[Park Hopper]

Tuesday night at MGM I had a truly strange experience at One Man's Dream, the attraction that chronicles the life of Walt Disney. With DW out of town, I was in the park by myself and decided to make One Man's Dream my last stop before the park closed.

Unlike other times I'd been there, I really wanted to go through slowly and soak up all the information. The park had been very empty all day, and now, with closing time approaching, nobody had entered the attraction after me. I was about halfway through looking at all the memorabilia when a cast member came up and said the last showing of the movie on Walt's life was going to start in a few minutes.

I thanked her, but said I'd rather take my time looking at the displays and wasn't concerned about seeing the film. When I reached the end of the displays, the cast member said the film was almost over but they would show it again if I wanted to see it.

I said I didn't want to keep them from closing, but she insisted it wasn't a problem. By now, I'm the only non-cast member in the entire building and I'm about to have a private showing of One Man's Dream.

Sure enough, the elctronic doors opened and I'm the only person about to enter the empty theater. The cast member on the stage went through her welcoming spiel and it was such a funny experience that we both couldn't help but laugh. When she said there was no flash photography allowed, I said I suppose I have to move all the way to the end of my row, too. She laughed again and said no, I could sit wherever I wanted.

So, feeling a little self-conscious, I sat and watched the 15-minute film all by myself. When the film ended, the cast member reappeared and said she hoped I'd enjoyed my private showing. At least she didn't remind me to gather all belongings and take small children by the hand. I couldn't help asking if One Man's Dream had ever had a one-man audience. She acknowledged my private showing was a first.