Four Parks, One Dope: A 2015 Dopey Challenge Trip Report!

[Miffy2003]

I'm enjoying your report so much

 

[Ariel484]

I'm enjoying your report so much

Thanks!!

 

[rteetz]

Love your TR! I can't wait to hear your take on the 10k since that's the one I ran as well. I also love the Pluto medal. I have mixed feelings on the poly lobby as well. It's nice to have more open space but at the same time the water feature is like a drinking fountain.

 

[emilyindisney]

What a super stylish sweatshirt you've got on!

I definitely miss the waterfall but I'm lovin' those lanterns in the Poly lobby. Definitely a win in my book. I'll have to get over there next trip to see all the updates in person!

Ahhhh! That mug is so cute! What were the refills good for? Just hot chocolate? Or drinks in general? Just the park? That seems like such a good deal!

 

[disneyhorselover]

Love all the cupcake pictures. The hardest part about my return to reality is that it is no longer completely acceptable to eat cupcakes for meals. Its a rough life.

I love those mugs and I'm so sad that I didn't hear about them until my trip was over!

That magic band issue happened to us too when we were at breakfast that day...and I don't think those meals ever got charged to our room so thanks for the free QS breakfast, Disney! Must have been a resort-wide issue...makes you wonder how much revenue they lost that morning...

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Your post race box looks much better than what we got at Star Wars (vegetable cheese, ranch roasted corn, bad fruit nut mix meant over half the box was yuck for us)

Love the phone case!

Looks like you had a good day post race, even with a lot of walking! I can't remember if you have a regular pedometer or fitbit item to track how much you walk each day. Do you?

My husband & I also pretty much text when we are traveling without each other - I think I only spoke to him on the phone once during the trip in December for a friend's wedding.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

So the sandwich at Tony's was good? I have never gone there b/c I didn't think I would find anything to eat. It looks yummy! I'm drooling this morning, I swear everyone is posting cupcakes just to tease me. WDW cupcakes are the only cupcakes I really eat...but man, I do EAT them. Many of them!

I really really hope they still have those mugs in February! I NEED one! Ya know, kinda like I NEED WDW cupcakes!

 

[jdd]

Congratulations to your son!!

YES - the is a College of Wooster sweatshirt!

*RANDOM TANGENT YOU DIDN'T ASK FOR BUT I'LL GIVE YOU ANYWAY*
Wooster was a back-up for me - but I ended up getting waitlisted at my first choice college and picked Wooster because it was small and close to home (about 1 hour's drive - I HATE long car rides). Not great reasons but luckily it turned out to be the best decision I ever made! I had close friends (still good friends with my freshman year next-door neighbor) and the campus is so beautiful and walkable (recently they added a shuttle system I guess?)...just full of good people. And the best thing - my husband and I met at Wooster (both math majors - we met in math class...he's class of 2007, I'm class of 2006). We actually ended up getting married at the Wooster Inn in 2009 and our wedding photos are from the college campus:

Aaaaanyway...good luck with your son's college decisions! I found it all to be VERY overwhelming.

Thank you Very small world....so glad you had a great experience there and your wedding photo is gorgeous!!

And I agree with twoboysnmygirl - I really hope they have those mugs out for the PHM - so cute and I would love to add it to my WDW mug collection

Excited to hear about the 10K - I ran the 10K at the Princess in 2014, and it was such a fun race

 

[Ariel484]

Love your TR! I can't wait to hear your take on the 10k since that's the one I ran as well. I also love the Pluto medal. I have mixed feelings on the poly lobby as well. It's nice to have more open space but at the same time the water feature is like a drinking fountain.

Thanks!

I'm sort of trying to reserve judgement on the Poly because I know it's not *finished* yet. During the last morning of our stay we were there for breakfast and there was a women that was adding more plants to the fountain, AND the water was flowing on one side. And I've seen concept art with the Tiki statue...so hopefully all of that will make the fountain a little more substantial.

What a super stylish sweatshirt you've got on!

Oh, do you think so? Why thank you!!

I definitely miss the waterfall but I'm lovin' those lanterns in the Poly lobby. Definitely a win in my book. I'll have to get over there next trip to see all the updates in person!

Yes! Really loving the lanterns and how open and bright it is in there now.

Ahhhh! That mug is so cute! What were the refills good for? Just hot chocolate? Or drinks in general? Just the park? That seems like such a good deal!

You know...I'm not sure! I just bought it and used it that one time. Trip reporter fail!

