Work Text:
Midnight
It was the summer after high school graduation for Danny, Sam, and Tucker, and they had planned a cross-country road trip. They were going to go to New Orleans, Texas, the Puebloan Ruins in New Mexico, the Grand Canyon, Disneyland, the west coast, and national parks in Utah and Colorado. It wasn’t just any small trip — it was The Road Trip. The friends planned to be on the road for a bit less than a month, but they still hoped that was enough time.
So far, they had seen festive New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico (“The ocean!”). They had seen the hot and dry Southwest along with its many natural wonders. They had pulled many long nights on the road and out and about at their destinations. They had made memories that they hoped they would never forget. They had reminisced about the past and thought wistfully about the future, one that they would have to spend apart at different universities.
One of the sights that they were the most excited to see and visit, was Disneyland. Out of the three of them, only Tucker had gone to any Disney Park — which was Disneyworld. Tucker often sang praises about how exciting and interesting it was. Because of that, Danny and Sam — but especially Danny — were thrilled to go. Disneyland was coined “the Happiest Place on Earth”; and the trio wanted to make that statement true for them too.
To prepare, Tucker had shared all of his expertise, although minimal. Danny and Tucker had done extensive research on the best plans to get around and enjoy the parks. They were going to arrive at the park an hour before opening to try to be one of the first ones in; then they were going to stay as long as possible and even try to be on a ride at midnight when it closed. Danny scoured the internet and travel books for the best places to eat, shop, and enjoy. Even Sam tagged in on the research by finding the most interesting park facts she could. They were prepared as much as they thought they could be, but they were not prepared for the magic that Disneyland held.
When they walked through the park gates to the promenade between the two parks, they were already amazed. The cheerful and upbeat music laced a warm and friendly atmosphere over the place. It seemed as if everyone was full of euphoria. When they reached the gates for the park and were finally let in Disneyland to stand behind the rope, it was even harder for them to conceal their excitement. They were amazed by the intricate and beautiful architecture around them; each piece was meant to envelop the guests into a whole new world.
Finally, a voice rebounded out of the hidden loudspeakers announcing that Disneyland was open, and the rope dropped. Danny, Sam, and Tucker rushed (as fast as they could without running because running is not allowed in Disneyland) over to the Tomorrowland section of the park. The nights before, they had planned to do as many of the rides that had Fastpasses or were known to have long lines first. That way they could do as much as possible. So they went over to Space Mountain first.
As they walked through the line, they were amazed by all the details that went into making the atmosphere of the ride. Danny spotted the entertaining and slightly humorous informative video about what to expect for the ride. “Look at the video, guys. The acting is hilarious!” Sam and Tucker looked over and completely agreed; Disney really made every aspect entertaining and fun.
After only a few minutes in line, when they reached the area where they were about to board the ride, they could feel a slight breeze going through from the ride. They were directed to sit in rows three and four, and Danny went to sit with Tucker; they planned to rotate out throughout the rides.
The ride then jumped forward and passed through the disorienting tunnel and into the simulated space. The ride was exhilarating as they turned left and right unknowingly. The wind blew past their faces, and although Danny experienced similar instances daily, it was still a blast. Danny already knew that the ride would be one of his favorites there.
Later on, they went on Star Tours, where Sam was the rebel spy — which was rather fitting for her personality. They went on the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Astro Blasters, Indiana Jones, the Jungle Cruise (in which Danny praised the skippers for their puns and hilarious commentary — he took some tips), Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and It’s A Small World (who’s song would be haunting them forever).
They then went for a quick lunch where Sam bought a salad at the Plaza Inn while Danny chose a ham sandwich and Tucker, well, he had something truly extraordinary. Tucker’s love of meat traveled all the way to Disneyland, and he insisted on getting a gigantic turkey leg, which Sam did not endorse. He ate the whole thing by himself.
After the enjoyable lunch, they went on the rest of the rides in Fantasyland and shopped around a bit for souvenirs. They all bought matching Mickey ears that they wore for the rest of the day and even the following day. Then, because Danny saw how famous the Dole Whips were, they went to buy Dole Whips and enjoy Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. (For Sam, that was one of her favorite things they did at Disneyland).
