By Kyle Froman, Off to Neverland Travel®’s Director of Marketing
It is almost that time of year again.
Before we all know it, children will be trading in book bags and school clothes for suitcases and flip-flops. Summer vacation season is looming just out of our windshields!
When it comes to summer travel, we know that the opportunities are truly limitless. Last summer alone my family traveled to New York City, Washington, D.C., Santa Rosa Beach, New Hampshire, and Texas over the course of three months. Our nation is full of amazing destinations with fantastic experiences all waiting for us to enjoy them.
Yet, even with so many amazing places to see and things to do we are continually drawn back to one place annually, Walt Disney World® Resort in central Florida. I could share with you dozens of reasons why, but in the end it can all be paired down to one thing, the Disney difference.
While it is possible to explain the Disney difference, it is really something that has to be experienced to fully realize what makes it so special.
I remember one trip in particular a few summers back when things weren’t necessarily going just as we had hoped or planned. Our youngest son had become sick near the end of our stay (those of you with young children know just how ‘un-magical’ this can be).
Following a field trip to the local urgent care facility, we made the decision to attempt to salvage what we could with one last day in the parks before heading home. We were not in Disney’s Hollywood Studios® Park very long before we found ourselves in the now-familiar nurses station near the front of the park.
Our son had not improved, and we needed a quiet, calm place to administer his medicine. The nurses allowed us use of one of the rooms. Most of our attempts at getting our toddler to take his medicine were futile, but after a decent amount of time trying alas it seemed we were finally making progress.
Unfortunately, the medicine did not stay in him long, as he decided to ‘erupt’ the meds along with everything else in his stomach all over himself, my wife and the room.
Last. Day. Ruined.
That is, until one of Disney’s Nurses entered the room and witnessed what had transpired.
As quickly as she entered, she disappeared (just as I would have). Only a few moments later she returned with a slip of paper in her hand as we were attempting to clean up. The paper was a voucher, for new outfits not only for my son but for my wife as well.
They could have easily witnessed the semi-grotesque scene, offered their own apologies and let us go on our way back to the resort.
They were not content with that. They saw an opportunity to make magic happen in the middle of a miserable experience, and they seized the moment and acted on it.
The Disney difference.
It is going the extra mile when it isn’t necessary. It is creating magic in not-so-magical moments. It is pixie dust being sprinkled onto unexpected parts of your trip.
As a family, we have been to a lot of places and experienced a lot of things, and consistently no one does it like Disney Destinations does it.
So. As we head into another busy summer travel season, I implore you to consider experiencing the Disney difference for yourself. See just what it is that keeps the Froman family, and countless other families around the globe, returning to Walt Disney World® Resort year in, and year out.
The magic starts now, as our Magic Makers® are ready to help you experience just what the Disney difference is all about.
I can attest to the “Disney Difference”, as we have been annual pass holders for several years and are a family of two adults and four kids. We live in Southern California, minutes from a major Six Flags amusement park (Magic Mountain) and an hour drive from Disneyland.
Nothing against Six Flags–in fact, they have made major improvements that have enticed us to also be Six Flags annual pass holders.
But Disney is simply in a class all its own.
From the themed rides (thrills only go so far, but rides that tell a story and create EXPERIENCE are priceless) to themed parks to themed restaurants, nothing compares to how Disney focuses on CREATING AN EXPERIENCE more than anything else. To be sure, Disneyland has solid thrills, with Space Mountain and California Screaming roller coasters, among others.
But what leaves an indelible mark on me is the CULTURE OF SERVICE AND EXCELLENT imbued in each and every Disney Park Cast Member.
Here is a notable example, among many: my small child in a stroller had spilled his milk that we had just purchased from a local Disney “street vendor”. A Cast Member saw this and immediately radioed for assistance, flagging off the small area of the spilled milk (to avoid slips). But what followed is what resonated within me: She APOLOGIZED to me for the incident (what? MY CHILD spilled it) and then proceeded to WALK US to the nearest vendor and give us a FREE REFILL. I insisted that it was not their fault and we were not expecting anything, to which she–a young late 20-something–would only respond, “It is my pleasure”.
Goosebumps, baby.
And then, as if that is not enough, she escorted us to the front of the upcoming fireworks display where one had to have a “Fast Pass” to be able to stand in. This “Special Reserved Ticket” area had the best view of the upcoming California Adventure water/fireworks display. Again, I insisted that it was all our fault, and she continued to reiterate, “Sir, this is our pleasure”.
I thought I died and went to heaven.
There is nothing that compares to the Disney Difference.