Sore losers

[SLDL]

We are leaving in 3 weeks for DW. :banana: Let me just say that I am really happy for all those that have won something - that's great for you!! The stay in the castle, unbelievable, those folks looked like they were really so excited. The little girl that won the shopping trip & shared w/ her sister, I couldn't be more happy for her - that is so wonderful!! And so on and so on.
But as for me, I can say that if I didn't win anything, I would be a sore loser. I am going to try to forget that anyone is giving anything away but I know I will still be upset if at the end of the day, I have received nothing. My DS 4 has already asked me if I thought we could sleep in the castle b/c of that commercial they show repeatedly on tv. I told him that it was a contest & not get his hopes up for it.

So how does everyone handle rejection when they don't win a thing? Yes, a trip to DW is unforgetable, but darn it, I want something free too! :goodvibes

[Luv Bunnies]

Just remember - when you look at the number of people visiting the 4 parks every day, a very small percentage will win anything at all. It's like playing the lottery. Everyone hopes to win but hardly anyone does. If you spend all your time worrying about whether you'll win or not, you'll ruin your trip! There are enough cool things to do at WDW. Think of how many people will never even get the opportunity to take a trip there in their lifetimes. Who needs little prizes? You get to go to WDW!!!! Isn't that enough? (There - did I talk you out of your sore loser funk?) ;)

[tony609]

Oh my goodness. I can't believe this post. how could you be a sore loser! I am hoping your kidding. If not I have to agree with Luv Bunnies and say "You're in Walt Disney World" isn't that enough. I hear from many people all the time that they can't even go to Disney World. Your going and so is your little one...enjoy being there. Forget about the little prizes. Your getting a much bigger payoff by just being there.

[lennon2004]

I hear from many people all the time that they can't even go to Disney World.

Exactly. I've never been, but I love reading about everyone's adventures, including YOMD winners. :confused3 There are people who go there every day and don't even KNOW about YOMD..I guess they're the lucky ones who can just enjoy it as intended and not be sour if they don't get any extras.

[addicted_to_WDW]

SLDL, I know what you are saying. I'm happy for the people who get something, but I'm not above saying that I want something too and will be disappointed (again) if no pixie dust gets sprinkled my way.

Let's not start with the, "just be happy you can go," stuff. It negates and minimizes someone's real feelings and isn't fair. Should people who get Dreams give them back because they aren't necessary? After all, those people should just be happy to be there too and getting something for free when other people can't afford to go is just plain wrong.

[calypso*a*go-go]

Better to be a sore loser...than a loser's sore?
(I'm sure there's a little grandma from a third world country that came up with those words of wisdom.)

Anyway, it's okay to be disappointed. I'm mean come on, doesn't it happen in our lives everyday in one way or another (got on the scales and gained weight, had to take the last parking spot in the row, haircut did not look like the picture, etc.).

All you can do is go and have a good time and keep telling yourself (and your little boy) that you might be fortunate to get a surprise during your visit, bit if that doesn't happen the world won't end. Also, think of how many people have seen those commercials and will never even get the opportunity to set foot inside WDW.

[NMAmy]

Let's not start with the, "just be happy you can go," stuff. It negates and minimizes someone's real feelings and isn't fair.

I see it as more of trying to put it in perspective for the OP not trying to negate SLDL's feelings. SLDL asked how everyone else handled the "rejection" of not winning and most people are responding that they handle it by not having enormous expectations.

Going to WDW is plenty for me--and we're not only going because we might win something--we'd be going this year anyway. This is a huge contest--I'm going in March and I don't expect to win anything. Would I love to? Sure, but I'm not going to be upset at the end of the day if I don't win anything.

I play the lottery from time to time and I don't expect to win that any time soon either. But, it's fun to have a chance--same with YOAMD. Any other year we went, we wouldn't even have the CHANCE to win anything.

[GoofyBaseballMom26]

You can believe this or not but I really, really was not disappointed that I didn't "Win" anything. I really, really just feel fortunate that I am able to go and am happy just being there. In fact.... my DH and I went in Jan and had discussed that if we happened to win a night in the Castle (which I didn't expect to) that I would rather give it to someone else with little girls. I forgot for the majority of time that I was there that dreams were being given away. The only time I thought about it was if I saw a fastpass or ears.

BTW... I don't get upset if I don't get towel animals either. I love getting them but I don't let it ruin my trip.

So.. I quess to answer your question (and I'm not trying to disregard your feelings, just telling you about mine) I don't sweat over the little stuff. I just enjoy my time there and enjoy watching others having fun.

