The Rocketeer
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2007
- Messages
- 213
First let me apologize for taking almost two weeks to post this, but ever since I've been home, life's been crazy. So I have been working on this report as a Word document a little at a time.
DS and I were headed to DLR for a quick trip, August 23/24, flying out Saturday morning and back late Sunday. However, our stay was extended a night because we won a night in the Dream Suite!
Sunday morning, we went straight to Fantasyland since we didn't have time to go there on Saturday. Rode Peter Pan first and had less than a 5 minute wait, then walked right on Alice. Had about a 3 minute wait for Matterhorn and then to Mr. Toad. When we were pulling up to the exit, we saw the dream team (one had on a white vest). We thought maybe they had Fastpasses. Upon exiting, we saw they werent holding anything, so we smiled at them and exited Mr. Toad. Outside, they followed us and said, "Could you ask you a couple of questions? I know it's sounds sort of weird. But where are you from? Do you have any family or friends who work for Disney? Do you have a valid government ID?" DS asked, "Do you mean like a driver's license?" They said, "Exactly. We would like to inform you that you are potential winners. If you can follow us, we can show you what you have potentially won."
So we went down Main Street to where the guided tours are. Inside they sat us down and showed us a DVD revealing that we had won a night in the Dream Suite. I was completely stunned and started crying, then the dream team started crying too. I was so overwhelmed, it was much to comprehend what was happening. I explained we were supposed to fly back that evening and I would have to check with Southwest to see how much it would be to change our flights. They let us use the computer in the room to do that.
After signing paperwork, Debbie, our dream team CM, took us on a ride in the Lilly Belle, which is the caboose on one of the trains. It was named after Walts wife. Its beautifully decorated in a Victorian theme. The seats are upholstered in cranberry velvet, and Walts smoking jacket hangs from a peg. A group of Club 33 members rode with us, and the train conductor gave us the history of the Lilly Belle. After the train ride, Debbie, our Dream CM, offered to escort us around the park. Earlier she had mentioned her parents were visiting that day, so we decided it would be better for her to spend the time with them and we went by ourselves still trying to believe this was actually happening to us.
At 2:15 p.m., another Dream CM, Michelle, picked us up from our hotel, the Ramada Maingate. She brought us in the back lot, and we saw where the wood shop and the animals are, etc. We entered near Splash Mountain and we went to the base of the staircase to the suite, where Queenie and her jazz band welcomed us.
The suite is amazing! There are two bedrooms, one with a king-size bed and more of a jungle theme and the other with two double beds with sort of a Frontierland theme. From the Frontierland room, there is a door that leads to the balcony that overlooks NOS. It is directly above the Royal Street Veranda. Also there is an inner courtyard that has a fountain and Chinese lanterns where you can relax on really comfortable patio furniture. The living room is very beautiful but extremely comfortable. There was a mini frig with bottled water and sodas. I will post pictures of the suite later.
Dinner at the Blue Bayou was also included. So at 4:20 p.m., our concierge escorted us to dinner where we had a $75 per person limit. There was no way we could eat that much. I had the crab cakes for an appetizer and the Five-Pepper Prime Rib and my son ordered the filet . Both were extremely tender and delicious. Of course there was a cookie boat for dessert. I ordered the key lime pie to go, but I never got around to eating it.
At 6 p.m., two Dream CMs took us down Main Street where we were the grand marshalls of the parade. For me that was really stressful. I hate attention of that sort, but DS wanted to do it because for him its a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Honestly, that was one of the longest 13 minutes of my life, but I lived through it. They had reserved seating for us so we could watch the parade, but we decided to forego it and return to the suite. Our thinking was we could see the parade anytime but had this one and only chance to enjoy the suite.
We watched Fantasmic from the suites balcony. It was the first time I really enjoyed it because we had a birds-eye view. Since I am short, there is always a tall person in front of me, so this was wonderful treat. We loved it so much we watched both shows.
When the park closed at midnight, we were given an after-hours tour. Brian, our concierge, is a very interesting guide. He told us about a lot of history and trivia as we walked around Main Street and the different lands. At 2 a.m., we returned to the suite, and we were beat. However, we were up at 6:30 so we could pack up and enjoy our last hours there. The suite has to be vacated at 9 a.m. At that time, Karen, the next concierge, came and took us to the Plaza Inn for a character breakfast. And so our experience in the Dream Suite came to a close.
We did some shopping and rode a few rides. Then we headed off to the GCH to collect our luggage and catch the Super Shuttle to the airport. As we were going through DTD to the entrance of the hotel, we were dreamed again. This time with pins and lanyards.
