Caught Inside

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices." – Psalm 16:9

By 10:45, Cole had successfully picked up Maya, Tammy, and Alana, sped down the freeway, and arrived in the city of Buena Park. He reluctantly fished out a twenty from his wallet to cover the parking fee, then proceeded to swing into a spot on the second floor of the structure. Once his Volkswagen was parked, he and the girls hopped out excitedly.

"We're here!" Tammy exclaimed. She rushed over to the railing and looked out over the trees at the amusement park. "Hey, there it is! I see Disneyland!"

"Do we have to walk all that way?" Maya asked doubtfully. "Why isn't the parking structure closer?"

Cole smiled. "Don't worry, we're talking the tram. Come on."

He and Alana led the others down an escalator to the tram station, where they waited with dozens of other tourists. Once they boarded, the tram took them all the way to the end of a long stretch of shops and restaurants called Downtown Disney. Maya wanted to look around, but Alana reminded her that the real park was yet to come.

"There's the entrance," Cole said, pointing to their left. Long lines of people stretched behind blue-colored arches. As Cole and the others walked closer, they glanced in the opposite direction and saw giant 3D letters spelling CALIFORNIA to their right.

"There's California Adventure Park!" Alana exclaimed. "Are we going there too?"

"No," Cole said with a frown. "We're only able to visit one park today."

They were a little disappointed, but upon hearing that the Disneyland Park was larger than California Adventure Park, they agreed it was only a small loss. Before long, they met up with Cole's friend, who led them underneath the blue arches and through the grand entrance for free.

A large sign reading Disneyland met them directly in front of a train station. Flowers bloomed everywhere, and colorful benches situated under small trees provided places to sit in the shade. Everywhere Alana and the group walked, bright music followed them, flooding out from loudspeakers cleverly hidden on buildings and in the foliage. Cole's friend led them halfway down Main Street before heading back to his work station at one of the restaurants.

"Okay, where are we going first?" Tammy asked eagerly.

"Well..." Cole paused to pull out a map from his backpack. Inside, he had cleverly hidden some snacks and water bottles underneath his rolled-up sweatshirt so they wouldn't have to pay for the overpriced food in the park. After fishing around beneath all these items, he finally found the map and held it up triumphantly. "Alright! Should we hit up one of the big coasters first or just walk around and enjoy the sights?"

"Rollercoasters!" Alana and Maya exclaimed at the same time.

Cole laughed and shoved the map into his pocket. "Coasters it is. How about Space Mountain?"

The name jogged a memory in Alana's mind. She briefly wondered if that was the ride she had been too short to go on. As a first grader, she had loved all the kiddie rides in Disneyland, but desperately wanted to go on one of the "big coasters" too. Due to the height restriction, however, she had been unable to ride.

"Space Mountain sounds good," she said to Cole, so the group set out in that direction. They walked through throngs of people headed in the same direction, all making their way down Main Street past the rows of buildings and shops. When they emerged at the center of the park, which branched off into various themed areas, Cole led the group towards Tomorrowland. However, upon reaching Space Mountain, they were dismayed to see a sign displaying the current wait time for the coaster: 1 hour 25 minutes.