A LOT of Character

Our character experiences during our Disneyland trip were definitely a highlight. I was surprised which characters ended up being our family favorites. On the top of the list was Gepetto. Who would have guessed? I felt like writing a letter to Disneyland to give a raise to whoever was inside this costume. He or she was hilarious and so adorable with the kids. This is one of the characters that can't even talk, yet he had us laughing our heads off.

When I came back from the breakfast buffet at the Plaza Inn/Carnation Cafe I found Natalie sitting next to Gepetto. He was pretending to take her breakfast tray and thanking her as he also pretended to drink her milk. He sat at our table and entertained us by pretending to put ketchup on the pancakes and goofing off with some of the other characters for some time. Hitting them with balloons and surprising them. As he walked away he pointed to me, then to the girls and applauded. That made me smile. Awww.

Natalie was VERY excited for our spontaneous character breakfast on Main Street. One of the best decisions we made on the trip (except for the fact that we did this on the same day as the Princess Lunch at Ariel's Grotto which was way too much food for one day!

Pictures with Minnie! What a treat! The restaurant was slow that morning so we had tons of interaction and good quality time with our new friends. The characters were all goofing off a lot together for us too which was so much fun. (o:

Sarah and Rafiki

Awww - Eeyore has always been one of my favorite Pooh bear characters.

Captain Hook was a top family favorite. What a hoot! He kept tapping on the glass right behind us with his hook and looking menacing.

All the girls making their "hooks" with their fingers.

Max - Goofy's son from A Goofy Movie. Notice Gepetto in the background doing two thumbs up. I'm telling you that guy or girl - was hilarious.

We had a lovely time at the Princess Luncheon. Angela was so excited and in awe of all the royalty coming to our table. The princesses were sweet as can be and so cute with the girls.

Last time we did this, Angela was a year old and slept through the whole thing. Sarah and Natalie were in heaven, but I could Sarah wasn't quite as enthralled as last time. My baby is growing up! She still had lots of fun, but I remember last time she thought she'd died and gone to princess heaven.

This lunch was a lot of fun and the food was really good. Too bad we had such a big breakfast at the Plaza Inn. I still managed to eat my food - I hate to waste yummy food! And it shows on my waistline! (o:

Mulan is my favorite princess - she is not a damsel in distress - she is courageous and does what needs to be done when problems arise. I love the story of Mulan, so I had to get a picture with her! (o:

Aladdin and Jasmine at Goofy's Kitchen. I think the girls had a crush on Aladdin, they were very shy around him.

For some reason Angela really really really was excited for Dale to come to our table and thank goodness he did. She was waving him down.

If you ever go to Goofy's Kitchen, try the peanut butter and jelly pizza. They have all sorts of fun stuff like that and I was very pleasantly surprised! It was good! (o:

Goofy's Kitchen was our grand finale on the day we headed back home. Kind of a tradition. We went there on our last day three years ago too. It's at the hotel, not in the park, and is a great way to get nice and full so we can get further on our drive before stopping. Plus, seeing the characters and experiencing that Disney magic one more time is wonderful.