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After taking some pictures with the girls sitting beside the Goofy
statue in front of Tony's, we wandered on over to the little garden
that is next to City Hall - not the side with the restrooms - the
other side. The girls were a bit curious about why we were going
over there, but they found out soon enough. I had booked the Family
Magic Tour for us to take that morning!
I had only read a little bit about this tour, so I didn't
really know that much about it. I did know that it about 2 hours
long and that you got to meet a character at the end of the tour.
And I was told that it could be any character. So I really had no
preconceived notions about what would happen on this tour. I just
didn't realize it would turn out so wonderfully!
We checked in with a CM and got our nametags - pictures of
Peter Pan! We were offered bottles of icy cold water, which we took
advantage of, and we settled down on a bench to wait for the rest
of our tour group to show up.
Sara had to use the restroom, so she and I headed over that way.
When we got back, a young lady was sitting beside Courtney and John
on the bench. Her name was Shannon and she was going to be our tour
guide. She told us that there would be about 20 people on the tour
and we were waiting for everyone to show up.
Once everyone arrived and checked in, we ended up with about 15
or 16 people total, 6 were children. There were still a few missing,
but it was already past time for the tour to start, so Shannon called
us all together in the back corner of the garden. She had the children
gather around her and she began to tell us a little bit about her.
She was a University of Southern California graduate (John had me
enter that bit of information since he also graduated from there…).
She had only been living in Florida for a couple of years and had
been working at the Magic Kingdom for a couple of months. So she
admitted that she probably wasn't as knowledgeable as she
should be. But she also explained that as a child growing up in
California, she used to spend lots of time at Disneyland. And since
the parks were 'similar', she felt she would do ok with
the tour.
Then she started telling us about the tour. It would be a scavenger
hunt. We would be looking for certain items. Just then another CM
walked up. He interrupted Shannon to tell her that she had a phone
call. You could tell by the look on Shannon's face that she
was a bit confused. She tried to tell the other CM that she was
in the middle of a tour and wasn't expecting a call. However,
the CM told her that it sounded important and that she should take
it. So Shannon apologized to us and excused herself to go into City
Hall and take the phone call.
She was only gone a few minutes before returning. She had a concerned
look on her face, and I have to admit, we were all a bit worried
about the tour being canceled. She asked us all to gather around
her again, closely, and she told us about the call. When she picked
up the phone and said 'hello', there was no one there! She said
'hello'; a couple of more times but no one answered her. So she
hung up, figuring it was all a mistake. As she turned to walk away
she felt someone - or some "thing" - tug at her hair.
So she turned around to see who it was. No one was there! Again
she started walking away when she felt her hair tugged. And again
she turned to find no one there! However, the third time she felt
her hair being tugged, she quickly reached behind her head and grabbed
- it was Tinker Bell! And she was upset!
Tinker Bell begged Shannon to help her. But she was talking so
fast that Shannon couldn't understand a word she said. She
finally got her to calm down enough so she could make out what Tinker
Bell was trying to say. There was a big problem in the park! Peter
Pan had stolen Captain Hook's very favorite hook and had hidden
it! And if it wasn't found by noon, Captain Hook was going
to take over the Magic Kingdom! Can you imagine? Instead of the
"Haunted Mansion", it would be the "Pirate Mansion".
And instead of "It's a Small World", it would
be "It's a Pirate World"! Tinker Bell pleaded
with Shannon to help keep this from happening. Shannon tried to
tell her that she wasn't an expert on the park, but Tinker
Bell was desperate! So Shannon explained that she had some friends
that could maybe help find the hook. And that's when she asked
all of us if we'd help her. Of course the children (and the
adults) hollered, "YES" in loud voices!
Tinker Bell also told Shannon that Peter had hidden some objects
there in the garden and told her that these objects should help
us find the hook. So Shannon set us about finding the things that
Peter had hidden. One of the children found a rolled up piece of
canvas. Another found a velvet bag full of dust - not fairy
dust but Mickey dust! Another found a bag of pennies, and one child
found a bag of coins. These items were supposed to help us? Shannon
unrolled the canvas and discovered that it was a map! And it had
clues written on it. Then she had Courtney give everyone a handful
of Mickey dust. Shannon explained to us that it wouldn't make
us fly like fairy dust will. But it would make us brave and help
us to solve the clues. So on the count of 3, we were to toss the
dust in the air over our heads so that we'd be covered in
it!
Then she read the first clue. Sara figured out that the answer
involved the statue of Walt and Mickey there in the hub in front
of the Castle. So Shannon had Sara lead the way. That was where
we had to go before reading the next clue! But before we left, Shannon
explained that we needed to keep quiet about our search for the
hook so that the other guests in the park wouldn't become
upset or freak out! Then, in a quiet voice, she asked if any of
us had ridden "It's a Small World" since we'd
been there. We all said "no". It was closed. That's
when she told us that Captain Hook was so angry that he went in
and tore up the place! And that's why it was all closed up!
