Bunny is one of his closest and dearest friends.

And I could not find Bunny right before naptime yesterday.

Now, I knew he was in the house, because I had seen Bunny at breakfast and I knew that he had not gone out with us (Tad had opted for his soft stuffed McQueen instead).  But Tad is the master of hiding things in obscure places, so Bunny could be anywhere.

Like under his bed.

Or in the bathtub.

Or in my room.

I was hunting around, not really worried, but definitely curious as to where Bunny was now.  “Tad, where’s Bunny?”  I asked him, on the off chance that he’d remember where he left it.

“Bunny?  Oh, no!”  Tad exclaimed, and then began hunting in the living room himself, calling out, “Bunny!  Where are ‘ou??”

(To those of you wondering if Tad is speaking in sentences, the answer is no.  To him, “where are you” is a single word-phrase, because he doesn’t use those words in any other context.  He does the same thing with the phrase “what you doing?”)

Anyway, I joined in.  So, there we are, calling out to Bunny.  “Bunny!  Where are ‘ou?”  Tad repeated, hands cupped around his mouth.

I decided to check Ane’s room.  He’s been known to toss Bunny in there before.  Ane was listening to a read-along.  “Ane, is Bunny in here?”  I asked.

“No, Bunny’s on the bathroom floor,” she replied, never lifting her eyes from her read-along book.

She was right.  Hey, at least someone knew where he was.

“Tad, here’s Bunny!”  I called, holding it out to him.

“Bunny!”  Tad cried, and gave it a huge hug.

Naptime then commenced (after TWO readings of A Fish Out Of Water), and all was right with the universe.

Auntie is one of the leaders for the mini-camp (the younger group) again this year, and on Monday they were teaching the kids a cheer.  As Auntie told me, it goes:
God made the sky!
God made the sea!
God made everything,
He even made me!

After running through it a few times with the kids, the leaders asked the kids if one of them knew it well enough to do it in front of the group.  Ane’s hand went up immediately, Auntie said.  So, Ane got up, and began to cheer:
God made the sky!
God made the sea!
God made everything,
except for me!

Auntie couldn’t stop laughing as she was telling this to me later, because Ane really does believe that God made her… it just came out wrong in the cheer.  When I repeated this to the Webmaster, he got a good laugh in, then shook his head.  “God made her, but I think He broke the mold when He did.”

He’s already blogged about our meeting, and how Ane managed to get herself lost and lose his son within just a few hours of meeting them.  Siccing Ane on new kids is never a pretty picture.  It’s a good thing everyone was found fairly quickly, and again, my apologies.  Fortunately, he reads the blog so he kind of had an idea of what Ane would be like…

It was really cool to be in the presence of blogging greatness.  Matthew has been consistently supportive in my blogging efforts, and for a while, I was the most popular link on his site after he posted about our visit.  THAT was a real thrill.  I’ve fallen down the ladder since, but it was really fun to see that for a few days.

But the best part was just getting to chat with and spend some time with someone who has only existed inside a computer for the longest time.  Matthew and Andrea were very gracious and funny, and we really enjoyed the time we spent at the zoo with them.  Ane now refers to the twins, TheMonk and Swee’Pea, as her “zoo friends.”  TheMonk and Swee’Pea managed to not be totally overwhelmed by Ane’s smothering friendliness, and they are even cuter in person than in their pictures.  The twins are two months older than Tad, and I’ve been reading about them since they were little babies, so it was really fun (and kind of shocking - how did they grow up so fast??) to meet two very BIG kids!

And, as proof that he didn’t find us to be completely crazy people, Matthew is still reading and commenting on the blog.  *whew*

Thanks again for meeting up with us, Matthew!  And you are always welcome up here in the Northwest - and I promise to not allow my kids to lose your kids again.  Honest.

On a totally off-topic but important note, happy birthday to Resiss!!  According to UPS, your birthday package should be arriving tomorrow.  I sent your card separately.  Happy 25th!!!

So imagine his delight when we watched the Pixar Play Parade at California Adventure and the first thing (and the “grand marshal” of the parade) to come down the street was this:

Tad thought he had died and gone to heaven.  He kept yelling, “A-Keen!  A-Keen!” (Tad-speak for “McQueen”), and yes, we have it on videotape.

