A Not So Scary Very Merry Wine and Dine Dashing TR *updated 12/27

[dancingtodisney]

Part 1 - That's no blizzard. That's my sister.

This morning was supposed to be a lazy one as we planned to spend the day at our resort. I woke up pretty early and decided that I wanted to get out and go to MK for a little bit. As I was getting ready Rachel woke up and I guess for myself and Rachel a lazy morning just doesn't happen at Disney! I waited for her to get ready and we made our way down to the bus stop.​

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Good morning Magic Kingdom ​

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We waited at for the gates to open... I get excited every time! ​

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Unfortunately the railroad was still under refurb so we didn't have the classic opening ceremony​

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It was already looking really christmassy! Christmas and Disney combined... two of my favourite things!​

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We decided our first stop of the day would be to meet mickey mouse! I LOVE his meet and greet in Magic Kingdom and now that he's come over all talkative it's even better!​

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WOW Mickey is super popular​

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We get into the theatre and are waiting just outside his meeting area with two other parties, the one in front of us is a little boy maybe 5years old and who I'm guessing was his mam. The boy looked really nervous and excited and he was wearing a make a wish t-shirt. His mam was really friendly and explained to us that all he wanted to do was meet Mickey Mouse, that it was his dream. He was adorable and we couldn't help but feel moved by this cute little boy and his excitement. We went in and he was nervous at first but Mickey was so friendly and patient with him and soon after they were flying around the room together. Mickey spent a long time with the boy but we were more than happy to wait and allow him to have his special time. It was another one of those heart​

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Helloooooooooooooo Mickey​

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Mickey asked us if we had traveled far and we told him we came from Dublin, he said he was very happy we had traveled all that way to come and visit him...​

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Don't mind me... I'm just throwing out my Mickey pose​

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I think this is the cheesiest grin of the entire trip... I always say Goofy is my favourite but you just can't help that special feeling meeting Mickey​

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He asked Rachel to dance (so not jealous :cautious​

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She even got a twirl​

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Mickey was on top form this morning​

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We wandered outside and stumbled across another character meet... Snow White! Well I never turn down an opportunity to meet a princess....​

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We only really had one ride we wanted to go on this morning before heading back to chill at our lovely resort and that of course was SPACE MOUNTAIN​

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Apparently we were quite sleepy... I think this other guy looks so funny next to us!​

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We got a text from Grumpy that he was up so we started to head towards the exit.​

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ALWAYS time for a photoshoot :angelic:​

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Practicing our princess poses... Disney will be calling us any day now to set up our own meet and greet!​

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Here's a main street vehicle... if only we could ride back to AKL in this beauty!​

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Bye bye Magic Kingdom... See ya real soon!​

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Luckily a bus arrived right away to take us HOME​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 2 - Everything the light touches is our kingdom

This was the view from our hotel room... how AMAZING is this!

THERE ARE ZEBRAS AND GIRAFFES OUTSIDE MY ROOM

The animals rotated throughout the day so there were different animals about. I was so excited by this!! I decided to FaceTime my parents and we showed them around our room and our amazing view.

We were getting hungry so we made our way down to the Mara for some lunch taking some more pics of our surroundings along the way

I loved being on the dining plan and was looking forward to our first quick service meal

LOOK AT ALL THIS FOOD

As you can see we got zebra domes which was a first for us and we also had our refillable mugs at the back too.
The food was great there, it's a really good quality quick service and has a cool toppings bar as well.

Unfortunately both me and Rachel were dissappointed with the zebra domes... there is such a buzz about these little treats but it was not was I was expecting. I didn't think it would be soft on the inside I thought that it would be solid and chocolaty which it wasn't. I'll still try them again next time as we'll be staying at AKL and eating at Boma for sure!

The cupcake was yummy

GET IN MY BELLY!! We shared the deserts so we could try them all...

Next up POOL TIME! Because that's exactly what you need after a massive meal! We chilled on the sun loungers for a bit to let the food go down. It was really handy having the refillable mugs at the pool, we just went up with the mugs and they gave us a drink in a plastic cup, not sure why but it was great getting really cold drinks with the heat

Our pool had a slide!! We went down it lots of times along with all the small kids... everyone is a kid at Disney!

We spent some time in the hot tub and enjoyed having a really chilled afternoon. AKL is a beautiful resort and perfect for relaxation...​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 3 - When you’re the best of friends having so much fun together, you’re not even aware you’re such a funny pair

We had originally planned on having dinner tonight at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall but we had decided the day before to change our plans as we wanted a later meal and Grumpy didn't want to do another buffet or character meal. Instead our reservation tonight was for La Hacienda de San Angel. After our chilled day at the resort we headed to Epcot for the evening.
Night time Epcot is just always awesome!​

We noticed that spaceship earth had a short wait so we went there first​

It's beyond difficult to get non blurry pics on this ride for me​

We had fast passes for the character spot but as mentioned earlier Grumpy wasn't fussed on meeting more characters so he went off to the innovations plaza and we agreed to meet at Mexico for dinner.
Me and Rachel had a lot of fun going off on our own adventures, we're quite giddy when we're together especially in Disney!

