Seated

So my Passporter has gone missing. The guidebook is replaceable, and fortunately I wasn’t carrying our park passes and other valuables in it, but the trip notes, covering all of the convention and contest especially, will be very difficult to recreate.

I go back outside to look at the area I was last sitting. Not there. I know I had it in my hands on our walk from the monorail station to the Disneyland Hotel, since I used its map to orient us as to where to go within the hotel complex’s many buildings, so at least I can be confident it wasn’t lost in the park. But that also greatly narrows where it could be – either right outside the entrance to Goofy’s Kitchen or right inside the entrance – and it is in neither place.

The check-in CM hasn’t seen it, but she says to check with the front desk. I go into the restaurant to the cashier’s desk and ask for it there. No luck. Shoot.

After about ten minutes of sitting, we’re called up for our pictures with Pluto. My mind is a bit burdened now with the combination of lost parents, lost trip notes – and, oh yes, lost lung capacity – but I’m getting to visit with Pluto, so that’s fun. It lifts my spirits some.

We’re directed back to the foyer seats, for what turns out to be another ten minutes of waiting for the table. Hey, if they keep us waiting much more, my parents and aunt & uncle might actually get here before we get too far into the meal.

Finally our party name is called, and we follow the cast member back through the winding pathways of the restaurant. We actually pass right by Goofy, who is doing some fun activity with a bunch of kids to music from the restaurant speakers. We’re led up into the round gazebo-like room that overlooks the hotel courtyard and pool. Nice. But the table we’re led to seats only eight people. Not so nice.

We tell the CM that we’re expecting four more, and there’s a table for ten right next to the one we’re being pointed to. We’re told pretty brusquely that that table of ten is already spoken for, for a group that has all its people here. Okay, I can see the point, but our table will get a little crowded if the other four get here. Given that the alternative is to wait even longer for a bigger table to open up, though, we grudgingly accept the table we’re given. Hey, at least it’s by the window and has a nice view.

A server quickly appears and takes our drink order, and then we’re free to go get our food. This could be perilous for other diners – a combination of an all-you-can-eat buffet, lack of food, and growing frustration and hunger – so I may not leave any food for anyone else! But hey, it’s vacation. And Goofy can always cook more.