2023 RunDisney Solo Trip Report: My First Dopey Challenge (FINALLY completed 11/7: Magic Kingdom After Hours)
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Disneyhanna
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I have gotten really savvy at Genie+, perks of many solo travels to test it out! RunDisney is the BEST, it makes me only want to do Disney races. It’s just so much more fun!!
Disneyhanna
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Hello all, I am back from Princess Half Marathon Weekend so it is time to continue on with my Dopey report! No more runDisney races for me until next January!
Hooray, finally time to start the races! Getting to WDW early was great to settle in, but I was definitely ready to start what I came for, the Dopey Challenge!
My alarm went off at 2:25AM, lovely. Nothing like 3.5 hours of sleep to kick off 48.6 miles!
I was tired, but more excited than anything. I slept really well, it was quiet and the bed was comfy at AKL, it's much easier to get out of bed that early when you're full of adrenaline!
A few minutes after I woke up I heard an alarm from a different room, another racer!
Since I left all my stuff I needed in a pile, I was able to get dressed quickly and leave my room at 2:50. There were a few others headed to the lobby as well, but not a ton, it was definitely still on the early side since the races don't start until 5. You're probably safe getting on the buses any time before 3:30, you just risk full buses or lost bus drivers if you go any later.
It took me five minutes to walk to the lobby, and I got some lovely pictures of the tree without people in front of it.
A friend from my running group that I had yet to meet in real life was staying at AKL and had driven and offered me a ride to all the races, which I happily accepted. We were also picking up another friend from the running group at the Dolphin on our way. We left the lobby at 3:00 and saw a race bus waiting already, I think the race buses were great at AKL!
It was a hot one, it was in the low 70s even at 3AM and like 100% humidity. Not ideal, but the other mornings looked to be much cooler so if we had to have one hot day, the 5k is the best race for it.
We got to the Swan at 3:10 and then made the short drive to the Epcot parking lot, and were parked by 3:20. While I would never drive myself, it was really great being driven. We were there early enough to park super close to the entrance, definitely get there early if you drive as the line to get in builds quickly.
You have to go through security just like at the parks, it goes quickly since no one has their umbrellas or portable chargers or glasses cases to set it off! You get to walk by the finish line on your way to the staging/holding area!
Our running group had a designated meeting spot so we quickly found the others and chatted to pass the time. I had never met anyone in person but had been talking on Facebook in the year leading up to Dopey, so it felt like I had so many friends already. Since I traveled to Marathon Weekend solo, it was really wonderful to have a group of familiar people to hang out with before the races, it made the time pass much faster and it was a fun way to start my mornings.
There are character photo ops before and after the race, of course I didn't know this at the time so I totally missed them. I think Mickey and Minnie were meeting in their running outfits! The lines get crazy long so you have to be there like before 3:15 to avoid waiting like an hour.
We headed to the port a potties by the corrals around 4:20 and then got into our corrals. I didn't lock mine properly...let's just say...lesson learned and I'm glad it was dark
I headed into Corral A just before 4:30, the corral was really small and not nearly as full as the others. Everyone in the corral started moving at 4:31 and eventually kept walking until we were up by the start line at 4:39. So, if we were any later we might have missed making it into our corral and probably would have had to join Corral B, just something to be aware of.
I have trouble getting cell service (Verizon) in the Epcot parking lot where the races start, it always takes my Garmin watch at least 10-15 minutes to lock onto GPS as well.
The National Anthem finished at 4:54 and they started the race at 4:58.
I crossed the start line around 5:07 to Britney, hooray for the 90s music!
Since it was a shorter race, I didn't even bring my headphones, I figured I'd just take in the race atmosphere.
I saw Jogging Jack Sparrow right away, I have seen him at every race I've done I think!
Tarzan and Kala were the first characters I believe, if you can't tell from my terrible picture I tried to take while running.
There were so many photographers on the course but it was so dark I never saw them until it was too late. So all of my on course photos are pretty bad but definitely funny now.
They only take pictures in the parks or resort areas, no need to look for them on the roads.
They had the barges lit up for the weekend, a nice touch. They're still ugly though!
It was fun running around World Showcase, the next photo was Mushu in China, the line looked longish (maybe 40-50 people) so I decided to skip. I didn't want to spend too much time on my feet in early races and knew I'd have more photo ops in the longer races with shorter lines. The lines get long for the 5k since there's no time limit, so people are willing to wait for a long time.
There were CMs in almost every pavilion cheering for us, which was fun.
Genie and Abu were in Morocco, again a huge line so I skipped.
I remember in Canada they were waving a big Canadian flag and were definitely the loudest cheerers, thank you Canada!
Speaking of bad photos, I wouldn't normally post them but this one is so hilariously bad, I had to. Just to show not everyone looks good running, they only post the good shots!
The next three races were so much cooler and I look MUCH better in my photos because of it, I seriously looked better at the end of my marathon than I did during this 5k.
Ugh, I wish there were no walls in Epcot, it meant we couldn't get very close to Spaceship Earth.
Max was meeting, again I skipped since I have some photos with Max and didn't feel the need to wait in a long line. I mostly wanted to wait for rarer characters or characters in fun costumes.
I got into line for Chip and Dale in their Rescue Rangers costumes at 5:31, this line was the shortest of all I'd seen and ended up being the last character stop, so I'm glad I stopped. Under the hot lights and with no wind, I was just dripping sweat while waiting in line. Like, I don't think I'd been sweatier in my entire life. The line moved quickly and I was done at 5:36. Not bad! I got a great picture so I'm glad I waited. Gotta have at least one photo per race, with all that $ I spent!
Can you believe this is the same sweaty girl from the picture above?
I swear, my character photos were so good during these races, the CMs must have some photoshop magic.
The JAMMitors were out at every race and they had one drum where you could play with them!
The gospel choir was out for every race this weekend, which was fantastic. They're right before the finish and they're so enthusiastic and are great singers, so it was fun hearing them at the end of the race. They pipe the music on speakers before you see them and it sounds so professional, then you turn the corner and see that they're singing live, so cool!
I finished at 5:46, omg so early LOL!
Goofy was at the finish line waving to everyone!
I had a big group behind me at the finish, I'm glad I was in front of them and not behind them!
They have multiple overhead angles of automatic photos as well as photopass CMs on the ground taking close ups. The advice I learned was as you enter the finish chute, look behind you and see if there is a gap. If there is, right before you cross the line, slow down a bit. You'll have better photos if there's no one directly in front of you. I think I figured that out by the 2nd or 3rd race.
All the different photo angles are great, this one makes it look like I finished alone!
They always give out multiple flavors of Powerade, water, bananas, and snack boxes at the end of every race. I actually packed a plastic grocery bag in my running belt so I could use that to carry everything, I saw that tip somewhere and it came in handy.
Phew, I was feeling hot and disgusting and was definitely ready for a hot shower. But hooray, one race down, three to go!
Some of the buses had really long lines, but the AKL bus was seating people on the two buses they had ready to go at 5:54 when I got on. This is where I found out that for the 5k, because it takes over an hour for everyone to start the race, and the buses have to drive where the runners are running at the beginning, turns out the buses can't leave until everyone has started the race! I had no idea! So really, I should have spent more time on the course, lesson learned!
I got to watch runners go by that had just started their race while I was tired and smelly on that very stinky bus. Imagine how terrible it smelled and it was 10x worse
I had skipped the banana and was now regretting that choice, so I ate my pretzels and plastic cheese. The cheese was actually good but the bag of pretzels was way too tiny for the amount of cheese.
Overall, I really enjoyed the 5k course. It only went through Epcot for Marathon Weekend, but we saw a lot of park time, probably 2/3 of the race. We got to do all of World Showcase which I loved, it's so pretty to run in that area in the dark with all the pretty lights.
The course was plenty wide and I didn't experience any congestion, but I also started in the first corral and only took one photo late in the course, and was running a sub-11 minute pace (not super fast but certainly faster than walking). So if you start later or are walking, I imagine it get much more congested. I heard the lines were like 30 minutes long for later runners!
Since they don't have any time limit, what they do to move people along is close down the character photo lines, so you have to choose carefully if it's getting later.
