Keep Knowing & Keep Kicking, Kiddo – A 2015 Princess 5K PTR/Mini-TR ~ Completed 5/1

[momabaarjo]

Followed you over from my TR! I enjoyed your recap of the FROZEN 5K! It was cold, I have certainly run in colder but the humidity put in a factor that I really have never experienced (I just get wind with the cold). I like to complain about it now to people because IT CAN BE COLD IN FLORIDA and people just don't seem to get it! We walked the 5K and really just stopped at places for selfies...love your character photos! Did not even know there were characters before the race...we were too busy huddling together in a tent!

 

[SarahDisney]

Followed you over from my TR! I enjoyed your recap of the FROZEN 5K! It was cold, I have certainly run in colder but the humidity put in a factor that I really have never experienced (I just get wind with the cold). I like to complain about it now to people because IT CAN BE COLD IN FLORIDA and people just don't seem to get it! We walked the 5K and really just stopped at places for selfies...love your character photos! Did not even know there were characters before the race...we were too busy huddling together in a tent!

Hi! Thanks for coming over!
Yeah, it was definitely a different cold than running in New York, but I felt fortunate that I at least had some experience with low temperatures. I've been to Florida in the cold before (I went to South Florida a few years ago when they were having a cold snap and the highs were in the 50s with freeze warnings every night), so I knew it was possible ... but some people still don't believe me.
I wish I had stopped more for selfies along the course ... I think the lines at the character stops scared me off from stopping for random pictures. I hope you'll post some of your pictures on your TR - I'd love to see them!
I was so jealous of the people in the tents ... I think the before the race part was colder than the actual race, it was horrible!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Haha, obscenely early really is what it was! OMG, I was so tired.

The complaint I had about the corrals was that there was so much time between them! At least on the 5k. They were timed much closer together on the half.

It was so mixed up with runners and walkers, it was actually frustrating. I ran on the grass a lot too, but still ended up with a terrible 5k time overall. Actually my worst 5k in history, even counting my first one. We finished in 50 minutes, and the only reason that happened is because we didn't stop for characters really. The problem with 5k's and fun runs in general is that people who do them don't understand runners etiquette at all.

 

[SarahDisney]

Haha, obscenely early really is what it was! OMG, I was so tired.

Seriously! And the half-marathon was even earlier, I don't know how you did it!

The complaint I had about the corrals was that there was so much time between them! At least on the 5k. They were timed much closer together on the half.

I had read somewhere that the 5K corrals had the most time between them, so I was expecting a lot more time between them (like 10-15 minutes). I think that because there are more corrals at the half, each corral is smaller and they can make them closer together.
We had a pretty good view of the start area from where we were waiting, and it looks like they were moving people to the start relatively quickly - they probably could have gone a little faster, but it looked like they were trying to move it along.

It was so mixed up with runners and walkers, it was actually frustrating. I ran on the grass a lot too, but still ended up with a terrible 5k time overall. Actually my worst 5k in history, even counting my first one. We finished in 50 minutes, and the only reason that happened is because we didn't stop for characters really. The problem with 5k's and fun runs in general is that people who do them don't understand runners etiquette at all.

Sorry to hear you had a terrible race
I totally agree with you in terms of people not understanding runners etiquette. This was my first race so I made sure to read the etiquette page in the event guide (and I made my sister read it too) ... but it seemed like we were the only ones who had read it! After I stopped for Minnie it got a bit easier because there were so few people at that point so there was a lot more space. But I really wish people had been more considerate and made room for people to run ahead of them.
I hope the half was better!

 

[SarahDisney]

I tell everyone I know who has done one of the races at Disney...good for you. I sure couldn't do it, and I admire each and every one of you who does it. I love the picture of you and Beth with the characters.

I can't believe I forgot to reply to your comment ... That's what I get for checking for comments 5 minutes before I go to sleep.
Thank you for your kind words! This was definitely a big accomplishment for me and I'm very proud of myself for actually going out and doing it.

We stayed at All Star Sports for two nights back in 2000 (before asking to be moved) and I don't remember that Mickey. Could be that we were only there for two days or it's new???

I've never been there before, so I don't know if it's always been there ... It was behind the surfing section on the way to tennis. I don't blame you for asking to be moved ... We were okay, but probably wouldnt have been had we started any longer. We're definitely not planning to go back to All Star Sports any time soon.

 

[stacy~**]

I'm caught up!

Sorry for the flight delay. That can be sooo frustrating! Don't the airlines realize we have places to be?! Glad you were able to make it to the expo. That place looks so dangerous to me. I fear when I do end up running in a RunDisney event I am going to want all the merch!

