We did it ALL!! 19 days Apr/May 2012 (updated! check in ROYAL PACIFIC RESORT)

[disneytriptime]

wow! LOVING the trip report!! I'm new and we are planning to head to WDW next May and I'm so glad I found your trip report. It's the two of us plus our two teens who are not much into parades, shows or characters either so it'll be great to remember your plans for each day and how well it all worked out for you and base our plans on that. We aren't sure exactly which parks we want to hit while down there also - we know we want to do WDW but we for sure want to get to a few others as well so I will be eagerly awaiting each installment so we can see which parks we feel might best fit our likes.

Looks like you had such a great time and I look forward to seeing more

and the photos are TOP NOTCH!!!!

 

[wakica]

Good Luck with your plans. Your going to have a GREAT time!!

our DD wasn't into the characters at all but for some reason she just wanted to meet Duffy - maybe bc he's so new?? Not sure but he was easy to get to anyway at Epcot and then at Universal Studios she suddenly TOTALLY wanted to meet the Minions and the superheros and villains. It just came out of nowhere so you just never know what will happen.

I hope your able to figure out which parks to choose. Hopefully I'll get my report done in time for you to get a good idea of what all the parks are like before you have to make the decision. However feel free to send me a message or just post here if you have any specific questions

 

[disneytriptime]

Good Luck with your plans. Your going to have a GREAT time!!

our DD wasn't into the characters at all but for some reason she just wanted to meet Duffy - maybe bc he's so new?? Not sure but he was easy to get to anyway at Epcot and then at Universal Studios she suddenly TOTALLY wanted to meet the Minions and the superheros and villains. It just came out of nowhere so you just never know what will happen.

I hope your able to figure out which parks to choose. Hopefully I'll get my report done in time for you to get a good idea of what all the parks are like before you have to make the decision. However feel free to send me a message or just post here if you have any specific questions

Thanks for being so willing to let me pick your brain. I will definitely take you up on that offer!

We are very excited to be going but there is just so much to learn. I didn't realize how much until a coworker suggested this site!!! It's a good thing I found it early. I don't really post, mostly just read but I'm learning so much!!

Maybe the super heros and villains would be something my boys would like too. I'll look foward to seeing those photos.

 

[wakica]

I hope I don't keep you waiting too long to see the super heros and villains. I think I have about 6 more days to post before I get to those I'll try to get it done before too long - I seem to be able to find the time to do a post per week.

 

[amazingact21]

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply to your latest update, haven't spent much time on the DISboards lately.


I'm glad you were able to hear the course talk, even if you didn't end up learning anything new. It's better to take your chances; I know I wanted to hear it before my first race.
Very cute drawing on the board. And even better that you had those necklaces made! They were great.


Ugh, the green shirts weren't my favorite color, either. Alex wears his shirt when he works out, and he gets irritated with it, because the big logo always sticks. But I suppose it's all about having something to remember the race. (Besides the medal)


That spot off of Main Street looks so quiet and relaxing! I don't think I even know where that is. Hmmm, definitely going to keep an eye out for it in the future.

 

[wakica]

I'm glad I'm not the only one irritated by the shirts. LOL. I think if they were blue or black or even grey and had a v neck I would have liked them more. But yes, it's definitely a keepsake. I do still wear it ocassionally but they are SO baggy that I feel like I'm just floating in it so it's not exactly figure flattering either. It's mostly for around the house days where the most I might do is run an errand quickly.

I havn't been on much either. Keeping pretty busy with work and trying to do some summer fun stuff with DD. This is our busy time for our photography business - about June right through to December. We have LOTS of time in Jan through May so I was able to be on a LOT more when planning the trip.
I'll have to see if you've made another update. It's gonna be the RACE That's what I'll be posting next too.

That spot off Main street is part ways down and on your right side (if you are entering the park). Very nice little spot

 

[wakica]

WOW!! Where did everyone go It's so lonely on here.

Anyway, I'm on to an EXCITING DAY!!

