Oops.....We won again!

[Dmcuth]

You're all going to hate me I know. We were at DHS this morning (8/27),and won our 7th Dream Fast Pass in One Man's Dream at about 11am. We worked our strategy again and it worked! Sorry, it's not all chance!

My earlier observations were that 90% of the people are unaware of the contest. I'm upping that to 98%! They dream squad was right inside the door handing out the passes to everyone who walked in. There were ate least 50 people within earshot and sight of them handing them out and they didn't pay one bit of attention! I saw only one girl look at me with wonderment and we told her to exit out the side door and come back in to win. She did! We told another family to do it and they won too. The passes were a big help because the park was packed! We're going back tonight to use the tabs when it's cooler.

They also added TSMM to the DFP too so that was great. All the regular fastpasses were gone by 11am!

[HeyIt'sMe]

OK, we'll be in WDW in October. Do tell - what is your strategy plan?

I haven't told DH or DD about the whole "YOMD Dream Team" thing because I don't want them to focus on that. I'd rather they be pleasantly surprised if we win something instead of disappointed if we don't win anything. But I could always keep the strategy to myself and work it in secret! Bwahahahaha!

[allisonswonderland]

I have won by stalking them...LOL but that only works in an attraction like One Mans Dream.

[Smile4Me]

You're all going to hate me I know. We were at DHS this morning (8/27),and won our 7th Dream Fast Pass in One Man's Dream at about 11am. We worked our strategy again and it worked! Sorry, it's not all chance!

My earlier observations were that 90% of the people are unaware of the contest. I'm upping that to 98%! They dream squad was right inside the door handing out the passes to everyone who walked in. There were ate least 50 people within earshot and sight of them handing them out and they didn't pay one bit of attention! I saw only one girl look at me with wonderment and we told her to exit out the side door and come back in to win. She did! We told another family to do it and they won too. The passes were a big help because the park was packed! We're going back tonight to use the tabs when it's cooler.

They also added TSMM to the DFP too so that was great. All the regular fastpasses were gone by 11am!


I'd really like to know your strategy too! We went once last year and didn't even see the Dream Squad once! It would be so great to have a little extra magic for this trip! My bf just accepted a new job-which he'll start right after our trip! :wizard:

[minniebeth]

It would be silly for anyone to hate because you've been so fortunate!! :)
Whether it is a strategy or just being in the right place at the right time, I'm happy you have had such great luck and it made your visits magical!!:yay:

[Jenvenza]

I definitely would have walked back in to get DFP's as well! That is great!

[Mermaid_Ariel]

:confused3 No offense, but it's really irritating when someone comes on here and says, "I have a strategy and I keep winning stuff, but I'm not sharing any of it with you! Nyaa nyaa!"

I'm happy that you won but I think it was unfair to offer that you have a strategy and not share it.

[loopner67]

Wow congrats to you!

I am also very curious what your strategy is and would love to hear it!

[BellesMom72]

Awesome! I hope we can get as lucky as you did for our first trip together as a family!

[tyniknate]

time chasing dream team members. I've worked hard all year and want to have a good time at Disney. Worrying about lanyards and ears and other stuff just seems silly to me when you're in "THE" magical place.

For those who are winning six and seven times....unless it is COMPLETELY by random it's just not fair to others.

[Dmcuth]

Your are 100% right! Don't worry about it and have fun! But some love this contest and that's why we have a separate forum for it! I also go 4x a year so I personally am not wasting time. It's added something to my trips.

It is as random as Disney can make it! Let's take a raffle - completely random but the guy who enters 100 tickets has a better chance than the guy who enters one.

To an earlier post - I think I'm the only one who has talked about a strategy, so I must be the annoying one. I agree with that also ;) ! I'm just not comfortable posting my strategy for all to see but have gladly shared it with ones who share my enthusiasm and want some tips. There's numerous people who have not had the chance to win and want to badly and I'm glad to help them a tiny bit because I want everyone who posts here to win (except people who call me annoying! JK ). In fact when I won the other day I was helping others win who seemed to know about the contest. I wanted to yell out "Any dis-boarders here? Come quickly and win!"

