It doesn’t just happen to other people!

It was during one of Michael's recent stays at Disneyland Paris that Djelloul Ghermid and Frédéric Setbon, two of the biggest French fans of the King of Pop, had an unforgettable experience. Exceeding their most ambitious dreams, reality projected them into an extraordinary world where nothing is impossible. Black & White met the luckiest guys of the world and their friend, Vanesse Enrié, who almost fully shared their adventure…

Once all readers have discovered your incredible adventure, they will absolutely want to know in detail everything that happened to you. Tell us how it all started…

Djelloul: It all started at Disneyland Paris last December. Michael came to spend a few days of vacation in France. It was just after his malaise on stage in New York. As soon as we heard he was around, we went to the park. We came every day without exception.

Vanesse: Djelloul and I went to New York for the HBO concert and we spent several days waiting outside the hospital after Michael became unwell. It made us really happy to know that he was doing well. He regularly appeared at the window of the Disneyland Hotel, he greeted the fans… He really seems more and more accessible, he seems more relaxed. We have the impression that he trusts his fans more and more.

Frédéric: Generally speaking, we arrived at Disneyland early in the afternoon every day, but I remember that I was a little late the day everything happened…

What happened that day?

Djelloul: It was Thursday December 21, I am not ready to forget this date! We arrived around noon and went straight into the Disneyland Hotel. As there were a lot of fans in the park, security was very tight and we were asked not to stay in the hotel. Disney staff are always very nice, but they have instructions to enforce, that's normal. Before leaving, I still asked if Vanesse and I could stay as long as we were calm and discreet. We came across someone very nice who accepted. So, we went for a drink at the hotel café. We didn't get noticed, we were almost invisible! Suddenly, John, someone from Michael's entourage, came to the other side of the room and waved at us. We were spotted!

Vanesse: I think he recognized us because we were one of the fans who were in New York in front of the hospital.

Djelloul: I got up and showed that I had presents for Michael. With small gestures, I asked him if he could come get them. He nodded and told me to wait for him there. So we waited.

What was your state of mind at that time?

Vanesse: There was incredible stress. The only way to give Michael a gift is to pass it on to someone close to him.

Djelloul: It was frustrating waiting there, because Michael kept showing up at the window of his suite, outside the hotel. We could hear the fans screaming and there was reason to be stressed. On the other hand, if we left our place to go see what was going on outside, we might not be able to enter the hotel again. It's a shame that fans don't always respect the rules imposed by Michael's security department. We all tend to act individually and inevitably, that causes problems for the people who manage security. We could achieve a lot of things if only we were disciplined. To understand this, just look at what Michael did for his German fans in the Phantasialand amusement park in Cologne…

Frederic: For my part, I arrived at the Park around 3 p.m., I went straight into the hotel to see Djelloul and Vanesse. They immediately advised me to go see the security manager and ask if I could stay with them in the lobby, which I did. I was lucky, I was told okay. To show that we were trustworthy, we remained like posts, sitting motionless, the gifts for Michael clearly visible on our knees.

How long did you wait?

Vanesse: Personally, I waited until 6:30 p.m. and left. I couldn't wait any longer knowing that Michael showed up outside all the time. I wanted to see it! Plus, we were just waiting for someone close to him, we just wanted to give him the gifts. And then I knew that Ojelloul and Fred would add my gifts to theirs when the time came. I could trust them. So I left to join the other fans outside…

Djelloul: When Vanesse left, it was already late and we were starting to believe that everyone had forgotten us. Actually that wasn't really the case. Someone was still thinking about us, it was the hotel security manager! As the park was going to close soon, he came to see us and asked us to leave…

Frédéric: I tried to convince him to give us a few more minutes! I told him lots of things, I tried to instill confidence in him, I reminded him that we had been calm all along… He was very kind, he gave us a deadline: 7:15 p.m. Then we would have to leave. We said Okay. We were already very happy!

Djelloul: For about ten minutes, John, the person we were waiting for, had passed through the hall several times. We had made little signs to him to tell him that we would soon have to leave, that we would be put out. In return, he gave us a gesture that meant ‘wait a minute’, but we didn't have a minute! The hotel security guy finally came back and asked us to leave. We asked him for more time, telling him that John was going to arrive and that he had asked us to wait for him. He didn't believe us; He went as we said to someone on Michael's team. When he returned, he told us that no one knew of our presence and therefore we had to leave.

Frédéric: It was just then that John arrived from the end of the hall. He was with someone from Disney and pointed to us. They immediately came to pick us up and take us to the upper floor, a place where only people with a special cane (which allows the elevator to work) can go. We were seated in a large lounge — the Castle Club — and John came and spoke to us, saying word for word: Wait, I'll do what I can, and then he left.

At that precise moment, what were you thinking?

Djelloul: Personally I no longer understood anything. I didn't know what John had meant. I was in a daze…

Frédéric: I was convinced that I was going to meet Michael! I don't know why. I told everyone, Djelloul too, and he told me I was crazy! I remember a little earlier, I went to see Santa Claus at Disneyland and I said to him: Santa Claus, my wish is to meet Michael tonight. He replied: Oh my little one, but when did you send your letter? I don’t think I will receive it until next year! I told him: Too bad, I want to see Michael tonight!

