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"Why is this costing us more than last year dad? Didn't you get two free passes last year?"
Lisa had felt some travel sickness, but it had subsided since the family had gotten out of the car. The journey had been more smooth than that of the previous year, save for a flat tyre and a couple of over-excited drivers bashing into the car's sides when trying to overtake them.
"You know how it is honey. Infloaton."
Bart rolled his eyes at his dad's stupidity. Marge did the same. Lisa's face was indescribable. Even Maggie seemed to react.
"The word is 'inflation' dad, and it's been running at low levels for several years now. I don't see why you could so easily afford five tickets last year for a few hundred dollars, whereas this year three tickets required you to remortgage our house."
"It's those robots." Bart rubbed his hands gleefully. "They hated what we did to them, and this is their revenge from beyond the grave. Or maybe it's just those costume guys whose 'capering' we supposedly didn't appreciate. Who knows."
Marge noticed someone walking up to them.
"Hey look, isn't that Mr Myers?"
The owner of the Itchy and Scratchy franchise was mostly ignored by the long lines outside the park's entrance. The crowds seemed more keen to get inside the park (which reportedly had a 20% mortality rate) than to meet the most famous cartoon tycoon in the known universe.
"Mr Simpson, Mrs Simpson. Kids. Ain't it been a long time? Seems like it's been a year, in fact. How are you folks doing?"
A polite series of nods and smiles followed.
"Mr Myers, um..." Homer played with his fingers, always getting nervous around semi-celebrities. "It's nice to be back and all, but we have noticed that the tickets cost more than they did last year."
Lisa interjected.
"And that is despite your oh-so-kind gesture of giving us two free ones after the...events...of last year."
Roger Myers Jr laughed.
"There's a perfectly valid explanation guys. For, you see, sometimes you have to make sacrifices. Not long after you visited us the last time, we went through a big legal battle with the costumed employees. They had gotten sick of the constant abuse from our visitors. This resulted in a financial settlement, and effectively we had to make it so that only the ultra-rich can afford to visit us."
He pointed around him.
"You see all of these people here? Big shots in finance, business, politics, the Freemasons and the like. That's why they aren't impressed with seeing a mere icon of animation such as yours truly. These are the kinds of people who rub shoulders with Tom Cruise, Bill Gates and even Ted Koppel."
Lisa gleamed up.
"Ted Koppel? The Ted Koppel? I can hardly keep my composure..."
She fainted, just about being caught by Bart before her head hit the ground. Homer and Marge rushed to her aid.
Roger Myers Jr took this as a good time to get on with his day. His lunch was about to be served in his office in the middle of the park. Eyeball stew, no less.