Chat with the Chief Magic Official

[Justin M]

Hey Justin, it was great to finally meet you at the CMO weekend. You had a great bunch of folks with you at the "Sink Off." Do you know what parks and dates you'll be out and about again?

Thanks for checking in, Kenny! It was a wonderful opportunity to have my parents, my wife, and some great friends with me on that trip. The schedule of the trips is still falling into place. I can tell you I will be at the Disneyland Resort in California in the middle of June!

Congrats Justin,

what an awesome Job!! You truly earned it, and I cant imagine all that you went thru!! Thanks for sharing links, and telling of your story here as well!!

cant wait to hear more!! and maybe see the dream squad too!

Thank you so much!

Justin! Congratulations on CMO. I look forward to keeping up with you and your year. I just requested you as a friend on facebook - love that site. Enjoy your fabulous year!
Aimee

I'm glad you found me on Facebook as well! Between there, here, and www.dreamcmo.com you should get a pretty good feel for what this experience is like for me!

(just be patient with me . . . it sometimes takes me a while to upload pictures, videos and such!)

Hi Justin! Greetings from TX. Glad to see another music major make good Looking forward to hearing about more of your adventures as CMO!
Nicole

Thanks Nicole! What part of TX? Are you majoring in music right now? Best of luck to you!

Congratulations Justin! I was so excited when you won. Loved your video.

We're neighbors, I'm north of Pittsburgh too. It's been a lot of fun following your story, and I can't wait to read the rest of your CMO adventures.

Yay! Another Pittsburgh native! Thanks for checking and for your encouragement!

Justin,
Congrats on your new position at Disney! I know you will do us all proud. it will be so fun to live the magic vicariously thru you

Are you going to get to go to MNSSHP? if you do, maybe you will be there the same night as my family. It would be way cool to meet you in person.

Thanks! I don't believe I'll make it to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party this year . . . but I'll let you know if the plans change! If we do happen to be in the parks at the same time, please dont' be shy!

Justin -

Thanks for sharing the love for Disney that all of us have! You really "get it" and it shows in each interview I have seen you do. We all will share in your excitement each time we hear about your adventures!

I love Disney very deeply and passionately and love sharing the stories of Disney with my students! They seem to love how I can tie Disney into just about any subject!

Back in March we started a little podcast just about "regular" people who visit WDW and like sharing their experiences. I would be honored if you would check out an episode of the show!

Keep up the good work, and congratulations again!

Mike

Mike, thanks for your very sincere words! I would LOVE to check out your podcast. I assume I can just follow the link in your signature? What grade/subject do you teach?

Congratulations Justin!!!!!!

I look forward to hearing about all of your adventures!!!!

Thanks!

Glad you started this thread, Justin! I saw your link on the Adventurosity thread and came right over!

Thanks for all the links...I didn't realize all the contest videos were online, so I watched those and the announcement of your CMO win!

They were highly entertaining!

I also read that you will be needed "up to 8 times in a 12 month period"
(but I'll bet they don't tell you ANYTHING til it gets closer to the next time they need ya)

I hope you will be there the week of September 14th! I now consider you a celebrity and I want your autograph!

Best wishes for a great year as Disney's new CMO!!

Hey CherBear! I'm glad you had the chance to watch the videos - - - they really did a wonderful job pulling everything together. I'm glad you were entertained! The specifics of my schedule are still evolving, but it looks like I will have a total of 8 official visits (1 down already, 7 to go!). I'm not sure I qualifiy as a celebrity (*blushing*!) but I'd love to have the chance to meet you!

 

[Justin M]

Hey Justin!
Saw the link over on the other threads! ("Adventurosity" and "We be Trippin' ") and just thought I would drop in and say "HI".
Keep up the good work!!
You know we are all rooting for you!!
Will be checking in and (as of now) am subbing to your thread.
Can't wait to see what the year holds in store for you (and us, vicariously)!!!

