2023 RunDisney Solo Trip Report: My First Dopey Challenge (FINALLY completed 11/7: Magic Kingdom After Hours)

[AmyAnne]

It is hard to wait in line in the parks for characters now! I was worried it would be hard to get out of the seat after but adrenaline is something else!

Really enjoying your report! I've done a few runDisney races with my kids and I'm hoping we can work our schedules out to do one again next year. Looking forward to hearing how the last race ends for you.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Really enjoying your report! I've done a few runDisney races with my kids and I'm hoping we can work our schedules out to do one again next year. Looking forward to hearing how the last race ends for you.

Oh boy, I am slacking! I will try and wrap up the race portion tomorrow! Thanks for reading, hope the timing works out for you next year!

 

[Disneyhanna]

Hello Hanna,

Welcome to your Dopey 2023 Trip Report! It's great to see your enthusiasm for Disney parks and sharing your experiences with others. I'm sure your trip report will be a great read for all, whether they are interested in runDisney events or not. Looking forward to reading your updates and seeing your photos. Have a magical time at Disney!

Thank you so much for all the kind words! Update coming shortly!

 

[Disneyhanna]

In celebration of successfully registering for Dopey 2024 last week, time to wrap up the marathon day!

I think I left off somewhere between mile 19 and 20, which is where I really started fizzling out. While it wasn't miserably hot yet, the skies were clear and the sun was out so I knew I needed to just focus on finishing before it got worse.

Disney switches up the marathon course a bit every year, I think in previous years they have even had the course go through Blizzard Beach waterpark. No such luck this year instead they had us run to the parking lot and in a loop before exiting again. They really couldn't find a half a mile somewhere else?

Donald was out in the parking lot, so I waited about 2 or 3 minutes behind 20 or so people.

It was in the infamous Blizzard Beach parking lot where one of the run/walk pace groups overtook me. Though I was just running and not doing intervals, they were about the same overall pace as I was so I was getting a little annoyed at getting ahead of them only for them to catch me a minute later

I started taking walking breaks, something about that area of the course is just so defeating. I let the pace group overtake me and never saw them again.

I got a tiny bit emotional as I finally was realizing that I was gonna do this thing, after so many months of training.

Finally leaving that awful parking lot, Launchpad was out, so I had to get a picture since I've never seen him before. I waited maybe a minute at most.

I think the novelty wears off as you do more of these races and see repeat characters more, but for me a lot of the characters were brand new and super fun to see!

I wrote in my notes that I did some walking especially up hills, but I was still mostly running at that point. There wasn't a whole lot to do see for the next couple miles until you get to Hollywood Studios around mile 23. So, I just put my head down and put one foot in front of another. Miles 18-21 were definitely my least favorite, and when the "I just want it to be over" thoughts started creeping in.

Finally I made it to Studios, they were handling out Dove chocolates which I thought sounded gross! You get so sick of sweets when you are running from all of the gels/chews!

I was not expecting to ride Tower of Terror but of course as I ran by, I took a look at the line. Standby was listed 65 minutes (honestly short for ToT since it was down an elevator shaft then) but another runner and I asked the CMs by the LL entrance (they were cheering on runners) if we could ride and they were like of course and ushered us into the lightning lane, I think a few more people followed us. Omg!

I entered the queue at 10:17 and we went right into the pre-show, we had a short wait after but not bad at all. Some of the regular guests were asking what we were running and were very impressed, one lady was like is riding rides a requirement to finish the race?

There were a few other runners and I talked to a really nice one in line, he was nervous about the balloon ladies and I reassured him that given how much time we had ahead of them, even if we got stuck on the ride for an hour we should still finish in time

We ended up in front row, I'm not sure if it was luck or if the CM saw our bibs and did it on purpose. I RARELY end up front row on Tower so I was sooo thrilled. We made it onto the ride about 10:30, so less than a 15 minute wait including the video.

This was so much fun! Also, we were dropped instead of shot up, my favorite! Everest still takes the cake for me, but I loved getting to ride Tower as well and if I'm being honest, it was a fabulous break from the heat and a chance to get off my feet. I just hope we weren't too stinky, sorry regular guests

I made it back onto the course by 10:35, so only 18 minutes sacrificed overall. I need some new poses for course pictures though, ha.

