Our "Almost-A-Dream" Incident

[SunshineSneezy]

Hi

Has anyone ever been in one of those situations where you got an "Almost-A-Dream"? The last time we went, in August of last year, we got one! It was very unusual. We were waiting at the SSR bus station with about 3 other families. Then, a mysterious white mimvan pulled up and the driver asked the other families what park they were going to. One said Typhon Lagoon, and the 2 others said MGM. Then he asked where we were going to, and we answered Epcot. Luckily, he was on his way there to do some kind of chore and brought us with him. Now you may be thinking: "What kind of people hitchhike to a Disney Park?!" :drive: But as it turns out, he was a retired Disney Transport bus driver named Mark who was doing some volunteer work! :woohoo:

Has anyone else gotten an "Almost-A-Dream"? If so, I'd like to hear about it!

-Sneezy :wizard:

[tiggerfan1]

That's great that you got a free ride to Epcot! :thumbsup2 Unfortunately, I don't have an Almost-A-Dream story to share. The only thing that I can think of that comes close was when a lady who was standing by the turnstiles at Epcot came up to us and asked us where we were from and for our zip code. She was holding a clipboard in her hand and was in a CM costume so I thought that we were going to be selected for some sort of prize. And then........nothing happened! :sad2: She thanked us and she moved on to another family!! :confused3 Later on, I realized that she was just taking a survey. :laughing: Oh, well. Maybe we'll get lucky on our next WDW trip. :wizard:

[Miss Stitch]

That's great that you got a free ride to Epcot! :thumbsup2 Unfortunately, I don't have an Almost-A-Dream story to share. The only thing that I can think of that comes close was when a lady who was standing by the turnstiles at Epcot came up to us and asked us where we were from and for our zip code. She was holding a clipboard in her hand and was in a CM costume so I thought that we were going to be selected for some sort of prize. And then........nothing happened! :sad2: She thanked us and she moved on to another family!! :confused3 Later on, I realized that she was just taking a survey. :laughing: Oh, well. Maybe we'll get lucky on our next WDW trip. :wizard:


We had an instance like this is 2005 a CM came up to us and asked us lots of questions, where are we from? How many times have we been to Disneyworld before etc. then she asked us if she could meet up with us in about an hour!!! and made an appointment with us. Although it wasnt the YOAMD, we were excited until she said that she was taking an in-depth guest survey. We did meet her and it took about 20 mins and she gave us a $25 gift certificate, so it was sorta a dream:)

On our Sept 2007 trip we didnt see the dream team once. Every morning, I went out thinking maybe today we will win a dream. Once we got to the parks, I was too busy having fun to even think about the dream time. It was only on our way back to the hotel I remembered and felt a bit of disappointment lol.

[Disney loving Iowan]

In December 2006 we got one. It was me, DH, DD13 and our 2 nephews. We were just at the entrance to TMR when a CM stopped us and started talking to us. She then told us to follow her and took us the back way into the ride. We got to go ahead of everyone else and got our choice of seats. The back of course. She told us when the train came back into the station not to get off. So we got to ride it twice. Not the biggest dream but it still made us feel special. BTW, when we got back into the station the first time and didn't get off the train, the woman who was next in line for our seats was non too pleased! She had quite a disgusted look on her face!

[Maddie2]

We were there April 2007 ... and they called a dream, they even gave my son a certificate ... but it was very lame. We were in a pin shop on Main Street, MK. The CM working there came over to DS12 with a cardboard with pins on it (9). She approached us with the pinbacks toward us. She asked DS12 to identify which pin he thought was Mickey Mouse. Surprisingly, he guessed right! :woohoo: He was pretty excited to have guessed correctly.

