A Disney-Addicted mom plans an August, 2013 Autotrain Trip for 7! *Big Update! 11/19*

[DrMomof3]

For the record... Registration for the 2014 Disney World Marathon Weekend opened today with early registration a week ago. They are offering a few new things this time: They added a 10k on Friday and moved the 5k to Thursday. And they have a new challenge called the Dopey. It's the 5k on Thursday, 10k on Friday, 1/2 marathon on Saturday, and full marathon on Sunday. Although I was terribly tempted to try this new challenge, I managed to restrain myself. In January, 2014 I will run the 10k on Friday with Tom and the full marathon on Sunday.
It's always fun to do the most challenging combination of the weekend but I realized a few things:
1. Racing 4 days in a row (and training to race 4 days in a row) would put me at risk for injury.
2. Waking up at 2:30am for 4 straight days is hardly my idea of a vacation. Especially when you then spend the afternoon recovering for the next day's race.
3. I really like to try to run my best when I race. If I were to do 4 days in a row, I'd have to run really , really slowly to conserve energy for the next event. I'd prefer to work on getting faster at the marathon distance than run slowly in 4 races.

We're still deciding where to stay - maybe Beach Club or Poly.

Amanda

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

For the record... Registration for the 2014 Disney World Marathon Weekend opened today with early registration a week ago. They are offering a few new things this time: They added a 10k on Friday and moved the 5k to Thursday. And they have a new challenge called the Dopey. It's the 5k on Thursday, 10k on Friday, 1/2 marathon on Saturday, and full marathon on Sunday. Although I was terribly tempted to try this new challenge, I managed to restrain myself. In January, 2014 I will run the 10k on Friday with Tom and the full marathon on Sunday.
It's always fun to do the most challenging combination of the weekend but I realized a few things:
1. Racing 4 days in a row (and training to race 4 days in a row) would put me at risk for injury.
2. Waking up at 2:30am for 4 straight days is hardly my idea of a vacation. Especially when you then spend the afternoon recovering for the next day's race.
3. I really like to try to run my best when I race. If I were to do 4 days in a row, I'd have to run really , really slowly to conserve energy for the next event. I'd prefer to work on getting faster at the marathon distance than run slowly in 4 races.

We're still deciding where to stay - maybe Beach Club or Poly.

Amanda

Way to go Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Way to go Amanda

Thank you!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

We've reached that unfortunately stage in trip planning where: The travel arrangements are done (auto train tickets purchased), the hotel is booked (although I would consider moving to either BCV or BLT if an AP discount comes out), ADRs are made, and there isn't much left to do.

I need to start buying Disney gift cards to pay for meals. We just paid a small fortune for summer camp and taxes so I'm waiting to replenish the coffers a bit before buying the gift cards.

I think I want family t-shirts for our trip. I've looked on Etsy and I just haven't seen anything I love. Any ideas? We have a (almost) 68 year old grandfather, two 40-something year old parents (Tom and me), a cool 29 year old nanny, and - of course - the 3 kids. I'd love some creative ideas!

Also, we're throwing around the idea of heading down to Washington, D.C. on Friday morning and trying to go to the Smithsonian Museum (the air and space one since Nathaniel is obsessed with outer space). We'd then spend the night in D.C. and have an easy drive to the auto train on Saturday morning. Thoughts?

What else should I be thinking about as I plan this trip????

Amanda

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

For the record... Registration for the 2014 Disney World Marathon Weekend opened today with early registration a week ago. They are offering a few new things this time: They added a 10k on Friday and moved the 5k to Thursday. And they have a new challenge called the Dopey. It's the 5k on Thursday, 10k on Friday, 1/2 marathon on Saturday, and full marathon on Sunday. Although I was terribly tempted to try this new challenge, I managed to restrain myself. In January, 2014 I will run the 10k on Friday with Tom and the full marathon on Sunday.
It's always fun to do the most challenging combination of the weekend but I realized a few things:
1. Racing 4 days in a row (and training to race 4 days in a row) would put me at risk for injury.
2. Waking up at 2:30am for 4 straight days is hardly my idea of a vacation. Especially when you then spend the afternoon recovering for the next day's race.
3. I really like to try to run my best when I race. If I were to do 4 days in a row, I'd have to run really , really slowly to conserve energy for the next event. I'd prefer to work on getting faster at the marathon distance than run slowly in 4 races.