There was a short line for Scrooge so I stopped of course:

With less than a 5k to go, I got a mental second wind, though I definitely was slowing down and walking more. It was fun running through Studios with people cheering instead of boring road miles. The parks are by far the highlights of the course for me, I wish we could run through every inch of them!

We ran the walking path between Studios and the Boardwalk, which is a pretty common area to get overcrowded. Luckily it wasn't too bad yet, there was just enough room for me to jog, though most people were walking at that point.

Genie was out again with a short line, so I hopped in line and waited maybe two minutes.

I knew my running group was cheering by the Boardwalk Deli, so I kept my eyes out for them and luckily saw them. That was a great mood booster, one of them even took this picture of me when I saw them, I'm not sure where all my energy was coming from. I guess that Tower break really paid off!

It was a bit cooler by this point since there was cloud cover, thankfully. The rest of the race was actually not too hot at all, I don't think I will ever get this nice of weather for a WDW marathon ever again

There was a short line for Abu so I stopped, I was stopping for everything at this point as my legs were definitely getting tired and even a short break from moving sounded wonderful.

Finally it was time to take our victory lap through Epcot and finish off the marathon. Jafar had no line!

I actually didn't know who this was and in my notes wrote "red evil dude" lol! I didn't know who Abu was either, I guess I should really watch Aladdin.

There was SO much support in Epcot, from CMs as well as regular guests. They block off half of the walkways for runners and so lots of park guests stand along the course and cheer as they go about their park day. I imagine it's an odd experience if you have no clue the races are happening!

I walked a lot in Epcot as I just wanted to soak it all in. RunDisney is not about PRs at all, you pay so much $ that you might as well enjoy the course! Gotta maximize that $ per minute

Finally, I finished around 11:20! It was not crowded at all in the finish chute. I learned throughout the race weekend that you'll get the best finish pictures if you have some awareness in the finish chute. As you get close to the finish line, you look ahead and behind you for open space. So, if you have lots of people in front of you and no one behind you, slow down so you can get a clear finish picture. Since I obviously was not aiming for a PR, I took it slow at the finish and found a gap to fall back into and got some awesome pictures where it looks empty (it wasn't).

I felt really good at the finish, well hydrated and fueled and certainly not struggling to finish in any way.

They gave us finisher ears along with our medals, so fun!

Looking at my watch data my moving pace (not counting stops) was around 11.5 minutes per mile until miles 23+ where I slowed down to 12-13 minute miles. I spent somewhere around 50 minutes doing photos and rides, so my overall time was a bit over 6 hours.

Despite my moving pace being not that much slower than my normal marathon pace, I felt so much more energized since I had so many breaks with photos, rides, etc. I know the mileage of Dopey is super daunting but I found it much less physically demanding than my training runs/races of the same length since I was not running as fast or continuously as I normally would. It makes such a difference to be able to catch your breath and let your HR come down at regular intervals.

I had packed all my medals in my backpack for gear check so I went to pick them up and get a few photos with all my medals.

I was too tired to do any photos with the characters (it is so much work to get all your medals arranged), the regular medal photo was enough for me. They had tons of photographers doing pictures so I only waited a few minutes.

I was looking pretty rough in these, I'm not sure why my character photos were so good and these were so bad

The line in front of the 30th marathon anniversary backdrop was crazy long so I skipped that.

I headed back to the bus to AKL around noon. Checking the weather it was 72 degrees with a 78 real feel, the sun was back out in full force, I was glad to be done!

There's a huge line of buses at the finish area, luckily it wasn't too far to the AKL bus.

There wasn't a bus at the AKL stop nor was there a line, but it pulled up just minutes later, filled up, and left in under 15 minutes. Very slick! The lines definitely looked longer at other bus stops. We were dropped off at Jambo in 13 minutes, much better than my long bus ride the day prior.

Oof, I was slow moving off the bus, my legs definitely locked up a bit while sitting there for half an hour. That said, my legs definitely hurt less than after my first marathon, where I could hardly walk after.

Overall I was amazed at how good I felt given my lack of running the past month due to recovering from Covid!

The weather was absolutely perfect for the first four hours of the race. I could not have asked for better. The last two hours were getting warm but still not bad at all for FL weather, not too humid either.

