Two Grandmas and the grandkids... Marathon weekend 2016 PTR (update 1/3)

[rteetz]

5K is a race I can get behind. I've even "run" in a 5K! (I use the words "run" in quotes because it was more of a fast-paced walk/jog. I've never been able to run worth a damn my whole life, and now I'm old and creaky - well middle-age and creaky.) If it wasn't so expensive to sign up for just the 5K, that might be worth checking out!

Sounds like a rather busy day moving from the race to MK to another race. Don't wear out your poor Grandma! Otherwise it sounds like a great plan. Hopefully you will have no problems getting your buses back to make your Splash Mountain FP! (Use the train when you get back to MK to get to Splash. It'll likely be faster than walking through the park - first stop! - and easier on tired feet!)

It is true that the 5K is a bit expensive compared to other 5K events around the country but running or walking in a race in Disney is like no other.

Good idea about the train I didn't think of that.

 

[Chaitali]

I just read your last trip report and am now hopping over for this one Run Disney is so addictive! I did the Tower of Terror 10 miler last year and the Wine and Dine Half (more like 6.7 miles) this year. I'd love to do the January marathon weekend one year but it probably won't be for a while so I'll have to live vicariously though others.

 

[rteetz]

I just read your last trip report and am now hopping over for this one Run Disney is so addictive! I did the Tower of Terror 10 miler last year and the Wine and Dine Half (more like 6.7 miles) this year. I'd love to do the January marathon weekend one year but it probably won't be for a while so I'll have to live vicariously though others.

Well thanks for reading and following along!

 

[rteetz]

Day 4 1/8/15

Happy 10K day runners! I'd love to run in that race again but won't be this year of course. Day 4 is rather uneventful but should be a lot of fun.

We start the day at Animal Kingdom after we get up. Maybe a rope drop depending how we feel.



If we hit rope drop we will likely head straight in to my favorite 3D show Its Tough to be a Bug! once we get get hit by the stink bug and have spiders crawling under our feet we will head towards Dinoland U.S.A. Our first FP+ is for Dinosaur at 11:00AM-12:00PM. We will likely ride primeval whirl before Dinosaur or maybe triceratop spin.

After Dinosaur we will see when the next showing of Nemo the musical is. if we can catch it before our 12:35Pm FP+ for Everest we likely will. Once we get past the Disco yeti I think we will find some lunch.

Once we conquer the hunger we have we could head to the Maharajah jungle trek or flights of wonder (never seen that before) before heading to Africa.

Depending on the time we have a FP+ for Kilimanjaro Safaris at 2:25M-3:25PM.



After our African safari I hope to catch the one and only Festival of the Lion King which is my favorite show on WDW property.

That should just about do it for our AK day which once all the work is done will definitely be my favorite park in WDW.

Disney Springs is next for the evening. We have a 7:20PM ADR at Portobello which is great if you've never been.

Other eating we of course will do some shopping as my grandma loves to shop.



World of Disney is a must do, I may or may not buy something here but I am interested to see what the recently opened expansion is like.
Fit2Run I haven't been in yet but want to check out because it is marathon weekend.
D-Street is a likely spot as I collect vinylmations and they have a great selection there.
Marketplace Co-Op became an instant must do and now they added twenty eight and main for guys which I am probably bound to buy something from.
Once Upon a Toy may not necessarily be for me but I love walking through it and my sisters are bound to want something in there.
Disney's Pin Traders for a quick stop incase anything catches my eye.
Goofy's Candy company will be a stop to buy a candy apple to take back to the room. I just love those things.
Finally I love christmas so a Disney's Days of Christmas stop is also likely before we head out.

Once we are shopped out and ready to go which will likely by around 9 as I have to get to bed for an early ride the next day for my first ever Half marathon!

 

[skier_pete]

Definitely check out Flights of Wonder if you get the chance. It's sort of a trivial show, but it's really entertaining. Plus a show at Animal Kingdom that has actual animal in it!

 

[rteetz]

Definitely check out Flights of Wonder if you get the chance. It's sort of a trivial show, but it's really entertaining. Plus a show at Animal Kingdom that has actual animal in it!

If we have time I'll definitely try to watch it. I've seen plenty of videos of it but never have gone over to actually see it.

 

[SarahDisney]

It sounds like you're planning to hit all the essentials at Animal Kingdom ... I've never done Flights of Wonder (I have a pretty bad fear of birds), but everyone I know who has done it says its a good show.

