I Can't Believe I Ran the Whole Thing: A 2016 Dopey Challenge Trip Report

[Mimsy Borogove]

Sorry if the title is a spoiler alert!

Welcome to my very first DIS Boards Trip Report (please be gentle ). I was a runner waaaaaaaay back in high school (track & field) and ran for fun/sanity in college, but only recently took up endurance running with my first half marathon in 2013, the Wine & Dine Half. In 2015 I ran 5 half marathons, including 2 runDisney races (Star Wars Half, Princess Half). But 2016 was to be my first marathon and the last leg of the Dopey Challenge to boot because I can never do anything without complexity.

But first, a little bit about me and my traveling companions.

My name is Kim and I'm a marine biologist (the real kind, not the George Costanza variety) despite spending my first 18 years of life in landlocked Wisconsin - the Great Lakes don't count! DH and I have been living in Florida long enough to call ourselves Floridians now and have been AP Holders for many years since the late 90s. We lived in Orlando for 7 years, but now we live on the central-east coast, about 2 hours from Disney door-to-door and typically get there at least once per month. DH will not show up in this trip report until marathon day, but I wanted to mention him up front since he was so supportive and important during my training!

This trip, I was first accompanied by my running partner (BRF). We met during our local running store's running camp in summer 2014 and have been running together off and on (depending upon her breaks from the sport) ever since. We decided in early 2015 that we'd like to take on the Dopey Challenge because we had a solid foundation and once registered in April, we began our official training. She had run the Goofy Challenge in 2014 with minimal training and wanted to tackle a bigger challenge. BRF and I booked a room at Caribbean Beach Resort, and on Sunday (January 10) our husbands would join us and we'd go our separate ways at that point.

Unfortunately, since my mode of travel to Disney is via car, I don't have any cool pre-trip airport shots or travel photos like everyone else. You'll just have to imagine us driving through rural central Florida, where the landscape is dominated by prairie and cypress domes and where I occasionally try to bird watch at 70mph!


(You already knew I finished)

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Table of Contents

Day 1, January 6
Race Expo
Caribbean Beach Resort
Hooray for Hollywood (Studios)

Day 2, January 7
Waking Up in the Small Intestine of Dawn
It's Go Time!
Eruptions, Italian and Tiki Style!

Day 3, January 8
Have You Seen A Bird? I am going to find one, and I am on the scent!
Try the Grey Stuff, It's Delicious!

Day 4, January 9
To 13.1...and Beyond!
The Happiest Race Course on Earth?
The Fog Lifts
Mickey Waffles, 'nuff Said

Day 5, January 10
Alice in Runderland
The Long Haul
Climbing Everest
What in the Wide, Wide World of Sports is a-going on here?
1.23 Miles to Beer!
Snakes! Why'd It Have to Be Snakes?

Day 6, January 11
Breakfast and Pooh, and Tigger Too!
Magic Moments
A short while ago in a place quite near...
Light 'Em Up!

Day 7, January 12
Last Dance

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Day 1, January 6 - Race Expo

We arrived at WWOS around noon on Wednesday, hoping that the two hours post-open would allow for some crowd-thinning for packet pick-up. That seemed to work out, because there were a lot of people exiting the facility as we were going in. Packet pick-up was easy, breezy, beautiful. On the way there, I noticed the rD Instagram station, where they take your photo in front of a green screen and then add in a background. I've tried it on three previous occasions: Tower of Terror 10-Miler, Star Wars Half, and Princess Half. Only the first one ever showed up but was cool (me in B&W screaming on the elevator). I never saw what the background was for Marathon Weekend and forgot to stop by on our way out of the building after packet pick-up. Did anyone do the photo op?

After picking up my two bibs and six (!) race shirts, I purchased the pre-race MarathonFoto package. Since I was doing the Dopey, I figured now is as good a time as any to pre-purchase the package and then that way I'd be sure to look out for photogs along the way during the races.




One thing I really like about rD tech shirts is the attention to detail. On Florida long-sleeved race shirts, the park(s) logo(s) are featured for each associated race. From left: 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon, Goofy Challenge, Dopey Challenge.

Then we headed out to the Jostens Center to get our shopping on!



Besides official rD race weekend merchandise, I really had only one get on my list: the New Balance Ariel shoes. I am a marine biologist, after all, and I was so very disappointed that I'd missed out on Princess Half Marathon weekend this year when it was announced the medals would have a Little Mermaid theme. I don't normally wear New Balance shoes, but I figured they would be great parks shoes or to wear at other rD expos and make other people jealous. Only kidding. But they are just so beautiful, it's like Narcissus looking at himself.

