Random, Unexpected Moments that You Just Can't Forget

[jakeybake]

Hi,

To me what makes WDW special are those random, unexpected moments that happen out of the blue, that end up being an unforgettable part of your memories.

For me it was last December at Epcot during Illuminations. I was on a solo trip thanks to a work training that I was lucky enough to go to. I was staying at the Yacht Club and had arrived a day early so I had an entire afternoon to myself to kill. I walked over to Epcot and spent the entire afternoon there. I left around 6:00, went back to the YC to freshen up and then shot back over so I could see the Holiday version of Illuminations.

I grabbed a spot right near the Refreshment Outpost as soon as the show started. I was the only one there until another solo traveler showed up. We were joking about how the ducks didn't even flinch during all the noise and explosions and making small talk. The show was incredible and very moving, just wonderful.

After it ended the person who was standing near by looked at me, leaned forward, gave me a hug and said, "Merry Christmas" and walked away.

Now being from the Northeast moments like that just don't happen and if they do you consider the person a nut job! This on the other hand was such a warm and sweet moment that it really touched my heart.

At that exact moment it made me realize why I love WDW so much and how it can move people to do things they would otherwise never dream of doing. Might sound corny to some folks but to me it was just an incredible moment.

Jay

[jodijo]

For me it happened when my son was 4 (He is now 14). My kids and I went to DL without my husband. While we were there, we met up with my family and some friends. I told my son he could have 1 thing to take home from the trip. On the last night he picked a light up Buzz Light Year toy. About 10 minutes after buying it, he left it in the bathroom. We checked and it was gone. I had $17 left in my pocket (which had to get me through the next day) and a new Buzz cost $10. But, what can you do when your 4 year old is so upset? We went to the store and picked out another one. When we went to pay, the CM asked why my son was crying. I told her the story. She handed my son the toy and refused to take my money. Now, I was the one in tears. I don't think she understood what that meant to me.

That hooked me on Disney for life. I know it was a small gesture but it meant that I could feed my kids the next day.

[T-Belle]

I agree. WDW brings out the best in people. A couple of years ago my DD and I were just starting a well planned week at Disney. We were checking in CBR when a lovely young couple were checking out. They had been on their honeymoon. As they we're leaving the lobby they asked if my DD and I would like their Typhoon Lagoon rainy day passes. Of course we accepted and thanked them profusely. We had a blast there one afternoon. And just added several more wonderful memories for us.

[Missy_Mouses_Dad]

Mine is the opposite...

I was walking away from Mission Space towards Soarin' with 3 fast passes. DW DD and I had been on the ride earlier and thought we would try it again. A young boy and two friends ran by me to go on Mission Space and saw fastpasses were gone, and the wait was like 2 hours. They were really upset they wouldn't get to go on the ride. I called one of the boys over and gave him my fastpasses. He thanked me about 10 times and took off screaming to his friends that they now had fastpasses. Just seeing their excitment made my day...

[joonyer]

I have posted this before in other threads, but this is a great topic, so it naturally keeps repeating itself.

The first time we took our boys to WDW (they were 6 & 9 at the time, & my DW had never been either), we arrived at our resort (All-Star Sports) about 8pm, and found out that the MK was open that night 'til midnight. The boys were so excited, we didn't even wait to unpack and caught the bus to MK, even though we had not planned to hit any parks until the next morning. We had not even looked at a times guide and knew nothing about the fireworks or parade schedules, we were just hitting attractions at random and enjoying the awe in our boys faces and their comments.

We found ourselves riding Splash Mountain about the the same time that Wishes started. To top it off, there was a beautiful full moon that night rising over the castle, and when we rode around the outside portions of the mountain, with the fireworks going off and the full moon overhead, and the music from the ride and Wishes, well the is no other way to describe it other than to say it was just 100% PURE DISNEY MAGIC.
The boys were amazed and even DW and I were carried away by it all.
It brought tears of joy to our eyes. WOW!

That completely unplanned "accidental" discovery of just how magical a place that MK can be has become the essence of Disney Magic for us and our favorite Disney memory; kind of like your first love, if you know what I mean.

On every trip since we have intentionally ridden Splash Mtn. during Wishes just to recreate and relive the memory of that first truly magical experience. We may not always get a full moon, but reliving the memory of that first Disney park magic is priceless, and worth the price of admission all by itself. We have many great family memories from other vacations, adventures and camping trips, but that Splash Mountain experience is at the top of my list of favorite family memories.

To me, this kind of family experience is what I imagine Walt was after when he first dreamed of and created DisneyLand.

