I take it you didn't enjoy the Cheesesteak. That will teach you to listen to my recommendations. I mean I recommended that half marathon thing tooSo glad Michael was feeling better!
Liz had mentioned you recommended the cheesesteak at The Plaza.
Don't worry. There is still plenty of trip report left in me!
It was a great birthday!What a magical birthday!!
I love the Plaza sandwiches, but they aren't anything fancy. Mostly I like the view of the castle you get from the Plaza.So glad to hear that your birthday evening went great!!
Michael was OK that evening, but didn't get completely back to normal for a few days.I'm happy to hear that Michael made a quick recovery!
Looks like you had a great birthday! What a great trip-a birthday celebration and a first marathon!
Welcome! It was a great birthday! And there is still plenty of trip ahead!I am late to the party but have enjoyed catching up. How fabulous to spend your birthday in your favorite place with your favorite people!
Congratulations on finishing the race. What an accomplishment!
I'm looking forward to hearing more about your trip.
I'm glad Michael was feeling upto going out for night after all
We also love the Plaza, especially the desserts!
What an awesome way to spend your birthday
I take it you didn't enjoy the Cheesesteak. That will teach you to listen to my recommendations. I mean I recommended that half marathon thing too
I'm glad you liked it! I don't want you to questions my judgement too muchOh no! I did enjoy it! The whistle was more of a "you must wait to see what comes in my TR."
Disney is such a great place to celebrate a birthday. Make sure you get a pin. Then everyone tells you Happy Birthday all day long
We had ADRs. I've never tried walk up. I know the Plaza is not a real well known place, but it is pretty small so it still could be hard to get a walk up. I haven't been to Steak and Shake since high school so I can't compare it to that, but I like the Plaza waaaay better than I like Friendlys.
Michael was tired out. He was still not his usual self even the next couple of days. It was a great birthday. At that moment there was no where else I would have rather been.
Thanks for the b-day wishes and for the picture compliment. And that is a huge compliment coming from you because all of your pictures are fabulous! I just use a little point and shoot (obviously), but someday I may upgrade and get a real camera. (Problem is I always want to use any extra money towards future Disney tripsJust wanted to stop by and say Happy Birthday! Isn't it awesome spending your birthday in the parks?!?!?
I'm loving your pictures! Every time I open up your report, I need to go back to page one with Tink and Wendy. By far one of the best pictures I've seen in a long time!
I've never been to the Plaza but that's one of the things on our list of "reasons to go back." I can't vouch for the taste yet, but by the picture I'd give that cheese steak a big
Can't wait till the next installment!
) The only place I've had a better cheese steak than the Plaza is Philly. So don't expect anything Philly good, but it's still yummy.
DH said some of the people on the bus were freaking out. In the race instructions it states that you have to be to your corral by 5:00 or you will not be allowed to start. DH didnt mind because he was sitting in a warm bus instead of standing around waiting in the cold. At 5:05 they pulled into the parking lot and DH headed straight for his corral. It is about a half mile walk from the staging areas to the corral. DH described it as a wave of humanity making their way to their corrals. DH made it to corral C around 5:30. (I can only dream of ever being in corral C.) He was actually happy about the timing. The first wave started at 5:35. DHs wave started around 5:50. So he didnt have to wait around much at all. Let me state upfront that DH has a very different running philosophy than me. The primary difference: He actually runs.
I requested he take a camera, but he scoffed at the idea. He wanted to run the half in around 2 hours. That is about 9 minute miles. That doesnt leave time for stopping and smelling the roses. (As you will see in my race report, I do lots of stopping and smelling.) So the pictures I have of the half were taken by the official photographers. Yes, I bought them. I wouldnt have bought DHs pictures, but the ASI folks let me buy a Goofy package that included both my pictures and DHs. Now we all know Im buying my pictures. Its my first (and maybe my only) full marathon. Im getting every bit of documentation that I can to show that I did it. Anyway by buying the Goofy package I got a bit of a break on DHs pictures. And I really wanted at least one picture of him running. Why is that? Because my generally serious, type A tendency attorney husband ran as Peter Pan! 
