My family recently returned froma 9-day vacation to Walt Disney World: our longest trip yet! We had a great time and received a lot of excellent service. One Cast Member (as Disney’s employees are called) stood out, in particular.
We’d had a full day at Hollywood Studios and our 4-year-old, Eric, was fast asleep in the stroller when we went into ABC Commissary to order dinner. He hadn’t eaten exceptionally well at lunch and it was almost time for Fantasmic!, so we wanted to make sure he ate the supper we’d just gotten him. We woke him up to eat, which didn’t go well. He sat at the table a few seconds, then crawled back into the stroller and fell asleep again. We were able to get him up a second time, but he really didn’t want to be awake, much less eating.
We’d been at the restaurant for quite a while at this point and we’d seen several Cast Members walking by, cleaning tables and delivering trays. One sweet girl named Madison had noticed our situation and stopped to talk to our son. She knelt to his level and said, “Mickey is back working in the kitchen, but he has a surprise for you if you eat your food.” That perked Eric up and he accepted the challenge. She said she’d check back after awhile to see if he’d eaten.
I thought to myself that she must have done this before, to have thought it up so quickly.
Eric did eat his meal and my husband signaled Madison with a thumbs-up. She came over with a paper chef hat, on which she’d written “Jr. Chef.” The top was signed, “Your Pal, Mickey Mouse.” 
He lit up, seeing his surprise from Mickey, but that wasn’t all: Mickey (and Madison) had made him an honorary Junior Chef, so she also brought him the makings for an ice cream sundae, which he got to construct on his own. Arranged in the shape of a Mickey, were 3 bowls–ice cream, chocolate sauce, and Mickey sprinkles–and two cherries on top. 
He was so proud of his gift from Mickey. A few minutes after she’d left, he whispered, “Thank you, Mickey.” My heart was beaming. Our night had been made.
My husband tweeted a #castcompliment and a picture of our son, wearing his hat to @WDWtoday and we’d hoped that she would receive our thanks. 
Later that night, my husband texted me from the Rockin’ Roller Coaster line and said, “You have to check your blog messages on Facebook!” There was a message from Madison! Disney had printed our tweet and replied to us with a picture of Madison holding the papers and some of the restaurant team behind her, in support. I’m assuming that from his tweet, she found me and sent a message that made this already-awesome experience even more special.
She told us that it was her first day on the job and she was having a bad day. She related very much to my son’s sadness at the dinner table and she wanted us to know that Eric’s smile reminded her that her bad day shouldn’t get her down. She said our family was a blessing.
Before we’d left home for our vacation, we’d prayed, as a family, for a safe, great trip and for us to be a blessing to others. It was so great to know that prayer was answered.
Thanks Madison, and thanks, Twitter, for letting us see how we impacted one another that night.
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