Tag Archives: Disney Planning

Disney Planning – Disney Cruise West Coast Land & Sea Adventure

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We love Disney Cruise Line and we love Disney theme parks – There’s nothing better to us that a vacation that combines them both!  What better way to celebrate wedding anniversary #29 than by sailing on the Disney Wonder before heading to Disneyland for the very first time.

Disney Planning – Disney Cruise West Coast Land & Sea Adventure

This vacation was a bit unexpected.  I was in the early stages of thinking about what we might want to do for what has become an annual anniversary getaway.  I’d been imagining Hawaii or maybe someplace else tropical that would not put us too much at risk of yet another hurricane season vacation disaster.  Unbeknownst to me, Raymond was busily shopping the Disney Cruise Line website.Disney Cruise Line / Ship

I remember bringing up the aforementioned potential tropical destination while he was typing away on his computer.  He suddenly got excited about the prices for a repositioning cruise from Vancouver to San Diego on the Wonder…so excited, in fact, that before I knew it, he exclaimed, “These prices are awesome!  This sounds fun!  I’m booking it!” (Okay, if you’ve ever met Raymond, you know he’d never speak with all those exclamations…It’s called artistic license.  I can’t help myself.)  And boom!  Part one of our vacation was in the bag.  We’ll sail from Vancouver for a four-night cruise with a stop in Astoria, Oregon before arriving in San Diego.

Now it was my turn to plan.

I didn’t waste any time.  Researching our options for getting to Anaheim from San Diego and places to stay at Disneyland, I decided on a rental car and a Good Neighbor hotel.  Three-day Park Hopper tickets will hopefully allow enough time for a decent first visit.  Our hotel is within walking distance of park entrances.

I took to Twitter for dining suggestions and booked reservations for breakfast at the Plaza Inn, lunch at Blue Bayou, and dinners at Napa Rose, Carthay Circle, and Steakhouse 55.  I realize there are incredible quick service choices and I know we’ll want to give some of those a try too.

So, it seems like we’re all set.  The biggest challenge so far is packing for both cool and warm weather in one vacation.  My suitcase is nearly packed and I’m proud to say I didn’t go overboard.  (Give me a shout if you’d be interested in what I packed an/or wore for this trip.)

Having never been to Disneyland, we would welcome your suggestions for what you consider the most important things for us to see and do!  Rides?  Attractions?  Snacks?  Shows?  What do we need on our must-do list?  I feel like a complete Disney rookie this time!  If you’ve got tips, I want to hear them.  We’re leaving in just a few days, so please leave your thoughts in the comments or over on Twitter or Facebook.  Thanks in advance for your help.  Can’t wait to tell you all about it when we get home!

 

Shortest, Strangest Visit to Walt Disney World

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Epcot-StatueWith just a couple of weeks to go and a whole lot to accomplish between now and then, I can already tell you that we’re about to make our shortest, strangest visit to Walt Disney World.  I almost can’t imagine how different it will be from all our other Disney vacations.  I’m beyond thrilled to finally get to combine two of my favorite things, running and Disney, but I’m murky on some of the details – for an obsessive planner like me, this is making me nervous.

I’ve been pouring over information about what to expect for my first runDisney events and, after exhaustive research, still feel like I’ll have to experience it to understand how it all works – I’m certain the 5k and Glass Slipper Challenge will be amazing experiences (even if I don’t dress like a princess).  I am a little concerned by how early I’ll have to go to bed to be up and ready to catch a bus to the race site each morning – I’ve never been a person who can get by on little sleep.  I tend to completely run down my battery everyday (surprised?) and need an 8-hour recharge to function!  I don’t want Raymond’s mini-vacation completely ruined by my race schedule – though he is and has always been my biggest fan for every event I’ve ever raced (and there have been dozens).  I know he’ll be there for me, same as always, but I want him to have a great time, too.RM-Running-Clothes

Here’s what’s the most difficult for me – I have no idea realistically what time I’ll be finished running, back to Bay Lake Tower, cleaned up and ready to do some Disney activities.  We have booked fastpasses each day and also at least one ADR (Advance Dining Reservation).  I know I’m supposed to try to rest my legs and feet as much as possible, so we wont be touring each park in our usually manner.  I’m counting on the fact that I’ve been a runner for 17+ years – hoping my legs will just do their thing without much complaining.  5k, 10k, half-marathon = 22.4 miles, spread out over three days.  Plus, I’m not concerned with race times, that’s the one big lesson I’ve learned in all my research – I’ll be concerned with having fun!

So, as I’ve done in the past, here are our plans for each day – see if you’d change anything and let me know if this all sounds do-able to you.

RM-7DMT-Train2Thursday (arrival day) – Magic Kingdom in the afternoon, FastPasses for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  Catching the monorail to the Polynesian Village Resort for dinner at Kona Café (first time for us!).

Friday (Princess 5k) – Epcot in the afternoon, FPs for Spaceship Earth, The Seas wit Nemo & Friends, and Soarin’.  Dinner at Le Cellier.  (See how I’m trying to minimize walking so far?)

Saturday (Enchanted 10k – I like that name, makes it sound easy!) – After Raymond and I had that fantastic experience with the massage for two at Senses back in October, he suggested I book another massage between the 10k and half-marathon to help reduce any pain and muscle tension.  Naturally, he volunteered to come with me and keep me company.  So we have an appointment in the early afternoon for another massage forRM-Grand-Floridian-Senses-Sign two and this time, we’re adding the reflexology session (hands and feet).  Then we plan to hit Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  We’ve got FPs for Tower of Terror, Star Tours, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.  Dinner at the Swan’s Il Mulino, which is another first for us.  I’ll need carbs, it’s Italian, we’ve been wanting to try it – this is working out well!

Sunday (Princess Half Marathon) – I’m pretty sure I’ll be starving after 13.1 miles, so we’ve booked an ADR at Yak & Yeti in Animal Kingdom to try the table service for lunch.  Since Animal Kingdom is so huge and requires a lot of walking, I thought it best to save it until after I was finished running all the events.  We’ve got FPs for Kilimanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest, and Dinosaur.  Our final dinner ADR is at the Yacht Club’s Yachtsman Steakhouse.  I want to compare it to our Le Cellier dinner and see which one we like best.  We’ve been to Le Cellier many times, but Yachtsman will be another first for this trip.

That’s it!  Does it sound doable?  Am I crazy?  Our dinner ADRs are all really early (around 6 pm each day) – I’m hoping to be asleep by 8-ish each evening.  What pitfalls exist in my plan?