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Monday, August 22, 2011

Getting a 'Physical Education' Disney Style!

Welcome to those of you joining me from YourFirstVisit.Net and those of you who have just hopped aboard.  I am the Final stop on our Magical Blogorail loop.





"Mousercise, Mousercise, everybody Mousercise, says Mickey when you rise, come on everybody Mousercise!" 


We all know the importance and value of getting an education. But it needs to extend further than just being "ready to learn to get some knowledge". What about a 'Physical Education'?  Neglect the very vessel that embodies your mind, and all that accumulated knowledge was for not. After all, the mind is the hardest muscle to work past, whether your reading Shakespeare, or running a marathon! 


If you've spent any time at all in any of  Disney's theme parks, you can conceivably see how educational opportunities abound. Whether its World Showcase in Epcot, The Keys to the Kingdom Tour in Magic Kingdom, or learning about the magic of movies in Hollywood Studios, a Disney World vacation can offer the opportunity to learn anything offered in a conventional classroom. And 'PE' is no exception. 


So where does Disney World enter into the equation of EARning a Physical Education? Easy! And, It's the magic of healthy living! Run a Disney Family 5K! Throughout any given year, you'll hear a lot of information regarding Disney's major runDisney events geared for adults. In fact, Disney's Marathon Weekend is increasingly receiving media attention surrounding it's full and half marathon challenges. And now, they are extending the weekend's appeal by offering the 'Goofy Challenge', the opportunity to run both the half and full marathons, back to back! But what about the families? This is where the 5k runs come in.


As a participate of a runDisney Family 5k, the first step before the race is to obtain your participate race packet. This requires you attend the Health & Fitness Expo, offered at either the Wide World of Sports in WDW, or the Disneyland Hotel in the Disneyland Resort. At these Expos, families learn the latest  information in health & fitness products, as well as seminars from experts in nutrition, running safety, and injury prevention. Just as important, children get to experience what it's like to participate in a race event. I can guarantee they wont remember what happened in class last week, but they will remember what it was like as they stood at the starting line of Disney's Royal Family 5K! Six months after our first runDisney Family 5K, my children remember with uncanny detail the events of that day. From properly affixing their bib numbers to their shirts, to the O' dark thirty wake-up time, to the feeling of crossing the finish line, these moments are forever etched into their memories as favorite WDW moments! And it didn't matter how fast we finished the run, what mattered was the instant love for participating in a challenge such as this as a family. What mattered, was the camaraderie they experienced with total strangers trying to complete the same journey. And what a new perspective to gain on your favorite Disney theme park. I will never forget the scene when we entered World Showcase from a back entrance of Epcot, and all 1.2 miles of World Showcase was a sea of families running/jogging/walking together. It was amazing! Here are some photos of our experience running the Beauty & The Beast 5k this past February. 

                                   Arriving at the WWOS to obtain our race packets!

                                     A look inside the Expo at the Jostens Center.

 Dylan crosses the finish line in Disney's Royal Family 5K, February 26th, 2011

                                Daddy gets jog stroller duty with the littlest competitor. 

                                              Madison runs with all her might!

                                              Epcot at 5:30am, aka, O'dark thirty!

            Getting ready to start! The 2011 race theme was Beauty & the Beast.

Mommy completes Disney's Princess Half Marathon!

Hopefully, you're beginning to contemplate a Physical Education-Disney style! Here are a few tips to help get you running in the right direction!


1. Select the runDisney race right for your family.
Remaining 2011 & 2012 Race schedule:
September 3rd, 2011- Star Tours 5K- Sold Out-DL!
October 1st, 2011- Disney's Halloween 5k- 72% full-WDW!
January 6th, 2012- Disney's Family Fun Run 5K- 52% full-WDW!
January 27th, 2012- Neverland Family Fun Run 5K- DL-*Night run.
February 25th, 2012- Royal Family 5K-WDW.
September 2012- Disneyland Family 5K TBA
October 2012- Halloween 5K-TBA


2. Get the family moving, now!
Training programs for 5K's are prevalent. With such options as couch to 5K, and my favorite
by runDisney running consultant, Jeff Galloway, Jeff Galloway's 5K Training. ANYONE can be ready to run in 6-15 weeks!


3. Make it fun!
Create family running shirts! Ours read, The Royal Dority Family, on the front, the back read, Tale as old as time,
Song as old as rhyme.
You could even have fun by wearing a full costume, although covering your face is prohibited.


4. Watch videos of past races on the runDisney web-site. 
No one can sell it like Disney can! By watching the race promos, you're sure to encourage the family to just keep running ;-) 


5. Raise money for a charity as incentive to train & follow through.
By creating accountability not only to yourself and family, but to the community, you increase your chance of a successful finish.


6. Communicate with your child's educators!
As you can see from the race schedule, most races occur while schools are in session. By communicating in advance with the teachers & school administration your plans for participating in such an event, you're less likely to encounter problems from missed days. And, I'm sure this is an event your child's teacher would like to have shared in the classroom. 


In closing, there is just no substitute for a good education! We must continue to soar to new heights, learn new things, and continue to challenge our knowledge base. With that, we must challenge our bodies, too. And though Walt himself felt books contained more treasure than all the loot on treasure island, he also reminds us, "The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing". Why Walt? "Because it's Kind of fun to do the impossible!". 

"Mousercise, Mousercise, everybody Mousercise, says Mickey when you rise, come on everybody Mousercise!" 

Thank you for joining Magical Blogorail Teal this month. We will be back September 27th with an all new theme. Keep checking in with our blogs in between loops to keep up to date with our Disney info, photos and stories. If you are looking for more Disney magic, you can make your way over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our members and their blogs, as well as all our previous loops. 

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:
1st Stop ~ The Many Adventures of a Disney-Lovin’ Spectrum Mom


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Everything AND the "Kitchen Sink"!

This tasty nugget, known as the "Kitchen Sink," can be found at
Beaches & Cream, located in Disney's Beach Club Resort.