Trip Report Flabby, Fat & Lazy, Run A Race And Oopsy-Daisy! A 2013 Wine & Dine 1/2 Marathon Weekend Trip Report!

Hellooooooo humans! It's another runDisney trip report!

The cast is a small one this time around...just my husband Will (28) and me, Shannon (29).

This runDisney trip was different from my other ones in a few ways, the biggest being that the primary motivation was not to run the half marathon (although I did sign up for the half...I can't pass up the opportunity to earn some runDisney bling ). No, the main reason we booked this trip was to run Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K...together! It was Will's first race at Disney...actually, his first race ever!

We originally had our sights set on May's Expedition Everest Challenge, but quickly realized that the race would more than likely fall during a big tennis tournament that Will coaches each year. It seemed stupid to sign up for such an expensive race ($210 for both of us to do the 5K! ) with such a strong possibility that we wouldn't actually be able to participate, so that's when we switched gears and planned on the Wine & Dine weekend.

If any of you have read my other runDisney race reports you may be wondering what happened to my normal runDisney partner-in-crime, Princess Craiggy (my brother Craig, 27). Why didn't he come along and run the half with me? Apparently the idea of doing a night race really freaks him out for whatever reason. Plus, he's pretty busy - and broke - being a smarty-pants graduate student in a rigorous nursing program. (He IS still running though, and he's mentioned doing another runDisney race weekend more than once.) And finally, I sort of thought Will and I needed a little getaway, just the two of us.

The other big way that this trip was different was that it was the first time I've ever come into a runDisney race trip thinking there was a strong possibility that I'd either not start a race or drop out due to injury. My last long run during training was a 12-miler on November 3, the Sunday before the race. Out of nowhere I had weird knee pain at mile 9 and changed my stride to compensate for it. I felt okay once I was done, but as the night went on I increasingly felt like I had an intense cramp in my left foot. The next morning it felt like I had a serious strain, and I spent the rest of the week hobbling around work, popping ibuprofen like it was candy, icing my foot, and researching compression socks and taping methods that I hoped would help me quickly heal or at least successfully limp through the race. (My knee, the thing that had started this whole mess, felt perfectly fine.) Monday and Tuesday were the worst - I was in serious pain and wasn't even looking forward to the trip. What if I couldn’t start the races? What if I started and got pulled off the course? I know they give out medals to people even if they don't finish (no comment on that policy...), what would I do with the medal? There's no way I'd keep it. What if I tore or ruptured something? Would I cause serious damage here? WHAT ABOUT MY TRIP REPORT?! Seriously though, it was a pretty miserable week.

On Wednesday I felt a little better and was starting to think that maybe I could make it through. By Thursday I was pretty sure I was going to at least try both races, knowing full well that due to my stubbornness (and, let's be honest, stupidity) there was no way I'd willingly leave the course once I started unless something serious happened.

It was just a really weird time...by far the least excited I've ever been for a Disney trip.

 

[Kristia]

Sorry I am so late to your trip report! I just finished. Wow! What a crazy travel adventure you had. Luckily so far, Dan and I haven't had to travel separately. That would so totally stress me out!

I know that I will forget most of what I thought while reading but I will try....

I can't believe they let you on a ME bus! Good thing it was going to another resort. Now that would have really been a travel adventure had it been going to the airport (and not in a good way).

Jesters...AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I really have to try and stay here sometime but I really have to get over my fear of those things.

Congrats again to Will on his first 5k! So glad you were able to enjoy it together!

I think everyone goes to Kona after those morning races. After the half in January, we waited for over a half hour!

Bummer about your foot. Between my knee and my shin issues, I have used a lot of KT tape. It really does help with some support. Like you, I learned by watching their youtube videos. They are great! Luckily, I didn't need any for my marathon. Woohoo! How is your foot now? Did you have to see a doctor or did you just rest it? Way to stick it out even if it wasn't the smartest idea. I would have done EXACTLY the same thing. I think most of us would.

