Running... From Coast to Coast and Back Again - Tink 1/2 TR, Princess TR

[20thingamabobs]

Hello Everyone! Sorry I've been so MIA lately. It's been really crazy with school, work, and planning the Wedding. We're getting married in just about 2 months, June 9th to be exact. Can't believe it's already been 11 months since DF proposed at AKL and now we're about to get married. I really tried for a Disney wedding but DF wanted to do something back here at home. I did have a Disney Bridal Shower last weekend though so that was fun!

In lieu of my absence, I have been working on my TRs though. I wrote up a brief picture heavy TR for my WDW half and now I'm working on my Tinkerbell Half! I'll try and get them posted within the next few days.

In addition, I've been planning for some upcoming trips as well. My next trip is just a month away! DF and I will be going back down to Disney on the one year anniversary of our engagement! We're running the Expedition Everest Challenge again too! One main difference this year though is that we'll be spending absolutely NO and I mean NO time in the parks, zip, zero, none. I'm having trouble with this but DF just wanted to relax and have some time away before the wedding so I agreed. I still found a way to plan though so stay tuned!

 

[Tickanee]

Hi Whitney! I have been following your TR and have read all your other reports also. I started running in January 2011 because my BFF and her daughter run. I still don't love it...for me it's a means to an end, LOL! We were going to run the Expedition Everest 5K this May, but just decided to relax and enjoy our vacation.

We are staying at Kidani May 1-9th. Are you staying at Kidani or Jambo? We hang by the pool every afternoon at Kidani, so if you and your DF are around I will certainly say hi.

Love your TR!!

 

[amazingact21]

Congrats on being so close to your wedding! That's really exciting. Enjoy this time right now, because I promise, the closer the wedding gets, the more everything seems to fly by!

Kind of a bummer that you don't get to do any parks next month, but at least you're doing the EE Challenge again! That's a plus! Hope it was as fun as last year. You'll have to share what your costume is (if you're doing one).

 

[20thingamabobs]

Hi Whitney! I have been following your TR and have read all your other reports also. I started running in January 2011 because my BFF and her daughter run. I still don't love it...for me it's a means to an end, LOL! We were going to run the Expedition Everest 5K this May, but just decided to relax and enjoy our vacation.

We are staying at Kidani May 1-9th. Are you staying at Kidani or Jambo? We hang by the pool every afternoon at Kidani, so if you and your DF are around I will certainly say hi.

Love your TR!!

Hi! Thanks for reading along! I go through love / hate relationships with running. Some days I love it, others I hate it. But, for right now, it keeps me in shape and gives me an excuse to take multiple trips to Disney so I stick with it!

We got engaged at Kidani last year but we're actually staying at Jambo this year. We'll be there May 4-6. We plan to do lots of pool time but we'll obviously we sticking to the Jambo pool. But who knows, maybe I'll still see you around! I love meeting fellow DISers.

Congrats on being so close to your wedding! That's really exciting. Enjoy this time right now, because I promise, the closer the wedding gets, the more everything seems to fly by!

Kind of a bummer that you don't get to do any parks next month, but at least you're doing the EE Challenge again! That's a plus! Hope it was as fun as last year. You'll have to share what your costume is (if you're doing one).

Thanks! I'm getting really excited and really nervous at the same time. I'm counting down the days till our trip (3 weeks from tomorrow) but I know once that's here that I'm only a month away from my wedding and we're just not quite ready yet. It's mostly minor things left to do but there "to do still" regardless.

I was a little bummed about not going to a park at first but I've come to terms with it and now with all the stress of school and the wedding, I'm actually looking forward to the down time. Plus, I did manage to still sit in some fun things! And, I'm really excited to do EEC again! And I'll get my fill of Everest Saturday night! So that is definitely a plus! We talked my mom and brother into running as well so I hope it's as fun as last year too! As for a costume, I don't know yet. It really depends on time. I've been trying to figure out how to make a Yeti costume but haven't quite got there yet so I may just reuse my zebra running skirt and zebra mickey head tank from last year, we'll see. I did get a very cute zebra print SweatyBand at the Princess Expo so I'll be wearing it regardless! I love those things!

