MICKEY MOUSE

Meeting Mickey Mouse could be compared to meeting the Great Oz in my mind.  Children watch him on television everyday.  He's like a hero to toddlers!

Morris, of course  was excited to meet him.  Morris has never met a stranger and a costume has never bothered him.  He's quick to tell you that Mickey can't talk and isn't sure about that, but he was still excited to meet the entire Clubhouse gang.

After a quick refresher in our room (that is pretty much an oxymoron in itself)... there is nowhere in the room to "refresh" with two toddlers, a double wide stroller, and tons of luggage   I might should rephrase this... After collecting our thoughts, changing our clothes, and reapplying more deo, hairspray, and makeup, we were off to our night activity: Chef Mickey.

Chef Mickey is located in the Contemporary so it was just a quick monorail stop away.  This is where all the months of planning paid off.  We had a prime time dinner seating that worked out great for our schedule.  Dinner was at 6:30.  The boys were dressed in their best smocked Mickey attire, autograph book in hand, first visit buttons on, and had been bribed to smile.

We walked in the restaurant and Morris immediately started pointing out the characters.  Thomas immediately asked to be held/sit in my lap.  The kind waiter explained the drill: the characters move to each table in a certain order, you can tell when they are three tables behind you to make sure you are in your seats, autograph books open, and camera ready.  That helped us know when to go get our food.

We quickly ran to get the boys a plate of food to start eating while we waited on our first character.

The first character to visit us was Goofy.  Morris ate up the attention and excitement.  The characters were beyond sweet: playing with Morris, trying to involve Thomas, and making sure all our needs were met before they moved to the next table.

Morris loved every character.  He ate up the attention... talked for hours about it... loved it!  Thomas was nervous; not really scared.  He loved the characters from afar waving and smiling at them.  He just didn't like them in his personal space, except for Minnie.  Who can deny cute Minnie?  Thomas talked about Minnie and even wanted to hold her hand.  It was so sweet.

Chef Mickey was a lot of fun.  The food was acceptable, but Jared and I were reminded Chef Mickey wasn't about the food.  Chef Mickey was about Morris and Thomas meeting the Clubhouse Characters.  It was also great because it meant we didn't have to stand in line to meet Mickey and the gang at any park.  It freed us up to do other activities.  Chef Mickey was a must for our first trip to Disney.

\