Wine and Dine Half Marathon Race Weekend!

Happy Halloween, my friends!

(My boys in their matching Mickey Mouse Halloween shirts)

I hope that everyone is enjoying autumn! Here in Indiana, we had unseasonably warm weather… until one day it became unseasonably cool. It felt like it went from summer to winter, and we missed fall completely!

Speaking of fall- this Friday is the Disney Fall Feast 5k! I LOVED this fun run through Animal Kingdom theme park last year, and I am sad not to be running it again this year. The course ran through most of Animal Kingdom park, including Pandora- The World of Avatar, which I had not yet experienced. Running through this beautiful land early in the morning before the sun rose was truly magical.

(Bib and t-shirt for the Disney Fall Feast 5k)

(Photo from my early morning run through Pandora- The World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom)

The characters on this course were amazing as well- I loved getting my photo with Timon (The Lion King), Flik and Atta (A Bug’s Life), Meeko (Pocahontas), and Clarabelle Cow (from Mickey Mouse cartoons). I skipped Lady Cluck, who was also on the course.

(Timon)

(Atta and Flik)

(Clarabelle Cow)

(Meeko)

As you can see from my shirt, I was eating for two, and 16 weeks pregnant when I ran this race. This was a great race to do while pregnant because there is no time limit, and so I felt no stress to rush through the race. I enjoyed walking, rather than running, through Pandora- The World of Avatar- so that I could take everything in on this beautiful early morning.

(The race began outside of Animal Kingdom- here I am excited to get into the park, which we entered after Mile 1)

(Pandora- The World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom)

If you enjoy running, or even walking, and you love Disney, then runDisney races are for you! The atmosphere at these races is truly incredible- everyone supports one another, and there is just so much camaraderie at these races. I have never experienced anything quite like a runDisney race!

(Chef Mickey welcomes us to race weekend!)

(Disney is home)

The day after the Fall Feast 5k, Saturday, is the Walt Disney World Wine & Dine 10k, which I also ran in 2017. This was a wonderful course as well- last year we ran through Hollywood Studios and Epcot, as well as some of the Epcot (Crescent Lake) resorts; however, due to all of the construction at Hollywood Studios at the moment, I have seen that this year the course will not run through Hollywood Studios.

(10k bib and tech shirt)

(My favorite part of the 10k may have been running through Hollywood Studios, which was decorated for Christmas and playing Christmas music)

This race IS a timed race, and so I had to pick and choose my character stops- I chose to stop for the Three Little Pigs (Silly Symphony), Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (the very first character Walt Disney created- this is a SUPER rare character, and so the line was insane- probably 20 minutes- I knew that this may be my last character stop of the race, but Oswald was worth it!), and I had time for Koda and Kenai (Brother Bear) in Canada at Epcot because there was basically no line for these two. I do regret not having time to stop for Vacation Genie (Aladdin) at the Boardwalk Resort, but his line was long, and I didn’t want to be swept from the course, which you will be if you do not maintain a 16-minute mile average. I am holding out hope that Vacation Genie will make an appearance at the 2019 Disney Princess Half Marathon!

(The Three Little Pigs)

(Oswald the Lucky Rabbit)

(Koda & Kenai)

I did make time after my race to stop for Chef Mickey and Chef Minnie as well- the lines for the post-race characters are typically long, but I love this photo and so it was well worth the wait. It was nice to cool down and enjoy my snack box while waiting for this fun character photo opportunity!

(Post-race photo with my medal!)

This was the third race weekend I had attended, but the first Wine and Dine weekend. Previously, I had ran the Disney Princess race weekends in 2016 and 2017. I love all things pink, sparkly and girly, and so the Princess races are right up my alley. However, I also love food- Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday- and so this race weekend proved to be just as amazing as Princess! I rode the bus both mornings to the courses with a kind young man, Jeremy, who I had so much fun talking to. He had previously ran in the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend (in January), as well as Star Wars Dark Side race weekend (in April), the two race weekends that I had yet to run, and so we compared my Princess race weekends (in February) to the two that he had ran. Again, everyone is so, so nice, and even if you go solo, as I had, you always meet kind people on the buses, in your corrals, and even during the races themselves! I also had a young lady that I chatted with on Facebook ask some of our Facebook group if we'd like our PhotoPass photos from the race weekend, as she got them for free as an annual passholder. I offered to pay her a bit of money for doing that for me, but she declined and simply asked me to pay it forward next time I had a chance. Like I said, fellow Disney runners are so, so kind.

