This article was not planned. Originally today’s article
was going to be about someone named Aronda Parks, but we’ll be running
that piece next time. Instead, let me tell you a story that began a long,
long time ago.
Sometime in July 1992, my family and I visited Walt Disney World and
met many friends there. You might say it was the first time I had ever
gone to WDW and enjoyed what is now commonly referred to as a “meet.”
It wasn’t any special meet. About 20 of us piled into Pioneer Hall at
Fort Wilderness on the night of July 12 for a night of Hoop Dee Doo.
We were calling our meet the “birthday bash”—that day
happened to be my birthday, and of course, the entire place sang “Happy
Birthday” to me and several others during the show.
And wouldn’t you guess, when it came time for the Hoop Dee Doo Pageant,
my 19 “friends” were calling for me to be the Blue Fairy.
With a rousing crowd on one side of the floor egging me on, it was no
surprise that one of the performers grabbed me by the hand and said, “C’mon
Mike! We’re gonna make you a star.”
As we headed up the stage, I had visions of me in a tutu and did my best
to convince the cast member leading me up the stage that I knew the brave
Indian part like the back of my hand. As we headed backstage, I saw all
the costumes on hooks—but the one staring me in the face was the
blue tutu.
We headed right for that blue tutu, then took a left as I noticed a big
burly man with a handsome beard in stark contrast to his follicly challenged
head come in from the right. He was the answer to my prayers. He
was the Blue Fairy. And I got to be the brave Indian.
The pageant went on as planned, and I guess I performed my lines right
on queue. It was quite a thrill to contribute towards the entertainment
and help make this a memorable evening for the guests.
This was an early show, so afterwards, we left for the Magic Kingdom
for some nighttime activities. But we weren’t in the park for more than
an hour when Carol, my wife, and Holly, my daughter, couldn’t stop yawning.
We’d started the day real early, and they were absolutely pooped.
We decided to call it an early night and headed back to our room. We
were staying in the Martinique village at the Caribbean Beach Resort.
When we got there, Holly and Carol were quick to hop into bed and were
fast asleep in no time.
I was still wired from my birthday bash, so I asked my son, Mike Jr.,
if he wanted to take a walk to Old Port Royale to see how their soft-serve
ice cream goes with one of their giant soft oatmeal raisin cookies. I
didn’t have to twist his arm.
As we walked to the center of the resort, my son mentioned how much fun
Hoop Dee Doo was, especially enjoying it with so many people.
Actually, hold on.
This is not the way I should be telling this story. Let’s rewind the
tape. A few weeks ago, I recounted this story to a group of people. Just
to be sure I didn’t miss anything, let’s start over so you can read exactly
what I said at the time. It sort of went like this…
|
“Although my wife and I started going to Walt Disney World I recall one night in July 1992, in which my daughter and wife We were at the Caribbean Beach Resort, and my son and I weren’t We sat at the grand pool and watched what little we could see of I thought that was a pretty good father-son bonding time and I We visited WDW many times over the years. In 1997 we were at the A few years later, my son entered college. And on one particular Out of the blue, my son said, “Y’know Dad, I want to go back At that moment, I knew my son had not only been touched by Disney Over the years our vacations have been filled with wonder, smiles, On the last day of every trip, I stop at the Partners statue in If we hadn’t purchased annual passes in 1992 and gone so often, It’s these memories that have convinced me that I’m the Happiest |
You may have felt a light bulb going on just above your head while reading
this last sentence.
If so, then you have an idea as to whom this story was written. Well
OK, but let’s not say anything yet. Let’s keep it between ourselves for
now.
About a week ago, I went out to get something from my shed. As I exited
out the side door I almost tripped over a FedEx box. It was about the
size of a huge telephone book.
I put it aside and took care of my errand in the shed. On the way back
into the house, I grabbed the box and brought it into the living room
where Carol was sitting and reading.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“…Well it’s from Orlando,” I replied. “Maybe it’s
my marathon stuff.”
