Breakfast with the Characters

So on the morning of the second day we headed to the park bright and early.We saw one of the bands and we saw Goofy. Holly really wanted to meet him, but the line was closed.She got very upset and headed into the Lincoln Museum as a distraction, it was an Art gallery of sorts.After she calmed down she got a chance to meet Donald Duck, whom she liked way betterThe park was filled with friends at this time of day on main StreetBut we had a breakfast date to keep with Minnie Mouse, so we headed over to the Plaza InnChloe had arrived just moments before and we found ourselves a table on the patioHolly was super excited to meet Minnieand before we even thought about getting our food, Characters were coming to greet us.Holly loves Pirates, and Captain Hook was no exception.Then suddenly Tiger appeared and that was super exciting.We met Both Chip and DaleAnd Holly was fast becoming quite the expert on the routine.First they get her book and they sign it for her.Then she gives them a hug.Next she poses for a picture, "Apple Pie"And if we are especially lucky she might get to give them a kiss, or sit on there lapI never made it to the buffet, but Joel brought me a hand made Omelet with Ham and CheeseIt was technically a "late breakfast" our reservation was at 10:30So the restaurant was only half full. This gave everyone a ton of time to spend with us,and they came back several times to play, which was super nice.This is max, Goofy's son. Since he looks just like Goofy it made up for not meeting "dad" earlier.I was super excited about Eeyore, Growing up he was a favorite of mine.The girls wanted to know why he wasn't smiling and tried to tickle him.But afterwards Chloe said poor Eeyore is still sad. I told Holly he was Happy to just be noticedHe especially liked his hug.I was so proud of Holly, not being scared of all of the characters, even ones she didn't know beforeTiger was especially bounce and he snuck up on us several times.Here is is giving Tita Kathy a tickle, and Mommy a hugHe was very bouncy and Holly played with him a bunch.This is a Video of Holly and tiger bouncing together:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9jc4_vLU_4

The food was really good, there was yummy bread and biscuits and cheese and fruitIt was hard to actually get the girls to eat anything and at every turn a new friend came to playAnother thing I thought about was the autograph books.Before this trip to Disney I always thought they were kind of silly and didn't get it.But now I realize what a brilliant idea they are. Especially for a kid like Holly.The book gives them a goal, a routine, a purpose, a reason to be brave and interact with the character.Its the ice breaker, and then they feel comfortable and can interact.This is the Fairy Godmother, one of Chloe's favorite Characters. Holly was simply soaking it all in, meeting each new person, and then later pointing them out and telling us there name.She remembered and learned each one and was excited as she saw them again laterI think at this breakfast we met a total of 8 new friends.It was super exciting. Here Chloe gets a chance to meet Captain HookBut she was a little scared of him.Winnie the Pooh came by again and this time Holly got to kiss his nose.It was nice whent hey came around a second time, we didn't worry about the booksand we could take some more candid shotsMinnie the host was super popular so our time with her was limitedBut we did get to see her once more before leaving.The girls each wanted to give her a hugthey wanted to know where Mickey wastoo. We told them in toon townHolly knew Minnie so it was extra specialshe asked if she could give her a kiss tooand so she did! I love this picture.It was all happening so fast it was hard to coordinate eating, signing, and picturesBut I was able to get a few video's with my phone too.Tiger came by a last time to say goodbyeHe pounced with the girls which they thought was so much funHolly and he crawledand played and we got a picture with the dadsTiger is definately a rough and tumble kind of guy, so fun.We also learned how to tell Chip and Dale apart which is hard to do when they are not together.Its there nose and teeth. One Black the other brown, Big and Small and together and apartBreakfast was long, and though it was fun Holly was ready to go.I barely got to eat the first 45 minutes so I finished up my food while they playedBut Tiger wanted to give me a hug goodbyeOutside Holly picked leaves and Rafiki came to help her.Aren't they all such cute little monkeys