Dining with a Rat at Epcot’s Les Chefs de France

Have I ever told you about dining with a rat at Disney World? And can I admit something to everyone? I loved it! Disney Parks are pretty much the only place in the world where everyone expects to see mice, big and small. In fact, we relish in the idea of seeing the Mouse, and all his friends. We even go so far as wanting to hug and take pictures with them.

While dining one fine afternoon at Les Chefs de France, and enjoying some of the world’s finest escargot, we happen to stumble upon an encounter with a particular rat. If you have seen the movie “Ratatouille!,” you might remember the lovable character Remy.

As we dined with our then 1.5 year old son, Bug, a server and his cart approached the table to show off some of his finest fruit and cheeses for sampling. When the lid of the tray was removed, there looking back at us was a RAT! Like typical fashion of being in the land of make believe, we somehow found this type of service totally acceptable, because, well, we were at Disney. Obviously anywhere else in the world, and we might have been heading for the hills.

Remy moved, and made noise, while entertaining each table and showing off the fine assortment of delicacies (hey some people have never tried a grape). After a minute or two, and several photo opportunities, the server carefully placed the lid back on the tray and proceeded to roll the cart to the next server.

One might expect that you teach a child to not want to go near a rat, for fear of the unexpected. However, Bug, proceeded to cry his heart out when the server covered up Remy. It was far from what we expected from our shy and timid little boy when it came to new experiences. Normally it takes him several minutes to warm up to a new situation and enjoy the moment. However, Remy instantly warmed his heart, and won him over.

As long as the server left the lid off the cart, Bug was fine. However, it was difficult to enjoy the rest of our meal as he had his eyes fixated on Remy as he meandered across the room. It was another moment that was unexpected and sits happily in the back of our minds.

Please refrain from sending any “rats” to our house, as we are now back to reality where their presence is unacceptable. 🙂