Derek, if you think you were left alone in Magic Kingdom for
a night, what would be like the first thing that you did?
Like everyone's out of the park and you're left alone there?
Oh my God, first I questioned why my family left me.
That's not a question, that's that's a solution.
OK. Thanks for coming everybody.
I mean, there's not like a ride you would jump on or you
wouldn't, just like I would. I would hope that that's a good
interesting question. I would hope that maybe the
cheeseburger spring rolls are still warm even though the
health is close, because I would totally.
I would just sit there and eat cheeseburger spring rolls.
And then I would ride Big Thunder at night.
I'd walk through the castle. Yeah.
I think it'd be awesome that it must be so cool to be there at
night when nobody's there. I think that park more than
anything, people strive for that, you know, ultimate.
Look at my family on Main Street.
Nobody's behind us, but you got to get there at like, you know,
4:00 AM to be able to do that. So.
Well, and behind you is Derek eating spring rolls at 4:00 in
the morning. Apparently so.
Yeah, sorry. Hey everybody, and welcome to
this week's episode of The DVC Show.
I'm your host, Paul Krieger, joined as always by my lovely
wife, Amy Krieger, Sales Executive for the DVC Resale
Market. We've got Derek de Boer.
Hey now, happy April everybody. The one, the only, the Honorable
Jeff Haslam. Hey dudes, how's it going?
He's. He's trying out a new.
New catch phrase. Hey, dudes, that was a show on
Nickelodeon back in the day. I don't like this guest.
And we have a special guest joining us today, Marcy.
Marcy, thank you so much for joining us for this week's
special episode, Member Spotlight, kind of featuring a
pretty cool thing that did not involve Derek and spring rolls,
thankfully. So, Marcy, thanks for joining us
this week. Thank you so much for having me.
I'm happy to be here. Marcy originally connected with
you. And yeah, so, so one of the
reasons we're really excited to have Marcy on the show is
because she is the only person I've ever met that has stayed at
the Cinderella Castle suite inside Magic Kingdom.
And she had connected with me and told me a very cool story
about how that came about. And she obviously, she's a DVC
member as well, so really excited to talk to her on the
show, find out about her experience in the Castle suite
and just just learn all about, you know, her DVC journey as
well. Totally, Marcy will let you tell
that story here in a second before we do so.
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get discounted Walt Disney World, Disneyland and Universal
Park tickets. Well, Marcie, Amy, Amy said it
and I think it was kind of the jaw-dropping moment that all of
us had when we, when we heard your story.
You got to stay in the Cinderella Castle.
Just take us through how this whole nonsense started and and
and share that experience with us.
Yeah, sure. It's really because of you.
And I reached out to Amy to say thank you to you on the show
because as a member, I found DVC fan, fell in love with, you
know, your episodes and your podcasts and all the things.
And on one of your episodes, you talked about Give Kids the World
and that wonderful organization who gives back to people who
need it in our community. And so after you introduced me
to Give Kids the World, I sort of looked into it a little bit.
And we're a family that likes to give when we can.
And somehow I ended up on their listserv.
I'm not sure how, but I received an e-mail and it came across my
social media that they were doing this sweepstakes where you
were able to win a night sleeping in Cinderella Castle
along with two extra nights at a deluxe resort at Disney and
airfare included and gift cards to spend money and all these
wonderful things. So I thought why not?
And I donated to Give Kids the World.
Never ever thinking that I would win.
I'm the person that doesn't win on scratch off tickets.
Even so, I gave our donation and it really left my mind and I
forgot about it. And then months later, I feel
like it was. I came home from work and
checked my e-mail and I had an e-mail that said in the subject
line. Potential winner of Cinderella
Castle's Sweet sweepstakes. And I thought, well that must be
spam because I said potential winner.
And then I had another e-mail in my inbox from Give Kids The
World that said you are the winner and I still didn't
believe it. My husband Phil is in law and
has taught me really well to be careful of scams and things that
you read. And so I definitely didn't
believe it. He came home from work, it was
actually his birthday that day when we got the e-mail and I
showed him and he said no way, that can't be true.
And then he did a little digging on his end.
We started Googling frantically the, you know the name that was
on the Give Kids the World e-mail.
We went on to the Give Kids the World website and this person
was real and he looked through it, attached all of this legal
jargon in the e-mail. And so he read the entire thing
and he said it looks legit. I think you won.
So I called the Give Kids the World phone number and asked to
speak to the woman who had sent me the e-mail.
And she said, Marcy, you won. And I, I started shaking and
said I couldn't believe it because it, it, it really blew
my mind that something so incredible was going to be able
to happen for our family. And then there was a lot of
steps after that. They had to do background
checks. And we figured out that Disney
now knows more about us than we know about ourselves.
I think it, so we, we cleared the background check and then
they, the organization helped us book flights.
Well, first Disney helped us pick dates that were available.
There were blackout dates. We couldn't sleep in the castle
on party nights and you know, we couldn't stay there on Christmas
Eve or things like that. But we decided to travel at the
beginning of December because we never had experienced Disney
during Christmas. And so we picked, yeah, we
picked the dates. Give Kids the World gave us
airline round trip tickets, we got gift cards in the mail, and
we were booked and ready to go. Oh.
My gosh, this is already the coolest story I've ever heard
and I was just about. To say after this episode we
probably should just retire this show because me and Derek and
Coke at Disney Springs isn't going to even come close.
