Headed back to the Fort, January 2019 TR thread.

[garneska]

@Boomer1 let know if you find a place to dump the love seat. We are planning a new chair for the RV and want to ditch the old one rather than bring it home. It is in bad shape.

 

[garneska]

This morning was cold but survived. I was hoping to run under 50 minutes but I did 50:24 and at least I feel good so far.









The funny thing is I finished before the very last coral started. I also completely forgot to check what row I parked in. Had to use the unlock key to follow the sound. Working till 3 today and then have a few days off.

 

[garneska]

My winner

 

[Boomer1]

@Boomer1 let know if you find a place to dump the love seat. We are planning a new chair for the RV and want to ditch the old one rather than bring it home. It is in bad shape.

Hi Kris,
Tom spoke with the front desk and they gave him a number to call when we have it ready. He had to disassemble it a bit to get it outside of the RV. We look a little like the Beverly Hillbillies right now with a sofa outside.
Congratulations on completing the 10k. Mallory looks great with that medal!

 

[Campinfam2018]

Time to go... FtW 2019 trip starts at 0900, stop over tonight at Jekyll Island (Coastal Georgia RV), not sure about arrival time on Sunday, should we wait till later in the day? FtW veterans please assist !

 

[garneska]

@Campinfam2018 if you are arriving Sunday I would say later in the afternoon because it is marathon weekend. Normally campers try to get here early but you may have road closures. We do run on world drive and it’s early but road closures will be plentiful.

 

[Campinfam2018]

@Campinfam2018 if you are arriving Sunday I would say later in the afternoon because it is marathon weekend. Normally campers try to get here early but you may have road closures. We do run on world drive and it’s early but road closures will be plentiful.

Thanks, we arrived at 11:00 am back in April, I reviewed the road closure maps, will make a command decision Sunday morning, Good Luck on your RUN !

 

[garneska]

Thanks!! Yes definitely review the closures. Disney does try to get stuff open as soon as possible. Another option is coming in the back way through Disney operations. You will avoid all marathon stuff.

 

[bama_ed]

Jekyll Island to Fort Wilderness shows a 3.5-4.0 hour drive per Google Maps.

I for one would NOT tow a camper or drive a Class A down I4 given the construction from mm95 to about mm74. (I was in this area between Christmas and New Years) I would take the Hwy 417 bypass around (it's a toll road but worth it) starting at mm101b on I-4, exit onto Hwy 536 and follow that straight into WDW which becomes Epcot Center Dr (which is clear of race/marathon stuff by about 9am). Then it's a short turn off onto Bonnet Creek Parkway and on to the Fort.

Here is a pic of getting off 417 (bottom right), riding in on Epcot Center Dr, zig zagging down onto Bonnet Creek, then on to the Fort:



It costs less (fewer tolls) if you take I95 south past Daytona (skip I4 altogether) to Titusville then take Hwy 528 west toward the Orlando airport and pick up Hwy 417 and into WDW the same way as I previously described. But it's a few more miles out of your way.

I really think the I4 to Hwy 417 is the way to go (it's still fresh in my mind). I did this route only two weeks ago.

Bama Ed

PS - the marathon runners start filling up Epcot Center Blvd from about Buena Vista Drive around to the front of the Epcot parking lots starting at about 4am (been there, done that). It's a lot of standing around and waiting. At 530am they start releasing the runners in bunches every couple minutes in "waves". By 7am all the runners have started and Disney is quick to clear the road of fences and such to get the road open for regular park goers. So it should be fine by the time you arrive.

By the time you arrive, runners are straggling through Animal Kingdom, trudging over to Wide World of Sports along Osceola Parkway, limping up World Drive for a brief trip through Hollywood Studios, and then celebrating along the canal into Epcot via the International Gateway, the countries, out Epcot under Spaceship Earth, and the delirious finish line in the Epcot parking lot. (been there, done that). These places are not along your route so they should be out of your way as you come into the property.

 

[Campinfam2018]

Jekyll Island to Fort Wilderness shows a 3.5-4.0 hour drive per Google Maps.

I for one would NOT tow a camper or drive a Class A down I4 given the construction from mm95 to about mm74. (I was in this area between Christmas and New Years) I would take the Hwy 417 bypass around (it's a toll road but worth it) starting at mm101b on I-4, exit onto Hwy 536 and follow that straight into WDW which becomes Epcot Center Dr (which is clear of race/marathon stuff by about 9am). Then it's a short turn off onto Bonnet Creek Parkway and on to the Fort.

Here is a pic of getting off 417 (bottom right), riding in on Epcot Center Dr, zig zagging down onto Bonnet Creek, then on to the Fort:

View attachment 375137

It costs less (fewer tolls) if you take I95 south past Daytona (skip I4 altogether) to Titusville then take Hwy 528 west toward the Orlando airport and pick up Hwy 417 and into WDW the same way as I previously described. But it's a few more miles out of your way.

I really think the I4 to Hwy 417 is the way to go (it's still fresh in my mind). I did this route only two weeks ago.

Bama Ed

PS - the marathon runners start filling up Epcot Center Blvd from about Buena Vista Drive around to the front of the Epcot parking lots starting at about 4am (been there, done that). It's a lot of standing around and waiting. At 530am they start releasing the runners in bunches every couple minutes in "waves". By 7am all the runners have started and Disney is quick to clear the road of fences and such to get the road open for regular park goers. So it should be fine by the time you arrive.