Seeing your report really makes me want to do a night race (probably this one) at WDW. I love AK at night and really miss that they don't open it anymore in the evening. I think we might try for it next year even though I originally said we wouldn't be going to Disney next year. Maybe just a quick trip!

As always, LOVE the pictures and the report! I am sure I will think of something to add when I look back through it.

ETA - Boy that didn't take me long haha! The pic of you and Vader and the bounty hunter (?) sold Dan on the Wine and Dine race.

 

[fractal]

Huge Congrats for finishing that race - forget the time, running with pain just sux and kudos to you for sucking it up!

Very cool that you had somebody recognize you from WDWmagic!

I keep looking at that picture of you in the TT car. The guy next to you and Will has got to be 8 feet tall??

 

[Ariel484]

Sorry I am so late to your trip report! I just finished. Wow! What a crazy travel adventure you had. Luckily so far, Dan and I haven't had to travel separately. That would so totally stress me out!

I know that I will forget most of what I thought while reading but I will try....

Hey Kristy! Yep, traveling separately is a necessary evil with these race trips for us. It's not ideal but that's the way it has to be.

I can't believe they let you on a ME bus! Good thing it was going to another resort. Now that would have really been a travel adventure had it been going to the airport (and not in a good way).

The more I think about that, the more I wonder how I got on that bus too. I must've timed it just right when the CM's back was turned!

Jesters...AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I really have to try and stay here sometime but I really have to get over my fear of those things.

AAAHHHH! I think they're really only in the lobby and in Sassagoula's, and we never actually ate in Sassagoula's so we were able to mostly avoid them...and they didn't haunt my dreams.

Congrats again to Will on his first 5k! So glad you were able to enjoy it together!

It was so much fun! I'm so glad he did it.

I think everyone goes to Kona after those morning races. After the half in January, we waited for over a half hour!

But that's okay because you ran into meeeeee! I was bracing myself for a repeat of January, where we waited so long to get seated and had super-slow service...we did wait awhile past our ADR this time but the service was incredibly quick. It's still going to be my go-to post-race brunch, I think. It's just so delicious.

Bummer about your foot. Between my knee and my shin issues, I have used a lot of KT tape. It really does help with some support. Like you, I learned by watching their youtube videos. They are great! Luckily, I didn't need any for my marathon. Woohoo! How is your foot now? Did you have to see a doctor or did you just rest it? Way to stick it out even if it wasn't the smartest idea. I would have done EXACTLY the same thing. I think most of us would.

This was my first time using KT Tape. In the week leading up to the trip I was using some KT knock-off (SuperTape or something?) that didn't work nearly as well but was a couple of bucks cheaper for the role. The KT Tape is SO much better. It really did help, I think I just needed extra extra extra support.

As of Saturday the foot is - finally - completely better! It's still a little stiff when I first get out of bed in the morning but it doesn't hurt anymore. The first couple of days after the trip I was still limping around a good amount and I told myself if it still wasn't better by the next week I was making an appointment, but it started improving dramatically without the whole running half marathons + walking around Disney Parks all day (gee, whoda thunk that one?! ) so I didn't end up seeing a doctor. I don't have any races on my calendar in the immediate future so I'm taking the rest of November off and am going to start to build back up in December. I'm really nervous about it...wondering if maybe I need to get re-fitted for new shoes? I'm just really not totally sure why this happened in the first place...like, I know it was caused by my altering my stride due to knee pain but I haven't had knee pain in years, so I'm hoping that won't come back. Oops, sorry for the novel! Haha!

And yeah, you get it...it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do but there was really no way I was going to back out.

Seeing your report really makes me want to do a night race (probably this one) at WDW. I love AK at night and really miss that they don't open it anymore in the evening. I think we might try for it next year even though I originally said we wouldn't be going to Disney next year. Maybe just a quick trip!

As always, LOVE the pictures and the report! I am sure I will think of something to add when I look back through it.

ETA - Boy that didn't take me long haha! The pic of you and Vader and the bounty hunter (?) sold Dan on the Wine and Dine race.

