Besties Eat, Drink and runDisney - A November PTR - Updated 10/25

Great review! I've been looking at both Kalahari & Great Wolf in that area. We are thinking about doing a trip with my husband's family around Christmas. The room on the Kalahari site did look pretty blah-ish. Would you upgrade your room to a themed one next time or were you not in the room that much?

I would definitely upgrade our room next time we go. We did spend some time in it, cleaning up before dinner and then after dinner and the arcade so I think it would be worth it. I almost booked the room with the bunk beds and was being cheap because it was one night and regret not just ponying up the extra money.
 
What to Wear - Halloween Party Edition

Jan and I were all decided on our costumes for the Halloween party. We had planned to reutilize/revamp a bit our costumes for the Frozen 5K Princess Half weekend 2015.



I had planned to wear a Sparkle Skirt instead of the tutu and purchase a pink cape or make one. Then I'd braid my hair and put one of those fake streaks in my hair. I'm not 100% on how Jan planned to repurpose her costume.



However, we just got this new Sparkle Skirt and it's beautiful. I wore it with a purple tank top the other day and now I am contemplating changing my plans from costume to just something Halloween themed. I'd probably make a shirt to coordinate and then get some ears.



But since my husband is in this transition phase job wise I'm trying to cut back on my spending as well so it all kind of leaves me up in the air trying to figure out what to do. Not that we don't have plenty of time to decide, but I do have some other outfits to work on, as well as my race costumes so I need to get busy with this stuff since there's just a little over two months before we're at Disney!
 
That fabric is beautiful!!!!! And of course you and Jan will rock anything you two wear...so jealous!
 
That fabric is beautiful!!!!! And of course you and Jan will rock anything you two wear...so jealous!

I know! I'm in love with the skirt, but the more I think about it the more I think I want to wear a costume. But I also want that skirt to figure in to our plans! Therein lies the problem!
 


Halloween Party Plans Update

So I spent a lot of my weekend stalking the Halloween party reports! LOL! As such I've made a few changes to my plans, including updating them to reflect the times for the parade, Hocus Pocus and fireworks now. Of course, if times change later in the season then I'll have to update again, but for now I think our plans are good. I did update the original post that is linked on the first page too.

3:15 - I arrive at MK (get in at 3:50-ish and walk through bypass for candy, bag & photo or two)

4:00-5:20pm - Jack & Sally (Hope to be towards the front of the line-ish. Jan will meet me in this line after she arrives.)

5:20pm-5:45pm: Peter Pan FastPass. (If we miss this due to Jack & Sally we can hopefully ride later in the night with little to no wait.)

5:45pm-6:30pm: SDMT FastPass (will hit this at the beginning of the window though likely.)

*Grab dinner at Columbia Harbor House to go or might just get in line while BFF grabs dinner or vice versa depending on the time.

6:30 – 7:30 M&G: Pooh & Gang (making their first set)

7:35 – 8:15: Minnie, Donald & Daisy M&G
*ToT at Pete's Silly Slideshow (either tag team or hit on way there or back.)
*Will check Goofy's line too now that he has a pirate costume????

8:20 - 8:30: Skeleton Magic Shot? (would probably only stop for this if there's little to no line. Might just hustle over to do HM MagicShot)
*ToT at Pinnochio's Village Haus & Philharmagic

8:40 - 8:50: Get pumpkin waffle from Sleepy Hollow
*ToT Liberty Square Riverboat

8:50 - 9:45: Stake out spot and watch 1st Boo to You Parade (Might stake out spot and have BFF hold spot while I pick up waffle.)

9:45 - 10:05: Ride Haunted Mansion & Haunted Mansion Magic Shots/Madam whomever (get done what we can after parade passes and then head towards hub for fireworks)

10:05 - 10:30: Fireworks

10:35 - 10:50: Lotso M&G
*ride Space Mountain if line is short
*ToT at Tomorrowland locations

10:50 - 11:05: Ride BTMR
*ToT at Dock to Tom Sawyer and Splash

11:05 - 11:15: ToT in Adventureland
*Might peak at character lines here or ride Pirates

11:20 - 11:40: Talking Vampire Mickey

11:40 - 11:50: Magic Shots on Main St.

11:50 - 12:15: Hocus Pocus Villian Spectacular

Hit Headless Horseman and any other MagicShots on the way out.

With this plan I actually think we are getting much more done than my original one! I know it will be a long night, especially as even though my flight is later I'll still have to get up at a semi early hour so I am ready for my flight as the airport is a drive, but maybe I can catch a short nap on the plane? I am so excited and can't wait!

We make FastPasses on Saturday! I've got my alarm set and ready to go!
 
