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

I have never seen an otter at the park. Cool! I already miss the parks all decorated up for the holidays:( I think we'll be able to them again after the Wine & Dine in November. I could go for a Mickey bar right now too, or basically anything sweet. I haven't had any carbs for 3 weeks now.
The parks being decorated is the best! I could go for a Mickey bar every day but that wouldn't be good for me health wise.
 
Fun to see an otter! Sounds like a nice day at MK and smart of you to get off your feet sooner rather than later. We should have done that as well, but didn't. Oops.
 
Fun to see an otter! Sounds like a nice day at MK and smart of you to get off your feet sooner rather than later. We should have done that as well, but didn't. Oops.
Yes I wanted to make sure I was well rested for the task in front of me.
 
Catching up and loving your TR!

I was just watching someone's Youtube video and who did he get a shot of in the marathon but YOU!! I almost yelled with glee! I don't know if you know him or not-and if not, what a coincidence?
Its IoMGeek, WDW weekend 2017-5k, 10k, Half and Full and you are around the 17:50 mark. It's a great shot of you and the chipmunks!

Great TR as usual Ryan!
 
We need ketchup!

Another dining experience that would be new to me, Whispering Canyon. Believe it or not, I have never been to Wilderness Lodge at all until this point. I boarded the boat and actually caught up with my grandma and sister at this point. Our cousins would be also joining us for this meal.



I really like this photo





I can only imagine the prices for these cabins.











I didn't get to look around much but the lobby was really cool. I still think I like the AKL lobby better because that is not so dark.

Soon enough we were seated. One thing you notice right off the bat is that its loud and they have gimmicks much like the 50s Prime Time.

They had a horse race of sorts which my sister and cousins participated in.





Sorry for the bad photo but I ordered the ribs which came with corn on the cob, onion rings and mashed potatoes.



My grandma ordered the same thing while my sister got the steak.



But then.... WE NEED KETCHUP!



This was the best part, when you need ketchup you are given like 25 bottles from the last person who asked for ketchup. When you get straws for your drinks they give you like 30 straws too.

That was that pretty much. I didn't finish all of the food because it was a lot and I had a marathon the next morning. I ate what I could and headed out before everyone else. I needed to get to bed. My grandma and sister went to MK for a little bit with our cousins. I got back to the room and went right to bed. I actually had not trouble falling asleep either. runDisney also sent our a message that night at some point that they were monitoring the weather again and I was like WHAT?! it was just an advisory to say it was going to be cold but still thanks for the heart attack runDisney.

Up Next: I. AM. A. MARATHONER.
 
Lots of catching up to do!!!

Congrats to you -- and your Mom -- on a successful 5K! A post-race Sprinkles cupcake sounds perfect!

Congrats on signing up for Dopey #2!

Great AK photos -- it really is such a beautiful park! We always end up getting BBQ, but your Harambe market food looks delish. Too many good food options at AK!

Fun that you got to do a little DIS meet before the 10k! Congrats on another race done! The photopass pictures are really good.

You guys really take advantage of the park hoppers -- that's great!

Ironic what a gorgeous day it was leading up the sad 1/2 marathon news. Shows just how Florida weather can change to dramatically!

That's crazy that you saw an otter! I had no idea they were in the "wild" in Florida! Though, I imagine they are ideal targets for the other water dwellers (gators).

We love WL -- cool to see the cabin construction -- it was a giant mud pit last time we were there!

Ok, all caught up! Looking forward to hearing about the marathon.
 
Love that shop of the Contemporary too. Beautiful. We've never seen Wilderness Lodge either. So, are those cabins going to be new DVC things like the Poly bungalows or something?

Dinner looks good and fun!
 
Lots of catching up to do!!!

Congrats to you -- and your Mom -- on a successful 5K! A post-race Sprinkles cupcake sounds perfect!

Congrats on signing up for Dopey #2!

Great AK photos -- it really is such a beautiful park! We always end up getting BBQ, but your Harambe market food looks delish. Too many good food options at AK!

Fun that you got to do a little DIS meet before the 10k! Congrats on another race done! The photopass pictures are really good.

You guys really take advantage of the park hoppers -- that's great!

Ironic what a gorgeous day it was leading up the sad 1/2 marathon news. Shows just how Florida weather can change to dramatically!

That's crazy that you saw an otter! I had no idea they were in the "wild" in Florida! Though, I imagine they are ideal targets for the other water dwellers (gators).

We love WL -- cool to see the cabin construction -- it was a giant mud pit last time we were there!

Ok, all caught up! Looking forward to hearing about the marathon.

Thanks!

I know! I need to try tiffins next time too.

It was really nice to meet people I see on here.

Yes, I am a big fan of the park hopper option and the express bus made it even better.

Yes, they probably are targets for gators. It was cool to just see the otter hanging out there.

Love that shop of the Contemporary too. Beautiful. We've never seen Wilderness Lodge either. So, are those cabins going to be new DVC things like the Poly bungalows or something?

Dinner looks good and fun!

Yes these cabins will be like the Poly but are supposed to be a little bigger I think. They also aren't over the water but rather near the water.
 
Prices for the cabins ... I don't even want to think about it. I'm sure they'll be amazing, but I'm afraid the price will make the Poly bungalows look cheap.

I'm not sure they brought you enough ketchup, though. Maybe you should have asked for more.

