The world seems to be imploding right now, so I thought I would share a feel good story to brighten everyone’s day today! As many of you know, I am a HUGE Disney fan, and often post about Disney Fashion whenever I can (most recently, here). A couple of weekends ago, my boyfriend and I got to get to Disneyland in California for Gay Days, a weekend in October that is designated to celebrate LGBTQ folks and provide visibility to the community within the Disney fandom. This is relatively “unofficial” but also VERY big and highly attended.
This year, Disney, although not directly sponsoring such events, came out with limited run rainbow gear for sale that weekend, for all of us queer folks to buy and enjoy. We have never attended a Gay Days weekend before, but this seemed like a naturally good first one, if even just to be represented and get the merch!
I hope it is obvious from this image that we CLEARLY needed every single item available, as it is all fabulous. While we were at the parks seeking out the merchandise, we picked each item up one by one. We got the pin, found the key ring, grabbed the shirts, and copped the ears. There was just one item left…the tumbler.
And it was NOWHERE.
The tumbler was sold out, and it was so very disappointing to be missing one of our favorite items from the available collection. We looked EVERYWHERE in BOTH parks, and it was simply nowhere to be found. As we were leaving later that evening, we figured it would simply be a loss.
*PAUSE AND REWIND*
Has anyone ever heard of RedditGifts? Long story short (or tl;dr for you Redditors), RedditGifts is an extension of Reddit in which you signup for themed gift exchanges and act as a secret Santa for a random person in the world. I always participate in these, and this time around there was a Disney themed exchange (one of my favorites). My Santa reached out to me to let me know that they were visiting Disneyland in California for the first time as an anniversary trip. As such, they were excited to get me something from park, but when they discovered I practically live there, they were a little lost as to what to get me.
Funny enough, I told them, I was in the park already that day, one week before they had planned to go. As an avid Disney fan, and a believer in making the most of any vacation, I made sure to take a moment to give them as much advice as I could to maximize time and money, and really make for a memorable experience. I also let them know that literally anything they got me as a gift would be amazing, but took the opportunity just to mention the tumbler, knowing that it was likely gone forever, but hey…you never know.
*PAUSE AND FAST FORWARD*
So here I am at my desk on this miserable Monday, where the news is terrible, the world seems to be at its own throat, and people are just generally…bleh, when a package arrives for me from my Disney Exchange Secret Santa. I open the box, and what do I have? THE EFFING TUMBLER! Filled with candy and a cute Disney pin to boot!
My Secret Santa had not only tracked down the tumbler, they had also taken the time to write me a letter outlining what they were able to do at the parks, and letting me know that my checklist and advice had been used for the entire trip. I was an extremely heart-warming way to end a day and I will never forget their generosity.
Remember everyone, despite the terribleness that is going on in our world, there are still good people. Sometimes the stories are hard to find, but I hope you found a little comfort in my story today. I promise, the next post will come back with a little fashion. But for now, I leave you with this…
Just be kind! It’s free.
-Chris