Princesses Running through Our DVC Weekend Trip Report (2/25-2/28)

[DisneyMountainWoman]

I finally have time to catch up so I want to do a trip report.

Intro:

This is my welcome home trip. We bought DVC during Covid when we took our money we were saving for a Disney Cruise (and my husband got into GameStop early) and used it to buy DVC instead. We bought with my parents at AKL and Aulani.

This trip was just a girls trip for Princess Rundisney weekend, so just my mom and me. Leaving the men behind, so my poor husband, 5 year son and grandpa behind. During Covid I decided to get in shape so I started to run with couch to 5k and then decided lets do a even better goal, Princess 1/2 Marathon. It worked, lost over 30 pounds and now can say I am a half marathoner runner!

So I hope you will join us in our little Magical Weekend fun, living the suite life fit for Princesses that we are... lol.

Where: AKV Jambo Club Level 1 Bedroom Suite
When: 2/25 to 2/28
Why: Princess Rundisney weekend

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Title Page
Day 1
Travel
Check In
The Room
More Room Pics
Rundisney Expo
More Expo Pics
Club Level Dinner Food
Victoria Falls and Club Desserts
Day 2
Waking Up Early for the 10k
Start of 10k
Running Through HS
Running Through Epcot
The Finish Line!
AKL Club LV Breakfast
Cookies
Boathouse Brunch
Disney Springs
AKL Pool
Jiko
Club Lv Dinner
Day 3
Waking Up Early
Start of 1/2 Marathon
Running down Mainstreet!!
Running through Fantasyland
Leaving MK
It is really HOT
Epcot and Finish!
Finish and Medals
Hollywood Studios
More HS Photos!
Star Wars
Galaxy's Edge
Heading to MK
Princess and Castle!
Tomorrowland
Heading to Grand Floridian
Enchanted Rose
Narcoossee's
Fireworks and Goodnight!
Day 4
Saying Goodbye​

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

1st Day Travel Day: 2/25

We flew out on United. We woke up super early. 4ish and got out an Uber to the airport. I live right next to the Denver Airport, so it is a really quick trip. The Uber guy is nice. Plenty of room for all of our luggage. I checked in online, while mom check in, in person because she is first class. We go over to first class area and mom checks in all of our luggage. Perks of first class life. I the will be "only" in economy plus, lol. Then we go through security. Nothing bad, we have pre clearance so easy. For breakfast I go to Chickfla for breakfastsandwich. My mom grabs a small snack but does not get much other than coffee since she will have a meal in first class. She suffers so much, lol. Then we head over to United and wait. We tried the smile with your eyes technique... lol.

During the flight nothing special. I have snacks to eat and drink. My mom is living her best life in first class and later she told me she may have gotten tipsy with bloody marys...

Then we land early!! We head out and follow the signs to baggage. We got a car through Tiffany's and the our guy texted us saying he was running a little late and that sucks since we landed early. So we go wait for our luggage and by the time we get our luggage our guy is still not here. To make a long story short it took a while for us to meet our driver. It is not how I wanted to start the trip. Later when we chatted with driver and they scheduled him back to back was the issue and we was on the other side of the airport. I think Tiffany's may be booking things to close together seems to be the main issue. Now mom used them early in the year and they great but that was before magical expressed closed. So wondering if they are just more packed now that magical express is now closed.

Next checking into AKL club level.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Part 2 Check In

I see us pulling into AKL and I get super excited. I have been waiting for this moment for 2 years.


Man... this lobby... will it ever get old??



I see the nearest employee at I asked them where to be checked in for club level. They take me up to the elevators to the top.

There we met with the most lovely staff. They check to make sure everything is good and works and they drinks and a gift!







Look at this view from the top!



Next the room!

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

The Room

1 Bedroom DVC Club Level
I looove that these rooms are right next to the club level. We just walk a few steps and are right at our room. Look we see the lobby right from our door!!


The kitchen




The living room



The Bedroom






The bathroom




They have real African art in the room!

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

More pics enjoying the space!

Drinking our Jungle Juice mimosas!! I love that we get greated with this at Club Level.


The deck is huge!



The view. Not the Savanah, that is the one sucky thing about Club level dvc, u cannot request or guarantee Savanah view. But pool view was nice and we can see the flamingos.



We grab some snacks and soda from Club level and head to the rundisney expo.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

The conceriage ladies helped direct us to the rundisney expo bus, it was really easy to get to it. The bus was already there, so no waiting and we hopped right on. Then in a get mins we headed to the expo! Now for u none runners th rundisney expo is at the ESPN Sports complex.

