A night in the Castle !!!!

[fun2bmomof3]

I just read in the Disney insider email newsletter that starting Jan. 2007 that everynight for a year of a million dreams that a lucky person will be awarded to spend the night in Cinderella's Castle. They have built a fabulous suite inside. I would love to be one the lucky winners, but I never have such luck.

Here is the disclaimer:
*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY to enter or win 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). Castle Suite stay will be awarded most days starting January 25, 2007. It will likely be awarded early in the day for a stay that night and is only available to eligible participants at the Parks and Downtown Disney® area in Florida. Mail-in winners of Castle Suite stay and DREAM FASTPASS badge will receive a prize of comparable value. Approximate retail value of prizes advertised: Castle Suite stay US $587. Prizes 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 (see 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.

 

[BamaTigger]

OH IM SO GONNA SEND IN AN ENTRY!!!!!


Send it to the addy in the last line of the paragraph??

 

[trypnotic]

What do you suppose is the $83,701 prize?

 

[wic0721]

What do you suppose is the $83,701 prize?

It's a DVC membership for I think something like 50 years!

 

[nkjzmom]

For residents of Canada, a mathematical skill-testing question must be correctly answered to win any prize.

BWAAAAAHAAAAAA!!!!!!! I'm glad I'm not Canadian...I'd fail for sure!

 

[snowy76]

Here's the text of the article from the newsletter... sounds awesome!


A Castle Suite Fit for a Princess

For everyone who has ever dreamed of becoming fairy-tale royalty and dwelling in an enchanted castle -- even if only for a night -- the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort is about to become a bit more magical. Those prince and princess dreams will come true -- for one lucky family every night throughout Year of a Million Dreams*. An exquisite fairy-tale suite is being prepared inside Cinderella Castle at the heart of the Magic Kingdom Park. What will lucky winners of a night in the castle find inside? The Insider wanted to find out, so we went to the source, Imagineer Stephen Silvestri, who has been working night and day (quite literally!) to help create a suite that's truly the stuff dreams are made of.

Stephen gave us a quick verbal tour through the suite, which has been designed as though the Guest were an honored visitor spending the night as a Guest of Cinderella. Everything captures the flavor of late 17th-Century French palace life -- this is the period when the original story of Cinderella was written by Charles Perrault, and also the period in which Disney's "Cinderella" was set.

"You go through a concierge area off the breezeway, with tapestries and a French desk. Then you enter the elevator, which is very 21st Century! But we looked at Cinderella's carriage from the film, and we thought that this was the carriage for the Guest to enter the suite. We took some of the design themes from the carriage -- the crest from the carriage is on the floor in a mosaic, and some pillowing on the walls.

"That carries you up to the suite, which opens and then you find yourself in a lobby space. There once again we captured the time period of the late 1600s. We have all of these beautiful wooden walls with some nice mosaics or scenes from the film worked in. On the floor there's a full mosaic showing Cinderella's carriage. We went for the feeling of a chateau, more than a Gothic castle. We've got some wonderful display items there -- Cinderella's glass slipper.

"Then it's time to enter the suite! When you open the door, the first thing you see is the beautiful fireplace and some of the stained-glass windows, and the parlor in the distance.

"We extended some of the castle stonework into the bedchamber, because we still wanted you to feel like you're in our castle. But not on all of the walls, because stone everywhere would be a very cold experience. So some of the walls are paneled with wood, with some mirroring. That helps extend the space and is very appropriate to the era."

Stephen explains that the goal was to remain true to the feel of the classic film, and to Cinderella Castle itself, while creating a luxurious contemporary suite that makes a 21st Century visitor feel utterly pampered. This took some creative thinking -- for instance, the suite contains two flatscreen TVs. To blend in with the décor, these have been made to look like mirrors when not in use, and one can also display a portrait of Cinderella herself.

Other spectacular touches include stained-glass windows overlooking Liberty Square on one side and Fantasyland on the other. Guests will also be stunned by the beautiful hand-assembled mosaics throughout the suite.

As one might imagine, putting together this beautiful retreat is a major undertaking -- teams of artisans, designers, and specialists are working around the clock in the Castle. And because the elevator needed to be removed and replaced with a much larger one, for much of the construction period, all the people and supplies have had to reach the suite the old-fashioned way: by climbing eight long flights of stairs. "We want to make sure the Guest experience is as seamless as possible -- that when they come to the Park they see what they came to see," Stephen assures us.