There were SO many water stops, it felt like every mile and a half or so. I was really glad I didn't bring my hydration vest as it is bulky and hot and I was glad to not have it in photos. I used all three of my electrolyte packets in my handheld water bottle and ate almost all of my three packs of honey stinger chews as well as an applesauce pouch and one banana on the course.

They had sport jelly beans on the course which I skipped, I don't think they were too popular with the runners.

My room occupied sign was so destroyed by the end of my trip, from yanking it on and off my door in a rush on race mornings, sorry Disney

I spent at least an hour soaking in my bathtub in my room, the hot bath feels SO AMAZING post-run and I definitely recommend this after races (or even after a long park day).

Anyways, that marks the end of my first Dopey Challenge! I had so much fun that I signed up to run it next year as well! I will also be doing the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge (10k + half marathon) in Disneyland the weekend after Dopey to get my Coast to Coast medal, so I am really needing a second job right about now

I still have to wrap up my post-marathon evening as well as one more park day, where I have Topolino's breakfast and tackle Magic Kingdom After Hours, so stay tuned. Thanks for reading!

 

[footballmouse]

Congratulations on finishing them all!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

I am so impressed~what an awesome accomplishment! But the real question is what yummy Disney food did you eat after the marathon?!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I got emotional reading about your finish. A student walked in as I was wiping tears so I'm sure they think I"m crazy. YOU DID IT!!!! I can't even comprehend doing a marathon, let alone Dopey. I hope you celebrated yourself the rest of your time at Disney. And next year, back to back challenges??? Wow. I had thought about trying for a Coast to Coast at one point, but I have given that idea up. I just want to get back to a 10k distance and pace. We shall see. Congrats and I can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!!!

 

[Disneyhanna]

Congratulations on finishing them all!

Thank you so much!!

I am so impressed~what an awesome accomplishment! But the real question is what yummy Disney food did you eat after the marathon?!

We celebrated at San Angel Inn! pretty sure I am still eating like in marathon training too

I got emotional reading about your finish. A student walked in as I was wiping tears so I'm sure they think I"m crazy. YOU DID IT!!!! I can't even comprehend doing a marathon, let alone Dopey. I hope you celebrated yourself the rest of your time at Disney. And next year, back to back challenges??? Wow. I had thought about trying for a Coast to Coast at one point, but I have given that idea up. I just want to get back to a 10k distance and pace. We shall see. Congrats and I can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!!!

Wow that is the sweetest! Thank you so much for reading and leaving such a nice comment!!! I hope this Disneyland race weekend trial return goes well so they add a few more race weekends. That would really open up more reasonable C2C opportunities. You can totally get back to the 10k, start small and you’ll be there in no time!

 

[AmyAnne]

Congratulations! I love all of the details in your report. It almost feels like I am there with you. Thanks for taking the time to write it and post all of the photos.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Congratulations! I love all of the details in your report. It almost feels like I am there with you. Thanks for taking the time to write it and post all of the photos.

Thank you so much! I’m so you enjoyed!

 

[vamassey1]

Congrats on finishing Dopey!

And Good Luck next year.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Awesome race recap! You did excellent! I love all the character pictures and how fun to ride ToT during the race!
Thank you for sharing! I hear the races are hard to get into and expensive so that is wonderful you got in for the two challenges next year!

 

[Disneyhanna]

Awesome race recap! You did excellent! I love all the character pictures and how fun to ride ToT during the race!
Thank you for sharing! I hear the races are hard to get into and expensive so that is wonderful you got in for the two challenges next year!

Thank you!! So much fun getting soooo many character photos. And no awkward interactions b/c it's just a quick snap and go! Except Lumiere whacking me with his candlestick, LOL!

The races do sell out so fast but the system they use to register isn't the smartest and so there are ways to improve your odds to get in. Not as bad as getting Taylor Swift Tickets! I think I need a 2nd job for the challenges next year, I will have to eat some sandwiches in my room

 

[Disneyhanna]

Congrats on finishing Dopey!

And Good Luck next year.

Thank you so much! Phew, feels like I already need to start training

 

[Disneyhanna]

LOL sorry all, I am really bad about updating these TRs. Let's get this wrapped up soon!

After soaking in the tub and mentally recovering from the marathon for a couple of hours, I left my room around 3:00 to head to Epcot for the evening. I had dinner plans with friends as well as a final meet up with my running group before Harmonious!

