Disney has started winding down their “50 Years of Magic” promotion, and is now moving on to the “Year of a Million Dreams.” Apparently, it’s a giant prize giveaway that you can enter either by going to any of the US parks or though the mail. In the parks, a “prize patrol” wanders around with this little machine that tells them when and where to award the prizes. For example, it may tell them to go to table 12 at the French Market restaurant and award the people sitting there a free churro.
While many of the prizes seem to hardly qualify as “dreams” (free churros, mouse ears, and ice cream sandwitches), some of them are truly the coolest darn things I’ve ever heard of. At the Magic Kingdom in Florida they are building a suite in Cinderella Castle, and every once in a while a lucky family will get to stay the night inside. Even better than this though, was one of the first prizes to be awarded. A family of four was given the chance to have the Magic Kingdom to themselves for the morning. They walk in, following a red carpet down the center of Main Street, with the air still and eerily quiet. Then, as they pose for the cameras and wave, thousands of cast members and costume characters pour out of the shops lining the street to greet them. Disney, of course, put together a reel of footage for the media. Be sure to check out the B Roll in the sidebar. I know it’s all put together to look good on film, but I can’t help but think how amazing of a day this family must have had.
