Year of Million Dreams -- anyone else get something yet? Post your wishes won here!

[ibelieveintink3]

better subscribe! :thumbsup2

[imadisneyfanatic]

I am so glad that WDW is giving away a million "smaller" dreams instead of just a handful of extravagant prizes. :thumbsup2

When you are hot and tired a fastpass is a huge gift. Just going is a dream come true but I am still hoping for pixie dust! :wizard:

[gabbyrosebud]

Hi again! I just wanted to add to my previous post that they are offering a lot of families the opportunity to ride up front in the monorail. That was another dream of mine and we got to do it! They also gave out the jr. pilot licenses to us. They are certainly sprinkling the pixie dust! :tink:

[Marilou]

I am absolutely having a Magical Moment just reading all these posts! My trip is approx 250 days away and I always prolong the fun with planning ahead, now it's even more exciting to hear about the pixie dust flying everywhere!

I had read about the "postcard mail-in" promotion, but I have a question. Does anyone know if there is a minimum age requirement for the mail-in entries? I just picked up a large clump of pre-paid postcards and was wondering if my kids could enter under their names? Or is it only for those over 18 (some contests are limited to adults only) I thought it'd be fun for the kids to send some in under their own names.

Thanks in advance!

[mommyesq]

I am absolutely having a Magical Moment just reading all these posts! My trip is approx 250 days away and I always prolong the fun with planning ahead, now it's even more exciting to hear about the pixie dust flying everywhere!

I had read about the "postcard mail-in" promotion, but I have a question. Does anyone know if there is a minimum age requirement for the mail-in entries? I just picked up a large clump of pre-paid postcards and was wondering if my kids could enter under their names? Or is it only for those over 18 (some contests are limited to adults only) I thought it'd be fun for the kids to send some in under their own names.

Thanks in advance!

Kids may enter - depending on the prize parent may need to claim it or will be required to travel with the child - yes I read all the rules...its just my personality :Pinkbounc

[MsTinkerChele]

Ive been reading everyone has been using posr cards.I just took 3x5 index cards and wrote my information on there, sealed it inan envelope. Does anyone know if thats ok?

[pugcrazy]

Ive been reading everyone has been using posr cards.I just took 3x5 index cards and wrote my information on there, sealed it inan envelope. Does anyone know if thats ok?
According to the rules, only postcards. 3x5s aren't mentioned, but they do specifically state postcard.

[happybratpack]

Ive been reading everyone has been using posr cards.I just took 3x5 index cards and wrote my information on there, sealed it inan envelope. Does anyone know if thats ok?

From what I've read it all says postcards. I bought the 2x5 index cards too and just stamped those and sent them. Worked great. :)

[bytheblood]

Is there any wonder we all love Disney so much!!

[cherokeemamma]

Subscribing!!!

I love this thread.

We were there 9/9 - 9/17. I didn't realize it was part of the YOAMD promo. But we were certainly dusted...While at MK when we entered the gift shop at SM a CM came up to us and asked if we would like to play the driving game they have. She told us it was free and of course, we said yes! My DS won the game and he was given a certificate. On our last day at MGM a CM came up and started talking to my DD about pin trading. The had a large board and turned it around and gave her 30 sec. to pick 2 pins to trade. They told her they were special and/or rare pins. She is 7 so she really isn't impressed with that she just likes what she likes but she was very excited to get to do it. She was presented with a certificate. The same thing happened with my DS about 10 minutes later.:goodvibes

I really want to go back during this promo....

[maxiv]

hello all !

does anyone know, how i can participate in the million dreams thing allthough im from germany ? I read something about writing a post card with telephone number etc but it only said when u are from the US or UK. how can we germans participate?

hoping for your help :)

max

[MariettaC]

:offtopic: I hope you all don't mind a little side track.
If you don't mind a little advice...my husband and I are on the other end...my son is 17 and preparing for college. So we are just getting to a point that we can afford a trip every other year or so. One thing that helped us, during those lean years, was putting all of our change in a bucket. You will be amazed at how quickly it adds up. The hard part is not dipping into the funds. When you are ready to take a trip to the world, you will find the extra spending money a huge plus. :teeth:

Good luck with the house and the family. (By the way...I think 4 or 5 is a terrific age for kids to be introduced to the world...I envy you that experience)

My husband and I have been putting all our change into a big coffee can(or two) for years. Whenever we have a trip we cash in the coins and you'd be surprised how much extra spending money we end up with. :yay:

[Marilou]

My hands are cramped from filling out 100 postcards last night...lol
My kiddos & I will alternate sending one out each day. They also joined in the fun by coloring Mickey heads on the postcards.
I gotta tell ya, the lady at the post office looked at me like I was nuts when I asked for 100 postcards!


255 more days till our next WDW adventure!

[DisneyFan06]

Question.

I hear that the main prizes given away are Pins, Mickey Ears, and Dream Fastpasses. I was just wondering if their is a special shirt or anything as well? Do they have anything else? Thanks.

[maxiv]

@ marilou or other people : can anyone answer me my question i posted before?


max

[gssmks]

My husband and I have been putting all our change into a big coffee can(or two) for years. Whenever we have a trip we cash in the coins and you'd be surprised how much extra spending money we end up with. :yay:


We always do this to. The first time, I was shocked at how much money we were able to save. I now make it a point to always pay for things day to day with bills and never use my change. At the end of each day, I empty it from my wallet into the jar. This makes it add up even faster and you never miss the money from your budget. We just went on a cruise and when we cashed in the change we had $700.00 dollars. This was saved from March 2006 to September 2006.

[gssmks]

Last night, I sat down at the computer and designed a post card and printed a bunch off. My DD has been wanting to start mailing them every day and I just couldn't make myself set and write a bunch out. We found a picture of Minnie Mouse in a Christmas dress on the internet and put it on the front of our card.

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

hello all !

does anyone know, how i can participate in the million dreams thing allthough im from germany ? I read something about writing a post card with telephone number etc but it only said when u are from the US or UK. how can we germans participate?

hoping for your help :)

max

I believe its the same for Canadians too...we gotta go there to enjoy. :O)

[maxiv]

I believe its the same for Canadians too...we gotta go there to enjoy. :O)

is this really true ?? I cant believe it :( is there really no way for germans to participate without being on property ? u see, the problem is, i cant afford to go every few years because the flight is so expencive.....really sad :(

[Kitty-chan]

hello all !

does anyone know, how i can participate in the million dreams thing allthough im from germany ? I read something about writing a post card with telephone number etc but it only said when u are from the US or UK. how can we germans participate?

hoping for your help :)

max
I know this doesn't help much, but . . . I heard yesterday from Disney marketing that they'll be launching a parallel program next year for Disneyland Paris and Disneyland Tokyo, under the slogan "Where Dreams Come True." I'd expect to see a press release about this in the reasonably near future. I'd imagine that the Paris version would be more inclusive than YOMD, in terms of nationalities which can participate. (And I can only wonder. . . will there be some amusing equivalent of the Canadian math requirement?)

I can't wait to hear the details on this! I've only been to the Tokyo and Paris parks one time each, but loved loved loved them both.

[maxiv]

thanks for the info kitty-chan!!

i dont know why but somehow i dont like the idea 'bout going to paris...i kinda feel, when if i want to experience disney i want the ultimate and that sureliy is wdw florida..so im not really keen about paris....how many days did you spend in paris ? I get the feelin that i'd get bored after 2 days...its about the size of MK, isnt it?

[Kitty-chan]

thanks for the info kitty-chan!!

i dont know why but somehow i dont like the idea 'bout going to paris...i kinda feel, when if i want to experience disney i want the ultimate and that sureliy is wdw florida..so im not really keen about paris....how many days did you spend in paris ? I get the feelin that i'd get bored after 2 days...its about the size of MK, isnt it?
I loved loved loved Disneyland Paris. It's the prettiest of the Magic Kingoms, IMHO, and I've seen all of them except Hong Kong. The Castle is stunning, and it's the only one with a dragon. :love:

We were there for two days, and I would have happily stayed longer, but I'm a bit of a geek and all. (Just for a point of comparison, I spent 7 days at Disneyland Anaheim this summer, and only started getting sick of it on day 6.) While Disney Studios there isn't particularly engaging, the Disneyland Park has every bit as much to do, including some things not available elsewhere.

I would agree that WDW can keep a person busy for many more days and is a more "immersive" Disney experience, though.

[maxiv]

well u maybe just talked me into going to paris with my girlfriend for 2 or 3 days...i'll see. how are the CMs and all ? do they also have details like hidden mickeys, overlooked attractions and so on ?

[Haeg]

I'll be there in 3 weeks, can't wait. Hope to have a few stories about my family & YOA Million Dreams. Just being there is enough of a magical dream.

Great stories everyone, 524 posts and 35 pages wirth so far and YOAMD has just started. WOW!!

[beattyfamily]

I believe its the same for Canadians too...we gotta go there to enjoy. :O)

FYI everyone, here's what the official rules say:

Void outside the fifty (50) United States, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and where prohibited by law.

So Canadian's can participate.

[maxiv]

anything i overread allowing germans to participate ? :)

[Fyn]

Sticky this thread!

pirate:

Fyn

[Cruz91]

My husband and I have been putting all our change into a big coffee can(or two) for years. Whenever we have a trip we cash in the coins and you'd be surprised how much extra spending money we end up with. :yay:

We just rolled up our coins and had over $1100. I decided to keep it rolled and keep collecting. I'm saving for a bigger prize! :rotfl2:

[akraeger]

Great Thread....keep the posts coming! :thumbsup2

[Gymbomom]

According to the rules, only postcards. 3x5s aren't mentioned, but they do specifically state postcard.


It actually says 3 1/2in X 5in postcard. I would think with specific info, I wouldn;t chance anything else.

[Kitty-chan]

well u maybe just talked me into going to paris with my girlfriend for 2 or 3 days...i'll see. how are the CMs and all ? do they also have details like hidden mickeys, overlooked attractions and so on ?
I'm afraid this might start a flame war, but . . . the cultural differences between Orlando and Paris (the cities themselves) do leak over somewhat into the theme parks. I found the CMs in Paris a little less friendly, a little less hyper-efficient . . . but then again, my French is terrible (I tried but often failed). There are exceptions though. The friendliest CM I have met anywhere on earth is a guy named Jochen (sp?) at DL Paris. We had a couple nice chats while we were there, and when I mentioned him in my trip report on the DL Paris DISBoard somebody else knew him too, and even posted his picture! :goodvibes

As for hidden Mickeys and such, I do believe they exist in Paris as well, though that's not my personal forte. The Paris Disney parks don't seem to inspire the sort of obsessive documentation, discussion, and general goofiness online that the Orlando parks do. But I found the folks on the DL Paris DISboard wonderfully helpful, and very knowledgeable about the park. I'd definitely suggest checking it out.

Sorry everybody for the off-topic tangent! I actually have some Magical Moments of my own to report . . . I promise to post something more on-topic in the future. pirate:

[maxiv]

thanks for the info again ! I might change my mind......maybe we'll check it out !

greets, max

[mom2jacob]

Subscribing..............Nice to hear all the wonderful magical moments everyone is experiencing. We will be there on Nov 1 for the week.

[BelleBoo&AmisMum]

I'm afraid this might start a flame war, but . . . the cultural differences between Orlando and Paris (the cities themselves) do leak over somewhat into the theme parks. I found the CMs in Paris a little less friendly, a little less hyper-efficient . . . but then again, my French is terrible (I tried but often failed). There are exceptions though. The friendliest CM I have met anywhere on earth is a guy named Jochen (sp?) at DL Paris. We had a couple nice chats while we were there, and when I mentioned him in my trip report on the DL Paris DISBoard somebody else knew him too, and even posted his picture! :goodvibes



DLP is different I think, it's not worse, it's just different. We've had our fair share of less than friendly CMs (they're paid miserably, I don't blame them) and we've had wonderful CMs who went out of their way to make everything magical. I agree that DLP is the most beautiful of the parks, I get teary eyed everytime I walk down Main Street.

I would say if you have the chance to go to DLP - go! We usually spend 3 days and I always leave wanting more.

Sorry for going OT!

[Kitty-chan]

DLP is different I think, it's not worse, it's just different.
I completely agree! I love DLP and wish I could go more often (it's just harder and more expensive for me than Orlando, since I live on the US east coast). It's definitely different, but that's part of its charm -- I love international travel in general, and the differences that one can experience, so I love international Disney travel. :love:

[sirlurker]

I posted this in trip reports but will repost it here....

Just got back from WDW...anyone going be on the lookout for cast members with clipboards..they are making "dreams come true" as part of the 50 year special. This may have been discussed somewhere but here was our experience..we were picked out at Primevil whirl ride and got to go straight to the line and ride the ride twice in a row...I saw several families get to do this at other rides such as Space mountain, thunder railroad, etc. Other families were featured to ride in parades, be introduced on stage at indiana jones, open the parks, etc. We were offered to ride in the parade at MK but were headed out at the time so declined...After your event you get a special certificate with your families name on it....:) So don't run from the clipboard..we almost did thinking they just wanted to do a survey or something...

[sanjdill]

This sounds great. We're leaving tomorrow for DW and it would be great if grandson (almost 4) could do something special like that. Guess we'll just have to hope we're in the right place at the right time! Whatever happens, we'll have a wonderful time and enjoy it all.

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

We were singled out in the Tea cups line and they took us to the front, announced our names, and made everyone sing happy un-birthday to us. We also got an autographed Alicie and Mad Hatter picture. The CM said that this was part of the YOMD.

[gssmks]

The more I read, the more excited I get. We will be there for 13 days in December. I am thinking that with that many days, surely we will get at least one magical moment. Oh, I hope so anyway. And, we're not selfish. We are hoping to see lots of other people have magical moments to. We are going during the magical season of Christmas. If any of these things happen to us, it will just add to the spirit of Christmas.

[Cushes]

We just got back last night.

We were chosen for the Fastpass badges at Epcot Tuesday!! :cool1:

[MyGoofy26]

We were there the Sept. 28 - Oct 4 . . . nothing for us. Guess we just have to try again ;)

[fredwena]

Husband and son were riding Haunted Mansion on Friday. They were in the room that stretches. The lights went off, and when they cam on again, the "wish cast members" were in the room. They told each person in the room about the special celebration, and that each person standing in the room would get a commemorative lanyard and two pins each. Needless to say, my husb. and son each got a lanyard and two pins. I'll try to post a pic later, but they're very nice. So many people were asking where they could buy them at, and were amazed with our story. :Pinkbounc

My husband saw someone that recieved a lanyard with a "fast pass" on it. This would take them to the very front of every fast pass line they went to, so no need to wait for a certain time, etc.

My daughter recieved Disney stickers from several dream maker cast members.

Oh, one little boy in the resort's cafe was given a Pal Mickey dressed in a sorcerer's outfit. My husband saw this, and said the little boy had a sorcer's hat on, so not sure if that was part of the gift, or if the hat's what made them select this child to recieved the Pal Mickey.

