Author's Notes: I was planning on posting this around Halloween or Christmas time, but lost my nerve. So instead of waiting another year, I decided to make it a Valentine's Day fic. Enjoy. ^^
Disclaimer: I do not own Disneyland or The Nightmare Before Christmas. This is just how I think Jack would probably react if he ever went there. (It is a very fun place.)
"Welcome to the . . . resort. Please keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the vehicle at all times. And do watch your children. We shall be arriving at . . . momentarily. Thank you."
Jack and Sally sat in the middle seat of a tram. Though it was crowded, all of the seats around them were noticably empty, but that didn't stop people from staring at them. Jack wasn't aware of this, since he sat upright with a blind-fold over his eyes. He kept turning his head to and fro, as though trying to better make out the sounds he was hearing, as well as catch some sliver of light of from between the blind-fold's edges.
"All right Sally, I give up," he laughed. "Where are we going?"
"I told you Jack, it's a surprise," Sally said, but she held his boney hand reassuringly. "But I promise you're going to love it."
A baby suddenly began to cry when she found a skeleton man and a stitched-up doll in her line of sight. Jack was oblivious to this, of course.
"Are you sure this is how ordinary people get around?" he asked, to fill the silence.
Jack loved novelty, and Sally knew he was itching to remove his blind-fold so he could see what kind of device they were riding on, but she couldn't let him see; not yet. He could look on the ride back.
"Possitive," she said, though she didn't have to hide her crossed fingers the way she did. For all she knew, ordinary people did get around this way. Southern California was a crowded place.
After the tram came to a stop, and Sally effectively muffled Jack's ears to any mention of Disnthe place they were going by the driver over the intercom (this was very difficult, since they seemed to say it every other word) she took Jack's hands and gently guided him onto the platform. Though it was a very crowded morning, and large groups of tourists and families of at least five were bushing, crowding, and chatting excitedly about getting into the park, they made sure to stay away from the skeleton man and blue rag doll, so it was easy for her to manuver him through the crowd. Getting through customs was easy too, since they didn't have any strollers, backpacks or fannies to search through (unlike every other person in line, it seemed).
When they were finally in front of the park, Sally whispered, "Okay Jack, you can open your eyes," and removed the blindfold.
Jack blinded and squinted against the morning sun, shook his head to clear his confusion, but when his eyes adjusted to the light, he grinned widely.
They were standing in front of Disneyland Restort; the giant letters in front of the park said so, but Jack didn't really read them, he was too busy staring intently at all the people happily bustling around into it. Sally took his hand and gently led him into the park.
Jack could only stare, wide eyed and wide mouthed, as Sally took him up to the front entrance. He could only stare with fascination as she handed the woman their tickets, grin widely at the "vring!" sound as it was swiped into the machine. He stared in absolute delight at the flower bed shaped like a giant grinning mouse, whose outline lit up like Christmas lights every so often, ending with a picture of a green fairy made with said lights. Overhead he could see a shiny steam engine pulling into the red brick station just in front of them, and stared with unbridled delight as Sally led him through the brick archway underneath, where he gape delightedly at the colourful posters of various movie posters inside.
Any sense of self restraint he might have had was lost when he saw the wonder and delight that was Main Street. Crowds of happy, normal people walking, chatting, and shopping excitedly along cobblestone streets with steeloutlined with big, colourful buildings filled with every type of exciting merchendise imaginable.
Jack was so pre-occupied with staring that he didn't notice the little alleyway until he walked right into it. That was the last straw.
"What's this? What this?" he sang, bursting out of the ally, "There's people eveywhere!"
"What's this? There's hat things in the air," he was examining a group of people wearing Micky and Goofy hats.
"What's this? I can't believe my eyes, I must be dreaming! Wake me, Sal, this isn't fair!"
Sally giggled.
"What's this?" he took a tall green Goofy hat and wore it to try (and fail) to be incognito as a singing mouse, duck and dog came dancing by.
"What's this? What's this? There's something very wrong! What's this? There's creatures singing songs!
What's this? The streets are lined with little creatures laughing! Everybody seems so happy! Have I possibly gone daffy? What is this? What's this!"
He suddenly shot up into the second-story out-door balcony of one of the shops, and by then his reaction was no longer funny. Sally reached out a hand to try to stop him, "Jack, no!"
