Meeting the Characters

Of course, one of the major attractions of going to Disney World is getting to meet the various characters. We were not really sure how Jack would be about this. He kept saying he was excited to see the various friend s of Mickey Mouse, but we thought he would be scared or shy around costumed characters.

Boy were we wrong.

This ended up being one of the most important parts of the trip for Jack. For the most part, he was not scared at all, although there were a few disappointments.

Not only did he want to meet all of the characters, he decided he had to give each of them the biggest hug he could muster. It was pretty special.

On the first day, when we still thought he would not be up to meeting many characters, we decided we would try to at least get the obligatory picture with Mickey Mouse. After waiting 30 minutes, we were surprised to find Minnie there as well. When we were ushered back into the greeting room, Jack was holding my hand. I felt it start shaking. I thought for sure he was getting scared and was going to break down. I looked down and instead saw a little boy with a huge grin on his face. Jack was quivering with excitement. He was star struck.

Unprompted, he ran up and threw himself into Mickey's arms for a hug.

And Minnie's.

We had a hard time getting him to turn around an pose for the picture.

We did not really see any more characters about after that. (Well, except for the insane lines for fairies and princess, which he seemed okay about skipping. Until we got home and he mentioned that he didn't meet Tinker Bell.)

The next day we went to Hollywood Studios, and he was so excited because we told him Lightening McQueen and Mater would be there. He watches Cars about once a week and practically has it memorized.

He didn't like them.

"Daddy, they didn't talk to me!"

Apparently, it was okay that none of the other characters talk, but he must have really wanted a "Ka-Chow!" from McQueen or a "Dag-Gum" from Mater.

He was then disappointed when we went to meet the Little Einsteins. (Or Little Einsquines as he calls them.) Along with Backyardigans and Thomas, it's his favorite TV show. He refused to go near them when we saw them.

"Mommy, they are really big."

I think he was excited to meet four kids his size, and was shocked to find Leo and June standing over six feet tall. (Seriously, they could have made them a little shorter.)

So he spurned them, and informed us that he would rather meet Handy Manny. (Or Handy Mandy, as Jack insists his name is.) Before the trip he was only mildly interested in Manny, but he suddenly became important to Jack on this trip.

Next, he wanted to meet the Incredibles. When he saw Mr. and Mrs. Incredible and Frozone there, his smile went away.

"Where are Dash and Jack-Jack?"

We explained that they must not be there that day, so he refused to go up to the other characters. What fun are they if the kids are not there?

Of course, Sorcerer Mickey happened to be near the Incredibles, and Jack really wanted to meet "Mickey wearing the hat." (Or "the Mickey from Daddy's Disney movie.")

"But you already met Mickey!"

"I want to give him another hug."

We took Wednesday off from the parks and then ventured to Animal Kingdom ("Mickey's Zoo" according to Jack) on Thursday.

We thought for sure, if he was going to be freaked out by a character, it would be a six-foot bug. Nope. Flick gets a big hug, too. (Or, "the bug that cuts the wheat" as he called him prior to the vacation.) Of course, after he got his picture taken, he asked, "Where's Dot and Princess Atta?"

So, he happily had his picture taken with Flick, but then (after standing in line) refused to go up to Baloo or King Louie.

"I want to meet Mowgli."

We found Pluto and Goofy at the Animal Kingdom, as well.

If you are the observant type, you may be wondering why Amelie is not in any of these pictures. Well, almost every time we got in line for a character greeting, she zonked out and missed the action. And we are not the type of parents to wake a sleeping baby for a photo.

Eventually, she was awake for some, like Christmas Pooh.

She did not like the characters at all. Whenever one would get near her, she growled at them.

You read that right, she growled. It was pretty funny.

Now, looking at this picture you may be thinking, "Tigger is reaching for the baby." (Or, "What is Jack doing to Tigger's crotch?) It's not Amelie he is reaching for. When you see the next picture...

You should be asking, "Where is Tigger's other hand?"
Yes, Tigger got a little fresh with Kate. She claims the he didn't feel her up, but he was very friendly with her and kept hugging her and making kissing noises.

Another "must meet" for Jack were Lilo and Stitch. They have recently became some of his favorite characters. (He had to get a stuffed Stitch doll as his souvenir.)

So, the picture I'm sorry I did not manage to get? Stitch getting "friendly" with Kate. Yup, another character greeting and another uncomfortable moment for Kate. As we were walking away, she turned to me and said, "I'm done 'meeting' characters. From now on, it's all you."

We ended up meeting only one more, and it was a very sweet Donald the Duck. He made a big deal out of Jack's shirt, which read "Big Brothers Rock."

Amelie really did not like Donald. I'm laughing in this picture because she is growling again.

We did not get a chance to meet any more characters on our last two days at the Magic Kingdom. It was storming Friday, and we did not see any about. Saturday was (supposedly) one of the busiest days of the year, and we couldn't get near any of them. Still, Jack seems to have met all the important ones. We never found Peter Pan, but Jack seemed okay with that. But he did cry a little because we never found Daisy Duck.

Well, he was also a little mad he did not get to meet the Polar Express. There was a Sea World (?) billboard advertising it and Jack wanted to meet it, too. I'm not sure how one meets a train, but he is only three.

Oh well, he still had a great time.