The Year of Disney - A 2018 PTR. Updated 10/12x4!

[rteetz]

Well great update!

I am glad you have stuck through it despite the rough patches. I think all runners starting out face a lot of that because it’s new to them.

I did the virtual shorts too and those medals are the same size of my dopey medal from January!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I love the pink shirt running pictures especially the first one, you look SO happy and at ease running along!!

I didn't realize you had that toe set back!! Glad it's starting to feel better so you can get back to running. I haven't been running much either, as we are really kicking into the busy time of year at Hallmark and I've been working SO much that I haven't had enough time to run, too! Ugh.

This doesn't worry me too much for the 5K, but that 10K is making me pretty nervous as I think about it....

 

[missangelalexis]

I enjoyed reading about your running journey! I'm so sorry about the most recent setback. I am sure your anxious to get back to it and be prepared for January!

 

[Tracy161]

LOVE THIS!!!

Fabulous shot of you!!!

So glad that the toe situation turned out to be nothing, but I'm bummed to hear of your set-back. I'm a runner myself and am on "break" due to some bad knee issues, so I can relate a bit to your running woes body-wise. Very proud of you for keeping at it, though! I'm hoping to get out this weekend and test the waters.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

I finally made it over to this PTR. Love the running update and the Pluto medals. Hopefully, the toe is all healed and you are on your way back to training. It looks like you are having a great time.

 

[Pluto0809]

Well great update!

I am glad you have stuck through it despite the rough patches. I think all runners starting out face a lot of that because it’s new to them.

I did the virtual shorts too and those medals are the same size of my dopey medal from January!

Thanks, it's been quite the learning curve but I think I've finally got the hang of it.

I can't wait to get my Pluto medal for the 5K!

I love the pink shirt running pictures especially the first one, you look SO happy and at ease running along!!

I didn't realize you had that toe set back!! Glad it's starting to feel better so you can get back to running. I haven't been running much either, as we are really kicking into the busy time of year at Hallmark and I've been working SO much that I haven't had enough time to run, too! Ugh.

This doesn't worry me too much for the 5K, but that 10K is making me pretty nervous as I think about it....

Well for those pictures I did know where the photographer was so I could smile when I got near him. And my smile is definitely better on the first picture which was taken at the beginning of the race. The second one is from the end, right before the finish line.

I honestly didn't tell anyone other than my Mom and Jim about the whole toe thing when it was happening. I'm pretty private with that kind of stuff plus it happened so fast I didn't really have time. I found the bruise on a Sunday, had my appointment on Tuesday and then the biopsy on Thursday.

I ran on the treadmill twice last week and there was a small amount of pain but nothing worse than the ankle or knee pain I already have.

I almost signed up for the 10K and I'm glad I didn't. I honestly don't think I will every be able to handle a 10K with my ankle issues. I will just have to be content with 5Ks.

I enjoyed reading about your running journey! I'm so sorry about the most recent setback. I am sure your anxious to get back to it and be prepared for January!

Thanks, it's definitely been an interesting journey. I ran on it a few times last week and had some minor pain but nothing I can't handle.

LOVE THIS!!!

Fabulous shot of you!!!

So glad that the toe situation turned out to be nothing, but I'm bummed to hear of your set-back. I'm a runner myself and am on "break" due to some bad knee issues, so I can relate a bit to your running woes body-wise. Very proud of you for keeping at it, though! I'm hoping to get out this weekend and test the waters.

Thanks! I loved that costume. I almost decided to just use that for the Disney race but there was another character I really wanted to do. I'll be showing pictures of that in a future update.

I do like that first shot of me. It certainly helped that it was at the beginning of the race plus I knew where the photographer was going to be.

I've had arthritis in my knees since I was about 10 so I feel your pain. I was told it was just childhood arthritis and I would out grow it. I'm still waiting for that to happen!

I finally made it over to this PTR. Love the running update and the Pluto medals. Hopefully, the toe is all healed and you are on your way back to training. It looks like you are having a great time.

Hi and welcome! I don't think the toe will completely heal until my toenail grows out but I did run on it twice last week with minimal pain so I think I'm good to go.

 

[Pluto0809]

Day 1, Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018

Before I talk about our first day, I have two small items to talk about.

