Of the countdowns I’ve got going in life right now, this one is the largest. Of course, there’s also this one…

So, in 57 days, I’ll be flying from LAX to Orlando to start my very first race-cation at Walt Disney World! It’s kind of hard to believe that I’ve got less than two months until I get back to Walt Disney World. This will be my third visit to the Florida theme parks and I’m super excited! As my wife and I have been discussing this trip, the theme is to do things we didn’t do on our honeymoon. Thus, we’re staying at the All Star Sports resort and have zero repeats on the Advanced Dining Reservations. Of course, once in the theme parks, there will be many repeats (especially on the attractions that only Florida has).  Not too long ago, I blogged about our plans. As it turns out, we were unable to get our time at the Senses Spa at the Grand Floridian on Sunday (after the marathon) as I had hoped. As I’ve been looking at the logistics of that day, there was simply not enough time between when I figure to finish the marathon and our dinner reservations to fit in time at the spa. So, while others are running the half marathon (or shortly after others have finished), we will be relaxing away on Saturday instead at Senses. However, the rest of the plans are just as they were in that blog. Last week, I found out that Brooke and I will be getting these…

As I’ve been following other bloggers who were able to test these out, I’m kind of excited to see how well they work out. The attorney whose office is next to mine has been working out the patent issues with these more than a year ago. So, I’ve been able to see some of the prototypes and have known about them for quite some time. The reaction of those that have used them seems very positive. I truly hope that my wife and I have a similar experience. Last week, I ordered our magic bands. Brooke will get the blue one and I’ll be wearing the red one…

I’m really liking the “My Disney Experience” online and the way it has helped me organize the trip. I’ve downloaded the app on my phone and love the fact that I can have the itinerary at my fingertips for the entire trip. Additionally, I love the My Fastpass+ option. We’ve already booked our fastpasses for Toy Story Mania at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! This was one attraction I really wanted to check out in Florida on the honeymoon. However, by the time we arrived at DHS, the fastpasses were gone for the day and the line was just too long. Both Brooke and myself love Toy Story Mania at Disney California Adventure. The group I work for did a lot of work on clearances for the queue line at DHS. So, I’m really excited about seeing that! I was already prepared to make it out to DHS for the opening in order to secure fast passes. Now, thanks to My Fastpass+, I won’t have to!

While it’s sad that Brooke and I will only get 2 days of Disney parks, we are both excited to experience Universal Orlando for one day. Now, I know that one day to experience two theme parks will limit us somewhat. However, we’re mainly going to the parks to experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. They are building one out here at Universal Studios Hollywood (set to open in 2015). It will still be awesome to experience the original. I suspect that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter won’t be quite as good as the Florida one when it opens. Since we’ll get to experience both, we’ll know for sure in 2015. I was really happy when I figured out how we would get to Universal Orlando and that all of the costs associated with that are doable! Also, while we’re there, hopefully, we’ll get to see some minions.

As fun as all that will be, I’m getting excited for the main event….

In 61 days, I’ll be running in my very first full marathon…and it will be at Walt Disney World! That means, I’ve got 2 months to finish getting ready. With my first 20 mile long run behind me, I’m feeling much better about this race. Yes, I did have some struggles on Saturday. However, I still finished in a time that equated to an average pace of 14 minutes, 26 seconds per mile. The runDisney max time is 16 minutes per mile average pace. So, even with walking 10 miles of the 20, I was ahead of that pace. As long as I keep working at it, I shouldn’t have to worry about being swept. I’m going to Walt Disney World to FINISH my first full marathon. Getting swept is NOT an option. The 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon may be my one and only full marathon. So, my main goal is to finish and have fun doing that. I want to get lots of pictures along the course and hopefully finish in under 6 hours. All of this seems very doable to me at the moment. The clock is ticking and I simply cannot wait for January 12, 2014 to arrive!

Some of you readers may have already used the Magic Bands. If so, would you mind sharing what you liked or didn’t like about them?  Also, for you Walt Disney World regulars, would you mind reading my blog post about my plans (here) and telling me if you think I’m missing something in my plans? I’ve still got time to make changes and am open to suggestions.