Grumpy Challenge 2017.... A Marathon Weekend TR (Updated 3/19 Final Thoughts)

[Sailormoon2]

RnRC is one of my favorites, unfortunately it was closed last time I was there, so I am jealous that you got to ride twice, I did however make up it by riding Space 4x!!I HATE ToT. I wish I could post my photos/video because it is literally me crouched into a ball, gripping my husband's arm with my eyes closed. The audio is even funnier because I am screaming "No more drops!" Obviously I knew what was going to happen, I just didn't think it was going to happen 8x. LOL! I will likely never ride this again, unless my family pressures me so they can have funny pictures to look at.

 

[nenglim]

i love ToT, the ride photo and especially the video and overlay they put on it. By any chance, did you notice the standby time for TSMM? I want our family to try RRC for the first time and just do standby for TSMM. Hopefully that would have a more manageable wait time with the 3rd track and all.

 

[rteetz]

RnRC is one of my favorites, unfortunately it was closed last time I was there, so I am jealous that you got to ride twice, I did however make up it by riding Space 4x!!I HATE ToT. I wish I could post my photos/video because it is literally me crouched into a ball, gripping my husband's arm with my eyes closed. The audio is even funnier because I am screaming "No more drops!" Obviously I knew what was going to happen, I just didn't think it was going to happen 8x. LOL! I will likely never ride this again, unless my family pressures me so they can have funny pictures to look at.

Space 4x is good! I wouldn't say I hate ToT it's a great ride. Just drop rides in general freak me out. I'll probably do it again.

i love ToT, the ride photo and especially the video and overlay they put on it. By any chance, did you notice the standby time for TSMM? I want our family to try RRC for the first time and just do standby for TSMM. Hopefully that would have a more manageable wait time with the 3rd track and all.

I think standby when we were there wasn't around an hour to 70 minutes. It was a busier day so that wasn't unexpected. On an average crowd day you'll see 30-40 minute waits now.

 

[ariane37]

We were met by some Storm troopers along the way. It is really cool to see them out walking around.

We got out just in time for the march of the first order. I feel its way more popular than it should be but it is cool nonetheless.

We aren't SW fans at all but I have to say, seeing the stormtroopers out and especially the March of the First Order was pretty cool. Cooler than I thought it would be and my boys liked watching it, too. Since we aren't fans I wouldn't go out of my way to plan to see it but I can understand why huge fans would.

I survived!

LOL! TOT is my favorite ride in all of Disney I love your face in the ride photo!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Always a little annoying when you have a FP and then there is no wait - but hard to complain in the end

I found the Captain Phasma march to be pretty cool, but definitely one of those "only need to see one time" things

Glad you survived your drop - and glad you found the express transportation to be useful ... definitely makes park hopping easier and like you said, skipping security again is great

 

[JulieODC]

Joining in!

Great start to your report -- you guys seem to be doing real managing the large group! And taking advantage of your park hoppers! The express bus sounds like a great idea and a good deal -- we park hop, but usually make trips to our hotel in between parks, so I am thinking we won't try it when we visit for PHM at the end of February.

 

[Pluto0809]

I got a few updates behind again....

I agree that it was weird to walk into the huge loading area of FEA. I was trying to figure out the whole time how it fit into the Maelstrom layout. I think we were actually inside the old theater area?

I can't decide yet how I feel about having Frozen in Epcot. I think it does fit the area somewhat and if they are going that rout with other rides I guess it will be the new normal. I really want a Ratatouille ride in France!

Man your trip report is making me hungry, everything in France looks yummy. I have yet to get ice cream there although it's been on my list for many trips.

Yikes! 90 minutes for RnRC! That's the one ride I have found where the wait time is sometimes longer than posted. We waited 90 minutes on time when the wait time said 45 minutes.

Wow, I don't think I could have kept going that long after being up at 3:30 am.

I didn't get a chance to see the new projection show in December but it looks really good. I will definitely miss the Tangled lanterns though, that was my favorite part of CTM.

I didn't realize they took down the Gingerbread house so soon after the end of the year.

1900 Park Fare is another one on my list to try someday. I need to add the Mad Hatter to my character list.

I have a pair of the Disney Vans and I can't wear them for long periods either. I mainly wear them to work on Fridays since I know I will be sitting at my desk most of the day. I might just have to wear them this Friday now that I'm thinking about it.