[dreamscometrue]

I'll never forget when DD was probably around 2 yrs old and we were in ToonTown or whatever it was back then. She was just happy walking around. She happened to turn around and behind her was Tigger. She stopped, called out "Tig!" and Tigger waved. She then called out "Jump!" and Tigger jumped. She could not stop giggling. Tigger then took both of her hands and they "jumped" together, my daughter yelling "Jump Tig" the entire time. When they finally stopped, Tigger gave her the biggest hug and she said "I love u, tig." It was incredible. I could not thank "TiG" enough.

[seanyred]

Last summer at DL it was our last day and my DW and I wanted to ride Toy Story Mania one last time before we had to head to the airport. We got to the ride and the wait was long. We then decided to try the single rider line and just be split up. When we got to that line they were about to close single rider...the cast member ended up changing his mind and allowed us in the line...and to top it off they let us ride together anyway.

[FenwayGirl]

The night before our birthday breakfast at CRT, our autograph books were stolen out of our carriage in Epcot.

The girls (then 10 and 5) decided that it was okay and the pictures that we had taken on the trip were good enough. As they stood in line to meet with Cindy, the CM asked them where their autograph books were. We explained, took the pics and headed upstairs. As we were sitting down at our cozy table over looking the carousel we noticed a CM coming our way. She has 2 new autograph books and pens for the kids. What a great suprise. After breakfast the girls were escorted downstairs to have Cindy be the first to sign their new books

[DisneyBarb]

I have a few, I hope you don't mind...

1) Our first trip and my daughter (tends not to give compliments) who was then 7 said "mom thank you so much for taking us here" as we were riding Splash Mountain

2) That same trip the nice CM that gave us extra fast passes because we were chatting with him waiting in line..

3) 2 years ago (son was 9) Minnie came up to the window and went nose to nose and hand to hand with my son..likey they were a mirror to each other. made his trip...

4)sipping hot cocoa listenting to Christmas music on Main Street..

[Gator]

We were at the AK on a rainy day, which wasn't the greatest experience. But many people avoided the park that day because of the rain. We were walking along when a castmember jumped in front of us and said Winnie the Pooh and friends were waiting just down the trail. When we got there, NO ONE was there. My DD 3 and DS 2 got to play with the characters for about 10 minutes before anyone else showed up. It was awesome to see my kids playing like that. What a treat.

[BigThunderFan]

Hi,



I grabbed a spot right near the Refreshment Outpost as soon as the show started. I was the only one there until another solo traveler showed up. We were joking about how the ducks didn't even flinch during all the noise and explosions and making small talk. The show was incredible and very moving, just wonderful.

After it ended the person who was standing near by looked at me, leaned forward, gave me a hug and said, "Merry Christmas" and walked away.

Now being from the Northeast moments like that just don't happen and if they do you consider the person a nut job! This on the other hand was such a warm and sweet moment that it really touched my heart.

At that exact moment it made me realize why I love WDW so much and how it can move people to do things they would otherwise never dream of doing. Might sound corny to some folks but to me it was just an incredible moment.

Jay

I'm surprised, being from the northeast and all, that the first thing to go through your mind wasn't "did that guy just steal my wallet...?"

[Brer Longhorn]

My family made a trip in 06 and due to the age/height of our children we had to bypass alot of our favorite rides (BTMMR, Splash, Space...), but knew going in that would be the case, so we had a great time anyways. The one thing I really wanted to do was EE - it was new and we weren't sure when we would be coming back so I really wanted to experience it on this trip. We made it to AK and by the time we made it to EE, the line was well over an hour wait with fast passes not available. My wife knew I had been really excited so she told me to hop in line and she'd wait with the kids until I was done. I was so torn - I wanted to ride it but I felt that forcing her to wait on me was selfish. So here we are off to the side of the entrance having this entire conversation and I finally said "It's OK, I'll just wait until next time."
Suddenly, a CM tapped me on the arm and said "Why should you wait until next time?" and handed me a parent swap pass with a huge smile on his face. I was in, on and off the ride in less than 10 minutes. He made my trip!! Very magically and totally unexpected!!

[ChipNDale79]

My wife and I were waiting to get in DHS before it opened, next thing we know a CM is asking us all sorts of questions and then finally asks if we would like to help open the park.

We said yes and were ushered into the greenroom.For the opening of the park we stood on the back of a car and a few lines to read in the short show.

We were escorted in the car (might i mention a car that was personally used by Walt himself) to be the first to ride Aerosmith for the day, all by ourselves.

I'll never forget that.

