It'll Be All Right -A May 2012 TR Closing Thought and PTR Link 8/12*

[Merida]

Yay, it's almost race time! Especially since I'm currently watching Olympic track and field - really makes me want to get out and start training for a race!

The Pop food court looks (surprisingly?) good! But I even remember the All-Stars food court fondly, so maybe I'm a little biased. The breakfasts there were very edible! And that tie-dye cheesecake looks superb.

 

[amazingact21]

Another cliffhanger! So close to the race! I'd get incredibly nervous before a race I bet. I'd be anal about my bib being straight too. Hope the race goes well!

I couldn't believe I was as nervous as I was. I already knew what was going to happen, but I guess I thought I wasn't as prepared.

Aww your Jungle Cruise ride sounds awesome. I always thank the 'skippers' on the different rides because I feel like they have thankless jobs, ya know?

Your pin trade sounds too precious.

I can feel your anticipation. Let's go!

I think there are a lot of CM jobs that are "thankless." Sometimes, I feel like people forget these folks are at their jobs and that they like to be thanked occasionally.

Whoooee, I'm behind!!! Been enjoying summer but working too much too. LOL

Anyway. We've been on JC a few times but it's not our fave. The last tiime we went we decided to try it in the dark for something different but our CM was so hpyer I thought she must have been high or something!!! She was talking into the mic SOOO loud and SOOO fast that nobody could make out half her jokes so no wonder people weren't laughing I tried to chuckle a few times when I did catch her jokes but we had a boat similar to yours - not many people were into it.

Good thing Alex is willing to do the dirty work for you hey?? Or you wouldn't have had those nice pics of all of you. Did you do any photopass pics? We finally got ours and there were lots which is SO nice cuz we don't usually have a lot of pics of all of us.

That was SO awesome that you did the pin trading with the girl. My dd did it one year but she was too shy to trade with anyone - including cast members. LOL

That was so funny when you were talking about Alex eating YOUR snacks bc my DH does that too!!! GRRR! With my dh I'm sure it's bc he doesn't want to spend the money but doesn't want to look cheap so he lets me buy a snack to seem generous but doesn't buy one himself so he can still be a bit cheap and then he ends up helping me with mine!!! Little does he know that I'm on to him and know EXACTLY what he's doing. It was great that you posted the stubborn pic. Bahahahaha!!!! That was entertaining to see.

the parking lot idea is BRILLIANT!!!! I know to take note when going to the parks but I guess we were all too excited to think about it when we went to the race!!! Good thing we were amongst the last few people out of the park so it didn't take us too too long to find it. LOL

It was GREAT running into you guys!! I was SO excited to see you Yes, we were on our way to the bathroom. I totally would have hung out a bit longer if everything hadn't been so unorganized bc I thought we were supposed to be in the corals by 9 so I figured we'd be sent there any minute. I was sooo confused Oh well, it all worked out well. Just wish we could have chatted longer.

Ugh, I don't know why DHs think it's all right to eat our snacks. I mean, I guess as long as we're prepared to share, it's okay. I knew when I sat down with my apples that I'd be splitting them.


We did some photopass pictures, but it was more when it was just my mom and I, and we wanted a few photos together. I tend to forget to stop and take the pics.

They had the corral set up in such a confusing way. I thought we were going to be called soon, anyways, so we wanted to head up to the front and see what the heck was going on. If we ever happen to be in WDW at the same time again, we'll have to arrange another meet-up!

Great pictures pre-race! I was excited for you reading this post! I can't wait to see how the race goes! Imagine having 2 Dis-meets with all those people around...they really are the best aren't they!

I became a DISmeet expert after this trip! It was a lot of fun, though. It's always cool to put a face to a username, plus everyone is just excited to be in WDW.

Aaaaacccckkkk! I can't believe you're leaving us hanging like that!!!

I can totally relate to the bib ordeal! Mike and I had a tiff the morning of my first Princess over the same thing! It's very important for our bibs to be straight--why can't our hubbys understand that!?

Sorry that things were so confusing! That definitely would've made me stress out! I need to know where I'm suppose to be at all times! I certainly hope the ToT race is well organized!

How cool that you were able to have so many DIS encounters...that's awesome!

I totally got chills when you talked about moving up to the start line...soooo exciting! You know I can't wait to read more!

And lastly--about meeting up--as of now, we're scheduled to fly in on Thursday, and I'm hoping to be on property around noon, or a little after. We'll be there until Monday morning. The bad part is that we won't have a car, so we'll be dependent on Disney transportation, which isn't a bad thing, but we've never been without a car. What's scary though, is that SSR, which is where we're staying, isn't a host resort for the race, so we've gotta figure something out about that! Anyway...other than a couple dinners and a breakfast and the Expo on Friday, we don't have any other plans--we're not going to any parks this time. So, if you think y'all might have some free time, let me know and we'll try and make it happen!

The bibs really are an important thing! Glad someone else knows my pain... I really hope the ToT is more organized than the EE, but I imagine it would be since it's a 10-miler.

Honestly, I think waiting for the start of the race is my favorite part of the event. (Excluding getting that medal around your neck, of course.) You can just feel everyone's anticipation and your adrenaline is at an all time high. I cannot even imagine what it must have been like for a half marathon!


I really don't have any plans for September yet. Crazy, I know! All I know for sure is we're arriving the afternoon of the 30th and leaving mid-morning of the 3rd. I'm sure when I get some free time in the coming weeks, I'll figure out our game plan, and when I do, I'll compare notes. Are you going to DTD at all?
No car? The ToT race is at night, though, right? If it is, that'll make getting to the race a lot easier, because you can either get to the start area early or do a couple bus hops over to a resort that does host.

