Pre-Trip Our laces 'em up, tiara on, 10 days of run and fun PTR

mousefreak · Jul 28, 2013

disneygirl76 said:
Still not posted yet

I know.

disneygirl76 · Jul 28, 2013

mousefreak said:
I know.

I'm still on vaca - off all next week. Ugh, its killing me b/c I think I am where you are....waiting for confirmation of times to make ADR's and finalize plan. :happy:

mousefreak · Jul 28, 2013

Hope you enjoy your week off. I go back to work tomorrow, so ill get my mind off of planning.
To help kill the time, look online for recipes of some your favorite Disney meals or snacks to make. We've had fun doing that recently.

disneygirl76 · Jul 31, 2013

mousefreak said:
Hope you enjoy your week off. I go back to work tomorrow, so ill get my mind off of planning.
To help kill the time, look online for recipes of some your favorite Disney meals or snacks to make. We've had fun doing that recently.

Still no hours.

I like the idea of cooking the meals.

mousefreak · Jul 31, 2013

I know! It's driving me insane! We booking dining next Saturday.

Englebabies · Jul 31, 2013

Checking in to see how your training is going. Can't wait for your trip report

disneygirl76 · Jul 31, 2013

mousefreak said:
I know! It's driving me insane! We booking dining next Saturday.

I keep thinking of you! How can you book if you don't know hours!! Hopefully tomorrow Aug 1st. Fingers crossed!

disneygirl76 · Jul 31, 2013

Englebabies said:
Checking in to see how your training is going. Can't wait for your trip report

Thank you! Training is going. I would like to be at a goal that I am not at yet. Its a lot slower then I thought. I feel like a turtle running through peanut butter most of the time. Every now and again I get a glimmer of hope when the gate is good and the temp is right and the stride is right and the heart rate is good. And I could keep going. I have been training inside b/c the humidity here has been killer. Its low now so I went outside today and I am WAY off time. So...I need to keep training and working and I will get that. I just am so afraid of being swept. Thank you SO much for asking!!!

disneygirl76 · Aug 2, 2013

disneygirl76 said:
Hi everybody!

The Cast of Characters: My DH, Niles, and I

Supporting Cast: my parents and perhaps my brother and his girlfriend Emily

Where: We are staying at Beach Club/Yacht Club (maybe the Villas depending how many characters we get)

When: February 21, 2014 to March 2nd, 2014

What: A 10 day, fun filled trip to the World with a wee run thrown in. Planning on a MYW package with dining and 10 day park hopper tickets.

Why: I'm running the Disney Princess Half Marathon!!!

Many of you know my personal journey to start a family with my wonderful husband. After years of shots and treatments and living via the IVF calendar, we have taken some time off and are just enjoying life and making plans that are not driven by a doctors calendar. This journey has made my weight yo yo and I have always struggled with my weight and body image. So crossing that finish line is a personal goal for me - to put all those struggles and issues behind me and take control of my life again.

Here's what we have planned so far:

Friday February 21:
Arrive via MCO and the wonderful crew of DME
Check into Beach Club/Yacht Club
Check out the Expo for the Marathon
Head to Epcot via the International Gateway in the evening for the Pasta in the Park Party and watch Illuminations

Saturday February 22:
A lazy Resort Day
Start the day with breakfast at Cape May. Then spend the day relaxing and resting at the pool and resort. Head to Epcot in the early evening via the International Gateway for Dinner at Rose & Crown - a tradition for Niles and I. Head back to the resort after dinner and watch Illuminations from the Resort or I might already be sleeping. Big Day next day!

Sunday February 23:
RACE DAY!
After the race and a nap, head to Magic Kingdom for dinner at Be Our Guest.

Monday February 24:
This day is predicted to have EMH for Epcot. So via International Gateway, head to Epcot in the a.m., early lunch at Le Cellier, then back to resort in afternoon, and back again in the evening for EMH. Probably just grab dinner in the World Showcase.

