Lagoon Squad

With the Disney Marathon 48 hours out, it was time for a little pipe-cleaning with an early a.m. run around the Seven Seas Lagoon, which the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary hotels all encircle.

As we always do whenever we travel, Andrew and I used the misty morning run as an excuse to explore the landscape and check out some hidden secrets around the lagoon.

Here's Bungalow Bill himself

We thought we would do a nice, three mile loop around the Seven Seas, but were thwarted at several turns, including the terminus of a sidewalk by the Contemporary.

No problem, we're accomplished trail runners.

So off road we go!

The road less travelled still leads to the Magic Kingdom

My fellow Lagoonie

It was a wet morning, so the crowds there to cheer us on were smaller than usual at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom

But the place still gets the thumbs up from Andrew

From there, we hatched our plan - to run beneath the monorail tracks on an isolated footpath that leads to the Grand Floridian hotel.

Alas, that also was not meant to be, as the path abruptly ended at a creek, and there was no way across to complete our loop, unless we wanted to pull a Captain Hook and swim with the crocodiles

So what to do?

Well unless we wanted our marathon warmdown to extend into a 10K, it was time for the ferry express!

Running on the dock of the bay

Nearly 24 years ago, my bride and I spent the second week of our honeymoon at the fabled Grand Floridian hotel.  We still remember it fondly.

The Creature from the Hack Lagoon

Andrew prefers his runs on the rocks

Inbound, we had time for a pitstop at the aforementioned wedding pavilion, just to scope out the scene.  Simply gorgeous.

Ladies, he's available!

Me, beating feet away from the wedding pavilion before I get charged for sneaking a peek.

This is considered trail running in Florida.

Finally, heading back to the hotel, we encounter the only mug out there uglier than mine.

And Andrew, for his part, decides to go full on running warrior and channel his inner haka.

Look it up, it's a thing.