Sarah_Rose
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2008
- Messages
- 1,800
Alright, and here I am again!
This trip has been in the planning stages since January, but this is the week where I've finally made some headway in actually planning the darn thing.
The Who: Me, Sarah, and my DH, James.
Sarah: I've been a Disney freak since my first trip to The World at age 9. I love Epcot, Dole Whips, and long walks down the Sassagoula River. I also have a weakness for moderate resorts, obsessive-compulsive park hopping, and Pecos Bill's. However, until a couple years ago I certainly was not a runner. One day in spring 2008 I got the idea that we should travel to WDW for the January 2009 half marathon. James was floored. I wasn't out of shape, but I also didn't show any interest in actively... exercising. I trained for the half and finished it, and then became hooked. I ran my second half marathon (the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle) in June of this year.
Here I am in my first half marathon!
James: James is not much of a Disney fan. He went to Disneyland once as a child because his parents "thought the kids should see it once." Since he met me, he has been dragged to WDW twice and to Disneyland Paris once. He may be learning to like it. James has always been an athlete, but is one of those infuriating people that can train once a week for 8 weeks and then go out and run a half marathon and finish in 2 hours with no pain. Grrrrr.
Here is James in his natural state:
The Why: The 2009 Disney Half Marathon was really tough on me. I hadn't trained much in December because of the holidays and the foot of snow that was dumped on Seattle that shut down the city for two weeks, and I wasn't prepared for the physical pounding that 13.1 miles does to your feet, knees, and hips. By the time I hit the finish line after 2 hours and 29 minutes of running, I was swearing that I'd never do it ever again. By 2:00 that afternoon, after a shower and a bacon-double-cheeseburger at Pecos Bill's, we'd already decided to go back for the full marathon in 2010.
I went back to running the weekend after the half marathon.... and I was determined to prepare myself so that the next time I did it, it wouldn't hurt. I registered for the full marathon and read everything I could about injury-free training. I did a 15 mile training run in May in preparation for the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Half Marathon on June 27th, and I knew I'd done it. The RnR Seattle came and - in addition to just overall being fabulous as I had a group of DISers come visit in MY CITY! - I felt strong and fast and in charge. That weekend also did something else to me.... the group of DISers I was hanging out with were all registered for Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge. They converted me. James still thinks I'm a bit nutty, but I upgraded my registration to the Goofy. I also later added the Friday 5K. I figure if I'm already running 39.3 miles, what's another 3.1?
James and I got married on July 17th in Ontario, Canada.
Because we were getting married on the other side of the continent from where we live, we decided to put off our honeymoon until Spring 2010, and take a trip to Hawaii. My car accident on September 12th changed all that. I'm fine (mostly - a slowly healing sprained wrist and some shoulder nerve damage isn't slowing me down!) but we had to replace our car and lost a lot of it's value in the replacement. We decided to cancel our honeymoon in Hawaii and instead stay for a full week in Disney. So, we are now having a Marathon Weekend Honeymoon. Yes, the CM I talked to this week couldn't believe it either!
The When: We originally booked POP for January 6-11. Because I am doing the 5K on the Friday, I have to attend the Marathon Expo on Thursday to pick up my race packets. Which means that I have to arrive on Wednesday. When we originally booked the trip, we were only counting on James having 1 holiday day by the first week of January, and not counting days we would need for our Hawaii trip. So, the plan was that I would arrive Wednesday, pick up both of our packets, and then James would take a red-eye and arrive Saturday morning. By axing the Hawaii trip, it meant that James would have 3 holiday days to take by that week, so he could stay Saturday-Wednesday. So, for those keeping score:
Wednesday, January 6: Sarah arrives at MCO.
Saturday, January 9: James arrives at MCO.
Wednesday, January 13th: We both leave.
Not the most romantic way to start a honeymoon, but... it'll all be races and race expos for the first few days, anyway.
The Where: Our quick marathon weekend trip was going to take place at POP. However, the release of the 4/3 deal and the conversion of the trip to a one-week honeymoon meant that we changed our reservation to 7 nights at CSR in a king bed room. We've never stayed there before, but are really excited to experience the resort! I've requested Casitas 4 or 5, and hope to get our request! I love how romantic the Casitas area is, with all the fountains!
Getting There: I booked James' Friday night red-eye from Seattle to MCO first. I got an American Airlines flight that leaves Seattle at 11:40 pm, arrives in Dallas at 6:30, and then arrive at MCO at 9:40 am. That's a long red-eye, but James ok-ed it. I was waiting for Southwest to drop the prices on their flights, but they sat around $100 each way for the longest time and I wasn't that impressed with the flight times for my outbound. Finally, I gave up and booked another AA flight. I leave Seattle at 9:40 am and arrive at MCO at 8:15 pm. On the way back, we leave MCO at 5:00 pm and arrive in Seattle at 10:50 pm. I'd rather fly Southwest, but I couldn't see them dropping much past the AA flight ($99 each way) and I liked the AA flight times better. Also, it'll be nice to not have to worry about checking in 24 hours in advance on our return trip.
