197. Princess Weekend DVC Dreams Come True

What happens when you combine Disney Vacation Club ownership, the Princess Half Marathon, and traveling with two toddlers? Pure magic, with a healthy dash of organized chaos! 

In this captivating episode, we chat with Kallie, a dedicated listener who turned her runDisney passion into the perfect excuse for her family's "welcome home" trip as new DVC owners. With her husband, two young children (ages 2 and 4), and the grandparents in tow, she embarked on a whirlwind February weekend at Disney's Riviera Resort.

Kallie takes us through her meticulous planning - from securing race registration to booking character dining for her daughter's birthday at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. Her family's adventures span Magic Kingdom madness with little ones, navigating EPCOT's Festival of the Arts, and the surreal experience of waking at 2:45 AM for a half marathon while on vacation.

What makes this story particularly special is how Kallie balances adult Disney dreams with creating magical moments for her children. Her "standard view" room overlooking EPCOT fireworks becomes the backdrop for nightly adult relaxation after putting the kids to bed. And of course the grandparents provide crucial support, allowing Kallie, her husband, and their older son to occasionally experience attractions not suitable for toddlers.

The episode offers practical wisdom for any Disney traveler - from using backpacks instead of loose items when folding strollers for bus transportation to the unexpected delight of Riviera's signature cookies (complete with pistachios, walnuts, and dried cherries). Kallie's infectious enthusiasm for Disney, from her childhood visits to now creating memories with her own children, reminds us why these vacations hold such special places in our hearts.

Whether you're considering DVC ownership, planning a runDisney event, or simply wondering how to survive Disney World with small children, this episode delivers inspiration, practical tips, and the reassurance that with proper planning (and perhaps a few grandparents), Disney magic is accessible at every stage of life.

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Adventures & Mousecapades is a passion project from Alicea & Nathan Novak - two Seattleites addicted to The Mouse. We are not affiliated with Disney, nor are we travel agents. Opinions are our own.

Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Twitter: @ourmousecapades
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Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Hello everyone, I'm Alicea.

Nathan (00:25):
I'm Nathan.

Callie (00:26):
And I'm Callie.

Alicea (00:28):
And welcome to this week's episode of Adventures and
Mouse Capades.
This week, Pixie Dust meetsPark Hustle and Parenting Meets
Princesses.
That is a lot of alliterationthere.
Today's guest is one of ourvery own listeners who reached
out with a story that'sbasically a Disney dream wrapped
in running shoes and sprinkledwith character moments.
And earlier this year, shelaced up for the Princess Half

(00:50):
Marathon, checking into theRiviera as brand new DVC owners
and somehow surviving it allwith two little ones in tow.
We are diving into herwhirlwind weekend at Walt Disney
World, the races, the rides,the character hugs, and even the
Festival of the Arts, or farts,if you're nasty.
So grab your Mickey ears, maybea churro, and settle in because

(01:13):
this episode is full-on parkhopping, stroller pushing, magic
making adventure.
Let's go.
Welcome, Callie.
Thank you.

Callie (01:20):
Your intros are always the best.
I just love it.
If I could just put that on myChristmas card this year, you've
written my Christmas card inthat stuff. That was awesome.

Nathan (01:31):
Copyright TM, whatever.
Just send us the royalty check.
You're good to go.

Callie (01:37):
I love it.
I love it.

Nathan (01:38):
What was Disney's influence on you growing up?
Did you visit the parks a lotor did you just wear out VHS
movies?

Callie (01:46):
Oh, all of the above.
Um, I was a you know, 1990sborn and raised Disney kid.

Nathan (01:52):
Yeah.

Callie (01:52):
Um my parents both worked intense long hours, and
but it was so important for mymom to have dinner uh as a
family every night.
And so we had a little dinerarea in our kitchen with a TV,
and she would stick me down witha VHS Disney movie while she
made dinner every night.
And that was her way of usspending time together while she
made dinner before we had uhdinner as a family.

(02:13):
Um, and then as vacations,that's how we spent time as a
family.
I other than that, I hadnannies and daycare full time.
And so uh my grandparents livedin Palm Springs, just a couple
hours from Anaheim, and so wewould make trips to stay with
them and always make a Disneytrip out of it.
So um it was always atDisneyland.
Um I remember going to uhCalifornia Adventure when it

(02:37):
first opened and the excitementof that and now seeing how much
it's changed is so cool.
Uh and then as I got older, westarted going to Disney World,
and that is man, did that reallysink in.
So uh to this day, um it's beena big part of my family, and my
husband got dragged right intoit, and uh he did not go kicking

(02:57):
and screaming.
So uh a fun thing about him ishe he never really got to go to
Disneyland as a kid.
Um, he went one time and thenhis um sadly his father had
passed away before they got togo to Disney World.
Um, and they had said, we'regonna wait to travel, we're
gonna take you guys when you'reolder, and they never got to
take that trip.
Uh but his family collectedlots of memorabilia, and I got

(03:18):
to now keep a lot of thatmemorabilia, which is so fun.
And next year we get to takehis whole family to Disney World
as a trip.

Nathan (03:24):
So very cool.

Callie (03:26):
Yeah, yeah.
So it's been a big part of myfamily, his family, and still
remains to be a big part of us.
So awesome.

Alicea (03:34):
So, how about these days?
You've got two younger kiddos.
Is it Disney Jr.
all the time?

Callie (03:40):
All the time.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Yes we are big fans.
Um, I my son clicked on toMickey Mouse Clubhouse right
away, and my daughter, I willsay I put a little influence for
Disney princesses, but at oneand a half, she could name 14
different Disney princesses.
And I am so proud.
So taking them to Disneylandand Disney World was always part

(04:01):
of it.
We always said we wouldn't waitto travel.
We're just gonna have to learnto travel differently.
Um, in this last year, we gotto take both of them for their
first trips.
My son had been to Disneylandonce before, but they were both
first timers at Disney World,and that was so special.

Nathan (04:14):
I love that.
That's so great.
So you were in Disney World forthe Princess Half Marathon.
This was back in February, Ithink it was.
Yep.
Was this your first Run Disneyevent?

Callie (04:26):
No, this was my fifth run Disney event.
Oh wow.
Yeah.
So one thing that has kept meso connected to Disney was
finding Run Disney because itwas a great way to find when
adults take over Disney World,is how I like to put it.
It was so fun on race weekendsbecause it's so many adults.
Yes, people bring their kids,um, but so many adults, Disney
adults in one spot.

(04:47):
And um, I would imagine that'sprobably how a Disney cruise is.

Nathan (04:50):
So it depends on the itinerary, the real long ones.
Like we've done the um PanamaCanal Crossing a couple times.
Okay.
And that's right in the middleof school year and not typically
something that you can bringkids on.
r

Alicea (05:08):
Well, you can.

Nathan (05:09):
Yeah, it's very difficult.
So instead of like a thousandkids on the ship, on like even
the Wonder, it'll be like ahundred kids on the ship.
And then it would be, I thinkboth cruises were completely
full from a room standpoint.
But so there's like ninehundred and fifty-seven rooms.

(05:30):
I don't know why I can rememberthese things.
Um but it was like pretty muchall double occupancy couples
except for like a hundred kidssprinkled in there.
Wow.
So it was like 1,900 people inthe ship.
It was glorious.

Callie (05:47):
That sounds kind of like with the Disney princess, uh,
not the Disney princess, but theprincess cruise we did in
Europe.
It was like no kids.
We were in our 20s and theyoungest people on the boat, and
it was crazy.
We didn't mind it at all.
But um, but yeah, so this wasmy fifth Run Disney event.
Um, it it you know, it kind ofwas not exactly planned.
We um had planned to buy DVC,and then when we purchased it

(06:11):
and we got those magicalbeginning points, we said, let's
go to Disney World.
And knowing we already hadplanned to go to Disneyland in
late 2024, we had said, let'sgo, you know, and uh and I'm so
glad we did.
So this was an supposed to beour welcome home event, and I
just magically tend to plan itover the Disney princess so I

(06:34):
could do that.
Oops, and then did I do that?
Oh no, unintentionally, becausenormally Disney Princess is
smack dab between the artsfestival and the flower garden.
This is the first time I'veseen it, and maybe that I've
paid attention that it actuallyfell on the arts weekend.

Nathan (06:53):
Oh wow.

Callie (06:54):
And so I was like, oh my gosh, is this gonna be a busy
weekend?
But no regrets, it was totallyworth it.

Nathan (07:00):
Awesome.

Callie (07:01):
Yeah.

Alicea (07:02):
So usually with Run Disney, it sells out really
quickly.
Um, how did timing work outwith that?

Callie (07:10):
Timing worked out okay because so it does run out, it
does um go really quickly.
And um for registrations, I youtypically have to have a couple
browsers up, which I don't likeplaying that game, but yeah,
you gotta play to win.
So um I had about threedifferent browsers up, and uh
luckily I had the reservationbooked before the actual race

(07:31):
registration happens.