HAHA, GOTCHA DAN! Isn't that dude Boba Fett? I really need to watch Star Wars. I've definitely seen pictures of Darth Vader on the course in past years so I think he's a somewhat regular character there. If you do sign up next year don't forget that it's an anniversary!!

I think Wine & Dine works out nicely for a short weekend trip. It's nice because unlike the other race weekends you're done running Saturday night/Sunday morning, so you have all of Sunday to just relax. It would be totally nuts but it seems like one could conceivably fly in Friday night, do the expo/race on Saturday, and fly home Sunday afternoon/night. It would suck but it definitely seems easier to do short trip with a night race compared to one of the morning ones.

Huge Congrats for finishing that race - forget the time, running with pain just sux and kudos to you for sucking it up!

Very cool that you had somebody recognize you from WDWmagic!

I keep looking at that picture of you in the TT car. The guy next to you and Will has got to be 8 feet tall??

Thanks Chris! I would have hated myself if I didn't do the race. It was interesting because most of these longer races are so much more challenging mentally, and this was totally different.

It was very cool to be recognized! Such a nice surprise.

Oh man...I showed Will your comment about the TT car and we went back and looked at the picture and had a HUGE laugh. Now that you mention it, I do remember thinking that he was a larger gentleman, but it's so much more pronounced in the picture...probably because he's sitting right by Will who, let's face it, isn't exactly built like a linebacker. HAHA!

 

[Ariel484]

We were back at French Quarter just before 4PM...just enough time to get cleaned up, turn right around and head out for our early dinner reservation.

Via Napoli is definitely up there as one of our top favorite non-Signature Table Service restaurants (that was a mouthful!). Another favorite of ours? ‘OHANA!

Looking back it was pretty stupid to schedule an 'Ohana ADR on our Food & Wine Festival Day...we couldn't possibly stuff ourselves silly in World Showcase knowing that an 'Ohana feast was on the horizon. Well, I guess we could have, but it wouldn't have been pretty. I'll have to keep that in mind for next time!

We were seated pretty close to the firepit around 5:30PM.

@HollyBelle introduced me to Island Sunsets in September and my life will never be the same. POG juice + booze...you just can't lose there.

Will got a Kona Longboard Lager. He rated it "meh" at first but seemed to think it tasted better the more he drank it. Funny how that works sometimes.

And now, we feast!

The bread is one of our favorite courses:

I really like the new salad dressing...it's sweet and tasty.

Dipping sauces...

...followed by pot stickers and chicken wings. This was the weakest course of the meal. We both agreed that the pot stickers weren't as good as we remembered, so that was a bit sad.

Next up, our favorite non-dessert course...the noodles and veggies!

I was good and ate some veggies, but who are we kidding...the noodles are where it's at. LOVE!

I didn't get a shot of the meats, but I know I only stuck to the steak and chicken (Will tried the pork too). Normally I like the steak better than the chicken but this time I thought they were equally good. Yummmm. I only had 2 pieces of each though, because of what was coming next.

LOOK AT IT.

LOOK.

Oh, 'Ohana bread pudding. You are the best dessert ever.

 

[Ariel484]

We paid and headed outside to grab a monorail. Time for some nighttime fun at the Magic Kingdom!

So pretty.

I got a little obsessed with taking pictures from the train station during this trip!

Current background on my phone!

I really, really wanted to go to Philharmagic that night, so that's what we did!

We got seats right in the center of the theater...unfortunately the girls in front of us were super tall with, like, gigantic hair styles, so our view was pretty obstructed. Sadness!

Aw, phooey!

I was really bad about taking notes during this trip, so I'm not totally sure what we did next. Just walked around a bit, I guess. Lately I've been trying harder to sort of relax and take it all in, rather than just rush from attraction to attraction, so that's sort of more like what this night was like.

One thing I do remember is that despite having Magic Bands we were still able to get paper fastpasses on this trip. We had gotten a set for Big Thunder Mountain at some point and redeemed those after Philharmagic. Splash had a 5-minute wait and we debated riding that before deciding that we didn't want to be freezing the rest of the night.

Eventually we ended up in Tomorrowland. Laugh Floor time!