[AlexWyattMommy]

I know there are quite few dollar type stores that have Disney items. Socks, candy, pens, etc. Why don't you pick up a few and every night leave one under your son's pillow. Kinda like the tooth fairy only this is Disney Tink Pixie Dust Magic. Can you just see your son's delighted face every morning when he finds his dream under the pillow? There, that is what the magic about. Find your own. Don't wait for someone else.

PS-it is totally okay to be sad about not winning. I won't tell you how much I spent in postcards so far. So I'm really PAYING for my dreams.

[calypso*a*go-go]

I know there are quite few dollar type stores that have Disney items. Socks, candy, pens, etc. Why don't you pick up a few and every night leave one under your son's pillow.

What a great suggestion!!! :goodvibes

[starbox]

After reading about all the excitement when YOMD started, I was surprised by how few dreams we saw being granted when we visited WDW in January. I saw only a handful of fastpasses, one or two dream ears and no dream lanyards. I also had the mistaken impression that the rides and restaurants were granting small wishes all the time - and I only saw something special happen on one ride and never saw anything at a restaurant.

I will admit that I was a little dissapointed with the overall lack of dream-granting we saw. We dealt with the disappointment by becoming dream granters ourselves - we offered to take pictures for people, gave children pins off our lanyards, and shared fastpasses. DS even gave another family one of the painbrushes he found at Tom Sawyer's Island. It made us feel like a part of the magic.

:goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes

[JNSNJNT]

After reading about all the excitement when YOMD started, I was surprised by how few dreams we saw being granted when we visited WDW in January. I saw only a handful of fastpasses, one or two dream ears and no dream lanyards. I also had the mistaken impression that the rides and restaurants were granting small wishes all the time - and I only saw something special happen on one ride and never saw anything at a restaurant.

I will admit that I was a little dissapointed with the overall lack of dream-granting we saw. We dealt with the disappointment by becoming dream granters ourselves - we offered to take pictures for people, gave children pins off our lanyards, and shared fastpasses. DS even gave another family one of the painbrushes he found at Tom Sawyer's Island. It made us feel like a part of the magic.

:goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes

We noticed the same thing when we went Jan 27-Feb 3. However I did see on the roller coaster in Toon Town that they got to ride twice and got a business card I guess about the magical thing.

Also we saw at a CS is MK that a family got a special private table with the food bought to the table for them.

I had a great time either way! Congrats to those that do win:)

[Tink3Belle]

No comment!:lmao:

[CampbellScot]

I suppose the likelihood of winning a "BIG" dream is so slim, that to allow yourself to be disappointed just seems like you are borrowing trouble...y'know?

Today's society makes me sad...so much gimme gimme gimme. Not enough joy in what we have each day. Putting presents underneath a child's pillow who is AT disneyworld...I just don't get it. We are teaching our children that they never have ENOUGH...if someone is getting something they don't have, then oh my lord the world will end. When I was young, just getting to GO camping with my family was the prize...to have expected extra gifts on top of what was already a gift...never would have occurred to me.

We choose our joy each day. If having the money and the opportunity to go to Disneyworld is not enough blessing for you or for your son, then you are giving your power away to others...waiting for someone to what? Hand you a pair of ears or a fastpass? Choose your joy. Feel joy for others, find joy in the fact that you are with your child, that he is (I hope) healthy and able to walk around and enjoy Disneyworld.

I'm not trying to disrespect the OP or minimize her feelings...I was just shocked at the post is all and felt compelled to respond.

I hope you both have a wonderful trip.

[maxiesmom]

I think it is sad that Disney starts a great promotion like this, and now people are complaining because they don't get something.:confused3

I know that when I am at Disney, I am just excited to be there. I don't begrudge anyone else their prizes. I don't run around complaing becuase I didn't win something. I don't go up to the guest relations window and crab that I was not a winner. I know the Op has not done any of these things, but it just seems so silly to me. What is this world coming to when we cannot even have contests any more without someone getting hurt feelings?

OP- The simple answer is don't go to Disney and expect to win a dream. If you do, then great! Yell, jump up and down, celebrate! :yay: Isn't there much more joy in winning something unexpectedly than in expecting to get something and being upset if you don't?

