My sister Rosa ran her first Disney Princess Half Marathon and was awesome to share her experience with all of us.  For more details on all the runDisney opportunities and more information click here. Suzanne and I hope to do one of these amazing runDisney runs, marathons and races someday.

Let’s just start off by saying I and my two sisters are self proclaimed Disney Princesses.  I love Disney and when Divina told me about the Disney Princess Half Marathon I jumped on the idea.  It was a 13.1 mile run within the Disney Resort beginning at Epcot thru MagicalKingdom and ending in Epcot.

The event was held on February 24^th of 2013.  Since Disney has a shuttle service to and from the airport and within the resort, I preferred to stay in one of their hotels.  Luckily Disney All-Star: Movies had vacancies and I found it to be very affordable.  If I were to stay at a hotel outside of the resort then the extra cost of renting a car for the weekend would have to be taken into consideration.    Disney made the transportation even easier that weekend for the runners by having a special shuttle for the various activities held that weekend.

I have never been in a room full of so many Princesses but it definitely made you get excited for the big day ahead.  The day before the run, Disney held an expo.  If you forgot your shiny boa, running shorts, shoes, energy bar, or even wanted a make over, that’s where you would get it done.  For the preparation of the run Disney provided each runner a unique bag with the schedule for the rest of the weekend, a shirt, pin, energy bars and your running Bib personalized with your name and favorite princes.  Massages were available for the pre and post race for purchase as well.

The morning of the race, shuttles were ready and you had to be on board by 3:30 am.  Once I was on the bus it finally hit me that I was about to do a Half Marathon dressed as Minnie Mouse in Disney World!  There were people dressed up as Jasmin, Belle, Mulan, even Princess Leia!  There was even Aladdin with his Genie!

Here is a map of the 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon

Throughout the run there were bands playing aside the road, Disney characters posing for great photo opportunities and for me the best part the Disney volunteers and workers cheering you on the entire time.  My favorite part of the run was running through Cinderella’s Castle and overseeing all of Magic Kingdom.  13.1 miles later, I crossed the finish line with a big hug from Minnie Mouse herself!

Some tips if you plan on running any Disney race:

• Get dressed up and have fun with it! Find your inner Disney character
• Get the whole family involved! No matter what age or running experience there is a run for everyone to have fun
• Stay at one of Disney resort and take advantage of free transportation plus will get you in Disney mindset

Running was never my forte and still isn’t but I honestly have never been so proud of myself than that moment I crossed the finish line 3 hours and 40 minutes later.  I recommend everyone to do and to start training for next year.

About Divina Rodriguez

Divina is a wife, a Mami of 2 boys under the age of four and a full fledged social media butterfly with a Masters in Communications. She loves sharing the best of Disney on TheDisneyFiles.com whether its movies, video games, shopping or the themeparks. In addition to TheDisneyFiles, Divina writes about entertainment, technology and family products on www.DancingHotdogs.com and is a founding mother & partner at Trumpeting Media, a social media consulting company that is dedicated to using social media for social good.

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Disney Parks Blog just announced an exclusive partnership with Vera Bradley coming this fall to select locations in Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts.  We just love Vera Bradley!  In fact my whole team during my delivery of baby #3 is going to be going home with some Vera Bradley gifts for their part in the birth!  The new Disney-inspired patterns have names, which is something Vera Bradley does for all of their patterns. Cathy Dawson, merchandiser for accessories at Disney Parks, said the black pattern is called “Midnight with Mickey,” while the pink pattern is named “Just Mousing Around.” These patterns will be seen on duffel bags, totes, cosmetic bags and more.

Right now if you’re visiting the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, please stop by the Festival Center, located between Mission: SPACE and Universe of Energy in Future World, to get a first look at these bags on display. The festival runs from March 6 through May 19, 2013.

Word has it that they will also be sold via the Disney Parks online store at a future date.

About Suzanne Chan

Suzanne Chan, one of the Trumpeting Media founders, is a former marketing/PR executive whose life was dramatically changed by parenthood. Still channeling the energy of her former life, she wears many hats – student, daughter, wife, registered nurse, certified lactation counselor, friend and blogger – but the job she’s most proud of is mother… Read all about her life, her loves and all the bumps along the way at MomConfessionals.com.

