I've Been ID'd

It finally happened. 

I am now 21, and since I choose to not participate in the consumption of alcohol, I haven't gotten a chance to prove to the outside world, that I am, in fact, 21. I was dealt a hand of cards some of you are all too familiar with: the forever young look. Baby face. Short. Wide eyed gaze. The whole nine yards. When revealing my age to strangers, I often get the various stages of nervous laughter followed by "wow you look 14!" 

Thank you for that statement that I have never heard before.

Well last night, it finally happened.

I was with my friend at Hollywood Studios, and we decided to treat ourselves to a milkshake from the 50's Prime Time Cafe. We didn't want to eat a meal, so we decided to order from the bar, which my friend informed me she had done multiple times before. So we grabbed two barstools next to a young lady who looked similar in age to us. 

I asked to borrow her menu, and discovered she was just ordering water and onion rings, so I figured she was under 21. I watched the bartender interact with the customers. This guy was a jerk. He obviously was against tips or something because his attitude basically demanded we not tip him. The bartender came up to us, after a good while of waiting, but he did not want to take our order. Instead, in a formidable voice, said "No one under 21 can sit at the bar."

My friend and Onion Rings glanced around and slowly got out of their seats. I was about to join the 20 year old rejects (term of endearment, I promise), when it dawned on me... a hole in the ceiling burst open, and a beam of light shown directly upon me, and a still little voice whispered sweetly in my ear, "YOU ALYSSA ARE 21!" 

*picture this scene in slow motion; it's so much better*

I gathered my courage. I swiveled in my sweet, and drew out my wallet. I looked that bartender directly in the eye, and said, "Well, I am 21," and I whipped out my drivers license and slid it across the bar. He picks up the ID, takes out a magnifying glass... I'm joking, but he did take 5 minutes examining it. He saw that I am indeed 21, and turned a satisfying shade of red. In a small voice, he asked "what'll you have?" And I, in my 21 year old voice, said "Yeah, I'll have a milkshake please."

He turned a deeper shade of red. "You want a milkshake?" I nodded, a smug smile on my face. Yes, I, the 21 year old, want a milkshake. JUST a milkshake.

I have never been so satisfied with purchasing a milkshake in my life. The milkshake that I was ID'd for. 

Do's and Don't's of Meeting a Character at Disney (Dining)

I know many of my readers have been waiting for the do's and don't's of meeting a character. I guess you could say have a pretty good insight as to how to get the most out of your interacts :) So we will jump right in! 

First, you need to be aware of the two types of interactions: dining and meet & greets. Dining is self explanatory, but just in case I will elaborate. Dining would be meeting characters at a Disney restaurant, resort, etc. Meet & greets are not dining. Everyone with me? Great! Let's keep going. I'm going tackle dining in this blog post, and I will do a meet & greet one another day. 

The Do's of Dining:

1. When you are seated at your table, immediately get out your cameras and autograph books, and have the ink pen ready to be used.

2. If you see a character in close proximity to your table, stay seated and wait for the character to come to you. 

3. Use ONE, I repeat, ONE ink pen. 

4. Once the character is at your table, SAY HELLO. You'd be amazed at how often the characters get blank stares. The character will leave you table immediately if this happens, so if you want a photo, say something.

5. The fewer pictures, the better. Characters will adore you if you take one group photo and that's it. Like seriously, you will receive so much love if you take one group photo. 

6. Make sure your child doesn't have food all over them. If they have sticky hands, Minnie will not touch them. Just saying.

7. Tell the character if your party is not all present. The character will skip your table, and come back when you're all there. 

8. Monitor you kid. Make sure they are not aggressive with the character. 

9. Use one camera. Take the photos using one phone, you can text the photo to others. It is SO ANNOYING when there are five phones, six digital cameras, a GoPro, and a polaroid camera. So, Annoying.

10. Make sure if you have a high chair that they are not in the way of the characters. Do you know how scary it is when Minnie trips over a high chair and almost injures a baby? It isn't fun.

11. Plan ahead. If you want a family photo, ask someone in advance, so the character isn't standing there waiting on you. 

**Time is crucial in dining. The characters are allowed approximately 45 seconds per table. Please be respectful of this.

The Don'ts of Dining:

** some of these may sound harsh, and I mean them in the best way possible. I'm just conveying the wishes of characters to you :) 

1. Do NOT get up and find the characters. Characters will come to you, as they have a set rotation and go from table to table.

2. Do NOT hand the character a closed book. I guarantee Goofy will not like you if you do this. 

3. Do NOT take forever. This is not a meet & greet; the character doesn't have time to sit and chat. Say hi, get an autograph, take a photo, move on.

4. Do NOT ask the character if he/she wants to sit down. That's against the rules. 

5. Do NOT let your kid roam. They will get trampled. They will get hurt. And the character will trip and fall and it will be on your shoulders that Minnie Mouse face planted.

6. THIS IS THE MOST CRUCIAL OF ALL. Do not, absolutely do not, let a dining setting be your child's first experience with characters. I cannot stress this enough. You need to be in a meet & greet first, so you can see if your child is terrified or not of the characters. I have witnessed one family whose children screamed, and I mean the blood curdling "I am beyond terrified for my life" scream, for an hour and a half because they were so scared of the characters. The entire restaurant could hear the kids. It was annoying. It ruined the family's dinner, along with the other guests. The family was politely asked to leave. If you don't want this to happen, take your kids to Character Spot at Epcot ASAP, so they can meet Mickey, Goofy, and Minnie and see how they like them. 

7. Do NOT ask a character sign a napkin. Just don't.

8. Do NOT offer the characters food. They can't take it. 

9. Do NOT ask the character to stay and sing happy birthday to the "special birthday boy/girl". There isn't enough time.  

10. Do NOT ask the characters to take photos together. That is not allowed. 

11. Once the character has left your table, THAT IS IT. Don't go after them for "only one more photo". You had your interaction. The character has lots of other tables to see.