USA Day 2 – Shopping at Disney Springs

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I was awake at 7am after a good 8 hours sleep, feeling a whole lot better and more refreshed. Athena had awoken just before me. Kevin got up around 8am and we woke Christy at 9am, when Kevin and Athena went in search of breakfast. I showered and dressed while they were gone. The returned with Starbucks and my longed for tea (I hadn’t had any since we left home). I also had a nice breakfast wrap with spinach and feta.

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After breakfast we checked out of the Caribe Royal,

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headed to Disney Springs, arriving around 11am.

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It has changed so much since we were last here in 2012 and is absolutely gorgeous. I love the new parking garages. We parked in lime but came out the wrong way – onto the road – and got in trouble by one of the security guards (not major trouble just told to follow the signs to the walkway).

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Our first shop was the World of Disney and we were there for a good hour – having fun checking out all the goodies. Athena was so excited and bought quite a bit of stuff. I was super impressed with the range of sizes (so much more in large sizes than 4 years ago). I just bought a stuffed Eeyore and Kevin bought some shortbread and a t-shirt. Christy left empty handed.
We had to quickly leave and pay when I realised it was fast approaching our reservation time at the Rainforest Cafe. And after an hour on our feet both Athena and myself were in need of a rest.

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Luckily we were seated quite quickly but I’d forgotten how loud the restaurant is. Luckily Athena had their headphones to wear. We’re going to see if we can get some concert earplugs (I’d actually ordered some at home but they hadn’t arrived in time).

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I had the usual China Island Chicken Salad without the chicken and it was just as amazing as I remembered.

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The kids were able to able to order kids meals -which I thought was really great and not normally allowed in Australia.

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We all really enjoyed our food – just as well since it cost us US$90. I don’t know how people afford to eat out all the time at WDW unless they are on a dining package – we only have two sit down meals planned. Of course, the bad Aussie dollar doesn’t help because converted lunch lost us about $120!!!
We then to visit more shops and got to buy our Magic bands for the parks, which we’ll use for park entry and fast passes.

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After an hour I made sure we stopped to have a short rest before a few more shops.

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By 3pm we decided we’d had enough and all wanted a drink.

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So we headed to the Hanger Bar, which was a surprise for Kevin, as it was based on the bar in Indiana Jones (but he didn’t really remember it).

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Oh well, we still enjoyed the theming, and Kevin enjoyed his drink…

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and the prezels that he shared with me.

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We then headed back to the hotel via CVS (which I’ve heard lots about but never visited). We picked up a few things, including my favourite Choc Mint Milanos. Kevin decided to dry out his US money that had gone through the washing.

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Then it was time to head for a swim. The water was unbelieveably warm. We had a lovely time and had the pool all to ourselves.

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Back in the room we ordered room service for dinner. I got a sweet potato soup…

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and hummus sampler.

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Once again it was a late dinner and we didn’t eat until after 8pm (at home dinner is normally around 6pm).

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