The suite is scheduled to be completed by the beginning of 2007 -- the whole project has come together in only around six months. "We put this together quite quickly. Fortunately we had a team that was so well-versed in Disney history and the Castle's history, and Cinderella!" Stephen explains. "It's something that has been proposed before but never came to pass, so we researched what already existed and had been done."

Stephen adds, "We have an incredible team, and I believe Guests are going to have quite the experience." We have no doubt that next year, some lucky Guests are going to have a Disney experience unlike any before -- one that is truly a dream come true.

 

[SnwflkCts]

You need to read the rules closer about the night in the castle. If your name is drawn or whatever for the night in the castle, they give you a consolation prize (worth about $500). You have to be in MK or DTD to actually be picked to sleep in the Castle Suite. I pulled this from the same e-mail others are quoting. Well, a consolation prize would be nice too ... but a night in the castle - is sounds so beautiful!

Mail-in winners of Castle Suite stay and DREAM FASTPASS badge will receive a prize of comparable value. Approximate retail value of prizes advertised: Castle Suite stay US $587.

 

[fun2bmomof3]

I wonder how they actually pick who stays in the castle. I wonder if they randomly pick a name from their database of who is staying in a resort that day? If there is a place on property somewhere to enter while you are staying in the area? Or if they pick just from those mail in entrees. It seems like if they were just picking from the mail in entrees and the luck that you would actually be in wdw that day..... no one would get to be staying in the castle.

 

[kaytieeldr]

No. ALL winners are chosen randomly, based on either a pre-determined time/location for a prize (or prizes) to be granted, or in a drawing from all eligible mail-in entries.

If the prize being granted is a night in the Castle, and the prize is scheduled to be awarded by a member of the Dream Squad to someone "live", as per a predetermined set of conditions, then that person is granted that prize. If the same prize in line to be granted, but it goes to a mailed-in entry, THAT person gets an alternate prize - especially given that the likelilhood of any person not currently AT Walt Disney World getting TO Magic Kingdom that same day are EXTREMELY slim to nonexistent.

The Year of a Million Dreams contest is being run by an ENTIRELY independent company.

 

[LisaBi]

And this prize is SOOOO much more than the night in the castle. It also includes VIP treatment all day, front of line access, dinner, etc. (This per our KTTK tour guide last week.)

 

[almburr]

i heard that another prize they were giving away was a trip to every Disney theme park. Maybe that is the one worth $80,000. Think airfare to other countries and such

 

[dlcharbonneau]

I'm glad I'm not Canadian...I'd fail for sure!

Don't worry there is never much 'skill' involved in the skill testing question - example: 41 + 2 - 12 = ____

Now if they threw in some algebra I would be done for sure

 

[themudd4]

I have it all planned out...on my last night there in March I am going to walk ito MK, Give Mickey a Big hug and a CM is going to walk over to me and hand me the keys to the castle for the night....

BTW...this is my 500th POST!!!! Woo hooo...I am special now!

 

[doombuggy3]

Seeing the suite on Monday during the Christmas parade got me so excited...How amazing would a night in the castle be. To me, you can't put a price on that because it's priceless!

 

[Magickndm]

especially given that the likelilhood of any person not currently AT Walt Disney World getting TO Magic Kingdom that same day are EXTREMELY slim to nonexistent.

I could do it!

 

[tubachick]

i heard that another prize they were giving away was a trip to every Disney theme park. Maybe that is the one worth $80,000. Think airfare to other countries and such

I wish, but I think that the larger prize is the DVC prizes.

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Doesn't the castle stays start on Jan 1?? I can't wait to read all about the first family that gets chosen!!

 

[Tigger1221]

I wish, but I think that the larger prize is the DVC prizes.

The largets prize is a 15(?) night trip to all the Disney themeparks in the World. Admisson, Hotel, spending money, etc...

 

[minijeanie]

how many does the suite sleep? what if it is only 4 and the family that is picked is a family of 6?

 

[anothertrip]

What happens if the night they choose you is the day of your flight? I don't know why, but I've been obsessing over that thought lately! Talk about negative thinking!