DAY 10 - MAY 5 - KONA CAFE & EE5K (just Kona for now tho)

THIS WAS THE DAY!!!!! Don't get me wrong. The WHOLE trip was something we were looking forward to but DD and I had been working towards this day for 6 months. Well one of us more than the other anyway. LOL

We were to run in our 1st 5K race but first we wanted to start out the day right and I had learned from amazingact that Kona was a GREAT place to get a huge carbohydrate filled meal for such a day.

We slept in and got to the Kona Cafe just before our scheduled time of 11am. I HAD wanted to get there earlier but we couldn't get our butts moving (I'm really not surprised seeing as how busy we had been on this trip). It still irritated me. I pretty much knew that there was no way we'd run into amazingact who had an earlier ressie but whom I had hoped to run into on their way out and our way in. Again, we were late so I knew we had lost that chance.

DH never really cared for this resort but as we entered it and saw the beauty of it he totally changed his mind about it. It really is very beautiful!!! It was like being back in Hawaii and we LOooovved the feel of that.

We were let into Kona very quickly as the breakfast rush had already cleared out and it wasn't very busy at all. We sat at the far end of the restaraunt with a path by our table and a big beautiful window just beyond that path.

Here is apic of DD and DH with the path behind and the window...

and here are DD and I on the other side of the table (ya, she was hopping sides LOL)...

and here she is being a goofball! lol

We were ready to CARB UP!!! I can't eat a whole lot before racing so I knew this brunch would have to be my main meal for the day.

i ordered TONGA TOAST!!! and had been drooling about since the day I heard about it...

and it was EVERYTHING I EVER dreamed it would be!!!

DD got the pineapple macadamia nut pancakes...

she is obsessed with all things Hawaii so this TOTALLY hit the spot for her!!

and DH got some sort of Egg dish - omlett or something which he absolutely loved too...

For beverages DH got coffee, I got orange juice and I think DD probably got the pineapple juice .

It was ALL JUST SOOOOO GOOD!!!! But completely filling and DH was the only one that was able to clean his plate. LOL.

Our waitress was an absolute sweet heart and SO nice to chat with. Somehow it came up in conversation that we were running that evening and just as we were getting up to leave our table she came hurrying over and gave DD and I each a pin that said somethining about celebrating our magical achievement!! I was tickled pink!!!! I was SO stoked to be wearing it into the parks the following day to show off that we did indeed achieve something magical and incredible for us!!!

We looked around the inside of the Poly for a bit bc we couldn't resist it's beauty...

and headed into the shop where DD bought the MOST adorable bag and I got myself a new hat!!

DD couldn't resist tryiing something on her head! You totally knew that was coming right???

Then we headed out to adore the GORGEOUS grounds of the Poly!

We ALWAYS love seeing soft white sand bc the beaches near us are rocky and SO hard on the feet so the beach area was irresistable to us...

We admired the GORGEOUS flowers which DD insisted a photo be taken of bc it's the same type of flower you find in Hawaii (Hibiscus??)

and then DH thought we should pose for him on the beach so he could practice for his wedding coming up at Madeira Beach where it would be white sands and full sun just like today.

I obliged him by getting a pic of my new hat which i was SOOO thrilled about! Let me tell you just HOW thrilled I was!!! I had a fave hat and DH borrowed it on our last trip and "Sweated it up" as I say. Seriously he left a sweat mark around a portion of the hat but I dont always look too great in hats so I've been sucking it up but grumbling at him about it for a few years now bc I've never been able to find a replacement that i liked. Well, thank you to the store at the Poly I had found it at last!!! DH wasn't too thrilled about the price but knew this hat was a long time coming and he owed me big tiime so he was happy for me.

Here it is!!!!

and DD and I posing in the full sun for him...

It wasn't the best pic bc the shadows were harsh on our faces but he did get it right on the day of the wedding. I had to do some work on removing some of the shadows for this pic.