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But since my husband is in this transition phase job wise I'm trying to cut back on my spending as well so it all kind of leaves me up in the air trying to figure out what to do. Not that we don't have plenty of time to decide, but I do have some other outfits to work on, as well as my race costumes so I need to get busy with this stuff since there's just a little over two months before we're at Disney!

I have thought very little about costumes for the party, let alone for the running :crazy2: I'm such a procrastinator…if I wait too long, I may end up just wearing Halloween clothes and ears or something.
 
I have thought very little about costumes for the party, let alone for the running :crazy2: I'm such a procrastinator…if I wait too long, I may end up just wearing Halloween clothes and ears or something.

It's not like costumes are required! A fun Halloween shirt or something works too! That's the other option for us is to wear the skirt I shared the picture of and some kind of Halloween style shirt. I think I'm leaning towards costumes though. Since we have them it just seems like a fun way to go!
 


Tuesday Training Update

Last week was ok running wise, but not great. I am struggling getting in to a routine and making time for my training runs to be honest. We had put our gym membership on hold as well while we're in this transition phase to lower our expenses so that meant I had to get up and run in the early morning or do it in the afternoon after my husband was home. He's had a bunch of fire calls this past weekend too which had him out of the house literally all day on Saturday. Not having a set/consistent schedule = inconsistency from me. I'm making excuses, and I shouldn't be, but I am a person who needs routine.

Additionally my lovely husband, who is a retired Marine and was a certified personal trainer, likes to argue with me about what I should and should not be doing training wise. To the point that it deters me from doing anything because I'm frustrated that he can't just support my endeavors without critiquing everything. I know he is trying to help, but it comes across in a my way or the highway/points of contention way, which kind of defeats the purpose of the stress relieving, good for me, me time activity I'm trying to do! LOL! (Sorry this post is kind of whiney!)

But none-the-less, I did get some training runs in last week. Just not all that I had hoped to. The runs I did do felt great! I didn't have a ton of knee pain afterwards, but I was good at icing and stretching.

Tuesdays Training Run



Friday's Quick Run was supposed to be the first of back to back runs. But hubby got on to me for planning to run 7 miles. He said I needed to run 2 because I ran one. But I had run 2.5 on Tuesday. He ended up at a fire call all morning, and then another one most of the afternoon so I never did do that second of the back to back runs.

The picture won't load, which is a pity as it was a beautiful view on my run on Friday and I stopped to take a picture by the creek.

Ironically, I didn't do a back to back run, but my knee really hurt Saturday evening. I think I should have run! LOL!

Total Miles: 3.1 which seems a little sad

Today I'm off to start a part time gig at the Y. This means I'll make some extra cash for my family, but my membership will be comped so I'm hoping I'll be able to get workouts in more frequently now that I have access to the Y again. Hopefully I can use the childcare or work out after work. I hate the treadmill, but I'll get done!
 
I feel ya! DH is an ultra marathon runner so he's a little bit of a know it all and can be frustrating. He's gotten a lot better about "coaching" me but he's learned that I need to do my own thing sometimes, make my own mistakes, and figure out what's best for me. Obviously he's a much stronger runner than I am, but everybody has a different running/training style! Since we are running W&D weekend together, we'll do the 12.5 and 14 milers in October together so he can figure out my pace. I've been slacking on my maintenance runs the last 2 weeks but did get in the 8 miler 2 weekends ago and the 1 and 7 milers this past weekend. And a lot of cross training! Keep up the good work and good luck at your new job! I moonlight as an instructor at Pure Barre; that free membership is an awesome perk!!
 
I am totally stuck on what to wear for this race! I have only done Princess and the Star Wars 5k and those are kind of no brainers for themed running outfits. I feel like I just want to hire someone to dress me or grab something off of Etsy...but I am way too cheap for that :-)

Hope the knee continues to improve!! I am finally in a real training cycle and am happy I am getting it done but it feels like I have so much work to do and so little time to do it!!
 
I so get the need to whine...and totally whine away. I was whining last night to myself after a really bad run attempt...I thought this was going to be easy (who am I kidding this running thing has never been easy for me)...the ankle was EH but the shins were flaring worse than I ever remember. S

SIGH
 
I feel ya! DH is an ultra marathon runner so he's a little bit of a know it all and can be frustrating. He's gotten a lot better about "coaching" me but he's learned that I need to do my own thing sometimes, make my own mistakes, and figure out what's best for me. Obviously he's a much stronger runner than I am, but everybody has a different running/training style! Since we are running W&D weekend together, we'll do the 12.5 and 14 milers in October together so he can figure out my pace. I've been slacking on my maintenance runs the last 2 weeks but did get in the 8 miler 2 weekends ago and the 1 and 7 milers this past weekend. And a lot of cross training! Keep up the good work and good luck at your new job! I moonlight as an instructor at Pure Barre; that free membership is an awesome perk!!

