The One without a Trip Report

[tink2020]

Saturday, January 6th

3:00-3:03am. The alarm is ringing, the phone is ringing, the cell phone is ringing... hey, I wasn't taking any chances on oversleeping

I have a quick, one-sided phone conversation with Mickey and Stitch, and head for the balcony.

Outside, it is pitch black. The street lights at SSR are set to dim. It is gloriously quiet, and a very comfortable 70 degrees. Whoa, wait a minute! 70 degrees at 3am?! We're in for a hot one...

Glancing back in the room I see that Kyle is awake and out of bed in record time. Impressive! Note to self, run half-marathons more often. rolleyes: )

Our race clothes, our peanut butter bagles and our orange juice were all waiting for us, so we were out the door by about 3:40. After walking to the Springs to catch the marathon bus, we found out that we were should have walked to Congress Park. Let me just say, it's not easy to find out this information at 3:45 in the morning, when the only person around - anywhere - is the cleaning dude (who, if I'm not mistaken, is not even a cast member anymore. But I digress...)

Back over at the Congress Park bus stop, and we are greeted by a Mears attendant as well as several other bright-eyed runners. The day is finally here!




At the Epcot parking lot, I'm amazed at the number of people pouring off of bus after bus. We are corralled into the staging area, where we find merchandise stands, bag-check stands, water stations, live music.... and at least half as many portapotties as we find at Riverfest in Cincinnati, all lined up as far as the eye can see. We head for the Wave C waiting area and find a good seat.

Time passed quickly, we had a couple small glasses of water, and made a few trips to the bathroom to be sure and start on Empty About 10 minutes after Wave B made their way to the starting line, we headed that direction. We had actually split Waves B2 and C on our registration, so we wanted to try and start towards the front of C. Not that it mattered much...

We walked a ways to the starting line, and watched the official race start, as well as the next wave starts. It was really nice, including characters, music and fireworks for all 3 waves! At Disney, they even care about us slow-pokes!

The race was much cooler, obviously, than our long runs in West Chester, Ohio. Every couple of miles there were steel drum bands, high school marching bands, choirs, DJs with seriously loud speakers, etc. It might have even been fun! Unfortunately, you'll have to take my word for it. Boy, do disposable cameras not take very good pictures while on the run in the dark. Who would have known? I'll bet you can't tell which pictures were taken with which camera!



The first couple of miles felt downright bad. My knee was a bit achy (don't ask, apparently it's broken. No joke, but whatever), it was hot and I was really drowsy from the Percocet I might have taken to mask the pain. It was also just a really boring run, minus the 'entertainment' along the sides of the road. Not to mention the fact that there were so many people you had to hang back so slow and then really pick up the speed when you were finally given an opportunity to weave between people with a bit wider lanes. Can you tell it was my first big road race? No amount of verbal preparation can paint a picture of what this is actually like, until you're trying to keep a particular pace in between hundreds of people trying to keep their own paces. Ugh! We eventually got quite good at splitting up for short distances, weaving through people, finding a good open space and reuniting several yards up the road.

At about mile 5, we were running by the Contemporary and into much more exciting territory! We entered the MK through a private gate, and headed up main street! At this point, there were lots of spectators, lots of music ... and of course Cinderella's Castle up ahead! Just past the hub we ran through Tomorrowland and into Fantasyland. After passing through the castle, we saw all of the dwarfs! I have waited for ages to get this picture, and nobody was stopping... what an opportunity! Of course, as we tried to get the photo they started taking the dwarfs away. And Kyle literally almost got knocked over by a dude running backwards. I promise you, I'm telling the truth. I'll keep the picture in the bunch for your enjoyment

From a running standpoint, these miles felt great! For several in a row we kept 11-13 minute pace. My legs, lungs, chest, etc were all feeling great! At mile 7 we knew it was all downhill from here! Only not literally, unfortunately

We finished the MK portion by running through Fronteirland and into a production area where we saw lots of the Disney Dreams Come True floats! This was by far my favorite part of the race course.

