Saturday morning I woke up at 7:30am ready to go. I really wanted to get out the doors earlier rather than later, since I knew the heat would be killer later in the day. My dad had other plans. He said he had to sleep until 9am. After leisurely waking up, he had to take a shower, eat breakfast, get dress etc. At this point I decided to take a walk around the resort property and check out the other pools. At about 11am we headed out the doors and caught the bus to the Magic Kingdom. I got so excited as we approached the entrance, since I would be running there the next day. On the bus we met some other runners running the Princess Half. So many people were running the half marathon. It was great to talk to so many interesting people. Some this being their first half like me, or some veterans who have done numerous marathons! Nevertheless, it was a great connection to make with people.
Once we got to Disney, we were surprised how much security had increased since the last time we had been there. We knew it was due to 9/11, still it was interesting noticing the changes going back 15 years later. The moment we walked in and saw mainstream, I had the biggest smile on my face. The same smile I had on my face when I walked in my first time 15 years ago. The first thing I saw was the Goofy I had taken a photo with when the last time we were there.
When we turned the corner and saw main street, I kept thinking “I will be running down this street tomorrow... wait I’m running a half marathon?!”. Then I saw the Magic Kingdom in the distance. Here it was, the Magic Kingdom I had seen photos of all throughout my training that kept me going, and there is was, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!? Then we recreated another photo from 15 years ago.
In front of the Magic Kingdom a show was happening all about celebration. Oh Disney, full of so much optimism! I have to admit, even as a 20 year old (wait 21 year old) I was still in as much “awe” as I was when I was only 6 years old. There is something about Disney that really brings out the kid in all of us. Even though this time dad and I were joking the whole time about the people behind the characters. Maybe the person playing Mickey was having an affair with the person who is Cinderella!? It was fun to think about all the backstage stuff, but still somehow stayed very magical to me! After seeing the performance, dad was starving so we searched out a place to eat. My dad ordered a beyond yummy waffle with this sweet glazed chicken. It doesn’t sound so great but it was sooooooooooo delicious!
From there we walked around the park some more. We found “It’s a small world”, it is one of the rides I remember the most from our last time here. There was a line, but it went by quicker than I expected.
From there we walked around Fantasy Land and poked in a few shops. At this point my dad was getting hot and exhausted we started to make our way back to main street to go to get photos with the princesses. On our way over there we ran into Fairy Godmother. Well, we had to get a photo with her! She was so sweet and wished me great luck at the race tomorrow, and even promised me an extra “
"Bibbidi Bobbidi"
From there we found a shaded area and watched a show at the Magic Kingdom. Mickey and Minny were talking about dreams, and how thats all you need. I turned to my dad and said “I get the whole dream thing, but what about goals? How do you measure dreams?!”. I guess I have grown up a little bit. The whole day we kept joking about this idea of dreaming instead of setting realistic goals.
After the show we made our way to the theater where you can wait and get your photo taken with the princesses. We should have gone in the line where you take pictures with Mickey, but I was on a princess high. The line was not too long, but took FOREVER! We even considered leaving, but it was the best line to stand in: inside and air conditioned. After waiting in line, we were escorted into another room. There they were Rapunzal, Aurora and Cinderella. I didn’t recognize Rapunzal, since I haven’t seen “Tangled”. I made the stupid mistake of asking the family in front of us who she was. The little girl ended up being dressed as her. This little girl also called me “ma’am”.. I didn’t know what to think about that. We got to Rapunzal, she was sweet and funny. She even insisted that I wear my Mickey ears that she saw in my bag. When I said I would pass, she grabbed them and put them on her. She really played well with different ages. She knew how to joke with me, but at the same time make the day of the 4 year old in front of me. Then we were onto Aurora, she was a little nut case. Not going to lie. Unlike Rapunzal she talked to me like I was a 5 year old. Maybe all that sleep confused her?!
Finally we got to Cinderella, and I was a little disappointed. She didn’t seem to into the whole thing. I showed her the photo of the two of us 15 years ago, and there were very few similarities. All in all I learned that standing next to skinny princesses, when you are grown up and not as little as used to be, made me very self concious about my weight.
After photos with the princesses, we went on a train ride around the park. It was really nice and relaxing, but I defiantly started feeling pretty tired. We decided to head back to the hotel. When I get tired, I get cranky, so once we got to the hotel I hopped into the pool to cool off and relax while my dad walked around the hotel a little bit. When I went to go meet him he was at the expo. He was holding a couple of signs, which I got excited about. We walked around the expo together and he said he wanted to buy me something. We saw some cute skirts, and I said I loved these but they were too much. He said that I deserved it and he bought me a cute minnie mouse skirt, which I ended up wearing race day. Then I showed him Jeff Galloway and looked around the expo a little more. From there we headed off to dinner at Cate’s hotel to meet up with her. We got there and met up with Cate and her family. It was supposed to be a princess meet up, but no one else showed up. My dad and Cate hit it off right away, my dad used to work at Smith where Cate now works, so they had lots to talk about. We loaded up with some pasta and had a fun time chatting about the race and funny anecdotes. H (Cate’s son) even taught my dad how to play a game on the iPhone.
After a fun dinner it was time to head back to the room and get some sleep. I laid my outfit out and got in bed. I would be waking up at 2am the next day! All in all it was a great day in Disney!
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