I'm sure you saw that the Cabanas are no more. Guess that experiment didn't work.

I'm super excited for the Edison. It sounds like my kind of menu rather than some of the really fancy places that have opened up lately.

Mom and I were very underwhelmed by the Character Trees. We thought they were small and not the best decorations. Of course we might have liked them more if we had seen them at night rather than the daytime.

I'm with your Mom when it comes to simulator rides. I wish I could ride Star Tours but I like to keep my food down.

 

[rteetz]

We aren't SW fans at all but I have to say, seeing the stormtroopers out and especially the March of the First Order was pretty cool. Cooler than I thought it would be and my boys liked watching it, too. Since we aren't fans I wouldn't go out of my way to plan to see it but I can understand why huge fans would.


LOL! TOT is my favorite ride in all of Disney I love your face in the ride photo!

I wouldn't plan for it either and I am a Star Wars fan.

ToT is a great ride I just don't like the drop part

Always a little annoying when you have a FP and then there is no wait - but hard to complain in the end

I found the Captain Phasma march to be pretty cool, but definitely one of those "only need to see one time" things

Glad you survived your drop - and glad you found the express transportation to be useful ... definitely makes park hopping easier and like you said, skipping security again is great

Yep, we weren't at DHS long that day anyways so I couldn't have changed it for something later.

I would recommend the the express transportation at the current price for sure. Now if the price goes up and nothing is added than that opinion might change.

Joining in!

Great start to your report -- you guys seem to be doing real managing the large group! And taking advantage of your park hoppers! The express bus sounds like a great idea and a good deal -- we park hop, but usually make trips to our hotel in between parks, so I am thinking we won't try it when we visit for PHM at the end of February.

I had the pleasure of booking all of the fastpasses, and ADR's. I also was the person that would change FPs around for someone if they didn't want to do that or wanted a 4th FP.

If you aren't planning on going from park to park then yes I wouldn't get it. If you really want to park hop it is a great option though.

I got a few updates behind again....

I agree that it was weird to walk into the huge loading area of FEA. I was trying to figure out the whole time how it fit into the Maelstrom layout. I think we were actually inside the old theater area?

I can't decide yet how I feel about having Frozen in Epcot. I think it does fit the area somewhat and if they are going that rout with other rides I guess it will be the new normal. I really want a Ratatouille ride in France!

Man your trip report is making me hungry, everything in France looks yummy. I have yet to get ice cream there although it's been on my list for many trips.

Yikes! 90 minutes for RnRC! That's the one ride I have found where the wait time is sometimes longer than posted. We waited 90 minutes on time when the wait time said 45 minutes.

Wow, I don't think I could have kept going that long after being up at 3:30 am.

I didn't get a chance to see the new projection show in December but it looks really good. I will definitely miss the Tangled lanterns though, that was my favorite part of CTM.

I didn't realize they took down the Gingerbread house so soon after the end of the year.

1900 Park Fare is another one on my list to try someday. I need to add the Mad Hatter to my character list.

I have a pair of the Disney Vans and I can't wear them for long periods either. I mainly wear them to work on Fridays since I know I will be sitting at my desk most of the day. I might just have to wear them this Friday now that I'm thinking about it.

I'm sure you saw that the Cabanas are no more. Guess that experiment didn't work.

I'm super excited for the Edison. It sounds like my kind of menu rather than some of the really fancy places that have opened up lately.

Mom and I were very underwhelmed by the Character Trees. We thought they were small and not the best decorations. Of course we might have liked them more if we had seen them at night rather than the daytime.

I'm with your Mom when it comes to simulator rides. I wish I could ride Star Tours but I like to keep my food down.

Its okay to get behind, I posted a lot in a short period of time. Now with school back in session I am sure that will change.

Yes, the old theater was taken out for queue space. They also combined the load and unload stations into one. Well Ratatouille is apparently on the table right now for France in time for the 50th anniversary of WDW.

I highly recommend France for any and all food items. I could eat all day in France alone.

Yeah, I am not going to wait that long again.

I had only seen CTM a couple times so I didn't really have an attachment. I really enjoyed the new show and how they added lighting effects and more pyro.

The gingerbread house is the first Christmas decor item to go usually. The only thing before that is the Epcot Christmas tree which gets taken down before New Years.

