The Key To the Kingdom

by Dixon, Jeff

  Hawk felt his eyes begin to burn with tears. Farren had done this before; he had brought Hawk to the edge in conversations. He knew the preacher’s past. He knew the secret pain very few were aware of and that Hawk had chosen to share with a select few. Now he realized why Farren had taken their conversations to the brink of this emotional canyon so many times before. He blinked and studied his friend’s face that was now smiling gently. The preacher lowered his head and felt the sting of tears escaping the corners of his eyes. Breathing deeply, he stopped as he felt Farren’s hand on his shoulder.

  “Hawk, you will know whether to bring Walt back if you ever can. He wanted that to be an option in case we ever needed him to keep his dreams alive. Life and death is a decision made best by those who know God. You know God intimately and you follow Him passionately. That is your life story. Who better to help Walt Disney tell his!”

  EPILOGUE

  * * *

  Six Months Later

  THE FIRST WAVE OF PEOPLE scurried down Main Street USA as the Magic Kingdom opened for another day. Music drifted into his ears as Dr. Grayson Hawkes peeked out the window from his second-floor apartment over the Fire Station on the corner of the Town Square. The apartment was patterned after the one built by Walt for use by his family in Disneyland. Farren had given it to Hawk on that life-changing day six months earlier when he had become the Chief Executive of Walt Disney Imagineering. The pair had entered the apartment on that day using a hidden stairwell that connected directly to the private command center where Walt Disney waited in cryonic suspension. Shortly thereafter Hawk had the apartment remodeled and set up for him to stay in. Now at least three nights a week he stayed in the theme park after the guests were gone. He strolled up and down Main Street, enjoying the music and watching the night shift prepare the park for the following morning. Immediately Hawk had become a favorite of the night crews, often opening up Casey’s Corner and distributing soft drinks to them as they worked. Some evenings he was even known to open up the ice cream shop and scoop ice cream for the cast members to enjoy on their break.

  The major remodel he had made to the apartment was his favorite feature. He had a fire pole placed in the apartment so he could slide down the pole from his apartment, land in the gift shop below, and then walk out into Town Square. The idea had come from Walt Disney himself. In the original design of the family apartment at Disneyland, Walt had used the fire pole to leave his apartment and enter the park. One day a curious guest climbed the pole, pushed against the trap door, and poked his head into the Disney apartment. Later that day Walt had the door sealed to prevent any pranksters from breaking in. Hawk had heard the story and decided his apartment had to have a fire pole exit. If he chose to use this route when the park was open, as he did this particular morning, it always amazed and startled the guests who had dropped in the station to shop. The cast members working in the Fire Station had grown accustomed to his unexpected descents and had taken to calling him the Hawk.

  “Morning, Hawk!” a cast member gleefully greeting him.

  “Good morning!” The Imagineer Preacher walked out of the Fire Station.

  The crowds moved past him, eager to begin a day of adventure. Hawk thought back over the journey he had been on the last six months. Since he had become the one with the Key to the Kingdom, his life had been a whirlwind of activity. Farren had given him a crash course in Imagineering and the Disney Corporation. Hawk had been in meetings with all the top-ranking officers in the company, and although confused about the sudden emergence of this new member of the Disney family, most had been receptive to him. As one board member had said when trying to understand who Hawk was, “Just another day at Disney!”

  After Hawk had honestly confessed to Farren that he knew just enough to be confused, the old Imagineer decided Hawk knew enough to get started. He left Orlando and was spending the next year working with the Imagineers at the Disney theme park in Paris. Farren had suggested that Hawk decide who he was going to surround himself with as new Warriors of the Kingdom. For Hawk it had been an easy decision. He climbed the stairs of the Main Street Station where a couple of them were seated on the balcony overlooking Main Street.

  “Morning, boss,” Shep waved as Hawk crested the stairs.

  Hawk smiled, greeting both Shep and Jonathan, who were there waiting.

  “Hi. Juliette coming?”

  “She called this morning,” Jonathan informed him. “Was hoping it would be okay if she and Tim spent the day playing with the kids in the park.”

  Hawk laughed, thinking about the changes in their lives over the past few months. His staff members were his new Warriors of the Kingdom. He trusted them and they were family. Although he still preached each Sunday, the day-to-day operations of the church were now being handled by the staff. They had also all moved on to the payroll of the Disney Corporation, which freed up valuable financial resources at the church. Their full-time occupations were as ministers; they paid the bills for their occupation with the funding from their new vocations working for the Disney Company. As they looked over Main Street, the three saw Reginald Cambridge standing below them, wearing dark glasses, and looking up toward them.

