I wanted to post this because I think this is such a good idea and honestly it warms my heart.
Brief background - the worship leasers at the church I attend left the church and moved to Celebration. I loved talking with them about Disney - they are big fans like most of us. They started working at a church called cast member church. Below is a link to a video about what they do…I will warn you it is religious based but what I took away from it and wanted to share here was something they do that I never thought of. Their kids always thank 3 random cast members before they leave the park each day. Custodians, merchandise CMs, outdoor foods CMs, you name it and they have done it. It warms my heart and I think during our trips I am going to have my daughter start doing this. We always thank the people the seat us at our table, or help us on rides but I never thought of the ones we do not interact with.
It really takes an army to make the magic.
Video link is anyone cares to watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPrhruPX0lo
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As a former theme park performer / ride operator one of my favorite things was when guests would acknowledge us as people - not robots.
At one place I worked - Warner Bros. MovieWorld - our leads (Mangers) would individually stop us as we left our areas at the end of our shifts and ALWAYS say - “Thank you for your day!”
You’ll really perk up a CM, especially at the end of the night, if you’ll just stop, look them in the eye and say Thanks!
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My amazing DD now 21 has done this all her life. It is just who she is, but I can’t take credit for it because we adopted her from Russia when she was 7 months old. Once at Hollywood Studios she went up to a security guard and asked if he would take a photo with her. He said he had never been asked that before and that it would put a smile on his face for the rest of the day. We sometimes forget it can take so little to make someone smile.
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I always thank the people doing the bag checks and security to enter the park. I assume they probably get a lot of flack from people and could use it more than most.
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That’s great! I am the same way. I am always thanking people. I appreciate people emptying garbage as much as those serving food. As a result, my kids are much the same and that’s one thing I’m proud of.
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Yes.
We have annual passes to our local parks and I’ve always taught the kids to look the operators in the eye on the way in if they can and smile and then thank them on the way out. It seems so simple.
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Thanks for posting this. Will definitely take some extra time to thank people when my wife and I take our trip in a month.
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One of my favorite memories of a WDW trip was with my DD. We had ridden Jungle Cruise and had a young man as our skipper. The next day, as we were approaching our doom buggy in HM, my daughter and I both recognized the CM ushering us to board. I said, " You were our skipper yesterday." Never breaking character, he gave a very slight nod of acknowledgement. I wonder how many guests are oblivious to the CMs, unless they are unhappy.
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I love all the above things. It warms my heart to know that for some it is their job to care and make a difference to those who make the magic.
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