We're not slow. We're just enjoying the course. A 2014 Marathon TR - Completed!

[ZellyB]

Congratulations!!! It was so great to see another report from you and the differences between last year and this year!

Thank you!! Glad to see you here.

 

[ZellyB]

We were so relieved to get back to our condo and get off our aching feet! And, we were STARVING!!! So, we fixed up some lunch in the kitchen and shoved food in our mouths. We had planned all along to head back out to Epcot for the evening, but Sandra and Aaron weren't so sure they were up for that. One thing we did all agree on was that a soak in the hot tub sounded good. So, we all got into swimsuits and headed out for the community hot tub.

As I was getting undressed and laid out my bib and medal I snapped a quick shot.



Oh, you beautiful Disney bling. How do I love thee?

Anyway, we hobbled our way over to the hot tub and had a nice long soak. It felt sooooooo good. There were two ladies in the hot tub who had also run the Marathon that day. One woman had completed the Dopey and the other a Goofy. So, it was fun to share experiences with them. Eventually we drug ourselves out of the hot tub and headed back to the condo for showers.

Once we were cleaned up, Aaron decided he did want to go to Epcot so we headed out. The park was relatively busy and we hadn't made any ADRs since we weren't sure what we would be up for after the race, so we decided to just eat our way around the world. We had Fish n Chips in England, bratwurst in Germany, Sushi in Japan, and nachos in Mexico. It was all delicious. We wanted to ride a few things too, but lines were pretty long and fastpasses were all gone for Soarin' and Test Track. We did manage to ride Nemo, but that was it.

By the time we walked around and ate, we were all pretty exhausted, so we decided to go back to the condo and go to sleep. It was a beautiful evening and a beautiful sunset, so I snapped a couple of shots as we headed toward the exit.







So pretty.

Once back at the condo we all collapsed in bed. My legs and feet were so happy to finally get a chance to rest!!

 

[ZellyB]

The next morning we got up bright and early again because Sandra and Aaron were flying home. They both had to get back to work, so we got up and drove them out to the airport before heading for Universal Orlando.

We were excited to give Universal a try on this trip. We'd come here once before with our kids over spring break, but the crowds were crazy. So, we were hopeful to have light crowds on this trip.

Once we were in the park, our first trip was to the Harry Potter portion of the park. The theming in this part of the park really is great.


You can see that the crowds were pretty light. When we were here before they had even closed this part of the park at times because of the heavy crowds. We walked on through and were soon standing in front of Hogwarts Castle.



We headed for the line and it was basically a walk-on at that point. That was such a surprise given that we waited well over an hour when we rode it before. The downside though, is that in our excitement, we didn't think about the fact that Chris is prone to some motion sickness on rides if he isn't careful. So, the ride really bothered him and sadly kinda ruined the rest of the day for him.

Not smart on our part. We thought maybe if we got something to eat at this point it might help. So we stopped into the Three Broomsticks and got a very early lunch. Nice view from the outside patio.



After eating, we went over and did a quick ride on Spiderman, but that also didn't do Chris any favors. We did buy some dramamine in a store and he took that, but it really just made him tired without helping. We temporarily considered riding Jurassic Park, but it was a bit cool and we really didn't want to get wet.



We had bought park-to-park tickets, so we decided to head over to the Universal Studios side.



We rode a few rides here, but Chris decided to skip on Transformers because he worried it would make him even more sick. It's a shame, though, because it was a really great ride. He did ride the Mummy with me which we had never ridden before. It was so fun! I really enjoyed it. We walked by the construction for the new Harry Potter park. It looked really great. I'm excited about when this new area opens. We rode Men in Black and then went to Despicable Me which was also really cute and fun. We decided we'd had enough park time by then, and so headed out to City Walk for an early dinner. And what's dinner without a big margarita?



We were pretty tired by this time, so it was back to the condo and an early bedtime. Our feet and legs were still pretty tired, so it felt nice to fall back into bed again.

Next up: Magic Kingdom and 25 happy 'ears.

 

[MommaPeel]

My goal is to one day run a Disney marathon! Congrats to all 4 of you! And what fantastic shirts!

Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!

 

[momabaarjo]

A visit to one of my most favorite places...WWoHP! My dh can so relate to the motion sickness and then being sick for most of the day afterwards. ME, well I could ride Forbidden Journey over and over and over and over...LOL. It is my favorite of all. I can't wait to experience the expansion! Maybe next spring!