So, with Sara in the lead, we headed to the statue. Once there
the next clue was read. Once it was figured out, we discovered that
we needed to find the Hidden Mickey over by Time Keeper. And we
had to "fly". So all of us held out arms out and pretended
to fly. Yes, we got some odd looks.
I was the one that found the Hidden Mickey when we got there. And
it was one I'd never seen before! Woo Hoo! Again the map was
consulted. We needed to find a granite ball. Shannon suggested that
we ride the TTA so that we could all look for the ball. On our way
to the TTA we had to hop. Oh, yeah, we looked funny. I had the clue
figured out even before we hopped over to the TTA, but it was so
hot, and the ride sounded good, so I kept my mouth shut! All the
kids jumped into the car with Shannon. Ah! Peace and quiet for at
least 10 minutes!
Once we left the TTA, we gathered together to discuss whether or
not we'd found the granite ball. No one seemed quite sure,
so John and I chimed in that we thought we knew where to find it.
The ball is a globe of the earth and can be found in Tomorrowland
near the TTA.
The next clue took us to the Indy Raceway. Of course we couldn't
just walk there. We hopped. We skipped. We jumped. Exhausted (at
least us older folks), we made it! The map was brought out and the
next clue read.
Next we had to find Sonny Eclipse. Once it was determined that
he could be found at Cosmic Ray's, one of the fathers was chosen
to lead us there. Doing giant steps! When we reached the restaurant
Shannon tapped on the door to get the attention of a young CM cleaning
up the "fixin's bar". He came over and opened the door cautiously.
He had NO clue what was going on. So Shannon filled him in. She
explained what we were doing and asked if he knew where we could
find Sonny Eclipse. He explained that Sonny could normally be found
in the dining area, but told us he was gone right now. Oh, my! Shannon's
eyes grew large! Captain Hook must have kidnapped Sonny! She thanked
the CM for his help (I'm sure he thought we were all nuts) and we
went in to the restaurant through another door. But before we got
too far, she reminded us all that we were on a secret mission and
we didn't want anyone to know what we were doing, so we had to crawl
to the stage. Riiiiiight. The kids quickly dropped to their hands
and knees and began crawling. The adults sort of crouched over and
tried hard to not look too stupid! But before we reached the stage,
there was a ramp that took us down to a lower level where the stage
was. So Shannon decided we should roll down the ramp and crawl to
the stage. The kids - and Shannon - rolled down the ramp! I'm sure
I don't have to tell you that none of the adults rolled... When
we got to the stage, on the count of 3, we were to jump up, yell
"Hi, Sonny", and dash out of the restaurant!
We regrouped outside the restaurant - which just happened
to be across from some restrooms. So we took a well-deserved 5-minute
potty break.
After taking a short break to get drinks or use the restroom, we
regrouped to take a look at the map. Our next clue led us up the
path to the Wishing Well beside the Castle. Courtney gave each of
us a penny out of the bag that was found in the garden, and we made
a wish to find the hook and save the park before tossing in our
pennies. We were rapidly running out of time and we desperately
needed to find the hook before noon! I forgot to tell you in Part
8A that while we were in Tomorrowland looking for the Hidden Mickey,
we passed right by Alien Encounter. It was closed and boarded up!
Captain Hook must have been there! If we didn't hurry, the
whole park would be a shambles!
The next clue was leading us to the Castle. Once there we had to
find Cinderella - but not just ANY Cinderella. She had to be wearing
her old dress AND a crown, with mice at her feet. We examined every
mural on the wall inside the Castle looking for the correct Cinderella.
We weren't having much luck. So Shannon approached one of
the CMs at the check-in desk for CRT and asked her about it. In
the meantime, John disappeared! While Shannon and the CM were talking,
I tiptoed out looking for him. He was walking back toward the Castle
when I found him. "I know where she is", he whispered
to me. I glanced in the direction from which he came and knew exactly
what he was taking about! Behind, and just off to the side, of the
Castle, was a fountain with Cinderella wearing her old dress. There
were mice at her feet. The crown was painted on the wall behind
her, and if you stood in just the right spot, it looked like she
was wearing the crown! He'd found her! We alerted the rest
of the group who came running over to see! Everyone exclaimed that
they'd walked past that fountain many times and had never
noticed.
Our next clue was taking us to Adventureland. So we formed a line
and headed down the path on the other side of the Castle. Each child
got to take a turn choosing which creature we'd pretend to
be as we walked along. We were birds, and cats, and bees -
and others!
Shannon decided that we'd take a "short-cut"
to Adventureland. Rather than turning left and crossing the big
bridge and walking around the hub, we walked behind the shop where
you can get hand-painted umbrellas and took a smaller bridge. This
kept us out of the crowds.
