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
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
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
Oh my gosh I love love love Jill's dress! Do you know where she got it? I'd love to get one for my daughter!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Oh my gosh I love love love Jill's dress! Do you know where she got it? I'd love to get one for my daughter!

My Mom and I actually got it for her as a birthday gift from the Cherry Tree Lane at the Co-Op at Disney Springs. I just looked for it on the shop Disney website but sadly it is not there
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Side note - sad news. We officially canceled our Aulani/Disneyland trip. We were supposed to go in 4.5 weeks and with Hawaii now making anyone who enters the state quarantine for 14 days we knew it was no longer going to happen :cry::cry::cry: Obviously there are worse things going on in the world but I am still bummed. We planned this over 2 years ago! Oh well...hopefully we can go next year instead !

February 27, 2020 Day 6
We got up at 6 am and and got ready quickly so we could head to HS! We were going to try and get a boarding group since Jill was not with us the other times we rode Rise!
We elected to walk over to DHS.
It was already pretty crowded by the time we arrived
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The park was scheduled to open at 8 am and thankfully we got in around 7:20.
I became obsessed with the boarding group advice and read it was best to be in a low crowd area so we headed over to the Brown Derby and sat on some benches.
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My Mom spotted this umbrella that was left behind and we decided it was Mary Poppins' :hilarious:
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Ok so after reading the @Darstarr boarding group camps (one to keep the app open and one to refresh) my sister and I decided to split the task and see which one worked better.
I think we also split up our wifi. I was off/on data and she was on.
Well...we made several rookie mistakes :hilarious: 1. I don't think 2 people can try do it at the same time because Jill got in the screen faster but I was not connected to her and she could not make a boarding group with me 2. I restarted my phone and stayed off of it as instructed. However...I did not account for the app kicking me out and having to log back in. So...that took several extra seconds. People around us were cheering as I felt overly anxious waiting for the dumb app to stop saying error.
Anyway...
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We got one but I was disappointed in myself :joyfull: It was a later boarding group than I wanted AND we were considered a back up boarding group. The last time we were in a back up group we were 141! And that day anything after 100 was back up. This day it was anything after 46. INSANE!
Whatever...we moved on with ours just happy we at least had a chance.
Everyone was just standing around to get their boarding group, but as they got their groups it turned into chaos. We did not really have any plans so we got in the line for Toy Story Land. Not for a ride...just for the land.
Eventually we bailed and decided to get something to eat for breakfast.
The lines for all the stands were insane !
We ended up at "Market" (I kid you not...that's what its named) and while their menu does not show breakfast items they had a sign out listing some.
My sister and I ended up getting a churro (Disneyland churros are better don't @ me!)
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And my Mom got a chocolate chip muffin!
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Still a little bit lost for what to do (they really need to start the shows earlier in these cases) we headed to the Launch Bay
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The wait times for the characters were already over an hour so we just sat and watched the film. I enjoyed it...but I also at least watch the Star Wars movies :hilarious: Can't say the same for Jill and my Mom.
We saw this cute phone case inside.
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Next up: more HS
 

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I dont want to stress you out even more about the whole BG thing but there has been more research and evidence of the best and worst times to actually open the app. The point is moot now but if you need the info in the future DM me😂
Sorry about your Aulani trip...😞
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I dont want to stress you out even more about the whole BG thing but there has been more research and evidence of the best and worst times to actually open the app. The point is moot now but if you need the info in the future DM me😂
Sorry about your Aulani trip...😞

