What Do You Do With a Nine Pound Lemon?? LINK TO NEW TR!

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Congrats on finishing the race. You girls should do the NYC marathon next year. Wouldn't be as much fun as this one though...haha How did you do it on no sleep? Well Disney can do that to you. I have done so much as Disney World on no sleep. Looks like you girls had fun though. Love the clear (and blurry) pictures.

No WAY I could do the NYC marathon!! It really was a miracle that I was able to do it without any problems due to lack of sleep.

Congratulations on doing the 5K! Seems like you really enjoyed running and all the little details that came with it.

Thanks! It really was very fun!

Nikki,

Looks like you and I had the same plan for Saturday. I scoured your pics to see if I was in any but no. Didn't that loop behind Rafiki's seem to go on forever? I kept asking my sister, "When are we going to turn?" We also booked it back for showers and MK. Looking forward to more.

Kelly

Oh funny! Too bad you aren't in any of my pics! And YES! That loops went on FOREVER!! But I kept listening to that dad motivate his daughter the whole time and it was motivating me too!

Good for you for doing that whole run on no sleep! I think I would have literally died.
I guess Disney makes everything special, even a 5K! I love that they had Dino Donald and the gravediggers! That is too cool! Can't wait to hear about the 40th festivities... and I'm sure it was a zoo!

I actually thought maybe I DID die because I couldn't understand how I was doing it and feeling totally fine! I think I ran better than I did at home, having had a full night's sleep. It was very weird!!

And "zoo" doesn't even BEGIN to explain it!

Wow-nice job! And with no sleep...that's amazing!

Thanks!!

Yay for doing the race! Love the pictures along the way too

You know me...I HAD to take lots of pics!

I'm glad the run went well after such an awful night. Looks like you had loads of fun! I would LOVE to run Disney!!! I have to put that on my long list of things I STILL haven't done at Disney that I want to do!

We really did have so much fun! If it ever works out that you are there during an event, you have to do it! It just so happened it was going on during our planned weekend so there was no way I was passing it up!

 

[Nermel9]

Reading your update is totally making me regret not doing the 5K! Oh well, maybe I'll take a solo trip next year and do it! It looks like it was so much fun! I love that you get to run through backstage areas, I know some people don't like seeing that side of WDW, but I'm fascinated by it!

I LOVE your gravediggers pics!

 

[donnaf516]

All caught up! Looks like you had a blast doing the 5k. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Stefy]

Well done to both of you, looks like you had a blast Love love love the grave digger photos

 

[Tracy161]

So glad to see that the race went so well and that you got so many FABULOUS pictures!!! You and Erin make a great team!

 

[disneybarbie]

Congratulations on the race Nikki!

Seeing your photos makes me want to run a Disney race even more.. I hope to do it one day! It'd be such a unique way to see the parks - I don't think I could manage a race anywhere else in the world lol.

Btw - bit random, but over the weekend I read your honeymoon TR about the cruise again - 'research' for our future cruise in 2013! Love how you write your reports

Looking forward to the next update & the 40th Anni celebrations!


Emma x

 

[Megablocks]

I need to start replying when you update...I read everything and then go catch up on other reports and never end up responding to anything on anyone's report!

Congrats on the race! I love that you guys stopped for pictures...the grave digger pictures are the BEST!

 

[anjalee6]

Ha ha! Love how you guys ran. That would be me too snapping 100 pictures and not caring about my time.

Btw, the bikes in AK are for the CM. they are allowed to ride to work from the main parking lot or take a bus and a lot choose the bikes. Bit of tidbit I learned from the bus driver that gave us a behind the scenes tour of AK the night before the race.

 

[PopArtGal]

You just made me realize I need a Danny Elfman compilation.... if there exists such a thing.

 

[kcandbella]

Congrats on the race! The 5K looks like it was a lot of fun. I have no idea what route we took during the half either. I wondered if it would be the same, it wasn't, though, we didn't go backstage. Great pics!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Reading your update is totally making me regret not doing the 5K! Oh well, maybe I'll take a solo trip next year and do it! It looks like it was so much fun! I love that you get to run through backstage areas, I know some people don't like seeing that side of WDW, but I'm fascinated by it!

I LOVE your gravediggers pics!

Aww, you should've done it! Next time, for sure! It was so cool to see backstage. I love that stuff too!

All caught up! Looks like you had a blast doing the 5k. Looking forward to reading more.

We really did! Thanks!

Well done to both of you, looks like you had a blast Love love love the grave digger photos

Wasn't that the best?! I was so excited when I saw them!

