Once upon a time...

That was oftentimes the beginning to many a story... Stories of beautiful princesses and noble heroes ; of magical genies and dastardly pirates ; and of enchanted swords, cursed treasure, and empires that were lost to the world. Great stories ; wondrous stories filled with adventures beyond the stars, and stories going way back to a time long before man was born, when the earth was ruled by great beasts... Stories that have captured the hearts and held the minds of many, young and old, for many, many years.

It was these stories which stoked the fires of the imagination. And from the imagination came more stories of worlds and characters, both new and familiar. Such stories may take place within the world of a pre-existing story, introducing the characters to new journeys, or taking them down pathways unexplored in the original tale. Or they may be a retelling of the story from the perspective of another... And in some cases, a story may intermingle with that of another, introducing the characters to new people and strange, new places.

This was one such a story...

Once upon a time, there was a book.

At first glance, it appeared to be nothing special. It was an old, worn-down thing, with a cracked cover and faded, yellowed pages, and looked as if it would fall apart at any given moment.

But of course, this shabby little book was so much more than what it seemed... It was a storybook ; and contained within it's pages was a near-infinite amount of stories... And what's more, the book served as a gateway for the reader, resonating in the hands of those with a strong enough imagination, and placing them within the stories themselves.

Nothing was more wonderful than the imagination. For it was within the world of imagination where one could experience beautiful fantasies of life as a mermaid under the sea ; of flying second star to the right and straight on 'til morning ; or of exciting adventures with fire-breathing dragons, or in faraway places where the caravan camels roam.

All of these things, and that much more, were contained within this little storybook... But nothing was more powerful than the imagination, for it could also expand upon one's greatest fears, turning them into an overwhelming nightmare... And thus, the book was hidden away, unseen and untouched for many long years.

Until now...

Once upon a time, there was a wicked witch by the name of Mizrabel.

Mizrabel resided not far from Vera City within a castle of her own making, the Castle of Illusion.

One day as she gazed within one of her magic mirrors, Mizrabel became aware of this enchanted storybook... Intrigued by the powers of this book, Mizrabel set out from her domain to find this storybook, and steal it away...

However, the wicked witch was soon intercepted by a great sorcerer, who warned her of the dangers of the storybook. But the sorcerer's warnings went unheeded, and the witch retreated back to her castle with the book in her possession.

The witch was careless. And in her mishandling of the book, caused it to break apart ; it's pages falling out, and scattered by the winds, drifting far, far away...

However, in spite of it's now-broken state, the powers of the book remained unchanged ; it's magical properties retained within it's now scattered pages... And now freed, these pages travelled across the winds, drawn to the place where dreams came true, and where imagination became reality...

Walt Disney World.