We stayed in Cinderella's Castle - The DIS Discussion Forums

gogriz · 02-09-2007, 02:00 PM

LONG POST WARNING--but lots of people have said they want EVERY Detail

Our family of four (mom, dad and two daughters 4 & 14) won the stay in Cinderella's Castle on Monday February 5, 2007 while at the Magic Kingdom. It is still all very sureal for us but since we have seen so much talk about this prize here, we wanted to share all the details.

On the 4th day of our Disney vacation we planned to visit the Magic Kingdom because my husband wanted to see the Super Bowl MVP parade (sadly it was on Wednesday instead). On our way to Adventure Land we stopped to get a photo in front of the Castle. The photographer was so nice and explained how the photo pass worked and about buying the whole CD instead of individual pictures. My husband asked her where the best place to see Cinderella would be and she said Toon Town so we headed that way. We wanted our 4 year old daughter to see the princesses before it got busy. We waited about 10 minutes for Toon Town to open and fully intended to go directly to Cinderella's line but our 4 year old saw Goofy at the entrance to his Barn Stormer ride and literally ran that way. I followed her and realized Goofy was going to ride the ride and we decided to also. Because we made our 14 year old daughter ride it also we let another family in ahead of us while we waited for her. We missed the first ride but myself and our little one were in the first car for the second ride, with our older daughter behind us. As we stepped off the ride I was approached by a Dream Team member in the light blue shirt and white vest (along with 5 other Disney people). It was a little confusing at first because he said I was a finalist for a stay at the castle. The first thing I thought was, "Is there a drawing?" I didn't understand that we had really won it at this point. They were all sooooooo excited about it. I just didn't want to get my hopes up. We met my husband at the bottom of the ride's exit ramp where he was filming the whole thing and not sure why we were surrounded by all the Disney folks.

As we walked back to Guest Services the details were explained a bit more and we realized that they were just using very careful wording until they verified that we qualified (weren't Disney employees, related to any Disney employees and were from a qualified state). The Dream Team was very excited because we were the first family to win at the Magic Kingdom. Once at guest services hot chocolate instantly appeared as well as crayons and things to color. We filled out the paperwork and were given our itinerary for the remainder of the day.

After explaining to a tearful 4 year old why we had to leave the park at 11:30 am , we went to pack a bag. The CM at the monorail saw the packet I was holding that said "Cinderella Suite Winners" and made a fuss about us and let us ride in the front of the monorail. We were 4 of maybe 10 people on the tram back to the parking lot since no one seems to leave that time of day.

We met our personal concierge at the Grand Floridian where our car was valeted and were driven Back to the Magic Kingdom. We were met by more Disney folks and walked to Frontier Land were we waited for the car we rode in, with Daisy Duck, for the Dreams parade. At this point we were given our special silver eared hats.

After being in the parade and watching the regular parade we checked into the castle. It was just as amazing as all the sites say.

The tub is as great as they say but the best part was how the light in the tub changed just like the lights on the castle change from pink to blue to purple, etc. We have never and will never stay anywhere as nice.

We were treated to dinner at Cinderella's Table where Fairy Godmother made a fuss over us during the show. Afterwards we returned to the room where Tinkerbell had turned down our beds and left a signed, framed photo of Jasmin, Aladdin, and Genie for our youngest daughter (they had asked her earlier in the day who her favorite was) along with a Dreams Mickey and Minnie.

The park was open that night until 12:30 for the Pirates and Princesses party so even though we missed a lot of our day we still were able to do all that we wanted that night with our personal concierge who got us on all the rides without waiting and even got my husband and older daughter in the see Captain Jack without waiting the 45 minutes. We had special seating for the fireworks and the parade. If anyone has the chance to do the Pirates and Princesses party--DO IT. It was soooooo much fun. The fireworks were SPECTACULAR!!!

Our family stayed up as late as we could but finally went to sleep in the castle. Well...actually they did. I couldn't sleep a wink. Cinderella called to wake us up and it was off to breakfast at the Crystal Palace.

Back to reality at that point.

I hope this wasn't too long or boring. It was just such an amazing thing to happen.
EDIT
Feb/05 2007 Castle Suite Winnner Photo's

cocoswife · 02-09-2007, 02:11 PM

How exciting!!

Congratulations!!

PKWallaby · 02-09-2007, 02:17 PM

OH MY GOSH!!! How exciting for you and your family! So glad your daughter was well rewarded after having to leave MK early

Thanks for sharing all about your special day

FSUDisneyGirl · 02-09-2007, 02:18 PM

thanks so much for sharing!

sounds like you had a great time!!!

disney-super-mom · 02-09-2007, 02:21 PM

WOW, talk about a Dream....that sounds WONDERFUL!!!

