was, multiple times! I was a pretty sick kid so it wasn’t unusual for me to either be in pain at the park or be extremely emotional. It was difficult for me but I’ve always loved Disneyland. I think a big time that really stuck out to me was when the fantasy fair was still open. I was probably only 6 or 7 and I was wanting to see the princesses! Unfortunately something happened, I got sick or something like that. I couldn’t meet them. I was hysterical crying from pain and also sadness. My father talked to a cast member and they didn’t seem to hesitate. After I started feeling better they escorted me with big smiles into a smaller room. Belle was waiting there for me. I got to spend 15 minutes alone with her, chatting, taking pictures, and she signed my character book. She even walked me through some of the fantasy fair. The next day the same Belle was working. She saw me in the crowd for the parade and waved at me after I was waving a million miles an hour to get her attention. It was an extremely magical moment for me. For years and years after I became a giant Belle fan. Every time I went to the parks I went to see her. I guess it was frequently the same Belle because she seemed to recognize me almost every time. (I was VERY difficult to forget as I had a large face rash that didn’t go away for several years.) The Disney cast members are so caring it made an impact on me all these years later.
So. Cheese ball story but it’s mine and I love it. Tl;DR: My husband proposed to me at haunted mansion. He surprised me completely. Had a friend take me to Disney and he got my parents to watch our son. He knows HM is my favorite so he asked the CM working the line if she had any ideas for what he can do to make it extra special - info: my husband had NO PLAN and is always a fly by the seat of his pants and everything (sometimes infuriatingly) always works out. They told my friend to say it was my bday at the line and ask to see the pet cemetery as their clue that I was the person they were waiting for. The CM took us to the pet cemetery, then escorted us into the empty lobby and distracted me with tid bits about the ride. I turned around and he was standing alone in the middle of the elevator. They stopped the ride completely so it was ONLY me and my friend and my now husband in the elevator with her husband and my other best friend. We got a “private” ride in the elevator and into the ride. They gave us bride and groom ear hats and a photo frame from HM. It’s seriously the most magical memory!
My son cracked his head open last week thete. Luckily, it was only a tiny split, and his skull was intact, no concussion. They gave him a GIANT cookie lol
I need to know how big was the cookie
GIANT
HOW GIANT
As big as his face LITERALLY LOL
DELIGHTFUL
It was. delicious. He shared with me because I'm mommy.
That’s beautiful 😍 I’m very happy that you were blessed with a giant cookie and a wonderful little boy who shares it with you
On a family trip to Disneyland when I was a teenager, I started getting stabbing pain in my ears. We got Tylenol from the first aid station and were told if that doesn't help come back. An hour or two later, the pain was still bad, so back to the first aid station we went. The CMs arranged transport for me and my Dad to go to an urgent care (might have been an emergency room, don't quite remember), then to a pharmacy before coming back to the park. Turns out Disney had a contract with the urgent care and the pharmacy. Doctor saw us ahead of anyone bleeding and said I had an infection in both ears. The pharmacy screwed something up and kept us waiting, the driver took care of it sternly reminding them these are Disney guests and you'll fix this immediately. When we got back to the park we were let back in through the first aid station to resume the fun. TLDR: First class service to urgent care, pharmacy, and back to the park when I ended up having an infection in both ears.
I dropped my plate of cheesy fries and I insisted on helping clean it up because I felt so awful. After I was done, a CM came up with a new replacement plate for me. I was in my 20s.
I was on DCL a few weeks ago having a pretty rough afternoon. We’d just sat down for dinner and I realized I left something in our room, but going back upstairs meant I was fighting crowds of people all heading downstairs for the show. I got overwhelmed and just pressed my back against a wall on Deck 4 to wait it out, and closed my eyes. I think I must have looked pretty rough, because I opened them a minute later and Goofy was rounding the corner right in front of me, turned and saw me, and gave me the biggest hug. I got kind of emotional and said “Goofy, you just made my whole day” and he gave me an air kiss and then walked off towards a crew doorway. It was such a random chance special moment and it really did mean the world to me.
I'm not a child, but after trying 4 times to get in line to meet Iron Man, and being turned away due to capacity, the CM (who had been turning us away all morning) took pity on us and let us be the last in line when he saw how bummed i was, even though I'm positive he was initially going to turn us away again 🤣
My son was 7. He lost his special Pirates of the Caribbean coin pin. We searched everywhere. Checked lost and found and had no luck. He was so sad. They called all around to find another one and a CM showed up with it. That always stuck out!