The other thing that he loved and we got on video was the Bountiful Valley Farm at CA Adventure, which is just inside “a bug’s land” and has an irrigation-style water play area.  We literally dragged Tad out of there kicking and screaming, even though his lips were blue and his teeth were chattering.  And it was one of the days when I didn’t have a change of clothes for the kids on me, which would have been very handy.  I kept a change of clothes in the backpack from that point on.

And, of course, every time we passed through Downtown Disney and walked by the World of Disney store (which was a GREAT place to shop), Tad had to stop and take a good look at his favorite window:

Each picture window was themed around a character (example: Mickey), a line concept (example: Princesses), or a movie (example: Cars).  Tad would not let us pass by peacefully until he had pointed out all of his favorite characters, and then said good-bye to them all.

Note how spectacularly unimpressed his sister is.  Ane preferred the Princess window - but, better yet, she preferred shopping inside the store.

And I don’t know what it is about this boy and Pixar movies, but his favorite ride was easily the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, though he did enjoy both Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters and the new Toy Story Midway Mania rides.  Oh, and Casey Junior.  We got to sit in the monkey cage twice, and he loved riding on a train.  So did Ane.

I would really love to take Tad back in a couple of years, after he’s been in school and done some intensive speech therapy work.  I can’t imagine how different he will be then.

Because of the immense marketing campaign linked to the Prequel Trilogy, Disneyland has quite a bit of Star Wars paraphenalia at the Star Trader store in Tomorrowland - including costumes, toys, and lightsabers (you can either buy a “plain” one, which our kids already own, a light-up one, or you can actually create your own by choosing a hilt, getting a clear blade, and then choosing a colored light and then assembling it).  But the crowning experience of the whole thing is the Jedi Training Academy at Tomorrowland Terrace.

The Jedi Master on stage picks about twenty to twenty-five kids from the audience to become Padawan learners, and they try to pick kids between ages four and twelve (sorry, Oddball, you are way too old) to participate.  Each child is given a Jedi robe and a practice lightsaber, is run through a basic defensive drill, and then Darth Vader shows up (along with a couple of stormtroopers and Darth Maul).  The Padawannabes (ha ha) are then divided into two lines - one line takes on Darth Vader on stage, and the other line fights Darth Maul on the ground floor.

Ane watched the show at first, uncertain if she wanted to be in it.  She quickly changed her mind when she saw other kids getting lightsabers and robes, but, by then, all the kids needed had been picked.  The Webmaster and I decided that she needed to see the whole show first, to let her see what she would have to do (and avoid a panic attack as one child had during the first show when he faced Vader - poor little guy just crumpled into tears, at which point everyone in the audience cracked up).  After seeing the whole show, Ane was convinced.  She wanted to be a Jedi Padawan.

So, Tad went to hang out in the air-conditioned arcade with Nana and Papa, while the Webmaster and I took Ane to the very next show to try and get picked.

She was the second-to-last kid to be chosen.  *whew*  It was the Fourth of July, it was hot, and Disneyland was packed.  I did NOT want to have to hang around Tomorrowland all day to get her into the show.

Ane was thrilled, and took her Padawan-in-training status quite seriously:

And when the time came, I was desperately hoping that she would get in the Vader line (though she does know quite well who Darth Maul is, there is a real coolness factor in getting to cross blades with Darth Vader).  She did.  Apparently, she still looked a little too nervous for the Jedi assistants, who really do try and avoid breakdowns on stage like we had seen earlier.  I was too far away with the digital camera, but the Webmaster (who had the video camera and taped the show) could hear one of the cast members asking Ane if she was scared.

“My mommy told me not to be scared,” she told the guy.

And she wasn’t.

She was the last kid in the show to fight Darth Vader.

After Darth Vader and Darth Maul have faced all the kids, they try to lure them to the dark side.  The kids, aided by Yoda’s voice and the Jedi Knights, refuse, and the Sith Lords leave, along with the stormtroopers.  The kids then line up, and are declared by Yoda’s voice and the Jedi Master to have acheived the rank of Padawan.

