seemed appropriate to post this now when I'm eating a malasada in Honolulu.

Chapter 12

Day 5, Wednesday – Food and Wine Festival

Inside DCA, they headed straight for Paradise Pier, making a slight detour to get another Fast Pass for Soarin'.

They got in line for the free cooking demo. After a 15-minute wait, they moved into the program area, taking seats at long tables beneath a blue awning. Each place was set with a small bottle of Dasani water, a piece of Disney notepaper and a small golfing pencil, and a copy of the recipe to be demonstrated. A chef from Cafe Orleans in New Orleans Square gave an amusing presentation about making crepes and working for Disneyland, then showed how to make crepes Suzette. Everyone got a taste of the recipe — a sample, not a full serving in this free presentation.

Danny thought it was tasty and took the recipe with him (another sheet of paper in his daypack) but doubted he'd ever make the flaming dessert in his tiny kitchenette.

"I'd set the place on fire," he told Grace.

She nodded understanding. "But I bet Uncle Steve would enjoy that."

Danny wondered if he'd complained too often about his partner's penchant for guns and explosives. Nah, he decided, he hadn't told Grace the half of it.

In the mood for a quiet day, Danny planned out shows to see and peaceful rides. They started with King Triton's Carousel, since they were at Paradise Pier. Youngsters rode on colorful sea creatures, smiling dolphins, happy fish and grinning sea otters. Grace picked out a blue dolphin and Danny claimed a purple sea horse that reminded him of old Aquaman cartoons. Next they used their Fast Passes at Soarin' — just as good the second time — then went to MuppetVision 3D in the Backlot. On the way in Danny posed by a silly sign that read "Warning: Contents Under Pressure." He swore he was going to post that on his office door back at Five-0. After laughing at the Muppet antics, they got another snack at a fast food place next to where the Sweet Sunday program had been held. Black forest ham with melon, ahi tuna with a mild wasabi sauce and chocolate-drizzled profiteroles weren't exactly traditional fast food, however. They were food fest fast food.

Next on Danny's schedule was the Aladdin show at the Hyperion Theater. Danny and Grace joined the throng entering the theater. Next to them they heard a young woman say, "C'mon, cuz, they're the best seats in the house. Trust me."

Maybe it was her use of the word "cuz," but Danny and Grace exchanged a glance, then pursued the woman and her cousin around the back of the theater and down the aisle to a row just behind the cross aisle. As the women moved into the row, Danny and Grace slipped into seats beside them.

"Are you sure these are good seats? Wouldn't it be better closer to the stage?" the cousin asked, with curiosity not complaint.

"Oh, I'm sure," the woman said with assurance. "I've sat in a couple of places and I think this is the best. See, you can see the stage and the aisle across here and you're not under the balcony, so you can see the ceiling."

"The ceiling?" the cousin sounded puzzled.

"You'll see," the woman said smugly.

Turning away from his eavesdropping, Danny studied the Hyperion. It looked like a beautiful, old classic theater with gilt and velvet. The seats were cushy and the air conditioning was just right.

As the show began, the narrator invited the audience to join him in "a land of mystery and enchantment and no flash photography or video recording."

Danny had taken Grace to see Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, so he'd seen Disney turn a 90-minute movie into a three-hour stage musical. This show was the reverse, a 90-minute movie condensed into a 45-minute stage show, despite an extra song for Jasmine about being a bird in a gilded cage.

Grace was disappointed that they left out Abu.

"Sorry monkey, no monkey," Danny consoled his daughter.

When Aladdin met the Genie, they got the rousing "You Ain't Never Had a Friend Like Me!" complete with a dozen dancing Genie's and flashing neon lights. Aladdin and Jasmine were fine singers, the Carpet was adorable, the puppet parrot was a sarcastic sidekick for the evil Jafar, but the Genie stole the show with adlibs and topical comedy lines. Listing the three genie rules for Aladdin, he said, "I can't bring anyone back from the dead! But if you have an iPhone, there's an app for that." Bringing Prince Ali into Agrabah, he told the Sultan, "Prince Ali, over 10,000 followers on Twitter." And when Aladdin said he couldn't keep up the prince role because he was just a street rat, the Genie answered, "Street rat? You're name is on the marquee out front!"

