OMG! My parents - brother - sil - and kids stayed in the castle last night!

[Libade]

I'm so excited, I want to tell everyone what happened to my family yesterday!

My parents are on vacation with my brother, his wife and their 2 kids (4 & 6) at WDW. They called last night to wish my DD a happy birthday, then asked to talk to me. My mom said, "You'll never guess where we are"! Of couse, I knew exactly where they were!

They were in Cinderella's castle!

They had all ridden soarin' earlier in the afternoon. After leaving the ride, my dad got pulled to the side by the wish people and was told to follow them. All 6 of them followed the wish people thru backstage areas - my brother said it looked like a trailer park. Finally, they got to a conference room and were shown a video, which explained that they had won a night in the castle!

They spent an hour filling out paperwork and were asked all kinds of things, like what they liked to eat, favorite characters, and other stuff.

When I talked to them, they were in the castle - they said it was so beautiful. They had a private elevator to the suite. The bathroom has a throne!

They said they were being taken to CRT for dinner, and they weren't sure what else would be happening.

They have instructions to take a thousand pictures, and to call me when they get home so they can tell me EVERYTHING!!!

What a once in a lifetime dream for them! (And for me living it through them!)

[Aye Sea Turtles]

That is awesome! Congrats to your family! :yay: :woohoo:

[disneyjunebug]

Congrats to your family!! I hope that someday you get there too!

[klj27]

Thanks for sharing their fun with us!!

[m2dh7]

WoooHoooo!!! :dance3: :cheer2: party:

[debnkay]

Awesome!!!

[EnchantedPrincess]

Congratulations to your family. How wonderful is that, and i am so glad that they are having such a magical vacation.

[WindyCityDisney]

Congrats! I know I would have been sorely tempted to jump on a plane to Orlando . . .

[ciera321]

pixiedust: pixiedust: pixiedust: That is so cool!!!

[chrismb22]

I would have been on a plane. I already told my friends that are going in December if they are lucky enough to win, they are going to have one more person in that room with them that night. ;)

[Andrea]

omg that is so great!!!! i cant wait to hear more. i do have a question, im so new at the parks isnt soaring in epcot ?

[grannyminnie]

Congrats! I know I would have been sorely tempted to jump on a plane to Orlando . . .

I WOULD have jumped on a plane to Orlando!!! :lmao:

[DisneyLover75]

Oh how heavenly! *jealous*

I'm going in december, but it will be just my friend and I, and no kids. I bet they won't pick us, will they? Do they usually want to pick people with kids?

[hjohnson6]

How exciting for them! I would be tempted to jump on a plane as well!

[natalielongstaff]

wow !! congratulations to your family :cool1:

[UrsulasShadow]

That is the coolest thing!

[Libade]

To answer a few questions...

Soarin' is in Epcot, but you can win the Cinderella's Castle stay at any park. From what I understand, it's all preselected. So, for that day, it was a certain time, a certain seat of the Soarin' ride. My dad happened to be sitting in that seat.

And, yes, you can win - even without kids. See above!

I joked about flying to Orlando, but since they only allow 6 people in the castle, and I would be number 7, I'm pretty sure I know who wouldn't be allowed in! I'm actually happy that I wasn't there (I did think about joining them on this trip) because WHO wouldn't have gotten to stay in the castle? That is a lose-lose situation, and it's the only negative I can see for this prize!

They are flying home today, so hopefully I will hear the details later today or in the week.

[ucancallmeflower]

WOW! That's soooooooo Great!:woohoo: :banana: :woohoo:

[disneyeeyorefan]

How Fun!!!:banana:

[disneydance]

That is so great hope to see pics of it soon!!!!!!!

[JerseyMamaBear]

any new info or pics?

[Kimberly815]

We need Pics!! :goodvibes

[Libade]

I'm still waiting for photos. I've asked my brother to send me the link to where he uploaded them, but he is insisting on burning a CD - with music. I think that's nice, but I want pictures NOW!

So, this is what I know...

The night before they won, DB and DSIL went out with some friends while my parents watched the kids. DB, DSIL and friends went on Soarin' among other things.

The next day, the whole group (my brother, his wife, 2 kids, my mom, and my dad) went to Epcot specifically to ride Soarin' since my parents hadn't ridden it yet.

They had brought a stroller for the kids to share, but this was day 8 of 10 and the kids were exhausted. They had been complaining about being tired, and my brother was sick of hearing it, so they stopped in a shop to buy a stroller. (Who BUYS a stroller in DISNEY? They'll never use it again - my nephew is 6!!!) But anyway, they stopped to buy a stroller.

Next stop - Soarin'.