Alicea (07:32):
Ah, okay, okay.

Callie (07:32):
And kind of a tip um, too, is if you don't get a bib,
you can also try to work througha charity, which is a great
thing to do to raise money.
Um, so I kind of had that in myback end, but bad mom moment, I
also didn't notice that when Ibooked it, I booked it over my
second child's birthday.

Nathan (07:50):
Details.

Callie (07:51):
Details.
And I I texted my husband, Isaid, Um, I booked this over
Quinn's birthday, and she wasturning two, my daughter, and
yeah, he was like, I don't knowa better place to celebrate our
princess, and I was like, goodanswer.
True, true, true.
It was so much in one weekend.
Whirlwind is absolutely true,but uh the best weekend.
Yeah.
So yeah, it was so awesome.

Nathan (08:13):
So who was your support team with you there on the trip?

Callie (08:16):
Yeah, so it was uh six of us total.
So it was uh me and my husband,our four-year-old son,
two-year-old daughter, and thenmy dad and my mom.

Nathan (08:24):
Okay.

Callie (08:28):
Do you want to come?
We can try to borrow somepoints already, you know, jump
right in the game, and uh try toget a two-bedroom.
And they said, no, no, no,we're gonna be in California,
it's too far.
And then my my mom got thegrandma guilt about two months
out.
Luckily, a little bit beforedining reservations were due,
and was like, I really want togo to Disney World now with you
guys and be there for herbirthday.

(08:49):
And I was like, Well, okay.
Um, I joined the wait list umfor DVC.
We did not get the wait listcome through, which I didn't
really expect because all thethings we talked about that was
going on that weekend.
Yeah.
Um, so I put them at theCaribbean resort, which is you
know, they could walk over tothe Riviera and we took the same
um skyliner, so that was great.

(09:10):
Um, was their experience thesame there as it was at uh
Riviera?
No, it was not.
But they were troopers and theyhad a great weekend.
They use the room as a sleepingquarters only.
So perfect.
Nothing against the Caribbean,but it wasn't the No, no, no.

Nathan (09:27):
But I mean, when you have the Riviera at your you
know, beck and call, like comeon, you're we're gonna stay at
the Riviera, of course.

Alicea (09:34):
Yeah.
This was your first stay at theRiviera, right?

Callie (09:39):
Yes, this was our welcome home visit.
So um it was awesome.
We um we flew in and uh my mom,of course, was like, hey, I
know we had booked MEARS to takeus.
Um, but my mom was like, Ireally would like to go private.
And I was like, okay, you gotRiviera taste.
I like it.
We'll go private.
So I did um, I shopped aroundfor a few different businesses

(10:02):
and taking a private cab andtrying to get car seats was
hard.
I booked MEARS because that wayI didn't have to bring car
seats at all that weekend.
Um, but I found Away We Go andthey were awesome.
Um, they met us at BaggageClaim, which was total pixie
dust because normally you haveto pay more for that, but they
were so kind.
They met us at Baggage Claim,um, walked us to the car, had

(10:22):
the car seats installed, and umwas so cool.
Shout out to Magical Mike, notto be confused with Magic Mike.

Nathan (10:29):
Yes, Magical Mike.

Callie (10:30):
Very different, very different, Mike.
Magical Mike uh did all theimpressions of the Fab Five
Disney characters as we wentunder the Disney World Gate and
was totally just enlighteningus.
Now, it was me and my parentsand my husband that were awake.
My children were completelyknocked out of course.
So he did it again once theywoke up, but it was such a

(10:51):
magical thing.
And then we arrived at theRiviera, and I just I felt like
a million bucks because whenyou're driving in, you know,
private car to this beautifulresort.
Um, and uh yeah, they took ourbags.
I had ordered groceries fromInstacart, and they had them all
there at Bell Service in therefrigerator for me and brought

(11:13):
everything up to the room forus, and uh we were just
immediately in awe.
And uh we went with theirstandard view, which was a view
of the Epcot ball and fireworks.

Nathan (11:25):
Oh yeah, you know, standard that old thing.
That old thing.

Callie (11:29):
So that is where we got to watch fireworks every night,
which was so cool.

Nathan (11:33):
Oh, talk about pixie dust.
That's great.

Callie (11:36):
Yeah, I know I've been warned that sometimes for the
welcome home visits, they throwa little pixie dust on you, but
I've also heard that withRiviera, standard view usually
means Epcot view and water viewis or premium view is water
view.
So I I don't think you can gowrong.

Nathan (11:51):
Technically, I guess that would be the back of the
building, like overlooking thelake.
But yeah, yeah.
So if you're on the the frontof the building, oh no, you have
to look at Epcot like acrossthe the street.
Yep.
Gee, how how thank you forroughing it, you know,
Nobody wants to see Spaceship Earth.
I mean, you know,
no, no, nobody needs to see luminous every night.

(12:13):
It's fine.

Callie (12:14):
It was fine, you know, the fireworks and everything.
I mean, it was such a drag, itkept us up.

Nathan (12:18):
You know, the nerve of these people, geez.
I know.

Callie (12:22):
No, we really we came up with a ritual.
We every night we we wecouldn't make it to fireworks
with the kids.
We pulled them too hard allday.
And so my we had this ritualwhere my parents would go down
to the Riva bar by the pool, goget us drinks, we'd put the kids
to bed, and then we'd all sitout, watch the fireworks, and
have our drinks.
And I don't think we wereslumming it too bad, you know.

Nathan (12:41):
No, that sounds okay.
And you had you still had theone bedroom?

Callie (12:45):
We did, so we had a one bedroom, um, which worked out
great.
Um, we had we put the baby inthe crib, baby, she was two, but
yeah, put her in the crib inour room, and then our son um
slept on that cool littlefold-down bed from underneath
the TV that has a big Mickeyemblem behind it, and he just
thought that was the coolestthing in the whole world.
So um, yeah, we we reallyenjoyed it.

(13:05):
I mean, everything about theRiviera was gorgeous, and um, it
was in such great condition,honestly.
Like, we didn't have anycomplaints about our room.
The staff were wonderful if Iever called them about anything,
which was usually like I'mready for my groceries, or hey,
can we get a high chair?
They were up in our room withinfive minutes.
Wow.
That's awesome.
Which is definitely the benefitof staying in a tower.
They get there in a heartbeat.

Alicea (13:26):
Yeah.

Callie (13:26):
Um, but I was so impressed with DVC.
I mean, they had, you know,everything from the um I could
do a load of laundry to, youknow, the vacuum if you need to
vacuum real quick or something.
So I just really appreciatedall the efforts that they put in
there.
And having that kind ofdouble-sided bathroom was so
nice too.
It was just gorgeous.
So it was a win.

(13:47):
We felt good about it.

Nathan (13:48):
Yeah, of course.
As DVC owners and and podcasthosts, every once in a while we
entertain, like, we should juststay everywhere on property so
we can compare them all.
I'm like, I I don't really wantto not stay at a DVC resort.
It's it's good to be spoiled.

Alicea (14:05):
Unless it's uh Destino Tower at Coronado Springs.

Nathan (14:09):
That's that's fair.
I'll I'll give you that one.

Callie (14:11):
I I will give you that was my favorite hotel until I
went to the Riviera.
Yeah because yeah, we stayed inthe tower and it was amazing.
Amazing.

Alicea (14:20):
Yeah.
There's there's a bunch ofoptions on where to buy DVC
points.
What led you all to get pointsat the Riviera?

Callie (14:27):
So we bought direct through Disney for Riviera.
Um we decided to buy directthrough Disney because we have
FOMO and if there's benefits, wewant them.
So um that was definitely ournumber one choice was to buy
direct.
I went through the website andwent through every single
resort, even if they werelisting for sale or for not, and
um, and just looked at all thedifferent rooms.
Um, the Riviera appealed to meone for space, um, having two

(14:50):
toddlers that are high speed,um, having that extra space when
we were really always gonna aimfor a one bedroom was gonna be
perfect.
Um, the location, we loveEpcot, we're big Epcot fans,
having the Skyliner as an optionis awesome.
Um and then uh the pools, theplay area for the kids, which

(15:11):
was such a hit for my kids.
Um, and then just the overallamenities, having I we like
staying in a tower.
I know it's not for everybody,but we like we're walking all
day.
I like being close to theamenities, having the great
coffee shop, um, a fast, uh, youknow, a quick serve um
restaurant available, and uh forthe trips down the road, the

(15:31):
adults only pool.

Nathan (15:32):
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Yeah, I can I I can say, youknow, we love our visits to
Animal Kingdom Lodge, but at theend of a very long park day in
your room is at the end of oneof those wings, you're like,
what are we doing here?

Alicea (15:48):
Just wrong.
Just keep going and going andgoing.

Callie (15:51):
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
In my very first run Disney, Istayed at um the Caribbean
resort and uh and then I'vestayed at the Coronado a few
times too.
And there's there's some walksinvolved.
And when you just ran a halfmarathon and you have to get
back to your room, it's just notwhere you want to go.

