The Year of Disney - A 2018 PTR. Updated 10/12x4!

Pluto0809

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 25, 2012
Howdy folks and welcome back to another one of my PTRs. I’ve been off the DIS for a bit, had a pretty busy summer but now I’m back to tell you about my upcoming trips in 2018. And of course I’m way, way behind on everyone else’s PTRs and TRs and need to try to play catchup. Sigh, story of my life.

As of right now, I have 3 trips planned for 2018. I’ve already purchased my AP for the year so 3 could easily turn into more. We shall see.

But first, let’s get the introductions over for anyone who is new. I’m Ariana, I’m in my forties and live outside of Atlanta GA with my husband Jim. Here we are on our last Disney trip in January 2016.




I’ve been back to WDW twice and Disneyland once since then but Jim has not. He has definitely become a much bigger Disney fan since our first trip but he’s still not at the level I am. If it was my choice, I would win the lottery and just move to Disney. But that’s obviously a pipe dream. We do plan to retire down that way but we’ve got quite a long time before that can happen.

We don’t have kids of the two legged variety but we do have four of the four-legged kind that we affectionately call our “fuzzy butts”.

First up, meet Sierra. She is a 7 year old Schnauzer and has her Daddy wrapped around her little paw.




Next is Remy. He is also 7 years old and is a Yorkie. He came home as a foster from the local shelter where I volunteer and somehow never made it back there. He just wheedled his way into our hearts so we ended up adopting him.



Ellie is Jim’s other baby. She’s a little over a year and a Schnauzer mix. She is a bit on the crazy side and goes by the nicknames “The Tornado” and “Lunatic”. She is a bundle of energy and never stops moving.



Finally I would like to introduce our newest baby, Buddy. He also came from the shelter where I volunteer and we believe he is a Yorkie/Corgi mix and is about 2 years old. He has the coloring and fur of a Yorkie and the short stumpy legs and long body of a Corgi. I haven’t gotten the best pictures of him yet, he’s kind of camera shy but here are two OK ones.






Those of you who have read my previous PTRs and TRs might be saying, whoa, wait a minute, that’s not correct, there seems to be some doggies missing. Well, you would be right. If you followed along on my March TR, you may remember that we lost Eddie in June. He was almost 16 and we were pretty much expecting that one. But then in September, Alex stopped eating. We took him to the vet thinking his pancreatitis had flared back up. Our vet spent over a week trying to figure out what was wrong. Every test came back inconclusive. She would give him fluids and he would start eating again but then in a day or two he would stop and we’d start the whole process over again. Our vet finally exhausted everything she could think of so she sent us to an internal medicine specialist. Unfortunately they figured out very quickly what was wrong. He had kidney cancer that had already metastasized and spread to his heart and lungs. There was absolutely nothing we could do to help him. We brought him home for a few days for some serious cuddle time and then let him go. Our vet cried along with us when we put him down because she tried so hard to save him. We were in shock, he was only 11 and it was a complete blindside for us. Wow, that was hard to write.

So we were down to 3 dogs for a bit and then Buddy came in to the shelter. We had been actively searching for a younger dog as a playmate for Ellie even before Alex got sick because she was driving the older three nuts! It seemed a little soon to bring home a new one but we didn’t want to pass up the opportunity. Jim is allergic to most dogs and the hypoallergenic ones don’t come into the shelter very often. It turned out to be a great move, Buddy and Ellie are best friends and spend hours outside chasing squirrels.

So, now that I got the introductions and the depressing part out of the way, let’s talk about the upcoming trips.

Trip #1 will by January 2nd – 8th, 2018. I will be running my first Disney 5K during this trip and Jim will be my travel companion. I will be detailing this trip first since it’s coming up very soon. Our FP+ day is November 3rd.

Trip #2 is February 2nd – 7th, 2018. Mom will be my travel companion. This trip is top secret as we will heading down to surprise my Aunt and Uncle (Mom’s brother). They will have a party of 11 which includes my aunt and uncle, two cousins, their wives and five kids. I was very sneaky and managed to get a hold of my Aunt’s user name and password for MDE so I know their schedule. Long story, I’ll detail that later. We planned our days around theirs but will also be doing a lot of stuff on our own so we aren’t butting in too much. Here’s a picture of me and Mom on our last WDW trip, November 2016.