[hope23]

I love this question! Our recent trip to Disney was the first for DS 5 and DS 3. It was truly as magical as it could possibly get... everything was wonderful. Our boys especially loved Splash Mountain and BTMRR... their genuine thrill was so overwhelming that we video taped them experiencing the rides so we could always remember those precious looks on their faces. We were so thankful to get that video. BUT... then DH accidentially taped over it and we were so bummed... and it was the last day of our trip. We had already gotten into Epcot and only had single park passes... very sad to have lost that video with no chance to replace it. However, that day was also DH's birthday, so he thought, "it's Disney... why not ask". So he explained the whole thing to the CM at the counter and said that his birthday wish was to be able to take his boys to Magic Kingdom one more time and get a video of them on Splash and BTMRR. SHE SAID YES! She gave each of us free entrance passes to MK and when we got there we were given fast passes to get right on both rides! The boys kept saying how cool it was that Disney gave Daddy his birthday wish... we got ours too (:

[Phantod]

Tough to pick a couple, and likewise, I've reported these before, but I never get tired of writing about them.

We were at Disneyland with the kids. Our DD was probably around 8 or 9. We stopped in front of the Carousel to watch the Sword in the Stone show. Merlin comes out and invites a few people to pull out the sword....nothing, it ain't budging. Then he invites the DD to give it a shot....sure enough, out it comes. She got some kind of award, princess for the day or something like that. Talk about a kid with a big grin on her face for the rest of the day.

And magic does happen when you least expect it. Our DD has since married and moved away to Ogden Utah. We still live in the Sacramento area. Last May, we decide to hit the parks since we have annual passes. We fly down Saturday and hit both CA Adventure and DL on Sunday. It's pretty much a zoo that day. It's "Bat" day, and both parks are packed. We get in line at BTMRR and as we get to the head of the line, I look back to see how long of a line there is for the rear car. Who do I see, but the DD and her husband, and a friend of our sons from Sac. Her husband is kind of looking our way so I call out to him...the friend says to Ryan, hey that guy over there knows you. Our DD looks over, her eyes get big and she runs over to us for hugs.

What are the chances? We had no idea they were there that weekend, and they had no idea we were there.

Can you say goosebumps?

[AvaNellMouse]

I have always wanted to go to any Disney park alone, not sure why, just the thought of doing what I wanted and moving at my own pace was such a fantasy.
Years ago I had the opportunity to be the lead on a trip for 93 people - yup, 93. I went alone and just chaparoned the chaparones.
The first day at Disney, I went to the hub, bought a cup of coffee and sat. I watched everyone come into the park - young, old, families, friends, every nationality - everyone was looking at maps and so fresh and lively. It was all that Walt ever wanted and I was seeing it right in front of me. Talk about MAGIC!!
It is a beautiful Disney memory that will last a lifetime.

[brownie]

Our server at Donald's Breakfastosaurus "squirted" me with "ketchup" using a ketchup bottle with red string in it. Not only did he get me, but he proceeded to get everyone else as they returned from the buffet (those of us who had already been had kept quiet, of course!) It was so fun I had to find and purchase my own set of ketchup and mustard bottles when we returned home.

[Daisy'sMom]

I'm surprised, being from the northeast and all, that the first thing to go through your mind wasn't "did that guy just steal my wallet...?"

I can't see the humor in this.

[BigThunderFan]

I can't see the humor in this.

What I meant was, anyone I know that lives in the northeast would have instantly thought that upon receiving a hug from a stranger.

[Joannelet]

I was a cast member on the college program and was missing home greatly around Thanksgiving. While everyone at home in New Jersey was getting out their sweaters and preparing for some Christmas snow...here I was in shorts and feeling a little homesick. To cure my blues I went to DHS to do some shopping. (I had never visited Disney in during the holidays so all the decorations and Christmas activities in WDW were all new for me) As I was walking around I saw a street in DHS full of people and a cast member handing out 3-D glasses. He was like hey you look like you could use these and stay here because its something you DON'T want to miss.
I take the 3-D glasses and put them on. He tells me to look at the lights on the lamp posts.....the glasses make the lights look like they have angels flying around them. He tells me that what is about to happen starts up in front by the line. So there I am the only one standing by the line.
Eventually an announcement is made and everyone joins me around this line. Suddenly Minnie (my favorite) and Pluto come out and stand in front of me. They are jumping up and down & are excited about something!!!
Then this story goes on about some little girl who wanted her daddy to have christmas lights etc etc...and then the turned on the switch which of course was for the Osbourne lights. Minnie grabbed my arm and walked through with me pointing out the lights etc. As I turned the corner I saw snow and my heart just melted. Here I was missing home wearing shorts and there when I needed it most was snow It was an amazing moment and lifted my spirits that all the things I truly needed was right in front of me at that exact moment
It was where I was meant to be.
They no longer hand out those 3-D glasses but I have a couple of pairs that I took home with me.....I enjoy putting them on at christmas time and staring at my tree Those angels were there when I needed it most and made me feel like I was home