Yes, the perks of working at a gym are pretty awesome! The Y is about the only thing in our area, but I'm not as huge of a fan of the classes and such they offer there. However, my guess is that they have limited options here in the boonies! ;) My husband and I ran together in 2015 for W&D and it was ok, but I do much better without him. (Probably because Marine motivation does not equal wife motivation! LOL!) At the Harrisburg Half last year I was having a lot of knee issues and wasn't sure I would even be able to complete the race, even though I was trained for it, and I finally convinced him to go ahead without me and I'd see him at the finish line one way or another and we learned that it works much better. We've now perfected the kiss and see ya at the finish line. Works better for us so neither of us wants a divorce by the end of the half! :rotfl2:I'm glad you're doing some practice runs together. That will help prepare you guys for the half. :thumbsup2

I am totally stuck on what to wear for this race! I have only done Princess and the Star Wars 5k and those are kind of no brainers for themed running outfits. I feel like I just want to hire someone to dress me or grab something off of Etsy...but I am way too cheap for that :-)

Hope the knee continues to improve!! I am finally in a real training cycle and am happy I am getting it done but it feels like I have so much work to do and so little time to do it!!

Hooray for a real training cycle! That's awesome! You'll be ready! I have faith in you!:cheer2: My first W&D we were going to do a Marine and I was going for Rosie the Riveter, but our costumes left something to be desired and DH didn't really want to play along. Last year we found an "Irish beer girl" running top online and wore it with a plaid skirt. Simple and not super expensive. Your costume doesn't have to be elaborate. You could even wear a cute Raw Threads shirt and skirt or capris to match it for a Princess or other character Disney bound type thing?

I so get the need to whine...and totally whine away. I was whining last night to myself after a really bad run attempt...I thought this was going to be easy (who am I kidding this running thing has never been easy for me)...the ankle was EH but the shins were flaring worse than I ever remember. S

SIGH

Le sigh. This whole training while recovering from injuries thing is hard my friend. I totally feel you.:hug: . Praying the next run is a lot better and encourages you to keep going!
 
FastPasses!!!!!

You guys, I am so excited that FastPasses are done! Two months until we're at Disney!!!! If you're looking for me, I'll be riding all my favorites! I'm very excited that we got all the FastPasses that we wanted.

As planned on Wednesday we have two FastPasses: Peter Pan and Mine Train. I'm not sure if we'll make Peter Pan, due to our goal to meet Jack & Sally first thing, but hopefully we'll be able to squeeze it in right before our window expires.

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^^^^My oldest child in the front...:cool2:

Thursday we have Spaceship Earth, Soarin' & Nemo at Epcot. After the expo we'll walk over and eat our way around the world, then hit a few rides before dinner and heading back to the resort to relax. Soarin' is one of my favorites, but I still miss flying over my home state!
Epcot-Soarin-Indoor-Sign-2.jpg

Friday at Animal Kingdom we are kicking our day off with FLIGHT OF PASSAGE!!!!!!! I am so excited! (Although to be honest I have a little paranoia about not fitting...but I figure that's good motivation to keep working on me. I've never not fit on a ride though so I'm hoping I'm ok, but I do have giant calves so that is a concern for me.) Then we have the Safari and Expedition Everest.
Pandora-by-Attractions-Magazine-85.jpg

Saturday
, we have FastPasses for Star Tours, Rock n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror.

Sunday, we have no FastPasses. Since I"m using a military ticket I'm holding off going in the parks until we can get in with our after party tickets. INstead we'll clean up and head to brunch at California Grill (where we'll hopefully get to say hello to @buzzrelly and the other W&D Disers who are celebrating "with" us at brunch!)

Monday we have FastPasses for Peter Pan, Thunder Mountain and Mine Train. (Plus, we get to have dinner with @momabaarjo at Be Our Guest!) and we're going to watch Happily Ever After for the first time!

Tuesday we'll hit up the Character Spot at Epcot for some medal pictures and ride Frozen.

And that's all she wrote folks! When I type it out like that it looks as quick as I know it will go! I'd be lying if I didn't say how stoked I am for this trip!
 
Don't be so hard on yourself about your running! I think you're doing a great job!!:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

My husband keeps trying to tells me how important it is for me to lift weights…ummmm, NO. Thanks, but NO :sad2: Been there, done that. I don't ever want to lift another weight in my life :crazy2: :rotfl:


Congrats on your fast passes! I was a little less successful, but It'll work out, I guess. I have to update my trip report...

What time was your CG Brunch ADR again? Ours is at 12. That's going to be so funny having a bunch of DISmeets up there!
 
