I am on vacation for a week and so I thought I would do something a little different on A Goofy Idea. A few years back I wrote a children’s story for National Novel Writing Month. It follows three siblings as they solve puzzles at Walt Disney World. It is happy and clever, two words that I hope describe A Goofy Idea. So, for your reading enjoyment I am giving you the Epcot Puzzle in five parts. I hope you enjoy it and maybe you can share it with a kid you know. As always feel free to comment on my website. Happiness squared.

 

An Epcot Puzzle

by Jennifer Vandenberg

Part 2

The kids looked excited; perhaps they would find the secret after all.

            “Who says, ‘Dude’, Grammy?” Misty asked.

            “The boy on Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. It was on TV just the other night. It’s before your time, but I’m quite sure they said ‘Dude’ all the time.”

            Grandpa nodded in agreement, but Jim just shook his head. “Grammy, we’ve seen that movie. I don’t think Bill or Ted lived in the ocean. The note says this one does.”

            Grammy shrugged. “Made sense to me.”

            Misty hugged Grammy. “Don’t worry. The lady said that wrong questions lead to right questions.”

            Jim nodded. “She did say that. Good memory.”

            “You’re a bright one all right, but then Bassets always are,” Grandpa said.

            “Maybe we should look around and that will lead us to the right question,” Jim said.

            The others agreed so they started looking at the signs and the tanks to see what lived in the ocean and talked. Suddenly a voice filled the room.

            “Turtle Talk with Crush will be starting in five minutes. Please gather at the door to interact with Crush and ask him questions.”

            Gus turned to his parents. “That’s what I’ve been waiting for. I have no idea how they make Crush talk, but it is so cool.”

            Jim nudged Gus. “Gus, you goof. You knew the answer all along.”

            Gus shrugged. “What answer?”

            “A creature that lives in the sea and talks.”

            Gus looked blank for a moment and then grinned. “Oh. I forgot. Even the ‘Dude’ was a hint. How silly.”

            Misty bounced up and down. “Let’s go ask Crush what his favorite pastime is.”

            “It’s probably eating fish,” Mom said.

            “I hope not,” Jim said. “I like to look at fish, not eat them.”

            They hurried over to the door and when it opened they found an empty row that put them right on the aisle. Since it was Gus’s favorite attraction he was going to ask Crush the question. Misty wanted to ask, but settled for sitting on the floor with the other kids.

            The show started and everyone was amazed with Crush. The Aussie turtle swam on screen and talked to the audience. This was not a prerecorded show. Crush described kids in the audience and repeated Misty’s squeal when he pointed to her and asked what was on her head. Apparently he had never seen curly hair before. After a while he asked if any of the humans had questions for him. Gus raised his hand. A Cast Member came over with the microphone.

            “Hi, Crush. I’m Gus Basset. I want to know what your favorite pastime is.”

            “Well, hi there little dude Gus. I guess my favorite pastime is hanging with my little dude Squirt and soarin’ through the waves. Yeah. Soarin’. You’ve all seen birds soarin’ in the air, right? Well, us turtles can soar through the water just the same way. And when we hit the East Alstralian Current we really get some speed.”

            Crush moved on to other questions and soon the show was over. The Bassets exited the theater and the three kids turned to their parents.

            “Soarin’!” They said at the same time.

            “What about it?” Dad asked.

            “That is the answer,” Jim said. “Gus asked the right question and the answer is we need to go on Soarin’.”

            “I want to go on Soarin’,” Misty said.

            “You and I are going to do other things while the boys are on that ride, Sweetie,” Grammy said.

            Misty’s face fell. “That’s right. I’m too short.”       

            “Don’t sweat it,” Jim said. “We’ll tell you what we learn.”

            “Sure,” Misty said. She wished she was taller, but her parents had explained the height problem before they arrived. Since Grammy Sammy got motion sickness she didn’t want to go on those rides anyway so she was more than willing to stay with her favorite granddaughter.

            They left The Seas and headed over to The Land. It was a very colorful building. Gus and Jim headed right to Soarin’ but there was a forty minute wait.

            “Gosh, that’s a long time,” Gus said.

            “Let’s get Fastpasses and come back. We can see the rest of this pavilion and then ride Soarin’, Dad suggested.

            “I wanted to know what we would find since this is where Crush sent us,” Gus said.

            “Well, who knows what will be discovered. We have all day to explore,” Mom said.

            Dad took their park cards up to the Fastpass machine. Grammy and Mom headed to the gift store. Gus and Jim were discussing whether to ride the Living with the Land greenhouse boat tour or see Timon and Pumba in The Circle of Life. Misty didn’t say anything. She was still wishing she was taller.

 

Will Jim and Gus discover the secret on Soarin’?

Will there be more envelopes?

Find out in Part 3 of An Epcot Puzzle!