But he couldn't hear her. Jack was long gone into his own little world; more specifically, the giant station into another world that is known as Tomorrow Land.
"There's children riding space ships instead of riding bikes. They're busy flying rockets! Absolutely no holiday is present!"
"There's space stations at every corner! Oh, I can't believe my eyes. And in my bones are filled the joy that's coming from inside. . ."
"Jack, please come down from there!" Sally called desperately from the ground.
Disneyland security arrived, and a man with a mouse-shaped bagde told her sternly, "You know your boyfriend is not supposed to be up there, right?"
"I know!" Sally groaned desperately, putting her face in her hands and shaking her head desperately.
He suddenly noticed the very colourful Fantasy Land and made his way over.
"Oh look! What's this? They're riding on a boat!
They tour? Why that looks so unique. Inspired!
They're gathering around to hear a story,
Told by manequins on a spire!"
He suddenly looked over at the heart of Fantasy Land, which drew his eye for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the Alice in Wonderland ride.
"What's this? Over here? They have a giant leaf. How queer! And who would ever think? And why!
They're riding over it with caterpillars of every colour! They have tea-lights at every corner!
They're covering it with little things! They've got electric lights on strings! And there's a smile on everyone!"
"And now correct me if I'm wrong?" he jumped onto a triangle window of Peter Pan's corner house.
"This looks like fun! This looks like fun! Oh, could it be you've grant my wish?"
"What's this?
At that moment, he discovered Adventure Land, which was so fundamentally different from Fantasy Land that it drew his attention immediately.
Jack was used to the idea that each town had a specific theme; Halloween town was about scaring, Christmas town was about spreading joy, Valentine's Day was about spreading love, and so forth. They stood alone in their perspective universes, with nothing but wilderness to separate them from the real world. And yet, here, there were so many different places so many moods and feelings all wrapped up in one place, connected by trains and motorcars and trollies. It didn't seem like a holiday, so what was it?
"Oh my, what now? The children are exploring.
But look! There's nothing here imploring.
No ghouls. No witches or presents here to scare them or impare them,
Only happy little littles things free to pursue their adventure land."
He sighed happily, then noticed the colourful, jazzy toon of New Orleans Square.
"What's this?"
He shot off like a rocket before Sally could catch him.
"The holidays are all missing! And the celebrations can't be found! Instead there seems to be simple good fun all around!"
He took an umbrella and slid down the string that attached intself from the tip of the Matter Horn to one of the pink castle spires. (Angering Tinker Bell in the process.)
"Instead of Christmas I swear I hear Jazz music in the air."
He stopped back again on Main Street, where the sweets were still being made.
"The smell of cakes and pies are absolutely everywhere. . . !"
He went back into Fantasy Land and landed on Arthur's Carasole, which he walked on so it seemed he was standing in place.
"The sights! The sounds! They're everywhere and all. . . around. . . I never felt so good before!"
He hopped onto the train he saw when he first arrived in the park.
"This empty place inside of me is filling up! I simply cannot get enough!"
He jumped off the train when it came near the Matter Horn and began sledding down it just as he had in Christmas Town.
"I want it! Oh, I want it for my own! I've got to know! I've got to know! What is this place that you have found?"
"What? Is? This?"
Just as Jack was (finally) walking back towards Sally, he didn't pay attention where he was going and bumped into a pole and fell on his back.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you, Jack," Sally said gently, standing over him, "We're in Disneyland."
Seeing double, but still unperturbed, Jack only said thoughtfully, "Disneyland?" and put his hand on his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. . ."
At that moment, he heard a whistle that told the time, and saw the Small World clock slowly open to show the decoratively dressed mechanical children dance in celebration.
He watched them happily for a minute, then looked a little to the side, and heard the high pitched laugh that is familiar to anyone who has ever watched a Micky Mouse cartoon. It was just like when he first saw Sandy Claws. A round mouse with a unique laugh and red over-alls caught his attention just as the lobster man did so long ago. He craned his neck to see beyon a Toon Town pole (which was difficult, since it was alive and drew attention to itself) and looked as though he were plotting something.
"And just so you know," Sally said sternly, for the first time since they arrived, "The owner of the park died a long time ago, so please don't get any ideas."
Jack winced. "I wasn't!" then let his head drop back on the ground.