Twelve-year-old Emmalee Mason of Colorado Springs, Colo., had a special surprise waiting for her yesterday when she arrived at Disneyland and was named the honorary 2-billionth guest to visit a Disney park. Amidst a blast of colorful streamers, musical fanfare and a parade of congratulatory Disney characters, Emmalee was whisked away to the park's iconic Floral Mickey for a special ceremony. Surrounded by her family and familiar Disney pals, Emmalee seemed to be in a simultaneous state of shock and delight, repeating astonished sets of "Wow!" "Wow!" "Wow!" In commenting on the day's ceremony, Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, stated, "This is truly a highlight of our continuing global 50th anniversary celebration. The world over, families use words like 'magical,' 'dreams,' 'wonder' and 'imagination' to describe our five destination resorts around the world, and now thanks to Emmalee, our honorary 2-billionth guest, we can add the word 'wow'!" Andrae Rivas, Disneyland Resort 50th anniversary ambassador, presented Emmalee with a giant golden key and a lifetime pass to all 11 Disney parks around the world. As an added surprise, the entire family of 10 also received lifetime passes to Disney parks worldwide. Andrae also gave Emmalee a one-of-a-kind proclamation designating her as the honorary 2-billionth guest to visit the Disney parks over the past five decades. Also during her special day, Emmalee received a private photo session with her family and Mickey Mouse, an exclusive tour of Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure, a special ride on the Matterhorn bobsleds with Mickey and was feted as Grand Marshal of "Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams" celebrating the 50th anniversary of Disneyland. "Wow! I'm in shock … I'm so happy!" Emmalee exclaimed. "I am just so surprised … I didn't think that I would be the 2-billionth guest … this kind of stuff never happens to me!" Jay added, "Two billion guests means 2 billion lifetime memories that have been made and shared with friends and families at Disney parks around the world. A visit to a Disney theme park, whether in California, Florida, Japan, France or China, remains a vibrant and universally embraced experience passed from generation to generation." Citing the 2-billionth Disney park guest is just one of the highlights of 2006 as the global 50th anniversary celebration of Disney parks around the world continues. Throughout the year, each Disney resort will unveil more new innovative attractions and spectacular entertainment designed to appeal to guests of all ages.
(source: Disney official press release via Parksmania correspondent Davide Faggion - Walt Disney World cast member)
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