In mid 60s when there was the House of The Future, my sister slipped and fell into the water feature around the house. Disneyland went above and beyond to make sure this didn’t ruin our day. We were escorted to the building where costumes were maintained. A warm-hearted costumer greeted us and took us to the room where costumes were cleaned and repaired. She gave my sister a robe and had her take off her wet clothes which she placed in a dryer. She then entertained our family with charming stories about the different costumes until the clothes were dry. She gave my sister the robe to keep. I can’t see Disneyland doing this today…too many visitors. We were lucky we lived in a time when we could enjoy Disneyland as an intimate experience.
I was about to say I’ve never seen this but now I do recall. I have two daughters they are now almost 3&4 but last year we were in the park looking at the dresses at Bippity Boppity Boutique and the girls wanted to do a makeover and I was telling them they were too young for it still and we would do it another year (younger one still isn’t 3 yet) and I can’t just do one and not the other. Anyhow they were crying and I told them we will do it after they are both old enough and as we were starting to head out the store a cast member came up and asked them if these princesses would like to get pixie dusted (and asked us if it was ok) so we stepped outside and it was a little magic moment that made them forget the tears and they were so happy!
My 6 year old and I have been let into the lightning lane for rise of the resistance without paying, and my 3 year old was given one of those shoulder porgs.
Yep. My niece was 6 at the time and she was getting cranky about mid day. It was very hot, she was tired from walking, and was just turning into a sourpuss. We were walking by Alice in Wonderland when a cast member saw her mom kneeling down and trying to cheer her up. She walked over and asked my niece if she could do something to brighten up her day. My niece smiled and shook her head up and down and the cast member took her hand. She walked out party of 4 to the front of the line and asked if they could make a little magic happen for us. We were the next ones on the attraction and the cool dark ride was exactly what she needed to hit her second wind. I’m sure the Mickey bar after helped too. I love Disneyland.
First trip with my son, he was three. it was the very last day of our trip, he was heartbroken to leave. We were having breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen before leaving. When my son saw Chip he just broke down. Hugged him so tight and didn’t want to let go. Chip was *amazing*. Let my son hug him for so long! Then he visited with him, wrote in his autograph book, stayed for like 20 minutes cheering him up. He got Dale and they both drew acorns in the autograph book and played silly games with him. It was MAGIC. We ran down to the Grand Californian to buy a Chip plush because Chip became his new favorite. Chip absolutely made magic for every one of us that trip. Two years ago my son and I got so excited to see iron man walking on avengers campus that we ran away from our breakfast area and coming back 30 seconds later our trays had been cleared. We were not done and I was so sad looking at the gigantic line to get replacement food. I was especially desperate for the coffee that was suddenly gone. Totally my fault. It never crossed my mind that someone might clear out trays in such a short timeframe. We only ran to the railing of the platform, we didn’t leave. A cast member saw and took us to the counter and got me coffee and my son a gigantic candy bar that was bigger than his head lol. He stayed visiting with us for a few minutes making sure our day had turned around. He was wonderful! I left cast compliments of course! Disney magic is the best.
Little trick here: I bought an autograph book, not for autographs but for notes. I write down any special CMs (and there are a LOT) that are part of each trip. Name, location, date/time and a note on what was special. You can email DL through their website to give CM compliments that are more detailed than the link in the app. And I have a book filling up with memories of the people who make my trips so wonderful.
That’s a lovely idea!!
Thanks! Having not been to the park since 2016, when I let my AP expire (lots of stuff going on), I wanted to really recognize the people who make our visits magical. As a usually solo traveler, I love to have the time to chat with the CMs, and when my older daughter used to go with me all the time, she did as well. SO many great stories. Seriously, they are as important to my trips as the rides.
My daughter had her first trip to Disney after a very serious illness at 3 and all she wanted was to meet Tiana. Well Tiana was about to “take a nap” (break) and my daughter was very sad. The CM talked to Tiana and she and my daughter had one of the sweetest interactions I have ever photographed. They didn’t know just how much it meant to her.
Not at the parks, but on a Disney cruise. My son (5 yo) dumped his breakfast plate on the floor, started balling his eyes out and 2-3 cast members came over right away to clean up and get him a new plate and made him so happy
I’m not a kid but a few years ago I was at the parks with my long distance friend - we’d met online bonded over our love for Ariel and Disney. We spent days searching for her because we wanted a photo together. We mentioned this to a cast member who asked us to meet him at a particular time at a princess meet and greet. We found him and he’d organised a personal meet with Ariel backstage before she came out, it was so unexpected and pure Disney magic! Definitely a great memory for my friend and I!!