Sitting on the bus, I was definitely regretting not stoping for Mushu, I had plenty of time, darn!
Trucks started going by at 6:22 and finally at 6:30 we saw buses going by and finally it was our turn at 6:34. So, I waited about 40 minutes on the bus, yuck! I hope they deep cleaned those cloth bus seats after
On the bus I mobile ordered the first window for Sanaa to go at 5:00. I wanted to get to bed at a reasonable time, so I made sure to put my order in early. It comes with the 10% AP discount similar to Kona Cafe to go which was nice.
We were dropped off first at Jambo at 6:50, so it was about a 15 minute ride, not bad. Took a picture of my medal in the light, so pretty! I know this race weekend's medals were controversial since they were pretty non-traditional but I thought they were so cute.
Wow, it was so cold in the resort with the AC, all my sweat had dried and now I was freezing walking to my room. I sure looked like a hot mess!
I cleaned up and checked my work emails before getting ready for the parks. It looked like there would be some light rain mid-day, this was the only rain for the trip thankfully. It was still on the cooler side so I got to wear my long sleeved race shirt, awesome! Now I know I don't need to pack so much clothing next year, since I can wear my race shirts.
I left my room at 7:52 and MDE said the next bus to Epcot would be at 8:10. There were quite a few runners in the lobby heading back to their rooms as I left AKL. The bus stops were very busy, I didn't see anyone else in their race shirts though. The bus came at 8:07 and I just squeezed into a seat!
We left Jambo at 8:10 exactly with a very full bus, and were dropped off at Epcot at 8:23. Everyone says AKL is so far from everything but really it's not other than Disney Springs.
And I will wrap up the rest fo my (rather short) Epcot day in my next post, thanks for reading!
January 5th, 2023 - Dopey Day 1: 5K
Hooray, finally time to start the races! Getting to WDW early was great to settle in, but I was definitely ready to start what I came for, the Dopey Challenge!
My alarm went off at 2:25AM, lovely. Nothing like 3.5 hours of sleep to kick off 48.6 miles!
I was tired, but more excited than anything. I slept really well, it was quiet and the bed was comfy at AKL, it's much easier to get out of bed that early when you're full of adrenaline!
A few minutes after I woke up I heard an alarm from a different room, another racer!
Since I left all my stuff I needed in a pile, I was able to get dressed quickly and leave my room at 2:50. There were a few others headed to the lobby as well, but not a ton, it was definitely still on the early side since the races don't start until 5. You're probably safe getting on the buses any time before 3:30, you just risk full buses or lost bus drivers if you go any later.
It took me five minutes to walk to the lobby, and I got some lovely pictures of the tree without people in front of it.
A friend from my running group that I had yet to meet in real life was staying at AKL and had driven and offered me a ride to all the races, which I happily accepted. We were also picking up another friend from the running group at the Dolphin on our way. We left the lobby at 3:00 and saw a race bus waiting already, I think the race buses were great at AKL!
It was a hot one, it was in the low 70s even at 3AM and like 100% humidity. Not ideal, but the other mornings looked to be much cooler so if we had to have one hot day, the 5k is the best race for it.
We got to the Swan at 3:10 and then made the short drive to the Epcot parking lot, and were parked by 3:20. While I would never drive myself, it was really great being driven. We were there early enough to park super close to the entrance, definitely get there early if you drive as the line to get in builds quickly.
You have to go through security just like at the parks, it goes quickly since no one has their umbrellas or portable chargers or glasses cases to set it off! You get to walk by the finish line on your way to the staging/holding area!
Our running group had a designated meeting spot so we quickly found the others and chatted to pass the time. I had never met anyone in person but had been talking on Facebook in the year leading up to Dopey, so it felt like I had so many friends already. Since I traveled to Marathon Weekend solo, it was really wonderful to have a group of familiar people to hang out with before the races, it made the time pass much faster and it was a fun way to start my mornings.
There are character photo ops before and after the race, of course I didn't know this at the time so I totally missed them. I think Mickey and Minnie were meeting in their running outfits! The lines get crazy long so you have to be there like before 3:15 to avoid waiting like an hour.
We headed to the port a potties by the corrals around 4:20 and then got into our corrals. I didn't lock mine properly...let's just say...lesson learned and I'm glad it was dark
I headed into Corral A just before 4:30, the corral was really small and not nearly as full as the others. Everyone in the corral started moving at 4:31 and eventually kept walking until we were up by the start line at 4:39. So, if we were any later we might have missed making it into our corral and probably would have had to join Corral B, just something to be aware of.
I have trouble getting cell service (Verizon) in the Epcot parking lot where the races start, it always takes my Garmin watch at least 10-15 minutes to lock onto GPS as well.
The National Anthem finished at 4:54 and they started the race at 4:58.
I crossed the start line around 5:07 to Britney, hooray for the 90s music!
Since it was a shorter race, I didn't even bring my headphones, I figured I'd just take in the race atmosphere.
I saw Jogging Jack Sparrow right away, I have seen him at every race I've done I think!
Tarzan and Kala were the first characters I believe, if you can't tell from my terrible picture I tried to take while running.
There were so many photographers on the course but it was so dark I never saw them until it was too late. So all of my on course photos are pretty bad but definitely funny now.
They only take pictures in the parks or resort areas, no need to look for them on the roads.
They had the barges lit up for the weekend, a nice touch. They're still ugly though!
It was fun running around World Showcase, the next photo was Mushu in China, the line looked longish (maybe 40-50 people) so I decided to skip. I didn't want to spend too much time on my feet in early races and knew I'd have more photo ops in the longer races with shorter lines. The lines get long for the 5k since there's no time limit, so people are willing to wait for a long time.
There were CMs in almost every pavilion cheering for us, which was fun.
Genie and Abu were in Morocco, again a huge line so I skipped.
I remember in Canada they were waving a big Canadian flag and were definitely the loudest cheerers, thank you Canada!
Speaking of bad photos, I wouldn't normally post them but this one is so hilariously bad, I had to. Just to show not everyone looks good running, they only post the good shots!
The next three races were so much cooler and I look MUCH better in my photos because of it, I seriously looked better at the end of my marathon than I did during this 5k
.Ugh, I wish there were no walls in Epcot, it meant we couldn't get very close to Spaceship Earth.
Max was meeting, again I skipped since I have some photos with Max and didn't feel the need to wait in a long line. I mostly wanted to wait for rarer characters or characters in fun costumes.
I got into line for Chip and Dale in their Rescue Rangers costumes at 5:31, this line was the shortest of all I'd seen and ended up being the last character stop, so I'm glad I stopped. Under the hot lights and with no wind, I was just dripping sweat while waiting in line. Like, I don't think I'd been sweatier in my entire life. The line moved quickly and I was done at 5:36. Not bad! I got a great picture so I'm glad I waited. Gotta have at least one photo per race, with all that $ I spent!
Can you believe this is the same sweaty girl from the picture above?
I swear, my character photos were so good during these races, the CMs must have some photoshop magic.The JAMMitors were out at every race and they had one drum where you could play with them!
The gospel choir was out for every race this weekend, which was fantastic. They're right before the finish and they're so enthusiastic and are great singers, so it was fun hearing them at the end of the race. They pipe the music on speakers before you see them and it sounds so professional, then you turn the corner and see that they're singing live, so cool!
I finished at 5:46, omg so early LOL!
Goofy was at the finish line waving to everyone!
I had a big group behind me at the finish, I'm glad I was in front of them and not behind them!
They have multiple overhead angles of automatic photos as well as photopass CMs on the ground taking close ups. The advice I learned was as you enter the finish chute, look behind you and see if there is a gap. If there is, right before you cross the line, slow down a bit. You'll have better photos if there's no one directly in front of you. I think I figured that out by the 2nd or 3rd race.
All the different photo angles are great, this one makes it look like I finished alone!
They always give out multiple flavors of Powerade, water, bananas, and snack boxes at the end of every race. I actually packed a plastic grocery bag in my running belt so I could use that to carry everything, I saw that tip somewhere and it came in handy.
Phew, I was feeling hot and disgusting and was definitely ready for a hot shower. But hooray, one race down, three to go!
