~We Are Flying 1000 Miles to Run 13?!?-NEW TRIP REPORT LINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CAStevens218]

Hi Everybody!! Welcome to my 2nd trip report! I am sooooo excited to share my trip with everyone on the Dis!

This was a different kind of trip for my fiance (Ben) and I for a couple of reasons. First, my dad and brother were along to join in the fun this time! Second, the motivation behind the trip was for my dad and I to run the half marathon!

We were in Disney World from Friday January 6, 2012 until Saturday January 14, 2012. We stayed at Pop Century and visited all four Disney parks, Blizzard Beach, Universal Islands of Adventure and the Kennedy Space Center.

So, without further ado, meet the cast!

On the left is Ben, my fiance. I am next, and after me comes my brother, Dan. On the far right is my dad!

This was our first vacation as a family with Ben along, and our first family vacation in quite a while! My dad and I go camping every summer, and we do plenty of things together, but we hadn't actually taken a family vacation since we visited family in Greece in 2005!!

So, here we go! I hope you all will join me as I relive our amazing trip!! I took almost 1000 pictures, so there will be plenty to look at!!!!

 

[CAStevens218]

Day 1
An Eventful Travel Morning

Marathon Weekend Expo

Lunch at Downtown Disney

An Evening at Hollywood Studios Part 1

An Evening at Hollywood Studios Part 2

Day 2
Running the Half Marathon Part 1

Running the Half Marathon Part 2

Post-Race Lunch

An Evening at the Magic Kingdom Part 1

An Evening at the Magic Kingdom Part 2

An Evening at the Magic Kingdom Part 3

Day 3
Hollywood Studios Part 1

Hollywood Studios Part 2

Afternoon Pool Break

Back to Hollywood

Day 4
Adventures in EPCOT Part 1

Adventures in EPCOT Part 2

Day 5
Magic Kingdom Fun

Magic Kingdom Fun Part 2

Blizzard Beach

Wishes

Day 6
Kennedy Space Center

Cocoa Beach

Wishes Take 2

Day 7
Islands of Adventure Part 1 - Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Islands of Adventure Part 2 - Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, Super Hero Island

Islands of Adventure Part 3 - The Incredible Hulk, Harry Potter

Islands of Adventure Part 4 - Harry Potter, Dinner

Day 8
Animal Kingdom - Part 1

Animal Kingdom - Part 2

Animal Kingdom - Part 3

Animal Kingdom - Part 4

Day 9
Last Night & Last Day


Final Thoughts & Honeymoon Plans

 

[spiroff.natasha]

Sounds like fun -- I'm in! Hoping to run the Disneyland half marathon this September.

 

[CAStevens218]

Well, I might as well jump right in!! Here is the day that we would be flying that 1000 miles...to run 13! The title comes from my dad...this was his joke as we were training for the half marathon and telling people about our trip. It stuck, and I felt like I just HAD to use if for the title!

Our day started bright and early at 3AM. The only time I don't mind hearing that alarm clock go off is for a Disney trip!!!! None of us had slept very much since we all procrastinated on our packing. We had settled down around 11PM and by the time I got to sleep, I probably only got 2.5 or 3 hours. Oh well, there was fun to be had!!

I rolled out of bed and woke everyone up by yelling "Its Disney World time!!!!!" Nobody moved so I continued to bang on doors and be generally annoying until everyone responded to me.

I packed up some last minute things and everyone else did the same. This is when our first catastrophe happened, when my dad forgot to zip his suitcase before picking it up. Here he is putting everything back in...

Gotta love packing twice!

Next, my dad started bringing suitcases outside. My brother was dragging his feet and dad was annoyed that he wasn't helping. When Ben heard, he went to bring some suitcases out and load them in the Jeep. Well...it was dark and he is not familiar with my dad's vehicle...so he didn't notice the glass part of the back door that was open and sticking up. I guess he whacked his head on it pretty good and came in with a cut right next to his eye and blood dripping down his face!

Well, we are a "suck it up" kind of family. I was on the floor wrestling with my suitcase, so when he walked in the door saying he was bleeding I didn't even look up. I heard my dad say "You are fine, wipe it off", so I knew he would live. Ben was rather offended at our lack of sympathy!!!

This morning was starting to feel a bit like Home Alone. We were all rushing around and crazy things were happening left and right. I was just hoping we wouldn't leave anyone behind!

