A Ghostly, Incredible, Totally Wicked Couple of Runs(Plus DATW with DISsers) Marathon Weekend Report

[Ariel484]

YES...ready for this report!

That Dooney though...

 

[buteraa]

Following!

 

[Capang]

Following along

 

[jhoannam]

Tell me more about upgrading your ticket, which ticket did you buy? We are thinking about getting me an AP and the rest of the family AF Salute tickets, we'll be going in August 2019 & June 2020. Did you have regular park tickets?

 

[Blue Caterpillar]

Love your trip reports, excited to follow along!

 

[Jules76126]

Love that Dooney bag!

 

[AFwifelife]

Here for this!

 

[Disney at Heart]

Following. Somehow missed officially meeting you, but there's always next time!

 

[mrsg00fy]

Following along. So happy to have had the pleasure of meeting both of you! My son was also thrilled to have fellow Chiefs fans to chat with at DATW.

 

[ZellyB]

Following!

I think I saw you and/or your husband at some point, but I wish we had been formally introduced! I guess I'll just have to get down there for another marathon weekend. And I agree, the expo was a very easy and painless experience. I opted out of the merchandise area in favor of getting over to AK, but I kind of wish I had checked it out.

Hi! Yeah, I think I saw you maybe at the HH meet-up?? I know I saw you at some point. We were sort of tucked into a corner at HH and didn't venture out from there so I missed out on chatting with a lot of people. Next time I roam more!

That bags is “totes adorbs”

Isn't it though!

Excited to follow along. So glad it wasn’t so cold for this year, although a few things I’ve read it was maybe too hot! I’m heading down with my sister and sister in law soon to do Princess. Really looking forward to it.

It definitely got a bit warm later as you'll read. But, you know, I was okay with it for the sake of enjoying Florida in January! We've not done Princess yet, but I think it would be a fun one to do one of these days.

I'm here! I was impressed with the whole bib/shirt pickup. I didn't have any of the other experiences from previous years but I've read about them. I wasn't sure what to expect going for my first time.

It was so good this time around. Reminded me more of our experience the first year we did marathon weekend in terms of crowds. I really do think the significantly lower attendance this year also helped a lot.

YES...ready for this report!

That Dooney though...

I know, right? Glad you are here!

Following!

Welcome!

Following along

Good to see you here.

Tell me more about upgrading your ticket, which ticket did you buy? We are thinking about getting me an AP and the rest of the family AF Salute tickets, we'll be going in August 2019 & June 2020. Did you have regular park tickets?

We had bought the 5-day salute tickets but afterward decided on a second trip in March to see our girls at a Marching Band competition there. The guy at the ticket counter at SoG was initially unsure we could upgrade, but I told him I was positive we could. He had to go back and talk to somebody but returned a short time later and did the upgrade. We got the Platinum Plus AP which is the only one available for the military purchase. He switched them out to an AP certificate which immediately showed up in MDE and he wrote on the back of our original ticket. Then we took it to a guest service's booth at the park and she switched it out for a hard ticket AP. Easy and painless...well other than paying for it.

Love your trip reports, excited to follow along!

Yay! Glad to have you here!

Love that Dooney bag!

Thank you. It was way more than I should have spent, but YOLO.

Here for this!

Woohoo!

Following. Somehow missed officially meeting you, but there's always next time!

I missed out on meeting a lot of people I think, but yes, next time!!

 

[ZellyB]

Following along. So happy to have had the pleasure of meeting both of you! My son was also thrilled to have fellow Chiefs fans to chat with at DATW.

It was great meeting you as well. And so fun to talk about the Chiefs!!! Sorry I forced you to have a sip of that beer though.

 

[BigEeyore]

Following along! I LOVE your idea of the "mouse challenge"! BRILLIANT

Jealous that you got the Dooney - I loved it but couldn't bring myself to spend all that $$$ - hoping it ends up at the Disney outlet at a big discount and someone is willing to get it for me!

 

[ZellyB]

Following along! I LOVE your idea of the "mouse challenge"! BRILLIANT

Jealous that you got the Dooney - I loved it but couldn't bring myself to spend all that $$$ - hoping it ends up at the Disney outlet at a big discount and someone is willing to get it for me!

