LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2007) -- A Michigan
family made history Thursday as the first Walt
Disney World guests to win a night's stay inside
Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom Park as part of
the unique Disney Dreams Giveaway. The Fouch
(pronounced like "couch") family of DeWitt, a small
town near state capital Lansing, gained the key to
the brand new Cinderella Castle Suite Thursday
during "The Year of a Million Dreams," a Disney
spectacular celebrating the dreams of guests at Walt
Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort
in California.
Jim and Lisa Fouch and their
children, Brad and Hannah, spent Thursday night in
the regal dwelling place -- the world's most
exclusive resort, with only one room available and
no reservations accepted -- through the Disney
Dreams Giveaway, which awards extra-special dreams
through a totally random process. Now, nearly every
night for the remainder of 2007, another eligible
lucky guest will win a similar stay.
Like the Fouch family, guests will be honored in
a special ceremony, dine at Cinderella's Royal Table
restaurant, and bed down for the night amid the
splendor of Cinderella Castle Suite some four
stories above the surrounding Magic Kingdom -- a
salon, bedchamber and bathroom off of a private
marble-floored foyer, all replete with rich details.
The Suite was created from unused space within the
Magic Kingdom landmark once envisioned as in-park
living quarters for members of the Disney family.
The Fouches became the recipients of the
opportunity to become honorary Disney royalty for a
day and night because 16-year-old Brad Fouch was
sitting in seat eight in the second row of Simulator
4 of the Disney-MGM Studios' Star Tours attraction
at 9:50 a.m. Thursday. That was the randomly
selected location and time determined by the Disney
Dreams Giveaway computer to award the Cinderella
Castle stay.
"I was thinking I had the bad seat because I was
sitting on the end," Brad said.
Hannah added, "This is a dream come true!"
And indeed, for Hannah, who celebrated her eighth
birthday Monday, it was. Before the vacation to Walt
Disney World Resort, she had seen a Disney
commercial in which Cinderella dances with a little
"princess" and told her mom, "That's what I want to
do!"
Winning the night in Cinderella Castle Suite
marked the second bit of good fortune Thursday for
the Fouch family. As they entered Star Tours, they
won Dream FASTPASS badges that would allow them to
bypass standby queues at a variety of Disney-MGM
Studios attractions and shows during the day.
"I never win anything!" Lisa Fouch said
afterward.
"Mom, you can never say that again," Brad
responded.
The Fouch family's historic dream-come-true
capped a 24-hour period at Walt Disney World Resort
that also featured the premiere of Nemo, the world's
favorite clownfish, in a brand-new theatrical
spectacular and the official opening of an
attraction starring the cast of marine critters that
enchanted audiences in the Disney(Pixar animated
film "Finding Nemo."
--The undersea world that charmed audiences
around the world in the film comes to life in an
all-new musical stage show, "Finding Nemo-The
Musical," at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Featuring
original songs, the 30-minute show immerses guests
of all ages in the story of Marlin and Nemo, an
overprotective clownfish father and his curious son,
through a dazzling production that combines puppets,
dancers, aerialists and animated backdrops. The
theme park's newly enclosed Theater in the Wild
becomes a magical undersea environment through
innovative lighting, sound, special effects and
fantastic theatrical puppetry.
--"The Seas with Nemo & Friends," a whimsical and
visually stunning attraction for guests of all ages,
picks up where the motion picture "Finding Nemo"
left off. Featuring technology that causes the stars
of the motion picture to magically appear swimming
amid the marine life of the huge aquarium in The
Seas with Nemo & Friends pavilion (formerly The
Living Seas) at Epcot, the adventure begins when
guests board "clamobiles" for an undersea voyage in
a colorful coral reef setting. They learn that Nemo
has wandered off. The journey in search of Nemo
includes familiar characters such as Dory, Bruce,
Marlin, Squirt and Crush. These deep-sea friends
inhabit a variety of vibrant vignettes, including
the actual aquarium -- a 5.7-million-gallon
saltwater environment containing more than 65
species of marine life. In the musical finale of the
attraction, Nemo is happily reunited with his father
and friends.