(Standing in Corral A with thousands of my fellow running friends!)

The one downside to these races is that they begin EARLY- every race (except the Kids Races) begins at 5:30am. You are told that you must be on a bus by 4:00am for these races, as it does take some time with all the traffic to travel to the start line. I’m up at 4:15am for work anyway, and so this wasn’t a huge deal for me, but if you are running multiple races AND trying to maximize your park time, this could get very exhausting very quickly. I recommend either doing a shortened park day, or even a resort day, the day before each race you are running! On Friday, the day of the 5k, we enjoyed the pool and waterslides at our resort, Caribbean Beach Resort, for most of the day!

(When it's still dark AFTER the race is over and you have your medal, it must have been an early morning!)

Keep in mind also that all Disney resorts are host resorts for every race- this means that free transportation to the Expo and the races is included with your stay! There are often special drinks for runners at the resort bars, and I’ve often seen ‘runners packs’ for sale in the gift shops and quick service dining locations for that early-morning energy boost!

(A fun fall-themed drink at Gurgling Suitcase bar at Old Key West resort)

I want to wish a WONDERFUL race weekend to those running in this year’s Wine and Dine Half Marathon Race Weekend! I will certainly be checking out everyone’s Instagram stories, vlogs, and blogs so that I don’t feel quite as left out! Have fun guys, and Happy Travels!

(My 5k 'I Did It' PhotoPass photo)

(My 10k 'I Did It' PhotoPass photo)

Animal Kingdom Lodge

Hello, and happy July, my friends! I hope that everyone had a wonderful and safe Independence Day, and that the kids are getting excited to return to school in the coming weeks.

Speaking of school- I know that for some of you, pulling your children out of school is not an option for your Walt Disney World vacation. Honestly, my parents never pulled us out of school to go on trips. However, if that is at all a possibility… you are going to see much more reasonable prices, and typically see lower crowds than when school is out. In February, we were able to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, a deluxe resort, for just $57 more TOTAL than I was originally paying to stay at Port Orleans Riverside, a moderate resort, for 5 nights. When school is in session, the difference in price is going to be MUCH greater.

(The mat welcoming us into Animal Kingdom Lodge)

(The majestic AKL lobby)

We ADORED Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL). This was a bucket-list resort for me, and it was so much fun to get to check it off the list! I had always told myself that whenever it was that I stayed at AKL, I was going to spring for a savanna-view room. Well… the price difference was pretty significant between a standard view and a savanna view, and so we did the standard view. Sure, in a perfect world, it would have been lovely to wake up and go out on the balcony and see the animals. I will mention that there are some standard view rooms that have a partial savanna view, and in fact, we were originally given one of these rooms. However, when we arrived (arrive early in the day for your best chance of a switch), I asked if the room we were assigned to had a bunk bed, and it did not. So we asked (never a guarantee) to be switched to a room with a bunk bed- and it was worth it for my son. He LOVED the bunk bed so much. Six months later, he is STILL talking about the bunk bed at AKL.

(My son adored playing up on the top bunk!)

Our room was directly off the main lobby, which was amazingly convenient. AKL is a BIG resort, and sometimes there can be QUITE a trek to get to the lobby from your room. Our view from the balcony was the front of the resort, which was absolutely fine. We saw animals from all of the lookout points at the resort.

(The view from our standard view room)

(One of the many look-out points that I enjoyed- on this evening, I could both hear the music from the nighttime water show Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom, and see fireworks from Disney's Hollywood Studios)

This brings me to our favorite things about this resort. Obviously, the animals were our number one favorite thing- they are what make this resort so unique, and so popular. It was such a treat to watch the giraffes eat their lunch just minutes before we enjoyed our own lunch. One night I went out and viewed the animals at night with night-vision goggles, which they had to use, free-of-charge, every evening during our stay. Jambo House, where we stayed, had slightly different animals than Kidani Village, the Disney Vacation Club building of AKL, so we were able to check out different animals the day we went over to Kidani to use the pool. 

(My husband and son watching the giraffe eat lunch before we enjoyed our own lunch on arrival day)

(What a gorgeous creature!)

(Pink flamingos near the pool)

Some of our other AKL favorites:

-The Mara, the quick-service location, had some really great choices! Everything we’ve had from here has been excellent. I want to also point out that when we visited in November with my parents (we were staying elsewhere but came for a quick dinner at The Mara), they split a bottle of African red wine and HIGHLY recommended it! They said the quality of wine was excellent, especially considering what they paid for the bottle.

(Zebra Domes are a Disney fan favorite- you can find these in the refrigerator at The Mara)

(The bottle of wine my parents really enjoyed at The Mara)

(One of my favorite Disney lunches was this amazing fried chicken sandwich from The Mara)

-The pools at both Jambo House and Kidani Village were both so much fun! My 4-year old son, who LOVES water slides, enjoyed both the water slide at Jambo House and Kidani Village very much. Kidani had a very small toddler slide as well as a large water slide. Jambo had one decently-sized slide. Both were very close to the savanna, so while we dried off we were able to enjoy animal-viewing.

(Enjoying the pool at Jambo House on arrival day)

(What a pretty sight! One of the most uniquely-themed Disney resorts for sure!)

(Uwanja Camp water play area for kids at Animal Kingdom Lodge- Kidani Village)

-The cast members, some of who are native to the country of Africa, were all outstanding. We really enjoyed all of our interactions with everyone. One morning, my son had woken up on the wrong side of the bed, and was just not happy as he and I made our way to The Mara to pick up breakfast to enjoy back in our room. The cast member working at the register noticed and told him that he could pick anything out, free-of-charge, to take back to the room with him. The Disney cast members really try hard to bring a smile to EVERYONE in the family!

(Being pregnant on this trip, I could not enjoy an alcoholic beverage poolside with my husband. The amazing cast member at the Uzima Springs Pool Bar made me a delicious non-alcoholic treat to enjoy, and told me that if I did not love it, she would keep making me something different until she did find something that I loved!)

The only downside to staying at AKL, in my opinion, is the location. It did take some time to get over to the Magic Kingdom, even on the days we took a Minnie Van (which you can read about here). If you plan on spending a lot of time at the resort (which you could absolutely do, there are so many activities here!), then this wouldn’t be much of an issue. But if you are using the resort for more of a ‘it’s just a place to shower and lie our heads at night’, then this may not be the resort for you.

We did enjoy breakfast at Boma one morning, the all-you-care-to-eat buffet at AKL. There is also a dinner buffet that my husband personally doesn’t care for, but that is a fan favorite of others. I hear so many great things about Jiko as well, the Signature dining location at AKL. Over at Kidani Village, on my radar to try on a future visit is Sanaa, which offers African favorites as well as beautiful views of the savannah.

(Enjoying breakfast at Boma one morning)

One more thing that I’d like to mention is that there are a few different restaurant tours offered at AKL (along with many, many other activities offered). I had great intentions of doing one of these free tours, and I just ran out of time. But I would HIGHLY suggest making some time to enjoy a restaurant tour during your stay!

(One of my favorite activities at AKL was using the night-vision goggles, offered for free every night on the savanna!)

(Of course there is a walking trail between the two AKL buildings, but we preferred the complimentary air-conditioned shuttle which transports guests all day long between Kidani Village and Jambo House)

I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading about one of Disney’s best-themed resorts. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at dana_w@wishingonastartravel.com.

Thank you and Happy Travels!

Disney Travel Agents

Happy summer everybody!

I hope you are doing well. I have been enjoying time with my family, as I’ve been on maternity leave following the birth of my son in April. We’ve been having a lot of fun planning our next few Walt Disney World vacations and searching for which Disney Cruise we’d like to do when our infant son gets just a bit bigger.

(We are dreaming up where our next Disney Cruise Line vacation will take our family of four!)

(Our son keeps asking us 'When are we taking our next Disney Cruise?')

This month, I would like to cover my thoughts on why it is beneficial to use a travel agent when planning your Disney vacations. In the past I have used AAA to book Walt Disney World vacations, and a travel agent friend to book our most recent Disney Cruise Line vacation.

First, let me mention that the great thing about using a travel agent who specializes in Disney is that they typically are experts on the subject. Before an agent sells Disney vacations, they must take courses from the College of Disney Knowledge and pass a test on all things Disney. Most independent travel agents also work for a larger business, which provides additional resources to you and your agent if need be.

(Most Travel Agents specializing in Disney Destinations spend a lot of their time doing 'Disney research' to be able to best help their clients!)

The best news of all- your favorite Disney blogger has become a travel agent! If it is Walt Disney World you are looking to visit, then I am your gal. I have been to Walt Disney World many, many times- I have been to every Disney resort multiple times, I am familiar with every restaurant on property (there are well over 100!), I have been on nearly every attraction and seen nearly every show on property, and there aren’t many questions that stump me. I have also visited with just my husband as a young couple, and as a group of multiple families with children of varying ages. I’ve done Disney in so many different ways, and I can definitely recommend the best options for your family or group!

(Have a 4-year-old boy? You won't want to miss Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, one of my son's favorite rides at Walt Disney World!)

If it is Disney Cruise Line that you are looking for, I would love to help! I sailed on a 7-day cruise with a Star Wars Day at Sea last February with my family, and this trip was unbelievable. We enjoyed impeccable service, an exquisite atmosphere, fun activities galore, and of course- Disney Magic. There are so many memories that stand out from this trip, but one of my favorites is leaving for dinner one night, and our room host Filip tells us that he will have a surprise waiting for us when we return to our room that evening. When we returned later that night, we saw that Filip had placed Cars bedding on my son’s bed! Camden had brought his Lightning McQueen suitcase with him on the trip, which Filip had undoubtedly seen, and decided to make a little magic for our son, which he LOVED.

(Everyone we've ever met on the Disney Cruise Line has gone above and beyond to give us a truly magical experience!)

Many travel agents, such as myself, will get up at 5:45 in the morning to secure your dining reservations and Fast Passes, so that you do not have to worry about doing this (yes, EVEN the morning after the 4^th of July, which I am doing for a client next week!). I take a LOT of pride in my small business, and I truly want each and every client of mine to love Disney as much as I do. If a client asks for a specific document- such as a client who recently asked me for a list of the best Disney snacks to use her Disney Dining Plan snack credits on- I get right to work on making a detailed list to send out. 

(A BEAUTIFUL- and delicious- cupcake I enjoyed at the Grand Floridian!)

(One of my favorite Disney snacks- a Magic Cookie Bar!)

I do it all- I will spend hours on the phone, as I did earlier this week, calling Disney to apply new promotions which are released to try and save my clients money. I am available during your vacation via telephone or text if you think of any questions- even ones just as simple as ‘I’m eating dinner at Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge, what is the fastest way to get back to the Grand Floridian?’ No question is too big or too small. I also am happy to work with any budget- from $2,000 (or less!) to $20,000, I can help you create the perfect trip for your family.

(Say you are here, and are wanting to get back to your resort, the Grand Floridian. Just call or text me and I'll get you there!)

Finally, before you head out on your trip, I will send you your custom itinerary so that you do not miss a thing! Your itinerary will include your Fast Pass reservation times, advance dining reservations (ADR’s) and confirmation numbers, extra experience times and dates, theme park hours, and more!

(What time is that FastPass for Under the Sea again? Have no fear, your itinerary is near!)

One final thing that I’d like to mention is that even if you have already booked your Disney vacation, it may be possible to still use a travel agent. It is possible for your reservation to be taken over by a travel agent if you have booked within 30 days, and if your trip has not yet been paid-in-full. Some travel agents will also assist you with your planning and itinerary-building, even if your trip has already been booked and paid, simply by charging a small planning-only fee for their work.

(I can even tell you about my favorite places to relax, have a drink... put together new Lego sets, and more!)

I hope that this post has been informative and interesting! Please feel free to contact me at any time via email at dana_w@wishingonastartravel.com. Happy Travels!