When we reached the entrance to Adventureland, Shannon asked us
to wait while she went for assistance. The clue wasn't very
clear and we obviously needed help. She came back with a "Bug
Lady". This lady was dressed in safari-style clothes and she
had bugs all over her! Although she wasn't able to provide
us with much help, the kids loved meeting her! We decided to move
on to the next clue. We had no time to waste!
From Adventureland we headed to Frontierland. We were looking for
a tree with a lantern in it. As we walked toward the Liberty Tree
Tavern, someone noticed that there was a tree with a lantern on
the restaurant sign. Was this where we were supposed to be? The
clue mentioned that Tinker Bell was being held captive in a lantern.
Then, as we came around the corner, we saw it - a tree! A
real tree! And hanging from its branches were lanterns. But none
of them held Tinker Bell. Just then Shannon noticed that the bottom
of one was missing! She had gotten away! Hurray!
The next clue said to look for a "glade". That is where
the hook would be found. Although Shannon asked another CM for help,
she didn't know where the glade was. Then we spotted it. It
was a small area just beyond the tree. It was near the water and
was surrounded by trees and shrubs. There was a small stage near
the back. Could that be our "glade"? We took a chance
and dashed over that way. We all scoured the area looking for the
hook. But we couldn't find it anywhere! And it was almost
noon! What would we do? We couldn't let Captain Hook destroy
the Magic Kingdom!
It was right about that time that I noticed that both entrances
into the "glade" had been roped off and were being "guarded"
by CMs. Hmmmm What's up with that?????
Just then we heard a rustling of leaves. We looked up to see Wendy
and Peter Pan coming out of the woods and right into our glade!!!
We all rushed to the stage where they were standing. Peter asked
if we'd found the hook yet. When we said no, both he and Wendy
seemed dismayed. They offered to help us look. They were sure it
was in the area. Then, as Peter turned around, Sara noticed that
the hook was tucked into the back of Peter's belt! Why, we
would have NEVER found it! When Sara told him where it was, he reached
back and pulled it out saying, "Oh, I totally forgot it was
there!" That caused everyone to laugh! Then Peter began chasing
squirrels around the glade! The children loved him! He was so silly!
The kids began asking Peter and Wendy all sorts of questions about
Neverland and the Lost Boys. And they took the time to talk with
each child and answer their questions - that is, when Peter
wasn't dashing off after squirrels!
Shannon had each family pose with Peter and Wendy on the stage,
with someone holding the map. And she kindly took pictures with
our cameras. They also autographed each child's book.
Just then the noon bells rang! We'd saved the park from Captain
Hook! Peter and Wendy congratulated us for helping out and saving
the day!
Then, just as I figured our tour was over, something very magical
and wonderful happened - Peter remarked that we had spent all
morning searching for the hook and we didn't get to go on
any of the rides. So he asked if we'd all like to go on a
ride with him. Of course we all hollered, "Yes!!!!" He suggested
that we all go see Mickey's PhilharMagic!
So one of the CMs guarding the glade opened the rope and let us
out. Peter stopped at the Liberty Bell and asked Wendy to read the
writing on it to him. He told us that Wendy was a good reader and
always read stories to the Lost Boys. When he saw the crack in the
Bell, he asked Wendy if she could fix it!
Then it was on to Fantasyland. And it was just like any Disney
commercial you've ever seen on TV! Here we were, walking down
the center of Fantasyland with Peter and Wendy. Courtney was holding
Wendy's hand! As we passed "It's a Small World",
Peter got everyone singing the song!
People were gathering around wondering what was going on and probably
trying to guess why we were so lucky! Although a few tried to join
in on the festivities, they were kept back so that we could make
it to the theater.
Now, I thought that once we reached the theater Peter and Wendy
would just drop us off there and leave. But they didn't! We
were put into the FastPass line and they actually stood in line
with us! Since there was a bit of a wait, the kids had fun asking
more questions. Peter loved the posters hanging on the wall and
kept talking about them.
Once our line began to move, we grabbed our "opera glasses"
and were taken to the wheelchair area. Peter and Wendy took the
kids and sat down in a corner with them and played games and told
stories until it was time to enter the theater!
And once the theater doors opened, we were ushered to the front
row where we sat with Peter and Wendy! Sara sat beside Peter and
Courtney was still at Wendy's side! Everyone behind us was
astonished to see real Disney characters in the theater!
And after the show was over, we gathered at the exit where we were
presented with certificates for bravery and valor in helping to
find the hook! Peter and Wendy had autographed them. Peter and Wendy
said their good-byes and received last minute hugs. Sara and Courtney
gave them CM appreciation cards and thanked them. Then, before we
left, they both gave Shannon a card, as well. And you could tell
she was honestly touched by the gesture. She had tears welling in
her eyes and she covered her face with her hands for a moment while
she composed herself. We thanked her for the wonderful tour and
we were on our way.
This was a most wonderful tour and worth every penny we spent on
it. The girls enjoyed it so much, and the looks on their faces made
it all worthwhile. |
