The Darling Family Takes on Marathon Weekend: Jan at the Boardwalk Villas

[dismagiclover]

If DH wants to talk English "football" he can come to my house. Our DVR is full of EPL games!

We've had trips where it was too cold for the nighttime shows. I agree that it's not worth shivering through!

Last nights are bittersweet. Glad you got to enjoy Epcot one more time.

I'm glad to know my DH is not the only "English" football fan on this side of the pond. (Though I figured he wasn't because we get all the games on a cable channel over here.) I'm looking forward to our next summer trip where there is only sweating! (Or shivering in the air conditioning.)

Are you not able to get hob nobs at home? We have them at our grocery store. I'll have to give them a try one of these days.

I'm sorry your trip (report) is almost over. I know how much you love doing them! Will you do a ptr for Disneyland?

Hey did you see there's a marathon relay next year? I'm interested in it.

Hey stranger! You have Hob Nobs at your grocery store!!!!! So jealous!!! I need to come for a visit to get some! Actually it's probably a good thing that they aren't available that easily around here. I would have to do lots more running to work off the calories I doubt I'll do a ptr for Disneyland. I like doing regular trip reports more than PTR, plus I'd have to do it down on the Disneyland board and it isn't near as active as the the WDW PTR board. You never know though. I may not be able to stand not having an active thread. I heard there was going to be a marathon relay next year. Not sure how I feel about it. One of the reasons the marathon was so much more fun for me than the half was the lack of crowding. I'm afraid by adding the relay they are just adding to the crowd level and I don't think that is a good thing. I guess I should withhold judgement until we see how it is run, but that is my initial reaction.

HI! Those mugs are so cute! Love the Mary Poppins one the best. We have eaten at the Rose and Crown before and it was good. The pics with Pooh and Tigger are cute.

I love the mugs too. Cound't resist!

I will always miss Minnie’s house just as I will always miss that little girl.

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OMG! This almost made me cry because I know exactly how you feel!

My son is 10 now and he still is my baby but he is growing into a young man now and it makes me sad for the days when he was just a little guy!

It is bittersweet to watch our kids grow up. Of course I want to see them grow up into happy productive adults, but there are times when I definitely miss the absolute cuteness of their younger days!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Home from work with a sick child, so I read your TR beginning to end! I teared up when you explained your DH's triumph and at the end of your race! You really are a hero you marathoner you!! What a great example you both are for your children!!!
My sister just recently agreed to run our first 1/2 Marathon at the Disney Princess 1/2 next February!! I am so excited and now also truly inspired! Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

I have the Mary Poppins mug!!! I bought it in July. That one was the only one I saw when I was there, but I love the other two! Mary Poppins is my absolute fave though so I'm glad I found hers.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Yet another great update Jenny!

This pic is really sweet, you all look great!

I love those mugs! Which shop in England was it? The Tea Caddy??

Looks like another wonderful Epcot time! You know, we've never seen Illuminations. I keep meaning too but usually everyone is pooped by 9:00pm.

 

[dismagiclover]

Home from work with a sick child, so I read your TR beginning to end! I teared up when you explained your DH's triumph and at the end of your race! You really are a hero you marathoner you!! What a great example you both are for your children!!!
My sister just recently agreed to run our first 1/2 Marathon at the Disney Princess 1/2 next February!! I am so excited and now also truly inspired! Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip!

Pretty impressive that you read the whole thing in one day! Thank you so much! I'm excited for you and your first 1/2 marathon! That first long distance race is just so incredible! I'll never forget the feeling of pride I had when I crossed the finish line at the 2007 Disneyland Half! Just remember it's all about one foot in front of the other.

I have the Mary Poppins mug!!! I bought it in July. That one was the only one I saw when I was there, but I love the other two! Mary Poppins is my absolute fave though so I'm glad I found hers.

The Peter Pan one is my favorite. I'm a Darling so that is a given right The Mary Poppins one is a good one too though!

Yet another great update Jenny!

This pic is really sweet, you all look great!

I love those mugs! Which shop in England was it? The Tea Caddy??

Looks like another wonderful Epcot time! You know, we've never seen Illuminations. I keep meaning too but usually everyone is pooped by 9:00pm.

I like that family picture too. We were trying to just enjoy the moment! And yes the mugs were in the Tea Caddy. Though I bought the Peter Pan mug at the OKW gift shop last summer. So I think you can find them all over property.

 

[dismagiclover]

Our last Disney Day had arrived. Sad, but inevitable. We couldn’t feel too badly about it because it had been a fabulous trip. We spent much of the morning packing up. The boys wanted this picture before we packed their Duffy Bears away.