Loved the update of the pre-race pics and the countdown to running. Can't wait to hear how the race went!

I'm excited to write about the race. It was so different than last year's, and I'm looking forward to talking about how much changes in one year.

Can't wait to hear about the race!! I get sooo nervous for races, I even got nervous reading your TR about the start of the race

I still bow down to you for completing the marathon! That's amazing; I hope to do a half one day, but I don't think I could ever go through with 26.2 miles.

Yay, it's almost race time! Especially since I'm currently watching Olympic track and field - really makes me want to get out and start training for a race!

The Pop food court looks (surprisingly?) good! But I even remember the All-Stars food court fondly, so maybe I'm a little biased. The breakfasts there were very edible! And that tie-dye cheesecake looks superb.

runDisney will hook you! If you ever compete in a 5K, you'll want to do every race they have afterwards. It keeps me running long after I want to quit.


The Pop food court is surprisingly nice. We stayed there in October and were kind of surprised at how big the place is. The All Stars feels a little more intimate; we were a little surprised that there were 3 beverage stations comapred to Sports's one.

 

[amazingact21]

Just wanted to say again, sorry for the not-so-great photos. I discovered that it's virtually impossible to take photos at night while running a 5K- who would've thought?


May 5th Night:

The time to run the EE 5K was upon me. (And Alex, but we all knew that.) Approximately 12 minutes after my mom had departed with the Wave 1 runners, the countdown for Wave 3 began and the fireworks were set off!

I was trying to get an epic shot of them right above the Starting Sign; didn't really work. And thus started my ongoing fight with my camera.

I had two major gripes at this race. And one of them was that I couldn't bring a better quality camera with me. Because, doesn't everyone know, in a 5K race, the photos along the course are the most important part...



I knew from last year not to expect to fly out of the starting corral, guns blazing.

No, even with the majority of people in any particular wave avid runners, you're going to need some space to thin everyone out.

Just to give you guys an example of what the first mile around the parking lot was like, here's a shot I took:
f1 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

There were lines of people all throughout the road. At first, Alex and I speed-walked around some of the groups, then we just got sick of playing the bob and weave routine, so we started running.

We were hoping that this would get us past the walkers, but alas, it seemed like no matter where we were in the course, there were huge crowds.

This didn't really affect me throughout the first mile, though. I was too busy telling myself to find a pace that could withstand the humidity in the air. The last thing I wanted to do was crash and burn of a heat stroke halfway through Animal Kingdom.

Near the entrance to the park, Alex and I came upon our first obstacle, which was the same as last year; haybales!

f2 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr



A few days later on in the trip, the back of my mom's legs broke out in a minor rash, and we played heck trying to figure out why such a thing happened. It took the two of us a good half hour to remember these hay bales and how my mom was allergic to it. (It wasn't anything major, more of a cosmetic annoyance than anything, but still an unpleasant side effect of the race.)


After the first obstacle and near the bus drop off area, Alex and I reached the Mile 1 marker.


I glanced at the clock, which was a new addition for this race, and saw that we were keeping a 12 minute/mile pace, the same as last year.

Perfect.

At that moment, I thought so, but I very quickly realized that the humidity was going to drag me down some. At this point, I also let go of any hope I had of looking halfway decent after this event. I just succumbed to the realization that I would be red and sweaty and very, very stinky.

And to think, I willingly signed up for this and was actually enjoying myself...


I also want to note that as we were passing the Animal Kingdom entrance sign, I actually stopped my running to take a photo of it. What I failed to do, though, was tell my partner, so I ended up with a picture of Alex's face. For some odd reason, I griped about this the whole darn way through the front of Animal Kingdom.

All I could focus on was how he'd messed up my shot when I'd purposefully broke my pace to take it. I was being a little ridiculous, but the heat was really doing a number on me.

Not to mention, the crowds were getting worse!

Oh, was it madhouse.


Here are a few more pictures to try and show you how busy it was:
f3 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

f4 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

Look at all those people in the second picture!



It was virtually impossible to run in some places, and in others your speed was sort of dependent on the person in front of you. I heard someone say at one point that there were 2,000 more people participating this year than last year, and I could tell.

You see, the thing about Animal Kingdom is it is not conducive for that many runners, or even a 5K, really. The pathways are narrow at times, to where only 4 people can fit across, and the scavenger hunt and running paths criss-crossed in several spots. They had to have CMs out stopping groups to let others pass through.

Now, I know 5Ks are fun runs and not to be taken extremely seriously, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about my time. Not to mention, I am big on keeping pace. When I'm running, I like to stay at one speed for a certain amount of time, and if I'm not doing that then I'm walking at a certain speed.

It wears my body down to go from running, to slow jog, to fast walk, straight back to running, then down to fast walking again.

Plain and simple, I just can't do that. But, unfortunately, with wall-to-wall people around me, that's what I had to do throughout the 5K course.


The path from the Mile 1 marker to near the second obstacle was not a nice experience for me. I said some not so Disney-appropriate things and might've told Alex where runDisney could put their next EE race.

I wasn't the only one, either. Trust me, when you're smushed with 10 other men and women, you hear their complaints, as well. And experience their feet stomp yours. And receive their elbow in your ribs.

Seriously, folks, pushing and scrabbling at your fellow runners won't get you to the finish line any faster.

Because we were going so slow, I was able to take a photo of one of the sideline sights:
f5 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


I think you all get the picture by now, so I'll move on with the actual race aspect. As Alex and I were walking towards the turnaround point in the road (also known as Obstacle Number 2) we heard someone call my name. We turned to our right where participants were going in the opposite direction and saw my mom!

She was waving at us with this gigantic grin on her face. Both of us cheered really loud and this huge rush of adrenaline pumped through me.