MDE said I had about 8 minutes to catch the bus, perfect timing. Well as I headed to the lobby the time kept getting earlier, I even took the stairs down two flights instead of the elevator because it would be faster. And if you've ever run 48.6 miles...you know what a decision that was to go down two flights of stairs in a time crunch

I got to the bus bay in a record five minutes and the Epcot bus was finishing loading, I actually had to run to the bus to make it. A few other runners were getting off the bus and saw me running and one was like "why are you still running?!"

If there's one thing you can count on me to do, it is run to catch a WDW bus. There's nothing I hate more than waiting forever for the next one! Especially when you're solo, so boring!

I actually decided against bringing my medals to the parks for any more pictures, it was hot and they were heavy and I was too tired to get more photos.

The bus left Jambo at 3:11 and we were dropped off at Epcot at 3:26. I had a funny story in my notes that I'm just now remembering. There was a little boy that tried to get on the bus at Epcot before we started unloading, and the driver stopped him so we could get off. The little boy proceeded to drop his donut on the bus floor, his mom was SOOOO mad (at the kid, not the driver) Pretty sure he picked it up and still ate it, LOL!

I think I had some chips in my room or something post-race, probably a banana and some stuff from my snack box. But I was obviously still starving and since dinner wasn't until 6:30, I didn't want to be too hungry for dinner (iykyk) so I decided on a kids' meal at Connections Eatery. I feel like this was my first burger of the trip? I try to avoid that sort of thing pre-race, but post-race everything is fair game!

Trust me I had fries too, I just ate them all before I remembered to take a pic. Phone did not eat first, Hungry Hanna did this time. Pretty sure I inhaled this meal like it never even existed.

Oh, I forgot I had my Guardians VQ, so that's the real reason I wanted to eat something first so I didn't get nauseous on the ride. I literally cannot relate to people who can't ride stuff after eating, I think I have the opposite issue, I only feel sick if I haven't eaten!

There were so many Dopey people at Epcot, wearing their Dopey finisher shirts and medal. Lots of people with the Dopey ears too, those were sold out before I even got to the expo!

I scanned into Guardians around 4:00 even though I had an early boarding group, the Mickey turned blue but the CM waved me right along. The line was much shorter this time, no line wrapping around the first room with the ceiling video like I usually experience. I made it into the first pre-show in just over 15 minutes and onto the ride around 4:30.

I got One Way Or Another I think for the first time, that song was so much fun! And I got the last car front row, it was my lucky day!

Walking up/down the stairs after Guardians was a true test of my legs, honestly though I was only a tiny bit sore, it was not bad at all. Definitely not limping or relying on the railing like after my first marathon. All those hot baths really helped, and staying moving makes a difference.

Remy was only 65 minutes, crowds were really lightening up from the New Year crowds earlier that week.

I was in the mood for a slushie from France so I walked to the Friendship Boat dock and I JUST missed it, it was pulling away as I got there. So, off I went to walk all the way over to France.

I tried the grey goose citron slush this time, since I didn't enjoy the orange one. It was such a pleasant evening!

I got the super size citron slush with the floater, you can see where they poured it haha. Phew, this was strong! I mixed in the floater and it was much more drinkable, just a hint of lemonade but definitely vodka-forward. At least it doesn't taste like cheap vodka!

The little gnats were out to get me that night, definitely use bug spray for Epcot evenings.

Since I was having dinner at San Angel Inn, I headed back towards Mexico and stopped at Karmell-Küche for the infamous gingerbread cookie sandwich. Always mobile order here, you even get your discounts since it's technically a shop.

The cookie is served chilled, it's enormous and filled with a caramel buttercream. The cookie is still fairly chewy, I would have preferred it room temperature so perhaps buy it and let it sit out a few hours.

The gingerbread was nice and spiced and overall this was delicious, very rich and sharable between like three people

I got so many mosquito bites that night, I'm not sure if Disney is slacking on the mosquito control but ouch! Also, I left my portable charger behind thinking I had my fuel rod in my fanny pack, and of course I didn't. Luckily I was able to borrow a friend's charger at dinner!

We had a 6:30 reservation for San Angel Inn and were promptly seated in the middle of the restaurant.

