Dig A Little Deeper: Dopey 2019

[lhermiston]

No character stops for this one?

Nope. Between the 2017 full and the 2019 5K and 10K, I had never stopped for characters. Even peeling off for the SSE pic was a change for me.

 

[lhermiston]

Love your trip so far! Your family looks like they had a blast. Awesome pictures! I hardly took any photos this trip so enjoying yours, especially your firework shots! That 5k was sooooo cold, doesn't matter that we live in cold in the midwest because Florida cold feels so different.


So, since I volunteered the water stop, we heard the music loop over and over for hours, but I loved the mixture they had and "Dig A Little Deeper" is a favorite of mine too. I didn't get sick of it at all.



I love Fort Wilderness mainly because it's where we always stayed as kids. It has nostalgia to me, but I totally get what you are saying. We did a Trail's End breakfast Tuesday after the races & agree it is the most unDisney like yet to me most Disney just because I grew up with it. One friend had never been there and was so surprised how it was still Disney yet so calm and away from the park crazies. We took my friends then on the walk to Wilderness Lodge so they could check that out, so peaceful to step away for a bit from the parks.

Thanks for following and for volunteering during the race! And I agree that there was a really nice mix of music this year.

 

[Ariel484]

Great SSE picture!

The one time I did Dopey, I remember starting to not feel so hot the day of the 10K, so I totally get what you're saying here. Dopey takes no prisoners!

 

[lhermiston]

Great SSE picture!

The one time I did Dopey, I remember starting to not feel so hot the day of the 10K, so I totally get what you're saying here. Dopey takes no prisoners!

Ain’t that the truth!

 

[ZellyB]

Love your race pics from the 10k. I'm sorry you didn't like that one so much, it's a course that I just love. The SSE pic is especially great!

 

[lhermiston]

Love your race pics from the 10k. I'm sorry you didn't like that one so much, it's a course that I just love. The SSE pic is especially great!

Different strokes! It’s not like it was a bad course or anything, just not my favorite.

 

[lhermiston]

Day 4, Part 2: Beignets, Epcot and HHHH

After the 10K, I was on the Port Orleans bus in no time at all. Rather than go all the way to POR, however, I got off at Port Orleans French Quarter. I went into Sassagoula Floatworks - still in my running gear - and went searching for beignets. We've never had any and I really wanted to try some this trip. I figured everyone back in the hotel room would appreciate them, as well.

I found the beignet station. You could get three for a snack credit. Since I didn't know how many everyone would want and we had snack credits to burn, I ordered 12. #overkill

I walked from POFQ to POR and walked in the door just as everyone was getting up, probably about 7:30. We took turns taking showers and feasting on beignets. They were made fresh, still nice and warm and absolutely delicious. Basically a handheld funnel cake. 10/10, would stuff my face again.

My hope had been to rope drop Epcot, but we didn't quite make that. Still, the park wasn't very crowded, so it wasn't any big deal.

DSC_3302 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

DSC_3294 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

We first went to the character meet up area to see Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. Last time we did this, Donald was there, but they downsized the area, I guess.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_415217863968 (1) by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_415217846282 (1) by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_415217832902 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

We spent the rest of the morning doing The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Space Ship Earth and Frozen Ever After. After FEA, Maya picked out an Anna dress as her souvenir. Funny how so many of these rides exit into gift shops...

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_415218364111 (1) by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

Our last attraction before lunch was Oh, Canada. We'd never done it before. It was a little different, but still fun. Probably a bit dated. I love Martin Short, but the movie should probably be redone with another recognizable Canadian actor.

Lunch was at Restaurant Marrakesh. This was Hannah's top table service pick for the week. I wasn't super excited about it going in, but I had amazing short ribs and our server was excellent. That meal was an unsung hero of the trip.

After lunch, we had FastPasses for Journey Into Imagination. This was another one we had never done. I had heard it was a little weird and had a bit of a cult following.



Sitting back in Iowa two weeks later, I'm still not quite sure what to make of this one. It was charming in its own little weird way and I imagine a lot of the appeal has to do with the nostalgia factor. Definitely less of a head scratcher than Captain EO.

After Journey into Imagination, we rode Living with the Land, another favorite of Hannah's. We did the Behind the Seeds tour a couple of trips ago, which I recommend if you enjoy that ride.

When we got out of Journey into Imagination, it was a little before 3, which was when the Hurricane Hanna's Happy Hour Dis-meetup was scheduled to begin. Hannah and the girls went back to the resort with plans to come back around six for dinner and IllumiNations, but I told Hannah that if they wanted to just stay at the resort and chill, or go to Disney Springs, that would be just fine since we had another day at Epcot lined up.

I made my way over to Hurricane Hanna's in the Epcot resort area. There, I ran into some of the runDisney all-stars I had already met and a host of people I hadn't met before. That was a lot of fun. Y'all are a good group of people.