First, the 3K I was going to run on December 2nd was cancelled. I was really bummed because it sounded like a fun race. I thought about trying to find another race to run but it's hard to find ones that aren't on Saturday morning which conflicts with my volunteer work at the local animal shelter. We are usually super busy at the shelter for the month of December so I don't want to miss a day. I ended up deciding not to sign up for a different race and to just concentrate on training for the Disney race. I did get on the treadmill twice last week and while I did have some pain from my toe it was minimal when compared to my ankle and knees. In other words, nothing I can't handle!

Second, I have a question for anyone out there that might have experience booking FPs with an AP. I can’t seem to get a definite answer on this one. I read somewhere that as on AP holder, you can only have 7 days of FPs within a 45 day period. This has me really stressed about making my FPs for the February trip since it’s within a month of my January trip. I have six days of FPs booked for January which, if the above is true, will only leave me with one day to book for February. Anyone run into that problem before?

Let's move on to the first day of the January trip. Our travel day will begin like all of our others with a trip to our vet to drop of the doggies. They have a boarding area and our babies stay in a luxury suite with a TV. Yep, they are spoiled! It usually takes about a ½ hour to fill out the paperwork but last time I typed everything up ahead of time which saved a considerable amount of time. I saved the file so this time all I will have to do is edit it to take off Alex and Eddie and add Buddy.

Our flight leaves the Atlanta Airport at 12:00 noon so after we drop off the dogs, we will head to our usual offsite parking spot to leave the car and catch a shuttle to the airport. We are flying Delta this time which will limit me a bit since I’m used to flying Southwest and checking two bags. But Jim gets a companion certificate each year with Delta so we only had to pay for one ticket. I will just have to survive with dragging my smaller suitcase along with me. At least I have Jim to lift it up to the luggage bins.

I’m a stressor when it comes to getting to the airport on time so we will probably get there way early and have time to grab something to eat before our flight. We may even have time to sit down for a meal!

Our flight lands in Orlando at 1:30 pm and we will head straight to the Magical Express and hopefully it won’t be too long before we are seeing this beautiful sight.



And then this one.



If you don’t recognize it, that’s the lobby at Port Orleans Riverside which is where we are staying this time around. I put in a room request for Building 34 which is way in the back of the resort so I’m pretty sure it will get fulfilled. I chose that building because it is near the West Bus Depot which is either the first or second pick up depending on the bus route. Jim is not much for breakfast so we will bring some food with us and just munch in the room before heading out each morning so no need to be close to the front of the resort.

I’m almost hoping our room isn’t ready because Jim will want to go there and if we do, he will have to fire up his computer to answer a few e-mails. If it isn’t, we’ll just drop our carry-ons with Bell Services before heading out.

As soon as I can move Jim along, we will be boarding a bus to Epcot for the evening. Our first stop will be Guest Services to activate our tickets. I decided to be as economical as possible for this trip and I discovered that AAA sells Disney tickets at a discount. I saved $20 on Jim’s 6 day base ticket and $40 on my AP. I have a voucher and the tickets must be activated before entering a park. I am extremely worried about this step because I think I might have screwed up when ordering the tickets. You see, I bought my Mom’s AP at the same time. Her AAA up north only sells the regular tickets, not APs, so I purchased hers at the same time I bought mine and Jim’s. What I didn’t realize is that all three of the tickets are under the same voucher #. I’m hoping it will not be a problem to activate only two of those tickets and then activate hers when we come back in February.

Barring any problems with activating our tickets, we will head into Epcot and hope for a nicer day than our last two trips together. Both of those Epcot days looked like this.



Yep, rain, rain and more rain!

I only booked two fast passes for the day. The first one is for Spaceship Earth from 3:30 – 4:30 pm. If things don’t go smoothly up to this point, we may end up missing that FP. I’m not too worried as we have a second full day at Epcot and SE is pretty easy to get a 4th FP for or even ride standby.

Our second FP is for Frozen Ever After from 4:45 – 5:45 pm.



I have only ridden this one once and it will be brand new to Jim. I’m also hoping we will have time to meet Anna and Elsa if the line isn’t too long. Ha, who am I kidding, one of the crowd calendars I look at just has “insane crowds” written across the top of the entire week we are there.

I’m also going to try (pipe dreams) to get FP for Soarin’ for after dinner.

Most likely we will just find ourselves wandering through the stores in each country until our dinner ADR at 6:00 pm at Biergarten.