We head over to the first building which has the rundisney merch. I just realized I did not take pics of this merch area. By the time I got there some of the most popular items were already sold out like rundisney spirt jerseys. But I was able to get some key things. I got jacket, couple shirts, magnet, some pins and ornament. So not bad coming in later on Friday. The joys of coming later though we did not have to worry about lines like there were earlier in the week. Here is a pic of my haul.


The other cool part they have photo spots for the run in this building. So I quickly change my shirt into my fairytale challenge Moana shirt I just bought to take some pics! There was a small line, but it moved fairly quickly.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Duplicate

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

More expo fun. U have to go out to another building to to pick up your bibs. I did not take any pics of it and then went to the main expo. They do have lots of photo opportunities everywhere which is really cool!















We explored all the things and so happy having the drinks and snacks while wondering around.

At the expo we were able to me we Jeff Galloway, who is a legend in the rundisney community. He pioneered run/walk method.




We do picture infront of the Cinderella carriage that I posted on the top.

We head back AKL, no waiting again... next Club level.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Head back to AKL. They have a carver outfront. I love how bringing back more of these kind of experiences



We drop off our purchases and head to get dinner at the club lv.

The real star of the show....these to items. The soup and the chicken. I ate soo many of those little burbon chicken sweet corn pudding ooh my gosh were they to die for!!

We poured ourselves some wine to wash all down with..



Here are the other parts I did not really eat much from it.











By the time we were done we had to be rolled to our room. Luckily it is only steps away.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

More drinking!!

Well.... we wanted to explore more of the resort and we decided to "explore" Victoria Falls.




Seychelles Martini, delicious Also it lights up... I will always pick the light up drink.


Godiva Chocolate Martini, soo good.



Victoria Falls service is wonderful. The waterfall provides a wonderful background.

My mom decided to partake in another. I forget which drink she got.



I am running tomorrow so I decided to just stick with water...


We head back to club because it is dessert time!! Desserts is not as good as dinner.








But free mickey ice cream bars!! So who can complain. Lol.



Now time for bed... I have to wake up 2:15 am tommorow... yes u heard that right...

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

The next day...
Really can I call this the next day, it is 2am something... this is the breakfast the club level made for us the night before. So nice of them.


We got changed and headed to the bus. We were on the first bus full of other Princesses. A cool surprise was that one of the youtubers I watch called runningwithmakeup was there. So it was nice chatting with them. Everyone was all excited even though it is soo early in the morning.


Next we take some pics..oh forgot to mention my costume is Vanellope Von Sweet princess outfit at the end of the movie. I like picking more obscure Princesses costumes to wear.

It is a walk to the staging area, they have music blasting though and u feel the energy going!




Next I headed to the disboard meeting spot and chatted with all the peeps that I got to know on the boards.

Then finally time to say goodbye to my mom. She is going to the start to cheer on me and the racers. Only racers beyond this point.



I go to the bathrooms... umm that is hard in these dark port potties... with all this tutu. But I managed. I head to corral 2 and wait. Wow how is it already this hot and sticky out here. Look at my face there is already a sweat on it and I have not even done even running yet.



While waiting I chat with other people around me. So many friendly people. We slowly move up and corral is moved into place and goes.

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

How FUN! It’s looking like you and your Mom are going to have a fantastic trip.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

The starting of the 10k

They do little mini wave starts with little firworks for each.


And we off! I do a 30/30 run/walk method. We pass the gates for Epcot. It is cool to run under this sign.



First character stop Anna and Elsa. My plan it is to pass alot of these first character stops since they tend to have the longest lines and it was a long line.



Then I hit mile 1. The time is off since it starts when the first bicyclist go through... so it is like 15 mins or 20 mins off.



Tiana was the next stop. This was a super long line since Tina is the theme for this run.



Next stop, joy and sadness.



Mile 2



Princess Auroa and a fairy God mother.


Mile 3, I cannot believe I am already halfway. The running is so easy for me. My training has paid off.



Next post continuing the run...

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

How FUN! It’s looking like you and your Mom are going to have a fantastic trip.

Thank you, it was a great trip.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Next we went into HS!!





The HTH looks pretty cool at night. Love that they put the overlay on it for the run.





Soo sorry for all the runny pics. I may have an issue. But it was really cool running through HS.

Mrs. Incredible character stop next.





We are now at of HS and at mile 4. Only two more to go. Time flew running through HS.



Next stop royal mickey.


Chip and Dale in their cute 50th outfits.



Next the sunrise on the boardwalk. Soo beautiful and peacful.



Continue on the next post.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Next hit mile 5!!



At this point I realized I only have one mile left and I was so worried about being swept for going to slow I did not stop for characters. So now I take the time to stop for some offical character stops.

First one I saw was beach Goofy in front of beach club. ⛱



Then we head into Epcot and Snow White is out for a stop so of course I turn in. The first dinsey princess is perfect for my first princess photo op.



