My Stay In The Cinderella Castle Suite Updated 6/24/14

[jmetz1028]

On Tuesday my family and I returned from our amazing trip. I'm probably going to break this report down into a few posts starting with how we got this amazing opportunity.

At the end of 2013 I entered the ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas Sweepstakes. I enter a lot of sweepstakes so I entered daily and then just forgot about it like I do the rest. I win things sometimes. Usually small things like $25 gift cards, T-shirts, etc. Then on January 15th I received an email stating that I was a potential winner in the 25 Days of Christmas Sweepstakes. The email did not state what the prize was. It was asking me to send them my date of birth, address, and phone number to verify that I was eligible to win. I couldn't remember what the sweepstakes was exactly so I searched for it on the internet. First I found a sweepstakes that was giving away DVDs and other small items so I figured that was what I won. Then I realized that sweepstakes was called the 25 Days of Giveaways. I kept searching. When I found the correct sweepstakes it was 8 second prizes of a Vera Bradley handbag and a $500 Disney gift card and a grand prize of a trip for 4 to Disney World including a stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite. Of course I assumed that I won one of the second prizes. I was stilled thrilled about that.

After filling out a affidavit of eligibility and having it notarized I got another email.

Dear Jessica,



Congratulations on winning a Walt Disney Worldâ Resort vacation from ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas.

This four (4) night five (5) day vacation at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel is for you and three (3) guests. Travel dates are flexible but must be taken by February 18, 2015 and block out dates do apply. (Block out dates February 16-23, April 12-26, November 27-30, December 17-31, 2014 and January 1-3, 2015.)

Your prize package includes the following:

· Four (4) round trip coach air fares between the major gateway airport closest to winner's residence and the Orlando International Airport [provided, however, if winner resides within 250 miles of the destination resort, air fare will not be provided.]

· Four (4) round trip ground transfers via Disney’s Magical Express Service between the Orlando International Airport and the Walt Disney World Resort.

· Hotel Accommodations: One (1) standard room (maximum 4 guests per room) for four (4) nights in a Walt Disney World Resort hotel. Based upon availability.

· Four (4) Magic Your Way Tickets with Park Hopper® Option. Each ticket entitles you to five (5) days of park hopping visits to Magic Kingdom® Park, Epcotâ, Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ and Disney’s Animal Kingdomâ Theme park.

· One (1) Disney Gift Card with a value of one thousand dollars ($1000).

· Services of One (1) Disney VIP Tour Guide for eight (8) hours for five (5) days.

· A one-night stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite in the Magic Kingdom Park® at Walt Disney World® Resort with select food and beverage snacks, breakfast at Cinderella Royal Table.




Needless to say I was freaking out. Over the next couple of months arrangements were made for the trip. They sent us questionnaires asking when we would like to travel, which airport and flight times we prefer and we had to rank the deluxe resorts in order of preference. After all was said and done, the trip was booked for 5/13/14 - 5/18/14. We would stay 4 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge (we agreed to pay for 1 extra night so we could have extra time) and 1 night in the Cinderella Castle Suite.

About 2 weeks before the trip I realized that I never received any information about the VIP Tour Guide portion of the prize. I emailed our planner and asked about it. She got back to me with some disappointing news. Apparently there was a scheduling conflict and they would only be able to get us a tour guide for 3 of the 5 days we were supposed to have one. She promised she would work on it and get back to me. Two days later she did. She was able to get us an additional day but not all 5 days. To make up for the other day, they paid for our extra night at Animal Kingdom Lodge, gave us an additional $500 Disney gift card and allowed us to keep our tour guides on the days we did have them for as many hours as we wanted, instead of just 8 hours.

Next....Our First Day! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=51527517#post51527517
Next....Day 2 DHS & Epcot http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=51542114#post51542114
Next....First Day On Our Own http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=51580121#post51580121
Next....Day Two On Our Own http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=51591190#post51591190
Next....Magic Kingdom and the Cinderella Suite Part 1 http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=51623663#post51623663
Next....Out Night in the Magic Kingdom and the Cinderella Suite Part 2 http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=51717925#post51717925

 

[waltsdream]

How exciting- congratulations on winning! Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[Andrea]

just joining... i can't wait to read more !!!! That is so awesome congrats.

