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

[ZellyB]

Hi, there and welcome to my trip report about our recent trip to Disney for our second attempt at the Goofy Challenge presented during the runDisney Marathon Weekend. My name is Gisele and my running partner and awesome husband is Chris. Here we are during the marathon back in 2015.

I started running just about 5 years ago and surprised myself by getting hooked on the sport relatively late in life. runDisney only furthered my love of running and it remains a huge incentive for me to keep up my training.

For anyone not familiar with it, the Goofy Challenge is made up of a half-marathon run on Saturday followed by a full marathon run on Sunday. Completing the challenge earns you not one, not two, but three medals. Here they are from the 2015 challenge. Pretty right???

Originally the plan was to run the marathon as a single race, but once I realized that it was the 20th anniversary of the half-marathon, I convinced my husband into going for Goofy one more time. This makes our 4th marathon weekend. We first ran the marathon in 2013 and then again in 2014 followed by the Goofy Challenge in 2015. We took a year off from marathon weekend and instead ran in the 2015 ill-fated Wine & Dine Half Marathon which ended up shortened due to storms (that almost NEVER happens, right?), so we were primed to head back this year.

A couple of these trips have been without our kids, but this year we decided to pull our 13-year old twins, Paige and Sophie, out of school to join us along with our 18-year old son, Drake, who wouldn’t be starting his college semester until after our return. So, the family trip was on!!! Here are the kids with Piglet from later in this trip.

It can be tough getting airfare out of our home town at a decent rate, so we opted to drive a few hours to Kansas City and fly out from there. Loaded up for the drive.

We got settled into the hotel easily and were only about 5 minutes from the airport. There was a little snowfall that night (2-3 inches) and as we headed to the airport and looked at the weather, we were congratulating ourselves on getting out of these frigid temps and heading for warm, sunny Florida.

Sophie was especially excited about it after looking out the hotel window!

We got checked in for the flight easily and loaded up right on time. Shortly after settling into our seats, the pilot came on to say we would have to sit for a bit while we waited for our turn to get de-iced before take-off. So, we sat and sat and sat and sat…the pilot kept coming on and apologizing and saying just another 15 minutes or so. 3+ HOURS later, we finally got de-iced and took off. Drake and Paige managed to sleep and I managed to read an ENTIRE book I’d bought in the gift shop before getting on the plane. Good grief.

Of course, we’d already missed our connecting flight in Atlanta. Luckily once we got into Atlanta, we were able to get on stand-by to a flight leaving at 2:55 PM. It pretty much blew our plans to go into DHS that evening, but at least we were getting there and Chris and I were hoping we could still hit up the Expo to get our bibs for the races.

Next up – We finally arrive.

​

 

[rteetz]

I am here to follow along! Can't wait to hear all about it Gisele!

 

[Ariel484]

Yay! Bummed that I didn't run into you guys last weekend!

3 HOURS sitting on the plane?! UGHHHHH

 

[team weasel]

Subbing!

 

[CherieFran]

Yay! Trip report!

Ugh to 3 hours trapped on a plane! I would have been so antsy. Glad you made the best of it with reading.

 

[ZellyB]

INTO THE BUBBLE AND A RUSH TO THE EXPO

After landing in Orlando, we set about finding our way to the Magical Express. Even though we’ve gone to Disney World several times, this was to be our first trip actually staying at a Disney resort. We have stayed at Shades of Green before, but never really inside that famous Disney bubble. One of the things I was most excited about was riding the Magical Express. I loved the idea of not messing with our luggage and knowing that it would magically appear later at our hotel. At least we sure hoped it made it there after our scramble to get on stand-by. EEK!

We were able to follow the signs pretty easily and soon found ourselves here

After checking in at the podium, they directed us to aisle 5 which would eventually land us at Beach Club.

We had rented points for a deluxe studio at the Beach Club Villas side. They had only recently expanded the occupancy to 5 with the addition of a murphy bed, so we were all going to be nice and cozy for the next few days. HA! After about a 20 minute wait or so, we were on the way. Once we arrived, a quick question on directions had us very soon looking at this entrance.

I’d gotten a text while sitting in the Atlanta airport that our room was ready, so we headed straight up to room 422 which was an upper floor and near the elevator (both of the things I had requested during on-line check in). I totally forgot to get pictures of the room, but did get a shot of the view, which was actually quite pretty and allowed us to see some of the higher fireworks during Illuminations from our balcony. At least I think I’m right about which way I was looking. I confess to being a bit turned around in the resort.

