Okay, so I know Matt would probably be way too busy to even get roped into going to Disneyland, but I don't care. I'm sentimental and I just want my faves to be happy for once.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
For the first time in years, you're going to Disneyland. It wasn't a conscious thing, you used to go all the time growing up. You just haven't pulled together enough money since you've been out on your own until now. Now that you're finally going back, you were sure to take off enough time so that you'll have a few days at the park.
You spend the first day running every which way, going to the attractions that are new or refurbished first. It's not the most effective way to spend your time, but that's why you're here for so long. By the second day, you've hit all your favorites, so by lunch, you're ready to go a little slower. Slower meaning stopping to eat vs. living off protein bars and turkey legs in line. In the spirit of slowing down, you stop to get a churro and take it to one of your favorite spots in the park. It's a bench on a little-known pathway from Frontierland to the Fantasy Faire. It's not a spectacular view, but you can see Space Mountain through the trees, standing tall over the last buildings on Main Street. But most of all, it's quiet. There's only a little foot traffic, and your little bench is almost always free.
Almost. This time there's a man with round, red glasses sitting with a white cane leaning on the bench next to him.
"Hey, mind if I sit?" You ask.
He chuckles. "We're at Disneyland, not a bar."
"I know, I just wanted to ask. I like to come back here to relax for a while after walking all day. It's the quietest part of the park during the day, so I didn't want to bother you crunching on my churro."
He smiles. "It's fine." There's a moment of silence. "Sounds like you've been here before."
"Yeah. My parents brought me all the time when I was growing up, and I haven't been since I graduated."
He nods. "It's good to know I found the quietest spot from an expert then."
"Glad I could help." Another bout of silence follows. "So, sorry if I sound ignorant, but I've always wondered what it would be like for a blind person to come here."
"I guess it depends on if you have memories attached to it. I don't, it's my first time here, so it's loud. Too many sounds, too many people. It's a little overwhelming."
"Yeah. I figured as much. That sucks though."
He shrugs. "It makes my friends happy, and I still get the gist. Disney offers audio descriptions, and braille guidebooks, but my friends take turns describing it to me instead. I think that's better. From what I understand, there's so much detail in everything, it sounds amazing." Before you can respond, his phone rings. "Sorry, I need to get this."
"Hey Matt, where are you, buddy?" Foggy asks from the other end.
"Uh," He turns to you. "Where am I?"
"Just outside Frontierland."
You hear Matt repeat the information back to his friend.
"Okay, well we're in... New Orleans square. We were thinking of finding somewhere to eat if you're ready to meet up."
"Yeah, sounds good, be right there." He turns to you. "That was one of my friends. They want to meet up for lunch."
"It was nice talking to you, thanks for answering my dumb questions." You give a nervous laugh.
He chuckles. "Yeah, no problem. At least you don't sound like a broken record, it was a new question."
"Well, there's that. Anyway, I hope you have a good rest of your trip."
He nods but doesn't walk away yet. "Would I be right in assuming you're alone here?"
"Yeah. I mean, I know a couple of cast members, but I don't have a group."
"Cast members? Like people in one of the shows?"
"Oh, no, that's what they call all the employees here. Because you know, the whole park is immersive. A show in itself."
He smiles. "Ah. Well, could I trouble you to walk me to uh, New Orleans square? That's where my friends said they were."
"Oh, yeah, no problem. I'd love to."
He smiles and holds out his arm, which you take.
"I'm Matt, by the way."
You tell him your name. "It's nice to officially meet you."
He smiles. "You too. So, you said you've always wondered what it would be like for a blind person to come here. What made you think of something like that? Do you know someone who's blind?"
"Uh, no. I just noticed the braille map in front of Adventureland and it made me curious."
"There's a braille map?"
"Yeah, it's this huge stationary board. There's one by town hall on Main Street too, but those are the only two I remember seeing." You pause, getting closer to your destination. "So, did they say where exactly they'd be?"
He shakes his head.
"What do they look like, maybe I can help find them. Or we could write their names on a piece of paper and wait for them to walk by like we're chauffeurs at an airport."