Nathan (16:08):
So no.

Callie (16:10):
But in 2020, two weeks before the pandemic, we did the
princess half and we stayed inDestino Tower.
And so that was my last daybefore the pandemic.
And uh, and once I stayed in atower after a race, I was like,
Yep.

Nathan (16:24):
Yep, this this is it.

Callie (16:27):
Yeah.

Nathan (16:28):
All right.
So so you were in town for arace, and but of course, you've
got two kids, and of course, thegrandfather the the
grandparents count a little, Isuppose, but mostly it's the two
kids.
I'm assuming you had some parktime planned.
We absolutely what did you dothat first full day?

Callie (16:45):
So we the first full day that we got in, we had to go to
the expo.
So I guess it's I'm backing up.
So we got in on a Thursday andwe had to go to the race expo.
And the race expo is held atthe Worldwide Sports, and it's
so fun because they havecharacters there and food and
drinks and stuff.
Nice.
Um, so we went and did uh thatand then uh yeah, and then we
hit the the beds early becausewe did Magic Kingdom on our

(17:08):
first full day on Friday.
Ah, okay.

Alicea (17:11):
Yeah.

Callie (17:11):
And so uh we got up and we um did early entry at 8:30.
Um and we took the bus there,which a lot of people don't mind
buses or you know, mind buses.
We buses are fine for us.
Um my only parent tip out thereis to bring backpacks because
you have to fold up the strollerto get everything, to get it

(17:33):
all to fit on the bus.
And if you have loose items, itis such a pain to hold water
bottles, toys, bubble wands, andyour child.
Um, so we our tip is to throweverything in two backpacks and
and one person gets the backpackfrom the kids and the other
person gets the stroller.
Now we were very fortunate wehad grandparents that were happy
to help with the load.

Nathan (17:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's a fantastic tip.
Yeah, it is.

Callie (17:55):
Um, but yeah, we got it at 8:30.
Um, this was my first timeusing the new lightning lane
process.
So before this, I had, yeah, itwas Genie Plus.
So this is my first time usingthe new Lightning Lane.
So I had booked out seven daysin advance.

Nathan (18:07):
Yeah.

Callie (18:08):
And um, now they had tried to set me up for success.
And now this was my first fail.
Um, when I had booked it, theyhad offered me all afternoon um
lightning lanes for the ridesthat we wanted to do.
And I was like, no, I wantthose in the morning so I can
get more for the afternoon, likethe old Genie Plus, and that
would work out pretty well.
And that did not work out wellbecause everything is gone by

(18:29):
the afternoon.
Uh and so when we were in thepark at 8:30, we were able to
walk on to everything until 10.
And well, walk on, okay.
It was like a 25-minute wait atPeter Pan, which is basically a
walk-on.
Right.
Yeah.

Nathan (18:44):
Yeah, versus two hours, that's 100% a walk-off.
Walk on.

Callie (18:47):
Yeah.
It's to the point where we'relike, but wait, I really wanted
to see more of the queue.
The queue is so cool at PeterPan.
Um, of course, my kids didn'tfeel that way.
But yeah, we did Winnie thePooh, Little Mermaid, It's a
Small World, Peter Pan, allbefore 10 a.m.

Nathan (19:02):
Oh wow.

Callie (19:03):
And I was like, as we were walking through the queues,
I'm like trying to cancel mylightning lanes to get more
because I'm like, oh no.
Yeah.
Um I had booked all theselightning lanes.
But um, luckily I had um JungleCruise and Pirates for the
afternoon.
So I was able to grab those.
Um, but it worked out reallywell.
We um we hit those rides firstthing.
We we want to hit Fantasylandfirst thing.

(19:24):
And then right as we weregetting out, um, the story time
with Belle starts at 10:30.
I didn't realize it startedlater.
Um, I had gone up to a castmember and said, Is this open?
And they're like, Yeah, itdoesn't open until 10 30.
So we got right in line forthat and uh end up being like I
think the second group that wentthrough.
Yeah.
So that was super fun for thekids.
It's such a cool thing to havethe kids interact there.

(19:46):
That was definitely, I think,one of their favorites.
Nice.
So yeah.
Um, and then yeah, and then wehit Jungle Cruise, uh, Pirates
in the afternoon.
Um, the nice thing about havinggrandparents is that we could
switch off.
We tried to only do lightninglanes for rides that everybody
could do.
So anything without a heightlimit.
Um, but we could switch offdoing um the Haunted Mansion,

(20:06):
which I know doesn't have aheight limit, but I was not
about to subject my kids to thatquite yet.
You just don't know.
It's a little spooky.
Yeah.
So then in the afternoon, wewent to Jungle Cruise and
Pirates.
Um, we got to see Cinderella'sstepsisters.
They came up and surprised myhusband.
They kind of snuck up behindhim and go, boo, you know, and

(20:28):
that's so funny.

Alicea (20:30):
I've never met them I really want to meet them so
bad.

Callie (20:32):
They are hilarious.
Um, I love when they sing ifyou can ever catch them doing
the sweet nightingale song.
That's really fun to see themdo.
Um so they were they wereamazing.
Um, now, as kids do, theystarted to fall.
So they uh we we bring bringour double bob so they were
ready for their nap.
And so we uh so that's when wegot to take turns going on some

(20:53):
rides.
Um so we we got on uh well wedid autotopia and dumbo.
We did those with the kids, butum I'm trying to think what
else we're we went on that.

Nathan (21:04):
You didn't take the two-year-old on Tron?

Callie (21:07):
No, yeah.
Weird honestly, she would havegone for it.
Like she would have just fly.
Like the two-year-old will goon anything.
She gets freaked out at first,but then she was like, okay.
And then at the end she goes, Idid it.
And it's the best.
Uh my four-year-old is mycautious one, but he still talks
about pirates when we go whenwe uh do the pirates.
He uh he still talks aboutremember when we took the boats

(21:29):
to see the pirates and they wereshooting cannons?
I was like, remember when wewent on that ride where we went
up to the pirates and stuff?
Um, but he still talks aboutwhen we went to California, he
still recites um Mickey'sRunaway Railroad.
And Mickey got on the wrongtrack and then Goofy lost us,
and and it's so fun to hear themrepeat, you know, there's so

(21:50):
many parents out there that say,Oh, I'll take them when they
remember.
And I'm like, hey, myfour-year-old, he remembers.
It is so cool.
So um such a gift to be able todo that with them.
Um, sadly, Thunder Mountain wasdown, so and couldn't do that.
Um, and I tried my best to getum a lightning lane for Mine
Train, but they were sold out.
Yeah.
Um so and then uh SpaceMountain kept getting pushed,

(22:13):
and that's something that wewere gonna try to switch off
between.
But um, having the grandparentsthere is someone can stay with
the kids.
But um, I am sad, but veryhappy to say that I finally went
on the people mover.
I had never been on it.
It's such a good ride.
It's amazing.
It's a favorite.
Yeah, yeah.
I don't know why I hadn't beenon, you know, there's like

(22:34):
always a couple things you'relike, I've actually like never
done that.
Like I've been in the tiki roomlike a thousand times, but I've
never been on the people mover.
And it is way faster.
Like when you go into theblackout spot, I was grabbing
onto my four-year-old, like,don't jump out.
It's going fast.
But what a cool way to seeeverything.
And uh yeah, oh, and we didBuzz Lightyear, which of course

(22:55):
they they loved.
So it we we they really had agreat time.
Um, and then of course, we diduh we watched the parade that
came through with their floats,and then we we happened to
catch, I think, two of thecavalcades that they do at the
castle with the fireworks, anduh that was that was great.
I mean, they literally, I thinkmy daughter slept through about

(23:15):
half of it.
We got her a churro, shebecause that's like the only
churro cart we could find atDisney World.
Not a lot of churros there.

Nathan (23:22):
It's okay.
You're they're not great.
They're not, they're not,they're not humidity.
Just nukes them.
Even in February when it's notas hot, it's just it's not the
same.
Disneyland cart churros arewhere it's at.

Callie (23:35):
It's they are the best.
Um, my mom was so excited tofind them that she went and
bought them.
And I think my daughter fellasleep with the churro in her
mouth watching the Calvalcade.
She was so tired.
But uh, you know, some peoplechoose to go back to the hotel,
but we rally, the kids sleepgreat in the bob, so we just we
just push on, and it's a greattime to take a snack break or do
some adult rides and switch offfor rest in our feet and stuff.

Nathan (23:58):
Tell me you got a picture of the kiddo with a
churro asleep.

Callie (24:02):
If I if I have it, I will I will find it for you.
Um, I think I definitely haveone of her awake, but uh I have
some I we have lots of characterpictures of them asleep, you
know, and the characters going,shh, I think we have one with
Chip and Dale and one withWoody, or not Woody, uh with
Tigger and stuff.
So yeah, we had so much funwith that.
Yeah, and then that uh took usto the afternoon.

