“Similar to Pirates of the Caribbean, only with cowboys, if you can imagine that,” Midnight added.
“WHOOOA, cool. If they would have built it, where was it going to be?” Charlie asked.
“It would have been an integral part of a western themed area in Fronteirland, called Thunder Mesa. Which, would have contained multiple attractions in one incredibly themed area. And it would have been laid out right where Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad now reside,” Midnight explained.
“But anyway…back to the crystal,” Featherwink blurted out.
“Yes. Right. Heh-heh. The Kingdom Crystal,” Midnight said; embarrassed he had gotten off topic.
“Yes, please tell us about the crystal, Midnight,” Charlie politely insisted.
“So we know that the second crystal is currently hidden somewhere on the Western River Expedition attraction, as I already mentioned. But there are still two obstacles standing in our way.”
“And what are those?” Michael asked.
“One: we don’t know exactly where on the attraction to look. Two…and this is a big one: neither Featherwink nor myself knows exactly how to…well, find the attraction.”
“What? You mean the Patron spies, Frank, or whoever, didn’t tell you how to find the place where the crystal is hidden?” Michael shouted.
“Yes-yes-yes, we know. It’s going to be a bit of a challenge,” Featherwink said. “But me and the cat here are pretty sure we can figure it out.”
Charlie stood up from his seat and began to pace the floor. “ ‘A bit of a challenge’, I’d say it’s a lot more than that.”
“More like impossible,” Michael added.
“Now-now, boys, we just need to think things through,” Midnight said, attempting to calm Charlie and his brother down.
“Think? Think using what? We have NOTHING to go by,” Charlie said in a panic.
“We’re doooooomed,” Michael moaned, while sliding down in his seat.
“Come now, chaps. We gotta look at this on the bright side,” Featherwink said. He rose off his seat and into the air—his wings flapping fast as a humming bird’s wings. “We do have one thing that may help us.”
“And what is that?” Charlie asked in a defeated tone.
“A rhyme,” the frog proclaimed.
“A what?”
“A rhyme.”
“That’s right,” Midnight stated. “I almost forgot. Frank did tell us a rhyme, didn’t he…but, I can’t quite remember how it goes?”
“No need to worry about that, my friend. I’ve got it right up here in the old noggin,” the frog said, pointing to his head. Then he descended back to his seat.
“Oh, thank heavens for that,” the cat replied, sighing in relief.
“So? Let’s hear it,” Michael demanded.—his eyes bulging with impatient curiosity.
Without hesitation, the purple frog struck a pose and recited the rhyme:
“Off in the distance, the sun drenched hills.
A magic place, with lots of thrills.
Marked in orange, red and gold.
The thing you seek, not to be told.
To find it well, an object from a friend.
Will take you to it’s glorious end.
Begin where it drops, a prickly theme.
Where once could have been, a brilliant dream.”
Charlie’s fingers moved quickly, typing the eloquently spoken words of Featherwink into his phone.
“So it sounds like we’re headed to the Magic Kingdom?” Charlie asked.
“My assumption, precisely,” Midnight answered.
All four exchanged glances. The outsider pushed the button on the watch and said, “Take us to the Magic Kingdom.”
The watch hands began to spin faster and faster, as a pattern of bright colors looped quickly behind them. POP! Mickey’s hands snapped into place—one pointing left, the other right. A brilliant orange light exploded outward from the watch face and engulfed all four seekers. SHHHWOOP! They were gone.
SHHHHHHUP! Charlie, and the others popped into WONDER’s Magic Kingdom, tucked away in a hidden nook near the Country Bear Jamboree attraction.
The sky was perfectly blue. The temperature, spot on. And every detail from the walkway to the shrubbery was flawless. Even the bird in a nearby tree was chirping in perfect harmony to the music cascading through the air from the Country Bear’s show.
“Hmmmmm? So where do we go now?” Michael asked.
“Thunder Mesa, if built, would have been somewhere over in that direction,” Midnight replied, pointing left with his paw. “I say we head that way.”
As the four adventurers made their way out of the shadows and past the Country Bear Jamboree, it was difficult to tell where they should begin their search for the second Kingdom Crystal.
Even though everything appeared to be normal at first glance, it was clearly obvious they were in WONDER.
Tom Sawyer Island was much larger, at least twice as big as the real island. There were multiple riverboats circling the island—all, filled to maximum capacity with happy guests. And all, three decks high, instead of two.
Whistling in the distance, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad’s full scale ride vehicles chugged along—pulling screaming guests in their passenger cars, all detailed to perfection. Instead of just two rail systems, there were six. And the mountainous terrain, which the large steam-powered beasts traveled upon, was far beyond the size and believability of the real attraction back in the Magic Kingdom most were familiar with. Traveling through ginormous caves, over towering railed bridges, and up, over and around enormous western-themed terrain, the giant steam locomotives chugged, huffed and hissed along at break-neck speeds, giving their happy passengers the thrill of a lifetime.
