Let me begin by saying that I am not usually the type to approach a celebrity and ask for a photo or an autograph. Don’t get me wrong…..I like seeing them, but I feel as if I would be intruding on their personal time. And they are just people like you and me…right?????

Now I should also tell you that I don’t run into many celebrities. Having my very own celebrity rules and regulations list is a bit of a moot point most of the time, but I like to be ready just in case I run into Nicole Kidman in Home Depot.

With this being said, I should explain that this all went out the window during this press event I have no idea why being in the Magic Kingdom or Epcot turned me into a star struck lunatic, but it did. It might also have something to do with who I got to meet.

We had heard that Kyle Petty was going to be at the opening ceremonies of Lights! Motors! Action! And I knew he was a NASCAR driver…but not being a NASCAR fan, I had to go on line and look at a photo so I would recognize him. Lo and behold, who is sitting less than 10 feet away from us at the premiere, but Kyle Petty. My “Don’t Bug The Celebrity” motto is not tested at all. So far I’m good.

After the premier of LMA, there was a party held at MGM Studios. Everything was going well and then it happened….I ran into Alan Cumming (Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion, X Men 2, Mask 2, Cabaret on Broadway) in line for the buffet. I followed my rules and didn’t bother him. I wanted to…but refrained. All was well until I went back to my party and told them who I had seen. The majority either didn’t recognize the name or were too hungry to care….but there was one who cared……and she wanted that photo, so off we went stalking Alan Cumming. He was very polite and generous with his time. As we walked away I thought….we shouldn’t do this.

We now jump ahead to the next day at the Magic Kingdom. The park is full of local news people and such….but still….I’m keeping to the plan…….don’t bother anyone.. This is all working fine until I spotted Paige Davis, the host of TLC’s Trading Spaces (well, ex-host) I’m a huge fan of Trading Spaces and have seen just about every episode. Throwing my “no celebrities” motto out the window, I had to talk to Paige Davis. Well, talking led to picture taking and telling her how much I loved the show. She too was very sweet and nice ( and even prettier in person). She told me she has a development deal in the works to start her own talk show. Ok…..I had broken the rules……the gates of hell had been opened.

The final party it Epcot is the highlight of each Press Event. It’s the big blowout and the exclamation point at the end. We were having an awesome time. The food was incredible, people watching was great fun. Everything was mellow and cool. It was at this point that we spotted Stacy from the previous season of The Apprentice. (she’s one they all accused of being crazy) We were standing so close to her that we had to talk to her …right? Ok….talking led to another photo session. Now, I’m in full Celebrity mode. My eyes are open and I am ready. (Hey!!!!! What happened to the motto? What motto????) Within minutes we ran into Lance Bass. He’s the N’Sync guy that wanted to go into space. Minutes later, we ran into Joey Fatone, another N’Sync guy that has recently been doing Broadway.

As we walked around the party it started to rain so we headed for the Land Pavillion. They were serving food in the recently renovated food court and it was time to sit and have a snack. As we sat chit-chatting and comparing notes on the party, who sits next to us…..Diana DeGarmo. She is the runner up from last seasons American Idol. She had performed at the opening ceremony in the Magic Kingdom. On TV she was cute and perky and sang beautifully. She’s even nicer and prettier in person. We told her we enjoyed her performance and watching her on TV. She was warm and friendly and it was she who suggested a photo….I agreed…..but I was off the hook. This one was her responsibility.

Ok….now I don’t know about the rest of you….but I LOVE the Travel Channel. I have always been interested in travel and foreign places, and working in the travel industry, you never know where the next great tip is going to come from. I am telling you this because on the way out of the Land Pavilion, I ran into one of my favorite people on TV. I was lucky enough to meet Samantha Brown. Samantha is the host of Great Hotels and Passport to Europe on the Travel Channel. We have a TiVo, so we never miss an episode of either show.

Now, I am going blame my behavior with Ms. Brown on being very tired and having one cocktail ( I swear….it was only one) I was so excited to get to talk to her, I actually blurted out “ you are my best friend”. Don’t know where it came from, not proud of it, have been ridiculed repeatedly for saying it….but there it is. All my “celebrity coolness stuff” was shot down in about 4 seconds. I had run into someone I truly enjoyed watching and became a gushing fool. Samantha was friendly and open. She spent several minutes chatting and even tried to make me feel better about being embarrassed about my behavior. She also told me that both of her shows had been contracted for another season.

It was quite a night.

Now that the press event is over, I have reverted back to my “don’t bother the celebrities” rules. You never know…….Halle Berry might shop in Walgreens.