[SLDL]

Thanks for these responses. I was really half-joking but I'm not going to pretend that I wouldn't be ecstatic to receive any extras. I would be the fool jumping up and down hollering about winning the special ears, or anything, just b/c I won something. No, I'm not going to go back to my room and weep if I don't get anything, so don't think that. And I certainly didn't plan a trip just for the chance of winning something. My Disney dream will be having my parents, husband & children all at DW, happy & healthy...something I really thought could never happen. My dream is seeing the photo I will take of my dad holding my little girl in front of the castle or seeing this grown 60 year old man riding Dumbo or Buzz Lightyear for the 6th time b/c his grandson wants to.
And I do like the idea of creating dreams for others...I would really love to be the CMs who get to award this stuff, wouldn't that be wonderful!!?? And if I saw anyone be awarded anything, I'd probably jump up & down for them too! But I'd still love to stay in the castle :goodvibes and I don't think its a crime to feel that way. ;)

[A Mickeyfan]

I have already gone a total of about 15 days since this promo started & never once been disappointed of not being a winner. Disappointed that I had to leave, yes.... winner no... Do not get me wrong, I would love to win the night in the castle, but would not be disappointed if I didn't. I am happy just arriving there safe and sound. I am happy that I am healthy enough to go there.. life is too short to dwel on something like that...and sometimes so is my trip. Thinking like that can spoil the entire trip.

[A Mickeyfan]

Thanks for these responses. I was really half-joking but I'm not going to pretend that I wouldn't be ecstatic to receive any extras. I would be the fool jumping up and down hollering about winning the special ears, or anything, just b/c I won something. No, I'm not going to go back to my room and weep if I don't get anything, so don't think that. And I certainly didn't plan a trip just for the chance of winning something. My Disney dream will be having my parents, husband & children all at DW, happy & healthy...something I really thought could never happen. My dream is seeing the photo I will take of my dad holding my little girl in front of the castle or seeing this grown 60 year old man riding Dumbo or Buzz Lightyear for the 6th time b/c his grandson wants to.
And I do like the idea of creating dreams for others...I would really love to be the CMs who get to award this stuff, wouldn't that be wonderful!!?? And if I saw anyone be awarded anything, I'd probably jump up & down for them too! But I'd still love to stay in the castle :goodvibes and I don't think its a crime to feel that way. ;)

You aren't a sore looser!!! Trust me, I think all of us (at least us here) would look the same if we won the castle :lmao: After them scrapping me off the concrete from dropping in shock.. I would be jumping with joy :rotfl:

[kaytieeldr]

There are 1,025,060 Official Year of a Million Dreams prizes.

Award locations are Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM, Animal Kingdom, Downtown Disney, DisneyLand, California Adventure, and postcard drawings.

Year of a Million Dreams runs from October 1, 2006 to December 31, 2007.

That's 457 days, or an average (because the postcard drawings don't occur every day) of 2,243 prizes awarded per day. Divide that by the nine 'locations' and you have an average of just under 250 prizes awarded per day per location.

Figure each park has 25,000 visitors per day, and any Guest's chance of winning is one in a hundred - and remember, 25,000 is a LOW number for some parks.

[DisneyMomx7]

We just came back from our January trip and we didn't win anything. I still thought it was exciting seeing the people with the dream fastpasses and dream ears. Sure I wish we could win but that's just part of the excitement. I do play "tinkerbelle" to my kids each night so they always have something to look forward to.

We'll be back in July. We would love to be the family that stays in the castle. Hey we'd even like to be a family that wins a free Mickey bar but it definitely won't determine how good of a time we have or what memories we make.

[eliza61]

I play powerball every week. Would I have been happy to win the $230 million dollar jackpot, you bet. Am I disappointed, sad or mad that they didn't call my numbers. Naw, it's a game (contest), let it go. A whole lot of other things in life to be disappointed about.

[MaeDaisy]

I admit it, I'm a sore loser. I don't come to this board very often, because the few times I have, I kept seeing people talk about how over the course of their 7 day trip, their family had 2 dozen magical things happen. I love seeing good things happen to my friends and family, I'm not mean or begruding "in real life" I guess. But why would I want to hear about a bunch of strangers getting all of the stuff that I wanted and wanted for MY kids? We deserved it just as much as they did. "My child got a free ice-cream because he was so polite!" Well my kids are polite!

Please don't go off on me -- it WAS a dream vacation. I am 36 years old and I'd never been. I was raised on welfare by an alcoholic mother and her physically abusive partner. My husband is 33 and he had never been. He dropped out of 9th grade because the alternatives were either join a gang or get jumped twice a week because he wasn't in a gang, and his mom was too stoned to care. It is due to our own strengths and our own hard work that we will celebrate 11 years of marriage this summer, raising two intelligent, well-behaved (mostly) kids, and are finally in the financial position where we can take a nice vacation every now and then. I never dreamed I would be able to take my kids to Walt Disney World. Never dreamed it. So it WAS magical to be there, it was enough to be there, I didn't "need" the extras.

... But if there WERE extras there to be had... and I wasn't getting any, I don't think I'm a horrible person because I ddn't want to see other people getting theirs either. That's all.

