IT'S A SMALL WORLD ...
Soap fan lives dream on trip to Disney World
BY SUZANNE LOUDAMY Staff writer

Cathy Dintelman with idol Susan Lucci and Rosie O'Donnell, co-host of TV's "The View."

Cathy Dintelman of Whitehouse has been a soap fan since college.

"There was many a time that I was late for my 1:00 class in college," Dintelman said. She and her friends would rush to the dorm to grab a bite of lunch and watch the soaps everyday. And she has watched them ever since.

Even as a full time mom and second grade teacher at Brown Elementary, Dintelman finds time to keep up with the storyline. She records it everyday and watches as much as she can. "I can usually get through 'All My Children' before I go to sleep at night, but then I catch up on them all over the weekend," Dintelman said.

She raised her girls on the shows too. Her daughters Ashley and Brittany are hooked on the ABC soaps as well. But they should be. When Dintelman was in labor with Ashley, something big was happening on one of the shows when she was wheeled into the delivery room.

The first question out of her mouth to the nurse once she came out was, "What happened on the show?"

As most fanatics are, whether it's football or soap operas, a trip to meet the stars would be the dream of a lifetime. Dintelman's dream came true through an essay contest held by "The View," an ABC daytime talk show. The grand prize was a 4-day/3-night trip for four to Orlando to attend the ABC Super Soap Weekend event between Nov. 10 and Nov. 13.

No trip to Disney is complete without a photo with Mickey and Minnie. Brittany, Ben and Cathy Dintelman and Lisa Burkett pose with Disney's most famous stars during Cathy's all-expense paid trip to Disney World, courtesy of "The View."

Dintelman said she had thought about entering the contest and just kept putting it off. "I'd never won anything in my life." But at the last minute she decided to write the essay of why she loved the soaps so.

"It was so last minute, I had to send it by an overnight service," Dintelman said. It was just a few days when

Dintelman received the first email that she was selected as the grand prize winner. Plans went into full swing. In just a few days, she and husband Ben, daughter Brittany and longtime friend Lisa Burkett were on a plane to Orlando.

At right, Ben, Brittany, Lisa, Rosie O'Donnell, Cameron Mathison and Cathy "enjoy" their ride together on the Tower of Terror. Everyone holds on for dear life, especially Cathy!

"The first thing we see as we get there is our driver waiting to take us to the hotel," Dintelman said. "And it only got better."

Receptions in their honor, a personal guide for the entire weekend, front row seats at every show, and entering all the rides at Disney through the "VIP" entrance all made for an excellent adventure. She was also interviewed for "The View."

The highlight of the trip for Dintelman was meeting two of her soap idols: Susan Lucci, Erica Kane, of "All My Children" and Erika Slezak, Victoria Lord Davidson, of "One Life to Live."

Dintelman said everything was such fun. The way she met Rosie O'Donnell and Cameron Mathison, Ryan Lavery of "All My Children," was the best. They were escorted through

the VIP entrance of the Tower of Terror. When the big doors opened there stood Mathison and O'Donnell ready to meet the group and share the fun on the breath-taking ride.

"Rosie was so much fun and so wonderful," Dintelman said. As they exited one of the rides, O'Donnell laughed with her about how you can't exit any of the rides without passing through a gift shop.

That prompted Dintelman to mention that she really should be looking for something to take back to her second grade students.

With that statement, O'Donnell took her over to the counter and instructed the salesman to fix her up with Disney backpacks loaded with goodies for her entire class.

"I had no idea she would do that. And Disney called me later on asking how many girls and how many boys I had in my class," Dintelman said. Disney will be shipping the extraordinary treats to Dintelman very soon they said.

"It was the most fabulous, unbelievable trip I've ever been on," Dintelman said. "I can't thank them all enough for everything."