Day 15: The Half Marathon and Magic Kingdom/ California Grill Last Day Tradition

Another 3am get up today, but as it was to finish our family 60k challenge and justify the fabulous donations made by so many to our Young Minds fundraising efforts, we really didn’t mind. After all, getting up early really isn’t that much of a hardship compared to what so many people are going through. And to do it in order to watch/ participate in a WDW half-marathon, we are actually incredibly privileged.

Steve was up and out before us as he didn’t want to be late, even though because he was injured earlier in the year and didn’t submit a time he was in the last corral! We got up and ready and arrived at the bust stop around 3.40am where we jumped straight on a bus. The traffic was horrendous and the queues to get into the event were just as bad, but we managed to see Steve for a hug and a photo before the race started. He then set off to meet Mickey!

We’d decided to head to Main Street and just watch there as there isn’t a great deal of room to watch at the start/ finish, and I thought one location would be best with two small, tired people with me. We got on the two monorails from Epcot and arrived at MK around 5.15am (I bumped into another lady from one of the Disney forums on the monorail and we had a lovely time chatting whilst we waited to be let in at 5.30am). We weren’t sure exactly where on Main Street to stand but decided on a spot right opposite Starbucks as it seemed apt! The girls sat down at the rope and passed the time doing Disney quizzes on my phone until the athletes started appearing. I was in awe of each and every one of them.

I was tracking Steve using the app so knew roughly when he’d be with us, but he also managed to text me when he got to the park which helped us to spot him. Although, let’s face it, spotting a grown man dressed as a bright pink pear wasn’t exactly difficult, even in a sea of runners.

He stopped for a hug and a few photos and the girls were so happy to see him. We are all so incredibly proud of him for running the largest portion of our target, as well as for the million and one things he does for us all each and every day. We debated going to the finish line but decided to head back and give the girls a nap instead. They were so tired and could barely walk so we opted to go and cheer on the remaining runners at the bus park before trying to get a Minnie Van. The van did take a while because of road closures, but the girls got to chill out and rest, so it was all good in the end.

Steve decided to walk back through Epcot and grab us all breakfast from Starbucks to ease his leg muscles. I think he was prouder of the congratulatory cup from Starbucks than his race medal! He also sneaked in a Goofy meet before exiting the park.

After a short nap we decided to stick with tradition and head for the Magic Kingdom to watch the parade before tea at California Grill. We checked the MDE app for bus times and for the first time it actually had a time which was great. Unfortunately, it was only 1 minute away and there was no way we could get from our room to the bus stop in that time. A rare stroke of genius from me and we decided to peg it to the Beach Club and see if we could catch it there instead. We made it with 1 minute to spare, although I’m not sure Steve’s post-marathon legs appreciated the sprint!

We didn’t really have a set plan for the Magic Kingdom, except a 7 Dwarves fast pass and the parade, so we let the girls get a going home toy as a reward for doing so well in their race/ money raising efforts and grabbed a quick bit from Casey’s (also a last day tradition) before heading to Monsters Inc Laugh Floor again. The girls then asked to go into the Dumbo play area, but it was so busy today that we had to queue to get in. We then went and sat in a lovely shaded spot for the parade, which was as lovely as always. Mr Smee was particularly funny as he kept taking his glasses off and rubbing them, then looking at Winnie and Polly.

After the parade we planned to use our Mine Train fastpass before heading onto Dumbo, but the girls hit a wall. We weren’t sure whether to keep our 5pm California Grill reservation, but Polly got upset saying she was already so sad about leaving (she told me that when she say the ‘See You All Real Soon’ sign at the back of the parade it really upset her) and we always go to California Grill to make one last happy memory of each trip, so reluctantly we set off, half expecting to have to leave our meal part way through because they were so tired.

We needn’t have worried though as the meal was fabulous and the girls were their usual joyous selves. We didn’t have enough credits left for this meal as well as Cape May breakfast before we leave for the airport, but as I wanted sushi anyway we split the bill and Steve with his top-priced bison and red wine combo, and Polly with her very rare steak, used dining credits whereas we paid for mine and Winnie’s meals out of pocket. We ended up spending around $50 plus tip which is a lot less than if we’d used all of our credits and paid out of pocket for Cape May tomorrow. We also got given table sparkles and champagne for our anniversary (which wasn’t actually today itself, but a lovely touch that was very much appreciated).

I am so tired I can barely type so I apologise of this is a rather dull blog, but I didn’t want to fail in my quest to blog daily on the last night. This holiday has once again been truly amazing. We feel like we’ve been here forever (split stays certainly help with that although I do find them less relaxing, especially with children) and made so many incredible memories as a family. I never feel ready to leave this place, or to get back to the reality of not spending every waking minute with my loves, but I am definitely looking forward to a nice, hot bath and a pillow that isn’t made of cotton wool! 

Thank you so much for following our Disney journey. We’ll be back very soon for more magic.