Expedition Everest Challenge Trekkers
- Thread starter blizzard
- Start date
hungrygreenhippo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2008
- Messages
- 573
I just got back from WDW yesterday. I was going to start working on my trip report, but reading this thread has gotten me hyped about the race again. So I decided to start with a race report first. I havent downloaded the photos from my camera yet, but Ill post some later if theyre any good.
I was the first person from All Star Sports on the bus for packet pick-up Friday morning. Luckily I had thought to double-check about the bus with the concierge desk the night before. Instead of picking up in front of the resort, the bus was waiting in the back off the parking lot between the two baseball buildings. From conversations I overheard, it sounded like all the EEC participants staying at All Star Sports were in the baseball and football buildings.
The packet pick-up went pretty quickly. Im a petite person so even the small race shirt is too large for me to actually wear, but its still a nice souvenir. Now I wish I had purchased the pink and brown womens t-shirt (theres a picture earlier in this thread), but at the time the $20 or so price tag seemed a bit high. Oh, well. I did get a souvenir pin. They also gave out complimentary goody bags. I was very amused that one of the goodies was a watermelon-scented Glade plug-in.
I decided not to hang around until noon for the first course talk on Friday. From this thread it sounds like they shared what the obstacles would be, which would have been helpful, but I ended up making it through even without attending.
Skipping ahead to Saturday, my boyfriend Troy and I spent the day at Animal Kingdom. Getting a feel for the layout of the park helped me during the scavenger hunt. I had lunch at Flame Tree Barbeque ½ slab of ribs, cornbread muffin, and a bit of coleslaw. It was pretty warm that afternoon and I really wanted a Mickey Bar, but because of the race that evening I had watermelon instead. (It wasnt very good watermelon
.) I think we left the park around 4:00.
I was feeling a bit tired so I actually took a short nap once we got back to our room. Then I donned my race gear, ate a Clif Bar (yummy Mint Chocolate
), and we headed out to catch the bus back to Animal Kingdom around 6:10. After arriving at the Animal Kingdom parking lot, I made a quick port-a-potty stop then figured out that as an individual I was in the first wave. Troy was carrying a backpack with my things so I didnt have to wait and check a bag. Troy stayed with me while I warmed up and stretched. The emcees provided some entertainment and Jamie Clarke gave a motivational speech, but it was a bit hard to hear the speakers over the crowd. At about 10 minutes to 7:00, I made my way over to get in place for the first wave.
I did a handful of local 5k races over the summer and typically started near the middle to back of the pack. As the first wave took off, I wished I had made my way closer to the front since I was weaving and dodging around a lot of people. The first portion of the course was a big loop around the Animal Kingdom parking lot. Troy was waiting to cheer me on near the park entrance. I havent seen how well the photos he took turned out. Then I ran on into the park. This was my first Disney race and it felt so great having all the cast members standing along the course cheering us on.
The course took us backstage somewhere between Africa and Asia. There was a water stop around the 1.25 mile mark (I think). We ran up the service road then the course doubled-back down the road and there was a water stop on the opposite side (maybe around the 2 mile mark). From there, I wasnt really paying attention to the surroundings as we ran through and left the park. There seemed to be a lot of race photographers. It was starting to get dark and there were lights set up along the course. I remember that overall the weather was really nice that evening but there was one spot along the course that was really warm because of the generators powering the lights.
As I ran back into the parking lot for the end of the 5k, it seemed like there were still waves that had yet to start. It was awesome having people on both sides of the course cheering for me.
Unfortunately I hadnt described the event route well enough to Troy so he was still at the park entrance and didnt see me finish the 5k or do the obstacle course.
I was disappointed that there was no actual finish line for the 5k because I think it may have been a personal record. I was running and then all of a sudden a cast member directed me over to a grassy/sandy area for the obstacle course. If I had been thinking straight, I would have investigated the obstacle course before the start of the race. Instead, I was taken aback by the hurdles. Im only 410 so the hurdles were the hardest obstacle for me.
A cast member told me I had to go over and I couldnt use the support beams for help. I ended up pausing for at least a minute before I finally summoned the energy to pull myself over the three hurdles.
