Originally Posted By imadisneygal Actually, you're partly right, narkspud. The attendance up until the date when the 500 Millionth Guest will be arriving is calcuated, so they select the date based on attendance. Then on that date the Guests are selected by the Publicity Department, but not as far in advance as you might think. It's done about 5 minutes in advance of the Guests entering the turnstiles. And as for the "all-American family" theory, most milestone Guests tend to be from America because most of Disneyland's Guests are from America, but I have seen milestone Guests from many different ethnicities. Best of luck to anyone who happens to be there on the big day!
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Originally Posted By onlyme >>Expect it to go to some kid in an "all-American" family.<< It's not surprising that DL would want to be certain that a wholesome type person would be the 'milestone' person. *is that better.....
Originally Posted By reynspoonerguy Oh well, I guess that my partner and I shouldn't even try for it then. bummer.
Originally Posted By jimmy i just heard that at 10:15am this morning the 500,000,000 came through. he is from australia. that's all the info i have though.
Originally Posted By Elderp The news just report his name is Bill Trough (I could have his last name incorrect) and his family of four is Australian from Wentforth Falls. According to the news he recieved a lifetime pass and a VIP lunch/tour.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I doubt it, and it probally is no good if he lives for more than 5 more years or something stupid like that.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt Does anyone know how many visitors have been to WDW's Magic Kingdom? Is it less or more than Disneyland?
Originally Posted By utahjosh Considering that Disneyland had been operating for almost 20 years before MK opened, i'm guessing DL wins this one.
Originally Posted By figaro_cleo I just saw a feature about this on an infotainment-kinda show. It was a husband, wife, and one girl of about 9 who won it. They seemed very happy (as you would be!!) but it seems a shame that the lifetime pass is practically going to go to waste - they said on the show that the airfares were prohibitive to them. It wouldn't go to waste with EVERY Australian ... I for one would make an annual pilgrimmage but then I'm crazy!! Still, it was kinda cool to read about this here weeks ago and then have it happen essentially "close to home". I wonder if the Trow family wants a new best friend.
Originally Posted By FaMulan What a lucky family. ABC7 news just did a story on the Trow Family. Mum, Dad and 5-year-old daughter. Not only did they get the lifetime passes (which will aid in making trips more affordable), but they got a guided tour, and a night in the Presidential Suite at the Grand Californian and probably lots of little stuff as well. That little girl will NEVER have to get passports for herself at all, EVER! I can see her 20 years or so from now when she's married arguing more frequent holidays to Disneyland.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0" target="_blank">http://www.news.com.au/common/ story_page/0</a>,4057,8356668%255E1702,00.html >>A SYDNEY family visiting Disneyland thought they were the subject of a random security check when buzzers sounded and cameras flashed as they walked through the gates yesterday. That was until Mickey Mouse appeared and handed Bill Trow from Wentworthville, in Sydney's west, a key for being guest number 500 million at the fantasy US theme park in Los Angeles. Mr Trow, on a trip with his wife Ann-Marie and five-year-old daughter Aspen, said they were overwhelmed by the attention. "As I walked through the gate, a buzzer went off and confetti flew through the air," he told Channel Nine from Disneyland. "There was security everywhere and lots of cameras." "They were filming everybody as they were walking through the gates, so we thought there was a security check." Although the family have already spent five days at Disneyland, they now have a lifetime of free entry into the fun park to look forward to. They were also treated to lunch and dinner and gained VIP access to amusements. <<
Originally Posted By threeundertwo Aspen Trow. Does that name make sense to you? Still, congratulations to them.
Originally Posted By irishfan This should cause a bit of a media stir here in Australia...must check out the papers!
Originally Posted By DlandDug I was there! I missed it by only about 350 people. Oh well. I was down at the Resort to get photos of the Tower of Terror float, saw a long, long line waiting to go into Disneyland, and automatically stepped into it. (They reduced entry to a single line for about 30 minutes--and it was a slow, slow moving line.) When a cast member finally confided what was going on, she said "Disneyland is about to welcome its 500 THOUSANDTH guest!" (I knew what she meant, anyway.) Yes, the Trow family from Australia got a lifetime pass. (I wish it was you, figaro_cleo!) Matt Ouimet (Disneyland Resort President) and Becky Murphy (Disneyland Ambassador) arrived by steam train. The population sign on the train station was officially changed. I saw Rebekah from laughingplace taking photos. PHOTOS REBEKAH??? I took a lot of photos. (I will probably loan some to laughingplace.) And then I went and took photos of the Tower of Terror float. The end.
Originally Posted By Westsider According to a friend of mine who is a Guest Relations Lead I spoke with who was there helping with the event, the whole thing was rigged under strict orders from Matt Ouimet, Michael Mendenhall and the Press & Publicity Department. (No surprise there, I'm sure.) They wanted the person presented to the media to be wholesome and pleasant looking, and preferably part of a cute family. If they had actually gone with the exact number, it's uncontrollable and who knows who you would end up with! God forbid you get some punk kid wearing a profane t-shirt and tattoos on his neck, or some horribly unattractive woman with greasy hair, Wal-Mart stretch pants, and a limited grasp of the English language who scares the TV viewers. But the other thing they were watching closely for was what type of ticket media they were using as they were being processed through the turnstile. They definitely did NOT want the person chosen to be an Annual Passholder, but rather someone with a paper ticket purchased at the ticket booths. The rumors swirling from Press & Publicity are that Matt and Michael Mendenhall are really working hard to get the numbers of AP's drastically reduced, and the last thing they wanted was to reward one of those people with a lifetime pass and shower them with media attention and VIP treatment. And in the process, provide media attention to an Annual Pass program that they are going to heavily retool in the next year or so. Supposedly, everyone in Press & Publicity and the TDA execs were all very happy with the selection of the "500 Millionth Guest". They were a bit surprised when the family started talking with an Australian accent, but they certainly fit the bill and nicely fulfilled the purpose of the entire staged event.