It was kind of like a turning point in the race for me. I brushed the insane number of people off to the side, and I just focused on having a great time. It was completely obvious by my mom's face that she was having a blast, so I let a lot of worry slip off me.

Alex turned to me and made the comment, "It looks like your mom found a friend."

Huh? I didn't see my mom with anyone, but then again, I wasn't looking too closely.
Maybe she was with someone...


Alex and I made it to Obstacle 2 a few minutes later and saw that they were tires.


There was someone on a microphone repeatedly saying, "You can skip this obstacle if you feel uncomfortable." He just kept saying it over and over, and it felt like he was pointing this little speech directly at me.

You ever get that feeling before? Where you're in a crowd, yet you still feel like the voice over the intercom is referring to you and nobody else.

I get the picture, Mr. Microphone! But I promise, I'm not that clumsy!

Mr. Microphone must have psyched me out, though, because halfway through the tires, the tip of my shoe caught the middle ring of one of the them, and I almost went down.

I heard Mr. Microphone give his speal again, only this time in a sterner voice.

Chill out, man! I got this!


Having redeemed myself for the rest of the tires, I flew out of that area, and turned to Alex, "You know, if that guy hadn't been so adamant about skipping the darn things, I wouldn't have tripped."

"Sure."



We passed the Mile 2 marker right after this:


It was on the left side of the road, which made it easy for me to jump on the grass and grab a picture, since runners typically stay to the left and walkers to the right.


Mile 2 took us back towards the front of Animal Kingdom. We went through here:
f6 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

Which was a tad bit tricky, because it was really dark, and I thought for sure I would trip on the uneven ground.

Not to worry, though, there were too many people around to fall.



The course took us out of a CM exit and back towards the starting line in the parking lot. In a grassy area there was the 3rd obstacle, which was a low crawl.

I won't lie, I was a priss and skipped that one. I was dripping with sweat, and I knew all that sand on the ground would stick right to me. Not to mention, we'd lost so much time zigzagging through other racers, I knew we were running behind last year's time.


I tried to book it when I saw the Mile 3 sign:


And I did pretty good for a few feet. But then the heat hit me really bad and I had to stop. I actually walked across the 5K finishing line. I looked at my stopwatch and saw that I was a measly 1 minute and 8 seconds slower than last year's time.

So close! Last year, we ran the 5K portion in 36:36, and this year we did it in 37:44.


Looking back, I know the large amount of people and the heat played a huge factor in that, but I wasn't thinking of that then. All I knew was I wanted to beat our overall time, so when we got our first clue for the scavenger hunt, I told Alex to run to the first answering post and we'd answer the riddle when we arrived.


The scavenger hunt locations were the same as last year, the Oasis section in the front of the park, Camp Minnie-Mickey, Africa, Asia, and the finish line. There were 4 different variations of the clues, and you had to go to the sign that matched the name on the top of your clue card.

Surprisingly, the clues this year were a lot easier than last year. We didn't have problems with any of them, and it took us about 5 seconds to answer each one.

The first clue was:


All you had to do was match the times written with the corresponding letters.


Done!

We were handed our second clue, and we raced towards Camp Minnie-Mickey. I don't know if I was mad about my 5K time or if I just wanted to be out of the mob of people, but I was suddenly on a roll!

Until we got to the pathway to the camp area.

Holy shishkabobs!!!!




This, hands down, was the poorest constructed setup of the race I've ever seen. It was bad last year, but I was so preoccupied with the clue that I didn't notice much. Plus, Alex and I walked the scavenger hunt back then, so it was no big deal.

But oh boy was it one now. Let me see if I can try and explain the gravity of this madness.
Imagine a ten foot wide pathway (going uphill) where 1,000 people are walking up it and another 1,000 are headed down. Mixed in are a combination of walkers, runners, and those people standing around trying to solve their clue.

I screamed.

No lie.

I couldn't believe what a jungle this area was. It was like we were trying to go through a wall. Some people were in our way, we were in some other people's way, and nobody could go anywhere.

Back at home, when runDisney sent me a survey, I went into pretty specific detail about this spot and how flawed it was.


Once we were out of it we knew that we'd have to go back INTO IT to get to Africa and solve Clue 3.

It wasn't fun.


We read clue 2 and as Alex was writing the answer his pen exploded. Woops.

Oh, let me now point out something else that didn't go so well. The park was pretty dark even with lights set up, so we had to use the flashlight the race gave us.

It was great. Except, the light was red.

The same color as our pen.



Hmmmm...not exactly the smartest thing in the world, because every time we flashed the light, our writing disappeared.

In addition, the flashlight turned into a whistle. Cute, but after the 500th kid has blown that thing, they get real old, real quick.


Anyways, here is what clue 2 looked like:


With this one, you just had to read the letters criss-cross.


By clue 3, I was really getting into my run and was feeling great. I am a distance runner for sure, and I needed that 5K to shake my legs out and get really hyped up.

Here is Clue 3:


It took me a second to get this one, but luckily Alex saw the way about it immediately. You had to take the first letter after each period to make a word.



And Clue 4:


My mom said she had some issues with this one, but it was because one of her ropes looked frayed when it wasn't.



And finally, Clue 5, the final one!


Nowhere on the clue was any indication as to what number we needed to use to solve the riddle, but I just assumed it would be 5, since they were making a big deal about this being the 5th Anniversary of the event. And sure enough, 5 was right!


We showed our final answer to a volunteer and were cleared to cross the finish line.


Having done this before, Alex was a smart man and pulled me off to the side for a second. He remembered how narrow the finish line corral was, and he let a huge group of people pass us, so that when we went through it was empty and we could actually run across the finishing line.
f7 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


The two of us finished the race on a great note. We were both amazed at how fast we flew through the scavenger hunt, and we beat last year's overall time by 15 minutes!