"I’m watching...always watching…"

I really like this attraction...we had a good That Guy this time. That always makes it better.

 

[Ariel484]

After the Laugh Floor we decided that we both really, REALLY wanted to ride Space Mountain. I think the line was 25-30 minutes, so we grabbed a set of Fastpasses for later (that we never ended up using) and hopped in line just as Wishes! was starting. The wait wasn't terrible but we did have 3 super annoying girls behind us, so that kind of sucked. And my foot was starting to hurt again after feeling pretty normal all day. Ugghhhh.

Space was fun though! Luckily those girls didn't end up in our rocket.

Hellooooo

After Space we headed back to Fantasyland and got on the Little Mermaid ride, which was a walk-on. This was kind of interesting because the party behind us had a service dog (a beeyooootiful Bernese Mountain Dog). For whatever reason we'd been talking about service dogs the previous day, and I had wondered out loud what happens to the dogs when their owners go on rides. Do the Cast Members just have to hold their leashes? How does that work?

Well, we got our answer. The dog actually got INTO the clamshell with its owner, laid down, and went through the whole ride! I was really surprised by this. Still doesn't explain what would happen on, say, Rock 'n' Roller coaster, but it was interesting.

@plaz10 looooook!

Will and I have come to the same conclusion on this ride...it just doesn't really do it for us. I want to like it more than I do - The Little Mermaid was my absolute favorite movie growing up. I feel sort of guilty for thinking that way!

At some point this evening we decided to check out Enchanted Tales with Belle. No pictures because the idea of taking pictures of someone else's kids sort of creeps me out. We waited maybe 20 minutes, and wow...this show was sooooooo cute. I know people give this attraction a hard time, but we thought it was great. The mirror effect was really cool and the kids had a great time. Our favorite little honorary Cast Member was the kid that played the Beast. He was maybe 8-10 years old and was totally into it when he just had to roar at Belle. But when it came time for Belle and the Beast to dance...oh man. The look on that kid's face was priceless. It was like he was being quietly tortured and was counting down the seconds until it was over. Hilarious!

So while I don't think we'll do this attraction on every trip (though we CERTAINLY will when we have a kiddo of our own ) we think it's a great example of something that sets Disney apart from other theme parks. Thumbs up from us!

By now it was about 11PM and my foot was hurting more and more as the night went on. I was back to walking extra super slowly with a noticeable limp. Maybe a delicious snack will help?!

Will got a hot dog with fries at Casey's - first time either of us have gotten anything from there. (I had a bite and it was gooooood!) Then we headed to Main Street Bakery. I got a Starbucks hot chocolate (hate all you want, it was delicious ) and a chocolate peanut butter cupcake.

This wasn't bad, but it wasn't very good either...nothing special about it. I was disappointed. I still ate the whole thing though. Maybe this mediocre cupcake was the Ghost of Walt Disney's way of punishing me for buying Starbucks on Main Street. Hmm...

By now it was about midnight and we were ready to call it a day. We slowly headed toward the park exit.

I think we had a bit of a wait for our bus, and this was a low point in the trip for me. I was so tired and so frustrated with my stupid foot (and, let's be honest, a little sad that we were going home tomorrow ) that I was practically in tears at the bus stop. Not good.

Last full day up next!

 

[plaz10]

@plaz10 looooook!

I enjoy the beginning of this ride (the going "under water" stuff) then it's really just a countdown until we see Ursula. I get all giddy at the Flotsam and Jetsam part! Then after the Ursula it's really just lamenting on how they kill her on the ride. No giant Ursula. No "I am the ruler of all the ocean!" It's just like Oh...electrocuted down in the corner. SHE DESERVES A BETTER DEATH SCENE!! Yep. So really it's the rise and fall of Ursula ride for me. But I love the shout out. My pictures of Ursula are always super blurry - partially due to my
excitement shakes and partially due to my amazing point and shoot

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Just read this whole thing at work... Probably should be doing work, but I just couldn't stop reading!!

