Originally Posted By Kathi K This was the day for my husband and I to do the things we did not get a chance to on Christmas cause all the kids and grandbaby were with us. Main goal was to see the Electric Parade (which I had missed all summer) and the fireworks. Traffic was not too bad and we got there shortly after the 8am opening time. We went in through the Ball Road entrance to Mickey and Friends and were parked on the first floor. This was unusual because before we ended up on the top floor when we went in through Ball Road. Got right on a tram and it was smooth sailing to get to the entrance. We had planned to stop at the bakery to get husband some coffee and then make our way to Space Mountain to get fastpasses for the new Rockin ride. As we went into the bakery I noticed a cast member talking to a group of women. Hmmm….. When we came out with our mocha, latte and muffin (pumpkin, yum!) he was still there and was signing button pins for them. I tried to see what was going on but wasn’t sure. Then two other women cast members came down the street and were joking with him. Just after they passed by I decided that these people must be the “dream†people and I told my husband we had to follow the women. So we started up Main Street and went into Adventureland. We caught up with one of them and followed her all the way to the exit of Splash Mountain where she had a conversation with another cast member. They were all dressed alike. Blue pants, shirt, tan jacket and a black messenger bag. She left that area and we continued to follow her along the Rivers of America. By that time I was peeling off my jacket cause I was working up a sweat. She was moving along at a pretty good pace. She went into Fantasyland then over the castle bridge. By the time she started back on Main Street I knew I had to do something. I picked up my speed and called out to her. I was so nervous. I asked her if she was one of the “dream†people. She said yes, she was. I told her I thought she might be and that my husband and I have been dreaming about getting some fastpasses. She said she didn’t have any fastpasses but she had a front of the line ticket she could give us for any ride! I was so excited! She went into the photo store to get a pen and wrote out a pass for us. We decided to go for the Matterhorn since we had thought about riding it this time and it doesn’t have fastpasses. Then I confessed that we had been following her since she began on Mainstreet and I had gotten my exercise for the day. She then told us she might be able to get us VIP seating for a show if we would like it. You bet! We asked for the fireworks. That would enable us to see the Electric Parade and not have to do a mad rush back to DL for the fireworks. She went into a store to use their phone and we were all set. She told us to find the roped off place in the hub at fireworks time. Fantastic!! We went off to get out fastpasses for Space Mountain. My husband was teasing me about being a cast member stalker. We then used our front of the line pass for Matterhorn, the line for which was all the way around the mountain. Boy, that ride was creaky. Kind of spooked me a few times. It has been years since I have been on it. We also spent a lot of our day trying to find a 2006 pin for my husband who had decided he would like to have one. No luck on that. (He just found one on Ebay. Told him he should buy it!) Went on HM, then went back to Space Mountain. I really liked the music. I am not big on roller coasters and I felt a bit sick after I got off but I did enjoy the music with the ride. I can see how the diehards wouldn’t like the lights. You could see a lot more of the track. Did Buzz next and got a fairly good score. We ended up riding Buzz with fastpasses two more times during the day. We had lunch at the Mexican place. Too much food, but good. After that we ended up sitting for three hours to wait for the parade. We found a really good bench and since we were staying later we figured sitting for a while wouldn’t hurt. This is one of the things we have really enjoyed about having APs. It is great to not feel like we have to do everything in one day. After the parade we made our way over to CA. On our way out of DL I asked if they had closed the gates today and they said they had. There was no line at all for CA. We walked around and sat in the area we thought would be good for viewing the parade. The Block Party Bash came by and it was fun to watch the little kids enjoy it. I got one of the balls they threw out but decided to give it to a family that I think may have not got one. My husband went to get fish & chips, cheese sticks and chicken strips for dinner. So good but again, too much food. We then realized that across the street was a better space to watch the parade so we moved. While we were waiting we took turns going shopping. He bought me a black baseball hat with a gold sequin Mickey on it that I admired. I think it may have been part of the 50th merchandise. There was no shortage of gold sequined mickey ears. The kind on the headband. We also struck up a conversation with a couple who was there with their 4 1/2 year-old daughter. They said they had APs but were from New Jersey. They make a trip a couple times a year. They were staying at the Park Vue and liked it very much. Saw the Electric Parade. Fun after all these years. We then headed over to DL for the fireworks. We had to ask a couple of times to find the VIP viewing area but finally found it. While we were telling them that we really were supposed to be there (they seemed to think we should have a paper for it) a cast member called us by our first and last names. We were astounded that he would know our names and it turned out to be someone we knew from our former church. This was so weird. He usually works Autopia and sometimes helps with crowd control but not in that area. This particular night he was working the area we needed to be in. It was great to see him so if you are at the Autopia on a weekend and you see Robert be nice to him. He is using his DL money to go on a mission to Brazil. We got into the VIP area and were able to sit on a bench until the show started. We were in a roped off area right in front of the castle. The cast members were so nice and really made us and the two other families there feel like VIPs. The show was great but we didn’t get much snow over our way. After that we went on Buzz again and made our way to our car. Another great day at Disneyland. And we had some dreams come true!
Originally Posted By Kala Yay! Congrats to you and your DH DH and I are going to be there next week and we are hoping to be at the right place at the right time for a dream. Good to know they will give them out to couples too. Keep your fingers crossed for us. Though I don't know if I can stalk as good as you.