Tuesday February 25:
Head to Animal Kingdom - very excited because we got rained out both days in September. Lunch at Yak and Yeti, our favorite! Head to DHS via bus after lunch. After an evening at DHS, head back to the resort via the boat.

Wednesday February 26:
A big fun filled day at MK! Have lunch at BOG. Don't know yet for dinner.

Thursday February 27:
Head back to Animal Kingdom and after lunch, head to Epcot via the bus for dinner at Les Chefs de France and Illuminations

Friday February 28:
DHS is predicted to have EMH. So head to DHS in the a.m. via the boat, lunch at pizza planet, then a resort break. Back to DHS for dinner. Don't know where yet.

Saturday March 1st:
Spend the day at Resort and head to MK for predicted EMH. No dining decisions yet here.

Sunday March 2nd:
Final morning at MK. Breakfast at CRT. And head back to DC via MCO.

Of course, dining is speculated because I can't make ADR's yet.

So that's all I have for now!

Any advice and suggestions are great! I have never run a Disney half marathon before so any advice is great too!

Thanks for reading!!

Here is the new updated daily plan according to ADR's which will be made on the 25th of August.

Friday Feb 21

Breakfast: airport muffin - yum!
Lunch: ESPN Club (New) (still not sure about this one) - OOP
Dinner: Rose & Crown - TS
Notes: Arrival Day. Have to go ESPN for the Princess Half Marathon Expo to pick up bib.

Saturday Feb 22

Breakfast: Cape May Cafe - TS
Lunch: Hurricane Hannah's (New) - CS
Dinner: Captain's Grill (New) - OOP (hee hee hoping parents pick up the tab)
Notes: My parents will be joining us to spend the day with us at the resort

Sunday Feb 23

Breakfast: RACE - bringing Kind bars and buying yogurt and fruit to eat before race
Lunch: Beaches and Cream - OOP
Dinner: Cinderella's Round Table - 2 TS
Notes: This is the race day.

Monday Feb 24

Breakfast: Sunshine Seasons (New) - OOP
Lunch: Le Cellier (New sort of - never been for lunch) - TS
Dinner: Chef de France (New) - TS
Notes: Mom will be with us this day in the parks.

Tuesday Feb 25

Breakfast: Tamu Tamu (New) - OOP
Lunch: Yak & Yeti - CS
Dinner: Boardwalk Pizza (uncertain of this one) - OOP
Notes: We are doing campfire and movie at the resort so thinking pizza was the best outside option.

Wednesday Feb 26

Breakfast: Sleepy Hollow - OOP
Lunch: Be Our Guest (New) - CS
Dinner: Garden Grill (New) - TS
Notes:

Thursday Feb 27

Breakfast: Kusafari Cafe - OOP
Lunch: Flame Tree BBQ (New) - CS
Dinner: Via Napoli - TS
Notes:

Friday Feb 28

Breakfast: Fairfax Fare (New) - OOP
Lunch: Starring Rolls (New) - CS
Dinner: Pizza Planet - CS
Notes:

Saturday March 1

Breakfast: Ale & Compass or BC Marketplace (New) - OOP
Lunch: Tortuga (if open) - CS
Dinner: Be Our Guest (New) - TS
Notes:

Sunday March 2

Breakfast: Main Street Bakery (New if you consider b/c in new-ish) - OOP
Lunch: Pecos Bill - CS
Dinner: Airport Sandwich - yum!
Notes:

Zortek · Aug 2, 2013

Looks good! I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Le Cellier got switched to a Signature for lunch and requires 2 TS all the time now.

disneygirl76 · Aug 2, 2013

Zortek said:
Looks good! I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Le Cellier got switched to a Signature for lunch and requires 2 TS all the time now.

Oh really!!! That changes things if that is the case. Can anyone confirm this?

disneygirl76 · Aug 25, 2013

At 180 days today, it's officially time to update the old Pre-Trip Report!

