Getting to live a Million Dreams - Toronto Sun article

Getting to live a Million Dreams

By LIZ ANDERSON

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It's a bit like Mission Impossible.

When the gentleman in the blue shirt and khaki pants receives his orders for the day, he has no idea who he's being sent to meet, nor what he's to do when he finds those people. Everything is secret.

The envelope is sealed and no one knows its contents. The only thing that's certain is that, over the course of the time that gentleman is on duty, a lot of people are going to be made very, very happy.

That aura of mystery is an essential element in the huge success of Disney's Year of a Million Dreams -- a promotion so beloved that it's been extended into 2008.

Each day, the members of the Dream Team -- a group of largely unnoticeable folks in those blue shirts and khakis -- receive sealed orders. Inside the envelope, the instructions might read: "Go to the 11 a.m. showing of Finding Nemo and sit in seat NO. 198. When the show ends turn to the person seated in seat No. 197 and hand him or her this envelope."

Another set of directions could be, "Go to the Japanese pavilion at Epcot Center and wait for the fifth person wearing a red shirt to exit the building. Give him the first envelope in your package."

It's always a toss to see who's more surprised by what's in the envelope -- the Dream Team member or the tourist sitting in seat No. 197 or who happened to wear a red shirt that day.

The card Mr. Red Shirt pulls out might read, "Good for four ice cream cones" or better yet, "Enjoy a $500 shopping spree at the Disney Store ..."

The lucky winners never know what's in store and neither do Dream Team members. And it's all a gift from Disney World Orlando.

While a $500 shopping spree is nothing to be sneezed at, there are bigger prizes. Among the most spectacular is a chance to spend a night in Cinderella's palace -- surely a dream of every little girl who's ever played princess!

By far the most extravagant prize involves the Grande Parade. The biggest events of the day are parades.

And the biggest parade of all is the Grande Parade -- an extravaganza that needs a marshal. To lead one Grande Parade would be an experience no child would ever forget, but what would it be like to lead a Grande Parade at every Disney property in the world?

That prize -- including flying the marshal and family to Disneyland in California, to Eurodisney in France, Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disney -- is a part of the Million Dreams program.