Wife Mother Runner Magic Kingdom Archives

D23 Expo Disney Parks and Resorts News for 2017

July 15, 2017

WOW! I sure missed out on a great year to attend the D23 Expo! There are so many announcements that have been coming out of Anaheim during this weekend’s D23 Expo that I will break it out into pieces for you.

Walt Disney World Enhancements

For starters, the changes that are coming to Walt Disney Word will take place in the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and there will be new property developed for DVC in Florida.

Attractions

The first Mickey Mouse ride is coming to Hollywood Studios. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is going to step you through the movie screen and insert you into the cartoon short. It’s the first ever Mickey Mouse ride0through attraction. And they also mentioned that there will be thousands of hidden Mickeys in this ride! Sadly, The Great Movie Ride will end its show on August 13, 2017. The Chinese Theatre will be the new home for this new attraction.
Tron Lightcycle Power Run coaster will be coming to the Magic Kingdom for the park’s 50th anniversary in 2021. It will NOT replace the Tomorrowland Speedway. It will be in a new area behind Space Mountain.
A new theater is coming to Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom. The look is based on the Willis Wood theater in 1920s Kansas City. This is where Walt lived after he left Marceline.
Ratatouille attraction is coming to the France pavilion in Epcot. This attraction will be similar to the 4-D attraction in Paris. This attraction is also scheduled to be open by the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World in 2021.
Guardians of the Galaxy attraction is coming to Epcot. This will be an E-ticket attraction and will replace Ellen’s Universe of Energy attraction. The Universe of Energy Attraction will close on August 13, 2017.
Mission Space has a new green ride, so now the whole family can enjoy the adventures in space with a non-spinning ride simulation. This mission will give guests an orbital adventure around the planet.
Toy Story Land will open at Hollywood Studios in the Summer of 2018. The Slinky Dog Dash family coaster and the Alien Swirling Saucers will be the two main attractions, as you are shrunk down to the size of a toy and explore Andy’s backyard.
The Star Wars Themed land in Hollywood Studios now has a name. It will be called Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. It represents a remote trading port on the edge of space. Many Star Wars characters can be found in this galaxy including the First Order and the Resistance. There will be a large scale Star Destroyer hangar bay as one attraction and the second one will simulate flying the Millenium Falcon and completing a critical mission. How you perform on your mission will determine your fate when you exit the ship. And the famous blue milk will also be available in this land. The new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is said to open in 2019.

Transportation

The rumor of an aerial transportation system is true. BoB Chapek announced that there are going to be gondolas called the “Disney Skyliner”, transporting guests between the Art of Animation, Pop Century, Caribbean Beach and the newly-announced DVC resort – “Disney’s Riviera Resort”. It will also connect guests with Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the International Gateway at Epcot.
Minnie Vans will transport you from point-to-point within the Walt Disney World property. I am not aware of the details of this service at this point in terms of cost, if it will replace Uber, and how to create a reservation for this service.

Accommodations

DVC is building a new property called Disney’s Riviera Resort near Epcot. As mentioned above, this resort will be a stop on the Disney Skyliner gondola system. It was also said during the D23 Expo announcement that this hotel will give you views of Epcot and Hollywood Studios from its rooftop restaurant. The planned opening of this new DVC property is the fall of 2019.
A Star Wars-Inspired Themed Resort is coming to Walt Disney World. This resort will be a fully immersive experience. When guests enter the resort, they will immediately become a part of the story. This experience also includes dressing up in the proper attire!

Dining

There is a new restaurant coming to Epcot adjacent to Mission: Space. It is an ‘Out-of-this-World’ Dining Experience that will offer amazing meals with spectacular views from space! I believe the location for this restaurant is where the current Electric Umbrella is now. Which could use some major updating. So I am looking forward to this new option being added to the park.

Disneyland Enhancements

Stay tuned for my next blog post which will cover all of the enhancements coming to Disneyland.