We were ready to head out around 10:00. We said goodbye to our beautiful 2 bedroom Boardwalk villa. Since this is our DVC home, we know we will be back. We headed down to the luggage check area. I love that the Magical Express will check your luggage at the resort for you. It is so convenient! A CM was drawing cute pictures on the sidewalk by the luggage check area.

We left our carry ons with bell services and headed over to Epcot. Once again we were loving the convenience of this location. Magical Express was picking us up around 2:00, so we didn’t have tons of time. So it was nice not to have to worry about transportation. There was one thing I wanted to do in this park. I wanted to see Captain EO. I’d never seen it before. No one else in my family felt the same way. They all wanted to ride Soarin. So I sent them on their merry way and headed to the Imagination Pavilion and before I knew it I was enjoying a cross between Star Wars, Thriller and the Wizard of Oz all in one! I found it absolutely hilarious! (Though I don’t think that is what the original producers were going for.) I so wished DH had watched it with me. We are both teenagers of the 80’s so can really appreciate this unique art form. My kids, on the other hand, would have just found it weird. So it probably worked out best that I saw it solo. I may make everyone go see it this summer when we are in Disneyland though. Anyway by the time I was finished the rest of the family had already finished with Soarin and were headed to Mission Space. I told them I’d meet them over there. The flight didn’t take long and Wendy was begging for Test Track. When they went into the Mission Space the Test Track standby was only 5 minutes, but by the time they came out the sign said 40 minutes. (Some Brazilian tourist groups must have headed in.) I didn’t think it was a big deal. We could just get fast passes. Problem was DH had already gotten fast passes for Soarin. I have no idea when he thought we were going to use them, but you know how he has this unexplainable urge to acquire fast passes if it is humanly possible. So our new fast pass window had not opened up. Wendy was not happy about this so DH did some quick talking (I’m not sure what he said) to get her to calm down. Meanwhile I pointed out we hadn’t been on Spaceship Earth this trip. So we wandered over there for our journey through time. I tried to get some shots of my future, but they didn’t turn out too well.

By the time we got out enough time had elapsed so we could go get fast passes. I pointed out that we had a lunch ADR in Mexico and that I wasn’t coming back to Future World after lunch. This did not deter my fast pass collector in any way. DH and Wendy headed over to Test Track. The boys and I headed into Innoventions where they did a race to see who will be best prepared in an emergency.

After Wendy and DH rejoined us it was time to head to our lunch ADR. On our way over to Future World I made the kids stop for a last picture with the ball.

Then they turned around and took one with the Christmas tree. This was on Jan. 13th and I was very surprised it was still up. Who knows when they finally took it down.

We were eating at another new place, San Angel. I was excited to eat here because I thought the ambience would be fabulous. And it was. I love how the Pyramid and the ride are right in the middle of the restaurant. All the Christmas lights were still up so it was extra lovely. Here are a few not so good shots.

The food here was really good as well. Some of our favorite of the week. In fact I remember mentioning I wish we’d come here after the marathon because it would have tasted extra yummy. So I know this place gets bad reviews here on the DIS, but we really enjoyed it and I’d venture to guess we’ll be back. We still had a little time before we had to be back to catch the not so Magical Express. What do you think we did?

 

[mickeysmyboy]

I’m here, I’m here! Very late, but I usually am around here!

I am caught up though!

Woo hooo for training for the marathon! You go girl!!! It couldn’t have been easy! But you did it!

It sound like your travel and arrival day went well! I love the picture of your DH sitting reading the paper! It could be my DH, believe me!!! It

Happy Birthday, a little late! Woo hoo for being recognized by a fellow diser!! It looks like you had a great time a Chef Mickeys!!!

WOW! All the Marathon stuff looks fabulous!

Woo hoo for your kiddos race! They did an absolutely wonderful job! You must be so proud of them!!!

Your trip to DTD sounds great! Some good shopping and some good food! What more could you ask for!?

It also sounds like you had a great birthday evening at MK!

Woo hoo for DH and the ½ Marathon! I love that he ran as Peter Pan! What an amazing story about your near tragedy! It must have been so scary!!! What a miracle that recovered so well!!!!

Congrats on being a marathoner!!!! What an absolutely amazing thing to have accomplished!!! Your word about what you learned by doing this were awesome!!!! And woo hoo for the extra mile!! I love that!!!

I bet you needed a nice leisurely stroll DHS after a 27.7 run! Glad it worked out! I never noticed that the pink crayon was barely used! I’ll have to take not!

