Angie Davis of Little Rock, Arkansas, was surfing the Internet one day when she noticed something called The Royal Treatment Contest on Good Morning America‘s Web site. To enter, she had to send a photo of her family and a letter explaining in 300 words or less why her family deserved to win the contest. If she won, she and her family could win a grand prize that included a 6-day, 5-night trip to Walt Disney World, six $450 gift certificates, getting to be taped live on Good Morning America, as well as getting to be the first family to stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite at the Magic Kingdom. Thinking, “Well, why not? It’s worth a shot,” Angie entered the contest. “I never dreamed in a million years that we would ever be given a second thought to.”
But win she did. “I sent them a letter explaining that my husband left for a year and one half deployment and that 2006 was a very tough year because of this, and that 2007 would be even harder. I told them that our kids missed their dad very, very much, and so did I. I also told them that we had never been able to take a real family vacation together and this would be such a wonderful experience for all of us.”
Angie and her husband, Brian, moved in together right out of high school and had their son Dallas. But he ended up marrying someone else, and she did, too. But she got divorced, and two children later, so did he. “And we found each other again,” said Angie. “And we’ve been together ever since.”
The photo that Angie Davis submitted for the Good Morning America contest shows her family preparing for Brian’s departure for training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, and was taken by her sister-in-law. Photo courtesy of Angie Davis.
The two were reunited in 1999 and married in July 2001. But Brian, a first sergeant in the Arkansas National Guard, was called to active duty in Iraq—he left for training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in June 2006, missing their fifth anniversary. He left for Iraq in September, and won’t be home until around September 2007, missing their sixth anniversary as well.”
We’ll let Angie tell the story of the contest:
“The contest closed on December 23. I entered around the 15th of December and an ABC News producer called me on December 21. I could not believe it. At first I was sure that it was either a prank call or they had the wrong number! He told me how much they loved my letter and my picture and wanted some more information. He asked me mainly about my husband’s deployment and what it was like being a deployed soldier’s wife.
“The week after Christmas he called me back again to tell me that I was a finalist and he needed me to fill out a background check. To be honest with you, it really was too good to be true. I could not believe this was really happening. Once I filled out the background check the producer and I started discussing the problem with Brian’s [Rest & Recuperation] leave dates.
“At this time Brian’s leave was scheduled for January 9-25. This would not work with the contest since we would have to be at Disney World January 22-27 and stay in the Suite on January 24 since it wouldn’t be ready until then and the first family chosen from the park would be chosen on Jan 25. So the producer contacted the National Guard Public Relations in DC. Before Brian and I knew it there were emails to his commanders saying to make this happen for this soldier and his family. So next thing I knew, Brian was calling me to tell me that his new leave dates were January 15-31. This was on the morning of Jan. 4.
Brian Davis, Angie Davis, Dallas (11), Angie’s sister Jessica Rhodes (16), Kolton (8) and Katy (10) enjoy a day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom before their castle stay. Photo courtesy of Angie Davis.“I called the producer and asked him what all this meant, and did it mean that we won… he told me they were still waiting on the background information to come back and they should know something by the end of the week. I was on pins and needles by this time! Around 4:00 that afternoon the producer called me back to tell me he had some bad news for me. You can’t imagine the feeling that went through me. He said, ‘Just kidding! You won!’ I was so thrilled! I couldn’t believe it!”
Disney had worked with the Arkansas National Guard, the Pentagon and the command structure in Iraq to arrange for Brian to trade leave dates with another soldier who was scheduled to go home on the dates that Brian needed to travel to make the Disney trip happen. “You hear it throughout the years of your military career that you always take care of one another,” said Brian, “and they showed from that aspect—that something incredible had happened to one of their soldiers’ families, and that is what they consider their family also—that they could work so hard to make sure that I made it back on time for something that’s once in a lifetime, and it really was.”
This “artwork” is actually a cleverly disguised television that the Davis kids enjoyed watching in the castle suite. Photo by Mark Goldhaber.
What then ensued was a lengthy series of magical moments for the family. Brian came home on leave, early enough to spend a couple of days at home getting reacquainted with his family. Then it was off to Orlando, where they were met at the airport by their own personal tour guide. Angie, Brian, son Dallas (11), daughter Katy (10), son Kolton (8) and Angie’s 16-year-old sister, Jessica Rhodes, were whisked to the Wilderness Lodge, and enjoyed the rest of that day and the next running around the parks with their tour guide.
After loading overnight bags into a van, the third day was spent continuing to tour the parks, this time with a Good Morning America camera crew in tow. Dinner was at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Then came the big moment, as they arrived at the door inside Cinderella Castle with the film crew and waited. And waited. And waited. After what seemed like an hour, the castle door opened and they were greeted by Cinderella’s Royal Court and a red carpet. After going up in the elevator, they were greeted in the anteroom by Cinderella, who welcomed them to her suite. “When we were showed into the suite we just couldn’t believe our eyes. It was so beautiful!” said Angie. “They gave us the grand tour of everything. It was unbelievably awesome!”
The beautiful hot tub was Angie’s favorite part of the suite, and she enjoyed a long soak. Photo by Mark Goldhaber.
With the cameras gone for the moment and their bags already put away in the suite for them, they were taken to a special viewing area for the SpectroMagic parade by their tour guide. They then returned to the suite to find souvenirs and candy for the children and a bag, blanket and scrapbook for the family. The children watched the two TVs (one masquerading as a painting of Cinderella and the other appearing as a magic mirror) until they quickly passed out from exhaustion, while Angie and Brian stayed up to enjoy the suite and some quiet time together. Angie really enjoyed the tub and the shower, and is now searching for similar shower equipment as they redo their own bathroom.
Angie enjoyed the shower so much that she’s now looking for similar equipment for her own bathroom. Photo by Mark Goldhaber.
The next morning, Dallas had developed a fever, so Angie pressed 0 on the phone and told the butler that Dallas was sick. Cast members quickly appeared at the door with a huge medical kit to take care of him. Once he had been given some Tylenol and was starting to feel better, they were gone and the family was alone again. Then it was time to greet the cameras again for a Good Morning America live shot. During the segment, Angie was given a chance to wear the $325,000 Harry Winston tiara that actress Scarlett Johansson wore in the “Cinderella” photo taken by Annie Leibovitz for Disney’s promotional campaign.
Once that was over, the family was able to have fun for the remaining two-plus days of their vacation. They got to attend the press party for the Fouch family, who won the first park-awarded stay in the castle that night, and had a great time until it was time to go home. It was a wonderful chance for the family to reconnect and for Brian to share quality time with his family before heading back to Iraq. Asked to sum up the vacation in one word, Angie had no hesitation. “Magical,” she said.
To hear more about the story of Angie and Brian Davis, download Episode #9 of the MouseStation podcast, where you can listen to Mike and Mark interview Angie (in Arkansas) and Brian (in Iraq) on the show.
