Princess Half Marathon 2015 recap

 

On the morning of February 22nd, I woke up bright and early at 2:45 am.  I thought about texting my brother Happy Birthday, but I suspected he wouldn’t appreciate the super early morning wishes!  So instead I got into my costume for the Princess Half Marathon.  I had done Princess Anna and will soon be featuring a post about how I put my costume together.  I was down to wait for the bus by 3:15. It was almost time for my very first half marathon!

Luckily, it was warmer than it had been for the Enchanted 10k the previous morning.  I still had my throwaway jacket, but I felt good with that and didn’t need anything else.  I hung out with my friends for a little bit before we headed toward the corrals.  I started in I, along with the lovely Brittany – who you might recognize if you’re a fan of fitness pages, as she is the Brittany behind the popular Brittany Eats Clean page!  I hadn’t really gotten to know her too much until this moment, but she was super sweet and I was so thankful to have someone to talk to and pass the time with before we started.

And then we started somewhere right before 6am I believe.  We ran out away from Epcot and toward the Magic Kingdom and the ticket and transportation center.  The half marathon had way more entertainment than the 10k – even where there weren’t characters there was something going on, like a band, cheerleaders, or a DJ!  And there were tons of characters.  The lines in the first half were pretty long so I didn’t stop, and in the second half I just wanted to finish so I didn’t really stop then either.  I did try to keep track of who all was out there though (list at the end of this post!)

My husband was going to be at the ticket and transportation center to spectate, but it seems he and the other husbands got a little behind schedule and I was texting him, worried that I might beat him there.  So I stopped for a couple of photos – one with the Richard Petty race car, and one in a throne they had set up near where the villains were doing their meet and greets.  And it worked out because I did manage to make it to the meeting area right around the same time as my husband!  I ran on, and he jumped on the monorail to get a spot in Magic Kingdom to see me again.

Bucket List: Be an annual passholder

One of my big goals as a Disney fan was to become an annual passholder – not only do you get certain perks and privileges, it also means that you’ll be visiting often enough to warrant getting a pass, which is always a good thing!  Coming from Pennsylvania I never really thought I would do it, but I’ve been able to work out enough trips that I’ve taken with points, shared rooms, etc. to make it financially feasible.  My first time as an AP holder was from February 2013-February 2014.  My second time I’m in the middle of right now, from October 2014-October 2015.

I really used my AP to the fullest in 2013, with five Disney trips.  I got to attend two Disney weddings that year, a DisBrides meet up with some of my best friends, a trip with my parents who hadn’t been to the World in almost 20 years, and a trip with my friend from Norway who was visiting Disney for the first time.  This time around I’ve used my AP for two trips so far – the Tower of Terror 10 miler and the Princess Half Marathon, and I’ll be back again at the end of April for a trip with friends.

March 2015 monthly round-up

February was an exciting Disney month for me as I got to spend a week down in the world!  Our trip was packed with races, great food, fun times, and even a trip over to Universal to visit Diagon Alley.  Expect to see lots of blog posts about various things from my trip.  Big Hero 6 also just recently came out on DVD (I still have to pick up my copy!).  And finally, we are gearing up for the Flower and Garden festival, which I will be attending in April!

Disney in your Day news

My Enchanted 10k recap is up on the blog, but there will be lots more to come from my week in Disney, including a recap of the Half Marathon, some dining reviews, how I made my running costumes, and more.  Anything in particular you’d be curious to hear about?  I’m also still blazing my way through that Disney bucket list and will continue to post updates on that!  We are planning to go to Disneyland in September, so I may also be posting some planning stuff.  Finally, I’m still making my way through the Disney movies – just finished Peter Pan so I’ll have my thoughts on that up shortly!

Disney News

• The new Cinderella movie comes out on March 13th, but some people are even more excited about the Frozen short before it.  Check out screenshots and details here.
• For make-up fans, MAC has released a new line of Cinderella inspired make-up.
• It’s almost Flower and Garden season!  You can see some of the merchandise that will be available, as well as the menus for the food booths!  Not to mention a look at the new Anna and Elsa topiaries.
• A new cookbook called Cooking Safari with Mickey will be out soon, featuring recipes from Animal Kingdom and the Lodge.
• Slowly but surely Avatar land at Animal Kingdom is coming along, and the Disney Parks Blog offers a sneak peek at the concept art and what we can expect.

Enchanted 10k 2015 recap

February 21st the second Enchanted 10k, and also my second time running it!  We were up bright and early, and I got into my Snow White running costume that because of the cold temperatures now had leggings and running sleeves to it.

