It was Sunday, October 24, 2010. Our day was already planned out: we were going to arrive at Magic Kingdom sometime around 11 or 12, spend a couple hours there, hop to Hollywood Studios to ride on Toy Story, and then go back to Magic Kingdom around 6pm to change into our costumes for the Halloween party. This was the plan.
We got a little off schedule because I took longer than expected to get ready. When we got to Magic Kingdom, Anthony told me that today is the day he gets a new pass. The pass he had at the time had somehow been deactivated and no longer worked when placed in the turnstile scanners. He had also ripped his "pass sleeve" and required a new one.
When we arrived at the park, we headed immediately to guest relations. Everything went fine, and I was in a super good mood because all the Halloween decorations were out and it looked so festive! When we left guest relations, a cast member approached us saying, "excuse me, would you be willing to participate in a new marketing project as part of the new 'let the memories begin' campaign? The prizes are fantastic!" She kept emphasizing how great the prizes were going to be. Inside, I was jumping up and down with excitement! How awesome that WE would be chosen to help test drive something for Disney!! But Anthony was very reluctant to say yes, which I thought was kind of weird, but I knew he was very eager to go on Toy Story, so I didn't really question it.
He finally agreed, and the cast member ("Vicky") handed us a little booklet. Inside were questions from each area of the park. We had to go around the park finding the answers to the questions, and report to her between 3:30 and 4 by the wishing well to get our prizes.
I can honestly say that I had the BEST time at Disney ever that day. I think I smiled the whole time. There were easy questions, like, "When did the Swiss Family Robinson's shipwreck occur?" but then there were harder ones, like, "What does "Big Six" Matthewson drink?" (Lucky for us, I had a hunch it was in Casey's Corner...I was right.)
I was nervous the whole time that maybe we wouldn't answer enough questions in time, or maybe we'd be the worst group and we wouldn't win a prize. We also talked about what the prizes might be - annual passes for life, a night in the Cinderella suite, a free night in a resort, etc. Quite frankly, I would have been excited by any prize we got.
When we arrived at the wishing well, Vicky was there to meet us and she greeted us by name. I thought it was pretty impressive that she remembered our names. I was, however, still focused on the last question that we had to answer - "Who is engraved around the bottom of the wishing well?" I kept asking Anthony, "Is it the mice? Should I write down Mice?" And he really didn't seem interested at that point. I was kind of annoyed with him because I wanted to make sure we filled it in appropriately so we could get our prize!! Vicky had two little treasure chest boxes with her and said to us, "Good, I'm glad you made it back! You're the second to the last group to be done." She took our book from us and looked through it for a few minutes. My mind was still focused on thoughts of prizes, and hoping that we had completed everything and that the answers were good enough! She made a few comments on our answers, such as, "Oh, I can tell you didn't go on the Jungle Cruise!" She then handed Anthony one of the boxes and told us to stand together so she could take our pictures with Anthony's camera. Then she directed us over to a bench where we could sit down to open our box. Anthony handed it to me and told me to open it.
I opened the box, fully expecting to see a note inside that said, "Congratulations! You've won a night in the Cinderella Suite!" Or, "Thanks for participating! Here is a voucher for a free dinner at _________!"
But instead, I saw a white rose, a white ribbon, and a ring.
Several things went through my head at that point, most of which I can't remember. I remember thinking, "Oh, no, they gave us the wrong box!" and also thinking, "Finally!" while at the same time, thinking, "Is this really happening??"
I had put a lot of thought into what I was going to say when this moment happened. Yet, when it actually did happen, I think I was in react mode. I didn't have time to sit there and make it "perfect." It just happened. I remember asking, "What is this?" and then watching Anthony get down on one knee.
Neither of us can remember exactly what he said. I know for sure he said to me, "I hope you had as much fun today as I have with you every day." From there, it was a blur. I'm not exactly sure if he said the words "will you marry me," but he said something pretty close. By this point, I was crying like a baby. I said "yes!!" "Vicky" then said, "Well, are you going to give him a kiss??" and so I kissed him. It was actually a really sweet moment.
I started to put the ring on, but then I took it off and told Anthony to put it on me. And we kissed again.
And then Anthony told me that "Vicky" is actually Linda who works at AHS. She is not really a cast member, but was pretending. Anthony had made the treasure hunt book himself, spending hours on the questions and designing it, printing it, and then making it into a book. What a wonderful fiance I have!!!
Linda and her husband (who had been nearby taking pictures) said their congratulations and headed on their way. We sat around for a few minutes, enjoying the time to ourselves, but then it was time to go tell everyone! And we told everyone. We spent a good chunk of time talking on the phone and texting.
We stayed busy the rest of the day, since it was the Halloween party and all. We stayed until closing time, which meant we didn't get home until around 1:30 in the morning. And who can go to bed right away after a day as exciting as that?!?
