A Quick Trip Around the World

Recently, I had the chance to travel around the world in one weekend without even leaving the state.  While that may sound impossible, nothing is impossible when you’re at Disney World. A few weekends back, I participated in Disney’s Marathon weekend running the half marathon with my mom and my roommate April.  With all this time to spare before leaving for New Zealand, my family and I decided to take advantage of this popular Disney event we were unable to attend in the past. Participating in this race gave us the opportunity to run through Magic Kingdom in the wee hours of the morning as well as finish with a lap around the world in Epcot.  Little did I know our weekend getaway would actually teach me some valuable lessons in preparation for going abroad.  

The first lesson stemmed from our experience with transportation.  Considering Disney’s Marathon weekend features a 5k, 10k, half-marathon, and marathon all in four days, the parks are packed like sardines. These races are wildly popular and the generally large crowds are supplemented by all the runners and their families.  With this in mind, Disney’s normally smooth transportation takes a significant hit. Not only are the masses of runners clogging up all the different forms of transportation, but the courses also create detours that significantly impact travel time and convenience.  If you are a participant in the race this is not necessarily a surprise; however, those trying to tackle Disney as they usually would experience a number of delays and obstacles in doing so. With all of this in mind, the transportation experience reminded me to do my research before I leave.  My family members who tagged along for the trip admitted they would have made some alternative choices in hotels and transportation routes having known prior how the races would affect their overall experience. Certainly transportation abroad will present a challenge to someone unfamiliar to the life of public transportation, and it is one of the many things I plan to look into more thoroughly before I leave.  It will become a significant factor in all the excursions I decide to venture on and something I should not ignore as plans start to develop.

Another unexpected lesson from this weekend came from a friend we stumbled upon—quite literally.  Friday morning, my family had reservations for Chef Mickey’s, a buffet-style restaurant that provides guests the opportunity to interact with characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.  Well, when my aunt tried to get up for one of these many picture opportunities, she fell right out of her chair into the family sitting at the table behind us. Funny enough, we would later meet the very mother of that family while waiting for a bus to take us to the race expo.  From the accent as well as verbal confirmation, we learned our newfound friend was from Australia and she was very knowledgeable of New Zealand having ventured there quite often herself. This sparked a conversation proving some of the best advice and guidance comes from those of experience.  We actually boarded the wrong bus together leaving us not one but two bus trips as well as a long line to get into the expo filled with stories and experiences from her time in New Zealand.  Providing potential points of interest and transportation suggestions, considering our own personal transportation blunder, she became a great resource only a few weeks out from our departure.  Amidst our conversations of running and travel we would make the connection from our breakfast encounter and could not believe the chances—it all just seemed too good to be true.  

While I was worried about starting this travel blog just a little short of a month out of leaving for abroad, it is strange how much my impending departure has come to consume my life already.  A trip I took completely unrelated to my upcoming travels somehow turned into a form of preparation for me. Between encouraging me to further my research and looking beyond the web for guidance, my trip to Disney World showed me much more than just the Disney marathon weekend experience.  Running around the world within the walls of Epcot may have always been something I’ve dreamed of, but it's New Zealand where the real journey begin when I actually travel across the world and see what my four month stay has in store for me. 

Chef Mickey's Breakfast before the fall

Post race with April

Post race with my mom and April