I rarely get to read things that really touch a nerve but this moved me so much I wanted to share it with everyone else. It is a story from a former castmember at Walt Disney World... This is Rhonda's story... Hello! I saw on the board that you are looking for Cast Member stories. I figured I would share with you. I worked at WDW from August '99 to Dec '01. I loved it and would still be there if I had not had to move back to Missouri to take care of family here. I had many wonderful experiences while I was there, but the most memorable one was when I was working in Downtown Disney at DisneyQuest. A boy, Johnathan, came through with his family one night when I was working at Cyberspace Mountain. I was joking around with them and helping them to design their roller coasters when he reached up and grabbed onto my hand and smiled. I told him how brave he must be to design such a wicked roller coaster. His mother asked if I would come up the stairs and be the one to put them into the simulator, and I obliged. We talked as the father rode with Johnathan and I told her of my own three daughters (I now have four). We swapped funny stories about kids, they had a great time, and I allowed them to trade so each parent could ride with the boy. He seemed so happy. After they were done, they thanked me and left. I thought nothing of it until half an hour later when the family appeared at the exit and asked for me by name. They had gone down to the gift shop and bought a Quest shirt for the boy. It was then that the mother told me her son had a brain tumor and was going to die, and that he had been to all the parks and wanted nothing to do with the characters or their autographs, but instead wanted me to sign his T-shirt because I had told him how brave he was. Fighting back tears, I smiled at the boy and signed his shirt. After Johnathan passed away, his mother sent me the shirt through Disney along with a note that said, “Thank you for inspiring and instilling confidence in my son. Now please give this shirt to your little girls and inspire them as well. He never forgot you.†I was in such awe. I still have the shirt and my daughters love to look at it. Thanks for the opportunity to share.
It's true...it's amazing how the simplest things can make even the biggest dreams come true. Everyone who works there has their own stories to tell and it's remarkable that we can all make such a difference.
read that one before... That website that you may have got it from (if it was the same as the one I read it on) was my inspiration to persue a job with The Walt Disney Company lol It's strange to think that I used to sit up until 3 or 4 in the morning reading them all lol. 3 words... AM, A AND ZING! James ;D
i never got one of those moments i was in back to basics and everyone had one but me i felt so undisney buut it was so amazing to hear what people will do, or have done to make someones trip extra magical
I think that may be one of the biggest parts about disney that inspires me. The idea that you truly are a cast member when you work with them. Even something little like that.
That actually brought tears to my eyes, and it doesn't happen often. That is exactly the main reason why i loved working for Walt Disney World. It really didn't matter what your role was at the parks/resorts.. you could be a character, you could be a hostess, working on an attraction, but you give those memories that last forever. When you think of Disney you think of those times. Reading this story makes me very proud to have worked for such a great company.
Wow, that is such an amazing story. Things like this makes you feel honored and proud that we have/had opportunities to inspire others in their daily lives.
My best friend died in 2005 from a brain tumor, she was only 12. But a charity called Make-a-wish gave her the chance to visit Florida and all the Disney parks etc before she died. Extremely sad, but at least they helped that boy have an amazing time before he passed away.
