Did you know you can go fishing at Disney?



When at Disney world it is not unusual to have a “rest day” or two.  These are the days that you don’t go to the park. Maybe it’s your day of arrival or departure, or maybe it’s just your day to relax at the resort.  Just as we do at the theme parks, we want to make sure we take advantage of everything the resorts offer as well.  


disney resort
The hut at Ol' Man Island at Disney's POR. This is were the cane pole rental and worms are located.

Did you know that you can go fishing at Disney?  During our trip last year we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside where my dad got to take advantage of the fishing here.  At POR they have a fishing hole at Ol’ Man Island.  They offer cane pole fishing and a container of worms for $4/hour or you can take a family of 6 fishing for $12.50 an hour. Fishermen and woman have the opportunity to catch catfish, bass, and blue gill. All catches are catch and release of course! This is a fun and inexpensive activity to do during one of your “resort days”.  It’s also a great activity for the boys to do while the girls go to the spa, shopping or other girl time activity.  I know my dad had a good time fishing at Ol’ man Island!


Our dad fishing at Ol' man Island.


port orleans riverside
 


Cane fishing is also offered at Disney’s  Fort Wilderness.
What an inexpensive way to have some fun at Disney!
Disney also offers guided fishing excursions on Tracker Pontoon Boats and Nitro Bass boats starting at $170 ( for one person). Our family hasn’t experienced this yet but for more information you can visit here:  
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/fishing/

Biking at Disney


bike path at disney

If walking around the theme parks all day wasn’t enough of a workout for you, you can always find ways to work out at your resort without having to spend time at the fitness center.  During one of our Disney trips this year, our family stayed at Old Key West Resort where we rented bicycles for an afternoon.  Our family loves to bike, so this was actually an activity we were looking forward to doing.

A Great Day for a Baseball Game at Disney!


ESPN wide world of sports
Ever wonder what else there is to do at the Walt Disney World resort outside of the four theme parks? If you visit during the end of February or the month of March, you will have the opportunity to watch the Atlanta Braves play a pre season baseball game.  When we traveled to Disney in February for the Princess Half Marathon weekend, that’s exactly what we did!  We looked into this venture months ahead of time. We were excited to see that the Braves would be playing “our team” the New York Yankees, so we promptly ordered our tickets online.  Even though this was a pre season game, these tickets sure go fast!

Celebrate with a Disney Fireworks Cruise!

How are you going to celebrate an accomplishment this year? Whether it be a graduation, a wedding, a birthday, or a Run Disney event I have the perfect suggestion. How about hosting a Disney Fireworks Cruise?

View of Wishes from our boat











 










You can choose to watch the fireworks from Magic Kingdom which is called the Wishes Cruise or if you prefer Illuminations in Epcot, you can book a cruise for that as well.
 

We hosted a Wishes Fireworks Cruise to celebrate with some of our friends and family one evening before our Disney Wedding. We had a specific time that we all had to meet at the marina behind Disney’s Contemporary Resort.  Life jackets were provided for the little kids, and once we arrived on board snacks and drinks were provided.  A friend of ours even brought champagne to share.  Our captain for the evening was “Dave”.  He sailed us around the Seven Seas Lagoon, played a little Disney trivia with us, and gave us some background information on how the Wilderness Lodge was built.  I won’t give the whole story away, but the front of the lodge is supposed to resemble a very famous bear. Can you guess who?   We also got to catch a glimpse of the Wedding Pavilion from the water.  It looked like there may have been a ceremony going on because we could see candlelight in the windows. This was a special sighting because we would be getting married there in two days!      

On the pontoon boat sailing around the lagoon before Wishes

As the sun had gone down, our captain parked our boat in front of the Magic Kingdom train station.  We had a great view and the music was piped in. One of the little kids in our group even pointed out that he saw Tinkerbelle fly by.                                                                                  

I will let the photos speak for themselves.

 

The following year we booked an Illuminations cruise to celebrate our one year anniversary. This time we met our boat at the marina behind Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.  The captain took us for a cruise along Bay Lake and gave us some background information on the Epcot Resorts that we had gone by. Before too long we were anchoring our boat underneath the bridge at the International Gateway.  Snacks and beverages were served on this cruise as well.  We ate our snacks and watched the show. Seeing the show from on the water made it sound even louder and more explosive. It was a good show though.
The pontoon boat we sailed on for the Illuminations cruise
 
Watching Illuminations from the water
 

If you want to book a fireworks cruise there are several options you have.                             
 Do you want to watch Wishes or Illuminations?