But the most dominant of all attractions to capture their attention, was Splash Mountain. As the foursome set their eyes upon it, the sheer immensity of the mountain left them speechless. In the real Fronteirland, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was the larger of the two mountains. But in WONDER, Splash Mountain was far superior. In fact, the peak of the mountain rose so high, that it nearly touched a small, single cluster of perfectly shaped clouds which sat above it—defining the mountain’s enormity.
“So, which do we choose first?” Midnight asked Charlie.
“I’m not quite sure,” the boy replied.
“Maybe I could help?” a young, and quite beautiful, cast member asked.
“Uh…uh…I, uh…” Charlie could not find his words.
“Hi, I’m Valerie, a Patron friend of Franks. He told me you’d be in the area. And you are?” she said, extending her hand out for Charlie to shake.
“Uh…” The boy was petrified by her beauty. Valerie’s long black hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her stunning green eyes were simply too much for the young man.
“We’re trying to decide which attraction to ride first, Miss,” Featherwink replied. “They both look so appealing.”
The girl covered her mouth and giggled.
“What is it you find so funny, dear?” Featherwink asked.
“Is that really the best story you can come up with?” She said.
“Story?” It’s…it’s not a story, young lady,” the frog replied. Rattled by her answer.
“Well, if you say so, I guess I have no choice but to believe you.”
“Yes, I guess you—”
“It’s not the truth,” Charlie confessed—his will, broken by the girls good looks.
Featherwink’s eyes opened wide, his face turned red with frustration, as he gave the outsider an angry stare.
“Ohhh? Really?” Valerie said.
“No. Actually, it’s not even close to the truth,” Charlie replied.
“CHARLIE. We don’t really know her,” Featherwink mumbled under his breath, as he hovered near the young boys ear.
“But she said she’s a Patron friend of Franks. That’s a pretty trustworthy statement, don’t you agree?”
Midni
ght looked at the boy, then the frog. He turned to the young cast member and said, “The boy is right, we need to trust her.”
“So what is it you’re really trying to do?” she asked.
“We’re…well, trying to find one of the crystals,” Charlie said.
“Crystals?” the young lady replied. “As in one of the Kingdom Crystals?”
“You got it.”
The girl giggled again. “Frank told me that you would be looking for the crystal.”
“He did? Well…why…why didn’t you say that in the first place?” Featherwink barked out.”
The cast member giggled even more. “I wanted to earn your trust, and I thought, maybe it would be best if I let you and your friends explain what you were trying to do, instead of me trying to push my way into the group.”
“She has a good point,” Midnight said. “Go ahead, Charlie. Let her read the rhyme.”
The boy pulled out his phone and showed Valerie the rhyme.
Off in the distance, the sun drenched hills.
A magic place, with lots of thrills.
Marked in orange, red and gold.
The thing you seek, not to be told.
To find it well, an object from a friend.
Will take you to it’s glorious end.
Begin where it drops, a prickly theme.
Where once could have been, a brilliant dream.
After a minute of analyzing the rhyme, Valerie advised, “I think I can help you.”
“Really? That would be such a big help,” Charlie said, exhaling.
“Yes, any information you can pass along from Frank would prove most helpful,” Midnight proclaimed.
Valerie looked at the others, then back at the rhyme on Charlie’s phone. She smiled, then explained while pointing, “You see, the sun drenched hills are clearly the two mountains that stand before you. All highlighted in orange and red. As for the magic place where this ‘thing’ resides, I have a hunch we will find it on one of these two attractions.”
“But an ‘object’ is also mentioned in the rhyme?” Charlie questioned.
“Yes, this is the Object of Magic given to you by the watchmaker.”
“Oh, you mean this watch,” Charlie said, holding up his arm to show the cast member.
The Patron’s eyes opened wide with excitement.
“Why yes. There…it…is,” Valerie said in admiration. “It’s so…beautiful. And yet, so powerful at the same time.”
“So what else can you tell us?” Midnight asked.
She broke away from admiring the watch. “Oh. Sorry. It’s just…I’ve never actually seen an Object of Magic before.”
“Understood, my dear,” Featherwink said.
The young lady continued. “The only thing we can really do now is to ride both attractions. It’s clear to me that the watch will ‘find it well’, with ‘it’ being the crystal, once we are in the right place on the attraction. Which, by the way, will be marked in gold.”
“How do you know it will be marked in gold?” Michael asked.
“Easy. Gold was the third color listed in the rhyme. And there is obviously no gold shown on the outside of either attraction,” she stated, while guiding her hand along the mountainous landscaped area—showcasing her point.
“Well, one thing is clearly evident,” Midnight said.
“And what is that?” Valerie asked politely with a smile.
“Without Frank sending you to help us, we would be totally lost.”
Everyone burst into laughter, then headed for the Splash Mountain queue.
The WONDER version of Splash Mountain was proving to be nothing short of spectacular. The animatronic characters throughout the ride were so life-like, one would swear they were real. The flume logs themselves appeared to be quite real as well, and even smelled of real wood. Yet still, they were very clean, with no hints of wood dust or shavings. The waterway, along which they traveled, was on a much grander scale, and bared with it a full flowing river which cut through a country landscape that was so real, it was just like being outdoors on a sunny afternoon. Birds chirped, bees hummed, the summer breeze brushed against the cheeks of passerby, and the smells of nature bombarded their senses.