I've never been to Fit2Run either, but I'm also thinking about checking it out because of marathon weekend. I think they'll have a booth at the expo too, which will give you some idea of what they have there and whether or not its worth a visit. Although I just saw on twitter that they have an indoor track for trying on shoes, so if you're looking for new shoes around then, you definitely should stop by and try out some shoes.

Looks like you've got a great day planned!

 

[rteetz]

It sounds like you're planning to hit all the essentials at Animal Kingdom ... I've never done Flights of Wonder (I have a pretty bad fear of birds), but everyone I know who has done it says its a good show.

I've never been to Fit2Run either, but I'm also thinking about checking it out because of marathon weekend. I think they'll have a booth at the expo too, which will give you some idea of what they have there and whether or not its worth a visit. Although I just saw on twitter that they have an indoor track for trying on shoes, so if you're looking for new shoes around then, you definitely should stop by and try out some shoes.

Looks like you've got a great day planned!

Yes AK is right with MK in my favorite park category. I don't have any bird fears but flights of wonder just hasn't been on the top of my list.

Yes I saw that tweet as well. Depending on the new rundisney shoes I'll probably be buying a pair of those. I still want to stop in tho and check it out.

 

[skier_pete]

It sounds like you're planning to hit all the essentials at Animal Kingdom ... I've never done Flights of Wonder (I have a pretty bad fear of birds).

Or as they say in the show..you have FOB. (I'm amazed how many people have this fear - I grew up with pet birds so FOB has never been on my radar, but many people see our small bird out of the cage and get severely freaked. I always wonder why this is such a fear, has anyone ever actually been attacked by a bird outside of movies?)

If you ever wanted to try the show, I would say sit in the far rear upper corners. Though they do have birds fly over the audience, and even fly and land towards the back, if you were in the upper outside corners you would still not have a bird come within 15-20 feet of you during the show. (I suppose it all depends how bad your fear is.)

 

[SarahDisney]

Or as they say in the show..you have FOB. (I'm amazed how many people have this fear - I grew up with pet birds so FOB has never been on my radar, but many people see our small bird out of the cage and get severely freaked. I always wonder why this is such a fear, has anyone ever actually been attacked by a bird outside of movies?)

I've been pooped on by a bird, which increased my existing fears...
I live in an area where pigeons are basically the dominant life form, so that's kinda where my fear comes from. The sheer number of them. I know it's a little irrational, and I'm okay with that.

But thanks for the show seating tip - it's good to know if I ever decide to see the show.

 

[skier_pete]

I've been pooped on by a bird, which increased my existing fears...
I live in an area where pigeons are basically the dominant life form, so that's kinda where my fear comes from. The sheer number of them. I know it's a little irrational, and I'm okay with that.

But thanks for the show seating tip - it's good to know if I ever decide to see the show.

I had my daughter poop and pee all over me when she was little. Still no fear of children, though.

Yeah - don't like the "swarm for food" type birds, but who does? Not a lot of that at Flights of Wonder, though a few "flocks" fly through the air. Best probably to just avoid it.

@rteetz - you should go though!

 

[momabaarjo]

I like your day in AK...never seen FOW either...but I have seen many bird shows so I have just have had no desire to waste precious Disney time stopping. You know me...EE and EE and more EE is how I roll in AK along with a few safaris. I did this year enjoy my first trip to Conservation Station. But remember (although I know you are much younger) the day before your half you want to limit your walking as much as possible!

 

[rteetz]

I like your day in AK...never seen FOW either...but I have seen many bird shows so I have just have had no desire to waste precious Disney time stopping. You know me...EE and EE and more EE is how I roll in AK along with a few safaris. I did this year enjoy my first trip to Conservation Station. But remember (although I know you are much younger) the day before your half you want to limit your walking as much as possible!

I understand trying not to waste Disney time there is only so much of it.

I have been thinking about my walking as well, we will see I guess.

 

[rteetz]

Day 5 1/9/15 I am running a half marathon!!!

This will be an early wake up call. The earliest of the trip for myself at least. I am so excited yet so nervous at the same time. I will be running my first half marathon and why wouldn't I do it in the most magical place on earth! I plan on getting up early enough to catch one of the first buses which starts at 3 am. I am thinking 2:30 am wake up. The half has a 5:35 am start time. Today RunDisney released bib numbers, corrals and waivers which only adds to the excitement that its getting so close. It looks like I will be in corral H out of A-P, so right in the middle of the pack. I am 100% ok with that. I know I likely won't stop for every character but I will stop for some. I also will have to stop for a picture running through the castle because how many chances does one get to do that with thousands of other runners and people cheering you on. I am expecting a 9:30 min/mile pace but that won't probably end up happening with character stops. I should have plenty of buffer room from the sweepers anyways. I am not shooting for a specific finish time rather I just want to finish since its my first. Many of my teenage friends think I am nuts for running a half marathon but I am ok with that. Hopefully in 2018 I can run Dopey. Anyways once I am done I will see what lines are like for the characters at the finish and then head out with my Donald medal proudly around my neck.



