Chapter 25: The Magic Kingdom Part II – King Stefan's Banquet Hall

An early morning mist hung over the hotel grounds and the kids were still asleep. You may be expecting one of the kids to wake all the other ones up by now. If Dora were a little girl right now, she'd break into the hotel room and jump on everyone's beds, excited at the prospect of getting to meet Cinderella.

Dora heard me write that and didn't mind if she did.

Today was the day the group was going to the Magic Kingdom to have breakfast in Cinderella Castle at King Stefan's Banquet Hall, which later became Cinderella's Royal Table. I only found out at the last minute that this character breakfast would only come around in a couple of years, around the time the restaurant would be renamed. But frankly, I thought here, I could make an exception to the faithfulness rule.

I don't even need to tell you why.

Also, I went to this character breakfast myself a number of times in the past, before some of you were born. Back then, there were more characters around than just the Princesses. Some of which would naturally get Danny, Bill, and some of the mothers excited.

"I can't wait to see Peter Pan!" Lily shouted.

"I can't wait to see Mary Poppins!" Jane exclaimed.

"I can't wait to see Aladdin…" Bill started.

"…Again!" Danny finished.

Anyways, as soon as the got there, they all took a picture in front of the flowered face of Mickey Mouse, which looked even more amusing, now that there was a whole family of redheads accompanying them, and headed under the bridge into the park.

Harry saw that the Legend of the Lion King banner was still there, as it was only three days after the attraction opened, and he couldn't wait to bring the Weasleys in to see this. He was even more pleased to see that the window displays in the Emporium were still up, too.

"They'll usually keep these up for awhile," Danny explained. "I remember how glad I was to see the Aladdin displays up twice in a row when I came here this year and last year."

The families gathered for three more pictures in front of Cinderella Castle; one with just the kids, one with just the parents, and another one with them all together. Believe me, it was enough of a problem getting a picture with either twelve kids (Count them, Harry, Hermione, Danny, Rachel, Sara, Ron, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George) or nine adults (Count them, Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Dora, Paul, Jane, Molly, and Arthur), let alone that whole group of twenty-one people.

It'll be just as hard to write about all of them getting pictures with each and every one of the characters. You remember how hard it was for me to write about the Aladdin character breakfast, and Fred and George's antics won't make it any easier.

Anyways, they headed towards the castle and headed to the back, where the entrance to the restaurant was. They found a line of small children waiting to get a picture taken with Snow White and unnamed Prince that mysteriously showed up in the film without any explanation. It's bad enough that they don't even give him a proper name. While the Weasley boys headed for a nearby suit of armor to pose for a picture, Harry ended up being dragged by Hermione into the line to get a picture taken with Snow White... much to the amusement of Sarah. Danny and Rachel followed to join them.

Ginny, on the other hand stared at the two couples, longingly. Well, mostly at Harry. I figured, even if this timeline was different than the original, she'd still retain her likings for Harry, but this time, for totally different reasons. Now that he was a member of The Seekers in this timeline, she'd have an excuse to have a crush on him.

But I digress.

Soon enough, the families' names were called and they were all brought up into the restaurant and seated. I could try and talk about whatever they were ordering, but I figured writing about their experiences with the characters would be funnier.

I'll start with Cinderella. Do I even need to mention Dora's reaction? If you were a muggle and heard her screaming, you'd think she were having a panic attack. If you were a witch or wizard, you'd think she were a five year old girl made to look like a grown woman with Polyjuice Potion. If you were reading this and were either a die-hard Potter or Disney fan, you'd think it was just a natural fan reaction.

I think you can tell that lots of pictures will be taken here.

The next to come out were Peter Pan and Wendy. Ron and Lily each had a separate, but still humorous experience with these characters.

Ron was the first of them to get up to take a picture.

"Hey, nice hair!" Peter complimented. "All you need now is one of these."

He pointed to his hat, and I imagine you giggling at the thought of Ron wearing a Peter Pan hat, particularly one sold at Disney World, with the logo sticker on it, looking about as juvenile as those cowboy hats with the plastic Sheriff insignia on them, made specifically for three to five year olds.