Super happy you finished the half marathon! I was pulling for you the whole time I was reading and cheering in my head "Go Shannon, go!!!" The ToT 10 Miler was a night race and I enjoyed it though it could have used more on course entertainment. Like the hippo and the ostrich! I WILL get my picture with the ostrich one day. That's a goal of mine!!

I'm super bummed we didn't get to meet up at MK. My phone ended up dying on me at like 8 and it wasn't until after that that I was like "oh nooo, I need to text Shannon but I don't have her number! It's in my phone.. which is dead!" I should have put it in Ashley's phone for safe keeping since her phone was still alive. And I'm honestly shocked our paths just didn't cross cause we were pretty much in the same areas. RATS!! Next time for sure though!!

So awesome that Will did the race with you and even MORE awesome that he enjoyed himself! YAY!!!

 

[6laurac]

Originally the plan was for me to make a couple of stops in Downtown Disney, take the boat to French Quarter to meet Will, and then come back to Downtown Disney for dinner (a huge perk of the flight mess...he'd be here in time for us to eat dinner together). But he was already on the bus and complaining to me over text about the new DME video (titled "DME TV") by 6:40 and at French Quarter by 7! And I was NOT done shopping. So rather than me take the boat to French Quarter only to turn around and come back we decided he could just come meet me. By the way...his Magic Band worked perfectly at MCO despite the flight changes and opened the room on the first try.

So anyway...during my shopping wanderings I picked up a few things - one of those things of shea scrub from Basin (peppermint, yum!) a sweatshirt with Mickey wearing a Santa hat from World of Disney (because my warm clothes were in the room and it was getting chilly out), and...a Hidden Mickey Vera Bradley backpack!!! I just so happened to be in World of Disney the day that pattern launched.

I love Vera Bradley and love Disney, but I DO NOT like the first two patterns that came out (the black and pink ones). I love that Hidden Mickey one though ("Where’s Mickey?"). They were sold out of hipsters (in less than a day!), which would have been my first choice, but I like the backpack a lot. It’s a great park bag.

It was funny because I saw the sign announcing the new Veras outside of World of Disney. I found the nearest Cast Member and was just like, "TAKE ME TO THE VERAS." Without a word she swiftly turned around and quickly led me to the bags – she knew the seriousness of the situation. And somehow when I arrived NO ONE ELSE was around. So I took my time looking for the perfect bag. By the time I left that area was swarmed, and as I walked around the store clutching my bag I was stopped a few times by other ladies asking where I'd found it. Major score. I paid (with AP discount, natch) and wandered through some of the other stores...Tren-D, Little MissMatched (what a weird store), Art of Disney, Once Upon a Toy, Team Mickey, etc. I also got an ornament from the Christmas Store (kind of disappointed that they don’t have a big selection that can be personalized anymore). Downtown Disney was pretty full, I think because, again, it was a Friday night and they had Festival of the Masters going on.

 

[6laurac]

Originally the plan was for me to make a couple of stops in Downtown Disney, take the boat to French Quarter to meet Will, and then come back to Downtown Disney for dinner (a huge perk of the flight mess...he'd be here in time for us to eat dinner together). But he was already on the bus and complaining to me over text about the new DME video (titled "DME TV") by 6:40 and at French Quarter by 7! And I was NOT done shopping. So rather than me take the boat to French Quarter only to turn around and come back we decided he could just come meet me. By the way...his Magic Band worked perfectly at MCO despite the flight changes and opened the room on the first try.

So anyway...during my shopping wanderings I picked up a few things - one of those things of shea scrub from Basin (peppermint, yum!) a sweatshirt with Mickey wearing a Santa hat from World of Disney (because my warm clothes were in the room and it was getting chilly out), and...a Hidden Mickey Vera Bradley backpack!!! I just so happened to be in World of Disney the day that pattern launched.

I love Vera Bradley and love Disney, but I DO NOT like the first two patterns that came out (the black and pink ones). I love that Hidden Mickey one though ("Where’s Mickey?"). They were sold out of hipsters (in less than a day!), which would have been my first choice, but I like the backpack a lot. It’s a great park bag.

