[WishUponAStar]

[haha, ok, lets turn that last post into something more positive ;) ]

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why we love Walt Disney World so much is because somewhere along the line a REALLY special CM went above and beyond the call of duty to make something special happen for us! Some of these amazing people get paid very little, especially interns I've heard, so let's share some stories where a CM made your vacation truely magical.

I'll start... hehe.

It was this past vacation and I spotted this AMAZING Tinkerbell watch in the Mouse Gears Store in EPCOT. When I excitedly ran up to the registrar and told the CM that I wanted to purchase it she told me it was "sold out." That was the end of it. Several nights later while visiting the Contemporary I saw the watch in their shop, once again "sold out!" Ugh, now I was on a mission, hehe. THIS TIME the CM temp. closed her registar and politely directed guests to another while she called the merchandising line to get a list of all the WDW stores that carry them. She THEN CALLED all the stores and had the closest one hold it under my name. I thanked her a million times and ran over to the Polynesian to get it before the shop closed!! YAY! I wear the watch every day!!! Now THAT won't happen in Macy*s, hehe!!


Another situation..
When I was about 13-ish I was in WDW with my Grandma and one of my best friends. At this age we were already old enough to spend the days on our own and decided to go to the arcade in the Contemporary. At the time I wore this birthstone ring that my grandmother had given to me. Uh oh, I was playing a video game and looked down, my RING WAS MISSING. I instantly got upset and started crying. I told several CMs about it in the arcade and one of them got a manager. They apologized and asked me to leave my info with the hotel in case anything turns up (we were leaving the next day). My grandma was SO UPSET that I had ben so "careless" and it dampered the end of our trip. ALAS, about 2 weeks later a small package appeared with a note inside that said when one of the CMs was cleaning they found the ring behind a machine. Not only that but there was a pass, signed by the manager, that was good towards $15 in free games at that same arcade for next time we returned!! I STILL have that note in my "disney box."

[Cavey]

One trip we were staying off-site. Driving into MK we stopped at the parking booth to pay, and I asked the CM if a Traveler's Cheque was okay. He just smiled, handed me a parking permit, and told me parking was on him that day.

Now, compare that to SeaWorld. We were the first one's there that morning. The parking lot was completely empty, and they made us park way far back from the entrance, because I didn't pay for "premium" parking. [When we left that afternoon, the "Premium" parking area was still virtually empty!]

[Tinkerbelle67]

It's experiences like these that make WDW such a magical place. When we were in WDW in July DS and DD both got sick with strep. As we were coming back from the MD's at 10:30p.m. the security guard asked us what room we were in, we didn't think much of it. The next morning we found an autographed picture from Mickey and Minnie to the kids. They were thrilled and we were so grateful for that little "extra magic".

[llama]

My story needs a little background.

My younger daughter Emily went right from crawling to dancing. That child never walked. She was born to dance. When I enrolled her sister in a "Storybook Ballet" class, Emily at the age of 2 cried so hard, that they let her join too. From that moment there was no turning back. Dance classes six days a week. It was everything to her.

When she was about 7 we stayed at Dixie Landings (POR) and there was this wonderful doorman - an elderly man who was always all smiles and made everyone feel welcome. On our first day, Emily shuffled, hopped, stepped her way to the door. As she came up to him, he stopped, smiled down at her and tapped danced (amazingly well!!) right back at her. Emily just BEAMED - she'd found a soulmate. After that everytime he saw her he'd call out "Here comes my dancin' girl!) and they'd dance out the door together. She's 21 and she still remembers him as her favourite Disney memory.

[WishUponAStar]

Oh oh oh, I forgot to mention JAMIE. I think he's been the bagpipe player in EPCOT's Canadian pavillion show for YEARS!!!! I forgot the name of the show but I ALWAYS remembered Jamie. When I was younger I was TOTALLY FASCINATED by bagpipes and after the show we would always stop to talk to him and ask questions about the bagpipes and about performing in Disney. Just this last trip, I am now 27, my husband and I were walking by and even though we couldn't stop for the show just looking and seeing him STILL up there made me really smile!!! He's amazing!

