Giving Joy at Disney World

In our family, we enjoy sharing random acts of kindness or, as we call them, random acts of joy.  When we go to Walt Disney World, we look for opportunities to bring a smile to someone’s face.  Do you share random acts of joy with others?  Sometimes people think that random acts of kindness have to be big or costly.  Bringing a smile to another person does not have to include grand gestures, though.  Here are some examples of simple ways that we shared smiles with people at Disney World.

Bubbles

Some of us sat on a stone ledge to get off of our feet for a few minutes.  At the end of the ledge, there was a grandma with two toddlers in a double stroller.  “Your parents went to go on a ride.  Can you not behave just for the few minutes until they get back?”  The grandma sounded weary.  The little boy had his foot on the little girl’s face.  Yes, on.  I asked the grandma if she would mind if I gave them some bubbles, and she seemed happy to potentially have a few seconds of distraction.

Looking at the children, I asked them if they would like some bubbles.  I had their undivided attention.  If they promised not to fight, then I would give them each their own bubbles.  I had to hold back my chuckle at how quickly that little boy sat up straight and proper.  I said that he had to promise not to touch his sister.  That cute, little toddler shook my hand and promised.  I gave them each their own bottle of bubbles, and I am compelled to tell you that I got as much of a smile as they did!

Flight of Passage

We went to Avatar Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom.  Have you ridden this ride yet?  My sister-in-law and I actually squealed with excitement after we got off of the ride.  It was incredible!  We had gotten a rider swap Fast Pass because not everyone could go on at the same time due to some little ones in our group.  It was kind late afternoon, and everyone was a bit tired.  After we got off of the ride, the general consensus was that everybody wanted to go relax back at the resort.  The guys did not use the Fast Pass ticket.  We could throw it away, orrrr….

Boy and I took that Fast Pass for Avatar Flight of Passage and walked to the end of the line.  The wait was about three hours at that point. 190 minutes, to be exact.  The pass was good for three people.  Starting at the end of the line, we walked toward the front asking if anybody was a party of three.  There seemed to be a lot of parties of five that day.  We got to someone who said that they had three people in their group.  We told them that if they would like to accept it, we would like to give this Fast Pass to them.  They were thrilled to accept, and Boy passed over the ticket.

Let me say that we enjoy bringing smiles to people’s faces, yet it brings us even more joy when those people truly appreciate it.  These two ladies and a little boy definitely appreciated this gesture.  The one gal said that they often do acts of kindness for people at Disney World but the no one has ever done one for them.  Boy was glad to be the person who did.

Fast Pass+

A dear friend of ours gave us some Fast Passes, and we wound up not using two of them because we were fortunate to get on the rides that we wanted to ride without any long waits.  What did we do with that paper Fast Pass?  We paid it forward, of course!  Richard and Boy stopped to get a snack, and I walked over to Tower of Terror.  There was a family of five walking into the stand-by queue, and a cast member told them that the wait was going to be at least two hours.  The sign said 140 minutes.

They were obviously bummed, so I stepped in and told them that if they would like to accept it, then I would like to give them this Fast Pass good for five people.  They looked confused for a moment, and then theirs eyes widened and smiles spread across their faces.  Another act of joy accomplished.

For a Little Boy

There was a gentleman on line with us to get a drink, and we got to chatting.  He mentioned that he had a little boy with him, so I offered to give him a bottle of bubbles.  He happily accepted on behalf of his little boy and posed for a picture.  Sometimes a random act of kindness is spontaneous.

We were visiting characters, and Richard asked if these two little ones were cast members.  It took me a moment to realize what he meant, and then a smile spread across my face.  How realistic are these cast member “uniforms” on this brother and sister?  The attention to details, the name badges, the miniature sizes are impressive.  This brother and sister’s mom had made these outfits.  I asked her if she had a shop because she clearly has talent.  She said that she did not, but do you agree with me that she could?

Boy Gives One More Kindness

Do you remember that I said that we had two Fast Pass tickets that we had not used?  Tower of Terror is where one of them was used.  Do you not think that this cute creativity deserved the other one?  We thought that it did, and I am pretty sure that my friend who gave them to us would agree.  Richard and I asked the mom if she would allow us to give it to them, and then Boy performed this act of kindness.  They happily thanked us, and we went on our way.

These are a few of the random acts of joy that we shared while on our trip to Walt Disney World.  There were more bubbles given out.  Goodies were shared.  Smiles were given.  There were even a few friendships made.  Remember that kindnesses can be big or small as long as they bring happiness.  Be sure to look for opportunities to help folks enjoy their days!