I was pretty sure that 2016 was going to be my only marathon (no comments from the peanut gallery! ), so I wanted to get mementos to celebrate the occasion. Many, many mementos. Because the race shirts are long-sleeved and I live in Florida, I picked up short-sleeved versions for both the Dopey Challenge and Marathon. I really liked the retro designs this year, particularly the old WDW logo on everything (somewhere in my parents' house, I have a metal lunchbox with that logo). Flouting superstition, I also picked up an "I Did It!" tee, as well as two magnets (one as insurance in case of sticky fingers down the line), and a mini-Dopey medal pin for my Coast to Coast medal later on (I can't remember who on the boards gave me that idea, so thanks whoever you are!). And of course the Ariel shoes.


I may have purchased some things.

Originally, because this is my only planned marathon (*cough*, I said good day, peanut gallery!), I had also intended to buy the Dooney & Bourke tote, but with the production/distribution snafu, no floor models to inspect prior to purchase, and the delivery date being sometime in April, I decided to not make that particular purchase/major investment. Here's hoping the SW Dark Side Half has good D&Bs!

We finally left the expo around 2:30, at which time, our resort had texted me our room number and location (Aruba section of Caribbean Beach), so we were off to unload my packed-to-the-gills Jeep. Seriously, how do you people who do Dopey from other areas of the country (and other countries!) pack your stuff? Kudos to you.

Next up: Caribbean Beach Resort.

 

[Ladyfish77]

Ohh, following. Congratulations! I'm looking forward to your report. If I can get off my butt and get moving this year, I'm secretly (whoops, not anymore) thinking of doing the 5 and 10K next year. I can't see myself doing anything longer at this point--I just don't think the old knees have it in them!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Ohh, following. Congratulations! I'm looking forward to your report. If I can get off my butt and get moving this year, I'm secretly (whoops, not anymore) thinking of doing the 5 and 10K next year. I can't see myself doing anything longer at this point--I just don't think the old knees have it in them!

Thank you! I had to giggle a little bit with the combination of your first sentence and avatar! Cute. You can absolutely do the 5K and 10K next year, plenty of time to train and you end up with such pretty, pretty bling. Thanks for following along!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Day 1, January 6 - Caribbean Beach Resort

Don't worry about a thing, cuz every little thing's gonna be all right.

So with text in hand from the resort on my phone, we made our way to CBR. I had checked in online early, making only two amenities requests: proximity to transportation and ground floor. The latter was to avoid the torture devices known as stairs after the races (mostly the half and the full). The resort granted both of our wishes and we were given a ground floor room in Building 54 of the Aruba section (Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take you, sing along with me!) literally 4 rooms away from the pool. This was good and bad. More on that later.

DH and I had stayed at Caribbean a few years back, and at that time, the rooms were Finding Nemo themed, which was really cute. The interim refurbishment resulted in more generic-looking room decor, but still a tropical flair. No matter, as long as I had a comfortable place to get some sleep between those ridiculously early wake-up calls, it was golden.


View of Old Port Royale (the main resort hub) from Aruba (...Jamaica, ooh... gah!).



Nothing fancy, but perfectly adequate, plenty of space for all our stuff and race costumes, and the beds were very comfortable. After unpacking, we explored our immediate surroundings and discovered how close the pool was. We were ecstatic about that because now a good cool pool soak was totally in the cards for after the half marathon. We could even hobble it to/from our room if need be! The only downside to the pool's location relative to our room was that the first night all we heard was shrieking children until about 10pm. Which would be totally fine under normal circumstances. But we weren't normal. We were Dopey. Luckily, we learned the second night that if we turned on the TV, even at low volume, it helped cancel out a lot of the ambient noise. Problem solved!


Only thing missing is a pool bar! D'oh.

After exploring our immediate surroundings, getting our bearings, and chilling out a little bit in the room, we then headed out to catch a bus to DHS. It was the very last night of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights (extended)!

Next up: Hooray for Hollywood (Studios)

 

[awalker1015]

There is no pool bar at Caribbean Beach?? Bummer! Soo excited to read your report. DH and I are headed down in April so I can run my first wdw race. Can I ask you what the marathonfoto package cost? I'm guessing I would buy that for Star Wars.
Can't wait to read more!!!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

There is no pool bar at Caribbean Beach?? Bummer!

