On the Floor and Out the Door!: a 17 day HalloChristmas, RunDisney, MNSSHP, HHN, MVMCP adventure! new 2/8!

[MyGoofy26]

Resort hopping for Halloween looks like so much fun! Way better than party crowds on Halloween night. I’ll definitely need to watch and see if this comes back once the world is back to normal.

RunDisney is a total bucket list thing for me. I used to run, my goal was to do a half marathon at Disney, but it didn’t happen and my running totally got derailed. I’m hoping to at least get passively back into it in spring to at least do 5ks again. Can’t wait to hear more about the one you did.

I really wish they’d bring back the old one at AK where it was like a trivia/scavenger hunt/5k all in one. THAT one was my first goal then they canceled it.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Wine and Dine 5k!
November 1st was race morning which meant a very early wake up call.

The 5k was set to start at 5:30 am but all the research I'd done recommended getting there early to avoid crazy long lines and traffic. I'd read stories of people stuck on buses in traffic, not able to get to the race for starting time. Based on all this, I decided the best strategy was to leave super early and drive ourselves there and hopefully avoid traffic and dealing with buses.

All of this was a very long way of saying our alarms were set for 2:30 AM.

We got ready in record time and stuffed some breakfast in our face in our room (we shopped for basic groceries while staying with Mike's family) and headed out.

As Mike was driving, I kept myself awake by looking up how to link our race bibs to our photopass account to get our race photos.

Here's the screenshot I took of the instructions in case you're curious.



As it would turn out, my strategy of leaving early and driving ourselves paid off perfectly! The start of the race was in the Epcot parking lot and since we got there early, we were parked right up front.

Security would open at 3:30 AM and at 3:11, we joined the loose line of people already there.



Security was very easy for us since we brought minimal belongings- phone, car keys and water bottles and no bags. At the expo, they gave us clear bags that you could check somewhere during the race and pick up afterwards but since we drove, we just left most of our stuff in the car.

We had no idea where to go after security but we knew we wanted to go to the pre-race meet and greets first because we'd heard the lines get crazy long. We kinda followed the people in front of us and got there pretty easily.

The meet and greets were Minnie and Mickey in cowboy outfits. Not sure what that had to do with wine and dine or Jungle Book which was the 5k theme but we'll go with it.

We met Minnie at 3:33 AM.



As I posted earlier, your race photos will show up in photopass as long as you link your race bib to your account and have your bib visible in photos but the CMs at the character meets also took photos with our phone and they were very efficient at it.



Next up was Mickey who we met at 3:36.







It was now 3:37 and we weren't entirely sure what to do next since the run didn't start until 5:30.

A picture to prove we're in the vicinity of Epcot.



There was a DJ set up next to the character meets and some bleachers across from them so we decided to have a seat and hang out and people watch for a while.



As we sat, the area went from empty to full very quickly. The character lines grew very lengthy and there was a crowd in front of the DJ having a meet up of some kind. Plus, I felt like if I sat still any longer I'd fall asleep, so we got up to look around.

There were a few sponsor booths, a first aid tent (that we thankfully didn't need), a Joffrey's stand and a food tent. I'm pretty sure the food tent was also serving beer because I thought about getting one but ultimately decided I'd end up falling asleep for sure lol.

There was a random photopass person taking pictures with a runDisney sign and we had nothing else to do so we got our photo taken.



Eventually we got bored of meandering around and decided to head to the corrals. If you're a serious runner or trying to achieve a certan race time or something, you would definitely want to make your way to the corrals earlier than we did.

Since it was our first race ever in life, we didn't know any better but the walk to get to the corrals was extremely long. It felt like a 5k on top of the 5k we were already running. I thought this was just something normal to get you moving before your race or something but later I saw a lot of people complaining about it on the runDisney FB group so I guess it was not normal and I heard it was something to do with the Epcot construction.

After our pre5K 5K, we made it to the corrals and we'd been assigned to corral B. I have no idea how the assignment works for the 5k. I know for the longer races you submit proof of time to get assigned corrals but for the 5k you don't. Also, no one gets swept in the 5k like they do in the longer races so that was a plus for me lol.

So we got to the B corral and holy smokes, there were a ton of people here! I couldn't imagine how we'd possible run in this crowd lol. This is why I say if you're trying to make a time or something, get to the corrals early!