But every time the Genie stole the show with his one-liners, the special effects stole them back. Prince Ali rode into the city on a (mechanical) elephant with attendants riding hobby horses all passing along the cross aisle right in front of "the best seats in the house." Aladdin blew a kiss right at little Grace and one of the horses dipped his head just long enough for her to touch his nose.

And during "Whole New World," Aladdin and Jasmine flew above the audience on their magic carpet ride.

"You've got to be able to see the ceiling," the woman whispered to her cousin.

Finally, Aladdin trapped Jafar in the lamp and the Genie gave it a shake. "My impression of an earthquake. How's that for a California adventure!"

The audience called for three encores before the cast finally bowed off the stage.


With the music from Aladdin still humming in their ears, Danny and Grace went to the Animation attraction where they played with the interactive exhibits and chatted with Crush, the turtle from Finding Nemo. (Like Ariel, he was delighted to find out Grace was from Hawaii. "Gnarly current there, dudette!" he said.)

Danny left Grace to study maps and the food fest program, while he ventured another $10 on a Beers of the World tasting. He was much happier with the Beers of Europe and was unable to choose a favorite between a malty, hoppy Belgian brew and a pale lager from Estonia, of all places.

Meanwhile, Grace had found an upcoming food demonstration she wanted to see, mostly to tease her father. Mellowed by samples of four different but tasty beers, Danny followed Grace's lead to the main showcase stage in Sunshine Plaza.

He struck up a conversation with a man in line who wore a Yankees T-shirt. Debating the possibilities of that night's game, Danny didn't pay a lot of attention to the topic of the program until after he and Grace had taken a seat. Only then did a cast member carry out a sign with a prominent "Dole" logo.

"Dole!" Danny said aghast. "Monkey! Not pineapple!"

Grace giggled. "I like pineapple. You used to like pineapple."

"Pineapple's OK in its place," Danny admitted. "It's just that they put it on everything in Hawaii. Pizza. Hamburgers. Hotdogs!"

"Maybe we can learn a good recipe and surprise Uncle Steve."

"Me cooking pineapple. That would surprise him!"

Grace remembered that Danny was king today. "We don't have to stay," she said. "If you really don't want to."

Danny hugged her. "No, let's see what they fix. Maybe it won't be pineapple. Dole does have other fruit."

But no, it had to be pineapple. Pineapple Glazed Pork Chops and Pineapple Spiced Scones, to be specific. And even Danny admitted the samples tasted good.

"That's enough Disney for today, monkey. It's time to get ready for the baseball game," Danny said. They had a couple of hours to wash up, rest and drive the few blocks to Angel Stadium.

While they walked to the shuttle stop, Grace asked her father why he stopped liking pineapple.

"It was when I was still with HPD," Danny said. "We were pursuing a suspect. The guys sent me to cut him off by crossing a pineapple field. They thought it was a good joke on the haole. Those spiky leaves cut up my pants and my legs."

"I remember!" Grace said. "You had bandages all around your legs."

"Yes, they were just scratches, really, but there were a lot of them."

"Did you catch the bad guy?" Grace asked.

Danny looked mock offended. "Who are you talking to?"

"Of course, you caught him," Grace answered with a smile.

"I did. They didn't laugh so hard then. And when Meka found out about it, he volunteered to be my partner to show me the ropes and the pitfalls. But the other detectives kept leaving pineapples on my desk."

"So pineapples meant people were being mean." Grace understood that teasing could hurt.

"That's about it."

"Then you've got to fight back, Danno," Grace said firmly. "Bite those mean pineapples and eat them up!"

"Thank you, Dr. Grace. I'll try to remember that," Danny laughed.


A/N: Dole really did do demos at the food fest one year, but I didn't go to one of theirs. I did go to the crepes program, however. These are real Dole recipes found at their website.
All the Genie's jokes are actually from one show I saw, but it's never the same twice.