Is Disney World Magical?

Life in the suburbs, a trip to Lake Buena Vista, and a Santa Cruz day trip.

Subscribe and become an insider.

Moments (Oct 14-20)

• It's not if, it's when. On the way home from water polo practice, Jero's backpack got caught in his rear tire and he toppled over. He scratched up his bike, got a huge butt and ego bruise, and fortunately, he was wearing his helmet.

• Lea signed up for the DVHS Jr Wildcat cheer clinic with the goal of doing a back handspring. That didn't happen. The clinic was focused on cheering and it culminated with a halftime show at the Friday football game. She didn't something similar when she was 6 years old and Maricar still remembers the Wildcat Rumble routine.

• Feris cried herself to sleep the night before her swim meet at Blackhawk Country Club. She shys away from competition, and although we don't like to force anything, we made an exception. She participated in the Breast & Backstroke and did well. After each event she was all smiles. Not sure if it was because it was one event down or because she was proud of her performance. Loved her anecdote about the loudspeaker music in the background, it pumps me up.

• Who doesn't like praise? Jero eats it up. His coach praised him for his improvement and has rewarded him with a starting spot and more playing time. He needs to transfer his practice confidence to the game and is already looking at the club team for the offseason.

• The Bay Area is full of day trips and we went to Santa Cruz County. We started with apple picking in Watsonville. We bought pops and evercrisp, a Fuji and honeycrisp hybrid because of the crunch and on point sweetness level. Then to Natural Bridges to see the "handful" of Monarch butterflies. It was still too early and we didn’t see them cluster. We finished with the beach and boardwalk, and finally Marianne’s (Mango, Banana, Snickerdoodle and Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough) before jumping into the traffic queue.

Thinking Out Loud

I’m exploring sales enablement & L&D career opportunities. In the process, I've had a lot of 1:1s and have been trying to keep an open mind, saying yes more than no. That brought me to Orlando's Lake Buena Vista or better known as Disney World Resorts for a few days. 

Last time I was here, I was 10. I think. 

This time around, armed with a map, I was blown away by the scale of Disney, a city in itself. 

• Will I bring the rest of the family here? Someday. 

• Is it urgent? No.

It's amazing how the company stretches its brand in so many ways to build a loyal following and finds ways to stay relevant, year after year. And, they are doing it at scale. How do they keep that bar?

I think Disneyland, the happiest place on the earth, is far better. My take is that the Anaheim talent pool is deeper and with that comes better service and standards. It makes the Disney experience come to life and unfortunately, I found it lacking in Florida.

Have you been to both? What do you think?   

Beyond the American Dream (Memoir)

Francis E. has been living abroad on and off for the past 20 years and came by for Saturday dinner. We've stayed in touch over the years and even spent time together in places from NYC to Berlin, but it has been awhile so we had a lot to catch up on.

For the past week, he was visiting his parents, and his Mom found my book. After reading the first few pages, she asked him,

"Mind if I hold on to this so I can finish it?"

This may have been his excuse for not finishing yet, however, I took it as a compliment and I'm looking forward to her thoughts especially since she doesn’t know me personally.

On the Move

Run With Me on Strava - 66.68 mi, 3,373 ft (Year: 2,398 mi, 196,007 ft)

Rocky start to the week with GI Issues and fatigue.

I was in the Disney World, Orlando bubble for a few days. I repeated 3 different 1 mile loops. It was a nice change. I only brought vivobarefoot shoes and my calves were screaming.

I used Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning to squeeze in double digit miles to get to a reasonable number.

Saturday included 7 sets of 1 mile on 1 mile float. The alternating pace made the time fly by. It also took a toll on my legs.

Sunday was a mix of road and trail on tired legs. The out and back on the Dougherty Hills rolling trail was tough.

I have a little over a month before the Quad Dipsea (November 30). I need more trail elevation and weight training in my running diet.