YOAMD - Anyone else looking forward to it ending?

[WDSearcher]

I also wonder how they choose the winners???

Totally at random. There is a computer program that spits out winners -- things like "third person in line at Winnie the Pooh at 11:06am" or "last family off Soarin' at 3:22pm" -- stuff like that. There are smaller prizes (bags of cracker jack ... free juice boxes ... a roll of stickers) that can be given out at the Dream Team's discretion. They usually just look for families having fun and exuding "Disney spirit." (The arguing, pissy, angry, yelling families pulling their kids out of the play area in Toontown do not qualify ....)

 

[disneydreamin247]

And even then you will probably come home with less than what you took.

 

[Tinkertini]

I'm actually going to miss it. I have been in the parks about 10 days, which isn't that much compared to some people, but I've never gotten a dream either. I've never even seen a dream squad member for that matter

What i love though, is the possibility of magic every time you enter a park. In life, you never know what days could possibly bring magic, but you know when you go into a WDW park that it's a possibility! I hope after this year is over that they don't completely cut out the "awarding" of dreams. I hope they keep awarding the castle suite every night instead of renting it out. I hope they continue letting regular people lead the parades, etc etc. I just love that about Disney, but I don't think it needs to be a big promotion anymore.

It should just be part of the everyday magic there

 

[nessz79]

Only looking forward to its ending if something better is coming. We won Dream Fastpasses within the first hour of going last year and we were floored.

 

[brenalexacamp]

well for giggles-me and my sis went with the kids and we were convinced we were going to get picked to sleep in the castle because we "deserved it"

(our mom had just passed) and that was a sick joke we had about getting special treatment for anything-i know-sick but it helped us cope

anyway-we knew we could never be picked because we would have to sleep 5.


we did get approached-my ds who has down syndrome had all his pirate gear on and a very nice cast member gave him a huge pirate pin!
all day my sis kept saying-that might mean something!

ya it meant he got a pirate pin

going again with by bff and her family-again-the joke is we are going to get picked to sleep in the castle-my sis not going this trip so it will happen-hahaha!

 

[aristocats_lover]

I would have liked to see something for the 35th anniversary of WDW instead. It's like it just got shoved under the rug. Not all the parks have to have the same celebration!

 

[pickles]

tired of YOMD..saw the dream squad, I don't recall us winning , but that part doesn't bother me. i am just tired of the light blue color/decorations etc.. time for something new as this was longer than a year
YOMD was silly in premise anyways. My dream is not about winning Mickey ears, so if I won them it wouldn't jazz me much, odds are I would give them away. The only way they could do dreams is if they knew what your disney dream was and then selected you to get your dream.
cast members are usually nice and helpful anyways(least in my disney world) so that is not YOMD, that is Disney

 

[mattsdragon]

This will be our third trip for YOAMD, and all I've gotten was a free Turkey Leg.

I don't care for Turkey Legs.

 

[GinnyFavers]

I hate that energy of everyone hoping to get something, win something, get something "special". I'm think I'm burnt out on the whole concept of "make my Disney vacation 'special'".

I feel insanely privileged to ever set foot in the place, much less win prizes.

 

[angey77]

This will be our third trip for YOAMD, and all I've gotten was a free Turkey Leg.

I don't care for Turkey Legs.

That is funny. I was in Epcot one night and bought a Mickey bar from a kiosk as it was closing. The guy behind me asked for a container of fresh fruit and the CM gave it to him and said "Sir, this is the YOAMD and because of that, you get this for free. Enjoy!" He seemed puzzled and didn't seem sure if he should just take it or not. He stood there for a few moments with money in hand. I have to wonder if his reaction was because he didn't know what the promotion was or he thought she was joking about it being a "dream."
I'm sure the whole thing had nothing to do with the fact she was shutting down and it would go to waste anyway. It was pretty funny though. I think the guy was on to her!

 

[Eoywin]

I liked YOAMD - but then we won (fastpasses and lanyards) and got a few dream certificates...

It was all about being in the right place at the right time for the fastpasses and lanyards, and the extra magic seemed to be sprinkled on us because it was our honeymoon.

Though I'd rather be able to visit WDW once year - I don't know when we will be back

 

[ScrapperKimmyD]

We were there for 5 days 2 years ago. We saw the dream team a few times but didn't win anything, but our friends won a 2 or 3 times in the 5 days they were there (we overlapped a couple of days).

It would have been wonderful to win something. Maybe next time. Or maybe one of my post cards will get picked.

But...wouldn't it be fun to have that job??? I'd LOVE to be able to give stuff out to surprise people! Oprah for a day!

 

[RMulieri]

I hate that energy of everyone hoping to get something, win something, get something "special". I'm think I'm burnt out on the whole concept of "make my Disney vacation 'special'".

I feel insanely privileged to ever set foot in the place, much less win prizes.

