Well, this trip was....different. UPDATE - 9/1!

[KatMark]

Oh my....Reid just looks too darn adorable for words dancing to the music. I absolutely love those photos.

for two rides in a row on TSM...and Reid getting to pull his own string this trip.

Glad you got to see Ed as he was finishing the race.

Ed, congrats to you on an awesome time. As a lot of have told Amanda, you guys did better than most of us here reading this TR as we didn't even run. I have a lot of respect for anyone who does any kind of running. So a big to you. And thank you for being a "ghost rider" and filling us in on the run.

 

[afwdwfan]

That's good that Reid was willing to calm down and take a nap. He looks like he really had a blast dancing by the hat at the party. I'm sure it was a fun evening for both of you to be able to ride TSMM twice and cheer on Ed as he ran.

As for Villains, you said you saw Darth Vader... Did Reid get to meet him?

One definite word of caution though…Do Not Run 10 miles, then drink half a bottle of Powerade, eat a super ripe banana, and finally ride Star Tours. Trust me – not a good combination.

I'd have to run 10 miles before I ever have to worry about that one. Half a bottle of Powerade and a super ripe banana alone might be too much on a motion simulator ride.

Congratulations on making the run. 2:04 for a 10 mile run looks pretty respectable to me. I'm sure that running through the Studios with the crowd cheering was probably a nice little energy boost to get you to the finish after hitting the wall earlier on. I hope you get the chance to try it again sometime in the future.

 

[emma212010]

Finally caught up!

Yay for finishing both of you! Amanda, you should be very proud! I'm sure you were very dehydrated and still fighting that stomach bug. I'm impressed!!

And wow, listening to Ed's description of the race was awesome! I'm just sitting here like mile 7?? WHat??!! LOL, I can barely run one!! I just hate running, but I should get into it again.

DHS looked like a ton of fun, and I'm impressed Reid made it to 1:00am!

 

[marDgreen88]

Sorry the Villain Bash wasn't as exciting as you'd hoped. I know you really wanted to see Hades! Riding TSM and cheering on Ed sounded like a lot of fun though!

Ed, thanks so much for sharing your race experience. Good grief, it sounds crazy! Great job!

 

[amandaw]

I agree with everyone else, I think you did awesome!

Awww...thank you!

You had a lot going on, and the race course did not have optimal conditions and it was really dastardly hot! I was thinking about you and Ed that day and hoping that everything was going well, because there is no way I would have made it running in that heat!

Even though we have been home for about 4 weeks now, I still can't get over how hot it was. I'm still amazed I didn't just pass out on that trail.

I'm glad you finally got your meal at EOS!

Thanks! Me, too! It was definitely worth the wait in line.

Those toy story cars may or may not have come home with us as well!

We may or may not have come home with more than just the Toy Story race cars by the end of the trip.

We were posting at the same time!

Ok, let me comment on what you just wrote:

I'm so happy that Reid took a nap for you guys, getting him into his pjs was genius!

Thanks! It doesn't happen often, but every now & then I have a good idea.

I was so thankful that he gave into nap time!

Also super awesome that you were able to ride TSMM with virtually no wait, that is definitely a big perk. I also love the pics of Reid dancing, super cute! He is such a little trooper staying up so late.

It was so great getting to ride TSM 2x that night. Reid & I really had so much fun together.

Thanks! He loves to dance & he can bust out some serious "white boy" moves.

I was so surprised he stayed up so late!

Sorry to hear you weren't able to see any villains. I didn't hear great things about the after party, but it seems like you had a good time!

I wish the party had lived up to my expectations. I definitely understand everyone's complaints that I keep reading. But, we had fun so it wasn't terrible for us.

 

[jecskc]

Thanks for sharing your RunDisney experiences with us !! Doing one of these is a goal of mine. But since I just got my cast off yesterday, I won't be trying it anytime soon. Amanda, you talked about being disappointed with your time, but I don't think you should be considering your illness prior to your trip. A tummy bug can really take it out of you. My goal would be just to finish a race, so I think you did really well !! And Ed, Star Tours makes me feel sick, too. I love it, but even with a dramamine, I can't handle it. Looking forward to reading more TR!!

Susan

 

[amandaw]

Oh my....Reid just looks too darn adorable for words dancing to the music. I absolutely love those photos.