To anything like that. I we didn't even get to like
getting there yet, no. And, and for those of you like
wondering what we're talking about, so yes, there is a suite
that is in Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World.
And I did a little bit of research, like just going into
a, so it's a 650 square foot apartment inspired by a 17th
century French Chateau. And it actually debuted in 2006
as part of the year of a million Dreams event that Disney did.
So that was kind of that big unveiling of this suite.
And I mean, there's articles out there.
I, I looked at one by travel and leisure saying that like Disney
has declined bribes of up to $40,000 per night to stay in
this suite. It is it is very, very exclusive
and really the only the way to score a stay here is by winning
an occasional raffle or sweepstakes and typically those
are done with give Kids the World make a Wish, those types
of organizations. So just the fact that you are in
like this exclusive club of people, you know.
Even have seen it, they have even seen it, let alone slept in
it for a night, you know what I mean?
Just just. Absolutely.
Bonkers. I was just going to say that
what I'm so excited about is to hear the actual, OK, everyone's
left. You're in here alone.
Because I've actually been inside of it a few times because
I was with Disney marketing way back during that time when the
Dream of a Million Dreams campaign.
So I wound up doing a couple of television shoots up there.
So I've travelled up there, I've been there, I've seen it in
person, but then they throw you right out and I'm always like,
I, I want to hear what it's like to actually stay inside of it.
So This is why I dress appropriately for the show so I
could not wait to hear about. It So you're telling me, Derek,
that there's video out there somewhere of you in this suite?
I don't know if I'm in it. I was kind of helping coordinate
the television shoot, so I was on the marketing side.
So in case they maybe accidentally shot me or they
said, hey, get off the bed or most important is the tub.
When she talks about the bathtub, it's the coolest
bathtub in the world. So yeah.
So what you're saying, Derek, is you have a face for radio and
not? OK, so, so Marcy, tell us, tell
us about your first impressions. You know, tell us about the trip
a little bit and walking into the suite for the first time.
Yeah. So they sent a private car.
We were in Hollywood studios that morning and we are the
early entry type of family. We get in there early and they
sent a car to Hollywood Studios and we had a four cast member
team with us. That was the Cinderella Castle
Suite team and two of them came and picked us up at Hollywood
Studios, walked us out into the back and put us in this amazing
car and then drove us to the back of Magic Kingdom where only
employees get to go. We had a security guard and dog
make sure that we were safe to enter the park.
And then they brought us in the back behind those really tall
walls that you think are closed, but they're actually not closed.
I had no idea. It looks like they are, but you
kind of, it's like a maze and you walk in through the back.
And we were inside Magic Kingdom and my son's mind was just
blown. I was like, wait a minute, you
can get in this way. And the cast member said we can
do whatever you want. What do you want to do?
And I had no idea that we would have cast members with us that
would just bring us wherever we wanted to and go on whatever we
wanted to. So it took me a minute to sort
of think about what we wanted to do.
And we have a family tradition where our first ride, every trip
is Space Mountain. It was the first ride that my
son ever went on when we brought him to Disney when he was six
years old. And I had never been on it as a
kid. And my husband had but failed to
tell us it was a roller coaster inside in the dark.
And so we we said, well, we, we have to do Space Mountain.
And the first ride that my son did when he was little, all we
could hear was him in the front of the three seated car going
and he was screaming the whole time.
And when we got off, he said that was too thrilling after
watching a video, I guess ranking Disney rides in their
thrill. So that is our family tradition.
We go to Space Mountain every time for our first ride.
So we thought, we have to do it. And so we went.
And then this wonderful, wonderful cast member, her name
is Cheyenne, she stayed with us the entire time.
And she just kept saying, what do you want to do next?
What do you want to do next? So we went on a bunch of rides
and then about an hour later, it was time to go up to the suite.
It was the most magical, incredible experience that I'm
going to attempt to put into words.
You know, you, you walk under the castle all the time and you
just you walk past doors. And there was this door there,
unassuming. You had no idea.
And she had this magic key that unlocked the door.
And so we walked in and it was this moment of this is about to
happen. This is really happening.
Like Lincoln, my husband Phil, we get to go inside the castle
where nobody gets to go unless, you know what, not even all
celebrities get to go into the castle.
So we walk in and it is, it's breathtaking.
The ceiling is really tall. There are tapestries and
Cinderella's Crest and there's a table there.
And it's just it, it's beautiful.
And there were three other cast members at that point.
I think all four were there with us and they were explaining all
the different things around and you're trying to take it in and
it feel, it felt like a dream the entire time.
It was like, this is surreal and I've never had a moment like
that. Maybe after having my son, I was
kind of that same sort of feeling and experience, but it's
really hard to put into words. And you walk in and then there's
an elevator and they bring you into the elevator.
And the elevator is just gorgeous with gold accents and
all sorts of things. And they, they lift you, they
bring you up, you know, into the castle.
And then the door opens and you walk in and it's, it's
breathtaking. It's a moment that our family
will never forget. It's, it's, it's beautiful.
And then they gave us the tour. OK, so follow up question.
Follow up questions to what time did they take you into Magic
Kingdom? Like was this before park closes
or after? Yes.