Since originally posting this pre-trip report, the daily schedule and plans and dining options have changed at least a dozen times. It felt like forever for the February hours to be posted. Actually, I will say, I feel like they certainly took longer then normal to post. After the times were posted, I have some adjustments to make. I used touringplans.com to make the original schedule and for the first time, some of the dates with EMH and at which parks had changed. So I revamped the hours and got busy plotting out and sorting out the ADR's. I really wanted to make sure that I had just as many new experiences as our old favorites. Gosh, there are so many that I even pondered upgrading to the Deluxe Dining Plan but that's getting a little crazy I think. We did do Deluxe Dining one year before and it was awesome but I don't think it is in the cards for this trip. And I don't want to spend the whole time running from ADR to ADR.

So here is the new updated plans and schedule!

The Characters:

Still my DH and I

And my mom and dad

Dad has vowed that he has done his Disney run and will only enter the parks by force or being drugged. So they will both be present for the beginning of our trip and dad won't be doing any park stuff with us. But mom is all in going back to Epcot as it is her favorite park.

My Brother and his girlfriend are still unsure as they have to see how things pan out for 2014. But here they are just in case they come.

The where and when and why are the same:

Where: We are staying at Beach Club in a Garden View Room

When: February 21, 2014 to March 2nd, 2014

Why: I'm running the Disney Princess Half Marathon!!!

Friday February 21:
Arrival
We Arrive via MCO and the wonderful crew of DME. Getting a 7 a.m. flight, hope a non stop.
Check into Beach Club/Yacht Club and hopefully our room is ready. If not, stash the luggage with the bellhop and head to ESPN Zone for the Expo to pick up my bib and check in for the race.
No lunch ADR here but we will most likely grab something at ESPN. However, we have dined at an ESPN Zone before and was fine food so if that is the only offer, we might skip it here and head to the BC.
After checking in to our room (if we hadn't done so before) we will freshen up and head to Epcot via the International Gateway for dinner at Rose & Crown - our traditional first night meal. There is Pasta in the Park this night but we just felt that it wasn't the value we wanted. Its really meant for the night before you run, which my race is Sunday, so we would be going for the experience. And I would rather have our Traditional First Night experience. Dinner ADR is at 7:50 so we will be requesting a table outside so we can watch Illuminations. Epcot has EMH this night which is great since we won't be getting into the park until around 5 or so depending on how long we are at the Expo.

Saturday February 22:
A lazy Resort Day
We are going to start the day with breakfast at Cape May. (insert a giant "oh crap" here b/c I just realized that I didn't book that ADR yet! What is wrong with me...please stand by..................Okay, booked. Whew!!!! This is a favorite of ours and the last time we were there we had one of the greatest character interactions ever. My parents are going to come to the resort and I have been told that there shouldn't be an issue getting them a day guest pass to spend the day with us at the resort. I need to spend the day relaxing and resting at the pool and resort. Mom will really enjoy the pool and resort and dad, he's going to enjoy a milkshake and a lawn chair in the shade. Lunch will be at Hurricane Hannah's and then Dinner we have early reservations at Captain's Grille. This is a new one for us. That evening, depending on how tired I am, we will do movie on the lawn and the campfire with smores. We are going to enjoy some of the Boardwalk activities during the day too - since mom has never been and there is an ice cream shop over there which will make her happy.

My parents like ice cream.

And we are thinking of renting the surrey bikes too!

Sunday February 23:
RACE DAY!
Mom, Dad, and Niles are going to be at the race with me. My chEAR squad! After the race, we head back to the resort for a HUGE black and white malt and a burger with bacon and cheese and fries! All for me!

hee hee Then a nap - some Advil - and depending on how sore, a dip in the hot tub. After I get up and am ready, with medal on, we head to MK. I decided that there was only one place for dinner this night and that is CRT!! We have dinner at 6:40 pm. MK has EMH this date so we will be able to spend some extra time there since we will get there later.

