Everest Challenge, Anybody Doing it?

[jdrum3]

Hey out there, we just signed up for our first Disney challenge, the Everest challenge 5K obstacle/adventure/scavenger hunt thingamabob.
Anyone taking part in this race? Has anyone done it before? What is the "after hours party" like? Anyway, my wife and I are teaming up and it looks fun. Saturday, June 12.

[rKyDeX]

My Daughter and I are registered. This will be our third Expedition Everest Challenge.

We've never really participated in the party afterwards - we usually just ride
Everest a couple of times and head back to camp. Last year we left right after finishing because of the rain.

It is fun if you don't take it too seriously. There are a lot of corrals at the start and the course is crowded.

Chester

[figment82]

We did this last year, and had a lot of fun despite the weather. We're not planning on doing it this year because, well, I've been in Disney June 12th before and I certainly wasn't in the mood to be running, even late at night!

The race itself was fun - you basically start out in the parking lot, go into the park and backstage for a bit by Africa/Rafiki's Planet Watch, go through part of Asia and Dinoland, and then finish the 5k back out in the parking lot. If you're in a pair, you have to wait at this point until your partner also crosses the 5k finish. You will be assigned a corral (last year there were 13 total - the first few were for female teams/male teams/co-ed teams that could prove fast times (?) - and the rest of the corrals were for all the other co-ed teams and were assigned based on how early you signed up for the race, I believe.) Every 5 minutes, a new corral is released to go over the starting line. We were in corral 9, so we had to wait 45 minutes to go - which meant there were people that were LONG done with the 5k by the time we even started! (On the bright side, if you're in one of the earlier corrals, you barely have to worry at all about the pacing requirements!)

After you finish the 5k, you then go further into the parking lot and do an obstacle course that consists of a balance beam, a cargo net you climb over, a cargo net you crawl under, and jump over/climb under some hurdles. (Note: you do NOT need to do the obstacles if you are uncomfortable with any/all of them. They would at least like you to walk alongside your partner while he/she is doing them, and give it your best for the ones you're okay with - like ducking under the hurdles instead of climbing over them/etc)

After the obstacle course (which you again have to wait for your partner to finish, but this is much easier than the 5k due to the much shorter distance), you get handed a scavenger hunt booklet and a pen (last year it had a light on it so you could see in the dark) and you basically end up re-tracing your steps through the Animal Kingdom park to answer some fun clues, and cross the finish line in Dinoland and get your medal.

...or at least, that's whats supposed to happen. Last year was a bit of a debacle because the race got cancelled halfway through, and people were at various stages of the course when it happened.

As for the after party, they have a lot of the "non-animal" based rides open (Dinosaur, Everest, It's Tough to be a bug, a lot of the other rides in dinoland, kali river rapids...maybe a few others) and they have a DJ playing music to dance to. Some of the shops are open, and various food places are open (they'll give you a bag with a banana, a muffin, and maybe some other goodies, as well as water and/or powerade when you cross the finish, but otherwise you have to pay for food/beverage)

Overall, the race was a TON of fun, if you could keep an open mind about the weather. My honest recommendation is to pack a change of shoes and socks or crocs for JUST IN CASE into the bag you check at the beginning of the race - after we were done running through water up to our knees, we were DYING to get out of our sneakers and socks, and there were no shoes to be bought in the whole park!
And especially in June, make sure you hydrate a lot!!!!! But you'll have a ton of fun - especially when you cross the finish and get the medal - and disney is great about making their races a fantastic experience!

[jdrum3]

Thank you for the response! We are excited and definitely hoping for a dry race.:thumbsup2

[swim-mom]

my husband and I will be signing up soon, I just did the princess 1/2 and my hubby has bad knees so assuming his new sneaks and insoles go will determine if we actually go.

Fingers crossed

[palmtreegirl]

I'm doing it, it'll be my first 5K, I started running January 1st.

[perpetualplanner]

Congratulations PalmTreeGirl! It's always good to have a race to look forward to for motivation.

Are you running as a single or do you have a team partner?

[palmtreegirl]

Congratulations PalmTreeGirl! It's always good to have a race to look forward to for motivation.

Are you running as a single or do you have a team partner?

Running single, but my family will be there to cheer me on. :)

[cwnhokie]

I'm going! 4 of us Moms are running away to Disney for the weekend and doing the race. They have never done a 5K and they are nervous about it. I think the description will make them feel better about just having a good time.

