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
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 3 continued
We could not decide what to do next so Jill suggested the teacups !
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We tried to go on Under the Sea after this but it was a 20 minute wait so we decided on Dumbo next.
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I stopped taking a lot of photos after this. We did BTMR next then we got some snacks.
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POTC was up next - we all pretended like we were sleeping. Jill missed the memo :hilarious:
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7DMT was up next.
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Next up: more MK
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Love your frozen shirts. And I love seeing you have fun with your mom and sister. As a mother of 4 daughters (10,13,14, 21 today!!) I’ve loved our girls only Disney trips. I hope that continues as they get older.

And your towel dinosaur is cute. We haven’t stayed at a non DVC resort for a while, so it’s nice to see that there’s still some towel art. I don’t think we’ve had a towel animal at a DVC resort.

I had a few towel animals when we stayed DVC at Beach Club but I feel like they are few and far between. We love our girls trips!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 3 continued
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Then HM!
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Next: Space Mountain
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After this we took a PP all together before my Mom, sister and I headed out.
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My Mom, sister and I also took a photo on the way out
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Hello...empty Main Street
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We did stop to see Mickey on the way out.
Here is me showing him the back of my jacket...but look how the photo looks :joyfull::joyfull::joyfull:
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We had a fantastic night!!! We had so much fun with K and her cousin and we again enjoyed After Hours. So worth the money - we got so much done! It was Jill's first After Hours event and she loved it!

Next up: Day 4
 

Ears to Disney

Well-Known Member
Jill and I ordered the No Way José to share.
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My favorite! We are going next week and cannot wait for this lil' beauty! The decision will be game time on if Dan and I should share or get our own! :hilarious:

Love the MK After Hours event! I was hoping there would be one this month while we are there but unfortunately it is the Villains one and I am not sure I want to pay the extra up-charge for the theme.
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Love the Frozen shirts!

Congrats on the race!

I just laughed so hard at the picture of you showing Mickey your jacket.... 😂😂😂 And he's just gleefully clapping his hands... I can't.... :hilarious:

Thank you! I know its hilarious !!!!

All the credit goes to Jill for that cool fireworks photo! It turned out so cute.

Also that Mickey photo still cracks me up :hilarious: ALSO I just knew I looked at the camera during Haunted Mansion...UGH. I have got to figure out where that dang camera is.

I feel like I just keep guessing where it is - I don't really know either
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
My favorite! We are going next week and cannot wait for this lil' beauty! The decision will be game time on if Dan and I should share or get our own! :hilarious:

Love the MK After Hours event! I was hoping there would be one this month while we are there but unfortunately it is the Villains one and I am not sure I want to pay the extra up-charge for the theme.


