I haven't been a member of the DIS for long, but I knew I had to share our experience.
We were at WDW from May 16th-21st as part of a Grand Gathering. I was pretty much the only person in our group who knew anything about the YOAMD and I NEVER in a million years expected one of us to win anything like a night in the castle. I'll get to the details for you now, and save the rest for my trip report.
My husband, son, daughter, sister, brother-in-law, 2 neices, and I waited in line for Dumbo shortly before noon on May 18th. We entered the ride and my daughter just HAD to have the purple elephant. We got seated and my husband and son took the blue elephant (#6) behind us. We rode the ride and as we were getting off, I saw 2 dream team members approach my husband. He was confused because he didn't know who they were. I thought maybe we'd win some Dream Fast Passes or something as was a little excited for him. We went down the exit with the Dream Team guys and they asked us to come with them into a shop near the exit of Dumbo to see what my husband had won. We told them we had others in our group, so we went to get everyone else who had already exited and went toget my mom who was waiting with the babies. We finally got everyone together and went back into the shop. A Dream Team member named Ty (he was in a suit and tie, not the normal DT outfit) had a DVD player ready and recorded our reactions as we watched. When the DVD said my husband had won a night in Cinderella's Castle we were totally shocked! Our daughter (almost 4) is obsessed with Cinderella and was SO excited when we explained that we would be sleeping in Cinderella's Castle that night! We followed the DT up to the front to do our paperwork and figure out who would be staying in the Suite. Normally, only the winner and 5 guests are able to stay. We really wanted to include my neices though which meant my sister would have to stay as well. As it worked out, 2 of my children are under 3 and didn't count in the total number of guests, so we were able to have all 8 of us (DH, Me, DD1, DS, DD2, my sister, DN1 and DN2) stay in the castle. YAY!
Ty drove my sister and I back to ASMusic to pack overnight bags while the others stayed behind to get lunch. We were picked up in a great SUV and brought back to the MK in time for everyone in our group (12 of us) to ride as Grand Marshalls of the parade at 3:00pm. We were all given the YOAMD Mickey Ears and rode in the parade waving. Our arms got tired near the end, but it was so fun! Our cars stopped at the end of the parade route where our CM Nancy (she lead us around that afternoon) had reserved a spot in the shade for us to watch the rest of the parade. After the parade, it was finally time to see Cinderella's Castle Suite. We were lead to the castle by Nancy and then met our CMs Jessie and Julian who would be with us for the rest of the night. We went up to the suite and let DD be the one to put her special key into the door to let us inside.
The suite was AMAZING! Everything was so beautiful and themed perfectly. The bathroom was incredible. The tub was HUGE and there were twinkling star lights in the ceiling over the jacuzzi tub. I really cannot put into words how gorgeous the suite is. DH immediately fell in love with the flat screen TVs that looked like mirrors when they were turned off...typical man! LOL I'll have to figure out how to post some of my pictures. We explored the suite while the kids snacked on the fruit bowl and then we got ready for dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table. We had originally planned a dinner at Crystal Palace, so CRT was a special treat for us, especially DD. At dinner they announced that we were the Castle winners and everyone clapped for us. It was very cool and we really did feel like celebrities while we were the day's winners (and even afterwards). AFter dinner, CM Jessie brought us around the park and was basically our dream fast pass. It was so nice not having to wait in line, and again, we felt really special. Jessie was SO good with the kids too! She jumped and played with my daughter and neices and they LOVED her!
We watched Wishes and then returned to the Suite for the night. The beds had been turned down and there was this incredible platter with chocolate truffles and a white chocolate carriage (filled with strawberries) and horses. Dream Pal Mickey and Minnies were left for each of the kids, and Jessie also put some Princess bubble bath in the bathroom for them. We took turns enjoying the bathtub, starting with the kids. We fit all 4 of the older kids in the tub with plenty of room to spare and when they were done, there were CUTE chenille robes for each of them to wear. My sister, DH, and I also each took a turn enjoying the tub and it was heavenly! The adult robes were also a plush chenille and were so soft and cozy.
The next morning, we were treated to breakfast at the Crystal Palace before leaving the MK. All of our belongings were brought back to ASMusic for us, so we were able to head out and enjoy our day without worrying about a thing. As it turned out, our son forgot his Dream Pal Mickey and it wasn't with our stuff. My DH called CM Julian and we had a new one within hours. They truly treated us like royalty!
Staying in the castle was a dream come true for all of us. Heck, I'm 27 years old and I felt like a Princess. Its one of those experiences where I found myself thinking, "Is this really happening to US? Am I going to wake up and find this all was a dream?" It was simply magical and I feel so special that we were lucky enough to win such an experience!
