HIDDEN MICKEY ADVENTURES 5 Read online

  Peter’s steps slowed as he neared a row of doors and loading bays. From his research, he thought there should have been just three doors: one door would go into general Costuming, one would head upstairs for seasonal and winter costumes, and the third was the exit door. His research said nothing about huge cargo loading doors. Confused, he stared at a burgundy, gold, and green sign that proclaimed: Welcome to the World Famous Cast Costuming. Centered on the sign was one of the mice from Cinderella as he stood on a spool of thread and held out a measuring tape. As welcoming as the sign appeared, Peter doubted it would apply to him if he got caught in what he planned to do.

  A chatting, noisy group of five young cast members approached the building, their arms full of dirty costumes. One of the college-aged women, Sandy, recognized Peter and noticed the hesitant expression on his face. “Hold up, guys. Hey, I know you! You’re Peter, Lance’s boy, aren’t you?”

  Peter’s look immediately went from hesitant to wary. Being unseen and unnoticed had been his plan, not everyone knowing who he was. “Um, yeah, I guess.”

  “What are you doing out here? This isn’t your usual area of exploration.”

  Mollified by her pleasant, non-demanding demeanor, Peter relaxed a little. He hadn’t realized his exploits—like his dad’s had been—were better known within the Park than he realized. “I…No, but…I, um, just need to get inside Costuming to check something out.” Peter felt his heartrate speed up. The idea that his brilliant, though somewhat vague, plan could come to a screeching halt before it even got started thrust itself into his mind. Falling back on a tried-and-true method, he turned on the charm. “Is there any way you can help me? I don’t want to steal anything,” he hurried to explain. “I just need to check out what’s in the back of the building.”

  His big green eyes and wide smile seemed to be working. The three women of the group huddled together to see what they could do. Sandy seemed to be the leader, the instigator of the bunch. When she turned back to Peter, her eyes had the spark of anticipation. “Okay, I think we know what we need to do.” She waved a hand at the loading dock. “This isn’t where you need to be. None of us can get in there. Follow us around the corner. You knew this was the back of the Team Disney Store, right?”

  She led the group past the loading bays to a walkway that had vending machines and outdoor lockers. “Okay,” Sandy continued as they stood at the end of the long building, “this is the area where you want to go. That first door,” she pointed, “goes upstairs, but I don’t think you want that.” They walked past a row of trees that shaded the area. “Here is where we need to be. Hold on while we drop our costumes into the chutes.”

  This was new and fascinating to Peter. Aunt Beth and his mom had never explained the details of what they considered an uninteresting routine. He closely watched Sandy as the items of clothing were carefully placed into the chutes so the computer could read the barcode on each piece. “If the computer doesn’t read each number, we could get in trouble for a missing costume.” As Peter waited, he noticed one of the guys held on to a couple pieces of his Jungle Cruise outfit.

  “Everyone ready? Y’all know who does what?” Like a general reviewing her troops, Sandy got the affirmative from her group. Everyone, that is, except Peter who was still in the dark. She next turned to him. “Okay, Peter. Inside that door we expect to find one cast member who is somewhat guarding the entry. We need to get you past him. Shouldn’t be too difficult. If he’s who I think he is, he likes Cindy here.”

  “Eww.” Apparently Cindy didn’t feel the same.

  Unmindful, Sandy continued outlining her plans. “Cindy and the two of us girls will block his view while Todd here acts normal and goes to Wall-E to get his costume assignment. Jack will put you behind him, out of sight of our guard. Once you get past the first row of hanging costumes, duck to the right. Jack’ll come back and get his costume assignment from Wall-E. Then you’re on your own. How does that sound?”

  Peter’s face lit up. “That sounds great! But, how will I get out again?”

  The group exchanged an amused look. “Oh, I have a feeling that will take care of itself. Is, uh, your dad around?”

  Not sure he liked the sound of that, Peter just nodded as some of his eagerness faded.

  “That’s good. Hopefully he’ll be the one who responds to the call.”

  “What call?”

  Sandy grinned at him. “The call when you get caught.”

  Todd, the quiet one of the group, spoke for the first time. “He should be safe from the sensors.”