(24:22):
We went to uh Crystal Palacefor dinner.
Ah.
And this was actually my firsttime going to Crystal Palace
where the characters were there.
I've been before when fornon-character dining, especially
after COVID, because it took awhile for them to come back.

Alicea (24:34):
Is that the Winnie the Pooh?
Yeah.
Okay, okay.

Callie (24:38):
So it's right out right um outside of the castle.
Um and uh it's a nice spotbecause it is buffet, so the
food is pretty decent, um, Iwould say.
Um and uh it's I mean it's it'spricey.
It's about 60 bucks for anadult, 40 for a kid.

Alicea (24:53):
Yeah, character Dining is always pretty pricey.

Callie (24:56):
Yeah, but they have lots of options.
Um, and uh the they have Tiggerand Eeyore and Piglet that come
around to the table.
Um and it's pretty casual, it'skind of quick, it's not as long
as some other character dining,I would say.
They're they're kind of in andout for the picture.
Um, and then at the end of yourdinner, you're invited to go
see Pooh Bear, who's up at thefront.
Got it.
So and you can do a picturewith them.

(25:17):
But yeah, it's um but the food,the food is very good.
It's really nice at the end ofa long day.
My husband and I have kind ofmade a habit of it of making a
reservation here because whenyou're done and you want to
maybe take a break tillfireworks, you can put your feet
up and enjoy dinner.
Um and uh so that was kind ofalways been our our spot to go.
So it was fun to take the kidsthere and get to experience
that.
Typically, we would hang outthere before we'd go see

(25:38):
fireworks.
The kids were not gonna make itto fireworks, but we were okay
with that.
So um it was still a greatplace.
We get to see Tigger and Eeyoreand Piglet and then end the
dinner with Pooh after you'dfinished your meal.
Um, but the food there ispretty good, and though it's
pricey, it is a nice way to restyour feet and get a good meal
and also see some characterswhile you're at it.
Um my daughter previously hasnot been into characters in big

(26:03):
costumes, but she went right forit this time.
And I have just awesome biggestspot in my heart for Pooh Bear
with that.
Yeah, it was so, it was soperfect.
Um and then uh while we weresitting there at dinner and uh
it was just starting to getchilly outside, I finally got
the ping on my phone that wewere ready for the Tiana virtual

(26:25):
queue.
And I look at my husbandbecause I had joined the queue
like first thing in the morningwhen we got there, and I was
like, yes, it's time.
And my husband looks at me andgoes, absolutely not.
I was like, Because when we hadgone in California, um, we had
gone to California in um inNovember to uh Disneyland, and

(26:50):
they were doing uh cast memberand Disney Key could get on the
ride.
And I had asked, Well, whatabout DVC?
And they were like, uh DVC?
No, no, we don't, no, DVCdoesn't get on.
And I wasn't uh Disney World doa DVC could get on for like a
day or so early, I think.

(27:10):
I think I remember that.

Nathan (27:12):
I think so.
But it also may have just beenthe timing of when you were
there in Disneyland, they maynot have been doing that yet.
So maybe yeah, they were prettymuch like no.

Callie (27:25):
I was like, oh, okay.
So this was my chance.
This is my chance, and myhusband was like, no.
And I I had I had broughtflip-flops and a and a um full
like body um shield to wear togo down this because I was like,
I'm gonna get wet and I'm gonnaenjoy it, I'm gonna do it.
I have to do it by myself.
But it was late, it was gettingcold, it was dark, and I was

(27:46):
like, my husband said, It's notlike we're not coming back.
And I said, That's fair.
Yeah, I'll hold off for now.
But um, I still kick myselfabout it, but I didn't get to
ride it.
So, but it it's okay.

Nathan (27:58):
Always next time.
Your your husband has a point.

Callie (28:01):
Always next time, yes.
Um, but then honestly, I kindof got out of the mood because
while we have experience beforepeople moving our stroller, I
mean they were getting ready forfireworks, so they had moved
our stroller like all the wayover to like Casey's corner.
And if you ever go and noticehow many black double bobs there

(28:22):
are at Disney, there's there'sa lot.
So there come the searching.
You were looking, you know, youlook bad because you're looking
underneath all of them to seewhich bags are yours.
And I had put a sign on mine,but you couldn't see it.
It was a sea of black doublebobs.
Um but we did find it.
Someone told me to air tag it.
I didn't do it.
And that is advice I would passon to the next person.

Nathan (28:43):
That is smart.
I hadn't thought of that.

Alicea (28:47):
Huh.
We air tag our suitcases.
I mean, yeah.
Yeah.

Callie (28:52):
Well, next time you bring a stroller, now you know.

Alicea (28:56):
It'll be a while.

Nathan (28:57):
It'll it'll be a hot minute.
Yeah.
I don't think that the20-year-old finally graduated
from a stroller and the14-year-old he's he's okay with
that.
We'll make him walk.
I'm tired of carrying it.

Callie (29:11):
Yeah, yeah.
Hey, I would take a stroller atDisney, no problem.
But I'll tell you if you wantto get anywhere in a crowd, just
get behind a mom and a doublebob.
Like a mom who's got alightning lane and double bob
will part anybody.
I mean, that was the secret togetting through Epcot, was just
follow the double bobs.
They will part everybody.
That's amazing.
Uh so yeah, then after that,after we found the stroller, we

(29:33):
got back and uh put the kids tobed, got some gelato because
they have an awesome gelato cartat the Riviera too, down by the
pool, and uh relaxed andwatched the fireworks um after
we put the kids down.
So that was that was a greatway to end the night.

Nathan (29:47):
Day two, what'd you hit up?

Callie (29:49):
Day two was Epcot, and uh we knew we were only gonna be
able to hit two parks.
Um, and so the decision to goto Epcot was clear because of
the arts festival.

Nathan (29:58):
Yes.
I mean, you gotta go see farts.

Callie (30:02):
You gotta go see farts.
You gotta see it.
So um the highlight of thefestival was um actually when I
got to see um Paige O'Hara wasthere.
Oh she was signing her originalartwork um because she paints
Belle.

Alicea (30:15):
Oh my gosh, that's amazing.

Callie (30:17):
And so she was there with her original artwork.
If people bought it, she wouldsign it and take a picture with
you.
Um so naturally I turned to myhusband and was like, I need
$2,000 right now and I need togo do this.
Um for some reason, he justcrushed my parade again and was
like, We're not doing that.

Nathan (30:34):
Do we need to have a chat?

Callie (30:36):
I know, yeah.
Well, you know, he's asleepright now.
We should probably go get himbecause uh no, I can't be too
harsh because he was reallyexcited to buy DVC, so I have to
give him credit there.
And uh yeah, so but um I was wewere walking around.
This was toward the end of ourday.
I saw her and I just gotstarstruck.
Yeah.
And my parents are like, who isit?

(30:56):
I'm like, it's the voice ofBelle.
She's a Disney, she's a Disneylegend, she's right there.
And they're like, I okay,that's great.
You want to go get a picture?
I'm like, there's a line, yougotta buy something.
I don't know if I could dothis.
Um, but uh yeah, so that wasthat was definitely the
highlight of the festival.
Um, but we really had a greattime.
We um from the Riviera, we tookthe Skyliner, which is my first

(31:18):
time taking the Skyliner too.
And uh being I've always stayedat bus resorts, so that was
really cool to take theSkyliner, and uh I I really
enjoyed it.
Um, it was nice, only ourfamily fit in it with the double
bob again, you know, kind of aperk.
No one has no one can sit withyou because it takes up the
whole thing.
And uh and we got to go on anice ride.

(31:38):
Um, and it and it drops you offin the back of France there.
And uh we walked in, and uh myhusband was sad because I had
prioritized our lightning lanethat for that day for for the
frozen ride.

Nathan (31:50):
Right.

Callie (31:51):
And uh he really wanted to do Remy's Ratatouille.
Ah, and so when we got in, uhhe was like, let's rope drop it.
And I said, Okay, you go forit.
Um, we decided uh I wasn'tgonna do it.
I don't do as well with somescreen rides, and so I said, I'm
gonna hold off.
And uh it was my daughter'ssecond birthday that day.
So we said I was I'm gonnaentertain her and hang out with

(32:13):
her.
And my husband went and did it,loved it with my son and my um
father.
And my mom and I were just kindof strolling around taking
pictures in France, and uh thenthere's this line forming in the
back of France.
We're like, there's this line,I wonder what this line's for.
It must be something good.
We should go get in line.
And uh so we finally askedpeople in front of us and we
said, What is this for?
And they said, The bakery.

Alicea (32:32):
Oh yeah.

