The Disney Dreams Giveaway / We won a Dream / Dream Squad Details

[Figment!]

So, they are doing more than just the listed prizes.

Right, but it is not part of the Disney Dreams Giveaway. Only the prizes listed through the link above are part of the Disney Dreams Giveaway.

During the Year of A Million Dreams Disney has expanded their Magical Moments program which has been around for years. During the Year of A MIllion Dreams, these "moments" are being granted more frequently and include things such as buttons, special tables and apparently Mickey gold.

[BrowncatP]

Yes, I won a Magic KIngdom fastpass. Never used it. It was only good for Oct 1. The crowds were light enough that I never needed a fastpass. The Dreampeople only give out prizes when there are two or more of them together. I walked around the whole Magic Kingdom thinking that day one would be a great day to win. HA!
My husband and I talked to one of the Dream people, and he didn't give me anything. The next one I saw I asked about how the prizes are distributed. Thats when I put the puzzle together. When you see two or probably three of them, that is when they give out the prizes.

[BrowncatP]

Sorry, I forgot to add that on day one Oct 1, I saw NO Dreampeople at EPCOT. They were in the MK. I don't know if they are just going to one park a day.

[teresa955]

I talked to PrincessEllie'sMommy (my sister-in-law) and they won a big cup cake at Flame Tree BBQ in AK today. She said they were the winners of the "golden tray." The restaurant told them they were giving away one per hour.

[BrerGnat]

I talked to PrincessEllie'sMommy (my sister-in-law) and they won a big cup cake at Flame Tree BBQ in AK today. She said they were the winners of the "golden tray." The restaurant told them they were giving away one per hour.

Again, not a Dream Prize. This is a magical moments thing. Still, it's very cool!

[BrerGnat]

Yes, I won a Magic KIngdom fastpass. Never used it. It was only good for Oct 1. The crowds were light enough that I never needed a fastpass. The Dreampeople only give out prizes when there are two or more of them together. I walked around the whole Magic Kingdom thinking that day one would be a great day to win. HA!
My husband and I talked to one of the Dream people, and he didn't give me anything. The next one I saw I asked about how the prizes are distributed. Thats when I put the puzzle together. When you see two or probably three of them, that is when they give out the prizes.

Gee, could you be less thrilled? You should be glad you got something at all, even if you didn't need it. It's a unique souvenir, that's for sure. October 1 was my birthday. I would have rather been at WDW that day than home alone with a migraine and 2 toddlers while DH was away on business. You probably had a better day than I did...

[Freetime]

Sorry, I forgot to add that on day one Oct 1, I saw NO Dreampeople at EPCOT. They were in the MK. I don't know if they are just going to one park a day.

You may not have seen them there giving prizes that day, but they were there. MK has more of us members than the other parks so we are more visible.

[Freetime]

I also saw one of the CM's that are the greeter part of the teams, walking around, giving out stickers to all the little kids and talking with them. I sat back and observed him for a while and saw they were setting something up by Thundermountain.

A few minutes later, some cast members came through the crowd ringing a cow bell and have 4 little boys that ended up "panning for gold" They took gold mickey's (looked like the confetti from barber shop, but were all gold colored), covered them in sand, then added water and had the boys pick out the gold mickey's to put into black velvet pouches.

So, they are doing more than just the listed prizes.

Also, i a CM showed me the pins that are being given out with the lanyards. each person gets 2, one for themselves and one for a friend/or trade.

The pins given out by the CM where a person gets

one for themselves and one for a friend/or trade.

are not the same as on the Dream Lanyards.
The Dream Lanyard pins have either Mickey and Minnie or Donald and Goofy on them with the Year of a Million Dreams logo on them.

The one that is given in twos is on a card that can be torn apart. It is for a CM to give out when they see a guest making magic for another guest. That guest is then asked to give the second pin to ANOTHER guest that THEY see making magic for others. This way the magic spreads! Tinkerbell is on those pins as she helps spread the pixie dust/magic around.

[Freetime]

Glad you like it!

And thanks for the info Freetime, I didn't think Disney would leave a chance for scandal with such a big to do.

You are correct. We have spent weeks in training and in practice for the prize giveaway portion to debug potential issues. That's one of the reasons for using existing Cast. Who knows the attractions and park areas better than the one in the trenches?

One of the criteria the new Dream Squad Member had to come to the team with was Great Guest Service and Interactions. With that in mind, we try our best at Service Recovery on the off chance guests get upset. That's why we spend most of our time in the Dream Greeter position. We continue to hone our skills and at the same time make some on-the-spot magic for Guests and Cast alike.

Good luck and may your Disney Dreams come true.

[CleveSJM]

Great posts Tony (Freetime)! Thanks for the info.

Even if a CM likes your kid, there is no way they can decide to give a prize, that's what people seemed to be saying earlier and what concerned me.

We won a bunch of Dream Ears yesterday (Tuesday) on Triceratops Twirl after Breakfastausaurus. We were on the ride and saw the dream team arrive. We had to go on it a couple more times to hit the proper "time" for the giveaway.

Nice ears!!! Silver ears with a sky blue with clouds cap. I'll post some pictures after we get home.

Good luck everybody!

PS - I'll never do Breakfastausaurus again...

[Figment!]

We won a bunch of Dream Ears yesterday (Tuesday) on Triceratops Twirl after Breakfastausaurus.