  Mouth open, Peter gasped. “Sensors? What sensors? No one said anything about sensors! Are they in the floor or in the walls?”

  After a quick glare at Todd, Jack turned to the white-faced boy. “Calm down, buddy. They aren’t laser beams. They just detect the barcodes in our costumes. If we have on too many items, the sensor goes off. With over eight hundred costumes to keep track of, they were needed. Keeps theft down. Since you don’t have on any costume parts, you should be fine.” Jack, who must have been a linebacker in high school football, placed a meaty hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Nothing usually gets past the guard at the door or the sensors. But, with a little distraction, you can get a head start. Oh, and keep your head down when you go past the offices right inside. There’re windows on each side looking out into Costuming. You ready?”

  As anxious as he was, Peter still had a moment of worry for his helpers. “Won’t you all get in trouble?”

  Big smiles went around the group of Peter’s new friends. “Only if we get caught. And we don’t plan on getting caught. You girls ready?”

  Once in battle formation, Peter’s eyes widened when the three women suddenly began a heated argument centered on the mild Todd and the unsuspecting guard inside. As the four friends angrily stormed through the door, Jack and Peter quietly hovered in the back of the scuffle. As planned, all eyes in the cavernous room turned toward the shrill, demanding, angry voices as various pieces of Jungle Cruise costumes flew at the guard under assault. Edging deeper inside, past the offices, Peter ducked down as Jack shielded the boy with his body. Once they were past the first double rack of hanging costumes, Peter felt a slight shove and was off like a scared rabbit. Jack slowly wandered back to the entry, a half-smile on his lips. Once Todd saw Jack was alone, he immediately apologized for all his sins, real or imagined. Sandy then threw her arms around his neck and declared she just knew Todd wasn’t a flake and that Cindy liked someone else, not him. The argument ended as quickly as it had started. With bright smiles they presented their identifications to the irritated Lead. Not as easily mollified as Sandy seemed to be, he grumbled as he peeled layers of costumes off himself and the floor and shoved them back at Todd. The now-happy group quietly went to Wall-E to get their printouts for the locations of their replacement clothes. Their cheerful thanks and a wink from Cindy were ignored as the guard turned to the check next cast member who had come in behind them.

  Peter had to keep his goal in mind as he hurried through row after glorious row of cast member costumes—Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear, Monorail—all just hanging there in wonderful pressed perfection. Back at the entrance, also distracting him, had been a brown line-drawing of Cinderella sewing her ball dress with the mice clustered around her. The mere glance he had of it wasn’t enough, but he knew better than to go back for a better look. Hearing one of the steam train’s whistle as it approached the Main Street Station helped him to refocus. “Just like Aunt Beth and Mom said.”

  The group had entered the room at aisle 18. When he reached the back of the room, aisle 1, he came to an abrupt halt. Expecting to find one or two locked doors that would lead out of the cavernous room and into the Diorama, he only found a wall. His fingers already had curled around the master key hidden in his pocket, just itching to pull it out and get to his desired location. Now all he could do was stare at the back wall.

  “You still here, buddy? You need to go!”

>   Since he had been thus far undetected and lulled by that false sense of security, Peter whirled around at the sound of the urgent voice. Jack stood next to him, taking his time retrieving the last piece to finish off his costume. “But, Jack, there isn’t any door back here! Where’s the door?”

  “Shh! Don’t panic. What door? What are you talking about?”

  “Into the Grand Canyon Diorama. I…I was sure there was a door back here.”

  To stall for time, Jack put back what was in his hand and picked up a different one. “I don’t know where you got your information, but you’re all mixed up. One, there’s no door back here. And, two, if there was, it wouldn’t be to the Diorama. The Primeval World show building is behind us. And, three, how were you planning on getting past the train tracks?” Hearing something, Jack’s head snapped toward the front of the room. “You need to go, man. Head back the way you came. We have Cindy waiting for you up front to get you out. Go!” He could see a look of complete confusion on the boy’s face but knew there wasn’t any time to discuss it. “You’ve got the wrong building. Now, get out!”

