so...what are your chances...REALLY? How does it work? How do you know when you are being approached? Is it possible to not know and to just walk away? Kind of like...you snooze you looze...?
We're going to be in the parks for 5 full days, 2 partial days. What are our odds? In August?
I don't expect to win anything big...I would just like to win something. After almost 50 years of going to Disney parks, it would be nice...

I never win things...so I was really wondering if it would be a possibility or more unlikely than not.
Thanks!:|

First of all, all of the Dream Team members are in a special costume.

There are two general types of prizes, the high value and the low value.

An example for a high value prize would be: "In Star Tours Simulator #4 the person, in the show starting at or immediately after 10:17am, is in the third row from the front aand the second seat from the exit is selected." This person, and the remainder of the party the person is with, will be invited backstage, verified that the selected person is not a Disney Employee, and then an envelope is opened which explains the prize and has all the necessary paperwork. The Dream Team members involved do not know what the prize is until the envelope is opened.

For minor prizes (such as special Ears or Dream Fastpasses), it may be something as "In Star Tours Simulator #4 all people in the show starting at or immediately after 10:17am" or "All Guests in the Plaza Restaurant at 1:23pm" or some similar instruction.

Basically the computer sets the specifications for whom the Dream Makers are to give the prizes.

When they are not on a specific assignment they just wander the parks providing assistance to people or just conversation. Once in a while they may decide to give a person/family a special fastpass for an attraction they are planning to go to, but if you ask or hint you will not get one.

When we were there in November we were sitting on Hollywood Blvd. and my mom was eating fruit and my sister and I were eating fries. A member of the Dream Squad walked over and started asking where we were and asking us all of these questions. Then at the end he just said "Okay have a magical day!" I turned to my mom and said "so close mom....so close!"

So who knows if he was just making small talk (probably!!) or if we answered a question wrong!

The same day we went to the restroom by Muppets and my mom and sister found a YOMD pin set and lanyard. My mom found a few members of the Dream Squad walking around and told them she found it. They took it back and said "have a nice day". They could have at least said you can keep it. My sister said give it back because of good karma. We didn't win anything that vacation so the karma must be really building up for our next vacation! :)

We've been to WDW approximately 10 weeks during the "Year of a Million Dreams" giveaway and have won nada. Oh wait--we did get some free fast-passes for the safari when we were buying our breakfast at Tusker House last July.

I stand corrected.

My family went to WDW for two weeks in early January, and I thought we might win something from the Dream Team, but we never did. My efforts to get us out and into the parks by opening time fizzled out a bit, though, we tended to make it there about 1 hour after parks opened ... I think the prizes tend to be distributed earlier in the day, so you might keep that in mind ....

On the other hand, I feel that we were spoiled by a number of CM's that went out of there way to "dream" us within their own discretion. At Hollywood Studios ( it was still MGM back then :) ) we ended up chatting with an off-duty dream team member on the way out of the park, he was wearing Mickey gloves and let my 8 year old DD try them on. I think he was touched because one of the first things she did while wearing them is to sign the "I love you" symbols with both hands (he later showed us his badge where it showed he was certified in sign language). Anyway, we enjoyed talking with him but weren't expecting to get anything, but he asked us to wait a moment because he wanted to talk to a friend of his for a moment. He came back with a pair of Mickey gloves that he gave to my daughter and it just made her day.

Another time, we were at Typhoon Lagoon and my daughter had been hoping to try a funnel cake for the first time. Turned out she had been terrified to do the "shark swim" (she has inherited my tendency to have an over-active imagination), and in the ordeal of handling that situation I promised her a funnel cake if she chose to face her fear and give it a try. I think she set a speed record crossing those waters, but she did it. It was the end of the day, we happned upon a funnel cake stand about 5 minutes before closing, but I didn't have money because it was still in the locker. I asked how long the stand would be open after closing, the CM said as long as there was a line (and I was the only one at the stand). I told my daughter that I was very sorry, we wouldn't have enough time to get the money from the locker before the stand closed, I'd have to buy her a funnel cake another time. The CM said, "Why don't I just let you have a sample one now?". Wow, I so wasn't expecting that. Then I told him how my DD had "earned" the treat as reward for being so brave and how much I appreciated his kind offer, and he gave me a really big smile. That was a nice moment.