[momof2minnies]

Yes my DD and I are taking a graduation trip together!!!!!!!!! So excited! Hope the weather is good- no storms please.

Linda

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I am going to register for it soon. I just finished the Disney Princess Half and thought that this would be fun to do. Does anyone know if there were discount codes for this one?

[momto2littlemonsters]

I'm doing it with another mommy friend! She just did her first 5K last weekend with me and caught the running bug!!! I'm so excited!! :yay: We're going to drive down on Friday and make it a girls weekend. Signed up and hotel is booked!! I'm counting the days already!!!! It's been awhile since this mom has been on vacay by herself :eek: I just did the Princess 1/2 and had such a great time that I couldn't wait to sign up for another Disney race. It can get $$ so I'll probably stick to 2 Disney races a year. Good luck everyone! :cheer2:

[umwhat]

I just signed up for it too!! I am SO excited for it. This is my first race ever. My friend and I make it a habit to drink as much BEVERLY on every trip we take so our team name is in honor of that God awful drink :)
It should be a lot of fun. Thanks to the poster who put what the course was like! Good luck everyone!

[Lexxiefern]

I will be doing this for the 3rd year in a row. Ran with my DH last year (lots of fun to have a partner!) but will be running alone this year. Looking forward to it. And I agree - no rain please!!

[cwnhokie]

Does anyone that has done this before have any tips for running with a camera? Is there a small inexpensive one I can buy or should I just say the heck with it and bring my regular one. I could see that being a problem on the obstacle course. We are doing it as part of a girls weekend and I would love to have some pictures.

[momto2littlemonsters]

Not sure about the camera, I brought my regular one with me on the Princess 1/2 and just carried it in my hand with the strap around my wrist but with the obstacle course I'm not sure. Might wear my SPI belt and slip it in there before the obstacles. Haven't decided but having pictures is priceless for sure!

[tutter99]

Signed up a while ago, thought my friend would be travelling out from Vancouver to run it as a team but that fell through so i'm going solo. This will be my first race ever!:eek:

[momof2minnies]

Yay 43 days before we leave!!! Can't wait.

Linda

[wdwdreamin2]

Just signed up today!!

My daughter (9) and I!!

I ran the half in January...looking forward to NICE weather! No freezing rain in June!!

Should be a blast!

[DisneyRunnerGirl]

My DS (23) and I are sigend up as "Team Buckeye". I think it will be a hoot! :thumbsup2

[cwnhokie]

Does anyone know if the obstacles are after the 5K or during the 5K? It seems from what I read that in the past they were after, but reading more on the official site, it seems that they are going to be mixed through out. Also, I had read that pacing was an 18 minute mile, but the FAQ says 16 min mile. I think it will be fine either way, but my friends that are going with me have been counting on 18 and will freak out if I tell them 16, I think I will keep that to myself.

[marymoon]

I'll be running solo in the Expedition Everest Challenge 2010! I just started running in February following the Couch to 5k training program and graduate *today* - just as soon as I get out there for my last 30-minute run.:) EE was supposed to be my very first 5k, but I trained with my BFF and she signed us up for a local race this Saturday so we can lose our race virginity together. :rotfl2:

DH and I will be at Disney that week without the kids to celebrate our 15th anniversary and I thought that participating in the 5k would be a great way to celebrate my own personal milestone as well. I've been out of shape and overweight since having my ds 7 years ago and finally got serious about my health this past October after seeing photos of myself taken during our last trip to Disney that same month. I'm down about 60 pounds with another 50 to go! :yay:

The obstacle course worries me a bit - I have chronic ankle sprains in both ankles and a metal plate and screws in the left one from a bad break/dislocation a few years ago. The balance beam is very scary, especially since I don't have a partner to help me across. I hope they don't penalize me for walking alongside it.

I'm very much looking forward to the after party and intend to ride Everest all. night. long. DH isn't a fan of any of the rides open for the party so we decided against buying an extra ticket just so he could wait around for me. I'm kinda looking forward to having a couple of hours alone to ride Everest and not worry about the kids or anyone else for a change. :)

[MJonesMBA2001]

Does anybody know if there's a discount on the entry fee for annual passholders? By luck, we're taking a family trip, and the day of the Expedition Everest Challenge will be our first day there, but I just can't see paying over $100 for a 5K with an obstacle course, no matter how cool and Disney-fied it is. Especially with me having an Annual Pass, because I assume that a large part of the entry fee is to cover the one day park admission ticket.