We're still deciding where to stay - maybe Beach Club or Poly.

Amanda

Will you be doing the Glass Slipper Challenge Amanda? I won't since this is my first half and I just want to focus on the half, but I'm guessing the following year I will want to do it!

 

[DrMomof3]

Will you be doing the Glass Slipper Challenge Amanda? I won't since this is my first half and I just want to focus on the half, but I'm guessing the following year I will want to do it!

I think so. I haven't 100% gotten the ok from my husband but I think he's saying yes. The plan is to have Nathaniel and Tom run the 10k with me.

Amanda

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Cant help with the t-shirts Amanda as my lot would never agree There was a day on last years hols when they (3 kids) accidently wore the same coloured shorts and t-shirts and the horror on the oldest 2's faces was priceless The teenager positively sprinted back to the room to change (you know just in case he met anyone he knew 6000 miles from home).
I do love the idea of travelling the day before to visit the museum and make getting the autotrain easier. We always head off the day before so that we only have the 9 hr flight on our arrival day and it really makes things go much more smoothly. Plus you get the added bonus of extending your holiday for a day with minimal expense (at least in our case as it just costs 1 night in airport hotel extra). Definitely makes for happier travellers all round

 

[DrMomof3]

Cant help with the t-shirts Amanda as my lot would never agree There was a day on last years hols when they (3 kids) accidently wore the same coloured shorts and t-shirts and the horror on the oldest 2's faces was priceless The teenager positively sprinted back to the room to change (you know just in case he met anyone he knew 6000 miles from home).
I do love the idea of travelling the day before to visit the museum and make getting the autotrain easier. We always head off the day before so that we only have the 9 hr flight on our arrival day and it really makes things go much more smoothly. Plus you get the added bonus of extending your holiday for a day with minimal expense (at least in our case as it just costs 1 night in airport hotel extra). Definitely makes for happier travellers all round

I don't imagine we have many years of wearing family shirts left. Especially since Nathaniel can be so prickly.
I'm going to look into hotels in D.C. and see what works out. We may just leave Friday night (oh the traffic!) because Tom and I are taking the week off of work already...

Amanda

 

[starann]

We've reached that unfortunately stage in trip planning where: The travel arrangements are done (auto train tickets purchased), the hotel is booked (although I would consider moving to either BCV or BLT if an AP discount comes out), ADRs are made, and there isn't much left to do.

I need to start buying Disney gift cards to pay for meals. We just paid a small fortune for summer camp and taxes so I'm waiting to replenish the coffers a bit before buying the gift cards.

I think I want family t-shirts for our trip. I've looked on Etsy and I just haven't seen anything I love. Any ideas? We have a (almost) 68 year old grandfather, two 40-something year old parents (Tom and me), a cool 29 year old nanny, and - of course - the 3 kids. I'd love some creative ideas!

Also, we're throwing around the idea of heading down to Washington, D.C. on Friday morning and trying to go to the Smithsonian Museum (the air and space one since Nathaniel is obsessed with outer space). We'd then spend the night in D.C. and have an easy drive to the auto train on Saturday morning. Thoughts?

What else should I be thinking about as I plan this trip????

Amanda

Do you have a Target Visa? They sell Disney GC and if you use the Target Visa (or debit card which is tied to your checking) you get 5%off. Not a whole lot, but it's something. I also try to fill inexpensive scripts there (you fill 5 and get a 5% coupon that can be combined) too.

How about a Dwarf theme, but everyone could have a different dwarf?

 

[DrMomof3]

Do you have a Target Visa? They sell Disney GC and if you use the Target Visa (or debit card which is tied to your checking) you get 5%off. Not a whole lot, but it's something. I also try to fill inexpensive scripts there (you fill 5 and get a 5% coupon that can be combined) too.

How about a Dwarf theme, but everyone could have a different dwarf?

I don't have a Target Visa but that's good to know.
I like the Dwarf theme. Hmmm....