Some of the buses had really long lines, but the AKL bus was seating people on the two buses they had ready to go at 5:54 when I got on. This is where I found out that for the 5k, because it takes over an hour for everyone to start the race, and the buses have to drive where the runners are running at the beginning, turns out the buses can't leave until everyone has started the race! I had no idea! So really, I should have spent more time on the course, lesson learned!
I got to watch runners go by that had just started their race while I was tired and smelly on that very stinky bus. Imagine how terrible it smelled and it was 10x worse
I had skipped the banana and was now regretting that choice, so I ate my pretzels and plastic cheese. The cheese was actually good but the bag of pretzels was way too tiny for the amount of cheese.
Overall, I really enjoyed the 5k course. It only went through Epcot for Marathon Weekend, but we saw a lot of park time, probably 2/3 of the race. We got to do all of World Showcase which I loved, it's so pretty to run in that area in the dark with all the pretty lights.
The course was plenty wide and I didn't experience any congestion, but I also started in the first corral and only took one photo late in the course, and was running a sub-11 minute pace (not super fast but certainly faster than walking). So if you start later or are walking, I imagine it get much more congested. I heard the lines were like 30 minutes long for later runners!
Since they don't have any time limit, what they do to move people along is close down the character photo lines, so you have to choose carefully if it's getting later.
Sitting on the bus, I was definitely regretting not stoping for Mushu, I had plenty of time, darn!
Trucks started going by at 6:22 and finally at 6:30 we saw buses going by and finally it was our turn at 6:34. So, I waited about 40 minutes on the bus, yuck! I hope they deep cleaned those cloth bus seats after
On the bus I mobile ordered the first window for Sanaa to go at 5:00. I wanted to get to bed at a reasonable time, so I made sure to put my order in early. It comes with the 10% AP discount similar to Kona Cafe to go which was nice.
We were dropped off first at Jambo at 6:50, so it was about a 15 minute ride, not bad. Took a picture of my medal in the light, so pretty! I know this race weekend's medals were controversial since they were pretty non-traditional but I thought they were so cute.
Wow, it was so cold in the resort with the AC, all my sweat had dried and now I was freezing walking to my room. I sure looked like a hot mess!
I cleaned up and checked my work emails before getting ready for the parks. It looked like there would be some light rain mid-day, this was the only rain for the trip thankfully. It was still on the cooler side so I got to wear my long sleeved race shirt, awesome! Now I know I don't need to pack so much clothing next year, since I can wear my race shirts.
I left my room at 7:52 and MDE said the next bus to Epcot would be at 8:10. There were quite a few runners in the lobby heading back to their rooms as I left AKL. The bus stops were very busy, I didn't see anyone else in their race shirts though. The bus came at 8:07 and I just squeezed into a seat!
We left Jambo at 8:10 exactly with a very full bus, and were dropped off at Epcot at 8:23. Everyone says AKL is so far from everything but really it's not other than Disney Springs.
And I will wrap up the rest fo my (rather short) Epcot day in my next post, thanks for reading!
Last edited:
Disneyhanna
DIS Veteran
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Thank you! My first runDisney 5k, I suppose! Funny enough the Marathon Weekend half was my first HM race ever (Disney and non-Disney), since I never ran that specific race distance prior to Dopey!
Counting Stars
Mouseketeer
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Congratulations on your 5k! Love the pics of you at the finish line- one down 
Disneyhanna
DIS Veteran
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Thank you! An obnoxious amount of photos to comeCongratulations on your 5k! Love the pics of you at the finish line- one down
I am not a photogenic person at all, but I was really pleased with the MW race photos. My Princess ones aren't nearly as good so I think there is really something in the water at MW
Disneyhanna
DIS Veteran
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Epcot security was a bit of a disaster and of course I set the alarm off, and waited forever to have my bag searched, which left me on the grumpy side, since I knew it was probably just my water bottle or umbrella which I held out in front of me. During this trip I experienced CMs yelling at me to put my bag on the table to hurry things along, as well as CMs yelling to not step up to the table or put anything on it until they asked me to, it really felt like TSA where you can do nothing right
My grumpiness went away when I realized it was still early entry and not regular park opening, so I decided to "rope drop" Soarin' since it wasn't too far, I would have done Frozen if I wasn't trying to take it a bit easy. I did not have Genie+ was my only real goal was to ride Guardians, which I had boarding group 1 for! My group was called at 8:40 as I walked into the Soarin' queue, perfect.
I decided I would get breakfast at Sunshine Seasons and then look for Pluto at 9:30 to take a picture with my medal, since Pluto was on it! Soarin' was a walk on and I was in my seat in about 10 minutes.
The lady next to me narrated the entire ride, "that's the Eiffel Tower," or "that's Epcot!"
As I was walking off the ride some of my running group friends messaged me they were heading to Guardians and asked if I wanted to ride with them, and surprise, we were both on the same Soarin' flight! So we headed over to Guardians from The Land, and basically walked on besides the preshows. Wow, it is definitely worth going first thing in the morning if you have an early group as the line builds up so fast, usually I waited 45+ minutes even by midday.
I'm not sure which song we got but it was upbeat, which was fun. I was also in the second from back row which was WAY more intense, wow I loved that! I had my own cart somehow (friends were behind me) and so I got a nice picture!
I said goodbye to my friends and headed towards the Pluto photo by Port of Entry, getting in line at 9:50. I think Pluto was meeting every half hour so he took a break at 9:57 but was back out by 10:01.
It was getting hot in my long sleeves and I couldn't wait to take my pic so I could take off my long sleeve race shirt! I got my photo at 10:11, there was a mix of runners and families with young children in line haha.
Pluto was so animated and excited about my medal, I was very awkward of course but it was a fun interaction and I highly recommend meeting characters with your medals!
My photos showed up right away, I have noticed that about recent trips, they appear so quickly compared to years ago.
It was probably too late for breakfast at Sunshine Seasons (is it even offered anymore?), so I settled on a snack at Connection's Eatery. I heard about the Liege Waffle and wanted to give that a try. I got asked to take a huge group photo, I swear I get asked multiple times a day at WDW to take photos when I am solo, I must look very friendly or like a good photographer
I waited a few minutes to order, since the line was short and I was too lazy to mobile order. It started raining while I was in the eatery so I made a good choice!
The waffle was so delicious, it was actually quite dense and bready with crisp, sugary edges. I easily ate the entire thing, you COULD share it but why would you?!
I was starting to get a bit tired at this point, running on so little sleep and all, so I decided to head back to the resort to relax a bit. The AKL bus was the first bus stop, love it, I waited about 12 minutes so not bad for middle of the day. It was still raining, not a downpour but more than a drizzle. MK is the only park I enjoy in the rain!
I was the only one on the bus and so we waited five minutes or so before departing, stopping at Kidani first and then Jambo which took about 20 minutes total.
Since it was daytime I took another tour of the pool area, it was barely drizzling at this point but there wasn't a soul in the pool since it was on the cooler side! Looks so inviting!
I got a better look at the flamingos!
There was surprisingly no one in the popular spa either, so I snapped a picture. Again, wow, wish I was there right now! Looks like paradise!
It was lunch time, so I decided to mobile order at the Mara. They have the good ice cream here (aka Minute Maid frozen lemonades...my childhood in a nutshell).
I had the new spiced shrimp bowl which was quite delicious and fresh. If you've had Naf Naf Grill it was a lot like that. Not very spicy, more "spiced" if that makes sense. A solid size portion for lunch and felt very healthy!
I know some people like to stick to plain foods when running, but not me. Maybe just before the marathon but even that's a stretch if I'm being honest
I brought my lunch back to my room to watch the animals while I ate, a perk of AKL!
The animals were pretty far from my room but I still got some great views despite having standard view.
I think I checked some more emails and did a bit more work, it was so quiet and peaceful. Since AK was so close I decided to hop in for a ride or two. I left my room at 1:25 and the app said the bus was coming at 1:33, it finally arrived at 1:39. The bus was soooo cold, they really blast the AC!