As each child turns in their robe and lightsaber, they are presented with a fill-in-the-blank diploma, stating that they are qualified to be Jedi Padawans.  I flattened Ane’s out carefully and got it home without a crease.  We’ll have to frame it.

Along with the Princess dinner and Fantasmic, this is one of the events of our vacation that Ane constantly keeps talking about.  I can’t say that I blame her.  After all, how many other four-and-a-half year olds do you know who have faced down Darth Vader?

She keeps saying, “I was the last one to fight Darth Vader, and I wasn’t scared, and I beat him!”

I’m so proud of our little Padawan.  And I’m so glad that she has these wonderful memories of our vacation.

And occasionally, our best sides made it into a picture.

On a side note, today is Disneyland’s 53rd birthday!  I’m thinking the 55th might be a fun time to go back…

Granted, the food there is very good and very tasty.  But there are fast food places (even a McDonald’s) within the parks, and everything is inflated beyond what it costs in “the real world.”

If I had been able to, I would have brought two Costco boxes of Uncrustables with me and had the kids eat them at least once a day.  You can bring food into Disneyland, but not a full “meal” or picnic, and no glass bottles.  Plastic water bottles, milk, and juice are fine.  Snack food is also fine.  Baby food is also okay (for those with babies).  Because I couldn’t bring Uncrustables on the plane (and keep them frozen), and I didn’t have access to “the real world” on our trip (we traveled everywhere by shuttle van or tour bus), I instead packed a large quantity of Costco peanut butter crackers and cereal fruit bars in a shoebox (that was then packed in one of our suitcases).  Having those reliable snacks was a very good thing, because it warded off extreme hunger for the kids (and occasionally for us as well), and they never seem to get tired of them.  I wish I had packed more cereal bars, because we did start our days very early and breakfast usually wasn’t the first thing on our agenda.

One thing we finally learned to do was to keep a bottle of water on hand at all times.  I freely admit it - we are all spoiled up here in the Seattle area, because our water that comes out of the tap is quite possibly the best anywhere.  It really doesn’t need filtering at all.  By contrast… I swear I could taste every mineral in the tap water in Disneyland.  The only thing that helped was it being ice-cold - and it didn’t help that much.  So we spent a lot on bottled water on this trip.  Again, if I’d been able to, I would have brought a Costco flat of bottled water with me.  It would have saved us a pretty penny.

Still, the point of being on vacation is to eat those special foods that you can only get while on vacation.  So, on our first full day at Disneyland, the kids were treated to their very first Mickey pancakes at River Belle Terrace.

This is a must-do whenever you are at Disneyland.  The Webmaster and I even ate Mickey pancakes on our honeymoon.

As I’ve said, all of the character meals offer excellent food, but you can’t do that at every meal.  Well, you could, but then you’d be very broke later.  Splitting fast food between adults is a way to save money, though I don’t recommend doing it more than once a day.  My advice, when tackling Disneyland, is to eat a fairly large breakfast, and then go lighter the rest of the day, keeping in mind that there will be sweet snacks at different points.  And drink lots of water.

The other must-eat-at place we went to was Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Restaurant, which is just outside Knott’s Berry Farm.  We went for an early dinner, and feasted on the best fried chicken known to mankind.  It really IS that good.  I’ve always thought that staying near Knott’s Berry Farm would be neat, especially because so many things linked to the park are located outside of it (like the replica of Independence Hall and the shopping area and the restaurant), so you don’t even have to pay admission to enjoy these places.

Oh, and it really is the best fried chicken EVER.  Obachan’s funyu chicken is not this kind of fried chicken, so it is okay to say that Mrs. Knott’s is the best.  Funyu chicken is in a class by itself.

