Tell me your heartwarming stories!

disneymyway

New Member
Original Poster
I have seen some things at WDW that have just made me cry!

Last week at DLP we saw a little girl spot tigger, burst into tears and run to him like she was in some kind of romantic movie and then jump into his arms and sob. It was the cutest thing ever.

Another time I met a dad from a rural area that had "saved all his life" to take his family to WDW and he just breathlessly told me how he felt like he was really flying in the Peter Pan ride and how he felt like he was in a dream.

I remember him saying, "Have you been in that Haunted Mansion? It's really something!" And then he described the entire ride to me. I let him because he was just so adorably happy!

What are the sweet and happy things you have witnessed?
 

no1swfanindy

New Member
I have a couple that I will always remember.

The first was at MK. I saw a little girl on Magic Carpet ride. It was obvious that the girl had downs syndrom, but she just laughed and smiled the whole time on the ride. I thought to myself, money can't buy that kind of happiness!!

The second was at MGM (now Hollywood Studios). I was exciting the "Honey I shrunk the kids" play area with my son when we noticed a woman literally dragging her son down the long walkway to the exit. He was kicking and screaming the whole way!! He did not want to leave the play area for sure!! As soon as she got to the exit, she let him go. He proceded to run all the way back inside the play area with her chasing him :lol::lol: We just laughed about that all day after that.
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
This is not one of my personal experiences but another forum member. Regardless of that, this is one of the most heart warming stories I have ever read. Like I have said before when posting this story...If you don't well up just a little check yourself into a cemetery because you are dead inside.

"The one story I wrote about several times in college is this one, due to how I would play with the medically challenged kids without obvious outward emotion(s) coming from the character (usually Pluto), one day a boy requested Pluto. Just like other terminally ill kids would request other characters as their wish. The boy was from Canada and terminal. Against his specialists wishes they made the trip to Orlando. He was young 12-14ish, I forget now. If my memory holds correctly, he had cancer and it had pretty much taken over his body. Every breath could be his last. After arriving at the Magic Kingdom, he could not do much due to being tired/drained, etc. His parents asked if our meeting could be moved up so he could go back to the hotel to rest. My lead and sups arranged for them to go back to their hotel (Contemp, Poly, etc) and that Pluto would come see him there.

I became a worry wart after finding out he had gone back to his hotel. The special lead and I got in the van and drove to the resort for the meet and greet. Back then, in room meet and greets were sorta verboten, but this boy could not really get out to come down stairs to an empty ballroom.We eventually decided to screw it and with his parent's permission we came up to their room. The boy who had been resting in the bed got up the strength to get out of bed enough to sit on the floor and roll a ball to Pluto. Without a moment to think, I got on all fours and using my nose (a tad akwardly (sp?)) rolled/pushed the ball back to him. He lit up and laughed and had his parents look at what Pluto did. One of the parents explained how he wanted a puppy, but he is allergic to dogs. I was this boy's pet for a while, then he told me to sit. I did, like a dog, then he told me it was ok to sit indian style (yeah kid, I wish, do you know how thick this fur suit is???) Pluto sat in what appeared to be indian style enough for him. For the next 35 minutes all we did was roll a ball back and forth. He started to fade and wanted to take a nap. I felt horrible because he was laughing and having a blast. He had rubbed Pluto's tummy a few times, and got Pluto licks from that slick red plastic tongue. After he got under his covers, Pluto got up on the bed and laid at the foot of the bed the best that he could. His parents told him to rest and turned off the lights.

My lead of course was no more then a couple feet away watching the whole thing and never loosing sight of us. The boy feel asleep very quickly. Pluto got up, left him an autograph and a special gift. Pluto and lead then left. Lead was crying, mom and dad were crying, and yes, I was crying. Mom and dad wanted to personally thank the person inside Pluto. My lead tried to give the party line, but I went up and gave them a hug.

Two days later over breakfast, I read how the boy died on the way home clutching the gift that Pluto gave him. His mother said in the article that the boy died talking about how Pluto was his pet and that all he talked about was how he and Pluto played ball like he always wanted to with a doggie."
.....
 

CBug88

Member
Master Yoda- a very touching story! That is what Disney is all about! Making dreams come true!

I have had/seen several touching moments in WDW, too many to recall I'm sure. One that pops into mind...a couple of years ago in college 5 of my friends and I decided to go to WDW for Spring Break. The first night my boyfriend and I decided to stay at MK while the others went to DTD to eat at House of Blues. My Boyfriend and I stopped for a picture by Cinderella's castle (by the bridge into Tomorrowland) and right next to us a man proposed to his girlfriend w/ her parents looking on. For whatever reason (probably b/c I'm a hopeless romantic) I got teary- eyed. I just thought it was so neat that he proposed to her at MK, esp w/ her parents there. I thought, "that family loves WDW as much as mine does!!"

