Disney World May 2013

Disney! Soooo happy! I cannot think of a better way to celebrate a new chapter in my life than a trip to Disney. 

Several months earlier my Dad bought timeshare points for resort ownership and he was willing to book the resort stay for us. There was a water park at the resort and Sandy, her older daughter, and I spent the day there while Chip was driving down. Lazy river and frozen piña coladas? Yes, please!

Chip had planned this vacation a while ago. She wanted to see fireworks. Disney fireworks. She got there mid-afternoon and we hung out with Sandy and her daughter for a while before Sandy had to leave to take her kid to soccer.

I had a surprise planned for Chip and it turned out, she also had one planned for me. My surprise for her first: The Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (see previous post titled: Disney Weekend (part five)) selects various audience members to participate and Chip has always wanted to be picked as "That Guy!". A girl has never been picked as "That Guy!" and I think a large part of that is they don't consider guy a gender neutral term (I think it is as long as it is 3rd person plural, but it's a little hinky for 3rd person singular). So, I made her a sign.

You can see her surprise for me in the same picture. She made us "Mean Girls" shirts.

We had to buy tickets when we got to the park. Chip knew that she was going to be back at least a few times in the coming 12 months, so she got an annual pass. Since I had moved several hours away and did not need the temptation (you know, with all of these super hard and important classes I was going to take [no sarcasm]), I bought the 4 day non park hopping ticket. The Cast Member who sold Chip her pass liked ours shirts and the sign so much that he gave her a fast pass!

We got into Magic Kingdom and went straight to Tony's for our dinner reservation. The food was excellent as usual. It is definitely one of my favorite places to eat in the park.

After dinner we headed to Monster Inc. to see if we could (finally!) get Chip picked to be That Guy. We hoped that we would be at a late enough show that they would be willing to pick a girl to be That Guy and that we would get out in time to watch the fireworks. 

While standing in line for Monsters Inc, one of the Cast Members asked about the sign we were holding. After explaining it, she wished us luck. Several of the other guests overhead the plan and thought it was awesome. We headed into the auditorium and tried to sit in the middle and towards the back. The moment we walked in, I had the sign open and pointed at Chip. That got me on the pre-show (with the sign). The caption they gave me was something like "Loves attention". The show started and one of the cast members who walk around with the microphone gave Chip a "That Guy!" sticker. He put it on top of the rolled up poster.

We thought that was our consolation prize for not getting picked to be That Guy. Oh well, at least we tried.

Wrong! They actually came back to us later and asked why she would want to be that guy if she was a girl. And we both responded with "So?" We talked with the monster for a few more minutes and it was awesome. Definitely an above and beyond Disney moment.

After the show got out we talked to a cast member about the fireworks. We had missed them. 

While we were talking to the cast member, another cast member came out to talk to us. He worked at Monsters Inc and just saw the show. He wanted to know our thoughts on the show and the improvements we helped them make that night. Below is the picture of the cast member and Chip's summation from Facebook.

(I got chosen to be THAT GUY! This is us with Wayne, who works with the monsters at the Laugh Floor, and the sign Jen made so they would pick me.)

Since we missed the fireworks, and it was close to closing time, we decided to head back to New Fantasyland. This was Chip's first time being at Magic Kingdom since it opened.

I gave her the tour and we each sat in Gaston's chair in his tavern.

Very, very good day. But it was time to go back to the resort and do it all over again the next day.

April and early May 2013

About two weeks after the reunion, I looked into the PharmD program. I would only need four or five semesters of undergrad science classes and then I could start pharmacy school. There were several schools in Florida, and one was a UF branch in Orlando. Yes!

Ok, so I would need to start classes for the coming semester (Summer, starting in mid-May). Now I need to pick a school and apply. If I stayed where I was and applied to USF, I would not be able to take classes during the day (see: "Warm body requirement" from March 2013 post). If I applied to UCF, I would need to rent an apartment in addition to going to school and the debt would rack up fast. If I applied to FAU, I could move back in with my parents and only worry about grades and getting into pharmacy school. 

For S's and G's, I looked at the FAU application deadline. 

It was days away. 

I could still apply for the Summer semester and start classes almost immediately. What's the harm in applying? It's the logical first step. If I don't get in, oh well. If I do get in, then I can work on finalizing my exit strategy.