After 3-4 beers and some good conversations, I peaced out of the meet-and-greet. I think some people had reservations anyway, so the party was probably winding down. The sun was just beginning to set, so I took the opportunity to explore the Epcot resort area and take a few photos. It's maybe the most gorgeous part of the entire Walt Disney World property. A killer sunset didn't hurt, either.

DSC_3341 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

DSC_3349 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

By this point, it was sometime between 5 and 6. Hannah and the girls had already decided to do Disney Springs for dinner and just stay back at the resort. I had a decision to make - stay another three hours for IllumiNations or call it a day early. I had FastPasses for IllumiNations, which I was excited about, but I was also feeling beat. The prospect of spending another three hours in the park when I didn't have any desire to go on any rides wasn't especially appealing, either. So, feeling mildly dejected over throwing in the towel so early, I grabbed some nachos in Mexico and made my way to the exit.

Although I didn't go to sleep until probably sometime after 10 that night, I kicked my feet up for several hours just watching TV and taking it easy. The decision to stay in paid off immediately the next day and looking back, probably saved my Dopey experience.

Next up: My first character stops!

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Tom Bricker is the inspiration behind all of my Disney photography. And by “inspiration” I mean I shamelessly try to recreate his best ideas. I love his photography and reviews.



Feel free. I’d be honored.

And the crowds are truly insane at times. It has made Wishes/HEA a stressful endeavor in the past. That’s part of the reason I love IllumiNations so much, it’s so much easier to get an unobstructed view.

I am not happy with his what’s in my camera bag post. Like I needed to start digging in to what other lenses I could buy. Thankfully between running, winter time work load and trying to be around for my family, I don’t have a whole lot of time for food photography at the moment, so it’s keeping me in check on my spending.

 

[TheHamm]

I hope it was 12 total beignets not 12 orders of 3, but either way it would have been too many as my kids did not want them thus I at our order.
As your youngest is similar in age to my twins, I am curious how she did with O Canada! I too did it for the first time recently and found it odd and dated but ok, but I am not sure my kids would have tolerated it without some of Canada's Maple Popcorn (also, we go to actual canada often so I fear there would be sassy comments about already knowing that and non-Canadians in the attraction would not be so polite). I have also avoided Figment because I fear it would not go well with the kindergarten set.

 

[Chaitali]

I love those beignets! They had boozy beignets at the POFQ lounge that we indulged in one evening

 

[tidefan]

[QUOTE="lhermiston, post: 60178957, member: 460822"I found the beignet station. You could get three for a snack credit. [/QUOTE]

We got 6 on a snack credit!

 

[lhermiston]

I am not happy with his what’s in my camera bag post. Like I needed to start digging in to what other lenses I could buy. Thankfully between running, winter time work load and trying to be around for my family, I don’t have a whole lot of time for food photography at the moment, so it’s keeping me in check on my spending.

I was in the same boat a few years ago, wanting every piece of glass available. These days, I’m very happy with what’s in my bag - 15-55mm kit lens, fixed 50mm, 55-300mm and an ultra wide fisheye. The long-neglected kit lens was the unsung hero of this trip and used for most of my fireworks shots.

I hope it was 12 total beignets not 12 orders of 3, but either way it would have been too many as my kids did not want them thus I at our order.
As your youngest is similar in age to my twins, I am curious how she did with O Canada! I too did it for the first time recently and found it odd and dated but ok, but I am not sure my kids would have tolerated it without some of Canada's Maple Popcorn (also, we go to actual canada often so I fear there would be sassy comments about already knowing that and non-Canadians in the attraction would not be so polite). I have also avoided Figment because I fear it would not go well with the kindergarten set.

12 total!

Maya tolerated Oh, Canada fine. She was a little bored, but she wasn’t disruptive or anything.

I love those beignets! They had boozy beignets at the POFQ lounge that we indulged in one evening

Boozy beignets?? How did I miss out on those??

[QUOTE="lhermiston, post: 60178957, member: 460822"I found the beignet station. You could get three for a snack credit.

We got 6 on a snack credit![/QUOTE]

Whoa! Nice.

 

[emilyindisney]

Glad you warmed yourself up pre-5k and pre-10k

 

[run.minnie.miles]

I may be biased toward my screen-namesake, but I love the pic of the girls with Minnie! I think we talked about Illuminations at HH and we didn't end up staying either, wise choice!

 

[lhermiston]

Glad you warmed yourself up pre-5k and pre-10k

By any means necessary.

I may be biased toward my screen-namesake, but I love the pic of the girls with Minnie! I think we talked about Illuminations at HH and we didn't end up staying either, wise choice!

I felt like such a quitter, but it was the right move.

 

[Chaitali]

Boozy beignets?? How did I miss out on those??

