The Sky’s Awake, so I’m Awake, so we have to RUN!! – A 2017 Goofy Challenge Trip Report*COMPLETE*

[ZellyB]

I've been following along for a while now, and love your trip report! We're not runners at all. I actually had a brain surgery a couple years ago, and my condition makes it more difficult for me to do any high-impact kind of exercise. But Disney is my best motivation by far, so that along with reading your TR has inspired us! I've started slowly working my way through Couch to 5k, and I think DF and my mom and I may try to register for the 5k for the 2018 marathon weekend when registration opens up!

Loving the Universal portion so far! We had great experiences at Universal our last trip. Love the detail in Diagon Alley. You're so right about the goblins - I thought they were incredible!

So glad to have you following along!

That's awesome that you are going to try for your first Disney 5K. There's nothing like racing through Disney. Couch to 5K is a great program for getting started. Given that your condition makes impact a concern, you might also look into Jeff Galloway's method of run/walk/run. Couch to 5K uses walk intervals but the eventual goal is to completely transition to only running. Galloway always sticks with the intervals. I've found it to be a bit kinder to my body. Anyway, just a thought for you to consider. You can google Jeff Galloway's site for more specific info on it. But, congrats on taking on the challenge and I wish you great success. I hope your DF and mom join you. My husband's support as my running partner is a huge part of why I keep running.

 

[ZellyB]

January 10 – Did Someone say Chocolate?

I often listen to the Dis podcasts and try to tune in for both the WDW one as well as the Universal one when we have an upcoming trip. On one of the podcasts, I heard them talking about a new restaurant on City Walk called
Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen. Um, you had me at Chocolate. I decided right then and there that we needed to try it.

The restaurant is designed around a Steampunk vibe with a backstory of someone named Professor Doctor Penelope Tibeaux-Tinker Toothsome who has traveled the world to find new ways to infuse chocolate into recipes. The restaurant offers up specialty (EXPENSIVE) shakes as well as other tasty delights. No reservations for the restaurant currently, so I wanted to be sure we got there pretty early so we didn’t need to wait too long.
It’s really cool looking!!

After checking in at the podium, we were told we’d have about a 20 minute wait, so we wandered around the shop area in the lobby. They offer up lots of types of candies for sale and strange little steampunk elements.

OK, really who buys a gold steampunk shoe decoration for $89.95?

And, as we were wandering, Professor Dr. Penelope herself along with her robot assistant Jacques came walking through.

They also would wander through the dining room later as we ate.

The kids decided to try on some of the steampunk attire

We actually got the text that our table was ready after only about 10 minutes or so and we were quickly settled into our large booth. The décor is very fun in here with some items to make you feel like you are in a chocolate factory. SWEET!!! Not a good picture! LOL

We were given these HUGE menus that were like big books. I felt bad for the hostess lugging these things around. There’s all this backstory stuff in there and then an extensive menu of options. Almost too much to decide.

I didn’t get many pictures of the food. We did get the chocolate almond bread with salted caramel butter. OMG!! We loved this. It wasn’t as sweet or chocolatey as you might imagine. It had a slight sweetness and you could certainly taste the chocolate, but with that salted caramel butter it was just fantastic. Wished we’d gotten two loaves! Two of the kids got alfredo pasta for entrees, one got a chicken caesar salad and I got the rib eye steak sandwich while Chris tried the pork chop with bitter chocolate mole sauce. And…just meh on our entrees. Maybe we didn’t choose very well and they were certainly fine, but nothing spectacular.

When the end of the meal was approaching, the kids were full and didn’t want dessert, so they headed back into the park for the last couple of hours of park time. Chris and I weren’t really in the mood for a milk shake, so instead we got the salted caramel flan.

This was delicious!! Totally made up for our mediocre entrees. Loved it and Chris and I cleaned most of it up even though we were already stuffed. Overall I would recommend this restaurant to try as an experience, but not sure the food was as good as I was hoping. It was still fun though and definitely unique.
After finishing up, we strolled back to the hotel and once the kids got back we all collapsed into bed exhausted and satisfied!!

Next up: Our last day in the parks. ​

 

[rteetz]

Looks awesome! I have heard a lot of good reviews of the place.

 

[ariane37]

I think our August trip is going to involve Universal and I definitely want to try Toothsome. I'll be fine as long as my dessert doesn't disappoint lol!

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Wow that restaurant looks awesome! I'm drooling over the thought of that bread with the salted caramel butter- yum!

Also your HP pics are REALLY making me want to go back! That area is so magical- Gringotts especially!

 

[ZellyB]

Looks awesome! I have heard a lot of good reviews of the place.

I had as well and really from an atmosphere standpoint, it was fantastic. I had some of the kids pasta and it was really good as well, so I think Chris and I just didn't pick our choices very well. There is a TON of options to choose from.