This meet and greet is adorable!

Camera got my good side​

Mickey wanted kisses... Rachel was right in there!!​

He was quite the charmer​

We also met Goofy... Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
He came right over to us as we walking in..​

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We only really got the one photo and the photographer was ready for us to move on but then I told Goofy that he was my favourite and he got all excited.
Here he is like 'me????'​

'I'm number 1'​

He was so delighted he wanted to pose us for another picture and I LOVE it​

Next up was Minnie

She loved Rachel's dress

She then gestured at mine too letting us know she like it as well

The CM then told us Minnie wanted a dress to match with us so we said we'd have to come back with one for her!

We made our way over to Mexico for dinner, there was no sign of Grumpy who is always late anyway so we decided to hop in line to get a picture with Mexican Donald

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[dancingtodisney]

Part 4 - Dreaming about what I might feel like when those lights rise in the sky

Afterwards we found Grumpy and checked in for dinner.

We ordered a flight of different margaritas which was really good! I love all the different salts on the glasses.​

We decided to use two of our table service credits to get the Parrillada La Hacienda sharing platter as we weren't massively hungry, we would save a credit then to use on our last day.

We had a fast pass to watch illuminations so we made our way round to the special area to watch​

I think we were there about 15mins before and it was already quite busy, we didn't have a spot leaning on the rails or anything

Rachel was pretty sleepy at this point​

Show time!!!

The show ended and we took a couple more photographs in the area. You can see the desert party set up here​

It was EMH at Epcot tonight so we were looking forward to adding more stamps to our food and wine books. We turned around to look at the booths and OMG THEY WERE CLOSED!!!
Apparently the F&W booths don't open for EMH... WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT??!​

As you'll see later in our trip we encountered a another problem like this, it really pays to check what is actually open for EMH I just presumed the booths would be I mean it makes perfect sense to me that people would love to eat and drink later into the evening!​

We made do with one of the regular carts for some drinks
Rachel was hot chocolate obsessed on this trip​

I favoured the 'stronger' drinks

We weren't really in the mood for any rides at this point so we decided to head back to the room.
We stopped for a photopass picture on our way out​

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[TheLittleKatie]

It looks beautiful!!! I love the Christmas decorations

We get into the theatre and are waiting just outside his meeting area with two other parties, the one in front of us is a little boy maybe 5years old and who I'm guessing was his mam. The boy looked really nervous and excited and he was wearing a make a wish t-shirt. His mam was really friendly and explained to us that all he wanted to do was meet Mickey Mouse, that it was his dream. He was adorable and we couldn't help but feel moved by this cute little boy and his excitement. We went in and he was nervous at first but Mickey was so friendly and patient with him and soon after they were flying around the room together. Mickey spent a long time with the boy but we were more than happy to wait and allow him to have his special time.

Magical Disney moments

Don't mind me... I'm just throwing out my Mickey pose

I see you popping the foot out Minnie better watch out

Mickey is just so cute!!!

THERE ARE ZEBRAS AND GIRAFFES OUTSIDE MY ROOM

This is amazing! Is this a savannah view? We are hoping to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge on our next trip

Unfortunately both me and Rachel were dissappointed with the zebra domes... there is such a buzz about these little treats but it was not was I was expecting. I didn't think it would be soft on the inside I thought that it would be solid and chocolaty which it wasn't. I'll still try them again next time as we'll be staying at AKL and eating at Boma for sure!

Oh no! I love zebra domes! But I've only had them after a huge buffet at Boma, so it worked out well that they were a lighter dessert, otherwise I would've felt ill. I hope you enjoy them more next time!

GET IN MY BELLY!!

you met Mexican Donald!!! He is SO precious. I've never met him though, he's always had a big line when I've been passing. How long did you wait?!

You got some great shots of IllumiNations! They look so professional.

Apparently the F&W booths don't open for EMH... WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT??!

That is so weird, considering how busy it gets..

 

[emilyindisney]

Hi Karen!

I saw the link in your signature and couldn't resist a wine and dine report! I'm planning on running it next year so this really gets me geared up. Plus, I LOVE seeing pictures of WDW with it's fall decorations up- so beautiful!

Really enjoying your report so far- those pictures of Epcot at night in your last post are especially beautiful! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[dancingtodisney]

Day 14: Lefou, I'm afraid I've been thinking...

Part 1 - Where we goin', Baloo?

Another morning waking up at Animal Kingdom Lodge…. It was still so surreal that we were staying here! We went to get some snacks for breakfast in The Mara, I went for this crumbly apple thing​

I think it had cinnamon in there too?!

Rachel went for the pan au chocolat and it looked so yummy!

