The Disneyland Quest

by Matt Ainsworth

  Chapter 22

  “You know where the storybook benches are?” Dizzy asked. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  Ana was now crying. Dizzy bent down and was face to face with her.

  “Ana, I’m not angry at all. I just wanted to know why you didn’t tell us where the benches are.”

  “I’m not crying because you yelled at me,” she said, wiping away a tear. “I’m crying because I’m scared.”

  “Why are you scared?” Dizzy asked. “What’s wrong?”

  Ana didn’t say anything. The tears were streaming down her face.

  “Tell us where the benches are,” Travis said. “Please.”

  “They are back in Fantasyland,” Ana said quietly.

  The three of them ran back to Fantasyland. Ana led past the giant blue whale Monstro from Pinocchio as a canal boat full of guests floated through his open mouth. Ana pointed to the landscaped area passed the water. The bushes spelled out Storybook Land.

  “We have run past this ride all day,” Ana said. “Storybook Land probably has storybook benches right?”

  Dizzy and Travis both gave Ana a hug.

  “And this is why you were crying?” Dizzy asked. “Because of the boats?”

  Ana nodded yes.

  “Well don’t worry about it,” Travis said. “You stay here with me and Dizzy will go count the benches.”

  “You did it Ana,” Dizzy said. “This is it. I am so proud of you!”

  They let go of her and Dizzy took out his wallet. He then realized he used the last three fast passes avoiding Justin on Winnie the Pooh.

  “Oh no,” he said. He checked his watch, which read 6:37, and looked at the line stretching past the blue fencing. There were at least 100 people ahead of them in line. “We’re never going to make it.”

  “Dizzy,” Ana said softly, reaching into her pocket. “I still have these.” She was holding two Fast Pass tickets in her fingers. “These should help, right?”

  “How did you? Where did you?” Dizzy was in shock and couldn’t finish any of his thoughts. Travis began jumping up and down in excitement.

  “Woooooo Ana!” he screamed.

  “Where did you get those?” Dizzy finally asked, regaining his composure.

  “You handed them to me at Autopia when it was closed remember? I had them in my pocket.” She smiled up at her brother.

  “OK,” he said, taking control of the situation. “I am going to ride this thing and hopefully find the benches. I want you two to go get in line for the vault. Hopefully I make it back in time with the last number. Travis, you can calculate the answer while we are in line and we can have the combination before it is our turn. Sound good?”

  “No,” Ana said. “I’m staying with you. I want to ride it.”

  “Ana,” Dizzy said. “You don’t have to prove anything to me. Just go with Travis and I will catch up to you.”

  Dizzy turned and began jogging toward the exit ramp with the tickets in his hand. Ana followed him.

  “I’m coming,” she said firmly. “Travis, go get in line at the vault.”

  “We don’t have time to argue, Travis said. “Here Dizzy.” He handed Dizzy his phone. “Text me the number of benches when you get it.”

  “Dude, how am I supposed to text you if you just gave me your phone.”

  “Oh yeah,” Travis said. “Then text your mom. I will find them and have them stand in line with me. Now go get on that boat.” He turned and began sprinting toward Main Street.

  Dizzy put the phone in his pocket as he and Ana approached the Storybook Cast Member and showed her the Fast Passes. She opened the gate and a few moments later Dizzy and Ana stood on the dock waiting for the next canal boat.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Dizzy asked Ana as their boat approached.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said. “Just promise me you won’t let go of my hand.”

  “I promise.”

  Ana took a huge breath as she stepped from the dock to the boat. It rocked a little as the other guests got situated. The cast member steering the boat asked Ana if she wanted to go sit on the bow of the boat by herself.

  “Are you crazy lady?” Ana replied.

  Dizzy laughed and squeezed Ana’s hand. The boat left the dock and entered the whale’s mouth.

  The Cast Member began telling quick summaries of the storybook tales the miniature houses along the water were based on. When they approached a skinny strip of land to the right of the boat, Dizzy noticed a tiny wooden park bench under a miniature street lamp.

  “And this where Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, and Wendy flew over on their way to Neverland,” the cast member continued.

  “There’s one,” he counted. “Two, three, four, and five. Five benches. We got it.” He took Travis’s phone out of his pocket and sent a text message to his mom.

  “5 benches! We’ll be there soon. Dizzy.”

  The rest of the ride went smoothly and Dizzy and Ana were the first to disembark the small boat.

  “How was it Ana?” Dizzy asked as they ran through the exit and toward Main Street.

  “How should I know?” she called back. “My eyes were shut the whole time!”

  They ran past the Partners Statue and continued down Main Street. There was a roped off area in front of the stage and a cast member continued to shout directions to anyone nearby.

  “Line forms around the back of the stage. Any guests submitting an answer must be in line by 7:00 p.m. All Quest players, line forms around the back of the stage.” Dizzy and Ana went around the side and Travis and his mom in line a few groups back from the front of the line.

  “Dizzy,” Travis said as they approached. He looked surprised to see him. “I thought you were going to text your mom the number?”

  Dizzy gave a confused look to Travis and his mom.

  “I did. I said there were five benches. You didn’t get it?”

  Michelle’s phone was in her hand, she held it up to show it had no new messages.

  “Let me see my phone,” Travis said, holding out his hand. Dizzy gave Travis his phone back and he typed out a quick text to Michelle. “Where are you?” the message read. Travis looked over at Michelle’s phone. It didn’t buzz.

  “That’s strange,” Dizzy said.

  Travis turned his attention to the math problem in front of him. He did some calculations in his head and quickly wrote down some numbers. A few moments later he wrote down the answer and circled it.

  “Thirty-three,” Travis whispered, not wanting to alert the three large men in line ahead of them. “We got it!” Dizzy and Travis gave each other a high five and then both hugged Ana. Michelle gave them each a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  Travis’s cell phone buzzed, indicating a new message. He looked down at his phone with a confused look on his face.

  “Hey, where’s Steve?” Dizzy asked his mom.

  “He had to go make a phone call,” Michelle said.

  “Now?”

  Dizzy couldn’t believe it. He checked his watch. It was 6:49. What could pull Steve away so close to the end of the Quest?

  Travis was still looking at his phone, swiping his way up through his text message history.

  “Who was that text from?” Dizzy asked.

  “It was from Michelle,” Travis said.

  “But I didn’t text you,” Michelle said. Her phone was still in her hand.

  “What’s your cell phone number?” Travis asked Michelle. Michelle told him her number and looked at Travis. He was looking at his cell phone in disgust. “We haven’t been texting your mom at all today,” Travis said after a few moments. “Someone changed her number in my phone book.”

  “What?” Dizzy asked. “Then who have we been texting?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Another incorrect combination was met with Mr. Pegg’s friendly thumbs down and Dizzy took a few steps closer to the stage. He stood on his t
ip toes to try to see over the men in front of him, but it was no use.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said, stepping out of line. “I want to see who’s ahead of us.”

  Dizzy took a few steps forward and saw there were only three groups ahead of them in line.

  The first was the group of three large men directly in front of them.

  Next was Megan and her brother Justin.

  And at the bottom of the steps leading to the stage stood Steve and Big Red.