[MissDisney]

Once, my little DS was looking for a pencil at the shop near the MGM gates. It was closing time, and the park was nearly empty. Next thing you know, a bunch of teenagers shoved him aside to rudely check out the CMs lanyard. The CM was perfectly polite, made the trades, and then turned his attention back to my little guy. My son asked what was going on with the pins, and the CM said, wait just a minute and I will show you. He came back with a shiny Big Pete Pirate Dubloon pin and gave it to my son! He said to be careful about trading it becasue it was one of the really rare ones. My son's eyes lit up like it was a real piece of pirate treasure! To this day, it is his beloved Disney souvenir, and we always think about that CM who took an extra few minutes after closing to take care of one last little kid!

[kizzmitt]

Back in 01 DD then 8 and I spent a wonderful week at POR and because of miss information missed the Mears Bus back to the airport. We were waiting for the Mears bus 1/2-3/4 of an hour before our pick up time and I asked a really rude CM if I was in the right place for the Mears bus and he told me yes.

After quite a while I asked again because there was a Mears van parked across the way and I wanted to make sure it wasn't our van. (I had never done this before!) There was a Disney Cruise Lines Bus parked in front of Luggage pick up at the time and I said something like "Oh how nice it must be to go on a cruise after your stay" As the bus pulled away the CM said "There not going on a cruise, thats the mears bus" Well, I didn't know! I missed it!

When I asked him what I could do he just said "It's not my problem!" Well I just stood there and started to cry! I was broke and tired and didn't know how to get home!

At this point a wonderful CM came over and made everything OK. She tried to get another Mears pick up but couldn't so she drove us herself! She went over and beyond her duties! Even after getting lost we still made it to the airport on time!

THank you again wonderful CM!

[WishUponAStar]

OH wow kizzmitt, what an awesome story!! How great was the last CM!!!
speaking of those Mears buses, haha. This last time was the first time we were taking the Magical Express well we were standing there waiting for it with our carry ons sad to go home and THE SAME THING there was a Disney Cruise Line bus there loading people. Finally, the driver came over to us and said "are you guys going to the airport?" Thank god he did, we thought he would have taken us to the cruise line, haha!!!

[ARIEL]

my story would have to be on my honeymoon. Dh and I were having a meal at CRT and we got talking to the waiter who was serving us. He was so nice and really informative about loads of things on at the time etc. Anyways, when we had finished and watched the fireworks, we got up to leave and this guy just told us to wait a little longer. When he came back, he had two CRT champagne flutes all boxed up with Mickey confetti and ribbons. A gift from him and WDW. Waaaaayyyyy cool.

They have pride of place in my dining room and every wedding anniversary, we use them for a glass of bubbly!



magic at its best!

[WishUponAStar]

We went to California Grill one night on my husband's birthday. The CM talked to me while my husband was in the bathroom and she was SO CONCERNED about wanting to time his cake arrival with the MK fireworks. It didn't really matter to me but I think she really wanted to make it special. Every time she would bring a different course out she would wink at me and guess what... she timed it PERFECTLY!!!
She brought out the cake right after the fireworks started!!!

My husband was so impressed... with his meal, her service, the cake, & THE FIREWORKS!

[quakercub]

My special CM's name is Phyllis and she works at Animal Kingdom. When we entered the park, as usual I went to the wheelchair to see if they had any ECV's (i have trouble walking distances and my partner gets weary pushing a manual chair). Well, they didn't have one. This was last May and it was very hot at AK, as it always seems to be no matter the time of year. The wheelchair renters were some of the only rude employees I've ever encountered, so we decided that I'd try to walk it. We headed over to DinoLand to see Lucky and were sweltering on a bench waiting for him. When he got there we stood and watched his show. Afterword, Phyllis who was working with him, noticed that I was having trouble standing. When she heard our story, she immediately supported me by holding my arm and led my partner to the VIP seats at Tarzan Rocks. We chatted for awhile after I thanked her, and she was impressed at how much we knew about the parks and Disney in general. She not only gave us each a big hug, she gave us a free coupon for a picture at Dinosaur! AND 2 fastpasses for the Dinosaur good for any time that day. I will always remember her kindness on a very hot and uncomfortable day (and I'll rent a length of stay ECV from an Orlando shop so this won't happen again)! God Bless you Phyllis, wherever you are.

