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

[smickchic]

I love your trip reports! Glad you are doing another one. I would love to do a Disney race, but I'm not ambitious enough to plan it. I'm really into fitness but not running especially. I would give it a go if someone planned a race trip for me.

You definitely look leaner than past trip reports. Gotta love those weights!

 

[Ariel484]

Day 4: Saturday, January 10, 2015

2015 Walt Disney World Half Marathon! The First 5K

And then it was our turn to GO at about 6AM!

3-2-1 GOOOOO!

And we were off! Ahead of time we'd agreed to do intervals for this race (running 4 minutes, walking 1 minute) but Jess threw me when she suggested that we just run most of the way to the Magic Kingdom to bank some time for characters. I was a little nervous to do this with the marathon the next day...on the other hand, I needed some more character pictures from this weekend, and I knew the Magic Kingdom was our best shot to get them, so OKAY.

We sped down Epcot Center Drive. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing a guy dressed in a full-on Mr. Incredible outfit (red spandex, little black Speedo, the works). Thankfully his back was to us as he was relieving himself in the bushes. Quite the visual...Mr. Incredible peeing on the side of the road. The things you see during a Disney race...

After turning onto World Drive we saw some stilt walkers from Move It Shake It Blah Blah Blah and were at Mile Marker 2 in less than 11 minutes. This was a bit faster than I'd originally planned on running this race!

A pirates photo-op was set up to our left...we passed that up because we got a (wet) picture with the same set-up during Wine & Dine. Plus, we'd be running back down this same road later, so if we changed our minds it would still be there, and the lines would almost certainly be significantly shorter.

TELL THE GUARDS TO OPEN UP...THE GAAAATES!

We found our first character stop of the race near the WDW Speedway - Wreck-it Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz! Unfortunately just as it was our turn to take pictures with them, Ralph left! So we stayed and got a picture with Vanellope.

But first...let's talk outfits!

Jess and I ran the Royal Family 5K together with Courtney in February during Princess Half Marathon weekend. I had on a Raw Threads Mermaid top, Jess had on the Sea Witch top (same one I'd worn for the 10K) and Courtney found a cute Flounder tank on a different website (Zazzle, I think). Jess thought it would be fun to do the villain/princess thing again for this race, and she already had an Evil Queen top. So I took advantage of a sale in the fall and grabbed the Snow White top from Raw Threads!

I mean...look at the dwarf hats on the back. Adorable, right?

And I found a red headband with a bow...if only I'd ponied up the cash to get a yellow skirt. Would have been a pretty decent Snow White knock-off.

ANYWAY...Vanellope!

Ralph was heading back, so we stalled for a few seconds and got another picture!

Total, this stop took 4 minutes. Somewhere in here we hit the 5K timing mat and our first update was sent out at 6:36AM: 5K in 35:13, 11:20/mile pace. Estimated finish time was 2:28:33 (8:30AM) at that point. Hahahaha.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

I love your trip reports! Glad you are doing another one. I would love to do a Disney race, but I'm not ambitious enough to plan it. I'm really into fitness but not running especially. I would give it a go if someone planned a race trip for me.

Thank you, and thanks for reading again!

You could plan it...I have faith in you. Expo stop, wake up and go do your race. Also pack all of your running stuff. Also make sure you bring your waiver. Also make sure you are trained ahead of time. Easy? Sorry, in a weird mood.

You definitely look leaner than past trip reports. Gotta love those weights!

THANK YOU!! That is so nice of you to say! I am having a crappy, crappy day and you just made it a lot better!!

 

[HumblePie]

I'm really enjoying your report! I'm seriously considering a RunDisney race in 2016 (probably JUST the half marathon ) and this thread is so informative. Thanks so much! And I bow down to you for taking on the Dopey, wow!

 

[ursalita]

That is a super cute shirt, no wonder you got a lot of compliments on it.

Animation station looks fun, can't wait to try it with my little artist.

That must be some good grilled cheese and tomato. The sundae looks awesome!

I can't believe you not only ran those races, you also had fun at the parks. I would have been in my room crying.

