What would you have done????

[Twinsowner]

Something happened on our trip last Nov. that I was wondering what others would have done. Family of 5.. me, DW, DD3, DD3 and MIL. We were at Magic Kingdom walking in front of Mickeys Philharmagic around 10:30 am when one of the girls from Cinderellas castle approached us and asked if we were a family of 5. afterwards she asked if we would like to be the special guests for lunch at CRT.
The problem was we had reservations for 12:30 already at CRT. The twins costumes (Snow White n Cindy) were in the stroller and we had plans to put them on just before lunch. At first I think I stood there looking at the lady for about 5 secs not knowing what to say. Then I finally blurted out that we already had ressies and we couldnt be the guest family. If we said yes then the girls wouldnt have time to get their dresses on which in their minds would have been tragic. And since it was CRT we had already paid for our meal and I wasnt sure how that would work for a refund on such short notice. We certainly hated to turn down a free lunch as the special guests but thats what happened. we were on the deluxe dining plan and had plenty of credits so it wasnt a big deal really. But on the other hand we were very much wanting a year of a magic dream gift and this was our chance!!! What do you think you would have done??? its easy to think of things now but at the time we were put on the spot and had to answer right away.

[CaptSmee]

Well? What did you do? :confused: I would have taken the offer and explained the ADR!

[Twinsowner]

We politely turned them down and kept on our schedule. :blush:

[gerald72]

I don't think i could have turned down anything for free. But I'm sure there were 5 other people who were glad you did.

[dancin Disney style]

I would have explained the situation and see what the CM said.

At least you were offered something....we were offered something at BB in 2007 that we could make use of but it was still nice to have the story.

[Tinkerfreak]

I would have accepted, explained that I allready had an ADR (they would have taken care of that) and asked if my girls could change first. I'm sure your experience would have been wonderful and the girls would have been treated extra special. They would probably had extra time with Cinderella and maybe gotten some special gifts and photos. I'm positive they would have been very accomodating and would have canceled your other adr with no penalty and allowed your girls to change.

[TheVBs]

It's easy for me to say I would have accepted immediately and figured out the rest later. But when you're surprised like that and you've got some concerns about it not going the way your kids expect, I can understand your response. We might have done the same.

[dancin Disney style]

It's easy for me to say I would have accepted immediately and figured out the rest later. But when you're surprised like that and you've got some concerns about it not going the way your kids expect, I can understand your response. We might have done the same.

True...:yes:

[Ian]

You know whether or not it was the "right" decision, I kinda like it. Think about it ... they probably went and found another family with two little girls that didn't already have a reservation at CRT (maybe Mom and Dad didn't even know you could eat there).

So these two little girls were able to go in to the Castle, be treated like little princesses, meet Cinderella, and have a magical breakfast in a magical place all because you did the honorable thing and passed on that freebie.

I say kudos to you for helping to spread the magic!! :thumbsup:

[PetefromRI]

I'm with Ian!You did what you thought was right and in turn someone less fortunate got an experience that they might never had gotten.Good for you!

[Piglet822]

You know whether or not it was the "right" decision, I kinda like it. Think about it ... they probably went and found another family with two little girls that didn't already have a reservation at CRT (maybe Mom and Dad didn't even know you could eat there).

So these two little girls were able to go in to the Castle, be treated like little princesses, meet Cinderella, and have a magical breakfast in a magical place all because you did the honorable thing and passed on that freebie.

I say kudos to you for helping to spread the magic!! :thumbsup:


I was going to respond by saying I would have probably done the same thing you did, being it was an on the spot decision to make, but Ian really put it in perspective and I totally agree!
Even though you might not have gotten the free meal, you unknowingly brought Magic into someone elses day :) Kudos to you :thumbsup:

[Daisy'sMom]

You did the right thing. Your family got had a wonderful time and another family did also. (thanks to you):mickey:

[deedeenmickey]

I absolutely LOVE Ian's post. It brings a totally new perspective. When I first read the OP's post I thought "what? I would have taken the free meal and been the family of the day!" Now that I have the new perspective I believe in the future I would turn it down.

The only downside is I wouldn't want Disney, for some strange reason, to think people weren't interested in these things.

