WDW Marathon Weekend

As the 2011 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend arrives, I can't help but think about how much fun this event is. I am excited for the 60,000 + runners who are competing in the half, full or are just plain Goofy!

If this is the first time running any of these races, you are in for a treat. This is a first class event from the expo, the volunteers, the crowd support and the race directors. It has to be if it is at the happiest place on earth, right?

Personally, I am not running this year. I wish all of my Running of the Ears (ROTE) friends all the best and have a great time. I will be thinking of you guys this weekend.

For Chris and Kiki Gillespie of Team 413. I pray that God is glorified by each and every person who comes in contact with Team 413, whether this is by coming to the booth at the Expo or seeing a shirt this weekend during the races.

It seems that the weather forecast is much better than it was for the 2010 race. Temps are projected to be in the 60-70's for daytime highs with lows in the 40-50's. I will never forget last year when heading to the starting corrals for the half marathon and looking up into the lights and seeing snow fall. Definitely a rare occurrence for Orlando. Then on marathon Sunday it was even colder and I never shed any extra clothing I was wearing that day. I had 3 layers on with a pack of hot hands inside of the 2 pairs of gloves I was wearing.

I wanted to share a few if the memories from the 2010 race weekend. Once again good luck to everyone this coming weekend.

Remember, you will finish with more "character" than you started with.

Busy Day at WDW

Tuesday was a busy, but fun day at Walt Disney World.

The day dawned as another cold morning with temps in the 30's.  That meant another day of layers to stay warm.  At least the forecast was for warming during the day and the winds were down.

Our day began at the Magic Kingdom as we had reservations to eat with Winnie the Pooh and friends at the Crystal Palace.  They always have a great selection on the buffet.  We all enjoyed the visits by Pooh, Piglet, Eyore and Tigger.  After breakfast we hit some of the attractions before the lines were too long. 

After a little rest at the hotel it was time to head to Epcot.  We had dinner reservations in Morocco and then the highlight of the night was getting to see the Candlelight Processional.  This was absolutely fantastic.  The celebrity narrator was Marlee Matlin with the assistance of an interpreter.  She did an outstanding job of telling the story of Christmas and our savior.  Seeing this done in sign language was amazing.  The choir and orchestra were wonderful and I highly recommend seeing this if you are visiting Epcot during the holidays.  

The night ended with the always awesome Illuminations.  This is a great fireworks display to end the night.

As you can see, it was a busy day.  Off to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios today.