By the time we got into the room, it was already a little after 6 PM and the expo was set to close at 7. We knew it was cutting it close, but Chris and I really wanted to get the Expo knocked out this day and not mess with going back. Since we really had no interest in shopping, we were hoping we had time to just grab our bibs and race shirts and get out of there. We found our way to the bus stop and within about 10 minutes a bus pulled up. As we went to climb aboard, the bus driver says, “You know they close up promptly at 7 and you can get your bibs in the morning if you need to.” We assured him we knew that, but we wanted to give it a shot anyway. At this point we still had about 40 minutes until the expo closed and we felt like we could probably make it. He did NOT seem happy with us. Dude! You have to drive the bus anyway, what difference does it make if we try? A few other people also got on and he told them the same thing, but like us they decided to try it anyway. After a quick stop at Yacht Club, we were headed to the Wide World of Sports. The bus pulled in with about 20 minutes left, and we charged off the bus and walked as quickly as we could to the bib pick up area. Since it was so late, there were no lines and we had our bibs and race shirts in no time. As we were walking back out to the bus, we grabbed a shot in front of the Goofy banner.

Pretty WWoS globe lit up at night.

We walked back to the bus and climbed on board. It was the same driver again and I really wanted to just smirk at him at our success, but I managed to resist. A short drive and we were back at the resort. We dropped our stuff off in the room and went in search of the kids who were hanging out by the pool. Stormalong Bay absolutely lived up to its reputation. It was absolutely beautiful.

By this time, we were all pretty hungry and grabbed some quick sandwiches and flatbreads at the Marketplace in the resort. The ham sandwiches were very tasty, but the flatbreads were not too impressive. Still, it satisfied our hunger for the time being. I spent some time looking at the Christmas Carousel that was set up in the lobby and took some shots of the three horses that represented Donald, Mickey and Goofy (the mascots for our race challenge). The whole thing was so impressive and made of CHOCOLATE. YUMMY.

At this point, we were all pretty exhausted after a long day and we had another long day at Magic Kingdom planned for tomorrow, so we headed back to the room and settled in for the night.


Next Up: A perfectly beautiful, magical day – at least for most of it
​

 

[ZellyB]

I am here to follow along! Can't wait to hear all about it Gisele!

Hi, Ryan. Thanks for joining in!!

Yay! Bummed that I didn't run into you guys last weekend!

3 HOURS sitting on the plane?! UGHHHHH

I was sad I didn't meet up with you either. I really should have made it to Hurricane Hannah's. We were actually back at the resort when I think folks were still there, but I just assumed I'd already missed it.

Subbing!

Welcome.

Yay! Trip report!

Ugh to 3 hours trapped on a plane! I would have been so antsy. Glad you made the best of it with reading.

Thanks for joining in. It was pretty miserable. My kids actually were surprisingly patient about the whole thing. I read The Girl on the Train. I hadn't seen the movie so didn't know the story at all, so it managed to keep me distracted pretty well.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

I'm so jealous you were at the Beach Club! Stormalong bay is the best, when we stay there that is all we end up doing. And boo for grumpy bus drivers!!

 

[rteetz]

Love the Beach Club! I wish I could stay there every trip. That sucks that you had a grumpy bus driver. We had an issue with a bus driver getting lost... I love stormalong Bay, it's by far the best pool.

 

[ZellyB]

I'm so jealous you were at the Beach Club! Stormalong bay is the best, when we stay there that is all we end up doing. And boo for grumpy bus drivers!!

My kids loved the pool. Just wish we would have had more time for them to enjoy it - but as you know it got a bit chilly.

Love the Beach Club! I wish I could stay there every trip. That sucks that you had a grumpy bus driver. We had an issue with a bus driver getting lost... I love stormalong Bay, it's by far the best pool.

It really is a beautiful resort. Luckily our guy didn't get lost, but Chris and I both felt like he was driving really slow. But, hey, we made it anyway!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Following along, yay!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Following along!

Boo to 3 hour de-icing! HOW MUCH ICE WAS ON THE PLANE!

 

[surfde22]

Joining in the fun. Reading all the trip reports I can because quite frankly I'm too lazy to write my own.

 

[cavepig]

3 hours to deice that's insane, I would have lost it. Some bus drivers need to learn to just be quiet, so glad you got your stuff, me I probably would have said something flip when I saw him again Love that carousel at Beach Club! Excited to follow along on your trip!

