In Downtown Disney

We didn't go to Disney World, but since we had to drop Matt off at the airport one morning we did stay the night in Orlando--that's almost like going to Disney World, right?

And going to Downtown Disney, the picturesque strip mall next door to Disney World, is even more almost like going to Disney World, right?

Actually, no, it's nothing like going to Disney World, but we didn't go there because it was like going to Disney World. We went there because they have a gigantic LEGO store:

 
We didn't even buy anything at the LEGO store, either, but we did buy Willow the next book in the Kingdom Keepers series (we listened to the first book during the drive to Florida, and Will is now a BIG fan), and Sydney this creepy gummy Mickey Mouse that she devoured, also in a satisfyingly creepy fashion:

We didn't buy anything at the LEGO store, but we did play with EVERYTHING, of course:

The other reason that we went to Downtown Disney is that I'd read about a certain gimmicky theme restaurant that I was dying to take the girls to:

T-Rex Cafe! Seriously, the props and the decor looked exactly like the atmosphere stuff that you'd find in an excellent dinosaur museum:

And I have been to many excellent dinosaur museums.

Yes, it's contradictory to have the girls pose with their heads in the mouth of a Triceratops, since it was an herbivore:

How could I resist, however?

Animatronic dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures were all over the place, all around the booths and tables and posed just everywhere:

My favorite room was the Ice Age room, with animatronic mammoths:

We, however, were in the room with the flying creatures:

That room was the best, because it was the center of the meteor showers.

Other theme restaurant gimmicks included very involved dinosaur activity books, and, look closely--can you tell?

The girls' drinks are different colors because the glasses? They STROBED!

Yes, we got to take them home.

The adult menu was tasty enough, although I ended up ordering an appetizer, since that was the only vegetarian option. The kids' menu was the usual well-beloved crap, with what at that point was likely Sydney's sixth meal of macaroni and cheese in a row (we brought Easy Mac with us):

No, I did not even look at our final bill, although I think that it will even out now that Matt's gone back home, because in our family I am notorious in that I NEVER go out to eat on the road. Sure, if I'm with Matt I will, because he loves it so much, but even then I have to find reviews first and check out the menu online (hey, if we're going to spend the money, I want it to be special), but when it's just me and the girls, we eat sandwiches and fruit and other boring grocery store stuff for every meal.

That's why right now, Willow and Sydney are sitting on the carpet in front of the TV, eating instant oatmeal and pretzels dunked into a jar of peanut butter, drinking milk from those little cartons like you get in the school cafeteria. And they're blissfully happy at the fare.