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!

 

[LisaBelle]

Great finish to a wonderful trip report!

Thanks! It's so much fun to re-live the trip.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Loved your TR. I really hope to do a runDisney event some day.

 

[LisaBelle]

@MotherofaPrincessLover Thanks! Don't hesitate to do a runDisney event if you get the chance. I think you'll love the experience!

 

[MinnieM123]

Thank you to everyone who has followed along. It is very rewarding to communicate with so many others who love Disney as I do.
I am counting on all of you lovely people to keep the TRs coming so that I can live vicariously through you until I am able to return to my beloved Disney .

Thanks so much for allowing me to share our experiences with you.
See ya real soon!

Thank YOU so much for sharing a great TR!! You and your sister are really fun, and I enjoyed the pictures and stories you shared.

 

[Pudgecontrolstheweather]

Thank you for sharing. I'm glad you and your sister had this time together.

 

[LisaBelle]

Thank YOU so much for sharing a great TR!! You and your sister are really fun, and I enjoyed the pictures and stories you shared.

You're welcome! I am so happy that you enjoyed reading.

Thank you for sharing. I'm glad you and your sister had this time together.

Thanks for reading! We feel very fortunate to have been able share this experience.

 

[jrogue]

Oh my goodness my sister and I were talking about going to the spa at the GF! Glad to hear you had such a good experience there!

My family usually gets the great feast I believe (if they still have it) at the three broomsticks and weve always loved it from there. Maybe try that next time if you can?

Thank you for sharing all the photos of the new HP section in Universal!! I have been dying to go (I'm a Potterhead!!) Looks like you guys had a great time.

Congrats on the 5k! You looked like you really enjoyed it!

& ahhh theres nothing quite a awul as those last moments of Disbey sadness. My family and I usually stay in Tuvalu when we go, so all your pictures were super familiar to me!

Glad to hear you had such a great time and thank you for sharing so much in your trip report!!!

 

[LisaBelle]

Oh my goodness my sister and I were talking about going to the spa at the GF! Glad to hear you had such a good experience there!

My family usually gets the great feast I believe (if they still have it) at the three broomsticks and weve always loved it from there. Maybe try that next time if you can?

Thank you for sharing all the photos of the new HP section in Universal!! I have been dying to go (I'm a Potterhead!!) Looks like you guys had a great time.

Congrats on the 5k! You looked like you really enjoyed it!

& ahhh theres nothing quite a awul as those last moments of Disbey sadness. My family and I usually stay in Tuvalu when we go, so all your pictures were super familiar to me!

Glad to hear you had such a great time and thank you for sharing so much in your trip report!!!

Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts
LOVED the spa at the Grand Floridian. I would definitely go back again.
We are Potterheads, too! I am always in awe of how they made the books come alive. Diagon Alley is amazing! We were giddy when we saw the Knight Bus and were able to walk up to number 12 Grimmauld Place. Wish we'd had more time to explore. As much as I love HP I love Disney more and I wasn't willing to give up any more Disney time for Harry. Thanks for the suggestion to order the Great Feast at Three Broomsticks. Maybe we will like that better.
I was very proud of myself for running the 5k. I had a blast. The atmosphere was amazing. So much energy and camaraderie. People told me that the adrenaline alone would carry me through and I think they were right. I felt light on my feet and never felt tired at all. I'd run it again in a heartbeat
Tuvalu was great. We enjoyed our time there. I always think it's fun to see familiar places in other people's TRs.
By the way, I am really enjoying your Sister TR as well.

 

[epcotisbest]

Thank you for the very enjoyable trip report. Looks like you two had a great time. I think trip reports that feature lots of photos of the participants are the best, most interesting trip reports.
My wife and her youngest sister do the Princess half-marathon each year. It has become a tradition for them, having now done it for the last five years straight. This year they are thinking about either the 10k or 5k instead, as keeping pace for 13.1 miles is becoming more of a challenge, and they go more to have fun.
Registration is fast approaching for 2017, so they have to decide which one soon. Are you going again in 2017?

 

[LisaBelle]

Thank you for the very enjoyable trip report. Looks like you two had a great time. I think trip reports that feature lots of photos of the participants are the best, most interesting trip reports.
My wife and her youngest sister do the Princess half-marathon each year. It has become a tradition for them, having now done it for the last five years straight. This year they are thinking about either the 10k or 5k instead, as keeping pace for 13.1 miles is becoming more of a challenge, and they go more to have fun.
Registration is fast approaching for 2017, so they have to decide which one soon. Are you going again in 2017?

Thanks so much for reading. I like trip reports with lots of photos of the participants, too.
That's great that your wife and her sister have made the Princess half marathon weekend a tradition! I admire anyone who can run a half or full marathon. I think the 5k was perfect for us because I had never run in a race before. I'm thinking that I could work up to a 10k but don't think I could do the half. I wish we could make the Princess weekend a tradition, but right now it is not in the budget. I hope your wife and her sister have a great race!
By the way, I am enjoying reading your current trip report.

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Loved reading your trip report! Glad you had such a great time with your sister. Loved seeing all the Poly pictures, gets us excited for our trip in August.

 

[LisaBelle]

Loved reading your trip report! Glad you had such a great time with your sister. Loved seeing all the Poly pictures, gets us excited for our trip in August.

Thanks so much for reading! Glad you enjoyed it. I always worry that my TRs will bore people!
I think you will love staying at the Poly! It really is beautiful and very relaxing during your non park time. We also liked the convenience to MK and Epcot. Looking forward to reading about your trip! It is getting closer!

