Idol Winner on Feb 7

[hawkwood]

Hi, All!

I just wanted to share with everyone that my wife won the American Idol Experience this past Saturday on Feb 7!

This is a big deal to me because while she has an awesome voice, she has always had a crippling level of stage fright. I was so proud of her just for walking into the first audition room; to have her actually perform on stage, and ultimately win, was an incredible experience for both me and her.

Ok, I'm done exercising my bragging rights! Just had the urge to share with someone!

 

[TurboCaroline]

Good for her! It feels great to overcome ones fear of something...

 

[kstella]

Congrats to her!!!! I've been debating myself whether or not to try it out when I'm there.

 

[daverube]

Congrats to your wife!!

dave

 

[rsoxguy]

What is the prize for winning? (I hope its not leftover pins from the Millionaire game!)

 

[Kamikaze]

What is the prize for winning? (I hope its not leftover pins from the Millionaire game!)

If you win for the day, you get a pass to skip the lines at a 'real' AI audition.

I'm sure there is other assorted stuff to go with it, but the OP can answer that better than I (hopefully with pics!)

 

[hawkwood]

The attraction isn't "officially" open until the 12th (even though the display outside the attraction says Feb. 14th; the castmembers said they put the 14th because it's an easier date to remember, and it's a weekend). Since this was just a "soft" opening, they weren't giving away the Golden Ticket.

My wife did get one of the blue American Idol "Vote For Me" t-shirts, plus she got to keep the lanyard and ID card they gave her. Wasn't much, but still way worth the experience. Maybe they will have worked out prizes and mementos by the time they officially open?

Nothing exclusive about the t-shirt. You can buy them at the gift shop next to the attraction. I'll see about posting some pics of some of the items.

Later I'll post a play by play of how the day whole ordeal went.

 

[Since1976]

So which winners from the last few weeks get a "fastpass" to the AI judges? All? None? Or just those who win after the official open?

The numbers, I must admit, work out pretty well. 365 winners a year, spread among several cities, certainly. Consider the fact that not all winners will be able to make it to their audition, and you've got a winning attraction and a nice steady stream of potential talent for the real show without overwhelming the audition process.

 

[EpcotServo]

Congratulations!
:sohappy:

 

[hwdelien]

Good for her. I have to admit, I've thought about it myself. I'm too old (42) for the real show. It'd be cool to try. I assume the Golden Ticket would be useless for the reason I stated before. But Kareoke on steriods sounds like fun.

Maybe, by the next audition cycle, AI will simply do a Disney day and one less city.

 

[devoy1701]

The attraction isn't "officially" open until the 12th (even though the display outside the attraction says Feb. 14th; the castmembers said they put the 14th because it's an easier date to remember, and it's a weekend). Since this was just a "soft" opening, they weren't giving away the Golden Ticket.

My wife did get one of the blue American Idol "Vote For Me" t-shirts, plus she got to keep the lanyard and ID card they gave her. Wasn't much, but still way worth the experience. Maybe they will have worked out prizes and mementos by the time they officially open?

Nothing exclusive about the t-shirt. You can buy them at the gift shop next to the attraction. I'll see about posting some pics of some of the items.

Later I'll post a play by play of how the day whole ordeal went.

Did your wife sing "Let Freedom Ring" during her day performance?

If she did, then I voted for her during the day performance... if she didn't, then I didn't get to see your wife sing... sorry... :lookaroun

 

[doop]

That's pretty cool, congrats to her!

 

[bgraham34]

That is awesome that she won. Congrats to you both.

 

[New2WDW]

Way to go! So she won her regular daytime slot and the final later that night?

 

[hawkwood]

She won both the daytime slot (she sang at the 2:00pm show), and went on to win the final show at 7:00pm.

She sang Independance Day (aka Let Freedom Ring) by Martina McBride for both shows.

 

[the-reason14]

Congrats to you and your wife, and congrats to her for winning and overcoming the stage fright. If she has any overcoming stage fright tips, Id love to hear em. I would do the show, but I cant sing in front of people lol.

 

[Pete C]

That is a good point about age...does the American Idol Experience allow all ages to compete? Even though you could win and skip lines at the real AI audition, I think AI does have an age limit for the TV show.

 

[hawkwood]

Here is a link to some pics I just posted to Picassa (hope the link works; let me know if it doesn't). Ok, I admit I'm back to bragging and showing off my wife, but hey... I'm PROUD OF HER!

The pictures show both the afternoon show and the grand finale show, so they will give you an idea of what the experience is like.

Pics Posted to Picassa

Sandy is also past the age limit for the real Idol. There is no restriction for the Disney Idol Experience, though if you win you would not be able to use the golden ticket yourself. However I did talk to one of the cast members a couple of months ago, and they said that the winner would be able to give that ticket to someone else if they were unable to use it.

 

[sarabi]

Your pictures are fantastic! Boy, can you capture the moment! It makes me proud of her too, although I don't know her (or you!).

Looking forward to details. Very interested in how long the whole thing takes... does it eat up your day? Is it super stressful?

 

[hawkwood]

(BTW, I just added a few more pics to the above link that include a few of the audition area.)

We had annual passholder event reservations for 11:00 am for the initial check in and first audition. We got there around 10:30, and they ended up ushering us in right away.

They have several audition rooms available. Sandy went into audition room 3. While I could have gone in with her, I stayed outside so as not to make her nervous. She was in this room maybe 5-10 minutes. Here she can sing whatever she wants, without music. When she came out she had a clipboard containing her pin-on sign, a fairly large song list, and the obligatory legal consent forms. (The song list has a lot of variety, covering a lot of genres of music, so pretty much anyone will find something they like.)

We sat in the "Coca-Cola Room", where there are ipods with all the songs on the song list stored on them. After brief ipod driving instructions, she went through the list and listened to the arrangements of the songs she considered. (The arrangements are trimmed down versions, around 90 seconds. This allows them to keep the shows from running over.) She was able to listen and practice, as the karaoke lyrics flash on the ipod as well.

Once she made her selection (they don't rush you on this), she let them know and she next moved on into the second audition, this time with the show's producer. He is the one who actually decided who gets to perform, and during which show. She sings the songs she chose, this time with the music (she had to choose at least two songs, as they won't let anyone sing the same song that day), and then the producer decided if she goes on.

She was in there about 10-15 minutes. She came out with a yellow card that says, "Vote for me" on it. They use this to track the contestants (it's barcoded). They also gave her a blue sheet with instructions for when and where she needed to be for the 2:00pm performance. They also get the headcount for her friends/family, as we are seated in the "VIP" section (so the cameramen know where to find us).

This whole audition process took about an hour, including the time she spent going through the songlist and practicing.

Once she was done it was about 11:30. She had to be back at the stage entrance at 12:50 to prepare for the 2:00pm show.

(continued)