Guest Relations - Dec 3, 1999

Guest Relations
Page 1 of 1

by Chris Reed (archives)
December 3, 1999
This week Chris shares a very special story.

A Very Special Episode

Somewhere in the four theme parks that encompass Walt Disney World sometime soon, LaughingPlace.com columnist Rick West and his blushing bride Venus will be enjoying their honeymoon.

It may be a glancing smile on Splash Mountain, a clasp of the hands on the Tower of Terror or a romantic trip to the France Pavilion at Epcot.

Love is in the air among those of us writing columns for the Laughing Place, not the least of which comes from the love our hosts Doobie and Rebekah give to this site and each other.

Love is contagious, and I will join Rick and Doobie in the world of matrimony next April when I say "I do" to my better half Felisa.

Last May, I got on my knee and proposed to Felisa in a very special place: Snow White’s wishing well at Disneyland. Being a writer, I wrote about it.

As we celebrate Rick’s happiness, I hope you don’t mind that I be a little different this week and share a little ditty I wrote on my Disney marriage moment.

I’m Wishing

It started with a wish, and ended in a "yes."

It was the moment I asked my soulmate to marry me in the shadows of a castle.

Felisa and I had been together for nearly two years. Our relationship began upon a chance meeting in a bookstore. From there, it didn't take long for us to not only became lovers, but best friends. So fast that I have no idea which came first.

Chronologically, our time together had been brief. Yet, it felt like we had spent our lifetime together. The kind of thing where I know what she is going to say, and vice versa.

I felt it was time to make that ultimate commitment. I was going to ask her to marry me. The only question was where.

I consider myself one with an inkling for the dramatic, so a simple "get down on the knee" in the living room was out of the question.

Being a sportswriter, my first thought was Dodger Stadium. Perhaps a "Will you marry me" flashed on the scoreboard, or a message on the blimp flying overhead.

As I thought about it, that idea grew less romantic. I could just see myself dropping to a knee, only to have the guy in row J yell, "Hey! Down in front! Sheffield is up!"

Perhaps a beach at sunset. The picturesque picture entered my mind of the sun dipping toward the horizon, the sound of the waves hitting the shore … and the water soaking me up and taking the ring with it.

The Hollywood Sign? Too much graffiti. Las Vegas? I might accidentally bet the ring at a Black Jack table. Queen Mary? The only problem with that is that corny Celine Dion song from "Titanic" would keep popping into our heads.

Then I thought about what Felisa and I did for our one-year anniversary of being together. We stayed for a few days at the Disneyland Pacific Hotel. Both of us had always wanted to stay on the Disneyland property.

What I remembered most from the trip was the wishing well.

Just below Cinderella's Castle is Snow White's Wishing Well, something the average Disneyland visitor may pass by without a glance. When a person step on a pebble near the well, a song comes out echoing from within the well. "I'm wishing … for the one I love," it sings. It seemed just right. The place I would propose.

Disneyland? It sounded perfect. After all, I grew up with the place.

My mom was one of the first to enter Disneyland when it first opened. By some fluke, I was actually related to Walt Disney. One of my late grandfather's marriages was to Disney's niece. Not that I got anything out of it. Not even a Magic Kingdom Club card.

I got that Monday off. The 10th of May, to be exact. I convinced her to get that day off as well. The reasoning being that it was a year and eight months to the day we met and a trip to Disneyland would be a great idea.

My biggest challenge was to contain my nerves without revealing to her what I was up to. We went to Tomorrowland first and got in line for the Rocket Rods, since we had never taken the ride before. We waited an hour, but didn't mind. She was in a joyful mood and my mind was wandering toward the moment of truth.

After the whirlwind trip on the Rods with the ring box secure in my pocket, I decided it was time to head to the wishing well. My only obstacle was to get Felisa from the top of Tomorrowland through a huge alley of people and attractions.

I told her, "Let's go to Fantasyland." She found this a little strange considering we had barely tipped the iceberg of Tomorrowland, let alone seen enough to head to the tip of the Matterhorn.

I knew my biggest obstacle would be Star Tours. Sure enough, as we were starting to head out, she said, "Let's go on Star Tours!" I replied, "Only if there isn't a line," gambling that there wouldn't be.

We approach and sure enough, there are only five people in line.

"Yep, line's too big. Let's go!" I say. This she finds really strange. Not only is it one of the smaller lines you could see for Star Tours … Not only had we just waited in line for an hour to go on the Rocket Rods, but Star Tours was one of our favorite rides at the park.

Felisa told me later that she had no though that I was about to propose. She only thought I was being really strange.

With Star Tours behind us, I was home free. My hand moved down to my pocket and the ring was still there. I knew that every time we had gone to the wishing well, we were the only two people there. It was never crowded. I had nothing to worry about.

As we walk toward the bridge to the well, a horrible scene comes into view. At least 20 kids and their parents, all clamoring to get an autograph from Cinderella.

"What are they doing here?" I exclaim. By now, Felisa isn't thinking that I'm going to propose to her, she's wondering if she's going to have to commit me to a mental institution.

I had thought of yelling out, "Hey, kids! That's not Cinderella. It's just some lady in a costume" or "You kids really want an autograph, I saw Michael Jackson walking into Star Tours."

Instead, I decided to wait them out. I was just hoping I wouldn't have to wait until midnight for Cinderella to go off and find her shoe.

I had to kill time. "Hey, the moat's empty," I said. "Yeah, I think it's construction," she said. I was really pushing for time when I described to her the nuances of the Snow White statue.

Starting to get a little bored, she flipped a coin into the well and made a wish. She later told me that she wished I would propose to her.

Like a wave of tinker bell's want, it was at the moment she flipped the coin in that Cinderella and he minions had departed.

As she turned around, I was on knee with the glistening ring in hand.

"Felisa, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" I said.

The tears came down quickly. The moat was going to fill up after all. Through the happy tears, she said, "Yes."

I think she was probably just relieved I wasn't going to get into the architecture of the castle.

We didn't need any more time in the Magic Kingdom that day. We had all the magic we needed, and headed to the parking lot. We made sure to get an annual pass so that we could always come back to the well.

I will forever remember that moment, when a wish became a reality.

Chris Reed, who still has a problem with Cinderella being at Snow White’s well, is usually a sportswriter who can also be seen on the Internet at StreetZebra Online. Picket lines can be set up by contacting [email protected] or entered below.

Guest Relations is normally posted every other Friday.

The opinions expressed by Chris Reed, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.