This was my first time dining here, service was pretty fast but the worst part was chips and salsa are not included. Booo! I got an avocado margarita of course.

We shared some chips and quest and salsa for the table, the salsa had a nice kick!

I had the ribeye tacos for my entree, I was thinking this wouldn't be enough food but it was much more filling than it looked, I couldn't finish it to my surprise.

Dinner was lovely, I had a great time chatting with friends from my running group, some of us did Dopey and some just did one or two other races. The menu is sort of limited so I wouldn't rush back here, but it was a nice meal.

We headed to the Japan pavilion around 8 to say our goodbyes to the rest of the running group, I decided against staying for Harmonious as I was getting really tired by that point. I ended up leaving a little before 9 so I could beat the crowds out. Now, this was the worst part about staying at AKL, having to go all the way back to Future World! That walk is so long at the end of the night!

I lucked out and was able to catch a bus that was just leaving, I did have to jog again to catch it and it left right after I got on

The driver gave me a long strip of Princess stickers which I still have yet to find a use for:

We were dropped off at Jambo in exactly 12 minutes, everyone says AKL is soooo far from everything, it really isn't that far.

I was into bed by about 10 that evening, and called my mom for almost an hour to talk to her about the races. I should have done that every evening but didn't really think to do that! I was starting to fall asleep on the phone so I went to sleep around 11, my neighbors were being so noisy still, but I was so tired I fell asleep pretty quickly. Finally, all those early mornings were catching up to me!

All in all, I had a fantastic Marathon Sunday and got about 70k steps by the end of the day. Definitely a new record that I aim to beat next year.

Stay tuned for my last park day of the trip, thanks for reading!

 

[disneyAndi14]

The bus drama, lol! Every time I use the MDE for bus times, it stresses me right out! I’m like you if I see the time I’m going to do anything to get to that bus before it leaves! Even run, which isn’t something I’m good at!
I think my sister actually likes AKL a tad better than WL. We didn’t think the bus rides were that long at all.
In all my years and visits to WDW I really never saw a mosquito or gnat but I agree the last few trips, I noticed these annoying insects! Disney needs to amp up the pest control!
San Angel Inn is such a cool place, the food is fine but the atmosphere is the real draw!
Funny about the little boy and his donut Kids lick rails, so no big deal right?

 

[Disneyhanna]

The bus drama, lol! Every time I use the MDE for bus times, it stresses me right out! I’m like you if I see the time I’m going to do anything to get to that bus before it leaves! Even run, which isn’t something I’m good at!
I think my sister actually likes AKL a tad better than WL. We didn’t think the bus rides were that long at all.
In all my years and visits to WDW I really never saw a mosquito or gnat but I agree the last few trips, I noticed these annoying insects! Disney needs to amp up the pest control!
San Angel Inn is such a cool place, the food is fine but the atmosphere is the real draw!
Funny about the little boy and his donut Kids lick rails, so no big deal right?

My dream would be a live bus tracker, of course it will never happen but a girl can dream! Whenever I am with my mom, if we see a bus in the distance, she looks at me and says "I'm not running."
AKL is so wonderful, it is just so home-y and the food is so good. I love walking into Jambo and hearing the music. I have always gotten bug bites at least one day of the trip but it definitely seems to be getting worse! I am a magnet for them though!
It was really pleasant at San Angel Inn, much quieter than I expected being in the open pavilion. I forgot we were in Epcot!
The donut was so funny. He didn't cry, which impressed me. I would have.

 

[rndmr2]

Found this TR a couple days ago and am now caught up. OMG that's a lot of miles to do over a few days, I definitely couldn't do it. I have been enjoying reading about your experiences though, Looking forward to the rest.

 

[vamassey1]

Nice evening to reward yourself for your runs.

I have never had trouble with bug bites on any trip until last month. I packed bug stuff for years and never used it so of course I didn't pack any last month. I had so many bug bites! They really need to work on that.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Nice evening to reward yourself for your runs.

I have never had trouble with bug bites on any trip until last month. I packed bug stuff for years and never used it so of course I didn't pack any last month. I had so many bug bites! They really need to work on that.

Thank you! And yes...the bugs are pretty awful now! I've had trouble occasionally at the resorts but they definitely seem to be worse in the parks. I will be prepared next time! Lots of bug spray!