GREAT FALLS — Tate O’Neill has always gone above and beyond.
While at Great Falls High School, he played soccer, golf and football during the fall season. Now a placekicker for MSU-Northern in Havre, O’Neill balances life as a student athlete while pursuing degrees in civil engineering, business administration and graphic design.
At his core, he’s creative and imaginative. So his future career choice makes sense.
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“Going into college, my dream was really to end up working for Disney at some point,” O’Neill said. "Going into Imagineering is the final dream, which is the team behind the design of all the theme Disney theme parks.”
That led Tate to apply for the Disney College Program, which is a paid internship that also allows him to earn college credit while working at Disney Parks. So after applying and interviewing he was accepted and off he went to Disney World in Orlando, where he landed the gig he’s had his eye on since he was a young boy.
O’Neill and his family traveled to Disneyland often when he was child, and the Jungle Cruise was always his favorite ride. His mother Rachel even has a video of a 5-year old O’Neill explaining how excited he was to go on the ride.
“So when they asked that in my interview, I talked about Jungle Cruise a lot because it was like a very childhood favorite attraction for me,” O’Neill said. "And then just out of luck alone, they put me on Jungle Cruise. So it was a really cool thing that worked out”
So “Skipper Tate” was born.
He captains the jungle cruise boat and cracks dad jokes to the guests. But he also gets the opportunity to make magic moments for visitors. And that’s what happened in March.
Stephanie Stalvey and her husband were at Disney World with their 5-year-old son Tommy, when Tate and three of his fellow skippers — Omar, Mimi and Lauren — approached them.
“We play a game called ‘Lost Skipper’ where we go out and act like we’re lost,” O’Neill explained. “Where we walk around the Magic Kingdom or Adventure Land and find a family to help us find a way back.”
And on this day, they chose Tommy. Who was more than happy to play along.
“These skippers were lost and asked if I could show them the way,” Tommy said. “So I showed them and then they took me on the boat and it was a really good time.”
But it didn’t end there. For the next chunk of their day the skippers took Tommy to the front of the line at the Jungle Cruise, made him an honorary skipper, took him to Pirates of the Caribbean, wrote him a coupon for a free ice cream and even took him to meet the boss ... Mickey Mouse.
“And it just kept going,” Stephanie said. "And as a mom, it was just unbelievably special to see this. This group of college kids making your kid feel really seen and important which is always your hope for them."
Stephanie shared video of Tommy’s experience on her Instagram account, where her art has attracted more than 50,000 followers. The post went viral and was shared widely. The family didn’t know the identities of the skippers when they left Orlando, but they were soon identified on social media.
“It’s kind of an amazing thing and I can’t believe it,” Tommy said. “And it was so like good. I was feeling happy and so much joy.”
And the timing couldn’t have been better for Tommy STalvey and his family.
“It's been a hard year this year because we moved across the country. So he did lose all of his friends from back home and the transition into kindergarten has has been a big on and it’s not always been easy,” Stephanie said.
“So having this moment where they were all around him, he felt like he had these friends again. He kept calling him his Disney friends on the way home. It was just such a big boost. And I saw him go back to school with a little pep in his step."
For Tate and his fellow skippers, giving Tommy a magic moment was all in a day’s work. Because once upon a time, Tate was in the same boat.
"It's something I'll never take for granted for sure, because it's just so special to be able to bring joy to everyone every, even when you don't even realize it," O'Neill said. "You’re doing it because it's Disney. It was something that made someone's day. And it really is an honor to be part of the group that made it that special for them."