I think our August trip is going to involve Universal and I definitely want to try Toothsome. I'll be fine as long as my dessert doesn't disappoint lol!

That dessert was fantastic. I felt bad later not trying one of the milkshakes, but we just didn't have room to eat both!

Wow that restaurant looks awesome! I'm drooling over the thought of that bread with the salted caramel butter- yum!

Also your HP pics are REALLY making me want to go back! That area is so magical- Gringotts especially!

The bread was our favorite. If we go back we'll definitely get that again. And, HP is just the best. We don't plan to hit Universal when we go next January, so I have to not look at many of these pictures leading up to it or I'll cave!

 

[ZellyB]

January 11 – The Final Park Day

It was our last full day of vacation and so Chris and I wanted to get up early one more time to take advantage of the early entry. Our kids were…less enthusiastic. We did take advantage both mornings of the breakfast in the club level. This was fine. Quick and easy obviously, but the offerings were nothing special. I can get the same at any Days Inn basically. Still it was an easy way to grab a bite before heading in.

We decided to walk to Universal this time since it was a pretty morning and not terribly cool. I posted this to Facebook saying the old people were up early to go to the parks while the youngsters slept in!!

A foggy and beautiful sunrise!

Once in the park, we headed for Hogsmeade figuring on a quick ride on Forbidden Journey. We got a text around that time from Sophie that she was heading in. I was surprised because she’d actually gotten a bit of a respiratory infection that cropped up the day before and she really wasn’t feeling very well , but still she caught up with us shortly.

The queue for this ride is also just incredible. I didn’t take many shots, but all the details that they have put in here just blow me away.

I feel like I've actually stepped into Hogwarts. I know I'm a complete HP geek, but this whole queue still makes me so happy!


Not much later we were on the ride. I wasn’t sure if Chris would want to ride it with his motion sickness, but he opted to and while once was enough for him, he did okay.

We also decided to spend a little time in Seuss Landing. This is another area I really enjoy. It’s so bright and colorful and just brings back lots of memories of reading these books to my kids.

I’m not sure who Sophie is listening to.

We wandered over to ride Spiderman and then Sophie decided she wanted to give Kong another chance. We made our way through Toon Lagoon sadly thinking about our vacation time coming to an end when I saw these.


​

Ah, if only it were that simple to stay on vacation forever.

The second ride on Kong was a little better. I enjoyed it a bit more, but still found myself wishing it were more somehow.

As evening approached, we all decided we were pretty tired and settled back into the hotel. We were all too lazy to go get real food – so we just ate the evening appetizers in the club lounge for dinner. They had some chicken empanada things, cheese and crackers, chicken wings and veges with dip as I recall. The chicken wings were delicious!! I definitely managed to make a meal out of those.

We got things packed up and mostly ready for our departure the next day and fell into one final exhausted sleep.

Next up: The journey home and final thoughts!​

 

[ZellyB]

January 12 - Back to the real world!!!

Luckily our flight wasn't super early, so we were able to sleep in at least a little bit and then gather up everything for final packing. We got a quick bite to eat in the lounge before heading downstairs. We had just decided to use one of the hotel's car service vehicles to get to the airport. It's a bit more expensive than Uber, but for the ease of use, we decided to spend the extra. The drive was uneventful and we got to the airport plenty early. Knowing that security screening at Orlando can sometimes have some big backups we gave ourselves LOTS of time. Of course, that meant the line was very short. HA! We were through quickly and had some time to grab a quick lunch and, of course, charge our phones! Really how did we ever survive travel as kids without phones?!?

Thankfully, unlike our journey to Orlando, our trip home went off without a hitch. We finally arrived home around 9:30 that night and were super happy to be home again. AH, so nice to sleep in my own bed with my cute little dog.

My sweet big dog was happy we were home too!

Final Thoughts
This ended up being just a wonderful trip. We so enjoyed staying in the Disney bubble (which I honestly didn't anticipate) so much so that we are already planning on staying on-site for our Dopey 2018 trip. And, yeah, THAT's happening. We got an invite to register early for Marathon Weekend and so we took the plunge and are officially registered for Dopey in 2018.

Hoping to rent some DVC points again and this time do it Polynesian style. Hard to believe the 11-month mark is only a week away to book for our dates, so really hopeful that we'll have those plans all set in no time. Next January will just be me and Chris since we don't want to pull the girls out of school since they'll be in high school, so looking for this one to be a little lower on park time and more on relaxed resort and dining time. Looking at you, Victoria & Albert's. Can't wait to start planning in earnest!!

So, yeah, while the races themselves didn't go quite as planned, we just can't seem to quit doing this runDisney thing. We've got a date with a certain little fairy to run her Pixie Dust Challenge in May and I'm really excited to give the West Coast runDisney experience a try.