[jdb0822]

well, one bad thing this promotion brings out is the ignorance in people.

In October, my kids were able to ride up front on the monorail. When they got off, a CM gave them a monorail card for riding up front. This guy getting off of the regular part of the monorail comes flying over and gets in front of my DD4 and says "so, what do ya got there, can I have one?" At this point, it was only natural for me to want to launch this guy down a flight of stairs, but at Disney, its supposed to be a happy place, so I supress my anger. Of course, suppressing that anger was even easier when the CM gave him a card and he looked at it and realized it was not a prize from the promotion. I am sure he felt really stupid. The CM also gave my DS4 a few cards, which was nice.

anyone else run into this kind of problem, or see someone not win and get all bent out of shape over it?

[pooksma]

I play powerball every week. Would I have been happy to win the $230 million dollar jackpot, you bet. Am I disappointed, sad or mad that they didn't call my numbers. Naw, it's a game (contest), let it go. A whole lot of other things in life to be disappointed about.


:lmao: :lmao: I was thinking the same thing. (but the Canadian Lotto) I never win much ($73 once) but I keep playing. I wish I could keep going to Disney until I won! Fun thread!:rotfl2:

[calypso*a*go-go]

well, one bad thing this promotion brings out is the ignorance in people.

I don't think it's the promo that does...I think it's WDW in general. There are always people that feel the rules don't apply to them, some that think their family is more deserving than others, etc. We've witnessed several acts of rudeness during our many visits and I've found the only thing you can do is learn to ignore them.

[Ilovemyprincesses]

I hate that people feel entitled to everything that someone else has. There is always going to be people with more than you. If you spend your life worrying about what other have that you don't have you have wasted your life.

[stargrazer]

I saw the people that won the Castle Suite yesterday morning. I was in the right park, on the right ride, and the right time...in the wrong seat. Of course there was the initial 'AAAAAAAARRRGGHHH I was SO CLOSE' that went through my head, but in all honesty, I was glad to see it happen. Do I wish it was me? Heck, ya! But I was glad to see it happen at all and I didn't begrudge the winner...heck, I wanted to go over to them and say congratulations, but I also didn't want to cause problems so we silently wished them well and DD and I talked about it the rest of the day :goodvibes

The best advice I can give you is that doing good for others makes us feel good inside (and IMO increases the chance YOU will get some pixiedust but that's a different thread). So spread some cheer while you're here...take pictures, offer information, hold a seat...whatever you can do to help out and it will make your stay VERY magical...and what an example for our kids, eh?
;)

[msteddom]

I have been to WDW once and Disneyland about a dozen times since the promotion started, and most of the time I honsestly don't even remember that the promotion is going on. I'm just having too much fun to think about it!


Melissa

[eyeheartgoofy]

I never thought I would be a sore loser. I remember getting so ticked at Dis members who complained that they had no chance of winning because they didn't fit a certain stereotype Disney had in mind - I kept thinking, "It is a freakin' promotion people, it hasn't even started and you are already complaining!"

Imagine my surprise at how JEALOUS I was whenever I saw anyone with a dream fastpass draped around their neck. Seriously, I am embarrassed to admit how envious I was ... seems like I saw dozens of people a day in every park with one of those suckers and I wanted one so bad:( The thing is - the parks were dead when we were there, so a dream fastpass really wouldn't have been all that useful (as opposed to say Christmas or Spring Break when it really would be a dream!). Still, I was absolutely GREEN with envy whenver I saw a dream fastpass. Tsk, tsk, tsk ... sad, but TRUE!

[pearlieq]

I can't see what the big deal is about admitting that you'd be a little disappointed if you didn't win anything.

Sounds perfectly normal and refreshingly honest to me.

No one's saying it would ruin their trip, but I think it would be human to feel a little twinge.

[brooklynheights]

our familys dream wil be granted when we make it to disney this fall and see the kids faces light up that is a dream disney can't hand out :thumbsup2

[ppiew]

It appears to me that the majority of the 'sore losers' are ADULTS!! Rarely do kids have their nose out of joint about this, they are so taken in by everything that surrounds them. Is it even possible to be happy for someone elses good fortune these days?

[almburr]

What makes winning something exciting is when you do not expect it.

That was the way I felt. We were there in Nov. stayed at the WL. And got a free upgrade to consierge level. We were happy the whole time.:banana:

We went there not wanting to win anything.

[MelanieC]

To me the moment I arrive at Disney World I have won the lottery of life! I'm with my family for 17 days of nothing but family fun. There is no place on earth I'd rather be with my family.