He chuckles. "I—"
"Matt!" A girl with strawberry blonde hair calls.
"There they are." He smiles.
You make your way over to make sure he's with his friends before you leave him.
A man with shoulder length, dirty-blond hair comes out of a shop shaking his head. "Of course. We're at a children's theme park and Matt Murdock has a hot girl on his arm."
"Foggy..." Matt chides, but his grin and the little dip of his head cancel it out.
"Am I wrong?" Foggy raises his eyebrows before turning to you. "Is it the blind thing?"
You let out a nervous laugh. "Is what the blind thing? He just asked me to lead him over here."
Matt nods next to you. "She seemed knowledgeable."
"Well, my knowledgeable friend..."
You fill in your name when he pauses for it.
"Y/n, do you know what's good to eat around here?"
"Yeah. You're in the right area for food. All the good stuff is right here. Except for churros. The best ones are in Tomorrowland."
"What's different from the other 40 churro stands I've passed?"
You chuckle. "Honestly? I have no idea. Maybe tradition for me, it's been a thing among my siblings and I since we were kids." You pause. "But Food. There are a couple of bread bowl windows and a little cafe. Around the corner in the next land, they have a little stand that sells different skewers.
"Before we came, I saw something that said there was a restaurant in one of the rides, where's that?" The strawberry blond asks.
"Oh, it's called Blue Bayou, it's in Pirates of the Caribbean. There's a secret restaurant above it too."
"Wait, a secret restaurant?" Foggy asks.
"Yeah. You have to have a membership or know someone with one, and they're super expensive. If you eat there though, you get in the park free for the day. It's the only place in the park the serves alcohol."
"Alright, guys, what sounds good?" Karen asks.
"The cafe you mentioned sounds like it'll have more options for everyone." Foggy turns to you. "Sound good?"
"Oh, I was just showing him where you guys are."
"Right, you probably have a group to get back to or something. Thanks for the help."
"No problem." You smile.
"Hey, why don't you stay with us? You said you didn't have a group." Matt asks.
"Yeah, I'm sure it's better than being alone," Karen says.
You glance at Foggy to read his reaction, and he seems to be for it. "Uh, yeah, sure. I never got your name." You address the woman.
"I'm Karen."
"Okay, so Karen, Foggy, and Matt." You nod.
"Yeah. So, I've noticed that there are some places that are more expensive than others. Where does this one fall?" Foggy asks.
"It's midrange."
"Great. We're kinda broke, and we dragged Matt here." Foggy decides.
"This is an expensive vacation to drag someone on."
"We won tickets on a radio show." Foggy tells you.
"Ah. That makes sense."
—0—
The next thing you do is get in line for Pirates.
"So where are you from?" Foggy asks.
"I live in New York right now."
"No way, where in New York?" Karen asks.
"Hell's Kitchen."
"Us too!" Foggy exclaims. "That's crazy."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. No joke. So you remember Fisk and all the shit that was happening with that?"
Karen smacks Foggy's bicep. "There are kids everywhere." She scolds.
"She's right. They'll tell on you."
Matt laughs at that.
Oh god, you just got this specimen before you to laugh with Jungle Cruise humor. "Yeah, I remember him." You answer Foggy.
"We're the lawyers who took him down."
"Wait, you guys are Nelson and Murdock?"
"That's us." Matt confirms.
"That's amazing, is it true that you worked with that Daredevil guy?"
Matt tries to suppress his grin at the blatant admiration in your voice.
Foggy just sighs. "Yeah. He gave us some information. But that was still when he was wearing his black pajamas."
You laugh. "Yeah. This new suit is definitely an upgrade." You go to lean back on the railing, but your hand falls on Matt's hand. "Oh, um sorry."
He smiles. "It's fine."
As you make your way through the line, you chat, and banter with this new group. By the time you reach the front, you realize you've clicked with them. It feels that way to you anyway. When the cast member tells you to go in rows one and two, you internally groan.
Matt senses your annoyance and tilts his head to the side. "Is something wrong?"
"No. I'm fine. It's just that there are these two dips and you get splashed as you go down. It's not too bad if there are only two people in a row. Then it just gets on the seat next to you, but in the front, there's no escaping it. I usually duck so it goes over my head, but I'll take it for you guys."