I applied. Then, I waited.

I was accepted a few days later (mid-April) and called my parents to tell them the plan: I was quitting my job and moving back in with them for a few years. They took the news surprisingly well.

I had about four weeks from acceptance to school starting. Hardly enough time to pack up all my belonging, close on my house, quit my job, go on vacation with Chip (it had been planned for months), paint my old bedroom, and unpack all my belongings. 

I gave my two week notice at the end of April and started packing all the non-essential stuff. Since I was also selling my house and moving back in with my parents, I was also trying to sell some of the stuff I wouldn't need anymore (washer, dryer, guest room furniture, lawn mower). 

The movers came the first Saturday in May to pack the truck for me, and Roger and I drove to Boca. Driving a moving van is not fun, especially when everything I own is in it and a dog who would rather be somewhere else than riding shot-gun.

I was at my parent's house long enough to unload and return the moving truck, and paint my old bedroom with one coat of paint. Then Mom dropped me off at J-Dawg's so I could hang out with her family for a few hours before flying back (rental truck was a one-way rental, flying back made the most sense). As Mom and I were walking out the door, Dad asked if Roger would like a doggie-door installed like he had at our old place. Good job, Dad! Roger is so happy! He loves his independence and his sun bathing.

(Happy, squinting sun dog)

I flew back to my old life and worked three more days at my old job. Then I locked up the house and left. (I could not get a closing date before I left, but the Realtor said I could sign the paperwork by mail.)

Then I drove straight to Disney for a vacation before starting my new life.

March 2013

Lots and lots of fun things happened in March: a sorority sister got married, a musician-friend who has a standing gig at an Irish Pub played St. Patrick's Day (awesome!), went to the Renaissance Festival with J-Dawg and Sir, etc. But the event that started the ball rolling (hello foreshadowing!) was the sorority alumnae reunion.

I graduated from UF almost 9 years ago, and my sorority sisters are still some of the most important people in my life. There are ladies I see on a regular basis and there are friendships that can be reignited instantly. When I received my invite, I immediately called Sandy to see if she was going. She has two little girls at home, so she had not made up her mind. I decided (bravely!) that I was going to go even if she wasn't (although Sandy WOULD increase the fun level. Spoiler alert, she didn't make it to the reunion).

Cutting to the good stuff.

There were lots of sorority sisters there that I knew and many more alumnae from earlier and later pledge classes were also there. We played ice-breakers and then went on scavenger hunt around campus (so much fun!). We had an hour off from planned activities so J-Dawg and I went to check into our hotel and stopped in the hotel bar for a little break. May I just say (of course I may, this is my blog) how much I enjoy beer and mozzarella sticks? Yum! 

(Me and "My Big Sister" J-Dawg)

(Btw, this photo made the sorority newsletter! We're so adorable!)

The evening activity was a movie on the lawn and dinner. J-Dawg and I decided we would rather go to a bar than do the evening activity and a few other sisters had the same idea. 
We ended up at a smokey dive bar that one of the sisters worked at in college and still frequented. 

I got to hear about the many wonderful things the women were doing with their lives. One was working on her charity and raising her 4 children, another was taking flying lessons with her husband (They have since bought a plane. How cool is that?!), another is working on her PhD. You know, basically truly amazing women who know what they want and are working towards attaining it.

(My "date" for the Christmas party at Disney, and she is getting her PhD while working full time.)

Speaking of amazing women... One of the sisters told me that night about one of our sisters who couldn't make it to the reunion who had moved home before finishing her degree but was now a Pharmacist after earning her PharmD. Apparently, a bachelor's degree is not necessary to apply to pharmacy school, just the required prerequisites and a good score on the admission's test. 

That planted the idea in my head. I had been planning my end game to leave my current situation for a while: I was bored at work (The people were awesome, both coworkers and clients, but there was just not enough to stay busy. I asked for permission to work from an alternate location and it was denied. If I had been able to be somewhere else and doing my job, it would have improved the situation. But they wanted to see a warm body in the office.), I hated the city I was living in, my house, my neighbors, my neighborhood, my mortgage company, you get the point. Most of my friends were in Orlando (and Disney, duh!) and that is where I wanted to be. I had been applying for jobs and looking for apartments for months. I had a roommate and an apartment all ready to go, but had not been hired anywhere, yet. 