If we ever drive to southern California, I would be able to plan food a little more efficiently - especially since my kids tend to stick to their favorites and would be happy to eat peanut butter once a day.  Ever since we got back, that’s what they’ve been doing.  The Webmaster and I, in an effort to get ourselves out of vacation mindset and pay off the credit cards this month, have vowed not to eat out until our anniversary/Tad’s birthday (these are both on the same day) in August.  No takeout, no fast food, no sit-down restaurants, no drive-thrus, no pizza - nothing that can’t be bought at the grocery store.  I haven’t even touched Starbucks since we got back, either (though I don’t know if I can keep that up, but I’m sure going to try).  I’ve made every meal since we got back and a lot of it has been peanut butter and jelly for the kids.

They don’t mind, though.  I got out the large Mickey cookie cutter I bought on my honeymoon and I’ve been cutting their PB&J sandwiches with it.  Ane thinks it’s great, and Tad says “Mimmi!” every time I do it.  It makes the sandwich taste special, don’t you know.

Tad will turn three next month, and as of right now he has about 100 words and talks like an 18 month old.

He is also a bundle of kinetic energy that never rests, not even when he sleeps.  He is constantly rolling into the wall while he is in bed, thrashing about while he is asleep.

So, there were a lot of factors that made me nervous about taking him to Disneyland.  We knew we were taking the stroller with us, because even though we are making an effort to make him walk, crowd control is always an issue there, especially over a holiday.  Add to that his speech delay - if he was lost, he wouldn’t even be able to tell anyone his own name or age - and it made me very resolute in keeping a very tight rein on him.  As Resiss said, “I can just see it now - I’ll turn on the evening news and there will be a story about ‘Toddler boy jumps into Rivers of America at Disneyland’ and I won’t even have to watch it.  I’ll just know it’s Tad.”

Or, as Grandma said, “Have fun on your trip - and keep an eye on that boy.”

So, we did.  But even though we had four adults watching him, and we made sure that he got time out of the stroller, the single greatest asset that we had was the Guest Assistance Pass.

I blogged about this before our trip - one of the moms at my Tuesday morning prayer group is a former special ed teacher, and told me about this pass that allowed special-needs children to bypass lines in Disneyland.  After a little online investigation, I packed up some of Tad’s paperwork that details his diagnosis, along with the IEP front sheet from the school district that stated that he was being accepted for special ed preschool this coming fall.  I didn’t know if that would be enough, but nothing I had seen told me exactly what to bring, and probably for good reason.  Disneyland does not advertise this pass at all on their website - probably to keep people from acquiring them like a wheelchair in order to skip the lines on rides.  It is really intended to signal the cast members of Disneyland that you really do need their consideration.  I even saw kids in wheelchairs that had these guest assistance passes.

On our first day in Disneyland, I took Tad with me to City Hall on Main Street - home of Disneyland Park Guest Relations.  I had his paperwork out as I approached the desk and asked about the pass.  The cast member asked me why Tad needed the pass.  I listed off his delays and then said, “I have some paperwork here…”

She waved me off.  “I don’t need to see that.  I need to know, from you, why he needs this.”

I sighed.  “He is a ball of energy, and sometimes he becomes wild.  If I have to remove him from his stroller and wait in lines, he is not going to enjoy this trip and all, and may become a real problem to others in lines if he darts away from us.”

“You know that this won’t let you skip over all the lines,” she warned me.

“Even if we can just wait where he’s not going to be a bother to anyone else and he has some room to move around, it will be worth it,” I assured her.

She pulled out the pass.  ”What’s his name and how many are in your party?”

Wow.  Just like that, it was a done deal.  Meanwhile, Tad had squirreled away and was on the Guest Services phone, chattering into it.  “I’d grab that if I were you,” the cast member told me.  “He might be making new reservations for you.”

I grabbed Tad and his pass, thanked the nice lady profusely, and then met up with the Webmaster, Ane, Nana and Papa to show them the pass.

When the cast member told me that you would still have to wait in lines, it is true.  But you are waiting in the handicapped/wheelchair lines, which are usually at the exit to the ride.  And I think the longest we waited for a ride with Tad was 15 minutes at Pirates of the Caribbean.  The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage ride line was easily 90 minutes long the first time we went on it - sometimes it was as long as 3 hours.  With Tad’s pass, we waited all of five minutes.

Because of the pass, we were able to take Tad on more rides, which made things much easier for us in planning our days.  It also meant that Tad was spending his time having fun, not constantly strapped into his stroller as a means of restraining him.