 

[20thingamabobs]

OK, since we're leaving 3 weeks from tomorrow to head back to WDW, I figure it's time to talk about some plans! First off, I want to thank all you DISers! You see, as I was typing up some info on my trip to post on here, I realized I'd made a major calculation error. You see, the original plan was to work half a day at work then take a late flight to Florida Friday night. Well when I was typing all that up to post, I realized that my timeline was ridiculous. You see, we're flying out of Pittsburgh (not Cleveland) so in order to make a 4:00pm flight, we needed to be at the airport by 2:00pm which meant we needed to drop our car off at the shuttle place around 1:45pm, which meant leaving home (in cleveland) by 11:45am, which meant leaving work by 11:00am. So I was literally only going to be at work for 2 hours... what's the point in that? When I pointed this out to DF, he agreed that it was silly to go to work for two hours and that we should just take the whole day. Well, if we were going to take the whole day off, I would rather spend it in Disney and not in Ohio. So, thankfully Southwest doesn't charge you to change flights so for $30, we switched from the 4:00pm flight to the 6:30am flight! Now instead of getting to Disney at 6:45pm, we'll be there by 8:45am!! Woo Hoo! Now we'll have a whole extra day! So, here's the plan:

Day 1: Friday, May 4

6:30am nonstop flight from PIT to MCO
Magical Express from MCO to Animal Kingdom Lodge
check-in, drop off luggage

I have placed an order with Disney Florist to surprise DF. I'll need to sign for it during check-in because it contains wine. I'll leave what else it contains as a surprise for the TR!

After this, we are going to play it by ear but we have two options in mind:

Option A:

- head over to Typhoon Lagoon for the day

- go to the Expo to pick up race packet and t-shirt

Option B:

- head to DTD for lunch at Earl of Sandwich and possibly Character in Flight if it's running

- head to Expo to pick up race packet and t-shirt

Either way, we'll need to be back at the hotel 6-6:30pm to get ready for dinner. Around 8:00pm, we'll head out to catch a bus to MK, from there, we'll take the monorail or short walk over to the Contemporary for dinner at California Grille! DF has never been here and I think he'll enjoy it. Our reservation is for 9:30pm. I'm hoping they take us up on time because the fireworks are at 10:00pm this night and the whole point was so DF could see them from the rooftop!

So fingers crossed! After dinner, it'll be back to our room to get a good nights sleep!

Continued next post...

 

[jdd]

OK, since we're leaving 3 weeks from tomorrow to head back to WDW, I figure it's time to talk about some plans! First off, I want to thank all you DISers! You see, as I was typing up some info on my trip to post on here, I realized I'd made a major calculation error. You see, the original plan was to work half a day at work then take a late flight to Florida Friday night. Well when I was typing all that up to post, I realized that my timeline was ridiculous. You see, we're flying out of Pittsburgh (not Cleveland) so in order to make a 4:00pm flight, we needed to be at the airport by 2:00pm which meant we needed to drop our car off at the shuttle place around 1:45pm, which meant leaving home (in cleveland) by 11:45am, which meant leaving work by 11:00am. So I was literally only going to be at work for 2 hours... what's the point in that? When I pointed this out to DF, he agreed that it was silly to go to work for two hours and that we should just take the whole day. Well, if we were going to take the whole day off, I would rather spend it in Disney and not in Ohio. So, thankfully Southwest doesn't charge you to change flights so for $30, we switched from the 4:00pm flight to the 6:30am flight! Now instead of getting to Disney at 6:45pm, we'll be there by 8:45am!! Woo Hoo! Now we'll have a whole extra day! So, here's the plan:

Day 1: Friday, May 4

6:30am nonstop flight from PIT to MCO
Magical Express from MCO to Animal Kingdom Lodge
check-in, drop off luggage

I have placed an order with Disney Florist to surprise DF. I'll need to sign for it during check-in because it contains wine. I'll leave what else it contains as a surprise for the TR!

After this, we are going to play it by ear but we have two options in mind:

Option A:

- head over to Typhoon Lagoon for the day

- go to the Expo to pick up race packet and t-shirt

Option B:

- head to DTD for lunch at Earl of Sandwich and possibly Character in Flight if it's running

- head to Expo to pick up race packet and t-shirt

Either way, we'll need to be back at the hotel 6-6:30pm to get ready for dinner. Around 8:00pm, we'll head out to catch a bus to MK, from there, we'll take the monorail or short walk over to the Contemporary for dinner at California Grille! DF has never been here and I think he'll enjoy it. Our reservation is for 9:30pm. I'm hoping they take us up on time because the fireworks are at 10:00pm this night and the whole point was so DF could see them from the rooftop!

So fingers crossed! After dinner, it'll be back to our room to get a good nights sleep!

Continued next post...