[fredwena]

forgot to add, my son was handed a certificate by an AK cast member that made him a "Prince".

She mentioned to him how nice it was that he took his sister to look at the fish, so she rewarded him with the certificate with his name written on it (I guess she heard of talk to him, and say his name).

[PopArtGal]

That's what I was thinking.

Now I need to write them out hehehe

[Holly&Joesmommy]

forgot to add, my son was handed a certificate by an AK cast member that made him a "Prince".

She mentioned to him how nice it was that he took his sister to look at the fish, so she rewarded him with the certificate with his name written on it (I guess she heard of talk to him, and say his name).

What a sweet way to reward siblings for being nice to eachother. :thumbsup2

[PopArtGal]

I just watched the small video of the family who got the Magic Kingdom to themselves and started crying lol

It must have been a dream come true.

One more reason to spread the pixie dust.

[Vickie46]

I love reading all these.. keep them coming! Anyone go this weekend?

[Tinkerbell424]

I love reading all these.. keep them coming! Anyone go this weekend?
These are soi much fun to read! I am going to disney in 6 days!..I hope to spread some magic while I am there. :cheer2:

[ckckc2000]

hello all !

does anyone know, how i can participate in the million dreams thing allthough im from germany ? I read something about writing a post card with telephone number etc but it only said when u are from the US or UK. how can we germans participate?

hoping for your help :)

max
I'm sure you can join in just give your phone number and explain where you live-I feel this is open to everyone-the more the merrier-they listeda site you can enroll on-line at the beginning of this thread and I think the address was provided for the post cards too-so go ahead and sent one in :thumbsup2

-And I'm a German too-Well my Mom's an immigrant so I was born here-My Dad was born here but raised in Germany-all my relatives live in Germany too-In the Essen/Dorsten area :thumbsup2

[klynn]

We got 4 free tickets (3-A, 1-C) for the Oct. 5 MNSSHP!!

[ckckc2000]

We got 4 free tickets (3-A, 1-C) for the Oct. 5 MNSSHP!!
That was a very nice surprise :thumbsup2

[4chitlins]

We were there the beginning of Oct. and we were picked one day on Dinosaur to have our own car and got to stay on it twice. They gave us a certificate and everything. Then one of my Dtwins was given 2 Tinkerbelle pins on little cards by a CM.
He was told it was a little bit of Disney Magic. One for him to keep and one for him to share with some one else he chose to give it to during his trip.They were 2 small things but we were excited about getting picked

[my2tinkerbells]

We were there from Sept 30th - Oct. 10th. My 2 older dd's got picked to be the "Chef's of the Day" at the main street confectionary. The got chef hats, aprons, and got to make chocolate rice crispy treats in front of a big crowd. They also got there pictures taken and certificates, it was really cute.

My middle dd also got picted to play characted detective in the store in Epcot that is under spaceship earth (can't remember the name) it was a cute little game and she got a certificate.

We didn't get anything huge, but the little dreams are so much fun. I did notice special table set up at the Liberty Inn in Epcot and Cosmic Ray's in the Magic Kingdom for the Family of the day.

[maxiv]

I'm sure you can join in just give your phone number and explain where you live-I feel this is open to everyone-the more the merrier-they listeda site you can enroll on-line at the beginning of this thread and I think the address was provided for the post cards too-so go ahead and sent one in :thumbsup2

-And I'm a German too-Well my Mom's an immigrant so I was born here-My Dad was born here but raised in Germany-all my relatives live in Germany too-In the Essen/Dorsten area :thumbsup2

thanks for the answer ckckc2000 !!! But now i still don't understand HOW i can participate *g* can you tell me what i have to do ?


max

[STEAMBOAT209]

The Celebration sounds so exciting and a great way to enjoy the parks whether or not your selected, just being there and seeing another family being selected, we can't wait to go......loving it.... :cool1:

[sticker231]

Hoping to see some dreams come true next week.

[Disneymom2AA]

It is so true that the "Pay it Forward" attitude is alive and well at WDW right now. The day that our family was given the dream FASTPASSES, we felt so lucky to have been chosen. We noticed a family talking about not being able to afford to rent a stroller. I heard the mom say that they just didn't have the extra money for it. I talked with my kids, and they agreed that this family needed a "Dream". Without letting them know that we had overheard their conversation, we asked them if they would like to have our stroller. They were completely overwhelmed by the random act of kindess. It was the best. Just think.....the Dream Team gets to do this every day!!!!!


How Awesome!!! Knowing this family couldn't afford the stroller rental and giving them yours!! :wizard:

My husband and I were talking about our upcoming trip (we've only been once before) and he said his favorite thing about Disney was during our whole trip we did not meet one rude or even slightly rude CM. Everyone was so nice!!

I'm glad we get to go again to show our children where the magic lives ::MickeyMo

[kj2mom]

We just got back last night and were granted a few 'dreams'. Our first one was at MK at IASM. We were taken out of the line and brought to the bridge over where the ride begins. My children were the 'cruise directors' and waved to everyone as they began their ride. This was their first certificate.

The next one we were about to begin Maharajah Jungle Trek when a CM who we had spoken to while walking into Flights of Wonder came over and called my children by name, asking if we remembered him. He said he was going to be our personal tour guide and walked us through. The best part was his ability to find the birds, he knew exactly where to look. He gave my children certificates as well.

The final one was at Mickey's Philharmagic. A dream team member took us aside to be the guest musicians where each member of our family got to play a musical instrument when we got the "hit it" cue. That was our third certificate.

Thanks Jennifer, Ken and Kathy. My children enjoyed every moment and so did I.

Sorry if I am repeating any 'dream's, just got back last night and haven't had a chance to catch up.

[kj2mom]

I just realized I forgot one, while I was paying for some items in the Splash Mountain gift shop a CM asked my children if they could help him and it involved a race. I didn't get to see alot because I was at the counter and my friend went with the children but they gave them wind up cars and played a race on the counter where you pick up the ride photos. They got certificates for that too! Splash Mountain Race!

[Vickie46]

Wow.. Congrats poster above on...

We got 4 free tickets (3-A, 1-C) for the Oct. 5 MNSSHP




That is a huge dream!!!! That was a biggie to me! Way to go!

[maddi]

I just returned from WDW three weeks ago and BOY I am so ready to go back! Our magic continued when we arrived home.

DD was seeking a Cruella DeVil pin and guess what showed up in our mail box this past Monday. Thank you to the wonderful CM at Donald's double feature who remembered the little girl from Ohio who thinks Cruella rules! She was so excited about the cruella pin.

I had also wrote WDW a Thank You note for the wonderful time we had and shared with them the fantastic CMs that touched our lives during our vacation. We recieved a lengthy call from WDW and during the call, I mentioned that DD accidently left her 5x7 signed photo of Cinderella in the room. Guess what!!! It arrived Friday in the mail.

Is anyone with me......I can't wait for next years trip? I'm already searching and pricing and planning. I can't wait to experience the magic again!!!

As for sharing the magic...we received and share with other guests while we were there. One family was leaving as we were returning to our room, they gave our daughter a Lighting McQueen Balloon. Another gentleman gave our DD a massive amount of tickets at the arcade. As we were leaving, we gave 1/2 of staples water to one family, the balloon to another, all of our pool toys to another and had 6 credits left on Disney Dining, so we bought meals for a family at the resort. It was so much fun!!! I'm already planning on our magic giving for next year :)

[PopArtGal]

Wow! What lovely guestures!

I wish my students understood the "pay it forward" attitude. Unfortunetly most of them (they're teenagers) don't. I'm always the one who does it all. It makes me feel good up to a certain point...but you know.. I'm mom to 200 teenagers hehehe

But my colleagues are great.... and we do help each other out. We are a real team.

As to what you have experienced... it is amazing!! I can't wait for my trip in May|



I just returned from WDW three weeks ago and BOY I am so ready to go back! Our magic continued when we arrived home.

DD was seeking a Cruella DeVil pin and guess what showed up in our mail box this past Monday. Thank you to the wonderful CM at Donald's double feature who remembered the little girl from Ohio who thinks Cruella rules! She was so excited about the cruella pin.

I had also wrote WDW a Thank You note for the wonderful time we had and shared with them the fantastic CMs that touched our lives during our vacation. We recieved a lengthy call from WDW and during the call, I mentioned that DD accidently left her 5x7 signed photo of Cinderella in the room. Guess what!!! It arrived Friday in the mail.

Is anyone with me......I can't wait for next years trip? I'm already searching and pricing and planning. I can't wait to experience the magic again!!!

As for sharing the magic...we received and share with other guests while we were there. One family was leaving as we were returning to our room, they gave our daughter a Lighting McQueen Balloon. Another gentleman gave our DD a massive amount of tickets at the arcade. As we were leaving, we gave 1/2 of staples water to one family, the balloon to another, all of our pool toys to another and had 6 credits left on Disney Dining, so we bought meals for a family at the resort. It was so much fun!!! I'm already planning on our magic giving for next year :)

[irish21]

My daughter loves the Jungle Cruise ride. On one of our rides, the CM asked if there was anyone who always wanted to drive the boat. My normally shy daughter's hand shot up and he picked her. He said it was for the year of a million dreams celebration. It certainly made her trip even more magical.

Also at AK, we walked into a store and a CM asked to play a hiding game with Madison. She had to find "Little Red" from the safari. When Madioson found him, the CM wrote a certificate for her and then went to get a box to keep it safe, etc.

I want to live at the Magic Kingdom and keep seeing all of the good in people.

[kaweb]

First, we were chosen to be the "Honorary Canadian Family" at O'Canada in Epcot (since we're from Minnesota, I happily accepted the CMs request and told her we practically ARE an honorary Canadian Family! :rotfl: ) We just had to wave before the show started, as she announced the "BLANK" Family--then she found us after the movie started to give us a certificate. Cute!

At the gift shop inside the Castle at MK, the CM asked my DD to get her brother, as the King was having a ball that evening and needed to invite 15 more guests. So, DD and DS got to name 15 characters from a painting to be guests at the royal ball! They also got a certificate (each) and it was a sweet moment. Even DS, who's 8 and sometimes too cool for such things, got into naming some more obscure characters :cool1:

The only bummer there was that the CM was looking for something after she did the certificates and muttered "there's supposed to be a postcard too" but she couldn't find the right one. "Oh well" she said, and that was it. The scrapbooker in me was heartbroken! But, the kiddos didn't even notice. I'm still a little disappointed about that-wish she would have found them, or offered another.

Oh, and my DS was chosen for the pirate sword-fight lessons! (not a "dream" but still pretty darn cool!)

[wise king mickey]

I have seen a huge # of people with "Golden Fastpasses" and this leads me to believe that you can get them elsewhere. (Around 40.) What criteria do CM's use for handing out dreams?

[wise king mickey]

Jack Sparrow is making appearances in the parks now. I was selected to join his "crew" and we (the 15 or so kids) recieved a certificate ID-ing us as Apprentice Pirates. Only problem was, a character as popular as him would be mobbed for autographs, so he took of at the end of the performance. But I got the signed certificate!



wise king mickey is now flaunting his certificate in ds's face.

[rapriebe]

We were getting seated at the Star Tours ride when 3 CMs in the blue/white uniform came into the ride. They explained the Year of a Million Dreams and said that everyone in the ride car would be receiving a card that had tear-off tickets on it so you could use a fast pass on every ride (that uses FP) in MGM. It was exciting and everyone was cheering and yelling. We still have the fast pass cards as it was not busy that day so we never had to use them. It will be a nice momento of the trip. Wish this would have happened the day before when we were at MK at it was wall-to-wall people. Oh well - it was still a nice surprise.

[LoriMistress]

Stupid question: when does YOMD end?

[Tracy Savage]

Stupid question: when does YOMD end?
I see you will be there in Nov 07. Us too! I was told by CRO that the festivities would still be going on thru the end of 07 so we are in luck!! :cheer2: They will be saving pixie dust for us! :wizard:

[karebear1]

YOMD= Year of a Million Dreams

[jessica52877]

I have seen a huge # of people with "Golden Fastpasses" and this leads me to believe that you can get them elsewhere. (Around 40.) What criteria do CM's use for handing out dreams?

When we got ours it was coming off a ride and there were two CM's both with a big stack, probably atleast 20 each, so that would be why there are so many. We never say any the rest of our day at Epcot and by the questions and looks we got I don't think many saw them either.

[ExPirateShopGirl]

YOMD= Year of a Million Dreams


Sounds a lot better than "Fifteen Months of Magical Dreams" which is what it actually IS. October 1 2006 through December 31 2007.


:sunny:

[chazabel]

My Mom & I were entering the line for Primeval Whirl when a Cast Member commented on my pins. I started to chat with him and he asked where we were from and then said he was making us a Magical Family. He gave us a certificate and three lithographs..one for each household and led us onto the ride through the back where we boarded without waiting and were told we could ride two times in a row! My Mom wanted off after ride one and I felt bad that my husband was back at the Boneyard with our son and missed the whole thing.

After my second ride we went back to my husband and he and I headed to Primeval Whirl for his ride. As we boarded the Cast Member in that area commented on my husbands Peter Pan pin and said if he had his lanyard he would fight us to the death for that pin! I guess he really liked it. As we rode my husband mentioned he didn't even know why or when he got the pin. I told him I would trade him one of mine for it so we could give it to the Cast Member. When we got off the ride I gave it to him...he was trying to say he couldn't just accept it but I told him it was his Magic Moment. It made us feel good...I hoe he enjoys it.

[ckckc2000]

anything i overread allowing germans to participate ? :)
Looks like you can't-I don't get it though-says here at this site that only open to the US and United Kingdom-that really is a bummer-I don't understand it-maybe German law doesn't allow it??? But that doesn't sound right-so I'm sorry I don't know why it's not open to you too :guilty:

http://adestinations.disney.go.com/media/disneyparks/en_US/html/yomdrules.html?CMP=OTC-VanURLYOMDRulesEng

[elgerber]

We just got back yesterday. On our first night there, we went to MGM for dinner and Fantasmic. We were heading for a Photopass photographer by the hat, and a CM stopped us, asked if we'd like a fast pass. It was not the dream fast pass, but a regular paper one. It was good for any ride in MGM, and expired 12/15. We were ecstatic! It was only a small token, but we were very excited.

Then, on our Epcot day, dd and I went to Figment, while the dh and ds rode Mission Space. They can't stand Figment. They regretted that later, as dd and I got the Dream Fastpasses as we entered Figment! We didn't end up using all 6 tabs, but it was great, and makes a wonderful keepsake.

[taters]

subscribing!

Keep the stories coming...this is fun! :cheer2:

[MOM POPPINS]

Subscrbing :)

[KATHINOWA]

Sounds a lot better than "Fifteen Months of Magical Dreams" which is what it actually IS. October 1 2006 through December 31 2007.

