If you think the boys looked tired in the above picture, it's because they were! We got up early on day 2 so we could make our breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey's. We had to catch a bus to Magic Kingdom and once there we boarded the monorail which took us to the Contemporary Resort where Chef Mickey's is located.
The food was delicious and we ate way too much as it was a buffet. We loved the mickey shaped waffles. However the best part of Chef Mickey's was getting to meet Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Donald. The boys were so excited to get their autographs!
this was the cute decoration on the wall we sat next to {there was cute Mickey stuff everywhere we looked}
in the middle of the autograph signing the characters broke out in song and danced and everyone was supposed to join in by twirling their napkin {FUN}
Bye bye Chef Mickey's we hope to come again soon!
After we left Chef Mickey's we did a little shopping at the Contemporary (Coby and Cale needed some swords) and then we caught a bus to Hollywood Studios. I'm sure these are the first of many bus pics as we spent lots of time on the Disney buses going to and fro!
Cale ALWAYS sat with Poppy who he said he was his best friend the entire trip! {They are two peas in a pod those two, both are ornery as can be...no wonder they get along so well!}
the boys were still SO tired from getting up so early to catch our flight the day before and then having to wake up early for breakfast {Have I mentioned that Disney is so much fun but absolutely exhausting!?!}
We arrived at Hollywood Studios and it was so crowded and hot by the time we got there. At this point I was getting concerned because Darren was miserable. He HATES crowds and has always told me that he did not want to go to Disney, but I guess I sorta guilted him into coming with us. However by day 2, I was ready to buy him a ticket home. I knew that if he couldn't suck it up soon, he was going to ruin the trip for all of us. It was awful and hard to enjoy our time at Hollywood on this day because Darren was keeping to himself which really took away our fun. (I prayed diligently about his attitude and tried to give him the space he needed. By the morning of day 3 he was {mostly} back to himself. I guess he just needed some time to accept that he was going to be stuck at Disney for the next week so he may as well make the best of it! THANK GOODNESS!!!)
I didn't take many pics of our short afternoon at Hollywood. It was just SO hot and we were still so exhausted from the day before that all we did was shop (Connor always wanted to look for cool trading pins in the shops) and ride the Tower of Terror (just me, dad, Connor and Cale...the rest of our crew were big weenies!).
Cale and Connor waiting in line
this pic is horrible but it shows the moment when Connor started to question whether he really wanted to ride it or not (he was seeking reassurance from poppy)
Cale on the other hand had no fear at all
Let me say that I love scary rides, but this was the most freaked out I have ever been on a ride. That said, I did enjoy it though! Cale LOVED it and immediately asked if we could go again. I think I finally have a dare devil that will always be willing to ride rides with mommy! YAY. Connor was done after just one ride. He did it once and never wants on it again. Dad liked it. I've never seen him ride anything that scared or bothered him.
After our ride we went back to the resort for a much needed rest. I think we slept for about 3 hours. I fell asleep in the living room while laying down with the boys.
We woke up refreshed and ready to head to Epcot as we had dinner reservations that evening.
I think we visited Epcot three times during our stay and on this night we just got a taste of what it had to offer. We arrived about two hours before our reservations so we didn't do a lot on this day (kinda like earlier at Hollywood Studios). This day was mostly about making our reservations (eating) and getting caught up on our rest in between so we could go full speed ahead in the days to come.
We spent some time looking at the beautiful grounds of Epcot (no pics on this day, but there will be tons to come as Epcot quickly became my favorite Disney park) and then headed inside a building where they had lots of fun learning activities for the boys.
the kids (along with Nina and Poppy) made their own video games which was so NEAT. They got to play them and then they emailed them to me so they can all be played on my computer once we got home.
we had to stop to look at these little cuties on the way to the restaraunt
We arrived at Coral Reef just in time, but had to wait a bit as they were running behind (this is the longest we ever had to wait while at Disney (maybe 20 minutes). The following are just some pics I took while we waited to be seated.
see D in the above pic? Told you he was crabby on this day! He did perk up once we sat down though. He needed food quick!!!
I was trying to get a pic of just mom and dad, but Cale jumped right on in! :)
We had the BEST waiter. He was awesome and we just loved eating at Coral Reef. The food was delicious and the service was impeccable. We had the Disney meal plan which meant that we had whatever we wanted as a main course (so of course we enjoyed steak at nearly every meal) and dessert with all meals. Connor was considered an adult at Disney so he also got to order steaks (or any adult entree) like us. This particular night he opted for the lobster ravioli with a milkshake as his drink, plus a yummy chocolate dessert. He was living large on the trip and he knew it!!!
Cale was wired and beyond excited about drinking from what he dubbed as cheers glasses so he repeatedly had nina, poppy and Coby doing cheers with him. It was precious! He was just so cute that night and I could tell how excited he was to be at Disney World. It was a special evening that I won't forget.
Coral Reef is underground and has a huge aquarium in it. I couldn't believe how many sharks we saw swimming in it. We were given a paper that had all the types of fish, etc that were in there and Darren had fun identifying many of them. I could not for the life of me get a good pic as it the atmosphere was dark and I just don't know how to get pics under those circumstances.
We had planned to watch Illuminations after dinner, but we didn't finish eating in time so we just got to see a few fireworks on our way out of Epcot. They were beautiful though.
So that was day 2 at Disney. Day three will be done sometime in the future. :)
After lunch the boys went back to the hotel to rest for a bit. Mom and I stayed and shopped at Downtown Disney for the afternoon. It was unbelievable. They had some really neat shops, beautiful water views, music and gorgeous gardens. I enjoyed having some girl time with mom.
Mom and I went back, picked up the boys (minus Darren who spent the entire afternoon and night sleeping...what a party pooper!) and we were off to the Magic Kingdom for the evening.
