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  • Disney Off the Beaten Path: Ukulele Lessons at the Poly
    Disney

    Disney Off the Beaten Path: Ukulele Lessons at the Poly

    ByLisa June 27, 2019July 9, 2019

    Ukelele lessons at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.

    Read More Disney Off the Beaten Path: Ukulele Lessons at the PolyContinue

  • Experiment 626 Cone Today at Pineapple Lanai!!
    Disney

    Experiment 626 Cone Today at Pineapple Lanai!!

    ByLisa June 26, 2019June 26, 2019

    Happy 626 Day!! Run, do not walk, in celebration to Pineapple Lanai at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort for the Experiment 626 cone. Available only today and melting fast – it’s vanilla ice cream in Stitch blue with two chocolate ears and a blue cone. My kids enjoyed it enough to wear them home. Will you…

    Read More Experiment 626 Cone Today at Pineapple Lanai!!Continue

  • Toy Story 4: The Movie That Needed to be Made
    Disney

    Toy Story 4: The Movie That Needed to be Made

    ByLisa June 24, 2019June 26, 2019

    Why I loved it and also acknowledge that it needed to be made.

    Read More Toy Story 4: The Movie That Needed to be MadeContinue

  • Disney Cast Life: International Yoga Day – Cast Member Sunrise Yoga at the Magic Kingdom
    Disney

    Disney Cast Life: International Yoga Day – Cast Member Sunrise Yoga at the Magic Kingdom

    ByLisa June 23, 2019September 4, 2020

    You guys. I am so humbled. So grateful. So incredibly thankful to have been given the opportunity to share this with you. For the last four years, Walt Disney World has joined Disney’s other parks around the world to bring sunrise yoga and some Bulk custom yoga mats to its Cast Members for International Yoga…

    Read More Disney Cast Life: International Yoga Day – Cast Member Sunrise Yoga at the Magic KingdomContinue

  • My Thoughts on the AP Price Increases – It’s Not About Days In the Park
    Disney

    My Thoughts on the AP Price Increases – It’s Not About Days In the Park

    ByLisa June 19, 2019June 19, 2019

    The thinking behind the Walt Disney World annual pass price increases.

    Read More My Thoughts on the AP Price Increases – It’s Not About Days In the ParkContinue

  • Walt Disney World Annual Pass Prices Increase Significantly Ahead of Galaxy’s Edge Opening and 2020 Booking
    Disney

    Walt Disney World Annual Pass Prices Increase Significantly Ahead of Galaxy’s Edge Opening and 2020 Booking

    ByLisa June 18, 2019June 18, 2019

    Increases across the board in WDW Annual Passholder rates.

    Read More Walt Disney World Annual Pass Prices Increase Significantly Ahead of Galaxy’s Edge Opening and 2020 BookingContinue

  • The Hardest Reservations to Get in Walt Disney World – And Where You Should Go Instead
    Disney

    The Hardest Reservations to Get in Walt Disney World – And Where You Should Go Instead

    ByLisa June 17, 2019June 17, 2019

    The hardest ADRs to score at WDW and why you should go elsewhere.

    Read More The Hardest Reservations to Get in Walt Disney World – And Where You Should Go InsteadContinue

  • WDW Passholders to get Galaxy’s Edge Previews!!
    Disney

    WDW Passholders to get Galaxy’s Edge Previews!!

    ByLisa June 17, 2019June 18, 2019

    Big news buried in a Disney Parks Blog article today. According to the post, Platinum, Platinum Plus, and Premier Annual Passholders at Walt Disney World will be among the first to experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Note that there is no mention of these being available to Gold or Silver level…

    Read More WDW Passholders to get Galaxy’s Edge Previews!!Continue

  • 7 Ways to Make the Most of Your Walt Disney World Vacation
    Disney

    7 Ways to Make the Most of Your Walt Disney World Vacation

    ByLisa June 14, 2019June 14, 2019

    7 ways to make every moment count in Disney and make sure you DON’T need a vacation to recover from your vacation.

    Read More 7 Ways to Make the Most of Your Walt Disney World VacationContinue

  • Goodbye.
    Disney | Life

    Goodbye.

    ByLisa June 10, 2019June 10, 2019

    How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.

    Read More Goodbye.Continue

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thecastlerunner

Follow along day-to-day and race-to-race on Instagram.