(Two things: 1. At this point in my life, I think it is pretty obvious that I won't be getting married [if not EVER, then at least for a very long time] so I need to make enough money to support myself and live comfortably and 2. Just in case I do get around to having children, I want to be able to set a good example. I was always told a college education is important, which is not necessarily true. An education in a field that you could not get a job in otherwise, for example engineering or accounting or science, is important. I did not bother challenging myself the first time at University, because it was the piece of paper that mattered, not the subject.)

The story of our sorority sister's PharmD stuck in my head and I decided to research it when I got to work on Monday.

The rest of the weekend was great. We had a meeting on Sunday where they announced the possibility of getting a new house in 2014 or 2015. This is a big deal because we had the first sorority house on campus and it is soooo old, and we have too many sisters at this point for them to eat dinner together on a nightly basis. The plans looked great and the sisters and alumnae were really excited. 

When I got to work on Monday, I did not research the PharmD program. I did not research it on Tuesday, either. By Wednesday, it had slipped my mind completely. More of that in the "April 2013" post.

Disney Princess Half Marathon

The Disney Princess Half Marathon was February 24. I finished without being swept, so that’s good. I don’t know why I’m not more excited, but that’s life. I checked my official time and I finished in 3 hours, 36 minutes and 1 second. Could I have finished faster? Absolutely! But then I wouldn’t have all these cute pictures to show you.

The fear of being swept was my biggest motivating factor of the whole race and I couldn’t find an explanation on-line that described the process, so now that I know how it works, I will share. Every mile marker has a billboard (I didn’t take pictures of any of them, my bad, I know) (For the record, the billboards showed a drawing of a princess and her prince and their landscape in the back ground, and then a big digital timer next to the billboard that showed the elapsed time since the beginning of the half marathon.) and that is where the sweepers will announce that you have fallen behind. The timer for the sweepers starts once the last person crosses the starting line. There are several waves of runners, but the sweepers only sweep at the end. They will not pull individuals out of the pack for not maintaining the minimum 16 minute miles. (So if you run a race and there will be a time limit, when they ask you how long it will take you to finish, say it will be the fastest time that does not require proof of time. [For the DPHM, it was 2:45, so I should have put 2:46 as my estimated time to finish, but I didn’t. Oops. At least I got it part-away correct at the expo.]) That will put you in a higher corral (for some reason my friend was pronouncing “choral” instead of “corral- like corral the horses”, so that’s the pronunciation we used. I have no idea which is correct.) The sweepers travel on bicycle and once it is determined that the 16 minute per mile pace is not being maintained, they will plant an orange warning flag at the mile marker billboard. If you get ahead of the sweepers, you are safe until the next mile. If you do not, you are eligible to be swept.

When I left Sandy’s house in the morning I was wearing both of my shirts, yoga pants, and flip flops. I think I put my contacts in while we were still at her house, but honestly can’t remember.  I know I drank some orange juice and then brushed my teeth. I can’t remember if I took a Claritin, but felt it kick in once we got to Epcot, so I’m assuming I did. We got to the parking area at (like) 3:15 am. The weather report said thunderstorms at 6 am, so I carried a poncho on me during the half marathon.

I put on my shoes and tutu in the Epcot parking lot, ate my bagel and magic beans (They are jelly beans that "give you extra energy". I have no idea if they work or not, but I figured magic beans fit in with the theme of a Disney race.), and put on coat of nail polish on my fingers (bright pink with sparkles, love it!). We dropped off my keys at bag check, (so that’s what the bumper sticker with my bib number on it was for. I was supposed to put it on the clear bag I got at the expo and hand everything over. Oh well. They had extra bags and a permanent marker.) and headed to the corrals after a stop at the port-o-potties.

(Here Sandy and I are pre-half marathon and pre-sunrise.)

The push wheelchair group was the first group to start, followed by corral A. I think that the official timing started with corral A. While we were waiting for the half marathon to start, we watched the hosts on the big screen. 