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If you’ve ever been to Disney, you know that they go out of there way at every turn to make your trip the most magical it can be.  From greeting your little princesses to adorable little surprise for turn down service to the many magical experiences through out the park, you are ensconced from the moment you step off the plane.   Having been to Disney now for a few times, I love and appreciate their note taking when it comes to things like room preferences, to allergy alerts.  Small touches that go a long way to making my family’s stay more enjoyable, worry-free and less stressful (well the only kind left induced by my own excitement).

Disney is always finding ways to up the ante and if you’ve frequented Disney since childhood, you’ve probably been privy to those many changes.  Innovations like FastPass were game changers, and more organized character sightings (FastPass for that at the Magic Kingdom – Wow!) to interactive experiences like their Enchanted Art, and not just rides like our favorite, Enchanted Tales with Belle.

Now they are bringing us MyMagic+, an amazing piece of technology which they have been working on for years.  Using RFID technology, they are hoping the MyMagic+, used with their mobile app and online website called My Disney Experience, will help personalize each family’s experience even more.  It allows the family to control every aspect of their visit, as little or as much as they’d like.  Some of the features built into this handy little bracelet called the MagicBand (one per person) include:

• Room Key
• Theme Park Ticket
• Charge Card
• FastPass+
• PhotoPass+

Information like dining reservations and meal plans, as well as showtimes and  can also be loaded on the MagicBand.  Selections are never permanent and can be changed on the fly with their My Disney Experience app.

Not to far in the future, I expect their to be collectible MagicBands.  Can you imagine?  I’ve got a Minnie MagicBand or I’ve got the Animal Kingdom MagicBand.  My kids would go nuts for them and I can’t wait until our next trip to try this out!

For more information on MyMagic+, please visit: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/01/taking-the-disney-guest-experience-to-the-next-level/

About Suzanne Chan

Suzanne Chan, one of the Trumpeting Media founders, is a former marketing/PR executive whose life was dramatically changed by parenthood. Still channeling the energy of her former life, she wears many hats – student, daughter, wife, registered nurse, certified lactation counselor, friend and blogger – but the job she’s most proud of is mother… Read all about her life, her loves and all the bumps along the way at MomConfessionals.com.

