Kay:
Hey there family, and welcome once again to the Kay & Shi Show. We’re so excited to talk to you this week about all things destinations.
Shi:
That’s right. I want to say like destination wedding but it’s more like destination podcast and the good news is you don’t have to buy a plane ticket and you don’t have to pack a bag. We are metaphorically traveling to four of our favorite places this week and got to know we’re starting off with Disney.
Kay:
Well, Shila and I have traveled to a great many places in our days. We’ve gone some places separately, but many places together and one of the places that we’ve been traveling to since we were little kids is Disney. Now we’re going to put Disney under one umbrella. We started out with Disneyland growing up but have shifted into also visiting Disney World on occasion and have gotten to both. But every time that we travel to the land of Disney, we have a great time.
Shi:
Yeah. Whether it be the land or the world, we always have a great time. Now our most recent Disney trip was a Disney World trip. So, we’ll kind of focus on that because we did something that was pretty phenomenal and life memorable for us. Kay and I, in February of 2020, yes, that 2020 traveled with our families and our spouses across the country to participate in the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend. Kay and I both ran the half marathon, but the whole weekend has all kinds of activities, including kids’ races. So, our four children at the time, since we’ve since added number five, but when we traveled in February of 2020, we had the four kids. All four of them participated in the Disney kids’ races and that was just a joy and a delight to watch and participate in.
Kay:
Well, every single time that we get an opportunity to go to Disney, we come back with memories and excitement but this time we also got to come back with an achievement, that achievement of the half marathon. And there were so many lessons that came out of that. But Shi, you said hat 2020, and it reminded me of a particular instance while we were standing in line for, I believe it was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Danny and I were kind of cuddling up together and were looking at the news and we saw a headline that was talking about how this little-known thing called COVID-19 was starting to shut things down around the world. Danny and I used that N-word, the word of never, that that would never happen to us. Can you even imagine that there are places shutting down for a sickness and for what they’re now calling a pandemic, and what an interesting reflection to think about reading those headlines in line at Disney and just one month later being shut down in our own communities.
Shi:
Watching the pandemic unfold while we were in Disney was really interesting. In fact, the day that we left Florida, the first Florida confirmed case of COVID was announced and it felt like we were fleeing the scene in the last moments.18 days after we left Florida Disney shut down for the longest period in its history, several months, I think. It didn’t reopen doors until the summer of 2020, obviously with limited capacity and mask restrictions in place. So, in reflection, it almost feels like this honor that we got to be at Disney before the world changed forever and we got to participate in a 20,000-person respiratory event during the beginning of a pandemic. Sounds crazy now, but you just don’t know what you don’t know as you’re there and you’re in it, and boy were we in it.
We had so much fun on that trip and so many memories made and want to circle back to one of the things that we loved. II you heard a few weeks ago, we shared stories of our children. On the Annadelle episode, we shared a little bit about her motivation during the kids’ run. But getting to see our kids participate in the races. Then for us, it was so meaningful and significant to participate in the half marathon the next day, to demonstrate to our children, prioritizing fitness, to demonstrate to our families that fitness and fun can go together. To prove to ourselves that we could do it. To achieve something that was on a “bucket list” for literally five years. Sorry, my Siri got excited there even as I was talking about that. To do all of those things and be in the midst of the Disney magic was a part of what made it so unforgettable. Was the race hard? Yes. Were our joints hurting? Absolutely. Was Kay almost dead by mile 12? Yes. Did we make it over that finish line and have one of the best days of our lives? 100%.
Kay:
You know, I think Shi that I was at probably mile 11 when I started asking you, “Do we have to finish,” and you’re like, “Yes, we have to finish. We can walk but we’ve got to finish.”
Shi:
Well, it was funny. We floated the first few miles. It was like the fireworks, the band, the movie playing along the way. It’s pre-sunrise so you’re like endorphin high, the first four miles. You’re like, this is going to be the easiest thing ever. But yeah, by mile 11, you’re right. The sun was up, the charm was gone, the joints were aching, and it was like, oh, it’s still a half marathon even if it’s a Disney half marathon.
Kay:
Right. Which I guess is the lesson in and of itself. You may be in the midst of the best of the challenge ideals that you can be in. But a challenge is still a challenge, an uphill climb is still an uphill climb, and a half marathon is still a half marathon. So, thanks for joining us on our travel adventure today for Disney. Tomorrow, we’re going to take you guys on… I want to do the Wayne’s World sound effect. [does sound effect] We’re going to take you on a journey to the place that Shila and I got to go on our very first ever kind of official big family vacation and have since enjoyed many a trip to since, which is the islands of Hawaii, specifically the island of Kauai.
Shi:
So, for now, we’ll sign off with Disney and we’ll say, “Oh boy, everybody.” If you love Disney too, hit us up on social media and let us know and we hope you’ll tune in for the Aloha episode tomorrow.
