By Carol Timblin

Even Donald Trump cannot buy a night in the fabled Cinderella’s Castle at Walt Disney World in Orlando. The castle suite is reserved exclusively for Disney guests randomly selected by the Disney Dream Squad at the park and Downtown Disney.

A night in the castle is one part of the “Year of a Million Dreams” celebration that continues through the end of this year. Lucky recipients may also be tapped for Disney cruises, Disney Vacation Club memberships, a Grand Marshal Disney Parks World Tour, special weekends, after-hours in the parks, Fastpass badges, shopping sprees, interactive moments and more.

A Michigan family had the distinct honor of being the first overnight guests in Cinderella’s Castle. Brad Fouch, 16, was sitting in the lucky seat at the Star Wars attraction at Disney MGM Studios on the morning of January 25 when he was tapped on the shoulder and told he had won a night in Cinderella’s Castle.

His parents Jim and Lisa Fouch and his eight-year-old sister Hannah, who were vacationing with him, joined him for the magical evening. "I was thinking I had the bad seat because I was sitting on the end," Brad said.

Wide-eyed Hannah called the experience “a dream come true!"

The Fouches’ dream began with a photo session on Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom.

Later, the “royal guests” served as Grand Marshals of the “Disney Dreams Come True” parade, which ended at Cinderella’s Castle, where they were introduced to a throng of people. Next came dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table and a meeting with the fairy tale princess herself, followed by a VIP viewing of the “SpectroMagic” parade and the Wishes fireworks.

They spent the night in the 600-square foot French-style suite, featuring treasures such as a Steuben glass slipper, a Harry Winston diamond princess tiara, a domed bathroom ceiling with twinkling stars, a mosaic tile floor accented with 24-carat gold pieces and enough pixie dust to change a portrait of Cinderella into a 21st century flat-screen television. The Royal Concierge was on hand to serve the family everything from bedtime snacks to breakfast the next day.

“We want out guests to feel as though they are inside our castle but also immersed with the fantasy realm of the Cinderella story,” said Stephen Silvestri, the Walt Disney Imagineering show producer/director who led a team of designers and craftsmen in creating the suite, originally intended as an apartment for the Disney family when they visited the park.

Magical Moments and More
Also available to unsuspecting guests during the year-long celebration are Magical Moments. These interactive moments include experiences such as an invitation to lead a parade, take part in a Disney performance, play a princess or a pirate, meet the characters in Woody’s Cowboy Camp in Frontierland or ride with a skipper on the Jungle Cruise in Adventureland or with the Mad Hatter on the Mad Tea Party attraction in Fantasyland. (Among world-renowned Annie Leibovitz’s works commissioned by Disney Parks is a photo of Beyonce as Alice in Wonderland, Oliver Platt as the Mad Hatter and Lyle Lovette as the March Hare spinning in a teacup.)

New Shows This Year
Disney has launched new shows and attractions for the “Year of a Million Dreams.” Appearing several times daily on the stage at Cinderella Castle is the “Dream Along with Mickey” show. Epcot’s newest attraction is “The Seas with Nemo & Friends,” featuring the hit Disney-Pixar film cast. Guests board whimsical “clammobiles” for the undersea adventure with the characters who appear in a 5.7-million-gallon saltwater aquarium and later have an intimate talk with Crush (one of the characters), visit Bruce’s Shark World and dine on seafood dishes. In the Animal Kingdom visitors may enjoy “Finding Nemo-The Musical,” a delightful Broadway-style show that combines puppets, dancers, aerialists and animated backdrops to bring the popular story to life.

Rip-roaring laughter is the aim of the brand new interactive Monsters Inc Laugh Floor Comedy Club, set to open this spring in the Magic Kingdom. Mike Wazowski, the one-eyed hero from the hit film “Monsters, Inc.” invites aspiring comedians to the stage and accepts cell phone text messages from people in the audience.

In addition to new attractions, Disney Parks has gone all out to personalize the guest experience via technology. Visitors may go on-line to customize visits and print out maps, sign up for information via “Disney Link,” schedule tee times and massages through Disney’s On-Line Concierge and other services.

Another Way to Win
Disney Park visitors are not the only ones benefiting from the “Year of a Million Dreams.” Anyone can enter the Disney Dreams Giveaway, a contest offering prizes ranging in value from $3.83 to $83,701. Prizes are now being awarded daily. Contest rules are posted at www.DisneyParks.com/rules, including a mailing address for sending in entries through December 31, 2007, when the contest ends.

For more information about Disney Parks, “The Year of a Million Dreams” and “Where Dreams Come True,” visit www.mydisneyparks.com

Disney: More 2007 Offerings  and “Toy Store Mania” in 2008

• Adventures by Disney is offering eight new itineraries in 2007.
• Disney’s Magical Express check-in service is adding more airline partners.
•  “High School Musical Pep Rally,” a new immersive family show, will debut in 2007.
• New Disney Vacation Club Animal Kingdom Villas will open fall 2007.
• Disney Cruise Lines will offer seven-night cruises from the Port of Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, beginning May 25, 2008.
• The “Toy Story Mania” attraction will open in 2008.