Monday February 24:
Epcot with Mom
We are heading to Epcot this day. Dad will bring mom to the resort and we will get him a guest pass and an extra room key so he can go about his business since he would rather stick oyster forks in his eyes then go into a park. We will head to Epcot via the IG and mom will see the countries with nearly no people in them for the first time. She will be so excited for some great photo ops! The idea is to head straight to Soarin' as that is mom's favorite ride. We will grab some breakfast at Sunshine Seasons and ride the Land as well. We have lunch at Chefs de France at 1:10 so we can catch Remy. Then we also have dinner at Le Cellier. I was thinking of using a TS for Chefs de France but not going to since lunch is very reasonable. Mom and I did lunch when we went together in 2011 but DH has never been so its new for him for lunch. Instead, I will use 2 TS for Le Cellier. Mom loves the Cheddar Beer Soup that I make from Disney so I want her to experience the real thing. It will be a very special day for her. Epcot is her favorite. We will go back to the resort with her after Illuminations and depending on how we feel, DHS has EMH this evening and after we say good bye to her, we might head to DHS. This totally depends on DHS expanding the hours. At this time, they close at 7 pm with EMH to 9 but I can't see it staying that way. My guess they will be extended and then we can hop over there.

Tuesday February 25:
It is just Niles and I from here on out. We head to Animal Kingdom - very excited because we got rained out both days in September. Breakfast at Tamu Tamu. This is a new one for us. Then lunch at Yak and Yeti, our favorite! We are going to spend the entire day here. We haven't done that since 2009 and we need some good AK time. Also, I have never watched the parade! Crazy right! So we are going to do that. And no matter what...I will find D'Vine!! I have yet to see her too!! And now she has a friend too - Bamboo! They will be found! So dinner that night is up in the air. See, for everyone who thinks I over plan, I don't

hee hee.

Since AK closes at 5, and they have buses to other parks, we will head to another park that has the longest hours. I did make an ADR for Via Napoli b/c that's most likely where we will be. However, if MK has a really late night, then we might head over there. Or we might just grab a pizza and head to the movie on the lawn and smores and the campfire.

We shall see! If we head to Via Napoli, this is a new one for us.

Wednesday February 26:
We are heading to MK this day. Breakfast at Sleepy Hallow and a Starbucks from Main Street! I can't wait! We are hoping to make a fast pass for Be Our Guest for lunch. Either way, lunch is here.

And this a new place for us. Also, we will get Gaston's Brew since I totally forgot in February! We will be at MK until about 4:30 ish. Then stop at GF for some shopping, then off to Poly for dinner at 'Ohana. We have been here once for dinner and once for breakfast. Will never do breakfast again but dinner was awesome. I can already taste the pineapple bread. We are either going to spend the rest of the evening here and watch the electric pageant parade or we will head to Epcot that night. Or maybe back to MK. Whatever we feel like!

Thursday February 27:
We are off to Animal Kingdom again this day. Breakfast at Kusafari Cafe. Lunch is at Flame Tree BBQ - a new one for us. We will be here until we want to leave and then off to Epcot. We have a dinner ADR at Garden Grill. Another new one for us.

Friday February 28:
We are going to start the day at DHS and spend almost the whole day here. We are going to start the day with breakfast at Fairfax Fare - a new one for us. Our goal - Toy Story Mania - more then once! We haven't been since 2009! Much needed this time around!! And then we are off to lunch at Starring Rolls. Dinner will be at Pizza Planet, a fave for us. We might take a break in the day, and head back to the resort and then come back. Epcot has EMH so after DHS, we are going to take the boat over to Epcot for EMH hours.