And it's only a strategy, not a guarantee to win in any way. And I've only won Dream Fast Passes which aren't really worth anything, especially when I'm usually there during slower times. My chances of winning the castle stay or something substantial are extremely small like everyone else (though I think I can increase my chance ever so slightly there too). In a nutshell it just involves what to look for and what to do when you see it. But in summation (aren't you glad!) go early, ride the rides and have fun! But I hope you have the thrill of winning!

[inkkognito]

I am not at all protective of my strategy, since I learned it here at DIS and it indeed worked at DHS (in One Man's Dream, as a matter of fact), so here it is:

I saw others post that if CMs are beckoning you into a usually unpopular attraction, you should go because the Dream Team is there. They won't say it outright, but for example you might be heading to Soarin' and the CM's at Living With The Land will say, "It's a nice day for a boat ride." I was at DHS with hubby, passing One Man's Dream, and the greeter, who is usually just standing around, was waving people in. I grabbed him and dragged him in, and sure enough the Dream Team was there giving out Dream Fastpasses.

Other than that, it's just been a matter of being at the parks early and sheer luck for the Dream FPs I've won at Dinosaur and Soarin'.

[#1_Grumpy_Fan]

My family and I just got back from Disney few hours ago. Great trip again. We were given the YOAMD Mickey Ears while exiting Big Thunder Mountain. We received two Magical moments last year. I think it is just pure luck. Right Time, Right Place.

[antree]

I've said it once and I've said it twice and I will say it a thousand times "ALL I WANT ARE THOSE EARS!" I would do anything for them. So if you have the hat on and you see a crazy women running after you with her DD dying of embrassment and her 6yr old son being dragged behind her, RUN, because I am coming after that hat.:lmao:

Congrats to all the have won.:)

[skater]

Congratulations. You're like that woman in that old commercial who said, "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!" :rotfl:

I'm happy for you though a tad envious :goodvibes . I've been 3 times during this promotion and haven't won a thing. But our trips were magical, so can't complain. And I feel very blessed to have been this often. We're leaving for another trip on Wed. and although I'm not talking about it to my kids, I'm really hoping :) . My 10 yr old would be ecstatic!

[mommyofthreeboys]

I wanna know! I wanna know! :-)

[iloveftwilderness]

My guess to win would be to arrive early. Most castle stays are granted early, because they have so much paperwork to do before the parade, etc.
For other items, I think it is just luck of the draw. Be aware of your surroundings and be courteous. We won twice last year. Once in PhillarMagic (a certificate for the girls) and while eating dinner at Le Cellier (Our server gave the girls tinkerbell pins for having such good manners).
I am hoping for some more pixie dust on our BCV trip in 11 days!!!:woohoo:

[I'm a foo fighter]

My guess to win would be to arrive early. Most castle stays are granted early, because they have so much paperwork to do before the parade, etc.
For other items, I think it is just luck of the draw. Be aware of your surroundings and be courteous. We won twice last year. Once in PhillarMagic (a certificate for the girls) and while eating dinner at Le Cellier (Our server gave the girls tinkerbell pins for having such good manners).
I am hoping for some more pixie dust on our BCV trip in 11 days!!!:woohoo:

I would say that is the big thing. I would bet the OP is looking for multiple CM's congragating around an attraction and than riding that attraction asap. Also watching all enter and exit lines to if the see the Dream Team is handing out items and they jump in said line.

Last time we where in MK we won once stading in line for the Tea Cups, and just missed one exited Peter Pan. If you saw the Team giving out hats you would have easily gotten one if you jumped in line. Also we saw the DT handing out FP's in the exit of Peter Pan and jumped in line(had a FP) and just missed it by three people, not sure how long they had been there.

[Dmcuth]

Foo fighter - you have the main part of the strategy right! In fact we employed it this morning and won Dream Ears!!!!! Mission: Space at about 11:30am. Finally! We we're so excited over a silly little thing. We won a lot more than that this trip, but I'll be making another post to get it all in. It has been the greatest trip ever!!!!

[mstew99]

I agree one of the best strategies is to be in the parks EARLY! I've been in the parks maybe 15 times during the promotion, but i'm not a morning person and normally will wait til mid afternoon to go, then stay til close. I was never seeing any DT members, and figured the morning is the best time obviously to hand out fastpasses and the castle stay. Well one morning on the last trip I made it a point to be to MK for the rope drop, and sure enough, won twice! Plus there are less people in the park, so you can ride a lot of the big rides with no waits, so you kind of win either way!

