October 4: Family Gets Magic Kingdom to Themselves

On this day in 2006, a family from Ohio took an early morning stroll down Disney World's quiet and completely deserted Main Street. The family of four walked alone along a red carpet laid down in the middle of the street until they came to the intersection of Center Street ...

Suddenly trumpets blared and an announcer's voice greeted them - "Good morning Tammy, Ray, Derick, and Ashley, and welcome to your Magic Kingdom!" At that moment the family was surrounded by over 1500 cheerful Cast Members and some 80 Disney characters!

The Spangler family from Randolph, Ohio were the winners of the online "Keys to the Magic Kingdom" sweepstakes - part of the "Year of a Million Dreams" campaign. They were the first in Disney history to have the park to themselves!

With their Disney VIP leading the way, the Spanglers rode their favorite attractions (with no lines to wait on), met their favorite characters and even appeared on a segment of ABC-TV's "Good Morning America." By noon they had experienced such attractions as Space Mountain, Dumbo, and the Jungle Cruise (where 11-year-old Ashley got to drive the boat).

The Magic Kingdom opened to the public in phases that day as the Spanglers completed their tour.
Later they enjoyed a Fairytale Lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table and were named grand marshals of the Disney Dreams Comes True parade.

"This is beyond the dream. This is something that you can't even think of dreaming of, yet we have it. It's unbelievable." -Ray Spangler

Click HERE for much more October 4 Disney history.