After the Magic Kingdom was another INCREDIBLY boring set of miles. I had stopped briefly at a portapotty before leaving this area, and then I was DONE! I swear, I went from being at "the top of my game" to being absolutely beat in that instant. We were really not much more than halfway done yet. From my previous long runs, I knew that this wasn't a physical phenomenon... I had run much longer than this with a much better outcome. Emotionally though, I was just drained! I wanted nothing to do with the rest of the race. Tough luck, I was told, as we pressed on. Of course there were no spectators, no music and nothing fun to look at for about half a mile, and I swear I came embarrassingly close to sitting on the side of the road and calling a cab to take me back to the Magic Kingdom!

We cruised by the Grand Floridian and then spotted the MK Speedway. Hey, we passed this on the other side not all that long ago! There was my motivation! I knew by the numbers we were more than halfway done, but this was the point that the horse "saw the stable" so to speak. We picked up the pace again, and headed down that stupid, desolate road.

From an entertainment standpoint, miles 8-12 stink. Period. I swear, it felt as boring as all my out and back runs on Kyle's Station. But the worst of it is this -- that STUPID ramp just after the mile 10 marker. My training here was done on hills. Big hills. The hill itself wasn't all that rough on our legs, but it was such a downer! We felt so good seeing that mile 10 sign.... just over 3 miles left. "It's just a short run around the triangle!" Kyle said, referencing our favorite 3-mile route at home. But it didn't matter. The ramp meant running around in a circle instead of in a straight line towards my beautiful destination, Spaceship Earth. I could SEE the stupid weanie and I was running in a circle for a while before making my way there. Not a brilliant decision, if you ask me!

Anyway, from the top of that ramp until the finish line there are more spectators than I would have ever imagined. Through a side entrance of Epcot, a loop around future world and along the home stretch back to the parking lot, there were hundreds of screaming "fans", lots of characters, tons of photographers, announcers, and so much spirit that we could have finished that mile stronger than any we had ever run before. You know, if it weren't for all the characters and photographers we had to stop and see

We finally sprinted from World Showcase Lagoon, under Spaceship Earth and out of the park to the Finish! We got our mylars (which, ironically, I desperately needed for some serious chills that hit at about mile 12... even though I had spent the first mile ripping on the fact that they even offered them for the half ), we got our medals banana: ) and we stocked up on the goodies that were waiting for us (bottled water, oranges, blueberry muffins of some sort, Clif bars, etc). Somehow, I was famished, even though I usually can't stomach a bite after a workout. Whatever, it was the best free munchies I had ever had!

Immediately after crossing through this mess my cell phone rang. Apparently my mom and sister had been "watching" the last half of the race online, and wanted us to have someone "greet us" at the finish line since they couldn't be there in person.

We recounted a bit of the race to her, assured her that our pace was fantastic (for us), and told her we'd talk more later when things had calmed down. Apparently our pace on the live results page is calculated off of total time instead of chip time, and my mom was terrified to call for fear that I would be beating myself up for the pace that had been listed where she was looking. My mom is a goof, but I love her

I convinced Kyle to head back into Epcot "just quickly" so we could ride Soarin'. We did, it was great, but then he pretty much wanted to kill me. Did I mention that he hardly trained since he was "the runner" in the family? Yeah, for as smart as he is, I think he regretted that one.

In what felt like no time at all, we were back at SSR, showered and relaxing in bed. Phew! What a morning.

 

[tink2020]

After about an hour and a half at SSR, I realized I was not going to sleep. I got out of bed and took an opportunity to pick up the room a bit, pack a few clothes, etc. At about 2:30, I woke Kyle up. We had planned on taking a stroll around World Showcase before our dinner at Le Cellier, so I told him it was time to get up. He was beat. I told him I would take a bus, and he could meet me there later. I'm such a nice wife, on such a leisurely trip, I tell you what!

I loathe public transportation. Even on it's best day, it means I have to wait on someone else's time. Thankfully the bus stop for the Paddock was just outside our room. I took a few pictures in the area to pass the time, and to try and stay awake. Of course, after taking a pain pill, I found out I might have been able to nap afterall

At Epcot, I stopped in Mousegears for a few minutes. I then made my way to the Mexico Pavilion, and started heading around the world. Of all the things (not) planned for this trip, I was looking forward to this afternoon the most. I love World Showcase, and I was thrilled to just have time to wander it alone, in no rush. I watched Mariachi Cobre and took some fun pictures in Mexico. I spent a few minutes in the Stave Church in Norway. I listened to the folk music in China and looked at the new Tomb Warriors display. I took some more fun pictures. I was able to watch Spirit of America, Mo Rockin, etc and take more fun pictures. It was fantastic, and quite relaxing!