I'm so happy to hear this will still be happening when we visit in August. I thought it would be over by then. I hope they save enough magic for us!

[curiouser]

I got a free game and a Magical Moments certificate for doing ddr at the arcade by Space Mountain. We also all got free surprise fastpasses for Mission Space when we were getting our fastpasses for Test Track. No CMs, they just popped out of the machine.

We never saw anyone else getting any special treatment, though. I was expecting to see people get Dreams Fastpasses, etc but I never saw them given out, so I'm still not sure how these are distributed.

Not to start a flame war or be a negative Nancy, but both SO and myself noticed that 97% of all the people we saw with Dream Fastpasses or the special Dream Mickey ears were 1 mom, 1 dad, 1 girl and 1 boy. It seemed like it was always the "perfect" family. :sad2:

Here's hoping for next trip, though!

[PrincessCM]

We got Dream Fastpasses and we were all adult women - no husbands, no kids...... You just need to be in the right place at the right time......

[curiouser]

We got Dream Fastpasses and we were all adult women - no husbands, no kids...... You just need to be in the right place at the right time......

Oh, well that's good to know!! :wizard: I was getting worried that adults would get overlooked. Even SO's mom made a comment that Disney is meant for children (and they are DVC/APers! :rolleyes: ) and I about read her the riot act!! :rotfl:

[GalDisney]

This happened to me yesterday. Started a thread with it but will post here too:

Made a quick trip to the MK this morning. Just wanted to go for a couple of hours, have lunch, ride TTA and soak up some atmosphere. I arrived at the MK via ferry boat around 11:30. Wandered up up Main S
t just soaking up the wonderful atmosphere..Main St is just about my favorite place in the MK and Disneyland. Wandered thru The Emporium looking at all the merchandise i want but cant afford lol Headed over to Tomorrowland with my destination being TTA. Boarded the TTA , luckily getting the first car. Settled in for the nice restful ride. When it was time to go through Space Mountain, the lights were on and the ride was not running. This was the first time I had seen it with the lights on. Thought it was cool so when the ride was over, i stayed on for a second round because.I wanted to see it again. This time when going thru SM, the cars were being cycled through with out guests. KInda neat to see.
After TTA I went over to Cosmic Ray's for lunch. Had a burger. Then wandered over to FRontierland and Adventure land to poke around. Then I headed back to Main St becaause I wanted a cookie from the Main St. bakery. This is where the "dream squad" found me. I orderded a chocolate chip cookie and a coke. When I was at the end of the counter recieving my order, there was a CM there holding a HUGE chocolate chip cookie!!! She made an announcement to the entire bakery something about becaause it is the year of a millon dreams they were presenting me a special gift..i really dont recall everything she said becasue i was in awe..then she handed me the cookie!! I just about died!!! The cookie was wrapped in clear plastic wrap, with ribbon and a mickey sticker in the center. Now, I have no idea why i was chosen.. Maybe they had a pre made rule that the next person to order a CC cookie would recieve the giant cookie, or maybe the next person wearing a Mickey Mouse Shirt(as I was)..who knows! But they gave it to me and I was all by myself.. I was thrilled!

[blewits]

Just have to say how much I am enjoying (most of, hate the "why not me" ones) the posts here.

We are going on Saturday and not taking the kids. I know, I know . . . we're very torn about it. I'll be missing them like crazy especially when I see other people's children with the magic in their eyes. I have to say though, there will be times when my husband and I will be glad to experience some things solo! :love:

In an effort to get my "kid fix" whilst there w/o children, I headed to my local Dollar Tree store and loaded up on all things Disney so that I can pass them out to other kids & ADULTS (for all you worried about the adults not getting in on the action) who might just need a little extra magic. So if you see a crazy lady coming up and offering some stickers or Ariel notepads and crayons, etc. don't run - she's just a harmless Disney fan.

It is a great thing going on down there and I want to be a part of it - and not necessarily on the receiving end of it. If it happens, it happens. . . if not, I will still have memories of making some other guests and even CM's smile, even if only for a moment.

Disney is a magical place and that's why we all keep coming back - who says "WE" can't be a part of it???

pixiedust:

Wendy

[ClaraBug]

I had also wrote WDW a Thank You note for the wonderful time we had and shared with them the fantastic CMs that touched our lives during our vacation. We recieved a lengthy call from WDW and during the call, I mentioned that DD accidently left her 5x7 signed photo of Cinderella in the room. Guess what!!! It arrived Friday in the mail.


Maddi ,

What address did you use to mail the thank you note? I could not find anything anywhere.

[curiouser]

I had also wrote WDW a Thank You note for the wonderful time we had and shared with them the fantastic CMs that touched our lives during our vacation. We recieved a lengthy call from WDW and during the call, I mentioned that DD accidently left her 5x7 signed photo of Cinderella in the room. Guess what!!! It arrived Friday in the mail.


Maddi, I'm so glad to hear WDW called you about your letter. Did you snail mail or email it? We wrote down all the names, times, dates, locations, etc.. of the CMs that were just exceptional and we're planning on e-mailing the list to Disney shortly. I'm glad to hear the information is absorbed by Disney. I want those CMs to get good reports!

[CraftyMouse]

We're just back from 2 weeks at WDW where lots of magical things happened to us. Let's see...

DH took the kids (our 2 plus their 2 friends) to ride Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl while I went to get safari fastpasses. We already had FPs for Everest so I was planning to wait the 10 or so minutes until I could get new FPs. The CM saw me waiting and asked why. When I explained the situation he pulled 6 safari FPs from his pocket and gave them to me. He said he didn't want me to have to wait around when there was so much fun to be had in the park. :)

Just after that we met back up at Everest. I told everybody what had happened and we were all excited about our little bit of Magic. Imagine our surprise when we got to the front of the Everest queue only to find the Dream Squad there. We were six of approximately 40 people who receieved the AK Dream FP. Wow!

Let's see...what else...
I answered trivia questions correctly at Sid's in the Studios and received a certificate.
3 of the 4 kids were in a fashion show at Keystone Clothiers in the Studios and received certificates.
The CM at the end of Spaceship Earth asked us some EPCOT trivia questions and then gave us Test Track FPs.
A CM at Primeval Whirl gave us a family FP to be used any time on our vacation.

Lots of magic...and I'm sure there are more I am forgetting. It was a terrific trip. I love that you can't really go looking for the special things. You just have to be at the right place at the right time.

[jencav5]

We're just back from 2 weeks at WDW where lots of magical things happened to us. Let's see...

DH took the kids (our 2 plus their 2 friends) to ride Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl while I went to get safari fastpasses. We already had FPs for Everest so I was planning to wait the 10 or so minutes until I could get new FPs. The CM saw me waiting and asked why. When I explained the situation he pulled 6 safari FPs from his pocket and gave them to me. He said he didn't want me to have to wait around when there was so much fun to be had in the park. :)

Just after that we met back up at Everest. I told everybody what had happened and we were all excited about our little bit of Magic. Imagine our surprise when we got to the front of the Everest queue only to find the Dream Squad there. We were six of approximately 40 people who receieved the AK Dream FP. Wow!

Let's see...what else...
I answered trivia questions correctly at Sid's in the Studios and received a certificate.
3 of the 4 kids were in a fashion show at Keystone Clothiers in the Studios and received certificates.
The CM at the end of Spaceship Earth asked us some EPCOT trivia questions and then gave us Test Track FPs.
A CM at Primeval Whirl gave us a family FP to be used any time on our vacation.

Lots of magic...and I'm sure there are more I am forgetting. It was a terrific trip. I love that you can't really go looking for the special things. You just have to be at the right place at the right time.

I must have missed this somewhere, but what exactly are the "dream fastpasses"? :)

[DisneyFan06]

I must have missed this somewhere, but what exactly are the "dream fastpasses"? :)

Where in the world have you been? LOL! :rotfl: :confused3 Dream fastpasses are fastpasses for every ride at a specific park

[jencav5]

Where in the world have you been? LOL! :rotfl: :confused3 Dream fastpasses are fastpasses for every ride at a specific park

Sorry, what I meant was, what do they actually give you, compared to a real one? We don't use fastpass because we have a disabled child, so I was just curious what the "dream" ones did. :)

[Welivefordisney]

My son's wish trip was last week at Disneyland and we received many items for the "Year of a Million Dreams". We received the lanyard with 2 commermorative pins(one lanyard each - 7 of us), the Honorary citizen buttons, and a free meal (served to us at our table which was made up with linens and real glasses) at the Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante. It was an amazing week!! We did see the dream fastpasses and missed out on getting them because we had seen the Steve Martin film at the 50th celebration (Lincoln theater) 2 days earlier but went back to see the items in the lobby - if we had gone into watch the film again we would have received the fastpasses! Darn!

[jpolak]

Friends of ours just returned and were selected to be the Grand Marshalls in the parade at MK. They were taking a family photo on mainstreet when a CM came over to them and asked them if they would like to do it. They of course said yes! :cool1:

[jworthy]

What type of trivia questions were they asking? Where they difficult? Just curious if I need to study up on my Disney facts before we leave in Jan.

[triplefigs]

We were at the BoneYard in AK on 9/29. My kids were given a scavenger hunt list. When we finished they gave them a certificate and a dinosaur toy.
ETA:

we were also chosen to be in the parade at the AK. We actually got to ride on the jeep with Mickey Mouse!
rode in the front of the monorail and got certificates and a complete set of monorail cards
Kids got chosen to blow the train whistle on the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch and were given Jr. Conductor certificates
DD got a Tink YOAMD pin (see post below) from a CM at the CR

[triplefigs]

I was at Magic Kingdom today and was in line to see Captain Hook and Mr. Smee. A little girl in front of us dripped her popsicle all over her dress. Her mother had nothing to use to wipe it up. My aunt gave her some napkins. A Dream Squad member saw her helping and gave her two Tinkerbell pins. One for her and one to give to somebody she saw helping.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v722/loridisney/magickingdom101106/34.jpg

The CM at the CR gave my DD this pin towards the end of our trip. Guess they started YOAMD early (we left on 9/30).

[pigletforever]

DS 4 found the key under the mat at Muppet movie today and got a certificate. I also posted in a seperate thread about a very special magic moment for DS4 involving a Storm Trooper.

[disneytraveler]

DS 4 found the key under the mat at Muppet movie today and got a certificate. I also posted in a seperate thread about a very special magic moment for DS4 involving a Storm Trooper.


Your Ds4 had a great day at Disney world! :goodvibes

[maddi]

Maddi ,

What address did you use to mail the thank you note? I could not find anything anywhere.


I used snail mail and mailed it to this address(I asked while checking out where to send the letter and was given a card with the info on it):

Walt Disney World Guest Communications
PO Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040

I included the CMs names, which park, the area of that park and what wonderful things they did for my family. In the letter I was sure to request that a copy of the letter be placed in their employment file and used for upcoming evaluations. While talking to the Cm on the phone, I was sure to again ask about that and was told she was sending it to their "supervisor". From what I understood, CMs recieve acknowledgement of some sort when when a guest acknowledges their Disney Spirit. I hope they do because those 4 Cm were exceptional and deserve to be commended for their dedication to the idea of Disney and it's magic.

[XantheFan]

This thread has inspired me! Every year before our trip we find a different way to count down starting at the 50 day mark. First year we did a paper chain and tore off a chain as each day passed; second year we made a chart with a different Disney character for each day and crossed them off as the days passed. I figure this year, we can kill two birds with one stone. Someone mentioned that they made personalized post cards to mail for the contest. So this year, we are taking 50 postcards each the same design but also putting a number at the top for the # of days to go before our trip. As each day passes, we'll mail one out. That way we can count down and enter the contest all in one fell swoop. Thank you for the inspiration!

This thread is incredible and is exactly why we return to Disney every year!

[missmonkey]

Sorry, what I meant was, what do they actually give you, compared to a real one? We don't use fastpass because we have a disabled child, so I was just curious what the "dream" ones did. :)

Getting a Dream Fastpass just means that you won't have to run around all over the park and then stand in line to get FPs for the rides you want. Also, with the regular FPs, you are not allowed to collect a second one until the start time of your first FP has passed. So essentially there's no waiting to collect them and no waiting to use them.

I've seen a picure of the Dream FP and there appear to be only about 6 or 8 tabs. I think you only get one expedited ride per ride that accepts FPs. Not every ride takes FPs.

[Flyerfan]

Does anyone have a picture of these certificates? I'm curious as to what they look like. :sunny:

[CraftyMouse]

Does anyone have a picture of these certificates? I'm curious as to what they look like. :sunny:

I haven't taken a picture of ours but I will attempt to describe them. They are blue plastic (think credit card thickness) and approximately 3 x 6". They are on a lanyard so you can hang them around your neck. Along the edges there are tabs that you can break off. Each tab is a FP for one of the rides in that park that offer FPs. In AK ours had Kilimanjaro Safaris, It's Tough to Be a Bug, Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl tabs. Each Dream FP has the date on it so you can only use it that day. Also, you must have both the main portion and the tab in order to use each FP. We had wanted to give our unused tabs to another family but we couldn't do that without giving up the main portion and we really wanted to keep those as a souvenir.

Hope that helps.

[Kitty-chan]

I was at WDW 10/5-10/9, and received a couple Dreams. :sunny: I also had some thoughts about the campaign from a corporate/marketing perspective, and so I wrote up a piece about this for my blog (YOMD: Drinking Deeply of the Kool-Aid (http://brokehoedown.wordpress.com/2006/10/17/year-of-a-million-dreams-drinking-deeply-of-the-kool-aid/). Rather than reposting the whole thing here, I thought I'd just post the link.

I also saw a few dreams in progress that I didn't mention in my article above. I saw kids getting certificates for playing hopscotch with CMs at MGM, and for picking up faux-trash with CMs at both MGM and Epcot. It seems like there are a lot of these "unlisted" dreams going on -- things that are clearly YOMD events (hence the certificates) but not listed in the official prize list (hence no requirement to hand them out according to legal rules).

Overall I'm now a big fan of YOMD, despite having started out skeptical. I can't wait to go back in December and see if they can keep it going strong.

And can I just say, despite being off-topic again (sorry!): It was my Dream to get BOO'ed! :cloud9:

[Quinn222]

oops, posted in wrong place

[iwynlea]

On October 4 at DAK, we received Dream Fastpasses at about 10am. We were headed to Rafiki's Planet Watch (I wanted to see if Jiminy Cricket was greeting, and no CM could tell me for sure), and as we were entering my DH and I were given the Dream FP badge...the dream squad CM looked like she had about 10-15 in her hands to hand out. You get one FP per FP attraction at DAK, and they can only be used on the same day. We actually only used 3 of the 6 FPs, because we had afternoon plans at another park, but it was great fun, and certainly unexpected.

Also witnessed a lot of little dreams, like the family next to us at POP Century being offered a one-night upgrade to a moderate resort (they turned it down), families being asked to start the show at various attractions. I saw a lot more magic than in past trips, and it really enhanced the magic for us!