Anyway, we finally got everyone and everything into the car and were on our way! It is about an hour drive to the airport from our house. When we got there, we decided to park in the long term garage even though it was a lot more expensive than the long term lots. We figured it was the best decision in case it snowed while we were gone. Also, our flight would be coming in at 11PM on the way home, and we knew we would be much happier to just walk over to the garage than to have to wait for a shuttle to the long term lot!

We got through security with no problems. We headed toward our gate and stopped at a Dunkin' Donuts on the way. With coffee and bagels in hand, we boarded our 630AM flight, which left right on time.

Here are some shots from the plane...in the first one you can get a glimpse of Ben's injury...

We landed in Orlando about 30 minutes before we were scheduled to arrive, so about 9AM. We went straight to the Magical Express counter, where we waited about 15 minutes for a bus to Pop.

Here is everyone waiting anxiously for the bus:

Finally, our bus arrived and we were on our way!!

The bus driver didn't play any video or cartoons on the way...we were kind of disappointed in that! We always enjoy watching classic Disney cartoons on the way to the hotel!

Oh well, the bus ride isn't the important part, the destination is!! A quick stop at Caribbean Beach and we were on our way to Pop Century!

Up next: Checking in and half marathon packet pick up!

 

[CAStevens218]

Sounds like fun -- I'm in! Hoping to run the Disneyland half marathon this September.

Yay, Welcome! I can't wait to write all about the trip!!

The Disneyland Half Marathon would be awesome! I would love to do that some day...in fact, I would love to get to Disneyland for any reason some day!

 

[a pirate's mama]

Sounds like you are off to a great start. I can't wait to read more.

 

[CAStevens218]

Sounds like you are off to a great start. I can't wait to read more.

It was an eventful start, but thankfully all the kinks got worked out before we left the house! It was smooth sailing once we pulled out of the driveway!

 

[jc040404]

You've started!!

Poor Ben. I did laugh at the "You are fine, wipe it off" anyway. So reminds me of my dad. Hope the rest of the trip is less painful for him!

Too bad about the cartoons though. Every few visits, Andrew asks me if we can fly next time so he can ride one of those buses! They look fun!

Can't wait to read about the rest!




< Blake asked me to add that. I wonder what he's trying to say..haha..

 

[CAStevens218]

You've started!!

Poor Ben. I did laugh at the "You are fine, wipe it off" anyway. So reminds me of my dad. Hope the rest of the trip is less painful for him!

Too bad about the cartoons though. Every few visits, Andrew asks me if we can fly next time so he can ride one of those buses! They look fun!

Can't wait to read about the rest!




< Blake asked me to add that. I wonder what he's trying to say..haha..

Yes, poor Ben...I laughed at him on and off for days. It was just so funny how put out he was by our reaction! I had more important things on my mind..like getting to the airport!

The Magical Express bus is pretty exciting, cartoons or not! You would probably have to drive farther to fly than you do to get to Disney World! We had a pretty interesting driver on the way home...you'll hear about him eventually!

Here's a little something for Blake!!!...

 

[CAStevens218]

Happy Almost Weekend everyone!

When I left off we were on the Magical Express on our way to Pop Century. When our bus arrived, a HUGE group was outside waiting for one of the families on our bus. I wasn't sure if they all needed to check in, but I knew I wanted to be ahead of them just in case!

I left my family to get our carry on bags from under the bus, and I headed inside to check in. There were only about 3 people in front of me, so I was at the desk before I knew it! We were checking in for a 2 night room only reservation and then, on Sunday, our 6 night free dining package would start. I asked the girl at the desk if it was possible to have a room where we would not have to move between reservations. After about 10 minutes on the phone, she was able to accomplish this for us! Not only that, but the room was ready!! At only 10:30AM!!

I thanked the cast member for her time, as I really appreciated her taking the time to help us out with our request. I found my family and shared the good news that the room was ready. We were all very excited about that because we wanted a chance to settle in a bit.

Our room was number 4256, which is in the building with the giant Play-Doh. We were facing the lake, which was perfect for us! It was nice and quiet but had quick access to the main building, the Hippy Dippy pool AND the bowling pin pool!

This little guy greeted us at the room:

We let ourselves in and got organized as much as possible. We had shipped a box of toiletries down, which the CM at the front desk had given me when I check in. We unpacked that and claimed our beds. Let me tell you right now...2 full size beds were very small for the four of us!!! Good thing we love each other!

