So This Is Love: A 2010 Princess Half Marathon Trip Report!

Hi everyone! We returned almost two weeks ago from a quick weekend stay at Disney’s Pop Century resort, March 5-8. I swear, I finish one trip report and it’s time to turn around and start another one. Seeing that my last report hasn’t moved down the page too far, I’m going to be brief with the introductions, as I think many of you might “know” us by now!

I’m Holly, and traveling with me is my love, Brett. Here we are ringing in 2010 from sea:

That picture was taken approximately 4 days after we signed up for the 2010 Princess Half Marathon! Now, I’m not a very princess-y girl and tiaras and sparkle really aren’t my thing. But after seeing the character pictures from last year’s inaugural event, the thought of meeting Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale in their royal attire had me sold. Therefore, we’d been talking about this as a possibility since sometime last summer; however, we didn’t actually pull the trigger and make it happen until the end of December. Mostly this is because the first week of March is one of the two absolute busiest weeks of my entire year at work. Pretty much everything I do leads up to a week long event and then tapers off from it twice a year. Because of this I knew the only way to make it happen would be to leave after work on Friday and come home Monday (taking only one day off). When we got home from our cruise we made resort reservations, secured some ADRs, and started setting the plan in motion. Oh yeah… and we talked about a training schedule. Can’t forget that! :lol:

Speaking of training… :lookaroun Does anyone remember how well prepared we were for the 2009 Marathon?!? I’m not going to go back and count, but I’m sure there were numerous times throughout that trip report that I swore I’d never go into another one of these events under trained… yada, yada, yada. Yeah… about that. The motivation to train in the cold weather we’ve been having just wasn’t there. I know, I know, we live in South Carolina... hardly the harsh weather many others have been dealing with. Plus, I’ll admit, neither one of us was truly respecting the distance, considering we’d already conquered a full 26.2 miles, it wasn’t hard for us to tell ourselves we’d be okay pushing through a “measly” 13.1. I’m sitting here shaking my head at myself as I type this.

Anywhoo… enough about our pathetic attempts at training, let’s get on to the good stuff. One thing is for sure, Brett was a real sport about it all. From the beginning, months ago, when I asked him if he’d be willing to run a race geared towards women all the way to the finish line where he’d endured my countless references to him as Princess Brett.

So this is love!!

 

[HollyBelle]

I love your trip reports HollyBelle! You inspired me to do the marathon in January 2011! My husband and I still have a lot of training to do. We are currently up to 5 mile runs on the weekends and 3 mile runs on weekdays. Our training was stalled a little due to snowstorms and monsoon like rains! Hopefully now that the weather is getting a little better we will be able to kick the training into higher gear!

Good for you, Kristia!!! You and your husband are going to have so much fun. Now let me ask you... have you done a half already or are you going all out with the big one straight from the get go like we did?!? :lol: I will admit finishing the half was fun and exhilarating and a major accomplishment, but I didn't get nearly as emotional about it seeing that we'd already accomplished the full. Hindsight 20/20 we should have probably done a half first. But had we done that we might not have EVER signed up for the torture of a full. :ROFLOL:

Holly,
Finally got to read through your whole report and honestly it could have been written by me except I woke up Saturday (my birthday) with some funky stomach virus. We went to Epcot in the AM ,made our way to France in WS, my husband got so delicious pastries and I just watched him eat them.
The only thing I was able to get down was some steamed white rice in China for lunch. We even canceled our dinner reservation in Japan for that night.

How crazy we really did have the same day... only it wasn't my birthday. Happy Belated Birthday!

I managed to run the race with no food in my stomach at all. Even water(which I forced myself to drink at each waterstop) would repeat itself every few feet. BLAH!

And I have knee problems as well and hit the run wall in the 7/8 mile mark and sped walked the rest of the race as well. Even have a picture with me slathering on the bio-freeze!

LOVE ME SOME BIOFREEZE!!!!

I have almost the same pictures (from the F&G fest and the race except a few less characters-didn't want to slow my friend up anymore than I was with my illness).

I was in corral D and I think I saw a few more/different characters than you-Pochontos was definitely out with Meeko. I was somewhat surprised of lack of actual princesses on the route. No Snow White, Jasmine, Mulan, Aurora, but I was very happy to see Princess Atta and Princess Tiana.

Yeah we were a bit shocked regarding the lack of actual princesses, although, in all honesty that didn't bother me all too much because I'm more interested in the rarities and randoms, like PHOEBUS!! The best I've been able to gather from searching is that Aurora and Philip were switching out with Maleficent, the stepsisters were switching out with Suzy and Perla, Captain Jack was switching out with random scallywags, Pinocchio with Gepetto, Chip and Dale with Pluto in Tomorrowland, and the Queen of Hearts with Dee and Dum.

