The Key To the Kingdom (27 page)

The Walt Disney World Railroad travels on a mile-and-a-half loop encircling the Magic Kingdom. Statistically the railroad was one of the busiest in the country, transporting over 1.5 million passengers each year. The steam engine hit the whistle as it pulled away from the station. Hawk felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. Seeing the caller display information, he quickly answered.

“Hello, Shep.”

“What is that noise?” Shep asked loudly.

“The train is leaving the station,” Hawk informed him. “Hold on a second, it’ll be gone and we can hear better.”

In a matter of seconds the train disappeared around the corner toward Adventureland, taking its noise with it.

“I’m glad you’re near the train station,” Shep said.

“Why?”

“Well, boss, I’ve been thinking about what Rales said to you on the DVD. He said your next clue was a square. I think that might be the Town Square.”

“I was thinking the same thing, but is it that simple?”

“I don’t know if it’s going to be simple, because he also said you had to find what the square contained.”

“I’m with you, so what are you thinking?”

“Are you in Town Square?”

“Not yet,” Hawk told him. “I haven’t gone through the tunnels. I’m standing just below the train station.”

“Don’t move!” Shep yelled.

“Okay.”

“Look up at the station.”

Hawk looked up and studied the train station. “What am I looking for?”

“What does it say in the window at the top of the train station?”

Hawk’s eyes focused momentarily on the sign that read Magic Kingdom, Elevation 108 Feet. Just above that sign there was a Railroad Office window surrounded by red bricks. The lettering on the window read Keeping Dreams On Track . . . Walter E. Disney, Chief Engineer. Hawk read what he saw aloud to Shep.

“Rales said, “You hold the key to keep his dreams on track,’” Shep reminded him. “I think he was talking about the railroad station. It’s in the square. That has to be it.”

Hawk had seen this window many times before. Yet he had not remembered it when he heard Rales say almost exactly the same thing on the DVD. After Shep had drawn his attention to it he realized that it made perfect sense. He was looking for the train station.

“Perfect! Whatever I’m looking for is in the train station.”

“So now you just have to figure out what you’re looking for,” Shep said cheerfully. “So get moving and let me know how I can keep you on track.”

Hawk groaned. “You already are. I’ll call you when I find something.”

Hawk moved into the tunnels below the train station. Instead of going straight through he veered off toward the center of the lower level of the station. This area had been used for a number of things through the years, including housing lockers for storage and for checking out strollers. As this lower level opened onto Main Street USA, there were displays and posters featuring information about Walt’s fascination with trains, along with information about the Walt Disney World Railroad. Two wide, curving stairwells ascended to a large landing area that overlooked Town Square. Reaching the top of the stairway, Hawk emerged from the staircase and stepped across the landing heading toward the entrance of the train station. He entered the cavernous room and stepped to the center to look for a clue.

“Ha-ha!”

Unclipping Pal Mickey from his side, he firmly pressed the belly of his stuffed companion and held the toy to his ear.

“Hey, pal, if we’re going to stay on track, finding the square is our ticket. When you see me you know you’ve got it!”

Hawk squinted as he slowly turned inside the station. Town Square wasn’t the square he was looking for. He had to find something square. There were a number of square-shaped items in the station, but none of them caught his attention in a spectacular way. He moved to the edge of the room and slowly walked along the line of the walls. Nothing out of the ordinary gave him reason to pause. Avoiding people moving about the station he stopped, allowing them to pass. A train whistle signaled the arrival of another train full of passengers. Punctuated by a billowing hiss of steam, the train came to a halt. An energetic buzz of activity as people surged to get aboard distracted Hawk from his search for a moment. Realizing he didn’t really know what to look for he decided to step back out onto the landing outside of the station.

He walked through the doors and once again saw the spectacular view down Main Street USA toward Cinderella Castle. Moving toward the rail at the edge of the landing he looked at the castle in the distance and mentally broke apart the most recent clue.

If we are going to stay on track . . .
He didn’t know whether that meant he needed to get on the train or
staying on track
was a generic staying on course. The next part of the clue also puzzled him:
finding the square is our ticket
. He and Shep had both concluded that the square and what was inside it had meant Town Square and the Train Station. Then the clue that his little tour guide had added unraveled that neatly woven thread of thought. Firmly gripping the rail he leaned against it and looked around Town Square at the steady flow of people across the red sidewalks and paved pathways.

Main Street USA is representative of the hometown people “remember” but most people never really knew. Created to capture the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, the street reflects an era in history where electricity began to replace gas lamps. It is a piece of Americana that oozes hope for a bright and exciting future. The castle marks the far end of Main Street, beckoning guests to move forward. The Train Station anchors the street and serves as the depot transporting you to lands waiting to be explored inside this Magic Kingdom. Some historians speculate that it was actually Walt Disney’s love for trains that inspired his design and vision for his original theme park. An avid train enthusiast, Walt had needed a hobby outside of the studio, and trains became not only a distraction but a passion. This distraction in some ways had helped Walt himself to keep his dreams on track.

Now Hawk faced the challenge to keep his quest to solve the mystery on track. Turning his back to the castle and resting against the rail he looked back toward the entrance to the Train Station.
If we are going to stay on track, finding the square is our ticket
. Then he saw it. Tilting his head in doubt he wondered if the obvious might be the answer. He was staring across the patio at the ticket booth of the Train Station. If you needed a ticket, there was no better place to get it than in a ticket booth. He briskly covered the distance between the rail and the ticket booth and peered inside.