Our Plans:
Our plans are very much dictated by the races, for at least the first part of the trip. We have 7 day park hoppers with our 4/3 deal, but we probably won't use all our park time. Here's what I have so far:
Wednesday, January 6: Arrive at MCO at 8:15. DME to CSR. Hopefully arrive in time to eat something and get to bed at a decent hour.
Thursday, January 7: EMH at MK. I won't want to get up that early, but I'll be up even earlier for my races so I might as well start. Marathon expo at WWoS around noon, and then (after stopping at CSR to drop off all my loot) whatever park I feel like hitting for dinner and a few more rides.
Friday, January 8: 5K at 7:00 at Epcot. It'll be an early morning to catch the bus to the start line. Shower and breakfast, and then on to DHS or MK for a few hours. DIS WISH meet at POP food court at 4:00. Probably retiring to bed soon after that.
Saturday, January 9: Half Marathon at 5:45, means catching the bus at 3:30 am. Then back to CSR to shower, eat, and wait for James to arrive. The rest of the day will depend on how James is feeling and which park he'd like to hit. He'll probably be really sleepy, but I'll need to walk a lot to keep my legs from stiffening up. I'm considering a massage at the CSR spa in the afternoon.
Sunday, January 10: Marathon at 5:45. Hopefully survive to stumble back to CSR for a shower and "breakfast". Late afternoon ADR at some Epcot restaurant. WISH Illuminations dessert party at Epcot - I'm REALLY looking forward to this!
Monday, January 11: Possible ADR at Kona Cafe for breakfast. I'm off caffeine while training, so I'm really looking forward to my first real coffee in months! Likely MK for the rest of the day, as I'd really like to see Spectro for the first time in FOREVER on this trip.
Tuesday, January 12: No idea. We will enter a park. I'm also thinking California Grill for dinner. Or maybe Jiko. Or Citricos.
Wednesday, January 13: Check out and store our luggage and enter a park for a few hours until we have to catch our ~2:00 DME to MCO.
_____________________________________________________
Any ideas for nice, relaxing ADRs? My 90 days is October 8, so I've got to decide soon! James hates character meals, so that's out. And I'd like something quiet-ish and romantic. I think I've mostly decided on CG, but I'm still looking for an Epcot restaurant and possibly another resort meal for the Saturday night. James has put in a request for Coral Reef the day of the marathon (so he can sit and watch the fishes and veg for awhile
) but I've heard such mixed reviews on the food that I'm afraid to book it. Any other suggestions?
Also, I'm trying to come up with something low-key and relaxing and romantic at CSR, but I'm coming up blank. Short of ordering a $150 bottle of wine from the Disney Florist, of course.
Thanks for reading! Here we go....
This trip has been in the planning stages since January, but this is the week where I've finally made some headway in actually planning the darn thing.
The Who: Me, Sarah, and my DH, James.
Sarah: I've been a Disney freak since my first trip to The World at age 9. I love Epcot, Dole Whips, and long walks down the Sassagoula River. I also have a weakness for moderate resorts, obsessive-compulsive park hopping, and Pecos Bill's. However, until a couple years ago I certainly was not a runner. One day in spring 2008 I got the idea that we should travel to WDW for the January 2009 half marathon. James was floored. I wasn't out of shape, but I also didn't show any interest in actively... exercising. I trained for the half and finished it, and then became hooked. I ran my second half marathon (the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle) in June of this year.
Here I am in my first half marathon!
James: James is not much of a Disney fan. He went to Disneyland once as a child because his parents "thought the kids should see it once." Since he met me, he has been dragged to WDW twice and to Disneyland Paris once. He may be learning to like it. James has always been an athlete, but is one of those infuriating people that can train once a week for 8 weeks and then go out and run a half marathon and finish in 2 hours with no pain. Grrrrr.
Here is James in his natural state:
The Why: The 2009 Disney Half Marathon was really tough on me. I hadn't trained much in December because of the holidays and the foot of snow that was dumped on Seattle that shut down the city for two weeks, and I wasn't prepared for the physical pounding that 13.1 miles does to your feet, knees, and hips. By the time I hit the finish line after 2 hours and 29 minutes of running, I was swearing that I'd never do it ever again. By 2:00 that afternoon, after a shower and a bacon-double-cheeseburger at Pecos Bill's, we'd already decided to go back for the full marathon in 2010.
I went back to running the weekend after the half marathon.... and I was determined to prepare myself so that the next time I did it, it wouldn't hurt. I registered for the full marathon and read everything I could about injury-free training. I did a 15 mile training run in May in preparation for the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Half Marathon on June 27th, and I knew I'd done it. The RnR Seattle came and - in addition to just overall being fabulous as I had a group of DISers come visit in MY CITY! - I felt strong and fast and in charge. That weekend also did something else to me.... the group of DISers I was hanging out with were all registered for Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge. They converted me. James still thinks I'm a bit nutty, but I upgraded my registration to the Goofy. I also later added the Friday 5K. I figure if I'm already running 39.3 miles, what's another 3.1?
James and I got married on July 17th in Ontario, Canada.