Ugh that early wake up call seems more scary than the race itself! Especially after a day of travel. Love your bus selfie!

I think both the Minnie and Mickey pictures were worth the wait! Love them in their winter wear!

Your recap was really interesting and I am so happy it was a positive experience for both of you! I'm crossing my fingers that I might see you at Marathon weekend in January!

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm caught up!

Yay! Thanks for taking the time to read through

Sorry for the flight delay. That can be sooo frustrating! Don't the airlines realize we have places to be?! Glad you were able to make it to the expo. That place looks so dangerous to me. I fear when I do end up running in a RunDisney event I am going to want all the merch!

I was getting pretty annoyed at JetBlue ... but we were glad we did make it to the expo. I think if we had more time at the expo we might have bought more ... so much good stuff. (Although I did tell Beth that if I started looking at the Dooney bags she should remind me that either I could have a D&B bag or I could have health insurance ... not both - so it's a good thing they sold out before we got there).
But yeah, when you do your first runDisney event, make sure that you're either prepared to go in and out quickly or ready to spend a lot of money.

Ugh that early wake up call seems more scary than the race itself! Especially after a day of travel. Love your bus selfie!

Yeah, that early wake up was a killer. And the longer races start even earlier ... I'm generally a morning runner, but getting up so early, I'm starting to see the advantage of the night races.

I think both the Minnie and Mickey pictures were worth the wait! Love them in their winter wear!

Thanks! I was annoyed at the wait and a little upset that it was characters we see every trip (I was hoping for some rarer characters), but I was glad we got to see them in new outfits. (Goofy was a repeat outfit ... we saw him in that outfit in Disneyland a few years ago)

Your recap was really interesting and I am so happy it was a positive experience for both of you! I'm crossing my fingers that I might see you at Marathon weekend in January!

Thanks! I know a lot of people are interested in learning more about the runDisney races, so I tried to make the recap somewhat detailed and interesting.
I'm really glad we had a good experience, and I'm thrilled that Beth, who really only came to support me, became a runDisney addict!
I really hope we can see you at Marathon weekend! We're still not 100% sure we're doing it (it depends on Beth's school schedule, which we may not even know by April, and a few other things), but if we do, we are considering volunteering at the Marathon (although we're not sure about that), so if you do the marathon, maybe we'll be there to cheer you on!

 

[momabaarjo]

Haha, obscenely early really is what it was! OMG, I was so tired.

The complaint I had about the corrals was that there was so much time between them! At least on the 5k. They were timed much closer together on the half.

It was so mixed up with runners and walkers, it was actually frustrating. I ran on the grass a lot too, but still ended up with a terrible 5k time overall. Actually my worst 5k in history, even counting my first one. We finished in 50 minutes, and the only reason that happened is because we didn't stop for characters really. The problem with 5k's and fun runs in general is that people who do them don't understand runners etiquette at all.

I don't think that its not that people don't understand race etiquette, I blame it more on the sure volume of the number of people that Disney has in the event. There is no wiggle room or should I say running room when you start in the corrals near the back. I also think it works both ways with runners too. I do my best to hug the right outside edge of any course that I do and I still have runners pass me on the outside and want to get upset with me that they are pushed into the grass when there was plenty of room to pass me on the other side. I also feel that if you have issues with people walking then you need to your very best and submit times that will get you in corrals that there are less walkers.

I think you have to go into a Disney race with the clear understanding that it will be crowded and this is probably not the best choice for a race if you are looking to PR. Disney races to me are about the experience, not so much the time and I truly intend to enjoy myself. My group of friends I was with moved ourselves back in the corrals for the 5K because we knew what we just wanted to walk (most of us had 10K and PHM to think about) and enjoy Epcot and each other. Even if we had wanted to run there was no possible way to get into any kind of running rhythm because of the number of people, not a blame of anyone at all...it just was not physically possible. We truly had a wonderful experience, my time...I kept track and lets just say it was about double what I normally run of 5K in, but who cares! Did we stop for characters, NO...but I am not a huge character person but we took TONS of selfies with each other and CMs along the way...we laughed, were silly and despite being FROZEN this has to be in my top 5 of all races that I have done...the entire point of a Fun Run.

I am excited you created another RunDisney addict...Disney Races are so much more fun with lots of friends!

 

[SarahDisney]

I don't think that its not that people don't understand race etiquette, I blame it more on the sure volume of the number of people that Disney has in the event. There is no wiggle room or should I say running room when you start in the corrals near the back. I also think it works both ways with runners too. I do my best to hug the right outside edge of any course that I do and I still have runners pass me on the outside and want to get upset with me that they are pushed into the grass when there was plenty of room to pass me on the other side. I also feel that if you have issues with people walking then you need to your very best and submit times that will get you in corrals that there are less walkers.