Our 5K time was 37:44, and our scavenger hunt time was 28:05, leaving our total time at 1 hour, 5 minutes. We ranked 381 out of 1120 coed teams, and I was ecstatic.


I couldn't have asked for a better overall time, and I felt so accomplished. After the race, when we got our medals around our neck and were eating our snacks, I completely forgot about the crowds and the heat and all the other little hitches along the way. I was just so happy with myself and was ready to take on another race in the future!

Alex and I had grabbed our bananas and Clif bars and our waters and had sat down on the ground a little ways past the finish area. We'd told my mom to call when she finished, and we were just waiting for that to happen.



Continued on in Next Post...

 

[marDgreen88]

EESH! I don't even know what to say. It sounds insane and fun all at the same time. Overall though, I'm glad you ended on a happy note and your time sounds awesome! I know nothing about races... nothing... but this sounded cool (besides the frustrating stuff)!

OH and P.S. Of course the thing I notice the most is the fact that the mile markers had 'yeti marks' on them.

 

[amazingact21]

Alex and I sat on the ground, feeling the steam from the ground literally rising up around us, for about ten minutes before my mom called. Due to the noise level we couldn't hear a thing she said, so we had no idea what was up.

Alex called her back and was trying to tell her to keep walking forward and she'd find us, but the message was getting lost in translation. We ended up meeting halfway, where to our surprise my mom was hanging out with another lady!

Before we could get a word in, she asked us to take a quick photo:


The two exchanged hugs and Facebook pages and said goodbye.

I was more than a little surprised.

My mom looked happy:


I didn't know what to ask first, how she liked the race or who her new friend was. I was spared the decision, though, because she started telling us all about her experience.

"That was Sonya. I was about five minutes into the race when we walked up next to each other and she asked if I was doing the race alone and if I was a walker, and the rest was history. We did the whole race together, and oh it was a blast! We became instant friends. Her son ran in the race, and we just chatted the whole time. Even better, I hit my goal! I did the 5K in 48 minutes!"


I listened intently. For once, I wasn't the one talking a mile a minute.

"We helped each other on the scavenger hunt, and it was perfect, because she knew the ones I didn't and vice versa. It was great."

Turns out Alex was right, my mom did find a friend along the race course.



I had nothing to worry about, my mom had a time, and she was absolutely jubilant when she received her medal.




She ended up doing the scavenger hunt in 38:47, with an overall time of 1 hour 26 minutes. She was more than happy with that number, and I was happy for her. I knew she'd worked really hard to get to race day, and I was so happy I got her to go through with it.

Seeing the three of us with our finisher medals and catching glimpses of how happy we were was a great memory. The race was the main reason behind the trip, and we all had this huge sense of satisfaction at having accomplished the feat.


We gave my mom a chance to rest and eat her food, then I asked her to take a photo of Alex and I.

All right, you guys. If I had another photo of us after the race, I would post it, but unfortunately, this is it.



So, let me just say...


It was 98 degrees out. I was hot, I was sweaty, I was kinda tired.

Please, please, please, don't laugh too hard at my crazy eyes.


Crazy eyes? You might ask.

I promise you...they're crazy eyes.

I cringe every flipping time I see this photo because I look nuts!


Ready?


All right, here it is!



Ahhhh!!!





Scary, I told you.


I know you're laughing, so I'll just go on to say that Alex and I were more than ready to hit up the one attraction that we don't normally get to do at night.



Expedition Everest!

I was ready to get my coaster on!


Last year, this ride was walk-on, but it had a 20 minute wait the whole length of the after party this year. I, once again, had a not so pretty moment, but only because all I could think about was how many fellow racers I'd told on the DISboards that the line for this attraction would be nonexistent.

I felt bad that I'd psyched them out, and I was a little perturbed that the "good 'ol days" were gone.

The 3 of us got on EE. I sat with my mom, since this was her first time on it. She wasn't a huge fan of the going backwards part, but she enjoyed everything else.


With that behind us, my mom wanted to go on Dinosaur.

Because, you know, a trip to Animal Kingdom isn't complete without freaking me out.




Ugh.


On the way over, we found some poor sap who took a picture of all of us. We were still extremely hot:




I grabbed a photo of EE as we walked past, because I just love that drop so much.




Dinosaur was walk-on. (Huh, wonder why? It couldn't be because it's a terrifying ride intent on making me cry one day.)

Maybe we'd luck out and get a car in the back.

That wouldn't be so bad.

"How many?"

"Three."

"Row 1, please."




Awesome.


I made Alex sit in the far right hand seat. No way, no how was I falling for that again. Nuh Uh. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...

My poor mother, though. It was getting close to midnight, and my mom was up about 3 hours past her bedtime. She was doggone tired, and when the land rover started moving, she started freaking out majorly.

"Alicia, my seatbelt's not buckled."

Only, it was more like, "ALICIA, MY SEATBELT ISN'T BUCKLED! ALICIA! ALICIA!"


She didn't realize that the rover was only moving to a checkpoint station where a CM secures all belts. She honest to goodness thought she was about to go through the land of dinos with no seatbelt.

This became a running joke for me throughout the whole trip, and even now, if I mention Dinosaur to my mom, she just glares at me and tells me to shut up.




The good news was her panic caused me to lighten up a bit, and I only had to cover my eyes 3/4ths of the way in, rather than the usual halfway point.


Everyone just loves to see poor Alicia scared to death of the big bad Carno:




That's it, now. I've shown you my crazy eyes and admitted to being scared by Dinosaur, that's enough embarrassing Disney moments from me for one update.




The ride lets out in Dinoland, and Alex wanted to try Primeval Whirl. I'd never been on it before, but I'd heard enough horror stories on the DISboards to not exactly be thrilled by this. My mom walked with us up through the completely empty queue. *Hint hint* Then she saw that it was nothing but spinning and bailed.

Lucky.

Alex and I rode it, and then agreed that we didn't have to go on it again. We had the satisfaction of saying we did it, and that's about it.


I could tell I was starting to burn out, so I asked my mom if she'd be all right letting Alex and me go on Everest a few more times. Once was enough for her, and she was finished by that point. So, she found a nice seat where she could watch people dropping on the ride. We gave her my camera and both our phones, and Alex and I rode it two more times.



Both times we had a 15-20 minute wait, but the upside was we got to sit in the front the 2nd go round and in the 3rd row the last time around.




Alex and I were absolutely spent after the 3rd round of Everest. It was 1 o'clock in the morning, our feet were positively screaming, and my mom and I were sick of smelling our stinky selves.

As we were headed out of the race area, we saw a Finishers sign and decided to take a picture in front of it:



The three of us were very happy that we'd done the race and experienced the energy and excitement of the event, but as we loaded into our car and headed back to Sports, we were ready for bed!



Up Next: It's Because We're Here, Right?

 

[amazingact21]

EESH! I don't even know what to say. It sounds insane and fun all at the same time. Overall though, I'm glad you ended on a happy note and your time sounds awesome! I know nothing about races... nothing... but this sounded cool (besides the frustrating stuff)!

OH and P.S. Of course the thing I notice the most is the fact that the mile markers had 'yeti marks' on them.

I think races bring out the extremes in me. Extreme nerves, frustration, happiness. Aside from the few negative points, the race really was fun, and I feel very fortunate to have been able to do it for the second year in a row.

Not to mention...Animal Kingdom at night. That right there was worth the registration fee, in my opinion. (The yeti marks were so cool! I thought it was an amazing Disney touch.)

 

[Aussiesalad]

Oh gosh the race sounds so crowded!!
I always find it so funny when there is such a huge build up at the start line.
Then after the bang...everyone just sort of slowly walks along until it thins out.
Ready....Set.... Walk at a leisurely pace...

That is so cute your mum made a friend!
Mums are so funny like that.

your crazy eyes are hilarious! Put that bad boy in a frame!

You're not alone! I am terrified of Dinosaur!! It's just so dark and loud and jumpy?
I am always hiding in the picture, screaming my lungs out, griping on for dear life and leaving fingernail marks in DH's arms.
Don't get me wrong, I still think it's a great ride... just a terrifying great ride.

 

[Queenofallthings]

Great pictures! How nice that your mom found that nice lady to finish the race with! I never thought about doing a race at Disney cause I hate running but I love to walk as I do it everyday Maybe something I need to think about! Great job on your run!!!!

 

[marDgreen88]

Aww! How cute that your mom made a friend. What a special memory!

Don't worry, I didn't laugh at your picture...

...

...too much.

EVEREST AT NIGHT. Oh my gosh... how amazing was that? Oh wow. I'm jealous.

 

[CandleontheWater]

I'm sorry that the race was frustrating, and I agree that it seemed poorly planned out. I'm glad you were able to finish and still be somewhat happy with your time. I wonder what changes they will make for this year!

I wouldn't feel too bad about being freaked out by dinosaur, I am so scared of it, I won't even ride it! I will let my DS get on Everest before I ever let him on dinosaur, it is just too scary!

 

[MEK]

You gave a great recap of the race. Based on how crazy crowded it sounded, I don't think I would enjoy myself. But, overall, it sounds like a wonderful experience and you are all positively beaming! EE 3X in the dark definitely sounds like a winner.

So glad you mom found a partner and had a blast. That's awesome. Too funny that she thought she was going to ride Dinosaur without a seatbelt.

 

[MHTeacher]

Great pictures of the race! I'm so glad your mom found a friend to run with!

I think you look pretty good to have been on a 5k run in the heat/humidity!

 

[pinkxray]

Great pictures during the race

It looks pretty cool but way too crowded

How nice that your mom found someone to do the race with. I'm sure it made it more enjoyable for both of them.

 

[Nermel9]

Wow, I remember when I was considering doing this race...now I'm glad I didn't! It looks like it would have been a lot of fun if the crowds weren't so crazy! There are 2 things in Disney that I don't handle well, heat and crowds, and it sounds like this race had both! I probably would have freaked out and given up!

I'm glad you guys finished and that your mom found a race buddy! It seems like they need to do something about the people that want to run and the ones that want to walk...maybe tell the walkers to stay to the right so the runners can run on the left? I don't know, it just sounds like it got really congested and all that weaving would annoy me!

EE at night sounds amazing! I hope they figure out how to make this race a little less chaotic in the next few years because I'd really like to try it!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Woohooo! What an awesome recap! I loved every second of it! But I also totally felt your pain about the crowds...they are definitely hard to manuever through.

Y'all really rocked it out on both parts--but especially the scavenger hunt...I had no idea how to solve the first three, so I can only imagine how long it would have taken me!

Ok...I gotta tell you--there is absolutely nothing wrong with the pic of you and Alex right after the race--in fact, I think you looked great to have just ran around in that heat and humidity!

I'm a little envious of the rides on Everest--I've always wanted to ride it after dark, so I can only imagine how cool that was!

And lastly--as far as next month goes---yes, we will definitely be at DTD! Since we're staying at SSR, we'll be pretty close and won't be visiting any parks (except to attend MNSSHP), I hope to get to spend a good amount of time there browsing through all the stores!