  At Jack’s last words, Peter knew he had to leave and regroup. With a hastily muttered, “Thanks,” he ran through the racks of clothes. Once he signaled Cindy, she distracted the guard by asking if he was going to the cast member party the next night. Thinking he had a chance for a date, the guard followed her as she backed away from the exit. Peter saw his opportunity and ran for the door, ignoring the sudden yell behind him to stop. Apparently Cindy hadn’t been as distracting as she thought she was.

  Faced with a long, fruitless run back to the Harbor Pointe station, Peter knew he had to come up with another escape route. With no other recourse, he took a chance and turned left to run past a row of trees, expecting to be grabbed at any moment. Hearing some mournful barking, he knew he was near the Disneyland Kennel Club for pets not allowed inside the two Parks. Following the corner of the building, he came across a cast member exit. Pushing through the small gate, he passed the kennels. Now in the Esplanade between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, he kept a steady pace as he dodged through lines of guests waiting to get into Disneyland. Gasping for air, he threw himself down onto a bench in front of Guest Services. Now that he was on the opposite side of the Esplanade Peter tried to calm his wildly-beating heart. Eyes glued to the path he had taken, he kept watch but didn’t see any signs of pursuit.

  “Wrong building? How could it be the wrong building? Mom said she could hear the train every time it went by.” Peter yanked off his backpack and dug through it. On the bottom, hidden from any casual security scan, was a satellite map of the Park that he had printed. Circled was the Costume Department with an arrow that pointed at what he thought was the Grand Canyon Diorama. He smacked his forehead when he realized what Jack had told him: the Costume Department was on the same side of the tunnel as the train. The Diorama, just like the Primeval World, was safe behind huge sheets of glass—on the other side of the track. If he had indeed found a door into the tunnel, he would have only had access to the train, not the Diorama. “I was on the wrong side of the tracks. Any access door would have to be on the other side of the berm. Gosh, how do I miss stuff like this?” The map was lowered into his lap. “I miss Catie. She would’ve caught this stupid mistake.”

  With his missing friend, and now his error, he felt deflated. Shoulders sagging, he barely moved when his phone buzzed. A glance at the face showed it was his dad. In another moment of insight, he realized Lance had known all along that he was on the wrong path. But, stubbornly, Peter had wanted to do it himself. For Catie. “Boy, she sure would’ve been disappointed in me…Hi, Dad,” he sighed when he finally answered the phone.

  “You in jail yet?”

  Peter had to smile at that. “No, not yet. Almost got caught. One of my friends helped me out.”

  Lance sounded confused. “Friends? Who helped you?”

  “Long story.”

  “I like long stories.”

  “I’ll tell you later, Dad. Where are you?” Peter let out a long groan. He might as well confess since Lance probably already knew. “I had it all wrong. Everything. I didn’t find the way into the Diorama.”

  Lance could hear the discouragement in Peter’s voice. “We’ll figure it out, son. You want to go for lunch? Corn dog or a slice of pizza?”

  At the promise of food, Peter’s cheer slowly returned. “Wow. A whole slice of pizza? Do we have to share or do I get it all for myself?”

  “I don’t know, Pete. How much money do you have on you?”

  Before Peter could answer, his dad ended the call. “That’s weird. Where am I supposed to meet him?”

  “How about here in the Esplanade? And, do you always talk to yourself out loud?”

  Peter spun around. “Dad! How’d you know where I was?”

  Lance jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “I was patrolling Main Street when I heard the gunshots from the Jungle Cruise and the Monorail horn as it went by. Where else would those two sounds meet? So, pizza?” He left out the fact that Wolf had been posted near the Team Disney Store and had watched the frantic escape.

  Peter felt himself relax. Dad was here now and he could regroup. “I’ll pay if I can have an advance on my allowance.”

  Lance put his arm around Peter’s shoulder to steer him to the nearby Exit gate. The cast member smiled as she swung open the iron gate for them. Lance nodded his thanks and returned to their negotiations. “How about Carnation Café, no advance, and I’ll pay?”

  “How about Carnation Café, an advance, and you still pay?”

  Once they were seated in a far corner under one of the red and white striped umbrellas, Lance quietly asked, “So, what went wrong, Pete?”