 

[ZellyB]

Such fun updates!!

You totally have me wanting to run that 10K course now. I'd love to get to run through Epcot and the boardwalk area at that time. And, if I'm going to mess with the 10K, that probably means I might as well do a Dopey right? Not to mention the cuteness of the Minnie medal.

That football Mickey is too cute for words!!! I'm so glad you got a shot with him.

Ugg on the 20-mile puppets making a reappearance. I think all of us who ran that race are probably forever soured on them. Poor puppets.

I know it was Caitlin you asked, but C & D were right outside Champion Stadium in WWoS on the marathon. At least they were for us. And they had no line when we got to them which was awesome!

Love your shots with Minnie even if you do have a purple hue. And, we ran into that same Bert when we were there. He was just wandering around by himself outside Animation Academy and came up and started talking to us. Asked if we were having a jolly holiday. I mean it was cute, but he was definitely a chatty fellow.

There is nothing better on a chilly day then grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. An absolute favorite of mine as well.

Sorry to hear your 1/2 day started out with a headache. I'm sure it was just general fatigue catching up to you. That's one of my biggest reasons for questioning a Dopey run. 4 early AM wake-ups. Blech.

You guys were off to a quick start! And, I love that Snow White shirt. So cute!!! Chris and I debated stopping for Wreck it Ralph and Vanellope, but the line was really long as we went past and I was banking time for a character stop in MK that I fully intended to make. That didn't pan out unfortunately and I'm still upset about it.

 

[cadek]

I do totally feel like a bad*** for running 13.1 miles in the rain though, lemme tell ya.

Because it is totally bad***!

It seems like Disney races would be fun to run with a friend. I do all of my runs and races alone, and prefer it that way, not that I know what it's like to run with someone... but I could see myself wishing I had someone running with me at Disney.

 

[RnbwSktles]

All of your posts so far about the bus lines has made me pretty jealous. This was the line I waited on for the half.

That combined with the traffic got me to the staging area at 5, and not even in my corral until after the race actually started...which I much prefered over waiting around forever.

 

[Miffy2003]

More! More!

 

[Slogger]

[QUOTE I am having a crappy, crappy day and you just made it a lot better!!g:[/QUOTE]

We have all been there. Hopefully you know that your trip report and updates are making everyone else's days a whole lot better.

 

[Biggie Smalls]

Loved your take on the 10k. I think your right on the corral system bc I registered 10 mins after it opened and I was in corral C which to be honest I should not have been in. The 10k sold out super fast so people who registered an hour later would have been further back it seems.

I kinda wished they had spread out the big characters like Mickey and chip and dale. By the time I got to them I had hit my stride and didn't want to wait in the lines. Which I now totally regret! (Another reason to do another race right?)

What other races are you doing this year?

 

[disneyhorselover]

Your drawing of Donald is so cute! What a fitting character for the day before the half! Now that I've done Animation Academy a couple times, I've decided that having a good artist can really make or break the experience.

Oh man I have to stop looking at these food pictures while I'm already hungry-I would kill for a disney baked good right now!
I knew I wanted to try Beaches and Cream eventually, but after that review I'm feeling like I need to get there ASAP. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is one of my go to meals, but that looks waaaaaaaayyy better than the one I make at home!
And that sundae...

Ok, so I'm going to play devil's advocate here and defend the race announcers on the "just" a half marathon thing.
First off, I wholeheartedly agree that it should NOT be referred to as "just" a half marathon or "just" a marathon-running 13 miles is a huge accomplishment and nothing should be taken away from that. However, I remember them making that comment before the race, and while my first reaction was similar to yours, I really do not think that was their intention with comments like that. I felt like they were trying to pay attention to/bring up excitement for the group that was not doing a challenge, since they were about the cross the same course and work just as hard that morning as challenge runners were. However, how do you call out that group, without phrasing it the way they did? Not trying to be snarky here, genuine question. I haven't thought of any way (also why I am not an announcer for anything, lol). I feel as if with the challenges, the announcers are put in a bit of a tricky spot-if they only acknowledge challenge runners, someone will be disappointed. If they ask who is "just" running a half, someone else will be disappointed. However, rundisney certainly employees enough minds-you would think someone could come up with a better way!