It wasn’t.
I opened the box and felt a book-like object inside. It was a case that
held a book containing holograms of all the new attractions in Walt Disney
World, such as Soarin’, the new stunt show in Disney/MGM Studios, Lucky
the Dinosaur, and Cinderellabration. Also included was an acrylic
hologram that contained a composite image of all the Disney theme park
castles from around the world.
There was also a piece of paper, a letter.
I started to read it, and Carol then asked, “Are you OK?”
I guess I had turned a few colors.
I started thinking out loud. “Huh? No way!”
“What?” she said, “What?”
In large bold letters, all I saw was…
YOU’RE A WINNER—CONGRATULATIONS!
“I won! I actually won.”
“Won what?” Carol asked.
I had never told her that about a month ago, I had entered WDW’s Happiest
Passholder on Earth contest.
I guess the cat was out of the bag.
My entry was chosen as one of the best 50 entries submitted, and I was
now invited to the festivities that would kick off the Happiest Celebration
on Earth at Disney-MGM Studios on Wednesday, May 4.
I could not read more than the first few lines of the letter; I had fallen
into an enchanted trance. Carol kept asking, “What else does it say?”
In a semi-comatose state, I had no idea what the heck she was asking
me. I handed her the letter and continued to stare out the window.
I just never expected to win. I didn’t prepare for this. I was thinking,
“Obviously, only 50 people entered this thing.”
Carol said, “You can bring a guest!” I’m sure Carol was less
than thrilled that she worked for the town school district and was in
no way able to sneak away for a few days.
“So who are you going to bring?” she asked.
I grabbed my phone and dialed a number.
Unfortunately, no one answered and I had to leave a voicemail. I didn’t
want to spoil anything, so the message was cryptic, short, and urgent:
“Please call me at home.”
About 15 minutes later, the phone rang. I knew who it would be.
“Hello!” I answered, knowing who would be on the other end
of the line.
“Hi Dad! What’s up? You scare the heck out of me when you call me
and just say, ‘Please call me at home’ and hang up.”
It was Mike. Now 25 years old, he’s a general manager for the local Gold’s
Gym, and was working late.
“Hey, remember a few weeks ago I was waving an envelope one morning
and told you I was entering a contest and that if I won you and I were
going to Walt Disney World?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
“You’re kidding? Oh… my… God!”
“That’s right,” I replied. I told him we would get together
later and talk about the details.
So now you know the rest of the story, of why you are reading about a
boy and his dad instead of Aronda Parks.
Your humble servant will be your eyes and ears as I take in all the festivities
on May 3. You can be sure that I’ll do my best to report back about this
special time.
On that night, all the winners will attend the grand opening ceremony
for Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show. This is supposed
to be the very first time the entire show will be shown.
Everyone in attendance will also see “live entertainment” (which
I’m sure will not include a wardrobe malfunction—after all, we’re
talkin’ Disney here). The next item is not that appealing to someone who
is training for the WDW Marathon Weekend next January and trying to lose
enough weight to equal someone the size of Stitch: An unlimited dinner
feast. I talked with Michelle Holt of WDW Special Events and she gleefully
said, “It will be a catered affair and will be in buffet style.”
Did I mention I was bringing my running shoes to Orlando?
The letter notes that the winners will have access to selected attractions.
Since this all starts around 6 p.m., my guess is that by the time we are
done with our “feast,” the park is closed to the general public.
Michelle did point out that not all the attractions would be open. I can
pretty much guess which ones will be open for business.
I am sharing the words from my winning entry with you because I had written
them in the same manner that I write my articles; I wanted to reach out
and touch the judges in the way I do with my articles I write for you.
So thank you. Without the inspiration of you, the audience, I cannot
constantly strive to improve upon the craft of writing.
I am not a stranger to trip reports and their importance. This one will
be special, and I’ll do my best so that you and I will always…
…Remember the Magic!
Next time
Aronda Parks…I promise.
