kathleena
<font color=FF99FF>Because everyone needs a Fairy
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2001
OK, so before I post a mini trip report - I just have to share!!!!!
Nicole and I got to the MK early on Wed 8/24. We had a 9am Mickey's Magical Milestones Tour booked (and met Debra Martin Koma on it BTW), a 12:30pm Virtual Magic Kingdom Tour booked and a 6pm Cirque du Soleil. A full day as it was planned - but then the unexpected happened!
They let us in the gate early - before 8:30 - and we checked in for the tour. We walked up to Main Street, had a castle photo taken and then started walking to the hub for a photo closer up. A CM walked up to our left and said Good Morning and we started chatting. Somewhere in the conversation - I just knew he was going to ask about the parade that day! All I could think of was - we have to leave for Cirque and we are about to get that once in a lifetime question - oh no! Today of all days!
So - he pops the big question - would we like to be Grand Marshals today??? .....Uh......yay-ah! You betcha! So I make sure we can still get out in time to leave to catch the two buses to DTD and he takes down our information and off we go. Nicole was soooooooo excited (and oh, me too!!!)
So we take our two tours - hard to pay attention!!!!! And after the end of the VMK, we start jogging over to our designated meeting place - with the dark clouds and lightening rolling in overhead. He arrived about 2:35 and while talking it started to rain. A second family had been chosen for the other car and after discussing how long we could stay if the parade was delayed, we ducked into some cover from the now pouring rain. He went backstage to wait for the manager's decision and then he came out shortly after - said the GMs were cancelled. He rescheduled us for Thursday (which was also Nicole's birthday!) and the other family for Friday and kindly walked Nicole and I back to City Hall with his umbrella.
So we went back on Thursday and were able to fit the parade in between two rainstorms!
We sat in the lead car, Walt's own personal car that he used to drive his special guests around in. We were "trained" to smile and wave, smile and wave, smile and wave. After rolling a bit thru Frontierland, I got the hang of it, and found certain people (kids mostly, but also enthusiatic adults) and kind of keyed in on them. It ended up being pretty hot and long and oh, have I mentioned how tired the arm gets?
A friend of mine is a huge Walt fan and all I could think of was her and telling her about it. SHe is the manager of the Disney Store here. Unbelievable but true - we ran into her Friday night at the airport in Wash DC on the way home! I showed her the photo on my digital that he had taken of us before the parade started.
There are surprises that he didn't wouldn't tell us about before the parade - so I won't break with that tradition and disclose them here.
Suffice it to say the whole thing was magical. A little unreal. Something I never, ever thought would happen.
And - I can now say that my dream job is how half fulfilled! My dream job is to be the Fairy Godmother one day and to ride in the parade at the MK. Do you think I can put parade experience on my resume now?
I'll post a pic after I get them uploaded and resized...............
Nicole and I got to the MK early on Wed 8/24. We had a 9am Mickey's Magical Milestones Tour booked (and met Debra Martin Koma on it BTW), a 12:30pm Virtual Magic Kingdom Tour booked and a 6pm Cirque du Soleil. A full day as it was planned - but then the unexpected happened!
They let us in the gate early - before 8:30 - and we checked in for the tour. We walked up to Main Street, had a castle photo taken and then started walking to the hub for a photo closer up. A CM walked up to our left and said Good Morning and we started chatting. Somewhere in the conversation - I just knew he was going to ask about the parade that day! All I could think of was - we have to leave for Cirque and we are about to get that once in a lifetime question - oh no! Today of all days!
So - he pops the big question - would we like to be Grand Marshals today??? .....Uh......yay-ah! You betcha! So I make sure we can still get out in time to leave to catch the two buses to DTD and he takes down our information and off we go. Nicole was soooooooo excited (and oh, me too!!!)
So we take our two tours - hard to pay attention!!!!! And after the end of the VMK, we start jogging over to our designated meeting place - with the dark clouds and lightening rolling in overhead. He arrived about 2:35 and while talking it started to rain. A second family had been chosen for the other car and after discussing how long we could stay if the parade was delayed, we ducked into some cover from the now pouring rain. He went backstage to wait for the manager's decision and then he came out shortly after - said the GMs were cancelled. He rescheduled us for Thursday (which was also Nicole's birthday!) and the other family for Friday and kindly walked Nicole and I back to City Hall with his umbrella.
So we went back on Thursday and were able to fit the parade in between two rainstorms!
We sat in the lead car, Walt's own personal car that he used to drive his special guests around in. We were "trained" to smile and wave, smile and wave, smile and wave. After rolling a bit thru Frontierland, I got the hang of it, and found certain people (kids mostly, but also enthusiatic adults) and kind of keyed in on them. It ended up being pretty hot and long and oh, have I mentioned how tired the arm gets?A friend of mine is a huge Walt fan and all I could think of was her and telling her about it. SHe is the manager of the Disney Store here. Unbelievable but true - we ran into her Friday night at the airport in Wash DC on the way home! I showed her the photo on my digital that he had taken of us before the parade started.
There are surprises that he didn't wouldn't tell us about before the parade - so I won't break with that tradition and disclose them here.
Suffice it to say the whole thing was magical. A little unreal. Something I never, ever thought would happen.
And - I can now say that my dream job is how half fulfilled! My dream job is to be the Fairy Godmother one day and to ride in the parade at the MK. Do you think I can put parade experience on my resume now?
I'll post a pic after I get them uploaded and resized...............
WOW!! Good for you! 