Thank so much for reading along and commenting!! See you around for the next TR I hope!!!!​

 

[Ariel484]

I am impressed that you went on FJ multiple times! I went on that one once and it about killed me.

So funny about the adults getting up early while the kids sleep in! I was totally like that when I was younger, wanted to sleep until noon on vacation...not anymore!

Your 2018 tip sounds amazing, please adopt me!! Hope to see you in Cali!

 

[ZellyB]

I am impressed that you went on FJ multiple times! I went on that one once and it about killed me.

So funny about the adults getting up early while the kids sleep in! I was totally like that when I was younger, wanted to sleep until noon on vacation...not anymore!

Your 2018 tip sounds amazing, please adopt me!! Hope to see you in Cali!

Luckily I can still avoid the motion sickness challenge and I would ride FJ over and over if I had somebody willing to do it with me.

I would happily adopt you to accompany us in 2018. I guess right now you are thinking to sit next year out?

I definitely hope to see you in Cali. Planning on making that Dis meet-up a priority!

 

[rteetz]

What! Its over!?!? Great trip report as always!

I need to get over to Universal sometime. I am not a big potter fan but I need to check out the areas that I see/hear so much about.

I am so excited to hear about your Disneyland adventures too, I really need to go out there.

I can't believe its been a month almost already and we both are planning for next year already. Dopey 2018 here we come!

 

[ZellyB]

What! Its over!?!? Great trip report as always!

I need to get over to Universal sometime. I am not a big potter fan but I need to check out the areas that I see/hear so much about.

I am so excited to hear about your Disneyland adventures too, I really need to go out there.

I can't believe its been a month almost already and we both are planning for next year already. Dopey 2018 here we come!

Thanks, and thanks for reading along and commenting. Yes, get yourself to Universal!!

Can you believe we are already talking about Dopey 2018? GAH!!! It's going to be a long 11 months. Hope I get to see you this time around.

 

[Sailormoon2]

Hurray for an awesome trip, and a lovely report! I just got the email back about renting DVC points and my preferred location at AKL is available so I'm pretty excited!! Dopey 2018 will be here so quickly, I'm sure!
PS For anyone who can't handle motion sickness, and believe me I am one of you all, I take a patch called Transderm V (in Canada) that you put behind the ear, it works amazingly well! The only side-effect I experience is dry mouth.

 

[ZellyB]

Hurray for an awesome trip, and a lovely report! I just got the email back about renting DVC points and my preferred location at AKL is available so I'm pretty excited!! Dopey 2018 will be here so quickly, I'm sure!
PS For anyone who can't handle motion sickness, and believe me I am one of you all, I take a patch called Transderm V (in Canada) that you put behind the ear, it works amazingly well! The only side-effect I experience is dry mouth.

Thank you for reading along! That's so great about getting word back about AKL. I remember using a patch like that when I went on my first cruise and I was worried about motion sickness. I recall the dry mouth very well. Chris takes Bonine which works pretty well for him, but he still likes to limit how much he puts it to the test.

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Great trip report! I love that Disney is vast enough that you can do a family style vacation and focus on things that kids are happy to do, and then do a couples vacation where you can do things totally differently-- both are amazing!

 

[pucknasty]

Enjoyed following your trip! Looking forward to your next trip!

 

[CherieFran]

Great trip report!! I've only ever spent a half a day in Universal. I'd love to spend more time and see Diagon Alley, etc.

Yay for Dopey 2018!! I'm holding my breath until the 14th!

 

[JulieODC]

Super late to the party -- but happy that I could binge read the whole TR at once!

Congratulations on completing the marathon!!! And for tackling Dopey in 2018!

I enjoyed reading your report -- and look forward to the next one!

 

[ZellyB]

Great trip report! I love that Disney is vast enough that you can do a family style vacation and focus on things that kids are happy to do, and then do a couples vacation where you can do things totally differently-- both are amazing!

I completely agree. They are very different types of trips, but both so fun!

Enjoyed following your trip! Looking forward to your next trip!

Thanks so much for reading along!

Great trip report!! I've only ever spent a half a day in Universal. I'd love to spend more time and see Diagon Alley, etc.

Yay for Dopey 2018!! I'm holding my breath until the 14th!

Diagon Alley is amazing!!! You need to go. I'm still a bit in shock that I'm signed up already. I'm sure the 14th will go well for you!

Super late to the party -- but happy that I could binge read the whole TR at once!

Congratulations on completing the marathon!!! And for tackling Dopey in 2018!

I enjoyed reading your report -- and look forward to the next one!

Thank you for reading! It's always kinda fun to find a finished one to binge read isn't it?

 

[bwvBound]

Thanks for the great read! Yes -- I enjoyed "binge reading" a finished report. Well done!