I'm so glad we caught Atta while she was out!

Great report!

I hope to get my pix up soon.

See you in October for the Wine and Dine! (Can't believe I've convinced myself to do this again-:ROFLOL

Oooh I'm really hoping to make it to the Wine & Dine! Are you doing the Halloween 5K that morning, too?! That thing is going to be a blast. If we're able to go I'm going to have trouble passing that one up, but it'll really wreak havoc on my savings plan if we do both. :lol:

And, I'll say it now, if we do sign up for the inaugural half...... I solemnly swear to TRAIN and run the WHOLE thing. No, really, I mean it!

Fantastic Report(so far of course)!!

I've always wanted to do a Disney race, preferably a half marathon. I'm gearing up to do my first half marathon in May, the Eugene, OR Half(think Hayward Field UofO Track and legend Steve Prefontaine). Anyway, I'm really excited. One thing I kept wondering about the princess half was this: I'm pretty competetive...when I run races, I go for time. With all those people, waves and characters, how hard is it for someone who actually "races"? I'm more of a wave-at-the-characters-as-I-pass-by type of racer. Would that take the fun out of it for me?

Great job in finishing the race!! I'm sorry you were sick, there's nothing worse than Disney while sick(something I experienced in December unfortunately). However, there is also nothing like Disney to help you feel better really fast. It is remarkable how much better I felt as soon as we stepped into the parks.

Thanks, Melanee. Being that you're a runner, you have got to do one of the Disney races. I don't think the excitement of the course will be lost on you whatsoever. You'll still be able to enjoy the Disney music, see the backstage areas, and you get to run through the castle. How cool is that? And you don't even have to slow down to do it.

As for weaving in and out of people and wave starts, you can always submit a finish time (from a previous race like the Eugene OR one you're doing) to get into a better corral. While I don't know this for sure, I feel certain you'd be able to get into a nice rhythm and not have to deal with an insane number of walkers if you start in an earlier corral. There are also pace groups you can run with just like in any other race.

 

[HollyBelle]

On the way back to Pop, Brett declared our retirement from racing and I wholeheartedly agreed... :lol: But before the afternoon rolled around I was already plotting our return for the Wine and Dine Half in October. He made the comment that we should probably stop before we do serious injury to ourselves. Good point... that whole “non training” thing is going to catch up with us sooner or later. But hey, at least this time around we were able to walk up and down stairs without looking like complete and total buffoons. I know it might sound crazy, seeing as how we did two races with little to no training whatsoever, but I really do want to train and do it right one of the days! :lookaroun I swear!

We were back at the resort before 10 am... with a full day ahead of ourselves! Strange considering we’d already put in a solid 7 hour day. We made some quick calls to our parents to confirm we’d made it out alive, and while talking to my mom we found out Princess Brett beat me across the finish line... but I guess you all know that already. :lol:

We took our time getting ready and made some decisions on lunch. We’d narrowed it down to Kona, the Turf Club or the Grand Floridian Café for a good burger... I was leaning towards Kona, but was unsure about getting a walk up somewhere so popular, so the Turf Club won out. We made our way to Saratoga Springs, taking some pictures on our way to the Turf Club.

 

[HollyBelle]

We got there around 11:40ish... it felt much later. Turns out the Turf Club doesn’t actually open until noon. Brett suggested a game of pool and then we both started laughing, it was clear that neither of us had the energy. In fact, I almost fell asleep waiting to be seated. Instead we took a few pictures of our medals (or rather, mine)... me wearing it, and then holding it up in front of Brett’s blurry face!

He chose not to wear his in the parks, claiming he was letting me reap the rewards and soak up all the glory. I’m guessing wearing a tiara with rhinestones was taking it just one step too far. :lookaroun :lol:

Right at 12 pm we were seated and our waitress was quick to take our orders. We knew what we were ordering before we even got there... big juicy mouthwatering burgers! We love the burgers at the Turf Club. I was so ravenous I didn’t take any time with pictures when the food came, and instead just dove right in.

Initially the plan was to go straight to DHS after lunch, followed by the Magic Kingdom. However, as we became more and more delirious and incoherent during lunch we realized there was no way we’d make it to dinner without a solid power nap. So much as we hated to do it, back to Pop we went. Our delirium had us laughing over the stupidest things along the way; as delirium is want to do.