I think you have to go into a Disney race with the clear understanding that it will be crowded and this is probably not the best choice for a race if you are looking to PR. Disney races to me are about the experience, not so much the time and I truly intend to enjoy myself. My group of friends I was with moved ourselves back in the corrals for the 5K because we knew what we just wanted to walk (most of us had 10K and PHM to think about) and enjoy Epcot and each other. Even if we had wanted to run there was no possible way to get into any kind of running rhythm because of the number of people, not a blame of anyone at all...it just was not physically possible. We truly had a wonderful experience, my time...I kept track and lets just say it was about double what I normally run of 5K in, but who cares! Did we stop for characters, NO...but I am not a huge character person but we took TONS of selfies with each other and CMs along the way...we laughed, were silly and despite being FROZEN this has to be in my top 5 of all races that I have done...the entire point of a Fun Run.

I am excited you created another RunDisney addict...Disney Races are so much more fun with lots of friends!

Let's just agree to disagree. I don't think this is the forum to argue about the knowledge/attitude of race participants.

 

[momabaarjo]

I am sorry, I wasn't trying to start a disagreement. I just don't think the lack of race etiquette is to completely to blame. I find that in all BIG races that I do crowding is the issue and not people in most cases. The great thing I have found about running is that it is about you and what you want in the end to experience. I am sorry it was less than what you wanted, I hate that for you. I know that my PHM was not the race that I wanted, totally my fault and my "hyped up" expectations in my own mind that caused the problem and the poor experience. What is great is that I learned from it for the next time.

 

[Elevationist]

Gosh, you make that 5k sound so much fun, I wish I could do it! And don't beat yourself up about your time, you DID spend a lot of time waiting for characters. So really, you should estimate how much time was spent in line, and deduct that from your overall time. That will give you a run time that it not only more accurate, but you'll feel better about!

You and Beth and so cute, I always love you guys' photos! Ya'll looking like you're having fun!

Excited to hear about your park day... And nope, I'm not going to peek back a few pages to find out where, either! I want to be SURPRISED!

 

[SarahDisney]

I am sorry, I wasn't trying to start a disagreement. I just don't think the lack of race etiquette is to completely to blame. I find that in all BIG races that I do crowding is the issue and not people in most cases. The great thing I have found about running is that it is about you and what you want in the end to experience. I am sorry it was less than what you wanted, I hate that for you. I know that my PHM was not the race that I wanted, totally my fault and my "hyped up" expectations in my own mind that caused the problem and the poor experience. What is great is that I learned from it for the next time.

I totally understand that you weren't trying to start a disagreement, and I'm sorry if I made it sound like that's what I thought. I meant more "let's agree that we saw things differently."
As a New Yorker, I have a hard time blaming anything on big crowds - crowds are a way of life around here. To me, it seemed more like people not being courteous to those going at different speeds, but that could also be related to the sheer number of people.

I'm sorry that you didn't have the race you wanted, but I'm so glad to hear that you learned from it. I think that's the important part - knowing what to do differently next time. For me, that includes going into the race with the expectation that I may have to weave around others and it may not be "smooth sailing" at all times. I think that everyone's first time teaches them something new - the important part is not to lay blame, but to learn how to handle the parts that bothered you.

 

[SarahDisney]

Gosh, you make that 5k sound so much fun, I wish I could do it! And don't beat yourself up about your time, you DID spend a lot of time waiting for characters. So really, you should estimate how much time was spent in line, and deduct that from your overall time. That will give you a run time that it not only more accurate, but you'll feel better about!

Despite the ups and downs, it really was a lot of fun! I had thought about pausing my stopwatch every time I stopped for a character, but ended up deciding that it was too much hassle. I think next time I will do that so that I have a more accurate accounting of my running time.

You and Beth and so cute, I always love you guys' photos! Ya'll looking like you're having fun!

Thanks!

Excited to hear about your park day... And nope, I'm not going to peek back a few pages to find out where, either! I want to be SURPRISED!

Hopefully I'll be able to get the update posted soon ... I've been mostly done with it for a few days, but every time I try to finish it, something comes up.

 

[ksl5f123]

I got behind, but now I am caught up. Great pictures with all the characters! I think it is great that they are in unique outfits, but I agree that rare characters would be even better.

Looking forward to hearing about your park days!

 

[SarahDisney]

I got behind, but now I am caught up. Great pictures with all the characters! I think it is great that they are in unique outfits, but I agree that rare characters would be even better.