I also have to say I love the new YOMD merchandise. I think it's simple and nice, and we ended up with shirts and a photo frame with the new logo.

[Carol Ann]

I didn't get one myself, but I was one train ride away from a dream fastpass from AK.

On the 13th they gave a bunch of people Dream FPs on arrival to Rafiki's planet watch

On the 14th - the first train of people arriving to Rafiki's got the DreamFPs (not me), and then around 11am a bunch of people got the dream FPs upon getting on the train to Rafiki's from Harambe.

They probably shouldn't do that twice in a row like that...but just so y'all know!

[kiddoc]

We returned from WDW yesterday. My DD7 received a "dream" on Sunday at MK. We were walking along the pathway beside the teacups and a Dream Squad member approached us. After a little small talk, she told my daughter she could arrange for her to meet Cinderella all by herself. Unfortunately, due to some type of "hold up" with Cinderella, we actually ended up being escorted to Toontown and taken in the back door to meet Cinderella, Belle, and Snow White. There were about 5 or 6 families with us. It was really neat.
Also, DD7 found a cast member with a YOMD pin-- the kind that are given away as dreams. She was able to trade for the pin. It was very exciting for her as she has become a miniature pin trading fanatic!
All in all, we had a great trip and saw lots of special little things being done for people.

[labdogs42]

So many cool dreams!! I think I may just have to take the train to Rafiki's in May just to see what happens... :)

[tammyandtommy]

Ok so on our Animal Kingdom day, we fast passed EE and then rode it, when we got off the ride line wasnt long, I wanted to ride again, Tom (trip nazi) decided to say no we HAVE to go to Dinosaur everyone will be here and the line will be short... so mad as I was I said fine, and we went to dino land (for more anger and the trip nazi look for my trip report in progress), he tried to cheer me up so he siad lets go on that hurly whirly think you like, as we were getting in line a bunch of people passed us with a CM, I thought nothing of it, then all of a sudden I saw them....
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e142/Tamandtomplus2/100_0987.jpg

as we were approaching the loading dock they made a huge speech, saying we were all getting these dream fast passes.... I was sooo excited

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e142/Tamandtomplus2/100_0986.jpg

So was Tom
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e142/Tamandtomplus2/100_0985.jpg

These were a great surprise and perked my mood tremendously. The good/bad thing was the trip nazi had the planning so perfect that we never needed to use them. But we have a great souvenir!

[conniehar90]

This actually happened last summer. We were having lunch in Pizza Planet and a CM came up to DD4 with a Tinkerbell pin. She was thrilled as Tink is her favorite. The CM then asked DS8 who his favorite character was. He told him Mickey. The CM said he would be right back and he was with three Mickey pins to choose from. DS chose a space one. It really made our day!!

[Olallamom]

My sister and I received "Dream Fastpasses" on Oct 14th at Epcot. It made our day, it was very cool.

[michelesobo]

I saw the Wishes team giving out pins/lanyards in our teacup line. The guy in front of me got five! Then they turned and walked away!!! My DD was almost in tears...

They gave out a huge handful of luggage tags at the Pop Century to the family in front of me. I could really use some as we just moved and the guy said, they are “given to special families to make their trip more magical"

That made me feel totally UN-special.

I was not thrilled about my trip this year. Sorry! I wish I was!
Michele

[Slightly Goofy]

Since I am a caretaker for many people I look forward to our annual (sometimes more often) DW vacations as a bit of respite for me to get 'taken care of".

We checked in on September 19th and checked out on October 10th for a grand total of 21 days (3 weeks!!) of pampering and fun.

While we were not lucky enough to get any of the million dreams items we surely were sprinkled with pixie dust from many other sources.

When I checked in I must have looked like I was in dire need as a manager came over and took me out of line and personally took care of our check in and arranged for the discounted room rate as we arrived a day early and needed an extra day. Her name was Noel. She was smart in helping me out as it was a whole lot easier than trying to pick me up after I fell over. lol

One time a bus driver got off the bus, walked down the line, and asked if I would like to be seated first. I nicely declined as I was not in quite that amount of dire need but it was appreciated.

I have not yet gotten to count up all the DISers I met but I far surpassed my previous record of 3. I even got my very first HD Mickey as Macraven left one in my door. If only I had not had the privacy tag on my door she might have knocked. I left a message for her on my window in hopes that she would return but it was not to be, this trip. Hi there Mac!!!

We were treated to a special tour on the Jungle Cruise as the only passengers. Our tour guide told me many things that I had not known. I roared when told how Chief Name' got his 'name'. I love a business with a sense of humor, especially one as warped as Disney's.

I chatted with a CM at a shop in MGM and discovered that only does she live in the same small town in Ohio as one of my sisters but actually knows the family!!

We did see one Dream remenant and I took a picture.. We were at the counter serve place at the American Adventure and saw a table all decorated up and with a sign. Being a snoopy person I went over to check it out and it was reserved for a Dream family. Would you believe that I actually met that family a few days later and they could not believe that I had taken a picture of their table. IASW!!

There were so many other special moments. I was glad to check out and head home when we did as there was no more room for us in our hotel room as it was FILLED with towel animals. I took pictures of them also. I filled 3gig of memory with pics and videos.

Slightly Goofy

[Vickie46]

hey.. we would love to see your 3g of pics! :goodvibes

[Haeg]

We are taking a camera with 2 gb of memory space, but plan on having pics burned to a CD at the Kodak places. 120 pics burned to CD for $11.99. Not a bad deal, should be cheaper then buying more memory sticks.

[KimK2006]

We just got back last night from a 5 day trip to Disney. On Friday afternoon, we got in line at Test Track. It showed a 30 minute wait. A castmember came up to us and told us the wait was actually 90 minutes. We stepped out of line to decide where to go. (I like TT, but it is not worth an hour and a half wait.) Another cast member came up to us and asked our names, where we were from, etc. She told us to follow her. We went into a "Castmembers Only" door and walked through back hallways of TT. She took us straight to where people exit the ride. She said we were the "Family of the Hour" and we could get straight on the ride. We didn't even have to wait in the Fastpass line. There was one problem. The ride was broken down. (Which is why, I guess, there was a 90 minute wait.) We waited about 10 minutes. She talked to us the whole time and was very friendly. She said she could give us a pass and we could go up the exit and ride any time during the date that we wanted. As we walked out of the building, we could hear the cars going, so we walked back in since we were there. But, by the time we got there, it was broken again. We went back a while later and it was working. We thought it was so cool that we were chosen! It was awesome!

[disneymoss]

Great story Kimk2006! I hope something like this happens to us as this will be our first trip to Disney! We leave in exactly 1 month from today! My DS9 would be over excited if this would happen to us and he probably will never stop talking about it if it did happen to us. Best Wishes and Happy Dissing!

[KimK2006]

It was very exciting!

We saw quite a few people walking around with the Fastpass lanyards, althought, I never saw anyone handing them out.

In two of the fast food restaurants, I heard the castmembers ring a bell (or something) and announcing "Customer of the Hour". They received a special desert. Actually, the "winner" at the bakery on Main Street received a HUGE cookie wrapped in clear wrap with bows on it.

[Vickie46]

wow that is great!

[disneymoss]

That is sooooo awesome! I'm hoping something like this happens to us, but if not it still will be wonderful! I can't wait to help Mickey and Minnie celebrate their birthday's! :grouphug:

[wenpop]

I can't wait to be there in Jan!!!!! I haven't told my kids because I don't want them to look for the magic.. It's just magic being at Disney!!! The Most Magical Place on Earth!!!

[TracieD]

I just registered and came over from another board. We go dec 14th, and I was so excited. But now, after reading all this, I am WAY too excited. And I love the idea of handing out glow sticks to kids. So, I guess if I see someone handing them out, I'll know it's a disboard member.. ha ha ha

[tinkerbell87512]

I just registered and came over from another board. We go dec 14th, and I was so excited. But now, after reading all this, I am WAY too excited. And I love the idea of handing out glow sticks to kids. So, I guess if I see someone handing them out, I'll know it's a disboard member.. ha ha ha

Welcome to the Disboards!! :wave2:

[wenpop]

Anyone else win any wishes this week??? Can't wait to here more about it!!
Have a great weekend!!

[cabanafrau]

We are taking a camera with 2 gb of memory space, but plan on having pics burned to a CD at the Kodak places. 120 pics burned to CD for $11.99. Not a bad deal, should be cheaper then buying more memory sticks.

Just had to comment, $11.99 spent on the CD is spent & gone forever. Memory sticks are incredibly cheap & that is an asset that's yours forever. :goodvibes

[gabbyrosebud]

I just registered and came over from another board. We go dec 14th, and I was so excited. But now, after reading all this, I am WAY too excited. And I love the idea of handing out glow sticks to kids. So, I guess if I see someone handing them out, I'll know it's a disboard member.. ha ha ha
We did something similar with my DD. In 2004 she was a little witch(for MNSSHP ;)) and she was carrying a little caldron full of little spider rings. She went up to little ones and asked if they would like one. The kids really loved them and my DD had so much fun! :goodvibes

[Haeg]

Just had to comment, $11.99 spent on the CD is spent & gone forever. Memory sticks are incredibly cheap & that is an asset that's yours forever. :goodvibes
Understood....
But if I purchase another memory stick I want a 4 or more GB size. These currently run about $250. or more.
A 2 GB sony memory stick is $99.
$12.00 x 8 CD's (approx 5.6GB) = $96.
Makes more financial sense right now. And knowing me I take a ton of pics I would fill up a 4 GB stick and still have to burn off to CD's. 10 mega pixel camera fills up a stick pretty quick.

[cabanafrau]

Haeg, you seem to have planned what best works for you. I hope you guys have a great time & lots of pixie dust! :wizard:

But you might want to have that camera looked at -- it seems to do strange things w/ people's heads! :teeth:

[bdtracey]

Understood....
But if I purchase another memory stick I want a 4 or more GB size. These currently run about $250. or more.
A 2 GB sony memory stick is $99.
$12.00 x 8 CD's (approx 5.6GB) = $96.
Makes more financial sense right now. And knowing me I take a ton of pics I would fill up a 4 GB stick and still have to burn off to CD's. 10 mega pixel camera fills up a stick pretty quick.

:offtopic: You got your math correct but you need to take into account what your time is worth and the reuse of the memory stick. If you can burn over the CD's you're fine but chances are you won't be able to burn over the ones that you get at WDW. Also, I personally know how long it takes to get those CD's (~20 minutes), it is not a quick process. If it were me I'd be buying the bigger stick and just leaving all of your pictures on there until you can get to a computer and dump them all onto your hard drive. From there you can make your own CD's for a lot less. Heck, that's what I'm doing on our next trip, our memory stick is only 256 MB (5MP camera) so we get ~100 pictures per card. I'm buying a 1 GB card before we go and I figure between the 2 cards I'll have more than enough storage...just as long as I don't format the card unexpectedly.

Sorry for being off topic but that was just how I made sense of the issue.

[Haeg]

:offtopic: You got your math correct but you need to take into account what your time is worth and the reuse of the memory stick. If you can burn over the CD's you're fine but chances are you won't be able to burn over the ones that you get at WDW. Also, I personally know how long it takes to get those CD's (~20 minutes), it is not a quick process. If it were me I'd be buying the bigger stick and just leaving all of your pictures on there until you can get to a computer and dump them all onto your hard drive. From there you can make your own CD's for a lot less. Heck, that's what I'm doing on our next trip, our memory stick is only 256 MB (5MP camera) so we get ~100 pictures per card. I'm buying a 1 GB card before we go and I figure between the 2 cards I'll have more than enough storage...just as long as I don't format the card unexpectedly.

Sorry for being off topic but that was just how I made sense of the issue.
CD re-writables are worthless, I burn to a CD and keep the pics forever, catalogged in a CD case.
My biggest concern was the amount of time it might take to get the pictures burned to CD by a CM. I really wished the hotels had the kodak machines for burning CD's. I have a laptop I could bring to off load pics to, but using the magical express and didn't want to walk around MGK with a laptop bag. Any other suggestions, besides purchasing a ton of memory sticks.

[cabanafrau]

Maybe if you hit it @ park opening while someone else in the family heads for fastpasses for the group you wouldn't have much of a delay?

DTD might be a good option, we did our Photopass purchase there after our trip was completed, so we wouldn't waste any park time.

Also, maybe check w/ the GF, I seem to recall that I read something about them having a Photopass location there, so maybe they can handle your own pictures, as well. :wave2:

[Tiggerrn2]

Just back this week from a 9 day trip. Lots of magic and pixie dust.
Arrival at WL on 10/8: upgraded from standard to woods? We overlooked the villas and their pool and could see the lake. Plus we had bunk bed for the kids. Great suprise.
10/10 at MK all the people on our boat at Jungle Cruise received Dreams Mickey Ears.
At MNSSHP on 10/10 we were chosen to be the BonVoyage family at IASW and got to stand in the tower and wave to everyone and DS got to launch the boats from the loading spot. We received a certificate there. Then, DD was asked trivia questions twice and answered them correctly and was sprinkled with pixie dust (mickey confetti). Finally, that night, DH and kids left party to go back to hotel and I stayed behind to wait in line for photos. I was last to leave for the boat launch, and I received a moonlight cruise of Bay Lake, some collectors cards of the boats for the kids, and stickers for them as well as a certificate. Bay Lake is beautiful and peaceful at that hour. It was a little chilly, but a wonderful treat.
At MGM the family right beside us on Star Tours was chosen by the Dream Squad and pulled aside. Not sure what they were given. But I think it may have been something big.
Oh, and at CP breakfast, I was wearing my Happy Birthday button and the CMs brought a birthday cupcake/candle for me and sang. Fun!!
We witnessed a lot of little moments for families for Dreams. It was a special trip.

[jencav5]

CD re-writables are worthless, I burn to a CD and keep the pics forever, catalogged in a CD case.
My biggest concern was the amount of time it might take to get the pictures burned to CD by a CM. I really wished the hotels had the kodak machines for burning CD's. I have a laptop I could bring to off load pics to, but using the magical express and didn't want to walk around MGK with a laptop bag. Any other suggestions, besides purchasing a ton of memory sticks.


I don't go anywhere without my laptop and a small portable hard drive. We checked all our bags with the hotel, including laptop bag, regulator bag (dive gear), etc... and told them what it was and that it was delicate. We didn't have any problems-they even refrigerated our milk! (all at a Disney hotel, of course.)

[pigletforever]

Wassn't us but we saw a very excited family today. DS and I were shoppign on Main Street. We saw a family win a shopping spree. The "dream maker" was following behing them - her hands were full of princess dresses and shoes and the little guy was franitcally hunting for "pirate stuff" It was really cute.

