Marathon Weekend Trip Report
Day 5: Monday, January 10
Magic Kingdom
Monday! Our first and only park day. One of my best friends who lives in Orlando was supposed to join us but she was exposed to COVID at a wedding that weekend so she opted out. So it just ended up being me and DH. I wish Disney had an easier system for cancelling tickets/reservations— I asked support about it and they said I could once I knew a different day I wanted to use the ticket for. This was the last day of our trip and I don’t know when I’ll be back, so it may just be a sunk cost (I had purchased the ticket as a gift for my friend). Oh well. It isn’t a huge deal.
DH and I woke up around 8 am. We had access to the parks at 8:30 am because we were staying at a friendly neighbor hotel but were not in a rush to rope drop or anything. We timed our leave sort of poorly, though, and ended up waiting like 25 minutes for the Bonnet Creek shuttle. I forgot about the TTC and how it worked, and once we got there it was pretty busy. We made our way up to the Monorail (well, I limped) and were on our way to MK!
I had purchased
Genie+ for the day because I had read that MK was the best park for it and I wanted to mitigate standing in lines with my sore feet. If the wait times were accurate, then I am glad I did because everything had a 45-60+ minute wait. Our first ride was one of my absolute favorites— the Haunted Mansion! It was one with a one hour wait but we more or less walked on with LL. I think it is bonkers that Disney has a video of a person hanging themselves at the top of the elevator ride. I know it is a Haunted Mansion but that is so dark to me. My DH couldn’t remember if he had ever been on the ride but then remembered it once it got started. When I was a kid I was SO scared of this ride (mostly I did not like jump scares and thought there would be some) and would close my eyes through the entire thing, telling my parents to let me know when we went through the ballroom so I could watch that scene. I am proud to say that I can now ride the entire ride with my eyes open. Bravery!
I got us a LL for Under the Sea while we were in the HM queue. One thing I did not like about LL was feeling like I needed to book the next thing right away and then staring at my phone as we walked quickly through the queue. We could have went straight to UTS timing wise but passed Philharmagic on the way which is one of my favs at MK. It had no wait so we did Standby for it. I loved it as always, and the new Coco scene was fun even if it’s not my favorite movie.
Then, we walked over to UTS, stopping to get some overpriced water on the way. The UTS ride was cute, but I wish it could be updated a bit. I love Ariel though.
While in that queue I once again booked our next LL for Mad Tea Party. With the rush of it all I didn’t know it changed the time for the ride by like 30 minutes, so when we got over there we were told we couldn’t enter yet. But the scanner let us in about 10 minutes before our posted time so the wait wasn’t so bad. It was annoying that the time had changed though. We used our phones throughout the day but next time I go back to Disney I think I’ll splurge on a Magic Band just for ease. Mad Tea Party was fun but DH said we were going too fast haha. He did take some amazing pics of me on the ride though!
(Image description: Portrait of me making peace signs while on the Mad Tea Party ride.)
Next was the highlight of the day: lunch at Cinderella’s Royal Table! I had never eaten here before and was excited to try it. This is another reservation I snagged with the Mousekepros service. We arrived a little early for our reservation, and I don’t think we were sat right on time but I wasn’t paying too much attention. We had fun sitting in the waiting area. We were the only ones in there for awhile and got some fun pics with the throne. The meal itself was great. I loved the theming and how they announced our royal family when it was time to be seated. We got to sit right by the window which had a lovely view of the park. We were sort of far away from Cinderella because of this— I don’t know how it was pre-COVID but now she just comes and paces/stands/waves in a certain area. Cinderella isn’t my fav so I didn’t mind. I do wish there were other princesses there like I heard there used to be, though! We got to make wishes on our wishing stars… twice! (because Cinderella came out there twice while we were there). Mine are obviously secret but they were running related. Any guesses?
(Image description: My DH and I sitting in the waiting room for Cinderella’s Royal Table.)
(Image description: Holding my blue wishing star against the window, with the carousel in the background.)
I had been warned that the food wouldn’t be good but that wasn’t the case. The plant based cheese plate was particularly a yummy surprise, but they could do better portioning in regard to cheese and crackers (I had way too much cheese leftover that I had to eat plain). A great part was there was no check to be paid at the end since I had paid for it when I made my reservation! It helped me forget just how expensive that meal was. My DH and I agree that it was worth it, though. And on the way out I got a wand and he got a sword.
(Image description: My brave hubby holding his sword in front of an ornate door.)
(Image description: My delicious plant based dessert! I forget what it was called but it was great.)
The afternoon was when Genie+ started to be less effective because the wait times between rides were really long and left us with a lot of empty time. To my understanding, you can only book one at a time but maybe there is a way around that. We paid ILL for Space Mountain and were able to make another simultaneous regular LL reservation for Winnie the Pooh, but that would be after SM. On our way to SM we stopped at my all-time favorite thing in MK… the Monster’s Inc Laugh Factory! The type of humor incorporated in the show (“that guy”!) gets me every time and I love the technology. I have really good intuition and was hoping we would be featured so I got my phone camera ready. And we were picked! They interacted with us in the part where they ask where people are from. I don’t think I can share a video here but I captured it (wish I had turned my camera sideways though as you can only see the screen with us and not the Monsters screen) and it is a perfect fun memory. I was thrilled.
(Image description: A screenshot of the video where my DH and I were participants in the Laugh Factory show. I’m wearing a mask but there’s a huge smile under there.)
Next was SM! My DH was not happy that we wouldn’t get to sit next to each other haha. He is not a roller coaster fan but I think the fact that it’s a dark ride helped since his real fear is heights. The ride was fun as always although my feet were really starting to feel all the walking in the queue before and after.