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuvalu was great. We enjoyed our time there.

Truer words could not be spoken!

I am sorry you never got to experience the pool. I will think of you in a few weeks when I get to swim in it (again!)

Now that your report is complete, I plan to go back and reread it, comparing your days with the ones I spent with Em and my SIL during the Princess Marathon weekend. So bummed that we did not run into each other!

Great, great report @LisaBelle and so fun to read! I wish you could go back to the world sooner too, just so I could enjoy your photos and writing .

And thanks to you and @prfctlyximprct I plan to do the 360 "drink it all in" on my last night from now on!

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Truer words could not be spoken!

I am sorry you never got to experience the pool. I will think of you in a few weeks when I get to swim in it (again!)

Now that your report is complete, I plan to go back and reread it, comparing your days with the ones I spent with Em and my SIL during the Princess Marathon weekend. So bummed that we did not run into each other!

Great, great report @LisaBelle and so fun to read! I wish you could go back to the world sooner too, just so I could enjoy your photos and writing .

And thanks to you and @prfctlyximprct I plan to do the 360 "drink it all in" on my last night from now on!

So glad this being paid forward!!!

 

[LisaBelle]

Truer words could not be spoken!

I am sorry you never got to experience the pool. I will think of you in a few weeks when I get to swim in it (again!)

Now that your report is complete, I plan to go back and reread it, comparing your days with the ones I spent with Em and my SIL during the Princess Marathon weekend. So bummed that we did not run into each other!

Great, great report @LisaBelle and so fun to read! I wish you could go back to the world sooner too, just so I could enjoy your photos and writing .

And thanks to you and @prfctlyximprct I plan to do the 360 "drink it all in" on my last night from now on!

Enjoy the pool at the Poly for me, friend. Hopefully I will have another opportunity to try it in the future.
I was disappointed that our paths never crossed during the Princess Marathon weekend. I kept looking for you and Em, but no luck!
Thanks so much for reading and commenting. I loved writing the TR and am so happy that you enjoyed it.
I think @prfctlyximprct is a genius with her 360 "drink it all in" idea. It has definitely become a new tradition for me.
Here's hoping I will be able to return to my beloved Disney sooner rather than later. My retirement goal is to become an AP holder, then maybe I can visit as often as you .
I will be following along on all of your future adventures.

So glad this being paid forward!!!

You, my Disney friend, are a trendsetter!

 

[blreinsel]

Soooooo sad that your report is over. But I enjoyed every single word of it!

 

[LisaBelle]

Soooooo sad that your report is over. But I enjoyed every single word of it!

I was sad for my report to end. It's almost as bad as leaving Disney because you have to re-live it. Thanks so much for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I am enjoying yours as well! By the way, what grade do you teach? I teach kindergarten.

 

[blreinsel]

I was sad for my report to end. It's almost as bad as leaving Disney because you have to re-live it. Thanks so much for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I am enjoying yours as well! By the way, what grade do you teach? I teach kindergarten.

I agree! Last year I really took my time writing my report for that exact reason but found that it was really difficult to remember everything the further away from the trip it got. So I'm determined to get it finished much sooner this year to prevent such struggles!

I'm actually not permanently employed anywhere.. Just a sub still! I was hired long-term this past spring in K-2 Learning Support and was told that it would likely be permanent for this school year. However, the closer we got to the end of the year, the more "up in the air" that promise became. So time will tell. I student taught in kindergarten and loved those little babies so much! 2nd grade and below is my comfort area.

 

[LisaBelle]

I agree! Last year I really took my time writing my report for that exact reason but found that it was really difficult to remember everything the further away from the trip it got. So I'm determined to get it finished much sooner this year to prevent such struggles!

I'm actually not permanently employed anywhere.. Just a sub still! I was hired long-term this past spring in K-2 Learning Support and was told that it would likely be permanent for this school year. However, the closer we got to the end of the year, the more "up in the air" that promise became. So time will tell. I student taught in kindergarten and loved those little babies so much! 2nd grade and below is my comfort area.

I know what you mean about it being hard to remember everything the further away from the trip you get. I felt that way as I finished this TR.

I am sending some pixie dust your way hoping that you will find a permanent teaching position in a K-2 class. I was fortunate and got a teaching position at the school where I did my student teaching. But then I got married and my husband was in the Air Force which caused us to move around for a few years, so I subbed and worked as a kindergarten aide during that time. It can be hard not to have a school you can call "home". Best of luck to you!

 

[blreinsel]

I know what you mean about it being hard to remember everything the further away from the trip you get. I felt that way as I finished this TR.

I am sending some pixie dust your way hoping that you will find a permanent teaching position in a K-2 class. I was fortunate and got a teaching position at the school where I did my student teaching. But then I got married and my husband was in the Air Force which caused us to move around for a few years, so I subbed and worked as a kindergarten aide during that time. It can be hard not to have a school you can call "home". Best of luck to you!

I appreciate it! The school I student taught at is where I now sub exclusively (aside from doing a few long-term positions at another district) so it very much feels like home.. Though I always have that nagging feeling reminding me that it's not actually "home." I had planned to head south this summer to find something but then my boyfriend was hired at our local university to coach golf and is locked into a contract until next year. He's also a teacher, struggling just the same as I am, so we had the conversation the other day about again considering a move once his contract is up. It'll all work out and we'll end up where we're supposed to be.. Or so they say.