Glad you are here! My Dooney is currently sitting on a chair in my bedroom where I can gaze lovingly at it when I wake up. I'm quite sure it wasn't worth the price, but I was pretty sure I wasn't going to purchase any other clothes, so I felt like I could splurge on it.

 

[ZellyB]

WELCOME HOME

After an easy and pleasant ride to Beach Club, we were able to head straight to our room. It was a pretty good hike from the lobby, but the room itself was in a great location for access to Epcot and the quiet pool. First floor room and while we had requested a king-size bed, no luck on that front this time.


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Still, the room was very nice with a good little patio that opened on a sidewalk that leads to a gated exit that is just moments away from Epcot. LOVED the location!!
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Chris was immediately unhappy with my recon of Beach Club as I’d told him the coffee maker was a Cuisinart pod style and not a Keurig. Oops, Keurig. He’s VERY particular about his coffee and had we know it was a Keurig we would have brought some of our own. But, alas, that didn’t happen. I’m happy to report he did survive though.
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We did a quick unpack – thank you packing cubes – and then headed to the International Gateway to exchange our tickets. Once done with that, we used our new APs for the first time and headed straight for some fish and chips. We were starved by this point and we really like the fish and chips from the booth in the UK.
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Epcot was really quiet so we easily got a table and settled in to enjoy and bask in the glory of sunset at Epcot and our new tickets! #APlife.
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We finished up our food and headed off for Soarin.

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After taking in the leaning tower of Eiffel (stupid C concourse seat) it was over to Spaceship Earth. There was a bit of a debate on the character texting group about who the superior narrator is on SSE. Feel free to weigh in here if you’d like. I personally find Dame Judi to be particularly soothing but apparently reasonable people can disagree.
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Just as we were turning backward, we got stopped for several minutes, but hey, at least we had a pretty view of our very own Spaceship Earth to enjoy.

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And then we were off to enjoy our lovely future.

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We bounced out of the ride to a glorious nighttime sky and a view I never get tired of seeing.

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We wanted a little bit of refreshment and another bite to eat, so it was off to get a little tasty margarita and some chicken tacos – both were delicious.

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We’d originally thought to stay for Illuminations, but after the early start of the day we were shot, so it was a nice leisurely stroll back to the International Gateway while admiring world showcase at night and then off to sleep for these two weary travelers. We had a lot of play and work ahead after all!

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[run.minnie.miles]

Congrats on the AP! (Which may sounds weird, but I feel like it's something worth congratulating )

Your room location was SO perfect!

Inquiring minds would like to know how @Chris-Mo brews coffee at home and his preferred brand?

 

[AFwifelife]

Perfect hotel room spot!

 

[emilyindisney]

Following! Funny to read your DME story- I was just reading a thread where someone was asking if you could take a bus to a different resort and you'e proved it so! Really excited to read your recap. We didn't hit the expo until Friday but the crowds were SOOO much better than last year. I felt like the lower crowds translated to the character lines on race day too but I won't get too ahead!

 

[michigandergirl]

Following! Great report so far!

 

[ZellyB]

Congrats on the AP! (Which may sounds weird, but I feel like it's something worth congratulating )

Your room location was SO perfect!

Inquiring minds would like to know how @Chris-Mo brews coffee at home and his preferred brand?

I felt like it deserved congratulations too, so thank you! LOL I think it mostly just goes to show how brainwashed I am.

Also, don't confuse Chris' pickiness with any type of high-quality process. He uses our Keurig at home and likes McDonald's McCafe K-cups. HA! He is just resistant to change. We did buy some Disney branded cups in the marketplace though that came close, so he ended up satisfied with that.

Perfect hotel room spot!

It really was! I was initially sort of disappointed not to be up on a higher floor with a balcony, but we quickly discovered how convenient and awesome the location really was.

Following! Funny to read your DME story- I was just reading a thread where someone was asking if you could take a bus to a different resort and you'e proved it so! Really excited to read your recap. We didn't hit the expo until Friday but the crowds were SOOO much better than last year. I felt like the lower crowds translated to the character lines on race day too but I won't get too ahead!

Welcome!! Yes, I'll talk some about how I felt like the lower crowds were evident during the race. It was such a relief this year after the crowds of last year!

Following! Great report so far!

Yay! Glad you are here.

 

[Chaitali]

Sounds like a really efficient start to your trip! I'm a fan of Dame Judy on Spaceship Earth too