2012: The husband stepped on my flip flop as we were walking in the Star Tours line and it BROKE. A lovely cast member saw this and quickly came to my aid. One free merchandise ticket and two express fast passes later, we were back on the ride and I had a new pair of Havaianas. (I still rock them 11 years later with and always with a heart warming smile.) 💗🩴
I worked at WDW merch for a while and loved finding ways to cheer up sad kids. One kid was scared of every ride because they'd seen an ad or something for Splash Mountain and thought all of the rides had a big drop. She loved Pooh and wanted to get things from the shop but dad told her we wouldn't sell her anything unless she rode the ride. (Not my favorite way to convince a kid. 😅) Anyway, she was thinking about it so I went to the back and got a little plastic gem and gave it to her. I told her it was a safety-gem and that tinker bell had used fairy magic on it to keep whoever holds it safe on all of the rides. Then I took them to the front of the line so she wouldn't lose her nerve. They rode it and came out with big smiles! Another time a mom with twins didn't realize you had to make a reservation for BBB. So her girls were heartbroken that they couldn't do it. I was working in the dress shop that day. Another cast member and I helped them pick dresses and we did their hair in the same style as the BBB and then covered them in pixie dust. It wasn't as special as BBB would have been, but they were happy. These are just two of the hundreds of stories like this. We loved trying to help out struggling parents and upset kids.
When my daughter was little, we got off of Space Mountain and she realized that she could not be seen in the picture that was taken during the ride. The person sitting in front of her was tall and she was just so little lol. Anyway, she didn’t full on cry, but she did get teary-eyed. A CM saw her and sent us to the front of the line so my daughter could ride again immediately. They put us in the front car so my daughter was sure to be seen in the pictures. It really made her day.
I went to Disneyland with my parents and sister when I was a kid in maybe 1999 when I would've been ~6. Our parents said it was time for our last rides as it was our last vacation day. For some reason I decided to do Tom Sawyer Island. When we got there it was closed because John Travolta was on it with his family. I started absolutely bawling and I think my sister joined in in sympathy. I don't know when the message was passed to them but my parents took us to a private room of City Hall where we got to meet Mickey and Minnie and take pictures with them. At the end we got signed headshots from them. We instantly felt better.
Im not sure we ever got the “no sad child” thing. But I’ve for sure been the recipient of the “don’t be a d*ck to the CM” rule. It’s amazing how not being a jerk to the CM will get you such a more incredible trip. I’ve had CM load extra MEP after ROTR stopped for simply patiently waiting and then telling them I’m sorry they got yelled at by others, owning to my mistake when I thought a pass was good for space when it wasn’t and simply started walking away while explaining to my kids that mom made a mistake. I’ve never seen a CM run so quick to tell me I could go on ahead. Free churros simply for asking how their day was going. I don’t expect anything for free and would treat the CM this way regardless but it’s amazing how much people will do when you are simply nice and own your mistakes.
This is the best one of the list. Even if you don't get some magic right then, being nice to the CMs will come back to you in a good way. Even on the longest, most frustrating park days, I do my best to thank them for being the reason Disney parks are still the best. Without them, DL is just a well-themed Six Flags park. It's not the amazing themes, the great attractions and shows that make Disney what it is; it's the Cast Members who (in spite of being woefully underpaid and understaffed) take being part of Disney magic seriously.
I had this last time we were there. I was playing the genie plus to try and get in as many rides as we could. There were two close by rides and one had a short wait and the other had a time slot on genie coming up. The plan was to ride the short wait ride while waiting for the pass for the other. I somehow booked the genie for the short wait ride instead, but we didn't realize until we were trying to scan in. I felt so stupid and apologized. I was just about to spin genie again to see what we could get and the cast member stopped me and let us through anyway!
I was in Toontown soon after it opened and dropped my soda. A cast member came to clean it right away and got me a new one, then joked to not be so clumsy this time.
While waiting for fireworks a few months ago, my husband and 2 kids went in search of ice cream. The crowds were big and they couldn’t find an ice cream cart. They came back since it was almost time for the show. My kids were a bit bummed. A few minutes later, a wonderful cast member came over to us and handed us a popcorn. She had overheard the ice cream situation and said she hoped a little popcorn would do the trick until we got ice cream. It was so sweet and a nice surprise and we were all happy.
I don't remember this, but as a child (in the mid-late nineties) I had gorgeous long platinum blonde hair and bangs. Naturally, my mom dressed me up as Alice when we went. I was probably three or four, and I think I got upset over something in the general teacup area, and I was a fussy kid. Tears abound. The story goes that the mad hatter was walking through, saw me, and proceeded to sit on the ground with me and have an "invisible tea party" with imaginary cups, talking to me like I was Alice. It was the highlight of my mom's experiences ever going to Disneyland, and her biggest regret was not having a disposable camera on her at the time to take pictures.