Sunday morning run + after. Sunday morning run + after.
My watch lied to me this morning. The first mile My watch lied to me this morning.

The first mile buzzed early. So did the next two. My Garmin had decided that I’d run farther than I had. And if you know Garmin, you know it doesn’t just throw around kindnesses.

For half a second, if I’m being totally honest, I almost took it.

But then I took a beat and thought—why? I’m not doing this run for anybody but myself. Why cut it short for a tech error?

So I ran the full five miles anyway. Tacked the “extra” on at the end, in the heat, to make up the gifted distance I hadn’t actually covered.

I know I’m probably overthinking this, but this little act stayed with me. I’m coming back to a strict running schedule after many months of downtime with my head buried in writing and publishing my book. And it’s amazing how fast I’ve switched back to this version of myself that would finish the actual mileage without a second thought.

No one was auditing my tracking data. The only person who would ever know whether those miles were real was me—and I ran them anyway. My legs decided before my brain had the chance to weigh in. My inner negotiator didn’t even get to start talking.

I should be clear that this wasn’t willpower. Willpower is exhausting and sometimes I don’t have that much of it. It’s something quieter that training builds in you over time: the habit of keeping a promise that you made only to yourself.

You practice it in small, almost silly ways—four-tenths of a mile in the Florida heat. Doing laps in front of your house because it has to end at an even 3.1 or 6.2 or 10 or 20. And then one day you notice it’s followed you home. You stand up a little taller because you’re somebody worth keeping promises to. And you start doing the other, non-running things. The work you kept saying you’d do. The version of your life you kept promising yourself you’d build. It’s sort of my original story, I guess—harnessing running like this—but it’s very much still happening now and it’s hardly unique to me.

If any of this sounds familiar, or appealing, it’s the thread running through Chapter 17 of The runDisney Companion. That chapter was always the seed of something big
Scrapbook from the first day of Food & Wine: 1. Scrapbook from the first day of Food & Wine: 

1. Entrance

#TasteEpcot

2. Seoul, South Korea Bo Ssam Pork Poutine (La Poutinerie)

3. Cinnamon Pretzel Cold Brew (Sommerfest 🇩🇪)

4. Cute new train set details 🇩🇪

5. Spicy Temaki Hand Roll - This and the Wagyu were both excellent. 🇯🇵

6. Wasabi-Soy Sauce-flavored Potato Chips 🇯🇵

7. Before it rained.

8. Katsura

9. Dumplings Trio 🇨🇳

10. Exit

11. Almost home
Update: This contest is closed. 🐊 GIVEAWAY: I’m Update: This contest is closed. 

🐊 GIVEAWAY: I’m teaming up with Wild Florida to give one of you 4 passes, valued at a total of $980, to their Ultimate Wild Florida Experience—a full day exploring a completely different side of Central Florida.

TO ENTER:

✨ Follow @thecastlerunner and @wildfloridairboats
✨ Tag a friend you’d bring
✨ Tell me: which animals are you most excited to meet—the sloths, porcupines, lemurs or capybaras?

Enter up to 3 times with separate comments.

You’ll arrive at 8:30 a.m. and spend the morning getting up close with sloths, porcupines, lemurs AND capybaras with their trainers. Then you’ll break for lunch, followed by a one-hour airboat tour through the headwaters of the Everglades.

After that, you’ll have the rest of the day to explore Wild Florida’s Drive-thru Safari Park and Gator Park, including exhibits, shows, an aviary, and more.

The boys and I did it a few weeks ago and had the best day. My favorites were the airboat tour and hand-feeding a lemur. The boys were huge fans of feeding the birds in the aviary.

Giveaway closes Monday, August 24 at 6pm ET. One winner will be selected at random and contacted first by DM from @thecastlerunner. Once confirmed, the winner will be announced in a pinned comment here. Watch for impersonator accounts. I will never ask you for payment or CC info.

Details: Prize includes 4 Ultimate Wild Florida Experience passes ($980 value). Participants in the Ultimate Experience must be at least 12. All 4 guests must redeem their passes together. Reservations required. Transportation not included. Experiences subject to weather & animal availability. Passes are valid for 12 months.

Open to residents of the 50 United States and D.C., age 18+. Entrants must be following both @thecastlerunner and @wildfloridairboats when the winner is selected. Void where prohibited.

By entering, entrants release Instagram from responsibility relating to this promotion. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram.
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