  “Uncle Reggie!” Shep yelled, recalling for Hawk the first unexpected meeting Cambridge had ever had with the student minister.

  “Everything okay?” Reginald directed the question toward Hawk.

  “Good.” He leaned over the rail to answer. “You good?”

  “Indeed, thanks for asking. Need anything today?”

  “No, got a development meeting later, anxious about seeing some of the new stuff!”

  “If you need me before then, call.”

  Reginald waved at the three and moved off down Main Street. Hawk had also made Cambridge a Warrior of the Kingdom. He now worked as the Chief Security Officer for the entire corporation. He was assigned to be in the same general location as Hawk at any given time. As Reginald walked past the statue of Roy Disney and Minnie Mouse, the preacher smiled. He took a moment and followed Roy’s gaze back to where the old classic Walt Disney Story attraction had been. It was just another day at Disney World, and Roy was still watching out for Walt.

  “Hawk, I’ve got something to tell you.” Shep interrupted Hawk’s thoughts.

  “What’s up?”

  “I was watching the Old Yeller DVD. I listened again to Walt’s message to you and was just goofing around.”

  “And?” Jonathan leaned toward Shep curiously.

  “Well, I found an Easter egg,” Shep informed them.

  “An Easter Egg?” Hawk slowly straightened and leaned forward.

  “A hidden surprise, an unmarked bonus feature. Usually you have to figure out some combination of pushing arrows and hitting buttons, then all of the sudden, boom, you find the Easter egg.”

  “And you found something?” Hawk was now intrigued.

  “Yes, it was a riddle, I guess. It was a picture of something, not sure what . . . had a riddle written over it on the screen.”

  “You mean like a clue or a puzzle piece?” Hawk’s pulse quickened. “Did you bring the DVD with you?”

  “Of course.” Shep produced the DVD from his backpack.

  “Let’s go take a look at it. We can watch it at the Fire Station.” Hawk got to his feet.

  “Oh, no,” Jonathan moaned. “Not another mystery.”

  His words fell across the now empty chairs as his friends were both already up heading across the street toward the Fire Station.

  “Here we go again.” Hawk stopped on the steps and followed Jonathan’s gaze to the castle. “Just another magical day at Disney World!”

  He turned and raced down the staircase, his friends close on his heels, to begin a new quest.

  A Story That Will Never Be Completed . . .

  (Author’s Afterword)

  WALT DISNEY ONCE SAID about Disneyland, “It will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” The same can be
said for Walt Disney World or any other of the growing number of Disney theme parks as they are constructed across the globe.

  The story you have just read springs out of the imagination ignited within me as a child wandering through the Magic Kingdom before it ever opened to the general public. In the days prior to Walt Disney World’s opening, people would flock to the Walt Disney World Preview Center. (Today that building is known as the Amateur Athletic Union Headquarters.) As a wide-eyed kid I would look at the huge model of what the park was going to look like, I would watch Walt on film talking about his dreams for building the theme park, and then wander through the Disney merchandise. I remember thinking how amazing this place would be, but nothing really prepared me for the day I got the chance to walk down Main Street USA for the very first time. From that moment on I was a fan.

  Eventually I would work in the theme park, I would become a collector of Disney memorabilia, I would find occasions to travel to the park and visit, and spending time at Disney World through the years has become a part of my DNA, the experiences have become a permanent part of who I am.

  In Key to the Kingdom I have written not as much about the Walt Disney World that is, but instead about the Disney World that exists in the imagination of Disney fans all over the world. It seems fitting since Walt Disney as a storyteller always was igniting the imagination of his guests. I have taken a great deal of time to research the things I have written about and you can go on your own quest to find the Key to the Kingdom. I strongly encourage you to do so. Obviously at some point your journey would take you to places that the general public doesn’t have access to, whether these off-limit places exist or not, I will leave to your own imagination to decide. Moving the inaccessible places aside, there is enough to keep you hunting and searching for clues that will satisfy any treasure hunter with a love for mystery and Disney trivia.

  On purpose I have given an almost mythical quality to the Imagineers of the Disney Company. The people who make up WDI are regular people just like the rest of us, except that they have a wildly creative slant on the world. Imagineers are the ones who ask “what if” and “why not” when most think something is impossible. Having met with and chatted with Imagineers, I have also discovered they take their art very seriously and they get to paint stories against the most unique canvas in all the world, the Disney theme parks.

