Today was the day we needed to register for the 2024 WDW marathon where we wanted the 5k for us girls to go alongside Steve’s Dopey challenge that he’s wanting to do for his 50th. Last year was an absolute nightmare with slots opening really late and then selling out super-fast, so I was rather stressed (to say the least!) I decided to try and increase my chances by logging onto every device we had with us ready for registration to open. I also suggested the girls and Steve go to the pool as they hadn’t had chance to swim at Wilderness Lodge yet and I thought they’d be better out of the way whilst I no doubt shouted at random devices during the registration process. Anyway, it turned out to be much easier than expected. Within 25 minutes I registered us all and got the confirmation email, which was a huge relief, and I was so excited until the reality of four 2.30am wakeups at the end of our New Year trip bought me back down to earth!
I went to the pool to tell everyone, and we decided that as the sun was shining (we’d had a few cool, cloudy, and wet days) we’d stay there for a while. Steve & I got chatting to a Canadian couple who were telling us all about the Adventures by Disney trips they’d been on which sounded amazing, and the girls played one of their weird make-believe games in the pool.
The plan was for us to head to Hollywood Studios mid afternoon to finish the bits we hadn’t done, but as it was the first day, we’d properly relaxed, we decided to switch our O’hana tea that was booked for tomorrow to tonight and stay by the pool a bit longer. I knew that Clare (who’s in the group) was at Wilderness Lodge too, and as our girls loved playing together when we bumped into each other last summer, we managed to meet up at the pool for an hour before we had to leave. They were having so much fun that we ended up staying longer than we should meaning we had 15 minutes to get ready!! It’s a good job it’s acceptable to look a hot mess here! We got to O’hana and amazingly we’re seated straight away. We had a lovely server, and the food was out quickly, but we never felt rushed. Everything was good but while we really enjoy it, I do feel it’s a very expensive meal for what you can actually eat and always leave feeling we could have made better use of the cost of the meal elsewhere.
We were finished much earlier than expected so decided to head for Hollywood Studios to watch Fantasmic. We got there early enough to fit One Man’s Dream in before heading to the stadium. Clare was there too so we ended up sitting together and the girls had a great time chatting and sharing popcorn. We arrived around 30 minutes before the 8.30 show and got seats right in the centre, with loads still left available. Even 5 minutes before the start there was plenty of room. We love Fantasmic so much, but we got absolutely soaked tonight. The wind was really strong and must have been blowing directly at us! We all got the giggles ever time it happened, and one man even put his poncho on. We were literally wetter than we were on Kali River Rapids!
We decided to end the night with Slinky in the dark as Polly loves it, so it was 10pm by the time we left the park, but we’d had such a great day that even though we were shattered our hearts were completely full.
Tomorrow we’re heading to Magic Kingdom for our last full day to see some shows, watch some parades and hopefully hug a few characters goodbye. Not looking forward to waking the girls for rope-drop!
Doodle & Peg Do Disney 