January 27, 2016 – Storybook Erin

If you saw my Fitness Friday post, you saw that my husband and I registered for the #miamifamous half and full marathons over a year ago during the registration blitz (happening now).

We were SUPER excited when we registered but with a job change, a move, a new baby and life itself the race weekend kind of snuck up on us.

We loaded the car on Friday night, and then left early Saturday morning for Miami. After dropping the girls off with my in-laws and having some lunch we headed to the hotel to check in.

We stayed at one of the race recommended hotels in Brickell, and it was a great choice as it was walking distance to the public transportation.

After checking in, we walked up the street to catch the Miami Metromover and head over to Bayside to catch a shuttle to the expo. The expo was held in a large warehouse in Wynnwood, it is my understanding that it’s often used for art shows.

The expo was loud and vibrant, honestly, I would expect nothing less from a Miami race. When we walked in there were large letters spelling out “Miami Marathon” and on the letters were the names of all the participants.

My husband and I were both on the “M” for Marathon. I was pretty excited about that because my husband was running the Marathon. Obviously I made him take a picture.

Picking up our packet was quick and easy, if you’ve ever done a Disney race, it was exactly the same set up. One thing I also noticed (and loved) was lots of information booths throughout the expo. When I registered my husband and I we didn’t have good times so we were both in the last corral. However, he was able to give a better time and move up one corral at the expo.

We looked around, did some shopping and took some more pictures before heading back to our hotel for dinner.

We ended up eating at Power Pizza for dinner and loving it. Actually, we loved it so much we ended up back there after the race for lunch! Power Pizza is a Miami native restaurant and is called Power Pizza because they use Whey protein inside the dough. Read the story of Power Pizza here.

I couldn’t sleep, but I did enjoy watching some TV for a few hours before falling asleep.

Be sure to check back tomorrow to find out about the race!

Question of the day: Have any tips for falling asleep before a race?

On our most recent trip to Disney’s Hollywood Studios my husband wanted to ride Rockin’ Roller Coaster before we left. So, I took the girls to explore while he waited in line for the ride.

I happened to see a big sign just beyond Rockin’ Roller Coaster with the FAB 5 on it, so we went to check it out. I then noticed Pluto was in a courtyard taking pictures, so he went over to say hello to Pluto.

A cast member invited us to dance with Pluto and friends inside club cool, so we did. I didn’t think my two year old would have as much fun as she did – mostly because she’s terrified of the characters who wear masks, but she DID. In fact, we were there for over two hours dancing and having the best time!

It’s kind of a hidden gem of Hollywood Studios, as it’s beyond Rockin’ Roller coaster, and typically I would just gone on the ride and moved on and never even known about Club Disney, but with kids you end up finding great treasures!

What is Club Disney?
4 Disney Characters at a time come out and dance with the guests for about 30 minutes while a DJ plays music, and clips from movies play on big screens around the ceiling.

There is also places for you to charge your phone, a bathroom, and snack bar to purchase food.

What age is it for?
All ages.

Extra Cost?
Nope. It was included in your park admission.

Who are the Characters?
When we were there (1/18/16) the characters were Mickey, Minnie, Chip & Dale, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Donald.

The characters came out 4 at a time and danced for about 30 minutes.

More info on the Disney Parks Blog.

Here are some photos from our dance party with our Disney Pals!