Another thing that gets to me is, our last night of our trip(s), my family always visits MK. When we are about to walk out for the last time, my Dad always stops (usually next to City Hall or Tony's) and looks around and replays the trip in his head. I can tell that he has truly had the time of his life..I may have even seen a tear or two :shrug:. That is why I always keep going back, b/c of the memories WDW holds for my family!! It is truly a special place for all of us.
 

DisneyFanLS

New Member
My most touching story is my own....

In the year 2000, I had decided to ask my then girlfriend to marry me. I purchased an extremely nice engagement ring and, since we are both HUGE Disney fans, I decided to propose to her in front of Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World.

The first day of our trip, we visited Animal Kingdom. The second day we visited Epcot. The third day was the day we visited the Magic Kingdom, so I walked around for three days with this engagement ring in my pocket. We spent the entire day having fun, and were sitting on a bench in Adventure Land (eating Dole Whips) when I suggested we walk back over to the castle with the excuse that I wanted to get more pictures. Well, my girl was very tired from our day of fun, and kept insisting that we go back to the hotel. After some negotiating, I got her to agree. We walked back to the Castle, where I looked for someone trustworthy and reliable to videotape this happy event. I spotted an older couple walking through the castle and told them that I was about to propose to my girlfriend, and that she had NO idea what was about to happen. They agreed to videotape for me.

I approached her with the excuse that I wanted some video of us together at MK. After a couple of minutes, I secretly took the ring case from my pocket and dropped to one knee. All she could say was "what are you doing?" Well, I proposed, she said yes and we were married in March 2000. BY THE WAY, we also HONEYMOONED at WDW!!!

I replay that tape often, and see the crowd that had gathered around us, I also see both of us shedding a few tears (I also noticed some on-lookers wiping their eyes)....

Well, that was the HAPPIEST day of my life, and BY FAR my greatest memory of WDW!!!

And now YOU know!!!!!
 

nemofinder22

Well-Known Member
^ Awww. I'll read the rest tomorrow when its not 3am lol

Oh really quick though heartwarming one far ya after Remember... Dreams Come True at DL during the 50th almost everyone around was teary eyed or wipeing tears off there face. Its one of those moments that you can't capture on tape( well I guess you could once the parade lights turn back on)
 

TinkerCarol

New Member
This is not one of my personal experiences but another forum member. Regardless of that, this is one of the most heart warming stories I have ever read. Like I have said before when posting this story...If you don't well up just a little check yourself into a cemetery because you are dead inside.
Wow, what a story. And what a miracle for a young boy who had a dream that could not wait.
 

pjulie75

Member
My special moment, is when my twin girls aged 2 at the time first met Mickey. We where visiting Disneyland Paris and had to queue for about 45 mins to meet him. Kids were really tired and getting a bit restless, but the minute it was our turn to meet him it was magical. The girls looked so cute, they ran up to him together, had a turn each to give him a big hug and a kiss and we took lots of pics. They were laughing and giggling, so excited to be meeting Mickey. Our last pic was on the 2 of them kissing his nose at the same time, it brings a tear to my eyes, seeing Disney through their little eyes is so special. Disney truly knows how to make wonderful family memories.:animwink:
 

myhappyplace

Crazy Cat Lady
I posted this story in the scrapbooking thread, so if you've seen it already, I'm sorry.

In March 2004, my sister and I took my 86 year old Grammy for her first trip to WDW. Needless to say, during the entire week, she was blown away by the parades, etc. The characters were super nice to her (she was a cute little white haired lady in a wheelchair), singling her out often. Timon even left his meet-and-greet line to run over and hug her.
Anyway, on our next to last night we were in MK for Spectromagic. We wanted to be sure to get the seating for her wheelchair, so we grabbed something to eat and found a spot. We still had a while before the parade started, so my sister ran into one of the shops to kill time. Gram decided to take a bathroom break before the parade, but couldn't go herself. We asked the family next to us (dad, mom, young son) if they would watch our spots. We left the wheelchair (she wanted to walk, just can't do it alone for distances). They said sure, so we went. When we came back, they asked if we would watch their spot while they got something to eat. Naturally, we said sure too. When they came back they had 2 of those metallic mylar Mickey balloons. One was for their son and the other was for Grammy. They said they overheard us saying it was her first trip, and they thought she was sweet. It was such a sweet gesture and they will never know how much it meant to her entire family.
We deflated the balloon when we got back to PA and hung it on her wall. About 2 weeks after returning home from our trip, Grammy got really sick, and never got better. She passed away that September. We reinflated the balloon for her memorial service, because everyone knew that the last time she was really happy and healthy was at Disney.
 

pcarathers

Active Member
That was a wonderful story! Here's mine on a lighter note. We made it Disney for the first time in 2000 for my son's birthday. My dad, my sister, my 7 year old son, and I went to Chef Mickey's on the first night. Donald Duck brought out my son's birthday cake I had ordered. The smile on my son's face was phenomenal. After that, we went to MK for the parade & fireworks. We were at the back of the crowd during the fireworks, so my dad put my son on his shoulders. During the firework show, I looked at my son and he had tears in his eyes. I thought maybe the fireworks were scaring him. I asked him what was wrong, and he looked down at me and said "I'm just so happy to be here!" That right there paid for the whole trip!!!!!
 