They then watched a part of the parade before heading over to Tom Sawyer’s Island where they let their childish adventure out, not like they didn’t do that often. When they returned back to the “mainland”, Tucker surprised his friends by bringing them over to the Blue Bayou Restaurant, where you could only get in through reservations. Inside was spectacular, with the nighttime ambiance and the Pirates of the Caribbean boats only yards away. Despite being in the same room, the ride and the restaurant sounds didn’t spread; Sam thought that was really fascinating.
When they arrived back outside, the Fantasmic show was going on so they walked closer to the river’s edge to have a better look. The details and technicalities that were put into the show were so amazing that one could be fooled that the action going on was for real. Once it ended spectacularly, the crowd clapped and the trio began heading over to the Haunted Mansion in their quest to go on all of the rides.
To the friends, the Haunted Mansion was not as “haunted” as the many other park guests believed, considering their day-to-day lives and the fact that Danny was a halfa. “This kind of reminds me of the time I tried to make a haunted house for Mr. Lancer,” Danny said.
“Do not remind me of that. I still have nightmares from that day.” Tucker said painfully.
“Sorry, Tucker. Well, at least we know that this “haunted house” will not have any real ghosts hanging around. I mean, you didn’t bring Fright Night’s sword or anything, right?”
“No ghosts, no sword. Only Disneyland magic and merchandise,” Sam responded, “Well, except for…” She pointed at Danny.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that,” Danny said with a laugh. “Oh look, we can head in now!” The friends went into the ride, completely unaware that they jinxed themselves.
The ride’s decorations and atmosphere were very effective, they acknowledged. The ride was fun while still having an eerie feel. However, when they reached the attic, the ride stopped, and the music dimmed, and out of the speakers came, “Restless spirits have halted our progress. Please remain seated in your Doom Buggy, and we will continue our tour momentarily.”
“I have heard that this happens whenever people need help getting on or off,” Tucker said.
“Cool. Good thing it isn’t actually a —” Danny was cut off when a breath of air expelled out of his mouth, signaling that there actually was a ghost present. “Are you kidding me!” Danny exclaimed, “We are on vacation!”
All at once, a silvery specter, looking much unlike the ghosts at home, appeared in the scene. She resembled the woman portrayed in the attic scene and had tears stains on her face. “Hello,” she said in a voice that did not match her solemn demeanor, “ I heard that you were here and that you know of a portal to the … Ghost Zone? Is that true?”
“Uh, yeah,” Danny responded, “Why do you want to know?”
“Ever since this place was put up, I have been stuck here. I can’t get out, and each day I become even weaker and tired. Getting through the portal is my only hope.”
Danny couldn't help it: “Well, I guess we could try to help out.” he said, and then, to himself, “I’m sure glad that we brought the thermos along.” He then pulled the thermos out of his backpack and opened it, but then realized that they had actually used it as a thermos and filled it up with water. “Whoops. I guess we’ll need to empty this. Tucker, would you like to have the honor?”
“Sure," he replied reluctantly, "But you will have to buy me something later. No one needs to be this hydrated.”
“Actually,” Sam responded, “You need to drink at least half of your body weight in ounces of water per day, so…”
“Whatever,” Tucker said, and then began to drink the water as if he was trying to get in the Guinness Book of World Records.
“Okay,” Danny said to the ghost, “We can put you in this thermos to try to take you out of the building. But to be warned, we are in the middle of a road trip so you will be in there for weeks.”
“That is fine, anything to leave this horrible place. Thank you.” Once Tucker finished drinking the whole thermos of water, Danny shot it at the ghost, and she was sucked in. He placed the lid back on and put it in the backpack for her to ride along for the rest of the trip. Hopefully, she would be able to make it out of the mansion inside of the thermos.
The ride then resumed once the situation was gone. The trio finished the ride with no further incidents and were able to leave the building with the ghost in the thermos with no problem. Luckily, the large size of the Doom Buggy blocked the identities of their group, so no one came launching after them with questions, but that didn’t stop the guests from not talking on the topic. The event soon reached the newspaper.
For the rest of the evening, they went on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and a few select rides again. For Tucker, Danny bought him large Mickey-shaped beignets in New Orleans Square (which he ended up sharing a bit of with Danny and Sam). Then, as they planned, they went on Splash Mountain at midnight. Even though it was colder and getting wet wasn’t as enjoyable. Going that late added an air of excitement — and also had no wait lines.
They had a fantastic day, despite it not going just as planned. They couldn’t wait to go to California Adventure the next day. Being together on this trip would be something that they cherish forever and never forget.