When 24-year-old Micah Walley visited Disney World with his fiancee and her family earlier this month, he didn’t know he’d be leaving with a Dream Ticket to audition for “American Idol” producers.

Landing the Dream Ticket means he has the choice to be first in line when the next round of auditions take place in June in Missouri. He won’t be waiting in line for days or camping out like other “Idol” hopefuls. But Walley, who is head of worship at Arc Ministries in Florence, said he auditioned for an “American Idol” producer in Disney World completely on a whim.

“When we walked into the park, a guy was standing there (advertising) attractions,” he said. “I walked up to him and asked how (the ‘Idol’ experience) worked, and he gave me a button that said ‘I’ve been discovered’ as part of the attraction, and he told me to go around to the back of the building and sing whatever I wanted for the producer.”

Walley said he sang the first thing that came to mind: Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up.”

“(The producer) said, ‘That was really good. I’ll let you sing for another producer and he decides whether you’ll be in (Disney’s American Idol Experience),’” Walley said.

In the second round of auditions, Walley said he was given a list of about 130 songs and told to make two selections. He said in the end, he sang Keith Urban’s “I Told You So.”

In Disney’s American Idol Experience, six shows are performed every day — five preliminaries and one finale. Three people compete in each preliminary with one winner being chosen from each show.

“I got there about an hour (before my show) to do makeup and hair, and they have a vocal coach there in case you need help with your song,” Walley said. “I had no idea what the stage even looked like. They took me out to rehearse, and the building holds about 1,000 people.”

After winning his preliminary show based on the audience’s vote, Walley said he went to sit in the back room until the next show started. He said because he’d performed to 1,000-person crowds before, he hadn’t really been nervous until he found out there was also a Jumbotron outside the arena where an additional 3,000 or 4,000 people were watching him perform.

“That kind of got me because I had no idea how many people were outside watching it,” he said. “They told me right before I went out.

“I sang the same song (in the finale), and everybody voted, and I won,” he said.

But Walley said the prospect of leaving his family and friends — and of course, his fiancee — for months at a time if he were to pursue “American Idol,” made him stop and consider whether he’ll audition in Missouri.

His fiancee, Sarah Johnson, said she has no doubt he would do well in the competition.

“Of course I’m biased, but I’m very proud of what he does, and I know that he knows his voice — I wasn’t worried at all that he would do well (in Disney),” said Johnson, 19. “I would’ve been surprised if he hadn’t gotten accepted after all the other auditions I heard throughout the day.”

As for whether Walley will take the next step in auditioning in Missouri, Johnson said that’s something they’re still deciding.

“We’ll talk about it, but I really trust his decision, and I think that whatever he decides, the Lord will lead him,” she said. “Whatever is going to happen, I know that God will put him where he needs to be. He’ll have peace about where he needs to go.

“I’m just really proud of him. I really believe in him and I know that he will go far in whatever he chooses to do.”

Hannah Mask can be reached at 256-740-5728 or hannah.mask@TimesDaily.com.