After the Poly we hit DownTown Disney bc we were supposed to watch a friends daughter play in her band but it was SSSOOOOOO scorching HOT OUT!!!! It was so hot waiting for the band to start that we had to alternate trips to the store to cool down. We didn't want to lose our spot so we took turns and boy, did we all feel the heat on this day. I was starting to be VERY greatful that the race wasn't going to start until 9:30 pm!

Unfortunately my friend got the times mixed up and when we found a sign it saaid she wasn't playing til 4 and there is no way we were gonna be able to wait around til then. So we headed back to the condo.

We had figured out a GREAT way to stay cool and relax until our race that evening so we started out resting and snoozing at the condo and then made our way down to the movie theater at our condo clubhouse. We went in the day before and booked the theatre for about 5pm to watch Inception. DD had wanted to see it for awhile now.

It turned out the be the perfect way to wind down, relax, stay cool and refreshed and pass the time away until our race.

I think we had eaten a salad with chicken before the movie. A nice light meal was just what i needed for supper before running a race.

I'll be back another day with the actual race. Sure is hard during the summer to find time to get these updates done.

Hopefully some of my old friends will come back and read and i'm not just doing these for myself. LOL

 

[hjd0411]

Great update Kim!! You really look like you are enjoying that Tonga toast!!!
That is a hibiscus flower - they are beautiful! We have lots of them here in all the colours of the rainbow - well, almost! Very pretty, though.
And I like your new hat, too - I also find it hard with hats - and I have to wear hats here in summer, and sometimes winter! I think I'll have to have a look around and see what they have at WDW. It's good to have a hat that is able to be packed in a suitcase, too, rather than carry on board a plane!! Just asks to be left behind, I say!
Will look forward to hearing about the race when you have time.

 

[DisneyStitch626]

I am still here! Loved the update. I love the Poly too. I wasn't so sure about it from photos and such, but seeing it in person changed my mind. It is beautiful. If we had the money to stay at a "monorail" hotel, we'd probably pick that one. Loved the surf board your DD is standing beside too!

Sounded like a great day. Looking forward to hearing about the race!

 

[amazingact21]

Race day!

I'm so glad that Kona was a success! And what do you know...we did sit at the same table.

Your whole morning sounds very relaxing and fun. (with the exception of the DTD heat.) The Poly is a beautiful resort, and how great that you were able to change your DH's perspective of it.


That's great that you were able to find a new hat that you liked! A nice, unexpected surprise.


Booking a theater room and watching a movie sounds like the perfect way to relax before the race. I bet it was nice and cool in the room, and you could distract yourself by concentrating on the film. I might have to steal that idea if I ever do a night race again.

 

[momabaarjo]

So jealous of your Tonga Toast...looks like a great time at the POLY!

 

[wakica]

Great update Kim!! You really look like you are enjoying that Tonga toast!!!
That is a hibiscus flower - they are beautiful! We have lots of them here in all the colours of the rainbow - well, almost! Very pretty, though.
And I like your new hat, too - I also find it hard with hats - and I have to wear hats here in summer, and sometimes winter! I think I'll have to have a look around and see what they have at WDW. It's good to have a hat that is able to be packed in a suitcase, too, rather than carry on board a plane!! Just asks to be left behind, I say!
Will look forward to hearing about the race when you have time.

Oh ya!! That Tonga toast was GOOD STUFF
I don't often overindulge in bread so it was quite the treat.

Cali would LOVE seeing such an array of colured hibiscuses!! They are such beautiful flowers. Do they stay in bloom very long?

What are you at now? 2 months???

I am still here! Loved the update. I love the Poly too. I wasn't so sure about it from photos and such, but seeing it in person changed my mind. It is beautiful. If we had the money to stay at a "monorail" hotel, we'd probably pick that one. Loved the surf board your DD is standing beside too!

Sounded like a great day. Looking forward to hearing about the race!

I agree the Poly is SOO pretty. It is kind of hard to tell from a distance bc it's a bit dated looking but once onsite you realize the beauty of it.

Race day!

I'm so glad that Kona was a success! And what do you know...we did sit at the same table.

Your whole morning sounds very relaxing and fun. (with the exception of the DTD heat.) The Poly is a beautiful resort, and how great that you were able to change your DH's perspective of it.