Thank you!! He LOVES to dance! It's like the music just gets in him & he has to dance. Even his music teacher at school says that about him.

for two rides in a row on TSM...and Reid getting to pull his own string this trip.

Riding TSM 2X was sooo fun! I couldn't believe that everyone there wasn't in line for that ride. There were people sitting on benches doing nothing!

Glad you got to see Ed as he was finishing the race.

I was really happy that we got to see him & that he was able to see us there cheering him on.

That's good that Reid was willing to calm down and take a nap. He looks like he really had a blast dancing by the hat at the party. I'm sure it was a fun evening for both of you to be able to ride TSMM twice and cheer on Ed as he ran.

I was so happy he actually slept! Otherwise, he definitely would not have been able to party until 2 am! We didn't do a whole lot in DHS that night but we had lots of fun with the things we did do!

As for Villains, you said you saw Darth Vader... Did Reid get to meet him?

No, we didn't get to meet him. We saw him as we were leaving Star Tours. The line was ridiculously long and well.....Ed wasn't feeling to well.

Finally caught up!

Yay for finishing both of you! Amanda, you should be very proud! I'm sure you were very dehydrated and still fighting that stomach bug. I'm impressed!!

Thank you very much!!

And wow, listening to Ed's description of the race was awesome! I'm just sitting here like mile 7?? WHat??!! LOL, I can barely run one!! I just hate running, but I should get into it again.

It's definitely a good workout. I need to get back into it. Maybe one day I'll work myself up to running more than just 3 miles. Then, maybe Ed & I could try another Disney race.....together.

DHS looked like a ton of fun, and I'm impressed Reid made it to 1:00am!

He was such a little party animal that night! I was impressed with him, too!

Sorry the Villain Bash wasn't as exciting as you'd hoped. I know you really wanted to see Hades! Riding TSM and cheering on Ed sounded like a lot of fun though!

We did enjoy ourselves with the things we experienced. So, I guess that is all that matters. Just seems like there wasn't as much going on as I had expected. But, oh well, we still had a fun night!

 

[amandaw]

Thanks for sharing your RunDisney experiences with us !! Doing one of these is a goal of mine. But since I just got my cast off yesterday, I won't be trying it anytime soon. Amanda, you talked about being disappointed with your time, but I don't think you should be considering your illness prior to your trip. A tummy bug can really take it out of you. My goal would be just to finish a race, so I think you did really well !! And Ed, Star Tours makes me feel sick, too. I love it, but even with a dramamine, I can't handle it. Looking forward to reading more TR!!

Susan

Thank you!!

I hope you're able to heal and work up to doing a Disney race one day. It's definitely worth doing at least once. I do hope we're able to do another one at some point. Hopefully, I won't be sick next time. And I do think it would be even more fun if we could work it out to where we could run a race together.

 

[jennyjinx3]

WOW...all I can say is WOW!! You and Ed rock for each giving it your all! And what a great little trooper Reid was for you that night. Thanks for the first hand account of your race Ed....really took me there!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Love the medal. This is one of the nicest I have seen.

 

[shan23877]

Thanks for all of the great race info Ed! I am so sorry that the race experiences weren't all what you'd hoped, but you both seem to feel glad that you did them.

Yay!! for Reid taking a nap! I'm so glad that worked out for you!

Love the precious pictures of Reid getting his dance on. How sweet. That's awesome that you were able to get 2 TSMM rides in with no wait! That's a miracle!

I wondered where all of the villains were? How disappointing. I know how much you were looking forward to that.

Love that Ed said the best part was the two of you cheering for him.

 

[pas130]

Reid did great! (like his awesome parents)

Glad Ed popped in!!!

I think I am caught up...I never completely catch up!!!

 

[annmarieda]

So cool that you got to see Ed come by! I for one loved the spectators at the end cheering everyone on. How extra special that Ed had his family to do so!

Kinda jealous that you got to do the villians bash. I stayed with the person I ran with (who I pushed to hard during the race) and she was not up for the party. We did sit around on a bench for a good amount of time near the entrance to the park though..so we were still IN the park during the party. Not sure that really counts though as going to the party.

Ed - I love your race recap! Congrats!!! Your time is EXCELLENT!!!