We thought the CM would follow with "for guessing correctly, you win ____". We thought maybe he would win THAT pin or a pin of his choice ... we thought he would win something. Not. Perhaps the CM was just so surprised that he got it right ... I don't know. She just said "great job!" and went behind the cash register and came out with a YOAMD certificate, signed it and said "Have a Magical Day!". Woop-de-doo. Of course, I didn't say that in front of DS12. We tried to downplay the whole thing as not a big deal at all. I hadn't really told him the whole concept of YOAMD anyway.

Pretty disappointing after having just watched a family get Fastpasses for the day though!

We've also sent in bunches of postcards, and won nothing. I know you shouldn't expect to win and we don't .... but the above scenario left a bad taste in our mouths. :confused:

[Kris10luvsDisney]

On our last trip in Dec. of '06, we had a few small dreams happen to us. They weren't really all that big of a deal, but they were still something! My DD likes to buy the Mickey shaped ice cream novelties, so we went to a stand and the CM asked if she could name what movie the alligator in the picture was from she would get a free ice cream. She somehow knew it was peter Pan and she won! That made her day! Another day in Toon town, she was picked to make the Mr. Potato head of the day and got a little cetificate and her potato head was displayed for the day!
I was standing in line at Kali River Rapids and a CM took me into the control room to show me how the ride works, not that exciting, but something you don't get to see everyday!

[maryt01]

in dec 2007 the dream team stopped us to introduce us to the winners of the group selected to stay inthe castle. we were disappointed that he never even offered us a fast pass after getting us excited and getting our hopes up. it would not have been a dissapointment if he had just not approached us':confused:

[Mikelly1221]

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we were going through the line for It's Tough to be a Bug. We passed about 3 or 4 dream team members but all they were doing was waving. We got into the little underground waiting area where the doors to the theater open-there were around 20 people there, including our group. I looked behind us and it seemed like everyone else in line coming behind us had won Dream Fastpasses!! I'm not sure where the start point was, but we were obviously not it! :sad1:

So close...and yet so far...

[ouuga]

A nice Scottish CM came up to me at the end of the line for the Backlot Tour and asked, "Have you ever wanted to be in an action movie?" Never have been on the tour, I was thinking that I might be getting a dream; however, it was to be one of the 3 people on stage who wear the blue ponchos and get soaked while shooting the movie on the fake boats. I had a complete blast doing it but had initially hoped that I was going to get a dream. :)

[thesaurinis]

We went last April and our son was 3 1/2 at the time. We went to go on a ride at Epcot (Its terrible I forgot what ride) DH, DD (11) and myself. We left the little guy with the MIL and he was hiding behind the garbage cans crying because he wanted to go and didn't understand he wasn't big enough. Well MIL is great and just kept following him and trying to talk to him and say it wont be long. Well by the time we got through the walkway to the entrance of the ride (it wasn't a wait at all just walking through the rails was a distance) Out of a door comes my MIL, DS and 2 employees. They just thought he was so cute and how he was hiding and what not so they brought them through the employee way and put us in a simulator without motion just noise for him to be able to go on the ride and then once we where done they popped DH, DD, and myself into one with full action. By the time we got out MIL & DS had pics taken with the employees and a certificate for being a great rider. It was a YOAMD certificate. He was so happy at that point and kept saying I am not to little they let me go.

The ride was the one in Epcot that they where orange and blue uniforms. Now I will have to go back and look at the certificate for the name.

[SunshineSneezy]

Wow, thesaurinis, our guy Mark, looked just like that, with an orange-and-blue uniform! I feel for you, everyone else. The dreams are of course memorable, but some can be a little cheesy. I guess. :confused3 For example, I've seen a family with older-looking kids, maybe 12 of 13, that got to meet with Cinderella. :confused:

:headache:

-Sneezy

[*tinker*bell*]

I went to Disneyworld over newyears '07 with my bestfriend and her parents... i guess we are just really lucky, but in MGM when you go into the preshow for the TOT after the show was done we won the limited edition YOAMD lanyards and pins, and while in the animal kingdom when we were n the line for primeval whirl we won the dream fastpasses... it was really amazing!!! :cool1: I only hope i am so lcky this time as i am going with my mother this time around... guess you just have to be in the right place at the right time.