We were at WDW from May 16th-21st as part of a Grand Gathering. I was pretty much the only person in our group who knew anything about the YOAMD and I NEVER in a million years expected one of us to win anything like a night in the castle. I'll get to the details for you now, and save the rest for my trip report.
My husband, son, daughter, sister, brother-in-law, 2 neices, and I waited in line for Dumbo shortly before noon on May 18th. We entered the ride and my daughter just HAD to have the purple elephant. We got seated and my husband and son took the blue elephant (#6) behind us. We rode the ride and as we were getting off, I saw 2 dream team members approach my husband. He was confused because he didn't know who they were. I thought maybe we'd win some Dream Fast Passes or something as was a little excited for him. We went down the exit with the Dream Team guys and they asked us to come with them into a shop near the exit of Dumbo to see what my husband had won. We told them we had others in our group, so we went to get everyone else who had already exited and went toget my mom who was waiting with the babies. We finally got everyone together and went back into the shop. A Dream Team member named Ty (he was in a suit and tie, not the normal DT outfit) had a DVD player ready and recorded our reactions as we watched. When the DVD said my husband had won a night in Cinderella's Castle we were totally shocked! Our daughter (almost 4) is obsessed with Cinderella and was SO excited when we explained that we would be sleeping in Cinderella's Castle that night! We followed the DT up to the front to do our paperwork and figure out who would be staying in the Suite. Normally, only the winner and 5 guests are able to stay. We really wanted to include my neices though which meant my sister would have to stay as well. As it worked out, 2 of my children are under 3 and didn't count in the total number of guests, so we were able to have all 8 of us (DH, Me, DD1, DS, DD2, my sister, DN1 and DN2) stay in the castle. YAY!
Ty drove my sister and I back to ASMusic to pack overnight bags while the others stayed behind to get lunch. We were picked up in a great SUV and brought back to the MK in time for everyone in our group (12 of us) to ride as Grand Marshalls of the parade at 3:00pm. We were all given the YOAMD Mickey Ears and rode in the parade waving. Our arms got tired near the end, but it was so fun! Our cars stopped at the end of the parade route where our CM Nancy (she lead us around that afternoon) had reserved a spot in the shade for us to watch the rest of the parade. After the parade, it was finally time to see Cinderella's Castle Suite. We were lead to the castle by Nancy and then met our CMs Jessie and Julian who would be with us for the rest of the night. We went up to the suite and let DD be the one to put her special key into the door to let us inside.
The suite was AMAZING! Everything was so beautiful and themed perfectly. The bathroom was incredible. The tub was HUGE and there were twinkling star lights in the ceiling over the jacuzzi tub. I really cannot put into words how gorgeous the suite is. DH immediately fell in love with the flat screen TVs that looked like mirrors when they were turned off...typical man! LOL I'll have to figure out how to post some of my pictures. We explored the suite while the kids snacked on the fruit bowl and then we got ready for dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table. We had originally planned a dinner at Crystal Palace, so CRT was a special treat for us, especially DD. At dinner they announced that we were the Castle winners and everyone clapped for us. It was very cool and we really did feel like celebrities while we were the day's winners (and even afterwards). AFter dinner, CM Jessie brought us around the park and was basically our dream fast pass. It was so nice not having to wait in line, and again, we felt really special. Jessie was SO good with the kids too! She jumped and played with my daughter and neices and they LOVED her!
We watched Wishes and then returned to the Suite for the night. The beds had been turned down and there was this incredible platter with chocolate truffles and a white chocolate carriage (filled with strawberries) and horses. Dream Pal Mickey and Minnies were left for each of the kids, and Jessie also put some Princess bubble bath in the bathroom for them. We took turns enjoying the bathtub, starting with the kids. We fit all 4 of the older kids in the tub with plenty of room to spare and when they were done, there were CUTE chenille robes for each of them to wear. My sister, DH, and I also each took a turn enjoying the tub and it was heavenly! The adult robes were also a plush chenille and were so soft and cozy.
The next morning, we were treated to breakfast at the Crystal Palace before leaving the MK. All of our belongings were brought back to ASMusic for us, so we were able to head out and enjoy our day without worrying about a thing. As it turned out, our son forgot his Dream Pal Mickey and it wasn't with our stuff. My DH called CM Julian and we had a new one within hours. They truly treated us like royalty!
Staying in the castle was a dream come true for all of us. Heck, I'm 27 years old and I felt like a Princess. Its one of those experiences where I found myself thinking, "Is this really happening to US? Am I going to wake up and find this all was a dream?" It was simply magical and I feel so special that we were lucky enough to win such an experience!
What an amazing experience! 
Congrats!