Callie (32:33):
And we said, Oh, what's it called?
Yes.
And the gal goes, the bakery.
And I was like, Oh, okay, is itgood?
And this gal goes on this longtangent, yeah, the rotisserie,
yeah, about everything that theyhad.
And so yeah, we ended upwaiting for about 30, 40 minutes
the whole time that they werein line for there.
We just said, okay, we'll justwait in line for here.
And we came out with thebiggest tray of six to eight

(32:55):
different pastries.
I mean, we had strusels and umpowdered donuts and um this was
it, a bacon roll that they make,a bacon roll and chocolate
croissants.
I mean, we I we got everything.
We got everything we could fiton this tray.
And uh when they got off ofRatitouille, which they had
loved it, we all enjoyed and satin in France and enjoyed our

(33:18):
pastries.
So that was definitely ahighlight.
Um, that was so fun.
That sounds amazing.

Nathan (33:23):
So breakfast with the Le Petisserie sounds amazing.

Callie (33:29):
It's you played it right.
So good.
Yeah, yeah.
Have you got you guys have afavorite there?
Have you been there?

Nathan (33:36):
We have, and it's everything is our favorite
there.

Alicea (33:39):
The baguettes are to die for, and I love the chocolate
croissants.

Callie (33:44):
Yes, the chocolate croissants, those were
excellent.

Nathan (33:47):
We often get way too many things.
Yeah, yeah.

Callie (33:50):
I think that's I think that's standard.
I think that's what they gofor.
They give you the trays for areason.
Right.
They don't give you a tray toget one item, you get a tray to
get multiple items.
Yes.
So yeah, that was awesome.
Um, and then we started ourwalk around the lake.
And as we were doing this, Iwas dropping my lightning lanes
because once again, I bookedthem all for the morning and not

(34:10):
for the afternoon.
And initially I was thinking,oh, the kids will nap in the
afternoon.
And you know, the kids don'tnap at Disney, they just fall.
Like they just they just crash.
So we just so um, so I wasdropping them as we were walking
on, and we did, you know,Figment.
Um, we walked through Moana, wedid uh Nemo and Friends.

(34:31):
I they they could have stayedforever in the aquarium.

Nathan (34:34):
Yeah.

Callie (34:34):
Um they literally could have spent the whole day in
there.
They loved it so much.

Nathan (34:38):
So good there.

Callie (34:38):
Um, that was that was super fun.
Um, fun fact, I've actuallygone scuba diving in the seas in
their largest.
They're bringing it back too.
Yeah, are they?
Yeah.
It was awesome.
It was fun.
They um they had two sharks atthe time that always swam in a
figure eight.
And they told us, you know, assharks lose their teeth, they
have rows of teeth and theyconstantly regrow them.

(35:00):
They said, if you want to go umfind some shark teeth, you're
welcome to.
The best spot is right in themiddle of that figure eight.
So you just go, just go swimright there in the middle of the
figure eight.
It'll be fine.
Just grab some sharks.
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
But uh that was that was sofun.
Um, but that was that was quitea few years ago.
That was back.
I used to I had an internshipin Orlando and I um did that for

(35:21):
a fun kind of Thanksgivingcelebration.
So uh that was fun to show thekids that.
And uh yeah, they loved Moana'sjourney with water.
That was so fun.

Alicea (35:32):
It's fun, it's it's really neat, and just all the
rock work in there and findingthe characters hiding is really
fun.

Callie (35:38):
Yeah, it's humid in there.

Nathan (35:40):
Yeah, it is.

Callie (35:41):
Yeah, like uh we we were all overheated um by the end.
And so they knew where, youknow, when you get to kind of
this the play area with thewater, you're just like, all
right, bring it on.
I'm ready to get wet becauseit's it's humid in here.
But um, that was amazing.
Um, and then we decided to trymy son on Soarin'.
We knew that he was gonna beborderline height, he's not

(36:03):
known for his height, he doesn'the doesn't do well with with um
rank and high on the heightscale um for being four, but he
um they I guess when they wentto go measure him, they had to
bring a manager out for a secondopinion.
And with a little bit of pixiedust, he made the cut and he got
to go um on Soarin' and lovedit.

(36:24):
So that was that was excellent.

Alicea (36:26):
Yay.

Callie (36:27):
We did the dance party with Encanto, which um they
loved.
I I I I didn't really know whatto expect, but um I thought
maybe they would have someactual characters come out,
which they didn't.
It was more of a hosted party.

Alicea (36:41):
Oh, they didn't have Mirabelle or Bruno come out?

Callie (36:44):
No, not during the one we went to.

Alicea (36:46):
Huh?
Interesting.

Callie (36:47):
So I know they had them like every two or three hours, I
think.

Alicea (36:50):
That's over by Communacore Hall, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Interesting.
Okay.

Callie (36:55):
Maybe that was just our luck.
But nonetheless, the kids lovedit.
They loved the music.
The son was dancing.
He loved the part where he gotto go up and show off his big
strong muscles.
Um, so that was super fun.
Um, we really enjoyed, they hada lot of the topiaries out
already since um the gardenfestival was starting the next
weekend, so we got to enjoy alot of those.
Not of that, they weren't like,you know, they had light

(37:16):
effects or something, theyweren't turned on, but they were
so fun to get to see.
Yeah.
Um and uh and then uh I bookedmy dad on Guardians of the
Galaxy.
And I he he did awesome, butI'll never forget him walking
out of there with his hairstanding straight up and just
looking at me like, what wasthat?
Um but my husband had neverbeen on it, so I booked them

(37:40):
both uh Lightning Lanes for it.
Um I think it's I think it'sindividual Lightning Lane,
right?
Yes that you buy for that.
Yeah, and they they had thegreatest time.
They both loved it, but I'lljust my dad walked out, you
know, he's 70 and his hair wasstraight up in the air and was
like, wow.

Nathan (37:56):
Well, your your dad is better than I because uh I do
not walk off that ride quickly.

Callie (38:01):
I um I I I I remember that and uh from your podcast,
and I decided I was not gonnatry that on me.
Um that was not gonna be myday.
I had to race the next day, andI was not about to feel that.
Yeah at all.

Nathan (38:15):
Good Call.

Callie (38:16):
Um yeah, and then we finally got to make our way over
for our early dinner at inNorway at um Akershush.
Akersh Akershush.
No idea how to say it.

Alicea (38:27):
Yeah.

Callie (38:28):
I looked it up.
Ak Akhush.
You're supposed to say it likeAkh Shush.
Yes, the royal banquet hall fordinner.
That one.
The royal banquet hall.
Um, I had booked this uh 60days out.
Okay, and when I had um madethe reservation, I was trying to
go for two things.
I was trying to get Topolinos,and that is my one regret from

(38:51):
that and Tianas Bayou, that Icould not get.
I I I should have joined MouseTracker or something and paid
for the app because by myself Icould not get it.
I was checking every day to getTopolinos.
Um, and I should have tried tobook that first, but instead I
was more worried about gettingmy daughter her birthday dinner.
Um and so uh so I went for thatfirst, and um that does not

(39:14):
fill up as fast.
So that was kind of interestingto me.
Um and reading up about thefood, it is served family style.
So there's you um you can picka drink and then they'll bring
you salad and different types ofrolls and cheeses in the
beginning.
Um, but then they have onestraight menu and it's served

(39:34):
family style.
And not as family style as indifferent platters, it is all on
one platter, so all of the foodtouches, which is kind of
interesting.
So, like the eggs are touchingthe potatoes, which is touching
this the veggies, which istouching the salmon, which is
fine if you're okay with yourfood touching.
But if you are someone whodoesn't like that, it might not
suit you.
Just be aware, just be aware ofthat.

(39:57):
Um, but we arrived there.
Um, another interesting thingabout this um dinner experience
is that when you arrive, theyseat you.
It's almost like um a dinnershow.
So it's not continuous dininglike um like Crystal Palace,
right?
Where you have a reservation,you come in and the characters
are constantly roaming.

(40:17):
Um, this is definitely more ofa show style where they um
there's one reservation, theybring you all in at once,
everyone gets seated, and thenthey bring out the princesses.
So it's kind of like the theservice all happens in a flow of
like a dinner show.
So um they'll come in and seatyou, and your waiter will come
out and introduce himself.
They'll bring you a um a littlesignature card that talks about

(40:40):
some of the princesses thatmight come, and there's about
seven or eight on there, andthey say you'll meet five of
them today.
It could be anyone on thissheet.

Nathan (40:45):
Okay.