And here’s my Aunt Pat and Uncle Bob from my cousin’s Disney wedding (not one of their boys) in February 2014.



Next is my Cousin Brandon, his wife Sarah and their three kids, Raymond, Maddie and Emmett.



And finally my Cousin Adam, his wife Jen and their two kids, Lewie and Isla.



I know both my cousins have been to Disney years ago but I’m not sure about the wives. I know this will be the first trip for all five kids.

Trip #3 will be from October 20 – 27, 2018. My travel companions will be Mom, my Brother John and my SIL Jocelyn. This trip is in the very early stages of planning but the main goal is Food and Wine. We will probably also do a side trip to Sea World one day. Jim might join us for the first few days of the trip but he is still undecided. Here’s me with Mom, John and Jocelyn from our Feb 2017 trip to Disneyland.




OK, I think that’s enough information to bombard you with today. Next up I plan to do a quick post about my running journey over the last year and then I’ll get into the meat of the January trip. It may be a week or so before I get to those because I’m headed out to Chicago to visit the same Aunt and Uncle involved in the February trip. I’m going to have to bite my tongue a lot so I don’t give away the secret!

Up Next: I Must Be Crazy or Having a Mid-Life Crisis

I just realized that I forgot to leave a post for a Table of Contents so I'm just going to add it here at the bottom of the intro post.

Table of Contents

January 2018 Trip
Day 1, Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018

Day 2, Wednesday, January 3rd, 2018
Day 3, Thursday, January 4th, 2018
Day 4, Friday, January 5th, 2018
Day 5, Saturday, January 6th, 2018
Day 6, Sunday, January 7th, 2018


February 2018 Trip
Disney, February 2018


August 2018 Trip
Trip #4 (or really #3) for 2018
Happy Birthday to Me!
Hollywood Studios Open 17 1/2 Hours? No Problem!
Animal Kingdom and Shopping Day
Early Morning Magic at MK
Outfits for August
One Day to Go!


October 2018 Trip
Dining Reservations Done!
Day 1 & 2, Thursday 10/18 and Friday 10/19
Day 3, Saturday October 20th
Day 4, Sunday October 21st
Day 5, Monday October 22nd
Day 6, Tuesday, October 23rd
Day 7, Wednesday October 24th

Day 8, Thursday October 25th
Day 9, Friday October 26th
Day 10, Saturday, October 27th
Outfits for the Trip

Real Life Posts

I Must Be Crazy or Having a Mid-Life Crisis
Crazy Times In Between Trips
Running Update
A Look at the House Renovations
Renovation Update
Joy and Sadness

Summer 2018 5Ks
 
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Joining in!

January is just around the corner! 2018 will be the year of Disney for me too. I bought my first AP!
 


Exciting to read your plans.

So sorry about your dog. My 13 1/2 year old springer died in September. Then I had 3 foster puppies pass as well. It has been a crazy few months. My house seems so empty without puppies.
 


I'm here!!! :)

As of right now, I have 3 trips planned for 2018. I’ve already purchased my AP for the year so 3 could easily turn into more. We shall see.

WOO HOO!!!! Can't wait to see how many days you can get out of your AP :)

Wow, that was hard to write.

:( It was hard to read, too :(


I’m headed out to Chicago to visit the same Aunt and Uncle involved in the February trip.

Yay for coming to Chicago!! Boo for not being able to see you!! Yay again for seeing you in January anyway!! :) LOL
 
Following along. I’m sorry to read about Alex and Eddie both but I want to say as a shelter dog owner myself that I think it’s awesome that you keep your heart open to loving more. Looking forward to reading about your adventures this year.
 