Love all the cupcake pictures. The hardest part about my return to reality is that it is no longer completely acceptable to eat cupcakes for meals. Its a rough life.

It really is though. Part of what we have to deal with during the post-Disney depression...

I love those mugs and I'm so sad that I didn't hear about them until my trip was over!

Yeah I had no idea they did that with the mugs, and I have no idea why they didn't advertise it better! I now resolve to look at the reusable mugs a lot more closely on future visits.

That magic band issue happened to us too when we were at breakfast that day...and I don't think those meals ever got charged to our room so thanks for the free QS breakfast, Disney! Must have been a resort-wide issue...makes you wonder how much revenue they lost that morning...

NICE!! Free food is always good! I still had to pay for my pin, sadly...

Your post race box looks much better than what we got at Star Wars (vegetable cheese, ranch roasted corn, bad fruit nut mix meant over half the box was yuck for us)

...wow, that does sound yuck! Those boxes are so hit or miss. I liked the Goldfish, obviously, and the chips and the cheese dip but I think I gave the rest to Will.

Love the phone case!

Me tooooooo

Looks like you had a good day post race, even with a lot of walking! I can't remember if you have a regular pedometer or fitbit item to track how much you walk each day. Do you?

I do, but it's for work insurance so I only wear it until I meet the minimum monthly requirement and then it's stored in the bathroom cabinet...the thing they give us (a Pebble) is really small and easy to lose, and a replacement costs $35. We've already had to replace one after a little over a year so both Will and I left ours at home.

The only thing I had on me regularly that tracked my distance (both during races and at other times) was my phone, which has that Apple HealtKit app. I know I looked at it from time to time, but I didn't take screenshots very regularly and I'm not sure how to get day-by-day data from it. But I definitely walked too much that first day!

My husband & I also pretty much text when we are traveling without each other - I think I only spoke to him on the phone once during the trip in December for a friend's wedding.

Yeah it was actually sort of weird to talk on the phone! We text all day pretty much everyday at work and then we're home together, so we rarely speak on the phone.

So the sandwich at Tony's was good? I have never gone there b/c I didn't think I would find anything to eat. It looks yummy! I'm drooling this morning, I swear everyone is posting cupcakes just to tease me. WDW cupcakes are the only cupcakes I really eat...but man, I do EAT them. Many of them!

The Plaza sandwich? Yes, very good! I forget what Courtney and Jess got (possibly a club and a Philly cheesesteak or burger, respectively) but they liked their meals as well. Mostly we were excited about the soup!

I really really hope they still have those mugs in February! I NEED one! Ya know, kinda like I NEED WDW cupcakes!

Well, I didn't NEED that mug..Or those cupcakes...or all that stuff I bought at the expo...and yet...

Thank you Very small world....so glad you had a great experience there and your wedding photo is gorgeous!!

Haha, thanks for indulging me. I look for any excuse to whip out a wedding photo!

And I agree with twoboysnmygirl - I really hope they have those mugs out for the PHM - so cute and I would love to add it to my WDW mug collection

I hope they have them!! It was a popcorn stand in Tomorrowland near the Lunching Pad...not the side closer to Buzz, the other side. Good luck!!

Excited to hear about the 10K - I ran the 10K at the Princess in 2014, and it was such a fun race

Yay! I agree - I liked the course a lot!

 

[Ariel484]

Day 3: Friday, January 9, 2015

2015 Walt Disney World 10K! Arriving

Fun fact: This is the race that made me sign up for the Dopey Challenge.

After finishing Goofy in 2013 I knew I would not be back for Marathon Weekend the next year, as we had a non-race trip to WDW planned over Christmas. So I set my sights on Goofy in 2015 because I knew it would be the 10th anniversary and the medal would be cool. But then this 10K came along...and Minnie is the mascot. And I love me some Minnie Mouse (I mean...look at my avatar), so you see...I really NEEDED the Minnie medal and shirt. So if I'm already signing up for Goofy AND the 10K...it would be silly not to just throw the 5K in there too. Right? Right.

My alarms for this morning started at 2:45AM...unfortunately I found myself awake at 1:45AM, unable to get back to sleep. I just woke up, looked at the clock and couldn't turn my brain off. UGGHHHHH. Well at least I was out of bed on time!

I layered up again, grabbed my coffee and food and headed out to find a de-Christmas'd Boardwalk resort lobby - everything was gone even though it had just been there the night before. Disney doesn't mess around!