  After a long gulp of his lemonade, Peter launched into his tale of new friends and mistakes in reading a map.

  Flashback – Burbank – 1957

  “The rebuilding of the Fred Gurley is coming right along, Walt”

  Walt looked over from the storyboards that filled one of the walls. On that side of the room, the Grand Canyon Diorama was laid out scene-by-scene in the same manner as an animated feature. As the story progressed, guests would experience the Canyon starting from early morning, into a thunder and lightning storm, and end with a beautiful sunset. “Yeah, that train was a good find in Louisiana. And, with the open-sided Narragansett passenger cars that face toward the Park, the guests’ll get a better show.” Walt turned back to the storyboard, quiet as his head slowly shook back and forth.

  That subtle movement from Walt never bode well for the animators or designers. A quick look went around the assembled group to see who would ask. “Something wrong, Boss?”

  Walt’s eyes didn’t leave the colored panels when he finally answered. “I think we can do better. I’ve seen dioramas in museums in Los Angeles and in New York. I’m going to send Claude to Arizona and then we can start again.”

  Surprised, the artist/set designer/animator looked up from his notebook. “What!?”

  A new set of storyboards covered the wall. Arms folded across his chest, Walt paused in front of one of the panels. “They don’t have turkeys in the Grand Canyon, Claude.”

  “Yes, they do, Walt.”

  “You saw them.”

  “No, but I didn’t see a mountain lion, either. That doesn’t mean they weren’t there. I saw the turkeys in a local museum.”

  Silent, his mind always working, Walt moved on to the next rendering.

  Later that week, Walt showed the storyboard to a friend who was visiting the Studio. “Say, did you know they had turkeys at the Grand Canyon?”

  “They do? I didn’t know that.”

  Once his friend was out of the room, Walt turned back to Claude. “I’m still not sure about this. Are you positive there are wild turkeys in the Canyon?”

  Knowing his boss, Claude was ready for him this time. “Yep. I called the park superintendent responsible for the Canyon and he said the flocks are on the incre
ase!”

  On March 31, 1958, after an elaborate dedication ceremony, the first guests got to travel through the Grand Canyon Diorama. They were treated to a 34-foot high, 306-foot long seamless background that had taken more than 300 gallons of paint and over 80,000 man hours to design, paint and construct at a cost of $435,000. The diorama included mountain lions, deer, mountain sheep, skunks, and various birds—including wild turkeys.

  Fullerton Hospital

  “Catie, you should have seen all the costumes! As far as I could see, they were just hanging here, waiting. It was awesome!” Peter, for the moment alone with his friend, first told her the exciting part of his story. So far he hadn’t related his mistake, the one that still ate at him. “They have this computer on the wall that they call Wall-E. It tells them where they need to go to get their costume parts. Your mom said they used to have these cards on the wall like baseball cards. Each costume would have its own card and it would list all the different pieces they needed. Now they have Wall-E and sensors.” Aware he was rambling to stall the inevitable, Peter fingered a pink teddy bear propped up on the stand next to her bed. All of the colorful Get Well balloons had been removed after inadvertently wrapping around her IV bag and setting off an alarm.

  Before he could continue, her eyes slowly opened. Her forehead creased with confusion, Catie moved her head to stare straight at Peter. Already told this was a common occurrence now, Peter softly patted her hand. “Hi. It’s okay, Catie,” he whispered. “You’re safe. I’m here. I was just telling you…” He broke off when her eyes closed and she drifted back into the less-muddled darkness. With a silent sigh of disappointment, he had to wait a moment before he was able to continue. “I was just about to tell you about my mistake. I really blew it, Catie. I was totally in the wrong building. Costuming doesn’t lead anywhere. But, you probably would have known that, huh?” After a quick glance at the empty door, Peter leaned closer to the bed to finish what he had started to say. “I miss you, Catie. I miss your help and I miss you being there with me. Please wake up so we can work on this together. I know where to go now. Dad helped me figure out the way to get in. But he won’t let me rappel in from the ceiling. Go figure.” At his little joke, a crooked smile turned up the corners of his mouth in the darkness of the room. It faded when he finished what was in his heart. “I…I just wish you were with me.”