Explore something magical

Disney- Wow, that is a lot of people

Sometimes in life you just have to put your blinders on and get focused. Life can be stressful, overwhelming, and it is way too easy to get distracted from the important things. I often say that the best way of dealing with it when it gets like that is to just get focused, put on your blinders, and think about what you can control vs. what you have no control over. Unfortunately, this last week I have had my blinders on in order to get everything done that I needed to. I was traveling for work with intense hours and lots of distractions. Will Run for Travel was the unfortunate sacrifice. Luckily, though, I did get to mix in a bit of travel and running adventures to balance the madness of the week.

Impromptu Character Dancing. That just makes you smile.

As I mentioned last week, I was planning on making a return trip to Disney World-- the first time in many years. The trip to Disney was simply going to be on Monday-- the same day I flew in from Boston. I was planning on getting picked up directly from the airport and going directly to the park. Tip #1- Never do this. It is never a good idea, no matter how much you think it does when you are sitting in your air conditioned home. Disney is crazy, hot, and an endurance contest. You need to be fresh for such an excursion.

People that wear black pants to Disney are just asking for heat stroke

As soon as I stepped outside, I knew this was going to be a tough day. Seriously, Central Florida and Singapore have got to be in the middle of an intense contest for hottest and most humid place on earth. Seriously. I think Orlando is winning. On Monday the temperature was in the high 90s, with a Dew point in the 90s. That makes it feel something well into the 100s. No breeze, no clouds. It was like sauna but I had clothes on and had to stand in lines.


Here is the run down of my Disney Adventure:

• Disney is almost scary big. I never realized this as a kid, but the amount of land this company owns is slightly intimidating. It keeps you wondering what the heck they are going to build next. We decided to visit the Magic Kingdom with every other summer vacation child in the US. Why did I not think about this before planning the trip. Tip #2- Consider high-volume stroller season when picking your travel dates.
• Everything is a process. You drive for a long time to the entrance of parking, you pay $15 to park, then you systematically get parked, and then take this tram-bus to the place where you buy tickets ($97 for one day, one park just in case you wanted to know). That is a total of $113 before you even walk in the park. Then once you get past the ticket place, you stand in a line with no shade for 30 minutes to get on the infamous Disney Monorail to get to Magic Kingdom. Than you stand in another line to give them your ticket. Finally, after an hour, $113, and the amount of sweat only appropriate when running, you are in the park. I was already tired and whiny. I haven't been whiny in at least 20 years, but Disney brings out the best in us all.

The best part of Disney- The lines.

• The first thing I noticed about the Magic Kingdom is that everything was not as tall as I remembered. Everything seemed towering when you are 7 or 8 years old. Now, it seemed intricate and detailed, but miniature.
• The first part of the Magic Kingdom is what I call "where they take your money" alley but is officially called "Main Street USA". I'm not sure about your home town, but my home town certainly was not Main Street USA. Lots of shops, but more importantly lots of free water fountains. I brought in a free bottle and filled it up there. Tip #3- Bring a water bottle and fill from the fountains. Don't pay $6 for water when there is a water fountain every 2 feet.

Main Street USA
• Everyone that works in Disney seems like they are wearing inappropriate clothing and fabrics such as wool, polyester, high-waisted pleated pants, and pantyhose. All of which are clothing options rarely OK in public, but even more so inappropriate in Central Florida when it is hot mess outside. God bless those workers because I would be passed out in the corner if I had to wear such an outfit.
• The park is centered around Cinderella's Castle. A new addition I did not remember from last time is that they now have a stage outside the Castle where they put on musicals mid-day with every Disney character you could imagine. That is another thing about Disney, they intermingle their characters together (such as Belle hanging out with Goofy and Ariel singing with Minny Mouse). I never realized that before. The free musicals are highly entertaining and great way to get in the mood of Disney. I was still hot by that point, but I was getting into the magical spirit quickly.