That's great that you were able to find a new hat that you liked! A nice, unexpected surprise.


Booking a theater room and watching a movie sounds like the perfect way to relax before the race. I bet it was nice and cool in the room, and you could distract yourself by concentrating on the film. I might have to steal that idea if I ever do a night race again.

I thought we must have been pretty close to your spot at Kona!!! LOL Well since we didn't run into each other we still were able to take in your "karma" or some crazy thiing like that. Bahahaha!!!
and the theater room was DEFINITLY a great idea. When we came out of there it was after 7pm so it really helped to make the time fly. I think we went back, had a little snack, got ready and left. It was perfect and helped me to keep my mind off the run.

So jealous of your Tonga Toast...looks like a great time at the POLY!

Oh ya!!!! It was DEFINITELY good!!!! Im tempted to make my own version of it but I try to avoid too much bread so I'll just leave it as a special Disney thing. I've heard of some people having success in making their own tonga toast though.


Thanks so much for commenting everyone!! It's nice to know it's being read.

 

[jecskc]

I am still here and still loving your TR. I especially liked you DH's night time photos at MK. Just amazing !! Can't wait to hear about the race. I was going 5to start the couch to 5K program myself and then I fell down the stairs and sprained my ankle VERY badly, It has been two weeks and I am just now able to hobble a little without the use of crutches. VERY frustrating !!

Anyway, looking forward to reading about your Run Disney experience.

 

[khobson]

best review ever. I will be checking often for more!!

 

[sbsmommy]

Hi Kim,
I'm still checking in periodically and reading - really enjoying your report and looking forward to the race post.
Have you kept up running? I haven't but I do want to start again. There is a town on the border of NB and Maine about 1.5 hours from me that has a Chocolate festival this week and I just saw that today they have a chocolate race - chocolate at the break stops. I told my sister we should have done that - maybe next year.|
Starr

 

[LGH1946]

I'm still here. I'm loving your TR. BUT, what in the world are you putting on that wonderful TONGA TOAST??? OMG ,is that strawberry syrup?? I guess everyone has their own thing....... (not that there is anything wrong with that) That, to me, would be a sweet overload. I'm just partial to regular old maple syrup, I guess. I really LOVE seeing all the pictures. I would give anything to stay in WDW for 19 days!!!That would just be a team come true!

 

[wakica]

I am still here and still loving your TR. I especially liked you DH's night time photos at MK. Just amazing !! Can't wait to hear about the race. I was going 5to start the couch to 5K program myself and then I fell down the stairs and sprained my ankle VERY badly, It has been two weeks and I am just now able to hobble a little without the use of crutches. VERY frustrating !!

Anyway, looking forward to reading about your Run Disney experience.

Oh NO!!! That's aweful that you fell. I hope your getting over the strain very fast. I fell down while doing my training. Stupid story really that is covered in my pre trip report so I won't go there but it REALLY badly hurt my tailbone!!! i stopped running for a few weeks but i think it took a month for me to really get back up to speed and for the pain to go away. A fall can really get in the way of training for sure. Heal up fast!!! and in the meantime just pop on here often bc theres lots to keep you entertained on DISboards lol

best review ever. I will be checking often for more!!

awe!!! why thank you SO much for saying so! Are you heading for a trip to WDW any time soon?

Hi Kim,
I'm still checking in periodically and reading - really enjoying your report and looking forward to the race post.
Have you kept up running? I haven't but I do want to start again. There is a town on the border of NB and Maine about 1.5 hours from me that has a Chocolate festival this week and I just saw that today they have a chocolate race - chocolate at the break stops. I told my sister we should have done that - maybe next year.|
Starr

My jaw just dropped when I read about a chocolate run!!!! and I think there might have been a bit off drool coming out of the corner of my mouth too!! LOL. DD was like "WHAT???" and when I told her about a chocolate run her eyes got wide LOL. I wish we weren't so far. We'd love to do another trip out that way though some day so maybe we can plan it around their chocolate festival

I have only run about a handful of times since the race I'm sad to say. I just really need something big to keep me motivated - like the Disney Run. The run events around here are SOOO boring DD and I have our fingers crossed that a colour run will come somewhere close within the next year but we aren't holding our breath on that one. The chocolate run is definitely another one that would motivate me. hahaha. Thanks for sharing.