There were announcers somewhere up near the front and screens to show them since we couldn't see them at all.



At one point, they led a rousing chorus of Baby Shark.

https://imgur.com/oTK3sAi

I kinda like baby shark, I think it's cute but Mike hates it lol so he wasn't amused.

At 5:30, they started releasing the corrals little by little. They let a certain amount of people out at once I guess to try to stagger everyone. And each time more of us got released, fireworks went off.

https://imgur.com/8aaJS1A

Finally, at 5:41, we were at the front and it was our turn to start!

https://imgur.com/hxh9JRT

I'd read that proper race etiquette was to move to the right if you were planning to walk and leave the left open for people who were running but I have to tell you, right out of the gates, there was no way anyone was running. We were in a big herd like we were rope dropping Flight of Passage.

Once we made it a little ways, we were able to separate a little bit and jog,

We quickly came upon the first character meet. The annoying thing about the race course meets were that the lines were usually so long that you didn't know who you were getting in line for before you decided to stop or if you did see who it was, you had to backtrack against the crowd to get in line which was very difficult.

So we decided to just get into the character lines and then find out from others in line who it was for and then if we didn't want to wait, we could just get out of line and keep going.

It turned out the first characters were two of the Country Bears! Btw, with the news of the Jungle Cruise being re-themed to be more "culturally appropriate", it makes me wonder how much longer before the Country Bears gets taken away or changed.



The next characters we came to were Baloo and King Louie and since they were the "icons" for the race, the line was massive. We honestly should've skipped them and kept going but I really wanted our picture with them so we waited. They move the character lines really efficiently during the race but it still took forever. We met the Country Bears at 5:59 and didn't meet the Jungle Book characters until 6:22. It doesn't seem like that long but in race time it felt like forever.



We continued running along and shortly after, we were all directed to the side as CMs blocked off one side of the course and we saw EMS responding. We later found out that a man in his 50s collapsed during the race and ended up passing away. So terrible and my heart really breaks for that family.

The race was in a backstage part of Epcot at this point and it sounds exciting but there was sadly not much to see lol.

Riveting.



Finally, almost an hour in we hit mile 1. Yes we are slow but not that slow lol- our group didn't start out on time and we waited for 2 character meets!



Finally, we were back in the actual park and the decor got much better.



There's photographers in little boxes almost on the sides of the race course to capture some great pictures of you mid-race lol.



Ugh I just love nighttime in Epcot and the torches make me miss Illuminations.





​

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Wine and Dine 5k Part 2

We ran by another massive character line in France and discovered it was for Remy and decided to skip it. We met him and his brother Emile at the post-race party last year (which you can buy tickets for even if you don't run any races! Plus if you go on social media, people who run I think the 1/2 marathon and the challenge get the tickets free and if they aren't going to go, they sell their tickets really cheap. I think we ended up buying them from someone on FB for $20 each!) so we didn't feel the need to wait.



Apparently we stopped at a water table some time before this picture lol.



Japan!



A solo shot of Mike.



We made much better time getting to mile 2!



Don't I look wide awake?



Just before the end of the race, we saw Flik meeting and since we knew we were almost done, we decided to stop!







Mile 3! Woo! We can do it!



Finish line!



Woo we did it!



Naturally, I needed a selfie to commemorate the occasion.



Then we got our medals and snack boxes.





We were back in our car at 7:35 and did encounter a lot more traffic on the way back to Old Key West but at 7:48, we were back in our room and I took a close-up shot of the medal.



Mike went to the main building to the quick service because we were starving now and sadly found out that they don't have Mickey waffles! I believe they told him you could do take out from Olivia's, the sit down restaurant, and get them but the goal was to get food fast and nap lol so we both had some kinda meal with eggs, bacon and breakfast potatoes and took a well deserved nap!​

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Resort hopping for Halloween looks like so much fun! Way better than party crowds on Halloween night. I’ll definitely need to watch and see if this comes back once the world is back to normal.

It's so much fun! We like to go to MNSSHP earlier in the trip and save Halloween for resort hopping! I hope it comes back!

RunDisney is a total bucket list thing for me. I used to run, my goal was to do a half marathon at Disney, but it didn’t happen and my running totally got derailed. I’m hoping to at least get passively back into it in spring to at least do 5ks again. Can’t wait to hear more about the one you did.

I really wish they’d bring back the old one at AK where it was like a trivia/scavenger hunt/5k all in one. THAT one was my first goal then they canceled it.

Running a Disney race was a lot of fun even for us non-runners! That race at AK sounds amazing! I would love to try that if they brought it back.

 

[missangelalexis]

Loved hearing about the 5k! Such an awesome thing to say you did! And I love all the character pics of course!

 

[pkondz]

The 5k was set to start at 5:30 am

but all the research I'd done recommended getting there early

Early??? 5:30 isn't early enough??

All of this was a very long way of saying our alarms were set for 2:30 AM.

Why even go to sleep?

Tail and all.

The meet and greets were Minnie and Mickey in cowboy outfits. Not sure what that had to do with wine and dine or Jungle Book which was the 5k theme but we'll go with it.

Um... sure. Makes total sense... um...

A picture to prove we're in the vicinity of Epcot.

Definitely!
I have a picture to prove that I was in Egypt.


And I went to NYC recently and took this photo to prove it.

the walk to get to the corrals was extremely long. It felt like a 5k on top of the 5k we were already running.

Warm up.

Max warm up.

Also, no one gets swept in the 5k like they do in the longer races

Ah! Didn't know that.

At one point, they led a rousing chorus of Baby Shark.

You'll forgive me if I didn't turn up (or on) the volume.

I kinda like baby shark, I think it's cute but Mike hates it lol so he wasn't amused.

Mike is smart.

And each time more of us got released, fireworks went off.

Nice!

I'd read that proper race etiquette was to move to the right if you were planning to walk and leave the left open for people who were running but I have to tell you, right out of the gates, there was no way anyone was running. We were in a big herd like we were rope dropping Flight of Passage.

This is not my idea of a 5K.
I guess I'd like to try to be at the front to avoid that.

Or, conversely, at the back of a pack and just hang back until the crowd dispersed a bit in front of me.

We quickly came upon the first character meet. The annoying thing about the race course meets were that the lines were usually so long that you didn't know who you were getting in line for before you decided to stop or if you did see who it was, you had to backtrack against the crowd to get in line which was very difficult.

I'm a bit surprised they didn't have people with end of line signs.

Btw, with the
news of the Jungle Cruise being re-themed to be more "culturally appropriate", it makes me wonder how much longer before the Country Bears gets taken away or changed.

Good question. I wondered the same thing, last time I saw Country Bears.

We continued running along and shortly after, we were all directed to the side as CMs blocked off one side of the course and we saw EMS responding. We later found out that a man in his 50s collapsed during the race and ended up passing away. So terrible and my heart really breaks for that family.

That's horrible.

Riveting.

oooohhh...

Like this shot of you.

Poor Mike. He just keeps getting cut in half.

A solo shot of Mike.

So it can happen!

Don't I look wide awake?

Maybe just a teensy bit tired.

Woo we did it!

Woot! Fun shot. You both look pretty happy.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Security would open at 3:30 AM and at 3:11, we joined the loose line of people already there.

I honestly think that the time you have to get up is what stops me the most from doing one of these. But I do want to try one, one day!

Also, no one gets swept in the 5k like they do in the longer races so that was a plus for me lol.

That makes me feel better!

t 5:30, they started releasing the corrals little by little. They let a certain amount of people out at once I guess to try to stagger everyone. And each time more of us got released, fireworks went off.

I have heard this before, and I love that they do it for everyone fast or slow.

We were in a big herd like we were rope dropping Flight of Passage.

Probably with less pushing than FoP!

It turned out the first characters were two of the Country Bears! Btw, with the news of the Jungle Cruise being re-themed to be more "culturally appropriate", it makes me wonder how much longer before the Country Bears gets taken away or changed.

Seriously!!! There days are numbered. And I know alot of people are going to be mad but it is probably time.

CMs blocked off one side of the course and we saw EMS responding. We later found out that a man in his 50s collapsed during the race and ended up passing away. So terrible and my heart really breaks for that family.

That is so sad.

It sounds like a successful race!

 

[MyGoofy26]

Love the update! Gah, I really want to do a race!

I don’t think I ever realized you could link photopass. Those race photos can get so pricy at other events so that’s a huge bonus to Disney!