We were dropped off less than 10 minutes later at AK after stopping at Kidani first. Which now that I think about it, usually it's Kidani then Jambo then park, so that seems odd. The rain definitely brought the temperature down, it was still drizzly. The wait to scan in at 2:00 was short, I didn't try any earlier. I am really hoping they move park hopping up to 12:00 or 1:00, I hate the 2:00 rule.
I walked by Dinosaur but the standby line was so long and it was listed 50 minutes, no thanks! So I thought I would try for Everest single rider. I got into line at 2:17 with standby listed as 60. The single rider line seemed pretty long so I guessed maybe half an hour.
The line barely moved, but I finally made it on at 2:52 so overall waited 35 minutes. Not the worst but certainly longer than I usually wait for single rider.
Everest was so fun as usual, I love that it's a pretty long ride!
Dinosaur was still listed at 60, phew, pass! AK doesn't do a lot with the Christmas theming but I did notice the cute Santa hat and beard on the Dinosaur.
Not wanting to wait in anymore lines, I decided to head back to AKL. I saw a bus coming at 3:11 but since AKL is like the last bus stop in the middle section (why?!) I was too far and it drove off. Luckily another one came just a few minutes later! You never have to wait long for an AKL bus at AK! I got on at 3:18 and we departed AK at 3:25. We did stop at Kidani first, which took a while since we loaded a wheelchair. So, we made it back to Jambo at 3:39.
I sat by the firepit in the lobby for a bit, so relaxing. The AKL lobby is a great place to hang out and it's massive and not so loud like the monorail or Boardwalk resorts
At 4:00 Sanaa still had 5:30 window for mobile ordering, but I was glad I already grabbed the 5:00 slot earlier. I headed back to my room after a bit to do a little more work before dinner. I did see some people at the pool now but that would have been so cold! I also saw that the trash had been taken from my room during room checks.
Another giraffe pic from my room, zoomed in of course!
Even saw a mom and baby!
I think the next picture was from the main animal viewing area, which I had to check out:
You can see the giraffes much closer in the main viewing areas, there is some novelty from seeing them from your balcony but you absolutely do not need to stay at AKL to have a good experience. It's a great resort and I recommend doing either breakfast or dinner at Boma with some animal viewing on your AK park day!
At 5:00 I hit prepare my order for Sanaa, turns out when the restaurant is not open yet you cannot hit the button five minutes early which you usually can if a restaurant is already open. I left my room about 5:06 to walk over and already got the food ready notification, so fast!
I left the Jambo lobby at 5:11 and was into the Kidani lobby at 5:18, so it's just under an 8 minute walk between the two. With the direction the buses go, I think it makes sense to walk from Jambo to Kidani and then just hop on any park bus back from Kidani to Jambo.
There is a tree in the Kidani lobby, very pretty but so small compared to the Jambo tree!
I headed to Sanaa and collected my mobile order from the check-in desk, they were very friendly!
I hopped onto a random park bus that was at the Kidani stop and it took 3.5 minutes to drop off at Jambo, so definitely shorter than walking if there's a bus there!
Go bit or go home, so I ordered the bread service, kids' butter chicken meal, and the 50th dessert.
The bread service is definitely better in restaurant but it was nice to be able to order to go. I definitely prefer the naans and the coriander chutney is my favorite.
The kids' meal was actually a good sized portion, it was delicious and I would order it again. They use this fancy new packaging at least at the deluxe resorts, to keep things separate.
The dessert was fun to try, I think to go doesn't quite do the plating justice though! Lots of chocolate and the almond cookie was my favorite part. I don't think I made it through even half of this and put the rest in the fridge.
I cleaned up and laid out my stuff for the morning, and was getting ready for bed by 8PM. Oh no though, I could hear through the adjoining door that a new family moved in next door. And it was this annoying teenager I passed in the hallway earlier, noooo! He was blasting music on his phone as they walked to the pool, and his mom was complaining to him to turn it down, since the music was "inappropriate."
Just what I needed with my early wake ups
I made it into bed by 8:20 and tried to put my phone down by 9:00 which would mean at least five hours of sleep.
Of course my plan was foiled by the family next door, this would be my one major complaint about my room since the adjoining door is across from the bed. So, from my bed, I could hear the father accusing his son of smoking and drinking, fun times
Overall 28k steps for this day! 10k race next!
My grumpiness went away when I realized it was still early entry and not regular park opening, so I decided to "rope drop" Soarin' since it wasn't too far, I would have done Frozen if I wasn't trying to take it a bit easy. I did not have Genie+ was my only real goal was to ride Guardians, which I had boarding group 1 for! My group was called at 8:40 as I walked into the Soarin' queue, perfect.
I decided I would get breakfast at Sunshine Seasons and then look for Pluto at 9:30 to take a picture with my medal, since Pluto was on it! Soarin' was a walk on and I was in my seat in about 10 minutes.
The lady next to me narrated the entire ride, "that's the Eiffel Tower," or "that's Epcot!"
As I was walking off the ride some of my running group friends messaged me they were heading to Guardians and asked if I wanted to ride with them, and surprise, we were both on the same Soarin' flight! So we headed over to Guardians from The Land, and basically walked on besides the preshows. Wow, it is definitely worth going first thing in the morning if you have an early group as the line builds up so fast, usually I waited 45+ minutes even by midday.
I'm not sure which song we got but it was upbeat, which was fun. I was also in the second from back row which was WAY more intense, wow I loved that! I had my own cart somehow (friends were behind me) and so I got a nice picture!
I said goodbye to my friends and headed towards the Pluto photo by Port of Entry, getting in line at 9:50. I think Pluto was meeting every half hour so he took a break at 9:57 but was back out by 10:01.
It was getting hot in my long sleeves and I couldn't wait to take my pic so I could take off my long sleeve race shirt! I got my photo at 10:11, there was a mix of runners and families with young children in line haha.
Pluto was so animated and excited about my medal, I was very awkward of course but it was a fun interaction and I highly recommend meeting characters with your medals!
My photos showed up right away, I have noticed that about recent trips, they appear so quickly compared to years ago.
It was probably too late for breakfast at Sunshine Seasons (is it even offered anymore?), so I settled on a snack at Connection's Eatery. I heard about the Liege Waffle and wanted to give that a try. I got asked to take a huge group photo, I swear I get asked multiple times a day at WDW to take photos when I am solo, I must look very friendly or like a good photographer
I waited a few minutes to order, since the line was short and I was too lazy to mobile order. It started raining while I was in the eatery so I made a good choice!
The waffle was so delicious, it was actually quite dense and bready with crisp, sugary edges. I easily ate the entire thing, you COULD share it but why would you?!
I was starting to get a bit tired at this point, running on so little sleep and all, so I decided to head back to the resort to relax a bit. The AKL bus was the first bus stop, love it, I waited about 12 minutes so not bad for middle of the day. It was still raining, not a downpour but more than a drizzle. MK is the only park I enjoy in the rain!
I was the only one on the bus and so we waited five minutes or so before departing, stopping at Kidani first and then Jambo which took about 20 minutes total.
Since it was daytime I took another tour of the pool area, it was barely drizzling at this point but there wasn't a soul in the pool since it was on the cooler side! Looks so inviting!
I got a better look at the flamingos!
There was surprisingly no one in the popular spa either, so I snapped a picture. Again, wow, wish I was there right now! Looks like paradise!
It was lunch time, so I decided to mobile order at the Mara. They have the good ice cream here (aka Minute Maid frozen lemonades...my childhood in a nutshell).
I had the new spiced shrimp bowl which was quite delicious and fresh. If you've had Naf Naf Grill it was a lot like that. Not very spicy, more "spiced" if that makes sense. A solid size portion for lunch and felt very healthy!
I know some people like to stick to plain foods when running, but not me. Maybe just before the marathon but even that's a stretch if I'm being honest
I brought my lunch back to my room to watch the animals while I ate, a perk of AKL!
The animals were pretty far from my room but I still got some great views despite having standard view.
I think I checked some more emails and did a bit more work, it was so quiet and peaceful. Since AK was so close I decided to hop in for a ride or two. I left my room at 1:25 and the app said the bus was coming at 1:33, it finally arrived at 1:39. The bus was soooo cold, they really blast the AC!
