Today we are heading south!  The days leading up to this trip have been a lot different from my past trips.  I am excited but not to the extent as I have been with other trips.  It’s not at all because I am losing interest in my beloved Walt Disney World……please!  Don’t even go there!  I think it has to do with the 26.2 miles I paid to run…

My sister and I back in the day

I am actually excited for the race as well but am a little nervous too because I have never ran a Marathon and the most mileage I have completed is 16.5 miles.  I am not looking for a record time.  I just want to be able to walk for the rest of our trip since we will have two and a half park days after the race.  I think I will be fine as long as I keep my pace slow.  I have a tendency to try to push myself.

My sister and brother-in-law will also be coming to the race.  My brother-in-law had to go to Orlando for business so my sister is flying with him and will spend a few days in Orlando.  They plan to come to the race and check out some place called Universal Studios.  I hope to meet up with them one night in Downtown Disney.  I also hope meet up with the owner of Magical Vacations by Me and another fellow travel agent after the race.

We are driving down Friday after my fiance’ gets off work at 5PM and plan on driving all the way to Orlando that night.  We will stay with some friends of her in Orlando that night (or morning rather).  Saturday morning we will first head to the Expo at the Wide World of Sports to pick up my race packet.  Then we will be off to Animal Kingdom.  We will probably just drive to the park since we will already be in the car.  I am going to try to leave the park before it closes, which will be very difficult for me to do but arriving in Orlando around 2AM that morning and having to run 26.2 miles the next day at 5:30AM makes me think I should get some sleep. 

I am really excited to take my fiance’ to Animal Kingdom because she loves being outdoors, exploring, and hiking so I look forward to exploring the park with her.  She is also a huge advocate for not being wasteful, recycling, and all that good stuff so I think she will really appreciate the theme of the park . 

We have FP+ reservations for Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and DINOSAUR even though MDE shows I also have 3 reservations in Magic Kingdom as well.  When I changed our schedule from starting off in Magic Kingdom to starting in Animal Kingdom, our Magic Kingdom FP+ selections never fell off.  Apparently this is a common issue but the Cast Member assured me the Animal Kingdom reservations would work.   

We have the Quick Service Dining plan so we will be eating well.  My finance’ is a vegetarian so we will  be hitting up the restaurants with good vegetarian options.  We will most likely go for Restaurantosaurus or Yak and Yeti counter service in Animal Kingdom for lunch and probably End Zone Food Court at All Star Sports after the park.  I hear the build-your-own burger is pretty good although I will probably go for the pasta.  I don’t think a burger and fries is the best fuel the night before a marathon.  I do look forward to checking out the newly renovated food court.  I hear there is even a hidden Steven Barrett in there!

I hope to finish the race in under 5 hours the next morning but my prediction could be way off since this is my first Marathon and I haven’t been training like I should.  My fiance’, sister, and brother-in-law will be at the race cheering me on…..probably mostly bored the whole time but they will be there cheering when I finish!  After the race I plan on racing back to the resort to get cleaned up and head out to Epcot. 

At some point in the day I plan to meet up with the owner of our travel agency and another fellow agent for drinks….you know, to dehydrate.  We have FP+ selections for Mission Space, Test T, and The seas with Nemo & Friends (I know….I didin’t know what to spend my last one on).  I am thinking Tangerine Cafe (if Spice Road isn’t open yet) and maybe Lotus Blossom Cafe for our meals.  There is always Sunshine Seasons as well, which never disappoints.  My fiance’ also loves fireworks so I amexcitedfor her to see IllumiNations.  I am a sucker for that show!     

The plan for the next day is to be at rope drop for Hollywood Studios.  I want to go through the queue for Toy Story Mania as many times as possible before it gets too unbearably long even though we have FP+ reservation for it later in the day.  We also have reservations for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror.  That’s right, I got my selections in before they made the switchover to picking from the 2 categories.  We will probably hit up Backlot Express and Studio Catering Comany for our meals since they have a grilled vegetable sandwich.      

Some say you should start your Walt Disney World vacation at Magic Kingdom but I don’t follow this rule.  I base my schedule off of crowd calendars, park hours, whether I have a Park Hopper, and other factors in my schedule like special events.  This trip just so happens to have us ending in Magic Kingdom.  I am not sure which would be a more magical experience: beginning your trip in Magic Kingdom or ending it there.  I think it will be a nice end to our first trip to Walt Disney World together. 

We have FP+ reservations for Peter Pan’s Flight, Enchanted Tales with Belle, and Space Mountain.  I think we will head for Tomorrowland after rope drop and hit Space Mountain and Buzz since Splash Mountain will be closed.  We have FP+ lunch reservations for Be Our Guest Restaurant which I am super excited about!  I was fortunate enough to be able to take a tour of it in September before the park open but now I will get to taste the food!  I hear lunch is even better than dinner there!

After drying my eyes from watching Wishes with my fiance’ we will probably head to Downtown Disney for a little wandering, shopping, and maybe sit and relax with some drinks reminiscing about the highlights of our trip and start planning our next!  Follow Mouse a Host on Facebook for updates and photos during our trip!

Ready to start planning your next trip?  Book with Magical Vacations by Me at (314)494-9166 or joey@magicalvacationsbyme.com