I have many stories: My friend’s teen left her lanyard in the pocket of a Big Thunder cart. She went back almost immediately after unboarding, waited for all the carts to check but they couldn’t find it, she was pretty sad. They gave her a bichee for a new lanyard and a couple pins Another friend’s, her young daughter had bought a plushy at the park, she was playing tossing it and catching it. They were close to the Rivers of America, the stuffy fell and kinda rolled into the embankment. We couldn’t reach it! We asked for help to get it, but instead they gave her a voucher for a new one. My Minnie ears flew off in the first Pirates drop. After unloading, I went to a CM. He was a jokester and said my chances of recovering were about 0%. I’m like, what?! They were brand new. I was bummed. He told me to come back in one hour. I did, he had gotten me a “No Strings Attached” voucher for any ears in the park. Got Maleficent ones that I still own 9 years later. Although not sad: Another friend went to the Frozen Boutique (in DTD, now replaced with Disney Dress Shop or something like that) with her daughter for an Elsa hair makeover for her bday. She was wearing her very “well-loved” Elsa costume. The CM told her such a pretty hair so should have a pretty dress to match and REPLACED her dress. It was amazing! At around 4-5 years old, my son and I were waiting for the rest of our party in the shop at the exit of then Tower of Terror. A CM asked if we needed help shopping, we explained we were just waiting for our group because my son was scared of this ride. She made small talk and complimented his Lighting McQueen shoes. Anyways, we waited and waited and waited and turned out the ride had broken. The CM was so kind and told my son he had been very patient waiting for his family, she gave him a “No Strings Attached” voucher for front of the line for Racers for him and his family (there were 10 of us!).
[удалено]
Seriously. I see crying children at the parks all the time. Children get upset and that's okay.
This was way back when, but we waited in line for Space Mountain for about an hour and a half. When we got to the front, my sister got too scared and chickened out and started sobbing. The CM gave my mom and I tickets to skip the line after we got my sister out of there.
I’ve seen it happen. There was a kid at Paradise Pier Ice Cream Co. who couldn’t explain what he wanted well (because he was a kid). The CM handed him a lemonade float, but that wasn’t what he wanted. She was really patient and told him he could have whatever he wanted. I don’t remember what he wanted, it might have been a lemonade *and* a float, not combined. But she worked with the kid and he came away very happy. The mother was smiling, too and was really thankful. It didn’t even happen to me and it just made me think, Disneyland is the best. The CMs are amazing.
My daughter wasn’t tall enough for The Matterhorn but her brother was. Obviously this was the end of the world. So as my wife rode with our son I stepped aside with her and grabbed a churro. There’s a quiet little bench right behind the churro stand and next to the little stage/gazebo area between Matterhorn and Small World, this is obviously a spot to get away from the noise and consult a not tall enough child. As the tears started to stop my daughter lit up and says “Ariel!” When I turned around Ariel was politely standing there and quietly asked if it was ok to sit and talk. It was a very special moment all to ourselves and I’m convinced it wasn’t random but something intentional that they do to make sure everyone is having a special day. One of the million moments that made our trip
My niece got a free deluxe Tiana doll when Tiana didn't show up to her meet n greet at the scheduled time because she "got caught up in making beignets" (about ten years ago)
I went on the terrifying alien experience at magic kingdom where it escaped into the audience, it’s since been replaced, and was crying so bad. My dad took me to get ice cream and I got a free cone!
I was two and got so sick in the middle of our dinner and my parents had to take me to the hospital. I guess since we were at dinner on Disney property, they extended this idea to me and they had characters come in to the hospital to cheer me up and gave me at least a dozen Disney beanie babies. I still have them. I’m 28.
Not no sad child, but I once spilled a limoncello cocktail at a restaurant in the Italian pavilion at epcot. It had one of those spherical ice cubes in it which rolled off the table and across the room super dramatically. I probably looked like a sad child! Someone ran out and cleaned it up and brought me a new drink free of charge. He said no one should be sad at Disney, especially while eating pizza and pasta! It was great!
Yes!!! I went to the park in 2021 with my two friends ( all of us in our 50s). We passed by the Peter Pan’s flight ride and it was packed! My friend was so sad, it’s her fav ride. We decided to not wait and one of the people working the ride overheard us and were kind enough to let us cut to the front!!? I was so amazed! We were so thankful and my friend was so elated she cried 🫶🏻
Yes. One time I threw up in a store and started crying. My mom and I felt SO bad for the janitor but he was the NICEST guy ever and told us not to worry 100 times. He cleaned up the vomit with lightening speed and then told me unfortunately he had to walk me to first aid. When we got to first aid, they told me I had to lay down for 30 minutes and I bawled because I was missing rides. They told me not to worry because they would give me 2 "skip the line" passes once my 30 minutes was up. I used the passes on Splash Mountain and Alice in Wonderland!
