In early November, Ben and I traveled to Walt Disney World! We began planning our trip in summer, knowing it’d be in celebration of Ben’s birthday, our 13th anniversary — and just before my septorhinoplasty surgery. Our goal was to run Disney’s 5K together and to have a fun long weekend away, especially before our first Minnesota winter!

We stayed at Disney’s Beach Club Resort — our favorite place to stay, not only because of happy memories from past family vacations, but also because it’s located within walking distance of EPCOT and along Disney’s Boardwalk. One of our favorite parts of our trip was having vegan Mickey waffles in the solarium at Beach Club. It was the perfect Disney-way to start each day.

As always, we started our Walt Disney World vacation with a trip to Disney Springs. Because we always arrive mid-day, we like going to Disney Springs to kick off our Disney experience, without committing to going to a park. I think the best part about Disney Springs is: no matter often you visit, there is always something new to see, do, or try. This time, for example, we had dinner at Raglan Road: We both had vegan shepherd’s pies!

The next morning, we woke up at 3:00 AM, hopped on a 3:30 AM bus, and ran a 5K side by side. I should also mention: It was 50 degrees and raining! We finished in 34 minutes and crossed the finish line together, which was my goal and hope!

Over the following 3 days, we visited EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom:

On the final day of our trip, Disney’s Christmas decorations were on full display — so our trip was also a neat opportunity to kick off the holiday season! Overall, I’m so grateful we were able to experience a slow-paced vacation together in a place that means so much to us.