We were dropped off less than 10 minutes later at AK after stopping at Kidani first. Which now that I think about it, usually it's Kidani then Jambo then park, so that seems odd. The rain definitely brought the temperature down, it was still drizzly. The wait to scan in at 2:00 was short, I didn't try any earlier. I am really hoping they move park hopping up to 12:00 or 1:00, I hate the 2:00 rule.
I walked by Dinosaur but the standby line was so long and it was listed 50 minutes, no thanks! So I thought I would try for Everest single rider. I got into line at 2:17 with standby listed as 60. The single rider line seemed pretty long so I guessed maybe half an hour.
The line barely moved, but I finally made it on at 2:52 so overall waited 35 minutes. Not the worst but certainly longer than I usually wait for single rider.
Everest was so fun as usual, I love that it's a pretty long ride!
Dinosaur was still listed at 60, phew, pass! AK doesn't do a lot with the Christmas theming but I did notice the cute Santa hat and beard on the Dinosaur.
Not wanting to wait in anymore lines, I decided to head back to AKL. I saw a bus coming at 3:11 but since AKL is like the last bus stop in the middle section (why?!) I was too far and it drove off. Luckily another one came just a few minutes later! You never have to wait long for an AKL bus at AK! I got on at 3:18 and we departed AK at 3:25. We did stop at Kidani first, which took a while since we loaded a wheelchair. So, we made it back to Jambo at 3:39.
I sat by the firepit in the lobby for a bit, so relaxing. The AKL lobby is a great place to hang out and it's massive and not so loud like the monorail or Boardwalk resorts
At 4:00 Sanaa still had 5:30 window for mobile ordering, but I was glad I already grabbed the 5:00 slot earlier. I headed back to my room after a bit to do a little more work before dinner. I did see some people at the pool now but that would have been so cold! I also saw that the trash had been taken from my room during room checks.
Another giraffe pic from my room, zoomed in of course!
Even saw a mom and baby!
I think the next picture was from the main animal viewing area, which I had to check out:
You can see the giraffes much closer in the main viewing areas, there is some novelty from seeing them from your balcony but you absolutely do not need to stay at AKL to have a good experience. It's a great resort and I recommend doing either breakfast or dinner at Boma with some animal viewing on your AK park day!
At 5:00 I hit prepare my order for Sanaa, turns out when the restaurant is not open yet you cannot hit the button five minutes early which you usually can if a restaurant is already open. I left my room about 5:06 to walk over and already got the food ready notification, so fast!
I left the Jambo lobby at 5:11 and was into the Kidani lobby at 5:18, so it's just under an 8 minute walk between the two. With the direction the buses go, I think it makes sense to walk from Jambo to Kidani and then just hop on any park bus back from Kidani to Jambo.
There is a tree in the Kidani lobby, very pretty but so small compared to the Jambo tree!
I headed to Sanaa and collected my mobile order from the check-in desk, they were very friendly!
I hopped onto a random park bus that was at the Kidani stop and it took 3.5 minutes to drop off at Jambo, so definitely shorter than walking if there's a bus there!
Go bit or go home, so I ordered the bread service, kids' butter chicken meal, and the 50th dessert.
The bread service is definitely better in restaurant but it was nice to be able to order to go. I definitely prefer the naans and the coriander chutney is my favorite.
The kids' meal was actually a good sized portion, it was delicious and I would order it again. They use this fancy new packaging at least at the deluxe resorts, to keep things separate.
The dessert was fun to try, I think to go doesn't quite do the plating justice though! Lots of chocolate and the almond cookie was my favorite part. I don't think I made it through even half of this and put the rest in the fridge.
I cleaned up and laid out my stuff for the morning, and was getting ready for bed by 8PM. Oh no though, I could hear through the adjoining door that a new family moved in next door. And it was this annoying teenager I passed in the hallway earlier, noooo! He was blasting music on his phone as they walked to the pool, and his mom was complaining to him to turn it down, since the music was "inappropriate."
Just what I needed with my early wake ups
I made it into bed by 8:20 and tried to put my phone down by 9:00 which would mean at least five hours of sleep.
Of course my plan was foiled by the family next door, this would be my one major complaint about my room since the adjoining door is across from the bed. So, from my bed, I could hear the father accusing his son of smoking and drinking, fun times
Overall 28k steps for this day! 10k race next!
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ThreeBoyMama
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Ugh on the noisy neighbors, just what you needed! I wish I was eating that to go bread service in my bed right now LOL.
MinnieFan4ever
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I’m so enjoying your trip report.
Some people never learned the art of the inside voice.
Some people never learned the art of the inside voice.
Disneyhanna
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I got some juicy family drama, so at least it was somewhat entertaining even though I learned everything against my will
Thank you! It is amazing how obvious people are, I slammed a few cupboards hoping they'd get the message but then at one point they went outside on the balcony to argue instead, well that made everything even more crystal clear
Disneyhanna
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January 6th, 2023 - Dopey Day 2: 10K
Time for what is probably my favorite runDisney race, the 10k (or 6.2 miles for those who need the conversion).
What I like about the 10k distance is it's long enough to feel like getting up early and waiting around was worth it (which I'm not sure I can say about the 5k) but it's not so long that you have to train so much or plan your day around it. If you're looking to get your feet wet with runDisney, this is the distance I recommend! (Plus the 10k courses are usually front loaded with a few freeway miles followed by mostly park time.)
Here is the 10k course, it was nearly three miles of freeway running but then the rest was all parks/resorts. I love that format, it gives you time to build excitement and finish on a fun note!
This course is very different than the Princess 10k I ran last year and this year, which went through both HS and Epcot. I preferred the Marathon Weekend course because you get to run through nearly all of Epcot, which was really fun. Plus both sides of the Boardwalk area which was unique!
Anyways, back to race morning. I woke up to my 2:25AM alarm, which meant I got about 4.75 hours of sleep. Well, that's better than the night before!
I left my room at 2:49 to meet my friend who drove us including our stop at the Swan to pick up another friend, and we were parked and walking to the staging area by 3:15. I forgot to put on body glide and forgot to pack my water bottle to drink in the staging area, luckily they provide vaseline at the med tent and a water station before you enter the corrals. So don't worry too much about forgetting anything!
It was so much cooler this morning, abut 56 and only 84% humidity, so very dry for FL in the middle of the night.
Met up with my running group again, normally I don't really want to post pictures without permission but this one is too blurry to see anything so I figured why not
We are the listeners of the Be Our Guest Podcast which is focused on Disney trip planning with a little bit of runDisney mixed in, it's a wonderful podcast and a wonderful running group if anyone is looking for either!
I headed into the corrals around 4:22 and corral A was already starting to move up, so I just barely made it in the back. We started moving up again at 4:29, and then again at 4:47 to the start line. There were noticeably less people in the corral compared to the 5K, Im not sure if there are less overall runners or just less people in A.
This time the national anthem was played on a saxophone, it was so good! I love that they switch it up from just singers.
The weather was so amazing that morning, I was perfect in a light throwaway sweatshirt and my shorts. I brought four thrifted sweatshirts and two cheap sweatpants for throwaway gear, and the next two mornings were supposed to be colder so I was saving the pants for those races!
While I was waiting for the start, I found a leaked list of the character stops online. I wasn't sure if it would be reliable but I was excited at the idea. For the 5k, you would have to either line up without knowing who the character was, or run past the line to check and then run back to get in line. Super inconvenient and a safety issue because people were pivoting directions without looking, but runDisney made some changes during the weekend as well as at Princess that really improved the process.
They set off fireworks for each start wave within each corral, it's funny watching everyone take pictures (myself included). The race started promptly at 4:58 again.
They separate the corrals into smaller start waves to space runners out on the course, I was right behind the ribbon of my start wave!
It was cool being at the front of the wave because I got a good look at the empty start line! I crossed the line around 5:04, very quick. Plus being at the front of the wave meant the course was more open!
Hercules was indeed the first character right away, I never stop for the first character as I like to get in a few miles first. I would stop if it was someone I really wanted to see though!
Not much to talk about for the first couple of miles, they always have entertainment for the earlier road miles such as high school bands, DJs, etc. Thanks to the kids that get up early to play great pump up music for us!
