This story is based on actual items and plans for Animal Kingdom. However, the little conspiracy theory is purely fiction…as far as I know…anyway, the disclaimer. Ahem…I do not own anything by Disney, not even a stock share. I found out about these plans by researching it at many different sites, and I know every inch of the parks, but I have no real affiliation with Disney (well, until I become an Imagineer there, that is).

The air was cold, much colder than Orlando usually in. A man stepped out from the shadows of Main Street to meet another on the sidewalk, next to Goofy's candy shoppe.

"Roy," he said, making the man flinch.

"Oh, it's just you Matthew," he said nervously.

"Look, I know why you called me out here today," the man said seriously. "And the answer is no, Roy. I'm not going to stay quiet about this-"

"I never asked you to do that," he said quietly. "I only wanted to warn you." Matthew's eyes narrowed.

"Warn me about what, Roy?" he asked cautiously.

"Get your family out, Matthew. Out of the business, out of this city. Hell, you might need to get out of the country, after what's happened." Matthew paused.

"You might be right, Roy…"

"I know I'm right, Matthew. They've already been asking me about the situation, and are watching me and my house. Do you know how hard it was to sneak out to the park to tell you this?"

"I can only guess. And I'll take it under consideration, Roy. But I'm not going to run away at the first sight of trouble."

"But Matthew-"

"I'll see you later, Roy. Don't worry about us," he said, walking down the road to the park entrance. "Because you don't know what should really be worrying everyone."

fourteen years later

"This is NOT the right color!" A toddler screamed to Alison's face. "I wanted the BLUE balloon!!!"

"We're out of blue balloons, sweetie," Alison said through gritted teeth. "Miss, can you please explain to your daughter-"

"Hmph," the mother scoffed. "And I thought this place was supposed to fulfill children's dreams! This place is shabbier than I remember." With that, she walked away with her complaining child in tow. Alison grimaced and tied the red balloon she had offered the girl back to the bunch.

"Sure, mom, I'll get a job," She muttered. "Cast member at Animal Kingdom? Sure. They let fourteen-year-olds apply. Probably because older people would cuss out those stupid little brats!"

"Hey, your shift is over," a girl said from behind her. "Tough day so far?"

"Unbelievably," Alison shuddered. "Thanks for coming on time, Raquel."

"No prob," she smiled. "Now get out of that polyester disaster they call a uniform and go home."

"You don't have to tell me twice," she said, walking away with a wave. This was life for Alison. School, then off to work until six, then home to homework, a bossy mother, and sleep, with maybe a few minutes of her flute put in. Subtract the work, and that had been her life so far. As she walked into the locker room, she reminisced the past year. At first she had been happy to get some work, especially at Disney. But after a lengthy waiting process and an even longer training session, she had wondered if it had been worth it. Now she was sure. It sucked.

"Strange how something you want is completely different than you thought," Alison thought bitterly as she threw her khaki uniform in her tiny staff locker. She slid on her black tee and blue jeans, grabbed her backpack, and walked out the door. The lockers were close to the Rainforest Café, which meant the exit wasn't far either. She had already told Rodney when to pick her up, so she knew he would be out near the entrance when she left.

"What is that?" she heard a girl ask from behind her as she walked out.

"Maybe a crocodile, Annie," the mother replied. "But I can't tell for sure." Alison swung her head around, confused. The only place with crocodiles in the park was the Kilimanjaro Safari.

"It looks like a dragon," the girl said.

"Don't be silly dear, this place only has animals that exist," the mother chuckled. "Now, let's go see Mickey in his little safari suit!"

"Yay!" she shrieked. Alison rolled her eyes and began to leave, but hesitated. She waited for the two to leave and walked over to the river mouth. She had never noticed before, but sure enough, there was some sort of animal that had been shaped by the rocks. Water was streaming out of its mouth.

"Well, that's an interesting addition," she laughed lightly. "It really is a crocodile." Suddenly, she heard the catchy tune of her cell ringing. "Hello?"

"I thought your shift ended fifteen minutes ago," Rodney's annoyed voice crackled through the bad reception of the park.

"Sorry, I got caught up in the Oasis walkway. There are a lot of people here today," she said. "I'll be right out, Rod."