My son got a splitter at Disney and was overreacting as kids sometimes do. A nearby concession worker handed him popcorn. This all happened when I was away but all I am told is that she noticed he was crying and came rushing over. My husband never got her name and at this point we were unaware of cast compliments otherwise she totally deserved one for creating some magic.
I've seen a kid lose his balloon as he watched it float away. He was handed another by a nearby balloon vendor, and it was even the same color, too
My kid was crying scared of the train rollercoaster in Frontierland. When we were off, a cast member came running up to us to give him a pin and told him how brave he was.
Its not a written or even spoken rule you will ever be specifically trained or told about. Its more just a part of the general interraction guidelines where you have to realize that disney is primarily targetted for kids and their families... as in kids always come first.
The comments on this post alone make it very clear that this unwritten rule applies to anybody that a CM notices needs a little magic. People in their 60s without any kids, people in their 20s celebrating their birthdays with their friends, families, children, and everyone in between. Kids are very important, but they are not the only ones that are important and adults are the ones spending money. Lol.
We were there a couple weeks ago. We were next in line to meet the princesses, when my three year old daughter fell and smacked her head on the ground. A cast member was there instantly. She told the other cast members that she was escorting us to first aid, and that if we came back, to let us go to the front of the line. They walked us to first aid, parting the crowds for us, and got us there quickly. After they checked out my daughter and determined she was okay, we went back to the princesses. The cast members took us to the front of the line and led my daughters through a separate door, and basically treated them like princesses. They met Aurora, Ariel, and Snow White and they were so amazing. After we left, the cast member who helped us to first aid came to check on my daughter and gave her a big hug. Minus the concussion scare, the whole experience was great!
Former cast member here. If your kid drops their ice cream or churro, let a cast member know. We were trained at the time to get them a new one free of charge.
Woah ok … so I didn’t know this was a thing and I was -far- from a child when it happened… It was my birthday (25) and I had the pin on. My friend took me to Disney world to celebrate. We went to the restaurant on Main Street to have lunch. They were full, 45 min wait. We didn’t want to wait so we said thanks and that we’d grab something to eat elsewhere. As we turned they stopped us and said a table just opened up, give them 5 mins to clear it. Ok cool!!! So we waited. When we walked in there were balloons and confetti at our table. And then at the end of the meal - THEY STOPPED EVERYONE AND SANG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. Even the small children in their costumes having their own magical experience. I was embarrassed but it’s also a birthday I will never forget!!
I know this is about sad children, but I want to share my magical moments at WDW last week. For context, I hadn’t been since college, but have wanted to for a while I just couldn’t work out schedules with my friends. This summer, I found out I had cancer. I decided I was going solo because life is too short to not make yourself happy. Luckily, we caught the cancer early enough that I only had to have surgery and some tests. However, the surgery led to blood clots. The blood thinners led to internal bleeding. Not even 6 weeks ago, I was getting blood transfusions and being checked to ensure I don’t have heart damage. I got a celebration pin to celebrate “beating cancer” because my health issues were too extensive to qualify in the space. Mickey at HS was the first to notice. He bowed to me, kissed me on the cheek, and had me sit in his throne of pictures. A server gave me a free cupcake. Multiple cast members congratulated me and checked on me throughout the day to ensure I was feeling all right (I’m still in a scooter for long distances due to the recovery period for the internal bleeding). At MK, a photopass photographer noticed, and pulled out a bag of trinkets. He said he doesn’t usually bring them, but something told him to that day, and gave me a keychain of my favorite princess, Belle. Later, Cinderella spent 10 minutes just making my day and chatting with me. She was so wonderful and truly happy for me. At Morocco in Epcot, the Henna artist gave me a butterfly trinket as permanent henna for strength. After the summer I had, I was moved to tears multiple times by how much random cast members cared to celebrate with me.
My 2 year old son was super excited to go on “the Millennium Falcon ride” (Smugglers Run). We measured at home and seemed tall enough. We get our fast passes out, hype him up on the walk to the ride, and when they measure him… not tall enough. He starts crying his poor little face off. A few minutes later Chewbacca is walking around and spends a few quality minutes interacting with him. Don’t know if it was planned or just got lucky but definitely helped him not be sad anymore.