 

[amazingact21]

Oh gosh the race sounds so crowded!!
I always find it so funny when there is such a huge build up at the start line.
Then after the bang...everyone just sort of slowly walks along until it thins out.
Ready....Set.... Walk at a leisurely pace...

That is so cute your mum made a friend!
Mums are so funny like that.

your crazy eyes are hilarious! Put that bad boy in a frame!

You're not alone! I am terrified of Dinosaur!! It's just so dark and loud and jumpy?
I am always hiding in the picture, screaming my lungs out, griping on for dear life and leaving fingernail marks in DH's arms.
Don't get me wrong, I still think it's a great ride... just a terrifying great ride.

The start of the race does kind of lose its excitement when you're walking out of the gate.


I would be terrified if I saw those eyes on someone's facebook page or something. I'd be like, watch out for that one!


I agree, Dinosaur is a great ride. Disney does an amazing job with the sights, sounds, and smells, but man, is it scary! I feel ridiculous when I'm next to a kid who looks bored throughout the whole trip....

Great pictures! How nice that your mom found that nice lady to finish the race with! I never thought about doing a race at Disney cause I hate running but I love to walk as I do it everyday Maybe something I need to think about! Great job on your run!!!!

My mom hates running, but she's an amazing power-walker. Techincally, Disney rules say you have to keep a 16 minute-mile pace, which is a fast walk, but at nighttime 5Ks like Everest, nobody notices.
So, it's definitely something to keep on the back burner for the future.

Aww! How cute that your mom made a friend. What a special memory!

Don't worry, I didn't laugh at your picture...

...

...too much.


EVEREST AT NIGHT. Oh my gosh... how amazing was that? Oh wow. I'm jealous.

Hahaha, trust me, I did. I was going through the pictures on the computer and was like, What the--?! I look like an ax murderer!


Oh my gosh, Everest at night is amazing. It makes the whole race worth it. If you go to my TR from last year (Flowers, 5K, and Fiancees.) I wrote this insanely long discription about riding Everest at night. For instance, when you're going up the mountain, there's these purple lights around you, and to the left is complete darkness, and to your right is the rest of AK all lit up. It's a beautiful sight.

I'm sorry that the race was frustrating, and I agree that it seemed poorly planned out. I'm glad you were able to finish and still be somewhat happy with your time. I wonder what changes they will make for this year!

I wouldn't feel too bad about being freaked out by dinosaur, I am so scared of it, I won't even ride it! I will let my DS get on Everest before I ever let him on dinosaur, it is just too scary!

Unfortunately, AK is just not the best place to have a race of that size and magnitutude, in my opinion. However, the biggest issue they had in 2011 (the corrals) was fchanged this year, so I'm sure Disney will work to make the whole productionless hectic next year. I won't be doing it in 2013, though, so I'll need to follow other DISboarders and see what they have to say.


There's no way I'd bring my kid on Dinosaur. Nu uh! I remember taking my brother on it when he was 3 (?) because he was head over heels in love with dinosaurs. Let's just say that the experience is a popular family dinner-time story now. Lots of crying and lots of fear....

You gave a great recap of the race. Based on how crazy crowded it sounded, I don't think I would enjoy myself. But, overall, it sounds like a wonderful experience and you are all positively beaming! EE 3X in the dark definitely sounds like a winner.

So glad you mom found a partner and had a blast. That's awesome. Too funny that she thought she was going to ride Dinosaur without a seatbelt.

The race was really crowded, but looking back on it, the whole event was supposed to be about the whole experience and the ability to be in AK at night, so I am not stressing about it anymore. I just wish they'd let less people in.

Great pictures of the race! I'm so glad your mom found a friend to run with!

I think you look pretty good to have been on a 5k run in the heat/humidity!

It was great that my mom found a friend along the way; I imagine it made the whole experience that much more memorable for her.

The humidity was so terrible that night, that when we got back into our room, I made Alex put our running clothes in an airtight bag and closed it.

Great pictures during the race

It looks pretty cool but way too crowded

How nice that your mom found someone to do the race with. I'm sure it made it more enjoyable for both of them.

I thought it was really cool that my mom found a race partner. It's something she'll remember forever, I think.

Wow, I remember when I was considering doing this race...now I'm glad I didn't! It looks like it would have been a lot of fun if the crowds weren't so crazy! There are 2 things in Disney that I don't handle well, heat and crowds, and it sounds like this race had both! I probably would have freaked out and given up!

I'm glad you guys finished and that your mom found a race buddy! It seems like they need to do something about the people that want to run and the ones that want to walk...maybe tell the walkers to stay to the right so the runners can run on the left? I don't know, it just sounds like it got really congested and all that weaving would annoy me!

EE at night sounds amazing! I hope they figure out how to make this race a little less chaotic in the next few years because I'd really like to try it!

The crowds and the heat were really annoying, but I kind of forgot about how hot it was in the middle of the race. I definitely get that "runner's high" when run, so the fact that I felt like I was sweaty and gross sort of slipped out of my mind.
I think a ton of people had issues with how full the course was, so I'd be really surprised if Disney lets that many people in next year. Honestly, I assumed they added 2,000 more spots because it was the 5th Anniversary and they wanted to make it special.


You should give it a try one day, if only so you can ride EE at night! But I'm very jealous that you get to do the Royal Family 5K!! That one sounds like so much fun, and I envy February's temps.

 

[amazingact21]

Woohooo! What an awesome recap! I loved every second of it! But I also totally felt your pain about the crowds...they are definitely hard to manuever through.

Y'all really rocked it out on both parts--but especially the scavenger hunt...I had no idea how to solve the first three, so I can only imagine how long it would have taken me!

Ok...I gotta tell you--there is absolutely nothing wrong with the pic of you and Alex right after the race--in fact, I think you looked great to have just ran around in that heat and humidity!

I'm a little envious of the rides on Everest--I've always wanted to ride it after dark, so I can only imagine how cool that was!

And lastly--as far as next month goes---yes, we will definitely be at DTD! Since we're staying at SSR, we'll be pretty close and won't be visiting any parks (except to attend MNSSHP), I hope to get to spend a good amount of time there browsing through all the stores!

I am hoping that the other Disney races aren't that congested, but that this one was due to its location. AK really isn't that big when you're speaking in terms of race paths.


I am always a little nervous for the scavenger hunts because the level of difficulty is always up in the air. I guess I should have prefaced those pictures with the explanation that all the answers would be mountain climbing related and all lead back to Everest. I think knowing that helped a bit for me.


Riding Everest at night is almost worth the registration fee! I feel like a lot of Disney's mountains are a completely different experience at night versus during the day, and Everest is right up there with them.


I am hoping to start coming up with our game plans for next month soon, but I know DTD will be in the works. Alex only has 2 requests for this trip. The first is to be in Epcot for its 30th scared1: not what I want to do, but hey...gotta let them have their way occassionally) and second is to shop at DTD.

 

[amazingact21]

I just had to say before I started this update that I'm being very un-Alicia-like. Our weekend trip to WDW is only a month and a half away, and I have not formed any plans yet. All I know is that Alex has asked to be in Epcot for its 30th birthday, but other than that, I have nothing. It's kinda crazy...


May 6th Morning:

After catching about 5 hours of sleep, my mom, Alex, and I left the resort at 8:00 am. It was already muggy out, and we all knew it would be a hot, hot, hot day ahead of us. We made sure to apply plenty of sunscreen and pack several bottles of water.

The reason we were leaving so insanely early was because there had been a rumor floating around the DISboards for a few weeks leading up to the trip that said DHS was letting guests in at 8:30.

I wanted to make sure we got in with the first group of people to ensure we nabbed FPs for TSMM. My mom's favorite Disney film is Toy Story, and this was one ride I wasn't going to have her miss.

She was really tired, still, and I knew I really should have let her sleep in late, but we were only going to be in the park for a few hours before we headed back to Sports for a very long break.


Alex parked the car, and we all waited for a trolley:
f1 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

You'll never catch me forgetting where we parked.


We went through bag check and were lined up at the turnstiles at 8:29. There were only about 6 families in front of us, but judging by the fast-growing crowd behind us, we weren't the only ones hoping for an early admittance.

The three of us were parked right under the sun, and I thought we were going to melt, standing there with the UV rays pounding down on us and the hot concrete cooking the rubber on our shoes.

At least we wouldn't be there for very long.

Right?

Wrong.





Turns out, the joke was on us. DHS didn't open its gates until 8:45. Because of the heat, I was cranky during the whole time leading up to getting in the park. I felt terrible that I'd woken my mom up earlier than I needed to just so she could stand around in the heat and the crowds. I was also getting perturbed that my beautiful expectation of May was getting blown away.

That time last year, Alex and I practically had the whole park to ourselves. We were able to get TSMM fastpasses for 11:30 at 10:00. We walked down Hollywood Blvd with not a soul in sight.

I had raved to my mom about the cool temperatures, the low crowds, the quietness of late spring, and as I looked around me in the glare of the morning sun, I saw all those events from the previous year were gone. It was almost 90 degrees, and everyone and their brother was at DHS that morning.

I hate being wrong.

Hate it.

And a small part of me thought that because WDW wasn't turning out exactly like the picture I'd painted for my mom for half a year, she'd have a miserable time.




I should say that I was very sleep-deprived on this day, so my mind wasn't working properly, and I was a little grouchy.


With all of THAT playing in my head, we entered DHS. Alex walked ahead to get FPs while my mom and I strolled behind.

f2 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

I feel like nobody ever takes in the hat first thing in the morning, anymore. It's just become one more thing to go around in the quest to reach Pixar Place.


We met up with Alex near the FP machines, and he gave us our tickets with a return time of 9:45 and 10:45. After pocketing them, the three of us went in the standby line of the ride. The wait was about 15 minutes, not that bad.


I told my mom she was going to love the queue area and it did not disappoint.



It was fun going through it with someone for the first time, because I was able to watch as the board games were recognized, and I was able to point out little details. Having been through the queue so many times before, I'd almost lost that fascination with it, so it was refreshing to be reminded how brilliant it is.

We all grabbed our glasses:




I don't know why, but I just love seeing those yellow glasses. It's the ride symbol for me, and I can't help but wish I was back in one of those cars every time I look at them.

Wouldn't it be nice to be breaking plates right now instead of working or unloading the dishwasher or running to the grocery store?



We shuffled up the big top stairs and into the corral area, where Alex went in a row by himself, and I shared one with my mom. I had decided I'd ride with my mother first to show her what to do and help if needed.

My mom's not exactly known for her video game prowess.

f3 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

I love seeing which car I get. I think my favorite so far is Bullseye. But how can you not love that horse? He's like Maximus, loyal and sweet.

I love Disney horses...


Throughout the ride, I intentionally hit some of the "special" items so my mom could get a surprise. Water squirting out, air blowing in her face, etc. It was a lot of fun listening to her laugh at them.


In the end, our score was:


I could've done better, but I knew my second game was always the best.

My mom didn't do so bad for her first time, either.

As we approached the exit, we saw that Alex had scored a 212,000. What?! I guess sitting by yourself gives you a lot of time to focus.

That was, by far, his best score ever.


Enough of Toy Story, though. It was time to hit up my favorite ride. (Second only to Thunder.)

It was located at the end of this wonderful street:


No, no, not that haunted building to the right.


I won't step foot in there.




