A Dinner with Cindy and her Ugly Stepsisters (Sept. 5)

We dressed for dinner and I told the boys that we would be going to a fancy restaurant for a nice dinner and that I expected their best behavior, bla-bla-bla. We boarded the bus to the Magic Kingdom and we were on our way!

Dinner would be at 1900 Park Fare, located in The Grand Floridian resort. This resort is actually on the monorail line from the Magic Kingdom and also one of the original resorts to open when the Kingdom did in 1971 (though I'm a bit foggy with the years). It's a lovely resort- definitely deluxe accommodations. Before we got there, however, it began to rain. Guess which of us was the only one without a poncho.. That would be me. Thankfully, Stephen was willing to share his and the two of us walked from the bus-stop to the monorail station looking much like a two headed red monster. It's hard to walk when you're laughing that hard.

We finally reached The Grand Floridian and it certainly did live up to its name. There was a gentleman in the lobby playing Disney tunes on a grand piano.There was a band setting up to play in the balcony overlooking the lobby. There were glass elevators and a sweeping grand staircase. It was just beautiful. The boys and I walked around the lobby, rode in the elevators and went into the gift shop to try on the silly pink mouse-ear hats until it was time for our reservation.

I was hoping the boys wouldn't figure out that this dinner was not just a run-of-the-mill dinner at a fancy restaurant. I wanted to keep the Cinderella part a secret as long as I could and I managed to do just that until our names were called and the little girl ahead of us said to her mom,

"Oh! Look Mom! Cinderella is in there!"

Stephen stopped abruptly and turned to me with an accusing glare and said,

"...Cinderella??"

Gulp.

"Well," said I, "It's not just Cinderella..."

By this time, both boys were looking daggers at me and I was seriously wondering why I ever thought this would actually be funny.

"Who else?" Asked a suddenly very suspicious Edward.

"Um.. Well, the fairy godmother is here, and the evil stepmother and uh.. the ugly stepsisters." I tried to mutter the last part under my breath.

We were led to our tables and the boys looked terrified. The waitress explained the buffet to us as well as the route the characters would be taking during the meal. I smiled encouragingly at the boys and we took our seats. Well, I did anyway. The boys were off in search of food and hoping to avoid any contact with Princesses.

Chickens.

The food was quite good. Eddie mentioned that he'd never eaten anywhere that had real napkins before (I'm not sure what that says about us, actually). Suddenly there was music and an announcement: "Ladies and Gentlemen! May I introduce...(drum roll please) Cinderella!"

I began to bounce in my seat and I clapped my hands and grinned widely as my children sat across the table from me, looking for all the world like they hoped the floor would open up and swallow them both. It didn't, and a few minutes later we were introducing ourselves to the Grand Princess herself- Cinderella! I was so thankful that she was the first of the characters the boys would meet because she was very kind and gentle and not at all intimidating to the boys. By the time I began taking pictures, they were actually beginning to enjoy themselves a bit! Whew! Things might just work out after all!

The boys began to relax and enjoy themselves, though they made frequent trips to the buffet tables. I only went twice- and one of those times, I brought back dessert...

Soon, there was another drum roll and Lady Tremaine came sweeping through, followed by her daughters, Anastasia and Drizella. The Lady was cool and stiff, making her way around the dining room, posing with children and adults and acting the part of the evil stepmother. When she came to our table, the boys stood and she seemed to survey them,

"They are single?" she asked me in a cool voice.

"Yes ma'am. And of marriageable age as well." I said with a smile. The boys looked nervous.

"Very well," She answered as she looked at them, seemingly sizing them up. "I am ready for portraits now."

We took the pictures and she looked around to her daughters who were milling about the room,
"Girls! Girls! There are young men here who are single. Be sure to make a good impression." The stepsisters screeched and giggled.

The boys were seriously worried now. Stephen leaned over and whispered to me, "I'm only 13! I'm NOT getting married!"

Anastasia and Drizella were wonderful! They flirted with the boys and asked about their financial situations- Drizella asked Eddie for a diamond!

By the end of the evening, the boys were actually having fun, I think. We didn't have a chance to see the Fairy Godmother, but I'm thinking that may have put the boys over the edge.

On the way home that evening, Stephen looked at me and asked me very seriously, "So--will there be any other dinners like this?"

"No dear." I answered.

Unless you count the Winnie the Pooh dinner on Friday.