This year, the Princess 1/2 Marathon Expo was held at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. I'd never been to this resort prior to yesterday, and was amazed by the size of the property. Before starting my volunteer shift, I picked up my race day gear, including my bib with tracker chip and t-shirt and gear bag. I'm really excited to be running this race in less than a couple days! Empty expo floor. Blurry picture of some of the vendors. Assembling gear bags for the next days pick up. Can't pass up a Disney photo! And I love the pink shirts they give the volunteers. I plan on taking many photos during the race, and will post a recap soon!
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This weekend I volunteered at Disney World for the 1/2 Marathon & Marathon. The line to enter the expo building was wrapped around the sidewalks and down by the fields. And once you get inside, there are people and vendors everywhere! I didn't run this race, but I couldn't resist getting my picture taken. I'm counting down to the Princess 1/2 Marathon in February though!
Last weekened I volunteered at Disney for their Expedition Everest Challenge. First, the runners complete a 5K, and then they travel back through the course on a scavenger hunt, solving clues and puzzles. I was handing out clues at the Animal Kingdom in Africa. Since the race was held from 8pm until 1am, the park was empty before the runners came through. It was kind of eerie walking through the dark park to get to our location with it being so quiet, and just hearing the wind. After the race was finished, everyone was invited to the after party, stationed over in Dino Land, where they had all the rides, games, and stands open. There was even a DJ and a huge dance floor! We got to ride a couple rides, including Expedition Everest, Tricera Top Spin and Primeval Whirl. They also had Kali River Rapids open, but I didn't feel like getting soaked at 1:00 in the morning! Here are a couple pictures from my night.
Saturday was my birthday, so what better place to spend it than at Disney World! Kisses from Mickey... ...And a sweet treat to enjoy while watching the parade, a mickey shaped Rise Krispie covered in chocolate and peanut butter chips!
Friday I volunteered at the Disney World ESPN center for the Princess Half Marathon Expo. The actual race wasn't until bright and early Sunday morning, but the runners pick up their packets with numbers and information today. _ Sunday I was up and at Disney World by 3am! I was transported to Epcot, where I worked crowd control at the start line. There were about 8 waves of people to start, I tried to get pictures, but my camera wasn't working too well with the low light. _Even though it was pretty cold out, I had a good time, and even saw a few people that I knew. I'm going to make it my goal to run this one as my first marathon next year, that gives me plenty of time to get running up to 13 miles. Who's joining me?!
Disney World has a new activity for guests to experience at the Magic Kingdom. You can sign up to play at the firehouse right inside the park. When you sign up to play, you are given 5 playing cards (5 cards per day), and a key card. You then use this key card at various locations around the Magic Kingdom to unlock portals and fight Disney Villains. (You can read more about it here.) We started off on Main Street USA, and then traveled to Fantasyland, Liberty Square and finally Adventureland. It is broken up into sections, so you can stop playing after each area, or continue the adventure. To play through all 4 area's took about 2 hours, but I'm thinking it may go a bit quicker next time around, since I have a better idea of what I'm looking for. Here are some pictures of the portals. The lines weren't long at all, at most locations there were a couple of people in front of me, but it takes only a minute to play and it moves quickly. Right now there are 70 cards in circulation, here are the cards I have collected so far. And here's a close up of some of them. One of the cast members told me that these cards were designed by Wizards of the Coast, the same people that make Magic the Gathering cards. Although you don't need to worry about the symbols and numbers on the card now, I was told that they will be releasing a play at home version down the road. I really enjoyed playing this game, and look forward to the variations and collecting all of the cards! What do you think, will you play this game next time you visit Disney World?
While I was at the Magic Kingdom last weekend, I was lured into Casey's Corner by the delicious smell of hot dogs. Before you think I'm crazy, these weren't just regular hot dogs - they have something called a barbeque slaw dog! I'd never even heard of this but boy was it delicious! Of course, as all things Disney, its a bit pricey, and will set you back $8.59. I'm no gourmet chef, but I was able to figure this one out.
