Every time my family and I make the trip to Walt Disney World our first must do is visit the Magic Kingdom. Upon entering of course we always are in awe of Cinderella Castle and this is the first thing that normally catches peoples eye! However for me,the first thing that catches my eyes are the balloons! There is something about seeing all of those balloons and their handlers up and down Main St. that takes my breath away. It brings me back to when I was a kid!
What is it about a balloon that makes kids go crazy? Have you ever noticed the look on a child’s face when they get a balloon? For my son it is like Christmas morning, he jumps up and down, starts screaming “Balloon! Balloon!” It seems to adults to be such a simple and sometimes silly thing these balloons but to a child they are magic.
I have always wanted to purchase one of these balloons at Disney but I think my family thought that it would look silly if a 20 something girl was skipping down Main St. towards her castle (O.K. it’s not REALLY my castle but a girl can dream), holding a giant Mickey balloon! My husband would have just rolled his eyes and quietly thought to himself…”did I marry a child?!” So instead of skipping down Main st. with a balloon, I never bought on and just skipped with my Mickey ears on.
On this last trip in June however, my luck changed! As soon as we entered the park my son started yelling “Balloon! Balloon!” BINGO…now how can you tell an almost 2 year old no?! I told my husband this time…we are buying that balloon! He and his mother said but “it’s a waste…you can’t take it on the plane with you.” I however had another idea. After that happy little face convinced Grandma to shell out $10 for the balloon my son (and I) were happier than can be. John carried that balloon around with us our entire trip. It was great to tie on to the handle of our stroller, we could find it easily after a ride or show among the masses of strollers. It served as a great distraction during diaper changes. John loved that balloon so much we took it to Animal Kingdom where it went to balloon daycare for the day while we enjoyed the park (balloons are not allowed in Animal Kingdom for the safety of the animals.) As our trip sadly came to an end, I knew that this balloon was sure to keep on giving.
Right as we were walking through the Pop Century Resorts hotel lobby I was on the lookout. I was looking for a family with a child who had just arrived to start their trip. I spotted a boy about 8 years old. He and his mom were sitting along the wall with all of their luggage. The boy was so excited and was extremely well behaved! My son and I approached the family and I asked if they had just arrived. The mother said yes and the son starting talking about how he couldn’t wait to meet Mickey. I asked him if he had ever been to Disney before and he said no. This was the perfect match! I told the mom and the boy the story about the balloon and how it was my son’s most prized souvenir (besides his new Minne Mouse). I explained that we couldn’t take our Mickey balloon on the plane trip back and that we didn’t want it to go to waste. I asked the boy if he would like this balloon and my gosh did his eyes just light up and sparkle! I told him that he could have this balloon on 2 conditions. The first is that he had to take extra special care of it…of course he agreed. The second condition was that if the balloon was still inflated when it was his time to depart, he had to find another child to give the balloon to! The boy said “I promise!”
At this point I asked my son to “share” his balloon with the boy and he handed it over, waved goodbye, and off we were to our motorcoach. As we were leaving I heard the boy telling his mom that dreams do come true and one last time he yelled down the lobby “Thank you!” As we walked away I was so proud of my son for handing that balloon off to someone else, and thinking of how lucky we are and how happy that boy was actually brought tears to my eyes. People probably thought I was sad to leave but the reality was I was so happy and proud! My son is too young to know right now that he just gave back and helped to make a kid’s day, but we will keep teaching him that small things really make a big difference.
Disney is a place where magic happens. These magical moments are not just made possible by the amazing cast, crew, and imagineers that work so very hard to allow all of us to have the time of our lives. These magical moments are also made possible by all of us! It is when we meet a family and our kids are dancing together during the “Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it” parade, it is when we stop to let a wheel chair pass us by, or squeeze in like sardines so another family can join us to watch the “Main Street Electrical Parade.” It is in the giving and receiving of smiles. It is in passing off a balloon that would have gone to waste to another child. Watching his or her eyes sparkle with a little gift makes you feel like Tinkerbell. Sprinkling a little pixie dust to start off a family’s vacation is just what Walt must have imagined. You have the power to create magic and memories.
From that moment on I vowed that each and every trip we take we will buy a balloon or two…even when I am 98 and my great grand kids are pushing me down the middle of Main St. I will stop for that balloon, carry it with pride, and I will create a little bit of magic as I leave and hand off this balloon to a new child. Please help me and my family to keep creating magic at Disney!
How does your family give back? How do you help to create magic while at Disney? Please comment and let me know! Share your ideas with my friends…the readers!
Heather is a Disney Gal, who loves the chocolate smell of pop century in the morning, dreams of being Snow White in a parade, and happily skips down the middle of Main Street USA while wearing Mickey ears!