Sometimes I think I should go uber planner and try to maximize ever minute but then I feel like DVC affords us the ease not to do that. You know there will be another trip. It’s not a once in a lifetime thing. Even if you haven’t done it before you’ll get to do it at some point!

I must admit, I do kind of feel like Indiana Jones needs a little updating. But, I’ve seen it at least half a dozen times! DS8 used to be completely obsessed with Indy! So, it’s kinda old to me now. We still enjoy it though!

I’m glad Wendy enjoyed the hair wrap!! DD got one on her b-day trip! I just had to take it out! Her hair is so fine and delicate when I was helping her with her hair the other morning I noticed a bunch of strand of hair had broken! I didn’t want her to end up with a little stub of hair!

Oh my goodness I love you art history lesson! I also love that you’re an art history teacher! Long ago, I was going to major in art history in college! But, after a lot of prodding by my parents, I didn’t!

I know how you feel about the nostalga of your memories of minnies house! I feel that way all the time in WDW! Especially when it comes to DD! I miss the old days when she was a little princess! I know growing up is a good thing, but I still miss! Especially when I see a little cutie in a Cinderella dress!

Love your Emporium finds! Especially Wendy’s shirt! DD has the same one!

I love all your Epcot time! I can’t wait to stay at one of the Epcot resorts!

I know exactly what you mean about the night shows not being as magical when it’s cold! My family would definitely agree! In fact, in January of 2010 while we froze our rear ends off waiting for Wishes DS8 said “I don’t like Disney World as much when it’s this cold!” Had it not been for the fact that we had 1st timers with us we would have skipped it for the warmth of our room!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Wow, you guys were able to do Soarin' (well, you saw Captain EO), Mission Space and Spaceship Earth already? I want to make sure we see Captain EO (I keep wanting to type CEO ) when we go in May.

I was happy to hear that you enjoyed your meal at San Angel Inn. We have a dinner ADR there and it'll be our first time eating at the restaurant.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I think you did TT!

 

[beachgirl2000]

Thanks for the heads up. DH and I are planning on doing the half together so I will make sure to register before April 24. I must say I think the Disney halfs are getting to be overpriced. I guess they can get away with it because they fill up. 2012 may be our last year for a while though. Are you registering for anything?

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I am hoping to do the Half next year -- I would love to surprise my son with a long weekend in Disney for his Christmas Gift (which is also a gift for me!)

I have never run 13.1 miles before but I am doing my second 10 mile run in 11 more days (yikes -- I get nervous every time I think of it) -- And I figure what better place to run 13.1 miles than Disneyworld! I can't believe you did 26.2 -- That is so amazing! I could NEVER!!!!!

 

[CampbellScot]

Every time I'm visiting family in Ireland I stock up on HobNobs!!! MY FAVORITE!! Thankfully there are quite a few Irish shops in New Jersey so I can get hobnobs stateside now! They are the BEST!! Especially with hot tea! The chocolate side gets all melty and fabulous!! When I'm running later I always say to myself..."This extra mile(s) is SO worth the hobnobs!!"

 

[carissanboys]

Hey Jenny! Sorry it's your last day. I'm excited to hear you enjoyed San Angel Inn! The one time I've been in the Mexico Pavilion, I thought it looked like such an awesome place to eat. Glad to hear you enjoyed the food, too!

 

[Stefy]

You really made the most of your last Disney day Got some great fun stuffs in and had a nice meal at San Angel

I am thinking you went to TT

 

[ttigger81]

It is always sad when your Disney vacation comes to an end...however what a great trip you had!
Leaving the Magic Kingdom is always hard...loved how you had a shopping spree!
I also purchased the same mug as you (the Pooh, Eeyore, etc. from UK)...love it (funny I was actually using it when I read that update)!
Can't wait to hear how the day ended

 

[Angies1274]

Love those mugs....so cute!!

I'm so glad to hear you liked San Angel Inn. We have been wanting to try it since our first trip because we love the atmosphere in the Mexico pavilion but it never seems to get the best reviews. Hmm...we may have to give it a try after all!!

 

[dismagiclover]

I’m here, I’m here! Very late, but I usually am around here!

I am caught up though! I'd say so! I can't believe how much you caught up in one sitting!

Woo hooo for training for the marathon! You go girl!!! It couldn’t have been easy! But you did it! Definitely one of the more difficult things I have ever done, but it was incredible!