After SM we still had some time for our next LL so we rode the People Mover in standby. The wait was like 20 minutes and there were lots of people with their Marathon or Dopey medals that I was jealous of! They mostly all looked a heck of a lot fitter than me (and were walking more easefully… which is good because I wouldn’t wish blisters on the soles of the feet for anyone!).
After People Mover we went on a search for the esteemed Purple Wall for a photo shoot. I had originally had a Capture Your Moment reservation as a way to celebrate Goofy and get pictures of my medals, but I cancelled it when I didn’t finish the marathon. My DH was an excellent and patient photographer all day though, and he got some great pictures that I will treasure! He also bought me an Ariel bubble wand. I don’t care that I am 31 years old. I love Ariel, and I love bubbles. It was a fun souvenir.
(Image description: A portrait shot of my half marathon medal in front of the Purple Wall. Sadly I am holding the medal backwards and didn’t realize it… hopefully the “made in China” isn’t too noticeable.)
(Image description: An influencer in the wild! Or, me with my bubble wand in front of the Purple Wall.)
We then headed to our LL for Winnie the Pooh but the ride shut down right before it was supposed to start. My DH needed some tums and I told him to go check out First Aid while I waited. While he was gone, I decided to meet Princesses Tiana and Rapunzel because the line was only 10 minutes, and I was right by it. There was a sweet family with kids who I chatted with while we waited— I am pretty good with kids (since I am a teacher) and they were cute telling me about their first trip and their Mickey ears. I felt a little awkward meeting Tiana and Rapunzel since I was an adult woman by myself but they were cool. They mostly commented on my outfit. I told Tiana her song Almost There got me through the race on Saturday.
(Image description: Selfie with Rapunzel!)
By the time that was done, my DH had returned and I noticed we had a LL anytime pass in the account that could be used for a few different rides since Winnie the Pooh had been cancelled. The ride was back up so we just used it with that. Eeyore is one of my top favorite Disney characters, and the ride was cute and fun! I love when it makes you feel like you are rolling on the waves.
After that ride, we didn’t have anything for a few hours (Pirates at 6:45 or so). We walked around the areas of the park we hadn’t been to yet. We decided to see the Hall of Presidents “show.” My favorite author, John Green, has an essay about this attraction in his book The Anthropocene Reviewed. I agree with his take. Next we went to the Enchanted Tiki Room, which I have fond memories of from my childhood. It was not so impressive today, and I felt quite bored. I wish it had subtitles haha. I have grown dependent on them.
We still had to wait a few minutes for Pirates, but decided to try to get on it 15 minutes early. The CM told us it was early but let us through the LL queue anyway. Pirates is my favorite ride even though some of it has changed. I first visited Disney before I was even a year old, and my parents report that I loved the Pirates ride and they took me on it over and over. Apparently I lost my little baby shoe on the ride and a CM found it for me, haha. So, it was a good last ride for our day.
We then headed to our reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern, which we were early for. I was hoping they’d be able to seat us early so we would be done in time for the fireworks, but they actually told us they were running behind and it would be an extra 30 minute wait after our reservation time. It only ended up being 10 minutes after our reservation time, but the table service was a little slow as well. So, we missed the fireworks. It was somewhat frustrating because we were next to a window and I was technically in view of the fireworks, but the window glass was clouded and we could just see flashes of light. Overall, the food was yummy. I had the plant based dinner and enjoyed everything.
Afterward we had considered going to 7DMT but decided not to. In retrospect, I wish we had in order to avoid the post-fireworks leaving the parks crowd which was a mess. We started to head out of the park and were directed out this side way parallel to Main Street. I didn’t really understand what was happening and was disappointed because I had wanted to stop in the shops one last time. Once we got to the front of the park it was sooo crowded and the line for the Monorail was very long. In retrospect the wait probably wasn’t as long as it looked but my feet hurt and it just felt very chaotic. Lesson learned there. The timing of it meant that we would have to wait almost an hour for our shuttle at the TTC so we just ended up getting a very overpriced taxi back to the hotel.
And that was our day at MK! My overall takeaway was that Genie+ was nice since we didn’t have to wait in any ride queues, but it did mean that we had random bouts of just waiting around the park, particularly later in the day. Maybe I just wasn’t using it effectively. Genie+ also meant a lot more walking because we would have to go from one section of the park to the next and then back, etc. rather than working through each section one by one. Normally I wouldn’t mind that so much, but it was difficult since my feet were a disaster and I also lack familiarity with the park layouts. I wish I knew them better because I think it would make my time running through them more meaningful! I could not tell you where we ran at all with the exception of going through Cinderella’s Castle.
And, for one last picture… here’s me with my absolute favorite thing in MK: the memento mori sign. Memento Mori translates to “remember you will die” (thanks, Lemony Snicket, for teaching me this), and I think it is such an interesting inclusion in the Happiest Place on Earth. My relationship with this phrase changes frequently, more often than not resulting in existential dread and anxiety. But in the spirit of runDisney, I want this picture to symbolize my eagerness to do the things that scare me. In the words of T.S. Eliot, “only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” This next year, I hope to do my best with my limited time on this planet and hopefully make it a little further next time
(either 14.5 or 23.8 miles further, to be exact).
(Image description: Me posing under the Memento Mori sign.)
The rest of my day was taken up by seeing my students in their musical, my commute to the school (which is 90 minutes total), and work/chores.
MOVE 
NOURISH
BELIEVE