It was funny because I saw the sign announcing the new Veras outside of World of Disney. I found the nearest Cast Member and was just like, "TAKE ME TO THE VERAS." Without a word she swiftly turned around and quickly led me to the bags – she knew the seriousness of the situation. And somehow when I arrived NO ONE ELSE was around. So I took my time looking for the perfect bag. By the time I left that area was swarmed, and as I walked around the store clutching my bag I was stopped a few times by other ladies asking where I'd found it. Major score. I paid (with AP discount, natch) and wandered through some of the other stores...Tren-D, Little MissMatched (what a weird store), Art of Disney, Once Upon a Toy, Team Mickey, etc. I also got an ornament from the Christmas Store (kind of disappointed that they don’t have a big selection that can be personalized anymore). Downtown Disney was pretty full, I think because, again, it was a Friday night and they had Festival of the Masters going on.

Just have to say.....Between the New Balance Disney shoes and the Vera Bradley backpack-I feel like I have met my running/shopping twin. Terrific post & can't wait to see that you finished and your time. Can you post how your bag looks? I see where you spent time (you're even picky like I am ) over picking the right VB pattern out. Thanks for sharing! You chased my winter blues away.

 

[Ariel484]

I enjoy the beginning of this ride (the going "under water" stuff) then it's really just a countdown until we see Ursula. I get all giddy at the Flotsam and Jetsam part! Then after the Ursula it's really just lamenting on how they kill her on the ride. No giant Ursula. No "I am the ruler of all the ocean!" It's just like Oh...electrocuted down in the corner. SHE DESERVES A BETTER DEATH SCENE!! Yep. So really it's the rise and fall of Ursula ride for me. But I love the shout out. My pictures of Ursula are always super blurry - partially due to my
excitement shakes and partially due to my amazing point and shoot

Agreed, the "going under water" part is pretty cool. I wish they'd fix the Under the Sea scene and turn the lighting down. The Ursula AA is pretty awesome. You're totally right that she deserves a better death scene!

Don't be too hard on your point-and-shoot...it was there for us on the cruise when we truly needed it!!

Just read this whole thing at work... Probably should be doing work, but I just couldn't stop reading!!

That's right Darolyn, don't let work get in the way of reading trip reports!!

Super happy you finished the half marathon! I was pulling for you the whole time I was reading and cheering in my head "Go Shannon, go!!!" The ToT 10 Miler was a night race and I enjoyed it though it could have used more on course entertainment. Like the hippo and the ostrich! I WILL get my picture with the ostrich one day. That's a goal of mine!!

THANKS! I heard the same thing about Wine & Dine a few years back, that it was lacking on entertainment, and I thought they did a good job with that this year...so hopefully it'll improve for ToT as well. The ostrich was great, that was probably my favorite character meet on the course!

I'm super bummed we didn't get to meet up at MK. My phone ended up dying on me at like 8 and it wasn't until after that that I was like "oh nooo, I need to text Shannon but I don't have her number! It's in my phone.. which is dead!" I should have put it in Ashley's phone for safe keeping since her phone was still alive. And I'm honestly shocked our paths just didn't cross cause we were pretty much in the same areas. RATS!! Next time for sure though!!

So awesome that Will did the race with you and even MORE awesome that he enjoyed himself! YAY!!!

I totally hear you on the phone dying, that almost happened to me a lot on this trip. I'm sad we didn't get to meet up either, but really not sure I would have been great company anyway with the lack of sleep and general whiny-ness over my foot! Some other time for sure, friend!

Just have to say.....Between the New Balance Disney shoes and the Vera Bradley backpack-I feel like I have met my running/shopping twin. Terrific post & can't wait to see that you finished and your time. Can you post how your bag looks? I see where you spent time (you're even picky like I am ) over picking the right VB pattern out. Thanks for sharing! You chased my winter blues away.

Haha, thanks! I'll post pictures of both of the bags soon...if not tonight then tomorrow. The hipster has decent placement but I'm sure I would have found something a little better if I could have picked it out in person. But I'm just glad to actually have it. It's already sold out on the website!