[KML11]

Does anyone know if family members and friends are allowed to be there to watch the race? Do they have to pay a special admission or is a park ticket all they need? My husband and I are thinking about signing up and would like my parents to be able to watch.

Thanks!

[MickeyWanaBe]

Does anyone know if the obstacles are after the 5K or during the 5K? It seems from what I read that in the past they were after, but reading more on the official site, it seems that they are going to be mixed through out. Also, I had read that pacing was an 18 minute mile, but the FAQ says 16 min mile. I think it will be fine either way, but my friends that are going with me have been counting on 18 and will freak out if I tell them 16, I think I will keep that to myself.

From the FAQ on the website. www.disneyeverestchallenge.com

What does the Challenge consist of? The Challenge will consist of a 5K adventure run (a 5K run with obstacles interspersed) and a Scavenger Hunt.

What are the obstacles? The obstacles are not difficult but they may require trekkers to climb and crawl and will test your balance.

Are there pacing requirements? Yes. The race will start at 8:30pm. The 5K adventure run course will shut down at 10:00pm (16 minute per mile pace). The Scavenger Hunt will close at 11:00pm.

[MickeyWanaBe]

Does anyone know if family members and friends are allowed to be there to watch the race? Do they have to pay a special admission or is a park ticket all they need? My husband and I are thinking about signing up and would like my parents to be able to watch.

Thanks!

From the FAQ

Can my friends and family watch me during the race? Spectators will be able to see their trekker at the race start in the Butterfly Parking Lot at Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park. Spectators who have purchased a Post-Race Party ticket will be able to enter Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park at 9:30pm to view the finish line of the race. Spectators will not be able to view any other areas of the course during the 5K or scavenger hunt.

[MickeyWanaBe]

Does anybody know if there's a discount on the entry fee for annual passholders? By luck, we're taking a family trip, and the day of the Expedition Everest Challenge will be our first day there, but I just can't see paying over $100 for a 5K with an obstacle course, no matter how cool and Disney-fied it is. Especially with me having an Annual Pass, because I assume that a large part of the entry fee is to cover the one day park admission ticket.

I don't think there are any discounts. There was a discount for registering early. I don't see anything else on their website.

Individual Registration
$109 on or before March 15, 2010
$119 after March 15, 2010

Here is what you get...
What is included in the registration fee? Each participant will receive a Champion® tech t-shirt, personalized race bib, goody bag, timed race, finisher medal, a 1 Day/1 Park Theme Park ticket and entry into the exclusive after-hours party inside Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park.

Will there be food and beverage included with the Post- Race Party Ticket? Race participants will receive post-race refreshments once they finish the race. Food and beverage will be available for purchase during the Post-Race Party at various locations throughout the park.

[umwhat]

So I called to buy our discounted tickets for the race...and I could have SWORN that a 3 day park hopper was discounted to about 190 something...
I got a CM who knew NOTHING about the race at all and he told me that a 3 day park hopper was $259 :/

Does anyone have info from BEFORE the online ticket store went down? I'm SURE they were cheaper...then again, maybe I was just wishful thinking.

Or...maybe I got a clueless CM?
:confused3

[marymoon]

So I called to buy our discounted tickets for the race...and I could have SWORN that a 3 day park hopper was discounted to about 190 something...
I got a CM who knew NOTHING about the race at all and he told me that a 3 day park hopper was $259 :/

Does anyone have info from BEFORE the online ticket store went down? I'm SURE they were cheaper...then again, maybe I was just wishful thinking.

Or...maybe I got a clueless CM?
:confused3

Um, yeah, that's not the right price for discounted tickets for race participants - we got 5 day hoppers and paid less than that. Try calling again and be sure to mention the discount code that was emailed with your event registration confirmation.

[umwhat]

Um, yeah, that's not the right price for discounted tickets for race participants - we got 5 day hoppers and paid less than that. Try calling again and be sure to mention the discount code that was emailed with your event registration confirmation.

That's totally what I thought!! I tried calling back and then they said that the ticket can't be upgraded or combined...that if I saw that price it must have assumed that I could combine the ticket that you get with registration, which they're saying I can't. What the heck?
Strange things are afoot down in Lake Buena Vista. I want the online store back!!

What to do NOW!?!?!?:mad:

[BamaBornNemoNut]

Who's had success when calling for Theme Park tickets? The online purchase option has not been up and time is tight now for the event. What phone number worked? 1-407-wdw-dream?? That is the number that is listed when attempting the online purchase.