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

So I'm starting to obsess about hotels. I emailed my TA to keep an eye on any AP discounts for our trip. I think I'd rather be at BLT or maybe BCV. The advantage to BLT is the extra bathroom and the extra bed (the living room has a sleeper sofa and a sleeper chair). We'll see if any discounts come out. I don't think we'll need to change dining plans at all - especially since we'll have a car and can take turns being the designated driver at night. I'm sure Boardwalk Villas are nice but I'm worried that we'll be crowded.
Thoughts?

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Room-only discounts came out for our travel dates and there are no 2-bedroom villas available at BLT or BCV. We'll stay at Boardwalk. I'm not unexcited about Boardwalk but I would have preferred one of the other 2. Are there any resort options that I'm forgetting?

Amanda

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Room-only discounts came out for our travel dates and there are no 2-bedroom villas available at BLT or BCV. We'll stay at Boardwalk. I'm not unexcited about Boardwalk but I would have preferred one of the other 2. Are there any resort options that I'm forgetting?

Amanda

Bummer about BLT and BCV. Do you think something would open up later from a cancellation?
Sorry I'm the wrong person to help with resorts. We never stay in villas.
Good luck! I'm sure it'll all work out. It always seems to.

We didn't think we were going to be able to get the Wishes dessert party and we did for my mom's b-day!!!

 

[DrMomof3]

Bummer about BLT and BCV. Do you think something would open up later from a cancellation?
Sorry I'm the wrong person to help with resorts. We never stay in villas.
Good luck! I'm sure it'll all work out. It always seems to.

We didn't think we were going to be able to get the Wishes dessert party and we did for my mom's b-day!!!

I don't know why I'm having such resort angst this time. We were going to stay in a Treehouse initially and I was psyched about that. But then I realized that we wanted to be walking distance. My only worry about Boardwalk is that the 2 bedroom villas are smaller than BLT. We'll have 2 showers which should be plenty. There's no solid reason for my angst.

Amanda

 

[cogero]

We stayed in a 2 br in march and it was nice. I didn't miss the extra bathroom at all.

 

[DrMomof3]

We stayed in a 2 br in march and it was nice. I didn't miss the extra bathroom at all.

If it were just the 5 of us, I wouldn't be worried at all. But we're bringing my step-dad and my nanny so there will be 4 adults and 3 children....

Amanda

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I honestly think you will be fine I'm sure it's just because you've had to switch resorts and haven't quite got your head around it yet Just keep breathing and it will all come out ok in the end! If the worst comes to the worst you can get ready first in the morning and make a break for the boardwalk when no-one is looking

 

[momto3gr8boys]

I'm trying to catch up on your PTR! I love your ADR choices, and you will love your date night at Flying Fish!

For the record... Registration for the 2014 Disney World Marathon Weekend opened today with early registration a week ago. They are offering a few new things this time: They added a 10k on Friday and moved the 5k to Thursday. And they have a new challenge called the Dopey. It's the 5k on Thursday, 10k on Friday, 1/2 marathon on Saturday, and full marathon on Sunday. Although I was terribly tempted to try this new challenge, I managed to restrain myself. In January, 2014 I will run the 10k on Friday with Tom and the full marathon on Sunday.
It's always fun to do the most challenging combination of the weekend but I realized a few things:
1. Racing 4 days in a row (and training to race 4 days in a row) would put me at risk for injury.
2. Waking up at 2:30am for 4 straight days is hardly my idea of a vacation. Especially when you then spend the afternoon recovering for the next day's race.
3. I really like to try to run my best when I race. If I were to do 4 days in a row, I'd have to run really , really slowly to conserve energy for the next event. I'd prefer to work on getting faster at the marathon distance than run slowly in 4 races.

We're still deciding where to stay - maybe Beach Club or Poly.

Amanda

I think you made the smart choice. I am amazed (and appalled ) at the number of people attempting the Dopey. These are people who haven't run three miles yet. I'll admit I've been watching some threads like a bad train wreck - I just can't look away

As for the hotel...you can't go wrong with either! If it's going to be the five of you in one room, I'd go for the Poly. You'll have more room and chances are the kids wouldn't be using SAB all that much in January.