After the hurdles, the rope climb, balance beam, and net crawl were a piece of cake. Then I got my passport and a pencil for the scavenger hunt. It seemed to take forever to get back into the park. (It was probably only 1/4 to 1/2 a mile.) I walked for a bit then jogged the rest of the way to find my first clue near the entrance to Asia. My second clue was in Africa at Tusker House, then the third and fourth clues were back in Asia. (Ill try to remember to post photos of my passport later.) It was a bit weird to be making my own path around the park while there were still organized runners following the 5k course through the park.
After finding the fourth clue I ran toward Dinoland, following part of the same course as the 5k runners. It was a little hectic, and I had to ask cast members to point me in the right direction toward the event finish line. I was very happy with my time, finishing in under 1 hour. I think the first stop after crossing the finish line was to hand in my passport. I got all four clues right.
I had accidentally removed the bar code strip from my race bib thinking that it was for the bag check, so I had to hand over my whole race bib as identification for completing my passport. The next stop was refreshments. I grabbed a Powerade, but I wish they had had bottled water available. After that I had my photo taken with my shiny new metal.
Being in the first wave, there were probably more cast members then race participants around at this point. I was a bit lost about where to go. Dinoland was the one area of the park that we hadnt visited earlier in the day so it took me awhile to get my bearings. I wandered over to the counter service restaurant in Dinoland and talked with a cast member for a bit. Then I went and picked up a banana to snack on. I found another nice cast member and asked if they were letting friends and family into the park yet since I wanted to find Troy. He said the park should be opening up very soon since it was almost 8:00. I walked toward the front of the park and found Troy on his way in. Troy was a little miffed because I forgot to tell him that he wouldnt be able to get into the park until 8:00. He had wanted to take photos of me at the finish line but wound up loitering around the park entrance for the last hour.
We walked over to Expedition Everest for our first ever ride on the attraction. The wait was only about 5 minutes. I enjoyed it, but it left me feeling a little queasy.
It was Troys favorite roller coaster from all four parks. We got back in line (still only about 5 minutes) and requested the very front. The view of Epcot and Hollywood Studios at night was amazing! We got back in line a third time but wandered through the queue slowly so I could recover. Out of nowhere, the attraction started getting busy and there was a steady flow of people coming through the line. If we had walked straight through, the wait wouldnt have been bad. But since we let a bunch of people pass us, the wait was probably about 15 minutes. We had heard someone earlier requesting the very back row, so we decided to try it but didnt notice anything special about being in the back. When we got off the ride, the sign outside was indicating a 30 minute wait so we decided to stop after three rides.
Expedition Everest was the only attraction we did, but Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, TriceraTop Spin, and Its Tough To Be A Bug were all open. There were cast members manning the carnival games although no one was really playing. I kind of felt bad for the cast members. There was a DJ playing music that was piped throughout the open areas of the park. Troy and I just wandered until the awards ceremony at 10:00. It was starting to get chilly so I put on a light sweatshirt. I also went back to grab a bagel from the refreshment area since I hadnt eaten anything substantial yet that evening.
After the awards ceremony, we went back to Expedition Everest. The wait time was 15 minutes so we did one last ride. Eating the bagel seemed to help because I enjoyed this ride much more than the earlier ones. It was about 11:00 and the party lasted until midnight. But it had been a long day so we decided to head out and catch a bus back to the resort. And that was the end of my experience with the inaugural Expedition Everest Challenge.
Wow, that turned out to be A LOT longer than expected when I started writing. If you're still reading, thanks for sticking with me through the end!
I was the first person from All Star Sports on the bus for packet pick-up Friday morning. Luckily I had thought to double-check about the bus with the concierge desk the night before. Instead of picking up in front of the resort, the bus was waiting in the back off the parking lot between the two baseball buildings. From conversations I overheard, it sounded like all the EEC participants staying at All Star Sports were in the baseball and football buildings.
The packet pick-up went pretty quickly. Im a petite person so even the small race shirt is too large for me to actually wear, but its still a nice souvenir. Now I wish I had purchased the pink and brown womens t-shirt (theres a picture earlier in this thread), but at the time the $20 or so price tag seemed a bit high. Oh, well. I did get a souvenir pin. They also gave out complimentary goody bags. I was very amused that one of the goodies was a watermelon-scented Glade plug-in.
