THE SEARCH:
Tony being the awesome soon to be uncle-in-law that he is (and god father to Cinderella16), hopped in his car and drove around his neighborhood in search for the mailman. He tried his best to find the mailman. If he could not find him then I would not be getting the ring. God knows when I would have a chance to get it again. Just as Tony was ending his trip around his neighborhood
he saw him! I could not believe it when he told me he found the mailman! He got the package from him and life was good again! It was a good thing he knew this mailman well. Go Tony! I owe him for that!
Tony told me that he had to tell his wife because if she found a very nice engagement ring in his suitcase for a business trip then he could be in a lot of trouble. I understood and said that it was fine. I also thought it was quite funny.
PICKING UP THE RING!
Tony was coming in on a Thursday, which meant I had to take a day off of work. I just couldnt let Cinderella16 know I was taking the day off. I told her that there was a production issue in one of the Walgreens stores and that I would have to go out to that store for the entire day. She would not expect a thing now when she tries to call me at my desk and I do not answer.

On that Thursday morning I got a call from Tony and he said his flight was delayed by a few hours so I got to sleep in late. I picked up Tony at OHare airport around 11:00am and he had to be at his conference in Lake Forest by noon. I shot down 294 as fast as I could. We found a subway and ate really fast. He gave me the ring. This was the first time I got to see it completed because when I purchased it, it was just the stone. I dropped off Tony at the conference, told him thank you, and I was on my way! I was never at OHare airport before, and let me tell you, that will be the last time I go there. It is a mad house!
PLANNING THE PROPOSAL
This was by far the hardest part. There were so many things I could do. I even tracked down the FairyTaleBride on this forum for ideas. Btw, thanks FairyTaleBride for all the ideas. This was not an easy task to find her either. The only thing I had to go off of was Cinderella16 saying there was a girl who became a Dream Maker on the forum. Great, only 143,000 users to search through!

After many hours of searching the DIS, I found her.
Here were my three options I came up with and some of the pros and cons I considered.
1. Propose during dinner inside the Magic Kingdom Castle.
Pros:
- It was inside the castle!
- It doesnt get any more Cinderellae then that.
Cons:
- I would have to wait all day to propose.
- I would have to keep that secret until 6:00pm at night.
- Id have to carry the ring with me until then.
- She might expect this.
- My entire family would be there.
2. Propose during a carriage ride at Fort Wilderness.
Pros:
- Also very Cinderellae
- Romantic and just the two of use.
Cons:
- She would think something is up if we had to leave the Magic Kingdom to go for a carriage ride. I would definitely lose the element of surprise.
- Takes away hours at the magic Kingdom, which I know she would not like! Less time for the castle is not a good thing, haha!
3. Propose at the fountain behind the Magic Kingdom.
Pros:
- Special to us because this is our tradition of making a wish every year at this fountain.
- I could do it first thing in the morning. This had its own pros
- I wouldnt have to hold onto a ring all day and possible lose it in the park.
- Less time for me to mess up my plan.
- She would be engaged all day, which would make the day even better.
- She would be able to see the ring in the sunlight (more sparkly).
- It didnt take a way time at the park.
- Element of surprise would still be there.
After weighing all my options I decided to go with option #3, proposing at the fountain behind the castle. All that was left now was to get to Disney and actually propose!
PACKING
We would be in Disney for our 5 year anniversary so I knew that she would be suspicious of something. Because of this I made my mother put the ring in her suitcase. I thought for sure when I left the room that she would be searching through my bags to see what she could find. She was actually very good and did not do this (at least not that I know of). It never hurt to be safe though. I couldnt have anything spoil my plan now.
THE NIGHT BEFORE / MORNING OF THE PROPOSAL
I still wasnt sure how I was going to get her to the back of the castle. I wanted to get a photo pass person there as well so they could take more professional pictures. I was discussing the plan with my mother the night before and the morning of. The plan was that we would get to the park by 9:00 when they opened. We would split up for shopping first thing in the morning. We were able to use this excuse because we agreed to get each other something engraved as our anniversary present. When we split up I would get the ring from my mom, they would go to the back of the castle and get their cameras ready for pictures and also find a photo pass person, and then I would meet Cinderella16 in a store or some place and we would go over to the castle. That was the plan
but that is not what happened!