Grumpy got this apple slice

Using snack credits for breakfast works well with the dining plan, you then have your quick service for lunch and table service for dinner. You can also get more filling items like bagels but we're all about the early morning sugar!

We went out for some shopping again today and myself and Rachel purchases UE Boom speakers for our dance classes back home. We got back late afternoon and planned on spending our time at Animal Kingdom because it was open late!

Our first ride of the day was Dinosour! It was down the last time we got in line so we wanted to make sure we got to ride today! We had a fastpass but it wasn't really necessary

Ride photo!!
The dude in the green shirt!! :happy:

It was about 4pm at this stage and we were hungry so we ventured over to Flame Tree BBQ plan being to eat there and then go and walk along the animal trails that we'd missed last time we came.

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD

Look at the size of that turkey leg!!!!!!

I got the ribs and wing combo

The food was good and there was plenty of it!

Just then I looked at our times guide and map to plan our route through the trails only to notice that all the animal related stuff was closing at 4.30pm!!! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! :banghead:

So even though the park was open until 7pm you couldn't do any of the trails or rafikis planet watch which was all the stuff we came to do!!!! :arghh:

UGH lesson learned, it's worth checking what's actually open until closing when parks are open later....

We decided to cheer ourselves up and make our way over for a ride on Everest

RIDE PHOTO!

and then another one

Our final fastpass was for the outpost meet and greet

The outfits are just too cute here I love it!

We decided to go to A Bug's Life next... BEST 3D GLASSES!!!

There wasn't really much else to do at this time so we made our way towards the exit stopping for a few photos on the way.

Back to AKL for another reservation I was excited about... BOMA!​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Day 14: Lefou, I'm afraid I've been thinking...​

Part 2 - If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff.​

Our reservation this evening was in Boma... It was nice to be going to a restaurant in our own hotel so we didn't have to travel to get there...

We checked in for our reservation and grabbed a drink at the bar, by the time our drinks we ready so was our table!​

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Boma is a buffet so I took lots of pictures of the food available at the counters as well as some of our plates!​

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I got this picture of the deserts including the yummy looking apple crumble pie as I was still eating my main dinner plate(s)​

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We were letting our food settle a little before heading up for desert but by the time we went for some all the good stuff was gone and they were taking the trays in!!!! ​

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There were still people eating but I had to ask the server to help us out and we managed to get a fresh apple pie out. I would say to anyone heading to buffet to be aware that if you have a later reservation (ours was 7.30pm) you may want to keep an eye on the deserts or grab some early with your main meals. The same thing happened to us in 1900 park fare.​

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We chilled out enjoying our deserts and playing our holiday game.. It's a really good way to pass the time if you're stuck in a long queue, on a bus or too full for desert! I think it's called 'who am I?' but basically you decide who are you and everyone else asks you yes and no questions until they guess who you are! The way we decided who won was whoever had the most questions asked of them before their character was guessed. We made ours Disney specific so it had to be a Disney character. Grumpy got us with a really good one at diner, I eventually knew that it was Jafar's parot from Aladdin from my questions but I couldn't remember his name!! I just kept hearing the bit in the movie when Jafar says 'patience **insert parots name here**' and I kept repeating it hoping it would come to me... 'patience....'​

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I thought it was Diago but eventually we realised it was Iago!!! Even our waitress had joined in at this point! ​

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We were SO FULL after our meal it was nice to just waddle up to our room and not have to get a bus! Tomorrow morning we were up early for the Wine&Dine expo...​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Day 15: Well if you hadn't have run away, this wouldn't have happened.

Part 1: Hey, buddy. You're one gutsy racer

We were up early this morning and made our way to ESPN for the Wine&Dine expo​

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We had arrived early with one big goal in mind, the new balance stall.​

We got to the expo about 9am and I'd heard that they normally let people in earlier than the stated time of 10am. When we arrived there was already a queue formed but it wasn't as bad as I expected with about 20/30 people ahead of us.​

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LOOK AT THESE SHOES!​

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We got chatting to a guy that was there just to buy runners. He said he takes orders in advance and buys them here and then sells them at a higher price. This years range had been really popular and he'd attended the expo's all year. Earlier in the year they had been selling for crazy prices! I didn't really like this at all... I feel like there should be a sign up where if you are running the event you could reserve a pair for that events expo as they really are supposed to be for the runners! To think that runners at marathon weekend missed out because people like this bought as many as they could is a bit annoying!​

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Once they started letting people in (around 9.30am) we waited only about 15mins until our turn. We got in and each tried on both shoes for our gender so me and Rachel tried the Minnie and Cinderella and Grumpy tried Mickey and Goofy. Cinderella is not really one of my favourite princesses and I LOVE Minnie but I didn't really love her shoes... I think I would have liked them more if they were red and black instead of pink and also they were a bit big and clunky. I had pretty much decided before going in that I would choose the Cinderella. Rachel on the other hand wanted Minnie but she changed her mind and went for the Cinderella too! Grumpy got the Goofy.​