D'oh! That's poor communication on my part, sorry. There is a pool bar at the main pool area at Old Port Royale, but at the individual section pools, there are not.

Soo excited to read your report. DH and I are headed down in April so I can run my first wdw race. Can I ask you what the marathonfoto package cost? I'm guessing I would buy that for Star Wars.
Can't wait to read more!!!

Thank you! And congratulations on your first rD race! I ran the Star Wars Half at DL last January and it was super-fun, hoping that the Dark Side is where the party's at this year. For marathon weekend, the MarathonFoto pre-purchase was $100 gift card for $75. In looking at my photos so far, it seems that purchasing the Dopey Challenge package is about $105-110 (CD or digital download), so I'll get it for about $80-85. I think they do a pre-purchase special for each race weekend, but I'm not sure how it will work in April.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Day 1, January 6 - Hooray for Hollywood (Studios)

After unpacking and relaxing a bit at CBR, we caught a bus to Hollywood Studios. BRF is a newly-annointed AP Holder and so it fell to me to show her around a bit since the last time she'd been to DHS it was still MGM (True Confession: I still, sometimes in the dead of night, can hear the lambs screaming MGM, MGM, MGM, one of us, one of us). Upon arrival, the park seemed pretty calm attendance-wise and so we decided to walk around, grab a quick cocktail, and then wait for the lights. So we strolled past the Hyperion towards the Streets of America and the High Octane Refreshments. This was the first time I'd ever seen zero line whatsoever here. We simply walked right up to order.

The bartender was super-nice and we chatted her up and somehow we got on the topic of Pleasure Island (now deceased, may it rest in peace). Even though I'd lived in Orlando at the time, I'd never been. I was a proper married lady, y'all. Also it was a long drive from our apartment near downtown - Church Street Station was a more viable nightlife option. And then somehow the subject of my employment at another Orlando area theme park came up (my first real job out of college and as a marine biologist, I'm sure you can guess which one), and the bartender also used to work there. By this time, she'd finished making my drink and was on to BRF's. We chatted a bit more with the bartender, and then were on our way, ambling down Pixar Place. It was at this point, after my second sip of drink that I realized that it was approximately 99.8974% alcohol. Wooo-heee! Hello, I'm drunk.

I will say this, though, it's the first time I've felt like I got my money's worth for a drink at Disney, because those $8 Sutter Home mini-bottles of wine are redonk. BRF's drink was the same situation. The bartender must have liked us or something. Or she really hated us. At any rate, we sipped, let the ice melt a little (not much because it was getting cool by now), and walked back towards Muppet Vision 3D. BRF had never seen it, but she said she liked the Muppets and it had a 5 minute wait. Sold. Unfortunately, we had to finish our drinks first. Now here's something about me: I have issues with the 3D glasses. It's usually OK for the short duration of your Muppets or your Star Tours and the like, but DH and I once saw the Alice in Wonderland film in 3D and I almost passed out during it (because of the glasses, you guys, jeez). However, this particular Muppet Vision experience was unique in that I was seeing double. Literally. I had to squint one eye and close the other. It was only about 5pm at this point, so at least I had 12 hours to process that drink before the 5K race.

BRF loved the Muppets (I mean, who doesn't? I don't want to know) and then we walked towards the Streets of America for the very last night of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. *sniff* I'd been twice this year already and thought that my last visit with DH in early December was it, but here we were, about to see it again. And the streets were not nearly as crowded as they'd been on my two previous visits. We actually had room to walk around and look at things prior to the start of the show. I showed BRF Baby Dinosaur in the San Francisco brownstone ("not the mama!") and we just looked at a few of the displays on the streets.


I was so happy to see the Muppets out and about!

Now here's the thing about the Osborne Lights. No matter how many times you see them, that first illumination set to music smacks you right upside the face and makes you pay attention. It's powerful. Every time. In fact, when my parents were visiting in November, I made a point of making them go to see the lights (they'd never been) and they both thought I was being a bit ridiculous, but when the music/lights started, the look on my mom's face (she's had a rough 2 years of breast cancer, mastectomy, chemo, etc.) was worth every bit of nagging and cajoling I had to do to get them there. If only my dad would have put his stupid iPhone down.

But back to the lights. We watched them come on, watched about 30 minutes of the routine and then headed out since we had a race early in the morning.