Overall, I thought it was a pretty nicely ran race. I know there are some who would have liked more entertainment...who didn't like the back pick in Indiana Jones...etc. However I think while there is definitely areas they can improve the race it was still a lot of fun!

 

[TinksThree]

I have to say that both you and Ed impress me in completing the races, even if you didn't feel you had met your goals. I always dream of running but when I start I realize it isn't for me so !!

 

[RGirl]

Amanda!!! After all that worrying, Reid napped like a champ and stayed up to party!!! That is FANTASTIC!!

And Ed, thanks for sharing your perspective of the race. It sounds like you managed to have a pretty great run with a great time.

 

[petals]

those medals are so cool. You'd nearly do the race just for the medal lol

 

[holleypie]

Congrats to both of you on finishing your races! I'm hopefully going to be doing the Tower of Terror 10 Miler next year, so I enjoyed reading the detailed reports.

I get the All-American at Earl of Sandwich too, but minus the turkey and cranberries...so basically it's a cheese sandwich. I kind of want to try it with the cranberries but I'm scared.

 

[amandaw]

WOW...all I can say is WOW!! You and Ed rock for each giving it your all! And what a great little trooper Reid was for you that night. Thanks for the first hand account of your race Ed....really took me there!

Awww....thank you!! I was proud of both of us for finishing our races. And Reid did awesome that night. Better than I could have asked for!

Love the medal. This is one of the nicest I have seen.

The medal is really cool! Now I need to figure out what to do with it.

Thanks for all of the great race info Ed! I am so sorry that the race experiences weren't all what you'd hoped, but you both seem to feel glad that you did them.

I am glad that we did our races. I think right after the races we both had the feeling of "never again". But, now that we've recovered, we both agree that we would like to try maybe one more at Disney in the future.

Yay!! for Reid taking a nap! I'm so glad that worked out for you!

Thanks! I was so thankful that he only fought it for 30 minutes. We've been known to battle for much longer over naps.

Love the precious pictures of Reid getting his dance on. How sweet. That's awesome that you were able to get 2 TSMM rides in with no wait! That's a miracle!

Thank you!! The boy loves to dance!

It was a miracle! We probably could've gone a few more times but I really wanted to find a spot to watch for Ed.

I wondered where all of the villains were? How disappointing. I know how much you were looking forward to that.

I'm sure they must have been out and about but no one knew where. Hopefully, if they do it again, it'll be better organized.

Love that Ed said the best part was the two of you cheering for him.

He can be sweet.....when he wants to be.

Reid did great! (like his awesome parents)

Thanks! I was impressed with him!

Glad Ed popped in!!!

I think I am caught up...I never completely catch up!!!

I feel like I'm constantly behind these days because I'm so busy with home and school stuff.

So cool that you got to see Ed come by! I for one loved the spectators at the end cheering everyone on. How extra special that Ed had his family to do so!

I was so worried that we would miss him. We were cheering loudly for everyone that passed us!

Kinda jealous that you got to do the villians bash. I stayed with the person I ran with (who I pushed to hard during the race) and she was not up for the party. We did sit around on a bench for a good amount of time near the entrance to the park though..so we were still IN the park during the party. Not sure that really counts though as going to the party.

It was nice getting to get on some headliner rides so easily. Just wish we would have been able to see more villains.

Ed - I love your race recap! Congrats!!! Your time is EXCELLENT!!!

Thank you!!

Overall, I thought it was a pretty nicely ran race. I know there are some who would have liked more entertainment...who didn't like the back pick in Indiana Jones...etc. However I think while there is definitely areas they can improve the race it was still a lot of fun!

I think Ed pretty much felt the same way. He could have cared less how much or how little entertainment was on the course. But, he wasn't a fan of the bag pick-up.

I have to say that both you and Ed impress me in completing the races, even if you didn't feel you had met your goals. I always dream of running but when I start I realize it isn't for me so !!

Thank you so much!! I still don't know if running is really for me or not. But, I'm not going to give it up just yet.

Amanda!!! After all that worrying, Reid napped like a champ and stayed up to party!!! That is FANTASTIC!!

I know, right?!? I was so relieved that he stayed up. We really had a fun night!

those medals are so cool. You'd nearly do the race just for the medal lol

Seriously! The medals were pretty neat to get!