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SO MANY STALLS!!! This was my first ever major running event so I was so excited!!!​

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We picked up a few bits from the various vendors. Me and Rachel both got flip belts which are really handy for storing various items of different sizes when running.​

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We got some cliff blocks from the cliff stall that we would be using during our half the next night. We also got some freebees too like cliff bars are other fuels.​

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They had our medal out which is cool!​

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I love that spaceship earth is on it!​

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It was really heavy!! The centre part was a spinner too!​

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We excited to head over and get our bibs first I think we waited about 15mins in total to collect everything.​

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Quick photo with our numbers and the countdown​

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We were started to get pretty excited for the run the next night! There was a lot of people talking about the weather as it was forecast to rain, I wasn't too worried about that as it rains a lot back home and I'd much rather a wash out than a heat wave!​

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We finished up at the expo and made our way back to the car and back to AKL.​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Day 15: Well if you hadn't have run away, this wouldn't have happened.​

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Part 2: I look at you and I'm home​

We got back to Animal Kingdom Lodge and it was time to check out.... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :cry:​

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It really felt like we had just arrived but unfortunately it was already time to say goodbye to our dream hotel ​

We had wanted to stay at AKL for the rest of our trip but there wasn't availability when I rented the points so we had to book a third hotel so our next destination would be Art of Animation.​

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I tried to linger as long as possible when leaving the room... THIS WAS MY HOME...​

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Bye bye to my beautiful view​

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Bye bye mirror​

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Bye bye TV​

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Bye bye pretty sinks​

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Bye bye bed​

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Bye bye little elaphant​

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Bye bye room​

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Bye bye bridge​

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Bye bye lobby :cry:​

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I have to say it was tough moving between 3resorts and I don't think I would do it again if I could help it. Also what was just NO FUN was moving from a delux to a value. We were perfectly happy with All Star Sports but going from AKL to AoA was a little bit traumatizing... :arghh:​

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We had an early reservation at Whispering Canyon so we went there straight from AKL. I mentioned earlier that we were on the dining plan and for our meal in Mexico we only used two table credits so we had our final credit to use at WC.​

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Wilderness Lodge is really impressive, I love the theme here and I think it's quite similar to AKL which I liked but also you know... HEARTBROKEN... anyways...​

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We checked in for our reservation but we were still a bit early so we went for a wander around​

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We chilled in the lobby for a bit until our buzzer went off​

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I took this picture which now that I look at it is kinda creepy... it's like I was waiting to pop out and scare someone or like stalking from a distance...​

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We were called for our table and already we could see that the guests had been kept entertained the last while. There was a family in jail, a guy surrounded by ketchup and some kids on horses!!​

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We took to our table and our server came over... she was a HOOT!! She came over talking really LOUD and throwing straws at us and then sat at our table with her elbows up on the table and asked what we were eating! We asked about the dining credit and if one of us could use it to get the all you can eat skillet and she said that was fine. We ordered a milkshake too on the dining plan so it was such good value!​

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We also got some bread...​

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I think I ordered a tune melt?? Maybe... I really don't know... this thing was massive!​

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We got spring rolls​

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And the skillet, the idea being to share it all...​

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It was about this time that my stomach decided it was NOT HAPPY with life. I felt really ill all of a sudden and my appetite went completely. I was so sad looking at the beautiful skillet and all this food in front of me :depressed:​

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I was also worried because tomorrow I had to run a half marathon!!!​

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WL was an official host resort for the W&D so they had RunDisney notifications up. Neither AKL or AoA were but Pop was so our plan was to go from there the following evening.​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Day 15: Well if you hadn't have run away, this wouldn't have happened.

Part 3: I'll put it simple: if you're going hard enough left, you'll find yourself turning right.

We quickly popped back to AoA and checked ourselves in. Our room was literally as far away as possible from everything! in the furthest corner of the little mermaid section and wouldn't you know this would be the time when our magic bands decided to stop working!! UGH! So we left Rachel with the bags while we went off to get this sorted. For whatever reason this was not an easy thing to fix but eventually we got everything working....

We dumped our bags and headed back to the car, tonight we were going to our first ever basketball match! I used to play basketball in school so I was really excited! Plus I wanted to go to an American sporting event for ages! Orlando Magic were playing at home so we got tickets on stubhub I think.

I'll include some photos here... My stomach was still not great at all so I couldn't even have a hotdog!! UGH!

WE WON... WHOOOP GO ORLANDO MAGIC!! It's amazing how into the game we got haha

We heard people saying on the way out that they'd had a horrible season so far with lots of losses so I think we brought some Irish luck tonight!

We wanted to go shopping in downtown Disney but Grumpy had been doing this thing a lot these days of just deciding to go ridiculously slow when he wasn't that bothered about doing something. By the time we got to DTD we only had about 30mins to shop and we still had snack credits to spend plus get our final quick service. We got sandwiches in Earl of Sandwich but I got A SALAD because I still felt ill.... I would love one of there rolls right now... BOO :hungover:

Grumpy got this made up in Goofys candy store which was a really good use of a snack credit

We were pretty tired now so it was off to bed with us! Tomorrow WINE AND DINE!!​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Hi Karen!