pixiesteno

Well-Known Member
tell me your heartwarming stories

This past February I took my SIL and we ran away from home to get some sunshine and warmth, it was 7 degrees out that morning we got up to get on the plane. Our first night at the World we went to EMH at MK and there we were two grandmas feeling like 10 year olds and bawling our heads off because Wishes was just so beautiful. It was my SILs very first visit to WDW and what better way to start than spending the evening at MK. We both felt pretty sappy, but we had such a good time.
 

disneymyway

New Member
Original Poster
Oh my gosh I thought no one was answering this thread! Thanks for the responses!

I have another one. It was at Hoop-dee-doo-Revue.

There were these teenagers that were waiting outside to be let in - obviously not there of their own free will. They were rolling their eyes and looking so bored and mad at their parents.

I'm so glad I got to see where they were sitting, because all of the sudden they were into it - smiling, laughing, singing, stomping their feet! Happy in spite of themselves.

I think Disney is the place that everyone remembers what it is like to be joyful, to play, and to smile. Sorry if that sounds maudlin, but I think it is true. I was so happy for those kids - they don't know how lucky they are that for a few moments they forgot about having to be cool.
 

Gorjus

Well-Known Member
I'm blessed to work there with so many wonderful characters. One day with Belle and Beast, we had 2 in one day.

1. A little boy and his sister waiting in line before Belle comes out. Mom and boy and sister and dad explain to me that he doesn't go see characters. He is afraid of them. I talk to him a bit. He is first in line and hesitantly he goes to see Belle when she comes out. But the whole time we were waiting for Belle, he kept talking about the Beast. After seeing Belle, he gets back in line to wait for the Beast. When Beast comes out, I make sure that Belle and Beast know that this is special for this little boy. Belle and Beast spent a lot of time with this little boy. The photos were amazing.

2. A grandmother, grandfather and grandson are in line to see Belle and Beast. It is your usual meet and greet; nothing special, but not boring either. At the end of the meet and greet, Belle notices the grandmother is crying. Belle immediately envelopes Grandma in a bear hug and just holds her for a long time. Grandma then gives Beast the same type of hug. Grandma just kept telling them how much this means to them. At the end of the day, Belle and Beast could do nothing but talk about how much this woman meant to them and how much meeting her made their day.

Later in the day I meet grandma at another meet and greet. We recognize each other and I tell her how much Belle and BEast enjoyed meeting her. She breaks down crying again and tells me her story. Her and her grandson sit and watch Beauty and the Beast together all the time. She has always wanted to come to WDW but couldn't afford it. Finally, in their retirement, she and her husband saved enough to take their grandson. Belle and Beast are their favorite characters. Meeting them was a dream come true. Later, when I see Belle and BEast again, I tell them the story. They again get all misty eyed.

My favorite moments are when someone is meeting their favorite princess. They could be 3, 30, or 83 years old. They just have to be sincere and gushing. In the case of a small child it is so much more meaningful when mom or dad 'gets out of the way' and just lets the child enjoy their moment without needing to be involved in it. It is magical when a princess and a guest are having a heartfelt chat together and no one can hear and no one interupts.
 

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
I was at WDW with my two daughters.

My youngest, about 4 or 5 at the time tripped and fell, right on her knees (Right in the hub too). However, because of the way she fell - straight down - there were no scrapes. After a few hugs we were good to go again.

Later that evening, we were in the Pin Shop in Frontier land. She starts telling this story to the two CM's in the store, however she adds her own twist. According to her, the reason her knees were not scraped up was because it was at WDW, and "Disney World is a magical place, and the magic of Disney healed my knees, and I did not get hurt" Well, she had both CMl's in tears, and they ended up giving her a pin because of her story.

-dave
 

joanna71985

Well-Known Member
Oh man. I am loving these stories. I love that I get to work with the characters, and experience seeing everyone meeting the characters. Here are a few of my favorite memories:
1) A family was going back and forth meeting all the Playhouse Disney characters. They had made homemade autograph books, complete with pictures of each character. Well, Annie loved the books so much that she tried to stuff one into her front pocket! This had all the kids in hysterics.
2) I was able to help pick out a family for a magical moment down at the Power Rangers. The 2 kids were able to get up on the Power Ranger car and get a group picture. They were so excited, and the parents were just so happy.
3) This one is from 2 years ago. They used to do a magical moment where a family would get to ride Buzz Lightyear with (who else)...Buzz. Well, one day the dream squad picked the cutest family. It was the little boy's birthday, and the look on his face was priceless. After the ride, the mom was in tears and could barely speak, she was so happy.

I have more, but these are the first ones that come to mind.
 

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