Callie (40:46):
And so we got to meet Belle, Snow White, Ariel,
Jasmine, and Rapunzel.
So we were not complaining,these are all wonderful
princesses that my daughterknows and loves.
So that was very fun.
Um, so yeah, so they they haveyou come in and they first uh
bring you like different breadsand rolls and cheeses, and some

(41:08):
are native to Norway.
Um, there's an awesome goatcheese that my dad and I loved
um that was really tasty.
Um, and then they bring out asalad that has um um a lot of
cabbage and stuff in it, whichit was actually pretty tasty.
It had like a nice vinaigrettedressing, and um we all really
enjoyed that, and then yourdrinks, of course.
Yeah, um, and then at thispoint, that's when the the

(41:29):
princesses start coming around.
So they'll come around to eachtable.
Um, and it's nice, they'llspend a couple minutes with you.
Um, we always um bring asignature book for the kids, not
because we necessarily careabout the signatures, but just
because it gives the kidssomething to do of like a point
of interaction.
I feel like that kind of breaksthe ice.
Like, oh, I know what to dowith my hands when I meet this

(41:51):
princess.
I'm gonna give her this.
Um, and they were all sowonderful.
Um, and yeah, they all spent acouple minutes with us talking
and chatting, and we'd ask themquestions about, you know, we
asked Belle where the beast was,and we asked Rapunzel where um
her chameleon was, Pascal, andwe asked Jasmine what Aladdin
was up to today.
And uh that was really fun.
They had a really good time umconversating with them, and I

(42:14):
they were definitely a littlestarstruck, but my daughter was
wide-eyed and excited and wouldoftentimes look past the
princess that was visiting atthe next princess and be like,
look, look.
And I was like, wait, hold on,we gotta focus on the one that's
here.
Um so she's like, nope, hurryup, next.
Um so we we really enjoyed it.
Um, and then about every 15minutes, they kind of did what

(42:37):
was like a princess parade wherethey would dance around the
room and they'd all kind of youknow rotate and they'd kind of
jog along and rotate and they'dtwirl and they'd spin and they'd
dance and then um to to musicand they would stop and then
they'd go back to greeting andtalking to people.
So it was kind of a fun littleparade of princesses.
Nice.
Um, yeah, but it was it wasreally nice.

(43:00):
Um, I would say that my son isa picky eater and an allergy
kid.
So um we did warn them of thatand Go Disney, they brought him
out his own platter of food thathad an allergy marker in it.
Nice.
Um he's allergic to sesame, sothere wasn't actually anything
within the food.
A lot of it's some sesame is ina lot of breads.
Yep.
Um, and they they actuallydidn't have anything with sesame

(43:20):
in it, but they just said dueto cross-contamination with
other people's hands, we justwant to make sure that he has
his own plate.
So they brought him out his ownplatter of food.
Um, he didn't touch it, but wehad a great time.
Um, but we, you know, we thefood was uh it was decent.
Um, the best description thatsomeone gave on a review, and I

(43:42):
really think this was the bestway someone could describe it,
was it's not what I would haveordered, but I liked it.
And I think that's the best wayto put it.
Like the salmon was good, thepotatoes were good, the veggies
were good.
Um, the only thing on the menuthat none of us liked was the
mac and cheese.
Oh it was it was notAmerican-style mac and cheese.

(44:04):
Yeah.
So that was kind of a wompwomp.
Um, now the kids were hungry,so they ate, they ate some.
Um, but they were so amazed bythe princesses.
And the way that our familythinks of character dining is
that it's really just a greatway to meet all the characters
without having to stand in lineand have your kids wait 45

(44:25):
minutes for each one.
So the food is the bonus, butwe really think of character
dining as a great way to meetthe characters and in an
enjoyable experience for theseyoung kids that we're not
waiting in constant lines.
So the food is a benefit.
Um, but I I honestly will saythat we enjoyed the food, um,
but it's not what we would haveordered, but it was enjoyable.

Nathan (44:46):
Um was it still a good birthday celebration?

Callie (44:48):
It was a great birthday celebration.
Princesses made it, and then Idid order the Mickey Mouse
chocolate mousse cake, um, whichyou can you can add to your
order or you can add to yourreservation.
They bring it out, they broughtout a candle.
We got to sing door happybirthday, and it was the you
know, the top on the cake, youknow, it was like the candle on
the cake.
It was it was awesome.
So it was the perfect way tocelebrate.

(45:09):
Um, and then we just ended ournight with a walk back to um the
Skyliner, a ride home, and thenthe typical put the kids to bed
and have a drink.
Except for me, because I had arace the next morning.

Nathan (45:22):
I was I was just gonna say, I mean, you know, now we've
got, you know, day three dawns.
Well, excuse me, correction.
Day three hasn't dawned yet.
Yeah.
And you're getting up to go run13 miles.
Yeah.
How did you get over to thestarting corral and and where
was that?

Callie (45:35):
Yeah.
So um the starting corral isactually back at Epcot.
It's in the parking lot ofEpcot.
Okay.
Um, the best part about stayingat a Disney resort for a race
is they have bus transportationto those corrals.
And those start at about 2:30in the morning.

Alicea (45:50):
Oh, yeah.

Callie (45:51):
You can get up there.
So at two, now I I I know ifyou are in the first couple
heats, if you are gonna race umunder a timed restraint where
you are um saying that you'regonna qualify under a certain
time, you gotta get there evenearlier.
Um, as for me, that's not mygame.
I'm there for I'm there to havea good time and uh and see the
parks and um the early entry,should you shall I say?

(46:14):
So um so I I get up about 2:45and try to get to the buses by
about 3.15.

Nathan (46:21):
Okay.

Callie (46:22):
And the corrals, um, typically by the time I get
there and you get throughsecurity and all the checkpoints
and and all that, it's it'sit's a thing in the morning.
Um, and sometimes you gottawait for the bus to get there.
You typically get in about 4a.m.
is what time I got there.
Um, I met up with some friends.
Um, that was kind of the funthing.
I've I've been running raceswith two of my friends for a few

(46:44):
years.
And uh when I told them, hey, Ithink I'm gonna go run the
Disney princess, I mean, theytook no convincing.
They were both, you know, okay,that's great.
I'll meet you there.
Um, and uh so I got to meetthem there.
Um sadly we were in differentcorrals, but we got to meet up
during the race.
Nice.
Um and uh and that's it's justthe best thing.

(47:05):
Run Disney is such a positiveatmosphere of supportive adults,
and um it just is truly awonderful.
I I've never met anyone whoputs on a better race and puts
on a better atmosphere.
Um, and it it was amazing.
We got to run by the GrandFloridian and the Polynesian,
and then into uh Magic Kingdom,and then you loop around back to

(47:29):
Epcot.
So there is a lot of roadrunning, but you do get to see
lots of characters along theway.
You run into the sunrise, andright when it starts to get
blazing hot at like 7 a.m., youfinally uh find the finish line.
So um, and you get the mostexpensive banana you've ever
bought, but it's worth it.
So um they they do do a greatmeal pack, and then um they also

(47:53):
provide buses back to thehotel, which is super nice.
Yeah.

Nathan (47:58):
So how did you spend the day after the race?
And please tell us you didn'tgo to a park and put in another
20,000 steps.

Callie (48:05):
I have absolutely done that, and that was not the plan.
I have so typically in pastraces, we would actually go over
to Universal and we'd go doHarry Potter.
Oh.
And I would I would we wouldjust go do the Harry Potter and
I would come back dying and justsay regret it.
But sometimes I think tomyself, my feet are gonna hurt
either way.
It might as well hurt with aview, you know, like just go

(48:27):
have some fun.
Um, but uh we went back andenjoyed a pool day at the
Riviera.
So we got to take advantage ofthe resort.
Um, the Si-Vous-Play area is sofun for the kids.
Um, I got in trouble.
I uh was trying to show mydaughter how to go down this
slide there, and I quickly gotreminded by a very nice

(48:48):
lifeguard that only people 48inches and and smaller could go
down the slide.
Si vous plait.
So note to self, no more havingfun in that area.
But um not on that one.
Not on that one, but they dohave an awesome big slide on
their family pool, and that wasso fun.
Um, they had some beach ballsout in the pool, and uh my son
really wanted to play with one.

(49:08):
Um, and another kid came up andgot it, and so one of the
lifeguards had called to anotherlifeguard and said, Hey, bring
another beach ball if you canfor this kid.
And uh I guess they thoughtthat my son needed medical
attention.
So literally within like threeminutes, there were two like
Disney EMTs coming out withtheir medical packs, like
running to the pool.
I mean, it was impressive.
We're like, no, no, no, we'rejust looking for a beach ball.

(49:31):
And the next guy was so nice.
He came back with like rubberducks for them and beach balls,
and was you know, he was sokind.
Um, the staff there were justamazing.
Um there is a pool bar rightthere.
Um, I found myself quickly inthe hot tub and uh left the
babysitting to my family.
Another great win of invitingum the grandparents, which
really there's no betterparenting tip for Disneyland or

(49:53):
Disney World than bring thegrandparents.
You'll that's that's absolutelyessential.
Yes, 100%.
Yeah, so we got to enjoy thepool and then made our way to
downtown Disney.

Nathan (50:04):
Nice.
And what did where'd you go foruh dinner?

Callie (50:08):
We went to the Boathouse, which is our favorite
restaurant.
Um, we love seeing the umamphibious cars go in and out of
the water there, and uh theyhave great, great food and they
bring out little aqua car umfood boxes for the kids.
So like their meals come inlittle aqua car boxes and stuff,
which the kids thought was sofun.

(50:29):
Um, and yeah, we tried to makeit to Gideon's cookies.
Um apparently there's a queuefor a queue to get to get a
cookie.