I'm so glad to hear about your MAGICAL day! Congrats and thanks for sharing it with us!

GoofyBaseballMom26 · 02-09-2007, 02:21 PM

Thanks for taking the time to share the details with us. That is so exciting, what a wonderful memory.

disgram · 02-09-2007, 02:21 PM

Hi there!!!! Welcome to the DIS!!!!!!

Have you come back to earth yet??? I sure wouldn't be!!!! How wonderful for you and your family!!!!

BORED???? Never!!! We here on the Dis have been waiting to hear about someone here winning the stay at Cinderella's Castle!

So what did your 14yr old think and also your Hubby? This has always been such a dream for me since the first time I saw the castle in 1971!!!

I have so many questions, about a zillion, I guess, but will let some of the others ask and will learn from them.

Again, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

kathi29 · 02-09-2007, 02:24 PM

Thanks so much for sharing!!! Don't worry about your post being too long - I would have read twice as much

We would love love love to see some pictures.

mainemouselover · 02-09-2007, 02:27 PM

Wow!! What a great memory from your trip! Thank you for sharing it with everyone.

disneyfreak74 · 02-09-2007, 02:27 PM

Thank you for sharing that with us!!!!

serendipity · 02-09-2007, 02:29 PM

that's so AMAZING!!! Wow! Do you have any pictures??

momoftriplets · 02-09-2007, 02:42 PM

I've got goosebumps just thinking about it. HOW AWESOME!!!!! That would truly be MAGIC!! Dare we ask for pictures? Thanks for sharing.

mlill · 02-09-2007, 02:43 PM

Congratulations!!!

Thank you very much for sharing your wonderful experience in WDW! I can't even imagine what I'd do if we won! I'm so happy for you!

-Michelle

Chelle's Belles · 02-09-2007, 02:49 PM

That sounds wonderful! I'm just curious why you had to leave the park early? Was it just because they had the rest of your day planned early? That kind of thing would flip my little girl out!

I would love to see pics of your magial night

gogriz · 02-09-2007, 03:01 PM

My husband and older daughter were very excited. Between checking into the castle suite and dinner she and I took our concierges (we had two at that point)out for a spin while my husband tried to get our little one to rest a bit before the BIG night. We used the time to go on the rides Daniel recommended for someone her age--Pirates, Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. They took us either through the fast pass line, the exit or literally the back so that we did not have to wait for anything.

My husband and older daughter went to ride Pirates after dinner and ran into Nate, one of the Dream Team members who escorted us before and after the Dream parade, who was there during his off hours with his daughter. He inquired if they had seen Captain Jack, and they said "No" because the line was so long. He found someone that let them in the back door to that too. What 14 year-old girl doesn't swoon at Captain Jack?

After the Pirates and Princesses parade at 10:30 that evening our older daughter and my husband went out while our passed out little one slept and I tried out THE TUB. They again rode the rides without waiting and both were able to get the Royal Treatment.

Our little one is really cute and attracts a lot of attention. Add a Cinderella dress and its all over. I was sooooooooooooo glad that our older daughter had the opportunity to be special too.

I could never say enough about how all the Disney staff went over the top with every detail. They even pronounced our last name correctly every time..."Maiuri" is not an easy one.

