Your Best Magical Moments...

[BearcatsFan]

Ours happened last year. We had slept in - we weren't worried about getting to the park at rope drop and wanted to enjoy breakfast a little later without the crowds.

By the time we got to MK, it was probably 11 a.m. We spotted a CM on the sidewalk and asked her where the closest store to purchase lanyards was located - turns out it was the store right behind where she was standing. We had a good laugh about it and went on our way.

We did our shopping and came back out - same CM standing in the same place. She spots us and says, "It must be fate - it's the two of you again! I've been looking for people like you all day!" We weren't sure what the heck she could be talking about - turns out she wants us to be grand marshalls of the "Celebrate a Dream Come True" parade!

We work out all the details, when to meet and where. We got to go "behind the scenes" and sit in the car while we waited for the parade to begin. It was so neat hearing our names announced over the loudspeaker: "Today's Grand Marshalls are The B----- Family from Cincinnati, Ohio!" Gives me chills just thinking about it!

We waved and smiled like fools the entire time, both of us wondering out loud how many people's vacation photos/videos we were in! At the end, they had a roped-off area for us to stand, and all the parade characters came by and shook our hands or sprinkled confetti over us.

When it was all said and done, we received ears with our names on them, a free 8x10 photo of our choice, and a certificate showing the date we grand marshalled.

It was a memory to last a lifetime, to be sure.

 

[ducky_love]

Ours happened last year. We had slept in - we weren't worried about getting to the park at rope drop and wanted to enjoy breakfast a little later without the crowds.

By the time we got to MK, it was probably 11 a.m. We spotted a CM on the sidewalk and asked her where the closest store to purchase lanyards was located - turns out it was the store right behind where she was standing. We had a good laugh about it and went on our way.

We did our shopping and came back out - same CM standing in the same place. She spots us and says, "It must be fate - it's the two of you again! I've been looking for people like you all day!" We weren't sure what the heck she could be talking about - turns out she wants us to be grand marshalls of the "Celebrate a Dream Come True" parade!

We work out all the details, when to meet and where. We got to go "behind the scenes" and sit in the car while we waited for the parade to begin. It was so neat hearing our names announced over the loudspeaker: "Today's Grand Marshalls are The B----- Family from Cincinnati, Ohio!" Gives me chills just thinking about it!

We waved and smiled like fools the entire time, both of us wondering out loud how many people's vacation photos/videos we were in! At the end, they had a roped-off area for us to stand, and all the parade characters came by and shook our hands or sprinkled confetti over us.

When it was all said and done, we received ears with our names on them, a free 8x10 photo of our choice, and a certificate showing the date we grand marshalled.

It was a memory to last a lifetime, to be sure.

That is so special! I've been literally hundreds of times and never been picked for anything! You must be just covered in pixie dust!!

 

[sterre]

Riding Astro Orbiter with DD during Wishes.

Me too! DD hated fireworks, so we went to ride some rides, and she wanted up there even though I told her the fireworks might start. Well, we saw the finale of Wishes from the platform up top, it was awesome. And my DD, who was previously terrified of fireworks, watched every bit, and loved it.

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

Loving these stories!

 

[ScottOKW2K]

I couldn't help but remember some of the magical moments we have had. Some we experienced directly, some indirectly.

- The little girl and her family at downtown Disney. My wife and I were just walking around the marketplace area one evening enjoying the ambiance. We were near the stage area and there was a dj playing there. This little pixie of a girl - probably no more than one and a half years old - really got into the music ! That little darling was throwing down some moves ! There must have been several dozen adults watching her and a cast member who was easily six feet tall started dancing with her. I couldn't help but laugh with joy , it was soo fun to watch.

- My first ice cream sandwich at the Main Street Bakery. I order it and the person in front of me gets it. We must have ordered the same thing and it confused someone, no big deal. When i asked about it they said it was his birthday. I responded with "it's my Unbirthday " They took that and ran with it. There must have been half a gallon of ice cream on those two cookies. Afterwards they came out into the dining area and had the area sing us Happy Birthday. Those two were crazy but sweet

- My wife and I were sitting at the hub enjoying hot fudge sundaes from the ice cream parlor after the evening fireworks. I looked over and saw some custodial cast members who had white gloves on. For a fraction of a second I thought "too many fingers." That is when I realized how completely immersed in the magic i had become.

- My wife and I were enjoying our illuminations viewing from near Mexico. We were chatting with other couples and have a very relaxed time. The show starts, and a breeze is blowing to our left (this is important ). A few minutes later I ask my wife "Do you know what music they are playing in Germany ?" Looking confused she says "No". My response - "Smoke on the Water, Fire in the Skies !" That was when the guy next to us who must have been half-listening to us lost it and burst out laughing .