 

[Sailormoon2]

3 hours just sitting in a plane is horrible, I know I've had to do it enough times. Lol, I too typically finish my novel in that time frame. Good for you, sticking to your plan and making the Expo. SAB really is fantastic, as is that entire property. Beach and YC are hands down my favourite!

 

[ZellyB]

Following along, yay!

Thanks for joining in!

Following along!

Boo to 3 hour de-icing! HOW MUCH ICE WAS ON THE PLANE!

It was crazy. The problem was that there were several flights all leaving at the same time very early in the AM and all the planes had sat there overnight, so they were just completely iced over. Combine that with the 9 degree air temp and it was just taking them forever to get the ice off and a few flights were ahead of us.

Joining in the fun. Reading all the trip reports I can because quite frankly I'm too lazy to write my own.

HA! Yeah, I debated about doing one at all, but it's a great way to relive things and lock in the memories. Thanks for joining.

3 hours to deice that's insane, I would have lost it. Some bus drivers need to learn to just be quiet, so glad you got your stuff, me I probably would have said something flip when I saw him again Love that carousel at Beach Club! Excited to follow along on your trip!

I stayed surprisingly calm which is unusual for me frankly! The carousel was awesome and so glad I took the pictures when I did because the next morning it was gone! I couldn't believe they got the whole thing deconstructed overnight along with all the other Christmas decorations. It's quite the operation. Thanks for reading along!

3 hours just sitting in a plane is horrible, I know I've had to do it enough times. Lol, I too typically finish my novel in that time frame. Good for you, sticking to your plan and making the Expo. SAB really is fantastic, as is that entire property. Beach and YC are hands down my favourite!

I was so glad I had bought that book or those hours would have crawled by. I was so impressed with the resort. Just beautiful through and through. Thanks for joining in.

 

[ZellyB]

January 6 Magic Kingdom and the most beautiful sky


We woke up bright and early for our Magic Kingdom day. Early mornings were definitely the theme of this trip because who needs to sleep in on vacation right? It was AM EMH at Magic Kingdom that day, so I had made a later breakfast reservation at Crystal Palace so we could take advantage of some hopefully shorter lines. Rousing the kids early on vacation is always a challenge, but we managed to have everybody ready and out to the buses by a little after 7. Generally we were pleased with the bus service from Beach Club and a bus arrived shortly to take us to the park.

We got through security quickly and got set up off to the side to watch the opening show. I just love the show and it puts me in such a Disney state of mind. The morning was spectacular and the sky simply glorious.

We headed in with the crowds and followed around to the Seven Dwarves Mine Train. I had a FP+ for late in the day, but thought if we could get on quickly standby in the morning, we could just trade up for something else later. The line was very quick and we were entering the Vault within a few minutes.

This was my first time experiencing the full queue and it was very cute. The ride itself is cute as well. I know the coaster itself is nothing too exciting, but I really do enjoy the mine scene and the cottage dancing scene too. Just want to sing along – you know you do too.

My plan next was for Peter Pan standby, but the line was already like 45 minutes, so we decided to head over to Tomorrowland to let the kids ride Space Mountain before the line got too long. The wait time was around 30 minutes so we sent the kids on and Chris and I relaxed on a bench to wait for them. My back and neck just don’t handle that ride very well – the joys of getting old I guess. The beauty of the morning continued and I texted some shots to my family at home to gloat about the beautiful day.

Once the kids got off the ride, we talked them into a little People Mover action. They were good troopers about going on this adrenaline-free ride. A little family time never hurt anybody right?

Sometimes getting Paige to cooperate for pictures is very challenging. She’s very much 13 and all that means!! Sophie while also 13 is usually far more agreeable about getting her picture taken. This is one of my favorite pics of the whole vacation.

The line was looking good for Buzz, so it was off for some friendly shooting competition.

Chris takes these things very seriously. He likes to win.

Paige less so. Did I mention she’s 13?

Actually that shot completely cracks me up.

We quickly squeezed in a FP for Pirates that I picked up after dumping our later SDMT one and then it was time for some breakfast at Crystal Palace. I really do love this breakfast. Yeah, the food’s nothing special, but we have a major soft spot for the Pooh characters in my family. Drake had a stuffed Pooh we bought him on a trip when he was about 9 and the kid slept with it for more years than I’m sure he’d want to admit.