Yay! So happy to see you back :goodvibes I was just thinking about you yesterday so it's so funny that you posted yesterday, too! I *think* I've nailed down my dates for my next trip and while I was afraid ours wouldn't overlap, it's looking like I'll be in Florida December 29-January 5. I'm not sure when exactly I'll be in Disney, as I'll be visiting my Dad with my sisters in the Orlando area, but we definitely plan to hit Disney. I'll keep you posted! :thumbsup2

If it was my choice, I would win the lottery and just move to Disney.
SAME!!! ::yes::

It turned out to be a great move, Buddy and Ellie are best friends and spend hours outside chasing squirrels.
I'm so glad to hear that, Ariana. I am also so very, very sorry about Alex. What a horrible shock, indeed. Hugs to you, my friend :hug:

Trip #1 will by January 2nd – 8th, 2018.
WOOHOO!!!

I was very sneaky and managed to get a hold of my Aunt’s user name and password for MDE so I know their schedule.
Oooh look at you go! :laughing:
 
Late to the party, but jumping in for your TR.
Edit: Oh wait, I actually made page 1 of someone's TR. Woo hoo. Go me!!!
 
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Aww your new pup Buddy is a cutie!

I am so sorry to hear about Alex :(

All 3 trips sound great! So awesome that you will be surprising your family for trip #2. I look forward to hearing all the plans :)
 
Here!!! Yay!!!! ❤️❤️❤️

D~

Hi D~! Thanks for joining in. I still need to visit your PTRs!

Joining in!

January is just around the corner! 2018 will be the year of Disney for me too. I bought my first AP!

Hi Ryan! I am so excited for the race in January! And having an AP can be addictive.


:welcome:

Exciting to read your plans.

So sorry about your dog. My 13 1/2 year old springer died in September. Then I had 3 foster puppies pass as well. It has been a crazy few months. My house seems so empty without puppies.

Thanks! So sorry about your baby and also the foster puppies. I have a friend who fosters kittens and she's lost a few. No idea how you guys do it.


Hi Mo!

I'm here, quietly reading your PTR's and getting my Disney fix!!! popcorn::

Thanks for joining in!

I'm here!!! :)

WOO HOO!!!! Can't wait to see how many days you can get out of your AP :)

:( It was hard to read, too :(

Yay for coming to Chicago!! Boo for not being able to see you!! Yay again for seeing you in January anyway!! :) LOL

Hi Jackie! Can't wait to see you in January. I was sad that I didn't get to see you or Mo last week. I wish I could have figured it out somehow but it was too hard without transportation of my own.

can't wait to read along! I love your TRs :)

Thanks for joining in! I'm glad you like my TRs.
 
I'm here, too. Looking forward to your PTR(s)!

Hi and welcome! Glad you have joined in.

Following along. I’m sorry to read about Alex and Eddie both but I want to say as a shelter dog owner myself that I think it’s awesome that you keep your heart open to loving more. Looking forward to reading about your adventures this year.

Thanks, it was a very hard couple of months for us. I'd probably have more than 4 but Jim is good at restraining me.

Yay! So happy to see you back :goodvibes I was just thinking about you yesterday so it's so funny that you posted yesterday, too! I *think* I've nailed down my dates for my next trip and while I was afraid ours wouldn't overlap, it's looking like I'll be in Florida December 29-January 5. I'm not sure when exactly I'll be in Disney, as I'll be visiting my Dad with my sisters in the Orlando area, but we definitely plan to hit Disney. I'll keep you posted! :thumbsup2

SAME!!! ::yes::

I'm so glad to hear that, Ariana. I am also so very, very sorry about Alex. What a horrible shock, indeed. Hugs to you, my friend :hug:

WOOHOO!!!

Oooh look at you go! :laughing:

Hi Tracy! Oh, I do hope we have at least one day in common so we can meet up! Thanks for the hugs for Alex, it was a really rough time for Jim and I.

Late to the party, but jumping in for your TR.
Edit: Oh wait, I actually made page 1 of someone's TR. Woo hoo. Go me!!!

Nope you weren't too late! I'm going pretty slow on this one so far too.

If you and Jim like Darth Vadar (or Star Wars in general), I do a good impersonation of both Darth and Yoda.

I like Jen already...she's wearing the right shirt!!!
Go Cubbies!!!! We didn't take the series this year, but we've been NLCS champs 3 years now and WS in the middle!

I think those might be highly overrated.

Ha! We are both pretty huge Star Wars fans that's for sure. Can't wait to meet Kylo Ren and BB-8 this trip as they are both new characters for us.

