Disney Princess Half Marathon Recap Part 1

First off, I have to admit, I have been avoiding writing this post because I wanted to enjoy every last moment at Disney and I knew when I ended up writing this post it would mean that my trip to Disney was over. Let’s start from the beginning.... 

The week leading up to half marathon I hadn’t been sleeping well. I was full of anxiety about school work and about the race. Friday morning came. I woke up all ready to go! Deanna and Clare drove me to the airport. They had made me a very cute sign and had a box of Disney Princess bandaids awaiting me.

Got on my flight, and off I went to Florida! I was so excited the entire way there. We arrived in Florida and I walked all over Orlando International Airport looking to meet up with my dad. I found him and off we went to our hotel. 

On the bus ride over, we were full of laughs, giggling at the on bus entertainment, distracting us from what was actually outside. 

We finally arrived at our hotel. We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort. It was a really nice hotel! Not the cheapest hotel, but also not the most expensive. Once we got out off the bus the heat surprised both of us.

We dropped our stuff off and I went to the expo and dad went to grab something to eat. At the expo I was overwhelmed, but also super excited. I got my bib and bag of goodies. I went around to all the booths, not really wanting to spend more money then this whole trip was costing. It was great seeing so many people with so much enthusiasm. I then met Jeff Galloway, the man who got me into running! It was such an honor to meet him.

Afterwards dad and I decided to go hit the pool. I got my suit, diva sunglasses and mumu on. At this point my dad pointed out how much thinner I looked, it was nice to hear. We spent that time at the pool cooling down and catching up. It was so relaxing and a nice way to start our time at Disney. We were planning on meeting Cate and her family for dinner. I met Cate via internet and the Facebook group for the Disney Princess Half Marathon, she also lives in the valley, used to work at my school and is a Cate with a C, just like me! We met after a race in December and we have kept in touch ever since. Last minute we decided to get dinner together, however there was confusion about whether or not we would need tickets to get in. We found out that we would need to buy tickets which would cost us upwards of $90, just to get to the restaurant. I felt bad since Cate changed her reservation to accommodate us. We decided to enjoy the pool a little more and go to Downtown Disney.

Downtown Disney was not there 15 years ago when I was last here. We took a bus to go there. The bus system at Disney between resorts reminds me so much of the bus system we have at our school. Once we arrived at Downtown Disney, it was busy and happening. Dad and I found Wolfgang Pucks Restaurant. Despite the 90 minute wait, we found seating at the bar. From there we ordered some yummy food! Dad and I split  a caesar salad and I got a variety of sushi. My dad got a hamburger and some mashed potatoes. YUMMY! After a delicious dinner we walked around Downtown Disney. We had some fun in the shops. At about 10ish we headed back to our hotel and went to bed.