Sorry for the long novel/tangent! I have seen multiple people complain about them using that phrase and have thought a lot about how there must be a better way....


Back to a happier note, the vocalist that morning was SO good! And I enjoyed hearing Metallica at the start...not Disney-like, but it is on my running playlist so it pumped me up for sure.

LOL at the Mr. Incredible mental picture....

Was it me, or were the character lines very very long at the start of the race? Certainly longer than I saw at PHM or ToT, but I wondered if that was due to the corral I started in (J, compared to D/E in other races). Glad you got some good pictures in though

 

[disneyhorselover]

I know it was Caitlin you asked, but C & D were right outside Champion Stadium in WWoS on the marathon. At least they were for us. And they had no line when we got to them which was awesome!



That's one of my biggest reasons for questioning a Dopey run. 4 early AM wake-ups. Blech.

Yup, that is where I saw them too-also with a very short line!


I'm with ya on the wake ups-I think the extra 2 wake up calls would be much rougher than the extra 9 miles.

 

[FFigawi]

With each corral release, Disney music would be played - one of the corrals got Spectromagic music and Jess and I both freaked out. Man I miss that parade. Another corral may have gotten Metallica? Decidedly NOT Disney!

We got Metallica for the full. Loved it! Nothing like Enter Sandman to get your blood pumping before a marathon.

 

[mbwhitti]

I know I've made a few comments along the way, but I just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying your posts!! It's like reliving my trip all over again with new ideas for next time. So, I know I never said I will do Dopey again....but your posts are making me want to go back right now!

 

[Ariel484]

I'm really enjoying your report! I'm seriously considering a RunDisney race in 2016 (probably JUST the half marathon) and this thread is so informative. Thanks so much! And I bow down to you for taking on the Dopey, wow!

Thank you so much for reading! Oh, JUST the half marathon you say??

That is a super cute shirt, no wonder you got a lot of compliments on it.

Thanks!

Animation station looks fun, can't wait to try it with my little artist.

It really was! Just be aware - they don't provide erasers for the pencils in the class, so that could get a little frustrating for some kiddos.

That must be some good grilled cheese and tomato. The sundae looks awesome!

Yes, sooooo good. I am totally kicking myself now for not having any of that sundae. Next time!

I can't believe you not only ran those races, you also had fun at the parks. I would have been in my room crying.

I sort of can't believe it either - I'm very surprised by, and happy with, how well I held up.

Such fun updates!!

Thanks!

You totally have me wanting to run that 10K course now. I'd love to get to run through Epcot and the boardwalk area at that time. And, if I'm going to mess with the 10K, that probably means I might as well do a Dopey right? Not to mention the cuteness of the Minnie medal.

Haha, sorry about that! That paragraph that you wrote out is pretty much exactly what my thought process was. I'm sure a lot of people felt the same way and that probably contributed to Goofy selling out so slowly this year.

That football Mickey is too cute for words!!! I'm so glad you got a shot with him.

I know!! I loooooved him!

Ugg on the 20-mile puppets making a reappearance. I think all of us who ran that race are probably forever soured on them. Poor puppets.

You are probably right! I didn't, like, give them dirty looks or anything, but I obviously didn't stop for a picture with them either!

I know it was Caitlin you asked, but C & D were right outside Champion Stadium in WWoS on the marathon. At least they were for us. And they had no line when we got to them which was awesome!

That is so awesome! I can't believe I missed them!

Love your shots with Minnie even if you do have a purple hue. And, we ran into that same Bert when we were there. He was just wandering around by himself outside Animation Academy and came up and started talking to us. Asked if we were having a jolly holiday. I mean it was cute, but he was definitely a chatty fellow.

At least Bert was happy to be there, I guess...

There is nothing better on a chilly day then grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. An absolute favorite of mine as well.

So agree!!! Such a solid meal anywhere.

