I know this might be a stupid post but.... About This Page:

[Dave Marx]

As I've often said, there's nothing you can do to make magic happen. The harder you chase it, the more likely it will slip through your fingers and escape. You've got to slow down, and give the magic a chance to find you.

The Dream Squad members generally wear blue, buttondown shirts, black slacks, and carry a black messenger bag. They're fun to chat with (because they often have to wait around until the moment they have to make their magic), and fun to trade pins with (for the same reason). But if you were going to win something, it would have happened before you could strike up a conversation.

Once, we were approached by a Dream Squad member. She wanted to know if this was Alexander's first visit. We answered honestly (no, of course), and continued with a pleasant conversation. Who knows what the "right" answer would be? They could just as likely be looking for repeat visitors as first-timers. Again, if you try to chase the magic, it tends to slip from your grasp.

[bradk]

aside from what's been said, the most frequently distributed 'prize' is the dream FP. due to their nature, they're mostly distributed first thing in the morning and often to those who are on line for an attraction or leaving an attraction. so if you really want to maximize your potential, be at rope drop and go on rides.

[mikasmom]

We won last week waiting for Turtle Talk with Crush and everyone in the room won so it was just a randomly picked time and room.

[wendybell]

I found myself a little discouraged on our most recent trip because we'd seen so many people with fast passes or dream ears while we weren't even "flirted with" by the Dream Squad, but then i came back to earth and realized that the magic moment for me was being in Disney right then, when all my friends were home working... i was in the Happiest Place on Earth! It's random, if the Dream Squad passes you over, make your own magic and have a great trip!

[graygables]

Just so you know, the squad is only carrying out the instructions sent them by a random computer program. They are given a slip of paper that tells them where to go at what time, what car or seat #, etc. It's VERY specific and they have NO idea who will be there. They are also not at liberty to just randomly give away prizes as the computer keeps track of how many and such. While it's nice to be selected (we did win dream FP at AK), please don't take it personally since a person wasn't who decided who was going to win something.

[twogirlsmom]

Our Dreams were completely random too. We weren't even paying attention to the people in the vests when they blocked our path at the AK Character Trails & handed out the pin lanyards. Our other encounter was a Dream Team person who walked up to my parents as they rested on a bench in AK. She asked how their trip was going, chit-chat, chit-chat, then she asked if there was anything in AK that we hadn't been able to do yet. Mom told her we hadn't been able to see the Nemo Show OR Lion King b/c the lines were just too long. She told her to pick one, then she called in a request for our family to go in the back door at Lion King and be seated on the front row. Then DH & DD9 were chosen to help out throughout the show. They loved it!! That one was definitely worth being in the right place at the right time.

[joeandjenn]

I have to agree with Wendybell. The magic of celebrating your daughters birthday at Disney is magic enough! Make sure you get her a birthday pin. The magic happens on its own. Don't set anyone up for expectations or you will be disappointed. Don't let me burst your bubble, but that's why it's called the "Dream Squad!" So we can all dream about winning!!

[HeatherD]

DD "won" a dream experience. After getting off of EE at AK (for the 3rd or 4th time), a CM asked for her help. The CM couldn't find a yeti that was hiding in the gift shop. DD found it (a stuffed one) and she was given a postcard-sized "certificate" that wasn't really all that (in terms of saving). Still, it was nice that she got singled out - my little 7 yo genius!

[Evil_Queen]

Well thanks for the answers. I hope something happens to make her trip special.

[amandab482]

does anyone have any tips or pointers on the million dreams? theres got to be more than just being random!!!

[Shell_of_the_South]

Since the giveaways are completely random as many have posted, the only advice I have is to go as often as you can!

Evil Queen - just wanted to say that your post wasn't stupid at all - I'm sure many people have wondered the same thing!

[Cinderella_68]

Originally Posted by wendybell

if the Dream Squad passes you over, make your own magic and have a great trip!

Excellent advice!
Over our NYE at DL, our littlest princess was going down the stairs to see the princess show at the Princess Fantasy Fair. We were late for the show, and I was bringing up the rear of our group when I was stopped by a CM who asked if "the little princess in blue" was mine.
He then proceeded to issue us an "invitation" for a private audience with our favorite princesses, Cindy and Aurora, of course! It was cool having the princesses to ourselves!
Love the Dream Ears, and here's hoping, I only have two more trips before it ends. If not, at least we'll have all of the rest of the magic memories!!

[DisneyFun-atic]

We were lucky enough to get FP at AK on one trip - they were awarded to our whole safari group at the exit of the ride and pins and lanyards on another trip at HM (again they pulled aside several people in a row as we exited the ride). So those types of prizes are totally random. We also happened to be in the right place at the right time to go onboard one of the large boats that does fireworks cruises and watch wishes from the Lagoon. This was just because the CM's and the boat weren't busy, so they decided to give a nice surprise to those of us waiting for the boat back to WL.

Although, my little one was dressed up like Tinkerbell and we were at Epcot, just standing and waiting for my DH to retrieve the stroller. A CM came up to us (not a dream squad member, but someone who sweeps up and picks up litter) and said our DD was very cute. He handed her a Tinkerbell year of a million dreams pin. That wasn't so random. (of course I do have to wonder if her bandanna had anything to do with it, as some of you know she has leukemia so I think CM's like to do special things sometimes for kids like her).

[happyhedgehogs]

We got a small Dream one day, though the CM seemed to be a regular person, not a special dream CM. We got to go to the front of the line, ride the ride twice, and DD got a little foam dinosaur mask to wear. We got an official certificate, so it really was an official Dream, if a small one. It was lots of fun! We didn't do anything special to get it, though. We were just wandering toward the Triceratops Spin ride and commenting on the big orange dinosaur nearby, and the CM stopped to tell us about it. Then we asked how to get to the line for the ride, and that's when he said he'd decided to choose us as a special family.

I saw a billion people wearing the Dream FastPass "necklaces", but I never actually saw any given out even though we were there for park opening on a couple of mornings (and close to opening on most mornings). I didn't see many of the special ears, though.

BTW, we had many magical moments when my DD wore her birthday pin, and a couple on the day we wore our anniversary button. CMs sang to DD or gave her slightly preferential treatment. A bus driver gave me a special Tinkerbell pin on our anniversary date night. The attendant in the Toy Story Pizza Planet arcade saw our pins and gave us credits on any game we wanted to play. The Mousekeepers evidently saw our preparations for a birthday party when they came to clean that day, and they came back later and left a "cake" made of washclothes and rose petals. So you'll probably have several magical moments because of the pin, even if you aren't the recipient of a Dream!

[julieb]

I was just going to note that I was on Ebay the other day looking to pick up a few bargain pins to start DS off with, and I noticed a bunch of Year of a Million Dreams pins. I told him that we wouldn't be bidding on any of those, and I was thinking that I sure wouldn't be looking to get rid of them if we got lucky and won. I'd treasure them for the memories, but hey, not everyone is a sentimental Disney fanatic!

I also just remembered something - on our first trip with DS and DD back in 2006, DS tripped and fell at AK and skinned his knee. Well I have to tell you that people came out of nowhere offering bandaids and help. Not CMs, so much, but just the great people who were there. That's magic for sure, and I really appreciated that people cared enough to stop!