Duck on the Loose!

One sunny afternoon at Disneyland, Gage and his cousin Lincoln were excitedly exploring the Tropical Hideaway. They were munching on Dole Whip and chatting about which rides they wanted to go on next when they noticed something unusual. A duck, with feathers that shimmered like a rainbow, was waddling around the area. But this wasn't just any duck—this was a mischievous, magical duck.

As soon as the duck quacked, people nearby started yawning and nodding off. One by one, they plopped down on benches, leaned against walls, or even sprawled out on the ground, fast asleep. The whole place was beginning to look like a scene from Sleeping Beauty.

Gage and Lincoln watched in awe as the duck's quack caused more and more people to fall asleep. "This is crazy!" Lincoln exclaimed, giggling. "We have to find Mamita! She's always ready for a good laugh."

Sure enough, Mamita was nearby, enjoying a quiet moment with a churro. Gage and Lincoln ran up to her, breathless with excitement. "Mamita! You've got to see this duck! It's making everyone fall asleep!"

Mamita raised an eyebrow and followed the boys to the Tropical Hideaway, where the magical duck was still causing chaos. She watched as the duck waddled up to a group of tourists, quacked loudly, and they all promptly fell into a deep slumber. But when the duck quacked at Mamita, nothing happened. She didn't even blink.

Gage and Lincoln burst into laughter. "Mamita, you're immune! You're the only one who can stay awake!"

Mamita chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, I guess this duck's magic has no power over me."

The cousins decided they had to do something before the entire park fell asleep. They hatched a plan with Mamita. Lincoln would distract the duck with some popcorn while Gage and Mamita gently guided it back to the nearby Jungle Cruise, hoping it would lose interest and move on.

Their plan worked perfectly. The duck followed the trail of popcorn, quacking happily, and waddled away from the Hideaway. As it disappeared into the foliage, the people who had been sleeping began to wake up, looking around in confusion.

Gage and Lincoln high-fived, proud of their quick thinking. Mamita smiled, handing them each a churro as a reward. "Great job, ninos. Now, how about we go find another adventure? Preferably one without magical ducks!"

Here's the long story:

The Not-So-Golden Arches

Back on the road, the families decided to take a quick detour for lunch at a McDonald's they had heard about, located in an old train depot. What they didn’t know was its reputation for being less than stellar.

"This place looks cool," Gage said, excited by the train theme.

The excitement quickly turned to disappointment as they encountered slow service, soggy fries, and a sticky play area.

"This might be the worst McDonald's ever," Jenna said, wrinkling her nose.

Steve tried to stay positive. "Well, at least it’s memorable."

The kids scattered to the play area, only to find that the slides were sticky and the ball pit smelled funny. Amelia tried to climb into the play structure but got stuck halfway up.

"Help! I'm stuck!" she called out.

Jeff had to crawl in to rescue her, emerging with a red face and a few scraped knees.

"Next time, we'll stick to the classics," Scot vowed, leading his family back to the cars.

As they regrouped outside, Kaiden pointed to a nearby statue of Ronald McDonald, looking eerily sinister in the fading afternoon light.

"That clown is creepy," he said, backing away.

"Agreed," Lissa said. "Let's get out of here."