Okay, this is actually a little scary! If you recall, I wrote in your trip report earlier that my son and I were in AK back in September/October when you ran one of the other races - I actually looked for us in your pictures

So, anyway, my DH and I decided we needed an "adults only" trip for our anniversary, and we'll again be in the World the same time as you! But it gets crazier - we live in Pittsburgh, and are flying down on the 4th as well - though we're on a later flight (have to get the kids off to school first!). And...we have ressies at California Grill at 9:30pm that night! This just struck me as so funny and cool!! I'm actually trying to change our reservation to a little earlier (maybe 8:30) so that we can finish dinner and enjoy the fireworks with our dessert, but otherwise we'll be there a the exact same time!

We're not running the marathon , but will plan to spend a relaxing weekend without kiddos. I really hope we see you there, I've never met anyone from the Dis on any of our multiple vacations, and I just think it would be neat. I'll try to find a picture to post of us, but I'll definitely say hi if we see you!

 

[20thingamabobs]

Okay, this is actually a little scary! If you recall, I wrote in your trip report earlier that my son and I were in AK back in September/October when you ran one of the other races - I actually looked for us in your pictures

So, anyway, my DH and I decided we needed an "adults only" trip for our anniversary, and we'll again be in the World the same time as you! But it gets crazier - we live in Pittsburgh, and are flying down on the 4th as well - though we're on a later flight (have to get the kids off to school first!). And...we have ressies at California Grill at 9:30pm that night! This just struck me as so funny and cool!! I'm actually trying to change our reservation to a little earlier (maybe 8:30) so that we can finish dinner and enjoy the fireworks with our dessert, but otherwise we'll be there a the exact same time!

We're not running the marathon , but will plan to spend a relaxing weekend without kiddos. I really hope we see you there, I've never met anyone from the Dis on any of our multiple vacations, and I just think it would be neat. I'll try to find a picture to post of us, but I'll definitely say hi if we see you!

I do remember that! And we were both in Epcot the same day which was your son's birthday! That's so crazy that we once again picked the same travel dates and that we live so close! Well, we technically live in Cleveland but my parents live closer to Pittsburgh so we fly out of there most of the time because it's cheaper! Too bad we aren't on the same flight, that would have been so crazy! I wanted an earlier reservation too (like 8:30) but I couldn't get one. Suppose if one opens up we'll both be going for it lol. That's so funny. Well, I guess I'll probably definitely see you! You'll need to post a pic so I'll be able to recognize you! I've only ever met one of person from the Disboards so I'd love to meet someone else!

Oh, and this one is just a 5k so it's much shorter! It's 3.1 miles through AK followed by a scavenger hunt and after party in the park! Very fun!

 

[20thingamabobs]

Hm, I guess I should back up a minute. So, I mentioned that DF and I would be going back in May and staying at AKL to celebrate the anniversary of our engagement and the one month mark till our wedding. Well, we'll have company a little bit this time too.

My parents and brother are actually going on vacation to the Bahamas April 27 - May 4. Since they're flying back into Florida from the Bahamas on the day DF and I will be arriving, my mom and brother decided to stick around. So, my dad will be coming home but my mom and brother will be staying at Disney for about a week. They arrive in Florida around 12:30pm and are booked to stay at the Sheraton Vistana Villages. They'll actually be joining us for dinner at California Grille. Anyway, figured I'd tell you that so when I started talking about them you would know where they came from.

 

[jdd]

I do remember that! And we were both in Epcot the same day which was your son's birthday! That's so crazy that we once again picked the same travel dates and that we live so close! Well, we technically live in Cleveland but my parents live closer to Pittsburgh so we fly out of there most of the time because it's cheaper! Too bad we aren't on the same flight, that would have been so crazy! I wanted an earlier reservation too (like 8:30) but I couldn't get one. Suppose if one opens up we'll both be going for it lol. That's so funny. Well, I guess I'll probably definitely see you! You'll need to post a pic so I'll be able to recognize you! I've only ever met one of person from the Disboards so I'd love to meet someone else!

Oh, and this one is just a 5k so it's much shorter! It's 3.1 miles through AK followed by a scavenger hunt and after party in the park! Very fun!

Yes, good memory! His birthday is Sept 30th. Okay, so I have a ton of digital pictures of my kids, but none of my husband and I! I'll take one this weekend and get it posted (he'll think I'm nuts )

Enjoy your planning!

 

[Dsnygrl1205]

Hey Girl! I haven't been around much but I just got caught up on everything. Scott and I did the Wine and Dine too and I actually kept my eye out for you! We had so much fun but this year I'm doing the ToT 10 miler instead. I want to do both but since it's right after our wedding I don't think it will be possible. I can't believe your wedding is so soon! I'd love to hear some details on your planning! It's so much isn't it? Looking forward to hearing about the other races too!

 

[20thingamabobs]

Yes, good memory! His birthday is Sept 30th. Okay, so I have a ton of digital pictures of my kids, but none of my husband and I! I'll take one this weekend and get it posted (he'll think I'm nuts )

Enjoy your planning!