I'm still here. I'm loving your TR. BUT, what in the world are you putting on that wonderful TONGA TOAST??? OMG ,is that strawberry syrup?? I guess everyone has their own thing....... (not that there is anything wrong with that) That, to me, would be a sweet overload. I'm just partial to regular old maple syrup, I guess. I really LOVE seeing all the pictures. I would give anything to stay in WDW for 19 days!!!That would just be a team come true!

LOL, that strawberry sauce is actually what comes with the tonga toast!! and yes it's EXTREMELY YUMMY I'd say a bit less sweet than syrup though so maybe that's why they give it. Too much sweetness to have syrup on it so they give a strawberry sauce?? I'm not sure really. I sure like it though!! LOL

It was DEFINITELY a GREAT thing to stay for so long Sure would love to do it again very soon though.

 

[wakica]

YAY!!!! I am SSOOO exctied that I'm now at RACE DAY!!

I have always wanted to run a race but i just hated running SOO much that every time I tried a C25K program I just couldn't get very far before i said forget it!! I HATE how I feel and this is NEVER going to get better.

Over the last years I've always been interested in the Disney Races but never really thought about it around a trip. It wasn't until SJLUPIN (a Tour guide Mike buddy of mine and sometimes DISboards too) posted on TGM that she was participating in the Expedition Everest 5K challenge in May!! I was SO thrilled I asked her a gazillion questions and ran it across DD and we decided we were going to do this!!!

I KNEW it was going to be TERRIBLY hard for me. As I said - I LOATHED running!!! But I dusted off my treadmill and got to it! I started training in November 2011 and did GREAT for the 1st month, fell back around Christmas and Jan ( I was sick in Jan), got back at in into Feb, then feel and had a set back for another month and put in one last Oomph for March and April.
Then the day arrived....

DAY 10 - MAY 5 - kona cafe & EXPEDITION EVEREST 5K CHALLENGE!!!

In my last post I mentioned how we carbed up for breakfast at Kona Cafe, sweated for a bit at DTD and then relaxed by watching a movie at our condo club house movie theater.

We got back from the movie sometime just after 7pm. We had a small snack (I can't remember what), got ready and headed to the Race grounds at Animal Kingdom parking lot. They had said at the meeting the day before that traffic would start picking up after 8pm so we made our arrival JUST before that.

We parked, got our bibs on, grabbed some water and our check in bags and headed into the chaos!!!!! (notice I did NOT say we took note of where we parked??? LOL oops!! too excited to get going I guess)

We weren't really nervous but it was a HOT and HUUUUMIIIID day so that worried us a bit. I was SO greatful at this point that they had moved the running time to 9:30 pm and was hoping it would begin to cool down for all the racers.

the parking lot was already buzzing and it was our understanding that we would need to be in our corrals by like 8:30 or something?? Maybe it was a bit later - my poor memory is slipping away about the little details.

We lined up at bag check in.
this photo is AWEFUL bc I was rubbing my nose but i wanted to show the line up. I was glad we arrived early bc i only had to wait a few minutes.

Actually those two in front of me (Robin and Batman) were the main reason I even had any wait at all. BATMAN decided to purchase some fancy schmancy alcohol in the park that day and wasn't too happy to have them trying to confiscate it. He tried the whole - are you going to reimburse me for that??!!! i was SSOOOO happy the poor cast member having to deal with him just LAUGHED and said NO. I mean how did he think it was ok to bring in a bottle of booze into a theme park?!?!?!?! Anyway, he finally said no no, it's ok just go ahead and throw it out. Good for you snapping out of your sillyness BATMAN

After that we made note of where the bathrooms were and headed across the park to line up for pictures at the various displays they had set up. You'll see the line ups and people lingering around in the next set of pics. It was funny to see people dressed up and even some people laying on the ground in the parking lot trying to take it easy while we waited.