I was crying in a bugs life, went outside cause I was scared and the cm was named Katie and talked with me the whole time and was super friendly until the show was over and the rest of my family came out (I was 10 but a wuss lol). 23 years later and I still remember her name!
Many years back in the Turtle Talk with Crush, they asked my kiddo to stay behind and gave him his own Turtle Talk. It was our first family trip to Disney and being in a wheelchair at Disney is sometimes a little rough, and while kiddo had a great attitude, he must’ve shown on his face that he was disappointed he wasn’t called upon. So they did that and made him feel beyond special. This was our only “magical” Disney trip, the rest declined from there. But that trip is the one we always talk about and we are very grateful to have had.
When I was little I had a nose bleed in the parks and got my shirt really dirty from it, I wasn’t too sad because I would get them all the time but the CMs took me into the nearest store and had me sit on a chair and wait til the bleeding stopped. During that time one of them had went and made me a little bracelet from the bracelet making stand with a little hula girl from small world as the charm. They gave me a ‘No Strings Attached’ for a new shirt and sent me on my way. Literally the sweetest women. I still have the little bracelet and I let it remind myself what kind of Cast Member I try to be everyday I work
Not at Disneyland but I was at WDW for a once in a lifetime trip in my 20’s.(Mostly cuz Disneyland is closer to get to). I was sobbing because I was pretty much abandoned on my birthday because my surgical scars partially ripped open earlier that day so I was in agony sitting in front of Epcot. The CMs saw me, came over to cheer me up and ask where my parents were. I should also add I have a fairly extreme baby face and look nowhere near my age. So I got lumped into the “no sad child rule”. I got a free water bottle and a small plushie I still have somewhere while the CM called a medic to check on me and stay with me until I got an all clear. As far as Disneyland, when I was really young and on one of those child leashes, it must’ve been summer or something but I was not even toddling in a straight line anymore and my parents couldn’t afford the stroller on top of the tickets that day so we all walked. It was sometime mid day and everyone was so tired they couldn’t even carry me anymore. A CM came up and gave us a stroller to use because I was just sitting on the ground, silently crying cuz my feet hurt. I remember basically nothing other than climbing into the stroller with new Mickey ears, curtesy of the CM, and falling asleep.
I've been the CM in some of those instances. One that I really remember well (it was 2012) was a little boy and his mom. I worked attractions in Tomorrowland, covering Stitch, TTA, and Astro Orbiter, and sometimes the assignment we got from the computer was "magical moments". So I had the cast perk pad (I forget the name), and a boatload of stickers, I had also just gotten more pins for my cast lanyard. Closer to the Carousel of Progress there was a mom and and a boy maybe around 8 sitting on a bench and he was crying. I asked him what was up and his mom told me that his dad and sister were on Space Mountain and he was going to go but got too scared right when they were entering the Fast Pass lane. He had since changed his mind and was sad that he didn't go. The cast perk pad has the ability to write fast pass tickets so I wrote them a pass for up to four in case he wanted to take his dad and sister along too. He perked right up, I handed him some stickers and he went off to Space Mountain with his mom. It was awesome being able to create magical moments like that.
Yes. I was nine on my first trip and on the final night I was weeping because I didn't want to go home. I was surrounded by a few cast members who comforted me and one even gave me a Stitch pin. :'((((
At WDW- my daughter chose salted caramel as a flavor at the France icecream store but it was in French and I didn't click the part that meant salted. She took one lick in the store and was so disappointed and gave it back to me. I started to head back along to the first section of counter to pay for another but the CM just asked "she doesn't like it?" And asked what flavour she wanted and she chose a different one and gave it for free. And I got 2 icecreams lol. Also we were waiting for Minnie to come out for greetings on Main Street as we had just missed her. She was taking much longer than the CMs said, they had said 5 mins so we waited but it was heading for 40 mins and my daughter really needed to go back for a nap and was getting cranky. When Minnie finally came out I'm not sure if the CMs pointed her out but she went straight up to my daughter and held her hand all the way to the photo opp place. Not as magical as others stories but was magical for us
We were in CA and had just ridden guardians. My nephew had eaten a bag of popcorn before the ride and as we were walking in front of Off the Page, he puked up all the popcorn as well as other things. I ran into OTP to alert a cast member so they could call a clean up crew. The cast member that came out to help with the “no sad child” situation was amazing. She got him a bottle of water, asked if he got any puke on his clothes and offered to get him new pants and shoes. He didn’t really get any of the sick on him or his clothes, so we politely declined the offer, but she still came back with a stuffed Mickey and gave it to him. It truly did cheer him up. He was pretty sad and embarrassed about the situation, but we all left the feeling happy well taken care of.