Running through World Show case at sunrise is amazing...







I mean look at it!!

Some of the Flower and Garden topiary were out which is great since it was not suppose to start yet till later into next week.






I may have taken a lot of pics infront of them since I was not going to Epcot this trip.

Next Clarabella! It is cool to see a character I normally never see out.



Next post the finish line!

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

The finish line is coming up!!






Mile 6!!!





And made it to the finish line!!! Nailed the jump shot by the way, soo excited about that.



I finished the first half of my Fairytale Challenge, yeah!



When I see mom at the finish line, this is her photo of me crossing






Now the long and awkward walk down the shoot, while mom try's to follow me on the outside, so we can finally meet each other.
Like 10 mins late ( I am only slightly excaterating) ..... we finally meet, I have now in my hands, my medal, multiple bottles of water and power aid the famous disney box snack...I some how forgot to take a pic of it. Do not know how, probably just sleep exhaustion.

My mom gives me a huge sweaty hug... it seems no matter how old we get ( I am closer to 40 then I like to admit) a big old mom hug is still amazing and then as a proper daughter I hand over all the stuff in my hands to mom, lol.

Mom talks about how she saw me at the starting line but was not able to get a pic since she was busy ringing the cowbell, understandable.

Then we make our way to the I did it photo booth. They have multiple stands going so it helps with the lines.



Thinking back on this race, I was soo worried that I was going to go so slow I was not going to be able to stop at anything, but now I realize how good training really pays off ( I never skipped a long run day on the Jeff Galway Plan) and I wish I had stopped worry so much about speed and stopped for some more characters a long the run. Also I realized how much training at altitude really was an advantage, I was never once out of breath, which happens a lot more in my training runs in Colorado. Esp when I train in the mountains on ski weekends.

We head back to AKL. They have tons busses already to go and lined up. The staff are so helpful guiding us to the right bus and already congratulating us on the 10k. We get on the bus and sit and relax in the nice air conditioning and I start eating the banana that they gave us at the end of our run.

Next up AKL Club LV Breakfast!

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Heading back on the bus, I finally remember to get a pic of my fav sign in the whole world.... AKL sign!



As we get off the bus, every single one of the employees is welcoming us and congratulate us on your costumes and our run. It really makes you feel special.

We head up the elevator to the concierge level and the first thing I do is order a Jungle Juice Mimiso to toast finishing the 10k.

The concierge ladies are just so nice up here.



Is there anything better after a 10 then run then drinking Jungle Juice Mimosas looking down at the lobby of Jambo house... I think not.



Next eating all the food. I was very hungry after the race.



Now they had different options to choose from but then I saw this...




Specially these hot sticky buns and the rest were just a memory. They were still hot, goooy, sticky and soo delicious. Some times you worried about them being stale but no issues here. Super fresh, I may have piled on my plate with them... Don't judge you would have to if you just ran



Here is some of the other offerings

.

There is a fruit section but my pic of it was super blurry... so just skipping that.. honestly I could not tell you if any of these other things were good. I just ate those hot sticky buns. Yumm.

After a great breakfast, we head back to the room. My mom chills out on the deck with coffee from the club and I shower and get all the stinky running clothes off me.

Next Up heading to Disney Springs.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

We decided we have some time so we explore a little more of the hotel and check out the savannah.








It is really cool that this is just in the back of our hotel. Like take a few steps and boom your in the savannah.

We head over to the bus area and see the bus of Disney Springs is already there, so yeah, score another point for not having to wait. So far busses have been great this trip.


We make it to Disney Springs early before places have opened up!

I am sporting my cute earidescent minnie ears, with my new earidescent sunglasses, with my 10k shirt and medal.



So while walking we past Gideons and realized ohh we can get one of their cookies. So I jumped in the line. It was a long line, but you only live once. They said it would take about an hour. So mom goes in sits in the shade, while I stand in line. Hmmm standing in the sun after running for an hour may not have been my best decision. I talk to people in line, they swear to me that the cookies are worth it. As we wait longer... I am wondering if these cookies are worth it. There are other 10k runners in line too so that makes me feel a little better I am not the only crazy person in line. The guy next to me talks up the February special, so I look forward to tasting that. Mom gets us some drinks because the water and soda I grabbed from club level is now gone...







So place is amazing inside, it is like a cutesy goth decor is very cool. I loove how every corner has some cool detail.'



So these are expensive cookies, so I go with two. The Flame, special and the Cookies and Cream cookie.

Now we waited so long in this line we needed to head over to our Brunch reservation at the Boat House, so did not have time to eat them yet. The plan is to save it for later in the day. So yes, I waited an hour in line for cookies I did not even eat yet. My mom was just shaking her head at me... lol. Hopefully they will be worth the wait.

Next up Brunch!