At 4:30, Kyle called and said he was finding a parking spot. We met up outside of the Japan Pavilion, and watched the Matsuriza and Serveur Amusant and sat by the gardens in France for several minutes. Finally, we made our way to Canada. We watched O Canada (good timing) and ended up outside Le Cellier 15 minutes before our ADR. What a great afternoon!

We were seated right away, had an outstanding server, and had one of the greatest meals, quite possibly second only to dinner at Palo. Everything we put in our mouths was unbelievable. My only complaint was that they do not serve Fairy Tale Cuvee, which I had planned to order in celebration of the race. Yum!

I took my dessert to go, and we sat on a bench between the UK and Canada for Illuminations. Kyle had chosen this nighttime event months earlier as his "must see", but not because we love it. He (and I would say I as well) was never all that impressed with it. I hear people rave about it here, and just can't understand the hype. We had made a promise to ourselves to find an unbeatable spot to give it one last chance at trumping the other nighttime events at WDW.

We chatted with 3 snowbird couples from the midwest and midatlantic, and enjoyed the piece of cake from dinner. With about 40 minutes to wait, we moved closer to the fence since people were starting to encroach We listened to the music loop before the show (I do love that, by the way) and then it was time!

I must admit the show is infinitely better from this angle. We had a spectacular view of the globe, the fireworks, everything. We were right in front of speakers to hear the music and were so close to the action that firework debris fell on our heads throughout the show. It was very enjoyable.

That being said, it still takes a distant third place in our opinion to Spectro/Wishes and Fantastmic!. I still cannot say I understand what some people feel about it, but hey -- to each his own




10:00 most definitely brought bedtime, after such a long day! We had done what we set out to do, and better than we could have anticipated. I don't remember, but I probably slept quite well that night.

 

[tink2020]

Pictures through January 6th, including race photos!​

 

[TKDizneyluver]

Enjoying your trip report!!! Excelllent pictures, thanks so much for posting them! I especially enjoyed the Sunset over Paris, how beautiful!

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[tinknme]

Love it! I enjoyed looking at your pictures as well. More please!

 

[ellenbenny]

Jennifer, I'm loving your trip report, or "non trip report" as you say. Congratulations to you and Kyle on the 1/2 marathon, I sure wish I could have done it too. That is an awesome accomplishment, and makes up for a few rough moments in my opinion. My goal some day is to complete one, even if on my own time and not at WDW, although that would be the best.

I really enjoyed the pictures too!

 

[tubachick]

pictures are awesome. Thanks for sharing. Great job on the Run!!!

 

[ReAnSt]

Jennifer I enjoyed your trip report. Sorry to hear that you didn't have that great of a time. As for the half marathon and hating running, remember you did it and you don't have to do it again. I am proud of you for sticking with it and successfully completing the half. Take care of that knee, I hope it is feeling better soon.

 

[bethbuchall]

Jennifer, your "non-trip report" is amazing! You make me really want to go out and get myself in shape to do a half-marathon some day. What an accomplisment! CONGRATS to you and Kyle!

I hope your knee heals quickly and completely.

 

[tink2020]

Jennifer, I'm loving your trip report, or "non trip report" as you say. Congratulations to you and Kyle on the 1/2 marathon, I sure wish I could have done it too. That is an awesome accomplishment, and makes up for a few rough moments in my opinion. My goal some day is to complete one, even if on my own time and not at WDW, although that would be the best.

I really enjoyed the pictures too!

Thank you! I'm so sorry that it didn't work out for you Are your legs giving you any more trouble? I hope you are doing well!

 

[tink2020]

Thanks everyone for reading along! I'm going to finish up the last "installment". One good thing about a short trip with no notes ... the report is finished awfully quickly!

Have a good afternoon, and hopefully it will be finished soon.