After I get back from my main event we will be heading to Epcot for the day. Most likely because of time we will be heading to our first FP at Spaceship Earth for 11:10 AM- 12:10 PM. I might grab a snack after that as I don't want a heavy meal sue to an early dinner we are having.


After that we will hang in that area as we have a FP for Test Track at 12:40 PM - 1:40 PM. Once testing our cars I will see who wants to go to Mission Space, likely only the green version. I have yet to do the orange one myself.



One of my favorite attractions in Epcot is Living with the Land and with Soarin being down this will be the only thing worth while in the Land pavilion.

Then we have a FP for Disney Pals at Innoventions. I didn't necessarily want this but there isn't anything else worth it for a second tier FP. It will be good to get some pictures with characters and my medal tho.

Next we will head towards world showcase and explore the countries until our 4:50PM ADR at Chefs de France. It is something new for all of us so it will be interesting to see how we like it.



Once we have filled our bellies the night is free to explore more World Showcase and then likely watch Illuminations (my favorite nighttime show).


Side note: I have decided what I am wearing for the 5K and Half. For both it will be a form of disney bounding rather than full costume. 5K I will be part of the CDA (Child Protection Agency from Monsters Inc.) Then for the Half I will be having a Zip a dee doo dah day!

 

[momabaarjo]

CONGRATS ON CORRAL H! That is so awesome...

 

[rteetz]

CONGRATS ON CORRAL H! That is so awesome...

Thanks! One month from today is the half!

 

[skier_pete]

Hah hah. I think all runners are nuts. Not only up for 13 miles of torture, but get up at 2:30 AM to boot! Are you going to make it to Illuminations? Sounds like you are going to crash before the day is out! Otherwise though it sounds like a fun day.

 

[rteetz]

Hah hah. I think all runners are nuts. Not only up for 13 miles of torture, but get up at 2:30 AM to boot! Are you going to make it to Illuminations? Sounds like you are going to crash before the day is out! Otherwise though it sounds like a fun day.

Hey you think I'm nuts what about the dopey runners who run all four races four days in a row totaling 48.6 miles. That is a goal of mine so I am nuts I guess. The 2:30 part I can deal with because I'm in Disney I don't know if I'd get up that early for a race in say my home town.

Last year for the 10K I stayed for illuminations that night and survived no problem. I shouldn't have a problem and luckily we aren't too far away being at the yacht club.

 

[SarahDisney]

2:30 AM wakeup ... we're all nuts for doing these races. I mean, the race makes the early wake up worth it, but it's so early!!!

If your friends think you're nuts for running, then they just don't understand how amazing these races are! I think a lot of people think runners are crazy until they actually go out and try it and find out how much fun these races can be.

Your FP+ look good. I still can't believe they moved Mission:Space to Tier 1 (although they had to do something to make up for Soarin' being closed) ... it makes it a lot harder for people to figure out what to do with the tier 2 FP+ (we always do character spot, but that's because we love characters and I refuse to do Mission:Space ... but I know a lot of people like to get a FP+ for Mission:Space).

Your race outfit ideas are great - both are really original ideas and should be a lot of fun!

 

[rteetz]

2:30 AM wakeup ... we're all nuts for doing these races. I mean, the race makes the early wake up worth it, but it's so early!!!

If your friends think you're nuts for running, then they just don't understand how amazing these races are! I think a lot of people think runners are crazy until they actually go out and try it and find out how much fun these races can be.

Your FP+ look good. I still can't believe they moved Mission:Space to Tier 1 (although they had to do something to make up for Soarin' being closed) ... it makes it a lot harder for people to figure out what to do with the tier 2 FP+ (we always do character spot, but that's because we love characters and I refuse to do Mission:Space ... but I know a lot of people like to get a FP+ for Mission:Space).

Your race outfit ideas are great - both are really original ideas and should be a lot of fun!

I am with you on the waking up part.

Yes. A lot of kids my age don't understand my liking of Disney so much either.

Yes I would've done Mission Space if it was still there.

I hope they turn out like I imagine them.