DisneyRunnerChick
Princess of the Sneakers
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2011
- Messages
- 112
I have to say, of all my Disney trips, my most recent one for the 2012 Marathon Weekend may have been my most favorite. It was me, DFi, DS, and DD for what was supposed to be two nights/three days but ended up being three nights/four days, when we couldn't bear to leave and added an extra day, though it came with a downgrade to Pop.
The trip was our first stay in a deluxe, and I think it kind of spoiled all of us. Yacht Club is amazing and well worth the extra cost. I loved the fact we could walk to Epcot in minutes or hop on the ferry to HS; it really helped us to take advantage of the limited time we had at the parks. In addition, the bed was the most comfortable I'd slept on in a long time, and we really considered buying one of the mattresses for the house. Plus, with a daybed, it allowed my kids to each have their own places to sleep, a major plus, and they adored the balcony, even though we just had a view of the parking lot.
The hotel wasn't our only first on this trip: it was the first time we'd seen any of the holiday decorations, the first time we'd watched the Electric Parade, the first time we'd ate inside MK, watched Reflections of China, devoted time just to Innoventions, and the first time we'd seen Fantasmic. For the past two years, we've had annual passes and gone for ten days during the fall. We've rode all the major rides, seen most of the shows, but we still have not done everything. It was great to get to explore some of the lessor known Disney attractions, and even though we were only there for a few days, we really took our time and relaxed. We knew we weren't going to get to everything - we don't in ten days, no way we would in three - so we just really did things we enjoyed and enjoyed the things we did. Tony's may be my least favorite restaurant foodwise, but it was still a great experience sitting in the window and watching the parade. And walking outside to watch the Castle be transformed into a rocket, a stack of luggage, a gingerbread house - well, we were speechless. I'll never forget standing under the Osbourne lights when it started to snow on us in the middle of WDW! Our cozy lunch at Le Cellier, a day at SAB, even our last night staying at Pop, every moment just felt special and like a magical happening.
Oh, and of course, there was the running. The DFi and I ran the half, and it was a great race. I have only ran Disney halves; I'm running my first non-Disney at the end of the month. Truth is, even though the upcoming race is at one of the most beautiful places ever, I don't know that it will possibly compete with Disney. I mean the characters along the way, the car shows, the marching bands, the cheerleaders, and all of the thousands of spectators make the 13.1 miles seem like a walk in the park. I ran a new PR and got a picture with Phineas and Ferb to boot! The awesomeness of runDisney is the reason we are running all of the Disney races this year - and the reason I'm training for the Princess right now.
While our race was great, it was even more inspiring to see the marathoners the next day. We had decided to spend our morning at Epcot and when we walked out of YC, the marathon was happening right along the trail we needed to take. While some pedestrians were annoyed and some even behaved rudely, jumping across the runners without bothering to follow the volunteers instructions, the DFi and I cheered the marathoners on, offering high fives and words of encouragement. Where we were was around mile 24, and after having run 13.1, we could only imagine the pain they were feeling. We saw a runner carrying another runner, families running together, hundreds of Goofy runners. All of it made me eager to run the marathon in 2012.
We spent our last morning at Downtown Disney, and I'll have to admit, I still wasn't ready to go home. I thank Disney for bringing my family closer together. As two twelve-year-olds, my kids are starting to enter that adolescent age where they frequently think they know more than me, never want to clean their rooms, and would much rather hang with their friends than their mom. But at Disney, they are still kids and I'm still cool. At Disney, it's okay to hold my hand or to put on Mickey ears or to believe in magic. At Disney, it's fun to be a family.
Maybe that's why this was one of my favorite trips. There is no way I can put into words how incredible it was, but I'll never forget it. I know we are going back in only a month, and I can't wait, but I think it will be a very different trip. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it will be amazing, but I doubt it will top this past adventure.
The trip was our first stay in a deluxe, and I think it kind of spoiled all of us. Yacht Club is amazing and well worth the extra cost. I loved the fact we could walk to Epcot in minutes or hop on the ferry to HS; it really helped us to take advantage of the limited time we had at the parks. In addition, the bed was the most comfortable I'd slept on in a long time, and we really considered buying one of the mattresses for the house. Plus, with a daybed, it allowed my kids to each have their own places to sleep, a major plus, and they adored the balcony, even though we just had a view of the parking lot.
The hotel wasn't our only first on this trip: it was the first time we'd seen any of the holiday decorations, the first time we'd watched the Electric Parade, the first time we'd ate inside MK, watched Reflections of China, devoted time just to Innoventions, and the first time we'd seen Fantasmic. For the past two years, we've had annual passes and gone for ten days during the fall. We've rode all the major rides, seen most of the shows, but we still have not done everything. It was great to get to explore some of the lessor known Disney attractions, and even though we were only there for a few days, we really took our time and relaxed. We knew we weren't going to get to everything - we don't in ten days, no way we would in three - so we just really did things we enjoyed and enjoyed the things we did. Tony's may be my least favorite restaurant foodwise, but it was still a great experience sitting in the window and watching the parade. And walking outside to watch the Castle be transformed into a rocket, a stack of luggage, a gingerbread house - well, we were speechless. I'll never forget standing under the Osbourne lights when it started to snow on us in the middle of WDW! Our cozy lunch at Le Cellier, a day at SAB, even our last night staying at Pop, every moment just felt special and like a magical happening.
Oh, and of course, there was the running. The DFi and I ran the half, and it was a great race. I have only ran Disney halves; I'm running my first non-Disney at the end of the month. Truth is, even though the upcoming race is at one of the most beautiful places ever, I don't know that it will possibly compete with Disney. I mean the characters along the way, the car shows, the marching bands, the cheerleaders, and all of the thousands of spectators make the 13.1 miles seem like a walk in the park. I ran a new PR and got a picture with Phineas and Ferb to boot! The awesomeness of runDisney is the reason we are running all of the Disney races this year - and the reason I'm training for the Princess right now.
While our race was great, it was even more inspiring to see the marathoners the next day. We had decided to spend our morning at Epcot and when we walked out of YC, the marathon was happening right along the trail we needed to take. While some pedestrians were annoyed and some even behaved rudely, jumping across the runners without bothering to follow the volunteers instructions, the DFi and I cheered the marathoners on, offering high fives and words of encouragement. Where we were was around mile 24, and after having run 13.1, we could only imagine the pain they were feeling. We saw a runner carrying another runner, families running together, hundreds of Goofy runners. All of it made me eager to run the marathon in 2012.
We spent our last morning at Downtown Disney, and I'll have to admit, I still wasn't ready to go home. I thank Disney for bringing my family closer together. As two twelve-year-olds, my kids are starting to enter that adolescent age where they frequently think they know more than me, never want to clean their rooms, and would much rather hang with their friends than their mom. But at Disney, they are still kids and I'm still cool. At Disney, it's okay to hold my hand or to put on Mickey ears or to believe in magic. At Disney, it's fun to be a family.
Maybe that's why this was one of my favorite trips. There is no way I can put into words how incredible it was, but I'll never forget it. I know we are going back in only a month, and I can't wait, but I think it will be a very different trip. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it will be amazing, but I doubt it will top this past adventure.