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Loved your story! We buy Mickey bars or bottled water for people in line after us. They are shocked by our gesture and it makes us feel good. Doesn’t hurt that we use our snack credits, so we’re not exactly losing any money by doing a random act of kindness for someone else. Stories like yours are one reason Disney is such a Magical place!
@vnoprivacy Thank you! The balloon was in such great shape…I couldn’t believe it! It looked like it was just inflated!!!
@Pamela your family’s first trip…and a surprise?! Oh I am so excited for you and will be thinking of you all in November! Let us know how it goes! Please do pass this idea on to other’s! Enjoy your trip!
@Lindsay thanks for reading!!!
@Gavinsmommy I would have loved to see these two kids hugging each other! So Proud that you are helping your son learn to pay it forward!
@vmborrayo wow a month later! Imagine how many vacationers can enjoy just one balloon!!!
@Adrienne persuade them and I bet once they realize the joy they bring to other kids…they will readily be asking for that balloon on your next trip!
@DCLLoverKelly I am going to hold you to that…you know that right?!
@JJ’smom Nothing like someone helping your family make magic on the first day of your trip!
@Ahappymom that is so sweet…that just made me teary eyed!
@MickeyMamaw I love the idea of the pins! I bet you make those kids day and they will remember it forever! I also agree with the photo taking…I know I am always the one behind the camera and when we get home I am always bummed that I am not in the picture…it is a great and thoughtful gesture! Thanks for sharing with us how you spread pixie dust! Thanks for reading too!
Amber thanks for reading!
Tiffany sounds like you are raising an amazing boy! Congrats to you and to him for making such a great decision to make magic at 8 years old! Thanks for sharing your story!
My son did this very thing last year when we were at Disney. He is 8 and is crazy about balloons. When we were leaving our hotel last year, he found a girl about his age with her dad. My son asked her if she would like to have his balloon because we were getting ready to go to the airport. She was so excited to have the balloon, she was very happy and had a huge smile on her face. Her dad pulled me aside and said, “Thank you! My daughter loves balloons and we told her she couldn’t get one because we flew here and would not be able to take it with us when we leave. She will be so happy to have it this week and we will pass it along to another family when we leave.” The look on my son’s face was priceless – he had a huge smile on his face because this girl was happy to have his balloon. He said he is going to do that every time we are at Disney.
This is a great story, Heather. Thank you for sharing 🙂
That is super sweet!! Surprisingly our toddlers never asked for a balloon this trip — but I wanted to get one just because. But with 7 of us, I didn’t push it 😉
My husband and I started doing this with Disney pins. Once our collection started to build, we would notice kiddos staring at our landyards while on the resort buses, and we would strike up conversation by taking off the lanyards to let them look at them up close. Then, after checking with Mom and Dad, we give them whichever one they really liked! It’s gotten to the point where we keep our favorites hidden away in a carry case, and buy extras just for ‘pixie dust’ supply! Also, we try to make it a habit to ask anyone we see trying to take a photo of their group if they would like to be in the photo, too! It only takes a minute to snap a photo for them, and that way they can be in their own photos!
We had someone pass their balloon on to us as we were checking in! It was a wonderful way to start our vacation!
Love this story- & what a great idea! We bought a balloon on our last trip for my 7 yr old- he wanted to tie a note to it and send it to Papa in heaven so he knew where we were & that we still loved him. How do you say no to that?
Beautiful article Heather! I will happily skip down Main Street with you, ears on and balloon in hand.
Wonderful story and idea! My young men do not ask for balloons anymore, but may be they can be persuaded on our next trip!!
The balloons can last!! We just bought a balloon at Disneyland on July 4th…Yes, 1 month ago and it’s still inflated!!! And my daughter still insists on carrying it around the house!! I can’t wait to do this in a few weeks!!
This was a great story! Most of all it made me cry! My son and I do the same thing, except for his 1st Mickey balloon. I used that one in a scrapbook. I LOVE the balloons very much and my Gavin does too, so I absolutely have to buy him one on every trip. What gave me the idea to give it away was a little girl in Downtown Disney crying for my sons balloon, but they did not have them where we were, so I leaned over to my recluctant 3 year old and asked him to give his balloon to the little princess. At first he wasn’t too happy, until she smiled and gave him a big hug. Now he looks for someone to give it to, because he knows it will make them happy. 🙂 Proud Mama.
What a wonderful way to pay it forward! :o)
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea! What a wonderful story! Planning our family’s very first (and surprise!) trip to WDW this coming November, and would love to do this! Thanks for such a special, “magical” idea….I can’t wait to pass this along to others! <3
What a beautiful story! AND I’m impressed the balloon lasted throughout your trip!