 

[Danielle87]

Looking forward to reading more and seeing pics sounds fab!!

 

[kaileighbug]

Wow what a great start. I can't wait to read more.

 

[Angeejoe]

This is awesome! Congratulations! I can't wait to read more.

 

[Octoberbeauty]

What a wonderful opportunity! I can't wait to hear more about it.

 

[lovin'fl]

I'm interested in this TR...thanks for sharing!

 

[BonnieF]

What a dream come true! Can't wait to read more about your trip!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Wow what an awesome prize! Congratulations! Can't wait to hear more

 

[CarlaLovesDisney]

So lucky! Can't wait to keep reading!

 

[shell8558]

Awesome ! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[LauraluvsDisney2]

How exciting for you, can't wait to read all about it!!

 

[iheartfrozen]

Sounds awesome!

 

[natalieguy]

Wow!!! How awesome! Can't wait to hear more

 

[PrincessMomto2]

Wow what an exciting trip! I always enter all those contests as well but alas I never win. I can't wait to hear all about your trip and I am so glad to know that people actually do win. I'm going to keep on trying ya never know! Congrats on your big win!!

Pulling up a comfy chair....

 

[jmetz1028]

We were up at 4:30AM to fly out of Baltimore at 8:45AM. After an uneventful flight, we landed in Orlando. We made our way to luggage claim and found Teresa, our tour guide waiting for us holding this sign just like you see on TV or in the movies.

Teresa helped us gather our luggage and load it into her waiting SUV.

Teresa said she already contacted Animal Kingdom Lodge and our room was ready even though it was only a little after 11:00AM. She asked if we wanted to check into the hotel or go straight to a park. We decided to check in because we were excited to see the hotel and we wanted to apply sunscreen.

We checked in a made a quick stop in our room. We loved the room and the view from our balcony.

We knew that we wouldn't be able to stay up late since we were up at 4:30AM that morning so we opted to head to Animal Kingdom since it closed at 6:00PM.

Teresa met us in front of the hotel and swept us off to Animal Kingdom. We entered through the back/cast member entrance. No waiting in lines, no bag checks, and best of all, no waiting for buses.

Teresa started by asking what we wanted to accomplish while we were at Animal Kingdom. We told her Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Kali River Rapids. She came up with the best order to ride everything that would be most efficient. It was amazing being able to ridge Expedition Everest two times in a row and not wait more than 2 minutes each time. After Everest we made a stop at Triceratop Spin then over to Dinosaur. By then we were starving. We decided a quick late lunch at Flame Tree BBQ would be our best option. The food was great and it gave us time to learn more about Teresa. She has been working for Disney for over 30 years and has been a VIP Tour Guide since 2002.

After lunch we rode Kali River Rapids and took some time to walk the trails to dry off. My DD10 was unfortunately getting grouchy by this time. 4:30AM was really catching up to her. We headed to Kilimanjaro Safaris then It's Tough to be a Bug.

It wasn't even 6:00PM yet but we were too exhausted to go on. I hated to lose any precious time with our tour guide but we just needed to get back to the hotel to rest. Teresa took us back the way we came and we were back at AKL in no time. Literally a few minutes.

Although it was a short first day it was amazing. I could see that having a VIP tour guide could really spoil someone. No lines, no buses, all kinds of tips and tricks to see and do things as efficiently as possible.

Next.... Day Two, DHS & Epcot! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=51542114#post51542114

 

[basketlacey]

Oh wow! What an awesome prize! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

wow - so cool.

Any time you get to go in anything other than the normal entrance - like you with the Disney parks or even the back entrance to a club when you are "with the band" makes you feel special more than anything else!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Awesome! I can wait to read more!