But just as Charlie and the others began to relax, Valerie turned and said to the young outsider, “This is where the fun begins. Are you ready to go to your laughing place, Charlie?”
Michael and the others looked at the young lady with quizzical expressions.
Two large vultures perched above the river came into view and said, “So, you’re looking for a Laughing Place, eh? We’ll show you a Laughing Place! Time to be turnin’ around. If only you could!”
The young boy pulled the rhyme up on his phone and read the last two lines as their ride vehicle slowly ascended up the waterway:
Begin where it drops, a prickly theme.
Where once could have been, a brilliant dream.
Drops? He thought to himself. Prickly theme? “Michael, hold on! Things are about to get CRAZZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!”
Their log vessel hit the tipping point and rushed down the giant waterfall—forty, eighty, at least one hundred and twenty feet down!
Charlie’s watch began to spin uncontrollably half way through their descent, fully illuminated in a multiple-colored pattern of brilliant, swirling lights and miniature star bursts.
SNAP—the watch hands locked into place. Both pointing to twelve. The face released a brilliant burst of orange light, sending them to a “magical place” in WONDER.
Their ride vehicle continued to plummet downward.
Another giant burst of orange light shot out in all directions from the watch, blinding its passengers, who were holding on for dear life.
There was a supersonic BOOM.
The log vessel launched into an even higher plunge speed.
Everyone’s cheeks began to flap like jello in a hurricane.
Charlie’s grip on the ride handle was beginning to loosen, as were the others.
All eyes were closed, as streaks of light flashed past the plummeting vessel—SPLOOSH!
The nose of the log bottomed out, popped upwards and slammed into the water—leveling off in a peaceful river flanked by a twisted arrangement of thorny briar bushes.
And just beyond the bushes to the left, a clearing, where guests were unloading from an unfamiliar site.
“This…this isn’t Splash Mountain”, Charlie mumbled, as he looked around.
“Isn’t it breathtaking?” Valerie said, stepping out of their log vehicle to admire what stood behind them—her arms opened wide.
Everyone turned around, as they unloaded from the flume vessel, to take in one of Disney’s greatest ideas that was never realized. Thunder Mesa. More than just an attraction, the majestic, table-top mountain range, painted in breathtaking shades of orange and red, acted as a scenic backdrop for all of Fronteirland, and included within it’s parameters, such attractions as the flume ride they had just ridden, a runaway mine train, and most importantly, the Western River Expedition.
“There it is,” Michael said, pointing to the sign.
“The Western River Expedition,” Charlie said in belief.
“Yes indeed,” Valerie added. “What do you say we go check it out?”
“That’s precisely what I was thinking,” Featherwink added, landing on Charlie’s shoulder to ring out the water from his yellow scarf.
“Right you are,” Midnight proclaimed. “Very well, young lady, show us the way.”
Boarding the boat-like ride vehicle for the Western River Expedition, Charlie and Michael sat in the front row. Midnight and Featherwink occupied the second row. Valerie kindly volunteered to ride in the back—telling the others she wanted to give them the best chance possible to spot the location of the 2nd Kingdom Crystal.
As they entered the cave-like attraction, they were instantly surrounded by stalactites, some of which were in the subtle shapes of both animals and people. Everything around them was eith
er flickering like a loosely connected light bulb or fuzzy like a television station with bad reception. Either way, it made it hard for Charlie and the others to make out any specific details.
“What’s going on with all the flickering lights and stuff,” Michael asked. “It’s driving me crazy.”
“Sometimes when an attraction only reaches the concept stage and is never actually developed, this is what happens,” Midnight explained.
“So it’s like an incomplete thought?” Charlie asked.
“Exactly, Charlie,” the cat replied.
“But we rode the Rhine River Cruise last year in Germany and everything looked good,” Michael said.
“I said sometimes, Michael. Not always,” the cat replied.
The ride vehicle turned and entered the next setting of the attraction. It was a prairie scene, which included, several wild buffalo, howling coyotes, a cowboy sitting on his horse while serenading a group of steers, and three cowboys around a campfire playing a song, while the surrounding cactuses sang in harmony.
As their boat slowly past the singing cactuses, one broke off from the others and began to sing in riddle:
“Oh give me a tune, from Big Jack’s Saloooooon.
Where the piano man and cowboys go plaaaaay.
There’s a man on the roof.
And his horse is a goof.
Cause the gold in the safe sure did paaaaay.
Gold? That’s it, Featherwink thought to himself.
The frog flew up to Charlie’s ear and whispered what he had just discovered.
“The gold, Charlie. Remember the magic place is marked by orange, red and gold.”
“Yeah, I know. The entire Thunder Mesa area is made up of orange and red rock formations,” Charlie replied, appearing half interested.
“I know, boy, but the gold,” Featherwink fired back.
“What about it?”
“The gold is in the safe, Charlie. The gold is the marker for the 2nd Kingdom Crystal.”
Immediately, the outsider’s eyes lit up.
He stood up and shouted out to everyone on the boat, “That’s it! The crystal is in the safe!”
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