But, I digress.

When Lily stood up, Peter grabbed her by the arm for reasons I'm sure you haven't guessed even if you weren't thinking "red hair".

"Come fly away with me, to be my second mother in Never Land!" he begged.

Wendy comedically put her hands on her hips when she heard that.

"Trust me, Wendy is the mother you need," Lily reassured him.

Here, Wendy smiled again for reasons I'm sure you'll understand in a heartbeat if you've become initiated with both my universe and the original.

Then, Mary Poppins came to the table. I wasn't sure how to write in Jane's reaction to this, other than that she grabbed Dora, and the other two mothers in to take the picture. Hopefully it wouldn't ruin her big moment, but then again, why should it? This was a heartwarming nostalgic moment for all the magical ladies gathered for the picture… even if half of them missed out on the nostalgia that was Mary Poppins.

If you're confused when I say half the magical ladies, counting Lily, Dora, and Mrs. Weasley, then I'm pretty sure that you've forgotten what Mary Poppins can do.

"But I never explain anything," she reminds us.

That's right; "Us", as in you, me, every character in this story, and all who read it, including that guy over there with the funny hat.

But… I digress.

Afterwards, Belle came to the table. I don't think I need to explain anything that happened at that moment.

"Your stories can be predictable sometimes," Harry tells me, as Danny looks up, confused, while their girlfriends have a ball with their favorite Disney Princess, and acting like a couple of five year olds.

Hey, can I help it if I like these predictable moments? It's where the sentimentality comes from, and that's why so many people love the Disney formula, and always look back and share these moments with their families.

Don't you agree? If you don't, then you're probably in serious need of a higher education.

I can say that this Belle seemed to recognize them from the day before. She had to be the same one that performed in the Beauty and the Beast show. If that's not predictable, then their experiences with the last two characters will be.

Finally, Aladdin and Jasmine came to the table. Do I even need to tell you about Danny and Bill's reactions? Well, mostly Danny's?

I didn't think so.

But I should say, if any of you are somewhat weirded out, that Bill's interest in Aladdin, while keen to some degree, wasn't quite as intense as Danny's, as he was much older and had more of a sense of responsibility, having already finished school, gone on to get a job, and left the country as a way to get his mother concerned.

But still, he saw the whole Aladdin film and Disney World trip as a chance to kick back and have some fun, all the while acting like a little kid again.

And don't we all?

Anyways, Belle seemed to recognize Hermione and Rachel from the day before, I think you can guess the reactions that Aladdin and Jasmine had to Danny, Rachel, and Bill being there. That's the predictability I was talking about before.

I should know. I went here a number of years ago and had the same character breakfast and had a picture and autograph with Snow White. A few days later, I had another character breakfast over at the Grand Floridian Beach Resort Hotel, and saw Snow White again. And yes, much to my surprise, she recognized me from before.

I don't even need to describe this experience any further. I think you could have guessed all that, when I said, "I should know".

After a few pictures with Aladdin and Jasmine, the families picked up their check and headed back down the stairs, out the restaurant door, ready to enjoy their day in the Magic Kingdom. All of them knew exactly what they wanted to do, announcing it a similar manner to a television special that The Wiggles did in California

"I want to see Tomorrowland!" Ron shouted.

"I want to go down Splash Mountain!" Ginny decided.

"I want to just open up one of my schoolbooks, sit around on a park bench, and read," Hermione announced.

Everyone looked at her funny.

"Gotcha, didn't I?" she smirked.

I think even in the other timeline, Hermione would still hold a childish excitement for Disney. She may have had a serious attitude, but need I remind you, she was no Percy.

But… …I digress.

Tune in next time, where the Potters and Grangers, along with Danny and Rachel, introduce the Weasleys to all the promises of Tomorrowland. I think you could've guessed I'd go in the same order as I did when they went to EuroDisney.

So stay tuned…