Glass Slipper Challenge – Day 3 Half Marathon

March 14, 2017

The last day of the Glass Slipper Challenge weekends ends with the half marathon. I took the time the night before to lay out all my race gear, get my food and tea prepped, and had most of my bag packed for the trip home. All I had to do was get up when my alarm went off at 3:30 to plan on being on the road for 4:30. I was on the road at 4:30 but there were major traffic issues. I didn’t arrive to my parking spot until 5:21… the race starts at 5:30. However, as I was making my way to the corrals, Mandy sent me a text and then I got a Tweet from runDisney that due to the traffic issue, they were going to delay the start of the race. I was concerned about that because I had a very tight window of time for when I could finish the race, shower at my hotel and be to the airport for my 12:20 flight home (more on that later).

I got down to the corrals after the start of the race. I was in Corral G so I wasn’t worried; but I did run into a problem. As the corrals moved forward, the volunteers for the corralled sections wouldn’t let me move forward to Corral G. I was stuck in Corral H. Had I been there 5 minutes earlier I could have snaked my way up to where Mandy was. I told her I was stuck and that I would meet up with her. She told me she’d stay to the right of the road so I could find her. My corral released at 6:01 and I kept a pretty consistent run the entire first mile. I stopped for a picture of the mile marker and then continued over the bridge and on the road towards Magic Kingdom. With no sighting of Mandy, I called her. She and Kenn had to make a pit stop and I found them and meet up with them on World Drive. As you can see from my splits, my first mile was quicker because I ran most of it to catch up with them.

After I caught up to Mandy we ran past the photo stops which were the Pirates of the Caribbean and further up was the heroes. We took our usual pictures at the Magic Kingdom toll gate and then continued to run towards the Magic Kingdom. Again, the plan was to save our time for photo opportunities in the Magic Kindom. The photos along the way were the Incredibles, the Evil Queen, Malificent and then the drummers were at the TTC. My favorite DJ was on the overpass leading to the Contemporary.

Once we got into the Magic Kingdom we planned on using a real bathroom, and then I knew to look for Sam Ganow from the Mickey Milers and Kenny from Team Shenanigans. Found them and proceeded on towards the back of the park to Fantasyland where we wanted to see who was going to be out for photos. We skipped past Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and found Gaston. He was the longest wait for us. This was between miles 5 and 6. The Beast was the next photo stop after Gaston; but the line for him was VERY long, so I took a selfie with the Beast in the background. We ran through the castle and towards Frontierland. We skipped the photo with Woody and Jessie and ran on towards backstage. Sadly, because the train was being refurbished it was not on the tracks on the way to the backstage area. They had Cinderella and Prince Charming at the large float backstage; but that was a very long line as well. We continued up through cone alley and tried to run as much of that as we could to make up for time we spent taking photos in the Magic Kingdom.

After cone alley were the Penguins from Mary Poppins. Then I found Richard from the Floridian! I found him during the marathon weekend as well! The gentlemen singers were on Floridian Way as well as vacation Genie on the golf course. I had been tracking my friend Kim and saw that she was catching up to us and I spotted her just before mile 8! We stopped for a quick picture and then pushed on. This part of the race gets boring and I had a plane to catch so I didn’t want to slow down at the end. We set up little mini plans to make up time and make that portion of the race course more tolerable. We’d run up to a water stop and then walk. Then run up to the mile marker and then resume our run/walk intervals. After mile 10 we decided to run the entire ramp up to the bridge and walk across the bridge and then run downhill towards mile 11. It was good to keep pushing forward because by that point in the race it is easy to decide to walk it in for the end.

Finally we were in Epcot and there were a few chances where we wanted to get some photos. We took one with Daisy just near the turn around, and then attempted another jump photo in front of the waterfall. Then we brought it in for the finish. I HAD to get my Fitz hug before the finish line and then we took pictures with Donald and Goofy!

Our fourth Glass Slipper Challenge accomplished. Just one more year to go in hopes to get legacy status. With the announcement of a new name for the challenge next year we aren’t sure that we will be recognized for doing five consecutive Princess weekend races in a row. Same holds true for Dumbo; so I think once Dumbo comes around we will know what the result of that will be. But I still enjoy this weekend with Mandy and Kenn and it’s a nice race to run mid-winter to keep my mileage up. Considering I hadn’t run longer than 4 miles since the WDW marathon, I felt great during these races.