Mad hatter is the best! He really stays in character and makes it a great experience. The shoes look great but I guess I need to wear them when I a doing absolutely nothing.

Well, the cabanas are going away for now. I have heard they actually were selling better than some think and that we might see permanent ones soon.

The trees were nice but I think they could have done better. The snow in Florida was cool though as always.

 

[frostymojo]

How did I not see this trip report until now? Your past reports are great, and a great start to this one. Following along.

 

[rteetz]

How did I not see this trip report until now? Your past reports are great, and a great start to this one. Following along.

Well thanks for finding it and following along!

 

[momabaarjo]

What you already started a trip report and are on page 9...sigh! I better get reading tonight. That is what happens when your 10-year changes the computer password, forgets and you have to take your computer in to be wiped cleaned. Sigh...I hope my computer is done by the end of the week. I am sneaking this in at school.

I cant wait to put all the pieces together...after following you on FB and Instagram...you wore me out!

 

[rteetz]

What you already started a trip report and are on page 9...sigh! I better get reading tonight. That is what happens when your 10-year changes the computer password, forgets and you have to take your computer in to be wiped cleaned. Sigh...I hope my computer is done by the end of the week. I am sneaking this in at school.

I cant wait to put all the pieces together...after following you on FB and Instagram...you wore me out!

Yes, I did! I had a lot of time on my hands after the trip so I got a lot of the report done already.

Lol, I do like to post a lot when I am at Disney.

 

[princess_jamie]

Hi!! Following along! Totally agree about TOT - I hate drop rides and I freak out way too much before the ride, but once I get off I'm on such a high!

 

[rteetz]

Hi!! Following along! Totally agree about TOT - I hate drop rides and I freak out way too much before the ride, but once I get off I'm on such a high!

Welcome!

 

[rteetz]

My first signature restaurant!

After a quick and easy bus ride we were at Epcot! We had a 2PM reservation at Le Cellier. It was only about 12:30 so we headed to Club Cool!



I loved watching people's reactions when they would try Beverly.



Gotta love the fountains...



We headed to Mexico next. A ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour was in order! For some reason my photos are not here right now. I bet they are still on my SD card. My mom and a couple of our friends were at La Cava while we were on the ride.



Some others in our group were doing single ride at Test Track. It was a 50 minute wait so I said no thanks.

Festival of the arts which is now well underway was being set up around Epcot.



Soon enough it was time to check in for my first signature restaurant! Friends of ours go to Le Cellier every trip and since they were with us I guess we would be trying it out as well.



I don't know why my sister is so blurry.



I got the filet mignon, which of course I dug into before I got a photo...



I forgot to get a photo of our appetizer, the Le Cellier signature poutine.

My sister's meal...



My mother's...



All in all it was a great meal. I did not get dessert but a couple others in our group did. I don't remember what they got though. I would definitely come back even though I know its pricey.

Up Next: The Expo!

 

[rteetz]

The Expo!

It was now time to head to the Expo. For those who don't know runners in the runDisney races need to attend the Health and Fitness Expo to pick up their race shirts, and bib for the races. This is also where the runDisney merchandise is and the New Balance runDisney shoes. There are plenty of other vendors throughout the expo.

We headed out International Gateway to the Beach Club to catch the bus to the expo.





Oh how I miss staying here. I love the carousel this year too!





Some people were a little tired on the bus...



And here we are! I split off from the rest of my group. I know some don't like the expo but I do. Its a nice atmosphere and its just the start of the race weekend.



As you can see in the background they are building the new Multi-sport venue.





Little did I know this photo would have a special meaning...



Ready for the 5K!



Our kids race participants...



I was feeling ready to be Dopey!



And thats a wrap at the expo!



With it being the 20th anniversary of the half marathon, all registered half runners got a special luggage tag that looked like the medal.

Here are my two bibs. One for the 5K and 10K, and then another for the half and full.



So I have a bit of a shoe obsession... I have somewhere around 35 pairs of shoes. I have lost count, runDisney shoes don't help either. I got the Space Mountain runDisney shoes! I am a sucker for these shoes. I have 4 pair of runDisney shoes now.



Here is a photo of the race shirts for the weekend.