Around mile 2 at 5:27 was Princess Atta, again right on with the leaked list, hooray! Right after I got in line of course she left for a break, and many people got out of line. She was very quick though and was back out at 5:29, so I was glad I stayed. I got my picture at 5:33 and there were maybe 30-40 people as a rough estimate. Definitely way shorter than the 5k lines since they sweep this race and you cannot just spend unlimited time on the course.
I was having such a great time for this race since the weather was absolutely perfect for running, obviously I didn't want to actually race it since I had many more miles left to run, but I did find myself running faster and faster as I went. Oops!
At 5:51 I got in line for Mickey and Minnie of course, how could I not since they were in their celebration outfits! This line was a bit longer, maybe 50 people, but it moved really fast. As you can see, I wasn't too far back, I think this line got wayyyyy longer for those starting the race later than I did.
I was done with my photo at 5:57 and got one of my favorite pictures ever, totally worth the wait!
I'm not sure if it was because it was Marathon Weekend or because I was in an early corral and running a decent pace, but the runners were great about just snapping a photo and continuing on. Most people used photopass even though they had character attendants who could take phone photos for you. Definitely just quick pose and go, no interactions. I will say I did not find this to be the case at Princess recently, where way more people were using phone photos and trying to have interactions. The lines took at least twice as long compared to Marathon Weekend, which I thought was interesting. I did run Princess much much much slower so perhaps the lines took longer at MW too if you were out on the course longer.
Right after Mickey and Minnie on the Boardwalk was Jessie, honestly I wouldn't have stopped but she only had like 20 people in line so why not! I got in line at 5:59 and was done at 6:02. My photo came out really blurry but was still pretty cute!
After running through the Boardwalk area you run back through Epcot and get plenty of park running. The line for Lumiere was quite long, wrapped around the flowers and fountain, but I had to stop because I had never seen Lumiere in person before.
Again this one moved soooo fast, I got in line at 6:06 and was done by 6:10 even though there had to have been at least 50 people. Lumiere is huge and whacked me with a candlestick, lol!
Running through all of World Showcase while it was still dark out was so fun, I don't think I appreciated it as much during the 5k since it was so hot and humid. I was really having a blast during the 10k, and got some nice on course photos since the course was relatively uncrowded compared to the 5k!
My last photo stop was for Darkwing Duck, who I didn't know of before Marathon Weekend, but throughout the races heard his theme song so many times
When I got in line at 6:23 there were maybe 30 people in line, and I was done at 6:27. I thought the sign placement was pretty funny.
I finished the 10k at 6:30 while it was still dark, and because there were so few runners in the finisher's chute the announcer actually read my name and hometown! That was super cool! I'm not sure if they do that for all races or what but I think that was the only time I had that happen to me during all four races.
This race was so much fun, good weather makes such a difference for me in terms of enjoyment of the race. I paused my watch during photo stops so I could see how fast I was running between stops and how much time I spent on photos. I had mostly negative splits (I got faster as the race went on) and averaged around a 10min/mile when I was moving, so definitely faster than I planned but slower than my normal race pace so not a huge deal. I knew I'd have to dial it back for the half to leave gas in the tank for the full though!
Once I saw my chip time, I compared it to my watch time and overall my five photo stops took about 22.5 minutes. That's the perk of Corral A + running for sure! I don't think the 10k character lines get as long as the 5k since you can get swept, but I'm sure they got up to at least 15 minutes or longer as the morning went on for characters such as Mickey and Minnie.
Another very cute medal, the acorn spins which is cute.
I did use the port a potties by the buses after the finish line and they were super clean, which has been my overall experience at runDisney (maybe because they have so many?) compared to some of the local races I run.
Time to enjoy my post-race box on the bus! I walked right on the AKL bus at 6:42 and there was plenty of seating left, we departed at 6:45 with some empty seats. Same snacks and drinks, the honey stinger waffle flavor varied so it was nice to try all those flavors over the weekend (I learned I only like the honey flavor).
I was dropped off at Jambo at 6:59, so much more pleasant than the day prior. The morning prior the hotel felt like it was freezing even though it was hot outside, whereas this morning it felt nice and warm. That's humidity for you!
I did have a funny that morning, I was obviously tired and so I spent several minutes trying to get into the wrong room. Scanning my band multiple times, trying to scan my phone, being totally perplexed, then I realized I had turned one wing too early and was at the wrong room. OMG, lol. Hope I didn't freak anyone out in that room and that they slept through the whole thing
Just goes to show, if someone is trying your door and it scares you...they may just be dumb like me since all the rooms look the same especially when you're sleep deprived
I cleaned up pretty quickly and left my room at 7:46 to try and make it to Studios early entry. I just barely made the bus at 7:51, it came a couple minutes before the app said it would. We were dropped off at 8:05, "AKL is so far from everything" but I made it from my very far away room to being dropped off at HS in less than 20 minutes, don't let anyone scare you away from AKL
Tower of Terror was already 35 minutes during early entry which Think started at 8:00. One of the elevator shafts was still down so the line got so long for ToT. I breezed through security without even holding out my water bottle (I forgot) so it really depends on the day. I was feeling so awake, the Dopey excitement was really kicking in for me now that I had 2/4 mornings down!
A CM was directing people to the lines and said early entry on the right, I got in line and it just was not moving, I was so confused.
Again, dumb move on my part, after waiting at least five minutes I realized I was in the regular line and not the early entry line, the CM had misled me! Well, I probably misinterpreted him, let's be real
So, I got in the real early entry on the LEFT side which was super short and I was in at 8:15. Silly me! ToT jumped up to 85 at this point so I decided to do Runaway Railway instead, which was listed at only 10 minutes. It was about 15 minutes from entering the queue to being seated, and to my delight, I got the very front row!
The more I ride this one the more I love it! The conga dance was extra aggressive that day!
Ride accomplished (and probably the only one I'd do since I did not have Genie+), I decided to have some breakfast. I was meeting my running group at Oga's around 9:30 so I knew I had to eat something first. I headed to TSL to have a bowl from Woody's. Wow, the crowd difference from a few days prior was crazy, it was so much less busy.
The mobile window was returning 20 minutes out, so I refreshed a bit for an immediate mobile order window. I got my favorite kids' breakfast bowl, with an extra potato barrels and a cutie as my sides. Since Woody's was already open, I was able to click the I'm here button five minutes before my actual mobile order window, and my food only took a few minutes.
It was easy to find a table, I think people were still getting in their rope drop rides before breakfast, it was much busier when I left. It was time to head to Oga's next, nothing like an early morning drink!
It was definitely chilly this morning but the sun was out, it was a beautiful morning. The lines weren't too bad yet, mostly around an hour, definitely much shorter than on my previous HS day. Overall the park felt significantly less crowded, the runner crowds are nothing compared to the holiday crowds so don't be afraid to visit during races even if you're not racing.
Oga's was fun, I hate the seating/standing arrangements though and dream of getting a booth one day. I had the Outer Rim which was a pomegranate margarita, it was okay, nothing special. I had been to Oga's a few times at this point and while it is cool to see, I would only go with others who are into Star Wars!
Quick pic of my getup for that day...race shirt, medal, Dopey hat. So dorky!
Most of us were headed to mini golf as a group outing after, so we had to cut our stay at Oga's a bit short. It's probably a 20-25 minute walk from HS to Fantasia Gardens (close to the Swan/Dolphin pool) but we happened to see a friendship boat waiting that we hopped on to save a few steps.
Mini golf was so much fun, I played the Fairways side (like a miniature real golf course) in November but this was my first time playing the Gardens (normal mini golf) side in a few years. They must redo the greens a lot as they were in fantastic shape, and the obstacles were a lot of fun. Great for kids and adults alike!
Of course, I managed to get my golf ball stuck in odd places, such as this pointy spot which was very much uphill!
You can actually reserve tee times ahead of time, and we had some three dozen golfers and had planned this well in advance. They were turning away walkups, so something to think about if you're really set on mini golfing, it might be worth calling ahead to at least get a wait time before making the trip over in case there are groups or if it's really busy.
