Magical Blogorail: My Favorite Time to Visit Walt Disney World

Welcome to those of you joining me from A World View and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the Final stop on our Magical Blogorail.

My favorite time to visit Walt Disney World  

We'll look at this month's topic a couple of ways.

First, time of day.  I just love the parks at night when we have lingered after the fireworks.  I don't often get to stay late like this anymore since the kiddos need to get back to the room for bed but occasionally, thanks to grandparents, I am sprung from mommy duty and can play late in the parks.  Everyone else scurries for the buses but this is a fabulous time of day to capture a few pictures of the castle, pavilions, etc without anyone around.  I love to stroll toward the park exit enjoying the relative calm, listening to the music, taking in the details.  This is also a wonderful time to chat with Cast Members who aren't in a hurry either.  We've had some terrific Cast Member interactions during these late evening hours.

Favorite time of year: Fall  I'm a huge fan of the Food and Wine Festival.  World Showcase is my favorite part of Walt Disney World and it's only made better by the addition of all of the yummy food and beverage choices.  Seriously, how can you beat walking around the gorgeous promenade sampling tasty treats inspired by cultures from around the world?  This year we are catching the very end of the festival in hopes of also taking in the first part of the Christmas decorations.

Fall is also a great time to participate in a Disney race.  Over the years, I've run in a number of 5k or 10k races during this season.  RunDisney is offering two big race weekends this year.  During the first weekend of F&W will be the Tower of Terror 10 miler.  The Wine & Dine Half Marathon is the last weekend of the festival.  I was planning on running the half this year but after our May trip with the girls, I decided a night race was just a bad idea while traveling with small kids.  As much as I want to run that race, I'm not willing to kill my whole trip for it.  Traveling with little ones is tiring and running 13.1 miles in the middle of the night might not be my best plan.  I'm going to find a local goal race for this year and jump back in with RunDisney another year.

I haven't heard yet about what special foods/drinks/cuisines will be featured this year but regardless, I am really looking forward to the trip.  The weather is usually very pleasant in October and November.  But be sure to check the reports before you go.  It was unusually hot during our visit in late October/early November of 2010.  I was expecting Minnie on that trip and had to sit on the floor of "O Canada" to cool off but it's still much better than the height of summer.


When do you like to visit Disney Parks? Are you a night owl or an early bird? Does fall tickle your fancy or do you prefer another season?




Thank you for joining Magical Blogorail Red this month. We will be back in August with an all new theme. Keep checking in with our blogs in between loops to keep up to date with our Disney info, photos and stories. If you are looking for more Disney magic, you can make your way over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our members and their blogs, as well as all our previous loops.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ My Dreams Of Disney

2nd Stop ~ Disney Donna Kay

3rd Stop ~ Colorado Mountain Mom

4th Stop ~ A World View

Final Stop ~ Growing Up Disney

Magical Blogorail: Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend

Welcome to those of you joining me from A Disney Mom's Thoughts and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the 5th stop on our Magical Blogorail.

Only 206 days to go until I take off running into the night with thousands and thousands of my new best friends.  Ok, thousands and thousands of strangers and a few online friends that I can't wait to meet.  What is this event?  It's the 2012 Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon on November 10, 2012 beginning at 10:00 PM.  Huh?  A night race?  Well, that's a new one for me.  Run 13.1 miles around Walt Disney World in the middle of the night and finish with an after-party in Epcot on the last day of the Food and Wine Festival.  This has promise.  

This isn't my first half-marthon or Disney race but it will be my first of both after having my gorgeous girls.

In years past, I ran the precursors to the current Wine & Dine event.  During our fall vacation in 2004, I ran the Disney 10k Classic and a Race for the Cure 5k during one weekend.  The 10k course was essentially the last 6.2 miles of the full marathon, covering Wide World of Sports, the Studios, the Boardwalk Area, and finishing through World Showcase at Epcot.

We moved from Alabama to Oklahoma in October of 2005, but I was back to run again in the fall of 2006.  Now the event was called the Race for the Taste 10k and was tied to the Food and Wine Festival.  We were given wristbands with tabs that acted as tickets for food items at the finish line area.  I ran this alone and no one came to see me at the finish line (at the time, I was running races all the time, so my family didn't feel the need to wait around on me.)  The lines were insane so I passed on the food and walked back over to the Epcot bus stop to catch a ride back to Old Key West.  I still love the swag from that race.  Instead of a(nother) t-shirt, we were given lunch bags and matching water bottles emblazoned with the event logo.  I used them for work for years and still have the insulated bag handy.  

