Trip Report **COMPLETED** The Princess Half Marathon: Training Not Required but Strongly Encouraged

Hey everyone - we got back last night and usually I would wait to write a trip report, but I have a few work trips coming up so this may take me awhile to finish :) So---here we go!

Who?
The usuals - my Mom (Mary) and myself (Megan) PLUS a special guest appearance - my sister Jill!
The last time just the 3 of us went to Disney was way back in 2017
All my actual photos from that trip are on my other computer so here is a selfie I found :)
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When?
February 22-29, 2020

Where?
The Yacht Club (again :hilarious: ) - we stayed Club Level because it was the only room I could find. Not that I am complaining !
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Why?
Well as the title indicates we were down there to run the Princess Half Marathon. My Mom and I signed up after @sheriffwoody and some other people talked me into it :hilarious:. It really did not take much convincing - we haven't run a half since 2016 and I was looking to do another one. As soon as we found out it was Cinderella themed (my favorite Princess) we were sold. Well....a few weeks later Jill texted us to let us know she signed up for it too!
Full disclaimer - races make me very nervous and post - race makes me very lazy. That being said, I did not use my actual camera a lot this trip so most of my photos are from my iPhone because it was more convenient and my photos from the first day are lacking due to my nerves.

The Title ?
Well...some of us actually trained for the Half and some of us did not (**cough Jill cough**).
Jill was not sure if she was actually going to run so it was a game time decision.

Day 1 February 22, 2020
My Mom and I stayed at a hotel across from the Airport just to save a little time/ get more sleep.
Here we are soaking our feet in the hot tub at the airport hotel (hoping it would make us run faster :hilarious: )
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We got up at 3:30 am (at least it's better than 3 am if we were at home ?) and got ready to head across the street.
We got to the airport a few minutes before the Southwest Counter opened.
We waited by the kiosks while a giant line of people waited to check in at the counter. Guess who was checked in before all of those people :hilarious::hilarious::happy:
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Jill got to the airport right around the time the counter opened :)
We all got through security very quickly and then grabbed some bagels for breakfast and a bear claw (for Jill)
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She said she's sorry for taking a bite before the photo :)
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Usual dates sign - I have no idea why we continue to take these photos other than my Mom makes us :)
Jill was making this face because she was not sure she was going to run.
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Next up: more traveling
 

Ears to Disney

Well-Known Member
I'm so sad for you guys that you won't get to get it :(
I am on the fence about the villains one in May ...I need to do more research

I currently have our trip re-booked for May so fingers crossed this all blows over by then! :D

Your Lion pictures are beautiful!! What camera do you use for your safari shots?
 
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Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I currently have our trip re-booked for May so fingers crossed this all blows over by then! :D

Your Lion pictures are beautiful!! What camera do you use for your safari shots?

I am still hopeful for end of April for Hawaii but trying to prepare myself for the worst
Thank you! I used my Nikon D5600 (70-300 lens). I feel bad because this is a new camera to me but I love how nice the iPhone 11 pro camera is so I tend to ignore my camera haha
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
February 26, 2020 Day 5
We got up around 7, got ready and grabbed some breakfast in the lounge.
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That thing at the top of my plate is bread pudding - it looks weird and it tasted weird :hilarious:
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After our breakfast we headed out and back over to Epcot
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The topiaries were more and more apparent. So cute!
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Next up: more Epcot
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 5 continued
I'm obsessed with this Kermit one
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We were in a Rope Drop in Canada again.
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The news of Spaceship Earth closing (at this time for what sounded like an extended period of time) really got to us so we decided to Rope Drop it!
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I don't know if these lights will remain ...but I love them so much
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After our ride (it was not our last) we stopped for some construction wall photos (for once it was Jill's idea not mine).
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Next up: more Epcot
 
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Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 5 continued
We headed to the Seas next
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Here's a lovely photo I took on the ride :hilarious:
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And another great photo ...of a manatee
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Then we finally got Jill her own butterfly wall photo
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Cute Figment topiary !
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Then we headed to the new Starbucks
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Starbucks x Disney -- my favorite
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We sat down on some benches and enjoyed our Starbucks while I waited to get a Monorail photo
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Next up: more Epcot
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 5 continued
We were super hungry so we headed over to La Cantina next
My sister got the nachos and a margarita
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My Mom and I both had kids cheese empanadas 😋
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Lunch views
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We were planning on skipping our last FP (Mission Space), but we still had a lot of time to make it so we headed over there.
As we were walking over there I could hear the cars of Test Track going. Test Track was still closed for refurb until the next day. However....as we walked by the entrance they were letting people in!! Woohoo!!
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Google and the app said it was closed so there was barely anyone in line
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Look at our cool car :)
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We only waited about 15 minutes!
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Next up: more Epcot
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 5 continued
What a fun Disney surprise. The dates on the refurb were confusing. Most sources said it would open the next day but some said this day. Either way it was clearly not open in the AM and it stayed closed on the app for awhile.
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We were at the very end of our 15 minute grace period for Mission Space so we headed over there quickly.
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Then we headed back to Mexico for a Gran Fiesta Tour !
Usual Mexico photo...
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After this we headed out and back the Yacht Club. We found Mickey in the curtains :joyfull:
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Next up: a monorail tour
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 5 continued
I needed to get some stuff done for work so I did that quickly and then we got ready to head out. The one and only thing Jill asked to do this trip was to go to Trader Sam's. So...we wanted to make sure we got there early! We grabbed an Uber then headed over to the Poly.
I have not been to the Poly in a long time!
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I don't know why we did not take a photo of Jill :hilarious:.
Anyway we got in the Trader Sam's line just before 3:00 pm. Jill thought it opened at 3:30 but it actually opened at 3. There were already people who had given their name so Jill was worried we would have to wait a long time (and we had dinner plans) or not get in at all. When Jill and her husband stayed at the Poly in December they did not get in one day even though they got there early so she was nervous. We almost never argue, but we got into a bit of a scuffle because she kept saying she knew she wanted to get there early. For some reason I took it as being my fault because I had to do some work before we left. LOL I have no idea why it even turned into anything, but my Mom was embarrassed and told us to stop it like small children. :joyfull::joyfull: So...at 3:05 they opened the door and started calling out the names. We were the first in the non-already on list line (that Jill literally made happen - she made 2 lines to make it organized) so we got in!! Phew....crisis averted :joyfull:
We sat at the same table we sat at the last time the 3 of us were together !
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We plotted out our drinks. Jill wanted to see if they had the Nutcracker mug still but they did not so we ordered some drinks that she wanted to buy the mugs for (she and Nick collect them).
My Mom and I ordered a Uh-Oa to share (Plantation Original Dark Rum, Bacardi Superior Rum, Orange, Passion Fruit, Guava, Pineapple, and Grapefruit Juices, Falernum, Cinnamon, and fresh Lime Juice)
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And Jill had a Shrunken Zombie Head (Gosling’s 151 Black Seal Rum, Appleton Estate Reserve Rum, Bacardi 8 yr Rum, Tropical Juices, Falernum, and Cinnamon). P.S. looking at these descriptions now make me realize why the drinks are so strong 😁
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Actually now looking at these photos my Mom originally ordered the Zombie Head, but ended up switching with Jill.
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Next up: more Trader Sam's
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 5 continued
I was feeling it apparently ...
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Some lights for you...
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We figured we should eat something since the drinks are so strong and we still had time before dinner.
We ordered the Thai Chicken Flatbread with Bacon and Peanut Sauce. YUM! It was so good.
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We finished up our drinks and headed out so we could give someone else a chance to get in!
The PP CM was out for the Spirit of Aloha show so we asked for our photo even though we weren't going to the show and he was happy to oblige.
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Then we headed on the monorail !
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We stopped at the Grand Floridian because I really wanted to check out the Enchanted Rose. I took like zero photos sorry. Part of the reason was because we had a small table in the corner that we squished into for lack of finding other tables.
A blurry light photo for you...
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Next up: more Enchanted Rose
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 5 continued
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My Mom got a water and my sister and I both ordered French 75s. We LOVE French 75's (which are gin and champagne) but I have never paid this much for one :joyfull: I mean ... it was top level gin but they were $20 (each) :jawdrop: The Trader Sam's drinks in me didn't care though and we paid for them :hilarious:
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Anyway...we enjoyed the atmosphere of the Enchanted Rose and would like to explore more someday but we needed to get over to the Contemporary for dinner.
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We got to the Contemporary a little before our dinner reservation so we went to the arcade :)
Jill make me buy her a chair massage
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While my Mom and I of course played Air Hockey
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Anyway...eventually we checked in for dinner at California Grill! I looked for weeks for this reservation and found it about 2 weeks before we left, but it was for 7:30 pm. About 2 hours before this I happened to look to see if we could move it up and we were able to move it to 6 ! Woohoo! And we were seated right away!
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Our view
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Next up: more California Grill
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 5 continued
We took more photos of ourselves because...you know...we had some drinks.
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I was super on the fence about getting another drink BUT my Mom and I talked about blueberry lemon drop martinis all the time during our training runs so we had to order one!
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Jill had a Mai Tai but I did not take a photo.
We all shared the Goat Cheese Ravioli for an appetizer- our favorite!
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I forgot to mention our waiter was Ryan and he was great!
Bread...
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For entrees I ordered the Oak-fired Filet of Beef (of course) with Aged Gouda Macaroni and Cheese, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Oxtail Marmalade, Red Wine-Sweet Onion Jus
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My food pictures are bad sorry. My Mom ordered the Poulet Rouge Chicken (with Potato Dumplings, Leek Cream, Coal-fired Cabbage, Rye-Caraway Crumble, Leg Confit, Sherry Jus)
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And Jill ordered the Jumbo Scallops (Lump Crab in Yuzu Vinaigrette, Carolina Gold Rice, Glazed Dragon Carrots, Shio Beurre Blanc). Oh! And you can see her Mai Tai!
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YUM! Everything was delicious. We all agreed this meal was close to our favorite of the trip...but CRT beat it out just a little!

Next up: short post to finish the day
 

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