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1. With most airlines charging for baggage, it’s smart sometimes to do carry on only.  A bit of a pain with children in tow, but if budget is key, it’s a must.  On our recent trip to Disney.  Each person had their own carry on. The big issue with this is carrying of liquids.  Airline restrictions do not allow bottles greater than 3oz.  Shipping toiletries for the whole family ahead of time is a great work around.  It not only saves valuable luggage space but weight as well sometimes.  It was great not to carry shampoo, soaps, lotions and diapers on the plane and have it all waiting for us when we arrived.  A major bonus is faster passage through security.  Our favorite go to sites are SOAP.COM and AMAZON.COM.
2. With that said, it may be totally worth the $25 or $50 charge to check in a bag if you’re traveling with 2 or more kids.  Especially if those toiletries purchased equal that amount.    If you’re lucky, with everyone watching their budget and doing the carry on thing, they might extend a courtesy at the gate to help the overcrowding.
3. Another great option is to check if your resort has self-service laundry service on-site.  We know definitely that Art of Animation does!
4. STAY AT A WDW RESORT.  Worth every penny!  Free Airport & Luggage Transfer through the famed Disney’s Magical Express – a savings of over $100.  I did love getting that magical envelope with the vouchers and luggage tags.  It heightened everyone’s anticipation for the trip.  Free shuttle to all the Disney parks – Parking is $14 per day at each park. Let’s not forget the special Extra Magic Hours just for WDW Resort guests.
5. So it may not be in everyone’s budget to stay at a WDW Resort and while I am insistent that it is worth every penny, if you can handle the extra time travel, paying for parking etc., then heed this… Get or borrow a AAA discount card.   Disney tickets are discounted through the AAA office.
6. If you purchase your park tickets through AAA (which I found to be the cheapest) and you are planning to drive to the parks you should take advantage of the Diamond Parking Spaces which are right up front. You receive a Diamond Lot permit in your ticket packet to display on your dashboard. No need to wait for and take trams out to outer parking areas. Quick entry and exit.
7. When you buy your tickets, take a quick photo of the back of the cards.  That ID# comes in handy if you lose your ticket.  The park can only reissue lost tickets with that number.
8. Take a picture of your children right before heading into the park.  If you happen to lose a child, it’s super helpful for Cast Members.  Also show your children how to identify Cast Members.  This was super helpful when we lost “A” at the enormous World of Disney at Downtown Disney.  We were completely panicked but Cast Members were on it the minute they heard us repeatedly calling her name.  Within 2 minutes she was back safe with us.  More Disney Magic!
9. To skirt paying for parking, we discovered this great tip, park at Downtown Disney and just hop on to any resort bus which will connect you to the buses going to the parks.
10. Check out the hours of operation for all the parks you plan on visiting to maximize your visit.  They are available 180 days in advance.  For instance, during our trip, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party was happening on two nights of our trip.  Our day at the Magic Kingdom would be cut short around 6PM that day if we didn’t pay the additional ticket price to stay.  TIP: If you happen to have a Park Hopper Pass, it won’t be a total waste of a day.  You can hop on over to another park with Extra Magic Hours.
11. I am always kicking myself when I leave the park and forgot a souvenir.  I was thrilled to discover many of those exclusive park items are available online at DisneyParksShop.com.
12. I am a huge fan of Disney’s PhotoPass+.  Now that you can purchase them ahead of your trip and save a whopping $5o, I am ALL for it!  During a previous trip, I carried my huge DSLR and wasn’t able to ride many of the rides in fear of damaging my very expensive camera.  With the purchase of the Disney PhotoPass+ I am free to enjoy the park and worry less about capturing all of those moments.  With tons of Disney Professional Photographers all around the park, I am getting quality photos that I actually get to be a part of too!  This time I will carry my small pocket camera and let the Disney Professional Photographers take care of the rest!
13. Who doesn’t love glow sticks.  They are perfect for a late night at the park. They are always available at the Target Dollar Bins and make for some added fun.
14. Rumor has it every park has their own birthday pins designated for the individual park. Can anyone verify?
15. Your budding artist  must visit “The Magic of Disney Animation” in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Don’t miss “The Animation Studios” at the back. A real Disney Animator will set them up on a stool and drawing board  and walk them step-by-step through how to create their favorite Disney character.
16. Sharpie sponsors the Kidcot stations in Future World where kids can collect a lanyard full of charms. Visit all 6 stations to collect the different charms with fun themes like Kim Possible.
    • Innoventions East
    • Innoventions West
    • The Seas with Nemo and Friends
    • The Land
    • Test Track
    • Imagination!
17. Build your own virtual robot at Future World’s “Innoventions East – Fantastic Plastic Works”.  Create your own robot to take home with you. This robot stands about 7 inches tall – with moveable limbs!
18. During our last two trips to Disney, we took notice of a hidden 20% off coupon at the end of some of our dining receipts.  They do hold certain restrictions like must be used before 1pm, expiration date and only usable at one store per Disney Park.  Read the fine print.  Unless you’re looking for a park specific souvenir, we saved all of our coupons for the very last day and used it at the overwhelming World of Disney in Downtown Disney.    I even saved all the receipts from any spontaneous purchases made during our stay, ie.  my sparkly Minnie ears.  I purchased it again at a discount with my coupon at World of Disney and returned it at the full price with my original receipt. The kids were none the wiser and I went home a few dollars richer (saved).

About Suzanne Chan

Suzanne Chan, one of the Trumpeting Media founders, is a former marketing/PR executive whose life was dramatically changed by parenthood. Still channeling the energy of her former life, she wears many hats – student, daughter, wife, registered nurse, certified lactation counselor, friend and blogger – but the job she’s most proud of is mother… Read all about her life, her loves and all the bumps along the way at MomConfessionals.com.