 

[HollyBelle]

We were asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows... an hour and a half later Stitch called and forced us out of bed. Wake up, wake up... it’s time to go to the Studios! We parked in music at approximately 3 pm and made our way to the park entrance.

Because we knew there’d be a crazy wait at TSMM and the same was likely for RNR and ToT, we decided to take advantage of one of the shows, which we usually skip. So we kept with the princess theme and headed over to see Beauty and the Beast. I seriously think I’ve only seen this once before and it’s my favorite of the “princess” movies. Thinking about it now, I’d probably add The Princess and the Frog as a close second.

We got there fairly early and claimed a seat on the far left side of the theatre in the front row (well second, if you count the roped off wheelchair/VIP section). The place quickly began filling up, however, there were still some seats near the back of the theatre. About 3-4 minutes before the show started, some lady (with 4-5 kids in tow) comes down and sets up shop in the roped off area in front of us, blocking the view of the little kids to our immediate right who’d been waiting patiently for about 45 minutes. The mom and I exchanged one of those “can you believe the nerve of some people?” glances. C'mon, if you want a front row seat get there early and wait patiently. It always amazes me because it's usually the same people who complain loudest when someone does such a thing to them. :shrug: Okay... off my little soapbox now.

Loved the show... mostly because I think Gaston is a fabulous villain! I’m really holding out hope that we’ll be able to meet him once the new Fantasyland opens up. I think he’d be a perfect meet and greet character; akin to the evil stepsisters. He could go on and on about his vanity and how he knows all the ladies want to have their picture taken with the handsome Gaston. Classic, I tell you. Make it happen, Disney!

 

[HollyBelle]

I don't really recall doing it, but apparently we moseyed on through the Scary Apothecary on our way to the Muppet Courtyard, because this picture was up next :lol::

 

[Kristia]

Call us crazy but we have not done a half yet. :ROFLOL: We have a 5 mile race coming up in May. We might do a 1/2 in the fall.

 

[HollyBelle]

I believe I’ve alluded to what we refer to as our “tree friends” in past trip reports, but just to give a quick rundown. We purchase three small plush characters per trip. In some cases we try to relate them to the specific trip (one of the reasons I was looking for a small runner Minnie Mouse at the expo), with others we’re building a collection (like the 100 Acre Wood gang), and sometimes we pick random ones just for fun. In essence, they’re the “ornaments” on our all Disney plush Christmas tree.

So anyway, back on track. We’re currently building the muppet gang and wanted to pick someone up this go round. We’ve noticed some of our former purchases are no longer available at the World (like Owl from the Pooh lot), so we try to pick wisely with the sets, starting with what we figure are the less popular, first. Good thing too, because when we got to the Stage 1 Company store we couldn’t find the Swedish Chef or Beaker anywhere (our first two buys). Fozzie Bear was nowhere around either, which put us in a bit of a tizzy... because I consider him to be extremely popular. I asked the CM and she said some of them were being phased out but she didn’t know which ones for sure. Oh no! So we picked up Animal and decided to hunt down Fozzie somewhere else, like maybe the Once Upon a Toy shop at DTD.

With so many to choose from we had to be sure we found the right one!

Eventually we did...

With Animal in tow we wandered over to the Animation Courtyard, passing the ABC Commissary along the way:

 

[HollyBelle]

Looks like Fantasmic characters are still doing 5 pm meet and greets. We quickly met Chip and Dale and then Hook and Smee. While in line for the pirates there was an announcement that the characters only had 10 more minutes... the guy in front of us asked if we’d “hold his place in line” while he went over to get another one. Ummm... I don’t like to be rude, but NO. How fair is it to the people behind us who are waiting if they get cut off from meeting the characters after you cut back in line. Sometimes it’s hard to decide which characters to meet and which to pass on, but that’s life... wait your turn, people! Oops, looks like I got out the soapbox again. Sorry!

The Chip and Dale picture ended up being quite blurry, and the one with Hook and Smee didn't turn out at all. The lighting in the Animation Academy isn't all that conducive to pictures... especially when one doesn't check the settings and then hands the camera off to a CM. :lol:

Since our December visit, the maquettes and storyboards in one of the show rooms had been changed from Princess in the Frog to Toy Story 3. I have a feeling this one’s really going to pull at the heartstrings, seeing that Andy’s headed off to college. I can't wait for this one. :sohappy:

Even though we hadn’t been there long, it was already time to leave the Studios. The circumstances of this “too quick trip” were leaving us with very little time in the parks. I know it seems odd, but even worse for me is taking a trip where we don’t at least set foot in them all.

Next up… we’re off to the Magic Kingdom!