JUSTIN FOR DISNEY CEO!!!

Heck, it's only one letter off, right??

Maybe it's a little premature, though........hhmmmmmmm????

Ha ha ha! Your first post on this thread and you are already making me laugh! Thanks for stopping by! I'll be sure to keep you all posted as things develop! I'm thinking Bob Iger is doing a pretty good job as CEO right now, but I really do appreciate your positive, optimistic thinking!

 

[Justin M]

Announcer guy: Justin, now that you've been announced Disney's first ever Chief Magic Official, what are ya gonna do now?

Ha ha! I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!! (and DISNEYLAND!)


Have you seen the ad with David Cook from American Idol yet? Those commercials always make me smile!

 

[Justin M]

Congratulations! I will be watching the website to see if you will be in WDW during my Sept. trip. You most defiantly have everyone's "dream job"....have fun over the next year, you earned it!

Thanks! I'll keep posting updates as I have them! When are you going in September? Great move taking advantage of the Free Dining promotion!

 

[Justin M]

Alright . . . that was quite a flurry of responses right in a row there! Thank you SO much for joining this thread! I have only a few simple requests for you all . . . ready?

1) When you are posting on this thread, you must be smiling!

2) Keeping firing questions . . . I'll respond as often as I can (and I'll skillfully dodge the ones that I'm not sure how to answer! )

3) Be sure to bookmark or check in often at www.dreamcmo.com. I'll come in here and let you know when there is an update on the site, but as the year unfolds that will be a fun place to find all sorts of good information (I hope!)

4) If you ever see me in the parks on a visit . . . please say "Hi!" Don't be shy, I love meeting fellow Disney fans!

5) When in doubt, refer to number 1!!!

 

[KatiebugsMom]

Congrats Justin!!! I was voting everyday!!! And glad to see a Pittsburgher got it.

I live in the South Hills but work in Cranberry for that big cellphone company!! LOL! Hopefully, someday we can meet soon. A dream of mine is to get somekind of Dismeet started in the Burgh area.....there are so many fans here as well as Disney Vacation Club Members......the mouse has a large hold on Western Pennsylania.

Starting to plan the family's next trip for Jan 2009 at Beach Club Villas, can't wait to go back and see how Toy Story Mania turned out.

Anyway, congrats and remember to take one day at a time and take it all in. You are going to have a year of a lifetime!

 

[freepixie]

Another PA Dis-er here - way up north in Erie, PA - known for our beach. Every year hundreds of people from Pittsburgh enjoy our beach while less than 100 locals make it out there

Anyhow, congrats! I really hadn't followed the CMO thing, but so happy for you!!

My question - are you going to be able to go to the international Disney parks - Tokyo, Hong Kong and Paris???

 

[sheri236]

congrats justin--what an honor!! I live just east of pgh but I grew up in butler. I'm so jealous--have an awesome time with all your responsibilities as cmo!!! and how could I forget LETS GO PENS!!!

 

[cherbear]

Ha ha! I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!! (and DISNEYLAND!)


Have you seen the ad with David Cook from American Idol yet? Those commercials always make me smile!

I knew you'd catch on to that!!!

Yup, that's what gave me the idea.

That brings me to ask an important question and see if you know...
that commercial said the Idol attraction will open in early 2009, but stuff I had been reading prior to seeing that commercial, all led me to believe it would be opening sometime THIS year. Do you know if they're just shooting WAY far ahead so that they don't have another SE replay (don't have to push the date back) ?
I hope my question made sense!

BTW thanks for the facebook add!

 

[Tink Fatale]

Great thread!

I'm so happy that you are the CMO Justin!

You are a blessing to all who meet you...online or at the parks!

 

[rabyoga]

Congrats to you Justin... I can't wait to hear/read about your adventures-That will give me Disney fill until we get back there next June.