I was starting to get nervous bc NOBODY was telling us to get in our corals at the time we were told to. I went to the info table and asked and they said there were signs showing where our corals were so I kept my eye out but NOPE - I sure didn't see any sort of SIGNS??? Plus it was mass chaos at this time bc it was getting pretty busy there.

I asked a couple standing near us bc I saw they were in the same wave as us but they said they were equally as confused as us. Well, ok. Maybe we'll just stick close to them and we can be lost together I thought. LOL.
Then i decided Well, forget it. We needed a bathroom break before the race and they weren't telling us what to do so we just headed over to use the washrooms.

On our way over I had to do a double take!!! Seriously!! It was TOTALLY a double take!! I was walking and I guess it didn't register at first but it hit my brain in delayed motion that I recognized the person we had just walked by. I stopped and looked back and thought HEY!!! THat's Alicia (amazingact)!! So I grabbed DH and DD and headed back to chat. It was so nice to run into them and I insisted we do a photo and then i ran off bc I was sure we'd be called into the corals at any minute (I mean it was WAAAYY past the time we were SUPPOSED to be lined up at this poing).

So we rushed away to do our potty break and then I was thinking maybe i'd find them again but no luck. We ended up by a group of older ladies that seemed to know where to go and they were in the same heat as us so we decided to watch them. On a positive note Alicia had pointed out where they thought the line up would be too and that things DEFINITELY were different than last year so I was feeling a bit better now at least.

It started thinning out a bit by the time our start time came(we were in the 6th out of i think 9 waves) so it wasn't too bad to find our way into the coral.

And THIS WAS IT!!!!
i could not beleive the time had FINALLY arrived. All our training was leading up to this and DD and I were ready! (Even though DD only trained for the first month and a half and then dropped off to once a week runs or LESS). Oh well, she's got more spunk than me so I wasn't too worried.

They sent us off with fireworks!!! (How cool is that??) and everyone started out jogging but VERY quickly realized that it was WAAAAYYY too crowded to move very quickly!!

YIKES!! We were walking and worrying that this was going to affect our time VERY badly!

DD and I tried to weave around people as much as we could but we just didn't feel like we were doing well at all.

Here we are walking. I think I'm laughing and thinking HUH??? This is a race???

Oh well, we were determined to enjoy it anyway so we continued on our way and just tried to weave in and out of people every chance we got. We weren't angry about all the walking at all bc I certainly needed plenty of walking breaks too.

The first obstacle was haybales - EASY PEASY and added a really fun aspect to the race.

In the park the next obstacle was tires I think which again was EASY PEASY and lots of fun!

The last obstacle near the end was a net that you had to climb under. I got a little dirty and knees rubbed up on the dirt and turf but it wasn't hard or anything so I can't complain.

hmm, did I miss an obstacle?? sure wish I had taken a camera.
Here's one DH took of the mass amounts of water (WARM I MIGHT ADD). He got this as he entered the park for the party...

A few times near the end DD had to really encourage me to keep jogging. I tried but near the end I just could NOT do it any more. I just had to take a bit of a walking break. She was frustrated with me so she was just slightly ahead of me hoping I'd catch up. LOL.

We crossed the finish mats and that was the ONLY indication we finished!! Other than that I didn't even realize we were done??? Then suddenly there were people with markers and clues.

DD was now tired and ready to take it easy but after a few minutes I had all the rest I needed and was reinspired to get a move on!!! Especially when I figured out the first clue in a JIFFY!! YAY!! WHat a releif it was to figure out the clue so quickly!! After seeing the practice clues I wasn't sure how well we would do but i think I was just sharp and on the ball after an invigorating run.

We didn't take too much time to get through the clues. The hardest part was weaving in and out of all the masses!! They REALLy need to cap the numbers at a lower number next year bc 5,000 people was TOO many!!!

