One day I was working in Tomorrowland and it was a rainy day. I was doing a trash run in front of the Lunching Pad when a family— a mom, dad, and a little princess named Claire, walks up to me and asks if the 3:00 parade will happen even if it’s raining. I told them no, but the Rainy Day parade would take its place if there wasn’t any lightening in the area.
After talking about the Rainy Day Parade, they started asking me questions about the park, like how many cast members are there, is there really an underground area for CM’s, etc. They also wanted to know if Disney had given me the rain gear I was wearing or if I had to buy it myself. For those who don’t know, our rain gear is just a clear rain coat. My first thought was to tell them that Costuming had given it to me, but instead, the conversation went like this:
Me: Actually, I noticed earlier that it looked like it might rain, so I went to the three Good Fairies from Sleeping Beauty and I asked them if they could make me a raincoat.
Mom: Oh, Sleeping Beauty is one of Claire’s favorite movies!
Claire : Did you really get to meet real fairies?
Me: Yes! They make our costumes all the time! Fauna asked me if I wanted my rain coat to be a certain color but I told her no because I knew Flora and Merryweather would fight over whether it should be pink or blue.
She thought it was the coolest thing ever! She asked me other questions like if they can use magic or if they have to sew everything by hand. I told her that the only time they’re allowed to use magic is when they’re making clothes. The look on her face was totally priceless!
When our conversation ended and the family started to walk away, the father stayed behind with me and waited until Claire was out of earshot. He then told me how much he had appreciated how imaginative I was. I thanked him and told him that it was my favorite part of my job. He then said, “It’s people like you who make us want to come back here the most. I wish Claire always had someone like you in her life. We adopted her about two years ago and she hasn’t had the best childhood up until now, but people like you make up for that. Thank you for everything you do.”
That right there is what makes me miss my job the most. All I did was make up a story as I went along about my stupid rain coat, and this guy ends up telling me I’ve made an impact on his child.
That’s real magic.