*If you choose Wishes, you can choose from a 21’ Tracker Pontoon boat that will accommodate 8 guests for $292.88 or a 25’ Tracker Pontoon that will accommodate 10 guests and pipe in the Wishes music on the boat for $346.13.

*If you choose to take the Illuminations cruise, you may have up to 10 guests on board and the cost is  $325.

Snacks and beverages are provided on each cruise but you can also order private dining from several Disney resorts at an additional cost.

Other options for fireworks cruises include renting the Grand One Yacht which holds 18 guests, or the Breathless ( a 1930’s mahogany boat) that hold only 6 guest.


*Prices at time of publication.

Have you ever done a Disney Fireworks Cruise?  In what ways have you celebrated an event at Disney?

Hollywood Movie Madness Race: May 2013

 
Us Road Running
Today I did the Movie Madness 5K Race with my Dad.  The race started at the Hollywood Casino and since the theme was Hollywood Movies, there were several runners dressed in costumes.  Prizes were given to runners who sported the best costumes.  . They included a lady dressed as Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, A family dressed as Batman, cat woman, and batbaby, and my personal favorite was the child that was dressed as Ronald Weasley from Harry potter ( he didn’t have to try very hard as he already looked a lot like Ron even without the costume). 

Do You Run With Rover?

                                                          


Believe it or not our pets are prone to the same ailments we are. They can suffer from Type II diabetes, bone and joint problems, heart disease, high blood pressure, difficulty breathing, arthritis, and the list goes on and on.  Just like in humans, these ailments are associated with our pets carrying excess weight.   Of course this weight can be managed by their diet, but getting enough exercise is key!

Dogs are naturally physical creatures so of course they love to run. Our Labradors literally do back flips when they think they are going out for a run or a w-a-l-k ( as we have to spell it in our house).  They don’t even wait until we pick up the leash.  As soon as they see us putting on our running shoes, they go bananas!  They are doubly disappointed on the days they get left at home.
Only you can decide if your dog is a good running companion, but just for fun here is a list of top running dogs ( according to Runner’s World Magazine)

 
If your dog didn’t make the list, don’t worry. Check out Runner's World Running Dog List for the complete list.  He or she may fall into a different category.

Weather you run with your dog for protection ( no one should run alone), or you run with him as a companion ( because it’s nice to have a buddy), or you’re hoping to get him into shape too ( your dog will thank you for this), you still want to be mindful of the conditions.

1.       If you need to hydrate yourself during your run, don’t forget about Rover, he could use a drink too.  I found these great water bottles at PetSmart for under $10. You can drink from the spout and then your dog drinks from the container that flips out.



 

2.       Be cautious of the surface you are running on.  When it’s really hot outside, keep your dog off of the blacktop or other paved surfaces. Also longer runs on trails that have bits of gravel on it often irritate paws.

3.       Be mindful of your pets’ physical condition in general.  If you have a dog with lots of hair, they may make great running partners in cooler weather, but not so much in the heat. Also dogs that are overweight have a harder time regulating their body temperature therefore making it miserable for them to go out on a run or walk on a warm day. Take these dogs out after the sun goes down.
 

4.       That brings us to the great give away we wanted to mention!  If you are walking your dog after the sun goes down, you’ll want to get your dog a Dog-E-Glow LED collar.

 
Photos from Dog-E-Glow
 
 

Our friends at Wellbella are giving away 10 Dog –E-Glow LED collars.  Here’s what you have to do to enter:

“Like” them on their Wellbella facebook page.

 Send them a picture ( of your pet) at Giveaway@WellBella.com ( write “Dog-E-Glow in the subject line and include your name and address in the e-mail)

 

Good Luck!

Let us know if you run or walk with your dog. Tell us what kind you have and how they react!

My First time at Boot Camp!



A run in the park at boot camp


I woke up on Saturday morning to rain pinging my bedroom window and I wondered if boot camp for this morning would be cancelled. The instructor said rain or shine so I grabbed my yoga matt and was on my way. I remembered that there was a pretty large gazebo at the park and wondered if we would all gather under there. It rained during my entire drive there, but surprisingly stopped by the time I reached the park.

Rivertowns Marathon May 4, 2013


                                                  Rivertowns Marathon : May 4th 2013.

marathons in Pennsylvania

This would be my 5th marathon in 5 months!

Seeing that this was one of the smaller marathons I’ve done, getting parked and getting to the start line was no hassle at all. Not even any lines at the port o potties!   We were able to pick up our race packet and bib number the evening before, but we had to get our chip the morning of the race.