Sorry to hear your 1/2 day started out with a headache. I'm sure it was just general fatigue catching up to you. That's one of my biggest reasons for questioning a Dopey run. 4 early AM wake-ups. Blech.

I think that's definitely what it was. It took awhile to settle into that schedule, for sure.

You guys were off to a quick start! And, I love that Snow White shirt. So cute!!! Chris and I debated stopping for Wreck it Ralph and Vanellope, but the line was really long as we went past and I was banking time for a character stop in MK that I fully intended to make. That didn't pan out unfortunately and I'm still upset about it.

Ahhh I know! I was like..."JESS, what are you doing to me?!"

Honestly, I would have been fine skipping Wreck-It Ralph, but Jess wanted to stop, so we did.

Oh no!! which one didn't pan out??

Because it is totally bad***!

Indeed it is!!!

It seems like Disney races would be fun to run with a friend. I do all of my runs and races alone, and prefer it that way, not that I know what it's like to run with someone... but I could see myself wishing I had someone running with me at Disney.

I know what you mean, I do every single run and race alone, too...except for occasional races at Disney. It is fun to have someone to share it with.

All of your posts so far about the bus lines has made me pretty jealous. This was the line I waited on for the half.

That combined with the traffic got me to the staging area at 5, and not even in my corral until after the race actually started...which I much prefered over waiting around forever.

Of course the timing really doesn't sound that bad!! You always hear horror stories every year though...

More! More!

 

[Ariel484]

We have all been there. Hopefully you know that your trip report and updates are making everyone else's days a whole lot better.

That is so nice of you to say. Thank you so much!

Loved your take on the 10k. I think your right on the corral system bc I registered 10 mins after it opened and I was in corral C which to be honest I should not have been in. The 10k sold out super fast so people who registered an hour later would have been further back it seems.

I kinda wished they had spread out the big characters like Mickey and chip and dale. By the time I got to them I had hit my stride and didn't want to wait in the lines. Which I now totally regret! (Another reason to do another race right?)

Ahhh, I agree with you on spreading the characters out!! That would have been nice...they must have decided it wouldn't really work for the first 3 miles. But I was really expecting more in World Showcase.

What other races are you doing this year?

Right now I'm signed up for a local 10-miler in April and a local 10K in May...I'm also planning on the Disneyland 5K and the Dumbo Double Dare for this year. My brother has mentioned wanting to do a local marathon so if he signs up for that I likely will as well...I keep going back and forth. And if the rumors are true and the Castaway Cay 5K has changed to the rubber medals and is still free, I'll probably do that race in July or October (even though I swore I never would again...)

Not sure other than that! Mostly I just want to focus on getting a little faster this year.

Your drawing of Donald is so cute! What a fitting character for the day before the half! Now that I've done Animation Academy a couple times, I've decided that having a good artist can really make or break the experience.

Thanks! I should have posted a picture of Courtney's - her's was the best of the 3 of us, for sure. And I agree about the animator...since she was newer I think she went a little slower in the beginning and then we had to rush a bit toward the end of the class.

Oh man I have to stop looking at these food pictures while I'm already hungry-I would kill for a disney baked good right now!
I knew I wanted to try Beaches and Cream eventually, but after that review I'm feeling like I need to get there ASAP. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is one of my go to meals, but that looks waaaaaaaayyy better than the one I make at home!
And that sundae...

Definitely try it! It's sooooo good. The grilled cheese sandwich is incredibly, incredibly rich...the only way I can handle it is to dip it in the soup, to be honest.

Ok, so I'm going to play devil's advocate here and defend the race announcers on the "just" a half marathon thing.
First off, I wholeheartedly agree that it should NOT be referred to as "just" a half marathon or "just" a marathon-running 13 miles is a huge accomplishment and nothing should be taken away from that. However, I remember them making that comment before the race, and while my first reaction was similar to yours, I really do not think that was their intention with comments like that. I felt like they were trying to pay attention to/bring up excitement for the group that was not doing a challenge, since they were about the cross the same course and work just as hard that morning as challenge runners were. However, how do you call out that group, without phrasing it the way they did? Not trying to be snarky here, genuine question. I haven't thought of any way (also why I am not an announcer for anything, lol). I feel as if with the challenges, the announcers are put in a bit of a tricky spot-if they only acknowledge challenge runners, someone will be disappointed. If they ask who is "just" running a half, someone else will be disappointed. However, rundisney certainly employees enough minds-you would think someone could come up with a better way!

