Just when I thought Walt Disney World delivered on joy and happiness in magical droves anyway, another little surprise popped up on my family holiday and caught me off guard
It’s the happiest place on earth they say – and they’re not wrong. Magical, joyful and with a giant sprinkling of positive vibes, there’s no place quite like Disney. As a one fifth of a theme park loving family of five there’s something extra special about jetting off on holiday to a destination guaranteed to bring smiles to everyone’s face.
And whilst character meet and greets, copious amounts of themed cocktails and bucketfuls of colourful popcorn all while zipping, zooming and flying your way around rides isn’t enough to turn the moodiest of Scrooge’s into Mickey Mouse, I came across something even more special.
On my last visit in September, 2024, during a day visit to Walt Disney World’s EPCOT theme park and as I rested my weary legs in ‘Belgium’ to tuck into a well-deserved waffle, I found something.
The sweetest gesture from another park goer.
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EPCOT – for those who aren’t familiar – is one of four Walt Disney theme parks in Orlando, Florida where you can essentially walk around the world.
Called World Showcase, you can travel around lots of different countries, experiencing a sample of their food, drinks, culture and entertainment.
Champagne and perfume spraying in Paris while meeting Remy at the Ratatouille ride, a meet with Anna and Elsa of Frozen in Norway while browsing the traditional merchandise, or how about authentic pizza and Limoncello in Italy?
You’ll find it all here, and more.
But during a pitstop in Belgium, and tucked behind a little wall sat a tiny plastic bag. Inside was a note, that read: ‘Congratulations! You’ve found a little piece of magic! You may keep it or leave it here for another to find.
‘Please post a picture of it to the Facebook group Universally Crafted (Walt Disney World). Have a magical day!’
Inside the little bag were lots of little Disney stickers for free – the perfect mini treat for little ones and well received by mine, especially my 10 year old. The idea if you take a sticker and hide the bag elsewhere for others to then find – passing on the magic and fun.
The gesture is just a small part of goodness that derives from a much bigger community of like-minded fans of the Disney brand, EPCOT and the theme parks in general. They all have one aim – to spread happiness… and raise awareness for their small business, but I’ll glaze over that because really, there’s no harm.
My day was always going to be fantastic here, but it’s the little things like this that create the biggest memories and one that we still talk about in the family, making plans to take our own little bags to hide around parks on our next visit later this year.
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