I was able to pick up a pack of hoagie buns, hot dogs, a tub of pulled pork, and a container of coleslaw for $10.97 at the grocery store (probably could have gotten things a bit cheaper if using coupons and a sale! Or have even used pulled pork and coleslaw home-made). Divide that by six buns and I was able to make them for $1.83 each, with a couple hot dogs left over, and a couple scoops of the other ingredients left. As much as I love to indulge myself a little at Disney every now and then, this is much more cost effective to make at home! Just heat up the bun in the microwave or oven or not even at all, line it with warm pulled pork, lay in the hot dog, and put a couple of heaping spoonfuls of coleslaw on top. They are delicious, you have to give them a try! _This weekend I spent volunteering at an event being held at Disney World. On Saturday was the Disney Half Marathon, and Sunday was the Marathon. Sunday I was helping with the water station located at about mile 21 of 26.2. Except I wasn't somewhere flashy like yesterday behind Epcot, I was located on a stretch of road. Only at Disney World can they close out a major highway road to have it be part of the course! There were about 21,000 runners that came through, and since it was much warmer today, the runners were taking 2 or 3 cups of water! Now that's a lot of cups total! In addition to being able to help the runners, I also got to check out all of the costumes. Although its not required, many people wear costumes or dress up for fun. I saw pirates, princesses, Buzz, Woody, Little Bo Peep, lots of Mickey and Minnie's, The Three Caballeros, and so many more costumes. I tried to get a picture of the runners, but I don't think I was able to get any costumes; I couldn't exactly ask them to stop and pose for me now could I?
This weekend I spent volunteering at an event being held at Disney World. On Saturday was the Disney Half Marathon, and Sunday was the Marathon. Saturday I helped at a powerade/water stop located behind the scenes at Epcot. It was really neat because normally you wouldn't be allowed back there unless you were a runner or a cast member, a part of the park that I would never see as a passholder. The Half Marathon started sometime around 5am! There were about 27,000 runners that came through. Yes, twenty-seven and three zeros! My station with two others - mixing the powerade with the water. There was the metal paddles sticking out of the top of the jug so we could stir the powder with the water; I felt like a pioneer churning butter or something old fashioned!
There hasn't been much shopping going on for a couple weeks, as its a little difficult on crutches. While at Disney a couple weeks ago, I sprained my ankle. Luckily, I was able to get a few pictures of the castle decked out with iceicle lights before leaving! I'm walking on it again, so I was able to pick up a couple things from the store last week, and a few of the great deals this week. The vegetables were on sale from $2.50 a bag to $1 each. The fruitables juice was BOGO $3.99, and there werer $0.75 blinkie coupons which made it $2.49 for two, or $1.25 each. The Duracell batteries 8 packs were $6.49 each, and I had two $3/1 printable coupons that were previously available, stacked with the publix coupon of $2/1, making each pack $1.49. The spices ranged from $3.49 to $4.99, and there was a publix ad for $3/1 making them a great price. The boxes of arm and hammer were on sale for $0.59 each, and there is a rebate on the box when you buy two for a magazine subscription to Better Homes & Gardens. Sounds good to me! I had enough veggies left from last week, and just picked up a few good deals. The boneless chicken breast was on sale for $1.99 a pound. (Marked down from $3.99/lb.) What you don't see in the picture is that ther was a coupon on the chicken for $1/1 Stove Top Stuffing, and since the stuffing is on sale for $0.99, it was free! (And already put away in the cupboard.) The canned veggies were BOGO $0.99, making them $0.50 per can. The publix yogurt was on sale for 20/$5, a fantastic price of $0.25 each, no coupons needed. I was also able to get a rain check for the Philidelphia cream cheese, that was on sale $2/4, since my store was completly out. There is a Target coupon for $1/1 and a manufacture coupon for $1/1 making them free, so I will have to check back next week.
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