Oh, damn, it's farther than I thought! Luckily, it's not raining.

Stéphanie had underestimated the distance between Précy-sur-Marne and Disneyland. On a map, it didn't seem that far, but in reality, it was a journey of more than nine kilometers. Fortunately, the park was well-connected to other major cities, especially Paris.

After following a small country road, the group only had to follow a long railway line whose sole purpose was to allow thousands of tourists to travel to the site from the capital.

On the way, they encountered no one. Not even a stray cat, and it was the same at the station located between the park's vast parking lot and the park itself. Everything was silent, to the point of feeling lifeless. Since the park's closure, a few pigeons had taken up residence in the shops within the long, modern building.

On the ground, entrance tickets were abandoned among tissues, plastic cups, cans, and other trash.

The entrance was composed of an impressive glass archway, flanked by two tall pink towers reminiscent of those on a castle. Once past these towers, they were truly in the park, one of the most famous in Europe.

"We're finally here! Nothing's changed! Well, except there's no one here but us."

Stéphanie quickly felt that something was wrong. The amusement park felt so cold that she had the impression of breaking into a cemetery. The absence of tourists had completely transformed the park's image.

"What do we start with?" asked Baptiste, looking at the directional signs around him that indicated the main attractions.

Disneyland was more than just an amusement park. It was a museum dedicated to one of the largest entertainment companies in the world. There were luxury hotels, studios, and the park.

"The amusement park! That's why we came, isn't it?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The entrance was through Fantasia Garden and a castle that couldn't be compared with the famous Sleeping Beauty's Castle. They bypassed a large flower bed mixing flowers and weeds, the latter clearly taking over after so much time without maintenance, and a pool whose water had become murky. Naturally, the fountains were off.

The bushes, once carefully trimmed by an army of gardeners, had become overgrown during the summer and were slowly encroaching on the path the small group of tourists was following.

In front of the park's main entrance, three circular flower beds were arranged to represent the head of the famous mouse, the emblem of the group. It was also depicted on a large clock at the center of the pink, white, and blue castle façade. There were many windows and French doors with balconies, inviting visitors to climb up to admire the view and take photos.

But there were no visitors, phones had become useless objects, and the clock had been stuck at half-past five.

Immersed in her childhood memories, Stéphanie followed the group heading straight for the entrance. It was impossible to miss. In large golden letters, it read "Disneyland Park." Just above, inscribed in a solid red circle, was the golden figure of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

Even without having seen the cartoon, all children could recognize it. It was the one depicted at the beginning of each of the group's cartoons. Its name was always associated with it.

"Look! A sign!" exclaimed young Lucas, pointing to it even though it was impossible to miss.

Kévin was the first to approach the red and gold sign indicated by his brother and read aloud the message placed there by the park's teams. It was protected under plexiglass, which is why it hadn't deteriorated over time.

"Yeah, well, nothing new," commented Baptiste after listening to his younger brother. "All this blah blah just to say that the park is closed until electricity is restored. Shall we go in?"

They advanced to the ticket booths but were quickly confronted with their first obstacle.

"The gates are closed…" commented Amin.

"Did you expect them to be left open?"

"Hey! This one is open! Someone already forced it!"

The adults and older children frowned. If there had been an intrusion, it meant there could be hostile people in the park. The problem was that it was impossible to know when this gate had been forced. It could have been the day after the closure, a month, three months, or five minutes before their arrival.

Lucas opened the gate and passed to the other side without having this thought, forcing the others to make a quick decision. They decided to enter despite the risk.

They thus arrived at a large square where some weeds were beginning to grow. All the flower beds looked pitiful, mainly due to the weather and lack of maintenance. The large murals depicting the most iconic Disney characters, on the other hand, had not been damaged.

It didn't take them long to reach Central Plaza, the heart of the park. From there, one could reach the four areas of the park: Frontierland, Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Discoveryland.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

To decide the first place to visit, the question was put to a vote. Frontierland won by a narrow margin, to the great joy of the boys. This part of the park was dedicated to the American West, cowboys, and Indians. It was where Pocahontas' village was located.

"It's just like I remember! It feels like the Wild West! Dad took lots of photos, and Mom bought a cowboy hat!"

"Wow! Dad! Look! A real cowboy town! There's a saloon!"

Jérôme looked at the building and smiled, reminiscing about his own memories.

"That's not a saloon, Lucas. It was a restaurant. It was always crowded. Like all the park's restaurants. There were also very long lines for the attractions. I'll explain them to you as we pass by."

Young Lucas seemed delighted. From what Stéphanie had gathered, it was his first time at Disneyland Paris, or any amusement park for that matter. It was unfortunate that nothing was working and there wasn't a soul around.

Although it wasn't raining, the ground was wet. Numerous puddles covered the ground, which was strewn with a multitude of dead leaves. Without anyone to collect them, they were silently rotting, making the ground particularly slippery.

The heart of this area was an artificial lake with an immense fake rock in the center. From the lake's edges, one could see the area's main attraction, Big Thunder Mountain, a roller coaster meant to evoke a gold mine.

A large white boat propelled by paddle wheels was securely moored at the lake's edge, similar to those that navigated the Mississippi two centuries earlier. Naturally, the children wanted to board it.

"Look, Stéph! I've got the captain's hat!"

