As I have posted several times, I would like to do the Goofy Challenge in 2016. As early as this time last year, I made it very clear that the Goofy Challenge was in my list of long term goals and that 2016 was the year to do it. You might also remember that after tackling the Disney Marathon without my wife and daughters, I vowed that my next runDisney experience would include them for sure. Next April, Marathon Weekend registration goes on sale and everything is going according to plan. Except for one thing.
My family doesn't want to go.
No, they are not insane. No, really. And it's not that they don't want to go perse. There is a perfectly good reason for this turn of events and while I kind of understand, I'm still kind of shocked a little bit. My daughters are not only Disney fans through and through, but HUGE Frozen fans so you would expect them to be ecstatic at the prospect of going to Disney World, especially with all the Frozen stuff happening at the parks. But no. Given the choice, they want to do something else. They want to go on a Disney cruise.
Let's go back a bit. We were having a family conversation about how much fun we were gonna have when Daddy would finally take everyone with him to Disney World when the subject of the Disney cruise came up. We went on the Disney Fantasy in November 2012 and had one of the best vacations I've ever had and THE best family vacation ever by far on that cruise. Not to mention I ran my first Disney race there (Castaway Cay 5K) which quite literally started this whole running journey. The girls were raving about how much fun it was and that they wanted to go again.
My daughters came up with the brilliant idea of going to the parks AND the cruise. My wallet complained before I did. "Girls, I know you guys love the cruise but we can't do both. No way."
- "But we want to go!"
- "Sorry, but we can only do one or the other.
This is where I totally misread my daughters. And my wife, I might add. I mean, I was thinking Parks, Castle, Princesses, Frozen... they would take the bait for sure.
- "So choose. What would you do. The cruise, or the Parks?"
Yeah, that was the wrong question. My oldest and my wife (the traitors) blurted out "Cruise!" in less than a second. Veronica, the middle one, was conflicted. She still wanted to have her cake and eat it too. But with some reluctance said "Parks!" after asking many, many times why we just could not do both. But her answer was not firm. After some prodding from her sister she went with cruise as well.
I understand my wife's choice on this. She hasn't stopped talking about the cruise since we got off the ship, even now over two years later. She is also worried about going to the parks during a race. She doesn't speak any English and the prospect of spending a day (Marathon)and a half(Half Marathon) alone with three kids in a place she is not familiar with while I'm running scares her a bit. So given a choice, she took the safe bet.
The girls on the other hand, I would have not guessed. I underestimated how much fun they had on the cruise. They have been to the parks but the cruise was more recent so maybe that weighs heavily on their choice too.
So, this is what I'm left with. If I want to do this race, I would have to do it on the ultra-cheap. My brother is living in Miami and has a time share in Orlando so he would provide both lodging and transportation for free(maybe even do the Half with me if I can convince him). I can use my accumulated airfare points for the plane ticket so I would just need to pay race registration and spending money for the weekend. No parks, no resorts, no extra days. Arrive on Friday, leave on Sunday or Monday. Sounds horrible I guess, but it's doable. I'm there to accomplish a goal after all. The other stuff is just extra. Then, in November go have the time of our lives on the cruise.
That, or do the Goofy Challenge on some other year...
Meanwhile, negotiations continue at the Pizarro household to see if some alternative agreement can be reached. The one thing that is not negotiable is for me to simply say that we are going and have them feel like they were forced to go. That sounds so weird. Who would need to be forced to go to Disney World?! Well, apparently people set on taking another Disney cruise.
Guys, I'm all ears (or eyes). What do you think? There's no hurry (yet). Registration starts in April so there is time to think about it.
I'm not sure if this is an option for you, but could you run Goofy and then head on to that Disney Cruise with the Castaway 5K? Then maybe your family can meet you for the marathon part of the Goofy and then you can all go on the cruise? I don't know, its just and idea.
ReplyDeleteWhile not completely discarded, when it comes to cruises we try to aim for November because (up till now) the lowest fares seem to happen around that time so I'm open to the idea.
DeleteI think you should keep the two things separate - do the Goofy Marathon on the cheap and then go on the cruise. It sounds like your family wants to spend time with you (away from running the marathon), and they really want to go on a cruise! I think it's sweet. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it, I forgot to point out in the post that while the trip to Disney World does include the Goofy Challenge, this would not be a "let's watch Daddy run and then we can leave type of trip. We are talking about a full-on Disney trip staying a whole week either pre or post-marathon on property and taking our time to visit the parks and stuff. Having said that, right now I'm kind of seeing it like you are. Just keep it seperate and do "Cheap Goofy". LOL
DeleteEven if you could swing both the cruise and the parks, it doesn't seem like your wife is thrilled to be in wdw with three children during marathon weekend and that is understandable. The two previous comments are both great. Depending on which cruise you would want to do perhaps you could just meet your family in Miami after the Goofy Challenge weekend and do that cruise with them.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand the "quick" trip thing. We will be going to WDW for princess weekend so our Goofy trip was an in on Friday and out on Monday trip. We didn't do any parks. We were open to it but didn't buy tix ahead of time because we didn't know how we would feel after all the running and to be honest with you, there really wasn't even enough time for us to do parks ( and feel like we would have got our money worth out of the ticket price) so we didn't feel bad.
