Photo by Sharon J. Alfred A child has her picture taken with characters at the Disney Breakfast on Nov. 14 at the Bolling Club.

Four hundred military families came to the Bolling Club to share breakfast with their favorite Disney characters.

‘‘It was an amazing event,” said Brooke Dowling, general manager of the community⁄Club. ‘‘At first, I wanted to limit it to 200 families, but more and more just kept signing up.”

Children of all ages put on their Sunday best or dressed in fairy-tale princess outfits. Others painted whiskers on their faces and wore Mickey Mouse ears.

Amid the lighthearted laughter, guests dined on pancakes, eggs, bacon, or sausage as the numerous Disney characters circulated among the tables to greet the guests. Many Disney characters were present, including Tinkerbell, Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White, Mr. Incredible, Prince Charming, Aladdin and Buzz Lightyear.

The characters were all volunteers, and Dowling provided the costumes.

It was fortuitous casting.

‘‘We were lucky that most of the costumes fit us,” Aladdin said. ‘‘Since my costume was seemingly made for someone who was over 6 feet tall, I used a lot of duct tape.”

The duct table must have worked because the costume fit was ‘‘incredible.”

Child after child went up to their favorite character, threw their arms around him or her, and whispered, ‘‘I love you.”

One female character gushed to another, ‘‘I could do this all day.”

She said that when a child told her, ‘‘I love you,” she replied, ‘‘And I love you back.”

After a surprise visit by Santa Claus, parents and their children lined up on stage to have their pictures taken with their chosen Disney character(s).

Dowling agreed that it was a madhouse, but in a good way, as excited kids raced from one character to another.

Everyone in the Club’s management noted that even before this event started, the line of families outside snaked from the doors to the end of the building.