Pre-Trip Birthday Surprises and Running Princesses

Hey everyone!
I realize that I just finished my last TR and this PTR is a little premature since I don't have anything super specific planned but I am so excited that I need to write about it :)
So lets get started:

Who?
So…I'm pretty sure the trip will be my Mom, myself, and my sisters Betta and Jill (I'm trying to convince my Dad to go so we will see how it works out!). We all were last at Disney in June 2014 (yes, just about 2 months ago)
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From left to right: me (Megan), Betta, my mom and Jill at the Boardwalk!

When?
This is another detail I am working out. The original plan was to go from Feb 20 to Feb 25 but my residency schedule has changed a bit so I won't be able to go until the 21st and the more I think about it the more I can't only stay for a few days so I'm hoping to convince at least one person (*cough my mom cough*) to stay a bit longer

Where?
I had originally planned on looking into renting DVC points but something about not booking through the Disney website makes me nervous. I'm still pretty torn…I want to try new places (like the Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge) but we also love Port Orleans French Quarter so much that I can't think about staying anywhere else.
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Why?/the story behind it
I went into a major Disney depression after getting home from the last trip and really needed some motivation to get me through ICU and some of the other tough intern year rotations so I contemplated going on a Disney trip during my scheduled vacation in February. I even said I would go alone haha. In any case Betta and I discovered that the Princess Half Marathon happened to coincide with my vacation time so we decided it would be fun to do it! We talked about it and everyone thought I was joking but when the day came to register Betta and I registered! After thinking about it I really wanted to do something special for my moms birthday coming up (its her 60th so its a big one for her…shhh don't tell her I told you). At least in our house 60th B.Days are a big deal, and especially now that my mom is a cancer survivor. So we decided for her birthday present Betta, Jill, and I would pay for the hotel and the plane tickets and all she would have to pay for is the park tickets. Well, when I told my Dad the plan he wanted in so he said he would pay for the tickets for her so she wouldn't have to pay for anything (I actually find this funny sounding, as if my Dad and Mom don't share a bank account haha)! The whole thing happened so fast I kind of forgot to tell Jill until like 5 pm and told her that if she wanted to do it she would have to sign up fast but she was too late and the half was already full. :( Well, fast forward to about 2 weeks ago and she discovered that she could get in via a charity group so she signed up as well!
I am now just trying to work on my Dad coming even if he doesn't run :)

The Surprise
So I would love to keep this a secret from my Mom until we actually left but thats unrealistic since she obviously has to train haha Also, she's pretty OCD like me and it would drive her nuts if I didn't give her proper time to plan. So her official birthday is on Thursday, but since I have clinic until 10 pm I won't be around to celebrate. Instead, we will be going out to dinner on Friday and thats when we will tell her! I still can't decide how to tell her so any suggestions would be appreciated. We were going to wrap a magic band and give it to her but I wish I could think of something more creative!

I'm also like dying inside because my Mom keeps talking to me about planning a trip for 2 years haha

Ahh can't wait!
192 Days :)
 

joshsprincess921

Well-Known Member
We also just booked the Wishes Dessert party for Friday while we are there! Its something new for us and I have read great things about the dessert parties so am really excited for it! Its a little confusing when you book it because you make a reservation for 6:00 (well actually we made it for 6:20) but Wishes isn't until 10…I read somewhere they just always make it for 6 now and change it closer to the day. Either way I hope choosing the later time doesn't interfere with anything I just didn't know whether to pick 6 or 620 and if there was a major difference besides them just trying to space out everyone haha.

I did the Dessert party on my last trip and it was certainly worth it! I would suggest not eating dinner close to your party time. You will need all the tummy room for all the goodies!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I did the Dessert party on my last trip and it was certainly worth it! I would suggest not eating dinner close to your party time. You will need all the tummy room for all the goodies!

