2042

Big Red, the Mark XII Monorail, glided silently past the entry to the Magic Kingdom. Hovering electromagnetically a foot above the rail, it had just come from its fourth stop at the Disneyland Hotel and was headed for the Tomorrowland Station. After picking up new passengers at the California Adventure Station and at the Paradise Pier Hotel, all the seats in the six cars were taken. Some new arrivals would head to the newly-opened suites in the Sleeping Beauty Castle Towers; others would be eager to continue their adventures within the Park. Tim, a ten-year old boy sitting in the co-pilot seat, pushed the horn button and energetically waved to the people on the moving walkways below.

The remodeled, larger Sleeping Beauty Castle with its furnished towers wasn’t the only place where Park visitors could spend the night. After much popular demand, the Swiss Family Treehouse had returned to Adventureland. The three original huts were back in refurnished glory. The largest, most popular hut, the Main Bedroom that had belonged to Mother and Father in the 1960 film Swiss Family Robinson, was complete with its own lavatory with a ‘tortoise-shell’ sink and running water that was seemingly supplied by the large, turning waterwheel made out of realistic-looking bamboo. What most guests loved was the special tasseled pull-rope that hung over the opulent king-sized bed. Just like in the movie, guests could pull on the rope and have the thatched ceiling open on hidden levers. Lying in bed, in their own secluded privacy, the occupants could watch the nighttime fireworks show with the music piped into hidden speakers.

The two smaller huts had been the boys’ rooms in the movie. While they were designed to be less opulent than the Main Bedroom, they were considered more fun for the guests. The lower hut had a private waterfall slide that ended up in the pool below, guarded over by Ellie, the baby elephant, that would playfully squirt each rider as they curved along the bottom portion of the slide.

The uppermost hut had the best view. High above the Park, guests could sit on their own private wooden deck to watch the nighttime show Fantasmic! or even the interactive water show over in California Adventure. The fireworks would seem so close they could almost reach out to touch them.

One of the newer attractions that was visible from the upper hut was the Mine Train through Nature’s Wonderland. Overlapping the Big Thunder rollercoaster that boasted a new 360-degree loop, guests could once again travel through the balancing rocks and colorful Rainbow Caverns in the backmost portion of Frontierland. At one point in the ride, the Big Thunder train would look as if it was going to crash right into the slower moving Mine Train. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, the Big Thunder train would screech out of a hidden cavern and race toward the other train. Then, at the last minute, Old Unfaithful Geyser would erupt and the Big Thunder cars would veer sharply away, narrowly avoiding disaster. Careening around the Bubbling Pots of Mud, the train would vanish down a steep incline, its passengers screaming in delight as they narrowly missed being crushed by an avalanche of rocks. The Mine Train would continue on its more sedate journey through Bear Country, Elk Meadow, and under the mist-water of Cascade Peaks, to return once more to Rainbow Ridge and its interactive displays of the Old West. Here kids of all ages could replicate panning for gold, ride Pack Mules, or see a stunt show spectacular in the street just in front of the popular attraction.

Back on Main Street, a line had formed for the popular Main Street Cinema. As original cartoons of Mickey Mouse played on the old-fashioned flat-screen televisions, guests could enter private booths that lined the walls—much like the old-time telephone booths, but ones that could comfortably accommodate a family of four. Each guest was given a special mouse-eared Virtual Reality headset that fit over their eyes and plugged into their ears. They would have a menu pop up on the screen in front of them. With the push of a button, they would be ‘transported’ into any attraction of Disneyland’s history that they wanted to relive. Older guests especially loved to visit the Disneyland of their own childhood. They would be instantly seated in an Atomobile for their personal Adventure through Inner Space, or they would climb into a Skyway Cab for a roundtrip flight over Fantasyland, ending back at the Swiss chalet nestled up and behind the Storybook Land Canal Boats. The Mike Fink Keelboats would come alive for them once again, with a holographic Beth Roberts as their lively pilot. As they listened to her humorous spiel, they could turn their head in any direction and see Tom Sawyer Island as it was way back in 1996 or even further back when the surrounding trees didn’t hide the fort and Native American shows could be seen in the nearby Village. The Country Bear Jamboree or the Carousel of Progress, the original Sleeping Beauty Walk-Through or the Submarine Voyage, America Sings or the Lion King Parade; they were all there in vivid virtual clarity.

The Jungle Cruise now offered two tracks for its passengers. Guests could take one track and be entertained by the skipper as he or she took them through the underground caverns and rivers of Middle Asia before emerging back into the bright light to continue onto the rivers of Africa and South America.

The second track let the guests skipper their own boat. Able to bring along as many guests as they wanted, the entertainment was theirs to provide. Those who always felt ‘they could do it better’ now had the opportunity to do so. Riding along the original guide rail set in place in 1955 and timed so the boats never ran side-by-side, each track was immersed in a Jungle all their own. Considering the happy faces of the returning guests, each side was extremely popular.

Lance guided his granddaughter through the bricked arch of the entry tunnel, holding her hand, feeling her squeeze his hand tighter as she emerged onto Main Street. He smiled as he heard her sharp intake of breath as the grand view opened before her wide green eyes. The Castle, the shops, the people, all signified something fantastic to the little five-year-old.

They walked to the Town Square, toward the tall, shiny flagpole that proudly stood on its foundation among beautifully manicured flowers. The two stopped and gazed down the street. The trolley car was in motion as it moved slowly toward the pink and white Castle, the clop-clop-clop of the Belgium horse’s hooves easily heard over the sounds of the crowd. The muted honk of the double-decker Omnibus drew her excited attention as it started on its own electric journey down Main Street. Above them, a small group of guests were taking pictures of the E.P. Ripley steam train as it waited at the Depot for its next load of guests, sounding its whistle in hello. The sounds around them were as plentiful as the sights and smells.