And finally, we were in Hollywood Studios again, my DD was the only one on the street who recognized Ron Stoppable (Kim Possible's sidekick) who was chatting with a photographer. We took some pix with him and chatted a bit, and somehow the photographer introduced us to another "off duty" dream team member. He happened to have some old High School Musical freebies (a pin and a magnet) which he gave to my DD, and again, just made her day and cemented a memory of WDW being a special and magical place. This was our first visit, BTW.

My recommendation is to go on your trip with no expectations of winning anything, I think the odds of winning the dreams are actually pretty small. But be friendly to the CMs and just do your best to enjoy yourselves regardless - and they might have little tricks up their sleeves for you too ;)

guess we have been somewhat lucky...

last year we got the "dream fast passes" at AK as we where getting off the safari - the whole truck got them.

this week we got the "dream fast passes" at the tower of terror - the 2 staff followed us in the room with the video and when it was over they passed them out to all of us.

My recommendation is to go on your trip with no expectations of winning anything, I think the odds of winning the dreams are actually pretty small. But be friendly to the CMs and just do your best to enjoy yourselves regardless - and they might have little tricks up their sleeves for you too ;)
This is the way I think as well. If you expecting anything, you will be disappointed. Besides, if you let the magic just happen, it is all the better - and you might notice it more. :)

My 5 year old daughter sees all the commercials so she is the one hoping. It's kind of sad. I have explained to her not to get her hopes up, but it still is hard watching her hoping to win a night's stay in Cinderella's castle.



Another time, we were at Typhoon Lagoon and my daughter had been hoping to try a funnel cake for the first time. Turned out she had been terrified to do the "shark swim" (she has inherited my tendency to have an over-active imagination), and in the ordeal of handling that situation I promised her a funnel cake if she chose to face her fear and give it a try. I think she set a speed record crossing those waters, but she did it. It was the end of the day, we happned upon a funnel cake stand about 5 minutes before closing, but I didn't have money because it was still in the locker. I asked how long the stand would be open after closing, the CM said as long as there was a line (and I was the only one at the stand). I told my daughter that I was very sorry, we wouldn't have enough time to get the money from the locker before the stand closed, I'd have to buy her a funnel cake another time. The CM said, "Why don't I just let you have a sample one now?". Wow, I so wasn't expecting that. Then I told him how my DD had "earned" the treat as reward for being so brave and how much I appreciated his kind offer, and he gave me a really big smile.



What is the shark swim? And, did you say how old your daughter was?

We won the mouse ears. Not a "big" prize, but still a lot of fun to wear them! We were walking through Innoventions in Epcot (past the House of Innoventions) and they were handing them out to everyone passing through. They were gone in about 5 minutes. I also talked to a woman who had won a dream fast pass at the same spot! I wonder if there are certain locations that they repeat. (Maybe less busy areas of the parks??)

We have not won an official Dream, but on our 06-07 trip we were buying roasted nuts in Epcot and the snack credit machine was down so the CM handed the two packages of roasted nuts to the kids and said "have a magical day" That was pretty cool.

This past trip 12/31/07-1/6/08 we saw very little "dreams", no dream teams and very few fast pass or ears. Maybe we just didn't look in the right places but I thought it was strange that we didn't see more.

The other unofficial dream we had was this past Janurary it got so cold, that the fast pass machines were not working the day we were in AK, so CM's just handed out fast passes based on how many tickets you were holding. We ended up able to get two sets of fast passes for the safari and for Everest. That was a good dream for us as our bus took an hour to get to POR and then over to AK, so our breakfast ADR's got messed up therefore messing up our touring plan.:~D

My 5 year old daughter sees all the commercials so she is the one hoping. It's kind of sad. I have explained to her not to get her hopes up, but it still is hard watching her hoping to win a night's stay in Cinderella's castle.
?