Also this AM while we were shopping I was talking to a CM and we got on the topic of my nephew who has had a sudden onset of Junveille Diabetes. The docs can't get him regulated and this has been ogoing on since May. He is now at Children's hosptial getting an insulin pump. I was telling the CM about him and the CM told me to pick any two pins on his lanyard to take to him. He pointed me to the rare ones on his laynard. It was really sweet.

Last night at the Halloween party I fell and hurt my ankle. Guest relations arranged a van to take me back to the AKL. I was loaded into the van behind the scenes and got a mini tour of backstage and got to see lots of props and old parade items. not really a wish but still really cool.

[TracieD]

Just have to say how much I am enjoying (most of, hate the "why not me" ones) the posts here.

We are going on Saturday and not taking the kids. I know, I know . . . we're very torn about it. I'll be missing them like crazy especially when I see other people's children with the magic in their eyes. I have to say though, there will be times when my husband and I will be glad to experience some things solo! :love:

In an effort to get my "kid fix" whilst there w/o children, I headed to my local Dollar Tree store and loaded up on all things Disney so that I can pass them out to other kids & ADULTS (for all you worried about the adults not getting in on the action) who might just need a little extra magic. So if you see a crazy lady coming up and offering some stickers or Ariel notepads and crayons, etc. don't run - she's just a harmless Disney fan.

It is a great thing going on down there and I want to be a part of it - and not necessarily on the receiving end of it. If it happens, it happens. . . if not, I will still have memories of making some other guests and even CM's smile, even if only for a moment.

Disney is a magical place and that's why we all keep coming back - who says "WE" can't be a part of it???

pixiedust:

Wendy

You know what, you may have just confirmed something for me. While we were there this summer, for two weeks, I didn't see any guests give anything out. But then I read all about guests giving out glow sticks and such. Which I think is VERY cool. Anyway, I started thinking..... well, chances are, from all the stories, we may be lucky enough to recieve something, but if not, I don't want the kids to be disappointed. They will understand, but they may still be disappointed. So.... I would like to use this opportunity to further teach them how much fun it is to GIVE and how much fun it is to SPREAD the magic. Well, when we go in Dec, I don't think I can get a big box of glow sticks on the plane. So, what if I made little Mickey icon shaped Christmas cards, with a little ribbon tied on it... with Merry Christmas from us, our name and town, and hand those out? Do you guys think that is a lame idea? I mean, you are right! This is about spreading magic. That IS why we go! And if we are not there, we are wishing we WERE!

[Haeg]

I don't go anywhere without my laptop and a small portable hard drive. We checked all our bags with the hotel, including laptop bag, regulator bag (dive gear), etc... and told them what it was and that it was delicate. We didn't have any problems-they even refrigerated our milk! (all at a Disney hotel, of course.)
Taking my laptop would cure all my problems. Trusted them with the expensive equipment??

[mmeb144]

TracieD: "So, what if I made little Mickey icon shaped Christmas cards, with a little ribbon tied on it... with Merry Christmas from us, our name and town, and hand those out? Do you guys think that is a lame idea? I mean, you are right! This is about spreading magic. That IS why we go! And if we are not there, we are wishing we WERE!"

Not lame at all! We passed out Christmas ornaments that my daughter had assembled before we left home. Look for those foam door hangers at Wal-mart. We gave them to CMs. It rocks!

Marie

[TracieD]

YAY, that's an awesome idea Marie! Thanks!

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Taking my laptop would cure all my problems. Trusted them with the expensive equipment??

i have to bring my laptop when we vacation for work purposes. Don't have a choice in the matter. I have never had an issue with Disney (or any other Hotel) messing with my electronic equipment, cameras, laptops, phones, etc. I use a TSA lock on my suitcase and place the items there. I know people who leave them out. It's what you are comfortable with.

Good luck!

[Haeg]

i have to bring my laptop when we vacation for work purposes. Don't have a choice in the matter. I have never had an issue with Disney (or any other Hotel) messing with my electronic equipment, cameras, laptops, phones, etc. I use a TSA lock on my suitcase and place the items there. I know people who leave them out. It's what you are comfortable with.

Good luck!
What is a TSA lock?

[ckckc2000]

What is a TSA lock?
since my DH works for TSA,lets see if I can answer this-it's a lock that is mastered keyed so it can be opened by the TSA and then resecured-prevents them from having to cut the locks if they need to do a bag check and your not there :thumbsup2

[S. C.]

What is a TSA lock?
I was wondering too so i googled it.

TSA Luggage Locks, baggage, luggage grips and accessories for Airport Security.
www.safeskieslocks.com/





http://www.libertylocks.com/images/home2.gif http://www.safeskieslocks.com/images/widget3.jpg

[S. C.]

Double Post. :confused3

[cstraub]

I was at Disneyland on Oct 13 and I did not see one person get a prize. I did not see any special fast passes or pins or anything at all.

[mrzrich]

I was at Disneyland on Oct 13 and I did not see one person get a prize. I did not see any special fast passes or pins or anything at all.

This is something I wanted to address, this thread makes it seem like these magical moments are happening continuously and to almost everyone.

I just returned from a 5 day trip, and saw one family with Dream FP. I never saw anything else exciting happening.

I just don't want people to read this thread and get all excited only to be disappointed when nothing happens.

If something happens great, but the odds are slim.

[Mike Bartenhagen]

We just returned from a week at the parks and saw many people with Dreams Fast Passes. We received several magical moments if you want to call them that. It appears to me that 999,999,900 of the Magical Moments are just little certificates although my youngest daughter was given a Magical Moments pin which had the same pin attached that she was to give to someone else (she gave it to her sister). She was also chosen to be the first to go down the SSR slide when it opened. The rest of the kids were given several certificates to certify that they had a magical moment for doing things like playing a matching game.

Mike

[Tigger714]

You know what, you may have just confirmed something for me. While we were there this summer, for two weeks, I didn't see any guests give anything out. But then I read all about guests giving out glow sticks and such. Which I think is VERY cool. Anyway, I started thinking..... well, chances are, from all the stories, we may be lucky enough to recieve something, but if not, I don't want the kids to be disappointed. They will understand, but they may still be disappointed. So.... I would like to use this opportunity to further teach them how much fun it is to GIVE and how much fun it is to SPREAD the magic. Well, when we go in Dec, I don't think I can get a big box of glow sticks on the plane. So, what if I made little Mickey icon shaped Christmas cards, with a little ribbon tied on it... with Merry Christmas from us, our name and town, and hand those out? Do you guys think that is a lame idea? I mean, you are right! This is about spreading magic. That IS why we go! And if we are not there, we are wishing we WERE!



I just took my nine year old to our local distributor and picked up 50 glow sticks and 50 glow necklaces. We bought lime green ribbon to hang them with and little tags to write a message on. He is so excited that he gets to help "spread the magic" ! The whole project cost just under $50.00!!! I'm thinking this will have to be a annual family project now. It's great to teach our kids compassion and unslefish giving. So, if your there 10/27 thru 11/5 and some crazy family is giving out glowsticks you'll know it's us!!!!

[kxmeeh]

just a quick question...are there any yomd's being granted at the water parks?

[cleo]

I'm going to Sticky this thread at the top of YOAMD board so that it's easy to find as the board gets busier. It should be fun to see how many replies it gets by the time YOAMD ends! :sunny:

[tomerin]

Taking my laptop would cure all my problems. Trusted them with the expensive equipment??

this will be my 4th trip to wdw travelig with my equiptment. i take along a digital camera, a video camera and my latop. i have never ever had a problem ever. we always seem to arrive early and you can ask bell servces to lock up your equiptment and they give you a reciept and either you can have it delivered to your room with your luggage or you can pick it up yourself.

in fact when we stayed at the WL i always left everything on the table. usually it was the laptop and one of the cameras. mousekeeping made it a point not to touch anything on the table when they came in to clean the room.

[katytrott]

Could anyone help me out here? We went on our trip on 30th Sept and have only got back. Previous to going I had heard so much about these dream giveaways, but knew it did not officialy start till we were there. This picture was taken on the Fri 6th Oct at Epcot probably around 4pm near the Land pavillion. I saw these CM members come out behind Living Seas and stroll along towards Imagination and thought they were the Dream Team. My mum and I followed them for a while to see what would happen, but they just kept strolling. We had to loose them after a while because we were meant to be meeting my DH and DS outside Living Seas. I took a picture in the hopes that someone on the Dis boards would recognise this.

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h111/katytrott/DSCF0116.jpg

Are they the Dream team? Does anyone know what they gave away if they were?

[elgerber]

That is the dream team. That is what the bags looked like that they pulled our dream fastpasses from, but there could have been any number of things inside of them.

[poohbear919]

No Dream Team Magical Moments for me (yet) - but my trip isn't for another 19 days! I'll post what I see/anything that happens to us when I get back!



I was wondering too so i googled it.Now to go slightly :offtopic:... Just wanted to say that I love that you told us this! I google everything - and my colleagues at work make fun of me because of it... It answers their questions every time though! :cool1:

[wdwholic1206]

I just LOVE reading all these stories. Thanks for spreading your pixie dust. Keep them coming. I can only hope that my family will get a piece of the "Magic" on our up coming trip. Although it will be a surprise for them seeing they have no idea we are going!

[PopArtGal]

Sorry to be slightly off-topic but speaking of yomd....did anyone see the new planning DVD yet?

[David R]

We spent a few hours at Typhoon Lagoon this afternoon and a CM approached us and gave us free refillable mugs!

[sanjdill]

Just got back on the 20th and had a great time at WDW with two grandsons, ages 1 and 3. Our three year old was picked at MGM Movie Ride to be the tour director. He had to shut the doors on some of the cars and give the thumbs up for them to start. Just a small thing, but made him feel so important and he's still talking about it. He received a nice certificate with his name on it. This is a great thing for Disney to do and is making a lot of lifetime fans. I want to go back already. The parks seemed to be a little more crowded than when we've gone in the past at this time of year.

I have been reading these posts and enjoy seeing the magic go on daily.

[ralph303]

The Great movie ride is one of my favorite rides. Its great.

[chipscamping buddy]

We had just gotten off the carousel and went into the line at Snow White today when Mary Poppins arrived at the carousel. She promptly entered through the exit nearest us and went and got on a horse. We were able to watch for the next three rounds of the carousel as she stayed on and the people getting on started to realize it. Then it was our turn to get on Snow White and my 6 yr old DD wanted to ride in the front by herself. She was worried, she didn't think the cast members would allow her to ride alone, but they smiled at her and told her it was okay.

Guess who was waiting when we got off? Yep, the Dream Team. They told my DD that because she was so brave, she had won a special wish. They gave her a shiny new penny and escorted us to the wishing fountain where she was able to make a wish and throw the penny in. They then gave her a special certificate and a Snow White stcker.

A little later, we were getting off Buzz, and one of the cast members looked at me and said "Hey Donald". She remembered me from the MNSSHP the night before when I was wearing a Donald Duck Costume. Disney Magic at its finest.

[doodlebugs]

We were entering the Magic Kingdom in the afternoon last Tuesday and as we were walking down Main Street, a family approached us. They had been given dream fastpasses for the day and were leaving the park early. They still had five or six attractions they had not used---SM, BTR, Philimagic.... Anyway, they passed the dream on by giving us their dream fastpasses!!! What super nice and generous people---they certainly made our day!

[dis ms.]

WARNING: this is long. If you just want the facts and not all the details, feel free to scroll down to the summary. :teeth:

We were at WDW October 8-13 and my kids received several wishes.

Our first day there, we were browsing at a shop, and a CM just handed my kids cotton candy. Later that same night, we were shopping (again) when a CM let the handful of kids in the store pick out a free candy bar.

Another day, we were first in line for the "Voyage of the Little Mermaid". A CM noticed that my DD had on a Jasmine t-shirt. He said, "You're the cutest little princess I've ever seen." Then he got on his radio thingy and said, "Ariel, I have Princess Jamine coming your way." Next he instructed us to sit in a certain area during the show and said that Ariel would sing directly to my DD. When Ariel came out and started singing, she looked right down at my DD, who was just in Heaven after that!

A couple of times, CMs played special games with the kids, too. My DS got to go bowling with an eyeball (don't ask!) in the Tower of Terror gift shop. A CM in the Star Tours shop played several games of Star Wars tic-tac-toe with both kids.

The biggest wish happened at MGM. We were standing around waiting for the "Stars and Motor Cars Parade" to begin. A CM asked me if my kids would like the best seats in the house for the parade. I said, yes, of course. Then, he asked if my kids would like to be IN the parade! So, we got to stand at the parade entrance and see all the characters as they were starting out. Many of them came over and shook the kids' hands. After all the characters came out, we (and the other families that were chosen to be in the parade) got to walk the parade route behind Pluto, who posed for a pic with the kids afterward.

SUMMARY of wishes my kids received:

Cotton candy
Candy bars
Ice cream
Ariel (sort of) sang to DD
They were picked to be in MGM's "Stars and Motor Cars Parade"

The wishes really added some magic to our trip.

[kaseyC]

On Friday, October 20 at the MK. While in line to ride Cinderella's Carousel my family of 5 were given Dream Fastpasses. We were thrilled. :cool1:

[cdrom610]

subscribing...

reading all these dreams come true is makin me teary-eyed :blush:
i NEED to go back to wdw during YOMD.. gotta plan something soon!

[Vickie46]

Wow.. I love reading all these stories.. I am so glad they give out dreams on the fantasy land rides too..

[jhugge]

We all received dream fastpasses on 10/18 waiting for the train at Frontierland Station.

Some of the kids in our party also received certificates for tasks such as Blasting Off the Astro-orbiter during the week.

All in all it was a great vacation

[labdogs42]

Taking my laptop would cure all my problems. Trusted them with the expensive equipment??


We take our laptop and download pictures every night to the hard drive and burn them to CD's. We left the laptop in the room, in its unlocked bag and never had any issues. I'd say take the laptop. Buy one more memory stick if you think you'll fill the one you have during a day in the parks. We took a 1G and 512MB card for my Canon 20D and the only day we filled the 1G was at AK when my DH took too many safari pics!! :)

Now, back to our regularly scheduled dreams!! :wizard:

[labdogs42]

I'm going to Sticky this thread at the top of YOAMD board so that it's easy to find as the board gets busier. It should be fun to see how many replies it gets by the time YOAMD ends! :sunny:

COOL!! This is like a Magical Moment for me -- I started a thread that went STICKY!! :goodvibes

[Kitka]

Wow, reading this thread makes me want to go to Disney again THIS year not in 2008!

[Haeg]

We take our laptop and download pictures every night to the hard drive and burn them to CD's. We left the laptop in the room, in its unlocked bag and never had any issues. I'd say take the laptop. Buy one more memory stick if you think you'll fill the one you have during a day in the parks. We took a 1G and 512MB card for my Canon 20D and the only day we filled the 1G was at AK when my DH took too many safari pics!! :)

Now, back to our regularly scheduled dreams!! :wizard:
I think thats the answer, I'll take the laptop. Carry-on the plane then check it in at the hotel, I have a medical device to check as well.
Thanks for your opinions/help.