We've reached that unfortunately stage in trip planning where: The travel arrangements are done (auto train tickets purchased), the hotel is booked (although I would consider moving to either BCV or BLT if an AP discount comes out), ADRs are made, and there isn't much left to do.

I need to start buying Disney gift cards to pay for meals. We just paid a small fortune for summer camp and taxes so I'm waiting to replenish the coffers a bit before buying the gift cards.

I think I want family t-shirts for our trip. I've looked on Etsy and I just haven't seen anything I love. Any ideas? We have a (almost) 68 year old grandfather, two 40-something year old parents (Tom and me), a cool 29 year old nanny, and - of course - the 3 kids. I'd love some creative ideas!

Also, we're throwing around the idea of heading down to Washington, D.C. on Friday morning and trying to go to the Smithsonian Museum (the air and space one since Nathaniel is obsessed with outer space). We'd then spend the night in D.C. and have an easy drive to the auto train on Saturday morning. Thoughts?

What else should I be thinking about as I plan this trip????

Amanda

I think heading down to D.C. early is a great idea. It will break up the trip and the museums are great. As for the t-shirts, with the exception of once for a Pirate and Princess party, I have never done them. That time we just made our own with printable iron on transfer paper. I wanted to make them for pirate night for our cruise, but I never got around to it and I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the groans when I pulled them out . Turns out, not many people had them anyway. But search images online and see if something pops up. Squirrel4569 (I think that's who it was - it was definitely on the August boards) did really cute tie dyed Mickey shirts with dinner plates. They were adorable, and more subtle than some others I've seen. Hmmmm.....maybe I can get the family on board with a tie dye night....

 

[DrMomof3]

I honestly think you will be fine I'm sure it's just because you've had to switch resorts and haven't quite got your head around it yet Just keep breathing and it will all come out ok in the end! If the worst comes to the worst you can get ready first in the morning and make a break for the boardwalk when no-one is looking

I'm sure it'll be fine, too. I love the whole Boardwalk area and DHS is quickly becoming a favorite park in our family (I'm loyal to MK but DHS has certainly grown on me). The kids will mostly bathe at night and I'm super quick in the morning.

I'm trying to catch up on your PTR! I love your ADR choices, and you will love your date night at Flying Fish!



I think you made the smart choice. I am amazed (and appalled ) at the number of people attempting the Dopey. These are people who haven't run three miles yet. I'll admit I've been watching some threads like a bad train wreck - I just can't look away

As for the hotel...you can't go wrong with either! If it's going to be the five of you in one room, I'd go for the Poly. You'll have more room and chances are the kids wouldn't be using SAB all that much in January.



I think heading down to D.C. early is a great idea. It will break up the trip and the museums are great. As for the t-shirts, with the exception of once for a Pirate and Princess party, I have never done them. That time we just made our own with printable iron on transfer paper. I wanted to make them for pirate night for our cruise, but I never got around to it and I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the groans when I pulled them out . Turns out, not many people had them anyway. But search images online and see if something pops up. Squirrel4569 (I think that's who it was - it was definitely on the August boards) did really cute tie dyed Mickey shirts with dinner plates. They were adorable, and more subtle than some others I've seen. Hmmmm.....maybe I can get the family on board with a tie dye night....

Thanks for the support on ADRs!
I totally know what you mean about watching the train wreck! I know some people doing the Dopey as their first marathon who will prepare appropriately and probably do just fine. On the other hand a full marathon is a different animal from a half marathon and I think there will be many disasters out there! I'm very comfortable with my decision to do the 10k and the full. My neighbor is a very, very fast runner (he's in his mid-60s and usually places in his age group and has been sponsored to run some of the Majors) and I talked to him about the Dopey. He wasn't impressed at all. He likes to run well and thought it would be a bummer to have 4 mediocre races in a row.
My husband just announced that he wants to stay at the Contemporary. Totally unexpected!
I just found out I have a Friday afternoon clinic so we can't go to D.C. early. Maybe we'll still drive down on Friday night and stay in a hotel...
I'm still undecided about the t-shirts...

Amanda

 

[cogero]

We booked an August trip for this year after me saying I wouldn't bring a tiny baby to Disney. I just decided we had to.

We are going from 8/29-9/4 and then again in October.

I think I need my head examined but it should be fun.