Something to try for next time! Here's the review where I learned about them. Though our server was nice enough to let us try all three different types of alcohol. http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2018/07/10/boozy-beignets-now-at-disney-world/

 

[lhermiston]

Something to try for next time! Here's the review where I learned about them. Though our server was nice enough to let us try all three different types of alcohol. http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2018/07/10/boozy-beignets-now-at-disney-world/

This is life changing news.

 

[BigEeyore]

Beignets! YUM - I am sure your family was super happy!

Love the Boardwalk/BC/Yacht club area - it is my favorite place anywhere to run on vacation (when we are at Disney and it isn't a race weekend!). And being able to just walk into Epcot, or hop on a boat to HS, is awesome!

 

[lhermiston]

Beignets! YUM - I am sure your family was super happy!

Love the Boardwalk/BC/Yacht club area - it is my favorite place anywhere to run on vacation (when we are at Disney and it isn't a race weekend!). And being able to just walk into Epcot, or hop on a boat to HS, is awesome!

Given a choice, I’d stay at any of the Epcot area resorts over Contemporary and GF anytime (Poly and AKL are still at the top of my wishlist). It’s such a great area to run and sightsee.

 

[lhermiston]

Day 5: Part 1: Let's try a character stop!

I woke up the morning of the half marathon feeling really well rested. I seem to recall my stomach feeling a little sour, but it was not a lingering issue. No more nachos the night before races, though. Lesson learned.

Anyway, I got dressed, got on the 3:30 bus and was in the staging area before too long. I met up with more runDisney all-stars in the staging area, but nothing really stands out about the meeting that morning. It was considerably warmer, though. I wore compression sleeves on my legs, shorts, a long-sleeve compression top and my short sleeve Captain America top. That Captain America shirt got me through my first and second marathons, but it was downgraded to the half for this weekend.

I'd read a lot of people on the runDisney forums didn't like the half marathon course, but I was still pretty excited. I hadn't run down Main Street, USA or through the castle in two years and that's my all-time favorite running experience. So, I figured even if the course was bogus, I'd have that to look forward to.

I was in Corral B for the half and the full and made my way there with the rest of the group. I don't recall much about the wait (how is it that the morning I remember the least is the one we didn't have any shots?), but we were off soon enough. Cheers to no mini waves.

Looking back on my splits, I started off pretty easy, but - as is often the case, consciously or not - I sped up as the race went on. My legs felt fresh and it was perfect weather for a run. I can't recall (and maybe someone on here can help me), but I think the morning of the half is when we had some really gnarly fog a mile or so before Magic Kingdom. Shortly after that, I ran past the three villains meet-and-greet (malficent, the event queen and one other?), I didn't stop, but O Fortuna was blasting over their speakers and it made for a very bada$$/metal experience. Well done, Disney.

Before too long, I made it into Magic Kingdom. In 2017, we came in from behind Chef Tony's and rounded the corner for the big "reveal" of Main Street, USA. This year, we ran through the main entrance. The 2017 experience had a little more impact in my opinion, because you turn the corner and suddenly there's the castle and dozens of people cheering you on (I might have gotten a little misty-eyed), but 2019 experience was great. There's simply nothing like it that I've ever experienced.

I took a little video, but I'll just post a photo here:



Freaking beautiful, you guys.

I rounded into Tommorowland and saw Mike and Sully. I told myself going into this race that I would at least *try* a character stop or two during the half (if the lines weren't too bad) and I had picked out Mike and Sully early on as the characters I wanted to stop for. I love Monsters, Inc.

It's not frame-worthy or anything, but I got a fun pic out of the stop:

PhotoPass_Visiting_WDWRUNDISNEY_8305757875 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

I rounded out of Tomorrowland and into New Fantasyland before zipping through the castle. There wasn't a photographer right outside the castle this year, which was a bit of a bummer since I got a photo I really love there during the 2017 full. Oh well. There was a photographer down and to the left, which I initially swerved toward, mistaking it for part of the course, but I didn't stop for a pic. Now I kind of wish I had.

But, as I made my way into Frontierland, I saw Woody and Bullseye with virtually no wait, so I stopped to get a pic with them, too.

PhotoPass_Visiting_WDWRUNDISNEY_8305499219 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

There's not much else to note from here. The sun started creeping up as I got out of Magic Kingdom. I almost stopped for the Incredibles somewhere along the way, but as I was approaching, Mr. Incredible was going into the trailer to take a break.

Around maybe mile 9 or 10, volunteers were handing out sports beans. I decided after this race that my body likes a little caffeine when I'm running. I don't typically drink anything with caffeine in it, but for this race and the full, I used caffeinated Clif chews and sports beans whenever they were handed out. The chews especially seemed to work really well for me.

I closed out the half with my three fastest miles of the race, which I'll attribute to a good night's sleep and the caffeine. I wasn't setting out to have negative splits, but it was cool to have that work out. I crossed the line feeling really great about my race and my chances for having a decent marathon.

PhotoPass_Visiting_WDWRUNDISNEY_8305729467 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

Next up: Touring Plans fails me ... three times.