The Running Thread - 2018

[TheHamm]

Non-running question but I trust you guys for park information too My parents are taking some family from India to Disney World in April and I'm trying to help them out with planning. There will be 7 adults and a 1 year old! I don't have kids and have never gone with a child that young. So I'm going to be making fast pass reservations for the group, how does child swap work? Do I just go ahead and make them all fast pass reservations and if it's for a ride the baby can't go on, one person stays off and then goes on the ride with their FP after the others get back?

The baby will have a birthday when they're at Disney World. My mom was asking if there's anything special they should do for a child that age on her birthday. What do you guys think? She's so young that I imagine she's just going to have fun running around and playing and stuff. She's never seen characters before and I don't know if they would scare her so I'm not sure a character meal would make sense. And I brought up the idea of BBB but apparently she hate's getting fussed with and stuff (I hear you kid, me too).

Any tips from people who've gone with kids that young before?

Thanks!

Regarding the food situation, we also had no trouble getting extra food for free for tiny hands and mouths. If rice is on the menu and the kid eats it, ask for a small bowl of plain rice. We found Kona cafe fantastic for this purpose as they brought out overcooked noodles and tofu cubes from the Udon soup bowl.

I would probably skip character meals unless someone knows the kid watches cartoons or would recognize a character, or an adult is interested. The food is generally meh (the exception here would be Tusker House, which I love but can get similar food at a lower prices without characters at AKL) and it is kind of pricey.

My tip beyond the baby care centers (Air Conditioning! Rocking Chairs! Lots of Changing tables! Infant tylenol as the hotel only had Children's strength and we cannot seem to go without getting sick) is that the women's rooms generally have one baby changing table and there is often a line. We found that my husband could take one twin, walk in and change her and grab a snack before I could get to the front to change the other kid's diaper. So it became much more efficient for my husband to just change both kids as it was significantly faster.

We've gone a few times for lunch/dinner but this May we are going to try out a late breakfast. Since my 4 year old inhales bacon, I'll be getting my money's worth lol.

Perhaps our 4 year olds are kindered spirits? There is a lot of food dropped on your plate quickly (amazing perk with impatient little people and hungry runners!) and my kiddos polished off the bacon. While the waiter commented that they should try the waffles (they never like them other than to play with) he happily got MORE bacon and fruit for them, and tater tots for me!

 

[KingLlama]

First 10-miler is on for tomorrow. It begins/ends at our local community park, which is good news. I know the terrain, and it's perfectly manageable. Then it becomes an out-and-back down a country road that winds through some horse farms.

Do you all have feelings about out-and-back's one way or another? I've only done loop courses. Is an out-and-back preferable because on the way out, you can see what you're gonna be up against on the return trip? Or is it boring because it's the same view/terrain for much of the course?

 

[cavepig]

First 10-miler is on for tomorrow. It begins/ends at our local community park, which is good news. I know the terrain, and it's perfectly manageable. Then it becomes an out-and-back down a country road that winds through some horse farms.

Do you all have feelings about out-and-back's one way or another? I've only done loop courses. Is an out-and-back preferable because on the way out, you can see what you're gonna be up against on the return trip? Or is it boring because it's the same view/terrain for much of the course?

I'm mixed on out & backs, I find it kind of boring coming back the same way I just went but the view does change in a way I suppose, but I really enjoy seeing the runner's on the opposite side as motivation. My marathon this fall will be out & back and I know it will feel really good once I'm on the back part versus the out part. But going out seeing the people ahead of you can be great motivation and then coming back seeing those behind you well is also great motivation.

 

[LSUlakes]

Do you all have feelings about out-and-back's one way or another? I've only done loop courses. Is an out-and-back preferable because on the way out, you can see what you're gonna be up against on the return trip? Or is it boring because it's the same view/terrain for much of the course?

I dislike out and backs for a few reasons. I do not care to see the same things more than once during a race. The other is the turnaround is usually a sharp u-turn that drives me crazy! I'll do out and backs on training runs, but at the turn around point I will usually take a little water stop.

