Ah, the magic of Disney. The place where dreams come true, happiness abounds, and—if you’re not careful—you may discover muscles you never knew existed. This morning, I embarked on an adventure unlike any other: Disney’s Springtime Surprise Sunrise Yoga. The experience promised tranquility, flexibility, and a gentle start to the day. What I got was an epic battle between my body and gravity.
Transportation from my hotel started at 3:30 AM, by 3:15 AM, I was walking to the buses, and it was already a balmy 72 degrees—warm enough to be comfortable, but not yet oppressive. Check-in at Hollywood Studios was at 4:15 AM, with yoga beginning at 5:00 AM. The forecast for the day? A delightful 90 degrees. But at this ungodly hour, even though my watch said 72 degrees, the weather felt perfect—cool, crisp, and full of promise.
I, however, was not.
At some point between my flight and waking up this morning, something happened to the left side of my back. Or rather, the muscle just to the left of my back. Did I sleep wrong? Sit too long? Blink too hard? Who’s to say? What I do know is that halfway through a deep forward fold, I was pretty sure I was going to be spending the rest of my life in that position.
The session itself was beautiful. Picture hundreds of people, all lying on their mats under the soft glow of Disney magic, breathing in unison as the sun slowly rises. Peaceful, right? That is, unless you’re me—grimacing through downward dog, attempting a warrior pose that felt more like “mildly irritated peasant,” and realizing that my body does not, in fact, bend that way.
One thing I couldn’t help but notice this morning was how many empty yoga mats there were. As of this morning, the session still hadn’t sold out, which surprised me.
I really hope this event hasn’t run its course—this is something I just started doing during race weekend, and I’m loving it. Not sure if it’s the location or something else, but it deserves to keep going. It’s such a peaceful, unique way to kick off race weekend, even if you spend half of it wondering if your hip flexors have officially gone on strike.
I had high hopes that yoga would stretch out my kinks, but when it came time for savasana (the part where you just lie down and pretend you have your life together), I had a terrible realization: I might not get up. As I lay there, staring at the sky, fully embracing my fate, I wondered if Disney would just roll me off to the side and leave me there. Maybe add some fairy lights and call me a new attraction—Sleeping Beauty’s Unintended Sequel.
Eventually, I managed to peel myself off the mat with all the grace of a baby giraffe on ice skates. The sun was rising, my body was protesting, and I was feeling a deep sense of accomplishment. Or maybe that was just the early signs of muscle fatigue. Either way, I survived.
The event wrapped up with some classic Disney flair—entertainment themed to match all three races. The Muses from Hercules kicked things off with a song and some surprise fireworks, which is exactly what you want after finally getting your breathing under control.
followed by my secret crush, Star-Lord, who arrived with Gamora in tow. And to close it out, none other than Mr. and Mrs. Incredible made an appearance, reminding us that no matter how heroic you feel just for showing up to yoga at 5:00 AM, there are actual superheroes nearby doing it with style.
If you want to watch my yoga experience head to my YouTube channel by Clicking here!