[kakn7294]

OMG, I actually agree with Ian! (just teasing ya buddy - we're on opposite sides of a hockey puck right now!) Anyway, I think it was a win-win situation for you. You already had it booked so you were going anyway and you were on the deluxe DDP so you say you had plenty of credits. In this case, you can feel good that perhaps another family who wouldn't have otherwise gotten the opportunity got to have a great time. I can't say for sure what I would have done being put on the spot like that!

[javamama]

I probably would have explained we had ADR's already, but thanked them. Usually I'm not so swift on the spot with some situations, all that matters is that your girls had a great time:thumbsup:

[brownie]

Did your girls enjoy it? If so, I wouldn't worry about whether it was the right or wrong decision.

As Ian said, someone else was probably given the opportunity in your place.

[Mfarquar]

I, too agree with Ian! That's exactly what I thought when I read this post.

I also know how hard it is to make a decision like this when you're on the spot.

I was at a Billy Joel & Elton John concert a few years ago with my mother, my mother's friend and my friend. The set of 4 tickets were a birthday gift to my mother (my friend went because my sister couldn't come with us any longer). While going up to the bar to get a couple of glasses of wine with my friend, a staff member approached me and asked us if we'd like to be "special guests" of Billy and Elton and sit in the front row. We were so excited - until I asked if my mom and her friend could come as well, and they told us, "no" there are only 2 seats. They also wouldn't let us chose the 2 people to sit up front.

I had to turn down the offer, as hard as it was. After all, this was my mom's birthday celebration and it wouldn't be very nice to never come back from going to get some wine!

IMO, sometimes decisions like these are more about the people you're with than the value of the offer. It seems as though you're little girls would have been crushed not to arrive in their princess dresses, defeating the purpose of the outing in the first place.

I think you made the right decision and it's just special that they chose you to ask :mickey:

[Twinsowner]

Thanks everyone!! I really hadn't thought of some of those replies. We were so shocked when they approached us I had a million thought s going through my head at once. And it worked out great. The girls had a blast and we got some of the best pictures of our trip. With the deluxe plan we werent out anything. I am sure there was some other family who really enjoyed a chance to do that!! Thanks for making me feel better. :thumbsup:

[kemps@wdw]

If a refund for your original adr was not an option, then I would have passed also. Not to mention the missed opportunity for your little princesses to "dress" for dinner! That, for them, WOULD have been a tragedy. As it worked out, you got your time @ CRT and, thanks to you, so did some other very lucky little girls. Good call! :thumbsup:

[tjstrike]

I agree, you did the right thing and brightened somebody else's day at the same time !!

[TheVBs]

Great perspective Ian! I hadn't thought of that.

[Mousemates]

I agree, you did the right thing and brightened somebody else's day at the same time !!

:ditto:

[mudpuppysmom]

I have two boys, so I'm trying to think of something equivalent....but had we had ADR's already, I would have looked at the CM and said we are eathing there already at XX time, but can we find another family that could take advantage of this offer?

So I'm all for spreading the magic around when, and if we can.

I tell DS#1 all the time that some of the kids he sees there are only able to go once in their life and he gets to go a LOT, so let's let them take a turn at something .....like riding up front in the monorail or being conductor on the train (two things he really NAGS me about when we are there!). He has gotten to do those things before and if someone else is waiting we let them go instead, b/c I know we'll be back and he can do it another time.

[TeamJonasSister]

I would have taken the offer. :mickey:

[Mickey91]

I think I would have figured out a way to get the costume and changed in the bathroom. That would be too cool to be the special guests!!

[Daddy Mouse]

I think you handled the situation in the best manner for you and your family. In this situation there is no right or wrong answer, just what works best for your family.

[Nini5055]

Awwwww...you did just fine. You had your magic visit in the castle, so your girls did not miss out. Just think.....because you were so polite, someone who might not have had ADR's for the castle (like us this trip :() might have been given the opportunity.

I don't care about the special little gifts...I can always buy my dd7 what she desires, I have no problem with that...we just can't even get the ADR!!!!

So you helped a WDW guest just like me. :thumbsup: I am absolutely certain you will get some extra Pixie Dust again!!!:mickey:

[Belster]

I also would have accepted, thinking that in my mind there may have been more fun surprises in store. I would have asked about the ADR thing as well.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I say good for you for giving someone else the opportunity to get the free meal...but I would have explained to them why....did they give you another happy?