Trip Report * Completed* For the First Time In Forever We'll Have Magic, We'll Have Fun

Hello @Longers @Doc Disney @prfctlyximprct @Tuvalu and my fellow Disney fanatics. Welcome to my 2016 Princess 5K Trip Report!


Who: Me (Lisa) and my younger sister, Tina
When: February 17 -22, 2016
Where: The Poly!
Why: 2015 sucked and we were in desperate need of the magic and protection of the Disney Bubble. And oh yeah, my 50th Birthday!!

How this trip came about:
In December of 2014 my sister suggested that we do something, just the two of us, to celebrate my 50th birthday. Knowing that she loves Disney as much as I do, I suggested a Disney trip. I'd been reading lots of runDisney trip reports so we decided that it would be fun to run in the Princess 5K. Tina had run in a few 5Ks, but until we came up with this idea I had never run a 5K in my life.
Right away I went into planning mode and started researching resorts and planning our tentative itinerary.
Then, in April of 2015 our mom, who has dementia, became very ill and needed surgery followed by a lengthy stay in a skilled nursing facility. At the end of April our dad, who was our mom's primary caregiver, had a sudden loss of his short term memory. Tina and I began taking 24 hour shifts of staying with and caring for our dad. As our mom improved, our dad declined and he passed away at the end of June. The remainder of 2015 was a blur of finding an assisted living community for our mom, clearing out & selling our mom & dad's home and dealing with all the other details that go along with that.
Throughout all of this, the thought of our Disney trip lifted our spirits and kept us going. We decided that along with celebrating my birthday, our trip would also be a celebration of our dad and our wonderful family of four.

Here is a photograph of our family on our first trip to Walt Disney World in the early 1980's.

This is one of our favorite family photographs. Tina was not happy that they put her in that sailor suit, but she was a good sport and smiled anyway!

While we were cleaning out our mom & dad's house we found a box containing all of the maps, pamphlets, guide books, and our mom's notes for every family vacation we took.
We were super excited to find these:




Up next: Our trip begins!

 

[Rundisneyprincess27]

@LisaBelle the princesses were out on either side of the stage the dj was on…I think there were 2 backdrops per side and they would kind of switch out with each other!

 

[LisaBelle]

@LisaBelle the princesses were out on either side of the stage the dj was on…I think there were 2 backdrops per side and they would kind of switch out with each other!

Thanks! Now we'll know if we ever run at another runDisney event.

 

[LisaBelle]

Loving your report!! Can't go wrong with a massage at the GF or a spiked Dole Whip!

Thanks! I completely agree! In fact I think they should offer you a spiked Dole Whip to help you relax before your massage .

Love your bag! I look but can't justify the cost yet either.
Lovely that you both had those feelings about your dad at the same time - I think he was probably there with you both enjoying himself with you
Sorry Universal isn't panning out as it should, fingers crossed things get better - I will wait for the next instalment

I love my bag now that I have it ! It was hard to spend that much money on it even though I had the gift card. But, I do think that using the gift card to purchase the bag made all the difference.
Thanks. I feel like our dad must have been there with us too.
I have to get to an appointment but there is more Universal coming up later today.

 

[Longers]

I will absolutely be playing the lottery. If I can't be there with you gals maybe you can have a drink or a spiked Dole Whip or an ice cream for me!!

I will be the one with the ice cream

 

[LisaBelle]

I will be the one with the ice cream

I knew you would be !

 

[Kiwiduck]

After a quick stop in the gift shop for Tina to buy a Yeti, we headed for Africa and the Kilimanjaro Safari.
Every time we visit AK I take a picture of my kids playing these drums. Since they weren't there this time I played the drums for them.



When we joined the Safari queue Tina was presented with this:

We were in the front row for our safari. I've never been up front before so I really enjoyed it.




We saw tons of animals! Here is a sampling of what we saw:








Since we'd skipped breakfast we were getting hungry. We were thinking about going to Starbucks until I came to my senses and realized we could have a spiked Dole Whip! My favorite snack of the trip! As we were walking along enjoying our Coconut Rum Dole Whips Tina said, "We skipped the caffeine and went straight to the alcohol!" Only at Disney !

