Day Two of our Disneyland adventure started out with breakfast at the Storyteller's Cafe where we were greeted by Chip in the lobby. They have the more woodsy characters wandering about the restaurant & have fun stuff like playing follow the leader. Mark & Z both got the buffet breakfast & I ordered eggs benedict because that's all I eat at the buffet anyway. :) Our table was visited by Turk from Tarzan, Koda from Brother Bear, & Br'er Fox.
We decided to walk through Downtown Disney this time instead of entering via the Monorail so we could make the morning walk up Main Street. After saying "hallo" to Burt from Mary Poppins, we took a photo with Mickey and moseyed up Main Street to the new Jolly Holiday Bakery & Cafe in search of caffeine. The decor at the new Mary Poppins themed bakery is lovely and I definitely need a stained glass penguin window somewhere in my house.
While drinking our tasty beverages, Z decided that despite the chance of rain she really wanted to have her face painted over by the Princess Fantasy Faire so we set off for Fantasyland. The line for the PFF was the shortest I had *ever* seen (it ended up being about 12-15 minutes) and we could not pass up that opportunity. We visited with Belle who told us that Ariel was going to teach her how to swim after seeing Z decked out in her Ariel outfit. The other princess at the time was Ariel herself. They had a little chat, we snapped some pics and were on our way to the face painting. Z chose a unicorn mask that turned out great. The gal even moved the unicorn so it wouldn't be hidden under unruly long bangs (they are growing out to be more easily incorporated into a pony tail for parade season).
Now that Z was happily painted, we ventured into Toon Town where Mark & she played around and rode Gadget's Go Coaster while I took a break to rest my feet & spin for a bit.
Once Toon Town had been thoroughly explored we went back toward Fantasyland and had a dilemma on whether to ride Mad Tea Party or King Arthur's Carousel. Chivalry won out over madness. After dismounting our steeds, I noticed they already have some lovely tulips blooming.
At this point we were approaching lunch time and decided to meet our friends at the French Market in New Orleans Square. On the walk toward Big Thunder Ranch it started to sprinkle. By the time we reached the Mark Twain dock it was coming down pretty hard & was time to pull out the umbrella. Lunch was nice and after we parted so the littler one could go back to the hotel for her nap. We decided it was time to board a boat for a salty adventure at sea. After the ride I found some plunder in Pieces of Eight that had to be added to my treasure.
The rain clouds moved on and did not return leaving us with a lovely, breezy afternoon on the Rivers of America. We arrived between sailings of the Mark Twain steamboat and were able to ride up in the pilot's cabin where we signed the log book, signaled the docks with bell & whistle, and had Z steer us on our voyage. Upon safe return to the docks we were presented with a pilot's certificate. Since piloting a steamboat is hungry work we stopped in at the Golden Horseshoe to split a mint chip sundae.
After venturing through the past, it was time to move on to the future and visit Tomorrowland. As a perk of staying on property, we received three super fast passes that were good for two immediate boarding fast passes per person. I used the first one for a ride on Star Tours while Mark & Z took a rocket ride on the Astro Orbiter. The new Star Tours is such a great ride and this round took me & my fellow travelers to the Wookie planet, through an asteroid belt fleeing from Boba Fett, and through the dilapidated Death Star before shakily settling back down at the rebel base.
Afterward we took a quick ride through Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters and then took the Monorail back to the Downtown Disney station to take a break at the hotel & get ready for our next adventure: dinner at the Napa Rose chef's counter. Thus ended day two in the parks and the dinner experience definitely deserves its own post.