Ahh, there it is... My beautiful Rock N Roller Coaster, how I love thee.

The wait time was only 15 minutes, which I was fine with. Not walk-on, but the line ended right outside the studio door, so I knew we wouldn't be waiting forever in the heat.


My mom was extremely nervous to go on this ride, so I was doing everything I could to calm her down. The loops weren't what were freaking her out, it was the launch to 60mph that made her stomach roll.

We went through the video room, where I tried really hard not to repeat the lines. I knew when we entered the alley, my mom would really panic. Seeing all those limos zoom off into the tunnel is unnerving to me, and I've gone on the thing 15 times.

My mom's eyes sort of bugged out and she gulped really loudly when she saw the launch for the first time. Alex tried to distract her by showing her the Hidden Mickey on the license plate, which I think helped a little.

Once again, I sat with my mom and Alex sat in front of us.


When the countdown began and we started rolling backwards, I peeked at my mom in my peripherals and could tell she was regretting riding this, but it was too late to turn back now.

We were zooming off to L.A.


As always, it was wonderful. The little things like going through the donut and that little dip right at the end give RNRC such a special spot in my heart.

When we were getting off the ride, my mom was raving! She loved it.

She had her eyes closed the entire time.

But she loved it!




I asked her if she wanted to go again, and to my surprise, she said yes.

The wait was 15 minutes again, and this time, Alex and I requested the front row together.


My mom was placed in Row 2 with a single rider. As we waited, the girl riding with my mom was asking her about the Expedition Everest race. (We both had temporary tattoos of it on our hand.) She was super friendly, and I got this weird feeling that I knew her, but it wasn't too long before we had to load into our limos so I couldn't dwell on it.

When I got back home after the trip, I realized why she had looked so familiar. The person who'd ridden with my mom was a DISboarder! Tickanee! We were both on the May 2012 thread, and she had commented on my PTR telling me about the encounter.

It was so cool to run into yet another DISboarder, and even though we didn't officially say hello, we both ended up recognizing each other, so I'm counting it.

I asked my mom later if she remembered riding with someone who asked her about the race, and she said she did. When I told her it was a fellow DISboarder, she was highly amused. She giggles at all of our planning and obsession with the world.


Unfortunately, my mom regretted going on RNRC a 2nd time, she said it was just too much for her, so we all decided to slowly make our way back to Pixar Place and use our FPs.


I took this photo, because I was so darn sad that it was this crowded:


In my May 2011 photo album, I have a picture of the exact same location at the exact same time of the day, at the exact same day one year prior, and the street was dead. It's a little crazy to think how one year can make all the difference in the world.


Back at TSMM, my mom rode by herself, and Alex and I shared a seat.

Another picture of the queue area:


Now, let me explain how TSMM works with Alex and I. We are competitive to an extent. We don't get upset over who wins or loses and we don’t pay attention to how high the score is, we just want to see who wins. And so far, Alex has beat me every time.

There's a pattern to our ride experience. The two of us stay pretty dead even until we get to the army men plates screen. There, for some reason, I dominate.

I jump ahead by about 10,000 points, but then at the alien ring toss I lose my lead. I cannot for the life of me get the angles right. It's like Angry Birds. I can't figure out where to shoot the slingshot to knock over the wooden crates.

I'm great at Math, geometry in particular, but not in a fast-paced game. Not enough time to calculate angles and trajectories.

And so it's at that point that I usually lose the entire game.

And yes, we do take our TSM this serious. I know some people don't look at it as anything other than an attraction at DHS, but Alex and I look at it as something to improve on over the years.

Anyways, as usual, Alex stomped me on the ring toss, and we went into the final round with me thinking I was doomed. However, when the round was just about up, I happened to glance down at the screen and noticed that I was actually catching up to Alex.

I sped up and put everything I had into hitting the standalone targets.


And when the final score showed up?


I'd beat Alex!


YAY!


I began hooping and hollering, and my mom asked what the heck was going on. I'm positive everyone riding in adjoining cars and the CMs heard my excitement, but I didn't care.

I mean, really, if you can't celebrate beating your husband in a Disney game, what can you cheer for?



Immediately after exiting the ride, I posted on Facebook, "Highlight of my day, finally beating Alex in Toy Story Mania." I wanted the world to know that the impossible had just happened.

I was on Cloud 9.




But wait...

Alex was being too quiet.

"Alex, did you let me win?"

"What? No."

"Did my mom tell you to let me win? Is this some kind of cruel joke?"

"No, Alicia. You beat me fair and square."


I eyed him suspiciously.

Was he telling the truth or was he fibbing to make me feel better?



Up Next: Since When is the Great Movie Ride this Popular?

 

[UGAFan0829]

Whew...reading about such an early morning after a late night made me tired!! Y'all were definitely troopers!! And I hate that y'all got there early for nothing, but I'm highly impressed that the waits for TSMM and RnRC were only 15 minutes!!

I totally understand what you mean about the yellow glasses...they are definitely an icon!

Glad to hear that your Mom loved RnRC! Sorry that the second time wasn't as fun for her!

Heehee...you and Alex aren't the only ones who battle it out...Mike and I are the same way...you'll see that mentioned in my TR as well! And good for you for finally pulling out the victory. I totall giggled when I read about your celebration and your Mom wanting to know what was going on! Too funny!

 

[marDgreen88]

AHHHH Toy Story Mania. My second favorite ride in all of Disney! I've only ridden it four times so my scores aren't too great buuuuut I'm getting better. Anyways...

I really hope Alex didn't let you win. That's such an annoying feeling. It's like, do I celebrate or feel like an idiot?

Sorry you were disappointed in the crowds. Maybe if you go again next May, it'll be more like 2011!