Hey! I wanted to let you know that we did get an earlier reservation! We found one at 7:45pm so we took it. I'm sure we'll still be there when you arrive though so hopefully we'll still get to meet!

Hey Girl! I haven't been around much but I just got caught up on everything. Scott and I did the Wine and Dine too and I actually kept my eye out for you! We had so much fun but this year I'm doing the ToT 10 miler instead. I want to do both but since it's right after our wedding I don't think it will be possible. I can't believe your wedding is so soon! I'd love to hear some details on your planning! It's so much isn't it? Looking forward to hearing about the other races too!

Hey! I hadn't been on much lately either until recently! I kept my open for you at W&D too because I knew you'd be there! I enjoyed it but have also opted to run the Tower of Terror this year instead so maybe we'll see you there! Our wedding is coming really quickly at this point! I'll post up some pics of what I've been planning so you can all see it! How are your plans coming along?

 

[20thingamabobs]

Alright, so as you all know, I'm big on the Disney races but except for a few 5ks, I've never really run a race outside of Disney. Well, as of recent, we've broadened our horizons a bit. I'm currently registered to run the Cleveland Half Marathon in May with my cousin (she ran the Princess with me) and my friend Lauren (she ran the Wine & Dine with me). They both have caught the running bug and I love it!

That being said, DF and I also ran a slightly different race this past weekend. We joined a bunch of other crazy people and competed in the Ohio/Michigan Tough Mudder. There were suppose to be about 10 people on our team but most of them decided to opt out and one got hurt about a month ago so it ended up just being the two of us. Anyway, thought I would share some pics:

Start of Competition ( we had to jump over an 8 foot wall to get into the corral)

Waiting to start (please note the large amount of guys and limited girls)

We had to jump over 10 of these shorter walls:

Arctic Ice Bath – jump into and slosh through 4 foot deep ice water

Berlin Walls – 8 feet high, climb over

Smoke from burning hay – had to navigate through (burned your eyes really bad)

Jump over two sets of hay bales

3 mile mark, climbed up that hill, down the other side, trudged through knee high 45 degree water, back up the hill, back down, then jumped off that massive wall into the freezing quarry

coming out of water going up the back size

after the jump – never been so cold in my life…

Mud Trenches, jump in, climb out, repeat four times

After coming out of mud pits – DF canonballed into the last one (the pictures get pretty blurry due to the mud after this point

walked through this for about 6 minutes

Continued Next Post...

 

[20thingamabobs]

coming out of the mud… it came up to your thigh

here you climb up 5 foot mud hills then slid into muddy water, walk about 4 feet then back up – 10 times

climb under net – wouldn’t have been so bad except people’s pins from their bibs were all over the ground… went straight through one guys knuckle, bled ridiculously... so gross

monkey Bars – I fell off, took this pic while in the water – it was just as cold as the quarry

balance beam – Neither DF or I fell… what you can’t see though is that the side of the beams have electric wire running along them so if you grabbed the side, it shocked you

Over and under a series of 10 logs that got progressively higher/lower

another set of walls – 10 feet high this time

Everest – run hard and pray someone catches you… the people at the top are laying on their stomachs waiting to grab people and help them over... DF went first then helped grab me and pull me over

Waiting my turn

last obstacle – Electroshock Therapy… there’s wires hanging that shock you if you touch them… some with as much as 10,000 Volts. I saw huge grown men hit their knees after being shocked… DF and I made it through without touching any…

Obstacles Not Pictured:
Boa Constrictor - army crawl down a plastic pipe, through water, then army crawl back uphill through plastic pipe

Trench Warfare - army crawl through pitch black tunnel of dirt

Hangin Tough - swing from ring to ring to get to other side (DF made it, I fell in the ice water AGAIN)

Electric Eel - army crawl under 8in high barbed wire that had electric wire hanging down from it... DF and I were both shocked three times each, hurt really bad...

Finish Line:

We changed for the drive home as we were so muddy and soaking wet. Here's a pic of us once back at his Parent's house but before we showered:

It was super rough but we had fun. It took four hours to complete the 11 1/2 mile course and obstacles. I would absolutely do again.

 

[jdd]

Hey! I wanted to let you know that we did get an earlier reservation! We found one at 7:45pm so we took it. I'm sure we'll still be there when you arrive though so hopefully we'll still get to meet!

Wow - how'd you manage that? Did you call or make it online??
I've been looking online every morning, and no luck Hopefully another one will open up....really hoping for around 8:30 so we can max our MK time and still eat before too late (I know, wishing for the moon...) Otherwise, we'll see you on your way out/our way in

 

[amazingact21]

Holy cow!!!!