Biergarten is Jim’s favorite restaurant in probably all of WDW and it’s one of my least favorite. But I’ve got to keep him happy so I make the sacrifice. The first time we went, I had a very rough time finding stuff on the buffet that I liked. I don't like sausage and I can't eat pork (racks my stomach) and those are the two main items on this buffet.

The second time we at there was was a little better. I’m really hoping they will have some more of the beef short ribs, noodle gratin and potato dumplings from the last time we were there.



Oh yeah, and some of these yummy chocolate mousse cakes.



Jim is a much more adventurous eater than me and his plate will probably look something like this.



After dinner, we will either do some more country exploring or more likely just head out for the night and back to our room to get settled in for the next day.

Up Next: Day 2, Wednesday, January 3, 2018

 

[rteetz]

Second, I have a question for anyone out there that might have experience booking FPs with an AP. I can’t seem to get a definite answer on this one. I read somewhere that as on AP holder, you can only have 7 days of FPs within a 45 day period. This has me really stressed about making my FPs for the February trip since it’s within a month of my January trip. I have six days of FPs booked for January which, if the above is true, will only leave me with one day to book for February. Anyone run into that problem before?

As a new AP I am not completely sure but I believe that rule is only when you don't have a resort stay booked. If you have a resort stay booked you should be okay.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

I wish I knew about AP and Fastpasses, but I don't. Hopefully, it will work out.

We tried Biergarten in September. I had lots of the salad (there was one dressing that I really liked) and then I had the fish and it was really good. I don't think I had a single sausage. We still loved the restaurant and will go back.

We also stayed at POR. I had requested bldg. 35 and we got bldg. 24. We loved how close it was to the West Depot and that was usually the first stop. It was great when going to the parks. There were a couple of times that the bus was too full to pick up anyone beyond the West Depot. We saw lots of angry faces. Sometimes the bus driver would stop to let them know he was too full and another bus would be there soon. He got yelled at a lot. On ride home, if we were packed pretty tight in there, it was difficult to get off the bus. We rarely went to the food court, because it was easier to just go to West Depot and go elsewhere. They were doing construction, so much of the food court was blocked off and the wheel was being repaired, so it just didn't have the charm.

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a good first day! I hope the weather is better for you than past Epcot days!

 

[Llobal]

I’ve only been a passholder for a month or so and haven’t experienced this myself. But from what I’ve read staying at a Disney Resort is supposed to override the limitations of the annual pass. So you should be able to book fastpasses for the duration of your stays at 60 days out and not be limited to only 7 days worth. Unfortunately the only way to test that is if you’re able to book your fastpasses for your 2nd trip at 60 days or it pops up and tells you that you can’t. If you’re not, I’d definitely call and try to speak with someone.

 

[missjackiemcg]

I love how you have to keep Jim moving along!! Sounds VERY familiar!! LOL

The first day sounds great! Hopefully everything goes smoothly and according to plan! I am always planned down to the minute, too, and also a nervous flyer!! So, we will certainly be there long before our flight. We're going to my friend's wedding the night before, so I might need to grab a drink to level out before getting on the plane!

 

[Rozz]

Following along!

 

[ljcrochet]

Second, I have a question for anyone out there that might have experience booking FPs with an AP. I can’t seem to get a definite answer on this one. I read somewhere that as on AP holder, you can only have 7 days of FPs within a 45 day period. This has me really stressed about making my FPs for the February trip since it’s within a month of my January trip. I have six days of FPs booked for January which, if the above is true, will only leave me with one day to book for February. Anyone run into that problem before

I’m pretty sure you will be fine since you are staying at a wdw hotel. I have 9 days of fast passes by booked.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Ya know.
A Pluto jacket would really look amazing with that shirt.. Instead of it sitting on my kitchen table.
This is another story..

Im so proud of you and your running!!! So happy for you!!! I adore all the medals people at work run them ALL THE TIME and bring in those gigantic medals- SO PRETTY!!
Excited for you to get there already!!

 

[Tracy161]

I almost decided to just use that for the Disney race but there was another character I really wanted to do. I'll be showing pictures of that in a future update.

Ooooh, I'll be waiting anxiously!

I've had arthritis in my knees since I was about 10 so I feel your pain. I was told it was just childhood arthritis and I would out grow it. I'm still waiting for that to happen!

Ugh, what a bummer. I actually requested an appointment to get in to see a sport medicine doctor today, still waiting for that call back... But I'm anxious to see what they might be able to do to help my running game... or lack thereof right now!

I did get on the treadmill twice last week and while I did have some pain from my toe it was minimal when compared to my ankle and knees. In other words, nothing I can't handle!

Good, I guess?

I discovered that AAA sells Disney tickets at a discount.

I always forget about AAA! I've had it for years but never think to use it for things like this. Thanks for the tip! I just texted my sister because they haven't bought tickets yet.

Ha, who am I kidding, one of the crowd calendars I look at just has “insane crowds” written across the top of the entire week we are there.

I know. I'm so scared of the crowds this trip as I always make it a point to avoid high crowd times We'll be in it together!

Biergarten is Jim’s favorite restaurant in probably all of WDW and it’s one of my least favorite.

You're a trooper!

 

[Pluto0809]

As a new AP I am not completely sure but I believe that rule is only when you don't have a resort stay booked. If you have a resort stay booked you should be okay.

I do hope that is the case! I'll find out for sure when I book FPs in 14 days.

I wish I knew about AP and Fastpasses, but I don't. Hopefully, it will work out.

We tried Biergarten in September. I had lots of the salad (there was one dressing that I really liked) and then I had the fish and it was really good. I don't think I had a single sausage. We still loved the restaurant and will go back.

We also stayed at POR. I had requested bldg. 35 and we got bldg. 24. We loved how close it was to the West Depot and that was usually the first stop. It was great when going to the parks. There were a couple of times that the bus was too full to pick up anyone beyond the West Depot. We saw lots of angry faces. Sometimes the bus driver would stop to let them know he was too full and another bus would be there soon. He got yelled at a lot. On ride home, if we were packed pretty tight in there, it was difficult to get off the bus. We rarely went to the food court, because it was easier to just go to West Depot and go elsewhere. They were doing construction, so much of the food court was blocked off and the wheel was being repaired, so it just didn't have the charm.

I hope so too!

I'm not really a salad eater but I do like some types of fish. Unfortunately Salmon is one I don't like and that seems to be the usual on most buffets. I'm just too darn picky!

I almost put building 24 as my second choice but instead I just put "close to transportation". I would be fine with any of the buildings around that West Depot or near one of the other stops.

Sounds like a good first day! I hope the weather is better for you than past Epcot days!

Thanks, me too! I would love for us to have a day in Epcot without rain.

I’ve only been a passholder for a month or so and haven’t experienced this myself. But from what I’ve read staying at a Disney Resort is supposed to override the limitations of the annual pass. So you should be able to book fastpasses for the duration of your stays at 60 days out and not be limited to only 7 days worth. Unfortunately the only way to test that is if you’re able to book your fastpasses for your 2nd trip at 60 days or it pops up and tells you that you can’t. If you’re not, I’d definitely call and try to speak with someone.

I do hope that this is the case. I will definitely voice my opinion to customer service if it is not!

I love how you have to keep Jim moving along!! Sounds VERY familiar!! LOL

The first day sounds great! Hopefully everything goes smoothly and according to plan! I am always planned down to the minute, too, and also a nervous flyer!! So, we will certainly be there long before our flight. We're going to my friend's wedding the night before, so I might need to grab a drink to level out before getting on the plane!

I mean, come on, we are at Disney with limited time and you want to work? He drives me nuts with that sometimes!

I'm actually not nervous about flying, just about making it to the gate on time. I'd rather be at my gate super early where I can relax and read for awhile!

Following along!

Hi and Welcome! Glad to have you here.

I’m pretty sure you will be fine since you are staying at a wdw hotel. I have 9 days of fast passes by booked.

Thank you for the first hand experience! I've been really worried about this.

Ya know.
A Pluto jacket would really look amazing with that shirt.. Instead of it sitting on my kitchen table.
This is another story..

Im so proud of you and your running!!! So happy for you!!! I adore all the medals people at work run them ALL THE TIME and bring in those gigantic medals- SO PRETTY!!
Excited for you to get there already!!

I was kind of wondering about the jacket but you know me, miss introvert and a little too shy to ask.

Thanks! I'm definitely not good at the whole running thing but at least it's getting me out there doing something.

Ooooh, I'll be waiting anxiously!


Ugh, what a bummer. I actually requested an appointment to get in to see a sport medicine doctor today, still waiting for that call back... But I'm anxious to see what they might be able to do to help my running game... or lack thereof right now!