I decided not to hang around until noon for the first course talk on Friday. From this thread it sounds like they shared what the obstacles would be, which would have been helpful, but I ended up making it through even without attending.Skipping ahead to Saturday, my boyfriend Troy and I spent the day at Animal Kingdom. Getting a feel for the layout of the park helped me during the scavenger hunt. I had lunch at Flame Tree Barbeque ½ slab of ribs, cornbread muffin, and a bit of coleslaw. It was pretty warm that afternoon and I really wanted a Mickey Bar, but because of the race that evening I had watermelon instead. (It wasnt very good watermelon
.) I think we left the park around 4:00.I was feeling a bit tired so I actually took a short nap once we got back to our room. Then I donned my race gear, ate a Clif Bar (yummy Mint Chocolate
), and we headed out to catch the bus back to Animal Kingdom around 6:10. After arriving at the Animal Kingdom parking lot, I made a quick port-a-potty stop then figured out that as an individual I was in the first wave. Troy was carrying a backpack with my things so I didnt have to wait and check a bag. Troy stayed with me while I warmed up and stretched. The emcees provided some entertainment and Jamie Clarke gave a motivational speech, but it was a bit hard to hear the speakers over the crowd. At about 10 minutes to 7:00, I made my way over to get in place for the first wave.I did a handful of local 5k races over the summer and typically started near the middle to back of the pack. As the first wave took off, I wished I had made my way closer to the front since I was weaving and dodging around a lot of people. The first portion of the course was a big loop around the Animal Kingdom parking lot. Troy was waiting to cheer me on near the park entrance. I havent seen how well the photos he took turned out. Then I ran on into the park. This was my first Disney race and it felt so great having all the cast members standing along the course cheering us on.
The course took us backstage somewhere between Africa and Asia. There was a water stop around the 1.25 mile mark (I think). We ran up the service road then the course doubled-back down the road and there was a water stop on the opposite side (maybe around the 2 mile mark). From there, I wasnt really paying attention to the surroundings as we ran through and left the park. There seemed to be a lot of race photographers. It was starting to get dark and there were lights set up along the course. I remember that overall the weather was really nice that evening but there was one spot along the course that was really warm because of the generators powering the lights.
As I ran back into the parking lot for the end of the 5k, it seemed like there were still waves that had yet to start. It was awesome having people on both sides of the course cheering for me.
Unfortunately I hadnt described the event route well enough to Troy so he was still at the park entrance and didnt see me finish the 5k or do the obstacle course.I was disappointed that there was no actual finish line for the 5k because I think it may have been a personal record. I was running and then all of a sudden a cast member directed me over to a grassy/sandy area for the obstacle course. If I had been thinking straight, I would have investigated the obstacle course before the start of the race. Instead, I was taken aback by the hurdles. Im only 410 so the hurdles were the hardest obstacle for me.
A cast member told me I had to go over and I couldnt use the support beams for help. I ended up pausing for at least a minute before I finally summoned the energy to pull myself over the three hurdles.After the hurdles, the rope climb, balance beam, and net crawl were a piece of cake. Then I got my passport and a pencil for the scavenger hunt. It seemed to take forever to get back into the park. (It was probably only 1/4 to 1/2 a mile.) I walked for a bit then jogged the rest of the way to find my first clue near the entrance to Asia. My second clue was in Africa at Tusker House, then the third and fourth clues were back in Asia. (Ill try to remember to post photos of my passport later.) It was a bit weird to be making my own path around the park while there were still organized runners following the 5k course through the park.
After finding the fourth clue I ran toward Dinoland, following part of the same course as the 5k runners. It was a little hectic, and I had to ask cast members to point me in the right direction toward the event finish line. I was very happy with my time, finishing in under 1 hour. I think the first stop after crossing the finish line was to hand in my passport. I got all four clues right.
I had accidentally removed the bar code strip from my race bib thinking that it was for the bag check, so I had to hand over my whole race bib as identification for completing my passport. The next stop was refreshments. I grabbed a Powerade, but I wish they had had bottled water available. After that I had my photo taken with my shiny new metal.Being in the first wave, there were probably more cast members then race participants around at this point. I was a bit lost about where to go. Dinoland was the one area of the park that we hadnt visited earlier in the day so it took me awhile to get my bearings. I wandered over to the counter service restaurant in Dinoland and talked with a cast member for a bit. Then I went and picked up a banana to snack on. I found another nice cast member and asked if they were letting friends and family into the park yet since I wanted to find Troy. He said the park should be opening up very soon since it was almost 8:00. I walked toward the front of the park and found Troy on his way in. Troy was a little miffed because I forgot to tell him that he wouldnt be able to get into the park until 8:00. He had wanted to take photos of me at the finish line but wound up loitering around the park entrance for the last hour.