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Yes, it happened again.  My darling boy, not even an hour after arriving at our resort, the colorful Art of Animation, had an anaphylatic reaction despite discussing allergy concerns with the chef at the Landscape of Flavors.  Despite their best efforts their seemed to be some sort of cross contamination and Marcus wound up with an Epi-pen Jr to the outer thigh and bought himself a trip to the local ER.  While my husband tended to our now stable son, I engaged in a discussion with the management at the resort.

Completely apologetic for the accident and ever eager to make our stay as enjoyable as possible, the team at the Art of Animation really rose to the challenge of accommodating my severely allergic son and calming the nerves of two now very anxious parents.  We couldn’t believe this was the start to our vacation and needless to say we seriously contemplated that we may never be able to take our son anywhere again.

I was still hopeful.  I had heard time and time again how wonderfully proactive the team at Disney is about Allergies.  Aside from the usual table-side consult, I wasn’t aware of any other accommodations they could make and before his allergies were this severe, that was all we needed.  In typical Asian fashion, before getting too crazy with accommodations  we wanted to see if this was something we could handle on our own and attempted to step back and re-attempt the Kosher paerve diet for M.  Unfortunately that did not go over well with the little man who wanted his chicken nuggets and fries just like his siblings.  The kosher paerve and kosher meat options were really more geared towards the adult palate with potato croquettes and stuff corn beef hash sandwiches.  We were in despair.  I tried to remain positive for the other children, I really wanted all of them to have a magical time at Disney and this was just not turning out the way I had envisioned.

The wonderful dietary team at Disney’s Art of Animation really stepped up to the plate.  They followed up post ER visit to make sure he was doing better and asked how they could make our stay more enjoyable.  We voiced our continued concern over his dietary needs and our disappointment in not more kid-friendly kosher paerve and kosher meat meals.  Manager Brett, Chef Pete, Chef Elizabeth and Chef Julie came up with a game plan.  The had a lovely little pad filled out with all of M’s allergies and accommodations.   They asked me what were M’s favorite meals and they came up with dairy free, nut free recipes that they would personally oversee and prepare in a separate area.   M was over the moon the next day.  For breakfast, they made him identical waffles to his siblings  that were dairy free, nut free and gluten free.  He was none the wiser.  He had freshly prepared chicken fingers and fries and fried fish and chips as his meals for the rest of the day. They were ordered to be made each day at a certain time and were ready for prompt pick up.  The dietary team at the Art of Animation worked seamlessly to ensure that we were comfortable and M’s food was safe.  There was never a lapse in communication, each shift knew about M and were always so kind and accommodating.   We continued to feel that Asian guilt for putting them out, but we were reassured time and time again that they were happy to accommodate   Both my husband and I were so relieved.  The black cloud that was hanging over our trip was now gone and the sheer joy on M’s face during our stay was priceless.  So many memories were created here thanks to the dietary team at Art of Animation.

As per the wonderful gracious manager, Brett, he passed along some tips for future worry-free visits.

Guests with requests associated with the list below should contact the Walt Disney World Resort at Special.Diets@DisneyWorld.com at least 14 days prior to arrival and after booking all dining arrangements for the entire visit:

• Allergy or intolerance not listed above under Common Food Allergies (gluten or wheat, shellfish, soy, lactose or dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, eggs, corn)
• or a guest with multiple allergies/intolerances or multiple guests with allergies/intolerances within the same party
• PKU
• Metabolic disorders

The restaurants will do their best to accommodate guest dietary requirements, but cannot guarantee they will be able to meet all requests.

For more information on Disney and their amazing dietary team, please visit: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/special-dietary-requests/

About Suzanne Chan

Suzanne Chan, one of the Trumpeting Media founders, is a former marketing/PR executive whose life was dramatically changed by parenthood. Still channeling the energy of her former life, she wears many hats – student, daughter, wife, registered nurse, certified lactation counselor, friend and blogger – but the job she’s most proud of is mother… Read all about her life, her loves and all the bumps along the way at MomConfessionals.com.

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