It sound like your travel and arrival day went well! I love the picture of your DH sitting reading the paper! It could be my DH, believe me!!! It

Happy Birthday, a little late! Woo hoo for being recognized by a fellow diser!! It looks like you had a great time a Chef Mickeys!!! It was a great birthday!

WOW! All the Marathon stuff looks fabulous!

Woo hoo for your kiddos race! They did an absolutely wonderful job! You must be so proud of them!!! It was so much fun to include the kids in the races!

Your trip to DTD sounds great! Some good shopping and some good food! What more could you ask for!?

It also sounds like you had a great birthday evening at MK!

Woo hoo for DH and the ½ Marathon! I love that he ran as Peter Pan! What an amazing story about your near tragedy! It must have been so scary!!! What a miracle that recovered so well!!!! It is an amazing story and he deserves a lot of credit for getting through it. I love that he ran as Peter Pan too. There really is a kid still inside there!

Congrats on being a marathoner!!!! What an absolutely amazing thing to have accomplished!!! Your word about what you learned by doing this were awesome!!!! And woo hoo for the extra mile!! I love that!!! Thank you! It is something I am very proud of!

I bet you needed a nice leisurely stroll DHS after a 27.7 run! Glad it worked out! I never noticed that the pink crayon was barely used! I’ll have to take not!

Sometimes I think I should go uber planner and try to maximize ever minute but then I feel like DVC affords us the ease not to do that. You know there will be another trip. It’s not a once in a lifetime thing. Even if you haven’t done it before you’ll get to do it at some point! I really do love that we don't have to worry about doing everything every trip. It has made the trips so much more fun and way less stressful. We just do what we feel like and when we don't feel like it anymore we move on.

I must admit, I do kind of feel like Indiana Jones needs a little updating. But, I’ve seen it at least half a dozen times! DS8 used to be completely obsessed with Indy! So, it’s kinda old to me now. We still enjoy it though!

I’m glad Wendy enjoyed the hair wrap!! DD got one on her b-day trip! I just had to take it out! Her hair is so fine and delicate when I was helping her with her hair the other morning I noticed a bunch of strand of hair had broken! I didn’t want her to end up with a little stub of hair!

Oh my goodness I love you art history lesson! I also love that you’re an art history teacher! Long ago, I was going to major in art history in college! But, after a lot of prodding by my parents, I didn’t! If you actually want to make a living with your degree I you made an excellent choice not majoring in Art History. I'm just lucky enough to be married to a lawyer so I can dabble in Art History. It basically pays for the Disney trips (which is no small thing!)

I know how you feel about the nostalga of your memories of minnies house! I feel that way all the time in WDW! Especially when it comes to DD! I miss the old days when she was a little princess! I know growing up is a good thing, but I still miss! Especially when I see a little cutie in a Cinderella dress! I do miss those princess days! They just seem to get through them so quickly!

Love your Emporium finds! Especially Wendy’s shirt! DD has the same one!

I love all your Epcot time! I can’t wait to stay at one of the Epcot resorts!
The Epcot resorts are just awesome! For our family the location cannot be beat!

I know exactly what you mean about the night shows not being as magical when it’s cold! My family would definitely agree! In fact, in January of 2010 while we froze our rear ends off waiting for Wishes DS8 said “I don’t like Disney World as much when it’s this cold!” Had it not been for the fact that we had 1st timers with us we would have skipped it for the warmth of our room!

I'm a bit sad we never made any of the night shows this trip, but we're headed back summer 2012 for what I hope is a 2 week trip so we will have plenty of chances for the night shows!

You basically summed up my whole report in one post! Great job!

 

[dismagiclover]

Wow, you guys were able to do Soarin' (well, you saw Captain EO), Mission Space and Spaceship Earth already? I want to make sure we see Captain EO (I keep wanting to type CEO ) when we go in May.

I was happy to hear that you enjoyed your meal at San Angel Inn. We have a dinner ADR there and it'll be our first time eating at the restaurant.

The crowds really cleared out by this point in the week! It was awesome! You should definitely try to make it to Captain EO. So funny! I think you'll enjoy San Angel Inn. Just don't expect Tex Mex. It's a bit more like real Mexican food.

I think you did TT!

I can tell you at least some of us did TT!

Thanks for the heads up. DH and I are planning on doing the half together so I will make sure to register before April 24. I must say I think the Disney halfs are getting to be overpriced. I guess they can get away with it because they fill up. 2012 may be our last year for a while though. Are you registering for anything?

********************

I am hoping to do the Half next year -- I would love to surprise my son with a long weekend in Disney for his Christmas Gift (which is also a gift for me!)

