Disney World’s Lost and Found Returned a Magic Band to a Louisiana Man — Here’s the Story That Made His Day

Hi, I'm Jude, and I love all things Disney. However, I love the parks the most. There is always something magical about setting foot on Main Street at Magic Kingdom in Disney World, where you immediately feel like you've escaped the real world.

Some of you have different feelings toward the "House of Mouse," and I can appreciate that. But for this story, I want to focus on the positive and highlight something Disney does better than most companies we deal with day to day: customer service.

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My bride, Allison, and I took a trip a couple of weeks ago to Disney World in Central Florida. We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. For five days, the plan was to ride all the rides, enjoy the parks, eat all the food and drink all the drinks, and enjoy each other's company.

The Ride, the Loss, and the Long Shot

We hit all four of the main parks and rode the majority of the rides. My story involves what happened on Allison's and my absolute favorite ride out of all the parks, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. The enclosed, reverse-launch spinning coaster takes you on an intergalactic chase through space and time with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

READ MORE: Disney Confirms 'Magical Tradition' Will Not Return for Christmas

It's super fun. It's also super dark. I had my Magic Band on my wrist and was waving my hands in the air as if there were no repercussions. (Disney Magic Bands have been around for a while and are nifty to have and use to get into the parks, open your hotel room door, pay for stuff, and more.) But midway through the ride, I inexplicably put my hands down for a second, and when I raised them back up, I brushed the ride's lap bar and my beloved Avengers Magic Band went flying. I was a bit distraught.

Jude Walker

How Disney's Lost and Found Actually Works

After we got off the ride, I went over to the first Cast Member I could find and asked about the likelihood of me getting my Magic Band back. The Cast Member informed me that they walk the ride each evening as it closes in case guests like me lose items.

It was at that point I was thinking, "Well, that's $50 down the drain." But I knew firsthand how good Disney's customer service is and that it didn't at least hurt to report the lost item. You can do that in person at each park's Lost & Found office or file a report on the Disney World app.

Five Days of Updates — And Then a Miracle

I did the latter and immediately received an email with a case number. The next day I got another email with a status update that the item was not found, but they were still on it. That happened for the next three days while we were still at Disney World. At that point, I had conceded that my lost Magic Band was gone for good. And that day I received an email that said the item was still not found; they were sorry they couldn't find it, and the case would be closed.

But a mere 15 minutes later I got one final email saying they found my Magic Band! Shout hallelujah and pump my fist in the air; that was pretty cool to read. What happened after that was just as nice. They offered me the option to pick my item up in person, or they would mail it to me. Being that I was already back home in Louisiana, I opted for the latter.

And yesterday, I received the package in the mail with my Magic Band and a nice note from Disney. The note basically said, "We've returned your missing item...but for some reason, if this isn't it, please let us know."

Jude Walker

Of course, it was my beloved Avengers Magic Band, and I was just tickled pink that they found it and sent it to me. Oh, by the way, they spent like $8.60 on postage to send it to me. (I know, I know, Disney can surely afford it. But you get my drift.)

Look, I know none of what you just read is worthy of any kind of humanitarian award. I told the story because, to me, it's a prime example of exemplary customer service. You don't always feel that taken care of from a lot of businesses.

What This Means for Acadiana Businesses

The small gestures often go the furthest with your customers. To Acadiana business owners who go the extra mile and never take their customers for granted, we salute you and will continue to patronize your businesses because you make us feel important and appreciated.