Sweet Valley Kids #67: The Secret of Fantasy Forest

Apparently, Jessica won a radio contest in the last book and got tickets to Fantasy Forest, some huge amusement park. The contest was only open to kids 13 or older, and Liz freaked out and told them the truth. They were so happy about her being honest that they got enough tickets for their whole family and Joe.

When they get to Fantasy Forest, Jessica will not STFU about the Princess Pageant, which is some show where real girls model actually dresses owned and worn by real princesses. It seems like even Alice is tired of hearing this story. The twins want to ride some rides, but the boys want to go on roller coasters. Ned and Alice decide that since the park is “so safe” that they'll let them all go out on their own as long as they meet up for lunch and dinner.

The girls head to the Enchanted Castle first for some ride that seems like It's a Small World. Elizabeth thinks she sees someone peeking out from a window on the castle and freaks out, but Jessica convinces her that that's crazy talk. They go on a few different rides and then see this kid with a red pass around his neck. He introduces himself as Billy and helps them skip the line. They go right up to the front and get right inside.

Billy winds up taking them all over the park and getting them to the front of each line. He even gives each one her own red pass. Liz keeps seeing this bald guy following them around and freaking out because he looks like the same guy she saw in the castle window. Billy is all secretive too and won't tell them who he's at the park with or where he got the pass. When they have to meet their parents for lunch, they make plans to meet later before he takes their passes.

After a quick lunch, they find Billy and get their passes back. Jessica suggests doing something else, he says he can't, and the he abruptly changes their mind. Billy convinces them to get out of the ride they're on in the middle and sneak away. Bald dude is right behind them and tries to catch up but can't get out in time. He eventually finds them and makes Billy leave, and Billy takes back their passes.

Liz just knows that the guy kidnapped Billy and that they need to stop him, so she convinces Jessica to skip the Princess Pageant and help Billy. They see him enter the castle and crawl through an open window. Instead of looking like a ride or an attraction, the castle actually looks like a home. They follow the sounds of someone crying and find Billy as the bald man finds them.

It turns out that Billy is the only child of the couple who own the amusement park. They wanted to be as close as possible to the action and decided to make the castle their home. This lets Billy come and go whenever he wants, which is why he knows the park so well. Bald guy is actually Butch, his bodyguard. Billy's parents show up and invite the girls to dinner. They even call the restaurant where their parents are and have security bring them over too.

While having dinner, they start talking about the wait times at some of the rides. Liz suggests letting Butch be the main ride operator because he looks scary, which will keep the line moving, and because he looks like he would love it. Butch agrees, and the parents then agree to give him the job. Jessica mentions being sad over the whole pageant thing, so they arrange to have a special showing just for the twins. They even get to wear some of the dresses! Billy's parents then say that they might just have one last thing for the twins...

*Jessica says Joe had to come to keep Steven company but she and Liz didn't need friends because they had each other. That seems like an excellent way to keep your kids from making new friends...

*I understand that this was a different time, but there is no way I would let my second grade girls loose at a freaking amusement park without any supervision!

*The idea of them living inside the amusement park absolutely kills me! What happens if they run out of milk in the middle of the night? Does Billy not go to school? How do they get in and out for doctors' appointments?

*I feel like this would be really bad for a kid to grow up this way. He pretty much just wanders around the park all day with a bodyguard following him around. Billy is either not in school or just has a tutor come to him, which makes it even worse.

*Do the ghostwriters not know how ride operators work or what they do? They make it out like there's one guy at the one ride who does nothing but operate it. Replacing him with Butch and moving the old guy to a ride he likes better will somehow make things go way faster. It's not like people aren't getting on and off any faster! Also, does that mean one poor kid is stuck working a single ride all day every day?

*They meet this mean girl while waiting for a ride with her little sister. Her sister is scared and wants her to ride with her, but mean girl refuses because she wants to go by herself. Billy makes the little sister feel better and lets her ride with them. When they later see Pigtails, what they named her older sister, refusing to go on the ferris wheel with her, Billy talks to the ride operator. He arranges for her to get stuck at the top for 5+ minutes by herself, which freaks her out so much that she apologizes to her sister and agrees to ride with her from now on.