It's so hard to be a parent sometimes. Had you seen this link, http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/disneyprincessenchantedtales/sweepstakes.html ? Their is a link on the page where you can take a virtual tour. The sweepstakes is over, but my daughter and I had fun at least peeking inside of the suite.


What is the shark swim? And, did you say how old your daughter was?

I looked it up, the proper name is Shark Reef, here is a link: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/attractionDetail?id=SharkReefAttractionPage. It looks like the attraction is for "Big Kids". My daughter was about one month shy of 9 years old when we were there. The CM's were really, really great with her, though. There is a "sunken ship" that you can walk into and see the fish, etc. without getting into the water, they invited her to go into that and check it out. Which we did, and it helped (there was NO WAY she would have gone without that step). But she was still really worried about being bitten by a shark when she made the swim, so she didn't really enjoy it.

Come to think of it, what seemed to bother her the most was that it was called Shark Reef, and since it was called Shark Reef, it must have Sharks. After her swim, I told her that they just called it that because that way people could brag to their friends that they had "swum with sharks", but the sharks were really like babies and that there is no way that they would have hurt her. I asked if she would be afraid of kittens or puppies, she giggled and said "of course not Mom :rolleyes: ". We agreed that if they called it "Baby Shark Reef" nobody could brag to their friends, that's why they still call it "Shark Reef."

At TL gate if people ask, we generally give one of two answers.

One is the sharks are related to Bruce from Nemo and belong to a "people are our firends, not food" club. The other is that they are Nurse Sharks and if you get a scape or something they will bring you a Band Aid.

Of course it helps to be slightly crazy to work the gates at WDW.

It's so hard to be a parent sometimes. Had you seen this link, http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/disneyprincessenchantedtales/sweepstakes.html ? Their is a link on the page where you can take a virtual tour. The sweepstakes is over, but my daughter and I had fun at least peeking inside of the suite.



I looked it up, the proper name is Shark Reef, here is a link: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/attractionDetail?id=SharkReefAttractionPage. It looks like the attraction is for "Big Kids". My daughter was about one month shy of 9 years old when we were there. The CM's were really, really great with her, though. There is a "sunken ship" that you can walk into and see the fish, etc. without getting into the water, they invited her to go into that and check it out. Which we did, and it helped (there was NO WAY she would have gone without that step). But she was still really worried about being bitten by a shark when she made the swim, so she didn't really enjoy it.

Come to think of it, what seemed to bother her the most was that it was called Shark Reef, and since it was called Shark Reef, it must have Sharks. After her swim, I told her that they just called it that because that way people could brag to their friends that they had "swum with sharks", but the sharks were really like babies and that there is no way that they would have hurt her. I asked if she would be afraid of kittens or puppies, she giggled and said "of course not Mom :rolleyes: ". We agreed that if they called it "Baby Shark Reef" nobody could brag to their friends, that's why they still call it "Shark Reef."

Thanks for all the info. And, that is so cute and such good reasoning with your daughter. And, now I bet she brags about it to her friends:)

Our dream was my 3 yr old DD and I riding the teacups with Alice and the Mad Hatter. It was such a dream moment! They talked the whole way through - Alice and I even talked about how her hair never moved through the windy ride. :) My daughter was in AWE. She is a Cinderella/princess fan, but this was still a moment we will never forget. After the ride, Alice and the Mad hatter posed with us for pics. Such a little moment, but it is still my favorite moment of any Disney trip, I think. Dreams can come true - big or small. (Sorry to be so corny there :))

we too must have been lucky. i had 5 days at DLR last year and won too 'dreams' - a dream fastpass, and a free photo. we have just come back from WDW and won another two dreams - fastpasses at the MK on our first day, and YMD 'ears' at Epcot on our last day. all 4 times we have just happened across the team - this last trip, the fastpasses were inside buzz lightyear as we were getting on, and the ears were as we got off the friendship ferry at the plaza area. in DLR both prizes were awarded as we walked under the castle. nothing major, but lots of fun!!

Does anyone have the address so that you can register for the Year of dreams by mail? I had it and lost it. Thanks

Does anyone have the address so that you can register for the Year of dreams by mail? I had it and lost it. Thanks

Check out this thread (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=87314)

Thanks for the info

We won Magical Fastpasses today at the MK. After getting all 7 to the MK for rope drop, which was a dream all in itself, we went to Space Mountain. We had to split up and as the 5 of us were geting off of the ride, my daughter and her friend were jumping up and down (they had been 2 cars ahead of us) and we all received the fastpasses. My 19 yo son picked one of the team giving them to us up and she said "that is the best reaction I have ever gotten". What a great day we had.

We received our dream at MGM's entrance on our first trip to WDW in May 07.
DS(17) had made us late for our Fantasmic pkg at H &V because he lost his cell phone (we found it at the CBR gift shop). My DD(21) was complaining that we wouldn't have time to get fastpasses for TOT before we ate dinner. A Dream team member approached my DNephew(16) & DS as they came through the gate & said that all our party had been awarded a Magical Fastpass to the ride of their choice and we had to ride now as it was a magical moment. I waited for our ADRs at H & V while they all rode TOT as I had no desire to go on that ride(DD talked me into it later, never again). They were escorted to the ride & given front of the line access. They got back just as the hostess was calling us in for our ADRs. What a great memory & all because of a lost cell phone!

We just returned from a 12 day trip on June 20th and although we saw a lot of people wearing the dream fastpasses in the parks, we never actually saw anyone handing stuff out. But we did get dreamed at the Sci-Fi Dine In by our server. He said he was picked to give a dream to any family that hour and he picked ours and we all got Sci-Fi glow in the dark cups with lids filled with Carmel Corn and we got a dream certificate with our name on it and everything. Maybe not as cool as some of the other prizes, but still it was something and made my kids very happy.

I think the attitude of not expecting anything is the best to go with and then you'll be even happier if anything does come your way. Enjoy your trip.

We never saw the dream team people walking around either on our trip in May. But, the dream moment for me was with pin trading. My daughter (5) did the pin trading and when she went to trade with a CM in Epcot she couldn't decide which pin to give up. He told her that since he had so many and she didn't have as many he would trade her if she could get a trivia question answered correctly. She had been at BBB that morning and was dressed as Cinderella so he asked her what time Cinderella had to be home by and she answered correctly:) I thought that was AWESOME! There was also a guy in DtD that slipped me a pin when she couldn't decide there either. It was really nice!

We received dream fast passes at Big Thunder Mountain in MK on Saturday, June 28th. It was just a little after 9:00 am. Lucky for us we decided to get right back in line after riding the first train of the day! The dream team was at the ride exit after the second trip. They even gave me one for my husband who wasn't riding with us. I read of another person getting them at BTMRR on another day, so this may be a place to keep your fingers crossed.

This was the last day of our trip. We were so excited and it was totally unexpected. My son said he was so excited he couldn't even describe it!

My son also got a certificate for putting together a Star Wars Mr. Potatohead. Another nice gesture was a castmember at the food court at POFQ who gave my son a pin for his lanyard.

my ds and dh got lanyards with two pins on them while my dd and I were on another ride-I was the one who was most excited about it. my ds is 3 and my dd is 4 so they didn't really get it, but wore them and liked the pins. They actually got a bigger kick out of an unofficial dream-we were at a disney store (in an oulet mall off property) and i realized that they had put someone else's merchandise in my bag at the check out. I went back right away so they could find the owner and the manager said thanks and gave each of my kids two pins off of her lanyard-they were so thrilled at getting to chose them.