Good, I guess?

I always forget about AAA! I've had it for years but never think to use it for things like this. Thanks for the tip! I just texted my sister because they haven't bought tickets yet.
I know. I'm so scared of the crowds this trip as I always make it a point to avoid high crowd times We'll be in it together!

You're a trooper!

Good luck with the appointment, I hope they will be able to help you.

Yeah, I never remember to check AAA either. I need to see if they have Sea World tickets also as I'm pretty sure we are going to do a day there next October.

I'm definitely nervous about the crowds especially with Jim along. If it was just me, I could shop or just people watch but Jim doesn't handle them well and will be antsy. I've been trying to prepare him so hopefully he will be OK.

 

[Pluto0809]

Day 2, Wednesday, January 3, 2018

On Wednesday, we will be up bright and early and headed to my favorite park, Magic Kingdom!



I have yet to see the new morning show at the castle so I’m planning for us to watch it from near the path to Adventureland. We will only be in the park till about noon and my goal is to get as much of the left side of the park done. With that in mind, Jungle Cruise will be the first ride of the day in order to avoid the long lines that I’m sure will form later that morning.



Depending on the time after finishing the Jungle Cruise, we may hit up the Tiki Room or maybe stop to meet Aladdin or Jasmine if their set time meshes with our schedule.



Our first FP for the day is from 9 am – 10 am for Pirates.



I plan on using this as close to 10 am as possible so we can move directly to our second FP+ for BTMR from 10 – 11 am.



After BTMR it might be time to visit my favorite bears.



Or I might save that one for our second MK day and instead head up into Fantasyland and torture Jim for a bit on IASW.



I might even get to see this face again!



Our final FP for the morning is for Haunted Mansion from 11:05 – 12:05 which I plan to use right at the beginning.



I’m not sure if we will have much time after HM to do anything as we will need to head out of the park by 12:00 pm. Maybe we will just visit a few stores on the way out.

I will probably scoop out the line for the resort monorail but most likely we will just walk to the Contemporary for our 12:30 brunch ADR at Chef Mickey’s. The last time I ate at Chef Mickey’s was in 2010 for breakfast. Boy do I look young in this photo!



I am really excited for this meal as I will get to have my Mickey waffles and get some love from my favorite guy. Plus there will be plenty of lunch items to please Jim. I know the food gets mediocre reviews here but I’m simple and Mickey waffles, mac and (plastic) cheese and Oreo bon bons sound like heaven to me.

I’m not exactly sure what we will be doing after lunch. I know I have to head to the Expo to get my race package and Jim has no desire to go with me. The plan for the evening is Disney Springs but I don’t know if Jim will want to head there right away without me or head back to the room for a while. If he wants to go back to the room, I’ll probably have to go with him because he is severely directionally challenged and won’t be able to find the way by himself.

One way or the other, I’ll end up at the Race Expo while Jim is either at DS or the room. I honestly don’t expect to spend a huge time at the Expo. I’m not a professional runner by any means so the running merchandise doesn’t interest me too much. I will probably just get my bib and then check out the 5K merchandise for a Pluto shirt or something.

Eventually we will end up in Disney Springs for the evening. If Jim goes there ahead of me I’ll probably have to hunt him down in the obscure corner he gets lost in.

I know we will visit World of Disney.



And I’ll stand for a while and watch Jim gawk at the Legos if he didn’t already find the store on his own.



We might also visit the Star Wars store and the pin store if we have time. I’m not sure if either of us will be super hungry but I do need to get something to eat, preferable carbs, to fuel myself before the race the next morning. I have been eyeing up the pasta dishes at Wolfgang Puck Express so we might end up there or back at the POR food court for dinner.

I need to be back in our room by 8 pm so I can get my contacts out before it gets too late. They have to be in the solution I clean them with for 6 hours and Thursday is going to be a super early wake up for the race. I’m also hoping to get to bed a little early so I’m somewhat rested for the 5K.

Up Next: Day 3, Thursday, February 4, 2018 Race Day!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

I am with you on the salmon. I thought I was the only person that didn't like it.

I hope to someday try Chef Mickey's. Maybe on the trip I am planning for my 50th birthday.

 

[rteetz]

I really enjoy the expo. It’s cool to look around at all of the different stuff. I always spend too much on merchandise there too.

Looks like a great plan tho!