Wizards, Princesses, and 13.1: Florida 2011

Hello again!!! It's been way too long, but the end of my semester and the part of my winter break during which I DIDN'T have to study ended up being much busier than I had previously expected. Two twenty-plus page papers (one in Italian!) were eventually finished, we celebrated Christmas, New Year's, and my mom's big fiftieth birthday, and finally (though much too soon, it seemed) Mom and I were off on Wednesday, January 5, to Orlando, Florida. We stayed at Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter resort and were joined the next night by my dad. Since we were there to run the Disney half marathon, Mom and I went to the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex early on Thursday to pick up our race packets and goody bags. They also had a fairly extensive running expo going on, so we picked up a couple of neat things- SPIbelts (SPI stands for "small personal items"), which hold energy gels, cell phones, and really anything else you want, some fun running-themed stickers, and a few headbands.

 After we left the expo and relaxed at the hotel for a while, we ate dinner and browsed the shops at Downtown Disney before picking Dad up from the airport.

The next day (Friday the 7th), we drove over to Universal for the day to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I was, of course, overly excited, and I'm happy to report that overall, Universal didn't disappoint. It was great that we got there when we did, as we had some time to do rides and wander around before the crowds for the day really arrived. I really enjoyed all the theming- it definitely, as my dad remarked, blurred the lines between fantasy and reality and really brought Harry Potter's world to life. The only (and it was pretty major) issue was how easily the area became overly crowded- everybody wants to be in Islands of Adventure in order to see the Wizarding World section, and there didn't seem to be a whole lot of crowd control. I know that for me it was definitely worth it, but I could see how that would be off-putting for others who are less...obsessed.

We then returned to Disney and at least attempted to carb up a bit with a pasta dinner before going to bed early- we had to be up at 3 a.m. to get ready and be on the bus to Epcot and the race start by 4. Once we woke up and got on the bus, all we could do was wait...and wait...and wait...until we finally reached Epcot- there were ridiculous amounts of gridlock from people driving themselves over and spectators coming to park there. We finally got to the corrals, and before we knew it, fireworks went off and we were running a half marathon!

The race was fantastic- a great first half marathon- but it was also really crowded, so we were definitely slowed down by the sheer number of people: 28,000 were registered to run, and 22,000 finished. Mom and I started before Dad did, but he passed us around mile 6.5 after we had exited the Magic Kingdom. I did something to my knee around mile 8 or 9, so Mom and I had to walk a lot more than I would have liked thereafter, but we definitely pushed through our last mile and really cruised through Epcot. Crossing the finish line was an absolutely incredible feeling!

Post-race, we went back to the resort and got cleaned up, ate lunch, and headed off to Animal Kingdom with the hope of staying on the move so we wouldn't be too sore. We definitely meandered through the park, taking every chance to sit and trying to follow the one rule: don't walk too fast! We debated going back to Port Orleans for a nap mid-afternoon, but we pushed on through to Epcot, where we had dinner, walked around World Showcase, and sat by the Rose and Crown to watch the fireworks while Dad had a pint of Guinness. It was a great end to the day, but I know we were all glad to get home and fall into bed.


The next morning, we got up early and went off to Hollywood Studios, where we rode the Tower of Terror, the Aerosmith Rock-n-Roller coaster, and the Great Movie ride before having lunch at the ABC Commissariat and cheering on the last runner of the Disney Marathon, Stanley. It was pretty cool to watch all the marathon runners on the last leg of the race (I think we were near mile 23) and also to see all of the costumes. Disney really does a great job and puts on an extraordinarily fun race. We went back to Port Orleans for a nap, and then watched the first half of the Packer game before Mom and I headed to the Magic Kingdom to do some rides and see the fireworks. Dad joined us (unfortunately right after the fireworks ended) and we did our last few rides before we headed home for the night.

The next morning we flew home to Mukwonago, where Peter had been taking good care of Tank and Sadie. They must have missed us, however...they seemed pretty excited to see Dad, at least! :)

It was a great trip, and the race was a fantastic experience! I'm definitely hoping to do it next year, but I guess we'll see. Maybe the full marathon this time?? ;)


Next up....a full-blown post on my arrival and first few days in Rome! Hint: I'm having an absolutely unbelievable time!