I'll never forget that moment during Wine & Dine Half 2013, around mile 9, you turned a corner and hit the Streets of America, CMs are saying "Welcome to Christmas!" and it was just so powerful, uplifting, and exactly what was needed at that point in the race. It'll be interesting to see how they replace it for 2016's race.

Farewell, Osborne Lights, I hope we meet again.

But wait, there's more! On the way out, we hit the dance party. Characters are out and about, dancing with guests and it's a hoot! I ended up dancing with Rescue Ranger Chip (there is a selfie, but I shall spare your eyes, thank me later), and we also saw Rescue Ranger Dale, Pluto, Genie, Sebastian, Baloo, Stitch, and probably others. We did the Cupid Shuffle. There was much dancing and rejoicing. We almost stayed too late but then I put my foot down and said we needed to go. 3am was going to come very fast.

Next up: Awake during the small intestine of dawn.

 

[Ladyfish77]

giggle a little bit with the combination of your first sentence and avatar! Cute.

Bwaahaa! Good thing I want to get off my (the?) butt and not touch it!

I got to see my first Osborne Lights (and I guess last) this past November. Glad your Mom enjoyed them--my Mom would have absolutely loved to have seen them!

Glad you were able to cover the pool noises. That 3am wake-up call will probably be the hardest part of the races for me!!! I do think I will go a bit overboard (see, another butt reference) on all the bling!

 

[ZellyB]

Joining in, Kim.

What a fantastic start to your report! Although now I have "Aruba, Jamaica..." running through my head. Thanks for that.

Congrats on finishing the Dopey and that shot of you with #allthemedals in front of the castle is fantastic. So cool that you are a marine biologist. Sounds like an amazing career.

I love all the swag you got at the expo. I was wondering what new icon they were going to use for DHS on the sleeves (RIP Hat - I actually sort of loved you. ) but given that ToT is my most favorite ride in all of Disney, I am consoled to see it on the shirts.

Nice score on chatting up the bartender though. I'm with you on the relative value of drinks at Disney, so nice to actually get one with some alcohol in it.

We saw the Osborne lights for the first time this year when we were there for the W&D "quarter" marathon. They really are pretty amazing to see. I'm glad we got a chance to see them before they went away.

Pumped to read the rest of your report. We didn't go for marathon weekend for the first time in 3 years and I can't believe how much I missed it. I'm living vicariously through all these trip reports, so I can't wait to read more.

 

[ZellyB]

Oh, and, regardless of your warnings to the peanut gallery, you know you'll end up running another marathon...

We ALL say we are one and done the first time.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Bwaahaa! Good thing I want to get off my (the?) butt and not touch it!

I got to see my first Osborne Lights (and I guess last) this past November. Glad your Mom enjoyed them--my Mom would have absolutely loved to have seen them!

Glad you were able to cover the pool noises. That 3am wake-up call will probably be the hardest part of the races for me!!! I do think I will go a bit overboard (see, another butt reference) on all the bling!

Yay on Osborne Lights! We've been AP Holders since the late 90s and our first time seeing them was just a few years ago. I think it's because when we lived in Orlando, it was still a 45-60 minute drive, so our Disney days were usually early morning and afternoon then home. Plus, if I remember correctly, I think when they were first introduced, they were out on the Backlot Tour where they had the Golden Girls house facade and the neighborhood. But I'm not 100% certain on that one. At any rate, we doubted the amazeballs aspect for years and then finally decided to give it a try. Much like Mikey and Life cereal.

The 3am (2:30 on the last 3 days!) wake-up calls were just awful, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. But before I went into this, so many people told me that the wake up calls were the hardest part about Dopey. I was all, "Yeah, yeah, sure, sure." and secretly rolling my eyes, but it was absolutely true. We trained for the running part, it was waking up in the middle of the night that really grated.

Joining in, Kim.

What a fantastic start to your report! Although now I have "Aruba, Jamaica..." running through my head. Thanks for that.

Congrats on finishing the Dopey and that shot of you with #allthemedals in front of the castle is fantastic. So cool that you are a marine biologist. Sounds like an amazing career.

I love all the swag you got at the expo. I was wondering what new icon they were going to use for DHS on the sleeves (RIP Hat - I actually sort of loved you. ) but given that ToT is my most favorite ride in all of Disney, I am consoled to see it on the shirts.

Nice score on chatting up the bartender though. I'm with you on the relative value of drinks at Disney, so nice to actually get one with some alcohol in it.