[Tykatmadismomma]

Okay so this isnt a "Dream" But I thought we had won. We had lunch in Norway, Akershus I had been reading all the boards on what princesses we would see. This was June 28,2007 our first Princess lunch. We got Belle, Alice, Snow White, Aurora, and CINDERELLA!!!!! My 2 girls were so excited I cry everytime I watch the video. Plus that same trip in Epcot we got Mulan, Mushu and Jasmine and Genie. It was fun because Madison was just 3 weeks from turning 2. Also Chip and Dale were near the MGM/ Resort entrance and we have Chip and Madison walking hand in hand on DVD. Another tear jerker. :rotfl:

[Tykatmadismomma]

oopps June 27th 2007 :confused3

[joanie123]

I had an 'Almost Dream' in January 2005. It was the first time I took my kids to Disney, They were 6 and 4. We had never heard of the extended hours. We were staying at POP Century, and just happened to be in MK the night it was open late. We didn't know we had to get special bracelets to take advantage of it, so we were quite disappointed when we were turned away in Tomorrowland. My kids just wanted to go on the Buzz Lightyear ride one last time. A very nice CM overheard us talking, and he said to follow him. He took us behind the ride, to the part before they start loading people onto the ride. Another CM was quite irate and was yelling at us to stop, we couldn't go in there! Then the first CM explained what he was doing, put us on the ride, and we got on before anyone else! My kids were so excited, and we were so appreciative of his help. This was way before the YOMD. Just goes to show you that some of the Disney training must get through! :wizard:

[diehard_disney_girl]

A nice Scottish CM came up to me at the end of the line for the Backlot Tour and asked, "Have you ever wanted to be in an action movie?" Never have been on the tour, I was thinking that I might be getting a dream; however, it was to be one of the 3 people on stage who wear the blue ponchos and get soaked while shooting the movie on the fake boats. I had a complete blast doing it but had initially hoped that I was going to get a dream. :)

My dad and I did the same thing while we were there over Xmas. It was fun! I thought we were gunna get a dream too. But it was definatly cool to do!

[SunshineSneezy]

Hmm...

Sounds like there are a lot more dream-decoys out there than I expected! :confused3 I guess they're just here to make us feel like we "belong" in the dark side... the side with people who get Dream'd. Hahahah! :laughing:

[dreams4disney]

During our last trip (Jan.2007) many times we witnessed people getting dreams granted. It was very disappointing for my older children. My husband told me we were not the right size family with 4 boy's. There was one time in AK that the group behind us got Dream Passes and in MGM we seen the people waiting on Star tours when we exited with them in there hand. They ended up going to the group in the star tour ride after us.

We did however Get a Dream before YOMD. It was our first time at AK and we wanted to ride the dinosaur ride. We went up and it was not open yet. We walked around a bit and a group came up and got in line so we went and got in line behind them. The lady opened the gate and asked us to follow her. She told us she knew we had been patient and waiting and that we were there first. We watched the preview and rode the ride all alone for the first time. We even got a free 8 by10 photo and frame. It is by far one of our favorite pictures. It was a blast and we will never forget it. We got a certificate saying we were the family of the day. It was a dream for us.:lovestruc

[SunshineSneezy]

Awww, that's cute! :cutie: Next time we go, (in August), we'll have 14 people with us. Good luck with getting the best family thing for us... hehheeh. :cool1:

[wood145]

On our trip last March (2007) my DS14 & DD8 were getting on the teacups and they were giving out the dream fastpass. They asked DS how many in our group and he said 2 because, DH, other DS and I were not going on the ride. I told here there were 5 in the group but she wouldn't give us 5, or even 1 extra since other DS10 was devastated. I was really upset and it almost ruined our day....but my older son gave his little brother his fastpass.

