Seven Seas Lagoon Run at #DisneySMMoms Celebration

On Mother's Day I was up early to meet whoever wanted to run one final time at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. I had an idea of who was coming based on Tweets and FB posts from the night before and yes...early that morning. I headed to the Contemporary lobby at 6:15 to meet up with everyone at 6:30.  We were going to run to the Grand Floridian and back around the Seven Seas Lagoon!  It is one of my favorite runs on property because of the amazing views across the lagoon.

Good Morning Contemporary! It is like waking up to the circus waiting to come to life! 

I love the scale on this picture! I look like Tinker Bell in a very small lobby.  I was wore my safety vest and light up Tinker Bell wings for our early morning run.  I thought we might make it out before the sun.  That was not the case, but it is always good to take safety seriously!

runDisney had invited Ali Vincent to the DSMMoms Celebration 

and she joined us at many events throughout the weekend including our morning run!  

She is a truly amazing individual.  

Her secret to success is that she is real.  

She is one of the most comfortable people to be around.  

She really puts herself out there to have fun and help others while trying not to forget herself.  

If you ever get a chance to do anything with her...do it!

Here is our running crew ready to set out! I love all of our Princess colors!  On the right is Nicole Brady with her husband and two amazing daughters.  Kia Smith is sporting the Minnie ears.  Andrea Howell from FB Once Upon a Run is in the blue tank.  Ali's camera run buddy is on the left.

We left the Contemporary and headed toward the Ticket and Transportation Center.  

Everyone familiar with runDisney's course to Magic Kingdom should recognize this dip in the road.  

Picture huge Mickey hands clapping and spinning the hits up on the overpass.

There was a lot of chatting, encouragement, and yes picture taking along the way!

Heading through the Ticket and Transportation Center.

There were just a few other folks around...which held true for the entire run.

Over to the Polynesian! What a happy crew! I felt like Tinker bell in a garden.

The girls were amazing! 

They were up for anything...including pictures! 

I know they had an amazing trip all around!

Our first view check.  The Contemporary is all the way across the Lagoon! 

Ali pointing out where we started!

The Polynesia is such a beautiful resort.  

Some day I hope to be so lucky as to stay at the resort.

You can't pass up a trip to the chapel when running around the lagoon.

Sisters!

Ali knew exactly what to do with the rings!

The half way point in our run.  We ran/walked our way up to this point.  

We had quite the mix of running abilities 

and were not going to drop anyone on the way to the Grand Floridian.  

On the way back we ran...

...and took some photos...

...and ran...

...and made it back to the Contemporary!

A parting shot of Belle, Aurora and Cinderella before cleaning up for Mother's Day brunch.

I can not wait to get back to Disney and hit the running paths again.  

I can't wait to meet even more of you this coming week at #DisneyRunFest '13!  

We will have to see where our runs take us!  I am looking forward to seeing some new sights.  

What are your favorite runs on property?

DisneyRunFest '13 - The Itinerary

Here is the itinerary for DisneyRunFest!  There are some TBDs.  What do you all think?  Is there anything we should add?  Where should we run Saturday morning?  This is our event...let's have some fun on the run...at DISNEY!!!

June 21^st DisneyRunFest ’13 Monsters University 5k Fun Run Pre-Party at the Movie!  Movie time: 3:30

https://www.facebook.com/events/611619812188441/

June 21^st DisneyRunFest ’13 Monsters University 5k Fun Run! Time: 6:30-7:30 Location: Meet on the Boardwalk bridge behind the Swan and Dolphin, between the Boardwalk Hotel and the Yacht Club Hotel.

https://www.facebook.com/events/225778324227006/

June 21^st DisneyRunFest ’13 Dine-Out post run. Location: TBD

June 22^nd DisneyRunFest ’13 Morning Run.  Time: 7 am, Location: Art of Animation
https://www.facebook.com/events/556815977695402/

June 22^nd DisneyRunFest ’13 Bowling Party – Splitsville, Downtown Disney, Time: 10 am-noon

https://www.facebook.com/events/551312671568627/

Tollytots Limited - Merida Doll from Brave

While I was at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration Tollytots Limited contacted me about doing a review of the Merida doll.  The offer was one for me to review and one for a lucky reader!  I could not resist her!  She was on display at the Merida Coronation breakfast during the Celebration and I had a chance to take a quick peek before agreeing to the review.  She arrived at my house this past week!  My youngest was really excited to take her out of the box.  She looks beautiful in the box, but I wanted to set her free as well.  Plus I just had to see her beautiful hair in a more natural state.