So I believe they picked us up around 3:30 PM OK and brought us
to Magic Kingdom. So we got there a little before
4:00 and then we spent about an hour walking around doing rides
and taking some pictures and things like that.
So the park was still pretty full.
OK. Hey, so I have a question.
And you do such an absolutely magnificent job of painting the
picture for all of this. I mean it, it makes me feel like
I'm there. And I've officially entered 3000
different contests all over the world just so I could try to win
this prize based on how you describe it.
But I'm curious, and maybe this is nitpicking, but it just
brings about so many questions. And I'm sure many other people
too, like, so they drop you off at the the Magic Kingdom, right?
And then they have people that take you.
What do you do with your bags? Like do they take your suitcase
and your luggage and you don't see them?
Yes. So it was a four member team.
One person stayed with us the whole time.
The second gentleman joined us about halfway through, but the
other two cast members were part of the Cinderella Castle suite
team and they were in charge of the suite the whole time.
So once the security guard and dog checked us out, they whisked
all of our things away and then when we went up for the tour it
was magically all there. OK, so so you go up for the tour
when the park is still open so you can kind of look down and be
like, behold, I think there is some windows you can kind of see
out of. I don't know.
I just think that's wild. I don't know why, but while you
were saying that, I was just picturing the Pope.
It's that. Mean that you see or it's like
the guy I think it's the guy from twilight or it's like
looking it down upon, you know, everyone from my balcony even
though anyway, all right, so tell us tell us a little bit
more about inside the suite. I want to hear about the the
bathtub, the Derek speak. Yeah, yeah.
Like what are like the top 235 features that were just like the
yes I now need that in my house. Yes, the bathroom was gorgeous.
It was a lot of gold and there was a huge jacuzzi tub that
Derek definitely could fit in even at his height.
And there were beautiful tile walls all the way up with
different scenes of Cinderella. And the ceiling of the Jacuzzi
lit up with stars. And the Jacuzzi actually had a
party mode. And at the very end of the
night, the two lovely ladies who were in charge of the suite drew
a bath for my son Lincoln and put it in party mode.
And in party mode it had the ceiling sparkles.
All the stars sparkle in the ceiling.
The Jacuzzi bubbles are going and there are lights in the tub
that light up like a disco kind of party.
Every every Jacuzzi. Needs a party.
Mode now, yeah. Yes, the the toilet was gold.
Gold toilet. Yes, everything was gold in
there. There were two beautiful beds
with like velvet bedding. The stained glass windows are as
beautiful as you can imagine. It tells the story of Cinderella
in the stained glass windows as it goes around the suite and it
was really cool. I think the most special part
was this pillar that they had in the middle of the room that the
cast members called the heart of the castle and it was built of.
The pillar was erected when the suite was being built.
And then as the suite was being finished, the engineers realized
that it was load bearing and if they took it down, the entire
castle would have fallen too. So they realized they had to
keep it. So they decorated it and made it
beautiful, put little Cinderella's mice up at the top.
And then they added a second pillar to make it just, I guess,
balance out the suite. But there's a picture of myself
and my son hugging the pillar because the cast member said you
need to hug, you need to hug the heart of the castle.
And that was that was very cool. Oh my goodness, I love looking
at those photos. And you're probably going to put
them up as well throughout the video.
So you'll people will be saying them.
OK, so there's so there's a bedroom, there's a bathroom.
What else? Like what else is there in
there? There is a bedroom that has 2
queen beds and a fireplace that at Night Lights up and has
fireworks inside of it so it looks like it's shooting off
fireworks. The bathroom has the big Jacuzzi
tub, multiple sinks, a toilet room with the golden toilet with
the with a Crest of Cinderella over the top.
And then there's a beautiful vanity and then a separate
shower space that also has gold fixtures.
And then on the other side of the bedroom, there is a sitting
area that has a couch that pulls out into like a sofa bed.
And then that's the space and the suite that has all of the
stained glass windows. There are a few magic mirrors
actually that they have that turn into TV's.
So it looks like a mirror, but then it turns into a TV.
And then there's closet space where magically, our clothing
was hung and our luggage was unpacked.
And then there are, yeah, coolers that are stocked with
all sorts of goodies. And a DVD player.
Lots of goodies. No, Derek, there's not the.
Coolers are. You had me a cooler.
You had me. A Yes, there there were no Ipas
in the cooler, but there were Coke products.
But I bet if we had requested it, Derek, it would have come
because we had mentioned a few things along the way that
magically appeared. No.
Does it sleep 6? It we were allowed to have four
people, but four people it definitely could sleep 6.
OK, I was just trying to figure out if Derek wins.
We know he's going to take his kids for some reason.
I just wondering if there is room for any more.
Yeah, me and Paul. I can.
That's six. I will.
I will be happy. I will be happy to throw you in
the party tub, yeah. It'll be just fine.
So you get, you get. You get definitely both fit.
You get checked in, you explore the suite.
Are you like there for the rest of the night now or are there
dinner plans is like in my head. I'm also going is there room
service like so like what's the next?
What's the next step on your adventure that evening?
Is it a prison or? Did you get to walk around?
So we were greeted to a ton of goodies that they had, had
special desserts and treats and all sorts of things.
And then the team asked, what were you hoping to do while we
you were in the park because you can do whatever you want.
Basically. Was there anything you were
hoping to eat well in the park? Would you like us to make you
any dining reservations? And again, it was overwhelming,
but we talked about how we were hoping to maybe go to Beacon
Barrel. At that point it was still
pretty new but I was unable to get a dining reservation.
My husband had talked about a bacon pecan cinnamon roll thing
that was new ish that was he was hoping to try and the cast
member said OK well we have a couple things that we have
planned. You have special VIP seating for
the new Starlight Parade and you'll have special seating for
happily ever after. And I said, well, then we'll put
our desires to the side and whatever it is that we can fit
in or do around those times, we we'll do.
So we decided to go back out into the park.
So one of the cast members, Cheyenne, came with us and we
just went on some rides. We tried the Jingle Cruise for
the first time and we decided not to do a dining reservation
because we didn't want to waste precious time with sitting down
for an hour, an hour and a half when you have a once in a
lifetime opportunity to just be brought anywhere and anywhere.
So we tried 7 dwarves mine train in the dark.
We had never done that. My son rode Tron in the dark for
the first time. He had always been a kid that
wanted to sit in the back row, but because this was so special,
he said he wanted to try one of the bikes and he said we have to
put our arms out and fly through Tron at night.
Mom, this is such a special night.
And so he was brave and off we flew through Tron at night.
He convinced Cheyenne to go on some of the rides with us and
she graciously joined us on some of the rides.
So we did a lot of rides where she just sort of brought us on.
You know it, We just happened right in the Lightning Lane and
went right on without having to wait.
And then it was time for the Starlight Parade, which was
unbelievable. Lincoln had seen this new light
up wand Mickey hand thing that apparently goes with the parade.
And so we had decided to get spring rolls, Derek and popcorn
and a few other things before the parade and we got them and
then they brought us to this special VIP bench that is roped
off and says VIP and our at that .2 cast members were with us and
we got to sit and wait and watch everybody else jockey for spots.
It was getting a little chilly and I wasn't used to Disney in
December so I had forgotten to bring our sweatshirts with us.
So they said to us, well, would you like us to buy you
sweatshirts? And I thought, so that's very
nice of you. But we have sweatshirts, so on
the suite team phone they went and called up to the team
members in the suite and 5 minutes later our sweatshirts
were delivered to us. Oh my.
Gosh, and Lincoln turns around and Lincoln turns around and a
cast member comes over and hands him the special Mickey light up
wand that he had walked past and said, those are so cool and they
were delivered to us. It was incredible.
There were a few other benches that were in the roped off VIP
area that other guests of the park saw and thought, well,
well, that's a great spot to sit.
Why don't we sit there too? And so they people kept trying
to sit and there were two other benches and the people who were
with us kept having to tell people that they weren't allowed
to sit there. And, you know, I think others
were playing the are you rich or are you famous game for us and
true or, you know, neither. Yeah, neither.
The cast members kept calling us the castle family.
So that's what they would refer to us as as they brought us onto
rides or as they brought us to the food cart.
Lincoln was so excited that he was telling everybody that we
got to sleep in the castle that night.
And the cast member that gave us popcorn said what?
What do you mean you get to sleep in the castle?
So even the other cast members didn't believe it.
The team told us that they only host about two to four stays per
year now. Wow.
So it is that that rare now? So we got to sit and watch the
Starlight Parade go right past us in every single cast member
and performer stopped and waved and smiled at Lincoln and at us.
And it was just, it was the most, it was the most amazing
show. Of course I'm, I'm crying
because it was the first time we were able to see the parade and
the emotions and the music and the atmosphere just swells and
takes, takes over. And there was a moment in the
parade where I, I looked over at my son and, and he was crying
and it makes me emotional now. And I said, buddy, are you OK?
And he said to me, this is the best day of my life.
And I, I can't believe this is real.
And it's, you know, one of those mom moments that you think and
my husband starts tearing up and you're like, yeah, you're right.
This Will, this is the best day of our lives.
And so then the parade goes and we got to keep going.
And then we tried other, other rides and we got to do other
things. And it was, it was, it was
amazing. The cast members just kept
saying the Castle family, what would you like to do next?
And my son picked a few things, my husband picked a few things.
And then it was time for happily ever after and we had to do a
bathroom break. And you know how the hub is at
firework time, it was crowded and one of the cast members
walked in front of us and he said just stay with me.
And it was like the seas just part of the the tape.
The tape was down. And they were saying you can't,
you can't pass the tape. But the Castle family is allowed
to cross the tape and so other. Castle family has to use the
bathroom. So I said to my son, this must
be what, like, Taylor Swift feels like or something because
the people just kept moving out of our way.
And then they brought us back to the hub and we were able to sit
in this special area on the grass.
I mean, we got to lay back on the grass and watch happily ever
after without having to fight the crowds or have, you know, a
kid on someone's shoulders in front of us where Lincoln or I
can't see. And the cast members hung out
with us and we got to watch the fireworks.
All I all I know is I know our audience.
If you're at the Magic Kingdom anytime after this show airs, be
prepared to hear a bunch of people saying Castle family
coming through Castle family coming.
Through Oh my goodness, this is so cool.
OK, so after happily ever after, was it time to go back to the
suite? So they actually told us that we
weren't allowed to go back to suite just yet because the
people in charge of the fireworks have to clear the
castle and the castle suite before you're allowed to re
enter. So at that point we had been up
since the crack of dawn because we had done early entry at
Hollywood Studios. So we were getting a little
tired, but we kept going and we went on some more rides and then
they said that we were able to go back to the castle.
And at that point it was really close to clothes, I feel like.
So we walked back to the castle and as we walked up, one of the
team members said, hey, look, look up there.
They had made sure that the lights were on in the suite so
that we could see where the room was, so we could see where we
were staying for the night and that was.
That was for that photo. Yeah.
That's so cool. So it's so the.
So the Windows overlook Fantasyland.
Is that what it is? Yes.
OK. Yep.
Oh my goodness. And so we went back in and we
went upstairs and they had the Jacuzzi tub in party mode ready
for my son. And then they had more swag for
us. They had given us it, it, it was
amazing. We had a glass slipper,
Cinderella's glass slipper, that was etched with the words
Cinderella Castle Suite on one side and the date of our stay on
the other side that we were able to take with us.
They had. Yeah, right.
Yep. Jeff, the collector of things is
like losing his mind right now. Yeah.
That's. His new name?
Quick Side Story. We obviously carried it on when
we returned home and we were stopped by TSA and they said we
just need to check your bag because there's something really
big inside. And I looked at the gentleman
and I said, it's Cinderella's glass slipper.
And he kind of looked at me like I was crazy.
And then he opened up the bag and looked inside and he said,
you're right, Cinderella slipper.
And he said, I've never seen one of these before.
And we told him, you know, we well, we got to sleep in the
castle. And I don't think he was maybe a
Disney guy, so he didn't really get it.
But anyway, that was a little Side Story of the slipper.
But they had robes put out for us.
They had slippers for us, they had sleeping masks for us.
They had boxed up the treats from earlier and given us more
treats. They made us a solid chocolate
golden pillow with a chocolate Cinderella slipper on top.
I thought that was edible when I saw the photo.
Oh, that's so cool. Yeah, that was edible and a lot
of other treats. And they had made a special
personalized stationery that said the Perry family is, oh, I
can't remember what I said, but it was a personalized
stationery. And we were able to take it all
home with us. And we had to buy extra luggage
to take home all of the amazing things that they had given us.
Yes. So my son, we were, they were
asking if we need anything else for the night.
And we thought, well, I don't know what else we could ask for.
And then my husband turned around and there was one of the
members was holding a wooden box and they said, we have a
surprise for you. And he opened it up and it was
that pecan bacon cinnamon roll that he had wanted to try.
And apparently it's only served in the morning, I think, or
during the day. And so it was closed and they
had had the kitchen open for him.
Oh my goodness, they made him the treat as a nightcap for the
night. There's like Disney magic times
3000 million. Right.
Last night I literally did everything that you just talked
about, minus obviously the most important part, which was
staying in the castle suite, but I did the spring rolls.
We watched Starlight, we watched happily ever after and I thought
we were pretty boozy because we got to do the Buzz Lightyear
soft open. So like we were feeling like we
were pretty awesome. And just like you were saying
that the the hub at that time, like we got stuck in the parade.
We couldn't get back to our family that were just getting
off Tron because you know what I mean?
And I just, I'm literally living it in my mind because I was just
there last night having a way different experience.
And I just. I can't.
Imagine. I can't imagine.
I'm also in my head though, like going like where?
Where would they say no? Like where's that line drawn
like if you asked? For something and I'm always
scared to ask for stuff so I would I don't the.
Same. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I get very shy in that in that setting but like also in my head
I would like to push the button that starts the fireworks.
Is that a yes or no like? Can I beat Tinkerbell?
Can you hook me up? To the zip like ring me up.
And that's why we'll never win. Exactly.
We'll fail the background. Check.
They'll find this video and they'll be like, no, they can't
stay there. We are not people that
experience things like that. So it was, it was hard to sort
of make decisions and be able to do whatever, you know, within
reason, whatever we wanted to. We had sort of talked about
doing Tiana's, but we didn't want to risk getting our shoes
wet because we didn't pack another pair of shoes for that
one night because they had told us, you know, we you can't bring
your huge luggage in to the suite.
So we only brought our carry on. And so we had our second pair of
shoes for the rest of the trip, but we didn't bring it.
And one of the cast members said, well, we can go buy you
Crocs and you can rule the Crocs on Tiana's if you'd like to.
And again, we said thank you, but no thank you.
That's OK. We'll just, we'll ride Tiana's
another time. You know, we're DVC members,
we're coming back, so we'll just ride it another time.
But thank you for offering. And so they asked if there was
anything else we wanted for the night before they had left.
And we were pretty set and we were pretty exhausted.
So they left and they said that one person would be downstairs
at that first entryway all night long in case we need anything.
I think he was also there to make sure we didn't pull Derek
and sneak out maybe in the middle of the night and, you
know, go try to ride a ride at night or.
Find Find old spring rolls. Right.
Or do anything like that. So my son enjoyed the jacuzzi
and then we passed out and the gloriously plush betting that we
did take a sneak peek of the labels for to any future
purchase I. Would have to, yeah.
I have, I have a quick question because I'm thinking, OK, we've
exhausted every request we possibly can.
It's just us, we're in the room for the rest of the night.
Is there like can you put on like Sports Center and like just
watch TV right there is ATV correct?
Yes, the the mat. There are two magic mirrors that
turn into the TV. OK, that's what I'm.
That's right, she did say that. That's right, you.
Wouldn't. You wouldn't miss the wrestling
that night, Derek, don't worry. Hold on, that's the most Derek
thing that's ever been spoken on this show.
I'm in the castle suite at Magic Kingdom.
Can I watch sports? What?
So at after you've bathed
yourself in the party tub and you've sat in every bed and
every living area, what else are you going to do?
Well, you just. Rode everything in the park,
you're probably. Everything in the park.
You have a robe on? Yeah.
You're quite sleepy. What are you going to do?
You're going to sit there and watch.
Something. Like a normal human.
Where's the Bachelor come? On There were many other amazing
things in the suite. There were books and little
trinkets. There was this spyglass that
Peter Pan had gifted to Cinderella and my son used it to
look out the suite windows at night to check out Magic
Kingdom. It was the coolest thing ever to
see Magic Kingdom after hours. Empty the.
It just it, it lit up. They have lights that they turn
on at night once all of the guests are gone and there are
people, you know, cleaning the grounds and those sorts of
things and doing all the after hour things.
But, you know, we took a peek out and we watched because how
could you not, you know? That's what I would be doing
instead of Sports Center like I would be watching.
Plastered against the window the whole night.
Don't. Don't they give you like, at
least they did when I saw it a long time ago.
Like, they told me that they give everybody really, really
stern warnings, like, don't even try to open the windows, right?
Like I heard it was like, don't even try to bother opening them
because every fire truck in the state of Florida will be here if
you try to open these windows. At least maybe that's what they
told me when I was up there. And that tracks.
That tracks. They did not tell us that, but
we did pass our background check, so I think they knew we
were, they knew we were responsible guests.
There you are definitely never getting in that suite now.
Nope. No party tub for me.
So, Marcy, you sleep through the night, you wake up the next
morning. Is there breakfast?
Is there more rides? You know how how do they greet
you that next day? Yes, there there is more.
So we woke up and we're gifted exclusive Cinderella Castle
Suite magic bands that only guests of the suite are given.
And they're beautiful. They're white with the
Cinderella Crest on them. Where is it?
We have photos, we'll put the photos out.
I did send a photo, yes. So we were given that, and then
one of the cast members personally delivered our luggage
with Cinderella's glass slipper to the Grand Floridian.
That's where Disney put us up after the night in the castle.
And then there was breakfast at Cinderella's royal table in the
morning. And my, my, yeah, my son Lincoln
was given a an honorary tour guide pin to wear the next day
because the sweet team was so impressed with all of the facts
that he knew he's a fact kid. And so as we were touring with
them the night before, he was saying, oh, this is this or I
know this. And that was a really sweet
touch that they did. And Lincoln was thrilled that he
got to wear it the next day. I'm a teacher.
And like I said, I think Disney knew more about us than we knew
about ourselves. And the team even gave gave me
treats to bring home to my class.
And. So at, at some point somebody
just in passing had asked, oh, you know, how many students do
you have this year? And I told them and I had no
idea that they gave the kiddos special stickers and special
Cinderella Castle Suite exclusive stickers to take.
And so we were given all of those things.
And then we went to breakfast and we were given lightning
lanes that we could just go to the rides at any time.
So we didn't have to fiddle on our phone.
We were just allowed to show up whenever we wanted to.
And that actually was a Christmas party night.
And I had no idea the crowds were low during the day and a
party night. And so the cast member didn't
come with us during the day, but he gave us the phone number that
we could text him or call him if we needed anything.
And so then we went off and explored Magic Kingdom some more
that next day. I just, I, I love the thought of
you guys sleeping in the castle then going downstairs for
breakfast because I, I would be like, hey, what are all these
people doing in my house? This is my house.
Yeah, as the princesses came around, Lincoln did tell them
that he slept in the castle. And the princess's minds were
blown because, you know, and he, you know, he would ask, So what
did you, did you ever have a sleepover with Cinderella
upstairs? And, you know, they, they were
like, no, never. And we got, of course, we also
got to meet Cinderella. And we had to thank her for
offering up her room to us for the evening.
Oh. My gosh, that is so cool.
OK. So tell us just a little bit
about where they put you at the Grand Floridian because that was
a unique room as well. Yes, so part of the sweepstakes
win was also two nights in a deluxe resort and they they
picked the grand for us and we've never, we had never stayed
there. So we were thrilled.
And so they delivered our luggage for us.
And when we got there, they had us in one of the turret rooms,
which was super cool. And you walk in and it's
beautiful. And the pink color is just
beautiful and the smell, of course, is lovely.
And so they put us in the Grand Floridian and one of the turret
rooms for the next two nights. Oh my goodness.
Wow. I feel like Disney would be
ruined forever now. Like it's just like you've
experienced the pinnacle of like what it is you know, to to be
there just just absolutely. Yeah, tough me to talk.
Yeah, just just a wonderful experience all the way around.
Well, I don't like, I feel like that overshadows most of this
show. But Marcy's a Disney Vacation
Club member, by the way. Also, in case you wondered,
which is actually I think how how the conversation started was
reaching out to Monera and having a conversation with Amy
and and all of that fun stuff. So, you know, just quickly give,
you know, give us your DVC story where, where do you own, you
know, what made you decide to join the club?
And, you know, can you buy enough points to stay in the
castle suite, I guess? You cannot, yes.
Yes, yes you can. You can only buy them through
me. There at the DVC.
Of course. Yeah, so I'm an 80s baby, raised
in the 90s during what I think is the best Disney movie era.
So I was a Disney, a Disney kid growing up.
My family and I visited a handful of times, but not often.
And we once I got married and had my son, we wanted to bring
him to Disney. And then COVID came and paused
us a little bit. So we didn't end up making our
first trip until 2022. And it was a spur of the moment
thing where my husband said, hey, when's your spring break
this year? And I said about four weeks from
now. And I said, do you want to go to
Disney? And I said, well, yeah.
So we took our first trip. It was as amazing as I
remembered it, and even more magical now that I was a mother
and I got to bring my son and experience it through his eyes.
And then our next trip was about a year and a half later.
And a colleague at work is also a DVC member.
She talked to me and we had considered actually renting
points through you because my friend had recommended your
company. But my husband having that law
background, he was a little unsure of renting.
But I have learned now that you can rank your points and it is
definitely OK. But we decided to stay at the
Contemporary because we wanted to walk to Magic Kingdom because
my son was still little. And at one point during our
stay, my husband looked at me and he said, I've never seen you
more happy than when we're at Disney.
And that was sort of it. And you know, as much as he is
sort of anti timeshare, he made an appointment with one of the
people at the Contemporary and then he talked for a few
minutes, asked a lot of questions that the sales people
actually couldn't answer because they were more legal things.
So like Derek said, we went home, we did our research, and
then we reached out to DVC Resell and bought Old Key West,
which is my husband's favorite resort because it is so quiet,
You know, after a crazy busy day in the park, he loves going back
to Old Key West. We're spoiled with the one
bedroom and the space and yeah, that's where we own and we love
it. Oh my goodness, that is so cool.
OK, you have to take the castle suite out of this question, but
aside from that, what is your like favorite DVC memory with
your family? It sounds silly, but you're
right, it's the memories that you make that aren't planned.
I think my favorite memory is staying at Old Key West in the
one bedroom making pizza in the oven.
And you know what? They don't have pizza pans,
which I feel like we should push to get pizza pans put in there.
And it started really smoking and we panicked that we were
going to set off the fire alarm. Luckily we didn't.
We opened the big patio doors and started frantically waving.
But then we sat on the patio that overlooked the golf course
and the waterway, and we just ate pizza while doing laundry.
That's amazing, love that. I would say that's a plea though
for for every single DVC resort. It's better pans.
Oh my God. We, we Dan, DVC Dan has set the
fire alarm off at Animal Kingdom.
Animal Kingdom Lodge. Yeah, surprisingly, when you set
the fire alarm off, it only goes off in your room and nowhere
else. So we were able to like get it
out with like it goes. Up in your room before it goes
up everywhere. Or apparently we had enough time
and nobody ever came to check to make sure we didn't burn our
room. That's.
Just yet another reason why we'll never be in the Castle
Suite. But I love that story because
you probably heard me tell the story of Paul and I folding
laundry and like watching the Santa Claus in a one bedroom in
Oakie W eating take out from Earl sandwich.
And you're right, it's just you don't plan it, but you just have
that feeling of like I'm going to remember this forever because
it's just so special. And you know, the people I love
are here and we're happy and we're in a place that we love
and I just I love it. I love that you ate pizza and
did laundry at old QS and we'll remember it forever.
Marcie, what what DVC stays are on the horizon?
Or any any bigger Disney trips, cruises, anything else on your
bucket list in the near future here?
Yes, we're actually heading back to Old Key West in just a short
few days. And then we have our first day
booked at Beach Club for this summer.
My son is out of his mind, excited to try Stormalong Bay.
Yes. Oh yeah.
And then we have another trip booked in February 2027.
Right now it's at Old Key West, but at seven months we might try
to change to Animal Kingdom Lodge.
We've never been there. Love to see the Kadani
refurbishment. Yeah.
And we have talked about trying to hit Disneyland at some point,
which I know is going to be really hard because we don't own
there. So maybe we'll have to rent.
I don't know. But we would love to get out to
Disneyland too. We've got some friends headed to
Disneyland actually next week. And like, it's when, when people
tell me like they've never been there.
I remember that feeling before. It's so special, Yeah, and.
It's like it's just a different speed of Disney and yeah.
Intimate, historic. Yeah.
I can't wait for you guys to be able to go out there.
That would be exciting. I just, I just love her story.
When she said that, her husband said, you know, I've never seen
you so happy than when you're at Disney.
Like, to me, that's what membership's all about, you
know, and she just proved it when we're already asking, you
know, how many more trips do you have?
You know, she's got so many because she's a member.
She's got so many coming up. I'm going to do this and then
I'm going to try this and then I'm going to go there.
And I think what's great too is, as we always talk about too, the
great part about it is it's not just the trips themselves, it's
the planning, it's the anticipation.
It's, you know, watching incredible shows like these that
just help get so excited for your trip.
So her husband saying that and him even being so anti
timeshare, right? So, but he looked at his wife
and said, my God, is she happy, Happy wife, happy life.
What have I got to do? Even if it involves buying a
timeshare, I'm going to do it so.
There's moments in these shows where you can feel the people
unsubscribing from us. Well, he did carefully read the
DVC contract as a timeshare, and he said this is the only
timeshare I would ever let us purchase.
Yeah, so there you go, Fee. There's that.
If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is.
I mean. Oh my goodness.
Well, this is the this is the part of the show where I always
like to just flip things on its head.
Marcy, I didn't, I didn't prep you for this question.
But if you've seen some of our member spotlights, who might
know it's coming, Is there any question now that you have this
motley crew of people together that you would like to ask us as
as part of this special episode? Sure.
This is pressure, just so you know, because the normal
questions I feel like you've already answered in episodes and
other people asking. So I was trying to think up of 1
and what I came up with is if you could choose, I guess a ride
or a food or resort or something Disney that best fits your
personality, what would it be? That's tough.
Sorry, Paul. That's, that's a blank stare.
Sorry. Man, that's like, that's like
the Jeff Blank stare from one of our other recent episodes where
we asked him as a hot dog. A sandwich?
Sure. Is that it?
No. I always feel like you have to
pick one to eat because there's. A hot dog, A Taco.
So. Someone wrote back it was a, it
was a wrap. I don't know So the.
The problem, the problem with me is that I changed my favorite
resort like every week in my head.
But like I feel like when you really think about like, OK,
what what is, you know, what is the resort that always like
speaks to you? And like this is where Amy
belongs. And for me, I think Boardwalk is
like my personality, not the. I thought she asked.
Ride. She said she said resort ride or
restaurant. OK, food.
OK. But I would like I would like to
have one of each please. So Earl Sandwich would be my
restaurant. Of course it would be.
And the ride would be, gosh, I don't know.
This is this question is like our, our recent show that we did
where we're making up the rolls for the question as we, as we
answer it, because I'm going to go with our I'm going to go with
a food and, and keep with the theme of a of a cheeseburger egg
roll. Because you know, before you, if
you don't get to really like meet me, like I'm a little bit
crispy and crunchy on the outside, like before you really
get to know me. Oh, that was deep.
And then like I'm I'm steamy and yumminess on the inside.
That actually that was break the creepy break the break the outer
layers. I'm sorry, just just picturing
that right now and it's an image.
I was thinking of like boardwalking, like whimsical and
right. You find yourself whimsical.
Yeah, OK. Or animal Kingdom this dark.
I'm just kidding. Jeff, save us.
Have you thought of anything for yourself?
That's a really good question. And I think I would have to say
Pirates of the Caribbean as the ride.
And the reason is, is because it's a little bit serious, it's
a little bit funny. It doesn't take itself too
seriously, which is how I try to live my life.
And there's a singing donkey. And there's dogs in it, and the
dog is going to Get Me Out of jail.
So I don't know. I think that one just fits my
personality to the most. Derek, that's good.
I was going to go kind of thinking along the lines like
Jeff is, but I was going to say Big Thunder like because life
with me can be, you know, very unpredictable.
But overall it's incredibly smooth because I'm a very happy,
amiable person. So that ride is very smooth.
And every time anyone gets off of it, no one's in a bad mood
after they spent time on Big Thunder Mountain.
So I feel like maybe and even a little bit of time with me that
maybe you leave and go, that was fun.
I want to spend more time with that guy.
Or maybe you say I'm never going to do that right, I don't.
Know I'm starting to get uncomfortable I.
Did. Not think that's this is where
my question was going to head, I'm sorry.
Paul, Paul just said. He's crunchy on the outside and
yummy and warm on the inside, so don't get mad at me.
Yeah, there was no saving us from any of that, really.
I mean, it it just, it just was what it was.
It just mission accomplished. Mission accomplished.
Well, Marcy, that was I, I don't know how we're going to top this
show ever. Like I think, you know, Jeff had
mentioned earlier, like this is like, this is our peak.
It is so incredible that you and your family got to experience
this just just within the past year, right?
Like this was just like last December.
Like I didn't, I didn't know it was like, so like fresh in your,
in your in your mind and. She reached out to us, yeah.
That's just that's so. Incredible.
And on that note, it probably couldn't have happened to a more
deserving, nicer person. Like, just the appreciation that
you had for the whole experience was very evident, like
throughout everything that you said.
And I, yeah, just loved your story and you, you were so well
spoken. It was just so fun to listen to.
Absolutely, yes. You're just lovely.
And I think if you go back and
listen to this show, this is the least I've ever talked in an
episode, which is good because I try to be the funny, sarcastic
Comic Relief dancing monkey. I was so overwhelmed emotionally
and I'm going to try to not lose it here, but just what an
amazing experience and it couldn't happen to a nicer
family, so that's just really great.
I'm really excited for you guys and a little bit jealous but
mostly excited. He's a lot of it.
Jealous, especially of all the cool stuff you took back.
Oh my. God, I was looking for it.
Yeah, I've had this in my in my archives for a while.
So I mean. That's kind of weird that you
do, but OK. Marcie, thank you so much for
joining us for this episode. You know, maybe we'll have you
back on again to talk about some other, you know, really, really
fun thing that you and your family got into.
So thanks again. Thank you, our audience, for
listening. If you have questions for
Marcie, put them in the comments.
We'll send them and maybe revisit this.
I don't know, but until next week's episode, we will see you
next Monday. Not from the castle, Derek.
I'm sorry. They're not going to let us in.
Ever Castle family coming through.
Hey now, Castle family.