 

[ZellyB]

First 10-miler is on for tomorrow. It begins/ends at our local community park, which is good news. I know the terrain, and it's perfectly manageable. Then it becomes an out-and-back down a country road that winds through some horse farms.

Do you all have feelings about out-and-back's one way or another? I've only done loop courses. Is an out-and-back preferable because on the way out, you can see what you're gonna be up against on the return trip? Or is it boring because it's the same view/terrain for much of the course?

Also not a big fan of out and backs. I'd rather have the variety and for me, because it's terrain I've already covered it always seems longer coming back than it did going out.

 

[camaker]

Do you all have feelings about out-and-back's one way or another? I've only done loop courses. Is an out-and-back preferable because on the way out, you can see what you're gonna be up against on the return trip? Or is it boring because it's the same view/terrain for much of the course?

I'm not a big fan of out and backs. I prefer the changing scenery of a loop course. I think that keeps me more focused and mentally fresh. During out and backs, I find the return mileage indicators a little bit distracting. As far as seeing what you're gonna be up against on the way back, that can be a big double edged sword, depending on the terrain layout. One of the out and back races I ran was primarily flat, but had a brutal, steep, high hill about 2/3 of the way out. Hitting that and struggling up and down it the first time really got into my head, dreading hitting that monster on the way back. I would've rather taken my chances on the unknown of a loop course rather than the looming dread of that hill coming back. All that being said, it's a race course. You've just got to run your race regardless of what it throws at you. Neither out and back nor loop are inherently more difficult than the other. Crush what's in front of you!

 

[LSUlakes]

Fun Friday QOTD: With my trip coming up in 5 weeks and my excitement level increasing by the day, todays and the next few Friday questions are going to be very park related. So for today I want to know, what is your favorite character meal that you have been to? What is one that is on your to do list?

My favorite so far has been Akershus Royal Banquet, which we went for breakfast. The reason I liked it was how excited DD was. I think it was a bigger hit than CRT. We are going to have breakfast at the Garden Grill on our upcoming trip which I am excited about as well. The one that's on the to do list is Trattoria al Forno breakfast with a unique character mix.

 

[Miranda]

Ugh! There is so much snow and ice out there! I am supposed to run 4 today and 6 tomorrow. I drove the route I was going to run today and it's about 1.5 miles of kinda cleared sidewalks. There's a layer of snow and ice but a sidewalk snowplow has at least taken a pass even though it's not down to the pavement. But the other 2.5 is like thigh deep snow so I'll have to run out in the road. It's either that or another sufferfest at the gym on the treadmill where I still can't program the 30/30 intervals in and will have have to manually raise/lower the speed every 30 seconds. I think I'll take my chances in the road!

Tomorrow at least 3.1 of my 6 will be part of a road race so we'll be able to run out in the road without fear of traffic. I'll just have to be careful on my 3 before... the pavement this morning were very slippery with black ice because after we got over a foot of snow, it warmed up and was melting a little bit. Today is very sunny so I'm guessing there will be more melting and ice in the morning.

Go away, winter!

 

[Miranda]

Re: out and backs... not really a fan. I prefer loop, then point to point, then out and back last. Unless there's a big uphill on the out part, because then I know there will be a nice downhill on the back.

 

[AFwifelife]

Fun Friday QOTD: With my trip coming up in 5 weeks and my excitement level increasing by the day, todays and the next few Friday questions are going to be very park related. So for today I want to know, what is your favorite character meal that you have been to? What is one that is on your to do list?

I’ve already professed my love for Garden Grill but I also really enjoy Cape May at BC. Growing up we always stayed at BC so I’ve had quite a few meals there.

One thing I HAVE to do each trip is ride Spaceship Earth. Since we take multiple trips, I’m not too upset if we miss a ride but I have to do SE.

 

[KingLlama]

Great feedback on the out-and-back situation, gang.