Characters Mingling
• We started in the first "land" of the Kingdom-- Tomorrowland. I have no memories of this place from last time so it was all new. We went to 2 attractions-- the Monster Inc Laugh show and the Carousal of Progress. It was like old-school Disney and new Disney back to back. Monster Inc was incredible. It was a show that interacted with the audience and responded and changed based on what the crowd did. I remember seeing it on the Sci-Fi Channel as one of the biggest technological advancements at Disney. Tip #4- Go to Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. It rocks. The Carousal of Progress is like 1970s Disney and is equally interesting. It includes an overview of the progress of the 20th century and uses super scary animatronic talking mannequins and cheesy music. It is something that was way cool in 1980, but is now just creepy. Go if you need air conditioning and no line. Don't go if you are looking to be blown away.
• After Tomorrowland it was already 1pm and we hadn't eaten lunch so we went to a Disney version of a Cafeteria. It was incredibly well organized and not as overpriced as I expected (about $7 for a sandwich). Only issue was that the food was awful and there was no sitting inside so we eat in the humidity. Nothing loses your appetite like eating while sweating. I was a bit disappointed by the quality of the food, since I had heard Disney's food was pretty good. Tip #5- Investigate the dinning options before getting there so you can better plan where to go and when. I failed miserably at this tip and ended up starving.

"it's a small world!"
• After Tomorrowland we arrived at my favorite part of the Magic Kingdom-- Fantasyland where there are some of the big-time ride like the Teacups, Dumbo, It's a Small World, Mickey's PhilharMagic, Snow White's Scary Adventures, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This was my favorite area and definitely the most crowded. I hit up the Teacups proudly and met a nice mom/daughter from Wyoming, It's A Small World, the PhilharMagic, Snow White, and Winnie the Pooh. I didn't make Dumbo because the line was crazy. If it were me, I would have gone directly to this area of the park as soon as I got in. My favorite was the PhilharMagic which was a 3D show celebrating the music of Disney. I love how Disney uses temperature to give you the feel of where you are suppose to be. In the 3D show they had fans in front of each chair that shot off air and water depending on what they were trying to portray in the show (such as falling down a rabbit hole which felt like wind passing by).

Micky Mouse shaped food is always more fun to eat

1. By the end of Tomorrowland, I was really tired and hot. I promised myself I'd get  a Mickey-shaped ice cream and I finally fulfilled the dream and got one. It was almost too hot to eat and I ended up getting chunks of melted chocolate in my purse. The rest of the day I was a sticky mess. Tip #6- The frozen fruit bars are always a better option. Cleaner to eat and more refreshing.
2. After Tomorrowland we ventured into Adventureland where we hit up Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. The Haunted Mansion was amazing but I would have been insanely scared if I was 8. This is probably why I do not remember this ride, because my Mom wouldn't let me go on it. Pirates of the Caribbean was awesome. They put in mannequins like look liked Johnny Depp. There was hardly a wait. Tip #7- Go to Pirates of the Caribbean. It rocks.
3. We were nearing our end and we still had so much to see. It had taken us over 7 hours to get that far. After Pirates, we hit up a carousel to rest our feet and get a forced breeze. Then we watched the Hall of Presidents, which I actually remembered seeing when I was a child. It was pretty good, but pretty historical based. If I was a kid, I would have fallen asleep. Tip #8- Go to the Hall of Presidents in the hottest part of the day because the line to wait for the show and the show itself are in Air Conditioning.
4. After the Hall of Presidents, we decided to leave and get some dinner. We were smelly and not looking good. Getting out the park was a lot easier than getting in. It made think that if I returned, I would definitely show up at the park at like 3pm and go until it closed. Tip #9- Arrive at the park at an off-time (like 3pm, 4pm, 5pm) so to avoid the long time.

Pink Teacups put life's challenges into perspective

After we left the park, I needed some much needed alone time. I went up to the room, rested and then saw a friend for dinner that I hadn't seen in 5 years. It is always amazing when you get to see a close friend in person after so long. It is even better when you can just pick up where you left off.


The rest of my week included work and running in insanely humid air. Every morning I ran before 6am as to beat the heat. It didn't help. It was still so hot I couldn't muster up over 7 miles. But, I did get to explore the Convention side of Orlando (Orlando really likes their Conventions-- there are more places for Conventions and meetings than anywhere I have seen!) I will quickly sum up my thoughts on running in Orlando-- it's hot, it's humid, it's flat, there is a constant fear of snakes popping out of the grass, and you see a lot of chain restaurants. Definitely not the most scenic running I have ever experienced. None the less, I can check it off on my list of running cities.


In all, even though I had my blinders on this week I still managed to find some exploration time. Yet another reason why everyday is an opportunity for travel even when you are insanely busy. Even to those places NOT on your bucket list. Just maybe you will find something surprising and magical. I did.