Congrats!

[Christine]

Thanks for the explanation, Freetime.


Also, I noticed you are from Conway, Arkansas! I am a fellow 'Wampus Cat', graduate of Conway High and two year attendee of UCA! Small world...

[mudpuppysmom]

First I want to say what a wonderful vacation we had!!! Now, the part that I think may cause potential problems with other guests. Yesterday (our last day), I saw a little girl in line for Goofy's Barnstormer and I noticed really nice pins on her lanyard......DS and I waited for her to get off the next train and I approached her mom and asked if I could trade pins with the daughter. I was going to trade a monorail pin my DS had traded for that we already had.....I was telling the mom that they are a set of four and they are collectible.....the little girl said she wanted to keep the mickey/minnie one and would trade me the donald/goofy one......these were on a special lanyard she was given at the teacups the mom said......the little girl has the pin off and we are in the midst of a trade and a woman comes by and says "honey, don't trade THAT pin, they are collectible and you can't buy them anywhere".....and walks away.......well, gee thanks lady.......I told the little girl that she did not have to trade with me, it was her decision if she did not want to trade now (I had not seen these pins yet either and thought they were nice and cool looking --had I known I probably would not have even tried to trade).....The girl looked at her mom and waited to see what she was going to say.....I said, "honest, it's ok if you want to keep them, it is your decision if you want to trade or not".......I didn't try to goad her into anything and she decided to keep them both. Now, the mom tells me that "they were just handing them out to EVERYONE at the teacups just a minute ago, just go there and you'll get them too!"......Now, we WERE on our way to the teacups anyway, but was there anyone there HANDING THEM OUT TO EVERYONE!?!?!?! Yeah, right and I'm in dreamland as we speak (nah, I'm home!)......NO, there was no one there handing them out to everyone, as I suspected!!!

Now the problem is that if guests go around telling people they are just handing things out there are going to be mobs of people here and there and many MANY MANY disappointed guests!! Was I disappointed? A teenie tiny bit (cause I had no idea what the deal was with this).......was I upset.......a little at the guest who came by and interrupted my conversation/pin trade in process.........is this going to skew me into not going again? NOPE!!! But my thought is is......guests don't know what is going on sometimes, and they are going to become angry and march to guest services and be mad for no reason........it's all RANDOM, and in this world much of what happens to us is RANDOM!!!!

Have fun and hopefully your dream comes true too!!!

Oh, on a side note......my 4 y/o son tells me after we walk away from this encounter.....the woman did say "the dream people are handing out these neck things and pins to everyone".......DS says "mumma, I have dreams too......can my dreams come true?"......Yes DS, your dreams can come true, one day I hope they do!!! THAT my friends IS a magical moment right there!!!!

[battle beast]

In Canada, for every prize you win, you must answer some stupid question, "skill testing." It [stinks], I know, and some places, like movie thaters, give you the answer!

[mjaclyn]

I heard that Disney just gave away one of the 'big' prizes. A family was able to have MK to themselves for 2 hours. Did anyone else hear about this?

[jmen]

Good luck mailing in an entry. They specify a 3"x5" postcard in the rules, but the USPS will only accept postcards greater then 3.5"x5.5" according to 253.21 .

I know, it is an industry assumption, but it is also an indication to me that the promotion is probably not thoroughly thought out.

The predictability by which prizes are awarded (when you see more than one Dream Squad togather), and the near but not truly random way recipients are awarded prizes is just begging for problems.

[Eeyore's Pal]

Good luck mailing in an entry. They specify a 3"x5" postcard in the rules, but the USPS will only accept postcards greater then 3.5"x5.5" according to 253.21 .

I printed off 3X5 cards and have been mailing them in envelopes. This way, too, my phone number and DOB are not visible to everyone. Hopefully they are not being rejected.

[2Epcot]

The Dream Squad has 2 main functions. These are as follows.

Dream Greeter
Prize Fulfillment

When we prize fulfill we only know what the Low Tier Bulk prizes are. These are the Dream Fast Passes, Dream Ears, Dream Lanyards and such. The Mid Level and High Level prizes are not even known to us until we take the potential winner back to Guest Relations.

In order to keep things fair and legal, the prize fulfillment portion is even kept secret among ourselves. When we are in this mode, we dont tell each other or even our leadership where we are going, when we are going or what we are giving.Tony
(aka - freetime)

Thanks Tony for the information on how the prizes are given out. I'm glad they go to so much effort to keep things fair.

I was talking to a friend of mine who works in the Disneyland parks. He was telling me the Dreams are extended to cast members too. They have an opportunity to win prizes in a completly seperate contest just for them. I think that is cool that CMs get a chance to have some dreams of their own.

[CleveSJM]

When the Dream Squad is giving away the prizes it does look like they are giving them to everyone. If you are there at the right time, you would get that impression.

Get in lines. That has got to be the best tip. Rides that have easy behind the scenes access so the squad can "pop up" would be best too. If you are not in a line, or about to be in the line when the squad arrives, I think it'll be hard to win of the low tier prizes.

Good luck everybody!

[joelkfla]

I heard that Disney just gave away one of the 'big' prizes. A family was able to have MK to themselves for 2 hours. Did anyone else hear about this?

That was the pre-celebration sweepstakes, that everyone here had been entering on the web site.