I have never run 13.1 miles before but I am doing my second 10 mile run in 11 more days (yikes -- I get nervous every time I think of it) -- And I figure what better place to run 13.1 miles than Disneyworld! I can't believe you did 26.2 -- That is so amazing! I could NEVER!!!!!

Oh you will have no problem with the half if you are doing 10 milers. It sounds strange, but there really isn't much difference between the 2 distances. Good luck. I'm sure you'll do great! And there is definitely no better place to do your first 13.1 than Disney!

 

[dismagiclover]

Every time I'm visiting family in Ireland I stock up on HobNobs!!! MY FAVORITE!! Thankfully there are quite a few Irish shops in New Jersey so I can get hobnobs stateside now! They are the BEST!! Especially with hot tea! The chocolate side gets all melty and fabulous!! When I'm running later I always say to myself..."This extra mile(s) is SO worth the hobnobs!!"

Oh how I would love to have some hobnobs to eat right now! I just love them! Alas, I'm going to go out for a run in a few minutes, but there will be no hob nobs waiting for me when I get back.

Hey Jenny! Sorry it's your last day. I'm excited to hear you enjoyed San Angel Inn! The one time I've been in the Mexico Pavilion, I thought it looked like such an awesome place to eat. Glad to hear you enjoyed the food, too!

The atmosphere alone made San Angel really cool! I noticed over on the Donald thread that you and Liz are going to do the Marathon relay next year! That is awesome! You're planning on the 2nd leg, right? So the question is will you ride Expedition Everest?

You really made the most of your last Disney day Got some great fun stuffs in and had a nice meal at San Angel

I am thinking you went to TT

We did have fun that last day. Just tried to get the most out of it. A couple people went on TT, but I wasn't one of them.

It is always sad when your Disney vacation comes to an end...however what a great trip you had!
Leaving the Magic Kingdom is always hard...loved how you had a shopping spree!
I also purchased the same mug as you (the Pooh, Eeyore, etc. from UK)...love it (funny I was actually using it when I read that update)!
Can't wait to hear how the day ended

It is sad when the vacation ends, but if it lasted forever it wouldn't seem so special, right? That's funny you were using that mug! Those mugs seem to be quite popular!

Love those mugs....so cute!!

I'm so glad to hear you liked San Angel Inn. We have been wanting to try it since our first trip because we love the atmosphere in the Mexico pavilion but it never seems to get the best reviews. Hmm...we may have to give it a try after all!!

I know the San Angel reviews are generally negative. Perhaps it is because people are expecting Tex Mex and it isn't. It really is more authentic Mexican, but we loved it.

 

[carissanboys]

The atmosphere alone made San Angel really cool! I noticed over on the Donald thread that you and Liz are going to do the Marathon relay next year! That is awesome! You're planning on the 2nd leg, right? So the question is will you ride Expedition Everest?

I doubt it. I want to improve my time! And I didn't enjoy EE all that much. Now, if it was the ToT, then maybe I'd stop.

 

[dismagiclover]

We’d just finished up our delicious meal at San Angel Inn. There were differing opinions on how to spend the last little while in Disney World. I would have liked to leisurely take a stroll around the World Showcase. DH was dying to use at least some of the 10 fast passes he had so diligently acquired. Wendy was clamoring for Test Track. The boys, of course, wanted to do something involving Duffy. So we had to divide and conquer. We sent DH and Wendy off to Test Track. The boys and I headed to find a Duffy to color. Here they are coloring a Duffy in Mexico.

After a few minutes of this they decided they would rather meet the real Duffy. So that is where we headed. Here are some of the pictures.

DH and Wendy showed up and we headed towards the exit. It was a beautiful day and I snapped this picture from Canada.

Wendy had to take an important call in the UK.

Michael had to show off his Duffy.

We stopped and watched part of this show.

It was quite amusing. So as you can see we all got to do what we wanted for that last little while. Gotta love Disney! Then we headed out of Epcot for the last time this trip. I had to take a few pictures of our final walk back to the Boardwalk.

We stopped in the Boardwalk Sweets store to use up the last of our snack credits. I picked out this cutie.

I made everyone pose for this shot to commemorate our first say at our DVC home.

We went into bell services and retrieved our carry ons. I took a few last shots of the lobby.

Then we took the Magical Express to the airport. This is the last picture of the trip.

You can tell by looking at Michael how we were all feeling. It was an uneventful flight back home and soon we were all tucked into our own beds with all of our fabulous Disney Memories (and a real cool Mickey Medal.)