I love sitting on the patio behind 3 Broomsticks...a great place to get away from the crowds and just enjoy the view of Hogwarts!

HMMM....Margaritaville! Great way to end a fun day in the Dark Side of Orlando.

 

[ZellyB]

My goal is to one day run a Disney marathon! Congrats to all 4 of you! And what fantastic shirts!

Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!

Thank you! I really recommend the Disney marathon. I don't know of any other marathon that could have as many welcome distractions from the fact that you are running 26.2 miles.

A visit to one of my most favorite places...WWoHP! My dh can so relate to the motion sickness and then being sick for most of the day afterwards. ME, well I could ride Forbidden Journey over and over and over and over...LOL. It is my favorite of all. I can't wait to experience the expansion! Maybe next spring!

I love sitting on the patio behind 3 Broomsticks...a great place to get away from the crowds and just enjoy the view of Hogwarts!

HMMM....Margaritaville! Great way to end a fun day in the Dark Side of Orlando.

We really enjoy the Dark Side. We are planning two days there when we come to run Goofy in January. I'm so excited to ride the Gringott's coaster!! The London side of things that you can see now looks amazing.

I'm also one of those people that can ride anything without getting sick. Chris really loves rides and hates it that he is sensitive that way. We are going to try having him take some Bonine before we go next year and eat a decent breakfast. He used those on a recent cruise we took and they worked great for him.

 

[ZellyB]

The next day was our last full day in Florida. Boo!! We had saved the Magic Kingdom for our last park to visit. It's our favorite of all the parks and holds a special place given how much we love running through the castle. Last year and this year, the marathon trip happened to also include our wedding anniversary. We got to the parking lot pretty early and got parked. No sooner had we parked then it started to rain. We stopped off at the gift shop at TTC and I told the sales clerk, "It's a magical rain and we need two ponchos." That earned me a laugh and a few (or more than a few) dollars later, two ponchos. As you would expect though, as soon as I bought the ponchos, it quit raining.

Anyway, on we went to the monorail and a quick ride over to the entrance gates. Once inside we stopped in to pick up our anniversary buttons.



Yep. 25 years. Hard for me to believe it's been that long. The years have flown by. I'm a lucky woman.

We stopped off at the main street bakery for a cup of coffee and a sweet treat. We moved around to the patio to eat and a quick shot of the castle.



Crane. Sigh. I'm really glad it wasn't there during our run. I hated seeing it there, but I guess even magical castles need upkeep now and then.

We finished up breakfast and headed toward the castle. We've been talking about doing Goofy since our first Marathon in Disney in 2013 and with next year being the 10 year anniversary, we've been tentatively planning on doing it ever since. Goofy thinks it's a good idea too.



We headed over to Fantasyland for a quick ride on Peter Pan, IASM, and the Little Mermaid. Then we headed over to Haunted Mansion, Chris' favorite ride. Selfie by the world's most impressive bathrooms and Rapunzel's tower.



And on to HM. There was really no line to speak of, so we took a little extra time in the queue and snapped a couple of pictures.







After HM we cut over to ride Pirates which was also a walk-on. While on our way there, we were waylaid by a CM trying to get us to try out the FP+ kiosk. Yep, we were there the first couple of days that FP+ went in at MK. We decided not to mess with it right then as the crowds were so low and we really didn't need FP to ride whatever we wanted. After Pirates we went for a quick boat ride on the Jungle Cruise. I know this ride is seriously corny, but I really love it.



Watch out for that Rhino!

We'd managed to ride all of that and it still wasn't noon. Oh rope drop, you are the bomb!! We stopped for some CS lunch at Pecos Bills.



We were enjoying our lunch until we got a lunch companion.



I'm not sure what that is all over his bill, but YUCK! Not appetizing, so we moved inside to finish eating.

Next up: We give Fastpass+ a try.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Ahhh, rope drop! Love the low crowds! That poor bird, it looks almost like gum or something?? Hope not! The ducks were begging like crazy at Beach Club on our past trip and the seagulls were divebombing!!

 

[ZellyB]

Well, I've ignored this trip report long enough I think. I didn't realize it had been that long since I posted, so I need to get this thing finished up.

Once we finished up with lunch, we decided to stop by a FP+ kiosk and see how it went. There was no line at all, so we walked right up to a CM. Within 5 minutes we were walking out with our FP+ secured.



We had some time before our first FP, so we headed over to ride Buzz. I always look so intense in these shots.



After Buzz, we decided to ride the People Mover. In all our trips to WDW, we've never ridden this. I actually enjoyed it a lot. It was relaxing and fun and Space Mountain was down, so when we drove through the lights were on and you could see all the track which was kind of cool.



Next we headed over to Enchanted Tales. A quick stop to let Dopey try and persuade us to run his races next year.



This was our first time doing Enchanted Tales. It was really charming. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The little boy they chose to play the Beast was just darling and he was definitely "enchanted" by Belle. The magic mirror thing was really cool, I must say.



After that we went for another ride on HM. The lines were nonexistent today. It was amazing. When we came out some rain had moved in, so we whipped out our handy dandy ponchos.



We rode Under the Sea again and then a quick ride on BTMRR and it was time to head out to get ready for our dinner reservations at California Grill. On the way out, we stopped to watch the parade go by.



Hi, Goofy! And it was goodbye to Magic Kingdom for this trip.

Next up: California Grill and Wishes from the rooftop.

 

[disneyhorselover]

Anyway, we hobbled our way over to the hot tub and had a nice long soak. It felt sooooooo good. There were two ladies in the hot tub who had also run the Marathon that day. One woman had completed the Dopey and the other a Goofy. So, it was fun to share experiences with them. Eventually we drug ourselves out of the hot tub and headed back to the condo for showers.

We had a similar friend making experience after the PHM....seems like everyone has the same idea!

Sorry to hear that Forbidden Journey put a damper on your day....I thought that ride was amazing but definitely intense, and usually I have no problem with rides.

How did you like Universal compared to Disney? I've only been once, and enjoyed it a lot but don't feel the need to go back every year.

Congrats on your anniversary-what a wonderful way to spend it!

I love Jungle Cruise too, although sometimes it seems like I am the only one laughing at the super corny jokes

 

[ZellyB]

We had a similar friend making experience after the PHM....seems like everyone has the same idea!

Sorry to hear that Forbidden Journey put a damper on your day....I thought that ride was amazing but definitely intense, and usually I have no problem with rides.

How did you like Universal compared to Disney? I've only been once, and enjoyed it a lot but don't feel the need to go back every year.

Congrats on your anniversary-what a wonderful way to spend it!

I love Jungle Cruise too, although sometimes it seems like I am the only one laughing at the super corny jokes

I have no problem on the rides at Universal rides, but can definitely see where someone who is sensitive to motion sickness would have a problem. I think it's hard to compare Universal and Disney because they are so different. I really enjoy both of them but for totally different reasons. I do think the theming and rides of the HP portion of Universal is really amazing and I can't wait to see the new HP expansion in January.

I really want to do Jungle Cruise at night next year. I hear it's a different experience at night. I always laugh at the corny jokes too!

 

[ZellyB]

We headed back to the condo for a quick clean up and change of clothes and then headed out for the Contemporary.

We got there early enough to wander around the lobby for awhile. We'd never been to this resort before other than the quick drive through on the monorail. I thought it was really pretty and I liked the modern feel of it.

We took the elevator up to the California Grill and were seated pretty quickly. We ordered an appetizer of Tuna Four Ways.



It was delicious!! Next came our entrees. I think Chris' was pork of some kind.



I got the fish dish. Trout maybe? I don't remember. LOL



About the time we were finishing up, it was time to head out to the roof deck to watch Wishes. It was a bit chilly, but a lovely view.





We came back in just in time for a special dessert.



It was a really lovely way to conclude a great anniversary.

The next morning we had a couple of hours to kill before our flight and we still had a valid park entry, so we went for a quick trip back to Hollywood Studios.



Our original plan was to ride TSMM, but it was down. Instead we did a ride on ToT and RnR. Quick trip in and out, but fun. Then it was back to the airport and headed back to the cold winter at home.

This was another great trip and the race itself such an improvement over the previous year. We can't wait to head back again in January to tackle Goofy!

Thanks for reading along and if you want to follow along with my training for the Goofy Challenge, you can see my PTR by following the link in my signature.

 

[rteetz]

What a fantastic trip looks like you had a great time! I will be there in January for the 10k my first ever running event and my first rundisney event! I can't wait until then. I loved reading your report and I'll be sure to follow along in the next one!

 

[ZellyB]

What a fantastic trip looks like you had a great time! I will be there in January for the 10k my first ever running event and my first rundisney event! I can't wait until then. I loved reading your report and I'll be sure to follow along in the next one!

Thank you!

Congrats on tackling your first running event and especially runDisney. That 10K sold out really fast. You will love it, but fair warning, these Disney races are addictive.