There were a few hosts and apparently Sean Astin (Rudy from Rudy, Mikey from The Goonies, Samwise from Lord of the Rings) was there, too. Men were not allowed in the first corral since this is a female skewed event; there are no awards for men either. I don’t know if Mikey, I mean Sean Astin, was running or cheering, either way it was a welcome distraction. The wheelchair group started at 5:30, corral A started at 5:35, and the rest of the corrals started 7 minutes apart (B started at 5:42, C started at 5:49, etc.). Each corral had it's own fireworks send off.

I had RunKeeper and my Disney playlist ready to go and I started them both at 6:10. I set RunKeeper to give me quarter mile updates and did my best to keep Sandy in sight. The first song my Disney playlist played was “Go the Distance” from Hercules. Totally appropriate! (I am on my way, I can go the distance! I don’t care how far, somehow I’ll be strong. I know every mile will be worth my while.)

I kept up with Sandy for the first mile, but she is faster than I am, so when she got ahead, I wasn’t concerned. She usually runs a minute or two faster than I do per mile. First mile down, no worries; second mile, a little slower than I’d like, but still not worried.

I started to worry during the third mile. The temperature was in the 70s and the humidity was in the 80s. I was suffering! I tried taking off my shirt while running and failed, so I pulled over so I could take off my tiara, arm band, and top shirt, so I could get my long sleeved undershirt off. (I always wear long sleeves while running so that my arm band doesn’t rub. But at that point, it was a blister and a bruise, or not finishing.) It took about two minutes to get everything off and to get everything back on so I could keep going. (I was already carrying sunglasses, a poncho, and a water bottle. There was no way I could juggle all that and strip and keep running.)

(Sign that would have been more helpful had I seen 

it before the half marathon rather than after.)

(Picture I took of my arm bruise)

Mile four is on Magic Kingdom property. There was a cast member with a "Go the Distance!" sign and he was waving giant Mickey hands. I totally smiled! (I had to remind myself to smile whether I felt like it or not because this was awesome and I worked hard to train for it.)

Mile five was either inside the park or about to be. We came in through the backstage area by Tony’s Restaurant. 

I tried taking two different self-photos on Main Street heading to the castle, but neither turned out. Another runner stopped and asked if I’d like her to take my picture. So grateful! Her picture turned out so much better than mine. 

We ran through Tomorrowland into Fantasyland. (There was a runner dressed up like Tim Burton’s Mad Hatter, and I asked him if I could take his picture. I think he was flattered; I make sure it wouldn’t make him mad. [I am hilarious!]  That was the only photo stop I made where I stopped for a picture of another runner and not the characters. For the record, it was Alice and the White Rabbit right next to the Mad Tea Party ride. [Spinning teacups]). 

We exited Fantasyland through the castle. There were trumpeters on the balcony (I thought somebody was going to come out and they were announcing their arrival. Sandy stated later that they were just trumpeters, still cool though.)

At the base of the castle I got in line to take a commemorative overpriced photo that they could add Tinkerbelle to, but after a minute of the line not moving, I told myself I needed to keep going in order to finish without being swept. (Getting bumped up two corrals bought me 14 minutes and there was no way I was going to swept over a stupid mistake like waiting for a photo, especially after buying the “I did it!” merchandise the previous day.) The path continued from the center of the park over the Liberty Square bridge where something miraculous happened: a breeze! The Rivers of America and the open store fronts colluded to produce a breeze and it was glorious. We exited near Splash Mountain though the float storage area.

We got back to the main road for mile six and passed the Polynesian Resort and a golf course on the way. Miles seven, eight, and nine were the same as three, two, and one, but from the opposite side of the road. (The only addition was a snack table near mile 8. It was a weird, gummy/jelly thing. Kind of like liquid sugar in one of those newfangled apple sauce packets. It was a distraction and purportedly an energy booster. Any thing to distract my mind from the task at hand.)

Mile ten is the mile I had been warned about. It was an on-ramp and it was steep. I walked it. At this point in the half marathon, people were still pretty close to one another. Some people were so tired that they were still walking once it leveled out. I kept running. (Just keep moving forward. Combination of "Just keep swimming," from Nemo and "Keep moving forward," from Walt himself.) And by running, I mean shuffling. (Oh my goodness, the shuffling! I swear, my feet were not expecting that. The tops of my toes were numb from rubbing against my sneakers. They were not expecting that.) That's when I saw mile eleven. I heard there was only one big obstacle: the on-ramp. They forgot to warn me about the overpass! The overpass was just as brutal, but without a warning. I walked that, too.

