We got to Disney World (the actual World and not airport) at about 10am Friday morning. We checked-in to our hotel and headed out for a day of fun. We were all really excited about seeing our place for the week. Mom and Dad own DVC so we were staying at the Contemporary for the first time and in the all new Bay Lake Tower.. We were super excited to stay there anyway, AND M/D got a two bedroom suite, so B, B and I had one room and M/D had the other. Kaitlin stayed on the pullout sofa. It was really nice, with a full kitchen, family room, washer and dryer and anything else you need! (the previous post has pics).
The first thing we did was head to the Wide World of Sports where we were able to pick up Brian and my race packets and walk around and see all of the running stuff. After that, we headed over to Epcot to meet up with Natalie. Natalie was a former employee of mine and really good friend. She worked for me at BCC for years before graduating and taking a job at Disney World. I absolutely love her to death! She is one of the sweetest and funniest people I know. The Disney gig was a 6 month internship doing research at Animal Kingdom and Epcot. Her last day of work was actually the day before we got there, but she was still able to give us a backstage tour ("magical moment" is Disney words :) ) of the Seas (know where the Nemo ride is?) and while we were there, we got to see the Dolphins up close and even got a little private show.. It was really neat, but it was AWESOME to see Natalie!!
After our visit with Natalie and time at Epcot, we headed back to the hotel for some rest before dinner. Brian and I had to get up the next day for the half, so desperately needed some rest :) We didn't really get much rest.. I think maybe Brian and my Dad napped while the rest of us explored the hotel.. We were supposed to head back to Epcot for dinner at Italy, so Brian and I could get pasta to carb load, but we were all tired and not really interested in going back to Epcot. We ended up eating dinner at the Grand Floridian (B and I ate pasta), it was really good and close to the hotel. After dinner, we all headed for bed, it was an early morning and we knew the next day would be too!
The first half of day 2 was the half marathon that I already blogged about.. After the run, we headed to Hollywood Studios for lunch. Brian's all time favorite place to get ribs (ANYWHERE) is at the Sci Fi Drive-in so that's what we had for lunch. It's a fun restaurant, where you sit in cars and watch movies like you are at Drive-In Movie. After a yummy lunch, we headed to Tower of Terror. It's a favorite ride of ours! We rode it a few times during the trip, but on this particular day, Al Roker and his family rode with us! It was pretty cool. You don't see famous people too often (or maybe we just don't notice them?) So that was a pretty cool experience. After riding, we ended up heading back to the hotel. Our new room was ready (we switched to have the Magic Kingdom view) and we definitely were looking for a rest!
After some quiet time in the room, we met up with Ashley, Chad, and Natalie for dinner, while M/D and Kaitlin went to the Grand Floridian. Ashley and Chad were on their honeymoon and happened to be at Disney the same time we were.. It was pretty awesome to be able to meet up (not in Blacksburg :) ). It was nice to go out to dinner with friends and to my favorite, California Grille. They have great sushi and yummy other stuff :) It sits on top of the Contemporary hotel (top floor) and you can watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the roof. They even pipe the music, so you can get the full effect! After dinner, we headed over to Bay Lake Tower to watch the fireworks. It was pretty neat! This is the only picture I got of the night.
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