It’s funny how life happens sometimes. The pieces that start off in a seemingly random way have a habit of falling together on their own so precisely that – even without being the religious type – it’s difficult to not look back on them and think they were simply meant to be. Whether or not one could have ever realized it at the time.
On Thursday, September 26, 2019, I had tickets to visit Knott’s Scary Farm with EA’s occasional contributor, and my best friend of nearly 25 years, Taylor. This is a long running annual tradition of ours. Typically, I opt to start the day late so I’m well rested for a long night – and some years, I just stay in entirely and head to Knott’s after dinner. This year, after three long and tiring – but fantastic days at Disneyland, sleeping in and taking the afternoon off was the plan. But I woke up earlier than expected, feeling rested. As I often do at the start of a day in California, I pulled open the Disneyland app and was surprised to see wait times were relatively short. It didn’t take much convincing to hop in my rental car and drive straight over for consecutive day number four at The Happiest Place On Earth.
As is always the case, the moment I passed through the turnstiles, I reopened the Disneyland app and started fishing for what FastPasses I could set up. I was shocked to find an immediate access time slot for Hyperspace Mountain, despite it posting a 70 minute wait at the time. Needless to say, I scooped that one right up. My original plan for the afternoon at the park was to take in some of the classic Fantasyland dark rides – something I hadn’t had the time to do yet on this particular trip. The walk down Main Street USA was a stressful battle in my own head – on the one hand, I really wanted to get on Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and Pinocchio’s Daring Journey – but on the other, the sooner I checked in to Hyperspace Mountain, the sooner I’d be able to book my next FastPass for another major attraction.
I quite literally started walking into Tomorrowland, but stopped before passing the Astro Orbiter and thought to myself, “This is silly. I want to ride the Fantasyland stuff. Today is a bonus day where I wasn’t even supposed to be here. There’s no need to stress over booking the next FastPass ride right away.” So – I headed to Fantasyland and leisurely took my time getting to Space Mountain.
It were these seemingly random last minute choices that would all come together just right to give me an opportunity to reconnect with an old friend.
Have you ever had one of those moments where you haven’t seen someone in a while, and actually second guess if it’s really them? That’s precisely what happened to me when I finally got into the Space Mountain queue. At first, all I saw was someone by himself in front of me, with his back toward me. My initial thought was “he seems too old for that Buzz Lightyear backpack.” But for some reason, this person – even from the back of his head in the Space Mountain queue- struck me as oddly familiar. Ironically it was that Buzz Lightyear backpack, which I started off making fun of in my head, that helped me connect the dots of why I thought that person seemed like someone I knew – despite being on the other side of the country from where I had known them. But still, it seemed too coincidental to be true, so I did the only rational thing one iPhone obsessed person would do to another: I sent a text.
I first met Tevin Cates in 2016, and it should probably come as no surprise that it was through the Escape Room Enthusiasts Facebook group. At the time, he was back home near Dallas, TX. He tried out for a reviewing position with us here on Escape Authority, and although that didn’t quite work out, we remained friends. Shortly thereafter, he returned here to Orlando, and naturally became a fairly regular escape game buddy anytime I headed out around Central Florida to write a new review. In fact, you can find him in several of EA’s team photos.
It’s probably safe to assume that many of you might actually know Tevin – or at least know of him. Tevin was highly active on the escape game scene. In a short period of time, he amassed one of the highest game counts of anyone I know – around 300, in fact. He found time to play a game or two (or ten) anywhere he went – from his home in Texas to his second home in Florida, NYC and everywhere else he traveled around the country.
As life sometimes does, Tevin and I had a bit of a falling out. It was nothing major – but that, coupled with his move back home to Texas was enough to see us not talk at any great length for a few years. I probably don’t need to point out how long distance friendships are difficult to maintain, even when everything is perfect.
Literally walking into him – at Disneyland, of all places – immediately made me realize how much I’ve missed having him as my friend. I’ll be forever grateful that I did not pass up the opportunity to tell him that face to face. The conversation immediately went to escape games, pausing only for me to grab his iPhone to make sure it had three cameras on the back (naturally, it did) just days after the 11 Pro launch. I told you – we’re both iPhone obsessed. He was excited to talk about his long-anticipated recent visit to 13th Gate Escape to finally play Cutthroat Cavern prior to his most recent seasonal stint working in entertainment at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. He also made it clear that even in the absence of our friendship, he never stopped following Escape Authority – something I found incredibly touching.
Just like my own story, Tevin had planned to head elsewhere in the park before randomly finding himself at Hyperspace Mountain. Even more surprising, he was actually only in California for less than half a day. He flew first thing in the morning from Dallas for an audition in Los Angeles, and had a return flight at 6:15 pm that very same day. That audition ended much earlier than expected, so naturally when you’re a theme park fan with time to fill in Southern California, you go to Disneyland! But without being part of the initial plan, that turned into nearly a $150 round trip Uber/Lyft ride – another thing Tevin debated before finally deciding it was worth it for a little bit of fun.
The only two priority attractions Tevin wanted to ride on his barely two hours at Disneyland were Hyperspace Mountain and Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark. Thankfully, we had the chance to ride both together before he hopped in his Lyft with barely enough time to make it back to LAX, while I jumped in my own rental car to head to Knott’s Scary Farm as planned.
“I’m genuinely glad I got to see you” were the only parting words that felt appropriate after not talking for so long. “I’m genuinely glad I got to see you too,” he replied, and then waved goodbye.
Late Sunday night, I landed back in Orlando after two long weeks away. Monday afternoon, I thought “I should message Tevin soon.” Monday night, I learned that Tevin had passed away.
Losing someone is never easy, but it’s significantly worse when that person is just 23 years old. As I write this, it’s only been two and a half hours since I found out. I’m honestly too confused to even feel sad yet. I just saw him. He was fine. We rode roller coasters and drop towers. He asked what the theme of my home haunt is this year. We talked escape games. He told me his plans in the near future to head back to Southern California with his girlfriend Donovan to finally play some of the best games around. I told him to let me know before his trip, because I had planned to call in a few favors and set up some free games for them as a surprise.
I gave serious thought to pulling the next week of content from EA in honor of Tevin – so that this post could stay on the home page longer. But then I realized that’s absolutely not what Tevin would have ever wanted. Escape games were such a huge piece of what made Tevin, Tevin. And the show must go on.
I don’t know why our paths crossed after so long, in what would become his final days, on what would become his final time inside of a Disney theme park. By all accounts, neither of us should have been where we were when we found each other. But tonight and forever after, I’m glad that we were.
For those that knew him – don’t be sad; that directly conflicts with his goofy, happy-go-lucky way of life. Instead, play a new escape game in his honor this week.
Our thoughts are with his mother Donna, sister Taryn, and girlfriend Donovan. It’s funny how life happens sometimes, but perhaps those seemingly random pieces aren’t so random after all.