My jaw was dropped the whole time I was reading about that race. I think, in light of that, I just have to say....

You're a BEAST!




I couldn't imagine doing anything like that. Electric shocks?! Mud and ice baths?!



Needless to say, you will have zero issues with the obstacles at the Everest Challenge.

 

[20thingamabobs]

Wow - how'd you manage that? Did you call or make it online??
I've been looking online every morning, and no luck Hopefully another one will open up....really hoping for around 8:30 so we can max our MK time and still eat before too late (I know, wishing for the moon...) Otherwise, we'll see you on your way out/our way in

Yea, I just kept checking every morning and then periodically throughout the day/evening to see what would pop up. When I saw that one, I took it. It usually takes forever to eat there anyway so if possible we're going to try and see the fireworks still so we should be there when you come! I was hoping for 8:30 also but I think we'll make do with 7:30. At least this way we can be done by the time the fireworks start then head back to bed... We have an early morning the next day!

Holy cow!!!!

My jaw was dropped the whole time I was reading about that race. I think, in light of that, I just have to say....

You're a BEAST!




I couldn't imagine doing anything like that. Electric shocks?! Mud and ice baths?!



Needless to say, you will have zero issues with the obstacles at the Everest Challenge.

Haha I hope we don't have issues with the EEC obstacles after that! It was rough and I'm super proud of myself for actually doing all the obstacles... The Electric shocks and cold were the worst! Did you get your bib assignment? What number are you? I think we signed up on the same day so maybe we're in the same wave.

 

[20thingamabobs]

Day 2: May 5, 2012 - Pictures, relaxation, DTD, Expedition Everest Challenge

This morning will start pretty early! We'll need to be up and ready by 8:00am. Once ready, we'll head down to the main lobby to meet our Disney Event Photography photographer! We're having engagement photos taken at the resort (AKL) since that's where we were engaged! I'm really excited about this. You see, as of right now, we don't have any engagement pictures. We've had several seatings booked with our photographer for our wedding but they only have an outside location for their engagement photos so they've cancelled due to weather every time. So, I'm beginning to think these may be our only engagement photos! I'm praying and wishing for pixie dust that the weather will be nice this day... I can't take any more rain outs!

I've seen some examples of the photos they take so I'm super excited about how they'll turn out too! Plus, I just think it'll be special.

It's an hour long seating so we should be done by 9:30am. We plan on just hanging out at the resort for awhile. Probably by the pool if it's nice! If the warm Florida sun starts to drain us, we may head to Downtown Disney for a little bit. DF has never been to Earl of Sandwich so I may take him their for lunch. While there, we'll definitely visit World of Disney and D-Street. If Characters in Flight is running then we may try that too! When finished, we'll head back to AKL and relax some more. Depending on time, we may head back to the pool. Or, just hang out in the room.

We'll grab a snack around 6:30pm then get ready to head out. We'll catch a bus around 7:30 over to Animal Kingdom. The race starts at 9:30pm and I think we'll be in about the third wave which would give us a start time of 9:40pm. WE'll knock out the 5k and obstacles then have fun figuring out the clues for the scavenger hunt! Then I plan to spend the rest of the night riding Everest as many times as possible! I'm sure I'll fit Dinosaur in at some point but I'm thinking at least 3 rides on Everest will be essential! When we've had are fill and are tired, we'll catch a bus back to AKL and head to bed!

 

[amazingact21]

Did you get your bib assignment? What number are you? I think we signed up on the same day so maybe we're in the same wave.

We did! Our number is 1158. Not sure where that puts us as far as waves go. I know last year we were 1428 and way back in wave 5. Hope that's not the case this time around.



I think getting engagement pictures at AKL is such a great idea! It'll be really cool to have photos from the same place as the proposal. Not to mention, the resort is so beautiful, I can only imagine how great they'll turn out.


A 3-ride minimum on Everest is a must!

 

[jdd]

I agree! I think that's so romantic to have your engagement pictures taken where you got engaged! I'm sure they'll be spectacular.

 

[pxefig]

Whew! I just read through all of your trip report! I am looking at doing my first half marathon at the Food and Wine this year and I stumbled on your thread looking for some trip reports and pics of the events. Jackpot! Girl, you've done them all! I feel so well informed about all of them now. Can't wait to hear about the Tinerbell and Princess runs- if F&W goes well this year, those two are the races I have chosen for 2013 to get my C2C.
Congrats on the engagement- you two do look really sweet together (and any man willing to go to Disney that often is awesome!)