Disney 2015: Day 2

Going into Day 2, we knew it was going to rain. So, we came prepared with ponchos & frizzy hair :) We were headed to Magic Kingdom, and were told to get there 30 minutes before the park opened, for the Rope Drop ceremony, where a few of the characters come out and wave at everyone.

Smiling, bright & early at 7:30 am!

The ponchos came out early!

All 10 of us weren't able to secure a FastPass for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train ride, so we headed there right at 8 am when the park opened. Which worked out perfectly, since we only had to wait about 5 minutes in line!

Anderson & Nanny mining for gems

Magic Band power!

As you can see, everyone loved the ride.....well, except Nate.

I mean, seriously.....Anderson is 3 years old and didn't think the ride was scary! But Nate did. He said it was too "jerky" and that he didn't want to ride it again. Go figure!

The rain won't spoil our fun!

Thanks to the rain and the early hours, there were hardly any lines at Magic Kingdom from 8-10 am. We rode sooooo many rides those first 2 hours, with no lines. On some rides, we would get off and then go right back on. So fun!!! The Barnstormer, Dumbo, and the Mad Tea Party were some of the favorites:

It took a LOT of convincing to get Nate on these spinning teacups. But, since I am prone to motion sickness, he knew I wouldn't try to spin the tea cup any more than necessary. Lo & behold, he had fun!

Poppy was on Gibson Patrol during some of the rides :)

We met Ariel in her grotto for our first FP of the day! 

The rain cleared momentarily, and we headed over to Tomorrowland for more rides, and some snacks. Gibson got handed off quite a bit for this trip, and up next was Nanny! Clearly, she didn't mind :)

Clear the road! Crazy drivers!!

Silly selfie with my favorite 3 year old :)

Did I mention how much the stroller came in handy on this trip!?

Round #2 on Seven Dwarves Mine Train....and our little thrill seeker loved every second!

We didn't have a FastPass for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, but again, the lines were pretty short. This was yet another laser-shooting ride and everyone loved it! Some were more competitive than others (cough, Abby!), while Nanny & I just sat in our car, laughing & spinning the whole time!!

When we came out of Buzz Lightyear, it was a downpour!! So, it was time for snacks and a little rest under a shelter. Mickey pretzels for everyone!

When it was time to head back to another FastPass ride, the ponchos had to go back on. Nate found a new way to keep the hood from blowing off, while Abby let it be known that her poncho "did not look cute." #diva

The family that gets wet together, stays together!

Our next FP was for Peter Pan's Flight! It was a cute ride and not too jerky for Nate, thank goodness :) And oh my goodness......these two just had the best time all week. Tickling and giggling and playing together. Cousin BFF's!

It's a Small World....

Finally around noon, the last 2 in our party arrived - Aunt Lora & Uncle John! This was John's very first visit to Disney, so we thought we'd ease him into rides.....and started with the carousel! Ha!

Throughout each park, there were professional photographers that would take your picture. We grabbed one whenever possible. It's hard to get 12 people to smile at the same time, but I think he did pretty well!

The photographer made us do this! #corny

The Staons

For our big meal/table-service meal of the day, we left MK and headed to Wilderness Lodge for lunch. The kids loved riding the boat, and were happy it had finally stopped raining!

The Wilderness Lodge

It was nice to take a load off & sit down in the middle of the day! We had a nice, long lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe. And I wish I had taken a picture of the meals that John, Mike, and Greg ordered! It was an all-you-can-eat skillet with pulled pork, ribs, sausage, corn on the cob, chicken, mashed potatoes and shrimp. It was HUGE!

Headed back to MK for an afternoon of fun! And sun!!!!

Love these two.

Our last FP of the day was Big Thunder Mountain. We had heard it was similar to Seven Dwarves Mine Train (read: pretty tame), so we got Nate into line. But during the 10 minutes it took to get through the FP line, he was near meltdown status and insisted it was too scary. So, he & I stepped out of line at the last minute. It broke my heart to see him so upset!!! After talking for a bit, I figured out that 1) he really was scared but 2) he really just didn't want to let us down. Poor little guy. We eased up on him after that and told him he didn't have to go on anything he didn't want to.

Everyone came off the ride and I was able to go once again with Bec, Anderson, and Abby, due to Becky's rider switch pass. (Best policy ever!)

Thunder Mountain was MUCH faster than I expected, and made my tummy jump a bit. I'm SO glad Nate didn't go on it; he would have hated it!!

Lora & John split off for a little bit, to go ride Space Mountain and a few other things. So, we hit up a ride similar to Dumbo.....Magic Carpets of Aladdin ride, which is basically a pre-school ride. Nate loved it :)

Swiss Family Treehouse

Cloudy, but still pretty!

Leaving MK, to head to dinner! #favoritepark

We headed to Hollywood Studios to see the Fantasmic fireworks & lights show. There was a bit of miscommunication between me & our travel agent, so we had a hard time figuring out where to go and what the show really entailed. We finally got there, grabbed a seat, and snagged some beers even though it was freezing and rainy :) The show was great but it was just really, really windy and cold!

Becky and her family headed back to the resort to eat, because hello, it was 8 pm! The rest of us went on to Pizza Planet to grub, and warm up a bit :) 

Then, while the rest of the us headed back to the resort for bedtime, Nate & Greg decided to stay late at the park. Nate had really been looking forward to this alone time with his Daddy! They went on a few more rides, including Star Tours (again) and Muppet Vision 3D. And Miss Priss caught up on her beauty sleep :)

Day 2 was by far the longest and had the worst weather. But it was my favorite!!! We went on sooooo many rides, and made memories to last a lifetime.....