At the time I didn't understand how the Dreamteams gave out the prizes I thought it was just random (their choice) but still, in this case I think it was pretty UNmagical.

[iheartdisney]

Someone gave my DD her dream, kinda!
We were having a Turkey Leg down by the ROA, and one of the carnivorous birds was feling brave, and actually pecked the meat out of my DD's hand! She was 3 at the time, and scares very easily! It even pinched her a bit. Well, I was consoling her, and a young lady nearby gave us a cretificate for a free popcorn!

[MDAMCG2]

We had an ALmost the Dream in AK Sept 2008. We were in line for Dinosaur and were stopped at the turnstile. First ones in line for the next show. The CM went back into the room where you watch the video and came back really quite rude. So we went in to the movie on our turn. When we came out from the movie on the way to the ride.....
There was the Dream Team....LEAVING :headache: .......having handed out dream pin lanyards to the group in front of us....Always minute late and a dollar short ;)
oh well!

[Mikelly1221]

We had an ALmost the Dream in AK Sept 2008. We were in line for Dinosaur and were stopped at the turnstile. First ones in line for the next show. The CM went back into the room where you watch the video and came back really quite rude. So we went in to the movie on our turn. When we came out from the movie on the way to the ride.....
There was the Dream Team....LEAVING :headache: .......having handed out dream pin lanyards to the group in front of us....Always minute late and a dollar short ;)
oh well!

I had a similar incident last Saturday at AK. We were pulling into the station after having ridden EE, and there the dream team went...away from us after having handed out lanyards to the train right ahead of us! :sad1:

That's the 2nd near miss in AK for us!

[Liltx]

We were in World Showcase just after it opened last June. We came out of the Mexico pavillion and Donald Duck and one of the caballero (sp?) walked out from the side. No one else was there so my girls 2 and 4 got to play with them for about 10 minutes dancing around. The photopass CM got a bunch of great shots. It was a great moment and I will always have wonderful memories of it.

Monica

[Mikelly1221]

Last Wednesday, my DD and I were getting on Peter Pan, and I saw the dream team CM standing at the exit clicking and counting. I knew what that meant..dreams were being handed out! I kept hoping through the ride..please let them still be there! Coming around the last turn into the light, I could see..YES...he's still there clicking. I hurried DD out of the ship onto the moving platform (still clicking!!!!)..stepped off the platform (STILL CLICKING!!!!)..

When the family ahead of me got to him, he said something like "That's it" and started talking to the family ahead of us (no more clicking!). He and they walked to the end of the exit ramp, he told them to have a magical day, and he and the rest of the dream team hurried backstage! My DD and I (and the family ahead of me) exited the ride into a crowd of excited new Dream Fastpass owners!!!

That would be my 3rd near miss! Frustrating, but I resolved that I would not let it get me down-and it didn't! Hey, anyone with more than 3 near misses? Maybe we could have a contest of our own! :thumbsup2

[Tinkertini]

haha, i always think I'm about to win something when usually I'm just in someone's way and they need me to move :lmao:

last month in the park, my family & I were in Frontierland sitting on a wall ledge, waiting for other family members and a CM came up to us. She said, "Are you folks staying for the parade tonight?". My mother in law started saying, "Yes probably, we're not sure..." and I practically jumped out my skin screaming "yes yes we'll be here!". Of course, I have heard the rumors that when you get picked to lead a parade or to be in one, they will ask you first if you're staying for the parade.

So I got all excited thinking we were going to be in the parade. Turns out she was just roping off the area and wanted us to move somewhere else to watch the parade. It was kind of almost exciting for a second.

[Mikelly1221]

haha, i always think I'm about to win something when usually I'm just in someone's way and they need me to move :lmao:

last month in the park, my family & I were in Frontierland sitting on a wall ledge, waiting for other family members and a CM came up to us. She said, "Are you folks staying for the parade tonight?". My mother in law started saying, "Yes probably, we're not sure..." and I practically jumped out my skin screaming "yes yes we'll be here!". Of course, I have heard the rumors that when you get picked to lead a parade or to be in one, they will ask you first if you're staying for the parade.