In addition to that I ended up getting a pin for each race. I got the special runDisney ornament for marathon weekend. I picked up a 20th Half marathon tech shirt because I really like tech shirts, and then I got a marathon magnet, and a dopey magnet. Last but not least I got the Dopey Jacket. I know I know, thats a lot. I used all of my Disney gift cards that I saved up for that stuff plus a little of my own money so all in all it really didn't cost me a lot out of pocket.

We got back to Saratoga Springs around 6:30PM and I wasn't ready for bed yet. The 5K allows for a little extra sleep time in the morning. So a few of us decided to go to the Magic Kingdom!







Red card! My sister was the only one to get them the entire trip. I think she got them 3 times.



Mad Tea Party selfie! Yes we were cramped in that teacup but that made it that much more special.



Next we went by Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and it was only a 25 minute wait... Like what?! Little did we know Wishes was just about to start. Works for me though we will wait that long.





We then headed to Adventureland since I was able to get a Jingle Cruise FP. We did Aladdin's Magic Carpets before that but I have no pictures and its just a spinner.



My phone was not having it on the Jungle Cruise so that's the best I got.



Up Next: WE GONNA RUN A 5K!

 

[fallonkendra]

That would be great! With traveling in a large group it was hard to do many things I wanted. Next year might only be myself.

And next year, it looks like I'll be the one travelling with a large group...

I love these ornaments in France.

This reminds me that we spent 2 days in Epcot, and never actually made it to the France pavilion. I can't believe I missed out on a grey goose slushie!

The wait time was 70 minutes... Normally I don't wait that long for anything if I don't have to. Well being in a large group I didn't have a lot of say. We got in line.

It would seriously bug me to wait that long for a ride. I really hope that won't be the case next year when we have a large group...

Now onto my shoes... I bought these Toy Story Vans a while back but haven't worn them much. I thought Disney would be the perfect place to wear them. Well I was very stupid. As the day went on my feet hurt and I got small blisters on the back of my heel/ankle. With the races coming up I was very worried. It is what it is though at that point.

I love the Disney Vans! I have one of the backpacks
On a related note, I tend to wear my Toms everywhere, with no issues. I wore them the first time I went to Disneyland, and my feet were so sore and blistered by the end of the day It's now my running shoes or nothing!


I'll get caught up on the rest of your report later

 

[rteetz]

And next year, it looks like I'll be the one travelling with a large group...



This reminds me that we spent 2 days in Epcot, and never actually made it to the France pavilion. I can't believe I missed out on a grey goose slushie!



It would seriously bug me to wait that long for a ride. I really hope that won't be the case next year when we have a large group...



I love the Disney Vans! I have one of the backpacks
On a related note, I tend to wear my Toms everywhere, with no issues. I wore them the first time I went to Disneyland, and my feet were so sore and blistered by the end of the day It's now my running shoes or nothing!


I'll get caught up on the rest of your report later

Oh man well I am sure it will be just as great. Hopefully we can still meet up if it works out.

My mom really enjoyed that slushy.

Yep, running shoes or nothing for me too.

 

[fallonkendra]

Our final FP was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. My favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom.

Same! I feel like I'm going to die every time I ride it, since it's a shared lapbar and there's a size difference between my fiance and I - the lapbar doesn't even touch me. I fly all around in that seat - it's quite fun

Well we didn't have any dinner plans and we are staying at Saratoga Springs so what better place to go to than Disney Springs!

Wait, this is January 3rd, correct? So we were at Disney Springs at the same time!

One thing I wanted to check out was the Coca-Cola store. It was a nice store but nothing really caught my eye. I wanted to see if the Coke Bear was meeting but it didn't look like it. I never went back to that store after that night.

We really wanted to go in there, but we just never found the time - something to add to our list for next time!

Pictures don't do the show justice. It is very short clocking in at 5 minutes but it is very cool. 300 Intel drones imported from Germany. From what I have heard Imagineering is working on their own drones to incorporate in future WDW shows. I can only imagine the possibilities.

This was also something we talked about trying to see, but it just never worked out... It looks really cool though!

On to the trees!

How did I not know about these?! I love Christmas trees!

I really had to go with the flow which is hard for me as an uber planner who wants to keep doing and not wait in lines.

Same! I had a colour coded spreadsheet that I took with me on this trip. Luckily when we go with a larger group next year, it'll be almost everyone's first time to WDW so they've already told me I can do all the planning

This was Wednesday, January 4th, Expo day. In the past the expo would open at 10AM-ish. This year however they moved the opening time back to noon.

