"A dream is a wish your heart makes" - especially if that dream is getting to go to the exclusive costume ball, Middlemarch. Nearly 300 students who went through the extensive process to get tickets attended the dance Friday night, decked out in their best Disney-themed attire.
The O'Connell House had been transformed into the Wonderful World of Disney, resulting from over three months of work and planning by the five O'Connell House managers. Traditionally in charge of the planning and execution of the event, the managers also enlisted the help of a committee of 20 students, who took charge of decorations.
Each room in the house had been adorned in accordance with its designated Disney theme. Ball-goers entered into an "Under the Sea" room, complete with a spread of seafood appetizers. Other rooms incorporated elements from various movies and shows.
The piano room channeled the castles of royal Disney heritage á la Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and Cinderella. Another had been transformed into the Disney vault, complete with popcorn and cotton candy machines. A jungle forest, inspired by The Jungle Book, The Lion King, Bambi, and Snow White, was the theme of another room, and the O'Connell basement took on the characteristics of Epcot.
"We wanted it to be literally 'a whole new world,'" said Todd Wackerman, O'Connell House manager and A&S '08. "We knew people would spend a lot of time and money on their costumes, and we wanted to reflect that in the décor."
The broad Disney theme allowed the event planners to do exactly that, giving them leeway and variety in the decoration and food choice. With a decorating budget of around $500 per room and an overall budget of $20,000, O'Connell House managers spared no expense in making the magic of Disney come alive.
"Disney is a world of its own," said Wackerman. "There is no one emotion or single tone; every room reflected this."
Armand Lauzon, O'Connell House manager and CSOM '08, said they were always looking to add that something special to make the event a night to remember. "We wanted to create 'wow' factors," he said, "like the search lights outside, the band playing at the entrance, and the ice sculpture - anything that got people excited."
While organizers did not run into any glitches per se, fire safety in the O'Connell House has been an issue in the past. In 2003, the dance was cancelled after fire safety inspectors found that the house was not up to code.
Last year marked the dance's return to its usual location after being held off campus in 2004 and 2005.
Though the house has undergone renovation to bring it up to fire code, safety is still a concern. Wackerman said about five or six officers from the fire department were on scene, and the committee also had restrictions surrounding the decorations.
"We were limited in what we could buy to decorate," he said. "We had to buy flame-retardant paper - that meant paper-mache was out - and we couldn't hang anything from the ceilings," he said. Also, the strictly enforced occupant capacity precluded all interested students from going, as it placed the cap at around 300 attendees.
"Middlemarch has had some troubles with fire code in the past," said Lauzon, "but we want to keep it a strong tradition anyway."
If extravagant costumes are any indication of keeping the tradition alive, then the managers have achieved their goal.
Students arrived in elaborate displays of Disney caricature; Dalmatians, Lumeires, Ariels, Hercules, Mad Hatters, and Tarzans were only a few of the many creative costumes.
But despite the awkwardness of dancing in fairy wings and loincloths, students kept up the energy on the dance floor from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m.
"Everyone seemed to love it," said Lauzon.
And at the "happiest place on earth," what's not to love? n
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