To me, Disney is all about those special moments. Sometimes they happen sometimes they don't. One year we arrived in MK on our first day of our vacation and a CM came up to us and asked us had we rode Splash Mtn. We said we had, but not on this trip that we had just arrived. The line to Splash was really long, but she took us through the exit and we got right on the ride. It's a memory we hold dear to our hearts.

I cannot imagine anyone being sore because they didn't win a prize? I have been so happy and excited reading all these wonderful stories of people winning special "memories" and "moments". Disney is a huge place and your chances are not that great that you will be in the right place at the right time. But..........I'm excited that the chance exists. I'm excited to know that mabye something can happen.

Please try to look at this in a positive light and not be sore. Your going to be in the happiest place on earth. Plus if you go with the negative energy, you won't be open to have good things happen to you. I really believe in positive attraction.

[agnes!]

What the crabby yet loveable one said ;).

agnes!

[MagicMe]

We were down in the fall and were hoping to win something but really were hoping to at least see someone else win. Well, we didn't see anyone actually win but we did have a couple of "magical moments". My son got a tour of the control tower in SM on his birthday and they then took us to the front of the line and he received a certificate after the ride (BTW - he was 31).

At DTD, we were shopping in Goofy's kitchen and were approached to do a taste testing of some new fudge flavors. We got to decorate paper hats and then taste test four different flavors of fudge. We received a certificate when we were done.

The main thing is to remember to be open to the little things. If we had said no when asked, we would never have had a "magical moment" at Goofy's kitchen.

One other thing we did was to find something every day to make someone else's day magical. We would give away fast passes, let someone ahead of us in line, etc.

We didn't get anything "big" (I would have loved a set of ears) but we still had the best time being at WDW.

[eyeheartgoofy]

It appears to me that the majority of the 'sore losers' are ADULTS!! Rarely do kids have their nose out of joint about this, they are so taken in by everything that surrounds them. Is it even possible to be happy for someone elses good fortune these days?


Just because I admit jealousy, doesn't mean I didn't smile when I saw the castle winners on TV! C'mon! It is not like I spent my vacation in a funk tossing melted mickey bars at fastpass winners!

As for the sore losers being comprised of mainly adults - well, yeah! My kids had no idea a promotion was even going on - I certainly didn't tell 'em that other kids were getting prizes and special perks!

[Disney? Again?]

I've thought about this because we were there a few weeks ago and we didn't see anybody win in 5 days. And even though I wasn't a winner, I was disappointed because the commercials do make it seem like the Dream Squad will be everywhere. I would be happy to see someone win, and except for the Castle overnight which I would love, love, love, I think I am "adult" enough to say good for them. And even with the Castle, after 1.3 seconds, I would still say good for them! :) But, I know the part of me that would like to win something is because I plan all the details for every vacation we've ever taken and to win anything at all would be a surprise for me. After surprising everyone for birthdays, anniversaries, first trips and every other reason, it would be fun to be on the receiving end. Not because I deserve it -- I love surprising people! -- but because there is something magical about the unexpected. So do I need anything extra? No. I thank God every single chance I get that I am at DW enjoying the beauty. But would I like to be a part of the YOMD? Sure, why not?

[Dis Ohana]

We were in Disneyland early December, it was raining pretty hard that day and it was cold. The park was very empty, every ride was a walk on all day. So naturally this was the day we were given the Dream Fastpass, probably because no one else was in the park to give it to :rotfl: ! DS and DD wore them proudly around their necks, but seriously...they never had to use it. It was still nice to get something.

[gismo1554]

OK have to admit was a little disappointed I didn't get one wish! I did see a few being given and I will admitt was totally jealous over the castle stay but hey never mind. I'm going again in May so you never know! The Dreamfast pass mind you would have been a waste on me because I don't do any rides faster than Journey into Imagination anyway so most of my rides don't have fastpasses but I would have liked something just to say I got something. Good on everyone that did though! Maybe I will join the wining group in May!

[kkevcamsmom]

When we went we didn't expect to win anything. I think if you go expecting to win something your going to ruin your whole vacation. We were given TONS of stickers, my boys thought that was cool. Cm's talked with the boys all the time, they were offered free drinks at one place. We just went and had fun, we were not going just to win something, we were going to see the magic in our kids eyes.

There is no way to know when you will win something. When we won the dream fastpasses in Epcot it was just being in the right place at the right time. If we had choosen to ride Test Track first we would not have gotten anything, if we had been 5 mins later getting on Soarin' we would have missed them.

Our boys (4 and 6 yrs old) could have cared less about the fastpasses, they thought it was much more cool to get all the stickers and the free drinks....lol

Lori