The Key To the Kingdom (9 page)

Day Four Mid-Afternoon

H
ALF THE AFTERNOON
had ticked past by the time Hawk headed toward the Disney Studios. No matter how hard he tried, there always seemed to be mounds of things to get done after a worship service. Hawk always tried to track down the guest cards that might have been filled out and turned in by first time visitors. Usually he would send each person or family a short but personal e-mail thanking them for spending their time at Celebration Community Church. The quick contact opened the door for any guests that wished to ask questions about the church if they had them. The one surprise to Hawk was that Kiran had not returned a guest card. Selfishly he would like to have had a way to contact her. Professionally he also wanted her to know that he was glad she had come to church that day.

Hawk flashed his annual pass, prompting the attendant to wave him through into the parking lot of the Studios. Following the directions of the
parking lot crew, he pulled into a space much closer to the front entrance than he had anticipated. He once again studied the old skeleton key that Rales had presented him. He was holding the key to the kingdom and he had no idea how to use it. If this key really did open something, Hawk was doggedly determined to find the lock.

Exiting his car, he decided to walk to the front entrance. The walkway carried him past a security checkpoint where a guard stood inspecting bags as guests entered the park. Since he wasn’t carrying a bag or pack, she waved him through past guest relations windows and the first of many souvenir opportunities that were a part of any Disney experience. There was a line of people waiting to move through the turnstiles and he chose the shortest of the open gates. Inserting his pass and placing his finger on the biometric sensor, he waited for his ticket to be returned so he could push through. The readout on the mechanism flashed, “Welcome Have a Nice Day,” and Hawk entered the park and faced the Crossroads of the World. The Crossroads was an information center right inside the Studios entrance. It was here that Hawk found an information card with specifics about the operating schedule of the studio for the day. Quickly reading, he saw that there were over two hours until the park closed. Satisfied that his timing had been good, he knew there was enough time to visit One Man’s Dream.

Straight ahead and to the right of the Sorcerer’s Hat, his path took the preacher to Mickey Avenue. Just past the Voyage of the Little Mermaid he arrived at the entrance of One Man’s Dream. The cast member cheerfully welcomed Hawk to the attraction as he heard the distinctive voice of Walt Disney say, “I hope we never lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a mouse.” Entering, Hawk was as inspired as he was each time he visited the exhibit. Each step you take allows you to walk in the footsteps of Walt Disney. Tracking his life from his birth in Chicago back in 1901, through his boyhood memories of Marceline, Missouri, and to the dreams that became movies, Disneyland, and Disney World . . . this attraction allows guests to catch a glimpse into the life of Walt Disney like none other.

Hawk took the time to reconnect with the history of Walt Disney as he developed innovative breakthrough after breakthrough to revolutionize not only animation but filmmaking in general. The soundtrack of the attraction features the voice of Walt Disney himself revealing some of the most meaningful and emotional moments of his life. This carefully crafted narrative was compiled through a rare collection of audio interviews which had never been heard publicly prior to this experience. The first part of the exhibit yielded to a second portion which captured elements of Walt’s life that most people are more familiar with. The doorway separating the two served as the portal between the years of animation only and the birth of Disneyland. The emergence of television and the way Disney used that to capture the hearts of an American viewing public as he developed Disneyland was one of the first highlights featured. It was the medium of television that transported Walt into the American household. His face and voice became a part of the fabric of American culture itself as weekly people would tune in to watch and listen to Walt Disney. This portion of the exhibit included models of various creations in the theme parks worldwide designed by the Imagineers. An interactive
display explaining the way animatronics work always fascinates guests. Still amidst the collectibles, the photographs, and the recordings, the most interesting portion of this section is located behind a big glass window. Beyond the window is the office of Walt Disney himself.

This office was what Hawk had come to see. A small group of three people were clumped together speaking quietly, looking through the glass into the office. The way the display was set up, viewers were given the perspective of being able to look through a wall from a slightly elevated position. In essence you were looking down on the vacant office that had been set up to resemble the way it looked when Walt had last worked in it. Two empty chairs sat opposite Walt’s desk chair. On the credenza to what would have been Walt’s left, scripts were neatly stacked and stored, available for reference. On the right side stretched another credenza that was complete with a record player, a collection of long-play vinyl albums, and various other mementos. An announcement notified guests the film about the life of Disney would be starting in minutes, and the three people looking through the window wandered off to another part of the attraction.

