The Key To the Kingdom (6 page)

“I remember it,” Shep replied. “It’s the tour that takes you underground into the tunnel system.”

“That’s the one. What is the name of the tour?”

“Hmm. It has something about the kingdom in the name. Wait! I remember, the name of the tour is the Keys to the Kingdom tour.”

“Perfect, that’s it!” Hawk smiled. He was certain he had heard about something with the phrase
key to the kingdom
in it. “Shep, I appreciate it. That’s all I needed. Thank you.”

“Okay boss, have a good rest of the evening.”

“You too, bye.” Hawk clipped his phone closed as he accelerated back onto the interstate. Now that he knew the name of the tour, he wanted to see if he
could find out more about it. He wasn’t sure it had anything to do with the key that Farren had entrusted to him, but at least it was something. As the day ticked away he became more perplexed about the key. His instincts were searching for some deeper or hidden meaning in the gift. The unexpected disappearance of his friend only added to the unease he was beginning to feel. Something deep within him believed that Farren’s dropping out of sight was somehow connected to the key. Perhaps it was part of the Imagineer’s plan. Deciding to try one more time, he dialed Farren Rales’s number again. Just like earlier, he was kicked into the voice mailbox.

C
HAPTER
S
IX

Day Three Morning

S
ATURDAY MORNING FOUND
H
AWK
rushing into his office for what he hoped would be a brief visit. Punching the keypad on the phone, he entered the number he had found doing some cyber-searching the night before. He had found what he was looking for on Lou Mongello’s Web site. As an author of multiple Disney trivia books and the host of a popular weekly podcast, Mongello would be the sure source of the information that Hawk was seeking. The plan was not complicated; Hawk hoped he would be able to get into the Keys to the Kingdom tour at the last minute.

After a quick phone conversation, he had reservations for the tour beginning in less than an hour.

Growing up in Orlando and taking more trips to the Walt Disney World Resort than he could remember gave Hawk a familiarity with Disney property that would rival any expert’s. The Keys to the Kingdom tour was meeting at the City Hall on Main Street, USA. In order to get there as fast as possible, Hawk decided to park at the Contemporary Hotel and walk across to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. Pulling past the security stand at the Contemporary and heading toward the parking area, Hawk took a moment and looked at the futuristic building rising up in front of him. When the Magic Kingdom Resort opened, the Contemporary was one of the two hotels that were a part of the grand opening celebration. The monorail track that stretched from the Ticket and Transportation Center to the Main Gate passed through the Polynesian Resort Hotel and the Grand Floridian Resort on one side of Bay Lake and through the interior of the Contemporary Resort on the other. Each time Hawk remembered the first time he rode on the monorail as a child it brought a grin to his face. It had almost taken his breath away as he looked out the window when the monorail moved from the outside of the hotel to the interior. It was a childhood memory that was burned into his young mind forever. Parking his car and locking the door, he heard the sound of the monorail pass directly overhead carrying another load of eager visitors to the main gate of the Magic Kingdom.

The short walk from the Contemporary to the entrance bypassed the monorail ride and he strode briskly along the redbricked walkway under the monorail track. In a few moments his walk was complete and he was sliding
his annual pass into the ticket turnstile. Below the Train Station, he stepped through the entrance that led to the Mickey Mouse face that was made entirely of flowers. Choosing the tunnel on the left he emerged into the Town Square on Main Street, USA with City Hall right in front of him. Climbing the steps while glancing at his watch, he knew the tour was already gathering and preparing to leave. A cast member working behind the counter at City Hall helpfully pointed Hawk through the door where the tour was meeting just outside. The group of people looked like any other group of tourists ready for a day in the theme park. Hawk noticed that the tour guide appeared as if she had just stepped out of a classic Walt Disney brochure. Dressed in a blue jacket, plaid skirt, and dark hat, she was checking a list and making preparations to begin. Her name tag let everyone know her name was Brooke. With a smile she opened her mouth to speak.

“Hold on just a moment please, Brooke,” a pleasant but commanding voice interrupted. Brooke turned and watched the approach of another cast member.

This interrupting cast member was not dressed as a tour guide. She had shoulder-length dark hair and wore a professional-looking black skirt, a white long-sleeved blouse, and a pair of heels. Hawk assumed she held a position of authority and was Brooke’s supervisor, or “lead,” as they were known among cast members. This woman’s name tag revealed her name was Kiran, and she and Brooke seemed to be going back over the list that Brooke had been looking at before. As their conversation continued they would occasionally glance up at the slightly curious crowd that watched their discussion and waited to begin the tour. Both Brooke and Kiran would be quick to smile and then would continue to work. As Kiran glanced up Hawk noticed her green eyes and was struck by how attractive she was. Stepping away from Brooke, Kiran addressed the group.

“Good morning, my name is Kiran and this is Brooke. We are so excited that you have chosen to take the Keys to the Kingdom tour. We apologize for the slight delay but we had some last-minute additions to the tour so we’ve had to reorganize just a little bit.”

While Kiran continued to talk to the group, Hawk realized that he was the last-minute addition to the tour and wondered if he was the source of this problem. He tuned back in as Kiran explained what was happening.

“Because there are so many of you, we’ll divide this group into two separate tours. Through the course of the day you’ll see the same things, but this just allows us to provide you a better guest experience and give you the personal attention that makes these tours more enjoyable. So if you will listen closely for your name, that would help us tremendously.”

