Disney, day 2

Disney, day 2 seemed to have a more relaxed feel than day one.  I think we were better prepared for the crowds and had a feel for the park by this point.

The first thing we did differently was that we made sure we were there by "rope-drop."  That really made a big difference.  We were able to walk straight to the first ride (okay, so we took a short bathroom break on the way) and got right on the Little Mermaid ride.  From there we went to Dumbo, It's a Small World, and the Haunted Mansion with hardly a wait at all.  

We utilized the train that encircles the park a few times this day and that's a ride in itself for the kiddos.  Probably the favorite ride of the two big boys was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  We had fast passes for this ride on both of our days.  Maverick got a little scared by it the first day, probably all the loud noises throughout the dark parts and then the head rattling that happens when you are only 3, but on day 2 he wanted to ride it twice.  

The other advantage of taking little ones with you is that for all the hassle they are, they give you a "child-swap" pass for many of the rides they are too little to go on.  This meant that the big boys (and Maverick too sometimes) would get to ride all our fastpass rides (Big Thunder, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Speedway) two times in a row with little to no waiting.  Lucky ducks!  They'd ride once with Dad, Granddaddy Bob, & Mimi and then again with Dad & Me.  

We had told the boys upfront, no souvenirs.  They did good about not even asking.  We did do the pin trading thing with some pins I bought off E-Bay, but I'm not sure if we took a picture of it.  Dad allowed them to buy one pin there that somehow turned into a keychain for the two big boys, but I'm staying out of it.  After the second day we also let them get a piece of candy for the way out.  Jamison got some shortbread Mickey cookies, the middle two got lollipops, and Chandler got a Donald pez dispenser.  

Here's a family picture that we took right before heading home on the last day.

I can't wait to go again, but I imagine it will be many years before we make the trip back to Disney.

There's no need for me to blog about the ride home.  Derek had to stay another 5 days in Orlando for work, so my parents and I drove back (in 2 cars) on Monday.  Luckily, my mom rode with me to throw food at the children, change the DVD, and help me cope with a crying Jamison.  We were in the car from 8 a.m. till 6:30 p.m.  We only stopped twice (lunch & dinner) and I thought we did pretty good.  Not something I want to do again.  I really just don't like driving (with crying children for several hours on end).