diff --git a/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/mysql2_adapter.rb b/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/mysql2_adapter.rb
index 8d720e5..3de2d0e 100644
--- a/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/mysql2_adapter.rb
+++ b/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/mysql2_adapter.rb
@@ -243,6 +243,11 @@ module ActiveRecord
         connect
       end
 
+      # this is set to true in 2.3, but we don't want it to be
+      def requires_reloading?
+        false
+      end
+
       def disconnect!
         unless @connection.nil?
           @connection.close
@@ -564,6 +569,7 @@ module ActiveRecord
       private
         def connect
           @connection = Mysql2::Client.new(@config)
+          configure_connection
         end
 
         def configure_connection