Thanks for the suggestion! I tend to over eat at Disney (who doesn't) so will definitely have to keep this in mind so that I don't feel too full for this dessert party haha :)
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Ok so I added another ADR. My mom and I are going to Tony's Town Square for lunch on our last day there. She had a patient at work tell her a bunch if restaurants to try so out of all those we picked this one. I chose lunch since I don't really like Italian food but did want to try a flatbread there :) I have heard mixed reviews about this place so we will see how it goes. Also….today is the first day of official training for the half marathon. Thats obviously why I am sitting here writing instead of running…the beginning is always the hardest haha. We are currently trying to find cute matching outfits to run in so if anyone has any suggestions let me know :) I tend to be very picky about what I run in so I have a feeling I will be the deciding factor :angelic:
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
OMG big news! The Visa room discount came out today and out of curiosity I called and asked about room packages if I upgraded to a Deluxe. My sister had previously stayed at The Wilderness Lodge and after reading @LisaBelle 's and @prfctlyximprct 's trip reports I reallyyyy wanted to stay there. So I called and I was able to upgrade without paying much more money and so we are staying at the wilderness lodge!!!!!!! SO EXCITED! Can not believe that we are staying at a Deluxe resort. It will probably never happen again so I am so excited that it worked out this one time!!!!! AHHHHHHH Is it February yet?
 

LisaBelle

Well-Known Member
Yipppeeee! Soooo excited for you! You will absolutely love it! I know how your mom feels, though. I am reluctant to try any other resort because I love Wilderness Lodge so much. I think you will enjoy the easy access to MK. My sister and I are planning a sister trip to celebrate my 50th birthday in early 2016. Not sure what the budget will allow so I have been thinking about POFQ . Seems like lots of people on the boards love it.
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yipppeeee! Soooo excited for you! You will absolutely love it! I know how your mom feels, though. I am reluctant to try any other resort because I love Wilderness Lodge so much. I think you will enjoy the easy access to MK. My sister and I are planning a sister trip to celebrate my 50th birthday in early 2016. Not sure what the budget will allow so I have been thinking about POFQ . Seems like lots of people on the boards love it.

We are definitely getting really excited. I just hope the bus transportation is ok I really got used to the awesome bus service at POFQ. You and your sister will LOVE POFQ! Its a small hotel and so cute and def my favorite moderate resort that we stayed at! I can't read to start reading about the plans. Will it just be you and your sister?
 
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LisaBelle

Well-Known Member
Yes, it will just be me and my sister. We have never done a trip with just the two of us, so we are super psyched! We are researching the races and the resorts. Once we make some decisions I will start posting. Will this be your first Disney race?
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yes, it will just be me and my sister. We have never done a trip with just the two of us, so we are super psyched! We are researching the races and the resorts. Once we make some decisions I will start posting. Will this be your first Disney race?

That sounds like its def gonna be an awesome trip! It will be my first Disney race although my sister Jill has run a half marathon there before so at least we have some idea of what it will be like. I'm pretty nervous though I already have nightmares about it (its a little too soon for my Disney dreams to begin so not sure what the deal is haha). I haven't been training as much as I wanted to because of residency so hopefully I can get my mileage up and then it won't be so bad. I will have to definitely give you some tips for navigating Disney races after we come back :)
 

LisaBelle

Well-Known Member
That sounds like its def gonna be an awesome trip! It will be my first Disney race although my sister Jill has run a half marathon there before so at least we have some idea of what it will be like. I'm pretty nervous though I already have nightmares about it (its a little too soon for my Disney dreams to begin so not sure what the deal is haha). I haven't been training as much as I wanted to because of residency so hopefully I can get my mileage up and then it won't be so bad. I will have to definitely give you some tips for navigating Disney races after we come back :)

I think it's a plus that Jill has run a Disney race before. She will know the ropes and that will help all of you. It is definitely too soon for nightmares! Maybe you will be able to squeeze in a little more time for training. Since you live in Buffalo, you'll be dealing with cold and snowy weather prior to the half marathon. Will you have to do a lot of your training on a treadmill? Hope it all goes smoothly.

I will certainly appreciate your tips for navigating Disney races. Once we register I am sure I will be super nervous and we will only be doing a 5K. The thing is, I DO NOT run. AT ALL. I read a few TRs that were about Disney races and decided I wanted to try a 5K o_O. ONLY for Disney. I swear I really am crazy about Disney to do this!! My sister runs and has done some actual 5Ks so she will be good. I walk a lot and I know that I can make the time limits by just walking fast, so I keep telling myself that if I can run even a little I should be fine.