There are other more grandiose things that have happened - room upgrades, special treats, etc. I find it is these small, personal bits of magic that I keep coming back to and treasure the most

 

[humboldthny]

Here's our top 5....

#5 - This one wasn't us, but we watched the most wonderful, sweet interaction between a little boy about 5 y.o. and Mary Poppins - just melted the hearts of everyone in line and brought tears to my eyes...

#4 - A fantastic "friend of Aurora" who we met in plain clothes in DTD, then saw again the next morning at Akershus...she remembered all our names and invited dd to come visit her later in the afternoon in France where she spent a lot of extra time with her and then presented her with a pin.

#3 - Tiana recognizing and greeting dd like a long lost friend 6 months after we had seen her the first time.

#2 - CM at Madame Leota's cart going way above and beyond to make sure my dd got the key chain she wanted...grad night had come through and they had sold out, my dd was crushed, the CM looked everywhere then gave her the one off the set of keys for the cart.

#1 - Getting chosen to be Grand Marshals in the 3pm parade on Mother's Day (dh will never top that one!)

 

[saraheliz]

My mom, sis, DD2 and I were at MK one night after the fireworks. There were EMH and we were just taking our time relaxing until the herds left the park. It was actually the eve of DD2's birthday, she was less than two hours away from turning 3!
We were sitting and enjoying our Dole Whip floats and at the table next to us was a family including a little girl, probably about 6-7 years old. I saw the little girl looking at my DD and whispering something to her mom. She then came over to our table and held out some beads and said "I'd like to give these to her, is that ok?" It was so sweet, and DD was SO excited, it was amazing to see another child share the magic with us. It was the perfect ending to our trip.

 

[BDJazz]

Last May my wife and I traveled to Disney World for our 4th anniversary. Prior to the trip I had heard about a private dining experience available at the Grand Floridian. I decided to plan this and surprise my wife with a private balcony dinner during the Wishes fireworks show. I called up the Grand Floridian and they discussed the options with me, menu choices, etc... She asked about dessert and mentioned they can make custom mini cakes for the event. I stated that at our wedding we never got a chance to eat our cake and that if possible I would like to recreate the flavor of the cake from our wedding (chocolate cake, raspberries, chocolate ganache, with cream cheese frosting). She said no problem and asked if I had a picture of our wedding cake so she could even have them recreate the design from our our original cake. I was very impressed that they were able to do this.

Fast forward to our trip...On our anniversary night I had told my wife we were going to California Grill but that I wanted to stop off at the Grand Floridian for a drink and to listen to the live music prior to heading over to the Contemporary. As we were sitting in the lobby, a private butler came over to us, handed my wife a rose, and asked us to follow him. My wife was shocked as he lead us up to a private balcony set for 2. Dinner was lovely, and the view very impressive. Things got even better when the cake came out. My wife instantly recognized the cake decoration and began crying with tears of joy. Soon after, the fireworks started at the Magic Kingdom and the night became even more magical. I can't think of anything more magical than spending a romantic evening with the one you love, on a private balcony, overlooking the most magical place on earth. This is was one of the most memorable days of our lives...

 

[handustmom]

I love all of your stories!

One of my favorite magical moments happened on our first visit in 2006. When DS was very young he LOVED watching Peter Pan. He watched it almost every day and knew it by heart. On our first day at WDW we went to MK. My kids lined up at the rope for the 3:00 parade. When Peter Pan came by, he was looking right at my son when he said "See you in Neverland!" My DS turned around and looked at me wide-eyed and said "Mama, he was talking to me!" Melted my heart.

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

Last May my wife and I traveled to Disney World for our 4th anniversary. Prior to the trip I had heard about a private dining experience available at the Grand Floridian. I decided to plan this and surprise my wife with a private balcony dinner during the Wishes fireworks show. I called up the Grand Floridian and they discussed the options with me, menu choices, etc... She asked about dessert and mentioned they can make custom mini cakes for the event. I stated that at our wedding we never got a chance to eat our cake and that if possible I would like to recreate the flavor of the cake from our wedding (chocolate cake, raspberries, chocolate ganache, with cream cheese frosting). She said no problem and asked if I had a picture of our wedding cake so she could even have them recreate the design from our our original cake. I was very impressed that they were able to do this.

Fast forward to our trip...On our anniversary night I had told my wife we were going to California Grill but that I wanted to stop off at the Grand Floridian for a drink and to listen to the live music prior to heading over to the Contemporary. As we were sitting in the lobby, a private butler came over to us, handed my wife a rose, and asked us to follow him. My wife was shocked as he lead us up to a private balcony set for 2. Dinner was lovely, and the view very impressive. Things got even better when the cake came out. My wife instantly recognized the cake decoration and began crying with tears of joy. Soon after, the fireworks started at the Magic Kingdom and the night became even more magical. I can't think of anything more magical than spending a romantic evening with the one you love, on a private balcony, overlooking the most magical place on earth. This is was one of the most memorable days of our lives...