Congrats to both of you on finishing your races! I'm hopefully going to be doing the Tower of Terror 10 Miler next year, so I enjoyed reading the detailed reports.

Thank you!! I hope you do get to do the race and experience it. Have you done other Disney races?

I get the All-American at Earl of Sandwich too, but minus the turkey and cranberries...so basically it's a cheese sandwich. I kind of want to try it with the cranberries but I'm scared.

I was a little scared, too. But, if you really like cranberries I say go for it! I thought it was very yummy!

 

[amandaw]

After our late race night, Ed and I slept in on Sunday until a whopping 8 am! We laid in our beds a little longer, trying to go back to sleep. After all, Reid was still asleep and it isn’t very often that he sleeps later than us. But, we must have been pretty well-rested from our 6 hours of sleep because we couldn’t get back to sleep. At 8:20 am, we decided to finally get out of our beds and begin getting ready for the day. We needed to shower and get dressed as well as get everything packed up. Today was our check-in day at Old Key West!

Both of us were showered and dressed, and the room was almost completely packed up before Reid awoke from his beauty sleep. Mr. Party Animal slept until 9:45 am!! That is by far the latest he has ever slept in. But, it was nice that he woke up on his own because he was in a good mood. Ed got Reid ready while I finished up our packing.

We were all packed up and ready to go....but not to Old Key West...not just yet. I had one more destination in mind for us at Beach Club. Ed contacted Bell Services and they arrived shortly after to collect our luggage for us. We did one last room check and then we headed out.

It didn’t take us long to make it to our destination...Beaches and Cream. When we arrived it wasn’t quite 11 am, so they weren’t open yet. We decided to check out the Yacht Club lobby since it was nearby. Now, let me say that I have never had any interest whatsoever in staying at Yacht Club. I was really taken back by how pretty the halls and lobby are there. Ed & I both agreed that we would definitely consider a stay at Yacht Club in the future. It really is pretty in there!

With our Yacht Club tour over, we made our way back to Beaches and Cream. When we got there, 2 girls were already standing in line. After a few minutes, the hostess came outside to open up the restaurant. Evidently, the 2 girls had more people on their way but couldn’t be seated until everyone arrived. So, we got to be seated first. When we walked into the restaurant, none of the lights were on. Then, these siren type lights started going off and the entire staff was cheering and yelling, “First Family of the Day!”

It was a fun little way to start our meal. We got seated in a booth and our waitress quickly came to get our drink orders.







Now, let me tell y’all: they opened up promptly and 11 am and by 11:10 am that place was completely full. No lie.

Reid had the grilled chicken and fries:



I thought it was a little weird that the chicken was on skewers and it seemed a bit dry when I was pulling it off for Reid. But, Reid thought it was yummy and ate pretty well.

I went for the Bacon Cheeseburger with fries:



That burger was sooooooo good! And big! The fries were also quite tasty. I had to make myself stop eating to save a little bit of room for dessert.

Ed also ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger and fries but he added a side of chili with it:



He also thought it was all delicious!

Of course a visit to Beaches and Cream would not be complete without dessert. So, even though our bellies were quite full, we ordered our desserts.

Reid went with the chocolate Mickey sundae, which was sooo cute!



I mean, seriously! How stinkin’ cute is that? I just loved it.

Ed and I decided to share a dessert and we went with the No Way Jose:



The No Way Jose has chocolate and vanilla ice cream with fudge and peanut butter. It also has chocolate and peanut butter morsels with whipped cream and cherries. This thing was unbelievably huge! But, oh so heavenly delicious! YUM! We ate and ate but it looked like we had barely even touched the thing. However, we could eat no more so we waddled out of Beaches and Cream.

We made our way to the valet area at Beach Club. While our luggage was being gathered, Ed brought the car up. In no time, we were on our way out of Beach Club heading to Old Key West.