The other problem was that DD was ticked at me bc she said I couldn't go faster during the race when she could and now she wanted to take it easy and I was rarin to go.

** - leave it to a teen to find something to complain about right?? I was rested after finding the 2nd clue spot and so should she have been but she just wanted to walk the rest out???

i was able to encourage her to jog a bit here and there but I'm SO sure we could have totally shaved off another 5-10 min if she would have had the same get up and go during the scavenger hunt as me.

It didn't help that i was figuring out most of the clues EXTREMELY fast and we had both thought she was the one that would be figuring those out.

ANYWAY, we crossed the finish line in EVEN WORSE MASS CHAOS!!!!!!!!
Here's a pic DH got of the finish line to show you how you had to enter through a narrow passageway which got VERY full when we were coming through.

We could BARELY move!!!

We were crammed in between the entryway to the finish line SO thick it was hard to walk again. I was SURE that this was going to make our time worse but at this point just wanted my medal!!! We had to fight the crowds to get over to the right side where I saw them handing things out. It was an uneventful reach out and GRAB your medal as you went by.

Then we fought our way over to grab a banana, waters and an energy drink!!!

i was extremely disapointed in how we were brought in like cattle and it sort of ruined our grand finish but I got over it with my excitement of having finished my first 5K race.

I was SOOO proud of DD and I!!!!! and exhausted too!! We made our way to the NEMO entrance where we were supposed to meet up with DH cuz I was so excited to share our achievement with him but he wasn't there.

DD and i sat to wait for him and eat our banana and have our drinks.

cont'd in next post

 

[wakica]

So we ate and drank (although the bottles were as warm as the water during the run so we had to force some down and didn't have an appetite for warm water) kept our eyes peeled for him but...

He still wasn't there. i was starting to get quite upset at this point and wanted to go ride EE but I thought he'd be furious if he showed up and we weren't there. SO we found bathroom close by, used it quickly and raced right back to our meeting spot.

STILL no DH!!!! Grrrr! Where was he??

I decided that it was probably now too late to meet up with some other DIS runners but raced over to that spot just in case anyone was there. NO LUCK! Now I was a bit FUMING mad at DH!!

We headed back to our original spot and wouldn't you know - there he was!!!! He was surprisingly calm thank goodness bc I did not want him wrecking our excitement - it was already dampened by this waste of time. We had waited about 45 min to meet him at this point. Apparently he was there a few minutes before us and then went back to watch for us coming through the chaotic finish line. I honestly don't know what he was doing for 45 minutes??? but oh well. Lets get ON with the party!!!

Then I heard someone call out my name and was SOO thrilled to see it was SJLUPIN my Tour guide Mike and DISboard buddy!! I was SO SO excited that she found us!!!! She almost didn't make it to the race due to a cancer scare and some surgeries so I was so thrilled when she found us and we got to chat. We chatted for quite some time and got a pic.

and one of the two of us with our medals (A bit late bc it was probably an hour after we got them by now)

Then FINaLLY we made our way to EE for a night time ride!!! Unfortunately the line was long and I think we waited about 20 minutes but it was definitely fun!!

When I was waiting to get on the next train another DISboard buddy said hello to me!! It was sbsmommy!!! We didn't chat much bc her train was loading then but it was still cool to at least be able to say Hi to Star.

DD and I wanted to do the ride again so DH sat out (he was tired and is NOT a late night person so I just let him be). We enjoyed our second go on EE and then we decided it was time to make our way across the park to get our bags.

We purposely waited this long so that we would NOT have to wait in a line.

We got across the park and i was a bit shocked to see the line was gone - like COMPLETELY gone!!! Actually I was a bit worried that perhaps they shut down back check at a certain time like 12:30 or something and we didn't know about it. Luckily this was not the case and we found the bag check spot and there were only a few bags left and NOBODY in line. LOL. At least we weren't the last bag but pretty darn close. haha.

We headed through Dino land - popped into a store to purchase a shirt for DD - she wanted the vegitarian dino shirt since she's a vegitarian.