Disney Released Tiered Pricing Structure Or “Seasonal Pricing”

February 28, 2016

I am a Disney lover, you should know that about me by now. But I am not a lover of the higher prices it is now costing us to take a trip to my favorite place. Unfortunately my husband is more angry about the pricing increases that have been going on at Disney World than I am. Enough so that he is mentioning skipping our annual trip and considering going every two years instead. We are still in discussions about this. Mind you, we got married in Disney, we are DVC members and have taken our children since they have been born. When it gets to this point, it must be serious. The bottom line is, it’s becoming too expensive.

Effective Sunday, February 28 at 6 a.m., Disney will have special pricing for value season, regular season, and peak season. As I watched the announcement on the news, the reason that was mentioned was to help control the crowds during the usual peak seasons, to better spread out visitation throughout the year. Last Christmas the Magic Kingdom reached its capacity by 10:00 a.m. and had to close the park to additional guests.

It is important to note that this pricing is for one day passes only. It does not affect annual passes and multi-day tickets. However, multi-day pass prices will rise starting today. Four-day tickets are increasing from $305 to $325. Ten-day tickets are increasing from $365 to $400. When does the price increase stop? Are we at the point now where we will push back and not attend? I’m kind of there. I hate to say it. But we are finding alternatives to purchasing our tickets. Instead of purchasing an annual pass for all four of us; we are considering a multi-day pass and now we won’t go to the parks every single day on our vacation. We are going to plan in some resort/pool days and do other activities such as mini golf, a water park. or perhaps Disney Springs (a movie or the balloon ride).

I always try to find the silver lining and find the best, most affordable way to make our Disney trips possible and I will still do the same to try to get the most bang for my buck. We will shop at Target or Wal-Mart when we arrive to get our groceries to use in our room so we can eat breakfast and pack lunches to bring to the park. We also save a lot of money on water, drinks and alcohol by purchasing it off property and having it in our room to bring to the pool and parks.

Here is a breakdown of the new rates:

Magic Kingdom one day ticket (no park hopper)

Value Season – the current rate of $105
Regular Season – $110
Peak Season – $125

Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios

Value Season – the current rate of $97
Regular Season – $102
Peak Season – $114

The dates for each of these seasons can be found on Disney’s website. Here is a breakdown below:

Photo by Attractionsmagazine.com

Has this new pricing structure affected your decision on planning your next vacation to Disney? Will you change dates to a different time of year to avoid the higher price?

2016 WDW Marathon Weekend 5K

January 16, 2016

My mom and I were walking the WDW Marathon weekend 5K together. My mom had a knee replacement in March of 2014 and the recovery was hard. I kept reminding her that her recovery was her marathon and that she was going to achieve it. After her recovery and physical therapy she was able to walk. Last Spring she participated in her first non-runDisney 5K with the Hartford Marathon Foundation O’Putnam, O’Niantic and O’Hartford races. She walked the races but she got them done! Then during the year she entered in other races as well. She had a goal, she wanted to register for a runDisney 5K. She watched me finish my first marathon four years ago and happened to talk to a woman who had a knee replacement and it inspired her to want to do a runDisney race. She saw the energy and excitement that gets generated at runDisney events and wanted to be a part of it.

This January was her year! She and I were going to walk the 5K and my dad was going to spectate. After a night out at Hollywood Studios the night before and a busy day with travelling we had to get into bed because we had to set our alarms for 4:00 a.m. I had cinnamon toast and tea for breakfast and was dressed and ready to leave for 5:00 a.m. We arrived around 5:15, took pictures as we entered the runners area, and I stood in line to get my picture taken with Dopey. I hadn’t had the chance to do that last year so I was glad I was taking the opportunity to do it then. It was close to 6:00 and volunteers were warning runners that they were risking a chance of getting to the start if they remained in line. Since I knew we were going to be in Corral E I wasn’t concerned about the time. I took note from my Garmin Connect account of what time we started our race in 2015 so I knew what I had for a reference to start. I tried to find Diana. She said she was going to run ahead on her own.

We had decided to wear the same outfits and purchased Sparkle Athletic Skirts and ordered matching tops from Etsy that said “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes”, and wore matching Mickey ears with a white feather boa. We got a lot of compliments on our outfits! The temperature was just right for this race. As we were turning the corner after the start and heading towards Epcot, the runners who were in corral A were already finished and were standing in their bus pick up area! I found some of my team members from the Mickey Milers and Team Shenanigans in the Corral and we hung together for a little bit and I took pictures with both them and my mom.