Sometimes, we didn’t have to use the pass at all, especially at “a bug’s land” in California Adventure, where the rides are all geared for young children and there really weren’t any lines.  When the line was short, we didn’t bother with the pass.  But because of the pass, we were able to go on Nemo three times, the brand-new Toy Story Midway Mania ride twice, Peter Pan’s Flight twice, Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters twice, and go on most of the other rides that Tad was able to get on without much of a wait.  The Webmaster and I still had to stand in line for the rides we couldn’t take the kids on (Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, and California Screamin’, for example), and Ane had to wait (albeit in very short lines because of the times of day we went) in line at Star Tours twice.  Still, it was nothing compared to what having that pass did for us - and Tad.

I felt slightly guilty using it, mostly because Tad doesn’t have any outward behavior that really pegs him as a “disabled” child.  And cast members are not allowed to ask why you have the pass - only if the person the pass is for is with your party.  I knew that it was making my life a whole lot easier on this trip.  I also knew that if Tad were talking and behaving like an almost-three-year-old, I would have given up that pass in a heartbeat.

I was talking about it with my friend Aimee yesterday, when she called to ask about the trip and arranging play time with the kids.  She wanted to know if I was able to get the pass, and I told her yes, but that I’d felt a little guilty using it.  “Guilty??” she said.  “After all that you’ve been through with Tad, I think you should consider it a reward of some kind that you were able to get that pass!”

So, I will.  The pass made Tad’s vacation possible, and made mine and the Webmaster’s lives much easier.  He got a much better vacation than I had hoped for.  Thank you, Disneyland, for helping us out.  And I completely recommend it to any special-needs family.  It just makes Disneyland that much more of a friendly place for us to go.

And apparently, if you’ve been granted the pass once, if you return and bring your old pass with you, there is a much better chance you will be given a new pass.  I will remember that for next time - but still, I’m kind of hoping that when there is a next time, Tad will be able to whine loudly about the lines along with his sister, because he won’t need the pass anymore.

My first trip to Disneyland was in 1989, when I was nearly 11 years old.  Resiss was the youngest at the time, and she was almost six.  We returned as a family in 1992, and then again in 1996, when Auntie was three and a half.  (I made a trip with my youth choir in 1994 and then the Webmaster and I honeymooned there in 2000.)  So the 1996 trip was the closest reference point that I had to doing Disneyland with a toddler.  And even then, I knew it wasn’t a good comparison, because I was almost 18 in the summer of ‘96, the Captain was almost 16, and Resiss was almost 13.  So, two parents and three teenagers were more than adequate to handle one three-and-a-half year old.  We didn’t even take or rent a stroller for Auntie.

Fast forward to 2008, and our trip participants now include myself, the Webmaster, four-and-a-half year old Ane, three-next-month Tad (so still quite legally two, for travel and ticket purposes), and Nana and Papa (the Webmaster’s parents).  Now that you know our cast of characters, also know that I armed myself with this book, and here we go.

Today’s Tip - Character Meals.  Do you do them or not?  Are they worth the money with small children?

YES.  ABSOLUTELY YES.

Now, I do recommend being selective about which character meals you decide to do, because they are not cheap.  Prices are pre-set for meals, though some of those meals are all-you-can-eat buffets.  And - I will say this - all of the food at these character meals was excellent.  Easily some of the best food we ate while we were on vacation.

We ended up doing three character meals, but we initially had only planned for two.  On the advice of Scrap Mom, we pre-booked tickets for Ariel’s Grotto at California Adventure - this is the Princess dining experience.  Do you have a Princess-crazed girl?  This experience is for her.  Ariel’s Grotto only serves lunch and dinner, and I think has the same menu for both with the same cost.  I recommend having an early dinner there - we made our reservations for the 4 o’clock hour.  This let us eat a large meal early and then continue having fun without starving kids, plus it was not as packed in the restaurant as it would have been for lunch or the real dinner hours.  Because Tad was still 2, he ate for free and got an “infant’s portion,” which, the way he was eating on this trip, was plenty for him.