Sorry for the long novel/tangent! I have seen multiple people complain about them using that phrase and have thought a lot about how there must be a better way....

Oh no, I totally get what you're saying. It just made me cringe every time they said it...there HAS to be a better way to say it, what that is though, I'm not sure.

I read comments here from people who say stuff like that...like "I'm just doing the full." Like their accomplishment isn't as worthy as a challenge runner's...like they're diminishing their own accomplishment, and I hate that for them. And I have read that it bugs people. Personally I didn't feel like I, as a Dopey runner, needed to be recognized every morning. I would have been fine if they didn't call out the challenge runners separately at all, but that's just me.

Back to a happier note, the vocalist that morning was SO good! And I enjoyed hearing Metallica at the start...not Disney-like, but it is on my running playlist so it pumped me up for sure.

Yes, so impressed that they could sing such a hard song that early in the morning in the cold and still sound awesome!

LOL at the Mr. Incredible mental picture....

Yeah, that was something I thought I'd never see, for sure...

Was it me, or were the character lines very very long at the start of the race? Certainly longer than I saw at PHM or ToT, but I wondered if that was due to the corral I started in (J, compared to D/E in other races). Glad you got some good pictures in though

I did think they were longer. They're always pretty sure toward the very end, I guess...but maybe they were longer because they were more rare (i.e. Jack and Sally)? Who knows. I'd always be okay with shorter lines, for sure!

Yup, that is where I saw them too-also with a very short line!

Darn! Was I blind or what? Maybe they were switching out when I went by...

I'm with ya on the wake ups-I think the extra 2 wake up calls would be much rougher than the extra 9 miles.

And I would agree with your assessment on that!!

We got Metallica for the full. Loved it! Nothing like Enter Sandman to get your blood pumping before a marathon.

NICE! I forget what they played for our corral, but it wasn't Metallica.

I know I've made a few comments along the way, but I just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying your posts!! It's like reliving my trip all over again with new ideas for next time. So, I know I never said I will do Dopey again....but your posts are making me want to go back right now!

Thanks!! Thanks for reading.

I want to go back too...SOOO BADLY!!!

 

[Ariel484]

2015 Walt Disney World Half Marathon! Magic Kingdom, Part 1

We were approaching the TTC and I could see projections up in a tree in the distance, on the right side of the road. I was pretty sure it was Zero from Nightmare Before Christmas, which meant that Jack and Sally were out! I jabbed Jess in the arm (she listens to music when she runs and occasionally will bust out some Body Combat moves) and we hopped in line!

This line was loooooong - total this stop took 8 minutes. But this was exactly why we'd banked time in the beginning of the race!

A very important conversation happened here:
Me: Isn't this fun?!
Jess: YES!!

Yay!!

What's this? What's this??

I was monitoring our pace and when we got out of this line we were up to a 14:45/mile average pace! Oops!

Soon after Jack and Sally we were approaching the TTC...this is the first chance on the course to use a *real* bathroom, but neither of us felt like we had to stop just yet. The lines are normally pretty long here, anyway. We wanted to make up some of that lost time!

HEY JESSSSSS

Mile Marker 4 is here, too.

Under the Contemporary water bridge...

...and on to Mile Marker 5! You can sort of see Astro Orbitor peeking through the trees:

A couple of turns later, we were backstage at the Magic Kingdom!

I'd been hoping to get to the park in time to see the Dreamlights, but with the Jack & Sally stop I knew we'd be cutting it close. So I was very happy when we turned onto Main Street and found that the castle was still lit up, even though the sun was rising!

I was also happy that we had a little breathing room on Main Street this morning. Not sure if it was the new corrals or what, but this part of the course was a lot less crowded than I remembered from 2013!