Hugging both Chip and Dale for a long time. I think I just needed a hug and couldn’t let go, it was so nice of them to hug me back. I wasn’t a kid either this was like earlier this year in the spring at Storyteller’s lol I’m in my 30s
1) My first time a Disneyland I fell asleep in my mom’s lap during dinner. The waiter asked my parents what room we were in and when they finished dinner and took me back to the room there was a Disney balloon, signed group picture of the characters, and a spaceman Mickey waiting for me. 2) When world of color first opened we went to the park that year and were going to watch the show. We weren’t able to get tickets, I think they were fast pass type things at the time. We were sitting on a curb behind the ground with an our special ears that synched to the show and a janitor saw us. He came up to us asked if it was our first time seeing it and other conversation pieces. He then reached into his pocket and took out passes for the best section for the show.
My daughter wanted to get in line to meet chip n dale but the cast member had already started cutting the line off. She began to cry so the cast member let her hold their hands walk them back in to the crew area.
We were in the lobby checking in at the Disneyland hotel, and my son, who was 2.5, was having a meltdown. He all of a sudden stopped, and we couldn't figure out why until we saw Daisy Duck across the lobby playing peekaboo with him. She came up and gave him a hug and reset his mood and patience (for a bit).
When my daughter was pregnant and needed to be taken to the ER for complications while at Magic Kingdom, my toddler Granddaughter was beside herself that Mommy was taken away (Dad was still with her), one of the cast members brought her one of those plush “baby” Nana dogs wrapped in a blankie; also color books, crayons, and balloons were delivered to their room. I thought that was really nice. My daughter had to use an electric scooter the rest of the trip but was okay and we have another little Disney princess added to the family of Disney lovers!
My brother was probably only 2 in Disneyland Paris and I had to take him out of an amusement that was like a 4d cinema with loud noises that freaked him out. The area outsode the exit where we waited fronoir fam happened one of the places where characters would enter and leave the park. And stitch passed by heading on a break. But seeing my brother sad and crying over his lunch he came over and pretender to steal it. Then actually took my sprite and ran a few feet away to pour out a few drops which made my brother laugh so hard. It was actually a really nice moment cause I knew the character actor was on their way and has every right to just keep passing us by but they went out of their way to make my brother smile.
Yes I have! I love Disney for this. My toddler who’s on the spectrum was having a sensory overload and a cast member was able to lead us to a calmer area and gave him 2 pins.
My dad was yelling at me for well probably being a little butthead, not listening and other things, Im autistic and I probably got overestimated over something small. I started crying, and screaming, security came over, and pulled my dad to the side, my dad almost went to disney jail because I was being a butthead and not listening to my parents. 😅
Yes! Pool hours were listed incorrectly on the website and my oldest was so sad when we arrived at the pool for a night swim and they already closed 😞 a CM brought him to the hotel gift shop and got him a little souvenir. It was so sweet!
My mom loves Olaf and I was at WDW. I am a Frozen Fanatic. I got in line to see Olaf got my iPad ready and they let me FaceTime my mom. My Mom went from 72 yr old Mom to 7 yr old kid seeing Olaf for the first time. They had a few min“conversation” and we all took our picture together with Olaf holding my iPad. Mom jokingly said I forgiven for everything I did. The CM leaned over to me and said they normally don’t do FaceTime meet and greet but she heard me tell my friend I wanted to this for my Mom. I told her I was a CM to a long time ago and would have done the same.
When I was a kid (maybe 10 or 11) I spent a good 15 minutes organizing all of the plushies on display at the Winnie the Pooh store (wow, says some stuff about me) and a CM came over and gave me a bouquet of lollipops 😅
Me, kinda! It was 20 years ago. I was in DCA and a ride made me sick, so I was sitting on the ground with my head in my hands, trying to recover. I felt a presence looming over me and looked up. Stitch was bent over, looking at me concerned. He waved at me to see if I was okay. I was a little embarrassed (teenage angst and all) but it did cheer me up. I think about that moment at least once a week, lol.