"Well, do you want to switch?" Foggy offers. "Karen and I can go in front and You and Matt can be in the next row."
"Oh, no. I'm fine."
"Nah. Come on, let's switch. I don't mind."
"Okay. But this was your decision."
He laughs. "Okay."
The gates open, letting you into the boats. A recording of a 'pirate' tells you to step aboard and keep all hands arms feet and legs inside the boat before saying "now off with you."
Karen giggles in front of you. "I love how immersive everything here is." She says, turning so you and Matt can hear her. "Oooh, is this the restaurant?" She asks as the boat floats past an area with a bunch of lanterns and tables.
"Yeah. When I was little, we came here for my parent's anniversary. My sister and I went on the ride while they were eating, and we got the whole boat to sing to them."
"That's so sweet." Karen smiles.
"Hey Matt, up on the left here there's a guy sitting on his porch in a rocking chair." Foggy describes. "There's fireflies and little boats. It actually feels like you're in the bayou."
"He used to be playing the banjo, but they took that out, so now there's just phantom banjo music coming from nowhere." You add. "When we go down these dips in a minute, we're supposed to be going into this guy's memory."
Matt nods politely.
"I'm sorry, you can tell me to shut up if you just want to enjoy the ride."
Matt shakes his head. "I like listening to your voice."
Foggy turns around. "And yes, he says that to all the girls."
"But really, you have interesting trivia," Karen adds.
The boat stops so the skull and crossbones can warn you about blundering pirates ahead. Then the boat goes down the first little waterfall and you lean into the middle of the seat to avoid the splash.
"Oh my God you weren't kidding about that splash," Karen exclaims.
Foggy tries to shake off the water and Matt laughs at them as he wipes off his arm.
"Wha— no. Another one? Why?" Foggy complains.
Matt didn't seem too affected by the first one, but you notice that he leans in with you this time. By the time everyone has wiped off the excess water, you're rounding the corner where a bunch of skeletons are sitting at a bar, doing various things. "Okay, so the lady in this picture here—" You start.
"Smokin'. Topless redhead, complete with thigh tattoos." Foggy elaborates for Matt.
"At Disneyland?" He questions.
"Well her hair is covering her toplessness and the picture is behind the bar."
"She's wearing orange and red striped socks, just like the cast members on the dock and in front of the ride. They're supposed to be part of her crew."
"How do you know that? It's so cool." Karen marvels.
"I have a friend who used to work on the ride. When he got hired, he told me about it. And before we pass it, the skull on the bedpost to the left here is a real skull. When the ride opened, all the skeletons were real, but they replaced the rest with fake ones now."
You let Karen and Foggy explain most of the scenes to Matt, only adding trivia or small details they missed.
"Woah. There's like this buy a bride scene right here with all these pirates being perverts. Sexist." Foggy states.
"Yeah, this scene never sat right with me, but it's something that happened back then. And the redhead here is supposed to be the one on the picture back there. The pirate captain right here is supposed to be the old man in the bayou scene. I think my friend said that in the story, she took over his ship or something. I mean look at her. She's totally planning something there."
—0—
"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, Disneyland has now finished it's normal operating hours..."
"Well, thanks for hanging out with us, even if you were playing tour guide a bit there," Karen tells you.
"Yeah, it was fun. When I was little I always wanted to be a tour guide here."
"Well, now you know what it would be like." Foggy states.
"So how long are you here for?" Matt asks. Before you can respond.
"I'm at the park for two more days before I have to fly home."
"Us too." Foggy tells you. "This is getting a little weird."
"I know, right?"
Matt clears his throat. "Uh, do you want to meet up with us again?"
"Oh, I don't want to impose."
"You wouldn't be, this was fun." Karen jumps to assure you.
"And I have a feeling we got a lot more done than we would've if we had to look at a map after every ride." Foggy points out.
"Okay, yeah. Do you want to exchange numbers so we can meet up whenever everyone gets here?"
Matt's the first one to produce his phone, so you enter your number and hand it back.
"Great, I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow."