Yesterday we finished work for a whole week. We’ve both been busy and yesterday felt like a rush to get everything finished. But by 5.30pm the work laptops were off and stashed away and piles of paper were unceremoniously shoved on a shelf ready to be sorted out a week on Monday. We were supposed to be in Iceland now and should have enjoyed Bramham Horse Trials and then the 24 hour running event Endure 24 when we got back from Iceland. Since lockdown we’ve missed a couple of theatre trips etc. Lots of the things we were looking forward to have been cancelled. Obviously that’s absolutely the right thing and this is really a whinge, all in all we’ve been very lucky, but it still left us feeling a bit lost and flat rattling around in our house. So Kath organised a virtual Disney Day for us. As I shut my laptop and sat back on my office chair feeling a little overwhelmed by everything, Kath came into our shared study with an envelope containing my Disney’s Magical Express ticket which would transport me into our very own virtual Disney Day with just a little bit of imagination and a fair amount of pixie dust (ok and technology).

We woke up early, Kath very early thanks to Odin, and me around 6am. We sat in bed with coffee, drinking it black with a touch of sugar and out of our resort mugs, just like we so often did on our Disney trips. While having coffee we watched the sun rise over the Magic Kingdom. Once the sun was fully up we went out for our RunDisney Run. If you have a look on Strava it might look suspiciously like our sheep loop but we ran/walked our way through all sorts of Disney Magic. As all runs do, we set off from our very own Epcot parking lot and wound our way through the world showcase until we headed into our Enchanted Forrest and the Moors waving at Aurora and Maleficent as we passed through. The wood gave way to Merida’s playground and a feeling of being able to touch the sky. We dropped down to the waters edge and Moana obviously hadn’t tied her boat up very well because it had come loose on one side of the canal bridge. We made our way along the water looking out for Eeyore just in case he’d been bounced into the canal by Tigger. There was no sign of Bambi this morning although we did see Thumper. Mist rising from the canal and noticeable changes in air temperature seemed to signify moving from one world to the next. Donald and Daisy Duck were busy trying to keep tabs on Huey, Dewey and Louie and all the other little ones. Before I really registered the running we were making ur final push around the Epcot ‘golf ball’ towards the finish line. Like any good Disney run it was within the allowed disney pace but had been relatively easy, fun, partly chatty, partly getting lost in our own magic but always leaving us with a smile.

I still didn’t really know what was coming or what to expect from a virtual Disney Day. Back home we got sorted and for the first time in weeks I thought I would take a little care over getting dressed rather than just grab a pair of tracksuit bottoms and the nearest t-shirt. Just as I was about to attack the wardrobe to find something suitable, Kath told me that she had taken the liberty of doing some shopping so I’d have a suitable outfit and handed me a little package. I unpacked and pulled on my brand new Mickey Pride T-shirt with pair of jeans, put on my Tinkerbell necklace and popped in my Mickey earrings. Ready! We had breakfast of Mickey Ears shaped pancakes and fruit while we watched the sunrise at the Animal Kingdom. The thing with a virtual Disney Day is that you can do things on the same day that wouldn’t be possible in one day if you were actually there! We also played with our own little Stitch (Odin) and tried to stop him from escaping and causing havoc.

After breakfast I got my FastPass ready and we went on the Monorail to Epcot. Then we did some serious park hopping including using the technology pixie dust to pop over to California once or twice in order to go on our favourite rides. We went on Expedition Everest, Big Thunder Mountain, the Incredicoaster, It’s a Small World and the 7 Dwarves Mine Train. Then we watched Planes 2 which happened to be on TV and after that had some lunch just a picnic like nibble followed by a coffee, much like we might do during a day in the parks. That was quite an exhausting morning so we had a nap (again, that’s not unheard of for us at Disney!).

After our nap we made sure that our 4 wild animals were fed and then Kath ‘got’ us an ice-cream from the Plaza Ice-cream Palor (aka our pixie dusted kitchen) and watched the Festival of Fantasy Parade in the Magic Kingdom. We hopped parks again to have a wander around Pandora and do the Na’vi River Ride and the Flight of Avatar before hopping again to do Soarin’ and the Winnie the Pooh ride. Then we had a bit of down time during which I started this blog and which was accompanied by a Disney Soundtrack.

Then it was time for an early evening (no alcohol) mojito and a one hour Cirque Du Soleil show with absolutely the best seats in the house (our sofa).

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Our dinner is a nod to Tony’s in the Magic Kingdom and we’re even going to sit at the dining table. Kath is making a Spaghetti Bolognese now as I write while going round the the Walt Disney World Railroad, The People Mover and the Monorail. Then the plan is to watch the new Lady and the Tramp, catch Fantasmic and the Magic Kingdom Fireworks before bed.

And yes of course this is all a bit silly and my step count does not resemble even a fairly moderate Disney day, I have spent a lot of time looking at screens but we have also spent a lot of time giggling, sharing our memories of previous Disney trips and being together. I had a really positive run this morning for the first time in forever. It has been a great day to start the week of no work, it has helped switch brains from work to not work, it has given us space and permission to properly turn off. It’s been a magical day and the evening is yet to come.