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.

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.

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

Non-traditional things to do in the Disney Parks

There are tons of fun things to do in Disney World that everyone knows about – however, one of the great things about the theme parks is that there are so many hidden treasures that not everyone knows about!  If you’re visiting Disney World but you want to check out what else there is to do aside from the headliner rides and restaurants, here are some suggestions – hopefully you can discover something new on your next trip!

Make a wish at Cinderella’s wishing well – it only takes a moment, but it’s like a private little magical moment.  Find Cinderella’s wishing well, pull out a penny, and make a wish!  This is something fun to do with kids, but it’s also sweet with couples or even just by yourself.  After all, it’s Disney World – if you wish hard enough, it’s sure to come true!

Ride those rides you absolutely never go on – everyone has them.  Maybe you’ve never done some attractions, or maybe it’s just been awhile since you went on them.   Instead of heading straight to Space Mountain or Toy Story Mania, take a moment to enjoy Astro Orbiter or Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream.

Thoughts on the Three Cabarellos

This follow up to Saludos Amigos really consists of three segments or shorts that are grouped together by a fairly weak storyline.  First there is a tale of a penguin that wants to live where it’s warm, then a story about a flying donkey, and finally we have the adventures of the three caballeros.

Highlights:  I really enjoyed the first two segments.  They were short, sweet, and funny.  Everything that you’d expect from a Disney short – I especially love the one about a penguin who can’t stand the cold and tries to move up where it’s warm.  There were two bonus shorts at the end, which I really enjoyed.  The first one was about Donald finding the fountain of youth, and it was hilarious.  The other was about Pluto and it was pretty good.

Low points:  The three segments of the movie are grouped together by a fairly weak storyline.  I didn’t really love the second half of the movie, which was the main focus.  Basically, Jose and Panchito take Donald Duck on a tour of Latin America, stopping in various cities and learning a few tidbits. And Donald did not come off in the best light.  He was chasing down women left and right, desperate for a kiss, didn’t really matter from who.  And once he gets his kiss the movie turns really freaky.  I mean, it had a storyline and for the most part made sense up until then, but all of the sudden things just go psychedelic.  Basically Donald is high from the kiss that he received, and sees singing women in flowers, in the sky, and starts dancing with some cacti.  Basically the whole time I was sitting there wondering, “What the heck is going on?”

December 2014 monthly round up

I feel like a lot has been happening lately in the world of Disney!  Some interesting and exciting announcements have come out about both the parks and films.  And as the holidays approach, there are always fun things happening!

Disney in your Day News

We are right in the middle of another restaurant tournament – this time for signature and character dining!  If you haven’t placed your votes for Round 2 yet, be sure to check that out now.  I’m also in the middle of Glass Slipper Challenge training, and though it’s a little rougher than last time I’m still getting through it.  I have two more running related reviews to put up, both of which I’m super excited about.  And there will certainly be some holiday themed posts coming this month!

Spice Road Table review

I will first up admit that this review will be a little difficult to write – the food we had was all very good, but the portion sizes were super small and just didn’t seem worth the price to us. But it was new and we wanted to try it out, so we headed here for lunch last February.

The seating area, out on the patio, is very nice. I love the look of it – it’s well decorated and you do of course have a great view out over the lagoon. We got lunch around 11:30 and it was almost completely empty at that point.  I imagine a table right on the water would be really nice, as you get an awesome view of the Lagoon.

I decided to try the white wine flight, which has three different types of wine that you can see below. These glasses were pretty tiny.  I enjoyed them and found them all to be pretty light and pleasant. I don’t think one really stood out to me as a big favorite, but they were nice.  My husband had a red wine that was described as very sweet, called the “King of Hearts”.  He liked it, it was very smooth, but not as sweet as he was hoping. He enjoys a really good sweet red wine. JamJar sweet shiraz that we had at Jiko is his favorite wine of all time.