Just Back: 1/1 - 1/7/18

[disneygirlsng]

Back home after an amazing, though exhausting, week! It was me and my parents, with my dad and I running all the races over the weekend.

Monday: Flew in early, checked in to our hotel (stayed off site at the Comfort Inn right on 192), then headed right for HS. It was a little chilly and drizzling most of the day, but we had a great time! I love this park so much and my dad had a blast checking out all the Star Wars stuff. Had dinner at 50s Prime Time and really enjoyed all that we had. Caught Movie Magic and SW Fireworks for the first time and we all thought they both were great.

Tuesday: MK day, got there right after park opening. We got a ton of rides done and had 8 fastpasses total throughout the day. Lunch at BOG. Went back to our hotel for a few hours to rest as we didn't get much sleep the day before. Then we went back for a couple more rides and did the HEA Dessert Party. We definitely thought this was so worth it and we liked the desserts that were offered. Words don't even begin to describe how amazing this show is! My parents had no idea what to expect and were blown away.

Wednesday: Arrived at AK about 15 minutes after opening, my favorite park! Walked on NRJ with a boat to ourselves then used our FP for FOP. Wow, that ride is incredible!! It was pretty miserable weather wise in the morning, cold and really rainy. We did the Safari and FotLK and then left for the morning. Had lunch offsite and hit up the race expo. Got back to the park at about 3 with much better weather. Did a few more rides then called it a day as the suuuuper early mornings were about to start.

Thursday: 5K day. After we finished we went to Epcot for the day. Had an amazing lunch at Via Napoli. Got stuck on Spaceship Earth and we were evacuated off which was kind of cool. They scanned our MBs for a fastpass to use, though it never showed up on our MDE. We hadn't really seen crowds the first 3 days of the trip, but it seemed to be very crowded this day. I knew it was an EMH day, but from reports I heard/saw it seemed to be pretty crowded at all the parks that day. We still had a lot of fun walking through all the countries.

Friday: 10K in the morning. Planned on going to Disney Springs, but decided to nap and just rest in the hotel for the rest of the day to prepare for the weekend.

Saturday: Half marathon in the morning. Then we went to AKL for a late breakfast at Boma. First time there and it was incredible! That resort is beautiful too.

Sunday: Full marathon. Finished to complete the Dopey Challenge. Then headed right to the airport. Wanted to thank everyone who was out just enjoying the parks who stopped to cheer the runners on. You have no idea how much the support helps us get through, especially through those last few miles in HS and Epcot!

Overall it was a fantastic trip! Only real complaint being the weather the first couple days, wish it had been a little warmer for our park days, though it was perfect weather for running. I had been a little worried about crowds, but it was a lot less crowded than I expected and we got a ton done with only a few hours in the parks each day. I'm usually a rope drop to close kind of person, so taking it a little slower than usual was hard, but we made the most of it!

 

[ems909]

Congratulations to you and your dad!!! Even in my prime, I never could have run all four races. Way to go!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Wow, congrats, I didn't know folks ran more than one race at a time!

 

[anomamatt]

All 4 races, wow! Congratulations, that is crazy impressive.

 

[Linkura]

Congrats! Great report.

 

[LizGirl]

We were also there last week and we noticed the jump in crowds on Thursday as well. It was nuts at Epcot that afternoon! We ended up leaving for a bit to get a break. I figured it was a combo of marathon related visitors and the weather finally being dry. We were not dressed well for the damp cold earlier in the week but had a blast anyways. I was kinda sad when it all cleared up! Lol.

Congrats on the Dopey! We saw some runners with the medals on Sunday as we were leaving. Very cool!

 

[wdw&sonny]

Congrats on the Dopey!!!!!
I would like to hear more details about the races; in particular, what time did you have to wake up, where did you park, did you get transported to the start line. Believe it or not, I am most worried about the early morning awakening and the cold weather...the distance of the races doesn't intimidate me LOL.

 

[disneygirlsng]

Congrats on the Dopey!!!!!
I would like to hear more details about the races; in particular, what time did you have to wake up, where did you park, did you get transported to the start line. Believe it or not, I am most worried about the early morning awakening and the cold weather...the distance of the races doesn't intimidate me LOL.

Thanks! We woke up at 2:30 each morning and were out the door by about 3:15. We parked at Epcot right near the race starting area (the Create Lot if that helps at all). It was a pretty quick walk for the 5K/10K to the corrals, but the half/full corrals are a good mile-ish or so from parking lot (and bus drop-off) which isn't always fun when you are about to run that far. Last time I did the races I stayed on property and had to take the race buses, I will say that I much preferred driving to the start. We were able to sit and wait in our warm car until about 4:45 instead of standing out in the freezing cold. We really didn't have to leave as early as we did for the 5/10K, but we liked having our car closer to the finish line and just knowing that we were there.