 

[Ariel484]

Day 4: Monday, November 11, 2013

Last Disney Day! Booooooo.

We slept in a little bit again and were packed up, checked out and to the Magic Kingdom by 10:50ish. I think we had granola bars in the room...something really light because we had early lunch plans. One regret from this trip is that I never got to Sassagoula to get an order of beignets...this was originally my plan for breakfast on this day but we got up too late. Some other time.

Back to the Magic!

We headed straight back to Fantasyland and to the podium at Be Our Guest. There was a pretty big line...good thing we had a Fastpass! We gave the Cast Member our name and he waved us through...yay!

Fastpass line on the left, regular line on the right. Man, was it nice to bypass that line. We didn't even get any dirty looks! (Or maybe we did and I was blissfully unaware .)

I had a solo lunch here the day before the WDWMagic Girls cruise and was pleasantly surprised. My wait was 30 minutes total (from getting in line to getting my food) and everything was really good. This is definitely my favorite counter service spot in the Magic Kingdom.

We didn't pick our food ahead of time, so we stepped up to a self-serve kiosk to order. Instead of getting a rose like I had in September, we just scanned our Magic Bands so that the Cast Members could find us at our table. When it came time to pay, the system just charged to the bands without having us confirm it. It's how we would have paid anyway, but I was a little annoyed by this - what if I'd wanted to use a gift card or a different credit card or something?

We headed into the ballroom and scored a table right by the enchanted windows! Very cool.

Horrible shot of the windows...I wish I'd changed to my faster lens to get a better picture.

Christmas Tree!

Awesome ornaments! I love these!

"Mr. and Mrs. Ariel484! Bon appetit!"
(Will thought it was pretty cool that the CM greeted us by name.)

We both got the braised pork...same thing I got in September and probably what I'll get every time we come here. It's soooooo good.

(I'm cheating and using my picture from September...taken with a faster lens so it came out better. Behold, the importance of a wider aperture below...this was taken in the West Wing with it's super dark lighting and still came out decently. Photography rant over!)

Grey Stuff cupcake for me, lemon meringue for Will. We liked both...the Grey Stuff cupcake was super moist. I had the strawberry cupcake in September and it was super good. (These pictures are NOT with the fast lens. )

I'd say neither of us are interested in coming here for dinner - the reviews still seem to be all over the place, and we have certain places that we consider must-dos for dinner on most every trip, and I don't think we'll bump one of those in favor of Be Our Guest any time soon. But this place is definitely a solid spot for lunch and is definitely (in my opinion) a step above the other counter service places in the Magic Kingdom. Hopefully someday those ridiculous lines will go away.

 

[Ariel484]

This is where the lack of note-taking will come back to get me. For the most part, I really can't remember what else we did on this day. I know my foot was feeling pretty good and that I was content to just walk around and take it all in, so that's what we did. Here are some pictures!

One of, like, 3 pictures of the two of us that wasn't during the 5K. We need to do a better job with getting nice pictures of us on the next trip.

*In singsong voice*: Let down your hai-ir!

We thought about doing Hall of Presidents...wandered in, changed our minds, and wandered out. Some day we'll sit through this.

This is where I really started to get obsessed with my ultra-wide lens. I was still figuring it out a bit this morning...I'm going to use that one a LOT on our next trip.

At some point we decided to use our FP+ for Splash Mountain. I'm sure we also had them for Big Thunder and Space, but slept through them. So we were 2 for 6 on FP+ that weekend (3 for 7 if you count the Be Our Guest fastpasses).

Papparazzi!

You're gonna get WET!

Throughout the ride Will kept asking me if I was going to put my camera away because he was concerned it would get wet and be ruined...and I'd just be like, "It's fine, don’t worry about it!" I normally don't take pictures on rides, but for whatever reason I decided to try it out on this trip. The ones on the mermaid ride came out okay...the Haunted Mansion pics were sooooooo bad I couldn't save them later in editing. Granted, I didn't use my fastest lens, but still...