Gold star for me: I got on the bus EARLY this morning as opposed to a few minutes late like yesterday. Learning! Just like the previous day, a bus with no line was waiting for me. Very nice.

We were dropped off in the same area and I took this picture at about 4AM. 90 minutes left until the start of the 10K.

This was my first time on this course. Courtney ran it last year as part of the Glass Slipper Challenge that is held during Princess Half Marathon Weekend (the Princess 10K and the WDW 10K courses are the same) and told me that she'd really liked it, so I was excited!

Prices for the snack cart.
ETA: As mbwhitti pointed out below, this cart is cash only - they don't take Magic Bands.

Once thing I forgot to mention earlier - the mythical emergency bib pick-up for the morning of the races DOES exist! I know because on Tuesday when I thought my flight was going to get delayed due to snow, I called runDisney to see what I should do if I couldn't make it to the expo on Wednesday. They confirmed that I could get a temporary bib the morning of the 5K and use it for that race, but that I'd need to go to the expo later to get my real bibs and race shirts. This Information tent is where the extra bibs are given out (I could see the bibs stacked up on the back table when I was scoping it out since Jess' husband Bill was going to need to get his bib the morning of the marathon). runDisney is VERY quiet about this, which is understandable - I'm sure they don't want everyone mobbing the tent on race morning. And they want all of us to go to the expo to shop!

Another look at the staging area. The set-up is the same for the 5K and the 10K...corrals directly to my left, the open staging area in the middle/directly in front of me in this picture, and porta-potties to my right. One of those big white tents is the massage tent people had been hiding out in the day before (and this morning as well - I briefly popped in but it was overwhelmingly crowded). Not sure what the other one is.

My throwaway leggings were purple this morning! I also had a heavier hoodie but I took it off for the picture.

A better look at the Runners Only area...the finish line is beyond the corral balloons. Corral F is the closest to the finish line and Corral A is furthest away. Each balloon is located at the back of the corral and that is where you enter - a volunteer needs to see your bib to let you in so that, say, a Corral F runner doesn't try to jump up to Corral B. And more porta-potties...always more porta-potties.

I was in my corral by 5. Funneling the runners into the Runners Only was a lot quicker today than it was yesterday.

The front of Corral B.

Temperatures were much, much nicer this morning - about 10-15 degrees warmer than yesterday. Ahhh!!

Here's something kind of gross...I'm sure this isn’t 100% accurate, but according to my phone I'd already walked 1.63 miles this morning. And the race hadn't even started yet!!

I headed into Corral B and found myself creeping up front...as in, no one else was in front of me. Front row center, baby! As I ditched my throwaway clothes, the gentlemen around me were complaining about the corralling for this morning's race, about how the faster runners should have been up further. Dudes, you're in B. Life is good!

*THEORY!*
This is my guess on how runDisney corrals the 5K and 10K races...I think they do it purely by when people sign up. As in, those that sign up for the race earlier are in the earlier corrals. That's the only way (in my mind) to explain how I've been corralled to A for the Jingle Jungle 5K (twice) and B for the WDW5K (twice) and the 10K. I am firmly a middle-to-the-back of the pack runner, and I didn't lie about my estimated pace...yet I get put in the first or second corral? Hmmm. Also explains how little, little kids end up in A and B.


Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

2015 Walt Disney World 10K! The First 5K

Corral A was starting to get walked up to the starting line at about 5:20AM. That's them holding the tape...my cheerful B friends and I are the ones behind the gate thing.

After A passed us by, the tape was rolled out and we were let out of our corral - now it was our turn to get walked up. Because I was up in front, I was actually one of the people holding the tape today and I felt like a super important big shot!

We were stopped behind A in the straightaway facing the starting line. A Disney vocalist (woman, I made zero effort to remember her name) sang the National Anthem and Corral A took off right on time at 5:30!

As A cleared out, Corral B approached the starting line. Just like yesterday, we waited about 8-10 minutes. And as the announcers counted down, I looked at the people around me and realized that they all looked serious. Like, really serious. Want to run super fast and win the race serious. WHAT THE HECK WAS I DOING UP THERE WITH THEM?! MISTAKE!!

3-2-1 GOOOOO CORRAL B!!

Our fireworks went off and everyone around me took off. Somehow I did not get trampled, so that was a good thing!

One thing that really struck me about this race was how much room I felt like I had at all times - it never, ever felt crowded to me. It was so nice!