I saw the link in your signature and couldn't resist a wine and dine report! I'm planning on running it next year so this really gets me geared up. Plus, I LOVE seeing pictures of WDW with it's fall decorations up- so beautiful!

Really enjoying your report so far- those pictures of Epcot at night in your last post are especially beautiful! Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks for stopping by! Oh how exciting!! I love Wine and Dine, I really want to run it again when it's not so... WET!
It really is the perfect time to visit in my opinion.... you have the food and wine festival, fall decorations and then if stay a little longer christmas decorations too!

Thank you! Epcot is so pretty at night!

 

[dancingtodisney]

It looks beautiful!!! I love the Christmas decorations
I see you popping the foot out Minnie better watch out

Haha nailed it!!

This is amazing! Is this a savannah view? We are hoping to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge on our next trip

NO!! It's not even! We just rented points and booked a standard room! AKL is amazing, I can't say it enough... I'm so excited to be staying there for 7 whole nights this trip!!!

Oh no! I love zebra domes! But I've only had them after a huge buffet at Boma, so it worked out well that they were a lighter dessert, otherwise I would've felt ill. I hope you enjoy them more next time!

Hmmmmm I think maybe because I was expecting something else, like I thought they would be solid chocolate and wasn't expecting moose and then you know when you eat something and the texture is just not at all what you expected??!

you met Mexican Donald!!! He is SO precious. I've never met him though, he's always had a big line when I've been passing. How long did you wait?!

We had pretty much no wait!! He is kinda hidden away I guess and so if he doesn't have a long line people just walk right past without spotting him. He is adorable!!

You got some great shots of IllumiNations! They look so professional.

Ye I can't take the credit for them (that goes to Grumpy) but they are so pretty... Epcot is so photogenic!


QUOTE="TheLittleKatie, post: 54715352, member: 522506"]That is so weird, considering how busy it gets.. [/QUOTE]

AGREED!!!!

 

[dancingtodisney]

Day 16: Both a little scared, neither one prepared
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Part 1: Sometimes's I feel like I don't really belong here​

We slept in this morning as best we could, our run that night was at 10pm so it would be a really late night for us. Apologies for the lack of pictures today but I think my stomach feeling unwell and nerves about the run that night I just wasn't feeling snappy! I'll make up for it later when it gets to running time!
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Around midday we surfaced and decided to pop back to the expo. We bought some KT Tape to apply later on before our run. We went to the ESPN sports bar and got some pasta which was pretty average. Still feeling a bit tired we went back to our room and chilled eventually deciding to take a nap. We woke to our alarms going off around 7pm to get ready and head out to the buses.
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Wine and Dine 2014

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I woke up still feeling a bit ill and NOT at all in the mood to go run 13.1miles! My mood didn't last too long though, we walked over to Pop and got in line for the buses and the atmosphere here got me more in the mood!​

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WE WERE GOING TO RUN AT DISNEY.... WHOOOOP​

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Here's a blurry photo of us waiting in line​

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We weren't waiting too long and I'd say we were on the 3rd bus to pull up.​

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The bus journey took a while as there was a lot of traffic but Pop is quite close to ESPN. When we arrived it hadn't started raining but it was pretty cold! We held off on checking our bags and used the toilets first. Announcements were already being made about heading to the corals. We checked our bags and made our way to our coral which was coral H based on our 10k proof of time of around 1hr 14mins.​

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There was a LOT of people in front of us!!​

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As you can see a lot of the runners were prepared for the bad weather. Shortly after we arrived in the corals the race started and the first set of fireworks shot off!​

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I LOVE how the races start with fireworks... Now whenever I run a non-Disney race I can't help but feel a bit underwhelmed when the race starts and there are no fireworks!​

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We slowly made our way as each coral was let go to more fireworks..​

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Finally it was our turn! YAH!!​

I took a video as we crossed the start line so I'll include that a bit later!​

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It had started raining as we were starting, not too heavy and I really didn't mind, I was just happy to get moving!​

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The first mile went by so quickly, we were still running in a tight group and the people around us were all in high spirits. Lots of people were joking about the weather and 'singing in the rain' so it really hadn't dampened our spirits (see what I did there... ?!?)​

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So a run at night is difficult enough to get good photos of but add in rain on your lens and you get this:​

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We had agreed to try and run the majority of the first couple of miles and then revert to run/walking the rest. I must add here that we had not really had a proper training plan in the build up to this half! Out of the three of us I was the most trained, I had originally completed the full couch to 5k program and then tried to run 2-3 times a week but our longest run before coming here was only 10k!! I had managed a 10k in about 1hr 2mins so I had improved my time by 12mins with my training. I was pretty nervous but I never really doubted our ability to finish, I knew that even with more walk breaks later on in the run we should be well clear of the balloon laddies.​

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Grumpy was being a bit Grumpy today and was giving out that we were running too slow initially but I knew we needed to pull back in order to make the distance.​

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I think we took our first walk break around mile 2​

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We started around 24mins into the race so our pace was quite slow at 12mins per mile.