By this point, I was ready to get out of the room!! We had to go to Wide World of Sports to get our race packets for the half marathon, so I herded everyone out of the room.

My brother and Ben ready to go:

Our first stop was the food court to look for a snack. My dad ended up picking up a bag of chips to hold him over, because we planned to introduce him to one of our Downtown Disney favorites after packet pickup!

I took some pictures while he was getting his snack...

I meant to eat one of these, but I never did!

Ben had one of these brownies at some point...it was soo good! Very moist!

Although I do not recommend the patry to the right of the brownie...my dad and brother got them because they thought there would be chocolate in the middle and were disappointed when they didn't find any!!

We headed out to the bus stop and found the signs for ESPN WWoS. It was the first bus stop when you walk out of the main building at Pop. We waited about 10 or 15 minutes for a bus, and soon we were on our way to pick up our race paperwork!

At WWoS, everything was extremely organized. There was great signage telling you exactly where you needed to go. We first had to go into one building to pick up our bib numbers. We also got the special half marathon pins we ordered here, as well as handing in our waivers.

When we walked in, we saw that everyone was organized by bib number, which was printed on our waivers. We only had to wait about 5 minutes before it was our turn. We quickly got everything we needed and were on our way to the next buliding to pick up our tshirst and goodie bags at the expo!

A quick picture on the way out...I couldn't resist, I LOVE the 7 Dwarfs!

I took a few quick pictures while we made our way to the expo...

We caught a glimpse of the 1 Mile fun run...there were sooo many kids running it!!!!!!

We made our way into the building for the expo, and this is what we saw inside:

The expo was very cool. We went and got our shirst and goodie bags first. This was organized by the size you ordered. Super quick and easy! Of course, we immediately pulled out our shirts. We LOVE them! The color is great, they are long sleeved and a great moisture wicking material. The shirts are one of the most important parts of the race for us! You'll see me wearing it in pictures later on, but it is also in the picture in the first post of this trip report!

After getting our shirts, they ushered us out a certain way, which led us to where they were selling the "I Did It" tshirts. We looked at them, but didn't love the colors of the half marathon ones, and REALLY didn't like the length of the line to pay, so we made our way out. There was a TON to look at at the expo, but we are not really into a ton of running gear, AND we were hungry, so we made our way out with minimal stops.

We made our way back to the bus stops and double checked with one of the cast members there to see if they were running a bus to Downtown Disney from WWoS. Unfortunately, they weren't, but he told us that the bus right in front of us was headed to Coronado Springs and was leaving momentarily. It was the only bus in sight, so we hopped on!!

Up next: Lunch at our favorite Downtown Disney restaurant and an evening spent riding my favorite ride!!

 

[jc040404]

Yay for not having to change rooms! That would definitely save a lot of trouble later on. Those teeny beds are a shock sometimes, huh?

I can't wait to hear about this race. Glad the shirts were so impressive.. and hope you have more pics of them!

 

[CAStevens218]

Yay for not having to change rooms! That would definitely save a lot of trouble later on. Those teeny beds are a shock sometimes, huh?

I can't wait to hear about this race. Glad the shirts were so impressive.. and hope you have more pics of them!

Changing rooms would definitely have been a pain! I purposely did not do online check in so that I could try to make sure we wouldn't have to! I'm not sure who the CM had to call, but I definitely appreciated her time and effort!

Those beds are sooo small! It was fine for me...I just push Ben out of the way but he wasn't too happy! And I know my dad and brother were squashed!!

The race was fabulous..hopefully I'll get to it in the next couple of days!

 

[pinkxray]

I'm in. I am determined to do the Princess Half in the next year or two, it just depends on how soon I can get down to FL. Dh always asks why I can't just do one in CT. Yeah, like running in CT is enough motivation to try for a half marathon.

Can't wait to read all about your trip.

 

[CAStevens218]

I'm in. I am determined to do the Princess Half in the next year or two, it just depends on how soon I can get down to FL. Dh always asks why I can't just do one in CT. Yeah, like running in CT is enough motivation to try for a half marathon.

Can't wait to read all about your trip.

Yay, welcome! Thanks for reading!!

I enjoyed your trip report as well! We are in CT too!!

The fact that the race was in Disney World was totally my motivation. I run about 5 times a week, but my normal run is 5 miles. I don't think I could have motivated myself to train for 13 if it didn't mean a trip to Disney World!