We took off down some nondescript stretch of road - I think it was just some Epcot service road? Anna and Elsa were set up on a bridge just before the Epcot entrance gates...snow was showering down upon us and the princesses were talking to us. "The gates are open! You should get hot chocolate!" And so on. I still like Frozen, so I enjoyed this.

Video!

The gates WERE open!

1 down! Just like yesterday I had my watch set up for intervals...I decided to ignore them for the first 2 miles so I could bank some extra time.

On the course map, you can see there is a very, very sharp right hand turn partway through the second mile that takes the course onto Epcot Center Drive. It wasn't terrible but everyone took it pretty slowly. The White Rabbit was meeting right at the turn, but I have met him in the Magic Kingdom before, so I skipped that photo-op. Ditto for a Stitch (wearing a lei) photo-op just before Mile Marker 2.

I don't remember a ton about this mile, except that it may have been a little hilly? Just sort of rolling hills, nothing nuts but it wasn't perfectly flat. I think it's part of the course that comes at the end of the WDW/Princess Half...I do remember a highway of rolling hills at the end near Epcot, so that would make sense. I also started actually paying attention to the interval timer here (taking more regular walk breaks) and enjoyed the classic cartoons playing on this big screen just before Mile Marker 3.

So the first half of the course was pretty boring...but I knew the second half would make up for it! Time to head back to Epcot!

I hit the 5K timing mat and my first update was sent out at 6:15AM: 5K in 34:41, 11:10/mile pace. Estimated finish time was 1:09:21.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

2015 Walt Disney World 10K! Miles 4 & 5

We encountered some stilt walkers in front of Test Track - from Festival of the Lion King I think?

This part of the course was just like the 5K...once again we entered Epcot in between Mexico and Norway and I got to bask in the glory that was a lit-up World Showcase. Mushu was out in China...skippable for me.

Empty Germany:

I have this thing about getting mile marker pictures with no people in them. I had to wait a good 30-45 seconds for some guy that really, REALLY wanted a picture where it looked like he was kissing Snow White. Hmm...

The World Showcase was light on character meets this morning! Boooo!! The only other one I saw was the Genie out in Morocco (skipped - met him before).

We left the park through the International Gateway again this morning. Instead of heading right back inside like we did for the 5K, we were getting to take a tour of the Epcot area resorts! Yay! And sorry to anyone that was staying at those resorts and not running the race, because I'm pretty sure the pitter patter of all of our little feet on the Boardwalk woke you up!

When Courtney did the Princess 10K, she told me that Goofy had been out in front of the ESPN Club in some sort of sports attire (baseball or football?). This was the main reason why I'd wanted to bank that time over the first few miles...I was hoping someone would be out in front of ESPN this morning! As I ran down the Boardwalk I saw a huge line, so I put the brakes on. Character time!

Waiting...

While I was waiting, the Character Attendant cut the line off two people behind me! WHEW! Lucky thing, because I would have hated to have missed this one.

Isn't he the cutest?! I lost a good 7 minutes waiting in this line, but it was worth it!

Yay!

Just 1.2 left!

Continued in Next Post

 

[FFigawi]

: Yeah I had no idea they did that with the mugs, and I have no idea why they didn't advertise it better! I now resolve to look at the reusable mugs a lot more closely on future visits.

You should buy a beer at the expo next time. You get to keep the big plastic cup and use it for half price refills in the finishing area if you pack it in your bag check bag.

And sorry to anyone that was staying at those resorts and not running the race, because I'm pretty sure the pitter patter of all of our little feet on the Boardwalk woke you up!

That was my wife. She wasn't too pleased with the cowbells either.

 

[mbwhitti]

Prices for the snack cart. One thing I forgot to check was to see if they took MagicBands here...I THINK they did, but I cannot swear to it. I had brought all of my food/coffee with me from home/the room, so I didn't buy anything.

I think I remember seeing "cash only" because DH and I were going to get a coffee and only had our magicbands.

 

[Ariel484]

2015 Walt Disney World 10K! The Finish!

We looped around in front of Yacht & Beach before heading back to the International Gateway. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum had a meet & greet set up just outside of the park, but they were switching out as I ran by, and I've met them before. NEXT PLEASE.

Chip & Dale in track suits! That meets the "special outfits" requirement! of my character meet rules!

From here I ran out into Future World - under that overhang that separates Innoventions East and West. The concrete was weirdly slippery in here, I think because of the humidity? The humidity (90% today vs. 60% yesterday) was also contributing to my feeling like I was actually overdressed today. Just a tad warm with the sleeves on for my taste.

