“Yes,” I said. “Isn’t that ridiculous that it took so long?”

“It is!” she said. “But you brought him here.” She reached her hand into a drawer and pulled something out. “So that makes you an honorary citizen.”

In her hand was a button I had never seen before. “Honorary Citizen of Disneyland Resort,” it read. “Where dreams come true.”

Yes, I had just had a Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum at Trader Sam’s, but I had a truly emotional reaction to her gift. (It’s what some Disneyland fans call “pixie dusting,” when a cast member does something a little extra special). I’ve been to Disneyland more times than I can count, but this was a surprise: I had never seen that pin given out before, never noticed anyone walking around the park wearing it. 

I had to know more. I called Nataly Guzman-Garcia, a Disney Ambassador for the Disneyland Resort, who worked in guest relations for many years before becoming a spokesperson for the parks. 

“In guest relations, we’re known as the hub of where all these buttons come from,” she told SFGATE, “but like you found out, almost any location, any cast member within the resort has all of these buttons.” In addition to this elusive Honorary Citizen one, there are also free buttons for a first visit, a birthday, an anniversary or a more general celebration button where you can write anything from “I’m celebrating my graduation” to “I’m celebrating my divorce.” (I’ve seen both.)

You can ask for any of those other buttons any time, but the Honorary Citizen one you have to earn. That one, Guzman-Garcia said, “is very special, just in the name alone.” 

“In guest relations, when I was a cast member there, I looked for special moments like [yours] to give the button,” she explained. “If I had a number of guests coming in for a first visit button but there was one individual who’d been here before … I would probably give them that. Like, ‘Here, you’re going to be their official tour guide today. Thank you for hosting our first-time visitors.’”

She would also award them to kids who came in to turn in an item to lost and found, in a slightly ceremonial way to ramp up the specialness of the moment. “It’d be my way of rewarding them for that kind behavior, like, ‘Thank you so much for helping get this hat back to its owner. Today you’re going to be an honorary citizen of Disneyland.’” 

Another time Guzman-Garcia would award the pin is when someone stopped into Disneyland’s City Hall to pay a cast member a compliment. (Think of it like karmic tipping — if a cast member goes above and beyond for you, the best way to thank them is to pay them an official cast compliment either at City Hall or through the Disneyland app. It’s real recognition that their bosses see, and getting those makes a big difference to their jobs.)

“I just wanted to honor them for taking time out of their day at Disneyland,” she explained. “They’re there to have fun, they’re there to enjoy themselves, but they took the time to come and recognize somebody. I’ve always seen that as a very kind gesture.” 

The concept of the honorary citizen goes all the way back to Julie Riehm Casaletto, the first Disneyland Ambassador, who was appointed by Walt Disney himself in 1965. He created the role, according to Guzman-Garcia, because he was stretched thin with the 1964 World’s Fair projects, the 10th anniversary of Disneyland, and the beginnings of the “Florida project” that would eventually become the Walt Disney World Resort. 

“In some way, shape or form since Julie Riehm herself, there’s been an honorary citizen recognition of some kind,” Guzman-Garcia said. “Some of them would be a genuinely formal document presented to dignitaries or special visiting guests on behalf of Walt or on behalf of the company.” 

As elusive as the buttons are, some people just go to City Hall and ask for one. In those instances, Guzman-Garcia would still make the guest earn it, usually by playing a little trivia game with them, asking softball questions like when the park opened. (It’s 1955.) Even if they didn’t get the questions right, she said, she’d usually still give the button out for learning that new bit of information about Disneyland.

“It’s really just to create a special moment just like you had,” she said. “I know of other cast members across the resort who have created similar moments. Attractions will give it to a guest who maybe is conquering a fear of roller coasters. They’ll present it to them at the end of the ride and be like, ‘You’re so brave, today you’re an honorary citizen.’”

“I imagine there are thousands of stories out there from our customers that I don’t know about,” she added. “But it’s all the same. We use it as a way to enhance the guest experience. It’s such a small gesture that can make a huge difference in their visit.”