I read your earlier post about adding the lunch ADR at Tony's Town Square. We ate dinner there in 2012 and really enjoyed it. I think I remember from your TR that you like creme brûlée. Tony's has a pistachio creme brûlée for dessert and it is delish.
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I think it's a plus that Jill has run a Disney race before. She will know the ropes and that will help all of you. It is definitely too soon for nightmares! Maybe you will be able to squeeze in a little more time for training. Since you live in Buffalo, you'll be dealing with cold and snowy weather prior to the half marathon. Will you have to do a lot of your training on a treadmill? Hope it all goes smoothly.

I will certainly appreciate your tips for navigating Disney races. Once we register I am sure I will be super nervous and we will only be doing a 5K. The thing is, I DO NOT run. AT ALL. I read a few TRs that were about Disney races and decided I wanted to try a 5K o_O. ONLY for Disney. I swear I really am crazy about Disney to do this!! My sister runs and has done some actual 5Ks so she will be good. I walk a lot and I know that I can make the time limits by just walking fast, so I keep telling myself that if I can run even a little I should be fine.

I read your earlier post about adding the lunch ADR at Tony's Town Square. We ate dinner there in 2012 and really enjoyed it. I think I remember from your TR that you like creme brûlée. Tony's has a pistachio creme brûlée for dessert and it is delish.

I'm not sure about where exactly the training will happen. I am praying for a mild winter so we can train outside. Its so boring running on a treadmill for anything longer than like an hour, so if we could at least do our long runs outside that would be helpful. Although, according to everyone its supposed to be another horrible winter. You will be good with a 5k, especially since you walk a lot. Thats actually how my mom started running she used to just walk a lot and was able to do a 5k pretty easily. They actually have a lot of good training programs out there too which are helpful! I use them sometimes to improve my time so look out for those!

Also you are correct I am pretty much obsessed with creme brûlée so I am veryyyyy excited to try Tony's pistachio creme brûlée. Yum! Sounds delish! Thanks for pointing it out to me :)
 

CheersBigEars

Well-Known Member
On my last trip I had lunch at Tony's. We sat outside on the veranda and had a great time people watching. Food was nice, nothing special but a lovely break from the crowds. I would definitely go again if I could sit outside.
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
On my last trip I had lunch at Tony's. We sat outside on the veranda and had a great time people watching. Food was nice, nothing special but a lovely break from the crowds. I would definitely go again if I could sit outside.

Oh nice I will have to see if I can request that we sit outside! That sounds really nice! I don't even like Italian food so I am not too concerned about what the food tastes like I'm just going more for the experience :)
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So we got a pin code in the mail! Yay! Except that when I called they were trying to upgrade me so it would have been $1000 more haha I guess since we are already staying at WIldnerness Lodge we couldn't apply it to our current reservation and the only use for it was an upgrade. Oh well! Maybe we will get another pin code some day :)
Also, meanwhile in Buffalo…
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As I'm sure you saw we got hit with a major snow storm which makes training even harder. These pictures are all from where my parents and sister live in Buffalo. I live about 10 minutes away and only got a foot of snow (which is easily manageable in Buffalo) but its still not easy to run in and there were travel bans everywhere so obviously couldn't go to the gym! Oh well, we will figure it out! I'm glad we got less snow but unhappy that meant all the patients came to my hospital haha. Is it time for Florida yet?
 

LisaBelle

Well-Known Member
Megan! As soon as I heard about all the snow in Buffalo I thought about you! OMG that amount of snow is insane! Sorry it is messing with your training.

Too bad the pin code didn't save you any money! :(

My sister and I decided that we are doing the Princess 5K in 2016 so I will anxiously be awaiting your TR (even though we will be running a much shorter race) it will be good to read about transportation, the expo, and to see what crowd levels are like.

Stay warm and good luck with training!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Megan! As soon as I heard about all the snow in Buffalo I thought about you! OMG that amount of snow is insane! Sorry it is messing with your training.

Too bad the pin code didn't save you any money! :(

My sister and I decided that we are doing the Princess 5K in 2016 so I will anxiously be awaiting your TR (even though we will be running a much shorter race) it will be good to read about transportation, the expo, and to see what crowd levels are like.

Stay warm and good luck with training!

Yay! I'm excited you guys are definitely going to run! It will be super fun! Luckily the snow melted pretty quickly…but not so quickly that we got flooding which is lucky :) Now we are back to our usual amount of snow haha
 

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