So, I didn't realize this until we were in the airport the day before. Luckily, I was able to move our breakfast reservation in the morning to a later time, giving us more time to sleep in which worked out well.

Chewie is the best!

One of my fav meet and greets of the entire trip!

We got out just in time for the march of the first order.

So, I had never watched a Star Wars movie. My fiance is named Luke, and was born in the early 80's - he grew up hating the franchise because so many people would meet him and then go into some variation of the "Luke, I am your father" line. Before this trip however, I decided I needed to get caught up, so we spent the week between Christmas and New Years watching Star Wars movies, and watched all 8 of them. I loved them so much!

It was time for our second FP of the day Toy Story Mania!

This reminds me that we missed that ride on this trip...

Now I am not a fan of drop rides and I have only done this ride one other time. The thought of being dropped just freaks me out, however once I get on this I am fine. I was however freaking out before the ride.

Same! The first time we went to Disney, it was the only ride Luke was really excited about, so I reluctantly agreed. I was freaking out the entire time, until the ride actually started doing it's drops. I had so much fun, I look forward to it now.

I will say that this transportation service was great.

This sounded like a great idea, but we never park hop. Glad you felt it was worth it!

I forgot to get a photo of our appetizer, the Le Cellier signature poutine.

Coming from a Canadian, that is NOT a true poutine. However, it was by far the most delicious poutine I've ever ate in my life.

I got the Space Mountain runDisney shoes!

Love! We each bought a pair too - Haunted Mansion for me and Toy Story for Luke.

I got the special runDisney ornament for marathon weekend.

Same! I have a serious addiction to Christmas ornaments...

Red card!

Lucky girl!

Oh man well I am sure it will be just as great. Hopefully we can still meet up if it works out.

Yes! I'm thinking I'll run the 5km again, and my fiance is aiming for his first full marathon, so I'm sure we can plan a meet-up at some point!

 

[rteetz]

Same! I feel like I'm going to die every time I ride it, since it's a shared lapbar and there's a size difference between my fiance and I - the lapbar doesn't even touch me. I fly all around in that seat - it's quite fun



Wait, this is January 3rd, correct? So we were at Disney Springs at the same time!



We really wanted to go in there, but we just never found the time - something to add to our list for next time!



This was also something we talked about trying to see, but it just never worked out... It looks really cool though!



How did I not know about these?! I love Christmas trees!



Same! I had a colour coded spreadsheet that I took with me on this trip. Luckily when we go with a larger group next year, it'll be almost everyone's first time to WDW so they've already told me I can do all the planning



So, I didn't realize this until we were in the airport the day before. Luckily, I was able to move our breakfast reservation in the morning to a later time, giving us more time to sleep in which worked out well.



One of my fav meet and greets of the entire trip!



So, I had never watched a Star Wars movie. My fiance is named Luke, and was born in the early 80's - he grew up hating the franchise because so many people would meet him and then go into some variation of the "Luke, I am your father" line. Before this trip however, I decided I needed to get caught up, so we spent the week between Christmas and New Years watching Star Wars movies, and watched all 8 of them. I loved them so much!



This reminds me that we missed that ride on this trip...



Same! The first time we went to Disney, it was the only ride Luke was really excited about, so I reluctantly agreed. I was freaking out the entire time, until the ride actually started doing it's drops. I had so much fun, I look forward to it now.



This sounded like a great idea, but we never park hop. Glad you felt it was worth it!



Coming from a Canadian, that is NOT a true poutine. However, it was by far the most delicious poutine I've ever ate in my life.



Love! We each bought a pair too - Haunted Mansion for me and Toy Story for Luke.



Same! I have a serious addiction to Christmas ornaments...



Lucky girl!



Yes! I'm thinking I'll run the 5km again, and my fiance is aiming for his first full marathon, so I'm sure we can plan a meet-up at some point!

Yes, that was the 3rd. The drone show was really cool!

The trees were on the Marketplace side where old bus stop was.

I have a color coded excel spreadsheet for every trip.

I didn't really get into Star Wars until a few years ago. With the new movies and Disney owning them I was like, I probably should check them out. Now I love Star Wars.

I tried the Toy Story ones on but the Space ones felt better to me.

Well good luck to both of you! I will hopefully be doing Dopey again.