 

[tink2020]

Sunday, January 7th

Ohhhh, this is the one. The day that isn't going to get much reporting at all. Let me just say that Disney has some SERIOUS work to do on Marathon Weekend logistics. We left our hotel for a Magic Kingdom ADR over an HOUR early, from SSR. And I'm talking an hour to get to the TTC, get over to Crystal Palace and still be a bit early. We left at about 6:30, for an 8:00 ADR. I had been warned repeatedly - here, in writing before coming, in writing upon checking in, and through signs all over the resort - that there would be a minor detour and a little extra time required to get anywhere the morning of the races.

"Minor" and "little" were probably the worst chosen adjectives I have ever seen, anywhere. We literally drove around for an hour -- and we know our way around the World, at least from a given resort to anywhere we need to go! Everyone was literally being directed to access roads, and at one point I swear to you we were told that the Magic Kingdom was closed, as well as all of the parking lots except for Epcot. Well I KNOW the Epcot parking lot is closed, dude, so I don't think you have a clue what you are saying.

Nonetheless, we made it eventually. We had to call and change our ADR time (thankfully 75% of the slots had been cancelled due to people not being able to park their freaking cars with access to their breakfast. Seriously), but we made it.

ANYWAY....

Crystal Palace was fun. We hadn't done a breakfast buffet at WDW before because "we aren't breakfast people", but our cruise last summer changed our minds. The breakfast buffets on the DCL ships can quickly turn anyone into a breakfast person! We were really looking forward to this, and the food was excellent - but definitely not quite as extensive a selection. The character interaction was fun, the restaurant is beautiful. Unfortunately we didn't get that empty park feel (the one reason I booked the early ADR ) because I hadn't thought about Main Street being full of spectators. At that point in the trip, though, we were just taking what we could get -- and right then, that meant FOOD.

After breakfast, we boarded the monorail back to the TTC. By now, anyone who hadn't made it to the MK would have been swept () so driving conditions were MUCH better. Call us easy to please, but we had the best time watching people give us strange looks for leaving the Magic Kingdom 30 minutes after it opened, while everyone else was just pouring off the monorail. Needless to say, we were the only ones headed the opposite direction, which meant a whole monorail to ourselves.

Back at SSR we finished packing, grabbed an ugly mug full of soda, bought one last souvenir (ok, I think it was three. But it got my husband into the shop ) and went back to load up the car.

I hate the last day of any trip. We spent some time at MGM, where there were NO crowds. Clearly, everyone that had ascended upon the World to clog up the queues earlier in the week was either running, recovering, or heading home. We rode everything we wanted to (besides RNRC, which was closed ) and saw a few shows. We had a fun lunch at Pizza Planet and had a bit of a scare when my usually brilliant mother checked us in for our flight sitting 8 rows apart

Around 5pm, we had wrapped up everything we wanted to see, had wandered Hollywood and Sunset Blvds for a while, and decided to head out to the car. For about 45 minutes we drove around and looked at some resorts, checked out Blizzard Beach and Winter Summerland minigolf, etc. Just killed some time, and then headed for the airport.




Just so you know, there are no gas stations off the exit for the airport. Don't even ask how much we paid for 5 gallons of special super premium magical National Car gas

Our flight back was pretty uneventful despite an obstacle or two and we were back in freezing cold Dayton, Ohio as quickly as we had left.




I learned a few things from this trip. First, Disney seriously has a spell over all of us (no wordplay intended). I tell everyone that the reason we frequent WDW is because there is no glimpse of reality there. Shoot, when we cruised in June (well really, and with our previous December trip) we had everything in the world going on around us back home. But that was back home. At Disney World, you can't even catch the news or see the outside world while walking down Main Street or around the world. Nothing feels wrong in a place where even the most stuffy adults can have the heart of a child again.

Apparently, that's only true 99% of the time. Fights happen on Main Street, USA. Disney World Cast Members really screw up sometimes. Yet I find myself desperately counting down the days until what I have called, for several months now, our "Real Vacation". I NEED to be back there!

I also learned (or, rather, confirmed repeatedly) that I am not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl. Even in Disney World. My husband on the other hand, learned that "having a plan" does NOT have to equal going nonstop from open to close, scheduling meals and knowing what every passing minute "is supposed to" bring. I have never been that kind of commando-touring girl either. I think he will see that we have a VERY nice trip planned for May. Lots of relaxation, lots of downtime, lots of time to wander and explore..... but all within the safe, familiar structure of a little schedule. You know, at least avoiding the most crowded places at the worst possible time.

