See you @@ the Finish Line- Our Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend Adventure

[MommaoffherRocker]

A long time ago in a kingdom far, far away...

Episode III
Moms and Oldest Sons Meetup

It was a time of uncertainty, there were no Disney trips planned.
In an act of desperation Melanie suggested to Becky
they run the Dark Side 5k with their eldest sons.
So a meet up was planned.

In a not so stunning move, the crazy runDisney addict, Melanie, decides to run the half marathon too.
There was a sale and runDisney legacy status was at stake.

Desperate to have a good time, the moms of five kids toiled
endlessly to make the perfect ADRs and fast passes.
When the Illuminations Dessert Party opens up days before they leave
a glimmer of hope starts to spread through both households...


​

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Welcome to our trip report for Darkside Half Marathon Weekend! I am hoping @wehrengrizz will join me in writing this report so we can we get two perspectives and so we can relive the fun together

Background:
I'm Melanie, a mom of 5 kids. I met Becky, also a mom of 5 kids, on the Disboards and then in person at the Tinker Bell half marathon weekend in 2016. Afterwards all of our kids became pen pals. We decided to meet up again at the Darkside weekend with our oldest boys. We would all run the 5k together. But before that happened I decided to run the Disneyland Half Weekend and Becky joined me at the last minute. So Dark Side ended up being our third meet up.​

from the left Killian, Becky, Melanie, Liam

The facts
When: April 18-23
Where: 3 nights POP, 2 nights CBR
Who: Melanie, Becky, Killian (Becky's DS), Liam (Melanie's DS)

Becky and I are the Disney planners for both of our families so it was awesome to be able to plan together. We started as soon as race registration opened and were on top of ADRs and Fast passes as soon as they opened too. Funny enough we changed everything around and probably kept less than 5% of the original plans.

Becky also made us some awesome shirts for our trips and I tried my hand at a few Minnie ears.


One example of the shirts




Ok maybe I went a little overboard

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[run.minnie.miles]

How fun! Love the shirts! Can't wait to follow along

 

[Mickey Momma]

Can't wait to read more! The shirts AND ears are amazing!!

 

[ZellyB]

I'm excited to read all about it. Love all the ears!!

 

[wehrengrizz]

A long time ago in a kingdom far, far away...

Episode III
Moms and Oldest Sons Meetup

It was a time of uncertainty, there were no Disney trips planned.
In an act of desperation Melanie suggested to Becky
they run the Dark Side 5k with their eldest sons.
So a meet up was planned.

In a not so stunning move, the crazy runDisney addict, Melanie, decides to run the half marathon too.
There was a sale and runDisney legacy status was at stake.

Desperate to have a good time, the moms of five kids toiled
endlessly to make the perfect ADRs and fast passes.
When the Illuminations Dessert Party opens up days before they leave
a glimmer of hope starts to spread through both households...


​

It's all so true!!!!

 

[TeeterTots]

I love that you met on DIS Boards and are great friends! I met my BFF on a cruise almost 5 years ago and the parallels in our lives are endless! We had our first girls only trip marathon weekend 2016 (complete coincidence as we were there for my birthday) and now we're signed up to run the marathon 2018! Looking forward to hearing about all the fun!

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Here we goooooo!

I live fairly close to WDW so Liam and I left around 8am to pick Becky and Killian up at the airport. Their flight got in around lunch time. When the boys met they were instant friends. After the pick up we headed to POP. I did online check in but had not yet gotten the email saying our room was ready. As soon as we passed the welcome signs the text came through. It was kind of eerily like they knew we were on property. We ended up getting exactly what Becky had requested, the 60s building with a lake view.

It was a little bit of a trek from the parking lot, especially with all of our stuff but it was a nice location. After dropping our stuff we headed to the concierge to make sure Liam's tickets had been prioritized correctly. We also added on the express transportation option. We had agreed on that purchase beforehand and it ended up being worth every penny.

Before hopping on the bus to MK we decided to grab a quick lunch at the food court. We all got kid's meals. I got chicken nuggets and everyone else got cheeseburgers on fish bread. It looked like a great big goldfish cracker. We got to the MK in the early afternoon. When we got inside we stop for a quick pic in front of the train station.


I am amazed that we got this picture with no one else in it.


We climbed to the top of the railroad station but didn't end up getting on. Becky got a picture of the boys that I have misplaced so hopefully she will post. Instead we went to the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.

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[TeeterTots]

That is a great pic......and how lucky no one is in the background! Love your yellow sneakers!!!

 

[MissLiss279]

Following along! Excited to read your trip report.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

We collected our Sorcerer cards and had the cast member start a new game for us. Then we head down Main Street. The stops we had to make for the game were on Main Street so we stopped and did those first. Next we headed to our first fast pass, BTMRR. This is Liam's favorite ride. He likes to scream like a banshee and make everyone think I forced him on it. After that we hurried to cross the parade path before it started. We were headed for the Dole Whips!! Liam had never had one before and he was in love.



After the Dole Whips we did our next fast pass. 7D. We also got in a few more stops in the Sorcerer's game and Mickey's Philharmagic.



Our last fastpass was Jungle Cruise. Killian loved it and it was fun to hear him crack up at the bad jokes.

After the Jungle Cruise we all but ran to get the express transportation to Epcot. We had reservations for the Illuminations dessert party we did not want to be late for. The buses were behind the scenes by the Buzz Lightyear meet n greet. They scanned our magic bands to make sure we had the express option and then took us backstage. We got on the bus and it left right on time. 15 minutes later we were backstage at Epcot. Not only did we not have to get rechecked by security but we were also dropped off right outside the bathrooms close to Spaceship Earth. On the way to the party we stopped to have some pictures taken.



We arrived at the party at 7:45. There were still plenty of tables available. We picked out a spot right on the railing by the water. Then we went for the desserts. They had so many options. And they also had pretzel bread sticks with a cheese fondue. The cheese was amazing and I had way too much.

My absolute favorite dessert of the evening was the cannoli. As far as drinks, they had water, lemonade, tea, champagne and rum punch. I tried the rum punch but whoever made it had a heavy hand so it was a little overwhelming. The viewing area was wonderful and we also had a good view of the HS fireworks that were going off at the same time. Hopefully @wehrengrizz got some pictures of them because I did not.

After the party was done it was EMH. We took advantage of them and rode TT. Since we could get a fastpass for it and Frozen we were happy we got to ride it without much of a wait. Each boy designed their own car, Becky and Killian took the front row of the car and Liam and I took the back.


I love riding TT at night.

When that was over we did a little shopping and then headed back to POP for the night. The bus line was pretty long so we hopped on a bus to AoA and walked across the bridge to our room. Everyone was exhausted so we tried to get a good night's sleep. Which would have happened if it wasn't for housekeeping knocking on our door and calling our room at 2am. There had been an issue when we got back to the room that they didn't know had been taken care of so they decided 2am was a good time to find out. Who needs sleep at Disney?

Next up Day 2: The four park challenge!​

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

How fun! Love the shirts! Can't wait to follow along

Thanks and happy to have you following along!

The shirts AND ears are amazing!!

Thank you! They really helped make the trip that much more fun

I'm excited to read all about it. Love all the ears!!

I don't usually get to do WDW vacations because of how close we are, we are usually daytrippers so I am so excited to write this report! Thanks!

It's all so true!!!!

I am glad you enjoyed my crawl (if only I could make it move)

I love that you met on DIS Boards and are great friends! I met my BFF on a cruise almost 5 years ago and the parallels in our lives are endless! We had our first girls only trip marathon weekend 2016 (complete coincidence as we were there for my birthday) and now we're signed up to run the marathon 2018! Looking forward to hearing about all the fun!

That is funny! I love how Disney can bring people together that normally wouldn't have had the chance to meet.

Love your yellow sneakers!!!

Thanks, They are my Minnie runDisney shoes from 2016. They only get pulled out for special occasions.

Following along! Excited to read your trip report.

Yay! Thanks for following along!

 

[wehrengrizz]

Not sure how this will flow with both of us chiming in, but let's be honest, Melanie will have better detail and post more consistently! Also, my pictures are asinine to post from my phone, but I will do what I can!!

When the boys met they were instant friends

Killian kept saying "each minute that goes by is one minute closer to FINALLY meeting Liam!" He was just as excited about getting to hang out with him as he was about going to WDW.

We ended up getting exactly what Becky had requested, the 60s building with a lake view.

I actually never put that request through, so it almost adds to the eeriness of the whole "your room is ready" thing!

We also added on the express transportation option. We had agreed on that purchase beforehand and it ended up being worth every penny.

One. Hundred. Percent. This was the best overall choice we made!!

When we got inside we stop for a quick pic in front of the train station.

I do have this! I'm going to post all my pictures hopefully with captions as we go along in separate posts that will hopefully still make sense

On the way to the party we stopped to have some pictures taken.

Can we just talk about how perfectly our outfits match this background too? I mean...ON POINT!!!

And they also had pretzel bread sticks with a cheese fondue. The cheese was amazing and I had way too much.

Um, yeah. I want(ed) an entire bowl of that fondue to eat like soup. Spoon optional. Lots of great treats, and that rum punch I had to half-and-half it with lemonade and then it was phenomenal. I loved that the CM with the wine described the choices as "dry" and "a little less dry but some people call it sweet" HA! I told him it was perfectly described because I needed an honest description! I had a "little less dry" wine with desert pear flavoring added, and also loved that there was fresh fruit available too. Especially because this may or may not have been our supper.....