So I got all excited thinking we were going to be in the parade. Turns out she was just roping off the area and wanted us to move somewhere else to watch the parade. It was kind of almost exciting for a second.

That's funny! :lmao: I'm the one that thinks that I'm about to win when the dream team member just says "Hi", just being friendly! So, I start smiling and being outgoing, and generally acting like I'm auditioning for something!

[twinsr241]

In December 2007 we were in MK for the MVMCP. We were trying to find a place in Frontierland to watch the parade. There were already lots of people waiting for the parade, so we weren't having any luck finding anything in front. (Our 3 preschoolers were in strollers so we needed to be in front for them to see from the strollers) DH and I were standing in the street discussing our options and trying to figure out the best place for us to go. A CM came up to us and asked if we were looking for a place to watch the parade. When we said yes he took us over the bridge toward the castle and put us in a roped off area with three or four rows of benches. I was thrilled!!:cool1: We sat down on the front bench with the kids. A few minutes later another CM comes over and informs us that the front bench was reserved for someone else. We get moved to the second row. My three kids start crying because they think they won't be able to see. DH was ready to leave and I convinced him to give it a try. The people behind us ended up standing to the side during the parade so we let our kids stand on our bench to see the parade. They ended up having a great time.
The most magical moment was when Santa went by and looked my 5 year old daughter in the eye and said "Be good little girl" She got this look on her face like "what does he know?" Priceless!!:rotfl2:

[iKlo]

We were there April 2007 ... and they called a dream, they even gave my son a certificate ... but it was very lame. We were in a pin shop on Main Street, MK. The CM working there came over to DS12 with a cardboard with pins on it (9). She approached us with the pinbacks toward us. She asked DS12 to identify which pin he thought was Mickey Mouse. Surprisingly, he guessed right! :woohoo: He was pretty excited to have guessed correctly.

We thought the CM would follow with "for guessing correctly, you win ____". We thought maybe he would win THAT pin or a pin of his choice ... we thought he would win something. Not. Perhaps the CM was just so surprised that he got it right ... I don't know. She just said "great job!" and went behind the cash register and came out with a YOAMD certificate, signed it and said "Have a Magical Day!". Woop-de-doo. Of course, I didn't say that in front of DS12. We tried to downplay the whole thing as not a big deal at all. I hadn't really told him the whole concept of YOAMD anyway.

Pretty disappointing after having just watched a family get Fastpasses for the day though!

We've also sent in bunches of postcards, and won nothing. I know you shouldn't expect to win and we don't .... but the above scenario left a bad taste in our mouths. :confused:



Something like this happened to me!
They asked me to throw the MM basketball in the Hoop,
and I did after the 3rd try :laughing:

So when I finally got it in, they gave me a signed certificate. whoooppeeee. princess:

[madge]

my DS got a non-dream dream on Thursday :)

We were at the Epcot rope, waiting for the park opening ceremony to start. My DD was wearing one of last year's pin lanyards, and one of the plain-clothes CMs congratulated her for winning, and what a big deal it was. My DD very sweetly told the CM that she didn't win, her brother did - he was sharing the lanyard with her for this trip. The characters came out, and at some point the CM went back to work... or so we thought. About 5 minutes later, she came back with a Pirates pin set & lanyard for my DS. She introduced herself as the head of the Dream Team at Epcot, and went on to tell my son how touched she was that he shared his prize.... and that he was part of the Dream Team without even trying! She told him she hoped he'd come back and work for WDW when he was old enough :) it was a really nice moment.

We had a near miss on Buzz yesterday - The Dream Team was in the line area, looking for someone or something. There were 3 people, and one of them had a large black duffel bag. We weren't who they were looking for, LOL.