PHIL LONG

 LAKE BUENA VISTA -- For Elian Gonzalez, Sunday at Walt Disney World was
 the perfect escape, even as the tiny Cuban refugee became the talk of the nation
 on Sunday TV news shows from Washington to Miami.

 While adults such as Secretary of State Madeleine Albright discussed Elian's fate
 on the talk shows, the 6-year-old finally got some time to be a kid -- to lose
 himself in the fantasy world of happiness and make-believe.

 Surrounded by two dozen family members and a phalanx of security guards who
 were there to ensure he wasn't hassled or kidnapped, Elian got a VIP tour of the
 Magic Kingdom.

 While the child met Mickey Mouse, U.S. and Cuban negotiators geared up for
 key immigration talks scheduled to begin today in Havana -- talks whose outcome
 could well turn on whether Elian is sent back to Cuba.

 Though U.S. diplomats are not expected to bring up Elian in the talks, Cuban
 officials might. An article Sunday in the Havana newspaper Juventud Rebelde set
 the tone for the talks.

 The story said: ``Tomorrow in Havana the migration talks begin between Cuba and
 the United States. The kidnapping of Elian will influence what will be discussed
 there.''

 Elian has been at the center of an international diplomatic custody fight since he
 was discovered clinging to an inner tube Thanksgiving Day three miles off Fort
 Lauderdale. Eleven other adults, including Elian's mother and stepfather, drowned
 after their boat capsized.

 But Sunday was a day for Elian to have fun.

 ``Today he's acting like every other 6-year-old,'' said his cousin, Marisleysis
 Gonzalez, in whose home in Little Havana Elian has been staying.

 As Cinderella's carousel began turning, Elian settled astride a green saddle atop
 a lavender plastic horse and broke into a face-covering smile.

 ``Elian! Elian! Elian!'' his young cousins behind him began chanting. The music
 swelled and the chants grew louder. Then other family members joined in. Then
 the chants spread to people who knew nothing of Elian's plight.

 The youngster turned and waved enthusiastically.

 ``I looked back and thought to myself `How many people are here?' '' said Orange
 County Chairman Mel Martinez, a Cuban refugee who is picking up the tab for the
 two-day visit.

 ``For Elian . . . today was an oasis of hope in the midst of a tragic life,'' said
 Martinez, who fled Cuba in the Pedro Pan exodus of Cuban youths after Fidel
 Castro seized power in 1959.

 ``I can identify with him,'' said Martinez, clearly moved by the day's events. ``I
 came here alone without my family. I was lonely, scared, confused, homesick.''

 Martinez lived with a foster family in Orlando after coming from Cuba and now
 holds the top political job in one of the state's fastest growing communities.

 Earlier in the day, while Elian rode Indy cars and slapped high fives with Disney
 characters, Secretary of State Albright appeared on Face the Nation, and
 answered questions about him.

 ``First of all, we have to remember that this is a case . . . there is a little boy
 involved,'' Albright said. ``We have sought to interview the boy's father, and there
 has been no response. What we have to do is follow the legal process. What has
 to be established here are the parental rights.''

 Asked whether she had any message for Fidel Castro, Albright said, ``Remember
 that this is a little boy and not a political football.''

 And on This Week in South Florida with Michael Putney on WPLG-Channel 10, a
 panel of experts dealt with the case.

 University of Miami child psychologist Dr. Alan Delamater said the boy probably
 had suffered trauma by being adrift at sea and seeing his mother drown. He could
 be experiencing anxiety, uncertainty, fear and sadness, Delamater said.

 Carmen Morales, a family law attorney, said: ``We definitely have hope that we'll
 be able to keep Elian here in the U.S. Family court will be looking at what's in the
 best interest of the child.''

 But Ira Kurzban, an immigration attorney, said Attorney General Janet Reno is
 the only one with jurisdiction in Elian's case and that the father's right ``is
 predominant, unless he is found to be an unfit father.''

 People on both sides of the Florida Straits claim the youngster.

 Elian's mother and stepfather drowned trying to get the youngster to the United
 States.

 It is for that reason, Elian's advocates say, that he should remain with his U.S.
 relatives.

 In Cuba last week, hundreds of thousands marched in protest saying the United
 States is holding Elian hostage and that he must be returned to his father.

 Late last week, Miami attorneys filed for political asylum on Elian's behalf.

 But as storm clouds develop over his future, Elian basked in the sunshine of a
 cloudless day at Disney. He toured Cinderella's Castle and wandered through the
 streets of the amusement park.

 He shrieked as famous characters passed by. He waved wildly at Tigger and
 dived toward Piglet. He strained to touch Winnie the Pooh's velvet-yellow ears.

 He tugged at his uncle Lazaro Gonzalez as they settled in to Disney's most
 famous attraction: It's a Small World.

 Inside, as the rides slipped into the water, the youngster became frightened and
 gripped the stainless steel rail tightly, his face scrunched up in a scowl.

 He asked whether the boat would sink, said family spokesman Armando
 Gutierrez. He was assured that it would not.

 As the boat eased forward, Elian became transfixed in a fantasy world of dolls,
 animals and people of all nations.

 ``Miralo, miralo! (Look, look!),'' Elian called repeatedly as his light brown eyes
 grew wider.

 He clapped with the music and made faces imitating the monkeys.

 Toward the end of the ride: ``Mira a los vaqueros (Look at the cowboys),'' he
 shouted excitedly.

 On the way past Toon Town Farmers Market, he spotted a bin of apples. ``The
 white one, the white one,'' he said pointing to a pile of golden delicious apples.

 Someone tossed him one.

 Outside the Pirates of the Caribbean, Gutierrez bought Elian a tiny, toy
 black-powder gun.

 Elian had wanted to go on Splash Mountain, the mini-roller coaster that ends in a
 drenching spray, but he was too small.

 Asked whether he wanted to see the popular Haunted House, he declined.

 The highlight of Elian's morning came about 11 a.m. when he met Mickey Mouse
 and the world's most famous rodent signed his yellow-billed Mickey Mouse hat.

 Today, Elian will continue his visit to Walt Disney World.

 Herald staff writer Eunice Ponce contributed to this report.

                     Copyright 1999 Miami Herald