With the weather being so bad it seemed that there was quite a bit of entertainment missing, we saw some set ups that suggested there would have something in place yet they were empty. This was the biggest bummer about the weather.

Soon enough we were arriving at mile 3

Our 5k split was 39:04

I was getting excited now because we were approaching our first park!!! As you approach there were automated announcements about watching speed humps which were extra slippy in the bad weather.

Here Grumpy decided he needed to stop and stretch. Myself and Rachel continued and spotted a REAL BATHROOM so Rachel went in while I kept lookout...

Right at the bathroom stop was Flick

There was still no sign of Grumpy, we hung around for a bit but we realised he must have passed us at this stage. I tried to message him but he wasn't using his phone. We accepted at this point (after a lot of lost time) that we would be continuing as a two. This was actually a bit of relief as we could now just take it at our own pace and stop for any character we wanted to. Unfortunately in the confusion and searching we actually missed character stops in Animal Kingdom which was a real shame because like I said there was less on course due to weather....

Apparently my camera skills were getting worse as these are my only pics from mile marker 4

This part of the course was what I was dreading the most... From leaving the park around mile 4 there was another 5miles of road running before we'd be close to Hollywood Studios. With the weather I was doubting that there would be much entertainment to keep up pumped up as well..

I thought this part of the course would be where I would have to push Rachel, she knew that she was very under-trained for this and I think the two things that would be pushing her through this run were 1) The medal and 2) The character/major photo stops. Surprisingly though we were actually managing pretty ok, we were running intervals (no idea what times I wasn't using a Garmin or anything but we would just run and walk as we needed to.

There was still a great atmosphere around and it was fun checking out the costumes around us as we were running. Our 10k split came in at 1hr 24mins and I'd definitely put the extra time from the first 5k down to losing Grumpy as we really didn't adjust our pace much.

At the next mile marker you can see a water stop just beyond it, the stops were frequent and well stocked, each had water and poweraid. Myself and Rachel had developed a little system that worked for us, we got a cup of poweraid and water each time and shared between us.

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[dancingtodisney]

Day 16: Both a little scared, neither one prepared

Part 2: I'm not fast

We came up onto the overpass shortly after Mile 7 and took the left turn to finally leave osceola parkway WHOOP! We continued on up to the turn off for Hollywood Studios and came to mile mark 8

We hit a GU stop shortly after 8 and even though it was a new thing on race day I still had one!! Oooopsy!! I didn't really like it so I didn't finish it all, I think I got some sort of caramel flavour. Rachel REALLY didn't like hers!

As we were coming up the ramp to head down towards HS there was the green army man!!! He was hilarious! I've got a video of him shouting orders at us and I love it! I'll include it at the end of my race recap as I took a few videos along the way...

Finally we could see the beauty that is Tower of Terror

This lifted our spirits quite a bit, Rachel was starting to struggle a bit with the distance now but you couldn't help but feel happy running into HS!

We hit mile 9 on our way into HS

We came in a backstage entrance too which was pretty cool
We basically came in the back of ToT and R'n'R... I wish they opened the rides I would have definitely hopped on!

ROCK ON!!!

Our 15k split came in at 2hrs 05mins so again our pace was pretty consistent the entire time.

We made our way out to pixar palace and guess what???? It was character time!!!!

This was a cute set up I'm glad we got to stop for this one, there wasn't much of a queue either. We stopped for a real barthroom break around here too.

We had the costume tunnel next and that was so much fun, there was dancing and singing and DISCO LIGHTS!! I took a video as well...

It was around now that Rachel hit her wall. I was tired too and my knee was starting to give me a LOT of issues but Rachel was suffering.

Still willing to pose for me though!

We were approaching what is probably the biggest highlight of the race for me... The Osborne Lights! I'd never seen them before so I was really excited!

BLUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYY

Flexing my muscles to show I've still got plenty in the tank!

The lights were amazing... so beautiful and bright!! I'm really sad that 2015 is the last year for them :cry:

There was an official photo stop so we got our picture taken with the lights in the background

We left the park and made our way out to the boardwalk area, here is where the course got super cramped!! We didn't really have much room to run properly regardless of our ability to do so as there were a lot of walkers around but we managed the odd jog here and there.

Before we knew it we are approaching Mile 12

You see our pace has taken a major battering at this point!

We were still struggling and our lack of training was definitely apparent through this last mile. I was so excited to finally see spaceship earth and our last park of the run... EPCOT! There was really great crowd support in Epcot and that got me pumped to get to the finish line! I was pushing Rachel to keep her spirits up too and even though she wasn’t too happy with me at the time I knew she would be when we finally crossed the line.

