Chapter 27
Dizzy and Travis sat on a bench in a roped off section near the Partners Statue in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. The sidewalks and nearby benches were covered with people sitting on blankets, eagerly waiting for the parade to start.
An announcement over the speakers informed the crowd the parade would be starting a few minutes late due to technical difficulties. Dizzy gave a knowing smile.
Before they left the room with Mr. Pegg, Travis called his mom and gave her a quick summary of what had happened. Like he predicted, his mom was not surprised that her ex husband was capable of something so despicable. She lived a short distance from the park and agreed to drive down right away. Mr. Pegg said she would be escorted in when she arrived.
Michelle returned to the benches with three cups of hot chocolate. She handed one to each of the boys and sat down next to Dizzy.
Travis’s phone buzzed and he checked the message that appeared on the screen.
“My mom is here,” he said. “I better go meet her.”
“No. You should stay,” Michelle said. “Mr. Pegg said they would bring her in. He knows right where we are. You don’t want to miss it do you?”
The lights along the street went out and music began playing over the speakers. Travis sent his mom a short text in reply.
“Parade is about to start. See you soon.”
“Do you think Ana is OK?” Michelle asked.
“I’m sure she’s having the time of her life,” Dizzy said. “You don’t have to worry about her. She’s in good hands.”
The lights returned and the first float in the parade approached. It was the same parade they had watched earlier that day. Megan had her video camera out and was recording as Goofy and his son Max made a special stop in front of Dizzy and Travis. Both characters climbed off the float and shook the boys’ hands. Dizzy laughed as Goofy made the universal hand gesture for money by rubbing his thumb and fingers together, then held out his hand as if to ask for some cash. Max was busy making up a complicated ten part hand shake with Travis. Travis couldn’t keep up so Max wrapped Travis up in a big hug.
“Travis?”
A short woman with light brown hair was standing behind their bench. She was wearing a dark blue Anaheim Angles sweatshirt and her hair was up in a pony tail.
“Mom!” Travis yelled, breaking free from Max’s arms. He walked behind the bench and gave her a hug. He led her to the front of the bench. “Mom, this is Dizzy. Dizzy, this is my mom.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Dizzy said. He reached out and shook her hand. Goofy did the same.
Travis’s mom was extremely confused.
Goofy and Max returned to their float and it continued down the parade route.
“Hi,” Michelle said, setting her video camera down. “I’m Michelle, Dizzy’s mom.”
“Very nice to meet you. I’m Linda. So you finally got to meet the real Steve, huh?”
“It certainly seems so,” Michelle said. “He sure seemed like a nice man.”
“He’s only nice so he can get what he wants,” Linda said. “At least you got a trip to Disneyland out of him!”
“Please join us,” Michelle said. She put her bag on the floor beneath the bench and Michelle sat.
“So it sounds like I missed a lot, huh?” Linda said to the three of them. “And Travis did I just see you giving that character a hug? I thought you were too old for Disneyland. Isn’t what you told me last time we were here?”
“What can I say?” Travis said. “It’s growing on me again.”
The next float arrived in front of the bench, and like the one before, it stopped. This float featured Chip and Dale. Both characters climbed down and exchanged high fives with Travis and Dizzy. They returned to their float and it continued down toward Main Street.
The rest of the parade followed a similar pattern. Each float stopped in front of the boys and the characters got off and hugged, gave high fives, and danced with Travis and Dizzy and their moms. Dizzy was having the time of his life.
“Isn’t this great?” he asked Travis. The parade had been going on for nearly an hour, much longer than the one that afternoon thanks to each float stopping in front of the boys.
“This really is incredible,” Travis answered. “I wish that float with all the princesses would come back though. They didn’t stay nearly long enough!”
Dizzy laughed and saw the final float approaching. He got a lump in his throat for some reason and stood up on the bench to get a better view.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse were bringing up the end of the parade in an elegant float. The characters were dressed in their formal clothing, a tuxedo for Mickey and a gown for Minnie. Dancing and waving from the golden float was a little girl dressed like a Disney princess. Her usual mop of curly hair was pulled back under a princess crown and she wore a gleaming silver and white dress. Her cheeks sparkled with glitter and she moved from side to side of the float, waving and saying hi to everyone watching the parade.
The float stopped in front of Dizzy and Travis, and Mickey and Minnie escorted Princess Ana down the spiral staircase. She ran to Dizzy and jumped into his arms. Mickey and Minnie gave hugs to Travis, Michelle, and Linda. Dizzy put Ana down and she twirled in her royal gown.
“Dizzy, you wouldn’t believe all the characters I just met!” She began listing all the characters who had stopped by and given her a hug before their float entered the parade. “This is the greatest night ever!”
Mickey and Minnie pulled Dizzy, Travis, and Ana up onto the float with them. The crowd cheered as the float continued toward Main Street.
Fireworks went off over Sleeping Beauty’s Castle behind them. Dizzy put his arms around Travis and Ana, who were standing on each side of him waving to the crowd below. Michelle quickly reached into her purse for her camera and ran along the side of the street to get in front of the float.
“This picture will look great on my new Bookface page,” Michelle said, pointing her camera up to the float.
“It's Facebook, not Bookface!” Dizzy called down to her laughing.
“Same thing! Now everyone, say ‘Mickey!’”
“MICKEY!”
Acknowledgements
I could not have written this book without the love and support of my wonderful wife Kim. She was asked, begged, and forced to read this story more times than any person should and her positivity helped more than she will ever understand.
This book was written for an audience of two. Ally and Averi, I hope you enjoy it.
Thank you to Kevin, Becky, Craig, and Ashleigh for their feedback, suggestions, and corrections. I'm just a math teacher, how am I supposed to know where to put a comma? (Did I use it right that time?)
And finally, thank you to anyone that has gotten this far and is still reading. Whether you bought, borrowed, or stole the book, I'm honored that anyone would read something I have written.
Also by Matt Ainsworth
THE DISNEYLAND QUEST 2
Dizzy’s California Adventure
Available April 2015…
THE DISNEYLAND QUEST 3
Unlocking the Disney Vault
THE DISNEYLAND QUEST 2
Dizzy’s California Adventure
The Disneyland Quest Page 28