Thanks...and oh great...someone more to obsess over :hilarious: I honesty think we will skip Rise the next few trips anyway (if there are any trips)
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 6 continued
After TSM we headed to One Man's Dream to see the Onward Preview
I took some (bad) photos along the way
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The preview was so cute, but I have been hearing super mixed reviews about the movie. I'm still on the fence about buying it or just waiting for it to come on Disney +
After this we got a popcorn snack. These popcorn boxes are SO cute.
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I dropped some popcorn and for some reason it made us laugh super hard so I took a photo :hilarious:
If any of you watched the Forky Asks a Questions shorts the What is a Friend one is hilarious and when something happens at the end Forky says " what ....NOOOOOOOOOOO" and I think someone said this when I dropped the popcorn so that's probably why it was funny.
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Next up was Lighting McQueen's Racing Academy. Jill never saw it before so we were excited to bring her :)
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Next up: more HS
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 6 continued
So we were on the ride...made it all the way through all the floors and pulled up to the drop shaft then nothing. NOTHING. We sat in the dark for at least a minute waiting to drop and nothing happened. Then the lights turned on...
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When the lights turned on someone in our vehicle said "this isn't the teacups" :joyfull:
Anyway we sat there for awhile. At least the people in our car were entertaining and funny. Eventually an announcement came on that said something about them powering up area A or north towers or something. Then they said - "you will receive the full drop" to which the whole car was like WHAT? We don't want the full drop! Then...minutes went by and still nothing. Then the announcement came on again and eventually we started to move. BUT....with the lights on! IT WAS HORRIFYING ! Everyone in the car was freaking out. I never wanted to see everything and how it works to be honest. The dark makes it "scary" but also hides all the crazy pulleys and levers.
Anyway we survived ...barely :joyfull:
In case you want to see what the ride vehicle looks like.
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Well...Jill was grateful she did not go on :joyfull:
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They did give us 2 Fps when we got off, but we did not use them since Jill did not have one.
Anyway...after this we got a PP picture.
I don't think I mentioned this but it was cold this day in case you could not tell from our clothes. It was the complete opposite of the day prior.
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We were pretty hungry so we decided to eat lunch before our last FP.
We picked the ABC Commissary. It was PACKED in there. Well...actually it was packed in general in part due to the CM preview for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway. I think all the CMs were there and just staying in the park. I feel like you can always spot CMs because they are all in groups.
We had a hard time finding a seat so ended up squeezing into a table for 2.
We just ordered kids meals Mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. It was good but it was hard to enjoy anything amongst the crowds!
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Next up was Slinky ! We were so excited because it was actually Jill's first time on!
Along the way I stood outside the Chinese Theatre hoping maybe they would invite me in :hilarious:
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Next up: more HS
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
I haven
Day 6 continued
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Some lights for you :hilarious:
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This show is so cute and a great thing to do when there is nothing else to do :joyfull:
Our next FP was for Tower of Terror so we headed there. Jill decided to skip this one like a chicken :hilarious::hilarious:
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Another light :joyfull:
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Scared selfie !
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Next up: more HS
I haven't decided whether or not to watch Onward. I haven't heard anything about the movie itself, but I did read that Pixar apparently stole someone else's art for it. There was an artist who has a van on which she painted a unicorn, and it has carpeting on the ceiling and it's very...unique. She calls it the Vanicorn. Pixar contacted her and asked to rent it for an event for their employees, signed a contract saying they couldn't use images of it outside of the specified event. Then she saw her van in the Onward trailer, except they removed the horn and added wings, so it's a pegasus instead of a unicorn. She's suing them. I guess they admitted that when they approached her, they didn't have a title or something? So they couldn't disclose exactly what they wanted to use it for. It seems pretty shady to me and I can't find any information that would put it in a different light, so I'm reluctant to give them my money on this one.
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I haven

I haven't decided whether or not to watch Onward. I haven't heard anything about the movie itself, but I did read that Pixar apparently stole someone else's art for it. There was an artist who has a van on which she painted a unicorn, and it has carpeting on the ceiling and it's very...unique. She calls it the Vanicorn. Pixar contacted her and asked to rent it for an event for their employees, signed a contract saying they couldn't use images of it outside of the specified event. Then she saw her van in the Onward trailer, except they removed the horn and added wings, so it's a pegasus instead of a unicorn. She's suing them. I guess they admitted that when they approached her, they didn't have a title or something? So they couldn't disclose exactly what they wanted to use it for. It seems pretty shady to me and I can't find any information that would put it in a different light, so I'm reluctant to give them my money on this one.

