Good morning, RunDisney All-Stars! (Aren’t we better than All-Stars though? At least Pop!s, maybe even Animal Kingdom Lodges
): I didn’t ask for this honor, but it was getting a little late in the day so I figured I’d jump in with a Sundays are for Disney. Hopefully I’m not stepping out of line (although I’m known to be a habitual line-stepper).
First off, Happy Mother’s Day to all you mother runners out there! I was trying to think of a Sundays are for Disney question that would tie in the Holiday but would still apply to almost everyone and settled on: What is your favorite memory with your family in the parks (if it’s with your mom, as a mom, rD adjacent, non-rD; everything works, there are no wrong answers)?
SAFD: I don’t have a ton of recollection of my two family trips as a kid. I remember a few things, like riding Splash Mountain a bunch and of times in the rain, vague memories of our hotels and the parades, and misbehaving at a souvenir photo booth. What I do remember vividly is two weeks before our second trip my dad slipped on some ice and shattered his ankle (multiple surgeries, plates and screws all for ver the place). In hindsight, the idea of my mom dealing with him in a wheelchair, my two siblings and myself, all of the details of the trip (getting to flights, hotels, parks, etc.) and managing to keep our vacation magical displays nothing short of the amazing woman she is.
When we started coming back to the parks concurrent with our participation in rD she has finished the 5k and 10k during Marathon Weekend from 2014 to 2020 and, despite rupturing her Achilles in 2021, came back for the 5k in 2022 and will be doing the 5k again in 2023. I’m incredibly proud of her and cherish the memories my family has made over this span.
I’ll close with a picture of my mom and dad finishing the 5k together a couple years ago: