2) whats people thoughts on character stops? Do you think Disney will allow those again by January 2022? I must admit i spent a LONG time planning for MW 2021 and having never done a disney race before i was keen to get as many of these as i could. Im just concerned that although the races might be bought back, will all the "extras" that make this event so unique return alongside (I appreciate no one knows for sure, but thoughts and opinions are welcome!)
Honestly, I would watch for when regular character meet and greets return to the parks. That will likely indicate that they will also be available during races.
4) Anyone got any nice suggestions of where they go to have their photograph taken once they have all their medals. Im thinking the kind of obvious places (In front of the tree of life @ AK, Castle at MK, Golf Ball @ Epcot etc..) but id like a few perhaps lesser known but equally iconic kind of areas (perhaps ToT @ HS?)
Themed land icons also work as great medal pic places such as the Millennium Falcon or X-Wing in Galaxy's Edge, Buzz/Woody gigantic figures in Toy Story Land, floating mountains in Pandora, dinosaur skeleton in Dinoland, and just about anywhere in World Showcase. If running Dopey or all races in the weekend, it's fun to hang them from the posts in front of the train station in Magic Kingdom.
My MO for medal pictures is based around race characters, not WDW location. So for Marathon I always find Mickey, Goofy Challenge, I find Goofy, etc. Characters always make a fuss about runners with "their"medal. Maybe add that to your list.
Character interactions are amazing with race medals in many cases. When it's their "theme" they go all out, but even if it's not their theme some will go all out. Minnie in particular is a great choice just by virtue of running. She will very likely make a huge deal out of it. She loved my BB-8 medal from the 2017 Light Side 10K at
Disneyland and had decided that my 2019 WDW 10K medal with her on it needed to "kiss" my 2019 WDW Marathon medal with Mickey on it. Chip and Dale also love to play with spinner medals.
For Marathon trips, we always spend the most time at Epcot. So, our favorite tradition was to take our picture in each country with our medal. So, instead of drinking around the world, we took photos around the world. Found great spots in each country.
Back with the old Kessel Run medal, I loved taking that to each park and take action photos of the medal flying through the parks.
Can all of you wonderfully experienced runners talk to me about SOLO rD trips? Sil and I just got back from our “princess weekend” trip and I could seriously take the money she’s paying me for her half of the trip and pay for most of a registration and room reservation. But I would 90% likely be going by myself (well, I would take the 2 year old and drop her at grandma and grandpa’s since they are about 2 hours from Orlando during the winter.)
Marathon day will be ON my birthday if they have in person races next year and that seems like a “well you obviously have to do that!” coincidence.
The greatest advantage to a solo trip especially for races is that you decide your agenda. When you eat, where you eat, how early or late you stay in the parks and what attractions/shows/experiences you want to do as many or as few times as you like.
I have some very treasured memories from family visits. Pretending it's all real in Galaxy's Edge with my nephews was legendary. Equally legendary was pretending it was all real in Galaxy's Edge by myself.
I go to WDW solo all the time: I promise, it's not weird - it's glorious!
It's amazing. The distancing measures in November meant that all solo travelers had the Smugglers Run attraction entirely to themselves. Pilot. Every. Single. Time. Which is otherwise impossible as a Solo rider.
I am certainly not anti-technology--smartphones are great tools and Disney has made it difficult to get the most out of your experience without a smartphone. But just whenever you are standing in line by yourself or sitting down to eat by yourself, maybe just resist that initial urge for 5-10 minutes and absorb the environment around you, and then check whatever it is you've actively chosen to look at on your phone.
This is very true and very important. I have friends and family who want pictures of my solo adventures, so I often do that in queues, etc. But I often remind myself to make sure that I experience this for myself instead of texting photos, observations, etc. to family and friends. This helps me both enjoy the solo experience, but also not feel by myself even if my friends that understand my geekdom are far away.