"The Year of a Million Dreams" celebration also
features new immersive entertainment that beckons
guests to become part of the show and, coming this
spring, Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club in
Magic Kingdom, an immersive and interactive
attraction in which guests can laugh, joke, match
wits and laugh some more with comedian wannabes
recruited by Mike Wazowski, the one-eyed hero from
the Disney-Pixar animated film "Monsters, Inc."
And for the first time, Disney is awarding more
than a million Disney dreams large and small --
including many money-can't-buy experiences such as a
night in the Cinderella Castle Suite -- to eligible
guests and mail-in participants selected through a
random process as part of the unique Disney Dreams
Giveaway. During the celebration that continues
throughout 2007, guests will be recipients of Disney
dreams such as unique Disney vacation experiences,
admission to special events in the Disneyland and
Walt Disney World parks, a Dream FASTPASS badge to
enjoy some of Disney's most popular attractions,
exclusive pin and lanyard sets, and traveling to
each Disney resort around the world to serve as
grand marshal in a Disney parade.
Can't be in the parks? You may still have a
dream-come-true through a mail-in entry (details at
www.disneyparks.com/rules. For example, mail-in
winners could win prizes such as the Disney Vacation
Club membership, grand marshal of a Disney parade
around the world, exclusive trading pins or Dream
Mouse Ears. Some prizes, such as a stay in the
Castle at Walt Disney World Resort or the Mickey
Mouse Penthouse at Disneyland Resort, require
same-day use, so mail-in winners will receive a
prize of comparable value.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY to enter or win in the
Disney Dreams Giveaway. A purchase will not
increase your chances of winning. Open only to
legal residents of 50 U.S., D.C., Puerto Rico,
Canada, Mexico & UK. Void elsewhere and where
prohibited. Giveaway runs October 1, 2006 --
December 31, 2007 (mail-in entries postmarked
starting September 18, 2006 & received by January
14, 2008 on 3.5x5 postcard with complete name,
address, daytime phone#, birth date and proper
postage sent to PO Box 8629, Elmhurst, IL 60126
USA). UK residents only mail to 483 Green Lanes,
London N13 4BS. Castle Suite stay and Penthouse
stay will be awarded most days starting January 25,
2007 and December 1, 2006, respectively, will likely
be awarded early in the day, will be for a stay that
night and is only available to eligible participants
at the parks and Downtown Disney®
area in Florida and California, respectively. Some
prizes, such as Dream FastPass badge, are
only awarded at certain theme parks for use that
day. Some prizes, such as Special After-Hour events,
are only awarded on certain days at certain parks
and must be used that day. Mail-in winners of
prizes that must be used that day, such as Castle
stay and Dream FastPass badge will receive a
prize of comparable value. Approximate retail value
of prizes listed: Cinderella Castle Suite Stay US
$587, Mickey Mouse Penthouse Stay US $572, Disney
Vacation Club Membership US $83,701, Grand Marshal
World Tour US $45,370, Pin and Lanyard set US $23,
Dream Mouse Ears US $12, Disney Cruise Line cruises
from US $9,880 to US $16,900, Adventures by Disney
vacation packages from US $15,500 to US $25,400,
shopping spree US $500, Dream FastPass badge
US $5, Special Park After-Hour event from US $3.83
to US $4.76 and Tour of Walt Disney's apartment and
dining experience US $340. Prizes in the Giveaway
range in value from US $3.83 to US $83,701. All
prize awards are subject to verification. Odds of
winning on a given day depend on the number of
eligible participants at a selected location or
within the mail-in entry pool for the time or date
(as applicable) selected. Subject to official rules
at
disneyparks.com/rules Sponsor: Magic Kingdom
Productions, Inc., PO Box 10000, Lake Buena Vista,
FL 32830.
For residents of Canada, a mathematical
skill-testing question must be correctly answered to
win any prize.
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