My Uncle and Cousin's were pretty bummed when I told them that they are going to be in WDW for the Super Bowl. I think they realize that there's very little chance for the Bears but they still want to watch the game.


Looking forward to another year of Disney .

Thanks and welcome!

Looking forward to hearing your plans.

I'm so sorry about Alex . :(

Thanks, it was a really rough time for us. Thanks for joining in.

Aww your new pup Buddy is a cutie!

I am so sorry to hear about Alex :(

All 3 trips sound great! So awesome that you will be surprising your family for trip #2. I look forward to hearing all the plans :)

Hi Alexis! Thanks for the condolences on Alex, I really miss him. Buddy is great in his own way though.

I'm excited for all my trips this year, each for a different reason.
 
I Must Be Crazy or Having a Mid-Life Crisis

So let’s talk about this weird, crazy running journey I have been on. This might be a bit boring to those who don’t run (or maybe even to those that do) but I feel like I need to document. I promise I will get to the actual trip very soon!

I believe it was around March or April of 2016 that I started thinking about trying to do some running. I had read some TRs which featured the different Disney races and I really, really wanted to do one myself. It was kind of a pipe dream for someone with a bum ankle, arthritic knees and allergies that cause some breathing issues. But when I get an idea stuck in my head, I usually need to follow through.

I spent the summer reading up on running and decided that my first step would be buying myself some good shoes. So for my 43 birthday in August, I dragged Jim to a local running store where I was fitted for shoes. I’m pretty sure Jim thought I was crazy but he’s gotten used to my far-fetched ideas. He probably thought it was just a phase and I would give it up eventually. The jury is still out on that one.

I picked a 5K race to aim for, the Monster Glow Dash on 10/28/16. It was a small race, run by my local Parks and Rec and the race itself was in a park right across the street from my subdivision. I even went all out for this one and did a costume since they were encouraging people to dress up. Of course I had to be a monster for the Monster Glow Dash. And since my new shoes were purple and teal, I went with Sully from Monster’s Inc.




Training went fairly well, there is a workout room at my work so I used the tread mills in there. My ankle hurt, but nothing more than I was used to. I did have some issues with one of my knees but a brace solved that problem quickly.

The race also went well even though I was a lot slower than I wanted to be (I’ve come to the conclusion over the last year that I will never be as fast as I want to be). I finished at 41:03. There were only 96 racers and I finished in 72nd place and 8 out of 9 in my age group.

Unfortunately the aftermath of the race was not pretty. It was on a Friday night and I felt awful all day Saturday and Sunday. It almost scared me away from running all together but once I started feeling better I began to think about why I had felt so bad. First of all, the course itself was brutal and I did not pace myself very well. The first half mile was all downhill, then we ran through some subdivision roads and then back up that hill to the finish. That hill at the end sucked. Second, I don’t think I ate very well before the race. I have since done a lot of research and figured out an eating routine that works for me. Finally, I think a lot of it was stress before the race. The Friday I ran the race was the last night of a two week visit by my Mother in Law. Having her at my house for that long is super stressful and I even broke out in some hives a few days before the race.

Needless to say, I decided not to do the race I was thinking about on Thanksgiving Day. I was leaving for WDW that Saturday for a trip with my Mom and I didn’t want to start it off feeling sick. I decided to wait till the end of February to run another race. I signed up for another local one called the Guns and Hoses (police vs fire). My training was a little off over the holidays plus I was a little gun shy from the first race so I was slower. I finished at 45:26, 403 out of 561 overall and 23 out of 36 in my age group. I’m horrible at selfies but here’s a pre-race one just to break up all this text!



This race went so much better and I felt like I was making progress even though I was slower than my first race. I signed up for one called the Glow It Up Blue 5K on 4/22/17. At the same time I signed up for a second one on 5/13/17.

About a week before the April race, I was out walking Ellie. We have a fenced in yard but she had surgery on her leg to fix a birth defect and wasn’t allowed free reign yet. I wasn’t looking where I was going, tripped over a branch and tweaked my ankle. I went ahead with the race but ended up not being able to run at all. I finished at 47:04, my worse time yet. I finished 372 out of 585 and 39 out of 59 in my age group. Here’s another horrible selfie from that race.