(Entertaining shirt worn by fellow runner.)

The end of eleven had us within site of Epcot. (yay! almost done!) At this point, my mind was screaming you're not almost done, there are not two miles left, there are a full three miles left. You have to finish! I really wanted to keep walking after the on-ramp and overpass, but I knew that I would be in danger of being swept, because there was no way I was going to be moving at more than 25 minutes a mile if I allowed myself to walk.

(More entertaining shirts. "Hey Statler, there's nothing like a good run."

"Yes Waldorf, but this is nothing like a good run." "Ha ha ha ha ha.")

We entered Epcot halfway (ish) into mile twelve through a Cast Member only area (loved that we kept doing that!) and ran through the front section of the park. I remember running past Coke Station Cool (or whatever it's called these days. I remember when it opened and you walked through a cooler with snow. That's been gone for a long time.) but can't remember if the World's Fountain was on or not. We ran towards Worldshow Case (past a comedic Fairy Godmother) and turned around where the big Christmas tree is at Christmas time.

Almost done. Almost done. Just keep running forward!

There were already guests in the park at this point, and they were cheering us on! That was awesome. (Actually, there were lots of people who paid to be on the half-marathon path. Their signs were amazing. I pretended they were cheering me on personally more than once.) I can't remember where we exited the park, but I knew once I saw the choir we were almost done. My RunKeeper told me I'd already run 13.1 miles at that point and I was ready for Disney to agree. (I think all the pulling over to the side I did really added up. It was worth it. I love my pictures. Too bad I was too impatient on a few of them, I pulled over but kept going before the picture was actually taken. Oh well.)

Finish sign. I see it! A dream is a wish your heart makes from Cinderella was playing on my phone. ("If you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true." It did! I finished my half marathon.) Mickey and Minnie were dressed up as royalty on opposite sides of the sign. I went under it to officially end the half marathon (I wanted to end it in my mind: it's not official until I cross, but I'm not sure if I made it to a timing mat.) and end RunKeeper. Seconds after I saved my results on RunKeeper, my phone died. Thank goodness I was able to save first! Then I went back though the arch to take a picture with Minnie (she was closer). She loved that we were dressed similarly. (I love when characters do that! Last time I had my picture taken with Mickey, he saw that I was wearing a Mickey necklace and was super excited about it.)

So tired, so sore, so tired. I was dragging myself around at this point. I picked up a banana, a water, and a runDisney box. 

I tried looking for Sandy, but it was so packed and I had no idea where to start. I picked up my keys and then started looking for her on the exit side of the personal-property tent. Then it occurred to me that I should have looked for her on the other side. Dragged body back to the other side. (Where I saw super doper long lines of people waiting to get on the buses back to their resorts.) No lines for the port-o-potties, so I decided to use one. I had to ask a stranger to help me find the knot on my tutu so I could get it off. Still no Sandy. Walked to the merchandise tent, found her there! (We said we would meet up at the car as a last resort, so I wasn't worried.) She had texted me, but obviously I didn't get it. I was glad to be done, but Sandy was excited about doing it again next year. She enjoyed herself. I think I proved to myself that I am super lazy and not a runner. Oh well.

(Victory photo!)

(I earned this medal!)

I read a few blog posts that said they expected more from Disney entertainment wise. I think they did a pretty good job. In addition to the mile markers (which were photo worthy), they had people on the course waving kites on sticks at two different points (which you passed there and back, so saw four times total), they had characters posing for photos (The Princes, Jack Sparrow and Barbosa with their pirate ship, The Villains, Mulan and Mushu, Princess Atta under her billboard, and more. There was something to distract your mind every half mile [Yes, I’m including water and Powerade stations.] and there were always the other runners to talk to or gawk at. I think Disney put on a great run and yes, I will probably do it again. I just hope I learn to like running before then.

