ONCE UPON A TIME........
Disneyland has always been a special place for Danielle and I. We first visited the park together in April of 1995 in order to celebrate our first year together and Danielle's birthday. It was easy to acccomodate both of these events, since they are both only a day apart from one another. I asked Danielle out in 1994 while we were having a party for her birthday, which is on April first. By the time I got the courage up to ask her out, it was already after midnight on the second, so our anniversary is actually the day (or minutes, depending on how you look at it) after her birthday. This trip was special since it was to celebrate that first year together, and the magic and romance of Disneyland was more than we had even hoped for. We hit the rides, but spent more time just walking around holding hands and seeing the sites. One spot, in particular, was especially romantic for us. The romantic atmosphere of the Wishing Well, near Sleeping Beauty Castle, drew us in on that trip, and every trip there after. From that day on we have made it a tradition to visit the Wishing Well and make a wish whenever we go to Disneyland. We had a great time on that first trip and enjoyed every minute that we spent there, but something unexplainable happened while we were there. Ever since that first visit, we have been unable to stay away from the park for more than six months at a time. We have visited the park during every season and have seen it decorated for nearly every holiday. We are hopelessly addicted to the park and it magic. With this, I will begin to tell you about our most magical visit......
In April of 1997, Danielle and I decided to return to Disneyland in order to celebrate her twenty-first birthday. This time, however, we decided not to go solo and went with a group of friends. We ended up with around ten of our friends who agreed to come along with us in order to celebrate Danielle's birthday. That is, she thought that they were merely there for the party, while I knew the truth. They were my accomplices in a plan that took months of preparation. We arrived in Disneyland on the morning of the first and were having a great time. We had been together all day long, but split into two seperate groups around ten o'clock that evening. Danielle and I decided to go to the shops on Main Street with her best friend Denise, while the rest of our friends went to wait in line for some rides. We all agreed to meet in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle when the park closed so that we could return to the hotel together. This all seemed routine and ordinary to Danielle, but was an essential part of my plan. We visited the shops and had a great time, but when the park closed we couldn't find our friends. We waited until after the "Mickey Mouse" song was over and the park was officially closed, but they still didn't show. Danielle started to get upset and was wondering where they were. Just when it seemed that they would never show, Denise said that she saw them and pointed over to the side of the castle. We walked over to the rest of the group and watched as they took pictures in front of the Wishing Well. They told us to stand in front of the Well and pose for a few pictures. Denise suggested that we both toss a coin into the well and make a wish. This sounded like a good photo opportunity, so Danielle quickly agreed and we made our wish. Immediatly after tossing my coin, I turned to Danielle and asked, "Do you want to know what I wished for?" She replied by saying, "No, I don't want to know what your wish is, because then it won't come true." Though this wasn't exactly the response that I expected, I continued with the plan. I then said that I didn't care and that I was going to tell her anyways. I said, " I wished that you would say yes, just like you did when I asked you out exactly four years ago." I then dropped to one knee and produced the engagement ring that I had been hiding in my pocket. With a trembling voice and teary eyes I asked her to marry me. The moment that she answered back with an enthusiastic, "Yes!!!", I knew that my dreams had come true.
Unknown to Danielle at the time, the entire group of friends were involved in my proposal's plans. The trip was merely an excuse in order to include our friends in this important moment and still make my proposal to her in Disneyland. Our friends knew of my plans for months, yet Danielle was unable to find out untill that moment in front of the Wishing Well.
Thankfully my planning worked out and Danielle and I are now making plans for our Wedding, which will be on June 5, 1999. We are also planning our Honeymoon, which will be on the Disney Cruise Line and in Walt Disney World. We can't wait, now we will be able to experience Disney magic as man and wife. That sounds great, doesn't it? -Scott Rivers
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