Despite having such a horrible finish, I really loved this race. Especially because everyone got a medal.



I decided after that one that I needed to take a bit of time off and let my ankle heal. I ended up skipping the May race.

About that time, I signed up for the Disney Virtual races. Basically you needed to complete three 5Ks between June 1st and August 31st in order to get some Disney medals. You could do the races by yourself or by signing up for a local 5K. I like having the competition so I choose to do local 5Ks and signed up for one race in June, one in July and one in August:

June 17, 2017 – Flippin’ 5K
July 4, 2017 – Woodstock Freedom Run
August 12, 2017 – Chick-fil-A Moo’ve It 5K

I got back to my training a few weeks before the June race. I really enjoyed the race. It was at a new course to me that ran through two connecting parks. The course was all flat and while there wasn’t a whole lot of shade, it was pretty cool that morning. It was an extremely small race with only 64 participants. I finished at 44:20, 51st overall and 5 out of 7 in my age group. I was very pleased that my time had improved a bit from the last two races. By this time and going forward my only goals were to finish the race and not finish last. I forgot to take a selfie so your eyes will be spared but I did take a picture of my cute shirt.




The July 4th race was probably my best overall race. I felt great the whole race, loved the course which was basically just a run up and down the main street of the little town of Woodstock, GA and the weather was beautiful. I can’t find all my stats but I know I finished at 41:03 which tied my best finish. I even took a post-race selfie which didn’t turn out too bad. You can see my Virtual Running Shorts shirt here. You can probably figure out why I was so eager to sign up for those Virtual races (for any newbies out there, I’m obsessed with Pluto).



I felt so good after that race that I decided to sign up for three more in the fall. I really wanted to do the Monster Glow Dash again but it was the night before I was leaving for Chicago so I found a different one in October to run.

September 9, 2017 - Have a Nice Day 5K – a Salute to the 70s.
October 21, 2017 - Twilight Run For Cherokee 5K
December 2, 2017 - Woodstock Eggnog Jog 3K

I have zero pictures from the August race and it was a brutal one. It was back at the same park as the Flippin’ 5K where I had loved the course. The main difference between the June race and the August one was the humidity (100% that day!) and the size of the race. There was 890 racers which made the course super crowded and hard to navigate. The humidity about did me in and I finished at 46:24. I was 698 overall and 45 out of 71 in my age group.

And here’s my Virtual Running Shorts medals, one for each race and a fourth one for overall.




These things are huge! Look at them compared to my hand.



The Have a Nice Day 5K in September was all kinds of fun. I decided not to spend the money on a costume but lots of people dressed up so it was fun checking out the costumes. I was once again at the same park as the August race but the temperatures were much cooler and there was a lot fewer runners. There was even a photographer on the course and I was able to download the pictures for free.





We also got an awesome tie-dyed shirt and smiley face medal, neither of which I took pictures of. I finished at 43:21. I was 105 of 164 overall and 13 out of 16 for my age group.

In October, I had my worst set-back yet. I took the nail polish off of my toes to discover that a big portion of my one big toe was black underneath the nail. Now most people would probably have chalked it up to stubbing their toe and not remembering. But I have a history of melanoma on both sides of my family and surprisingly, underneath a toenail is one of the places it can start. Needless to say, I was really worried but luckily I already had a dermatologist appointment scheduled for a few days later. While my dermatologist did not think it was anything serious, he did want to do a biopsy to be on the safe side because of my history. In order to do that though, he had to punch a hole through my toenail to get to the bed underneath.

I did turn out to be nothing but I was left with a painful, slow healing wound on my toe. I really tried to get back on the treadmill a few days later but it was not pretty. I ended up skipping the October race and have not been training since then. I’m finally able to wear tennis shoes without too much discomfort so I plan on getting back to my training this week. I’m really excited for the December race since it’s only a 3K and I might be able to keep up a faster pace.

So that’s my running story. I can’t wait to do the 5K in January and I’m already thinking about doing it again in 2019 or maybe the Princess 5K in Feb 2019.

Up Next: Day 1, January 2nd, 2018
 

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