[Tanyann]

Im going in 30 days for my sons make a wish trip. Im not going to tell him about the dream team. I would hate for him to feel disapointed. I already feel like we won just getting to go. That being said... anyone wanting to share stratagy...well.....:worship:

[nyyankeegirl]

time chasing dream team members. I've worked hard all year and want to have a good time at Disney. Worrying about lanyards and ears and other stuff just seems silly to me when you're in "THE" magical place.

For those who are winning six and seven times....unless it is COMPLETELY by random it's just not fair to others.


This is the Year of A Million Dreams forum-- this is what people are discussing here, because it's what they are interested in.....

[CoachBagFanatic]

Congrat's on winning several times.:banana: I think that's great.:cool1: Well it sure wasn't strategy with us. We went to DHS on 4/21/08 and went straight to the Backstage Tour. My DH wanted me to be an extra in the shipyard. I was thinking about it and then said no. We stood at the top and once finished proceeded on with the rest of the tour. There was a lady standing at the entrance where they have the props dressed in a black business suit. I said to my DH that she is part of the dream team. He said no. We then proceeded through the doors and she stopped half of the group behind us and then closed the doors. Once we turned the corner sure enough the dream team was standing at the doors with DFP's. You think I won the lottery. I have a full DFP in tact and framed. My DH and DS used theirs. It was a great day.

[tyniknate]

I'm just sad to see that something Disney brought about to bring a little extra special random happiness to people is being turned into a competition. For those of you playing, good luck.

[Dmcuth]

I'm just sad to see that something Disney brought about to bring a little extra special random happiness to people is being turned into a competition. For those of you playing, good luck.

Let's not kid ourselves as to why Disney had this "contest." Although what they picked does bring extra random happiness as is their expertise, it is in fact a "promotion" which promotes Disney with the goal of luring new patrons and upping their bottom line. And for those of us "playing" (which includes coming on a board dedicated to it), we are what Disney wanted. In the last two years because of this promotion I have increased my trips to WDW and decreased my trips to Universal and other areas while in Orlando with the hope of winning any dreams. Mission accomplished for Disney.

Let me say that I also go to Disney 4 times a year so I'm not missing out on anything I've done a hundred times by seeking to win a dream. Numerous ones who have written me to ask about my "strategy" seem to also be ones who have gone numerous times during this promotion and just want to see if they can increase their chances of winning, not really making it a competition. And that's all my strategy is, increasing your chances. Is going 1st thing in the morning instead of the afternoon due to them giving out dreams mainly from 8 to 1 wrong? If not, then neither is anything you may do to increase your chances. But as I always say, my best advice is to ignore it and have fun! (But this last 2 years has been so much fun!)

Thanks for the wish of good luck!

[janni518]

I've said it once and I've said it twice and I will say it a thousand times "ALL I WANT ARE THOSE EARS!" I would do anything for them. So if you have the hat on and you see a crazy women running after you with her DD dying of embrassment and her 6yr old son being dragged behind her, RUN, because I am coming after that hat.:lmao:

Congrats to all the have won.:)

We got those at Epcot it was ridiculously thrilling. We had no strategy, we were sitting across from the smoking area close to the entrance/exit by the BC/BW and the just showed up.

I have to agree that it seems as if many people were just walking by and not even acknowledging the Dream Team. They were hard pressed to give the ears at first.

[Anonomom]

I think that if someone really wants to win a dream (or six or seven), then there's nothing wrong with having a strategy or trying to increase his or her chances.

We just got back from our first Disney trip in over a decade, and I know we're not planning to go back for at least five years. I'd read all about Dreams here on the Dis, but I decided not to think about it and just be happy to be in Disney. Winning a dream would just be a special bonus. We did end up winning fastpasses at MK on Thursday, and it made me pretty giddy.

Bur for someone who's in the parks a lot, what's the harm in seeking out dreams?

(btw, even though it's totally moot for us, I'm dying to know your strategies).

[scrappy5]

We won twice when we went last month....dream fast passes in Mk and AK. I had never even heard about the "dream team" or " year of a million dreams". It made it so much more fun because we never expected it and I wasn't out searching for where the dream team might be. That would have stressed me out.

[queenpatricia]

We go to Disney at least once a year and enjoy being there. Since this is a special year for us it would be extra nice to win a dream. We are surely be at the parks early in hopes of spotting the dream team.