Don't be so hard on yourself about your running! I think you're doing a great job!!:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

My husband keeps trying to tells me how important it is for me to lift weights…ummmm, NO. Thanks, but NO :sad2: Been there, done that. I don't ever want to lift another weight in my life :crazy2: :rotfl:


Congrats on your fast passes! I was a little less successful, but It'll work out, I guess. I have to update my trip report...

What time was your CG Brunch ADR again? Ours is at 12. That's going to be so funny having a bunch of DISmeets up there!

Aw, thanks! I'm trying with my running. My run was so blissful on Saturday, but today my knee is still sore. :headache: I keep saying I am going to incorporate weights. I think it would help with toning up. Frankly I think they intimidate me. My husband was telling me I needed to do some exercises with a band to strengthen my knee besides the stretching routine I've been doing. So I think I'm going to have to suck it up and have him show me so I can hopefully get this under control. I really want to try the back to back runs this week too so I might run Wed, Fri & Sat and give my knee today to rest up?

I'm sorry you weren't as successful with the FastPasses, but hopefully you can keep checking and maybe find one? I'll look for your update to see what you scored!

Our brunch is at noon as well! I feel like the majority of people who will be there around our time are going to be Disers who ran with us! It'll be one big party! party:
 
I am so excited about Monday...and don't forget we are adding Kiss Goodnight in there too!

Love the picture of man child on 7DMT!
 
I am really torn about the After Party. I am the only one in my group with a ticket and my sisters are not interested in purchasing tickets. Part of me wants to pop in, but we will be in the Parks that day so I am sure come 9pm I am going to be exhausted. I will just play it be ear more than likely.

Yeah for FastPasses!!!! I was up at 6:30 to be ready to go by 7am. The only snag I had was I had to book Flight of Passage for 11/7 instead of 11/2 like I wanted. I actually was not surprised and had a back up plan in case. I had not originally planned to be in the AK that day but its early enough in the morning that I could hop over to the MK like planned until I have to leave for the Magical express.

After I finished I went for an 11 mile run. I have been really struggling with this distance. It was my third attempt, but I completed it and I was happier with my time. The first time I did it, I did all 11, but my time was almost 2mins/mile slower than I can/wanted to do. The second time I only did 8, but that was mostly due to a wardrobe malfunction and chaffing plus my time was terrible on that run as well. But I really think that was because I had to walk so much for the pain and irritation from my shorts. I don't know what I was thinking, I know those shorts are only good for three or four miles!! The weather this week has been so much nicer and that equaled an amazing three mile run on Tuesday. Hope all your runs are going well and that knee is behaving.
 
Costume Sneak Peak
(And other miscellaneous ramblings...)

So, the title today should warn you! This will likely be a random post. I'm at my second, or maybe third, job and I'm a little bored. The beginning of my shift is always slow! But I'm official now & have a name tag! :yay:



I've been working on part of our 10K costume. It's a total work in progress, but I think it's coming along pretty well!



And my son is asking someone to homecoming. His sign is so cute!



And my phone hates me for updating this apparently. I need to bring my external charger in the future!
 
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I am really torn about the After Party. I am the only one in my group with a ticket and my sisters are not interested in purchasing tickets. Part of me wants to pop in, but we will be in the Parks that day so I am sure come 9pm I am going to be exhausted. I will just play it be ear more than likely.

Yeah for FastPasses!!!! I was up at 6:30 to be ready to go by 7am. The only snag I had was I had to book Flight of Passage for 11/7 instead of 11/2 like I wanted. I actually was not surprised and had a back up plan in case. I had not originally planned to be in the AK that day but its early enough in the morning that I could hop over to the MK like planned until I have to leave for the Magical express.

After I finished I went for an 11 mile run. I have been really struggling with this distance. It was my third attempt, but I completed it and I was happier with my time. The first time I did it, I did all 11, but my time was almost 2mins/mile slower than I can/wanted to do. The second time I only did 8, but that was mostly due to a wardrobe malfunction and chaffing plus my time was terrible on that run as well. But I really think that was because I had to walk so much for the pain and irritation from my shorts. I don't know what I was thinking, I know those shorts are only good for three or four miles!! The weather this week has been so much nicer and that equaled an amazing three mile run on Tuesday. Hope all your runs are going well and that knee is behaving.

If it were me I'd probably try to pop in just so I can say I've done it, but at the same time if the rest of your group isn't going and you'll have a full day then....because Lord knows I take a nap after any half! I think playing it by ear will work. I'm glad you at least got a FP for FoP. Man, that ride is killing plans left and right!

It's funny how there are distances that are really problematic for us. Sometimes I think it's more mental than anything else. I hate 9 miles. I don't know why that one bugs me when I know I can run 9 miles, and have run 13, but that's the one that gets me every time. I started cutting it out of my training runs because I'd rather run 10! :confused3 Glad you knocked it out of the park! You're ready for a half with 11 miles under your belt!
 

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