Oh, one other thing non running related. Do you know that your Google Profile is linked to your name when you comment on someones blog? For example, When you leave a comment on our blog and we go to click on your name to go to your blog, the link takes us to your Google profile and not your blog page. I'm only telling you this because some people might not know what your blog is. It would be helpful if you would add your blog page to your Google profile, that way people who click on it can go right to your blog. Lucky for us, we know who you are...lol ( but seriously, it makes it easier to find you that way).. I hope that makes sense and doesn't sound like a bunch of rambling.
Full disclosure: I am a little worried about that too. Three small girls is a handful to deal with in a big crowd with or without the marathon so maybe that's something we could do when they are a bit older and both my wife and I feel less paranoid. About the cheap trip, the truth is I have been to the parks many times so its not like I'm missing out on anything except maybe a cool picture in fron of the castle with the medals... but that's a small detail.
DeleteOh, and I'm totally checking what you said about my profile. I thought it was linking to the blog. Thanks for the heads up.
DeleteOh gosh! I'm terrible at making decisions and so is the Hubbo. We literally boil most decisions down to a coin toss. I'm not even kidding a little bit. We decided to buy our house based on a flip of a coin. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteLOL OMG you totally made my day! You flipped a coin to buy a house. I feel a lot better now. I suggest we flip for it to the girls and see how they react. lol
DeleteOooh. That's a rough one. I'm not really a cruise-lover, so I would be all about the race. However, I reserve the right to change my mind as we are going on our first Disney cruise this year. If it was my goal to run the Goofy, I would want it on the calendar ASAP and I would be ok with doing it "on the cheap." Good luck with your decision!
ReplyDeleteJanuary 23rd, 2015. I'm going to remember that date Mrs.Cruise non-Lover. Seriously though, if your cruise involves family and especially any kids 5-10 years old, I have a feeling you will have an awesome time.
DeleteOh Frank, this is a really tough choice. However, if you are really set on Goofy in 2016, I would go in the cheap. You could still go to Downtown Disney (it's free) and the decorations for the holidays will still be up. Their will be others hanging out at resorts after the half so you could hinge with them too. A Disney cruise/castaway cay challenge are on my list, but I'm not sure when!
ReplyDeleteRunners... I'm starting to think I was asking the right question to the wrong people. When I told this story to friends and family (who don't run) they were all like "Why go to Disney World and not go to the parks? That's not worht it." Of course they have a fair argument but they don't run. Maybe they don't get how important it is to achieve a goal like the Goofy Challenge. The feedback here however, reminds me of ehy I want to do this race and it has nothing to do with hanging around the parks. Besides, I've been to Disney World countless times!
DeleteTwo separate trips seem like they would make sense. I understand your wife's trepidation about being alone with the kids in an unfamiliar place where she doesn't speak the language. And since you've got the transportation and housing taken care of, the trip should totally be able to be done on the cheap! And given how tiring Goofy is with the early wake ups, you may just want to relax and hang out with your brother by a pool with a cold drink :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent point. Many people complain about the early wake up calls but if you run a Half Marathon then spend the rest of the day in the parks and wait well after Illuminations to then see if you can fall asleep... heck I'd be tired even if I didn't run. lol
DeleteOh man...what a tough dilemma! Hope it all works out for you guys and everyone is happy! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, everyone at home is happy. lol There is no question we are going on the cruise so celebration all around. It's more of a question whether I should still aim for Goofy even though it will have to be a cheap, fast version of Goofy. So far the answer seems to be that I should.
DeleteWow what a tough decision to make! I don't know what I'd do if I were in your situation! I know I would definitely do the cruise with the family....but I'd want to run Goofy too. So...maybe try for the cheap route or defer it to another year.
ReplyDeleteThe Dumbo Double Dare was actually more expensive than Dopey or Goofy for me, but I think their races are totally worth it. Came across this blog post below today too.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theeverydaywarrior.com/2015/01/28/rundisney-races-worth-cost/#comment-6813
I think so too. It's the appeal of these races that got me running in the forst place so the motivation to do them is strong.
DeleteYikes! I'm surprised the girls wouldn't jump at the chance to go to the parks, especially if they're Frozen fans! In any case, honestly, I'm a big believer in that these races CAN be done cheaply. Sure, the registration, travel expenses, etc. can be costly, but there's no way I'd be able to afford to go to The World as often as I do if I didn't know how to cut corners. You can totally stay cheaply, and there's all kinds of ways to save money at the parks (packing sandwiches instead of buying food, etc.) Once you've made up your mind to take on a challenge like Goofy, I know exactly how you feel...you just HAVE to do it. And as soon as humanly possible. Best of luck in your negotiations with the family -- I'm sure you'll come up with a compromise that makes everyone happy! :)
ReplyDeleteThey just really loved the cruise. It really is the best of both wordls in a way. You get the characters and all the Disney Magic (pun intended) plus the relaxation and convenience of a cruise. It's a win-win. Plus, those slides, including the aqua duck and Castaway Cay were huge hits in my family.
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