Because we were getting married on the other side of the continent from where we live, we decided to put off our honeymoon until Spring 2010, and take a trip to Hawaii. My car accident on September 12th changed all that. I'm fine (mostly - a slowly healing sprained wrist and some shoulder nerve damage isn't slowing me down!) but we had to replace our car and lost a lot of it's value in the replacement. We decided to cancel our honeymoon in Hawaii and instead stay for a full week in Disney. So, we are now having a Marathon Weekend Honeymoon. Yes, the CM I talked to this week couldn't believe it either!
The When: We originally booked POP for January 6-11. Because I am doing the 5K on the Friday, I have to attend the Marathon Expo on Thursday to pick up my race packets. Which means that I have to arrive on Wednesday. When we originally booked the trip, we were only counting on James having 1 holiday day by the first week of January, and not counting days we would need for our Hawaii trip. So, the plan was that I would arrive Wednesday, pick up both of our packets, and then James would take a red-eye and arrive Saturday morning. By axing the Hawaii trip, it meant that James would have 3 holiday days to take by that week, so he could stay Saturday-Wednesday. So, for those keeping score:
Wednesday, January 6: Sarah arrives at MCO.
Saturday, January 9: James arrives at MCO.
Wednesday, January 13th: We both leave.
Not the most romantic way to start a honeymoon, but... it'll all be races and race expos for the first few days, anyway.
The Where: Our quick marathon weekend trip was going to take place at POP. However, the release of the 4/3 deal and the conversion of the trip to a one-week honeymoon meant that we changed our reservation to 7 nights at CSR in a king bed room. We've never stayed there before, but are really excited to experience the resort! I've requested Casitas 4 or 5, and hope to get our request! I love how romantic the Casitas area is, with all the fountains!
Getting There: I booked James' Friday night red-eye from Seattle to MCO first. I got an American Airlines flight that leaves Seattle at 11:40 pm, arrives in Dallas at 6:30, and then arrive at MCO at 9:40 am. That's a long red-eye, but James ok-ed it. I was waiting for Southwest to drop the prices on their flights, but they sat around $100 each way for the longest time and I wasn't that impressed with the flight times for my outbound. Finally, I gave up and booked another AA flight. I leave Seattle at 9:40 am and arrive at MCO at 8:15 pm. On the way back, we leave MCO at 5:00 pm and arrive in Seattle at 10:50 pm. I'd rather fly Southwest, but I couldn't see them dropping much past the AA flight ($99 each way) and I liked the AA flight times better. Also, it'll be nice to not have to worry about checking in 24 hours in advance on our return trip.
Our Plans:
Our plans are very much dictated by the races, for at least the first part of the trip. We have 7 day park hoppers with our 4/3 deal, but we probably won't use all our park time. Here's what I have so far:
Wednesday, January 6: Arrive at MCO at 8:15. DME to CSR. Hopefully arrive in time to eat something and get to bed at a decent hour.
Thursday, January 7: EMH at MK. I won't want to get up that early, but I'll be up even earlier for my races so I might as well start. Marathon expo at WWoS around noon, and then (after stopping at CSR to drop off all my loot) whatever park I feel like hitting for dinner and a few more rides.
Friday, January 8: 5K at 7:00 at Epcot. It'll be an early morning to catch the bus to the start line. Shower and breakfast, and then on to DHS or MK for a few hours. DIS WISH meet at POP food court at 4:00. Probably retiring to bed soon after that.
Saturday, January 9: Half Marathon at 5:45, means catching the bus at 3:30 am. Then back to CSR to shower, eat, and wait for James to arrive. The rest of the day will depend on how James is feeling and which park he'd like to hit. He'll probably be really sleepy, but I'll need to walk a lot to keep my legs from stiffening up. I'm considering a massage at the CSR spa in the afternoon.
Sunday, January 10: Marathon at 5:45. Hopefully survive to stumble back to CSR for a shower and "breakfast". Late afternoon ADR at some Epcot restaurant. WISH Illuminations dessert party at Epcot - I'm REALLY looking forward to this!
Monday, January 11: Possible ADR at Kona Cafe for breakfast. I'm off caffeine while training, so I'm really looking forward to my first real coffee in months! Likely MK for the rest of the day, as I'd really like to see Spectro for the first time in FOREVER on this trip.
Tuesday, January 12: No idea. We will enter a park. I'm also thinking California Grill for dinner. Or maybe Jiko. Or Citricos.
Wednesday, January 13: Check out and store our luggage and enter a park for a few hours until we have to catch our ~2:00 DME to MCO.
_____________________________________________________
Any ideas for nice, relaxing ADRs? My 90 days is October 8, so I've got to decide soon! James hates character meals, so that's out. And I'd like something quiet-ish and romantic. I think I've mostly decided on CG, but I'm still looking for an Epcot restaurant and possibly another resort meal for the Saturday night. James has put in a request for Coral Reef the day of the marathon (so he can sit and watch the fishes and veg for awhile
) but I've heard such mixed reviews on the food that I'm afraid to book it. Any other suggestions? Also, I'm trying to come up with something low-key and relaxing and romantic at CSR, but I'm coming up blank. Short of ordering a $150 bottle of wine from the Disney Florist, of course.
Thanks for reading! Here we go....