Nathan (50:38):
There can be.
There can be.

Callie (50:40):
So uh we did not make it to there, so we had to settle
um back with those darn drinksat the Riviera again.
That's just a bummer that wekeep finding ourselves back at
that bar.

Alicea (50:51):
Still yummy.

Callie (50:52):
Still yummy.
Yes, but have you tried theRiviera cookie?

Alicea (50:56):
I don't think I have.
No.

Callie (50:58):
So the Riviera has a signature cookie, and now hear
me out.
It sounds a little weirdbecause I did not think it was
gonna be good, but they were sorich and delicious.
It is like a standard, youknow, uh chocolate chip cookie,
but with pistachios, walnuts,uh, extra chocolate chips, dried

(51:18):
cherries, and salt.

Nathan (51:22):
Oh yeah, the salt's gonna really kick up the
chocolate.

Callie (51:25):
Yeah, so it is a super sweet, rich, and salty cookie.
And I am normally not someonewho goes for nuts and cookies,
but oh my gosh, was this cookiegood.
And it was super big.
And uh that was how we had toend our trip was with the
signature cookie, and I was Iwas impressed.
This the Riviera cookie is isis worth the hype.

Alicea (51:46):
Hey Nathan.

Nathan (51:47):
Yeah,

Alicea (51:47):
can we go to Riviera so I can get a cookie?

Nathan (51:51):
Um oh oh okay.
Perfect.
Twist my arm.

Callie (51:59):
The uh banana bread is supposed to be another thing
that a signature out of theirquick serve restaurant.
Um it was okay.

Alicea (52:08):
I love banana bread.

Callie (52:10):
It was I I love banana bread too, but it wasn't I get
the cookie.
Wouldn't give a gimbal.

Nathan (52:16):
Yeah.
Well it I I would alsorecommend getting getting
anything, especially the steakon the menu at Tapolino's.
But yeah, that's that's yeah.
You didn't so you mentioned uhum there there are services that
can help you find out whenthose openings uh uh do crop up.
We use mouse dining and uh paythe I forget.

(52:39):
It's not it's not that much.
Like I think we have a um Ithink we still have an annual
membership because uh last yearwe were in Florida a bunch and
it was like I don't know twentybucks for the year for them to
like you can do it for free andit'll email you when something
goes open.
Um but if you pay a little bitof money, they will text you.

(53:02):
So it's kind of like near realtime instant.
And you can go right in uh andI don't know how they magically
find this stuff, it's clearlytied into their backend system.
And as soon as somebody does acancellation and it meets your
criteria for the search, you geta text with a link to Disney's
dining website and you go bookit.

(53:23):
And uh we have scored a a bunchof reservations that way.

Callie (53:26):
So yeah, very cool.
I will definitely do that nexttime because I was I was very
crushed that we did not make itto Topolino's.
But as my husband said, nexttime we will go.

Nathan (53:37):
So there's always a next time.

Callie (53:39):
That's the best part about being a DVC is that
there's always a next time.
Exactly.
That was that was the winning,that was his winning statement
all weekend.
Next time.
Okay, okay.
Yeah, so that was kind of thetrip in a nutshell.
The next day we got thewonderful service came and
picked us up again, and we justkind of powdered our way to the

(54:01):
airport.
We didn't do anything superspecial that morning.
We did walk around the resort alittle bit more and take in the
art.
So we walked some of thehallways to look at the
beautiful art there, and reallyalso take in the carpets.
Like the detail in this resortis incredible.
It is.
And um, I I mean, you could seethe characters in the in
everything.
And uh I think one thing that Ihad heard before going to

(54:24):
Riviera was one of thecomplaints was, well, it just
doesn't have a grand lobby.
But I found their lobby to besweet and comfortable and
actually a place I'd want tosit.

Nathan (54:35):
Yeah.

Callie (54:35):
Because some of the lobbies are so loud that I was
like, I I just I I can't find aflaw here.
I don't find one.
I don't I haven't found it yet.
I'm a big fan.

Nathan (54:44):
The DVC only resorts don't have the grand lobbies.
Except story tall, super biglobby that the hotels do, unless
you're at a location that is amixed hotel and and DVC resort.

Callie (55:00):
Okay.

Nathan (55:00):
Um they yeah, it's just not that grand entrance.
But you're staying, you'restill staying at a deluxe place
with incredible service.
And oh, by the way, you have akitchen and a dining room and a
living room, and like it's it'sthey're just fantastic spots for
DVC.
Yeah.

(55:21):
But uh I don't want to startsounding like a sales pitch
again, so I will leave it atthat.

Callie (55:27):
It's it's truly the, you know, um, we we did buy at
sight unseen, so we did not gouh on any tours.
Um, I've been to many Disneyresorts.
I um, you know, uh been atDisney many times and and just
trusted the process.
Um, I did do my onlineresearch, I did do lots of
virtual tours um and really feltlike I had a a pretty good idea

(55:53):
of what we were gettingourselves into.
Um so uh, but it always is thatextra satisfactory when you get
to go and say, Oh thank Godthis turned out good.

Alicea (56:04):
Always a plus, yes.
Yeah.

Callie (56:07):
That that was our trip.
It was a whirlwind, as yousaid.
Um the kids, both first visits,um, total success, minimal
meltdowns.
Um, really uh so much fun inone weekend.
I'm really glad that we tookthe pool day.
It was definitely needed.
And uh, you know, we arealready excited to go back for

(56:29):
our next trip.
Um which I wish was sooner, butjust gonna have to wait till
2026.

Nathan (56:36):
Well, now, as you know, you're a listener, it's time for
Alicia's patented Disneytorture test.
But you sound like you knowwhat you've got going on.
You'll probably be okay, butyou know, still good luck.

Alicea (56:50):
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
This is just your Disneyfavorites from everything under
Mickey's umbrella.
So you can choose from Disney,Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel,
whichever you like.
Okay.
It's painless, I promise.

Callie (57:03):
I I feel like I've practiced my answers for these
before.

Alicea (57:06):
Yeah, but now the pressure is on.
Playing along at home.
I love that.
Yeah.
All right.
Favorite Disney character.

Callie (57:16):
I'm gonna go with Cinderella.
Okay.
I do have her castle tattooedon my foot, so I feel like
there's a lifelong attachmentthere.

Nathan (57:24):
Nice.

Alicea (57:26):
Your favorite movie.

Callie (57:28):
Now I sound repetitive if I say Cinderella live action,
but that is true.
My kids have been really intoum uh Aladdin live action
recently.
Um, and so that's been a reallyfun family movie we've been
watching a lot.
Cool.
Um, you know, there's Swiftiesout there for Taylor Swift, but
my my kids are smithies for umWill Smith.

(57:50):
So anything he sings, they're abig fan.

Nathan (57:53):
That's awesome.

Alicea (57:55):
Favorite ride?

Callie (57:57):
Splash Mountain.

Nathan (57:59):
There you go.

Callie (58:00):
I said what I said.
I haven't been on Tiana'sBayou, but for so I'm sure it's
amazing, but um, I was so sad.
I have so many sentimentalmemories on Splash Mountain and
uh at both parks.
And uh I will say that I'm solooking forward to um to Tiana's
Bayou when I finally get to go.

(58:21):
Um, but for now, the actualrunning ride, I would still say
um uh Jungle Cruise.

Alicea (58:28):
Okay.
Got it.
Disney World or Disneyland?

Callie (58:32):
Oh, this is the worst question.
Absolute worst.
If I'm gonna go on a vacationtomorrow, take me to Disney
World for the bubble.
But if you were to ask me whatis my favorite, I'm gonna say
Disneyland because the older Iget, the more nostalgic I get.
And Disneyland has fullnostalgia for me.

Nathan (58:51):
Yeah.
I I explained that to somebodyjust yesterday.
Yeah.
Of there's something aboutWalt's original park.
There's something about howsmall and walkable and quaint
and just compact and amazingeverything is there.
But the Disney bubble inFlorida is real.

Alicea (59:10):
Yeah, real.
I can't discount that.

Nathan (59:12):
And we go under that, you know, welcome to Disney
World sign, and blood pressuredrops 25 points instantly.
It's just it's it's a thing.

Callie (59:21):
It's a thing.
And I I would go there any dayof the week.
Um, you don't have that atDisneyland, but when you're in
Disneyland, it's just it's themagic right there.
Yeah.
I will say when I go to DisneyWorld and I go to Magic Kingdom
and I go to Fantasyland, I'mlike, this is where is where are
all the rides?
So it's not here.
There's nothing where's therides at?
Um, so you know, they just eachhave their magic.

(59:44):
So I'm glad to have them both.

Nathan (59:46):
Yes, agreed.
Agreed.

Alicea (59:49):
Out of all the individual parks you've been to,
which one is your favorite?

Callie (59:53):
So this is the uh Disneyland.

Alicea (59:56):
All right.
What is your favorite hotel orresort?