The first character stop was Chip and Dale. Then when we entered Epcot we took a picture with Rafiki. We got some photos with the scenery of Epcot along with the ball in the background and then went to the next character stop which was Mittens from the movie Bolt, outside the Americas. Then outside of France we got a picture with Marie the cat from Aristocats before heading to mile marker 2. After mile 2 and heading to the finish we stopped for a photo with Spaceship Earth in the background and then went towards the Land. We were lucky to get a picture with both Lilo AND Stitch there because Lilo was about to switch out with Stitch but she decided to stick around! After that there were no other character stops. So we walked towards the Nemo ride, back towards Spaceship Earth and around the corner to the Finish Line where my dad was waiting past the finish line.

It was a very fun race and I am glad my mom had a great experience with it for her first runDisney race. The weather was good, we got every character along the way and we were not in any danger of not finishing the race.

After finishing the race, we went back and showered and the kids were just waking up. I wanted to go back to the Expo because I didn’t get to see all of the vendors when I was there the night before. So I went there around 11:00 and everyone else hung out at the hotel and my husband took the kids to the pool again. At the expo I ran into Jennifer Hall and talked to her for a bit and then I listened to Jeff Galloway’s seminar about best strategies to survive the Dopey Challenge. The advice I liked was when he mentioned to walk the first few miles of the half marathon and then do the walk/run for a mile. Then walk a mile, then do the walk/run for a mile. That will help keep your legs fresh for the next day.

After the Expo we were heading to Magic Kingdom for the afternoon. It was so much fun. My daughter had her first experience with roller coasters and went on Big Thunder Mountain. I was so nervous for her but she LOVED it! She couldn’t wait to do it again so we had her move to the middle of the train for her next ride. Once again, no fear and she wanted to ride in the back next!

We had dinner at the Columbia Harbor House. I wanted to eat something safe the night before the 10K so I ordered a kids meal of chicken nuggets and fries. My dad ordered their pot pie, and my mouth was watering for it once I saw it! I knew that the night of the marathon that would be the meal of choice to celebrate with! After dinner we went on the Haunted Mansion and rode more Big Thunder Mountain. We had to call it a night at that point, because I had to get to bed for the 10K the next morning. We were back to the hotel by 9:30 and I was asleep before 10:30.

After the races mom was on the hunt to get some memorabilia and an official picture with Pluto!

It was a fun day and I was looking forward to running the 10K with PK and Katie and Diana. Stay tuned for the recap of the 10K!

Watch the video of the 5K Race:

Rock Your Disney Side

May 24, 2014

Friday, May 23 was the Rock Your Disney Side party at the Magic Kingdom. The park opened at 6 a.m. and remained open until 6 a.m. It was a very hot day with record heat Friday, but that didn’t stop the crowds. We were going to participate in the event, but not until the sun went down.

We started the day off at the gym for a quick workout at the contemporary fitness center before we went to Blizzard Beach.

We spent the entire afternoon at Blizzard Beach and it was the perfect location for such a hot day. As usual we closed that park and got the last raft ride down on Teamboat Springs, the family raft ride. Despite being there for several hours we weren’t as tired as I thought we would be. The kids have a good amount of energy and stamina this year.

After the afternoon at the water park we ate dinner at our room, the kids took a bubble bath, then after a little rest, we watched the sun set, then ventured over to Magic Kingdom.

There was a feeling of excitement in the air. We got there just before 9:00 and had the chance to see the fireworks and Tinker Bell fly across the sky! Of all the years we have been coming to Disney we only saw her fly from the balcony in our room. It was so cool to see it up close! People were all dressed up and rocking their Disney sides!

We had fast passes for the Tomorrow land Speedway, Buzz Lightyear and Dumbo. When I made these reservations early in the day I thought it was a stretch that we would actually be there that late and actually use them!

We left the park at midnight. I was hoping to get to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train because it was open
to the public for the event. But the wait time never got below 95 minutes. It was a great time and we all enjoyed ourselves. My son and I even did a ride together that I NEVER rode on in all the years we have been coming! The Astro Orbitor! It was great!

Were you at the Rock Your Disney Side Event? Did you get on the Mine Train?

Tag: Magic Kingdom