DPHM expo

The DPHM expo was the day before the DPHM. It was at the Coronado Springs Resort. We had to park at Downtown Disney and take a shuttle to the expo. The expo opened at 9, and the shuttles were supposed to start running 30 minutes before the expo opened. We got to Downtown Disney before 8 and my friend wanted to walk to Coronado Springs instead of waiting for the shuttle. She pulled it up on her phone, and the maps said it was 1.2 miles away. I said, sure, I’ll walk that, no problem. Luckily for us, a Cast Member saw us in the parking lot looking at the phone and asked if we needed help. We told her we were about to walk to Coronado Springs. She suggested against it, and stated that it was a really far walk. My friend was like, well, I’m running 13.1 miles tomorrow, soooo it’s not that far. I tried explaining to the Cast Member that the map said it was 1.2 miles. The Cast Member (super professional the whole time) was like, it’s not recommended and stated that it was considered an Animal Kingdom resort. That was enough for me; I know enough to know that Animal Kingdom means super doper far away. We thanked her and waited for the shuttle. The shuttle actually started running early and we got on no problem.

When it dropped us off at the resort, there were already about 100 people in line before us. There were two lines, one to go directly into the expo and one to purchase the New Balance Disney running shoes. Fewer people were in the shoe only line (obviously) and only a few sizes were left. (If I remember correctly, it was 8 and under for women, and 7 and under for men.) After every few shuttle drop offs we would look behind us, by the time the expo opened, there were at least a thousand people behind us. We waited in line until 9 am exactly and then we allowed into the expo. As soon as we walked in, there were Cinderella’s Coachmen taking pictures with guests in front of a castle background. I told Sandy I wanted to stop on the way out to take a picture with them. I was not about to waste our advantage of getting in before everyone else to blow it on a photo opp.

We walked on to the convention floor and went straight to bib pick-up. The person who was handing out bibs was taking forever! There was one person in front of us, but it felt like it took forever for him to get her everything she needed so we could go. Finally it’s our turn, he gives us our bibs, makes sure our names are correct and that the trackers match the front of the bibs. 

(Commemorative race bib, team name, "Point us to the beer."

Then we had to go to the exact opposite side of the convention center (past the beer and wine vendors!) to pick up our included shirts. I got my shirt no problem, but my friend Sandy ordered a men’s size shirt, so while one person was getting the correct size, she was handed an additional incorrect size shirt (free shirt!). 

Included with the shirt was a pink mesh backpack, so I took a minute to shove everything in there before we headed to the official merchandise tent. (I hate having my hands full or too many things to keep track of!)

The official merchandise tent was packed! They were selling (like) 5 different t-shirts, one said something like, “Sorry Charming, gotta run” and another was a child’s size and read, “My mommy ran the DPHM”. They were selling DPHM zipped up cotton jackets, wine glasses, head bands, vinylmation, pins, and Dooney and Bourke was there with the limited edition Princess purses. (I was joking with Sandy while waiting to be let in that there was no way I was going to buy one, even if they weren’t sold out, because I couldn’t just drop that kind of money on a bag without thinking about it in advance.) Sandy said before we got into the official merchandise area that she wanted the shirt that showed the course map. They had way more of these shirts than any other kind in there and we each got one. (I know myself well enough to know that if she bought one and I didn’t that every time she wore hers, I would be sad that I didn’t get one. So I did!) 

(Front of shirt)

(Back of shirt)

We kept looking around and eventually decided we were done. The line to check out was long (obviously!) and I told her to talk me out of buying a purse. She’s like, “No, I won’t do that. They’re awesome.” We were the next people about to check out as soon as a register opened and I jumped out of line, grabbed a purse and went to check out. (I didn’t even look inside! I have no idea what the lining looks like, if the zipper works, etc. Total impulse purchase. Edit, opened the bag, it's the same light blue cloth inside as my other D&B Disney bag. The zipper, however, is not the same awesome multicolored kind, new bag has a gold zipper.) 

As soon as my transaction finished, I remembered to ask if I would get a discount for using my Disney Chase Visa. Poor girl has to cancel everything, get a manager, the manager was confused, finally got the previous transaction voided and paid for it on my Disney Chase Visa. (And yes, before I bought it, I checked the return policy. I have 30 days to bring it back to any merchandise store on Disney property.)