Before the Online purchase option went down, I noted the prices:

5 Day Magic Your Way Ticket with Park Hopper and Water Park Fun & More (All Ages) $229.10 tax: $14.90 $244.00

4 Day Magic Your Way Ticket with Park Hopper and Water Park Fun & More (All Ages) $201.87 tax: $13.13 $215.00

This is very comparable with past years also. :goodvibes

[umwhat]

Who's had success when calling for Theme Park tickets? The online purchase option has not been up and time is tight now for the event. What phone number worked? 1-407-wdw-dream?? That is the number that is listed when attempting the online purchase.

Before the Online purchase option went down, I noted the prices:

5 Day Magic Your Way Ticket with Park Hopper and Water Park Fun & More (All Ages) $229.10 tax: $14.90 $244.00

4 Day Magic Your Way Ticket with Park Hopper and Water Park Fun & More (All Ages) $201.87 tax: $13.13 $215.00

This is very comparable with past years also. :goodvibes

That's what I remember too. I certainly have not had any luck at all with tickets. I called the WDW DREAM number and yesterday called the Wide World of Sports number directly. She said that they're unable to combine or upgrade any tickets. That I would have to buy a ticket direct from disney and then use my "free" ticket at the end. Gosh, I wish I would have just bought it when it was available!!!!!!! ::kicks self::

[BamaBornNemoNut]

Tried someone from the WDW-IRUN line and after reading from the webpage about how Discounted Theme Park tickets could be purchase using the password, the CM had a lightbulb go off and once I gave her the password, she quoted the correct prices. :lovestruc

[cwnhokie]

Sorry, I just saw your post. when I called the CM said they were trying to get clarification on whether we were supposed to get conference ticket prices or something else (can't remember what they were called) She quoted me the conference ticket price which was much higher. Luckily I had written down the prices from the website. Mine of course were without tax, but at least the price she ended up giving me was close. 3 day hopper was $166. I kept waiting for the website to work again and by the time I called they recommended I not have them mailed. So I have to wait to get them when we get there. I wish I had asked them to fedex them, I would much rather have them in my hand. And we bought extras that we are going to use in December, so I will have to keep up with those when I get there too.

[Tara8595]

Can anyone confirm that you can't buy single day discounted tickets for the Expedition Everest Challenge? I just don't trust anyone on the phone these days to know what they're talking about and I didn't get to check the online store before it went down. Please let me know!

[MickeyWanaBe]

Can anyone confirm that you can't buy single day discounted tickets for the Expedition Everest Challenge? I just don't trust anyone on the phone these days to know what they're talking about and I didn't get to check the online store before it went down. Please let me know!

We bought discount one day tickets with the EEC deal for $57ish. I think that was the price. DH was the one on the phone. They were NOT on the website.

DH called last weekend to order 2 day tickets for DSs and was just going to confirm they didn't have 1 day tickets and to our surpise the CM said there was a 1 day ticket for $57 so we got 2 of those too.

[umwhat]

4 day park hoppers $199.
I just explained the situation to each CM. The first one said that that pricing structure was not available to her but she thought she knew where she could transfer me to get it. She transferred me and it was right.

I started out calling the IRUN line but then got transferred to preferred tickets/group reservations. Hope that's helpful!

FYI Hopper with water parks and more was 215. :banana:

[Kirsty-Leigh]

Hey Guys,

I am thinking about doing my first everest challenge this year. I will be going down solo (only live about 1hr away). Just can't make up my mind, but I feel like I need another Disney race to get me through till wine and dine :thumbsup2

Kirsty

[umwhat]

Hey Guys,

I am thinking about doing my first everest challenge this year. I will be going down solo (only live about 1hr away). Just can't make up my mind, but I feel like I need another Disney race to get me through till wine and dine :thumbsup2

Kirsty

Yeah!! Do it! :)
My friend and I are seriously counting down the hours to this thing. It really sounds like it's going to be a great time!!

I think if I lived an hour away from Disney World, I would be a bit more in shape from running all the races but quite a bit poorer!! :) (Eh...maybe not in better shape if I went to BOMA every night)

[Kirsty-Leigh]

Yes, I am quite a lot poorer for living so close (just renewed my FL resident annual premium pass, :scared1:), but I love it :confused3

SO, I am going to sign up right now - who needs money anyway (the mouse was probably gonna get it sooner or later!)

See you all there :thumbsup2

WISHing you a Happy Memorial Day

Kirsty

[umwhat]

Isn't that the truth!?!? I think Disney is where "discretionary income" goes to die! :)

Has anyone seen the medal for this race? I heard last year's was really fun?