Anyway, now that I've gotten it out of my system I think I'm going to stick to "no pictures" in the future. I totally get why people do it, but it's just not for me. I didn't get to fully take in the rides and the pictures didn't even turn out that great.

I mean, this one's okay...

But check out this one. Like...good thing I got that random guy's head in focus, ya know?

This was the one shot I really wanted, and even this one isn't that great. Will's like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING PUT THAT CAMERA AWAY."

Stunned that I had the camera out:

Visual representation of the "no pictures" rule...Will's having a great time on the ride and I'm scrambling to shove the camera under my shirt so it won’t get wet rather than enjoying myself. No more ride pictures for me. Also, love the dude in front of Will that looks TOTALLY bored.

 

[KappleB2]

That happened to me at Be Our Guest! I was in the room with my parents so my Dad's card was linked to the band but I was paying for myself! It just did it! I did NOT like that.

I am loving seeing someone elses trip that was at the same time as mine, I like your perspective.

 

[Kristia]

LOVE the tree picture in BOG! I want those ornaments too!

 

[RunnerFool]

Congrats on your race!! I'll be at the PHM
Nice TR, btw

 

[Ariel484]

That happened to me at Be Our Guest! I was in the room with my parents so my Dad's card was linked to the band but I was paying for myself! It just did it! I did NOT like that.

I am loving seeing someone elses trip that was at the same time as mine, I like your perspective.

Isn't that super annoying?? I don't know why it does that! How hard would it be to add a screen saying, "Pay with your Magic Band Y/N?" or something??

Oooh yeah, I see you were at Saratoga! I now know from my random little jaunt through there that it's a very pretty resort. Thanks for reading!

LOVE the tree picture in BOG! I want those ornaments too!

Me too!!! We'll be back in a few weeks (!!) so I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for those ornaments!

Congrats on your race!! I'll be at the PHM
Nice TR, btw

Thanks!! Is this your first time doing the Princess Half? You'll love it, it's such a fun race! Thanks for reading!

 

[Ariel484]

Okay, time to put this bad boy to bed. But first, for @6laurac ...

Here's the "Where's Mickey?" backpack I got from World of Disney. I remember looking specifically for one that had the "full-body" Mickeys (in the green flower on the lower left corner and on the stem in the lower right corner):

The front pocket has a magnetic clasp...here's the inside fabric:

Blurry picture of the inside of the main compartment:

Back of the bag has a zipper pocket:

This wasn't my first choice bag...I really wanted a hipster, but they were sold out at World of Disney when I got there. I'm really glad I got this backpack though, it's a GREAT park bag.

Here's the hipster...it was delivered on Monday, so I didn't get to pick it out in person but I LOVE it. I think they're sold out now on DisneyStore.com:

Zipper pocket on the back:

Blurry shot of the inside of the bag with its 3 slip pockets:

So this is my everyday purse now, and I LOVE IT!!!

 

[Ariel484]

After Splash we headed out of Frontierland and made our way to Tomorrowland.

Extreme angle to cut other folks out of the shot.

Buzz had a 25-minute wait (I think), so we headed that way...and once we arrived we both decided that the ride is not worth a 25-minute wait. So we decided to run out the Disney clock on Main Street USA!

Love the (I assume) grandparents with their grandson carrying the Mickey balloon:

This was a first for us...ice cream from the Plaza! What is with this lady's mouth??

We got our ice cream and headed to a little alley off of Main Street that we'd discovered the previous day. This is now my favorite spot in the Magic Kingdom.

I got birthday cake ice cream and Will got mint chocolate chip. Yum!

And we just hung out. It was bliss.

But all good things must come to an end, and eventually it was time to make our way sloooooowly toward the park exit.

 

[Ariel484]

I love these wide shots of Main Street because there's just so much going on!

I have this same picture approximately 1,000 times and will surely take it 1,000 more times on our next trip. Love these toy soliders.

Will headed to the bathroom and I headed to the Chapeau.

No one's here!

Here I bought myself a pair of the green Minnie ears...I'll be bringing them back in a few weeks!

A few more from the train station...

Bye-bye Magic Kingdom...

It never gets any easier to leave, does it?