They were all seated and ready to ride, and they saw the dream makers walk by - there were 3 of them. DSIL saw them and commented about them to DB. When they got off the ride, DB, DSIL and kids walked right by the dream team. My parents walked by, and got pulled over. They were looking for my Dad. It seems that they walk by the winning seat and check out the person who won, but it's only when the ride is over that they let the person know.

My mom didn't know what was going on - she thought they were trying to sell them a timeshare!!! :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

By now, DB, DSIL, and kids have realized that my mom and dad are not following them, they go back and find my parents. The dream team led them out a back door, and they walked and walked outside, and eventually came to a conference room. I have no idea where they were - they don't seem to know either.

The dream team put a DVD player out and played a cartoon that explained what they won.

They filled out paperwork for an hour, and then were supposed to go back to their room to get their stuff. The dream team did ask them if there was anything that they wanted to do at the park, but couldn't because they spent so much time filling out paperwork. The kids wanted to go on test track, so off they went to the front of the line!

They got their stuff and went to the castle. (I'm not sure how that was done - if they were escorted or whatever)

They think they were on the 3rd floor of the castle, and it was just amazing. I won't try to describe it - I'll wait for the photos.

They were brought to CRT for dinner and were introduced to everyone and sat at a special table.

The person assigned to take care of them told them to ask for anything they wanted at all. They didn't want to take advantage, but they had forgotten toothbrushes, so they did request those before dinner. He also reviewed the ADR's that they had left for the rest of the trip. He changed one of the ADR's from Captain Jack's (I think) to the California Grill.


Once back in the room, they found the beds turned down, a white chocolate Cinderella coach with 2 horses. The coach was filled with chocolate covered strawberries.

I think they had a bunch of other snacks too.

The bathroom was stocked with the requested toothbrushes, along with bubble bath for each kid, a hairbrush for my niece and I cannot remember what else was in there.

The next moring, they were taken to Crystal Pallace for breakfast, and that was the end of their reign.

The one thing I keep thinking over and over again is how weird it was that they went to that ride specifically, and that they stopped and got the stroller. If someone had to stop to tie their shoe, they may have missed out on it entirely. (My dad was in the winning seat, and he was the last of their party - one seat over would have been someone else) But, my mom had a good point. She said, if they didn't win it, they would have never known. They were pulled aside somewhat discreetly, so the people around them didn't really know what was happening. I think that is a good thing, because that could ruin a persons trip knowing they were THAT close to winning a night in the castle.

That's all I can remember for now - but I will post photos as soon as I can!

[Quicklabs]

That is so cool! I'm happy for them!

[oybolshoi]

What a great thing to have happen! Thanks for telling us all about it - hope to see some pictures soon. :goodvibes

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Can't wait to see the pics!!!

[KimAshton]

Cannot wait to see the pictures. :)

[snyderla]

I love to hear about DISers ( or family members) winning Dreams!!! Thanks for sharing their experience with us.
Lori

[Kipper94]

How cool is that? I'd love to stay in the castle!! :goodvibes

[Charleyann]

The young children, Imagine the look in their eyes when they stepped into the room. What a nice bed time story they will keep for ever!

Charleyann:santa:

[Booknut]

That is soooooooooooooo amazing, what lucky ducks!!! Can't wait to see the photos! :cool1:

[cnids00]

I get goosebumps all over :goodvibes

We never saw any wish-people during our weeks stay...nobody though we did see families wearing the special fast passes in the parks! :thumbsup2

[disneyfanforlife]

I would love to stay in Cinderella's castle. She is my fave Princess.

[DISNEYmooner2008]

We'll be there January 6-13th for our honeymoon. I WANNA STAY IN THE CASTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JennyandMike03]

Can't wait to see pictures! :wizard:

[Us3]

Thats so cool...can't wait to see pics!:thumbsup2

[disneyfan55]

I am really glad to have read this thread. We were at WDW Sept 22-29 and didn't even see any dream team members let alone winners. There were some walking around with the Fast Pass prize but that's about all we saw. I am really happy for your family!! Happy to see that there are indeed winners of the great prizes!!

[momto2]

CONGRATS! What an amazing experience. I always wondered something though. Ok so they are in the castle which is in the park, are they alone in the MK? Is there security with them so they can't leave the room? Were they not allowed to leave the castle (like anyone would want to!)? What happens when the park closes? Just wondering:confused3

[disneyfan55]

I had read on another post about winning a night in the castle that there is a Disney employee stationed outside the suite at all times.

[suzimar57]

that is so cool!

we should be so lucky.... :goodvibes

[SilverMickey]

I'm so happy for your family!:flower3:

[lauran cameron]

that's so awesome!!!:dance3: