Mickey76
This is my happy place.
- Joined
- May 5, 2001
I was able to stay in the Castle, thanks to the Year of a Million Dreams.
Here's the story:
First, this happened a month ago, but I don't have everyday access to a computer, so I'm telling you now. Sorry.
I got married July 7. Our Disneymoon was July 10-19. We stayed at the Grand Floridian. Great resort. Loved it.
Anyway, on Monday July 16, my wife and I went to Animal Kingdom. We got to the park around 10 A.M. and headed straight for Expedition: Everest. We had been to the park earlier in our trip and went on it and loved it. We decided to get a FastPass and then head over to Kilimanjaro Safaris. Well, we got our FastPass for 11:20-12:20 and saw that there was only a 20 minute wait as we got our FP, so we decided we'd go on and come back later around 12 to do it again. We went through the line and when we got to the cast member who asks how many for the ride, he gave us two FP's for the time at that moment (10:05-11:05). He knew we were just married because we had the bride and groom ears on as well as the Just Married pins. He congratulated us and told us to hold onto the FP's so that we could go on again as soon as we got off. Very cool. So, we go back on line and get to the front of the line and give the same cast member our FP's. This time, I ask if we can sit in the front and he grants our wish. Sitting in the front was awesome. But now it gets good.
As the train is pulling into the drop-off area, I noticed the Dream Squad was there, taking pictures. We had met some of them our previous visit to AK and received a lanyard with two pins. I pointed out to my wife the Dream Squad was taking pictures. We knew by seeing them that it meant that we were winning a prize. What we didn't realize at first was that they were only taking our pictures as we got off the ride. They walked up to us and introduced themselves and asked us if we knew anything about the Year of a Million Dreams. We said yes and they asked us to come with them in to the souvenir section of the ride. They said they had a video for us to watch that would tell us what we had won. It was then that I began thinking we had won a stay in the Castle, but I didn't say anything because I'd feel stupid if I was wrong.
A small crowd gathered around us as we watched a video on a portable DVD player that stated that our priize was a stay in the Castle! My wife and I were absolutely elated. Uncontrollable laughter ensued. Soon we were being led by the Dream Squad to a VIP room in the front of the park where we had to sign a release form and other paper work. One of the Dream Squad took a picture of my Mickey tattoo because he thought it was really cool. He even said it was possible that I might see it someday as one of the temporary tattoos that they sell.
Anyway, my wife called her mom and she didn't believe us because we had been talking about this for months before our Disneymoon. All of our friends and relatives said it would be cool for us to be on our honeymoon and stay in the most romantic setting Disney can offer. Well, we did.
To shorten this story up a bit, I'll list everything we did the rest of the day and explain where necessary.
12:00- Got to ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris by ourselves, thanks to a VIP pass the Dream Squad gave us. We learned things about the animals that normal "safari" does not include.
1:00 Go back to the Grand Floridian to pack an overnight bag.
2:00 Picked up by a Dream Squad member who brings us to Magic Kingdom, behind Main Street, USA on the right side, if you're looking down the street toward the Castle. We meet Noel, our personal guide who brings us to the back of the park where the oarade begins because we're going to be in the parade at 3:00!
3:00- We ride in the front of the parade with Daisy Duck. We're given special Y.O.M.D. ears
3:30- Get special VIP seating by the fire house to watch the rest of the parade.
4:00- This is the good part. We are taken to the Castle Suite and given our keys to the room (awesome souvenir)! My wife has video camera out to get everything as it happens. The room is awesome. As soon as we walk in, we see the two big beds that look so comfortable. To the left is the bathroom with a jacuzzi tub with mosaic tiles on the wall, and stars (fiber-optic lights) above. The floor of the bathroom is tile, as is the walk in shower. The other room is the parlor and has a TV with a DVD player and some Disney DVD's to watch. The TV in the bedroom has Cinderella's picture on the screeen and you click in the touch-screen remote to watch TV or to control the lighting or the sound from Wishes...more on that later. The room is so cool and elegant. I took a lot of pictures and my wife took video of everything.
6:00- Escorted to dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table. We had eaten there earlier in the trip, but this time it was extra special. The fiary godmother introduced us to everyone there as, "The Hatfield's, on their honeymoon and winners of tonight's stay in Cinderella's Suite." A big applause, both of us get a little choked up.
7:15- Our guide, Daniel, takes us on the a few rides (Pirates, Thunder Mountain, Mickey's PhilharMagic, Peter Pan) before we go to get our seats for SpectroMagic
8:30- Daniel takes us to our VIP seat between Liberty Square and Main Street, USA to watch Spectro. We're being congratulated by everyone. Very cool feeling.
9:00- SpectroMagic. Always cool to see.
9:30- Daniel suggests we view the fireworks from our room because they're cool to see from stained glass windows.
10:00- We take Daniel's advice. We see the fireworks like no one else can see them. We saw fireworks lit off from the rooftops and right in front of us on the castle. I'm not exagerating when I say it was one of the most magical moments in my life. The music from Wishes is fed directly into the suite and it just made the moment even better.
10:30- We meet Daniel downstairs and we go on Space mountain. He even went on with us.
After Space Mountain, Danile gave us the condensed version of the Keys to the Kingdom tour. I was a little apprehensive about seeing the utilidors as I thought it might take away some of the mystique about Disney World for me, but I was wrong. It was so cool.
12:00 A.M. Daniel drops us off at our room. We meet our concierge for the night, Matt. We didin't use him though. As soon as we got into the room, we headed straight for the tub. It changes colors like the Castle does. Did I mention it was cool? So cool.
We had a 7:30 wake up call and were escorted down to breakfast at the Crytal Palace. A great breakfast.
After breakfast, we said our goodbyes to everyone and headed back to the Grand Floridian.
I know you all want to see pics and I hope to have some up in the near future. We haven't developed any from the honeymoon yet, as we're still settling into married life.
It was a memorable experience and one I will never forget. I am truly thankful for being able to share it with all of you. Any questions, just ask.
neighbor!)
Thanks for sharing your story with us!
!! You were so lucky.