I'll also add that one of the post-race treats for tomorrow's race is a hot serving of cheese grits for every runner, so THAT might be why I'm gonna crush the course.

 

[baxter24]

ATTQOTD: Breakfast and lunch at the Tusker house has been our favorite. It’s cool to see the characters in their safari outfits and we love the food.

Out and backs - don’t care for them much. They seem to bother me a lot more in races compared to a training run. The thing I hate the most is being able to look down a long road knowing I just have to turn around and experience the same thing in just the opposite direction. My least favorite thing about the marathon the past two years has been that out and back before Animal Kingdom. Nothing to look forward to except DJs with music playing so loud I swear they were trying to make us all go deaf.

 

[ZellyB]

FFATTQOTD: We really love Crystal Palace. I'm a sucker for all things Pooh and my kids love them. This is hands-down my favorite character picture ever. One of my daughters, Sophie, with Tigger when she was 4 years old. I think her and Tigger's smiles look just alike.

 

[Capang]

Attqotd: we loved 1900 with Poppins and the hatter for breakfast but Trattorio al Forno Bon Voyage breakfast was absolutely the best. So much fun!

 

[SheHulk]

ATTQOTD: We love Tusker House for breakfast. It's a must-do for us each trip. My kids don't really like characters, they are teenage boys, but people seem to like the character interactions and we love the food. It's a good mix of normal Disney breakfast buffet and unusual foods you don't find everywhere.

 

[cburnett11]

ATTQOTD: Breakfast and lunch at the Tusker house has been our favorite. It’s cool to see the characters in their safari outfits and we love the food.

We did this in the fall and it was great. We reserved the last breakfast and enjoyed the best of both worlds.

 

[rteetz]

Fun Friday QOTD: With my trip coming up in 5 weeks and my excitement level increasing by the day, todays and the next few Friday questions are going to be very park related. So for today I want to know, what is your favorite character meal that you have been to? What is one that is on your to do list?

Tusker House! I think it’s the biggest bang for your buck. Great food, great character interactions and it’s in my favorite park. I also tried the Bon Voyage breakfast for the first time in January and that was really good too. Some different characters you don’t see often either. There are only a few I haven’t done and mostly princess ones but I haven’t done Garden Grill so that’s probably next on the list.

 

[Wendy98]

Real quick... MRI follow up: NO stress fracture! Tendon and entire area just very inflamed. I will need to dial it back a little, but am fine to continue running. This probably all comes back to the tear in my foot tendon that plagues me—it has been very sore this week. I have just been on my feet ALOT (this is why it bothers me when I go to WDW). I will continue running, just probably slow it down a little.

In other news, I got my Boston bib number and corral placement. This always excites me. I will be in wave 1, corral 3.

ATTQOTD: We don’t do a ton of character meals anymore since my kids have gotten older. Last November, we did Bon Voyage which was probably best breakfast I ever had in WDW. Also did Tusker House which was really good!

There are so many things that are must-dos for us. Peoplemover is always a fave since kids have been going on it since they were babies. Lately, FOP is our obsession. Love that ride!

 

[GreatLakes]

Fun Friday QOTD: With my trip coming up in 5 weeks and my excitement level increasing by the day, todays and the next few Friday questions are going to be very park related. So for today I want to know, what is your favorite character meal that you have been to? What is one that is on your to do list?

Tusker House hands down. I haven't done every character meal but of the ones I have done this is the only one where the food is the primary focus. The problem with most character meals is the food is an afterthought because people will still pay for the characters. Tusker House is the only exception I have found so far.

RE: Out and backs. I don't prefer them but for some smaller races it makes sense since it cuts down on the road closures and costs. I prefer loops and really like point to points though they are also rarer since there is added transportation necessary.

 

[Bree]

ATTQOTD: I don't have little ones anymore so I've been released from obligatory character meals. I am just not big on buffets or family style restaurants. If I was pulled kicking and screaming to one I'd go with Crystal Palace breakfast. I like the puffy french toast and mickey waffles.