[Janice419]

My husband took DS(3) on Goofy's Barnstormer and I stayed with DS(1) at the shop nearby. A CM came over and started talking to my son and making him laugh. We didn't have lanyards and she asked if we collected pins. I explained that I had picked up a few for the boys for when they were older. She then gave DS a Toy Story pin. He insisted on getting out of his stroller so he could give her a big hug. I took a picture of them together so I could tell him all about it when he gets a little older. Every time we walked near that shop for the rest of the trip my son would wave for Danielle.

[karliebug]

My favorite CM story has been told here before but I guess it bears repeating. When my oldest DD was about 5, we made our first trip to WDW. She had been saving her pennies and spare change to buy a special souvenier and spent most of the week trying to decide what to get. Well she finally decided on a special sleeping beauty bank. The Cm at the counter waited patiently while Kate counted out her nickles and pennies to pay for it. He rang it up and then he reached into his own pocket, pulled out a few coins and put them in the bank. "A few coins to start you out with", he said. Kate was just beaming and it really was a magical moment.

[MommytoMJM]

WE love Phyllis, she is a good friend of ours!!!

Originally Posted by quakercub

My special CM's name is Phyllis and she works at Animal Kingdom. When we entered the park, as usual I went to the wheelchair to see if they had any ECV's (i have trouble walking distances and my partner gets weary pushing a manual chair). Well, they didn't have one. This was last May and it was very hot at AK, as it always seems to be no matter the time of year. The wheelchair renters were some of the only rude employees I've ever encountered, so we decided that I'd try to walk it. We headed over to DinoLand to see Lucky and were sweltering on a bench waiting for him. When he got there we stood and watched his show. Afterword, Phyllis who was working with him, noticed that I was having trouble standing. When she heard our story, she immediately supported me by holding my arm and led my partner to the VIP seats at Tarzan Rocks. We chatted for awhile after I thanked her, and she was impressed at how much we knew about the parks and Disney in general. She not only gave us each a big hug, she gave us a free coupon for a picture at Dinosaur! AND 2 fastpasses for the Dinosaur good for any time that day. I will always remember her kindness on a very hot and uncomfortable day (and I'll rent a length of stay ECV from an Orlando shop so this won't happen again)! God Bless you Phyllis, wherever you are.

[downsouthtigger]

I have a great CM story:
It was my DW b-day last year and we were taking her to 1900 park fare for breakfast, it was relatively slow so she got to talk to Mary Poppins for a good while, mary even wished her a happy b-day. Well while at 1900, I talked with the manager and he got my Dw a tiara that said happy b-day and a placemat, then they all sang her happy b-day. THen we went to Epcot and got her a b-day pin and all the cm's wished her a happy bday.
For dinner we went to the Big River Grille at the boardwalk, now this was the highlight of the night, our waiter was excellent. He was very friendly and took care of us. Well he saw my DW pin and then teased her about her b-day and brought her a piece of cheesecake. He then told her they don't sing any songs or anything, but we (our waiter and I) got the whole dining room to sing her happy birthday, she absolutely loved it! She then told me it was the greatest b-day she ever had. Everytime we go to WDW she always tells me she has much more fun because I am a cm and she wants to be one when we move there.
So I guess thats my story, my wife always has one of the greates cm's to make her stays magical, me. Lol I guess we all wish we had our own personal cm's to give us a little magic every day don't we? Then again I guess thats my job as a DH too isn't it?