Thanks for taking the time to catch up - I know you've been busy, and I appreciate it! It was nice to see the "new" outfits (although we've seen Goofy in that outfit before), but I definitely would have enjoyed characters that we don't see every trip.

Looking forward to hearing about your park days!

Hopefully this weekend I'll have the next post up!

 

[SarahDisney]

Mini-TR Part 3 - Day 2 – Friday, February 20th – Part B: Park Time!​

For those of you expecting something detailed like my last TR or the race recap … this will be much shorter (that’s why I call it a mini-TR)


We had limited time in Florida, so we knew we wanted to do a park after the race. Our park of choice?

For those of you who don’t recognize the view … that’s Hollywood Studios. We figured that was the park where we were most likely to get the essentials done in 5 hours.

As you may notice, I’m wearing a sweatshirt and leggings … it was cold!!


Our first attraction of the trip was …

(I have no idea what happened to my 3D glasses…)

For us, this was an excellent choice for our first attraction – it guarantees starting the trip with fun! We thought about immediately riding again (via standby), but it would have meant missing our Frozen FP+ window, so instead we ate breakfast (pastries from home & coffee from Starbucks/Trolley Car Cafe), saw Lightning McQueen & Mater (and made a woman’s day just by drinking coffee ... people really like to see Starbucks cups), and saw one of the two special things we were most excited about at Hollywood Studios …

So beautiful! Plus, we were really excited when we saw it on the big screen at the movie theater.

We loved the Frozen Sing-Along (as expected), and I actually took some pictures (we had much better seats than on our last trip):

After a quick meeting with Mike & Sulley, we did Muppet*Vision 3D … and noticed that the pre-show had changed to include Constantine!

Also, I actually took a picture in the pre-show area (sans flash, but fixed up a drop in Photoshop):

The race had taken a lot more than I expected out of us (especially because we didn’t take much of a break between race and park), but we still did try to have some fun, including stopping for a picture…

… and trying to eavesdrop on Imagineers who were standing in front of this guy (this picture is of the back, I believe … I went around taking pictures from all sides – but did not take a picture of the Imagineers because I didn’t think of it until later):

Our most anticipated character meet of the day was a bit of a letdown, as we got characters who were not as fun as usual and didn’t really interact with us:

Side note: Beth was DisneyBounding as Frozone. Frozone didn’t get it. Not cool.
(I was Fix-It Felix, you just can’t tell because of the cold weather gear … and because I left my brown gloves in the hotel room)

Next up was another highly anticipated event … and this one did not disappoint:

The “sneak peak” was the fairy godmother scene, and it was cute. It made us more excited to see the movie … which was amazing and lived up to our expectations.

Next up was something we had never really taken the time to do before, but we were very excited for:

We’re history & museum people, so we figured this would be right up our alley. It was definitely interesting, and I’m really glad we took the time to do it. I think my favorite part was all of the models, including this one …

I really love California Adventure, so I was excited to see a model of Paradise Pier (including my favorite ride, California Screamin’!).
The movie at the end was kinda lame, though - I could have skipped that.

Beth needed to eat by this point (I had been snacking more, so I was okay), so we headed over to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, where the plan was for Beth to eat lunch while I rode single rider.
We went to RnRC … and the single rider line was closed. And I wasn’t waiting on line by myself (and leaving Beth alone) for over an hour. So … I guess no Aerosmith this trip. Made me a little sad, because I like RnRC, but I knew going into the trip that this would be a possibility.

We looked on the MDE app for Toy Story wait time … 115 minutes. We definitely didn’t have time for that before we had to leave, so it looked like no second Toy Story for us. We were exhausted, so we decided to just call it a day.

On the way out, we stopped by these guys, who were just as fun as ever…

(Chip is always my favorite)

And then we headed out:

Once we got back to our room, it was time to get ready for Shabbos. I had to run out to the food court to pick up something I had forgotten, and on the way I snapped these pictures of the view near our room …

Finally, everything was gathered, we were all showered with our hair done, our table was set, and it was time to light Shabbos candles (one of the requirements of starting the Jewish Sabbath (or Shabbos, as I call it – for those of you who had no idea what this Shabbos thing I was talking about meant)). After some difficulty with the cigarette lighter, we got the candles lit, I moved them into the bathroom (farther from the smoke detector), and said my Friday night prayers while Beth read. Once I was done, it was time for dinner.

A picture of our dinner table (taken before Shabbos):

We bought those cups in the hotel gift shop for like $6 each. And they made the trip home in one piece … score! Dinner was food Beth had brought from home. We enjoyed, and after dinner we played some trivia games before hitting the sack at around 8:30ish.