The interior of the ticket office was classic Disney design. Attention to detail made this look like a working ticket booth where customers would purchase tickets for destinations across the rail lines. Everything appeared period correct. Charts, maps, ledgers, papers, stamps, and items arranged neatly on shelves. On the left-hand side of the office was a three-tiered wire basket holding the railroad paperwork. Above the wire shelves were two wooden shelves attached to the wall. The lower shelf supported two stamps for inking documents, and above that was another shelf holding an old electric fan and a box. Hawk moved to the far side to peer through the glass, trying to find an angle with less reflection. Studying the shelf he saw a dark metal box. Not square, actually more rectangular, but the closest thing to a square in the ticket office. The box was aged to fit in with the decor of the ticket booth, but he wondered if what he was looking for might be inside it. Eyes dancing around the interior of the ticket office, he sought a way into the small room. The door at the rear of the booth was narrow and definitely the only way in or out.

The problem, of course, would be getting inside. Reentering the Train Station, he moved to the back of the booth and easily found the door that would grant him entrance. The door was locked, but if it was the correct door, he was confident his kingdom key would open it. Placing his hand on the doorknob he turned it just to see if it might be open. The knob turned but the door did not budge. The lock itself was placed higher up on the door.

“Can I help you?”

Hawk flinched.

“Uh . . . no.” He turned to see who had spoken.

A cast member dressed as a conductor stood in the middle of the train station looking toward him. Obviously he had seen Hawk looking around over the past few minutes and had watched as he tried to open the door to the ticket booth.

“I’m just exploring,” Hawk admitted. “I’m fascinated with the detail in every area of the park. Is there any way that I can look closer inside?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t let you into the ticket office. Not allowed, you understand.”

“Of course, I was just noticing some of the stuff inside and wanted to take a better peek.”

“It is quite interesting,” the conductor smiled. “This railroad station would have been a favorite for Walt Disney if he had ever seen this park completed. Trains were a favorite pastime of his—” A train whistle drew his attention away. On cue there was another surge of people moving into the station as the next train steamed in ready to exchange another load of passengers.

“I wish I could show you more, but your train has arrived.” The conductor, whose enthusiasm for his role impressed Hawk, hurried back to help reload the arriving train.

Hawk guessed that in the movement of people he would have his best chance to enter the ticket office. The moment the conductor disappeared back through the doorway into the loading area, Hawk found the kingdom key in his pocket and pressed it into the lock. A slight turn to the right moved the bolt on the lock. In one motion Hawk swung open the door and stepped inside the booth, then closed the door behind him.

As people crested the stairs to make their way into the Train Station, some glanced toward the man standing very awkwardly inside the ticket office, surrounded by windows. He decided the quicker he could get out of this booth the better and was hoping to escape before the train left the station. If not, he would be far too easy to catch and he knew there was no way to explain why he was inside or how he had gotten there. Snatching the old metal box off the top shelf, he opened it to see its contents.

The metal lid hinged back, and resting inside was a shining silver box. Each side of the box measured four inches. Emblazoned on the cover of this silver box was the smiling figure of Mickey Mouse.
The next clue you need is a square
. It was Pal Mickey who had added to Rales’s information.
Hey, pal, if we are going to stay on track, finding the square is our ticket. When you see me you know you’ve got it!

This is what he was looking for. Then the message Rales had added came back to Hawk.
Not just the square but what the square contains
. Carefully opening the sterling box revealed four one-by-four-inch sections. Four pieces, identically shaped, fit in the sections within this box.

An uncomfortable feeling drew his attention away from the discovery, and he looked up as two children peered at him through the glass. Smiling, Hawk waved at them and the kids waved back. Hawk quickly closed and replaced the old metal box back on the shelf. He forced the other box into the oversized pocket of his jacket, a last-minute purchase at the hotel before he came back to the Kingdom. He needed to get out of the Train Station as quickly as possible. The familiar vibration on his hip returned with the distinctive
ha-ha!
Alerted that there was a message from Mickey, he held his breath, re-opened the door back into the Train Station and exited the booth as he heard “All aboard!” The train was just now getting ready to leave, meaning the conductor was finishing up his work.

Relocking the door behind him, he walked out of the Train Station back onto the landing and then casually moved off to his left to descend the winding staircase back down to Main Street USA. The stairs ended on a sidewalk opening toward the City Hall side of Town Square. Moving forward, he crossed back over in front of the Train Station and walked toward the Town Square Exposition Hall. Through the years this hall had been used for a number of different purposes but now housed a photo center and pin-trading location. The porch was Hawk’s destination. The oversized rocking chairs that lined the front porch were one of the Magic Kingdom’s easily missed charms. If you were fortunate enough to find an unoccupied chair, you could rock in the shade, watch as children greeted characters, and enjoy the smiles and excitement as people poured in streams from the tunnels below the Train Station catching a glimpse of Main Street for the first time. People moved past these chairs so quickly they easily went unnoticed by most.

Heavily sitting down and rocking back he reached down to release his plush clue-giver from his side. Pressing the midsection firmly he lifted Pal Mickey toward his right ear so he could hear. Allowing his eyes to search his surroundings he listened for the next message.