I was also reminded that there is SO much to see and do here. I know it's not for everyone (blasphemy! ) but I just don't understand the look on our friends' faces when they hear we are going to Disney World AGAIN.

I learned that you can train for and run (and I mean run, as we only walked very small portions!) a really decent road race without a) learning to love running and b) losing any weight

And most importantly, I learned how incredibly blessed we are! I complained my way through a good portion of this trip. I whined about how short it was, how much we didn't get to do, etc. But then I was utterly embarrassed when out of my mouth came "and we aren't going to be back until MAY". I'm pretty sure that's when I stopped complaining all together.

All in all, I'm glad we went. I'm ALWAYS glad when we get a trip to my favorite place. But boy, am I looking forward to a trip done "the RIGHT way". In just over 100 days..................

 

[tink2020]

Pictures​

 

[tinknme]

Thank you for sharing your trip & pictures with us Jennifer, I really enjoyed reading it!

I only have over 300 days till we return Of course I am hoping for a quick trip before then

 

[rosiejo]

Well my dear Jennifer - considering this is titled "the one without a trip report" it reads pretty mush like one to me! And I'd forgotten how good a writer you are too. Keep going I want to read more... and of course its a good distraction from actually having to write one myself...

Just wanted to point out that my original post should have said reads pretty much like a trip report... not that it read like mush!


Jen - thanks for sharing what it was like to run the half - as I can tell you that is something that will never appear on my "things to do before you die" list But I loved hearing about what happens.

I know that there were a few blips on this trip - but I hope when you read this back in days to come you can forget about those - and see that there were a fair few good bits to the trip too

Just so you know, there are no gas stations off the exit for the airport. Don't even ask how much we paid for 5 gallons of special super premium magical National Car gas

We discovered this little shared fact the first year I took DH to the World - when we thought it would be a good idea to fill up nearer the airport... we did find a station but it added on a 45 minute detour through rush hour traffic and the gas there was priced at a premium to catch out us silly tourists we might have well just handed it back empty! Lesson learned - we now fill up at the Walmart on the 535 before driving back

 

[Tinkaroo]

Enjoyed your un-trip report! I'm really glad you guys liked SSR (we felt/feel the exact same way about it!)

And I was cracking up at your tirade against the mugs! I may have once had similar thoughts myself. But my aggravation is on SSR not having their very OWN mugs like every other resort. Do I need to pay more in dues to see this happen?!

GREAT JOB ON THE HALF!!!!

 

[thyunker]

Great trip report!! I really enjoyed reading it! We ran the half last year, and I have to agree with you about miles 8-12 and that ramp - blah! But, it is such a great experience! DH has signed up to do it again next year - I am hoping to again also but I have a few things to settle first.

We love Disney too! Our home resort is BCV, and it is great - you'll love it! (I think that I read that you will be staying there.)

Good luck with the match - DH has been through it twice. First for residency and this past December for fellowship. What are you interested in specializing in? I am guessing ophthalmology by the your screen name.

Tosha

 

[tink2020]

Great trip report!! I really enjoyed reading it! We ran the half last year, and I have to agree with you about miles 8-12 and that ramp - blah! But, it is such a great experience! DH has signed up to do it again next year - I am hoping to again also but I have a few things to settle first.

We love Disney too! Our home resort is BCV, and it is great - you'll love it! (I think that I read that you will be staying there.)

Good luck with the match - DH has been through it twice. First for residency and this past December for fellowship. What are you interested in specializing in? I am guessing ophthalmology by the your screen name.

Tosha

Oh, good guess but no. I actually have no idea where the 2020 came from

DH is the doctor, not me! We went through the match last year, and got our first choice! He is in an internal medicine-pediatrics combined program (double board). Thanks, though!

 

[thyunker]

Ah - I see now. I guess that I didn't pay enough attention to the details as I didn't notice the large, colored "sometime in January 2006!" Silly me. Well, instead of good luck, how about congrats! Med/peds is a great area - my hubby entertained the idea for a while in med school. We are originally from Kentucky so we know Cincinnati very well - lots to do! Anyway, great trip report - makes me very anxious to run the half again!

 

[AnninIowa]

I LOVE your honesty and ability to see Disney for it's good and not-so-good points (i.e. reality)!