MILE 13!!!!!!!! ALMOST THERE!

Only .1 miles to go!! That extra little bit when you're already dead on your feet is pretty difficult!

Finally we could see the finish line!

As we are crossing the line I hear my name being shouted from the spectator stands, I was totally confused because there wasn't anybody there to cheer for us! I just assumed it was another Karen but later found out later is someone from a form I'd been posting on leading up to the trip!

We finished in 3:01:14

I was so relieved to be finished, we collected our snack boxes, our MEDALS and a drink plus a myler blanket that would prove very useful but decided to pass on the free wine/beer because there was a queue and I was COLD already and wanted to get something hot into me!

We stopped to take some photos at the end of the runners finishing chute

I felt really proud of myself at this point, it had been tough running in the bad weather and I was so happy we had completed what we set out to do

It was quite the ordeal getting from the finishing area to the after party. After waiting in a MASSIVE queue to get in past bag check we used the real toilets at the park entrance to get changed. I would recommend using toilets inside the park but we were waiting on Grumpy to meet us. He had finished about 20mins ahead of us.

We all put on our wine & dine race shirts which was officially OK to do because we'd finished! WHOOOOP!!

Unfortunately the weather was still HORRIBLE and we were struggling to keep warm but we really wanted to enjoy some of the after party so we made our way inside. Test Track was down which was the only ride we were really interested in so off to world showcase!

One item I had really enjoyed from the F&W was the pork slider I got at the Hawaii kiosk so I'd been thinking about finally making it to Epcot and eating a pork slider for at least the last 6miles of the half marathon! Myself and Rachel kept reminding each other that we could get one at the finish! So of course my first stop was Hawaii!

I had all these grand plans to have a few drinks after the run and try more from the F&W stalls but I was tired and cold and wet and so I got myself and Rachel a hot chocolate and grumpy got a hot chocolate with some alcohol in it which was really nice too! We stood under a umbrella at a table nearby to enjoy it but we were shivery like mad

We took shelter in Mexico along with a LOT of others but overall the park itself was pretty quiet. Mexican Donald was around so I HAD to get a picture with him, I was disappointed that we saw no photopass photographers at the after party but we got this pic on my camera.

He genuinely thought these trousers were OK

We chilled in Mexico for a bit and then came out to wander back and check test track. It was getting late at this point, I've no idea where the time went but it was around 3am! Test Track looked closed and there was nobody around but there was also nobody telling us that it was down so we made our way over and it was OPEN!! WHOOP!

There was not a single other person in the queue! We quickly made a car and got to the loading platform which was EMPTY too and the CM's seemed kinda glad to see someone! We were so happy to be inside and warm and although lowering ourselves into the car was a bit of struggle we were nice and snuggled inside...

Of course we completely forgot that we were about to get absolutely blasted out of it with cold air and rain when the car made it outside... OOOOPS!

We held up our medals for the ride photo

When we got back around the CM's said we could go again if we liked... this sounded perfect to me because I was really dreading trying to get out of that seat...

We got out and made our way oh so incredibly slowly to the exit and our bus back to Pop. It was here that it dawned on me that we would have to WALK ALL THE WAY back to our room :cry:

We waited on the bus for a bit for some more runners to arrive but it was so warm I really didn't mind.

We got off at Pop Century, climbing down the steps to get off the bus was horrible and we had AGES to walk before we'd made it to our room.

THEN THE BEST THING EVER HAPPENED.

A CM pulled up in a golf cart type vehicle and asked if anyone wanted a lift to Art of Animation. I suddenly had the ability to run again and literally jumped at her, I've no idea if there was anyone else behind us or interested but I had my bum on that seat SO FAST... The CM was lovely and we chatted as we rode back and she dropped us right at the stairs to our room.

Golf cart selfie... Oh where's Rachel???

PEEK A BOO

We thanked the CM and crawled up the stairs and into bed for what was a very uncomfortable sleep as my legs were hurting pretty bad but I was so happy to be warm and laying down...​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Day 17: Needing so much more than dusting

Part 1: It still hurts ​

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Running a half marathon without the proper training HURTS… My legs were really sore all night so despite being really tired I did wake up quite a bit. We did manage to sleep and stayed in bed until about midday. We didn’t have a whole lot planned today as I knew we would be recovering but we did think it would be a good time to check out the mini-golf. We got vouchers for a game of mini-golf with our original booking at All Star Sports and I’ve always wanted to give it go.​

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Getting down the steps outside our room to the car proved to be quite the challenge!! We tried all sorts of combinations of hopping and shifting weight between legs, going sideways and backwards too but it all HURT.​

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Here is a bit of a random rant... There is just not enough CRAZY golf in the world... like you the kind of golf where you hit a ball and you have to get it in a clowns mouth and then his head spins and your ball goes flying and there's always a windmill of some sort and it's FUN. There's is plenty of mini-golf where you just have to navigate a few boring objects that don't do very much and get your angle right and get the ball in the hole but that's just not as cool is it??? Anyway... this mini-golf was a bit crazy so it got my seal of approval.​

