The Nightmare Before Christmas In Walt Disney World, V2

At the end of 2017, I published my first The Nightmare Before Christmas in Walt Disney World post. It's nothing revolutionary, but it's easily my favorite end of the year post ever. So I thought rather attempting to reinvent the wheel in these trying times, why not just do something that made you happy over again? So I did! All new photos make up V2, plus the same lyrics we love. Happy holidays, readers! See ya in 2021. I hope it's an improvement over this year. 😝

What's this?

What's this?

There's color everywhere

What's this?

There's white things in the air

What's this?

I can't believe my eyes

I must be dreaming

Wake up Jack, this isn't fair!

What's this?

What's this?

What's this?

There's something very wrong

What's this?

There's people singing songs

What's this?

The streets are lined with little creatures laughing

Everybody seems so happy

Have I possibly gone daffy?

WHAT IS THIS?

What's this?

There's children throwing snowballs instead of throwing heads

They're busy building toys and absolutely no one's dead!

There's frost on every window, oh, I can't believe my eyes

And in my bones I feel a warmth that's coming from inside

Oh look, what's this?

They're hanging mistletoe

They kiss?

Why, that looks so unique

Inspired!

They're gathering around to hear a story

Roasting chestnuts on a fire

What's this?

What's this? In here

They've got a little tree - how queer!

And who would ever think - and why?

They're covering it with tiny little things

They've got electric lights on strings

And there's a smile on everyone

So now correct me if I'm wrong!

This looks like fun, this looks like fun,

Oh could it be I've got my wish?

What's this?

Oh my - what now?

The children are asleep

But look - there's nothing underneath

No ghouls

No witches there to scream and scare them or ensnare them

Only little cozy things secure inside their dreamland

WHAT'S THIS?

The monsters are all missing and the nightmares can't be found

And in their place there seems to be good feeling all around

Instead of screams I swear I can hear music in the air

The smell of cakes and pies are absolutely everywhere

The sights - the sounds!

They're everywhere and all around

I've never felt so good before

This empty place inside of me is filling up

I simply cannot get enough

I want it - oh, I want it! Oh, I want it for my own

I've got to know, I've got to know,

what is this place that I have found?

WHAT?

IS?

THIS?

Walt Disney World? Hmmm...

Don't forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall. It would thrill me extremely if you would leave a comment with any questions or thoughts. See ya real soon!

In Which Jenn's Inner Disney Dandy Can't Be Stopped

Normally around this time of year I would start packing for my Walt Disney World Marathon trip. What, already? Yeah! Just like last year, my holiday visiting would have allowed me to simply roll straight into Walt Disney World with no stop at home in between. I'd need to pack in advance (with, Florida being Florida, plenty of weather contingency options).

Alas and alack, COVID continues to ruin everything. Marathon Weekend is cancelled, a fact that breaks my heart anew daily. Oh, and now my Rivals race is cancelled too. GREAT. But one way to cheer myself up a smidge is by indulging my inner Disney Dandy, and to that end I have a new Disney outfit to share with you today!

Pinup Girl Clothing makes this super cute retro Disney castle skirt - in fact, you may have seen it in The Dress Shop at Disney Springs. PUG was having a pretty darned good sale over the Black Friday weekend, but as I've mentioned before I've been buying almost exclusively secondhand clothing this year. Luckily I was able to price match it on Poshmark! Bonus: I used funds from sales from my own Poshmark closet to pay for it, so this skirt is sustainable AND never touched my credit card. Score!

Quick note: two weeks ago I purchased a tripod with a remote so I could start delivering some real photos of my outfits, finally putting an end to these 2006-MySpace-cell-phone-in-the-mirror travesties. Unfortunately it has been stuck in Miami since December 1 and I don't know if it will ever escape and come home to me. I know - I wish I were the one stuck in Florida, but what can ya do. In the meantime, more janky mirror photos below! At least you get to see my cat.

How freakin' cute is that? And it has pockets, which is a universally beloved feature. I can't wait to wear it to the Magic Kingdom, where it will doubtless feel at home, and get my picture taken in front of the castle. Castleception!

That's a retro beauty that deserves The Twist:

Maaaan, I just wanna go home (aka WDW)... c'mooooon vaccine!

Don't forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall. It would thrill me extremely if you would leave a comment with any questions or thoughts. See ya real soon!

Happy Friday: What Does It Matter? The Parade's In The Past!

I just read that since Disneyland has been closed all this time, there will be no Disneyland portion of the Christmas parade during this year's Disney holiday special. I'd imagine that's not the only change we'll see, but at least Tituss Burgess will be there to gently shepherd us through.

But this announcement did remind me of yet another song from the seminal sing-along video of my childhood, Disney's Twelve Days of Christmas: "Here Comes Santa" featuring the Walt Disney World Christmas parade. The nostalgia kinda fills the hole in my heart, y'know?

Alas, I could only find one video of the song, and the quality is TERRIBLE. On the other hand, there's a pretty good rip of the full video on YouTube. In the immortal words of Liz Lemon: should we just watch it real quick? I think we should. We've had a tough year.

(If you're not down for the full half hour, "Here Comes Santa" starts at 24:23. And while you're in there, don't sleep on "Hip Hop Noel." Just trust me.)

Don't forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall. It would thrill me extremely if you would leave a comment with any questions or thoughts. See ya real soon!

In Which Jenn Flouts A Major Running Rule

Hi, my name is Jenn, and I like to play fast and loose with an inviolate running rule. Which running rule, you ask? This one: thou shalt not use new and/or untested running gear on race day. Which you shouldn't. If you haven't tried it out thoroughly before, how can you be sure it'll agree with you! You don't want to find yourself fighting with your supplies during a race!

Oops:

Wine & Dine Half Marathon 2016: I purchase my first Minnie ears the night before the race. I think to myself, you know what would be cute? Running in my new ears. I did. They did. Worked out fine.

Baltimore Marathon 2017: Bought some new running capris the week before the race. They had a ZIPPERED POCKET. I was so enamored of this zippered pocket I ran the marathon in these new pants completely untested. Not a mile on 'em. Turned out fine. 

Wrightsville Beach Marathon 2018: Bought some new running capris a couple weeks before the race on clearance. These had TWO SIDE POCKETS. I think I did do a couple shorts runs in these but nothing in even close to marathon distance, which is a big chafe risk. I just really like pockets, y'know? Turned out fine.

Wine & Dine 10K 2018: Decided on a whim to run in my Cheshire Cat dress. Didn't feel like braving the cold of Maryland's fall to test it out in advance. Turned out fine.

Walt Disney World Marathon 2020: Wore the sports bra I used for only a handful of short runs. It was the right color for my Sally costume, okay? Turned out fine.

There may be others; the truly frightening thing is that this list is just off the top of my head. I'm sure I'll pay for it someday, but so far, all my gambles have - wait for it - turned out fine!

Except for one, it it should have been fine - I ran the 2016 Walt Disney World Marathon with sneakers that hadn't been tested past a 5K or so, but they were the exact same model as I usually used. Why this particular pair only bothered the tops of my feet so much is a mystery for the ages, but I had to stop four or five times to adjust them. Oh well, live and (don't) learned.

In conclusion: don't use untested gear on the race course, kids! But if you do, I trust that it will turn out fine.

Have you ever tempted the race gods with new gear on race morning?

Don't forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall. It would thrill me extremely if you would leave a comment with any questions or thoughts. See ya real soon!