Callie (01:00:00):
Oh well now it is definitely the Riviera.
But I will say I have not beento Aulani yet.
That's 2027 plan.
So um but uh uh Riviera is ishigh on our list right now.

Nathan (01:00:14):
You will love Aulani.

Callie (01:00:16):
Yeah, I'm so excited for that.

Nathan (01:00:18):
It's magical.

Alicea (01:00:20):
Favorite Disney restaurant.

Callie (01:00:23):
Okay, so we um I can't think of the name of it, but if
you want to ask me about my mostmagical experience, it was
eating inside um Pirates of theCaribbean at Disneyland.

Nathan (01:00:36):
Uh Blue Bayou.
Blue Bayou.

Callie (01:00:37):
Blue Bayou, yeah.
I I still remember the chickenand loving it.
But I will say that we had anextraordinary breakfast and
experience at Grand Californiansum breakfast Storyteller's
Cafe.

Nathan (01:00:52):
Yeah.

Callie (01:00:52):
That was delicious.
Like the full experience wasincredible.
We talked about it for likethree days afterwards.
So probably that, but I stillhave very fond memories at Blue
Bayou.
I just haven't gotten in therein a long time.

Alicea (01:01:05):
We'll have to try that again.
We've been there once and itwas not great.

Nathan (01:01:08):
Yeah, that was a long time ago.

Alicea (01:01:10):
It was a long time ago.

Nathan (01:01:12):
Yeah.
All right.
We'll we'll do it again.
Yeah.
Hey, maybe in uh April.

Alicea (01:01:16):
Maybe in April.
Maybe sounds good.
All right.
Last one.
Favorite Disney snack.

Callie (01:01:22):
Oh, the churro.
Churro.
At Disneyland.
At Disneyland.
Yes.
At Disneyland.

Nathan (01:01:27):
Exactly.

Callie (01:01:27):
I know I have not tried the gluten-free churros that
I've heard Nathan talk about.
Yeah.

Nathan (01:01:32):
Yes.

Callie (01:01:33):
I have not tried those yet, but I am a churro, churro
for life.

Nathan (01:01:37):
Yep.
Those are at Nomad Lounge inAnimal Kingdom in Florida.
And they are the same.

Alicea (01:01:43):
They also have so good.
At Dahlia Lounge at CoronadoSprings.
Yes.
Oh.
It's the same type of churros,I think.
Or the same dough, but they'rein they look like a donut, but
they taste like a churro.

Nathan (01:01:56):
It's so good.
Yes.
Go up to, you know, if you'regoing to stay at Riviera from
now on, but it's still worthheading over to the Dahlia
Lounge up there on the top ofthe Coronado Springs Tower and
uh the Grand Destino towerthere.
And yeah, get get some churros,get a drink.
It's the perfect way to end theday.

Callie (01:02:17):
That's the hardest part about DVC is that you want to
try other resorts.
Yeah.
But then you're also like, butI love Riviera.
But um, you know, many years,that was another buying point
for Riviera, is all the yearsleft on the contract.
Yeah.
Which we are we're we're lockedin.
So I um I look forward to manyyears down the road and getting
to try other places.

Alicea (01:02:37):
It just means more trips.

Nathan (01:02:39):
It means more trips, and and that's that's that's why
you you get more points, andthen you can to take more and
more trips, and then okay, Ineed to stop because I'm gonna
talk myself into getting evenmore points.
Nope, we're good for now
Yes, ma'am.
Yes, ma'am.

Callie (01:02:53):
I don't know.
I think Riviera is stillselling, Nathan.
I think I think it's almostfull.

Alicea (01:02:57):
We just we already bought our our Floridaa contract
though.
Um we just got more Poly, or wejust got Poly points.
Yes.

Callie (01:03:04):
Yeah, so cool.
Yes, yeah.
I we've talked about I waslike, I I would get um
Disneyland Hotel just so we canhave one on each coast.

Alicea (01:03:11):
Yes, that's what we did.
Yeah, we have that too.

Callie (01:03:15):
Yep, yep.
That's that's see, that'sthat's the next plan.
So yeah, and and then myhusband doesn't know about the
plan, but it's okay.
It's a detail to be told.

Nathan (01:03:23):
Well, then we started off with two contracts at a at
Aulani.
So yeah.
We we have all of our basescovered at this point.

Callie (01:03:29):
Yeah, you're covered.
I like it.

Nathan (01:03:30):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, Callie, congratulations,you survived.

Callie (01:03:35):
Yay.
Thank you so much.
That was so fun.
I uh I like I said, I thoughtabout my answers.
So

Nathan (01:03:41):
you did well.

Callie (01:03:42):
Felt like I was prepared for this.
So thank you guys so much.

Nathan (01:03:45):
Absolutely.
Well, you've you've mentioned acouple things that that are
you're you're thinking about.
Like what is next on theitinerary at Disney for you
guys?

Callie (01:03:53):
Yeah.
So, you know, the first thingwe learned when we started
telling our family, and this isour method for everything, is we
do it first and then tell thefamily so that the opinions
don't influence.
So we we bought DVC, told ourfamilies, and the second, I I
tried not to say the wordtimeshare as it does because
they panic, right?
Yeah, yeah.
We bought a timeshare.
Oh no.
And then it quickly follows toso when are we coming?

(01:04:16):
So are we gonna come on thetimeshare?
So uh so we have a couple funtrips booked.
So next, um, not they're notactually booked yet, um, because
the 11-month window hasn'tquite hit yet.
But um, we are planning ontaking my husband's um uh mom
and brother and their familiesto um to Riviera um and do

(01:04:36):
Christmas, uh not overChristmas, but sometime in
December.
Yeah we're gonna get what wecan get um and take them for um
for December 2026.

Nathan (01:04:46):
Oh, that'll be lovely.

Callie (01:04:47):
So um that that's uh my my brother-in-law has never
been, his family's never been.
Um my mother-in-law has hasactually been out once, but they
never got to go as a family.
So this is our big familygathering, and we're really
excited for that.
Nice.
Um, I will probably be incharge of all the lightning
lanes, so please pray for mebecause they're stressful.
But um, but I I I mean it isDisney, so you get what you get

(01:05:11):
and you don't throw a fit, youknow?
Exactly.
You love it.
Um, so that's the plan.
In 2027, is my parents' 50-yearwedding anniversary.
So we are gonna go on a cruise,a Disney cruise.
Um, and I I have selected thetreasure.
They said seven-day cruise, andI said no problem.
So that is planned for late2027 and then 2028 uh is the

(01:05:33):
goal is Aulani with my with myparents.
Perfect.
So they um they've done so muchfor us, and we would like to um
it feels so good to finally beable to to take them on a trip.
So we would love to take themto Aulani.
They love Hawaii.
Um, they've always been sohelpful in helping us get there.
We this is really uh an awesomeopportunity to be able to pay

(01:05:54):
them back and and thank them andtake them on a trip to Hawaii.

Nathan (01:05:57):
Oh, that's fantastic.

Callie (01:05:58):
Yeah.
So that's the plan, you know.
That's three years out.
I don't know if that's enough.
We'll have to keep planning.
We have to get some morepoints.

Nathan (01:06:06):
We were just looking at our vacation spreadsheet.
Yes, we have a vacationspreadsheet that goes all the
way out through 2030.
So it's okay.
You're not you're not crazy.

Callie (01:06:13):
See, I'm not organized, guys.
I gotta get better at this.

Nathan (01:06:19):
Well, Callie, thank you so much for being on with us.
We really appreciated uhgetting the chat.

Callie (01:06:25):
Well, thank you guys.
Thank you guys for what you do.
As I mentioned, your podcasthas been such a little magic to
my Mondays, and I really enjoyyour um banter and um your
knowledge and just your overallpassion that you share with us.
So thank you so much for me andyour listeners for what you
guys have created.

Nathan (01:06:43):
Oh, thank you so much.
It's great to hear that.
Appreciate it.
Well, we will absolutely haveyou back on uh on on your next
trip.
Please reach out.

Callie (01:06:51):
We'll do.
Thank you so much, guys.

Nathan (01:06:54):
Well, remember, we are not affiliated with Disney or
their subsidiaries.
These are personal opinions andsuggestions based on our own
experiences.
We recommend working with atravel agent or contacting
Disney directly to plan yourperfect vacation.

Alicea (01:07:10):
If you have questions or suggestions, or would like to
be interviewed on our show toshare your own Disney
experiences, please send anemail to podcast at our
mouscapades.com.

Nathan (01:07:20):
You can follow us on social media.
We're over at OurMouscapades.
You can find us on Instagram,Facebook, Threads, and YouTube.

Alicea (01:07:28):
And please give us a rating and review in your
podcast app.
It really helps people find us.

Nathan (01:07:34):
And of course, don't hesitate to share us with your
friends and fellow Disney loversof all ages.

Alicea (01:07:40):
Thank you for listening.
We will be in your ears nextweek.

Nathan (01:07:43):
Thank you for flying Star Tours.
Bye bye.