I didn't get to run again in 2007 since we visited earlier in the month before annual passes expired.  However, I participated in the Race for the Taste 10k in October 2008 about 3 months pregnant with Tink.  The finish line tasting area seemed to be a little more organized this go round.  This time we got pint glasses and DisneyDad drove me back to the resort.  :)

Two years ago, the Race for the Taste 10k became the Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend as Disney goes toward more and larger races throughout the year.  The 10k distance is not included in the new event but a 5k and kids races are a part of the weekend's activities.  Some people have attempted to run the 5k (7:00 am) and the half (10:00 pm) in the same day but that's just too much loss of sleep for me, especially since I will have my then 17 month old and 3.5 year old daughters along on that trip.  When I told my husband that he could buy a ticket for the late night party, he gave me this look that said, "can't you hang out with some of your friends?  I'd prefer to sleep."  And I don't blame him.  I am questioning the sanity of this idea, but with 4 other adults in our travel party, I should be able to sneak in a nap and some strong coffee.

I've recently met a new running buddy in my new town in North Carolina and I'm so excited that she is training for a half-marathon on the same weekend.  It's too bad that we can't run the races together but how nice for training schedules to line up.  She's also a mom of two young children so we're both flexible to working around ever-changing schedules.  I'm glad to be running again but I am having a hard time settling into a routine.  I'm beginning to think I may not have a "normal" schedule again for years so I'll just have to jump in and do the best I can.

Two babies born 25 months apart, an insane 2011 and returning bad habits have set me back weight-wise.   But as my husband likes to say, "this ain't my first rodeo."  I became a runner at first out of a sheer desire for efficiency.  I was working out at lunch and I could burn more calories in the time I had by going faster.  It was simple math that over time resulted in a loss of more than 80 pounds.  My very first race was a Race for the Cure 5k in Birmingham, Alabama.  There is something addictive about crossing a finish line and I went from there to a 10k about six weeks later, a half marathon the next spring and a full marathon in the winter.  Of course, my first full marathon had to be at Walt Disney World.  Over the years, I've run races of all lengths in a bunch of different places and Disney puts on some of the best with great organization and fun pre- and mid-race entertainment. 

The ultimate runDisney swag.  My Mickey medal for the full marathon.  That's me and my Alabama running buddy, Andrew, in 2005.

So now I am training for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon and I need to lose some weight along the way.  This time, while I'd love to look cuter, I'm more concerned with being healthy and full of energy to keep up with my two young children.  And as I read on a t-shirt recently, "The more I run, the less I want to run away."  I'm logging my miles through Daily Mile and there is a widget on the left column listing my mileage if you'd like to run along.  

My littlest running buddies (Hey Nine, this is "your" house.)

For all the details from Run Disney, here is a link to the official event site.

Are you going to be running the Wine and Dine Half Marathon or attending the party as a guest?  I'd love to hear from you.  

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is DISTherapy.


Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:


1st Stop ~ Disney Babies Blog
2nd Stop ~ Adventures of a Disney Princess
3rd Stop ~ The Disney FAITHful
4th Stop ~ A Disney Mom’s Thoughts
5^th Stop ~ Growing Up Disney
6^th Stop ~ DIStherapy
Final Stop ~ Tips from the Disney Diva

Registration begins today for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend

I'm planning on participating in the Wine & Dine Half this year. Registration opens at noon today!

The rest of this post is straight from Disney. I copied it over to save you a step.  :)  They have updated the event site with as many of the details as they have at 8 months out.

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Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend

November 9 & 10, 2012

Registration opens March 13 at 12:00 p.m. EST. Sign up now for an email reminder when registration opens!

Join us for a special event that brings the spectacle of the Epcot® International Food & Wine Festival together with the magic of a Disney race. Start out by running through the theme parks under the stars with world-class Disney entertainment along the way to help the miles fly by. The icing on this cake? Finishing at Epcot® where an exclusive after-hours party inside the Epcot® International Food & Wine Festival awaits. This race experience will be the ultimate "Runners' Night Out!" 

Weekend Events will include:

• Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon
• Disney Family Fun Run 5K
• runDisney Kids' Races
• Disney Health & Fitness Expo
• Finish Line Party

Support Give Kids the World with your Running Shoes or from your Couch

Give Kids the World allows children with life-threatening illnesses and their families to escape reality for a week.  And they depend on donations to keep this program running.  And this November, running is exactly what 500 people will do.


If you are a local or will be visiting Walt Disney World on November 5, you have the chance to participate in a run through the storybook village at Give Kids the World.  It's not normally open to the public.  And don't worry if you are not a fast runner, walking is perfectly acceptable.  This event even allows strollers!

I just love the course description from the event site:

"Join us for this fun-filled 5k run/walk that winds through the whimsical pathways of Give Kids The World Village!  Here's your chance to experience Central Florida's only nonprofit "storybook" resort that has brought happiness and hope to more than 110,000 families from around the world. Jog past the World's Largest Candy Land game at Matthew's Boundless Playground, wave hello to our special families and boogie down with some of the Village's most lovable mascots. It's fun for all ages! Everyone is invited to take part in this unique fundraiser that helps provide weeklong dream vacations for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families."

Can't make it to Kissimmee that morning? Or just don't feel like getting up early but still want to help?  Register as a virtual runner.  If you raise $100 for the organization, you'll earn a 2011 Gingerbread Run t-shirt.

Visit givekidstheworld.org for complete details and to register.

-Amy