[Kirsty-Leigh]

Last year was a compass - it was cool. I didn't get one but I saw it - I hope it's similar.

I signed up yesterday ... now I'm excited :cool1:

[Kirsty-Leigh]

I found a link to the 2008 one... I don't know if it will be the same, but I though I would post it anyway :thumbsup2

http://adisneyworldsports.disney.go.com/media/dwws_v0220/en_US/endurance/everestmedal.jpg

See you all next weekend :cool1:

Kirsty

[Lexxiefern]

Hey Kirsty, the last 2 years they put all the single ladies (sing it with me!) in the first wave. If they do that again this year, I will see you in wave 1! I am excited too. I plan to wear all pink. Hopefully we will meet!

Becky

[K80K]

Registration is at 90% capacity for this race. Looks like it might be another sell out! Great news for me as I was planning to do this race next year and a sell out will make it more likely to return. Yay!

[Kirsty-Leigh]

Hey Becky!

I'll be in my luminescent WISH shirt, and be sporting flashing pink shoe laces and possibly flashing Mickey ears - should shouldn't be able to miss me! :cool1:

See you there :)

[andeeNjoel]

I convinced my husband to sign up with me as soon as registration opened. I thought the threat of public humiliation would motivate me to get into shape. Well with one week to go, I have learned that I am lazy beyond help! I have only gone out to try to run 5K twice in the last 3 months! Am I the only one completely unprepared and hoping they can jog/walk fast enough to not be picked up by the golf cart? :eek:

[Kirsty-Leigh]

Don't worry you won't be the only one. I once ran a 1/2 with no training at all. Just take it slow and listen to your body :thumbsup2

Good luck and see you there :goodvibes

Kirsty

[Lullabee]

I'll be there volunteering and cheering on all the WISHers! Just couldn't justify that much money for a 5K, no matter how cute the medal.

[cwnhokie]

I haven't run or worked out in 2 weeks, been so hectic around here with the end of the school year and redoing my boys' room. I need to try to get some exercise in this week to prepare.

[Lullabee]

Is anyone else excited yet?! :yay:

Safe travels to all those coming from afar.

[cwnhokie]

Leaving for the airport in 6 hours!:cool1::cool1::cool1:
Still feeling a little guilty for sneaking off to the World without DH and the kids but also super excited.

[Kirsty-Leigh]

Just a word of warning for all of you flying down from places that aren't FL. It is HOT here; I mean I know it's FL and it's always kinda hot here (Last winter excluded), but it is HOT even for us - I went to EPCOT yesterday and there were people melting everywhere! It got up to 97 and it isn't really dropping much over night - so hydrate and listen to your body - because it's going to be a steamy one!

Good luck and see you all there :cool1:

Kirsty

[palmtreegirl]

I'll be there!

[K80K]

Good luck all WISHers running this weekend! I hope to be able to make it next year, but till then I am living vicareously through all over you! :)

[palmtreegirl]

What a great time last night was!! I was shocked and thrilled when I checked the results, I came in 18th in my division, out of 142 women running single!

The party was a lot of fun, we walked on all the rides and 10 minutes before 1am. Definitely worth it and I can't wait for next year!

What an amazing ride it's been, I started running on 1/1/2010 and couldn't run more then 100 yards at a time and now I ran my first 5K since High school with a time of 34:43 with obstacles. lol

[momto2littlemonsters]

Expedition Everest was awesome! Highly recommend this race. I find that Disney races are less about how fast you can run and more about having fun and enjoying the running process. I mean you still have those that are going for their PR but I would say 80% are there to just have a good time. Race recap coming soon!

[tutter99]

It definitely was a great race, overall I'm pretty happy with the whole experience. It was a little intimidating going off in the first wave being a walker but at least I have a pretty good walking pace so I was at the balance beam by the time the 3rd wave went off.

I think the heat really surprised some people, there were quite a few teams that flew by me early that I passed in miles 2 and 3, definitely glad I brought an extra bottle of water with me!

[momof2minnies]

We had an absolute blast! It was a gift for my DDs high school grad. Memories of a lifetime.

Our pictures came out great too except the finish line- it would have been nice to have a banner so you could see it was the finish- it caught us off guard.

Linda

[KML11]

My husband and I also participated and had a really good time doing it together. It was my first 5k ever! I think I may have been spoiled because of all the great things to do after the race! I'm glad he talked me into it!