When I saw that runDisney was monitoring the weather for the marathon, I felt so bad for you guys. This was not a good weather weekend, and I'm guessing that if you never see another notification from runDisney about weather, it'll still be too soon. At least this time the race went on as scheduled!
 
Prices for the cabins ... I don't even want to think about it. I'm sure they'll be amazing, but I'm afraid the price will make the Poly bungalows look cheap.

I'm not sure they brought you enough ketchup, though. Maybe you should have asked for more.

When I saw that runDisney was monitoring the weather for the marathon, I felt so bad for you guys. This was not a good weather weekend, and I'm guessing that if you never see another notification from runDisney about weather, it'll still be too soon. At least this time the race went on as scheduled!
I'm still thinking the poly ones will be the most expensive because of the view and location.

I do think we needed more ketchup. Fun fact a lot of those bottles were empty.

I know the weather alerts were just crazy.
 
I think that you should have complained about the empty bottles. It would have been interesting to hear their response.
 
I. AM. A. MARATHONER.

LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE! *queue music*

I slept like a baby! 2:30AM was here and I was excited but extremely nervous. This was my first marathon, I didn't know what to expect really. As runDisney had already alerted us it was going to be quite cold. I brought cool weather gear but I didn't prepare for waiting around for 2-3 hours in 30 degrees. I had two long sleeve tech shirt and my custom Dopey shirt on. I also wore my compression pants which gave some warmth to my legs. For the pre-race I brought along a mylar blanket which actually holds in the heat well when you are standing out in the open.



As you can kind of see runDisney set up portable heaters which really didn't help much because of the wind.

I tried to find the Dis group today but couldn't. I did find @MommaoffherRocker and @Z-Knight before the race. It was nice talking to them before the race to help calms the nerves. @Z-Knight went off to the corrals soon enough. After a while @MommaoffherRocker and I also walked to the corrals keeping each other company as it was both our first marathons. We said our goodbyes and went to our respective corrals.

I was in corral L for this race. Corrals run from A-P. I was nervous because I was closer to the back than I was during last year's half. The first corral fireworks went off and we started creeping towards the start line. I was getting more nervous as time went on.



Rudy and John the announcers kept making reminders to get rid of your mylar blankets before the race starts because it could mess with the timing chips. It was kind of funny that they kept reminding us as if it were some illegal activity or something.



There she is... the start line. That was one of the announcer jokes. You are almost to the start line but still 26.2 miles from the finish! The corrals are a good ways from the pre-race area so you are very likely to have a couple miles of walking in before the race even starts.

Mickey gave us the count down 3...2...1... GO!





And we were off! I tried not to start off too fast as I knew I had 26.2 miles ahead of me.

Not much eventfulness in the first mile. There was a high school band but thats about it.



Mile 2 came in a flash. Only 24.2 left!



Entering the Magic Kingdom parking lot! Fun fact: we still had about 2.5 miles until we actually reached the Magic Kingdom.



I found Nemo at mile 3!



There was a meet and greet for Jack and Sally around there but I didn't stop. The line was long and I am not that big of a fan (sorry Nightmare Before Christmas people!).

Mater and Lightning McQueen were to next though!



I didn't really know how to pose with fake cars so...

Cinderella found her glass slipper to make it to Mile 4.



Under the water bridge we go! This DJ has really big hands... Mickey Mouse Hands of course! I don't have a good picture of him with his hands up though.



Coming in from backstage we met a lady and a tramp before getting onto Main Street.



I always love running down main street. There is something about it that nothing compares to. You see the castle ahead of you and all you can do is smile.







Into the land of tomorrow!



I am happy and I know it!



The backside of the castle with some special friends cheering us on...





I skipped the picture in front of the castle.

Into Liberty Square and look its the one and only Sam Eagle! He was cheering on all runners but mostly the United States :D



So then we go into Frontierland and the Country Bears are out! One of my favorite shows! I had to meet them.



Sir you are in my Mile 6 shot!



There we go! Bambi and Thumper looked very happy.



And....

This is where I will leave you for now. We still have a whole 20.2 to cover!

Up Next: Part 2
 
You got some great pictures from Photopass!

As you can kind of see runDisney set up portable heaters which really didn't help much because of the wind.
It was quite amusing that so many people were standing around them when they weren't even on :confused3

Under the water bridge we go! This DJ has really big hands... Mickey Mouse Hands of course! I don't have a good picture of him with his hands up though.
I don't know why but I loved the DJ with the giant Mickey hands!! I wanted to take a picture but I was afraid I would trip going down the hill.

And I am so jealous of your Country Bears pic!! My family loves them too and DS7 was singing the "blood on the saddle" song the night before. I was worried because it was early in the race so I kept just kept going :(
 
You got some great pictures from Photopass!


It was quite amusing that so many people were standing around them when they weren't even on :confused3


I don't know why but I loved the DJ with the giant Mickey hands!! I wanted to take a picture but I was afraid I would trip going down the hill.

And I am so jealous of your Country Bears pic!! My family loves them too and DS7 was singing the "blood on the saddle" song the night before. I was worried because it was early in the race so I kept just kept going :(
Thanks!

I think they thought they were on but then just continued standing there for the body heat.

It is definitely not easy taking pictures while running down that hill.

The line wasn't very long so I had to stop. I definitely understand not stopping though.
 
So fun reading your marathon start. I was trying to figure out if the glasses lady standing in front of mile marker 3 is waiting for someone or just spaced out standing there or a very serious selfie taker!?!

I love going under the water bridge with big hands up top! I love the country bears too! Great start!
 

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