Hawk was now alone, intensely gazing through the glass, allowing his eyes to seek some detail of the office he had never noticed before. Opposite where he stood there was a window with blinds closed and a wooden door. Hawk knew this was not the original design of the office. Practicality dictated there could not be a door next to an exterior window on any level above a ground floor. Since Walt’s office was not on the ground floor, this must have been added to the design as they set up the display. Hawk assumed that the door opened to whatever was behind the set. He then scanned the credenza from right to left slowly and closely. The rows of scripts were stacked on a shelving unit with various items sitting across the top of the shelf. To the left of that was a small box. In appearance it could have been on oversized music box, although Hawk doubted it was musical. An ornate design decorated the top of the box that at one time might have been used to store a variety of valuables inside. The lid of the wooden box was closed so there was no way to see what might be hidden inside. Hawk squinted, trying to bring the details of the box into clearer focus. He could not be certain but it looked as if there was a lock built into the front of the box. He wondered for a moment if the key he possessed might open that box. It was an unlikely theory to be certain, but it also was unlikely that by looking through the window he would find anything that might give him some insight into what the key would open.

Continuing his scan across the credenza he noticed a model replica of an airplane. Since the model was in the office, Hawk assumed it must be a model of the plane that Walt had owned. There were more items that adorned the surface of the credenza; none of them looked unusual or out of place. He moved slowly toward the far left side of the window and tried to see behind the desk. If Farren was to be taken literally about the key, Hawk would need to take it and do the same thing Walt did.
He went back to the studio, sat behind his desk, and let the memories spark his imagination, his ability to really understand a story, and eventually how he would touch the world
. Then Rales had given him the key.
Take this and do the same thing Walt did
. Looking through the window, Hawk knelt down and tried to get a better understanding about what he might
see if he were behind the desk. His eyes raced over the view he had from a different angle. Frustratingly, he could see no more detail than he could when he was standing.

“Looking for anything specific?”

From one knee Hawk looked up into the smiling face of a cast member, dressed in a host uniform, towering above him.

“No, I’m just trying to really see everything,” Hawk replied.

The cast member bent slightly forward at the waist and looked into the office, trying to see what could be seen differently from Hawk’s point of view. Slowly and deliberately the cast member straightened back up, satisfied the view was not that different, and turned his attention from the office back to Hawk. With a pleasant if not patronizing look spreading across his face, he spoke again.

“I did notice that you have been studying the office for quite some time. Are you a big Walt Disney fan?”

“Sure, isn’t everyone?” Hawk attempted to respond like an overzealous tourist. He had managed to completely lose track of time studying the details of the office. A quick check of his watch let him know that the attraction would be closing in a few minutes. “I’m fascinated with the creativity that must have come out of this very office. I’ve been standing here wondering what it would have been like to sit in there and talk with Walt himself.”

“It is fascinating to think about,” said the cast member, whose badge identified his name as Jim. “You’d be surprised how many people do exactly what you’ve been doing. Looking through the window and wondering what if.”

“What if?” Hawk asked.

“Sure,” Jim explained. “What if Walt were still alive, what if he’d seen Disney World completed, what if he were still running the Disney empire, what if you could sit down and chat with him?”

“That’s a lot more thought than I was giving it.”

“I’m sure if you stood here long enough you would’ve gotten there. There’s just something about Disney that sparks the imagination in people. But sadly you’re not going to be able to stay much longer; we close in just a few minutes. The last showing of the movie is when we clear this part of the attraction.”

Hawk feigned a look of sadness. “How much longer can I stay here and look?”

“The film will be starting in five minutes.”

“Only five minutes?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so.” Jim tapped his watch.

“Then five minutes it is. Thanks for letting me know how long I have left, Jim.”

“You’re welcome. When the doors at the far end of the exhibit open, you can go through them to see the film.”

“Those are the ones at the far end on the right?”

“Yes, sir.” Jim walked away to give Hawk another few minutes to spend alone with his thoughts at the window.

The thoughts that Hawk was beginning to have at the window were nothing short of strange. He began to imagine what might happen if he could really do what Walt had done. Rales was very clear as he told him the story. Walt had gone back to the studio and sat behind the desk. How in the world did Rales expect Hawk to do the same thing that Walt did?

The announcement jarred his thinking back to the moment at hand. The final showing of the film was getting ready to start in the Walt Disney Theatre. The lingering crowd began to shuffle toward the doors of the theatre. Momentarily they would open and everyone would go inside to find a seat. Hawk had seen the film before. It was a stirring fifteen-minute overview of Walt’s life. The doors’ automated mechanism swung them open. Ushered in by a cast member, the people started into the theatre. Hawk moved along with the flow of people and glanced back into the exhibit area of One Man’s Dream. It was now deserted. All of the guests were finishing their move into the theatre and the lone cast member that had been in the area had gone in as well. Hawk stopped walking. Standing there, he made an impetuous decision and began nonchalantly backing away from the doors.

Moving very casually in reverse, he faced forward as he drifted to the right side of the theatre’s holding area. This movement took him out of the line of sight of the cast member greeting the guests and getting ready to introduce the movie. With a quick step he jutted around the corner and now was standing alone in the exhibit area. He anticipated a cast member would be walking through at any moment. He wildly turned his head from side to side, looking for someplace to duck out of view. An adrenaline wave surged inside his chest and his heart began to beat faster. The automated doors clicked shut, sealing off the theatre as the movie began to play.