02-09-2007, 02:00 PM	#1
gogriz Earning My Ears Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 61	We stayed in Cinderella's Castle LONG POST WARNING--but lots of people have said they want EVERY Detail Our family of four (mom, dad and two daughters 4 & 14) won the stay in Cinderella's Castle on Monday February 5, 2007 while at the Magic Kingdom. It is still all very sureal for us but since we have seen so much talk about this prize here, we wanted to share all the details. On the 4th day of our Disney vacation we planned to visit the Magic Kingdom because my husband wanted to see the Super Bowl MVP parade (sadly it was on Wednesday instead). On our way to Adventure Land we stopped to get a photo in front of the Castle. The photographer was so nice and explained how the photo pass worked and about buying the whole CD instead of individual pictures. My husband asked her where the best place to see Cinderella would be and she said Toon Town so we headed that way. We wanted our 4 year old daughter to see the princesses before it got busy. We waited about 10 minutes for Toon Town to open and fully intended to go directly to Cinderella's line but our 4 year old saw Goofy at the entrance to his Barn Stormer ride and literally ran that way. I followed her and realized Goofy was going to ride the ride and we decided to also. Because we made our 14 year old daughter ride it also we let another family in ahead of us while we waited for her. We missed the first ride but myself and our little one were in the first car for the second ride, with our older daughter behind us. As we stepped off the ride I was approached by a Dream Team member in the light blue shirt and white vest (along with 5 other Disney people). It was a little confusing at first because he said I was a finalist for a stay at the castle. The first thing I thought was, "Is there a drawing?" I didn't understand that we had really won it at this point. They were all sooooooo excited about it. I just didn't want to get my hopes up. We met my husband at the bottom of the ride's exit ramp where he was filming the whole thing and not sure why we were surrounded by all the Disney folks. As we walked back to Guest Services the details were explained a bit more and we realized that they were just using very careful wording until they verified that we qualified (weren't Disney employees, related to any Disney employees and were from a qualified state). The Dream Team was very excited because we were the first family to win at the Magic Kingdom. Once at guest services hot chocolate instantly appeared as well as crayons and things to color. We filled out the paperwork and were given our itinerary for the remainder of the day. After explaining to a tearful 4 year old why we had to leave the park at 11:30 am , we went to pack a bag. The CM at the monorail saw the packet I was holding that said "Cinderella Suite Winners" and made a fuss about us and let us ride in the front of the monorail. We were 4 of maybe 10 people on the tram back to the parking lot since no one seems to leave that time of day. We met our personal concierge at the Grand Floridian where our car was valeted and were driven Back to the Magic Kingdom. We were met by more Disney folks and walked to Frontier Land were we waited for the car we rode in, with Daisy Duck, for the Dreams parade. At this point we were given our special silver eared hats. After being in the parade and watching the regular parade we checked into the castle. It was just as amazing as all the sites say. The tub is as great as they say but the best part was how the light in the tub changed just like the lights on the castle change from pink to blue to purple, etc. We have never and will never stay anywhere as nice. We were treated to dinner at Cinderella's Table where Fairy Godmother made a fuss over us during the show. Afterwards we returned to the room where Tinkerbell had turned down our beds and left a signed, framed photo of Jasmin, Aladdin, and Genie for our youngest daughter (they had asked her earlier in the day who her favorite was) along with a Dreams Mickey and Minnie. The park was open that night until 12:30 for the Pirates and Princesses party so even though we missed a lot of our day we still were able to do all that we wanted that night with our personal concierge who got us on all the rides without waiting and even got my husband and older daughter in the see Captain Jack without waiting the 45 minutes. We had special seating for the fireworks and the parade. If anyone has the chance to do the Pirates and Princesses party--DO IT. It was soooooo much fun. The fireworks were SPECTACULAR!!! Our family stayed up as late as we could but finally went to sleep in the castle. Well...actually they did. I couldn't sleep a wink. Cinderella called to wake us up and it was off to breakfast at the Crystal Palace. Back to reality at that point. I hope this wasn't too long or boring. It was just such an amazing thing to happen. EDIT Feb/05 2007 Castle Suite Winnner Photo's Last edited by gogriz; 02-10-2007 at 07:17 PM. Reason: URL - Update

02-09-2007, 02:11 PM	#2
cocoswife Mouseketeer Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 452	How exciting!! Congratulations!! __________________ Our first trip to WDW May 2009 AKV!! Founding member of the Magic's Mojito Pajama Club

02-09-2007, 02:17 PM	#3
PKWallaby Mouseketeer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Anytown, USA Posts: 386	OH MY GOSH!!! How exciting for you and your family! So glad your daughter was well rewarded after having to leave MK early Thanks for sharing all about your special day __________________ Learn from Yesterday, Live for Today, Hope for Tomorrow...

02-09-2007, 02:18 PM	#4
FSUDisneyGirl Hey, my eye feels weird....AAAAAAAAAAUUG HGHGHGHH!!! Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Melbourne, FL Posts: 1,606	thanks so much for sharing! sounds like you had a great time!!! __________________ Erin WDW College Program ~ Spring '07!

02-09-2007, 02:21 PM	#5
disney-super-mom I make a mean pot of Jazz Kitchen gumbo BRING ME ANOTHER DIET Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Spokane, Washington Posts: 5,147	WOW, talk about a Dream....that sounds WONDERFUL!!! I'm so glad to hear about your MAGICAL day! Congrats and thanks for sharing it with us! __________________ (DH) (me) (DS 10) (DS 6) (Sassy) (Goldie and Whitey) DISNEYLAND:2009 HOJO X 2 / 2008 HOJO / 2007 HOJO & PPH / 2006 PPH / 2005 BWPPI / 2004 DLH / 2004 HOJO / 2003 Hilton / 2001 La Quinta Inn & Suites / 1988 aunt / 1979 DLH. WALT DISNEY WORLD: 2007 SSR with trip report / 2008 ASMo & CSR. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1338109

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02-09-2007, 02:21 PM	#6
GoofyBaseballMom26 DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Knoxville TN Posts: 945	Thanks for taking the time to share the details with us. That is so exciting, what a wonderful memory.