 

[mouselvrmom]

Love the Saratoga pictures and the great Beauty and the Beast pictures!

Your medal is fabulous! I can't believe Brett didn't want to wear his around. :lol:

 

[HollyBelle]

Call us crazy but we have not done a half yet. :ROFLOL: We have a 5 mile race coming up in May. We might do a 1/2 in the fall.

You wont' get any funny looks from my direction... seeing that we did the exact same thing! Our first "event" was the 2008 Expedition Everest Challenge (a 5K)... followed three months later by the full 26.2!! :lol: Crazy?! Maybe. Determined to reach such an amazing goal (and get the Mickey medal)?! Most definitely!

Love the Saratoga pictures and the great Beauty and the Beast pictures!

Your medal is fabulous! I can't believe Brett didn't want to wear his around. :lol:

I know, right!? :ROFLOL:
Notice the rhinestones, Jenn? Yep, I wore rhinestones! Now that's true bling.

 

[Brett]

Gaston is so awesome.

 

[disneygirl1]

congrats to both you and Brett for doing and completing the run!!! :sohappy: Loving the report as always!

 

[meganw1985]

Holly,

I love your trip reports and wish I had your wittiness/photographic talent! To be honest, until I started reading this, I always thought "marathon at Disney? Who on EARTH would ever want to do that?!" WELL: now that would be me! :ROFLOL:I suddenly find it intriguing! Although I am horribly not in shape (I did walk 3 miles today...and didn't die so that's a start) but how on earth do you even begin to prepare for such a thing? That's a loooooong way! But now I want to know, so I too can walk through the Magic Kingdom gates and get a princess medal! :king:

 

[xdan0920]

Excellent trip report. I don't typical peruse this particular forum, but with little going on the news and rumors area I decided to opt for trip reports and a little nostalgia. I am glad I did because that was one captivating report. In fact, your report now has me researching WDW's various marathons and thinking of a way to talk my fiance into taking on the challenge. I think the biggest selling point will be all the characters. So thanks for all the effort writing this up, it has been a great read, and hopefully a good selling point to get my fiance on board for a marathon.

 

[TakeMeThere81]

Right at 12 pm we were seated and our waitress was quick to take our orders. We knew what we were ordering before we even got there... big juicy mouthwatering burgers! We love the burgers at the Turf Club. I was so ravenous I didn’t take any time with pictures when the food came, and instead just dove right in.

...

Awesome pic of your medal(and Brett in the background, I love the faces and thumbs ups he's always giving you)

Cool report on the Turf Club. You have enlightened me on soooo many restaurants in WDW. Thanks!!

I love the DVC "billboard" as well! It's so cute!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Holly, you forgot the single most important detail of the entire race... I finished exactly 1 second ahead of you. WOO!!!

Better luck next time, slowpoke! :lol:

Oh nooooo! Brett, you are soooo killing the "that guy is awesome to do the Princess 1/2 with his sweetheart" bit. Stoppit! It was so much better conjuring up the images of you two crossing the finish line together hand in hand like you did for the full marathon. LOL!

All niceties aside, here were my first thoughts on this single-second-win:

Yes, the sun does shine on a dogs patootie every now & then....

Yes, we gals do know the importance of a man's ego so we indulge them once in a while with such allowances...just to keep 'em smilin'...

**smack** She was sick and it's your cooties she was sick with. Why were you not carrying her across that finish line???

LOL! Just kiddin' tho. I hate that I fight to force my body to run, that it's so excruciating and difficult for me yet my hubby who never gets a lick of exercise, who regularly pokes fun at any runners he sees with comments like "They should get a car...it's quicker" can walk out the front door on any given day and run circles around me. I freakin' hate that! With a passion!

I love the bling-bling medal! Ooooh...it could only be better with a pink glittery lanyard to hang from! How did I ever evolve into such a girly-girl?! When I was a teenager I wouldn't even wear girl's clothes! Now I drip of girl goo!!!

The Animals don't look as crazy-wild as he does. I think y'all picked the best one from what I can see.

And I love that sign. I always have. Love the details all around the Muppets shop & show area. Looooove me some Muppets!!!!

 

[HollyBelle]

congrats to both you and Brett for doing and completing the run!!! :sohappy: Loving the report as always!

Thanks! It was a lot of fun.

