Many visitors enjoy the Magic of Magic Kingdom during their stay here in our vacation homes.  Children in particular find the characters familiar from the books and films that they watch , so to see these characters and places that they know so well up close and personal is  exciting for them.   One day at the park is usually more than enough for many of the little ones, but the older children and the adults alike watch in wonder at the night parade put on by the Magic Kingdom each evening.  There are two shows; one at nine o’clock and one at eleven o’clock, with fireworks at ten o’clock.

Certainly even on a mid week visit to watch the Disney Electrical Parade, a good many people were still there from the day, and the crowds were quite thick.   Small children were draped  over parent’s  shoulders, or asleep in their pushchairs;  their little faces flushed from the heat.

We wandered through some of the exhibits; one of my favourites is Cinderella’s castle; the interior walls of the archway are festooned with beautiful wall  paintings picked out with gold, azure and crimson, giving it a truly medieval feel.   This is just one of the examples of the artwork on those arched walls, and like myself, many guests were just standing and staring at the stunning artwork.    We all know just how creative the Disney imagineers can be, and this in particular is a prime example of their skills.

he time was getting closer for the Start of the Electrical Display Night Parade of Summer Nightastic, and crowds were already lining the streets of the Magic Kingdom.   One of the less populated spots to watch from is around the area of Frontier Land, so off we headed towards Splash Mountain.  Having found a suitable spot from which to watch , we settled in for a long wait.  It is best to find your place  and stay there, as the crowds make it difficult to see once the Parade starts, and the better viewing areas are already occupied by 7.30!

One of the interesting things that I noticed while waiting patiently, are the numbers of people being guided by the Disney helpers.   With the aid of lighted wants they were indicating the routes that visitors needed to take; and in doing so, were actually directing the foot traffic so that one side of the street was for those heading away from Frontier Land, and the other side was used for guests heading towards our area.

One of the other things I noticed is that to move visitors along, they play a large amount of marching band music; normally  without being in the position of people watching I would not have seen this, but marching music automatically makes people march in step to the cadences of the music; so not only do people have direction, they are also moving faster than an amble.    Very interesting, that!

Eventually the announcement that everyone was waiting for, came over the loudspeakers, and the lights were dimmed.   Excitement rose as the first characters dressed in lighted costumes came dancing along the street, followed by a selection of floats festooned in lights and colour.

Lots of photos were being taken, judging by the flash lights going off, and sometimes it was difficult to see every display in its entirety, due to the numbers of people crowding in front.  From Alice  in Wonderland to Captain Hook, from Cinderella to Pinocchio and Peter and the Dragon, they were all there in glorious techicoloured lights.  The larger floats were large indeed and towered over the audience so that everyone could see Cinderella waving from inside her coach, or Captain Hook on his ship, or Mickey Mouse perched high on his sparkling display. Smaller characters were dancing through the street between the displays, waving to the children in the audience.

The finale to our evening was the view and noise of the magnificent Firework Display that blossoms over the top of the Castle – and which can be seen from almost everywhere inside the Magic Kingdom.

After a most successful Goofy Challenge this year, when more than 55,000 runners set off over the two days, it’s now time to register for the 2011 event.

And they're off!

The Goofy Challenge is one of the premier events in the marathon runners calendar. Held each year by Disney, the event attracts runners from all walks of life, from the amateur athlete to top marathon runners.

This year’s event was held on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th January, during one of the coldest spells in Central Florida‘s weather for the past decade.   Volunteer helpers, race marshalls and spectators lined the route to cheer on the brave competitors running in below freezing temperatures with sleet, snow and rain.  The weather did take its toll, although the half marathon had just over 17,000 runners complete the course.  The winner of the men’s half marathon finished in 1 hour 7 minutes 2 seconds, and the women’s leader completed the race in just about 1 hour 20 minutes.

A friend of ours, Toni,  who was staying in one of Premier Home Management‘s vacation homes finished her half marathon in just under 2 hours. After returning to her home and relaxing, her preparations began for the full marathon on the next day.

Her start time on Sunday was 5.50 a.m. in an air temperature of 26 degrees. She managed to complete the race in just about 4 hours – while the leaders finished in 2 hours 22 minutes 8 seconds for Adriano Bastos and 2 hours 51 minutes 20 seconds for Lisa Mizutani. Over 16,000 runners completed the course.

Well doing the Goofy Challenge is a challenge in its self, but looking for good accommodation can be more of a challenge! But that’s where Premier Homes are brilliant – as they took the stress out of this for me!

I stayed at Windsor Hills, which was only about a 15 min drive from Epcot, so I didn’t have to leave my resort hotel at 3am to get to the start….. The accommodation was spotless and extremely well kitted out with a wonderful power shower, a tv in all rooms, a full equipped kitchen – just in case you don’t want to travel the 2 mins to the vast array of restaurants. The apartment also had a washer and dryer – which came in very useful for dealing with smelly running kit!

All in all I can only sing the praises of Marilyn and her team, they provided me with a great base to complete this challenge and I would certainly go back to them again even if I wasn’t doing the Goofy!

Thanks, Toni

The final race of the weekend, completed the most magical 26.2 miles on Earth.  The course takes runners through all four Walt Disney World®

Running the Disney Marathon in Orlando, Florida

Theme Parks starting at Epcot®, continuing on to the Magic Kingdom® Park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ and then back to Epcot® for an exhilarating finish.  The post race celebrations were less well attended this year due to the inclement weather.

For those of you who are so inclined, the Application forms are now open for next year’s Goofy Challenge.

Next year’s Challenge dates are below, if you are a runner, you’ll need to know this.

Before you run off we wanted to tell you all about the 2011 WALT DISNEY WORLD® Marathon Weekend presented by CIGNA, Thursday, January 6 – Sunday, January 9, 2011.  You’ll want to be here for a weekend of races that are as magical as they are memorable; from Disney’s Health & Fitness Expo to the final mile of the marathon, complete with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy medals.  We know you love running, now imagine a run where every mile is filled with Disney fun.  You’d be, well, goofy to miss it!

Toni, who stayed in one of our vacation homes, was so pleased that she was able to bring her family with her for support – it made all the difference between staying in an hotel by herself and having friends and family living in the vacation home with her. Everyone was able to enjoy themselves in their own way and their own time.

If you’re coming next year for the Disney Goofy Challenge, do let us know. We’ll cheer you on!