 

[wehrengrizz]

well I had these on my computer already, but I don't have too many others yet. I'll get there! We have 2 kiddos w/ birthdays this week too so I'm a little buried in cake making


Test Track was maybe 10 minutes....that's the way to do it!

Our view from the IllumiNations Dessert Party




and this might be an instant favorite Epcot view!!! Colors are amazing. @MommaoffherRocker I was cracking up at your pic from our stops, where we're in the garden...it looks like we were Photoshopped into that one

 

[ZellyB]

Fantastic photos! I love the one of all of you in front of the train station.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

I think we can, I think we can

Before our trip began, Becky suggested we try the four park challenge. Basically it is hopping to all four parks in one day and riding at least one ride in each. I liked the idea and we chose Wednesday to go for it. The plan was to get up early and knock out MK during EMH. The only problem was EMHs started at 7! We set alarms but when they went off nobody moved. At 8am we finally got moving. We took a bus to the park since I absolutely hate driving and parking at TTC. Once inside we stopped for a castle picture.



Then we headed to Space Mtn. for our first fastpass. Liam didn't want to ride so Killian got to ride twice.


Killian and Me


Then we knocked out a couple things in Tomorrowland, like the Carousel of Progress, Buzz and Monster's Inc.



I feel like we took this game way too serious and you can see it on our faces

Then we used our fast passes for 7D



Afterwards we had reservations for BOG but we were still 10 minutes early so we went into the Village Gifts shop for a minute. That is one of my favorite stores in the park. When it was time we checked into BOG and since we preordered we got to go through the much shorter line. We paid at the counter and found a table in the ballroom. Our food came out pretty quickly. Becky and I split the turkey sandwich, Liam had the kid's shrimp and Killian got the kid's slow roasted pork. Everything was delicious. But we were sad that we didn't get dessert. The night before (after the dessert party) we took the cupcakes off our order. Regretting that decision we flagged down a server to ask if we could order them. The server told us she could make magic happen and asked what kind of cupcakes we wanted. Then she went into the back and came out with two triple chocolate cupcakes


Soooo yummy!!




By this time it was getting hot and crowded. We wandered around for a little bit.
We stopped at a couple Sorcerer's locations. Rode Haunted Mansion. Wandered through some shops. Tried to meet Peter Pan but his line was already closed.

Then we decided it was time to hop over to AK. Becky had seen the express bus times and we knew were cutting it kinda close but went for it anyways. We checked in, they walked us to the back just in time to see the AK bus drive away. We opted to wait on the benches for the next one instead of riding more rides. Then Becky suggested we go to whatever park the next bus was going to. We got up to board the bus to Epcot but at the same time it pulled away! The cast member in charge of the busses radioed them and had the bus come back for us. Talk about VIP treatment
We thank everyone a million times and boarded the bus to Epcot. Another one completely to ourselves.



Up Next: Park #2

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[MommaoffherRocker]

Fantastic photos! I love the one of all of you in front of the train station.

Thanks! We definitely took full advantage of the photopass option on my AP this trip.

 

[ZellyB]

It sounds like that express bus thing is pretty awesome for park hopping. Maybe we should consider that when we go for marathon weekend in January.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Park 2- Epcot

We got off the bus at Epcot and headed for the Mexico pavilion. Becky and Killian had never ridden Gran Fiesta Tour?! Since it was a 5 minute wait it was perfect. But before we could get to Mexico we stopped in one of the shops. We noticed they were still selling the Disney EGGstavaganza maps and we decided that it would be fun to do the egg hunt on Friday when we came back to Epcot.
But we went ahead and got the maps then so we wouldn't have to stop again.






Now on to Mexico. Inside the pyramid we saw the kidcot stop. The boys grab their passports and got the cast member to stamps them. We also found the first egg on the map by accident. Then we hopped on the ride. That ride has a special place in my heart because when DS10 was a year old and we had APs he loved it and we rode it over and over. After it was done, time was tight for the next bus to AK but we tried to get there anyways. We ended up being a minute late. They were no joke when it comes to the express bus timing. Instead of waiting around we rode Spaceship Earth. It was right there and hardly any wait.




We made it back to the check in spot with 5 minutes to spare. Then we jumped on another empty bus to AK.



and if anyone is interested in the express bus timing here is a picture of the official schedule.



Next up: Park 3
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[MommaoffherRocker]

It sounds like that express bus thing is pretty awesome for park hopping. Maybe we should consider that when we go for marathon weekend in January.

It really was because you don't have to walk all the way to the front of the park to catch a bus or go through bag check again. I also think $30 for length of stay isn't bad, hopefully they don't raise it too much in the coming months!