Family Reunion Trip Redoux - Day 2

**Paiges** · 09-19-2015, 06:46 PM

Me and DH
DD – 15 and 14
DS – 12
And 24 more grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, and cousins galore!

Today was our first MK day! We arrived around 9:15, had FP+ for Splash Mtn, Space Mtn and 7 Dwarfs, also rode Small World, BTMRR. I thought 7 Dwarfs was super cute, but the rest of my family were a little disappointed. They are more for thrill rides. Met up with more family, and all ate at Cosmic Ray’s for lunch. I had the burger, which was surprisingly tasty, with green beans that were also good, and mango gelato for dessert. I am not a fan of the taste of sugar substitute, and I am pretty sure the mango gelato had some, but the mango flavor was strong enough to mask it. I enjoyed it!

I realized I had not excused the kids from school when I got unexcused absence emails, so I called when we were in line for Barnstormer. Not sure if they could hear the music in the background?!

Our whole big group headed back to Splash Mtn to ride together. We rode rides all afternoon, lines were hit and miss, then met up at ‘Ohana for dinner. They were able to accommodate our group of 26 at one long table. The food was exceptional – from the pineapple bread to start, to the bread pudding to end. We had beef, shrimp, and chicken. It was all good, and all cooked well, but the seasoning on the chicken was my favorite. The dipping sauces were also delicious. The gal playing and singing was a fun entertainer and got some laughs when she sang to the tween and teen boys in our group. And I should reiterate – the bread pudding was to die for!

After dinner, part of our group went to Night of Joy. The number of people was astounding! One of the three stages was located inside (or behind?) the Carousel of Progress and they limited the number of people they admitted to the area. We were able to get in and watch Francesca Battistelli perform her second set. It was a great show. Her voice sounded better in person than on the radio. We also heard various other groups, and rode some rides without many lines. We did not stay all night, but headed home around midnight. I had read some negative reports on Night of Joy beforehand, but for us it was a good experience. Yes, there were a LOT of people, but we had no problem finding a spot to stand/sit or hearing the music, and everyone was polite and well mannered.