[SCohen]

We were in line at Expedition Everest (which I might add is a VERY cool ride!!) and the family in front of us ran into the Dream Team. One of the kids had a map out and the CM announced that they had been waiting for someone with their map out. Luckily I had mine out too (I was trying to figure out the best route to Dinosaur) and my family of 4 was each given a special light blue YoAMD lanyard with two pins on it that say "Year of A Million Dreams" - one has Mickey and Minnie and another has Donald and Goofy (I think). They didn't just make my day- they made my whole life!!!!!
After that my husband walked around EVERYwhere with a map in his hand haha!!!!
A CM at MGM said that he had never seen our lanyards before and that only 250 things are handed out daily. (I don't know if this is per park or in WDW itself) I am assuming per park.
This is one of many things that happened to us that was magical, but this is the only thing the Dream Team gave us. Other things that we received were from everyday cast members just doing their jobs with perfection!!!!
Can't wait to go back!!!!

[speakupjc]

We went from 10/14-10/22 and had several wishes come true.

(1) While at the ESPN Restaurant on 10/14 my daughter was presented with a princess cup.

(2) While at Pirates of the Carribbean the cast member said she needed a family of 3-4. We indicated that we had 3 people in our party. She had the 20 people in front of us move to the side, announced us by name and said we were stars. Everyone was clapping and cheering.

[MickeyNicki]

We went Oct 19th to the 22nd

1. We were at the MNSSHP on the 19th and were waiting for the Country Bear show to start. CM Rodney came up to my niece Adrianna and asked her to help him wake up the bears. She got to speak into the PA and say HEY BEARS WAKE UP and ring the triangle bell. She received a certificate and Rodney gave us 4 Fast Passes to use on our next MK day...we went on Thunder Railroad, Winnie The Pooh, Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain with no wait!

2. At a gift shop in AK my niece got to play a game with the CM and got a certificate.

3. At Epcot we were the first ones in the park and got a free stroller for the day and the girls received free crowns for the princess breakfast

4. At Epcot the 2 nieces received a pin trading set

5. At DTD the girls received a piece of chocolate each because they had on their first time at WDW pins

What a magical time we had!

[jenbabe13]

On saturday oct. 21 my friend and i were DOG tired and had grabbed a regular fastpass for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and as we were getting off... more tired and hot and sweaty then we had ever been in our entire life, who do we see but a dream giver... and he announced that everyone was getting dream mickey ears!!!!

Boy did that lift our spirits!

That's all that happened dream wise.... but i still say being at disney on record breaking heat temps in super high humidity and getting major ow-ies on my legs from my shorts was dream enough!

[mom2jacob]

We went Oct 19th to the 22nd

1. We were at the MNSSHP on the 19th and were waiting for the Country Bear show to start. CM Rodney came up to my niece Adrianna and asked her to help him wake up the bears. She got to speak into the PA and say HEY BEARS WAKE UP and ring the triangle bell. She received a certificate and Rodney gave us 4 Fast Passes to use on our next MK day...we went on Thunder Railroad, Winnie The Pooh, Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain with no wait!

2. At a gift shop in AK my niece got to play a game with the CM and got a certificate.

3. At Epcot we were the first ones in the park and got a free stroller for the day and the girls received free crowns for the princess breakfast

4. At Epcot the 2 nieces received a pin trading set

5. At DTD the girls received a piece of chocolate each because they had on their first time at WDW pins

What a magical time we had!


Can you buy the first time at WDW pins? If so where? We are going next week and it will be our daughters first time and that would be a nice keepsake for her.

[speakupjc]

I got the opportunity to see Adrianna wake up the bears. I kept looking for Disers but didn't find any, however, I plainly remember Adrianna as she was so cute and I loved the fact that her wish was coming true.

[iwynlea]

Can you buy the first time at WDW pins? If so where? We are going next week and it will be our daughters first time and that would be a nice keepsake for her.

You don't have to purchase the 1st time buttons -- just ask at Guest Services in any of the parks and they will give you one. Have a magical vacation!

[TracieD]

Can you buy the first time at WDW pins? If so where? We are going next week and it will be our daughters first time and that would be a nice keepsake for her.

Not sure about this, but you probably just go to Guest Services and tell them it's your daughters first time at WDW. I know that it was our 10 year Anniversary, and a CM told us to go to Guest Services and tell them. They gave us each "Happy Anniversary" pins to wear. Everywhere we went, Cast Members would tell us "OH Happy Anniversary" or "Congratulations!". It was so nice! They also give out birthday pins to wear if it is your birthday.

[newms12]

We just return from WDW and are planning a parents only trip in Jan.
Wishes granted:
I do not think I have ever received as many stickers ever. We got stickers just about everywhere we went. My kids love stickers so it was very magical for them.
On DD birthday, we had ADR at CRT. We stop by Town Hall to pick up b-day pin for her. A CM stop us and said can I borrow that princess-DD was in full Cindy outfit. THe CM was leading a new CM orientation, abotu 20 new CM. THe CM had all of Main St stop and sing Happy Birthday to my DD. It was very awesome!
As we got off Dumbo that same day, Dream Team passed out Fastpass right behind us.
At Ak, kids got to be junior research asst. for finding the hippos that day.
At Mk, DS had to help the 7 dwarfs get their names back and got a dream cert.

In all a very magicial trip, I can not wait for Jan.

[MickeyNicki]

I got the opportunity to see Adrianna wake up the bears. I kept looking for Disers but didn't find any, however, I plainly remember Adrianna as she was so cute and I loved the fact that her wish was coming true.

You made my day!

I was looking for Disers too but it was hard because I was too busy chasing after the 2 girls!

[MsSharkBait]

Do any couples (without kids) receive special dream moments?

I am just curious. It's only my husband and I and I feel that since we are without kids that we are overlooked, but we are very much into the magic of Disney - just like kids.

[TravelinGal]

I just got back and my friend and I (no kids on this trip) both got dream fast passes and a lanyard/pin set. So, the 'smaller' dreams are certainly not family exclusive.

I kinda doubt they would chose a group of adult friends (or a husband/wife) traveling together for there "family of the day" or any other prize that carried the word family in the title though.

I was actually a bit dissapointed this trip. It seemed to me that the CM were LESS Disney friendly this trip. Tried to engage quite a few CM in playful banter and none of them would 'play'. The guys on the boats seemed to be the worst. All VERY old and NONE of them would chat with us.
And, the day we were at MK, the crane was up the entire day, so no good pictures of the castle. :sad2: (OK - I didn't notice it when we went back for MNSSHP, so I can't say the entire day, but most of the day it was there)

[Mischa]

Do any couples (without kids) receive special dream moments?

I am just curious. It's only my husband and I and I feel that since we are without kids that we are overlooked, but we are very much into the magic of Disney - just like kids.

I was wondering the same thing! Dh & I do not have kids but love Disney (as if we were kids) and will be going in December - only 48 more days! And again in May '07. :banana: And I was wondering if any couples got special things from the dream team. But it seems that mostly kids are getting all the special things - I'm happy for them, but I hope they don't overlook couples!

[pigletforever]

We just got back and saw some great dreams. My fave was the family who got a shopping spree at MK.

I have to agree about CM's not being as friendly. I tried to just talk to people about where they were from and the acted like I was bothering them. I was just being friendly.

One observation - I saw the most dreams being granted at MK. The least at AK. MGM also seemed to have quite a few "dream makers" wandering around. The "dream makers" didn't seem to want to be approached. DS had a question (he was turned around and couldn't figure out where a place was) and the only CM around was a "dream maker" She saw DS walking toward her and turned and walked the other way. she even made eye contact with him and still walked away. That really surprised me.

[TravelinGal]

We got the Dream Fast Pass at AK (leaving Rafiki's Conservation Station) and the Lanyard/Pin set at EPCOT (entering Journey into Imagination)

I didn't see any other 'dreams' being granted on our trip. My friend saw one other person wearing the Dream Fast Pass (before we got ours) and I saw one person in the sky/silver ears. That was it.

[iwynlea]

Do any couples (without kids) receive special dream moments?


It was just DH and I (we don't have kids), and we received dream fastpasses at the beginning of October this year. And on our honeymoon four years ago we were chosen to be Grand Marshalls in the parade at MK. So, they're definately not just for families with children! :thumbsup2

[SRUAlmn]

Do any couples (without kids) receive special dream moments?

I am just curious. It's only my husband and I and I feel that since we are without kids that we are overlooked, but we are very much into the magic of Disney - just like kids.


We wondered the same thing because most previous magic moments have been centered around people with children. Good to know they love us big kidless kids too!!!!

[TracieD]

My best friends parents went. They are a retired couple who go several times per year. They got the lanyards and pins. So everyone is included. pixiedust:

And you know, I wonder why some of the CM are not as friendly as usual. I wonder if people are bugging them because of YOAMD. I mean, can you imagine, if people are chasing after them, or trying to get prizes from them. OH I hope not! Or maybe there are just some CMs that have had a similar experience with a crazy guest and are trying to keep it from happening again?????? :scared:

[SRUAlmn]

My best friends parents went. They are a retired couple who go several times per year. They got the lanyards and pins. So everyone is included. pixiedust:

And you know, I wonder why some of the CM are not as friendly as usual. I wonder if people are bugging them because of YOAMD. I mean, can you imagine, if people are chasing after them, or trying to get prizes from them. OH I hope not! Or maybe there are just some CMs that have had a similar experience with a crazy guest and are trying to keep it from happening again?????? :scared:

That would be so awful! I really hope people are not hounding CMs trying to get free stuff. How sad and so not in the spirit of what they're trying to do!

[TracieD]

well, I can't think of any other reason why a CM would avoid someone on purpose. My experience with them is totally opposite of that.

Are you having a wedding at WDW? OMG........How awesome!!! :cloud9: While we were there, we stayed at the Floridian, and we saw a wedding take place as our room looked over the lagoon to the Cinderella Wedding Chappel. It was SO awesome. I could have sworn they were filming a movie.... But I had seen her - the luckiest bride in the world, be escorted to the Chappel in the Cinderella Horse drawn carriage. What a dream come true!!!!!!!!!!
You are going to be SUCH a Princess!!! princess:

[SRUAlmn]

well, I can't think of any other reason why a CM would avoid someone on purpose. My experience with them is totally opposite of that.

Are you having a wedding at WDW? OMG........How awesome!!! :cloud9: While we were there, we stayed at the Floridian, and we saw a wedding take place as our room looked over the lagoon to the Cinderella Wedding Chappel. It was SO awesome. I could have sworn they were filming a movie.... But I had seen her - the luckiest bride in the world, be escorted to the Chappel in the Cinderella Horse drawn carriage. What a dream come true!!!!!!!!!!
You are going to be SUCH a Princess!!! princess:


Aw! Thanks, we are so excited!!! I"m so glad you posted that because when I read it I was on the phone with the Group Resrevations office because our wedding room block got messed up and I was so upset and your post made me smile :) We cannot afford the carriage, but it is awfully cute! Thanks again for the sweet thoughts!! :goodvibes

[reelmom]

Not sure if this is part of YOAMD or something that they do everyday. My DS4 and DS3 were dressed as pirates for MNSSHP and were standing in line to get Captain Hook's autograph. The CM helping him asked my boys if they would sign Captain Hook's autograph book. They were so excited. It may not seem like much, but it was a big deal to us.

[bellenbuzz]

And I Can't Imagine Getting Any of this Stuff.....
I'm not getting my hopes up, but sure would love to get some little bit of magic.......
It All Sounds Great !!
Thanks for all the Postings, I love reading these "Dreams" !! :cloud9: :cloud9: :cloud9: :cloud9: :cloud9: :cloud9:

[Vickie46]

oh to the bride getting married.. wouldn't it be so neat if Disney had the carriage there on your big day just for you and Mickey and Minnie arrived too.. I am wishing you lots of extra extra pixie dust! princess:

[DNADUNCAN]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post. I will try to keep it short. We just returned from 9 days at Disney. Oct 13-22nd. We didn't recieve any of the dreams rewards but we saw alot of the dream fastpasses all 7 days we were in the parks. My DS8 and DD6 had a dream come true. All my son talked about was riding Star Tours. He is a Star Wars nut. We rode Star Tours once and he wanted to ride again. My wife decided to stay in the gift shop while we rode. Outside of the ride was two stormtroopers that my DS and DD had their pictures made with before our first ride. As my DS entered the ride a S-Trooper stepped in front of him. My DS said excuse me and started to go around but the S-Trooper would not let him pass. At this time the other S-Trooper put his gun to my back. The CM said we have been captured. They took out of the line through the handicapped entrance to the front of the line. They told us to chose which row out of car we wanted. We had the row to ourselves. My kids were thrilled. It is amazing how something so simple was the highlight of their trip.

[yellownovawife]

WOW! Good for you! Amazing, too, how something that does not really cost Disney anything(except for training, I guess) can make people's vacations so great! Glad you had a great time!

[fromscratchmom]

Or maybe there are just some CMs that have had a similar experience with a crazy guest and are trying to keep it from happening again?????? :scared:

I guess it is a possibility that there are those who are bugging them out of greediness, which I agree is sad and wrong. But I think that it is also possible that some of them just have a hard time sometimes, because there are, unfortunately, some nuts in the general public that are very hard to deal with. And don't get me wrong, I don't think that those difficult customers are doing it on purpose. I think they can't help it. At one point when I was younger and working in a book store I witnessed a customer harassing an employee for nearly a half an hour trying to find a way into the "JFK conspiracy section". I am not making this up. This person really thought that there was probably a secret section of the store for books on this topic.

And I happened to mention this to a young lady at my church recently when we were talking about dealing with the public (she just got back from nearly a year working at Disney) and she said "oh yeah, I had someone that really believed that there was an invisible dome over the park and that she could complain to get the rain turned off, really and truly believed that Disney controlled the weather and used the rain to make it realistic.") It is hard to know whether to view such things as sad or funny! But I feel for people in customer service positions. Between the day-in-and-day-out of dealing with the greedy and unethical and the occasional crazy person, it is just really tiring! I've always been impressed with Disney that they make such incredible efforts to have happy CMs. I hope that we all see that when we go in the future, even if they've had a little difficulty in that department lately.

pixiedust:

[SRUAlmn]

oh to the bride getting married.. wouldn't it be so neat if Disney had the carriage there on your big day just for you and Mickey and Minnie arrived too.. I am wishing you lots of extra extra pixie dust! princess:


OOooooh! Don't get my hopes up ;) ;) ;)

[TracieD]

I guess it is a possibility that there are those who are bugging them out of greediness, which I agree is sad and wrong. But I think that it is also possible that some of them just have a hard time sometimes, because there are, unfortunately, some nuts in the general public that are very hard to deal with. And don't get me wrong, I don't think that those difficult customers are doing it on purpose. I think they can't help it. At one point when I was younger and working in a book store I witnessed a customer harassing an employee for nearly a half an hour trying to find a way into the "JFK conspiracy section". I am not making this up. This person really thought that there was probably a secret section of the store for books on this topic.