We got on the bus around 3:30, so that we could stand around in the cold for two hours.  It was only in the low forties that morning!  I had brought a throwaway sweatshirt but I was still freezing the entire time until I started running.  There were 5 corrals, A-E, and I was in C.  Last year the corrals started about 10 minutes apart, but this time it seemed to be even longer, about 12 minutes.  I started at 5:55 am.  I planned to take it easy since I was running the half marathon the next day.

Why FastPass Plus makes me less likely to visit Disney World as often

Don’t get me wrong.  My past visit to Disney World was a great time.  I had a lot of fun.  But I’ve never been a fan of the FastPasss Plus system, and I started to realize exactly why on this trip.  That’s not to say that it’s not for everyone – I know it works really well for some people and they love it.  But I’m not crazy about it, and here’s why.

FastPass Plus makes the stand-by lines longer.

This seems to be generally true.  I don’t remember Pirates of the Caribbean ever having over a hour wait time except in extremely busy seasons.  And especially in Epcot and Hollywood Studios, people are getting fastpasses for things they wouldn’t ordinarily because of the tier system, so they either ride them when they wouldn’t otherwise or they “waste” that fastpass by making it but not using it.

I can’t get fastpasses for all of my favorite rides because of the tier system.

In Hollywood Studios, I have to choose between Toy Story Mania and Rockin’ Roller Coaster.  In Epcot, it’s between Soarin’ and Test Track.  The only way I can ride both without super long waits is to get a fastpass for one, and go to the other first thing in the morning when the lines are short.  I understand that Toy Story is so popular you used to have to get there in the morning anyway if you even wanted a fastpass, but most of the other major rides had fastpasses available at least until the afternoon.

Bucket List: Have a waffle sandwich at Sleepy Hollow

I’m not sure why I decided the waffle sandwich was special enough to have its own item on the bucket list, but it did so here we go!  I tried one of the waffle sandwiches at Sleepy Hollow, located in the Magic Kingdom, in April 2013.  I went with the nutella and fruit waffle for lunch:

Maybe it doesn’t seem like a lunch food, but it sounded like a good lunch to me! This was better than I even imagined it would be. The waffle was great, it was crisp and delicious. But for me the fruit was the real highlight – all of the fruit was super fresh and full of flavor. It was incredibly messy to eat though – I definitely made a mess It was very filling too – it held me through til dinner 5 hours later and I didn’t get get a snack when the rest of my family did in the afternoon because I was still full from the waffle! For around $6 I think it’s a really good bargain for lunch too in WDW, or as a snack to share. Keep in mind that this one is really, really sweet, so if you want something more savory for lunch you might want to go with one of the other options.

My husband had the sweet and spicy chicken waffle sandwich:

The waffle was the same good quality, and he enjoyed the rest that was on it too.  He mentioned that he really liked the level of spiciness – it stood out to him but not too much to be unbearably spicy.  This one was quite messy too, and it was difficult to eat whether you tried to pick it up or used a knife and fork.

There is also a ham, prosciutto, and swiss waffle available, and during breakfast you can get a ham and cheese omelet waffle sandwich.  Or if you’re just looking for a snack, you can get a waffle with cinnamon, waffle with strawberries and cream, or waffle with powdered sugar!

Have you tried any of the Waffles at Sleepy Hollow?  Which one is your favorite?

And check out the other items on my Disney Bucket List:

My Disney “must eat” list

When it comes to Disney, one of my favorite things is food.  Whether it’s a quick snack or a fancy sit down meal, I love all that the parks have to offer.  I religiously read the Disney Food Blog, and pin items I want to try on future visits.  But I thought it might be easiest to have a place where I can compile all of the things I want to try!  On these lists I’ve included items I have tried that I feel are “must try” for others, as well as ones that I haven’t tasted yet that I’m drooling just thinking about it!  So without further ado, here are the items on my Disney “must eat” list:

Magic Kingdom

 Epcot

Thoughts on Alice in Wonderland

Highlights:  The series of nonsensical adventures that Alice goes through are cute and captivating.  There is a lot of silliness going on here, making it a pretty funny movie.

Low points:  Well, this was a highlight too, but the movie is just silly. There’s no real consistent plot to it, and sometimes it just gets a little too ridiculous for me.  The nonsense goes on for a little too long – I prefer a little more plot in my movies, or at least memorable songs.

Music:  There are a lot of songs in this movie, but most of them are super short or else just not that interesting.  But with so many mini songs that are so well known, I’m quite surprised that nothing from Alice in Wonderland appears on my set of Disney’s Greatest Hits CDs.  You have “The Unbirthday Song,” “I’m Late,” which are the most memorable, but you also have Alice singing “In a World of My Own,” “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” and the flowers singing “All in a Golden Afternoon.”  Lots of different songs throughout the whole movie – basically every time Alice goes somewhere else or meets someone else, they sing a song.