Kiran read a list of names clearly and concisely. She stopped and again spoke to the group. “If I read your name, I’m going to ask you to go with Brooke. She will be your tour guide and show you the Keys to the Kingdom. Have a great time!” Kiran watched as Brooke began to speak to the group, and soon their tour was underway. Turning back to the remaining guests, she smiled and read off the list of names of the people who should now be in her group. The last name on her list was Grayson Hawkes. Hawk thought she stared an extra moment at him before she began to explain what their day was going to include. If his last-minute reservation had been the reason that she
had arrived and split the group in two, he imagined she wasn’t real thrilled that she had to spend a chunk of the day leading them around, especially if she hadn’t originally planned on doing so. Regardless, she was a true Disney cast member and was now completely committed to doing her best to create a memorable guest experience for the tour group.

Kiran rattled off facts, insights, and bits of trivia about the background and creation of the Magic Kingdom.

She revealed that if you look closely as you walk down Main Street, USA, you will see a series of discs embedded into the street. These are sensors that identify and locate floats during the Magic Kingdom parades. When a float passes over a disc information is transmitted to “Pageant,” which is a central computer that keeps the float synchronized with the appropriate music. Strolling down Main Street the group began to spot these discs easily once they knew what they were looking for.

As Kiran explained how the Magic Kingdom covered 107 acres with a capacity of one hundred thousand guests, Hawk remembered a Christmas Day trip he had taken to the park. It was the first time he had ever been alone on Christmas. He had planned a quiet distracting day but was stunned by the massive crowds.

Kiran often paused and allowed the tour guests the chance to ask any questions they wished. Most of Hawk’s questions were different than the inquiries from the rest of the group.

Hawk said, “Kiran, I’ve heard that Walt kept an apartment above the Fire Station on Main Street in Disneyland.”

“You are correct,” she responded.

“Did he have anything like that built into the plans for the Magic Kingdom?”

“He certainly did.” She smiled. Pointing toward Cinderella Castle, she guided the group to a window that was indistinguishable from the others incorporated into the design of the castle. “Look at those three long windows right up there,” she instructed, allowing time for the entire group to get focused on the correct windows. “Behind those arched windows is an apartment that was originally designed for Walt and his family to use anytime they were here in the Magic Kingdom. The plans were changed after Walt’s death. The apartment was something that Roy didn’t seem interested in pursuing. Apparently even as the castle was designed it became a bit of a sacred subject and no other plans were ever put into motion to use that space effectively.”

“I don’t understand. Why was it a sacred subject?” Hawk wondered.

“Maybe sacred subject isn’t the best way to describe it.” She paused. “The designers and builders wanted to be sensitive to building what Walt wanted—after all, this was his big dream. Since he had planned to build an apartment, no one wanted to be the person to knock that out of the plan for the castle. As a result, they did nothing. They just built the space without ever finishing it. Depending on what year you might have been inside the castle, you could have seen it used as a big storage area, a large empty space, a housing area of material used in remodeling, or even a telephone switchboard, but it was never more than just an unfinished room. It wasn’t until the Year of
Million Dreams celebration that it was finally finished and guests were allowed to stay there as a part of the event.”

“Do we get to look at it now since it is finished?” Hawk asked.

“No, that is not a part of our tour . . . sorry,” she replied. “But I will let you in on a secret. I have been in it and it is breathtaking!”

“So there is no chance you can sneak us in as an added bonus to the tour?” Hawk kidded.

“Afraid not.” She quickly changed the subject with a trivia question. “Does anyone know Cinderella’s last name?”

The group chatted among themselves and offered no answers. Hawk’s attention was still on the window, trying to imagine what kind of view you would have of the Magic Kingdom, and what the park would look like from that vantage point. Almost as an afterthought he quietly answered the trivia question.

“Tremaine,” he said, not intending for anyone in particular to hear him.

“Correct again!” Kiran excitedly replied. This launched her into a follow-up question. “Now here is your bonus question. The restaurant in Cinderella Castle was originally called King Stefan’s Banquet Hall. What is one of the reasons it was changed to Cinderella’s Royal Table?”

Hawk turned back from gazing at the castle toward Kiran and the group. He waited for someone else to answer. No one did and most of the group was staring at him waiting to hear what he had to say. Kiran was looking at him as well and he assumed that the question had been intended for him alone. He inclined his head.

“King Stefan was actually Sleeping Beauty’s father. Cinderella’s father was not a part of her story since she lived with her stepmother and stepsisters. So I suppose it was the wrong king’s name in the wrong castle,” he surmised.

Kiran’s face broke into a broad smile as she proclaimed to the group, “This gentleman knows his trivia.”

There was a smattering of applause from the band of tour takers. One elderly gentleman patted him on the shoulder in a gesture of congratulations. The tour progressed and Hawk found himself going on his own tour of thoughts that were trampling through his brain. Hawk had now personally bought into the mystery of the key Rales had given him, which was what prompted him to take the Keys to the Kingdom tour. But other than the phrase
key to the kingdom
, he had found no other connection to the key he now possessed. In retrospect, thinking he could find answers on the tour and been foolhardy. However, Kiran’s beauty was a pleasant bonus if not a distraction to Hawk as he tried to sort out some of the things rolling around his noggin.