What happened next?

Djelloul: From where we were, we saw John open the door to Michael's suite. He started talking to someone inside. My heart was beating more and more quickly. As I left to see John, I found myself in a totally unimaginable situation…

Frédéric: And then, suddenly, we saw John turn towards us and point at us. He said, You two, come! That's where I had my heart attack!

Djelloul: We got up and took the stairs that led to Michael's suite. I had trouble walking quickly because my legs were shaking. Fred was in front of me and he was almost running!

You found yourself in front of the door of Michael's suite…

Djelloul: John told us to wait there. He went inside, spoke to Michael and came out. At that moment he said to us: Hey guys, come on! And it was over…

Frédéric: I went first, Michael was behind the door. He waved us inside. I said to him: Hi Michael! I love you! He took both my hands to say hello. I walked into his suite and placed my presents on the couch. When I turned around, I saw Michael in Djelloull's arms. I couldn't believe it, they were hugging. They stayed like that for a long time! It was very spontaneous.

Djelloul: When I entered and saw Michael in front of me, a phrase suddenly came to my mind. I said, Can I take you in my arms? Michael held out his hand to me, he threw a look in John's direction — to see if it was safe, I think — and then he hugged me.

Have you thought about asking Michael that? Did you think about it in advance?

Djelloul: No, I didn't plan to say that. In fact, I had imagined things completely differently. Frankly I hadn't thought about hugging him in advance; It came to me like that.

What happened next?

Frédéric: Michael seemed intimidated at first. I did everything possible to pretend we knew each other to put him at ease. I presented him with the gift I had for him. This was an original edition of Bambie's book from 1948. A highlight of my personal collection, as I'm also a huge Disney fan! I opened the book and gave it to Michael who began to leaf through it carefully. He looked at each image and commented: Oh yeah, great!

Djelloul: We were in the suite and Fred was talking to Michael… He was showing him his book. There were lots of children everywhere, millions of kids! It was crazy. I then gave Michael the clown puppet I had for him. I told him I came to New York for the HBO concert, he thanked me. I was petrified.

Frédéric: When the gift giving was over, John made us understand that it was time to leave. That’s when I had a spark in my head. We were at the door, ready to leave, and I said Stop! Michael, can I sing a song for you? Michael exclaimed: Oh yes! Yes! I said OK, listen! And I started doing the beat box of Who Is It, and no lie, Michael's eyes widened. It's the best gift he could give me! He started clapping his hands rhythmically. We were still on the doorstep, but I continued to sing. So I said: And Bad?, and he said Oh yeah! and then he turned to one of the kids in his suite to ask him to record what I was doing with a little tape recorder. John was laughing, the children were all clapping their hands. I sang Bad and then You Are Not Alone. It was very spontaneous! What I regret is not going back to the middle of the room to dance too. When I sang Michael laughed all the time!

You're not exactly what you'd call very shy!

Frédéric: No! But frankly, in front of Michael, I couldn't afford to be shy! It was really when we were told to leave that it really clicked in me. I told myself that I absolutely had to do this.

Djelloul: I was dead. I saw Michael clapping his hands while listening to Fred, I couldn't believe it. He was there, so ready. I had dreamed of this so many times.

Did you find that time was passing too quickly?

Djelloul: No, at the time, I didn't ask for more. I saw Michael. that was enough for me. It was amazing. At first he seemed embarrassed, but then he was fine. He had no glasses and he wore almost no makeup. You could even see he was unshaven! There really is something magical about it.

Frédéric: For my part, I didn't really stare at Michael because I didn't want to make him uncomfortable; but I noticed that her skin wasn't very made up.

What was your first reaction to leaving Michael's suite?

Djelloul: We went out into the corridor, I took a few steps; I took Fred in my arms and started to cry.

Frédéric: I laughed right after, but later, I cried when Wire realized what had happened.

Today, you have digested this extraordinary experience, what thoughts do you draw from everything that happened?

Djelloul: I think everyone has a chance to experience what happened to us; it's just a question of will. If John spotted us, it was because he had already seen us in New York, Germany and elsewhere. We've been following Michael for a while now. We made sacrifices for this, but we were richly rewarded. I hope that the fans who will have the chance to meet him in turn will see him in the same conditions as us; he was truly natural, like a child.

Frédéric: I had so much to say to Michael, I've been talking about him every day for years… This Thursday, December 21, we experienced something fantastic, we were very lucky. Last year, when Michael came to Paris, I spent an afternoon in a place in the Disneyland Hotel from where I could see the door to his suite. That's when I realized that Michael was more accessible than you think. I stared at his door for hours and saw lots of children coming in to meet him; they came by the dozen. The security people came to pick them up and took them upstairs. That's when I understood that it was possible to meet Michael Jackson.

Finally, the traditional question what can we still hope for after this?

Frédéric: Meeting Michael again! Being able to talk to him a little more and take a photo with him…

Djelloul: I have a dream. I know it will come true one day. You just have to hold on to it, want it very hard. I want Michael to know who I am, to remember me. Let him know that Djelloul will always be there for him.

Vanesse: As you can imagine, my dream remains to meet Michael!