Day 2

This was the view from the big picture windows in the concierge lounge this morning during breakfast. Gorgeous, isn't it? I didn't take many photos with my iPhone today, so I won't have any others to share, at least not until I get home.

We had breakfast around 8am. Patrick woke up the big boys too. The little ones had been up for a while. I finally got up when Natalie told me they were hungry.

We brought our jackets with us to the Magic Kingdom, but it warmed up very quickly. It was very crowded so we didn't get to do too much. We started out on Main Street. We were about to get one of the Disney photographers to take a family photo in front of Cinderella's Castle, but we had to wait for the horse-driven trolley to pass by. Well, while we were waiting, the horse decided to take a dump right next to where we were. Natalie and Eric got the biggest kick out of that!

Next, we stopped off in front of the castle to watch a show then proceeded to go to Tomorrowland. Everyone seemed the most interested in the rides and shows there. Our first show was the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. The wait was only about 10 minutes and even Eric laughed at the jokes. Natalie wanted to go to Stitch's Great Escape next while the boys wanted to go to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. The wait there was 30 minutes, which wasn't bad, but they decided to get a Fast Pass instead so we could meet back up with Patrick and Natalie to go in together.

In the meantime, the big boys went to Space Mountain while Eric and I enjoyed one of the "street parties" with music, dancing, and hula hoops. Chip and Dale were there along with Stitch. Eric was mostly watching until Pluto arrived. He seemed drawn to Pluto and wanted to get a picture with him--we did. After that Eric came alive and started playing with the hula hoops. This was about when Patrick and Natalie joined us.

We all ended up meeting for lunch. Anthony got a burger and chili cheese fries but made a big deal out of how he was being "healthy" by choosing apples instead of fries. Then it was time to use our Buzz Lightyear Fast Passes.

The biggest story with that ride was that Patrick beat Anthony's score pretty handily, with about 178,000 versus Anthony's 138,000. Eric brought up the rear with 700 points. We all had a blast, though. That is definitely one of our favorite rides time after time.

Next we voted to go to Adventureland and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride or at least everyone except Alex who hung out in the gift shop instead. The wait was 40 minutes but the line went quickly. We didn't even have time to sit down when there were chairs available. Eric seemed very tired at first, asking to be carried, but by the end of the ride, he was singing "Yo ho ho! A pirate's life for me!"

Anthony and Alex stayed while the rest of us went back to the hotel. Eric and Natalie really wanted to play in the sand and swim in the pool. Melissa arrived soon after so Emily was able to play too. Anthony texted me soon after to say that they were coming back because the lines were too long and their legs were tired.

The little ones were outside for a long time before we all headed to our rooms. We relaxed there until it was time to go to the Hoop De Doo Revue dinner scheduled for 8:30. We got there early to be sure but the trip by boat took about a good 45 minutes or so.

The dinner was really fun. Patrick joked that Anthony could tell his friends that they served actual buckets of food. Eric had a shocked look on his face when the entertainers walked in singing and banging drums. He seemed to really enjoy himself at first, but after he ate he was ready to go home. He rapidly deteriorated to the point where he was trying to sleep all curled up in his chair and was almost in tears because it was "too loud". I was tired anyway, so I took him home a few minutes before the show ended. Natalie wasn't doing well either and we saw her "piano face" during the last part of the show.

Anthony and Alex stopped off at the Magic Kingdom on the way back. They only had time for one ride--Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, one of their favorites. The wait time was 50 minutes with some added delay, but it had been 90 minutes earlier, so they were happy to be able to ride.

We have another big day planned for tomorrow. We're headed to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure especially Harry Potter World. I hope the little ones (and the big ones too) do okay after our long day today.