My pro pictures are pretty bad from today. I do think this one is pretty ridiculous and funny though - and it's actually the best one of my 10K pro pictures, so that tells you a little something about what the rest look like. I'm pretty much addicted to Starbucks so it's somewhat appropriate that the photographer captured me gracefully (??) jumping for joy in front of Fountain View.

On through Future World we went before exiting the park.

These puppets were set up opposite Mile Marker 6. I'm still mad at them after that mile 20 crap from the 2013 marathon...

Yeehaw!

And I was done, just before sunrise! Woo! Temperature at the finish line today was 48 degrees with a real-feel of 44. My official time was 1:26:49, a 13:48/mile pace.

Just like the previous day, I grabbed water and Powerade (they have green, blue and red at the finish area - I always picked red) and my snackbox and a banana. And just like the previous day, Dopey runners did not actually have to confirm times or pictures or get wristbands. We just walked through the tent, questioning every volunteer we came upon. And we were told over and over again that we didn't need to do anything, that our picture would be confirmed the next day. Ooooookay.

ANYWAY. 9.3 miles down, one Goofy Challenge (39.3 miles) to go!

Continued in Next Post

 

[mbwhitti]

You should buy a beer at the expo next time. You get to keep the big plastic cup and use it for half price refills in the finishing area if you pack it in your bag check bag.

Thanks for the tip!! DH will definitely be doing this next time!! I'm not a beer drinker, so I'll pass. He will be excited though!

 

[Ariel484]

You should buy a beer at the expo next time. You get to keep the big plastic cup and use it for half price refills in the finishing area if you pack it in your bag check bag.

Reeeeeally...noted for next time!

That was my wife. She wasn't too pleased with the cowbells either.

OUCH!!

I think I remember seeing "cash only" because DH and I were going to get a coffee and only had our magicbands.

You're totally right...I can see where it says that they only take cash if I squint really hard at that picture I posted. Thank you for pointing that out!

Also, that is DUMB that they don't take the MagicBands!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I'm really excited about this course for the GSC next month!! I was really hoping they would have Tweedle Dee and Dum like they did for you guys b/c my friend and I are dressing as them, but it's doubtful. I can still hope though!

Interesting thoughts on corral placement. I'm interested to see where I'm placed, I'm a middle of the packer too AND doing the GSC, so I just assumed I would be back a bit. I'll know in the next week or so!

 

[RnbwSktles]

Once thing I forgot to mention earlier - the mythical emergency bib pick-up for the morning of the races DOES exist! I know because on Tuesday when I thought my flight was going to get delayed due to snow, I called runDisney to see what I should do if I couldn't make it to the expo on Wednesday. They confirmed that I could get a temporary bib the morning of the 5K and use it for that race, but that I'd need to go to the expo later to get my real bibs and race shirts. This Information tent is where the extra bibs are given out (I could see the bibs stacked up on the back table when I was scoping it out since Jess' husband Bill was going to need to get his bib the morning of the marathon). runDisney is VERY quiet about this, which is understandable - I'm sure they don't want everyone mobbing the tent on race morning. And they want all of us to go to the expo to shop!

Did you happen to see what the bibs looked like? Since you said "stacked" it makes me think everyone just got a random number assigned to them for this race. Interesting!

 

[Ariel484]

I'm really excited about this course for the GSC next month!! I was really hoping they would have Tweedle Dee and Dum like they did for you guys b/c my friend and I are dressing as them, but it's doubtful. I can still hope though!

I really did like it a lot!

There's definitely a possibility! They may also be out during the half in front of the teacups. Of course that doesn't help if you aren't dressed as them that day...

Interesting thoughts on corral placement. I'm interested to see where I'm placed, I'm a middle of the packer too AND doing the GSC, so I just assumed I would be back a bit. I'll know in the next week or so!

Another rD friend disagrees with me (she thinks they corralled us based on our times for ALL of the races) but I just don't know...I DO think they corralled me properly for the marathon. For the half I thought I should have been up 1 or 2, but whatever!

Did you happen to see what the bibs looked like? Since you said "stacked" it makes me think everyone just got a random number assigned to them for this race. Interesting!

At the time, no, but I just creeped on photos of my friend's husband who picked up his bib the morning of the marathon, and his bib looks like all of the other marathon runners' bibs. And he didn't automatically get put in the last corral or anything so I think it was still his same number that was on his race waiver.