We saw the Osborne lights for the first time this year when we were there for the W&D "quarter" marathon. They really are pretty amazing to see. I'm glad we got a chance to see them before they went away.

Pumped to read the rest of your report. We didn't go for marathon weekend for the first time in 3 years and I can't believe how much I missed it. I'm living vicariously through all these trip reports, so I can't wait to read more.

Ha! Sorry (not sorry) for the earworm. Thanks for congrats and love the allthemedals hashtag! I liked the Hat, but I think the straight-shot view to the Chinese Theater is much more in keeping with the entrance, the Hat always just looked out of place to me. I was really surprised that the Earful Tower wasn't the icon for DHS, but then I saw the news today that it is also not long for this world. So glad that even though W&D was cut short that you still got to run through the Lights, because it is honestly the best part of that course IMHO. I was actually leaving the parks that night around 8 and remember seeing all the lightning to the south and hoped it didn't affect y'all.

Thanks so much for following along! I look forward to your comments.

Oh, and, regardless of your warnings to the peanut gallery, you know you'll end up running another marathon...

We ALL say we are one and done the first time.

Yeah, yeah....

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Day 2, January 7 - Waking Up in the Small Intestine of Dawn

Race Day! BRF and I had set an alarm for 3am with the knowledge that both of us are snooze-abusers who need multiple (just 2 or 3...) instances of "encouragement" to get up and out of bed. Boy, you guys, that is really early. I mean, obviously. But it just feels so wrong even though I've done this a number of times now, even for non-rD races. Forget waking at the buttcrack (am I allowed to say that?) of dawn, we were in the small intestine. The Duodenum of Dawn, if you will. Which sounds like an ominous post-apocalyptic title. Fitting.

But enough of my whining! It was 5K day! The "easiest" race day. We slowly got up and started pulling on our race costumes. Now, for those of you who participated in WDW Marathon Weekend, you already know that rD released new race costume rules literally the day before the weekend started. Everyone was in an uproar. What would be allowed? How would the new rules be enforced? What about the people who were already on property with no recourse for a substitute race outfit. And so on. I think the major problems (as I see them) were: a) the lateness and distribution of the announcement, and b) the ambiguity of the rules. For part (b) much of the language of the rules was waaaaaay open for interpretation. What constituted "layering?" The new rules created more questions than they answered.

My 5K costume was Honey Lemon from Big Hero 6, from where you first meet her in the film: in the lab. I had a lab coat and I was going to get some powdered paint (like what they use for color runs) and splatter pink paint on it to mimic our first meeting with Ms. Lemon. But after the new costume rules, I didn't want to go to all the effort of that only to not be allowed to wear it. So my plan was to just wear the lab coat and if that particular layering was an issue with the new rules, I'd just get rid of the lab coat and run in the boring yellow under-layer. BRF was going as Piglet and nothing in her costume really seemed worrisome.


(OK, it's 3ish am and I am so not awake, y'all)

We packed up our stuff, left the room, and headed to the bus stop where approximately the entire resort population was waiting for a bus. Yes, that's a bit hyperbolic, but the line for the 5K bus was really long and we hoped that that wasn't a portent of things to come for the weekend. We watched literally 4 buses go by us because apparently Aruba (...Jamaica, ooh I wanna...like you didn't know that was coming ) was on the end of the line for the route at CBR. We started to get worried that we wouldn't make it to the race. And then, miraculously, a merely half-full bus pulled up and we were whisked away to Epcot.

Upon arrival, we trudged along with our fellow racers to the security checkpoint. Neither of us had bags to check or even runner belts, so we went through the shorter line and made our way to the pre-race area. No one even blinked at my lab coat, crisis averted. This is usually the point where I like to people-watch and see all the amazing costumes people have put together. I don't know if it was the new rules or what, but it seemed like there were fewer costumed people? At least when we first got there. At any rate, I typically like to check out the costumes and even take photos, but for some reason, I took 2 photos of the entire pre-race time. I don't know. Who am I? What have I become?


Super-cute family as Frozen characters.


Staging area.

Soon after the requisite Cupid Shuffle, the DJ started encouraging people to head to the corrals. We figured we weren't really doing much anyway, so we walked to our corral. At this point, the weather was rather misty and somewhat windy. I was glad that I still had my lab coat because with the wind, it was quite chilly for this Florida girl.