We walked over to Expedition Everest for our first ever ride on the attraction. The wait was only about 5 minutes. I enjoyed it, but it left me feeling a little queasy.
It was Troys favorite roller coaster from all four parks. We got back in line (still only about 5 minutes) and requested the very front. The view of Epcot and Hollywood Studios at night was amazing! We got back in line a third time but wandered through the queue slowly so I could recover. Out of nowhere, the attraction started getting busy and there was a steady flow of people coming through the line. If we had walked straight through, the wait wouldnt have been bad. But since we let a bunch of people pass us, the wait was probably about 15 minutes. We had heard someone earlier requesting the very back row, so we decided to try it but didnt notice anything special about being in the back. When we got off the ride, the sign outside was indicating a 30 minute wait so we decided to stop after three rides.Expedition Everest was the only attraction we did, but Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, TriceraTop Spin, and Its Tough To Be A Bug were all open. There were cast members manning the carnival games although no one was really playing. I kind of felt bad for the cast members. There was a DJ playing music that was piped throughout the open areas of the park. Troy and I just wandered until the awards ceremony at 10:00. It was starting to get chilly so I put on a light sweatshirt. I also went back to grab a bagel from the refreshment area since I hadnt eaten anything substantial yet that evening.
After the awards ceremony, we went back to Expedition Everest. The wait time was 15 minutes so we did one last ride. Eating the bagel seemed to help because I enjoyed this ride much more than the earlier ones. It was about 11:00 and the party lasted until midnight. But it had been a long day so we decided to head out and catch a bus back to the resort. And that was the end of my experience with the inaugural Expedition Everest Challenge.
Wow, that turned out to be A LOT longer than expected when I started writing. If you're still reading, thanks for sticking with me through the end!
cdotla
Trish
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2006
- Messages
- 2,906
Thanks for everyone posting pics and race stories! I am loving reading them!
Here are some of our photos.
Package Pick Up:
Our Action Sports Photos:
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=33537&BIB=864&S=230&PWD=
We had an absolute blast! This event was so fun!!! I highly recommend it to anyone thinking of doing it next year!
Here are some of our photos.
Package Pick Up:
Our Action Sports Photos:
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=33537&BIB=864&S=230&PWD=
We had an absolute blast! This event was so fun!!! I highly recommend it to anyone thinking of doing it next year!
getnthinr
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2006
- Messages
- 1,008
Did you all get the email congratulating you ("Congratulations on completing the Inaugural Expedition Everest Challenge!") that includes the video link?
I was in that! Right at the first! I was so shocked! I saw Dave too (in his most excellent explorer outfit). Very cool!
Results video from WDW
I was in that! Right at the first! I was so shocked! I saw Dave too (in his most excellent explorer outfit). Very cool!
Results video from WDW
Mouse Skywalker
<font color=green>The Force is strong with this Po
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2005
- Messages
- 7,021
I saw your picture first. Right up front Wendy. I showed it to my family pointing and saying, that's Wendy, she's a WISHer! Your Cheshire Cat visor always helps me pick you out.
/
jeanneg
I swam with a dolphin!
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2001
- Messages
- 4,000
Wendy: I played the video last night and when I saw you in the very first shot I started screaming! John came running in and I showed it to him also. Loved the great shot of mousewalker Dave! I started to look for the EEC thread so i could tell you guys and then I got distracted. Survivor came on and I shut off the computer. So last night I'm drifting off to sleep and I remembered that I never told Wendy and Dave they were famous! 
Planned to do it first thing this morning, but I see you already discovered it. Way to go, guys! I also noticed some WISH shirts at the start line, but it moved way to quickly to spot who is was. (Is there a way to stop the video?) I think it was a woman with short dark hair that I met but don't recall her name.
Planned to do it first thing this morning, but I see you already discovered it. Way to go, guys! I also noticed some WISH shirts at the start line, but it moved way to quickly to spot who is was. (Is there a way to stop the video?) I think it was a woman with short dark hair that I met but don't recall her name.
monkeyhouse
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2007
- Messages
- 134
Our team didn't make it on the results list either.I emailed wdw sports and hopefully will hear back from them within a few days.
We finally made it onto the results today.-
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