After mini golf, I caught the friendship boat back to HS from the S/D and literally just missed a bus heading back to AKL. I waited about 13 minutes for another one, and then we waited at HS for another 10 minutes, so it did take about an hour to make it back to AKL from Fantasia Gardens. I just checked and an Uber from Fantasia to AKL is $11, so in the future I would just do that.
I'm not sure what I did for the next hour and a half, but I had dinner plans at Via Napoli (with some friends from the running group again) so I headed to the lobby at 3:45 and a bus to Epcot came at 3:52, perfect timing. We were dropped off at 4:08, and I was into the park by 4:11 with no issues for once!
Since I still had a little time to kill, I stopped at the camera center by Spaceship Earth because I hadn't gotten my photos from a meet and greet on a recent trip, and I heard they can help you find them in store if it has been under 45 days. It was really slick, all they need is a date, time, and location. Since I knew all of those (I got some but not all of my photos so I had the time stamp) it was super easy. They enter in that info and then display sets of photos on a screen in 15 minute time intervals and have you point out your pictures. This is way easier than doing it on the phone since you can look for yourself rather than them trying to find you.
I still had a bit of time before dinner, so I headed into Creations Shop to see if I could get a birthday button. They have them at the mobile checkout kiosks which is faster than waiting in the normal checkout line, so a really sweet CM made a birthday button for me. It was my birthday the next day for the half marathon, so I wanted to wear a button to the race! She made it so fancy!
Epcot was definitely busy that afternoon, Spaceship Earth was 30 minutes and Test Track was 105. Usually Future World gets much quieter in the evenings but since it was before dinner time, I guess the lines hadn't died down just yet.
Finally it was time to head to dinner, I think we had a 5:15 reservation. I was NOT at all tired at this point, oh no!!! The boat was on the opposed side of world showcase so I just walked all the way to Italy. Entering from the IG is definitely preferable to me, I do not like the main entrance anymore!
We had a great dinner at Via Napoli, I had the calamari and fettuccini with shrimp added, I got a picture of the pizza too which looked delicious.
Calamari was very good, though I wish there was a mix of shapes and not all rings!
The pasta was solid, nothing groundbreaking but it was a good pre-race meal. Not a ton of sauce or cheese, which was probably for the best given the half marathon the next day. The noodles were homemade and perfectly cooked.
It was so cold after dinner when I left around 7, it was a long walk back to the buses and I was really wishing I was at a Boardwalk resort at that point. I only waited above five minutes for the bus when a coach bus arrived to my surprise, it sounded like some people had been waiting a while so I was glad the timing worked for me.
Despite dinner going a bit late, I was all ready for bed with my race gear laid out by 8:30. I set my alarm for 2:17AM (every minute of sleep counts
) since we wanted to leave the AKL a few minutes earlier since the half/full require a long walk to the corrals compared to the 5k/10k.Almost 32k steps for Dopey Day 2! Stay tuned for the next race, the half marathon!
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disneyAndi14
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I’m enjoying your report. Wow you did great in the 10K, I love your pictures with the characters. I would love to see some of the more rare ones. Lumiere is one of my favorites!
I love to walk and usually try to get in 3-4 miles everyday. Winter makes it tougher!
Andi and I have been at WDW on race weekend a few times and you are right the crowds are not to bad!
I love to walk and usually try to get in 3-4 miles everyday. Winter makes it tougher!
Andi and I have been at WDW on race weekend a few times and you are right the crowds are not to bad!
Isabelle12345
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Thank you so much for taking the time to post about your RunDisney experience! You make me want to run Dopey in a few years! It's the timing that sounds off to me - how did you feel about running right after Christmas / New Year?
Your pictures from the 10k are awesome (both Character pics and running pics) - you look amazing! Not like you just ran a 10k!
I too fell in love with Rundisney - I have done the Princess 10k in 2022 and got hooked; DH and I did the Wine and Dine half 2022 and we loved it so much, we registered for the Springtime surprise 10-miler next month!
Now I am trying to convince my younger sister to do the Wine and Dine Rundisney challenge with me next year - these races are just SO MUCH FUN!
Can't wait to read more!
(and thanks for your Dining Reviews too - I love reading them, your food pics and comments make me want to try new places!)
Your pictures from the 10k are awesome (both Character pics and running pics) - you look amazing! Not like you just ran a 10k!
I too fell in love with Rundisney - I have done the Princess 10k in 2022 and got hooked; DH and I did the Wine and Dine half 2022 and we loved it so much, we registered for the Springtime surprise 10-miler next month!
Now I am trying to convince my younger sister to do the Wine and Dine Rundisney challenge with me next year - these races are just SO MUCH FUN!
Can't wait to read more!
(and thanks for your Dining Reviews too - I love reading them, your food pics and comments make me want to try new places!)
Disneyhanna
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Thanks Caroline! I definitely got caught up in the energy, I was smiling the whole race and not just for pictures! It was so fun seeing unique characters. I know they switch them up every race, so you never know what you'll get. I like the marathon weekend characters because it's so many classics. It is so hard to be active in winter, training was definitely rough in November/December with our cold spells!
Awww thank you for all the kind words! Sometimes I wonder if I am basically just journaling here but then I get all these nice commentsThank you so much for taking the time to post about your RunDisney experience! You make me want to run Dopey in a few years! It's the timing that sounds off to me - how did you feel about running right after Christmas / New Year?
Your pictures from the 10k are awesome (both Character pics and running pics) - you look amazing! Not like you just ran a 10k!
I too fell in love with Rundisney - I have done the Princess 10k in 2022 and got hooked; DH and I did the Wine and Dine half 2022 and we loved it so much, we registered for the Springtime surprise 10-miler next month!
Now I am trying to convince my younger sister to do the Wine and Dine Rundisney challenge with me next year - these races are just SO MUCH FUN!
Can't wait to read more!
(and thanks for your Dining Reviews too - I love reading them, your food pics and comments make me want to try new places!)
I don't think Marathon Weekend is always so early, in 2025 it will be a few days later (January 12th I think) so there is a little more time post-holidays. It wasn't a big deal for me since we did our family Christmas later in January and we don't typically do anything for NYE, but those long runs would be a bit tough if you are really busy leading up to the holidays. I think that's why a lot of people end up a bit undertrained at the end We got hooked on the same first race! I am a little too scared to do Springtime given how close to summer it is (Princess was plenty hot enough for me this year, phew!) butI would definitely be open to doing W&D sometime. If they did the HM at night again I'd be in immediately!
Disneyhanna
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January 7th, 2023 - Dopey Day 3: Half Marathon
I woke up at 2:15AM feeling surprisingly good for my third early morning in a row, I must have a four hour sleep cycle or something. Mind you I am the person who sleeps in until noon on weekends so I was very surprised how ready to go I was every morning of Dopey!
The half marathon course is pretty blah, it's about 5 miles to MK and then a long run back to Epcot. So, mostly road miles.
First thing I did was check the weather one last time, it looked like the whole race would be about 47-48 degrees. Fabulous running weather (for this Minnesotan)! The humidity at 5AM was listed as 76% whereas for the next day at 5AM it was 96%, what a difference, of course that made me nervous for the marathon!
It was my birthday this day, so I had to wear my birthday button of course! No better way to celebrate than at WDW!
I headed to the lobby at 2:45AM and we were off to the races!
We made it to the Swan by 3AM to pick up our friend and then were parked and into the staging area by 3:30AM. Here was the leaked character list, lots of good ones!
For the half marathon and full marathon there is a long walk to the corrals from the staging area, everyone warned me but wow, it is a long walk. I started the journey at 3:57AM and made it to the corral area by 4:22, everyone walks pretty slow (saving energy) and it's just a huge herd of people really.
There was a massive wall of port a potties by the corrals, but A and B corral required even more walking and so I crossed my fingers there would be additional ones there because the lines were CRAZY long by the back corrals.
To get to A/B we had to walk on the awful wet grass between the roads, it was so uneven and a major slip or ankle rolling hazard.
Luckily, there was another smaller set of maybe 15 port a potties by the entrance to the A/B corrals and there were only a few people in line.