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When you arrive you get a choice of two courses to go on one is all ice themed like Blizzard Beach and the other is kinda tropical and holiday themed. We did both as it was quiet and they let us just hop onto the other one when we finished up.​

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I'll just include some photos as I don't think a play by play account will be all that exciting... I will just say that I'm not entirely sure but I think I won so ye we're going to go with that....​

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There was a quite little sleigh set up so Grumpy got in for a pic on the way out.... we got candy canes too as we were leaving!​

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Next we decided to head out to a gun range... I've never been to one before and they don't have them back home so I was curious to give it a go. Rachel did NOT like it one bit so I can't imagine us going back to try it again​

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We made our back to AoA to drop the car off and get the bus to Epcot...​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Day 17: Needing so much more than dusting​

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Part 2: If you're gonna name a food, you should give it a name that sounds delicious.​

We stopped for a quick photo outside our resort with our shiny medals before heading to Epcot​

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We had one thing on our minds this evening and that was FOOD & WINE!! Our last chance to get some more stamps for our passports.​

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I've got lots of pictures from our adventures around the world so enjoy!​

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The problem with getting around to all of the countries is that you end up having dishes or drinks that you REALLY like so when you go back another day you want to have them again!!​

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Here is Rachel with the fisherman's pie from Ireland​

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We were all shattered by the end of the evening, we stopped for a quick picture on our way out​

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[emilyindisney]

All caught up on your updates- really enjoyed your take on the race! It seems like you guys still had a good time despite the weather. That's awesome that you got a private ride on TT!

The all important question: Did the food from the Ireland booth taste as good as the real deal?!

 

[DisMom1981]

Wow this is the most intense trip report I've ever read! 2 weeks in Disney- what a dream!! I also never knew anything about the Disney races and you have intrigued me though I would never aspire to anything with the word marathon in it lol.

Also I am a teacher and with that schedule I don't know if Incould even do a race as I have to travel by plane or 20 hours by car. Boo.

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Sorry I'm late catching up, but WOW I loved these updates!

Another morning waking up at Animal Kingdom Lodge…. It was still so surreal that we were staying here! We went to get some snacks for breakfast in The Mara, I went for this crumbly apple thing

I think it had cinnamon in there too?!

Rachel went for the pan au chocolat and it looked so yummy!

Grumpy got this apple slice

Using snack credits for breakfast works well with the dining plan, you then have your quick service for lunch and table service for dinner.​

We're staying at AKL this year, and we have free dining, so thanks for sharing the fact that there are delicious looking breakfast snack items at the Mara! They all look amazing!

Oh WOW. I need to get back there

We chilled out enjoying our deserts and playing our holiday game.. It's a really good way to pass the time if you're stuck in a long queue, on a bus or too full for desert! I think it's called 'who am I?' but basically you decide who are you and everyone else asks you yes and no questions until they guess who you are! The way we decided who won was whoever had the most questions asked of them before their character was guessed. We made ours Disney specific so it had to be a Disney character. Grumpy got us with a really good one at diner, I eventually knew that it was Jafar's parot from Aladdin from my questions but I couldn't remember his name!! I just kept hearing the bit in the movie when Jafar says 'patience **insert parots name here**' and I kept repeating it hoping it would come to me... 'patience....'

I thought it was Diago but eventually we realised it was Iago!!! Even our waitress had joined in at this point! ​

This sounds like a fun game to play in a long line for a ride

And the skillet, the idea being to share it all...

Whispering Canyon was one of our favourite meals! We had the skillet and it was delicious! Such a shame you felt ill

Grumpy got this made up in Goofys candy store which was a really good use of a snack credit

Wait WHAT. These count as a snack credit?! Best news ever!

We slept in this morning as best we could, our run that night was at 10pm so it would be a really late night for us.

To be fair, this sounds much better than having to wake up at 3/4am for the early morning races!

I enjoyed hearing about your race and seeing all the pics, but the Osborne Lights would be the only motivation I needed to keep moving! Such a shame you wont be able to run through them anymore

We finished in 3:01:14

Congratulations!

One item I had really enjoyed from the F&W was the pork slider I got at the Hawaii kiosk so I'd been thinking about finally making it to Epcot and eating a pork slider for at least the last 6miles of the half marathon! Myself and Rachel kept reminding each other that we could get one at the finish! So of course my first stop was Hawaii!

The pork sliders are to diiieee forrrr So does everyone who races get access to a Food & Wine afterparty?! That sounds great, albeit BUSY!

The problem with getting around to all of the countries is that you end up having dishes or drinks that you REALLY like so when you go back another day you want to have them again!!​

I relate to this!! I'm so conflicted as to whether I should try new dishes or buy 20 pork sliders

Great updates!!