Dopey Shenanigans! A Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend TR (Completed-videos added)

[natebenma]

for meeting with Donald! That is cool when they have characters there- I think it is often when they are in training.

Great picture of all of you on Soarin'

You are right, the view from your room never gets old!

I love how late the park Christmas decorations stay up. A nice perk for you marathoners.

It is deceptively hard to take pictures on dark rides. That very slight movement just messes things up!

I love a great Jungle Cruise Skipper.

I love a great Dole Whip even more!

 

[rteetz]

I love your Illuminations photos! This one is really cool with the flower fireworks!






Illuminations has a special place in my heart. I have seen this show many, many more times than any other nighttime show, going back to our trips in the 1980's. Still love it every time!

Thanks! Illuminations is the best!

That is so cool that you got your own private transport to breakfast.



By "typical" juice, do you mean "awesome" juice like you get at Kona and Boma?

I enjoyed reading about the Bon Voyage breakfast since I haven't read much about it.

Yes it was awesome juice.

I definitely recommend Bon Voyage.

 

[rteetz]

for meeting with Donald! That is cool when they have characters there- I think it is often when they are in training.

Great picture of all of you on Soarin'

You are right, the view from your room never gets old!

I love how late the park Christmas decorations stay up. A nice perk for you marathoners.

It is deceptively hard to take pictures on dark rides. That very slight movement just messes things up!

I love a great Jungle Cruise Skipper.

I love a great Dole Whip even more!

Yeah Donald was a lot of fun.

I think the decor came down that Tuesday. So we were there until the end.

I agree dark ride photos are some of the hardest.

Dole whip makes everything great.

 

[Capang]

Wonderful medal pics! The SM pic made me Not worrying about only going to a park for a few hours (and not wasting a day ticket)might be one of the best perks of AP.

 

[rteetz]

Wonderful medal pics! The SM pic made me Not worrying about only going to a park for a few hours (and not wasting a day ticket)might be one of the best perks of AP.

Thanks! It definitely is a great perk. Being able to save time by walking was awesome too!

 

[natebenma]

OMG!!! Your projection shots are amazing. LOVE THEM!!!

Great fireworks shots, too. Also a very nice picture of Tink!




Did you use a tripod or somehow steady the camera either for the Illuminations show the previous night or for the projections you took this night?

 

[natebenma]

Fantastic way to end the trip!

 

[natebenma]

You did a fantastic job with the medal pictures with the castle. That must have been fun to set up. LOL on the woman who took a picture of all of your hard work setting up the shots.

 

[CaseFace5]

Love all your medal pictures! Very creative!

 

[rteetz]

OMG!!! Your projection shots are amazing. LOVE THEM!!!

Great fireworks shots, too. Also a very nice picture of Tink!




Did you use a tripod or somehow steady the camera either for the Illuminations show the previous night or for the projections you took this night?

I didn’t use a tripod at all. For illuminations I was sitting. For the projections I was smack dab in the middle of the hub.

Fantastic way to end the trip!

It was!

You did a fantastic job with the medal pictures with the castle. That must have been fun to set up. LOL on the woman who took a picture of all of your hard work setting up the shots.

Thanks!

Love all your medal pictures! Very creative!

Thanks!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I really LOVE these medal pics. I remember them from one of your previous TRs and totally meant to steal your idea of putting my medals with the statues of Pluto and Minnie....of course I completely forgot until I got home. Guess I'll just have to go back!! LOL

 

[rteetz]

I really LOVE these medal pics. I remember them from one of your previous TRs and totally meant to steal your idea of putting my medals with the statues of Pluto and Minnie....of course I completely forgot until I got home. Guess I'll just have to go back!! LOL

Thanks! Well I stole the idea from someone else so I shouldn’t get all the credit that’s just another excuse to go back too!

 

[SarahDisney]

Your medal pictures are incredible. I don't think I would have the patience to set up all of those shots.

 

[BlvInMagic]

I like that "Tragical Express!"
We usually refer to it as the "UnMagical Express" in our our famiy... lol

 

[rteetz]

Your medal pictures are incredible. I don't think I would have the patience to set up all of those shots.

That's why I went first thing in the morning to not have to deal with people.

I like that "Tragical Express!"
We usually refer to it as the "UnMagical Express" in our our famiy... lol

I saw someone call it the Tragical Express and that has stuck with me.

 

[rteetz]

Final Thoughts and Whats Next...



Dopey 2018 was one of those experiences that would be hard to replicate. I had an amazing time all around. Sure it was cold but I had no control over that.

Bay Lake Tower is a great resort especially for Marathon Weekend. I would highly recommend it for any trip simply because of its proximity to Magic Kingdom. Being able to walk to that park made everything so much better. I also used the monorail more than I ever have before.

The expo was probably the biggest negative of this race weekend. I usually have good experiences there but this was not one of them. Hopefully that is fixed in the future.

I really enjoy the 5K and 10K. They are a ton of fun. The Half could use some changes but running with Team Shenanigans helped a lot. The Marathon is just awesome. I love running through all four parks and the crowd support and running with people you know is just so much fun.

Meeting people you talk with online here or on social media is one of my favorite parts of runDisney races. I met so many amazing Disers who make this community a fun place to be a part of. I hope to meet even more people in the future and am glad to call many of you my friends.

Running with a group was a new thing for me. I had always been solo before. Team Shenanigans made it so easy and so much fun. I cannot wait to do another race with those amazing people.

I love the Dopey Challenge. Yes it is a lot to do and wake up for but it's a lot of fun for me. I think Dopey 2019 is out of the cards for me but I will be back again soon. 2018 will likely always be the holy grail in terms of race weekends because it was so awesome but its too much fun for me to say I'll not come back.

What is next...

SPRING BREAK 2018! Now that I am an AP I have another trip booked. I have a solo trip booked in March at All-Star Sports. I am excited to see Flower and Garden for the first time.

Wine and Dine 2018! I don't have anything booked yet but the plan is to do the challenge. I have only ever done Marathon Weekend so I am excited to try something new.

Not sure if anything else will come along in there but I hope so. I want to run and PR in a half marathon this year.

Thank you all for reading and following along and I hope to see you in the next TR!

 

[ZellyB]

Great TR as always, Ryan and congrats again on completing Dopey. I agree with you, that aside from the cold, it was a really amazing race weekend.

So jealous you are headed back for Spring Break! Have an amazing trip.

 

[rteetz]

Great TR as always, Ryan and congrats again on completing Dopey. I agree with you, that aside from the cold, it was a really amazing race weekend.

So jealous you are headed back for Spring Break! Have an amazing trip.

Thanks! Congrats to you and Chris as well. It was great to finally meet both of you.

 

[TeeterTots]

Great medal pics and recap! I always enjoy following along!! Congrats on Dopey! I’m still on the fence....hopefully 2020?

I’ll be heading back soon too! Dark side and again for W&D. I think we just missed each other at HH dis meet but maybe at W&D. Room is booked for marathon 2019 so the probability is good that we’ll get to say at some point!

Have a great rest of your semester!

 

[BlvInMagic]

Thanks for sharing your adventures! Looking forward to future TR's