At that point we had been awake for over 17 hours … we were ready for some sleep! We were in bed around 8:30, with our alarm set for 9 AM Saturday morning. But would we sleep for the a whole 12+ hours?

NEXT POST: Shabbos Day & A Magical Night

 

[dreamseeker9]

Great update! So weird that RnRC single rider line was closed, I wonder why? Bummer that you didn't get to ride it or TSM for a 2nd time.

I'm glad Constantine has been added to the MuppetVision 3D pre-show - I think I'm more glad to hear that Disney took the time to do the update. I don't want my beloved Muppets to be overrun by Frozen like the Disney California Adventure MuppetVision 3D has been!

Beautiful Shabbos dinner setting - love those cups, so fun.

 

[KatMark]

Playing catch up...again.

I'm glad you got to the Studios and got to do Toy Story...a favorite. Nice picture in front of Cinderella's carriage.

Too bad about Rock & Roll and that the characters weren't much fun this time around.

I'm glad you got to see One Man's Dream. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the film afterwards...I always cry at the end.

What a great picture with Chip & Dale. I love those guys...they are so fun. And Chip is my favorite too.

I knew what Shabbos was...my boss of 39+ years is Jewish and I've learned a bit over the years. Love your table setting...especially the cups (glad they survived the trip).

 

[SarahDisney]

Great update! So weird that RnRC single rider line was closed, I wonder why? Bummer that you didn't get to ride it or TSM for a 2nd time.

Thanks!
I don't know why it was closed, but I've heard other people say that they do close it sometimes. We would have loved to do that or a second toy story, but we knew that with only a few hours in the park we might not get everything done.

I'm glad Constantine has been added to the MuppetVision 3D pre-show - I think I'm more glad to hear that Disney took the time to do the update. I don't want my beloved Muppets to be overrun by Frozen like the Disney California Adventure MuppetVision 3D has been!

I didn't love Muppets Most Wanted, but I do like that they updated the pre-show. I love me some Frozen, but I can't believe they took over the Muppet*Vision theater in CA for the Sing Along. Muppets are a classic and I really don't want to see them being driven out of the park!

Beautiful Shabbos dinner setting - love those cups, so fun.

Thanks! I saw those cups in the hotel gift shop and knew we needed to get them!

Playing catch up...again.

No worries, we all fall behind sometimes. I haven't been updating this as often as I did my last TR so it's a little easier to catch up ... but it still requires having the time to sit down and read.

I'm glad you got to the Studios and got to do Toy Story...a favorite. Nice picture in front of Cinderella's carriage.

Thanks. We love Toy Story as well, so it really was our top priority!
Beth loves Cinderella, so we really wanted to see the carriage (and we got really excited when we saw it in the movie), and we're really glad the pictures came out well!

Too bad about Rock & Roll and that the characters weren't much fun this time around.

We were a little sad about both of those, but every trip has its ups and downs and we're just really glad that this trip had more ups than downs!

I'm glad you got to see One Man's Dream. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the film afterwards...I always cry at the end.

As much as I'm a history person, I don't love biography-type stuff, so I think that's why I didn't like the film. I like the information about how the company, movies, and parks came into being ... I don't care as much about the life stuff. But I can definitely understand why you would cry at the end, it is definitely sad.

What a great picture with Chip & Dale. I love those guys...they are so fun. And Chip is my favorite too.

Thanks! They are probably the most consistently fun characters that we've encountered.

I knew what Shabbos was...my boss of 39+ years is Jewish and I've learned a bit over the years. Love your table setting...especially the cups (glad they survived the trip).

I've found that people who have regular (or semi-regular) exposure to Shabbos-observant people tend to understand it (at least a little) ... but people who haven't really been around it don't know what it means or what it is (I used to have the hardest time explaining to people that "Shabbos" "Shabbat" and "Sabbath" pretty much all mean the same thing, it's just a matter of language & pronunciation).
The cups were my idea of adding some Disney fun into the meal ... I saw them in the gift shop, the price was right, and we decided to buy them. We haven't used them since we got home, but I'm sure we will eventually, especially after Beth moves back home.

 

[stacy~**]

Nice job squeezing in a fun day a DHS after the race!

Aren't the DHS pictures facing the opposite direction the worst. I get why they had to do it but really not the most scenic backdrop. Although you guys look great.

Ugh....I adored Cinderella and every time I see someone post a picture of the carriage I kick myself for missing in February. We meant to get to it and we just didn't.

Glad the sing-a-long was enjoyable the second time!

Love the picture in the car in front of Sci-Fi.