Sorry to be so MIA the past few weeks. Literally the entire month of October is one big crescendo focused on a large conference. At the end of October is a long week of travel with long days and late nights.This year I augmented the usual travel with an add-on five days at Disney World with the family.

So this isn’t about biking at all. But training does figure into it funny enough…

Disney is not my first choice of vacation spot. I’d rather be somewhere near wild places, exploring, riding bikes or hiking. Or, hanging out on a beach reading books and napping. But my parents wanted to take us, it was important to them and i was sure it could be fun.

I hadn’t been to Disney since I was 12, and it’s changed a lot since then. More parks, more resorts, more transportation, more mouse. Here’s my report, as concise as I can make it.

Stayed: Caribbean Beach Resort pirate themed room

  • Great for kids. K loved the pirate ship bed and the comforters covered in gold.
  • Room wasn’t anything great, especially since I had just come from a luxury resort, Hammock Beach Resort. Felt like a rip off.
  • We were really far from the only place where you could get food, and that got really annoying.
  • Bus transportation to the parks was quick and easy. We didn’t wait more than 5 minutes at any time and the rides were easy and painless.

k_disneyThe Magic Kingdom

  • Some of the classics are still classics: Thunder Mtn Railroad, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan
  • Some of the classics have had everything that made them cool updated out. Tiki Birds – I’m talking about you.
  • Splash Mountain was the hands down favorite among 6 year olds in our party. We rode it six times.

epcotEPCOT

  • Test Track is a great ride. Mission Space is also very, very cool
  • Taking the boat between Epcot and Hollywood Studios was a great idea

speederDisney Hollywood Studios

  • Rock n Roll Coaster is very good.
  • Tower of Terror is not all that and scared little boys
  • The Toy Story ride was a lot of fun

animal_kingdomAnimal Kingdom

  • The Jungle trek ride was quite good
  • Dinosaur sucked, too dark and too scary, just not fun
  • Expedition Everest was okay, but made me feel ill with that backwards business
  • The River Rapids ride was too short

Overall

  • Beginning of November was a good time to visit. Crowds were easy-going, especially during the week.
  • Fast Pass makes it more fun.
  • While waiting for the bus to the airport on our final day, K and I caught some classic Mickey Mouse cartoons – these are awesome. This is what made Disney. There should be more of this, K couldn’t stop cracking up at the silliness.
  • I was thankful for all the training over the summer. Walking all around all these parks and resorts is not easy business and the training meant that I didn’t get tired and pissy like the rest of my crew.

disney_tiggerSo it’s over. It was a lot of fun but I was ready to come home and eat wholesome food again (without so much fat and salt!) and to get back on the bike and get some workouts happening.