By the time you arrive, runners are straggling through Animal Kingdom, trudging over to Wide World of Sports along Osceola Parkway, limping up World Drive for a brief trip through Hollywood Studios, and then celebrating along the canal into Epcot via the International Gateway, the countries, out Epcot under Spaceship Earth, and the delirious finish line in the Epcot parking lot. (been there, done that). These places are not along your route so they should be out of your way as you come into the property.

Thank you Bama Ed for taking the time to give us a great overview. That is the information we needed to make our decision, we had been working on an alternative way in, however it seems like we will be OK with the route we are familiar with.
We plan to be on the road by 7 !

 

[Campinfam2018]

We are home...here at the Fort. 7:30 departure from Coastal Ga RV, smooth sailing to FtW, 11:48 arrival, Site 924 ready text around 11:40, took a few pull ups to get in, however had some help from a friend...

 

[garneska]

@bama_ed are you trying to steal my thunder? Well we finished. My race was not too bad, Bert battled mightily. He did PR by 10 minutes over last year but he had a lot of issues with his hips running.

Mallory completely off he schedule but she did pee for us at 3 am so that was a win.

We got ears but Bert was hurting so we jumped on the bus as fast as he could. This sums up the morning starting at 3 am.

 

[bama_ed]

Kris, my stragglng/limping/celebrating descriptions were for where I live in the back of the pack. Up at the front where you Alpha types are, I'm sure everything is just a blur. I did see this morning that there was a warm weather warning for the race although the low early this morning appeared to be in the high 40s. I guess once the sun got above the horizon, it started to warm up? Congrats to both you and Bert.

As I tell people, to me the worst part is not the race itself or the pain in the later part of it; it's the 3am wakeup call after virtually no sleep because I'm so nervous/excited.

Yep, Bert looks zonked out. Let the man rest in peace.

Bama Ed

 

[friendofeeyore]

Congratulations to Chris & Bert! Mallory on her pee. Bert can relate on the hip thing. Be glad when I can drive & bend down. Lol

 

[dgarnes03]

@bama_ed are you trying to steal my thunder? Well we finished. My race was not too bad, Bert battled mightily. He did PR by 10 minutes over last year but he had a lot of issues with his hips running.

Mallory completely off he schedule but she did pee for us at 3 am so that was a win.

We got ears but Bert was hurting so we jumped on the bus as fast as he could. This sums up the morning starting at 3 am.

View attachment 375222

View attachment 375224

View attachment 375223

Oh dear, Mallory looks stronger than Bert!!

 

[bama_ed]

Hey Kris, is that a price tag on the right side of your sun glasses next to your cheek bone?

I hope you paid for those before you left the grounds. I mean if you got a receipt and all that you can produce.

Bama Ed

PS - or is it on that loop from your ears/hat?

 

[Boomer1]

Hey Kris,
Congratulations to you and Bert. The sofa pick up went well. Tom called the number and dragged the sofa out to the trash cans. Along came a cast member with a large tractor with forks and quickly took it away. Please wait til Bert gets up off the couch before calling for pick up.

 

[bama_ed]

Hey Kris,
Congratulations to you and Bert. The sofa pick up went well. Tom called the number and dragged the sofa out to the trash cans. Along came a cast member with a large tractor with forks and quickly took it away. Please wait til Bert gets up off the couch before calling for pick up.

Krista,

Yes, let's let Bert sleep....

Bama Ed

PS - tell Tom I said, "hey".

 

[garneska]

PS - or is it on that loop from your ears/hat?

Ed you got it. it is the price tag on the loop for the ears. I was not sure if we would get ears this year. They did them last year but i thought that was for the 25th anniversary of the marathon. Personally i like them and glad they do it. I mean really the ears are cute and i kind of like wearing them more than the medal. The medal(s) are heavy.

We definitely had to change some plans around last night. Thankfully I made sure when booking them i had the ability to do that. We cancelled Ravello at the Four Seasons and opted for Trails End. Bert did not even want to go for that but I was like nope you need real food. However thank you Herb for the cookies, they did not make it after the showers. Needless to say i was feeling a lot better than bert and i needed real food. The walk to TE, while painful for bert due to his blisters did help everyone. I needed the food, i had comfort food. We were also able to go at opening so we had dinner at 4:30 and back at the rig by 5:30. We then got mallory outside (boy was that fun) and sat outside for a bit while she ate. Then took her for a walk. Brought her in and straight back to the bedroom. We crawled into bed at 7 pm. Flipped on the football game and was asleep by 7:20.

We are up now, having coffee. Still have to deal with mallory this morning and probably breakfast. Plan is still to go to Epcot but will see. Supposed to meet disboard runners at epcot at 11:15 and i want to see illuminations. I am not sure i can be at the park from 11 to 9:30. I know we can come back mid day and we may just have to do that or skip illuminations.

thanks Krista on the info for the sofa removal. I will talk to the front once we are certain we are ditching the chair.

 

[garneska]

i forgot to mention, after just getting back from the marathon, we finally met Katie from the Savage Sisters fame. She was a sweetie and even put a smile on Bert's face, which at that moment was a feat.