Holly,

I love your trip reports and wish I had your wittiness/photographic talent! To be honest, until I started reading this, I always thought "marathon at Disney? Who on EARTH would ever want to do that?!" WELL: now that would be me! :ROFLOL:I suddenly find it intriguing! Although I am horribly not in shape (I did walk 3 miles today...and didn't die so that's a start) but how on earth do you even begin to prepare for such a thing? That's a loooooong way! But now I want to know, so I too can walk through the Magic Kingdom gates and get a princess medal! :king:

Hi Megan. :wave: Thank you for the kind words. As for running a race... you can TOTALLY do it. It's clear I'm not a runner... a better title would be Disney endurance participant. :lol: And while I'm not the best person to talk to about training/preparing for an event... one thing I do know is that if you put your mind to it you will persevere. My colleague was asking me for training tips the other day and I started going on and on about tapering, speed work, fueling options and so on and so forth... then I started laughing. While I may not have followed through on the training, I was knowledgeable about it. I certainly did my research and while I surely don't recommend it in lieu of training, being mentally prepared will go a long way (especially for the full).

So get out there and get your princess medal!! :sohappy:

Excellent trip report. I don't typical peruse this particular forum, but with little going on the news and rumors area I decided to opt for trip reports and a little nostalgia. I am glad I did because that was one captivating report. In fact, your report now has me researching WDW's various marathons and thinking of a way to talk my fiance into taking on the challenge. I think the biggest selling point will be all the characters. So thanks for all the effort writing this up, it has been a great read, and hopefully a good selling point to get my fiance on board for a marathon.

Thanks, xdan0920... I'm glad you stopped by the trip report board, as well! I think you should definitely talk her into it and go for it. The feeling of sheer accomplishment at the finish line is priceless... and something, I for one, think everyone should get a taste of! Check out my full marathon report (linked in the first post of this thread) if you're looking for more "character motivation" for the fiance! There were some great "randoms" on that course.

Awesome pic of your medal(and Brett in the background, I love the faces and thumbs ups he's always giving you)

Cool report on the Turf Club. You have enlightened me on soooo many restaurants in WDW. Thanks!!

I love the DVC "billboard" as well! It's so cute!

Thanks, Melanee. That's his go-to pose when i bust out the camera on him, which is quite a bit. :lol: We LOVE the Turf Club for lunch and from our experience we can always get a table. We have yet to try dinner there and have decided to add it to our list for the next trip. And seriously, billboards at Disney are just awesome!

Oh nooooo! Brett, you are soooo killing the "that guy is awesome to do the Princess 1/2 with his sweetheart" bit. Stoppit! It was so much better conjuring up the images of you two crossing the finish line together hand in hand like you did for the full marathon. LOL!

All niceties aside, here were my first thoughts on this single-second-win:

Yes, the sun does shine on a dogs patootie every now & then....

Yes, we gals do know the importance of a man's ego so we indulge them once in a while with such allowances...just to keep 'em smilin'...

**smack** She was sick and it's your cooties she was sick with. Why were you not carrying her across that finish line???

LOL! Just kiddin' tho. I hate that I fight to force my body to run, that it's so excruciating and difficult for me yet my hubby who never gets a lick of exercise, who regularly pokes fun at any runners he sees with comments like "They should get a car...it's quicker" can walk out the front door on any given day and run circles around me. I freakin' hate that! With a passion!

Hah... I laughed so hard when I first saw his post, and still laugh when I scroll by it. The part that gets me is when he said "better luck next time, slowpoke!" Truth is... he could've left me in the dust at any point! :lol: Like your hubby, Brett can run circles around me. He goes at my pace just to indulge me. And like you, it can frustrate the heck out of me!

I love the bling-bling medal! Ooooh...it could only be better with a pink glittery lanyard to hang from! How did I ever evolve into such a girly-girl?! When I was a teenager I wouldn't even wear girl's clothes! Now I drip of girl goo!!!

Maybe you're just overcompensating for all that testosterone in your house! :lol:

The Animals don't look as crazy-wild as he does. I think y'all picked the best one from what I can see.

And I love that sign. I always have. Love the details all around the Muppets shop & show area. Looooove me some Muppets!!!!

I think you're right! We really do search for the "right" one, no joke. We're dorks! We don't just pick up the first one we come to... if you look at some of the small plush there are some minor differences (usually in the facial features).

 

[HollyBelle]

At approximately 5:30 I was standing here, excited to get my dole whip fix:

We were going to hit up some rides in Adventureland until we realized the next time we'd be here, Fantasyland and Toontown would be no longer. So we went that direction instead. Taking lots of pictures of Fantasyland along the way.

So, Brett and I have neither one noticed the weather vanes on Peter Pan's Flight... are we crazy or are they new?

 

[HollyBelle]

More Fantasyland pictures:

 

[HollyBelle]

This is quickly becoming a photo only update! :lol: Toontown: