Disney: Pre-Race Weekend Activities

Without further ado... finally a Disney recap! But first, pre-race activities!

The Princess Half was such an unforgettable experience, I love reliving it all in my noggin as I write this post.

We arrived in Disney World on Friday afternoon and after dropping our bags at the hotel, my mom and I went off to explore the expo. While we were waiting for our shuttle to go to the expo, we were chatting with another mother-daughter running duo and they had done the race years prior. They told us the nightmare experience they had the morning of their race trying to get buses to the starting line and there was a bus shortage. They missed their corral start times! We were getting a little panicked, me especially because I had a pretty early corral start. We discussed that whatever happens, we weren't going to lose our cool because that doesn't fix anything. We tried to remain as positive as humanly possible! 

On our way to the Expo!

We arrived at the expo and I remember being there last year for my sister's Disney race. The energy there was just amazing. I couldn't believe I was there again and it was my turn to pick up my packet and bib. My mom and I were seriously so giddy!

We picked up a few goodies - we both got magnets for our cars, mom got a cute headband, and I got a new long-sleeved running shirt that says "Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world" (it's my new favorite and I can't wait to wear it running this spring on the canal path).

After the expo, we met up with my Aunt Mercy and Uncle Eric and cousins, Jack and Dane. We always have such a fun time with them, especially on vacation and especially at Disney World. 

We had a deeeeelicious dinner. I was not shy about stuffing my face after a day of traveling. Pretty sure I got 3 or 4 servings of dessert. I was saving up calories to burn on race day! We made it back to the hotel just in time to see the Epcot fireworks from our hotel window. Nothing warms my heart more than fireworks at Disney. 

Saturday morning was supposed to be my "rest day" and happened to be the busiest day! We woke up early and walked over to Epcot to see our brother's friend Mandi and her kids run in the 200m dash. It was beyond adorable watching so many little kids running to the finish line with their bibs and receiving medals. It really got the kids excited about racing! I had never met Mandi and the kids before that day but I am so glad we finally did. Lila loved our matching braids and loved showing off her new medal. AND she said that she was excited for her next race! Ladies and gents, we have ourselves a tiny runner.

Afterwards, we bused over to Hollywood Studios and did a few rides and shows there where we'd be able to sit and rest our feet. We saw the car stunt show (haven't done that in decades) and it was super cool. 

Some of my favorite guys!

Off to Magic Kingdom! (Yes, we went to 3 parks on our rest day... woops) The #1 ride I must go on is Space Mountain - check!

We went to a yummy dinner at the hotel next to ours for some carbo loading. I didn't want to eat too much because it would upset my already nervous stomach the night before the race. I walked back to the hotel early in order to have lights out by 9 PM. 

By the way, my prediction was correct. I got minimal sleep that night due to nerves. I woke up around midnight to check the alarm on my phone because I was afraid it wasn't going to go off. I could not, for the life of me, fall asleep again. I got about 2 1/2 hours. Yikes.

Next up: Half Marathon Recap!