And I happened to mention this to a young lady at my church recently when we were talking about dealing with the public (she just got back from nearly a year working at Disney) and she said "oh yeah, I had someone that really believed that there was an invisible dome over the park and that she could complain to get the rain turned off, really and truly believed that Disney controlled the weather and used the rain to make it realistic.") It is hard to know whether to view such things as sad or funny! But I feel for people in customer service positions. Between the day-in-and-day-out of dealing with the greedy and unethical and the occasional crazy person, it is just really tiring! I've always been impressed with Disney that they make such incredible efforts to have happy CMs. I hope that we all see that when we go in the future, even if they've had a little difficulty in that department lately.

pixiedust:

:rotfl: Thought Disney controlled the weather! OH MY! WEll, I know, I shouldn't laugh. Those poor CMs. I'm a Customer Service Manager and have been doing this... well, don't want to tell my age, ha ha, but let's just say a long time! And I can totally relate to what they must have to deal with from time to time. Especially during the summer, when people are tired, hot and just in a bad mood. Disney must really go out of their way to make working there a rewarding job. The CMs I've encountered, are happy to be there. You can tell when someone enjoys their job. And it DOES make a difference.

[TracieD]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post. I will try to keep it short. We just returned from 9 days at Disney. Oct 13-22nd. We didn't recieve any of the dreams rewards but we saw alot of the dream fastpasses all 7 days we were in the parks. My DS8 and DD6 had a dream come true. All my son talked about was riding Star Tours. He is a Star Wars nut. We rode Star Tours once and he wanted to ride again. My wife decided to stay in the gift shop while we rode. Outside of the ride was two stormtroopers that my DS and DD had their pictures made with before our first ride. As my DS entered the ride a S-Trooper stepped in front of him. My DS said excuse me and started to go around but the S-Trooper would not let him pass. At this time the other S-Trooper put his gun to my back. The CM said we have been captured. They took out of the line through the handicapped entrance to the front of the line. They told us to chose which row out of car we wanted. We had the row to ourselves. My kids were thrilled. It is amazing how something so simple was the highlight of their trip.

That is AWESOME! And welcome! I'm earning my ears too!!!!!! :smickey:

[TracieD]

oh to the bride getting married.. wouldn't it be so neat if Disney had the carriage there on your big day just for you and Mickey and Minnie arrived too.. I am wishing you lots of extra extra pixie dust! princess:

OH I wish I wish I wish!!!! pixiedust:
That would be SO cool. Maybe, just maybe, there are Disney Marketing employess who read this stuff....... Would be a good business decision if they did. That way, they know how we think, how we react...... hmmmmmmm.

[SRUAlmn]

OH I wish I wish I wish!!!! pixiedust:
That would be SO cool. Maybe, just maybe, there are Disney Marketing employess who read this stuff....... Would be a good business decision if they did. That way, they know how we think, how we react...... hmmmmmmm.


If so, HERE I AM!!!!!!!!! PICK ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'D LIKE A CARRIAGE PLEASE :) :) :rotfl:

[pongoperdigirl]

I will be there on my honeymoon soon, I would be happy just watching people win. It is sonice to hear these stories.

[blewits]

Most important - DONT GET YOUR HOPES UP, or you'll just be setting yourselves up for disappointment.

We just got back yesterday and i only saw 2 people w/dream ears on and maybe one or 2 dream fastpasses.

We didn't have any YOAMD moments this trip, but it didn't detract from it either because we didn't expect anything. One reason was because the crowds were higher than I have EVER seen them for October. Obviously, this decreases your chances of getting chosen for a prize. Just an odds thing.

I took glow sticks and Ariel crayons and Mickey note pads that I had bought from the dollar store before I left. Also, some halloween stickers. I handed those out to kids and you should have seen the look on some of the parents faces - it was worth it. They just couldn't "believe" it! It was great! We also made sure to pass along any fastpasses we had gotten and were unable to use.

My kids got into handing out the surprises and that made it extra nice. I even had my 7 year old son picking up trash if he saw it laying around! THAT alone made it a great experience for us.

Wendy

[TSM1993]

When we were there (10/14 - 10/22) We asked a couple people about how they got their dream fast passes and the answer were pretty similar. They all said they were the first to ride this or that or first in line for a ride. So you may have to get there early. Just my observation. We saw maybe 5 dreammakers the entire trip.

[Big Daddy Incredible]

The family (DW, DD6, DD5, and DS3) and I recently returned from our nine night stay at Disneyworld. Our first day in the parks was at Magic Kingdom. We saw the show outside the park shortly before 9:00AM and then entered the park. My wife and I were getting the kids organized when a cast member tapped my wife on the shoulder. The CM asked us if we would like a private meeting with Cinderella. Of course, we said yes. The CM asked us to return to the front of the park at 12:30PM.

The same CM met us at 12:30PM. There was another family of four with two little girls that also got to meet with Cinderella. At 12:30PM sharp, the CM led us into one of the building at the front of Main Street and into a back office. AND THERE SHE WAS! There was another CM in the room. He was wearing a YOAMD white shirt. We snapped a few pictures and chatted for a few minutes. Everyone loved it. We knew there was another family waiting so we did not want to overextend our time. The girls have talked about our meeting with Cinderella every day ever since.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b275/dancingfarley/SharonAlanaPeytonCinderellaScottand.jpg

[dpuck1998]

Go Tigers ^^^

[thedears]

oh how my DD's would love some pixiedust: :disrocks:

[Haeg]

We will be up early and hitting the parks, hopefully we at least see some dreams and maybe even get some granted to us. My 2 DS's would love that. But my DW would probably be the most excited, she is a huge Mickey fan and we often kids around about how we all step aside so Mom doesn't run us over if Mickey Mouse is around.
Married with children and this place is where we love to be. Congrats to all on there YOAMD stories, I can't wait to report back. Just over a week to go..
:cool1:

[linskypens]

The magic for me is going to be heading under that WDW arch on Oceola Pkwy. Anything else would just be icing on the cake. It'd be fun to see someone get a dream though. I'm going a lot in the coming months so I hope to see the Dream Team in action.

I thought it was just me and my DD that got all giddy driving under that arch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TracieD]

OH that makes me feel so much better! I thought I was the only ADULT who turned into a 10 year old as soon as we hit the gate! When I got home from our last trip, showing my sister all the pictures, her first comment was "Where are the children"? Becuase the pics were of me with Tigger, Chip and Dale, Mickey, Donald................ :rotfl2:

[44sun]

I thought it was just me and my DD that got all giddy driving under that arch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Me too! Me too! There was a thread once about what makes you feel like you've 'arrived' and that arch does it for me. I even included a picture of it in our scrapbook!

Sorry, off topic but it IS magical. ;)

[Tasmen]

I will say this thread has me even more excited for my WDW trip in May and my Disneyland trip next week.

[TracieD]

Me too! Me too! There was a thread once about what makes you feel like you've 'arrived' and that arch does it for me. I even included a picture of it in our scrapbook!

Sorry, off topic but it IS magical. ;)

HAHAHAHA You took a pic of the arch too?????? OH that is TOO funny! Yeah! I'm not alone in this world!!!!!!!!
I saw a signature one time, I WISH I knew how it went (and I can't find it again) something like "If you have never had the magic, you don't know what I'm talking about, if you DO have the magic something something" Can anyone help me out here?

[kimkreis]

Have loved reading all of these. We are going in January and since it is a trip to reunite with my hubby who is deployed, it will be magical no matter what happens, but any little extra pixie dust will be great.

And on Disney PAris, it is so cool. I never went to their studios as my kids were too small, but we loved the Magic Kingdom park. We found all CMs there to be great, especially with popping into English when my French faltered.

[Vickie46]

My friends just got back from 7 days..

They got a free certificate for ice cream one day I believe in MK... and then another day on their trip they were playing games in Epcot ... in a building she said.. and they got mickey ears!

[Flyerfan]

Me too! Me too! There was a thread once about what makes you feel like you've 'arrived' and that arch does it for me. I even included a picture of it in our scrapbook!

Sorry, off topic but it IS magical. ;)

:yay: I agree!!

Last time we drove under the arch, I raised my arms and said "I'm home"!
It does it every time. Good idea....putting a picture in your scrapbook. May I borrow that idea?

[SRUAlmn]

Not the best (this was prior to our ownership of a digital camera ;) ) but we always feel the same way. It's like a surge of pixie dust goes through your body as you drive under it!!!!!!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid142/p33a17f709575632f256a1ea7c4aa0ac9/f6bcadf4.jpg

[n2mm]

I agree, don't get your hopes up or you'll be disappointed. We just returned after a 14 day visit to WDW. Went to the parks everyday, mostly all morning until lunch and then a rest break, then back to a different park in the afternoon. We did, after the 10th day, both get a dream lanyard when entering the train station, but the excitment was gone by then. After 10 days of watching everyone, and I mean everyone, walking around with dream lanyards, fastpass lanyards, dream hats and other little perks, we were pretty much beaten down that it was not in the cards for us. We too heard about all of those special dreams, like the man behind us who got picked for the free lunch while in line waiting to pay for ours -- and after him telling us, he and his family got picked for something almost daily. Of watching the dream makers handing out dream hats on triseratops spin to the riders, after our family got off. But what was more disappointing was when our kids and grandkids arrived for 6 days of parks and for them not to be picked to partipate in any dreams and their kids seeing all of the special things going on and to our friends who were there for 9 days of parks and not to get any perks or special attention either. Did we expect something, not really, but when you are at the parks and resorts for 14 days, or 6 days or 9 days, you think, maybe your chances are a little better than the folks coming in for weekend. We did indeed see the dream makers daily and at each park, so we know they are there, just not where we were. :confused3

[dustysky]

I agree, don't get your hopes up or you'll be disappointed. We just returned after a 14 day visit to WDW. Went to the parks everyday, mostly all morning until lunch and then a rest break, then back to a different park in the afternoon. We did, after the 10th day, both get a dream lanyard when entering the train station, but the excitment was gone by then. After 10 days of watching everyone, and I mean everyone, walking around with dream lanyards, fastpass lanyards, dream hats and other little perks, we were pretty much beaten down that it was not in the cards for us. We too heard about all of those special dreams, like the man behind us who got picked for the free lunch while in line waiting to pay for ours -- and after him telling us, he and his family got picked for something almost daily. Of watching the dream makers handing out dream hats on triseratops spin to the riders, after our family got off. But what was more disappointing was when our kids and grandkids arrived for 6 days of parks and for them not to be picked to partipate in any dreams and their kids seeing all of the special things going on and to our friends who were there for 9 days of parks and not to get any perks or special attention either. Did we expect something, not really, but when you are at the parks and resorts for 14 days, or 6 days or 9 days, you think, maybe your chances are a little better than the folks coming in for weekend. We did indeed see the dream makers daily and at each park, so we know they are there, just not where we were. :confused3

This is very sad, I made a post about how it was cool to see others get things and I still think seeing others happy is a great thing but you are so right, it would be VERY hard to be the person always infront or back of the people getting a treat. That part really does make me wonder just how random it REALLY is. :confused3

[Meezers]

DM and I are going to meet some Brit friends in November.

I haven't read all of this thread (work keeps getting in the way!). But thought of how I can contribute before we go!

DM and I will be with our Brit friends at MK on Nov 29th. Anyone who sees me and can tell me my Dibb name can choose a pin out of my pin trading bag! At least until it is empty!

I will be wearing khaki's, pink shirt and pink lanyard. I am 44 yoa....short blond hair and on the heavy side.

We might stand out as our Brit friends will have one person in an ECV and a special chair for their 12 yoa handicapped daughter!


Good luck!

[labdogs42]

That part really does make me wonder just how random it REALLY is. :confused3

See, that's the thing with really random drawings. The same number can come up 5 times in a row and another number will never come up. That's how it works. I believe they are using the best system they can and it wouldn't be a dream or a prize if everyone won, so, some people won't get anything. That's how the cookie crumbles.

As for the Disney arch, yes, I take pictures of it -- every time! DH even knows to slow the car down so I can get a good pictures! I also take pictures of my resort sign and the parking signs -- I'm a nut!!

[Silvite]

Last christmas watching cinderellabration, this british family of 2 small girls could not find anywhere to sit. I was in a walking cast, but being 17, let the little ones take my spot. The family was so happy, they went and ordered a cake to be delievered to our room. :)

[Haeg]

I also take pictures of my resort sign and the parking signs -- I'm a nut!!
We always get pics of the hotel and room number for the photo album. I prefer still pics over video's. I guess there easier to review. A little over a week to go....

[pooh101]

My family and I visited Disney World Oct.22-26. We went the whole time without even seeing a "dreammaker". Kids weren't disappointed because I hadn't told them about it. Adults weren't disappointed, just thrilled to be having the time of our lives. Last day, we were waiting for the Magical Express to pick us up when a woman wearing khaki pants and light blue oxford approaches us. I actually started to get nervous. She asked us if we had celebrated anything special on our visit and my son told her it was his birthday yesterday. She asked a few more questions, mentioned something to the bellperson with our luggage and told us we wouldn't be travelling to the airport in the bus, but rather a stretch limo. It was really awesome. Our 8 yr old DS and 4 yr old DD had the time of their lives drinking Cokes and Sprites from champagne glasses. Truly Magical.

[ckckc2000]

My family and I visited Disney World Oct.22-26. We went the whole time without even seeing a "dreammaker". Kids weren't disappointed because I hadn't told them about it. Adults weren't disappointed, just thrilled to be having the time of our lives. Last day, we were waiting for the Magical Express to pick us up when a woman wearing khaki pants and light blue oxford approaches us. I actually started to get nervous. She asked us if we had celebrated anything special on our visit and my son told her it was his birthday yesterday. She asked a few more questions, mentioned something to the bellperson with our luggage and told us we wouldn't be travelling to the airport in the bus, but rather a stretch limo. It was really awesome. Our 8 yr old DS and 4 yr old DD had the time of their lives drinking Cokes and Sprites from champagne glasses. Truly Magical.
Oh what a cute thing to have happen!!!-your DS must of been thrilled :cheer2:

[cybrkitn]

We were in Epcot last Thursday and got our FP for Soarin. While we were waiting for our time window, we decided to do The Land since there was no line yet. Well when our boat came back to dock, the CM told us all to stay there and not get up yet. He then proceeded to give the whole boat Dream Passes :eek: ! We were so excited; our first official day in the parks and we got Dream Passes! :banana:

[44sun]

Have loved reading all of these. We are going in January and since it is a trip to reunite with my hubby who is deployed, it will be magical no matter what happens, but any little extra pixie dust will be great.