I will try to post some pictures later. My son has all the pictures on his computer, and he is in NYC this weekend visiting my other son. He has done a partial trip report on Visions Fantastic. Here is the link if you care to see just a few of the pictures he took: http://www.visionsfantastic.com/forum/f52/tomserwins-aug-08-trip-report-23582/
DS and I were headed to DLR for a quick trip, August 23/24, flying out Saturday morning and back late Sunday. However, our stay was extended a night because we won a night in the Dream Suite!
Sunday morning, we went straight to Fantasyland since we didn't have time to go there on Saturday. Rode Peter Pan first and had less than a 5 minute wait, then walked right on Alice. Had about a 3 minute wait for Matterhorn and then to Mr. Toad. When we were pulling up to the exit, we saw the dream team (one had on a white vest). We thought maybe they had Fastpasses. Upon exiting, we saw they werent holding anything, so we smiled at them and exited Mr. Toad. Outside, they followed us and said, "Could you ask you a couple of questions? I know it's sounds sort of weird. But where are you from? Do you have any family or friends who work for Disney? Do you have a valid government ID?" DS asked, "Do you mean like a driver's license?" They said, "Exactly. We would like to inform you that you are potential winners. If you can follow us, we can show you what you have potentially won."
So we went down Main Street to where the guided tours are. Inside they sat us down and showed us a DVD revealing that we had won a night in the Dream Suite. I was completely stunned and started crying, then the dream team started crying too. I was so overwhelmed, it was much to comprehend what was happening. I explained we were supposed to fly back that evening and I would have to check with Southwest to see how much it would be to change our flights. They let us use the computer in the room to do that.
After signing paperwork, Debbie, our dream team CM, took us on a ride in the Lilly Belle, which is the caboose on one of the trains. It was named after Walts wife. Its beautifully decorated in a Victorian theme. The seats are upholstered in cranberry velvet, and Walts smoking jacket hangs from a peg. A group of Club 33 members rode with us, and the train conductor gave us the history of the Lilly Belle. After the train ride, Debbie, our Dream CM, offered to escort us around the park. Earlier she had mentioned her parents were visiting that day, so we decided it would be better for her to spend the time with them and we went by ourselves still trying to believe this was actually happening to us.
At 2:15 p.m., another Dream CM, Michelle, picked us up from our hotel, the Ramada Maingate. She brought us in the back lot, and we saw where the wood shop and the animals are, etc. We entered near Splash Mountain and we went to the base of the staircase to the suite, where Queenie and her jazz band welcomed us.
The suite is amazing! There are two bedrooms, one with a king-size bed and more of a jungle theme and the other with two double beds with sort of a Frontierland theme. From the Frontierland room, there is a door that leads to the balcony that overlooks NOS. It is directly above the Royal Street Veranda. Also there is an inner courtyard that has a fountain and Chinese lanterns where you can relax on really comfortable patio furniture. The living room is very beautiful but extremely comfortable. There was a mini frig with bottled water and sodas. I will post pictures of the suite later.
Dinner at the Blue Bayou was also included. So at 4:20 p.m., our concierge escorted us to dinner where we had a $75 per person limit. There was no way we could eat that much. I had the crab cakes for an appetizer and the Five-Pepper Prime Rib and my son ordered the filet . Both were extremely tender and delicious. Of course there was a cookie boat for dessert. I ordered the key lime pie to go, but I never got around to eating it.
At 6 p.m., two Dream CMs took us down Main Street where we were the grand marshalls of the parade. For me that was really stressful. I hate attention of that sort, but DS wanted to do it because for him its a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Honestly, that was one of the longest 13 minutes of my life, but I lived through it. They had reserved seating for us so we could watch the parade, but we decided to forego it and return to the suite. Our thinking was we could see the parade anytime but had this one and only chance to enjoy the suite.
We watched Fantasmic from the suites balcony. It was the first time I really enjoyed it because we had a birds-eye view. Since I am short, there is always a tall person in front of me, so this was wonderful treat. We loved it so much we watched both shows.
When the park closed at midnight, we were given an after-hours tour. Brian, our concierge, is a very interesting guide. He told us about a lot of history and trivia as we walked around Main Street and the different lands. At 2 a.m., we returned to the suite, and we were beat. However, we were up at 6:30 so we could pack up and enjoy our last hours there. The suite has to be vacated at 9 a.m. At that time, Karen, the next concierge, came and took us to the Plaza Inn for a character breakfast. And so our experience in the Dream Suite came to a close.
We did some shopping and rode a few rides. Then we headed off to the GCH to collect our luggage and catch the Super Shuttle to the airport. As we were going through DTD to the entrance of the hotel, we were dreamed again. This time with pins and lanyards.
I will try to post some pictures later. My son has all the pictures on his computer, and he is in NYC this weekend visiting my other son. He has done a partial trip report on Visions Fantastic. Here is the link if you care to see just a few of the pictures he took: http://www.visionsfantastic.com/forum/f52/tomserwins-aug-08-trip-report-23582/
Im so happy for you