So even though he didnt stop for pictures, he did have a bit of fun on the course. While he was running through the Magic Kingdom DH saw Captain Hook and Smee out. So what else could he do? He let out a full blown crow. What happened? Hook looked his way and then my Peter Pan saw Disney Worlds Peter Pan. And Disney Worlds Peter Pan crowed right back.
Just the thought of that moment makes me smile. Here is another shot of DH running.
They ran together for a bit. I wish I had a picture of that. DH was making great time as he approached Epcot. The photographer got a few shots of him in Epcot.
Awesome job! Now Im going to digress a bit to tell you how awesome this really was and how important it was to me. Last summer my family was involved in a near tragedy. My dad, my 2 brothers, and my DH were climbing the Grand Teton in Wyoming and were struck by lightning. DH actually quit breathing and my dad revived him. DH also fell and suffered a pretty severe head injury. It was a traumatic day, but thankfully they all survived it. DH was definitely worse for the wear though. His foot was numb, his body was really weak and frankly, his mind was not all there. He was depressed and a little bit crazy. Just to tell you how bad it was physically, he went running with me a month or so after the accident and he actually wanted me to slow down. He didnt think he could do the half marathon. For me this was a big deal though. I really wanted Marathon Weekend to be a family event. I wanted each one of us to earn a medal. I told DH he could do this race and he would do this race. So he decided to do it just for me. (He is that kind of guy. Most of what he does is just for me.
) A miracle happened as he trained for the run. His body became stronger and even better, his mind came back. (Though his foot is still numb.) When he crossed that finish line it wasnt just another race. For me it represented triumph over adversity. It represented that our family was still whole. So now you know why this picture means so much to me.
That is an amazing story. I'm so glad he (and the rest of your family) was okay. 
That is a great accomplishment for anyone but knowing what he overcame to get there is amazing, thanks for sharing the background story.
Thank you.Amazing and inspiring!!!
I am also so thankful for a happy ending! I learned a lot from the experience. So I can't say I'd want to do it again, but I'm thankful for all that I learned from it.Wow. I think running a half is a triumph in any circumstances but hearing your story makes me even more awed. Truly an amazing accomplishment. OF COURSE you bought the photos!! What a great, inspiring story. I am so glad your family has had a happy ending!
Looking forward to hearing about your race experience. I am not a runner but if any location could inspire me, I would think it would be WDW.
I think I cried a little when I wrote it too.
It was a crazy experience, but it all turned out OK in the end. I wonder if Pop had more buses than Boardwalk or if DH just hit the line at the wrong time. It all worked out OK for him because his wait was on a warm bus instead of standing around outside.Oh my goodness, Jenny! I had no idea you guys went through that!
I guess I can't complain about our bus adventure that morning. We were able to get on the bus immediately when we got out to the stop and I don't think it took an hour. Pop buses were really great all weekend.
It was a crazy day! Some good things came out of it though. It made me appreciate all that I have so much more.
It was so fun to have the whole restaurant sing to me! Perfect ending to a great day. Thanks for the congrats. It really was a great moment for both DH and me.How fun that the whole restaurant joined in for singing happy birthday!
Congrats to your dh for completing the race and in a great time too
Things were tough for DH this summer and fall, but we all learned a lot from the experience and it could have very easily been so much worse! I can never get mad at my dad again. He literally saved my husband's life!I do remember reading about that happening to your family, but I wasn't aware it took such a toll on your DH. I got goosebumps reading your post about his run. What an amazing experience for him! I am so glad things are looking up for both of you now. And I'm sure he is thankful to you for being an inspiration and encouraging him to get back out there--who knows what would have happened if you hadn't. A huge WAY TO GO! for him!
