Cheap Character Breakfast AKA Dry Run

Recently we saw this flyer in our local ChickFilA.  Even though we were having lunch there on Friday, we were back on Saturday morning to see Santa Cow.

Tink loves the cow as you can see in this series of photos.  She's seen the costumed character before but she even likes the huge cardboard cutout at the restaurant's entrance.

Tink was intimidated by the huge cow in the beginning so Minnie had the first visit with Santa Cow.

This photo was taken by the marketing manager at CFA.  Sadly, this must have been the best of our bunch.

While Santa Cow was ginormous to my 2.5 year old, Baby Cow was just right.  Tink followed him/her all over the place.

Lots O Huggin' Tink

Two very patient cows

Back for another hug.  She seemed to like him better when he was sitting and therefore shorter.

Tink also loved the Piggly Wiggly pig and a duck promoting the rubber duck race at a local festival back in the spring.  She drug us back over to see each of them several times.

Take advantage of the cheap or free character greetings in your local area.  They are a good way to gauge your child's comfort level with the oversized critters he/she may meet on your Walt Disney World vacation.  This may help prevent a meltdown later since you'll know how to approach the situation.  And wouldn't it be better to find out for the cost of a couple of biscuits versus the hundreds you are likely to drop on Disney character dining?

Baby Minnie doesn't like to travel yet so she'll be 17 months old on her first visit.  We'll find additional local opportunities for character interaction between now and then.  She was ok with the cows for now but we'll see what she thinks as a toddler.

--Amy