We too are having a reunion with Daddy on this trip! :love: Although he hasn't been deployed with the military, he has been working out of town since April & probably won't get back home until early next year. I agree that the trip will be very magical! :wizard:

Thank you to you, your husband and family for your service to our country - we appreciate you! :grouphug:

[sticker231]

We "won" pin lanyards in Mexico. They were giving them to everyone getting off the Rio del Tiempo. Was expecting anything so it was pretty cool. Seems like alot of people are expecting something and coming away upset. We saw alot of CMs walking around with backpacks that had the YOAMD logo on it. Just go and have a good time, if you get something its a bonus.

[kcork1026]

I think the magic will be contageous. My family has a list of special things we will try to do for others this year. Last year the kids gave out glow sticks at the parades and they had such a gret time. If we all go hoping to spread some fun, instead of just expecting it for ourselves, I think our trips will be even better. Thanks for starting this thread! It turns out, Disney magic doesn't just come from Disney! It's us too!

My girls 14 and 9 also gave out glow necklaces last year, I'm not sure who's smile was bigger the receivers or my daughters.

[kathi29]

We got two dreams last weekend! Small, but still neat to get chosen.
Saturday morning we went to AK, got in line for Dinosaur. They gave everyone in the room (and at least the next batch of people as well) special bracelets for an EMH that night from 5:30 to 6:30. Everyone also got a big butto. Unfortunately we didn't use the EMH because we were at MGM.

I also got a little card and a pin. At MGM when I went to package pickup, as I was walking away I noticed something stuck to the bag. It was a postcard saying I had a dream come true, and it had a pin attached to it (the yellow rabbit, and for the life of me I can't think of his name)

[CJBaby]

We got two dreams last weekend! Small, but still neat to get chosen.
Saturday morning we went to AK, got in line for Dinosaur. They gave everyone in the room (and at least the next batch of people as well) special bracelets for an EMH that night from 5:30 to 6:30. Everyone also got a big butto. Unfortunately we didn't use the EMH because we were at MGM.

I also got a little card and a pin. At MGM when I went to package pickup, as I was walking away I noticed something stuck to the bag. It was a postcard saying I had a dream come true, and it had a pin attached to it (the yellow rabbit, and for the life of me I can't think of his name)

Is it "Rabbit," from Winnie the Pooh? :teeth: Congrats!

[Haeg]

We "won" pin lanyards in Mexico. They were giving them to everyone getting off the Rio del Tiempo. Was expecting anything so it was pretty cool. Seems like alot of people are expecting something and coming away upset. We saw alot of CMs walking around with backpacks that had the YOAMD logo on it. Just go and have a good time, if you get something its a bonus.
Thats what I am thinking. 8 days to go. ;)

[KC-CT]

DD-11 and I just got back from 4 magical (& exhausting) days at Disney World. We met my DS-32 and DIL who live in NC there which was a surprise for DD!

Here are the magical moments that we experienced.

Day 1 at Magic Kingdom - as we were entering Space Mountain, someone (not a CM) handed us two tiny little fastpasses for Space Mountain!! Then a minute later someone else offered us another fastpass!!

That same evening....my son was shopping on Main Street and gave money to someone who was a few cents short. The CM got all excited and said he had performed a Random Act of Kindness and she gave him a special double pin set (Tinkerbell) and said to keep one and pass the other on. He gave it to DD - Tinkerbell is her favorite character.

Day 2 at Animal Kingdom....we were leaving Camp Minnie-Mickey and a CM at an ice cream cart stopped DD and asked if she had time to talk. She asked her a few questions and then she handed her a Dreams Come True certificate and let her choose an ice cream from her cart!!!

Day 3 at Epcot....when we got fastpasses for Test Track we also got a surprise fastpass for Mission Space. Since we didn't want to go on Mission Space, we passed along the magic to 3 other people. They were thrilled!

I'd hoped we might experience at least one magical event, but four was totally unexpected and truly magical!!!

[Quinn222]

HAHAHAHA You took a pic of the arch too?????? OH that is TOO funny! Yeah! I'm not alone in this world!!!!!!!!


I take a picture of it every time! And I'm the driver! :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

I make sure my camera is ready in the console beside me. Er, I also take a picture of the Disney World sign at the turnpike exit. And the park entry signs. Anywhere else that would probably be considered odd but I know you guys get it.

To keep on topic I saw the dream squad people walking around several times last week. They always seemed to be headed to attraction we just got off! No problem though, we had a wonderful time and I'm going again this coming weekend so maybe this time I'll actually see someone get a dream!

[TracieD]

Well, I have shared all these stories about a lot getting dreams and some not, with my DH. We have talked about it over the last couple days and we decided not to tell the kids. We don't want them to get their expectations set that they will get something. And they are so excited just to go, as we all are. That's a lot of magic in itself. We have decided to concentrate on spreading magic instead of expecting to get some. We are making little Christmas Cards for guests and CM. We will let the kids hand those out to who ever they wish. I can't wait! :woohoo:

[kathi29]

Is it "Rabbit," from Winnie the Pooh? :teeth: Congrats!

That crossed my mind, but I figured "Rabbit" was too easy. Thanks!

[ReggieB]

DS6 got a special chocolate coin and a Dream certificate from a lovely lady in The Yankee Trader. DS had been chatting to her for a little bit, so it was obviously just a whim on her part, which was sweet.

Saw a few of the passes about, and also the special mouse ears. Other than that we didn't ever see the Dream team. Saw a few CM's letting people start shows and the such like.

[Cass]

We are going in December and I am so excited about the extra pixie dust flying around, I'm not telling the kids though, because I don't want them to expect anything.

Our most magical moment happened in 2002 and I think it would be hard to beat it. We went to see Hoop Dee Doo and my DD forgot her Kovu & Kiara beanie babies on the table when we left.

We realized they were missing when we were on the bus heading for downtown disney, she was so upset - these are her favourite toys and they go everywhere with us. I told her I would call lost and found in the morning and I was sure we would get them back.

We headed back to AKL and when we walked in the room... there was Kovu & Kiara sitting up on my DD's bed!! They had beaten us back to the room from HoopDeeDoo and there was this note.

http://www.casshew.com/images/akl/bestthing.jpg

I took this pic right afterwards, we were both so happy.

http://www.casshew.com/images/akl/bestthing1.jpg

I never found out who brought them to the hotel for us or who put them in the room, it was very magical and special.

[Marilou]

Cass
That has got to be the most magical sweet moment I have ever read. That would have had my kids completely and totally in awe of the magic of WDW for the rest of their life!! I can't wait to tell them this story when they get home from school.

[Cass]

I literally cried in the room, I couldn't believe someone had cared enough to go to all the trouble to get DD's toys back to us. It makes me get weepy thinking about it now, 4 years later.

As far as I'm concerned that was enough pixie dust for a lifetime. :goodvibes

[ducknturtle]

We are going in December and I am so excited about the extra pixie dust flying around, I'm not telling the kids though, because I don't want them to expect anything.

Our most magical moment happened in 2002 and I think it would be hard to beat it. We went to see Hoop Dee Doo and my DD forgot her Kovu & Kiara beanie babies on the table when we left.

We realized they were missing when we were on the bus heading for downtown disney, she was so upset - these are her favourite toys and they go everywhere with us. I told her I would call lost and found in the morning and I was sure we would get them back.

We headed back to AKL and when we walked in the room... there was Kovu & Kiara sitting up on my DD's bed!! They had beaten us back to the room from HoopDeeDoo and there was this note.

http://www.casshew.com/images/akl/bestthing.jpg

I took this pic right afterwards, we were both so happy.

http://www.casshew.com/images/akl/bestthing1.jpg

I never found out who brought them to the hotel for us or who put them in the room, it was very magical and special.


Where else but at Disney would this happen. It is this kind of attention to their guests that makes Disney hard to beat for vacation.

[Dalpal]

What a great thread! I'll be sure to post any "dreams" I see while I'm there in 35 DAYS!!!

Have a question - I'll be traveling solo for this November trip, and I'd like to spread some of my own Pixie Dust, but I want to be very careful about how I do it - single woman handing out stuff might make some parents nervous. What can I do that won't make anyone feel uncomfortable but that might make someone's day? (I know I wouldn't want anyone giving my DDs any kind of food, so that's out)...thanks for any suggestions you can give me! :thumbsup2

My husband and I (by ourselves) have bought ballons (you know the big Mickey/Minnie ones) befor and walked around and waited until we found a child that we thought would like to have it ....We try to find ones that dont look like they have alot of other things...And Ill always ask the parent first,...Just incase they dont want to be bothered with a balloon or something..(and I was tuned down once, didnt question it ...just moved on.)
Most are very happy to say yes!

Its alot of fun ....and the best $6 Ill spend.....
We have been to WDW so many times, and I KNOW if this happened to ANY of my DGC they would be thrilled....Its just somthing that puts joy in our hearts :confused3 ...
Theres a picture of it in my blog.....I think ;)

TTFN

[44sun]

Cass
That has got to be the most magical sweet moment I have ever read. That would have had my kids completely and totally in awe of the magic of WDW for the rest of their life!! I can't wait to tell them this story when they get home from school.
:grouphug: DITTO!
Thanks for sharing the story Cass! :cloud9:

[barbeml]

October 24-28: Me, DH and our good friends Bill & Stacey, our first time at Coronado Springs.

On our first day, DH and I returned to CSR for a late afternoon break and said hello to two CMs we passed. The woman called me back and presented me with a pair of special edtion Tink pins…one to keep and one to share. At Studios, we met a fun CM named Brian who really got into his role at Star Tours. As we exited after our ride, he asked if anyone wanted to ride again, and I jumped at the chance. Brian asked our names and where we were from before sending us back to Endor. It was just the four of us….very cool. As we were leaving, he presented us with a certificate with all of our names to commemorate our “Return to Endor.” Stacey got a huge kick out of that.

Other than our experiences, we only saw one couple with the Dream FastPass, and never witnessed anything else.

[mommyesq]

Just back from our 10/26-10/30 stay at POP....My son received a couple of small magic moments with corresponding certificates - bowling at POP and a chance to introduce the ride at Rockin Roller Coaster - but the best was on Saturday 10/28 and we were in line at DINO in AK...we say the dream team and my heart started to beat like crazy but we get into line and nothing - then about 5-10 right behind us come in with dream fast passes and my hopes dashed.......my son loves dino and we got to AK early for breakfast so we run around to ride again and guess what we get ushered into our room and told that we are going to get an xtra hour at AK after the park closes (from 5:30-6:30) with all rides open (except kilimanjaro).......during this extra hour my son and I rode Everest 7 times in a row (we had already ridden it four times during our day - and we got stuck the first time and had to walk down - more about this in my trip report so for my son and I this was most magical....we also go a button that let people know we received a special moment and while in line later that day a little girl kept looking and pointing at my bin and I wanted to pass a little magic so gave it to her on her way into the ride....

MJ

[TracieD]

Just back from our 10/26-10/30 stay at POP....My son received a couple of small magic moments with corresponding certificates - bowling at POP and a chance to introduce the ride at Rockin Roller Coaster - but the best was on Saturday 10/28 and we were in line at DINO in AK...we say the dream team and my heart started to beat like crazy but we get into line and nothing - then about 5-10 right behind us come in with dream fast passes and my hopes dashed.......my son loves dino and we got to AK early for breakfast so we run around to ride again and guess what we get ushered into our room and told that we are going to get an xtra hour at AK after the park closes (from 5:30-6:30) with all rides open (except kilimanjaro).......during this extra hour my son and I rode Everest 7 times in a row (we had already ridden it four times during our day - and we got stuck the first time and had to walk down - more about this in my trip report so for my son and I this was most magical....we also go a button that let people know we received a special moment and while in line later that day a little girl kept looking and pointing at my bin and I wanted to pass a little magic so gave it to her on her way into the ride....

MJ

WOW a whole hour, just you guys? That's awesome!! I don't think I've heard of anyone getting anything like that yet! Congrats!!

[ADP]

Just back from our 10/26-10/30 stay at POP....My son received a couple of small magic moments with corresponding certificates - bowling at POP and a chance to introduce the ride at Rockin Roller Coaster - but the best was on Saturday 10/28 and we were in line at DINO in AK...we say the dream team and my heart started to beat like crazy but we get into line and nothing - then about 5-10 right behind us come in with dream fast passes and my hopes dashed.......my son loves dino and we got to AK early for breakfast so we run around to ride again and guess what we get ushered into our room and told that we are going to get an xtra hour at AK after the park closes (from 5:30-6:30) with all rides open (except kilimanjaro).......during this extra hour my son and I rode Everest 7 times in a row (we had already ridden it four times during our day - and we got stuck the first time and had to walk down - more about this in my trip report so for my son and I this was most magical....we also go a button that let people know we received a special moment and while in line later that day a little girl kept looking and pointing at my bin and I wanted to pass a little magic so gave it to her on her way into the ride....

MJ

We were at AK that day and missed our chance for extra hours. That sounds like a great dream come true. Congrats!

We did receive dream pins & lanyards when we entered our star ship on Star Tours at MGM Studios on Thursday, Oct. 26th. It was really exciting. We got there early and rode Star Tours around 9:15AM.

Just an observation of the Dreams and Dream Squad. Most Dream Fast Passes are being handed out early in the day. This gives the guests all day to enjoy them. In fact, most of the people I spoke with who received the Fast Passes, Lanyards, and hats all told me they got there dreams early in the day, before 11:00AM. My guess is that if you want to increase your chances of winning something arrive early and go on as many attractions as you can.

Another observation is that the Dream Squad are very covert. They seem to be hiding out until its time to hand out dreams. I asked about this to a few Cast Members and they told me at the beginning of the promotion a lot of people identified the Dream Squad members and were following them around. They were even getting approached by a lot of people asking for or about the dreams. Although you will see them walking through the parks they don't roam, they tend to hide out in other places and await there time and place to hand out dreams. When we received our dream lanyards and pins at Star Tours the Dream Squad member came out of nowhere to tell us about our dream, she reached in her bag for the lanyards, handed them out and left quickly through the back exit.

[mommyesq]

WOW a whole hour, just you guys? That's awesome!! I don't think I've heard of anyone getting anything like that yet! Congrats!!


Not just us - I wish - probably 100-200 people for the entire park.....anyone else at AK this time?

[TracieD]

Not just us - I wish - probably 100-200 people for the entire park.....anyone else at AK this time?

Well, that is still amazing! I don't think I can even imagine one of the parks with only a couple hundred people in it.... ha ha ha :)

[aviva5675]

We leave in ---5 hours!!! Get to our first park tomorrow. And I havent told DH and DD about YOMD either, cause I dont want to get their hopes up. Mine are up high enough as it is! Trying to remain calm, figure our happiness at being there alone is a good wish and if our vibes get picked up by the Dream Squad and we get a wish, so much the better!!

[sherry]

I am really enjoying these stories.......here's pixie dust for all pixiedust: