Dream Squad

[Jeff G]

From what I saw this past week I was disappointed with the Dream Squad. This past Wednesday we were at Toon Town. I took a break on a bench around 10:00 to have some fresh fruit and people watch. I started to notice a lot of people coming out of the Judges Tent with YOMD hats and dream fast passes. Not just one group but many. A family passing me also noticed this and made a comment that they should go see it they can get dream ears. Sure enough 10 minutes later they emerge from the tent with ears and fast passes. I thought the idea was to be random, being in an area a long period and allowing families to find the dream squad really isn't what I was expecting. On Friday we were back to the MK in the same location at almost the same time and the prizes were coming out of the same area again.

I also witnessed several people approaching the Dream Squad to trade pins and then getting a prizes handed to them.

The way this was presented originally was that random things would be happening throughout the parks that would be a surprise to the recipient and not so easily manipulated.

[EmISeeKayEeWhy]

Maybe they are getting more lapsey because the end of the year is only a couple months away and they have a big surplus to get rid of?

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

The bigger prizes are randomly generated by the computer.

Otherwise, the smaller ones can be scheduled such as a large loading/unloading area. Common ones are HM, Buzz, COP, Laugh Floor, Animation, Voyage, Narnia, HISTA, and others.

[glenpreece]

Maybe they are getting more lapsey because the end of the year is only a couple months away and they have a big surplus to get rid of?

That's what i am guessing as well. I've been 3 times since the YOAMD began back in 2006 and not ONCE have I received a a thing.

[Jeff G]

We were with a group of 29 who spent 10 days at WDW and an average of 8 hours a day at the parks and not a single one of us received a thing.

I guess the thing that disppointed me is that people were able to manipulate getting a dream if they wanted which I don't find magical or dream like. If they are having a promotion stick to it for the enitre duration or don't start it. Plus back a year or two ago I read a lot more dreams like free ice cream bars, meal upgrades etc. Now all I here about is the ears or fast passes.

Don't get me wrong we had a great vacation, one of the best ever even without the dream.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

They still do the free bars and everything else, it's just that people don't flaunt those as much as the highly coveted ears (which I go like every other day and try to get and have yet to win).

May I say that 8 hours isn't all that much at the parks, especially when most prizes are given earlier in the day? I'm not saying you weren't there early enough, but typically by 11-12pm most of the bigger, better prizes are gone.

While you had a larger party, which certainly does help, it's also a matter of the right place at the right time. Sitting on a bench outside while they are giving away hats inside isn't the right place. There's been times where I was in the right place and the wrong time by like seconds, literally. Like, the hats were the parties in front of me. Or a few parties behind me. Yeah....I want a pair of ears.

Either way, it's almost done and their position will become that of a super-greeter. I liked the YOAMD, but then again, I am there everyday to see all of the dreams that you guys probably don't.

[Jeff G]

Thanks for the great insight Jessica.

I really liked the promotion, my problem with it was it could be manipulated and also a little disappointment that we didn't win a thing out of it. We spent 28 days over the past two years in the parks during the promotion and didn't receive a single dream which was a let down, especially for how much it was promoted. For the days we were at the parks we were at the gates before they opened on almost every day (were morning birds at WDW because the parks are so empty) and stayed through at least 3-5 with a many all day marathons. Considering for 8 of those days we were with a group of 14, 9 of those days we were a group of 8 and 9 of those days we knew 29 people in the parks I would have thought someone in our group would have won something.

The day that I was sitting on the bench my parents and kids were visiting Mickey & Minnie's House & seeing the characters in the judges tent. I was letting grandma & grandpa have a few minutes with the kids which they like while getting a few minutes rest. We had already rode every ride in Fantasyland by 10:00 (2nd flight of the day on Dumbo helps) and by 10:30 had saw the characters and rode Barnstormer in Toon Town so we were moving very well.

The main point of my original post though was had I wanted to I could have followed the other family into the area the ears were being handed out and got a pair but that isn't a chance encounter and I wouldn't do it. I was expecting it to be more of a surprise.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

We were just there a couple of weeks ago and didn't really see much of the dream team. When we did finally see someone we stopped to talk to them and told them my nephews would be coming along in a few minutes and didn't think they really existed. They asked their names and what they looked like and stopped them a few minutes later and wished the younger one a happy birthday. He didn't have on a button or anything because his birthday wasn't until a couple of days later. They didn't receive a prize or anything but it was nice that they took the time to talk to them. And the funny part was, the woman in the team was Laurie and we were there with my friend Lori, who the kids hadn't met yet so they thought it was my friend and that we put her up to it. I don't know how they thought she got the outfit though. When they met her later in the day, they realized by the picture I had taken of the Dream team that it was NOT the same Laurie/Lori.
Other than that we were in the parks from open to close and didn't run into them.

[Ian]

Jeff, we noticed it too, but you know what I think it is? It's really slow ... on a normal day in the summer if you give out 100 dream fastpasses at the exit to Small World you'll be there like 3 minutes and there's no way someone could see you and loop back around on the ride to get a prize.

But when it's this slow, it can take a loooooooooooooooooong time for those 100 people to make it through, so it's more susceptible to manipulation.

There's nothing Disney can do, though. If the computer says give out 100 free Fastpasses at the exit to Small World starting at 10:15 AM that's what they have to do.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

If it's slower, they probably change the ratio. It might go from 100 to like 50, or maybe even less. They do have that ability at least, because if a CM or some other person who can't accept prizes wins something big, it goes back into the system for that day. The prize isn't "lost."

[TinkerbellT421]

Well, the first year of YOMD, that very January it started, me and DBF were there. It was our last day, and we decided to go to DTD before we had to go to the airport. We were walking thru DTD right where the water fountain is and I guy came running up to us and saying "Excuse me" at first I tried to pull away and not make eye contact. And he handed us two YOMD lanyards and pins, one for each of us. It was awesome. And the YOMD had just began we were there the first week of January..It was fun and exciting though, that all I could talk about for days when we were back home lol. I am sorry you were never able to win anything though, that stinks. :(