03/09/2020
At long last, here is the report from Disney World.
Before we can talk about the races, we must first talk about the Expo. For those uninitiated, the race Expo is the place of dreams and nightmares. It is the place where runners pick up their race bibs and t-shirts, take copious amounts of pictures, and spend a ton of money on tutus and skirts that sparkle, visors with sequins, and everything has glitter. Lots and lots of glitter. I’ve been to enough expos to know that the 2020 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend Race Expo (say that 3 times) was going to be a bit of a cluster. I’m in several groups on Facebook dedicated specifically to runDisney and reports from the front lines were dire. Last year there were fist fights over merchandise. Literal fist fights and security had to be called. I had scoped all the merch digitally with Melissa and we had come up with so many game plans. If she couldn’t get the jacket that I would surely perish without, then I would get it. If they were out, I’d mug an old lady. You know, plans like that.
You know what they say about the best laid plans.
Melissa arrived in Orlando before me and went to the Expo on the first day. (Bless her) The first day, specifically the first few hours, are BRUTAL. There are lines to get in. Lines for merch. Lines for race bibs. Lines for tshirts. Lines to get on lines to get on lines. It is the place and time where there are surely to be West Side Story-esque rumbles among disgruntled princesses.
I received a slightly panicked phone call. She was there. She was in the building, even. However, the lines were hours long to get into the merch building and she had a fast pass for Seven Dwarves Mine Train at Magic Kingdom in an hour. The most she had time to do was grab her bib and grab her shirts, hope it all fit, and get back in time to ride the ride. She had no eyes on any merch and neither of us had any idea as to if there were jackets. Back to Facebook I went to feed my anxiety until I could arrive the next day. This was a jacket I NEEDED.
I landed in Orlando by 9 the next morning with one singular mission- secure 2 jackets, one for each of us. I got into the hotel by using my Magic Band and surpassing the front desk (IT WAS AWESOME!), threw my bags down in the room, and power walked to the bus stop to ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. I arrived in little time, though it was uncharacteristically cold. I heard with unprecedented certainty that the 5K that morning had been windy, rainy, and frigid. I did not run into one person that talked about how much they loved the 5K. Dirty looks abounded. Princesses. Sheesh!
Into the merch building I went. I passed Cinderella’s footmen (momentarily) and followed all signs to the merch, praying to the Disney Gods that there were 2 jackets left in the correct sizes. I spied a woman with a purple jacket. MY purple jacket!
“Where did you get that?” I asked hurriedly. “What aisle?” I was pleading and must have looked out of my mind. Ask me if I cared.
“Um, around the corner,” was the answer and I took off.
You guys, there were tons of the things. Jackets! Lots of jackets! All of the jackets!! No wonder she looked at me as if I was bonkers. What a relief!
The first jacket I picked up was a small. Oh the Disney Gods were merciful. Perfect! But now I need another one.
There were no other ones. I went to every section and checked every jacket. I held the only size small in the building. Great. Should I be the good friend and size up? I can’t show up with only one jacket. Do I size up?
I overheard some women talking about the sizing.
“These jackets are SMALL,” one said. My little ears perked up. “I usually take a large and even the XL didn’t fit. I need a 2 or 3X and they don’t have them.”
Small? These run small, you say?
They weren’t kidding. I couldn’t get my arm in my beloved jacket.
You guys, I got 2 jackets in size medium and they were perfect! They fit like they were made for me and, later, Melissa. Now all I had to do was run 19.3 miles over the next 2 days to “earn” the jacket. For now, it was mission accomplished and I was incredibly relieved.
Let me tell you about why this jacket was so important. I used to work pediatric oncology, and did when I signed up for the Fairy Tale Challenge. My kiddos loved their Disney. I can (happily) sing you the entire anthology. Well, as it is when you work oncology, not every kid gets their fairy tale or gets to see a happily ever after. It’s not fair and I hate it with every fiber of my being. Kids die. They shouldn’t, but they do. I lost a very special little girl in September. She wasn’t really a music kid, per se, but we knew each other and I’d pop in to see her or her family whenever she was hospitalized. The family was lovely. At my kiddo’s wake, I asked permission to put her name on my shoes so she could run with me through Cinderella’s Castle. She never got to see Disney during her brief life, so the least I could do would be to ‘bring her with me’ on my shoes during the race. Her name will be on my shoes during every race I run for the rest of my life.
One of the few times we did music was one I’ll never forget. Kiddo was having a great day and was all smiles, something that didn’t always happen when chemo was involved. She wanted Moana and she wanted all of it. We sang “How Far I’ll Go” at least half a dozen times along with “You’re Welcome.” She smiled and laughed and giggled and showed me LOL Surprise Dolls for the better part of an hour. I nearly forgot she was sick. Moana was her favorite character. I will forever think of her every time I sing Moana songs.
Moana was the face of the 5K for this year’s races. I was running the other two, but Moana was there. Moana. My girl.
I originally wanted the jacket because it had Pocahontas (face of the 10K), Cinderella (face of the half), and Sleeping Beauty’s fairies (face of the Challenge), and didn’t give much thought to Moana. I liked Moana, sure, so her presence on the jacket wasn’t a bother to me. Then my kiddo passed. That’s when I became obsessed with this jacket. It was more than a jacket. It was almost an affirmation that this kiddo lived. She was to be a part of my trot through Magic Kingdom.
I hugged that jacket all the way to the register and you can bet I wore it with pride all weekend.
I’d say the rest of the expo paled in comparison, but that would be a lie. The expo was full of the patented Disney Magic. I had just picked up my race bib when I spied, of all people, a former co-worker I hadn’t seen for 18 months. I palled around with her and her friends for the remainder of the time at the expo. They were fantastic company and I’m very grateful to have run into them through almost divine intervention.
I had dinner at the Salvador Dali inspired Dahlia Lounge at Coronado Springs that night and, after a very full day, it was delicious. (Ask me about the cheese plate if you have a spare 3 hours because OMG it was unreal!)
It was early to bed after that. After all, the 10K and a 2AM alarm waited for me in the morning.