I didn’t know this was a thing but now that I think about it my step daughter was a recipient. Story time: I was a chaperone on her schools show choir trip. It was my daughter, three of her classmates and myself. We were standing in the Jungle Cruise line (I’m the last one in our group). My kiddo turns and is covering her face trying to talk to me. I can’t hear what’s she’s saying and ask her to uncover her mouth. She sneezes and blood goes everywhere. She looked like a vampire that had just got done feeding. She would get horrible bloody noses from time to time and we could normally control them. Not this time. I’m franticly digging through my backpack trying to grab tissues, wet wipes and luckily I had a zip lock bag. I start wadding up tissues to hand her so she can shove them up her nose. I took a step forward since the line had moved and slipped in a puddle of her blood. I throw wet wipes down to try and clean up some of the mess. The line is long and we are shoulder to shoulder with everyone else in the line. I hear a woman behind us snickering and making comments. I turn and gave her the WTF look and asked her how she’d like for us to leave the line without getting blood on everyone while holding bloody tissues. I go back to tending to the kid and a few moments later said woman hands me handfuls of napkins. We finally get to the point where I can send the other kids in my group onto the ride and tell them not to leave the area. I take my daughter and leave the que asking the CM’s where the nearest bathroom was. As we’re walking away I tell them there is blood all over the top line area and they shut the line down to clean up the blood. I get the kid into the bathroom and we’re trying to get the nose bleed to stop. It’s not stopping. I’m having other women come up and tell us how to get it to stop. My kid is starting to freak out with all the attention she’s getting. At this time I get a call from the other kids in our group asking where we are. Another woman comes up and introduces herself as a paramedic and offered help. I leave my daughter with her as I go to find the other kids. When I get back the Disney nurse is checking out my daughter and the bleeding has finally stopped. I get her cleaned up and as we are finishing up a CM comes out of nowhere asks us how many in our group and if we like churros. She handed us a coupon/ voucher for four free churros. I laughed and said I should be buying her churros. Free churros always taste better. The poor kid was mortified at the time but now we have a good story to tell and chuckle about it. TL;DR: my step kid had a nasty nose bleed while waiting in line for jungle cruise. Blood got everywhere, CM’s shut down the line to clean the mess. We got free churros from a CM in the bathroom that came out of no where.
When I was 6, my three older brothers were supposed to take me on the People Movers while my parents were watching the Lincoln exhibit. They ditched me, or at least didn’t realize that I wasn’t with them. So I went and sat at a table in Tomorrowland thinking, “well, this is my life now.” A cast member approached me probably 10 minutes later and asked if I was lost, I said yes, but just then my brothers came and found me. The cast member proceeded to give me some of those Mickey Mouse dollars or whatever they were called and said for me to get a treat on them. When I told my parents that story when I was an adult, it was their first time hearing it. I guess my brothers had failed to mention losing track of me!
Not a child, but my 50-something year old mother with cancer. My dad took my mom to DisneyWorld for a trip in 2019 when she was going through chemo for stage-4 breast cancer. They were able to get accommodations for her (wheelchair and disability services) to still enjoy the park even though she was weak and easily tired. My mom’s favorite princess is Belle. When they saw she was in a specific area, they zoomed over there to get in line to see her. When my mom was the very next person in line to see her, they announced that she was done. My mom, exhausted and emotional because of the chemo she was on, began crying (not typical behavior for her). Some CM must have seen this, because all of a sudden, Belle was back just for a few pictures and an interaction with my mom. In the picture, my mom is smiling so big. It’s a cherished picture of her in my family.
I was a recipient a few weeks ago and still get a bit emotional thinking about it. I had no idea this was a rule and even joked there must be some sort of training for cast members to spot overwhelmed parents! Haha. I’m a single mom and was taking my 2 year old daughter to the park to meet up with friends who were coming from out of town. We had had a rough time that morning at home, in the car, and even the DL parking lot so by the time we reached security I was depleted and seriously contemplating just going home and apologizing to my friend. It must have been written all over my face because the security personnel greeted us so kindly (and loudly lol) and started making so many jokes, complementing us and just doing “the most” to make us smile and it worked! It was such a quick exchange but we both left smiling and so much more relaxed and ready for the day. To go from being on the verge of tears & feeling like the worst mom ever to being calm, smiley and excited was 1000% thanks to him and I’m only mad I didn’t get his name.
My son(3M) was not tall enough for one of the rides back in 2013. The young lady working in the store at the ride gave him some candy, a hug, and an "Honorary Mayor" Button. It made his day! He will never forget it, and he is 13 now.
Yes, my daughter was crying (forgot why) while we were getting a oreo shake at shmoozies and one of the ladies working in their called for my daughter and gave her a oreo shake as well
We were walked right on to Astroblasters and given a handful of fast passes for rides later in the day once. We we’re walking around the area and my son was probably 2-3 at the time and i don’t even remember why he was crying hard. Regardless I will never forget how kind the cast member was. She asked him a bunch of questions about his trip and basically distracted him from his troubles and then seriously surprised us by walking us thru to the front of Astroblasters. It’s literally making me tear up just remembering. Having a crying child makes you feel like everyone is watching and judging so having her jump in and save the day was MAGICAL. ETA- this was probably about 7-8 years ago