Imagine walking through a barn that has been transformed into the bedroom of Andy from the movie Toy Story or feeling like you’re under the sea visiting Ariel and her friends from The Little Mermaid. How about being at a parade and seeing a float in the shape of a castle filled with all your favorite Disney characters, such as Cinderella, Snow White, Captain Jack Sparrow, the Mad Hatter, Captain Hook and Cruella De Vil? These different characters are being brought to life thanks to some amazing young people willing to volunteer their time and efforts so that others can feel the magic of Disney.
It all started in October 2011, when Joey Stoddard of North Ogden was on his way home from a trip to Disneyland. He enjoyed it so much that he wanted to find a way to bring that same magic he felt in Disneyland back to Utah. He decided to hold a sort of Halloween party for the community by asking a bunch of his friends if they would be willing to dress up as different Disney characters and hand out candy for kids who would come. Next came decorating his aunt and uncle’s -Lonnie and Lyman Barker- barn with home-made props. The theme he decided to do was the Mad Hatter’s tea party. The turnout was a huge hit, so naturally everyone decided to do the same thing again. The theme for 2012 was Under the Sea and 2013 was Toy Story (over 1,000 people came through with 35 different characters participating).
As if holding a Halloween party wasn’t enough, the group has expanded their talents in other areas. First up was the Cherry Days parade in North Ogden on July 4th followed by the Hooper Tomato Days parade on Labor Day. Both times, everyone involved helped make the castle-themed float, dress up as Disney characters and participate in the parade by handing out candy to kids as well as dancing during a certain song specifically for their character. Afterwards, they stayed at the parks where other activities were happening and had fun playing games with all the kids in order to interact more with everyone. Kids could color crowns and pictures alongside Pocahontas and Sleeping Beauty; they could test their archery skills with Merida from Brave; they could even take on some notorious villains such as Maleficent or Jafar by throwing sock balls at them while defending themselves with shields.
Joey says the whole point of all this is to help kids feel like they are at Disneyland. “Seeing the smile on their faces is definitely the best part. That’s why we do all this,” Joey said. “The kids really bring our characters to life.” It’s also important to note that none of this would be possible without the help of everyone involved volunteering their time as well as receiving donations for candy from different stores like Smiths and Wangsgards, as well as Melaine Mallory of Ye Olde Costume Shoppe in Roy for helping with the costumes. Anyone interested in learning how to donate, wanting to stay up to date on upcoming events or to see more pictures can go to their Facebook page at https://facebook.com/DreamOnWalkthrough. Here’s to many more years of spreading Disney magic.