Because Ane is such a Princess nut, we did not tell her about this at all.  When we initially went to California Adventure, our reservations were three days away and I knew we’d have no peace if she knew something was up.  So I swore all the adults to secrecy, and when she saw the restaurant and asked about it (because it has Ariel’s picture over the doorway), I only told her that it was Ariel’s restaurant.  Well, the kid had no concept of character meals, so when she asked if we could eat there, I replied with a non-commital “maybe.”

After naps on the day of the meal, we told her that we were eating dinner at Ariel’s Grotto, and she was pleased.  Because Tad was in his stroller, once we were paged to our table, we got in the elevator to go down to the dining level.  When the doors closed, I turned to the Webmaster and said, “You know, Daddy, I think we forgot to tell Ane something.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right,”  he replied.

“What?  What?”  Ane asked, excited.

I sighed.  “I don’t know.  I’ve totally forgotten.  Maybe it’ll come back to me when we get downstairs.”

The elevator doors opened - and there stood Ariel, in her little picture bower, waiting to greet Ane.

“Oh, that’s it!  We’re having dinner with Ariel and the Princesses!”  I said.

Ane’s jaw hit the floor.  I had never seen her so stunned and thrilled in her entire life.

After we were seated and ordered our meals, a “court announcer” rang a gong and began proclaiming the entrance of another princess.  Each princess then makes her way around the dining room, greeting everyone, signing autographs and posing for pictures.  Ane could barely eat her food - although I did tell her that each princess would come quicker if she’d just keep eating her spaghetti.

Even Tad picked a favorite Princess:

So, Ane got to meet, greet, get an autograph from and her picture taken with every major Princess… except Sleeping Beauty.  She wasn’t there that evening, which was a small downer to Ane, who does love Sleeping Beauty.  She asked if we could find her later, and I promised we’d try.

On our last day in Disneyland, I learned the value of the Princess meal, because the line in Fantasyland to meet a Princess at the “Princess Fantasy Faire” was insane.  Because of the heat and crowds, they only have three princesses out at a time, and if you miss the Princess you wanted to see… well, tough.  And YOU try explaining that to a four-year-old.  When we got to the front of the line the first time, Sleeping Beauty exited for her break right in front of Ane, who was crushed.  She burst into tears.

So, I had the Webmaster go and take the kids to the other small shows there at the “Faire”, while I got back in line to see the Princesses AGAIN.  The first line had taken 45 minutes to get through.  The second line took well over an hour - and then when I was within sight of the entrance, I hung back and let people go in front of me, because I had had the Webmaster peek into the meeting area and we knew Sleeping Beauty wasn’t there.  When she walked back in, I called the Webmaster on his cell phone and Ane joined me in line… and, well, you can see for yourself:

*sigh*  The things we do to make our kids happy.  And if Sleeping Beauty had just BEEN AT DINNER, I wouldn’t have needed to stand in that line.  So, yes, the Princess meal was worth every penny just for that.

Because my kids are such fans of Lilo & Stitch (which I confess is completely and totally my fault), the Webmaster and I decided to surprise everyone (Nana and Papa included) with breakfast at the PCH Grill at the Disney Paradise Pier Hotel, home of the Lilo & Stitch Aloha Breakfast.

If there was one thing I would say we did absolutely right, it was this.  The kids LOVE the movies and the TV show, and this is where the real value of the Character Meals comes into play - you are NEVER guaranteed that you will be able to meet any character at Disneyland except for Mickey (who is always at his well-air conditioned house) and the Princesses at the Faire.  Other characters do have visiting times, but they have to take breaks and there is almost always a line.  With these Character meals, you are guaranteed both a chance to see characters who may not be wandering the parks, and you almost always get a more personalized experience.  Tad absolutely LOVED meeting Stitch (whom he calls “Chi”).

So did Ane.

So did Mommy. 

Ane also got to meet Lilo, and Max, Minnie, and Pluto all hang out at the breakfast as well.