Next up: It's Go Time

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Day 2, January 7 - It's Go Time

We'd been settled in Corral D for some time and soon enough, we saw shuffling motions straight ahead. Apparently, the corrals were slowly being released towards the start! Then the Star Spangled Banner was sung with much aplomb, rockets red glare fireworks, bombs bursting in air fireworks, awesomesauce. And the corrals were off!


When our turn finally arrived, we approached the starting line with vim and vigor (that misty rain wasn't going to rain on our parade, dagnabbit!). The race announcers sounded like they were having a great time and said that Corral D was for "Don't Stop Believing" which, as you may have guessed, triggered the playing of a certain song with the lyrical stylings of one Steve Perry. And the amazing thing? The entire corral was singing along - IN KEY. The magic of a runDisney race, ladies and gents. Meine Damen und Herren.

And soon it was our time! (and I just pictured Sean Astin saying that in The Goonies)



Those who ran the 5K know that the first mile or so was backstage, not very exciting. BRF's and my strategy, since it was simply the first 3.1 of 48.6 miles, was to take it easy and just enjoy the scenery of a rD 5K race. I hadn't run one since 2013's Royal Family 5K and for that one, I was too nervous about finishing (newbie nerves) that I barely noticed my surroundings. I'd since learned that many, many people take the opportunity to simply walk the whole thing as a family extracurricular or just for fun and I was pretty relaxed about the whole thing. After all, rD doesn't even time most participants (except for us lucky Dopey Challengers). Nevertheless, our intent was to run the first half mile or so to warm up after being stock-still in the corral for so long, and then do our intervals or not do our intervals. Whatever we felt.

During our "warm-up" on that first half mile, I was so not feeling it. Neither was BRF. Maybe we'd done too much the previous day (we certainly didn't stay out too late), maybe we weren't thrilled about the 5K, maybe it was the general lack of sleep due to the aforementioned pool area and also a persistent tapping noise coming from our bathroom, who knows. All I know is that we ended up walking much of it because of the family aspect and feel of the race and also afterwards we still had 45.5 miles to go. For what it's worth, I am so not denigrating those who "only" ran the 5K - at one point (see above paragraph) it was a daunting task for me, but running a marathon gives one a whole new sort of perspective on races, which I'll discuss more in detail later on. Meanwhile, go 5Kers because y'all rock and seemed to have had the most fun of all the races all weekend.

Despite the walking pace during much of the 5K, I don't remember much about character stops. We didn't do any. I don't know why, if it was because we had a "let's get this over with" kind of attitude, if it was standing around in the misty rain for an hour-plus beforehand in the corral or what, but the 5K was over in a blink for me and I don't remember much. I do remember seeing the Rescue Rangers themselves, Chip 'n' Dale, on that portion outside of Epcot, because I was humming along to the theme song piped out on to the course.

As we entered the World Showcase between Mexico and Norway, I was somewhat sad to not see Donald in his usual Mexico character spot (someday I will get a Three Caballeros photo op because I just love that movie), but then it was onward and upward around the bend towards Norway. I'm half Norwegian, so Norskis represent, yo! No lefse stop for me, though in the Bakeri og Cafe. Sadface. One of the really great things about the rD 5Ks is running/going through the World Showcase when it's dark so you get to see all the lights. And during WDW Marathon Weekend, there's the added bonus of Christmas lights. So pretty. Oooh. Aahhh. We selfied at the WS lake and continued on.

Unfortunately, despite my best intentions, we did not make any character stops. I remember seeing Timon somewhere around the Africa Waypost and Marie (<3 Aristocats) in France, but that is about all I remember on the 5K. No photos unfortunately because I've failed you all. Ugh. Then once past Journey into Imagination, I do remember seeing maybe Stitch (?) near Innoventions. There was also a switchback through here and on the way out, BRF and I spotted a guy waiting in line for Stitch (?) with a huge Mickey head symbol strapped to his back with all sorts of metal struts (I guessed later that maybe he was a Mickey bar?) that seemed to defy all reason, but good on him. And then also on that switchback, we saw several guys dressed up as monorail cars. Bravo, gentlemen, bravoooo.


(this was post-race and only partial monoraily-goodness, but you get the idea)

Soon it was on past Spaceship Earth. I remember how I'd felt during the 2013 5K at this point and I was feeling much better this year. Which was probably a good thing since I was only a fraction of the way through my challenge. And no matter what time of day, what the weather, Spaceship Earth is always a gorgeous sight to behold.