I want to take a little intermission here to give my final thoughts on Beach Club. Overall, the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff was very good. There was only 1 or 2 CM’s that weren’t the best. I did like our room. It was so nice and airy and really had a relaxing feel to it. The pool area is definitely very nice and I would say it makes Beach or Yacht Club a must for any family that truly values pool time. I think when Reid is older we would all get more out of it. And the area can’t be beat! It’s great how close it is to EPCOT and DHS. My only real complaint is in regards to the some of the upkeep of the resort’s interiors. There were lots of areas that just looked very worn and dirty. Upon first glimpse, the lobby looks really pretty. But, when you start really looking at the furnishings (especially the seating options) you can see how worn they are. The hallways looked pretty bad too - especially the windows. And I did really dislike those long hallways. There’s nothing so bad that would keep me from staying there again but I definitely expected a little more. I do think if we were to stay in the EPCOT area again, that we’ll go with Boardwalk or maybe Yacht Club. I liked Beach Club but I just didn’t fall in love with it.

One more thing: this was our first time ever doing a split stay. I was a little apprehensive about it since I’ve never really had a desire to do a split stay. While everything went relatively smooth, I have no desire to do a split stay again. I really hated being at a resort for only 2 nights and then packing back up to move. And because we were at Beach Club for only 2 nights, I didn’t fully unpack there which drove me nuts. Even though the resort switch didn’t take but a few hours (overall), I hated that I felt like our vacation was held up for the switch.

Alright, let’s get back to our regularly scheduled programming!

We left Beach Club and it wasn’t long before we were pulling in at Old Key West!



We parked and went to the lobby to check-in. It wasn’t too terribly crowded but it did take a moment to check-in. There was a very friendly manager walking around talking with people, making sure everyone was being helped. It was finally my turn and they had all of my check-in information ready. I was informed that the room wasn’t ready but that it was currently being cleaned, it would be ready in no more than an hour and that I would be texted when it was ready. The CM had told us we would be in building 17, so we decided just to walk that way and check out the resort a bit.











The grounds are very pretty and it has a peaceful vibe to it. We enjoyed our walk to building 17 and then walked back to the main area. Ed went back to a bench in the lobby while Reid and I explored the pool area. Then, we made our way back towards to the lobby.

Reid enjoyed playing outside of Olivia’s restaurant:





After we had been there an hour, I still had no text about our room but I was trying to be patient. Meanwhile, Reid found a cozy little spot in the lobby to watch some cartoons:



Once it hit 2 pm, I was starting to get impatient. I really wanted to get our room before we had to head to MNSSHP that night. And since they had told me it would be less than an hour, my patience was running out even quicker than normal. I got back in line for a check-in CM and didn’t have to wait long. I asked about our room and was told it wasn’t ready but that it was about to be cleaned. Um, really? I may have been a little snippy here when I informed the CM that the 1st CM told me it was being cleaned an hour and a half ago. She said there was nothing they could do and I would be texted when the room was ready. I gave her my “mean Mommy stare” and just turned around and walked away.

No more than 5 minutes later, I hear “Ma’am...excuse me....ma’am”. I look up to see that last CM calling me. I walked over to her and she informed me that she magically found us a room that was ready. She let me know that it wouldn’t be in the same building and that it was on the first floor. Well, I was very happy to have a ready room and to be on the first floor. I happily accepted the room from her and we were on our way!

It was very easy to find the building we were in - #54. Right away, we loved the parking at Old Key West. With having our car, it was fantastic being able to park right outside of our building. And with being on the first floor, it was super easy to unload the car. There was also a bus stop very close by.

We were in a studio unit. It was very spacious, which I was very grateful to have. Here’s a quick tour for y’all:









I know they did a refurb recently to OKW but they really should have updated these bathrooms. Although, the space in them was very nice:



I love, love, love these Mickey heads in the railings all over the OKW resort:



And our view:



Right away, we felt really comfortable at OKW. I had been really apprehensive about staying here for the 1st time since it was a resort I had never considered. But, my worries really began to fade once we got in the room.

And I was finally able to fully unpack! YAY!! We also put in a call for bed rails and they arrived quickly. Once we were all unpacked, we had a little bit of time to unwind and relax in our new room.

But then, it was time to start getting ready for the MNSSHP that night!!

 

[shan23877]

Now I'm getting nervous. Your review of BC coupled with the pics of OKW make me think that maybe I'm just a mod girl at heart? I really, really love the outdoor spaces at the mods. OKW looks lovely. I've always thought it'd be nice to stay there.

GRRRR to the CMs giving you the run around, but YAY for the Mommy glare working like a charm!

Can't wait to hear more!