Lance looked down at his granddaughter and smiled to himself. Seeing her wide-eyed awe, he couldn’t help but compare this to the emotional memory of the first time he had seen Disneyland. Then, while they stood there, other memories of Disneyland came flooding back. Memories of good times with friends, exciting adventures, and romantic moments with a certain blond, green-eyed beauty. He looked toward the Fire House and the apartment in the upper story. The light was still burning bright in the window. He let the memories wash through him, delighted with each and every one. Has it really been forty years? He gave a disbelieving shake of his head. It seemed like just yesterday.

“Well, what do you think, Lilly?” Lance again looked at the thrilled blond-haired girl who excitedly tugged on his arm. Having lived out of the country with her parents for her first years, they were now back in the States. This was Lilly’s first time to visit Disneyland and she wanted to start exploring.

“It’s a dream!” She was almost breathless as her head whipped from one glorious site to the next. When her eyes landed on the Castle, she couldn’t tear them away from the tall, golden spires in the distance. “Are we really going to spend the night there, Papa?”

Lance smiled and looked over to his right. A few inquisitive guests were looking at the bronze plaque imbedded in the base of the flagpole.

Kneeling down to her level, Lance gave Lilly a kiss. ‘’Stay here with Grandma, Lilly.” He stood and gave the small hand to his wife. “I’ll be right back.” Expecting this, Kimberly just nodded as he walked off toward the flagpole.

“Where’s Papa going? I wanna go with Papa!” Not wanting to miss anything, Lilly was starting to get worried and pulled against her grandmother’s grasp.

As she looked down at the little hand that had been placed in hers, Kimberly suddenly felt her heart begin to pound, her mouth forming an ‘O’. It was a distant memory, a vision that rushed back into her mind, one that she had had forty years ago not far from where they now stood. Over the decades she had forgotten about the vision that had been given to her by the red diamond heart. Lance had never been told about it; it was too personal at the time she had received it. ‘How you get there is up to you’ had been written on the note from Walt that had been left amongst the wonders they found in that upper room. Things between Lance and her had been too new, too fresh back then. How could she throw into the conversation, “Oh, by the way, I just saw myself holding the hand of a beautiful blond-haired little girl. She looked around five or six years old and she was our granddaughter. So, what would you like to do for dinner?” No, she had buried the vision deep inside her heart, safe to take out and cherish whenever she wanted to see it again in her memories. But, time and reality came—as they always did—and she eventually forgot about it as her life with Lance started. The reality she found with him became so very wonderful and so very real.

Now, forty years later, looking down at Lilly’s hand, she saw the vision again—only now with the clarity of time. The little girl she had seen hadn’t been hers. She and Lance had had three boys. Now, she looked down at the hand in hers and the eager, beautiful, concerned face that peered up into her own. The amazement on Kimberly’s face faded into a loving smile at her granddaughter. This was the lovely child she had seen. Her vision—her future—had come true.

“Thank you, Walt,” she whispered to herself.

“Grandma?” Lilly again pulled on her hand and pointed at the retreating back of Lance.

“It’s okay, honey.” Kimberly knew how to sooth her. “Papa has something he needs to do. Look over there! Let’s go say hi to Mickey at the Opera House.”

Following her Grandmother’s pointing finger, Lilly bounced up and down. “Is that the real Mickey!?”

With a laugh, Kimberly led her over toward the ornate white building. “Well, let’s go ask him!”

As Lance slowly walked toward the plaque, the other guests moved on. A lone man stood there now, looking down at the raised letters. He moved his fingers over the bronze words, silently reading as he went. There was a red button just above the plaque and he pushed it. The result caused him to jump back, startled.

A three-dimensional, smiling Walt Disney instantly appeared in front of the flagpole. “To all who come to this happy place, welcome…” Disney’s familiar voice went on to recite the entire Opening Day Speech from 1955.

The older man leaned toward the transparent, but somehow solid figure as the speech continued. He poked a finger through the moving apparition and began to chuckle to himself, obviously pleased with the effect.

Lance looked back toward his wife and Lilly, easily finding their shining blond heads in the crowd surrounding Mickey. His smile was content. He thought of all the ‘first times’ Lilly would have today. The Matterhorn, the Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, It’s a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Mark Twain. Lance grinned at his own memories—especially those of Pirates.

A young family moved close to Lance. They were attempting to take a picture that would include all of them and have the Castle as the backdrop and their hovering tripod wasn’t cooperating. Lance offered to take the picture the old-fashioned way so they could all be in the shot. Appreciative of the offer, the young father handed the camera to Lance. “On three, say Mickey.”

When he handed the camera back, they got back on their Upright Transports and hummed down Main Street. Lance turned back to the older man who had activated the Opening Speech again. Walking all the way around the shimmering image of Walt, the man seemed both impressed and amused at the same time.

“What do you think?” Lance was curious when the man finished his circuit and came up beside him.

The man just rocked back on his heels and smiled at him, a twinkle in his eye. “Couldn’t have said it better myself!” With a familiar, he pushed his battered Fedora back off of his forehead.

Lance glanced once more at his wife who was busy pointing out something in the Disney Gallery’s window to Lilly.

“You did well.” Lance put his hand on the man’s shoulder. A little softer, his voice choked with emotion, he repeated, “You did real well, Walt.”

—THE END—