POR, Triathlon, Princesses & The Poly-pre trip

[Claudine&John]

We have a unique trip planned and I thought it may be a good idea to post some thoughts prior to leaving as I think I'll have even more to say upon our return.

On our trip will be myself, my DW and the two DD's 6 & 4. We are meeting up with DW's Aunt and her DH and their DS-4. We are a somewhat experienced Disney World group and have been several times together, including a cruise last year that was an absolute blast.

This whole journey began last year when DW's Aunt's DH and I ran the Disney Half marathon together as a prequel to him running the marathon the next day. We had a great time, but at the same time it was very short lived due to the fact that we landed, slept-ran-slept-, and flew away. The DD's had a great couple days in "the world" but it was almost a tease to be there for 48 hrs. It was during this trip that DW's Aunts DH (lets call him Vin from now on-his name isn't really Vin, he just gets confused for being Vin Deusel the actor wherever we go including a CM at Boma that was absolutely sure it was him and even called most of the staff off the buffet just to check him out) and I discussed Disney endurance events and as I am a triathlete, I suggested that next time we should throw a wrinkle in the whole run-till-u-drop part of the deal. Vin mentioned that Disney has a triathlon in September and that we should both sign up....it was that easy, no long discussion, no back and forth, just...o.k. let's do it!-plus it was a great excuse to come BACK.

So we had the reason, we had the company, we had the money....oooop, doh!...o.k. we had to save the money. We managed to start the planning off and throughout, April-May-June & July we managed to plan a monster of a trip. We would be leaving good ol' New York for Orlando on a Thursday-arrive and stay at Port Orleans until Saturday, then go to Saratoga Springs or Key west for Sat, Sun & Mon, then on to the Poly for tuesday, wednesday and thursday....phheww...!! oh I have to do a triathlon somewhere in there. I have trained for a couple years now and knwo full well that I can make the distance as I have done it before, so this race will be a Disney fun race. The half marathon was more of a fun run than a race also so I am looking forward to finishing this one and getting my park, & food on...

 

[Claudine&John]

As many of you know and some will come to find out, each time you come back to the World you'll have a different experience from the last and therefore the anticipation for what's to come will grow each time you plan that "magical trip". I feel that there are many places on the earth that are probably more historical, cultural or "must see" type vacations, but if you have been to Disney and have been touched by it's magic, then there are few places to take a family vacation that can compare. As my DD's have grown, their enjoyment and anticipation for future trips to Orlando has grown as well and this upcoming trip is no exception. It may be a bit of personal belief and prejudice but if you can mix your vacation with somthing you are truly passionate about then your enjoyment will can grow on an exponential scale. Our last trip to Disney was short lived but while there I was able to experience what it felt like to run 13.1 miles with 12,000 or so other Disney enthusiasts. This experience only lasted two hours but the feeling it created lasted for the next day or two that we were there. My new found affinity for physical fitness has allowed me to enjoy things more fully and as such has enabled me to experience Disney in a whole new way as well. I would encourage anyone, able bodied or couch potato to think about this life wrinkle and give one of Disney's many endurance events a shot and see what I'm talking about first hand.

I apologize for the personal soap box of health and fitness, it's just that it's going to probably be a large part of the TR. On this upcoming trip we will be staying at two new resorts for us, the POR and the POLY. In the past we have stayed at Saratoga Springs (very nice), the CBR (nicey nice), Key West, offsite and I stayed once as a kid in a condo on Lake Buena Vista....anyone remember those? They were right next to those tree house thingys. The lake Buena Vista stay was also waaaaay back when the river boat had a character breakfast and Epcot was still under construction. The CBR had some wonderful high points and was a very nice, comfortable stay. I read a lot about how if you were placed in a far off wing that there was a long walk to the main cafeteria and your morning coffee and so on...well it was a long walk from where we were but if you are like me and can manage to take a positive spin on it, then you may actually prefer that long walk. In the morning I found a personal respit and quiet reflective time as I strolled past the morning mist laden pond complete with wildlife and a cool breeze. I was initially a little ticked that I would have to do that walk once a day, but as the vacation rolled on, I found myself getting up a bit earlier just to enjoy it a little longer. It's all in how you look at it. The rooms at CBR were clean, cozy, quiet, and full of what we needed for a family of four. The bus service to the parks was very fast and my then two year old cutie pie actually enjoyed herself more on the bus then on any of the rides save It's a Small World. Our overall experience on that trip was enhanced due to the Epcot food & wine festival which was in full swing on our trip. This is perhaps a foodies version of heaven, and if you have a chance to be around while it's going on, DON'T MISS IT! I would say that the only soft spot or negative aspect of the CBR was the sit down dinner we had there. It was adequate and I'm sure if we gave it another shot it would have been better the next time, but we just had a sour time. The service was good and the food was as well, it just wasn't quite what the price had presented it to be. However, we did leave happy and the walk back home to the room was one of the highlights of the trip as we laughed really, really hard about some aspects of the meal and the DD's enjoyed sickenly sweet treats in their stroller. This trip was also highlighted by a breakfast with the princesses in the Magic Kingdom. The DD's were both a little overwhealmed but the experience was one not to be missed. DW and I spent many mornings with as many different phone lines we could reach dialing reservations all at once. We managed to snag ressies to the all important breakfast and it was a great experience. For this trip we haven't made any of those "must see" plans and I feel that this may play to our benefit as the stress and anxiety surrounding the planning and execution of such endeavors can leave one feeling tired before the gun goes off...it you catch my drift. I am done for now...I am tired, and I have to go out and run a while or else my training log will have a huge hole in it for this weekend, talk about planning anxiety, if you only bottle the guilty energy of a training log....it would be a big seller.

 

[Marla Hellwig]

sounds like you have a great trip planned

thanks