Disney Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon Trip Report (Day 6) Nov 14th 2012

Today was Magic Kingdom day and we arrived for rope drop. 

Once the park opened we headed straight to Space Mountain for fast passes.  We then headed over to Splash Mountain and Big Thunder, checked out Fantasy Land and rode Peter Pan on our way back to Space Mountain.  After Space Mountain we went over to Storybook Circus and rode Dumbo. 

We took the train back to Frontier Land where we rode Splash Mountain again and got fast passes for Big Thunder.  We rode Pirates of the Caribbean and had lunch at Pinocchio's.  This was a very good lunch and a very good use of a counter service credit.  Before we left for an afternoon nap we headed over to Carousel of Progress.  After our nap we headed to dinner at 1900 Part Fare.  This was much better then I remembered it being on our Honeymoon trip.  We will definitely be returning on our next visit.  I had my picture taken with Price Charming before we left. 

After dinner we went to the Studios to see Fantasmic and then toured the Osborne Lights again.  

Disney Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon Trip Report (Day 5) November 13th 2012

Since we were out until 1am at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party we slept in and then headed out to Epcot again.  We had missed out on the Seas and Living with the Land when we were there before. 

Manatees!

Soarin had a long wait so we ended up getting fast passes for right before dinner.  Again we hung around the park until just after lunch time then we headed back to the hotel for a nap.  Before dinner at Chefs de France we used our fast pass for Soarin.  Chefs de France is always a great meal and is one of my favourite restaurants.  Remy came to visit the tables.  He is so cute and his handler was pretty funny! 

After dinner we headed to the Studios to see the Osborne Lights. 

Steven was very impressed.  There was even snow falling on Streets of America. 

Disney Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon Trip Report (Day 4 - Part 2) Nov 12th 2012

Tonight was Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!

Christmas decorations!

This was by far the best part of our whole trip!  We were able to walk on to any ride we wanted.  We rode Splash Mountain 3 times and Big Thunder Mountain twice.  Big Thunder is amazing at night. We were also able to check out the new Fantasy Land and rode the new Little Mermaid Ride.

Entrance into New Fantasy Land

Price Eric's Castle

Little Mermaid

Gaston's Tavern

The hot chocolate and cookies were plentiful and we definitely go our share!

We watched the castle show and Christmas Wishes.

We then caught the second parade.

Santa!

The snow on main street was very pretty and a very nice touch.  I would highly recommend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.  It was definitely worth the money! 

Disney Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon Trip Report (Day 4 - Part 1) Nov 12th 2012

Today was Animal Kingdom day!  We were there for rope drop, got fast passes for Everest and headed to the Safari.  The animals were very active on the Safari. 

We returned to ride Everest which is always scarier thinking about then it actually is. 

Afterwards we got another fast pass for Everest and went over to Dinosaur.  We rode Primeval Whirl which we had never rode before.  Steven was glad we didn't have to wait in line as he was disappointed in the ride.  We headed over to redeem our Everest fast passes and then went to Rafiki's Planet Watch.  This is my favourite part of Animal Kingdom. 

The Rino barn backstage

They were doing a post surgical checkup on a toad at the vet viewing area.  Then there is the petting zoo which I always enjoy.  Steven is always embarrassed that I am petting the goats and the pigs with the kids. 

This pig has the same colouring as my guinea pig so I was calling it Noodle

This was the friendliest goat!

We had lunch at Pizzafari and then headed back to the resort for a nap dinner and the Christmas Party. 

Lunch at Pizzafari!

We had dinner at Crystal Palace.  We hadn't been back to Crystal Palace since out Honeymoon and I will not return any time soon.  I feel it is not very well run compared to other character meals in Disney World.  It is loud, chaotic and the kids there seem to be extra messy.

The Courage to Start Book Review

I am a lot late posting my review for The Courage to Start: A Guide to Running for Your Life by John "The Penguin" Bingham as I was in Disney World for the Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon, but here it is now!



The book The book is separated into four parts: "The Courage to Start", "The Next Step", "The Road to Victory" and "Running for Your Life".  I found "The Courage to Start" and " The Next Step" resonated to most with me.

Bingham ran a bit when he was younger, but he didn’t start running on a regular basis until he was 43.  When did you begin running?
I started running a year ago last June.

Waddling, round, and emperor-proud, Bingham says he runs like a penguin.  How would you personify your running style?   
I always say, slow and steady wins the race, so I guess I would think of myself as a tortoise!

Which of the four kinds of runners would you identify with the most: the really fast runners, the pretty fast runners, the kind-of-fast runners or the back-of-the-pack runners? Why?
I would consider my self the back of the pack runner because that is where I always am!  It wasn't until the Disney Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon that I finished in the middle of the pack. 

What is your greatest running accomplishment?
Mine would be completing the Disney Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon a little over a week ago!