WHAT!?! Oh wow that is terrible!! I think I will just wait for Disney + then!!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 6 continued
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Our ride photo did not show up but Jill loved Slinky Dog Dash!! I am so happy she finally got to ride it!!
After our ride we headed out of the park. Jill wanted to take the Skyliner so we hopped on.
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We figured it was time for a snack so we stopped at the Boardwalk General Store (not the bakery) and my Mom got a cookie and Jill got some chocolate caramel thing
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I was not going to get anything, but in the end decided that I should get some ice cream so I headed to Ample Hills.
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I was dying for cotton candy ice cream for some reason and was surprised that they had some!
Hooray! It was good. This was the first time I actually liked my ice cream from there :oops:
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Next up: more randomness
 
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Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 6 continued
Jill decided to save her treat for later (which came in handy) and get a float from Ample Hills!
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It was too cold to swim, but the sun was out so my Mom and I headed down to the pool to sit by the sun while Jill took a nap.
Well...we somehow made it to the arcade again. Why are we so obsessed?
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We did go to the pool eventually :hilarious:
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I feel like the major problem with boarding groups when you are later in the numbers is you literally spend your whole day waiting around. My Mom and I decided this is probably why we will skip it for awhile.
Anyway - they did make it into the back up groups and when they hit 54 we walked back to HS.
Saw this cool bird along the way.
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We headed right to Galaxy's Edge since they were on BG 56 (and we were 57).
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I could tell when we got there something was off. There were a lot of people standing around and not getting in line. Turns out I was right...the ride was shut down :(
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Next up: more HS
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 6 continued
We wandered around a little.
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Thankfully it was not closed for long. We heard cheers when they reopened and our boarding group was called about 5 minutes after! I knew they shortened the return time but I thought only for the Ams
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We ended up waiting over an hour in line - I would assume this is because it was shut down for awhile. Anyway - my stomach/heartburn was not thrilled with me for not eating anything in hours except ice cream. So...Jill busted out her treat from earlier to give me :hilarious:
Skip ahead if you don't want to see photos.
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We had a great time on the ride again and I was happy we got to take Jill on (she loved it). That being said, the 3rd time around I was not as enthralled. I think because a lot of the surprises are obviously gone and the amount of waiting within the attraction kind of got to me this time. I still think it's incredible, but I think my Mom and I will hold off on going on again until they get rid of the boarding groups or if my Dad is with us. I also am not interested in waiting in a virtual que all day again!

Next up: finishing off the day
 
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Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 6 continued
We actually had plans for dinner in Disney Springs, but we were in line too long so we were never going to make it in time.
So...we decided to head out and order room service again :hilarious:
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This time we ordered fries with our pizza :)
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Yum!
While we were eating we heard a few sirens and a helicopter go over a few times. Honestly though, I did not think too much of it until I saw this on twitter...
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AH!!! Turns out everything was ok in the end but wow that was scary !
Also...saw this the next day:
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We were lucky we got on!! (ALSO LOL Jungle Cruise).

Next up: Day 7!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 7 February 28 2020
We got up around 7, got ready and headed to the lounge for breakfast.
I tried to take some lounge photos but only took 2 before people started looking at me :bored:
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Muffins and a very sad looking crepe
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After this we headed to MK. We were on the bus for what seemed like forever due to a long scooter load. We thought we would make it at the tail end of EMH but...nope.
It was SO crowded. This was the security line.
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Eventually we got through, but it took about 20 minutes or more!
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I went to the bathroom and left my camera with Jill and my Mom...enjoy these photos they took which I'm sure were meant to make fun of my instagram poses/photos :hilarious:
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Next up: more MK
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 7 continued
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And this photo of my sister with how she looks when she is taking my photo :hilarious:
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I swear I was only in the bathroom for like 2 minutes ...how did they get all these photos done :hilarious:
I can't even explain the rest of these photos I have no idea what we were doing.
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I think my Mom was springing around like the Spring Rolls but you can't tell in the photo.
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Jill really wanted to go to the Tiki Room for whatever reason so we headed there.
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Next up: more MK
 

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