I finally got into Corral B at 4:33, they are very serious about checking your bib letter as you enter. It was chilly but I was not cold, I had on my throwaway sweatshirt and throwaway joggers. I also had activated a pair of hand warmers since I didn't have gloves. This was the lowest humidity morning of all the races and it felt glorious, so dry!
Given Corral A/B require a proof of time for the half and full only (5k/10k are just estimated finish times), the size of the corrals was SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than the prior races. They honestly felt tiny, especially compared to Corral C behind me which I could see went on and on forever. The amount of people in A and B felt like in the hundreds, like no point in shoving your way to the front because you wouldn't get ahead of that many people. I was probably in the middle of B and you can see how close I was to A since the POT corrals were so small.
I think the POT corrals are only like 15-20% of the field, so if you can meet those times, it's a huge advantage for having an emptier course, shorter photo lines, and more time on the course!
Everyone started moving up to the front of the corral at 4:45, filling in the gaps. It was so cool, right before I crossed the start line they interviewed Mike Rahlmann on the Jumbotron, he is the host of the Be Our Guest Podcast which is the running group I am part of.
I was running these races on my own since I wanted to do my own thing but in future races I definitely want to run with other members of the podcast group, many people from the group do the races together and it's so much fun!
I crossed the start line at 5:08, pretty similar to the previous days when I was in Corral A. I ditched my throwaway gear right away but held onto my hand warmers.
Since there was still the marathon the next day, I knew I wanted to take the race at any easy pace, somewhere in the 11:30-12 minute mile range which is my typical long run pace. I don't think I quite kept to this promise to take it easy and you'll understand why later on!
I saw Sally and the line was sooo long since she was early in the course, there had to have been 50-60 people already since she is so popular. I kind of regret skipping her now but I hate stopping so early into a run! I skipped a few of the other characters, finally decided to stop for Jack since he had maybe 40 people. The leaked character list seemed to have the right characters but not always the right mile locations. I waited about four minutes, very quick!
I skipped quite a few of the early characters such as Esmerelda, Beast, maybe a few others.
Though I didn't intend to stop for Max since I have many picture with him in the parks, he only had a dozen or so people in line so I thought why not! It took two minutes tops, my rule was to always stop for anything that short.
I enjoy the buildup to Magic Kingdom, it's a pretty long distance between running under the MK sign and actually getting to the castle, so the anticipation really builds.
It was SO dark running under this bridge near the Contemporary, l was definitely scared of tripping and falling. Luckily the course was very open so I didn't have to worry about stumbling over anyone.
It was at this point I threw away my hand warmers, my hands were plenty warm. More to come on that...
This was my first time running through MK, omg it was so much fun! The park comes around mile 5 so I was able to get there in the dark, which was my goal. It was much later in the course for the full so I knew that the half was my chance for MK night photos!
Running down Main Street was so special, seeing the tree lit up, the castle lit up, crowds of people lining the street and cheering with bells and signs! It wasn't too crowded yet so I had no trouble running, I tried to video a bit but it was SO shaky haha!
I had the biggest smile on my face running through MK, there were CMs everywhere cheering us on. The downside of WDW races is there is not a lot of crowd support outside of the parks. It's a lot of road running with no spectators, very unlike other big races where there's more time with spectators than without. So I really cherished the time running in the parks!
The biggest pro tip is to wait to use the restrooms in the parks, SO much better than a port a potty. I always used Star Traders since it's along the course and there was no wait. I think Buzz was meeting in this area but I skipped, sorry Buzz!
I missed Tweedledee and Tweedledum who were apparently by the Teacups, but I must not have looked close enough. Also, apparently the Teacups and Carousel both let runners on for a little while, had I known I would totally have stopped. I'll have to pay more attention next year.
You run through the castle from the Fantasyland side, and because of my corral placement and decent running pace I was ahead of the crowds and had no trouble running whatever pace I wanted through the castle. They have a line of photopass there to take your picture as you run out of the castle, keep left if you want to have the best shots!
Luckily I got two pictures, I was just going too fast for the camera
You can pull over by the hub to get a photo in front of the castle, they had three photopass photographer stations and there was no wait at that point. Oops, my photo was so dark, maybe getting there so early was a mistake!
It was very chaotic and confusing in the hub, they tell you what direction to run back to the course but I was a bit lost and unsure of where I was going, I think you're supposed to run back behind the other people having their photos taken (so you might be in the back of their shot), at least that's what I did.
The course takes you backstage out of MK, which was exciting to me since I'd never seen some of the areas we ran by, such as where they hold all of the parade floats.
I waited maybe three minutes for the float picture with Pluto, Chip, and Dale with maybe 20 people in line.
Also, I need some new poses, ha!
As I left MK it was still so dark, and the course was very poorly lit. I almost considered taking out my phone and using my flashlight, it was that dark! Also, it felt like it had gotten colder, all the lights in MK must have kept me warm.
My hands were starting to get cold at this point, I was really regretting having tossed my hand warmers. The way I tossed them thinking I didn't need them, when in reality they were keeping my hands warm, rookie mistake
The line for Kerchak from Tarzan was very short, maybe a dozen long, and it only took a minute. There was no photopass so the character attendant was taking photos for people on their phones. I'm not sure why I did this weird pose! Also these phone pictures make it so obvious how much better the photopass photos generally are! Definitely splurge on the photo package if you're doing a challenge, or a one day package for one race!
I wrote in my notes that my hands were so cold I could hardly type. Uh oh, I still had half the race to run and it wasn't supposed to get any warmer! I knew the sun was going to rise in about an hour, so I was telling myself to just survive until then. Yes, survive, it was that dire!
Now I knew what cone alley meant, it was maybe 2-3 runners wide and there were hundreds and hundreds of cones keeping us on one section fo the road. Not a problem yet at that point but I could see why this section would be awful once the course is more congested.
The line for Tinkerbell and Periwinkle was a bit longer but not bad, maybe 30 people. It only took two minutes, Marathon Weekend runners sure are quick at taking photos! Photos were definitely moving faster than the 5k/10k lines.
By the golf course there was hardly a line for the Mickey golf cart. My mom's a big golfer so I had to take a picture!
Funny enough, the couple of people in front of me just took a standing picture like I did. It was later that day I saw people actually sat in it to take their picture, duh, running brain meant I didn't even think of that.
The course is definitely boring after you leave MK, there's no more anticipation and it's just freeway miles until you get back to Epcot for finish line. That meant lots of time to be stuck in your thoughts, all I could think about was how silly I was for not wearing gloves, and why did I think I didn't need long sleeves! Even at home in MN I'd be wearing leggings and long sleeves in the 40s, and FL cold is worse with the humidity! Even the ponds were absolutely steaming, it was wild to see.
Belle was out but I skipped her, the lines are always so long for the princesses and I'm way too awkward in those pictures.
My under-training was starting to show a bit, I wasn't feeling any fatigue from the multiple days of running but I definitely wasn't in the best shape either. The first half of the race my moving pace was mostly sub-11 minute miles which was faster than planned considering the marathon the next day. I was so cold I just kept running because it would be colder to be walking. Basically, I was completely miserable and regretting everything for many miles!
I got in line for Hades who had a decent line, this took a bit longer closer to 5 minutes, I put my hands in my armpits at this point to try and warm them. Hades was absolutely massive!
At least I looked happy in my photos even though I was interanally DYING. Like, I'd never been so cold in my life. Jafar was also out but I skipped him, I was getting too cold to stop for characters I wasn't excited about.
At this point there was a bit of a break between characters so I just put my head down and tried to just push forward, this race wasn't going to finish itself! Will I survive the half marathon? You shall find out in the next post!
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ThreeBoyMama
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Ughhh. I hate hate HATE being cold so I am totally feeling your pain! I’m also reading this from Wisconsin (hi neighbor!). Is the snow ever going to end this year? Enough already! Can’t wait to hear more. I hope there’s some hot chocolate in your future.
Disneyhanna
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I was definitely too confident about the FL cold going in, I'm not sure what I was thinking
No it feels like the snow will never end. I shoveled three times this weekend, what a chore!Stacybaeasm
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Cold and running??? Yup - no way. I HATED the last part of training for Princess in Missouri when it was so cold outside. And Florida cold is cold to your bones.
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