On the packaging Merida is pictured in her dark green velvet dress with gold trim.  The doll itself is wearing a blue/green plaid dress.  She also has a gold glitter overlay across the front of her skirt.  I love that she comes with a bow and arrow set.  These are so much of her personality.  The belt and quiver come off if you want to play with her on her own as well.  My daughter wanted to know if her shoes come off.  They do.  She is checking out her dress inside and out right now.  Okay...she just turned the dolls head all the way around.  Now she is really putting her through her paces!  She has green underpants painted onto her.

Box off and on to the tray tie downs.  She is almost free!

I love the eye contact!  She is ready to play and her hair looks amazing!

She sits up so nicely and holds her own bow!

Look at that gorgeous hair!

If I bought this doll for my daughter (or myself) I would absolutely love her.  I am thrilled to be able to review her and keep her with my growing Disney doll/character collection.  However, if I had bought this particular doll I would be inclined to return her.  She has blue/green discoloration in 3 places on her "skin."  I am going to try and wash it off, but I fear she is stained.  I don't know if it is from her dress or something else.  

I noticed the spot on her cheek while she was in the box.

I noticed the mark on her finger when I started playing with her.

The large marks on her leg were hard to miss
when I checked to see what kind of underpants she was wearing.

I tried to wash the stains off, but no such luck.  At least the larger stain is under her skirt.  I guess you would either try to exchange her or use it as an opportunity to appreciate peoples differences.  Since you could see the slight mark on her cheek while she was in the box I am somewhat surprised that they sent me this doll to review.

Despite her "flaws" I still love her: her eyes, her smile, her hair, her green dress, how she sits...I just want to pick her up and hug her!

So what do you all think?  

Leave me a comment and I will raffle off a second doll that will ship directly from the company.  The drawing will be Wednesday June 18th at 5 pm.  A little business before kicking off #DisneyRunFest '13! 

This Merida doll was a gift from the company intended for me to review.  I get to keep her.  In exchange they requested a review post, a link to their Facebook page, and encouragement for FB likes.  They also offered a second doll for one of my readers.  My thoughts and photos are all my own.   

UPDATE: Here is the response that I received from the company so far regarding her pigmentation issue.  "We are so very sorry you experienced an issue with the pigmentation on Merida! I talked to the team and we would like to test and review her immediately to determine the issue and solve it. This is the first we are hearing of this issue, so we appreciate you bringing it to our attention. Can I arrange for a carrier to come get her sometime next week so we can take a closer look? In the meantime, we will get you a brand new Merida!  Thanks again for letting us know about this. We really appreciate it and can't wait to get you a new doll!"

And the Winner is:  
Using Random.org I have pulled a winner for the Merida doll...drum roll please...and the winner is number 21...Kelly Brown Retterer!

Running shoe rambling

I like my local running store a lot more than the national store in town. I have even gotten the local store to match the national stores prices. 

Make sure you ask about their return policy. 

I usually find a shoe that works for me and wear the same model for several pairs in a row. 

Treat the sales person like you would a doctor. Tell them everything you know about your feet. Do you ever get blisters? Do you have pressure points in your feet? Do your feet ever fall asleep or go numb when you are exercising? Do you like a lot of padding? Maybe you want to upgrade the liner with a better quality one?

There is so much that you could possibly think about, but in the end it is all about how they work on your feet and that is where the return policy comes in, because ideally you will actually take them running before you decide if you are really going to keep them or not.

I go through shoes in 4-6 months depending on how much I am running in them. I don't stick to any set mileage when determining when a pair of shoes is finished. You just know it when they are. The tread is almost gone and they just feel dead.