When we finished paying we noticed that the official merchandise tent was considerably less crowded than it had been when we were shopping. We exited the tent and saw a line outside of the official merchandise tent. We verified that there was now a line to get in the tent and it was an hour long!

Sandy and I wandered around the expo, took advantage of the yogurt sample, and then headed to the Runners Relations table to see if we could be bumped up to an earlier corral. There was a cast member who was making sure that the people getting in line were supposed to. I asked her if it was possible to be moved to an earlier corral and explained that I didn’t have proof of time from a run, but did have my RunKeeper app. She said it had to be a timed run, and then SHE LEANED IN. (The lean-in is amazing, it’s like getting a new friend in an instant. I love the lean-in.) She said we might as well stand in line and ask one of the people when we got to the front. We waited in line for a few minutes and Sandy explained it to the new cast member. The new cast member said there was nothing she could do, and then she said that if she was going to be nice and we were going to be nice, then she would be able to bump us up. We took out our race bibs and she put a sticker over the previous corral letter. (Originally H. AKA the last corral.) The stickers were for F. I was so excited to be bumped up a corral. (So excited, in fact, that I didn’t realized that F was two corrals higher, not just one. Sorry G, I forgot all about you in the excitement.)

(Official half marathon bib, post half marathon, with magical corral F sticker)

After that, we walked around the expo some more and it was pretty crowded, and we’d done everything we needed to, so we left. The line to get pictures with the Coachmen was long, so we skipped it. The bus back to Downtown Disney was out front waiting, and we were the last two people on. We didn’t get to sit together because the bus was full, but we were only two rows apart. Both of us made friends with the people around us (so unlike us). My seat-mate was from Michigan, ran the 5k earlier in the day, and was picking up her packet for the half marathon the following day. The whole family came down from Michigan for the half marathon, they rented a 5 bedroom house, and were planning on spending a week going to the theme parks. Sandy made friends with the guy sitting directly behind me in a UF jersey (Go Gators!). He waited in the New Balance line and then tried to register for the DPHM, but all the spaces were full. (Yeah, they were full months ago! Jeez.) But his shoes were adorable. (The color scheme was not great: bright red, yellow, and black. It looked very Ronald McDonald to me, but whatever.) There were little Mickey heads around the edge of shoe. His girlfriend also bought shoes and it was like pulling teeth to get her to show them off. They were not nearly as cute. Where the boys’ shoes had Mickeys, the girls’ shoes had polka dots. I thought they needed bows to go along with the dots.

Sandy and I went to lunch, then ran errands all afternoon and went to dinner at 5 to “carb-load”. Sandy’s husband, Joe, joined us for lunch, errands, and dinner. As soon as we finished dinner, Sandy and I took sleep aids and were in bed by 7 pm in order to wake up at 2 am for the half marathon.

Holiday Party at Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show

Back during Epcot's Food and Wine Fest, my friend ended up with an extra ticket for Party for the Senses. (Think all of Food and Wine Fest consolidated under one roof, where everything is included in the ticket price and a live Cirque de Soleil show is taking place feet away from you.) Since I was already at Disney that day, they invited me to go with them. This was one of the most amazing nights of my life, so I invited my friend to be my date for my company's Christmas party at the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show to thank her for inviting me to the Party for the Senses.

The food at the show was not that great. My friend really liked it, but I thought the bread was stale, the beer was flat, the meat was rubbery, etc. I don't know if this is because it was my first real meal since the Mickey plague or if these were genuine complaints. However, everyone else seemed to really enjoy the food, so I kept my mouth shut.

The show was amazing! There was a live band.

The narrator is the Aunt, the Nephew has a crush on the Wahine (girl) who is about to leave for college on the mainland.

While developing the story, they dance a lot of songs using native dance moves and props (at least as far as I can tell. If you would like to sponsor a trip for me to go to Hawaii to verify this, please leave a comment.)

Wahine

I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure they lived Happily Ever After. It is Disney, after all.

Then they brought out the fire dancer!

The fire guy was awesome. 

As I said earlier, the show was great, the food was alright. I would do it again, as long as I didn't have to pay for it. But for dinner, a show, and all you can drink beer and wine, you really can't get a better deal at Disney. 

After the show, I walked my group down to the lake and we watched the fireworks. Pretty good way to end the evening.