I agree

 

[Kazzy1548]

Does anyone know what will be the them for 2009....

 

[delmar411]

I will be glad to see the promotion end. While I was thrilled with the dreams we won when we went in Oct...I was so nervous when we went last week because the expectation had been built up for my DD. And nothing happened for her.

Like I love that we won dream fast passes on DH & DD's shared b-day but seriously, how could I top that for older DD? She did a lot better than I thought she would w/o winning a dream but I could see some disappointment in her eyes and that made me a bit sad. (she just turned 10, cut her some slack)

Me? I've got this obsession over those stupid ears and saw them everywhere last week and families right in front of us getting them. I've got one last chance to own ears when DH goes in June. Please Dream Team ppl, just give the guy a pair of ears for his obsessed wife!

(and no it doesn't ruin my trips to not win ears, it just a running joke at our house that all I want is those ears. I'd trade the night in the castle for them! )

 

[720L]

hmmm, I guess I never really cared whether it ended it or not. We didn't win anything on our last trip, but then again, we weren't expecting to win. We still had a wonderful trip filled with so much magic. What do these members of the "Dream Team" look like??? LOL My curiosity is now peaked.

They wear light blue shirts with white vests that have the "Year of a Million Dreams" logo on the pocket area. I am always on the lookout for them! On our summer trip we were on Triceratops Spin, and as we were riding I saw the Dream Team walk up to the ride--I said to my DH "we're getting back on there's the Dream Team!". We got back on and they were passing out Dream FP's!!! We have won 2 dream FP's, YOAMD Mickey Ears, Priority Seating at Nemo and on the trip we just got back from, we won Priority seating for Fantasmic.

 

[stopher1]

I'm ready for it to be over. We haven't actually won anything from the Dream Squad on either coast in any of the numerous times we've been... although my DD did receive a "dream" last year in Sep while at DTD, a CM asked us if we'd won anything during our stay, we said "no" - then she handed my daughter a Tinker Bell pin... so I guess that counts, but it wasn't one of those computer generated type prizes.

What I really don't like about this promo and the last one (Happiest Celebration), is that Disney has gotten so bland and company-wide, instead of resort specific as they once were. HCOE was designed around DISNEYLAND's 50th birthday and should never have been a worldwide party. WDW should have had it's 35th recognized and didn't....but then that would have only really been true of the MK, Contemporary and Poly, if you look at what was open when WDW first opened. The folks out at DL now are planning for their 55th in 2010... so it'll be interesting to see if 2011 (WDW's 40th) gets celebrated or overlooked. Perhaps those will be the years that they return to individual celebrations for specific resorts?!?

YOAMD turned into 2 1/2 yrs OAMD, so it's time to say buh-bye to it, IMO. I just wish the marketing dept. could find a way to promote the parks, without it always being some sort of 18 month long "celebration". The parks certainly could speak for themselves as wonderful experiences. I guess I'm just really tired of all of the marketing banners, signs and "junk" plastered all over the place. Every lamppost on MS has 'em, it's all over every cup, napkin and the like - I'm just tired of it all. I love WDW and DL and just wish we could enjoy it without a marketing blitz for a while.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

YOAMD turned into 2 1/2 yrs OAMD, so it's time to say buh-bye to it, IMO. I just wish the marketing dept. could find a way to promote the parks, without it always being some sort of 18 month long "celebration". The parks certainly could speak for themselves as wonderful experiences. I guess I'm just really tired of all of the marketing banners, signs and "junk" plastered all over the place. Every lamppost on MS has 'em, it's all over every cup, napkin and the like - I'm just tired of it all. I love WDW and DL and just wish we could enjoy it without a marketing blitz for a while.

From a marketing perspective, it doesnt make sense to do any promotion for LESS than 18 months. That's about how often the average family can go on vacation. I doesnt make any financial sense to spend money on a great promotion if only a small % of your visitors can take part in it.

 

[suzimar57]

we don't win anything outside of disney, why should it be any different when we're there??!!

we're just so glad to be able to go, that's good enough for me!

 

[mirthmaiden]

I think I'm just tired of being let down.

You spent 31 days at WDW and you're "let down?"

I understand the next promotion is going to be YOTMSMFWDWALY-

"Year Of Ten Million Slightly Miffed Folks Who Didn't Win Anything Last Year."

I'm only being half serious.

We actually had quite a few laughs in December when we were there over not winning anything. Not bitter laughs - Honest to goodness laughs. We're convinced we've been blacklisted.

I haven't won anything either. I'm writing my manifesto as we speak.

I feel insanely privileged to ever set foot in the place, much less win prizes.

Yep.

I honestly haven't given it a moment's though. I go, do my thing, and if I win something - great. If not, I wouldn't have even noticed.

And let's be real here - as soon as the YOAMD ends, it will be the year-of-some-other-hyped-up-marketing-blitz.