02-09-2007, 02:21 PM	#7
disgram DIS Veteran Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: elmira ny Posts: 1,589	Hi there!!!! Welcome to the DIS!!!!!! Have you come back to earth yet??? I sure wouldn't be!!!! How wonderful for you and your family!!!! BORED???? Never!!! We here on the Dis have been waiting to hear about someone here winning the stay at Cinderella's Castle! So what did your 14yr old think and also your Hubby? This has always been such a dream for me since the first time I saw the castle in 1971!!! I have so many questions, about a zillion, I guess, but will let some of the others ask and will learn from them. Again, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

02-09-2007, 02:24 PM	#8
kathi29 DIS Veteran Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: FL Posts: 666	Thanks so much for sharing!!! Don't worry about your post being too long - I would have read twice as much We would love love love to see some pictures.

02-09-2007, 02:27 PM	#9
mainemouselover Earning My Ears Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: TEXAS Posts: 27	Wow!! What a great memory from your trip! Thank you for sharing it with everyone.

02-09-2007, 02:27 PM	#10
disneyfreak74 DIS Veteran Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Daydreaming about a mouse! Posts: 711	Thank you for sharing that with us!!!! __________________ (me) (DH) (DS 10 ) (DD ) (and yes SHE is JUST as bad as STITCH!!) All Star Sports Sept 01 ~ Nov 01 ~ Jan 04 ~ Sept 05 ~ Dec 05 ~ Sept 06 ~ Jan 07 ~ Aug 08 Pop Century Mar 05 French Qtr July 07 Caribbean Beach Sept 09 FREE DINING!!! I have earned my EARS!!! My son fell in love with the football court, so there we must stay. . . . . AGAIN!!!

02-09-2007, 02:29 PM	#11
serendipity DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: 5 minutes outside Manhattan Posts: 1,372	that's so AMAZING!!! Wow! Do you have any pictures?? __________________ April 2008- Long weekend for birthday and anniversary at AKL! January 2008- Paris (with day trip to Disneyland Paris), Germany, Austria, Florence and Rome!!! May 2007- Honeymoon at Disneyland and the great out west! February 2007-Long weekend at POR November 2007-Early Christmas at ASSp/WL/AKL April 2006-Birthday celebration/1st trip with my husband at ASMo/AKL 1996-2000- Summers in Orlando every year to visit my Grandmother-VIP Babysitter for Disney!

02-09-2007, 02:42 PM	#12
momoftriplets DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 641	I've got goosebumps just thinking about it. HOW AWESOME!!!!! That would truly be MAGIC!! Dare we ask for pictures? Thanks for sharing. __________________ DH Me DD(13) DS(13) DD(13) I invite you to read my Trip Report for October 2005 http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1140916

02-09-2007, 02:43 PM	#13
mlill Tagless since 2000! Tagless, but not forgotten! Join Date: Apr 2000 Posts: 1,673	Congratulations!!! Thank you very much for sharing your wonderful experience in WDW! I can't even imagine what I'd do if we won! I'm so happy for you! -Michelle

02-09-2007, 02:49 PM	#14
Chelle's Belles Earning My Ears Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 45	That sounds wonderful! I'm just curious why you had to leave the park early? Was it just because they had the rest of your day planned early? That kind of thing would flip my little girl out! I would love to see pics of your magial night

02-09-2007, 03:01 PM	#15
gogriz Earning My Ears Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 61	My husband and older daughter were very excited. Between checking into the castle suite and dinner she and I took our concierges (we had two at that point)out for a spin while my husband tried to get our little one to rest a bit before the BIG night. We used the time to go on the rides Daniel recommended for someone her age--Pirates, Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. They took us either through the fast pass line, the exit or literally the back so that we did not have to wait for anything. My husband and older daughter went to ride Pirates after dinner and ran into Nate, one of the Dream Team members who escorted us before and after the Dream parade, who was there during his off hours with his daughter. He inquired if they had seen Captain Jack, and they said "No" because the line was so long. He found someone that let them in the back door to that too. What 14 year-old girl doesn't swoon at Captain Jack? After the Pirates and Princesses parade at 10:30 that evening our older daughter and my husband went out while our passed out little one slept and I tried out THE TUB. They again rode the rides without waiting and both were able to get the Royal Treatment. Our little one is really cute and attracts a lot of attention. Add a Cinderella dress and its all over. I was sooooooooooooo glad that our older daughter had the opportunity to be special too. I could never say enough about how all the Disney staff went over the top with every detail. They even pronounced our last name correctly every time..."Maiuri" is not an easy one.

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