 

[CAStevens218]

Well it is freezing cold here, we got about 10 inches of snow yesterday, everyone else is watching football, and I'm sooo not interested. SO, what better way to spend the evening that updating this trip report and reminiscing about being in 75' weather a mere two weeks ago!

So, when I left off we had just finished up picking up our race numbers and shirts at the marathon expo, and we were on our way to get lunch at Downtown Disney.

What's our favorite place to eat in Downtown Disney??

Earl of Sandwich of course! The line was fairly long, it but moves very quickly here! Soon enough, we were at the front of the line!

We were paying out of pocket here, because our package with the free dining plan didn't start until Sunday. My dad and I each had the meatball sandwich, and Dan and Ben each had the Earl's Club. I had macaroni salad, Dad had potato salad and Ben had fruit. We all got fountain drinks, and discovered that they had GREAT lemonade in their soda fountain!

Everyone LOVED their food, and we left stuffed!

We decided to work off some of our food by walking around and exploring Downtown Disney.

Al the Lego creations are just so cool!

Dan was a BIG Toy Story fan as a kid! My mom painted his room with murals of all the Toy Story characters. It was a LOT of work, but it came out really amazing!!

The Characters in Flight balloon is very cool! It is something I have mixed feelings about...I get very uncomfortable with heights in situations like that...but I'm sure the view would be AMAZING!

At this point we had made it all the way over to the West Side. At some point after lunch, I had stopped at Guest Relations on the Marketplace side to see about picking up our park tickets from our package early. We wanted to hit the parks before our package started for sure!

The girl had been very nice and helpful, but had said that they did not have the machine to print the tickets at the Marketplace Guest Relations. She was nice enough to call over to the West Side location and have them print them, so that they would be ready to pick up when I got there.

We made our way over to the Guest Relations window, which is right by the windows where you get Disney Quest tickets. The tickets were printed and ready to go, so we were out of there VERY quickly!

After this, we were ready to take a short break in the room. We had been up since 3:45AM, after all, and we were running on about 3 hours of sleep!

We took the bus from the West Side stop, and were back at Pop before we knew it!

We took a short break in the room, and then Dan, Ben and I decided to venture out to a park. Dad was exhauseted and decided to stay back and take a nap. He wanted to be at the top of his game for the half marathon in the morning!

Making a decision about what park to go to was easy...I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to ride!!!!

Up Next: We hit our first park for the evening!

 

[jc040404]

Oooohhh.. Earl of Sandwich! I've wanted to try that place forever, but we've not gotten to it. The sandwiches sound pretty good!

I agree about that balloon, too. Nifty idea, but too scary high for me!

Sounds like a fun time at DTD!

 

[CAStevens218]

Oooohhh.. Earl of Sandwich! I've wanted to try that place forever, but we've not gotten to it. The sandwiches sound pretty good!

I agree about that balloon, too. Nifty idea, but too scary high for me!

Sounds like a fun time at DTD!

I highly recommend Earl of Sandwich! I have never had a sandwich there I didn't like! In fact, you will see that we will return during this trip!!

Maybe some day I will get brave and try the balloon...mayyyybe....

 

[CAStevens218]

Hi All! Forgive the interruption while I insert a real life update! After work last night Ben and I made the 2.5 hour drive to Manchester, New Hampshire to see Kelly Clarkson! We missed the tour stop in our neck of the woods during our trip, and I refuse to miss out on a KC tour, so Ben agreed to accompany me!

I wanted to share some pics from the show! I love love LOVE her!!! The show was fabulous, we were in the 7th row!!

Anyway, sorry for the interruption to our regularly scheduled programming! Hopefully there are some fellow Kelly fans out there!

I will update the trip report soon!

 

[tankgirl427]

Okay a few things I HAVE to tell you. #1 I was going to comment on how I was there at the same time. I went with my cousin from Jan 6 - 15th. but then I was reading how you said you had a 6:30am flight and got in at 9am and a 1/2 hour early and I started thinking our flight did too! Then I read the part about CT and I totally think we were on the same SW BDL flight on the 6th! How crazy is that! Except I parked in the long term lot and glad to see there was no snow when I got back. Once I finish my report from December I will be starting on my January TR and we'll have to look for each other in the photos! Congrats on the half marathon!

 

[jc040404]

How fun! Glad you had a great time at your concert!!