Saturday March 1st:
The plan is to head to MK this day. Now my DH is a sport about characters but by the end of the trip, he has had enough. So my plan is to start the day early and be there for rope drop and see characters and just stroll around the park with my DH meeting me later. If he doesn't have breakfast at the resort, he will be ready to meet me for lunch which we like to have early to miss the rush. We are thinking about Tortuga if it is open this day. If not, its off to Pecos Bill - mmmm...drippy cheese. Dinner is at BOG! So excited! This will be new for us! MK has EMH this night so we will be there until the wee hours and watch for the kiss goodnight!

Sunday March 2nd:
We will been up late the night before and we tried pre park opening CRT AND checking into MCO on our September trip and it was a bit hectic. We had to get a taxi and it was stressful to do all that before our pre park opening ADR. It has been our tradition at CRT is our last day place for breakfast. I am considering still making an ADR for later but we shall see. At this time, we have breakfast at Main Street Bakery and lunch at either Pecos (if we haven't been yet) or Casey's.

We will be getting the photopass+ as we love that!

So that's it! That's the plan! We are looking forward to trying some new places and doing our old favorites. And as soon as we are back, I will do a full trip report!!! And while I am there, I will be posting to twitter and instagram and facebook!

Thank you all for reading the updated pre-trip report!!! Can't wait to get back to the World! 180 days and counting!!!!!

bmarkelon · Aug 27, 2013

Looks fabulous! We just ate at Captain's Grille for our first time this past trip (just got back Friday, :arghh:

) and it was one of my favorite meals of the trip. I had the Braised Short Rib over corn risotto....delicious!!

disneygirl76 · Aug 27, 2013

bmarkelon said:
Looks fabulous! We just ate at Captain's Grille for our first time this past trip (just got back Friday, ) and it was one of my favorite meals of the trip. I had the Braised Short Rib over corn Polenta....delicious!!

Oh dear, I'm so sorry! The Disney Blues are the worst! But that meal...sounds fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!

bmarkelon · Aug 27, 2013

disneygirl76 said:
Oh dear, I'm so sorry! The Disney Blues are the worst! But that meal...sounds fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!

Just realized I had an error on this, it was a corn risotto, and I licked that plate clean! As far as my own 1/2 marathon training let's just say that being in Disney for 10 days in August set me back a bit. I tried out a 3 mile run on the Boardwalk early in our trip and could not do it again. Yikes, that was gross!! I have some catching up to do.

disneygirl76 · Aug 28, 2013

bmarkelon said:
Just realized I had an error on this, it was a corn risotto, and I licked that plate clean! As far as my own 1/2 marathon training let's just say that being in Disney for 10 days in August set me back a bit. I tried out a 3 mile run on the Boardwalk early in our trip and could not do it again. Yikes, that was gross!! I have some catching up to do.

Oh, I love risotto even more!!! YUM! I have a lot of catching up to do too...I'm currently in bed and have been since Sunday morning with a URI. So....yeah...haven't run in a week and will take a while to get back up to where I was. You have a much better reason to be out of running though! Ahhh Disney! Can't wait to get back!

PartOfYourWorld · Aug 29, 2013

Just reading this and wanted to say congrats with all the running training! I will be running the Princess Half with you!!! I'll actually be doing the Glass Slipper Challenge. We'll see how that goes! My training has not been good since the 10 miler I ran almost a year ago. Luckily I am still on par with what my pace was last year, but I'll be using Jeff Galloway's training schedule for the Princess. I used it for the ToT10 and it worked really well! It starts in October!

I'll be coming in the same time as you on the 21st! But only staying until the Monday and making a long weekend out of it with no park time.

Staying at AKL.

Keep at it with your training!

I know you will do well!

And I wanted to wish you all the best on a family. Hoping things all work out in the end for you! <3

disneygirl76 · Aug 30, 2013

PartOfYourWorld said:
Just reading this and wanted to say congrats with all the running training! I will be running the Princess Half with you!!! I'll actually be doing the Glass Slipper Challenge. We'll see how that goes! My training has not been good since the 10 miler I ran almost a year ago. Luckily I am still on par with what my pace was last year, but I'll be using Jeff Galloway's training schedule for the Princess. I used it for the ToT10 and it worked really well! It starts in October!