Beautiful.

 

[PatchPixie]

What beautiful stories!! Thanks for sharing My kids keep asking why I'm crying..

 

[ariel5884]

Where do I start? My dad is mentally ill and it's hard to plan anything b/c you never know how he is going to be feeling. If he gets really sick the last place you want to be stuck, is on an airplane. So me and my husband have been going to Disney for years and have raved about the food and wine festival, so we asked my mom if her and my dad would want to go. Now I know that they stick to a tight budget since my dad retired early due to his illness. I let her know that we would not charge her for accomodations since we are dvc. We told them we would get a 2bdrm with a kitchen so they would save money on breakfast, possibly lunch and snacks and drinks. We gave my mom a ticket to the halloween party for mother's day, and my dad a ticket for father's day. The highlight of the trip had to be the night we went to Shula's Steakhouse, and then cabbed it to downtown and surprised them with a cirque de soleil show. One of the performers actually did a hand stand right in front of us. When we got back to the room my mom was crying telling me what an incredible night it had been, b/c my dad does not go out at all when they are home. So here we are already planning a trip for next year. My mom really wants to see the christmas decorations so I will try and book the last week of Food and Wine and the first week of MVMCP. Just wait until she sees Osborne Festival of Lights!!

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

That's awesome.

 

[NLD]

We had several magical moments on this last trip, but the standouts were a surprise birthday gift basket and private meet-and-greet with Jack Sparrow. Link to the story with pictures: Our Incredible Magical Moments

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

We had several magical moments on this last trip, but the standouts were a surprise birthday gift basket and private meet-and-greet with Jack Sparrow. Link to the story with pictures: Our Incredible Magical Moments

I remember reading this about a week ago...I loved it! That was really cool, you won't be able to forget that experience. Not saying you would want to...

 

[Finally08]

We had several magical moments on this last trip, but the standouts were a surprise birthday gift basket and private meet-and-greet with Jack Sparrow. Link to the story with pictures: Our Incredible Magical Moments

WHOA - such a magical thing they did for you!

 

[ashenbiez]

not "official" disney magical moments... but definitely magical for me!!

This happened last May... eeee!

(this is not a re-enactment! future Mr. planned to ask in front of a photopass photographer on purpose!)


then returning to our hotel room to find:

obviously a trip i'll never forget!

 

[disneynewbee]

Our magical moment from our last trip happened at Hollywood studios. It was our first day there and we were supposed to have dinner at 50's prime time for my dd's 7th birthday. By time we got checked into our rooms she was sick with a high fever and feeling horrible. My dh decided I should still go to dinner with the other kids and my mother since it was her first trip and he would stay in the room with our sick dd and the baby. I felt horrible leaving them but knew she needed some rest and wouldn't get it with the other kids around so off we went. We sat down and the waitress asked who the birthday girl was since we put that on our ressie. We explained she was back at the room sick and she felt so bad. Later she shows up at our table with 3 birthday cards that she had signed from everyone in the restaurant. Most people addressed her as cousin and wished her a happy birthday and told her that they hoped she got well soon. They even signed where they were from. My dd loves attention so when we gave her the cards her eyes lit up and it's still one of her favorite souvenirs of the trip. Luckily she was better by the next morning and we had a great trip.

 

[L-Harper]

I just sat here and read every single story with some laughs, tears, and smiles. This is such a fantastic thread!

Our most magical moment was last year on our very first trip to Disney World on our arrival day. After we checked in we decided to head to the Magic Kingdom because I was over the moon excited to see the castle for the first time. On the bus to MK I realize that I had forgotten our camera in the room. I was so sad to think of all the memories we were going to miss with the camera. I quickly got cheered up though. We get through the gates and walk in to see the 3:00 parade *just* starting! We got perfect seats right on the curb, in the SHADE, at the very end of Main St. and could see the castle down the road. It was absolutely perfect! My 4 year old son was just beside himself. He was jumping up and down, waving, and saying hi to all of the characters. Then comes Cinderella on her float. As it passes my son blows her a kiss! She was looking directly at him at that moment and she "caught" the kiss then rubbed it on her cheek! My son couldn't believe it and was screaming, "Cinderella caught my kiss! Cinderella caught my kiss!" I had tears flowing. I was so happy and seeing the magic through his eyes is something I'll never forget. Yes I'm sad that I didn't have my camera to capture those memories, but they are burned into my brain forever.

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

So cute! Kisses can only be caught at Disney...