Has anyone seen my Evil Queen?! (I know she was right next to me...I think she was anyway. Not sure how she's out of frame completely?!)

A princess and an evil queen in the Kingdom!

See? Jess actually loves running Disney races.

Continued in Next Post

 

[rteetz]

My next Disney race or races will definitely include a half or a full. I loved running through Epcot in the 10k but I think it would just be incredible running through the magic kingdom. This was my first time ever seeing the castle lights and I loved it.

 

[Ariel484]

2015 Walt Disney World Half Marathon! Magic Kingdom, Part 2

We took a right turn into Tomorrowland...

By now we were thinking about a bathroom stop. We didn't want to go too far off the course, so the Tomorrowland Terrace and Space Mountain ones were off the table.

Apparently leaping was just the thing for me to do this weekend, because it happened again...

Bask in my lameness.

We passed the Lunching Pad (Buzz was out - not rare enough and too long a line!) and checked the bathrooms by Mickey's Star Traders...the line was out the door, so we nixed that.

Fantasyland was up next. The Queen of Hearts was out in front of the Teacups...I'd met her before and Jess wasn't interested, so we passed her up. Courtney had told me that she'd used the bathrooms in front of Pinocchio's Village Haus during the Princess Half, so I was thinking maybe we'd stop there...

...and then I got distracted. By a character of course!

*RARE CHARACTER ALERT* - it's Ulf, the mime from Tangled!

There were MAYBE 2-3 people already in line, so we had basically zero wait. I'm guessing people didn't know who he was? We were stunned - and pumped! Per the character handler, he doesn't do meet & greets - he's in the parade only. We were SO excited!

We continued on and didn't see any more character meets in Fantasyland, including at the back of the castle (where I'd met Royal Donald during the 2013 half), so that was disappointing. Anna, Elsa and Kristoff were making it snow and talking to us.

We ran through the castle and into Liberty Square - and Louis was out, so we hopped in line!

Let me tell you...we had ZERO patience for the lady in front of us. She was really, really oddly fixated on getting a picture with her head in Louis' mouth. The character attendant told her that Louis doesn't do pictures like that, and she actually argued with him!

Stupid lady: "Why not?"
Character Attendant: "Louis doesn't eat people."

Now, we weren't in this line for very long - 2-3 minutes at the max - but at the time we were still trying to make up the minutes we'd lost from that Jack and Sally meet, and this lady was being SO obnoxious. I mean, really...arguing with the character attendant? Could you not??

This seriously went on for 30-45 seconds. And eventually Jess and I both were just like, "Nope. Nope, you can't do it. Could you not? Could you seriously not??" We were being pretty loud...not sure whether she heard us.

Finally the woman got her picture (with her head really close to Louis' mouth, still almost shoving it in...I really do not get why this was so important to her) and it was our turn!

Hey!

We turned into Frontierland and ventured a little way's off the course to make a bathroom stop - no lines in this one! Beautiful. There was a Country Bear out meeting but we passed him up and found Mile Marker 6. This mile took almost 18 minutes! I've had this mile take me over 30 minutes before (during the 2013 marathon I think) so this was actually less than I was expecting!

Backstage Aurora and Prince Philip were out with a HUGE line. We continued on and found the most crowded area of the course - it's a service road that you take to get out of the Magic Kingdom, and it's just one lane for all of the runners. Not fun! I remember being a little down at this point - leaving the Magic Kingdom is always sort of deflating, and with all of the starting and stopping my arches were starting to bother me a bit. This was was really concerning, as arch issues were the one bad injury I'd dealt with in the fall. It had creeped up again during training (specifically right at the end of my 20-miler the weekend before Christmas), so to have the soreness come back here was not great! Luckily it was just a little sore...not like it had been in September when it was clearly injured

We hit the 10K mat somewhere in here and our update was sent out at 7:31 (so the second 5K had taken us almost an hour) - 10K in 1:30:23, 14:33/mile pace. Estimated finish time was now 3:10:42 (9:12AM). So that's what a couple of character lines and a bathroom stop will do to ya!

Continued in Next Post