FANS DAY OUT

Many would have had their calendar marked out in bold on Dec 11 with the words 'Zouk Out'. For 25 of our community members, it would've been the inaugural RWS facebook Fans Day Out.

All set to go!

'Headhunted' for their participation on RWS facebook - from long time fans to contest participants - this day out was a treat to express our gratitude for all the support. Here's a look at the day's activities:

Name... Check! Business Pass... Check! Complimentary USS cap... Check!

First up, registration. This is usually the portion of an event that blog posts will skip due to its mundane nature. But for Fans Day Out, it wasn't. Camping at the Thinker as we waited for the guests to arrive, we found ourselves engaging in a mini Spot-the-face challenge - matching the thumbnails of Facebook profile pictures with the people arriving at Festive Walk (and smiling smugly to ourselves when some of the guests went "Ahh? How you know it's me?").

"Initially it was supposed to be named Graves Hotel, but it wasn't too auspicious.."

First stop of the day - Hotel Michael. Securing a suite to kick-start the day's tour was quite a feat, with the rooms packed with ZoukOut-ees in preparation for the nightlong of partying. But kudos to the hotel management, we found one!

Did you know? A Hotel Michael suite CAN hold up to 29 people??

So in we went, all 29 of us (including the four RWS team members) - at the same time. Of course there had to be the right permutation of those standing, sitting, moving; that didn't stop cameras being whipped out followed by consecutive snaps about the room.

Boy, Woody better not see this!

After the 'oohs' and 'aahs' subsided, we left the boutique hotel and visited USS where the guests were treated to guided tours to Revenge Of The Mummy and Lights, Camera, Action! - one that included exclusive sneak peeks of back-of-house areas. Sweet! It was a real eye-opener, not just for the fans, but for us too.

Getting up close and personal with the cast..

Last stop before lunch - WaterWorld. In view of the various "I DO NOT WANT TO GET WET!!!" reminders, a strategic location was reserved for the fans as we (sadistically) watched as the people in the front rows get drenched. As usual, the show was really engaging and some fans even managed to grab a shot with the casts before we headed for lunch.

John addressing the fans @ KT's Grill 

Whether it was the promise of cool air after walking in the blazing sun or the mouth-watering aroma of food that wafted from the kitchen, (or both!) - we quickened our pace as we neared KT's Grill. After they were seated, Vice President of USS Operations, John Hallenbeck, took centre-stage and engaged the fans in a candid discussion on the park's cool and not-so-cool factors. Our guests enjoyed the session very much (that's what they told us afterwards), but not a few actually glanced at their starters (it was a long morning!); John finally finished his oratory and our guests happily tucked into their lunch. What followed was a sight to be satisfied about - we saw people from all walks of life engaging in cordial chatter and sharing frequent laughs. Awesome!

Thanks to all who turned up for our very first Fans Day Out. It was a blast and marks the start of many more to come!