Paige wanted a shot with her spirit animal, Eeyore. Turns out Eeyore and 13 year old girls have very similar dispositions.

And last but never least, the guy I most relate to, the irrepressible Tigger!!

It was nice eating a later breakfast like this. The restaurant was emptying out and it felt like a much more leisurely pace with the characters.

After finishing up with the Hundred Acre Wood folks, we departed feeling happy and full and ready to hit up a few more attractions.

Up Next: Magic Kingdom Part 2​

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Paige wanted a shot with her spirit animal, Eeyore. Turns out Eeyore and 13 year old girls have very similar dispositions.

So true That picture is perfect!

 

[ariane37]

Joining! Have to come back & read your MK post but wanted to make my mark We stayed at the BVC for the first time over Thanksgiving and were in room 431, had a great view of high Illuminations AND Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM fireworks!
OMG 3 hours sitting on the plane I would've had to throw my DS11 out the door b/c his complaining never would have stopped!

 

[ZellyB]

January 6 Magic Kingdom – Part 2

After leaving breakfast, we were right on time for our next FP+ which is Chris’ favorite MK ride – Haunted Mansion. It was around 11:30 or so by this point and the park was getting very crowded with the standby line extending well outside of the entrance, so I was happy to have that Fastpass secured. We had about 10 minutes or so in the FP line, so more forced family shots with my kids. They just LOVE when I do this to them. HA!

​

The ride was as great as ever and as we were exiting there was a photopass photographer, and I wanted a family shot with the ride in the background. Sadly the sun was shining right in our eyes, so the picture isn’t great and the kids were very cranky about my making them stop. Oh the trials of having me as a mother.

​

We spent some time strolling through Memento Mori and then wandered back out near Hall of the Presidents and caught one of the Muppet Shows now being held in the windows above the attraction. I thought it was really cute and a nice little diversion as you are passing through the area.

​

We rode with our FP on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and then Paige really wanted to walk through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. I thought that was strange given that they’ve never even read the book, but off we went. I hadn't walked through this in years but it does afford some really pretty views of the park.

​

By now the crowds were getting really bad and we were all a bit tired and decided it was a good time to head back to the hotel to rest a bit before our early dinner reservation at Be Our Guest. We got back to the Beach Club and the kids went off exploring the resort and spent some time in the arcade while Chris and I relaxed on the balcony for a bit and then starting laying out some things for the half-marathon the next day. We’d been watching the weather forecast with a lot of concern because there were storms approaching and it was definitely a threat to the race. We kept getting texts from runDisney telling us they were watching the weather and would post updates later as they watched the situation evolve. I just kept thinking that things would blow through and we’d be okay to run. There was a Dis meet set up at Hurricane Hannahs for earlier that afternoon that I was sure we had missed, so I didn’t go down and check. Later I found out people were there later than I expected and we would have had time to meet up. Really disappointed I didn’t check it out.

We gathered the kids back up and headed back into MK for our dinner. As we were walking in, Sophie gasped and realized she’d left her magicband in the hotel room. I was panicking and thinking we’d have to go back to the room when a woman in front of us stopped us and said that she was a Cast Member and that we could just go to guest services and they’d be able to give her a card for admission. I don’t know why that didn’t occur to me in the first place, but luckily she was there to calm me down.

Shortly after getting some quick help at Guest Services, we were back on Main Street and headed for Be Our Guest. We were taken in very quickly and seated in the ballroom. This was our third time eating there and our first in the ballroom. We’ve now eaten in all three rooms and I’d say the ballroom is our least favorite. It’s so loud and from where we were sitting you’d couldn’t really see the snow falling outside so I just didn’t think it was as enjoyable. I ordered a glass of wine with the meal.

​

Chris and I ordered the steak for dinner and Drake and Sophie got the pasta with scallops and shrimp. I didn’t get a shot of the pasta, but I did get a shot of my salad and entrée.

​

I was not thrilled with my meal. I mean it was fine, but I had remembered the steak having better flavor the last time and the house vinaigrette on my salad was REALLY vinegary – and I like vinegar a lot. Paige got the best entrée of the lot, the ratatouille.

It was not only pretty to look at but tasted really good as well. After we finished up dinner, we stopped in to visit with our host.

I think Drake and the Beast were comparing facial hair. LOL

We headed out of the restaurant and decided it was time to go back to the resort so Chris and I could finish up race prep and the kids could get in some more swim time before the temps cooled off.

Next Up: Some unhappy news

​