The Disney Reality

Chapter 1- Arriving at Disney World

Ever since I was a child, I have always adored Walt Disney’s whimsical characters. From the legendary Mickey Mouse to the short tempered Donald Duck to the dumb yet loving Goofy and loyal dog Pluto, I was fascinated by their bubbly personalities. My personal favorite was always Mickey. I mean, who doesn’t love him, right? Even his silhouette is so recognizable that it’s become Disney’s trademark. When I was younger, right around seven years old, my family and I drove from North Carolina all the way down to Orlando, Florida to go to the magical land of Disney World. Being so excited to see my favorite characters, I watched the classic cartoons on my portable DVD player, my eyes glued to the screen as if I was in some type of trance. In the large Tahoe, my parents sat in the front and my older brother, Jamie, sat beside me and my cousin, Lisa, sat on the opposite side. Jamie was not much older than me. He was around twelve but insisted that he was too old for Disney World. He often tried to crush my spirits by saying that the characters that roam the amusement park were just ordinary people in oversized costumes. Though I knew it was true, I insisted that they were still my favorites and no one can take that away from me. Lisa often sided with me and told Jamie to keep his negativity to himself. Lisa and I were always closer than Jamie and I. She was Jamie’s age, but still had the youthful spirit and loved Disney just as much as I did. She begged her parents to allow her to come with us and being the amazing parents/auntie and uncle they were, she got in. As we reached Florida state, my heart started pacing even faster because that meant we were a couple of hours away from seeing Mickey Mouse! My eyes still glued to that 10’’ screen, I felt as though I would hop out my seat. Just the mere thought of seeing my then idols was enough to keep me pumped.
After what seemed like forever, we finally arrived at the resort. It was around five in the evening on a September night, which is why the amount of people was shockingly low. But even the employees seemed confused because the amount of vacant rooms were plenty, at least 40% of the hotel was filled with them. The bellboy even commented on the situation, saying with a chuckle, “Guess it’s too cold for fun.” My parents nodded and chuckled in agreement as we walked into the hotel and checked into the lobby. Once we got on the elevator, it would’ve taken a horse tranquilizer to sedate my excitement. My mom constantly told me I was the Energizer bunny of the family. Once I got too excited, I could not calm down for a good year or two. When the elevator stopped on the sixth floor, we went to room 966 at the end of the hall. My father opened the door to reveal the Mickey Mouse themed room. I literally almost passed out at the sight of the black and white striped curtains and the blue walls. There were even Mickey Mouse head shaped pillows on the opposite sides of the two beds directly beside each other. Both were queen sized. I pounced on the one closest to me and hugged the pillows, thanking mommy and daddy for what they’ve done. Jamie was less enthused, or at least that’s what he wanted us to believe with a straight face and arms crossed over his chest: the universal sign of unimpressed. Lisa joined me in hopping on the beds while mom and dad chuckled and got our luggage situated.
After about half an hour, we headed to the cafeteria for dinner. We sat down in a half-filled room of about 100 people. It was weird, but hey, at least I didn’t have to wait in line for too long! As mom and Lisa stood in line at the buffet, the boys sat at the table. I looked around the room to see the trademark Mickey Mouse head plastered on a majority of tablecloths, chairs, walls and anywhere else to remind me I was at Disney World. I looked on towards where the kitchen was and saw the chefs in there preparing delicious steaks, poultry and other succulent meats. But while I was looking, I saw something behind one of the chefs towards the back of the room. It was black and white, with the black seeping into the unlit dark area, making it harder to see. Also, the small rectangular opening restricted a full view. It did seem....to be moving. At first, I thought it was simply a shadow of one of the chefs. But it did not have the same shape as a chef...or a human for that matter. As I squinted, looking as far as I could,, Jamie poked me in the arm and asked why I was “being a weirdo.” I looked back at him and then turned right back into the kitchen, but the thing was gone. A few moments later, my mom and Lisa arrived with plates of food. My dad and Jamie went up next to get their food as my mom handed me my prepped plate. I told her about what I saw. I described it so vaguely that my mom dismissed it as the dark playing tricks on me. She would always tell me not to be afraid of the dark because the only way a monster can get me is if I imagine them and express fear. Though I know what I saw was no shadow, I ate my dinner and still longed for the amusement park day tomorrow. After dad and Jamie returned, a man came into the room. He looked like someone of a higher authority, possible manager or even CEO. He walked towards the front of the room with the podium and the large 72’’ flat screen television that played “Fantasia”. He spoke in a deep yet delicate voice about the resort and what to expect whilst staying here. He talked about the rides, the resort, the characters, the history of Disney and celebrating its anniversary. I can’t remember the year too well, but I do know it’s been a while. As he talked, I was more focused on the film. His voice soon resembled the Charlie Brown adults, just garbled gibberish in the back of my mind. The movie was at the part where Chernabog was introduced. His monstrous appearance somehow did not scare me. I found it to be more cool and intriguing than scary like the other children. As I kept watching, I saw that the screen had a small distortion on the screen. Chernabog’s eyes had went from the bright yellow to a golden orange tint as the screen began to create a warped look. I blinked multiple times in astonishment. I’d seen this movie so many times that I knew this was not a part of the film. Suddenly, the screen stopped on a close up shot of Chernabog’s face, smiling that creepy smile of joy to be causing such torment. His eyes began to droop as the color seeped with it, making his eyes appear to be pitch black. The more I watched, the stranger I began to feel. I felt as though something was pulling me in, but not physically. It was like an internal pull. Like when you’re scared of heights, but something makes you inch closer to the edge just before you catch yourself. Then I saw something that completely frightened me. Chernabog’s head slowly turned to face me and I heard a faint whisper say “He has abandoned us” and at that time, the man speaking began to resemble something that was not human. Something sinister, even more than Chernabog. His voice began to get deeper and raspier as he seemed to face towards me just to cackle a creepy maniacal laugh. I screamed loudly, drawing unwanted attention to our table and causing the cafeteria to become silent as many eyes stared at us. My mom quickly asked what was wrong, but as I was explaining, the television resumed normally as did the man. No distortions. No sinister beings. No evidence. After telling them what I saw, my parents dismissed my claims, saying I watch too many scary things at too young an age. Jamie was quick to call me an attention wanting liar in the form of the words “big baby”. Lisa, even though she was silent, seemed to be the only one genuinely concerned as she looked on solemnly. After dinner, we returned to the room where we got ready for bed. Jamie took his shower then Lisa then my bath then mommy and daddy showered. We were all in bed by 10:00 pm. I slept between mommy and daddy as Lisa and Jamie slept in the other bed. Once the lights went out, it seemed everyone automatically shut down like machines. No one was awake besides me. What kept me up were the sadistic images I had encountered a few hours prior. Why didn’t anyone else see what I did? What was in the kitchen? Why was the man no longer a man? Why did I hear what I heard, but no one else did? Finally, after tossing and turning for an hour, I was able to sleep soundly.