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
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 4 February 25, 2020
It was so nice to sleep in a little with no early morning plans!
Still...we were up at 7:15 am :hilarious:
I had to get some work done since everyone forgot I was on vacation and asked me to post some things on our social media pages (because yes...I run the social media pages :joyfull: ).
After we were all ready we headed out to take some photos of The Boardwalk
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Then we found @sheriffwoody ! She took a photo for us!
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Next up: breakfast !
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 4 continued
I was so excited to have breakfast at Trattoria al Forna - especially with @sheriffwoody ! We planned this well before our After Hours plans :)
If you read K's TR you already know all the details so I will keep it brief.
We were seated pretty quickly which was nice.
Pastries to start. They were super good!
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We all ordered cocktails...well because when in Rome (or Disney).
My Mom ordered a mimosa
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I ordered a Snuggly Duckling (Prosecco, limoncello, and mint)
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K got a Bellini
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And Jill got a Life is the Bubbles (Prosecco, blue Curacao, pineapple juice and cointreau)
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For breakfast both K and my Mom ordered the Tower of Pancakes (with Apple Compote and Bacon)
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Jill ordered the King Triton's Shipwreck al Forno (Calzone with Scrambled Eggs, Bell Peppers, Salumi, Bacon, Sausage, Blend of Cheeses, and Sunday Gravy)
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And I ordered the Royale Breakfast (Oak-grilled Steak,Asparagus, Cheesy-Egg Torte, Fonduta, Breakfast Potatoes, Crispy Onions)
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Yum! Everyone really enjoyed their breakfast. I liked everything except the egg torte thing and as @sheriffwoody pointed out of course I ordered the steak :hilarious:. I swear at home I eat either no meat or chicken/turkey so I always indulge at Disney :)
Onto the character photos! I loved meeting everyone and I felt like they were also decently interactive. I did feel like I had trouble coming up with things to say to them though :joyfull:
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Next up: more breakfast!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 4 continued
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Prince Eric was weirdly over -touchy :hilarious: He rubbed my shoulder the entire time he was talking to us :hilarious:
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We had a great time at breakfast and really enjoyed it. We always skipped this one due to location, so it was perfect to be able to go there with a quick walk. We will definitely be back. We had to say our goodbyes to @sheriffwoody ! We had so much fun getting to spend so much time together. I am so happy to have Disney friends!
It was SO nice out and it was the last day it was supposed to be so we headed down to spend some time at the pool.
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We had to, of course, take Jill down the slide and enjoy the sand bottom pool!
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Next up: more pool time
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 4 continued
We also wanted to show her the lazy man river. Usually my Mom has a hard time moving in it for some reason - but not this time!
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At some point Jill went up to take a break from the sun and my Mom and I ordered fries from Hurricane Hanna's :hilarious:.
They were super tasty.
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Eventually my Mom and I made our way upstairs and we found this adorable dog shaped towel :)
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I had to get some stuff done for work and then we got ready to head to Animal Kingdom!
My Mom and sister had matching dresses. I do not know why Jill is making this face in this photo :hilarious:
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We waited awhile for a bus, but that was OK - we were in no rush :)
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Of all times they finally had an AP entrance open it was when the lines were super short :banghead::joyfull:
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We stopped right away for a PP picture
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Next up: more AK
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 4 continued
Jill really wanted to check out the Nomad Lounge so we headed there first. We have been to Tiffins before (may the menu RIP - it's SO different now) but never the lounge side !
We found a nice table inside. This is one of those places where you do not feel like you are at Disney - I really felt like we were in some exotic place ! Well - because we did not have a view of the bridge into Pandora :hilarious:
A light for you...
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Some portrait mode action :joyfull:
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For drinks I got a Spice Trader Classic (Hayman's Old Tom Gin, Dolin Vermouth Blanc, Lemon Juice, and Strawberries topped with Soda Water)
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Jill got a Annapurna Zing (Bombay Sapphire Gin, Passion Fruit Purée, Mint, Simple Syrup, and Lime Juice topped with Ginger Beer and a glowing Lotus Flower)
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And my Mom got a Leaping Lizard (Malibu Pineapple Rum and Leblon Cachaça with Orange, Passion Fruit, and Mango Juices)
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We also ordered some snacks.
Selection of Artisanal Cheeses
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Next up: more AK
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 4 continued
And Tiffins Bread Service (Red Pepper Hummus, Spiced Coriander Yogurt, Ginger-Pear Chutney)
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YUM! So good!
After this we headed over to Pandora for our first FP - Flight of Passage!
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Usually the FP line is so slow but it moved so fast I barely had any time for this selfie :hilarious:
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Rise of the Resistance is SO amazing, but I do have to try not to compare it to Flight of Passage. @blreinsel got in my head that FofP is better and its creeping into my opinion a little :joyfull: It is very hard to compare the two rides though. Anyway, safe to say we had a blast !
We walked over to Africa and I spotted a new building. It blends in so well I almost did not notice it. I figured it was the new Club 33 building a quick online search proved me right. Super cute. Wish I could get in.
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The Safari was our next FP.
I forgot to mention we found out Bob Iger retired right around this time :cry:
Anyway, the light was amazing on the Safari
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Next up: more Safari
 

Piglet_the_brave

Well-Known Member
Those drinks at Nomad Lounge sound amazing. I can’t decide which sounds best, might have to try all of them.

Great safari photos, particularly the lion.
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 4 continued
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The lights in the Up show area are so cute!
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Our last FP was for Everest!
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After our ride we checked into the Moonlight Magic event for DVC members. We were on the fence about actually staying for it, but I thought maybe we would use the free food voucher that came with it then leave. However, the food voucher did not start for another few hours and we were exhausted so we ended up leaving. I am bummed we missed the event, but at least it was a free event we were missing. Had I known the race would keep us tired for so long (and the After Hours event the night before) I would not have even signed us up for it. It is hard to predict how you are going to feel so many days in advance!
Anyway - a Boardwalk bus was there when we got there so we hopped on that one figured we could just walk back to the Yacht Club.
It was one of the new buses!
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Our decision to skip Moonlight Magic was solidified by the fact that it started pouring as soon we got off the bus. So...we slowly make our way back to the Yacht Club while trying to decided what to eat for dinner.
In the end I suggested we just order room service since it's dry and easy :)
So we did !
We ordered pizza (in this cute box).
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It was surprisingly super tasty !
Then we got some desserts from the lounge and called it a night!
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Next up: Day 5
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Day 2 continued
Someone took a photo for us :)
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I did not feel super great after we finished and a little blackout-y so I sat for a few minutes, but I recovered quickly!
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According to my Garmin we ran about 13.4 miles :hilarious:
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Thankfully we did not have to wait for a bus to get back to the Yacht Club.
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I did not manage to take a photo of inside the runners box but there were nachos and cheese inside. Hooray !
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After this we got showed, relaxed a bit then headed to the MK.
We got on a very crowded bus and Jill and I ended up standing for awhile while they loaded several scooters and the whole ride to the MK. It felt great....just kidding it did not 😁
We stopped for a PP picture first.
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Next up: more MK
So did Jill just go to corral G with you guys? Or how did you guys all stay together in different corrals?
 

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