I feel that everyone here is a bit of a Magic Official- I'm know as the Disney expert at my school- We even celebrated Walt's birthday in my classroom

Congrats again Justin-keep us up-to-date with all your goings on.

 

[eelderm1]

Hi Justin. Just wanted to say Congrats and nice to meet ya! I loved watching your application video and the competitions. You guys were too funny. I am looking forward to hearing about your adventures.

 

[Rora]

Hello Justin! Congrats on CMO. I can't wait to hear about your adventures!!

 

[LovingmyKids]

Hi Justin,
We were one of the families that got to go on Toy Story with you! We loved meeting you, taking the quiz (my kids will always know the names of the seven dwarfs!) and then being blessed with that amazing opportunity. It was our first visit to the parks and we just felt so special. We loved the ride, of course, but we also loved how friendly and welcoming you were. It was great that you even remembered us the next day at AK.

You will have such a sweet impact on so many families this year...we are so thankful that we were part of it!!

Thanks again!

 

[catotigger]

Hi Cat!!!!! So good to hear from you! Which one was YOUR favorite? As for me, it's a tough call . . . honestly! There were things I remember fondly about all of them.

With the Stroller Derby, I was really nervous, it was the first event, and we were all still getting to know each other. It was the first time we'd met Sheila (the wonderful host!) and the hysterical guys from the ESPN Zone who did the commentary.

Getting to see the Cinderella Castle Suite as a part of the Throw in the Towel competition was amazing! Definitely something I'll never forget!

I had a lot of fun learning to paint faces as well and we have some great photos from that part of the competition (which I will try to post here soon!).

My two favorites, though, were the competitions that allowed us to have the most interaction with guests. I LOVE talking to people and I really enjoyed the Loudest Crowd and Know the Show parts. (The Know the Show portion was technically in two parts: talking with guests at the Tip Board in Epcot and the Quiz Show contest).

SO, now that I've rambled for a LONG time, I guess my favorite memories are from both the Tip Board and Quiz portion of the Know the Show contest . . .

I just KNEW that would be your answer - it was so obvious you enjoyed interacting with the folks!

MY favorite was the Loudest Crowd, since I got to participate in that one! I can remember standing in the middle of Main Street, asking people to please stop, stay, and cheer for my friend Justin! It was amazing - I really felt a part of it all!

And of course, the part where I got to yell, scream, and cheer for you was super, too!

 

[tlrotzoll]

Congratulations Justin!!!!! I am so happy for you & your family. What an incredible opportunity for you as well as for us. Thanks for keeping all of us informed. I have already added your site to my favorites list! I will definately keep up with what is going on!

Go Steelers!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mkycrzy1971]

Thanks! I'll keep posting updates as I have them! When are you going in September? Great move taking advantage of the Free Dining promotion!

We will be there Sept 4-9th (POP) for a short "adult only" anniversary trip....it is our 18th anniversary (sept 8th) and our best friends will be with us celebrating their 16th anniversary (sept 5th)...our first visit "kid free", as couples and my family's first "free dining" experience...we are all very excited and hoping for some cool magical moments! 2 more days until we get to do the "double-digit-dance"

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Congratulations Justin!

It didn't surprise me when a fellow DISer was named CMO. I bookmarked the link and plan to follow your journey. I commend your wife on supporting you in this endeavor. We will be at WDW in September and December. I'll keep my eye out for you.

Good luck! You are going to have an amazing year.

- Jennifer

 

[Tikihula]

Congratulations on becoming CMO, Justin! You definitely looked like the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable contestant and you really deserved that win.

My DH and I are WDW vets, and we're meeting my sister and her family for their first ever trip to WDW in early November. We'll be looking for you in your CMO shirt, and we'll be sure to say Howdy if we should happen to spot you in the parks.

Enjoy your year of spreading magic and pixie dust!

 

[ChrisFL]

Congrats Justin!

One quick question...as CMO will you be going to all of the Disney parks around the world...including Tokyo also?