It's beeeeeautiful.

After this race, I decided that I needed to get into the spirit of things - having multiple race days was no excuse for feeling meh on any given day. I would later use the day to adjust my attitude and try to uplift BRF (I'm the type of person who absorbs the mood of the folks around her) so that the rest of the weekend was more fun. My costume for the 10K would certainly help with that aspect!

Nevertheless, we finished the 5K and made our way through the finishers' chute, collected our ridiculously cute medals and then noticed that rD mylars were being handed out. We got into what we thought was a line, but let's face it, it was basically a free-for-all. And once we got up to the volunteers handing out the mylars, we got an earful (see what I did there?) about how we needed to get in line because she couldn't give us something we weren't in line for. Instead of blowing up at the volunteer (there was NO indication of any line, anywhere, just a throng of people surrounding the mylar distribution), we just waited and her partner finally gave us each one. And hopefully to the throngs of people behind us, too. We enthusiastically thanked the volunteers and moved on to the Powerade/water stations and then posed for finisher photos (MarathonFoto package, baby!). Please note that while I'm posting the MarathonFoto proof here, I have technically purchased the package; I am just waiting for them to finish sorting through marathon finish line photos (currently, there is only one of me, which I find hard to believe since there are approximately 2,746 10K finish line photos of me) before I complete my purchase of the whole Dopey package.




How cute? So cute!

Next up: Eruptions, Italian and Tiki Style!

 

[emilyindisney]

Hi Kim! Definitely following along!

Your 5k costume is great! Glad you had no issues with the new rules. I totally understand the security concern/reason for the new rules but the timing definitely stunk.

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Hi Kim! Definitely following along!

Your 5k costume is great! Glad you had no issues with the new rules. I totally understand the security concern/reason for the new rules but the timing definitely stunk.

Can't wait to hear more!

Hi Emily! Thanks so much for following along. And thanks about the costume, I was also relieved to have had no issues with the new rules, and I'm hoping that rD releases some examples or more clarification prior to the next race weekend. I've been watching the photos for the Star Wars Half at DL this weekend and so far have seen a lot of costumes that I would have thought would not be allowed, but maybe they're being more lenient since the rules were released without notice? I'm running the Star Wars Half in April and I'm hoping I'll still be able to do my planned costume of Ahsoka Tano. We'll see!

Hope you enjoy the trip report.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Day 2, January 7 - Eruptions, Italian and Tiki Style!

Upon completion of the 5K race, BRF and I went to find our bus back to CBR. I have to say that I found the bus situation pretty smooth for the most part (there will be one more slight hiccup, but considering we had 4 race days, that's pretty good), we walked up, boarded, and were back to CBR within 15 minutes. Easy-peasy. After showering and changing, we headed back to the race expo. BRF had purchased a Dopey medal hanger and also tacked on a 39.3 medal hanger purchase for her previous Goofy Challenge, but when she took it out of the packaging bubble wrap in the hotel room she discovered that it was actually a 19.3 hanger. And the rD merchandise CM neglected to put her magnet in her bag, totally understandable in the melee that is the first race expo day. But this would all require a return trip to the expo.

So we caught a bus to WWOS and walked approximately 5 miles from bus dropoff to the entrance. Only slight hyperbole there. The difference was night and day at the expo relative to the crowds - we could actually walk around and look at things! BRF exchanged her hanger with no difficulty and obtained her magnet. While she was doing that, I made a second rD purchase. The previous day, I'd been looking at the aqua-colored half marathon shirt but talked myself out of it because I didn't need another long-sleeved shirt. Perhaps it was the weather change (by this time, I was wearing layers and a scarf), perhaps it was because I liked it better than the actual race shirt, but I purchased it. And I don't regret it because I do like it better than the actual race shirt. Donald looks so indignant on it that it cracks me up!

After that, we checked out the vendors who were outside that we had totally missed the previous day. We stopped by at Sparkle Athletic and I longingly stared at a couple visors but decided I didn't have any costume ideas just yet and so sadly left them there. I also spotted a couple of the girls of Team Sparkle (we follow each other on Instagram/Twitter) and was going to say hi, but they were busy with other runners. And with that, we were done with the race expo. Back to CBR! And then on to Epcot for late lunch reservations at Via Napoli. Even now, I am drooling thinking about that pizza. I ordered a mushroom individual pizza and BRF also had a customized individual pie. So good.