The food was superb (all sorts of breakfast foods, many of them Hawaiian-inspired, chefs waiting to make your custom omelet, and did I mention that it was all-you-can-eat?), and because we were there so early in the day (our reservations were for 7:30 am, even before Disneyland opens), we were only one of a handful of families there, which meant the kids got a lot of “playtime” with Stitch.  It was SO worth it.  Every time I watch the video of Tad and Ane just hugging Stitch over and over, I get teary-eyed.  If your children love a certain character, and that character attends a meal, DO IT.  It was one of those moments that made the whole trip - and was a fantastic breakfast to boot.

The last character meal we did was spur-of-the-moment - Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel.  We arrived for brunch at 10:30 am, and the place was PACKED.  Note to self - character meals are much less crazy on the off-hours.  Either very early or pre-dinner are definitely the way to go.  However, you can stay as long as you want to (within reason), and at Goofy’s Kitchen in the busy times, you pay for the meal up front.  At Goofy’s Kitchen, we saw Goofy (obviously), Chip, Dale, Pluto, Mulan, Alice, and Baloo (from The Jungle Book).  The large crowds in the restaurant make it hard for the characters to get around, so you do have to be patient at the busy times.  Every half hour, Goofy usually makes a very loud noise in the middle of the “kitchen” - either by ringing a bell or by “spilling” plastic pots and pans - and invites all the kids to come and play with him.  Ane went and did the Macarena, and also banged pots and pans on the floor and with spatulas with Goofy.

The food.  Oh, my.  Because they are open all day, and we arrived at brunch time, we had our pick between breakfast and lunch foods.  There was something for absolutely everyone there, from pancakes to pizza.  Bread pudding to peanut butter and jelly.  There was a creme brulee french toast (that was more creme brulee than french toast, hee hee) that was DIVINE.  We ate very well and had lots of fun - which was great, because that was the last thing we did before heading to the airport.

So, my verdict is a yes on character meals being worth the money, especially with small kids.  After my experiences waiting in line with Ane to just see Sleeping Beauty, I really do realize how hard it is to wait for something that isn’t even a ride.  But I also know how important it is to them to see these characters, and I truly believe that is where the real value comes in.  The food being spectacular is just the icing on the cake.  I don’t know if we’ll ever do three character meals again - or even any of these same ones again - but the memories we gathered and the time the kids got with some of their favorite characters were well worth the cost.

Oh, who am I kidding.  You think Ane will let us get away with going to Disneyland again and NOT eating at Ariel’s Grotto??

The kids, being devoted fans of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the Disney Channel (the only show we let them watch on the Disney Channel right now), know very well who Mickey is.  Ane was thrilled to meet him, and Tad promptly walked up to Mickey and lifted up his arms - he wanted Mickey to pick him up.  Mickey did hug the kids, and we got this nice picture.  The Webmaster is holding Ane’s autograph book.

This photo was taken at the River Belle Terrace restaurant in (technically) Frontierland.  The Mickey T-shirts were all provided by Nana and Papa last Christmas, and we all wore them on the same day.  One of the cast members who checked our bags going in referred to us as “the Mickey family.”

We had one “Magic Morning” during our trip - which means that we could enter the park a full hour before it opens, and Tomorrowland and Fantasyland are usually open.  It also means that you can take really good pictures in popular spots without a ton of people crowding around.  This particular picture is special because the Webmaster and I had one taken in this same spot during our honeymoon.

Thanks to some other tourists, Nana and Papa joined us for a picture.  We then reciprocated the favor to the people who took this picture.

And here we all are again at the PCH Grill at the Paradise Pier Hotel, with Max (Goofy’s son, former star of Goof Troop and A Goofy Movie, neither of which the kids know of, but they did like Max a lot).  I will devote a whole blog to character meals later in this series, and it will hold very valuable information.

The kids had no fear of the characters, which was great.  Even Tad was more than willing to hug a fully costumed character.  When my immediate family went to Disneyland in 1996, Auntie was three and a half, and just getting over some major issues with people in costumes.  So it was very nice to see the kids interact with characters, even if most couldn’t talk to them.

And, of course, there were some characters that we were just dying to meet.  More on that later, too.  I think this picture is one of my favorites from the trip.

Did I mention that the kids love Snoopy, too?  Oh, yes.  They do.