  Last but not least, you have heard it said that art imitates life . . . and vice versa. Someone asked me if the story I have written is true. I respond with, “It contains as much truth as The Da Vinci Code!” Somehow I think that pretty well sums it up. I hope you have enjoyed the story. On some level it is every Disney fan’s dream come true. What happens next? Remember what Walt said: “It will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”

  Jeff Dixon

  Tree House Villas

  Saratoga Springs Resort

  Walt Disney World

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  * * *

  The following resources were invaluable in understanding the background, history, operation, and attractions within Walt Disney World.

  Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World and Birnbaum’s Disneyland 2007. New York: Disney Editions, 2006.

  Canemaker, John. Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men & The Art of Animation. New York: Hyperion, 2001.

  Eisner, Michael and Tony Schwartz. Work in Progress. New York: Random House, 1998.

  Gabler, Neal. Walt Disney: Triumph of the American Imagination. New York: Knopf, 2006.

  Gordan, Bruce and Jeff Kurtti. Walt Disney World: Then, Now and Forever. New York: Disney Editions, 2008.

  Green, Katherine and Richard. The Man Behind the Magic: the Story of Walt Disney. New York: Viking, 1991.

  Hench, John. Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show. New York: Disney Editions, 2003.

  Holliss, Richard and Brian Sibley. The Disney Studio Story. New York: Crown, 1988.

  ———. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs & the Making of the Classic Film. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987; Hyperion, 1994.

  Imagineers. Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic. New York: Hyperion, 1996.

  Jackson, Kathy Merlock. Walt Disney: Conversations. Jackson, MS: Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2006.

  Kurtti, Jeff. Imagineering Legends and the Genesis of the Disney Theme Park. New York: Disney Editions, 2008.

  Marling, Karal Ann. Designing Disney’s Theme Parks. New York: Flammarion, 1997.

  Miller, Diane Disney and Pete Martin. The Story of Walt Disney. New York: Holt, 1957.

  Mongello, Louis A. The Walt Disney World Trivia Book (Volumes 1 and 2). Branford, CT: The Intrepid Traveler, Vol. 1, 2004; Vol.2, 2006.

  Neary, Kevin and David Smith. The Ultimate Disney Trivia Book. New York: Hyperion, 1992.

  ———. The Ultimate Disney Trivia Book 2. New York: Hyperion, 1994.

  ———. The Ultimate Disney Trivia Book 3. New York: Hyperion, 1997.

  ———. The Ultimate Disney Trivia Book 4. New York: Disney Editions, 2000.

  Peri, Don. Working with Walt: Interviews with Disney Artists. Jackson, MS: Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2008.

  Ridgeway, Charles. Spinning Disney’s World: Memories of a Magic Kingdom Press Agent. Branford, CT: Intrepid Traveler, 2007.

  Smith, Dave and Steven Clark. Disney: The First 100 Years. New York: Hyperion, 1999; Disney Editions, updated 2002.

  ———. The Quotable Walt Disney. New York: Disney Editions, 2001.

  ———. Disney A to Z: the Official Encyclopedia. New York: Hyperion, 1996; updated 1998, 2006.

  Snow, Dennis. Lessons from the Mouse. Sanford, FL: DC Press, 2009.

  Surrell, Jason. The Disney Mountains: Imagineering at Its Peak. New York: Disney Editions, 2007.

  Thomas, Bob. The Art of Animation. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1958.

  ———. Walt Disney: An American Original. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1976.

  ———. Building a Company; Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire. New York: Hyperion, 1998.

  Thomas, Frank and Ollie Johnston. The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. New York: Hyperion, 1995.

  Vennes, Susan. The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World (Over 600 secrets of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom). Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2009.

  Wright, Alex. The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. New York: Disney Editions, 2005.

  WEBSITES

  * * *

  These are some of the author’s favorite Disney fan sites that helped provide information and resources beyond the printed page.

  The WDW Radio Show, www.wdwradio.com/.

  Inside the Magic w/ Ricky Brigante, www.distantcreations.com/.

  Jim Hill Media, www.jimhillmedia.com/.

  Theme Parkology: 2719 Hyperion, www.2719hyperion.com/.

  Resort Information, www.mouseplanet.com/.

  Disney News and Information, www.laughingplace.com/.

  Walt Disney World News, www.wdwmagic.com/.