One of the things I love about Via Napoli (other than the food, because obviously) is that the wood-burning ovens are named after the active volcanoes in Italy. So there's Etna, Vesuvio, and Stromboli.



By this time of the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly and it was one of those days where your level of temperature comfort changed based upon sun or shade. We strolled around the World Showcase, did a little bit of shopping and then I had the tremendous idea of visiting Trader Sam's. DH and I had been there back in May shortly after it opened and I'd been jonesing to go again. I am obsessed with the Nautilus drink (20,000 Leagues was my all-time favorite ride) and that particular souvenir will be mine someday. Oh, yes, it will be mine. BRF had never been, and didn't even know you could go to lounges/restaurants at other resorts. So we hopped the monorail to TTC and because we were saving our legs (DH and I would normally hoof it over from TTC), transferred to the resort monorail line.

And soon we were in the Polynesian! Let me just say that I was a huge fan of the waterfall feature they used to have in the lobby and was sorry to see it go; however, I think the new decor is lighter, more airy, and less Honolulu airport circa 1977 feel to it. The Tambu Lounge on the second floor is in my top five favorite lounges on property, but unfortunately with a race in the morning, we wouldn't stop to imbibe. Trader Sam's opens at 4pm, is limited to (I think) 49 people inside, and it's first-come-first-served. We arrived around 3:20, got in line behind one guy waiting for the hostess to pass out pagers at 3:30 (when DH and I were there in May, they took our names and gave us a hand-stamp). Once we received our pager (remember to say "mahalo" to your host/hostess!), BRF and I strolled the grounds since she'd never been to the Polynesian. Soon enough, our pager went off and we headed back to the rather unobtrusive door.



Soon, we were inside and grabbed a small table off to the side next to a window with a volcano outside. When DH and I had been in May, it was a tropical theme, with the volcano erupting lava. However, when we arrived, I noted that there were Christmas decorations scattered about and the volcano was covered with snow.



These photos are from my May visit, but it gives you an idea of the intimacy within. I love it.



Having been to Trader Sam's in the past, I already knew that when certain drinks were ordered, ... events happened in the bar. I'm not going to give them all away, because half the fun is in discovering what drink orders trigger what events, but I will say that I ordered the Krakatoa Punch. So I'm sure you can imagine what happened next.


Krakatoa Punch in souvenir glass.


Avalanche!!!

BRF ordered a Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum (your server will make you say the correct amount of Tikis!) and enjoyed it. We had fun relaxing there for about an hour or so, just watching the CMs entertain us (and they are super-entertaining!) and the various drink orders. We had been sharing a table with 3 people we'd just met and in speaking with them, they decided to order a Nautilus. Is my face green? Because I'm pretty sure it's green. The CMs had lots of fun with this one. Apologies for blurriness of photo, but no flash photography allowed in Trader Sam's and our CM was swimming too fast for my iPhone camera. So funny.


Batten down the hatches! Whoa, Nelly! Someone ordered a Nautilus.

My goodness, if you haven't been to Trader Sam's, I highly recommend it. There are also non-alcoholic choices including the famous Schweitzer Falls (named after the famous Dr. Albert Falls). But be sure to pick a semi-uncomfortable seat because otherwise you might end up breaking the bank while there. So fun and kitschy. My grandpa served in the Pacific Theater (Navy) during WWII and his basement was filled with all sorts of mementos and souvenirs from Hawaii (my grandparents went back several times before I was born and after) and all the kitschy knick-knacks remind me of playing in their basement when I was a kid. I love that stuff. I could sit there for hours and just look at it all.

But we had a race in the morning! So it was back to CBR to pick up some tea to relax, read for a bit, set out running costumes for the 10K, and hopefully get a better night's sleep. As I mentioned before, we discovered this night that if we turned on the TV (set to "sleep" at a predetermined time) it drowned out the noise from the pool area. I also thought that closing the sliding doors to the bathroom area might help mute the tapping noise coming from that general direction. Success! And a good night's sleep was had by all.

Next up: Have you seen a bird? I am going to find one, and I am on the scent.

 

[amberdc1987]

This is awesome!! I can't wait to read more. I hope to do this one day. Keep it coming.

 

[emilyindisney]

Trader Sam's looks so fun!! Very intrigued about this whole certain drinks mean certain events type of things. Sounds like a blast!

Glad to hear you were able to throw on the tv and roll with the noise punches. Can't wait to see what your 10k costume is- I'm guessing something from the Up family!