I'll be coming in the same time as you on the 21st! But only staying until the Monday and making a long weekend out of it with no park time. Staying at AKL.

Keep at it with your training! I know you will do well!

And I wanted to wish you all the best on a family. Hoping things all work out in the end for you! <3

Thank you so much! WOW! The Glass Slipper Challenge!! That is so exciting!! Good luck with your training!!!!!! You will do great!!

And thanks for the wishes!

We have always wanted to stay at AKL!

Just keeping running, right!

mishel635 · Sep 2, 2013

Loving this pre trip report!!! We are staying at BCV from 2/15 - 2/22. We are actually going to Cape May for breakfast on the 22nd too! Maybe we will see each other!

I really admire your determination with the running. I started running about a year ago and am only up to a 5K but I'm now making it one of my goals to run the half marathon someday!!!! If you don't mind me asking, do you have any kind of training program to get to 13.1? It seems like such an unattainable goal for me right now.

Also, I have to tell you, I worked as a maternity nurse for several years and I can't even tell you how many couples we had that stopped trying for awhile or decided to adopt, and then got pregnant. I also have two personal friends that this happened to as well. I will be keeping you and your husband in my prayers and be sending good thoughts your way that your baby dreams come true.
Can't wait to read more and am really looking forward to your trip report as well!!!

disneygirl76 · Sep 3, 2013

mishel635 said:
Loving this pre trip report!!! We are staying at BCV from 2/15 - 2/22. We are actually going to Cape May for breakfast on the 22nd too! Maybe we will see each other!
I really admire your determination with the running. I started running about a year ago and am only up to a 5K but I'm now making it one of my goals to run the half marathon someday!!!! If you don't mind me asking, do you have any kind of training program to get to 13.1? It seems like such an unattainable goal for me right now.
Also, I have to tell you, I worked as a maternity nurse for several years and I can't even tell you how many couples we had that stopped trying for awhile or decided to adopt, and then got pregnant. I also have two personal friends that this happened to as well. I will be keeping you and your husband in my prayers and be sending good thoughts your way that your baby dreams come true.
Can't wait to read more and am really looking forward to your trip report as well!!!

Thank you so much!!! This has been a journey for sure. And I love the stories of hope and inspiration.

We are actually embarking on another round in a couple of weeks. I've started the appts already. We have two more rounds - this one in September and if this is unsuccessful, then in March after the race. Then we are going to stop trying. As strong as the desire is to have a family, I just can't keep doing this. This will be our 8th attempt. The only reason we keep going is b/c nothing is wrong with us. There is no reason this isn't working which has been the hardest thing to understand. The running has been a way for me to focus on something good and positive for myself after all of this.

I used the couch to 5K program initially and then am using the Jeff Galloway training program. I've had a major set back though. So I hope I reach my goal. I haven't run in 2 weeks b/c I have a vicious upper respiratory infection that knocked me down for a week and still have this cough that is aggravated every time I try to run. So i'm off to the doc to see if they can help me out to get me back on track. I am also doing something that just works for me. My DH and I run for a half hour on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday a.m. then I do a long run on Sunday. I try to just go a bit longer then the week before and during the week I work on going faster. I usually have one great run a week, one good one, one terrible one. Its weird how that happens. I would recommend that with your training, just get up to running a half hour on a consistent basis before going into the 1/2 marathon training. Then you can train - either running only or a run / walk combo. You want to also work your core to add strength to your form and then resistance training helps to build strength.

What time is your ADR on the 22nd? That would be so fun to see you!!!!!

Thank you also for all the thoughts and prayers.

I really appreciate it!!!!

Pre-Trip Our laces 'em up, tiara on, 10 days of run and fun PTR

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