Then made our way over to Kali River Rapids bc DD insisted we need to ride it before we leave.

Of course we took some pics of us with our medals here there and everywhere. LOL

We took off our bibs so they didn't get soaked and headed down the Kali River Rapids in OUR OWN raft.

We GOT SOAKED!!! LOL. If I did the race again I would hightail it over to Kali as soon as I was done to cool down bc my face was SO red and HOT after the race. It was STILL warm all through the race even though we didn't start until dark.

We stopped by the restaraunt the DIS meet was supposed to take place bc I knew DH would LOVE the photo op. I don't know that this is where he got this photo from but it fit in well with our quick stop on the way out of the park. We were getting eyeballed by people and I felt they were thinking - GO - get out of the park already. LOL so we made the stop VERY brief.

When we made it to the exit we plopped down from exhaustian and waited for the trolly to take us to the parking lot. And waited, and waited!! turns out we missed the last trolley!! Bahhaha! I can't beleive we stayed in the park til the end of the party when one person in our group was NOT a night person and only hung out for our sakes. KUDOS to DH for hanging in there for us!!!

We dragged our tired exhauted legs out to the parking lot and realized we had NO IDEA AT ALL where we parked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh no!!! LOL

Thank goodness there were only a handful of cars left and after wandering a bit and using the fob we figured it out without too much painful wandering and waiting.

We made it back to our condo and it had to be after 2:00 am. We totally would have been done sooner if we hadn't waited 45minuted just LOOKING for dh but we won't go there again. haha. I guess if we had finished eariler we would have had a harder time finding the car and DD and I wouldn't have had a good chunk of time to rest our feet which helped us to keep going.

and our blingy bling!!! im POSITIVE this photo was NOT taken the night of the race bc we collapsed into bed as soon as we got back!!

Thanks for sticking it out if you read all that! lol.

It turns out DD and I did our best time ever in the end at 38min and I think 11 seconds!!!! YAY! and she thought I was wimping out!!! In practice I had better times than her!!! It's amazing what adrenaline can do.

The time for our scavenger hunt wasn't bad at all either at 33 minutes. i totally know we could have done better there.
In the end I would say it was a bit on the CRAZY side at times and could DEFInITELY use a cap on numbers and better orgainization but we STILL had SUCH A GREAT TIME!!!!

I unfortunately have NOT kept up my running. I've run about 4 or 5 times since the race and I find I need something like another Disney race to remotivate me. Not sure how I'm going to do that though bc HOW DOES ONE COMPETE WITH DISNEY?????? good Luck hey? LOL> Oh well, DD and I will keep our eyes peeled to see if we can find a race closer by for sometime next year. It's going to get cold here soon so the only upcoming races are in the next month and we won't be ready by then. After that it's too cold til next sprint.

Hopefully we can do some winter training again???? Who knows. [/SIZE]

 

[sbsmommy]

Loved the last 2 posts Kim! And glad we got to say Hi even if it was quick.
We were confused about lining up too so we picked someone in our wave (2) who looked like they knew what they were doing - 2 fit looking guys in matching shirts that said Tampa Bay Boys - and followed them. When they announced our wave, they said that they had won the race twice before I think. I think they came in second maybe this time if I remember right. Guess we know how to pick em...LOL!
It was really confusing though - I thought there was going to be a marked off section where we went to wait.
The end of the race part was not well marked either - I didn't even realize when we came across the mats - all of a sudden there were people with clues and markers. We also missed the first clue checking area and got all the way to Camp Minnie Mickey and had to come back. I knew something was wrong but everytime we asked a volunteer they just kept pointing us to go on. When we got back there was someone yelling not to leave the area until you had 2 clues so I think it happened to others too. That probably added a good 15-20 min on our time.
Oh well - we had fun and finished - so that's all that matters.
Here is a link to the chocolate race. http://www.chocolate-fest.ca/eventdetails.php?view=22
I was hesitant to register in local races because I didn't know if people took walk breaks - but this one is called a run/walk. Next year for sure. I hear you on the motivation - same for me. I just want to run another Disney one.