SAFD Hollywood Studios: Even before Galaxy's Edge I had a soft spot for DHS. My first visit to WDW was shortly before starting my freshman year of college and I loved the then brand new Tower of Terror particularly in part because the dorms I would soon be living in were called Deseret Towers. Now I spend lots of time in Galaxy's Edge. In a weird twist of 2020, despite living substantially closer to Disneyland, I have yet to ride Rise of the Resistance in my home park but have experienced it 5 times at DHS. Now to show that I realize that it's more than Star Wars, I love Mama Melrose's for meals, the Muppets are always great fun, and Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway is a nice addition to the park.
Honorable mention: my 3 year old nephew is obsessed with fireworks. Last December he watched the Disneyland Christmas fireworks with me and repeatedly put his little hands on my face and turned me every which way he could to ensure that I saw the same fireworks and snow that he did. He also loves Star Wars. On my last night at WDW for marathon weekend this year, we were going to watch the Star Wars Galactic Spectacular "together" with me in DHS and him at home watching on YouTube. Well that afternoon, he misbehaved and my sister needed to take that away from him. A few weeks later on my birthday, he had been better behaved so instead he sat on my lap and we watched the fireworks on YouTube in his house.
SAFD Epcot: My favorite WDW park. While so many understandably have the quintessential I'm at Disney World moment while in the Magic Kingdom, for me that moment always comes in Epcot. I believe this is because I grew up going to Disneyland regularly, so Epcot at that time was the most different from Disneyland and therefore that made it special for me. I have very fond memories of Epcot, many coming from food or after runDisney as Epcot wound up becoming my post runDisney race park especially for half marathons and the marathon. Favorite memories include a lot of runDisney races, particularly the 2017 Dark Side Half Marathon because I knew it meant that I was on the verge of finishing the Kessel Run. During the 2019 Marathon I will never forget the feeling of sheer elation or possibly hallucination as I realized that I was about to finish my first marathon.
SAFD Magic Kingdom: Disneyland is home as it were, so the MK feels similar yet different. Since the new Fantasyland expansion I find myself spending more time in the MK than I used to. Due to its similarities to Disneyland, I once classified it as a one day park just because I wanted to spend more time in Epcot. It was very strange for me during my visit last month because between the elimination of park hopping and the path to Rise of the Resistance forced me to have to choose between Epcot and MK for the 2nd day. I wound up choosing MK because I felt it was a better value given the number of attractions. RunDisney has helped influence a lot of my favorite memories in the MK.
1. During my 2012 visit for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon, new Fantasyland was within 30 days of opening to the general public. While I had read that soft openings were possible during
MVMCP, I also did not want to assume that would be the case. One night with the MK open until 1:00am, I chose to "practice" staying up late for the race a few nights later and visited the MK. Despite holding an annual pass for Disneyland, I am not close enough to make AP previews, so I felt jealous of all the WDW APs with their wristband access to preview new Fantasyland. I decided I would walk up to new Fantasyland and keep walking until Disney told me I could not go any further. Well the CM smiled and told everybody to head on in, wristband or no. I couldn't believe it. I was able to tour everything then open and learned how to land a very limited reservation for Be Our Guest during MVMCP a few nights later.
2. My first time running through the MK was the 2019 WDW Half. I had run through Disneyland many times, but this did not prepare me for the sheer magnitude of the crowds cheering you on in the MK. Seeing it this year closer to sunrise with the Christmas lights on was simply beautiful. I also elected to do the special celebration dining package at Cinderella Castle after the marathon this year because I wanted to try an MK dessert party. I will never forget waiting in the special viewing area for Happily Ever After remembering the challenges of that morning and anticipating the rush of emotion that would come during the "Go The Distance" segment during the fireworks. I used to feel middle of the road about Happily Ever After. It was a great technical show, but since it uses so many songs that I do not have a emotional connection to the spectacular did not move me as it did others. Well that changed after hearing Go The Distance one night after the 2019 Marathon.
3. Being at the MK last month was more special than I anticipated. Because of 2020, for the first time since 2002 I will not visit Disneyland during the year. So the similarities of the MK were a welcome feeling. There was something powerful and comforting about standing in line to get a castle picture while wearing a mask and hearing the familiar Christmas music play including the strains of "risen with healing in His wings" from Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
