Calories Burned at Disney World Parks

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I, along with about half the US, am so excited about our Disney trip planned this summer! Every year we try to plan a day trip to Disney World on our way back from Michigan, and every year we end up not doing it. That is, until this year. Business will be taking us down the mid-line of the state and it just makes sense to stop in along the way... Especially since it will give me so many possibilities for healthy Disney blog posts in the future!

In the past I have done totals on calories burned at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. Although the information has been hecka useful in the past, it has never been condescend into one simple post talking about where we burn the most Calories at Disney and why.

There have been rumors that one walks the most in EPCOT and therefore burns the most calories. I am happy to say this myth is completely untrue. In fact, the park that will burn the most calories is Magic Kingdom- the place almost all of us go on every trip to Disney World. This is partially due to all the back and forth walking and partially due to the inclines you have no idea you are hiking. Next after Magic Kingdom is EPCOT since it is just so big. This is followed by Animal Kingdom. Then, way in the back is Hollywood Studios. This really cannot be much of a surprise since Hollywood Studios is just so darn small.

Below is a handy dandy chart showing my averages for all parks over 8-hours of time. Of course, your steps and calorie burn could be way different than mine depending what you do and how you get there. In almost every situation we drive or take the bus. Then, we tend to go on 3-8 rides in 8-hours and sit down for 1-3 shows, depending on the park. There is also eating time that we are not walking and lots of back-and-forth time for things like Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom or the Pirate Quest in Adventureland.

It is also good to take into consideration that there are very few people who will spend a whole 8-hours in either Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios. Although the calories burned is for 8-hours in each park, these two parks are more likely to be 4-6 hours, tops.

My First runDisney Experience: Expedition Everest

Let's talk the Expedition Everest 5k Obstacle Course Scavenger Hunt. First off, what a name. Second, it was fantastic! Everything started Friday, the day before the event, when you went to pick-up all your goodie bags and race gear. This is when we got our awesome shirts, our race bibs, and some other fun stuff in the race bag.

Everything had to be picked up from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and man was that place busy! Some advice to anyone who is planning on doing their first runDisney event would be to pick up their goods the day prior to the race. We had to go both Friday and Saturday because the person at the pick-up counter did not give the hubs his license back. Between the massive cheering event (which I think they plan on runDisney event weekends) and the massive morning races going on, the place was a mad house.

Fast forward to that evening and it was super fun. Again, everything was more crowded than I have ever seen Disney so getting into restaurants without a 40-minute wait was near impossible, but we were able to get a table pretty quick at Splitsville and have some yummy sushi a few hours before the run. runDisney recommended that we get to the Animal Kingdom by 8:30- about 2-hours before the race. 

We were able to get to the parking lot by about 8:15 and decided to stay in the car for a bit since there was a legitimate cold front going through and it was raining as well. Once we got into the run area everything was laid out super easy. Dropped off the bag, found our corral, then hit the pre-race party without any hold backs. 

The pre-race part was super fun with a massive aerobic dance workout lead by the nicest evil dance master ever. Seriously, it was a workout... but a fun one! We stayed at the front dance party area for a while, took some pictures at the photo-op areas, then headed to our "E" corral about an hour before the race started. The group dancing, also known as my favorite part, continued there! 

Then, they started the races. Each corral was set to depart 6-minutes after the previous one. We were in corral "E" so we did not start the race until a little after 11:00 pm. It was still raining and still quite cold, but that ended up being the best thing ever with all the running and dancing and obstacle coursing. 

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First up on the obstacle course was the hay bales where some of our part got separated. Next, we ran through the park and got to see the most incredible view of Everest ever. Really, it looked like this. Of course, there were also characters throughout the run area and places to take pictures, but we did not do any of that for reasons I still do not understand. 

The next obstacle was the tires, followed by the optional army crawl area. I did both and managed to stay up-right in the tires, even after a kind lady completely fell on me. Simple victories :) The hubs and I also met up during the run and were able to take a pretty awesome picture next to timed fire balls. It was pretty great, but I cannot find the picture anywhere on the runDisney photo section. Too bad. 

After the army crawl, there was a short bit left, then the finish line where they handed out Cliff bars and bananas. Then came the scavenger hunt! This was the hardest. scavenger hunt. ever. Really. We had five clues, total, and needed help on four of them. But, once we answered our questions we ran across the finish one more time, got our finisher medals (which are the coolest things ever... working compasses!), and hit the post race party. 

The party had singing and dancing and light beer and was held in Dinoland USA. It was pretty fun! We were able to do some more dancing, look at race products, ride Dinosaur, and go home. Overall, the race was incredible and just makes me want to do another runDisney event as soon as possible! Look out Wine and Dine 2015, I'm coming for you! 

Disney Marathon Weekend and Other Races

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This one is a decision we will all have to make quite fast. As of Tuesday at 12:00 PM Eastern time, Disney World opened registration for the Disney 2015 Marathon Weekend. Ahhh, I am so excited about it, but am still trying to decide if I can. If you are in the same place, we better make up our minds quickly, the half marathon is already 85% full. Whaattt?! I know, crazy. 

Since going to runDisney and checking out all the race availability yesterday, I have also had the sad, sad realization that the Wine and Dine Half Marathon is sold out. Seriously, it was sad day. Oh well, I will just have to sign up quicker for 2015. 

As for 2014, here are a few races that I am interested/considering running in. Have you done any of these before? And if so, what was it like?

Key Largo Bridge Run

From what I gather, you run on one of those crazy long bridges that we see all over the Florida Keys. This one is also in November, so the weather should be absolutely beautiful! Seems fun, but early. Why are there so few night runs? 

Florida 10 Sarasota

The park where this run takes place is absolutely beautiful. This race is also a bit less than a half marathon, so it would be super great for me in December. I am pretty sure it even has a post race breakfast party. You had me at breakfast... Well, except for the whole bit about needing to run 10-miles before eating. My lazy side is still hung-up on that part. 

RAG Sarasota 9K to Marathon

This one also looks pretty great, and close. The only down side I can possibly see is that the entire race is on one, half-mile, track. I have heard that this track is beautiful, but will have to go check it out myself before agreeing to run around it about 26.5 times. 

Oh, and its in the morning. Am I the only person who hates running early? 

Southernmost Marathon and Half

This looks like sooo much fun! The race ends at the southernmost point of the US and takes you all around Key West. I have also never been to Key West and would love to have a reason to make the trek down. Really, this race is the most likely for me. The views will be stunning and I can get a vacation in as well!! 

What other races should I have on my radar? If you have any you love or are planning to try, let me know! I am trying to broaden my race horizons past Disney World :)

Things to Note: The picture above was taken by my favorite Disney blogger, Ricky Brigante from Inside the Magic. His flickr page has lots of super fun pictures for your viewing entertainment. 

Inspiration from Walt Disney

Walt Disney has been such a big inspiration to me. He started out life a very simple man from a very normal family. Then, he got a dream. It really is amazing how much a man with a dream can accomplish. These are some of my favorite quotes from Walt Disney- the ones I think on when I am beginning something new!​