Kévin seemed proud of himself, holding the boat's wheel. During the day, before the blackout, it would venture out on the small lake to allow visitors to feel like cruisers. Unfortunately, it wasn't an authentic steamship. It needed electronics to operate, so it was out of order like everything else.

None of them could have known, but at the time of the blackout, this boat was stranded in the middle of the lake. The employees, completely lost and overwhelmed, had to manually tow the large boat using ropes, utilizing pedal boats to reach the stranded boat.

Once the crew disembarked, they had to assist the tourists who had the misfortune of being on the attraction at the critical moment. The cars had suddenly stopped in an area with no light source, causing a wave of panic attacks. Fortunately, no one was injured there. That wasn't the case in another part of the park.

They visited the haunted mansion along the way, which wasn't that scary without the jump scares, before continuing to Adventureland. This was the part Stéphanie most wanted to visit. There was an entire section dedicated to pirates, which had inspired, though not in this park, the Pirates of the Caribbean series. There was also an Indiana Jones-themed attraction.

Here too, there were water features because there are no pirates without a pirate ship! Stéphanie was very happy to board the ship that certainly belonged to Captain Hook!

It seems smaller than I remember… But it's still beautiful!

It had three masts and was red, black, and gold. The rear was very well decorated, naturally with a skull and crossbones to make it clear it was a pirate ship.

Nearby, she spotted a mannequin dressed as a pirate. It must have been forgotten by the park teams because almost nothing was left lying around in the alleys. Everything had been put away in the numerous shops before the closure.

Because there was no one to stop her, she grabbed the long coat the pirate was wearing but quickly removed it when she noticed it reeked of mold. All this time, it had stayed outside, under the rain, snow, and hail. The poor-quality fabric hadn't endured well, and it was soaked with water.

Amin noticed her disappointed look and, when they passed through a sheltered area a bit further on an attraction's route, he grabbed another coat. It was Jack Sparrow's. He almost missed it due to the darkness without artificial lighting. They had to light their way with flaming torches, lit when they visited the haunted mansion in Frontierland.

As soon as he saw it, his eyes lit up, and he quickly handed it to the young girl.

"Stéphanie? Here. I think this will suit you better. The other one wasn't great."

Stéphanie, initially surprised, smiled and accepted the gift. She put it on joyfully, even though she found it a bit too big, and made a few gestures.

"Thanks! I look cool, right?"

"Haha, yeah. You just need the hat. But I think you'll have to fight Lucas for it."

Stéphanie and Amin looked at Lucas, who seemed very happy with his new hat. He had put Jack Sparrow's tricorne on backwards but was very pleased. Marie, on the other hand, preferred to take a cutlass, completely harmless.

Kévin belatedly realized what had happened and bit his lower lip, realizing he had missed a great opportunity to get closer to Stéphanie. Immediately, he looked around and noticed a mannequin standing still since the power outage, wearing an orange coat similar in style to the one worn by Johnny Depp in his role as Jack Sparrow.

"Stéphanie! Look what I found! It's nice, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes. It's beautiful."

"Do you… Do you want to try it on? I'm sure it would look great on you."

"Oh, you can keep it, thanks. I don't really like orange. I prefer black."

Kévin felt an immense weight fall on his young but broad and robust shoulders. He nodded slowly and stepped back, feeling that he wouldn't be able to get closer to Stéphanie this time.

The rest of the visit was a bit quicker, except for Sleeping Beauty's Castle, as there were many rooms to explore. Often, there was nothing to see, which was a real disappointment, but they were able to admire a remarkable view from the top of the dungeon.

Naturally, it wasn't an area she could have visited before the blackout, so Stéphanie was satisfied. Most importantly, she had fulfilled her desire for exploration.

They toured the area, passing through the sections dedicated to Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan before heading to Discoveryland. This part was the most disappointing of all, as without lights and sound, the place felt as cold as a refrigerator. The same went for the studios located south of Disneyland, which could be seen as a second park. Even the section dedicated to Star Wars didn't seem that interesting without the animations.

What lifted everyone's spirits was that they found the storage area for costumes and props while thoroughly searching the abandoned premises. They took some items as souvenirs, notably Darth Vader's helmet, Boba Fett's helmet, and a stormtrooper's helmet. Jérôme and Olivier, although adults, were the happiest, as they were fans of the first two trilogies.

Marie, on the other hand, preferred the Marvel universe. She found her happiness in the studios, a tiny fraction of what Hollywood must be.

"What did you find?" asked Baptiste, seeing Marie's beaming smile as she exited a long pale yellow building.

"Not much, haha! Spider-Man's mask and Iron Man's helmet. But also…"

"Oh! Thor's hammer!"

"Yes! It seems I am worthy!"

She raised the replica of Mjolnir high above her head as if expecting a violent storm to appear to congratulate her.

Not wanting to leave without taking a ton of souvenirs, they entered a fairly large shop where there was really everything: Mickey's magic hat, T-shirts, collectibles, lightsabers, keychains, plush toys, necklaces, snow globes, and many other things.

Stéphanie amusedly looked at the prices indicated on the shelves and took everything she fancied, including a very nice Lion King T-shirt, a black pirate tricorne topped with two long feathers, and a necklace featuring Sleeping Beauty's Castle.