My Dole Whip enjoyed it's own photo shoot in front of Everest and the Tree of Life:





We took the opportunity for one more photo in front of the tree of life.

Love your animal kingdom shots, especially the hippos!!

 

[LisaBelle]

Love your animal kingdom shots, especially the hippos!!

Thanks! I don't think I've ever seen the hippos out of the water before!

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Going to Universal for the first time ever this trip, so glad I can get a glimpse through your trip report! I am so nervous to step off Disney property! Doing two days there, hope it's sufficient, and hope I don't regret skipping two Disney days...

 

[LisaBelle]

Saturday, February 20 continued….

We boarded the Hogwarts Express. It was sooooo cool!

The "scenery" outside the window is awesome! We loved all the special effects throughout the ride.

When we pulled in to King's Cross the cast member came back into our compartment and told us that they had alerted the team members at Gringott's and we should go up to the first team member outside the attraction and tell them our last name and they would take care of us. Sweet!!! What had started out as a disappointment turned into a version of an express pass !
We exited King's Cross Station into the streets of London!

We were like kids on Christmas morning! There's the Leaky Cauldron!

The Underground


OMG THE KNIGHT BUS!!!!!

We both met the Conductor of the Knight Bus. The shrunken head was really funny! He kept talking the whole time we were in line and meeting the conductor.


Then we saw Number 12 Grimmauld Place!!


And look who was peeking out the window!

It was then that we realized we'd missed the entrance to Diagon Alley. I won't ruin it for anyone else, but we figured out where to go and then we were in Diagon Alley!!! We took some photos on the way to Gringotts




Sorry, I guess I don't have a picture of the entrance to Gringott's. I don't have any from inside either because we put everything in the locker.
The team member at the entrance acted like he didn't know what we were talking about when we told him who we were and then he laughed and said to go right in. He led us to the express pass line. We were on the ride in 10-15 minutes. It was a very different ride experience. I liked it better than the Hogwarts Ride but Tina liked the Hogwarts ride better.
We then set about exploring as much of Diagon Alley as possible in the limited amount of time we had left.

 

[LisaBelle]

Going to Universal for the first time ever this trip, so glad I can get a glimpse through your trip report! I am so nervous to step off Disney property! Doing two days there, hope it's sufficient, and hope I don't regret skipping two Disney days...

We spent most of one day (9am-3:30 or 4:30) doing only the Harry Potter areas. We didn't get to spend as much time in Diagon Alley as we would have liked. We didn't try to do any other attractions in either Universal park. Like anything else it's give and take. I think you mentioned that your BF wanted to go to Uni. I think it has a lot to offer, especially if you are a Harry Potter fan, but Disney will always have my heart.

 

[LisaBelle]

We saw so many of the places we'd read about. I thought it was very well done.



Loved this! The House Elf Placement Agency!

Knockturn Alley

Inside Weasley's


We wanted to get ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Shop but the line was out the door and around the corner and we needed to head back to King's Cross so we could see Platform 9 and 3/4 and ride the Hogwarts Express back to Hogsmeade.
The first two times the dragon was breathing fire we missed the photos. So we staked out a spot and waited until we heard a growling sound and then our patience was rewarded when we saw this…..

With that spectacular finale we sadly headed for King's Cross.

Hello Hedwig. Where's Harry?

Need I say more?!

The line to return to Hogsmeade was fairly short. I think we only waited 5-10 minutes. We boarded the Hogwarts Express and enjoyed the new scenery and special effects we saw on this trip.
When we got back to Hogsmeade we were thirsty so we stopped at a cart for a Gilly Water and saw that they also had this:

We were really excited that we would get to try the ice cream. We both chose the peanut butter and strawberry flavor. It was meh! I was super disappointed. I wish we'd gotten to try the ice cream from the shop. I think we might have liked it better.
With a last look around we headed out of Hogsmeade and Universal and caught a cab back to the Poly to get ready for our signature dinner.

 

[brifraz]

Your TR was great. Didn't see myself in any of your photos. It is so strange to think that we were in the same corral and probably similar spots along the course and never saw each other. I'd love to do the 5K again or try the 10K so we may run into one another yet!

We are hoping to do the Princess Half weekend again soon. Tough to get all three of us away from school for more than a day or two... I think the 5K is likely my max. There's only so much ice in the world for these knees! My @MeffysMom keeps running more and more, so I'm sure we will be back for more races!

 

[LisaBelle]

We are hoping to do the Princess Half weekend again soon. Tough to get all three of us away from school for more than a day or two... I think the 5K is likely my max. There's only so much ice in the world for these knees! My @MeffysMom keeps running more and more, so I'm sure we will be back for more races!

I'll keep an eye on the boards and will look for you if I am lucky enough to make it to another runDisney race.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Did you get to hear Moaning Myrtle!?

 

[LisaBelle]

Did you get to hear Moaning Myrtle!?

Yes I did and I made Tina go in to the bathroom so she could hear her too!

 

[Longers]

Shame about the ice cream ours was lush from the shop (especially the toffee apple one) but I guess when you get it early enough to count as breakfast you avoid the queues. You will just have to go back to try one

 

[MinnieM123]

I'm really enjoying your Universal pictures. Believe it or not, I only went there once, the year they opened--and of course, it was nothing like it is now. Some day . . . I'll get back there again. (First, I think I need to win the lottery or something, because I can barely budget in a short trip to WDW once a year, let alone, try to add on Universal as well. )

 

[Zipadeelady]

Yes I did and I made Tina go in to the bathroom so she could hear her too!

There were so many great things about WWHP but Moaning Myrtle is one of the things I always tell people about. It's one of the neat things that you just aren't expecting.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Congrats on a great race!! Once you succeed in your first 5k there is nothing stopping you!!

I LOVE rawthreads. Unfortunately, my bank account does not. @Tuvalu gave me my Glass Slipper Challenge running gear for Christmas!! Love the sisterhood theme. So sweet.

Continuing to read...

 

[LisaBelle]

Shame about the ice cream ours was lush from the shop (especially the toffee apple one) but I guess when you get it early enough to count as breakfast you avoid the queues. You will just have to go back to try one

Missing out on the ice cream shop was a big disappointment. We should have ignored my queasy stomach and forged on with our original plan so we got to Diagon Alley in time to have ice cream for breakfast! I definitely want to go back to eat ice cream and explore more of Diagon Alley.

I'm really enjoying your Universal pictures. Believe it or not, I only went there once, the year they opened--and of course, it was nothing like it is now. Some day . . . I'll get back there again. (First, I think I need to win the lottery or something, because I can barely budget in a short trip to WDW once a year, let alone, try to add on Universal as well. )

To be honest, I would never have gone to Universal if they didn't add the Harry Potter attractions! If you like HP it is a lot of fun. Other members seem to really enjoy many of the other attractions as well, but I have no experience with those. Will hope you hit the lottery so you can see it for yourself !

There were so many great things about WWHP but Moaning Myrtle is one of the things I always tell people about. It's one of the neat things that you just aren't expecting.

Universal definitely took a page out of Disney's book for all those extra unexpected details at WWHP!

Congrats on a great race!! Once you succeed in your first 5k there is nothing stopping you!!

I LOVE rawthreads. Unfortunately, my bank account does not. @Tuvalu gave me my Glass Slipper Challenge running gear for Christmas!! Love the sisterhood theme. So sweet.

Continuing to read...

Thanks, the race was so much fun. I am a teacher, too and our school has a program called Girls on the Run and they train from January to May and run in a local 5K in May. I am thinking about working with them next year to have another goal to work toward. I thought about doing it this year in preparation for my Princess 5K, but I was worried that I wouldn't succeed in completing the race and then I would be embarrassed. I only told a few close friends about the race before I did it. Silly in retrospect, but it was a real fear at the time.
Raw Threads has so many fun shirts, but you're right, they are NOT budget friendly. Tina and I had a lot of fun browsing their booth at the Expo. We were happy with our outfits, but saw some skirts at the expo & on other runners that were really cool. We decided that if we do another race we will shop around a bit more before we choose our skirts. It was a great idea for @Tuvalu to buy your gear as a Christmas gift.
Glad to have you following along.