So glad to see that the race went so well and that you got so many FABULOUS pictures!!! You and Erin make a great team!

Thanks!! It was really so much fun! Definitely a memory that will last forever!

Congratulations on the race Nikki!

Seeing your photos makes me want to run a Disney race even more.. I hope to do it one day! It'd be such a unique way to see the parks - I don't think I could manage a race anywhere else in the world lol.

Btw - bit random, but over the weekend I read your honeymoon TR about the cruise again - 'research' for our future cruise in 2013! Love how you write your reports

Looking forward to the next update & the 40th Anni celebrations!


Emma x

Haha, thanks for the compliment on my TRs! If you ever have a chance to do a Disney race, you definitely should. It was so much fun.

I need to start replying when you update...I read everything and then go catch up on other reports and never end up responding to anything on anyone's report!

Congrats on the race! I love that you guys stopped for pictures...the grave digger pictures are the BEST!

Thanks!! You know me....there's no way I'm going to do something in Disney without taking pictures...especially something so unique!

Ha ha! Love how you guys ran. That would be me too snapping 100 pictures and not caring about my time.

Btw, the bikes in AK are for the CM. they are allowed to ride to work from the main parking lot or take a bus and a lot choose the bikes. Bit of tidbit I learned from the bus driver that gave us a behind the scenes tour of AK the night before the race.

Haha, yeah we weren't concerned with time at all but really no one else seemed to be either. Everyone was just having fun!

Cool tidbit about the bikes! I kind of figured that's what they were for. They looked like they were part of themeing but being backstage, I figured they had to have a purpose!

You just made me realize I need a Danny Elfman compilation.... if there exists such a thing.

Elfman! He's the best! He writes the music for EVERYTHING!

Congrats on the race! The 5K looks like it was a lot of fun. I have no idea what route we took during the half either. I wondered if it would be the same, it wasn't, though, we didn't go backstage. Great pics!

It really was so much fun!

 

[archdandy]

Woohoo! Congrats on completing the race! Your pictures made me want to do this race next October. I've just started running and it would give me something to keep going for. Can I ask when you signed up for it and where I would be able to find more information on it?

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Woohoo! Congrats on completing the race! Your pictures made me want to do this race next October. I've just started running and it would give me something to keep going for. Can I ask when you signed up for it and where I would be able to find more information on it?

Hey! I signed up right through rundisney.com. Here is the link.
http://espnwwos.disney.go.com/events/rundisney/wine-and-dine-half-marathon/

Registration is not open yet for next year, in fact, there's not even any information out yet. I don't think I was able to register until the Spring so just keep checking back.

 

[stephielela]

I am slowly but surely catching up!!!

I can't believe it was so packed at the party!! I love your costumes. Jack adores all things Potato Head.

That is always so crappy when you NEED to sleep but you just can't. It happens to m every once in a while, ususally on days when I have to be up for work in a few hours. It's so wierd, and by the time I realize I am going to have trouble sleeping, it's too late to take anything to help me sleep! So frustrating.

The race looks like so much fun!! I want to a Disney run someday...

Can't wait to read all about your crazy MK day!

 

[hjd0411]

Way to go you two for doing the race! And I love the fact that it was a "fun" run! The photos are great. Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[MissDisney121]

Hey just got all caught up with your posts. I'm loving this report. I'm not sure if I've posted before but I've read a few of you tr's and they are all great. I especially love seeing the pics of POR since my family is staying there in June and we've never been there before. Can't wait to hear more about your super busy trip.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I am slowly but surely catching up!!!

I can't believe it was so packed at the party!! I love your costumes. Jack adores all things Potato Head.

That is always so crappy when you NEED to sleep but you just can't. It happens to m every once in a while, ususally on days when I have to be up for work in a few hours. It's so wierd, and by the time I realize I am going to have trouble sleeping, it's too late to take anything to help me sleep! So frustrating.

The race looks like so much fun!! I want to a Disney run someday...

Can't wait to read all about your crazy MK day!

You should def do a disney run if you ever have the chance.

Way to go you two for doing the race! And I love the fact that it was a "fun" run! The photos are great. Looking forward to hearing more.

Thanks!! We definitely made it fun!

Hey just got all caught up with your posts. I'm loving this report. I'm not sure if I've posted before but I've read a few of you tr's and they are all great. I especially love seeing the pics of POR since my family is staying there in June and we've never been there before. Can't wait to hear more about your super busy trip.

Thanks for your kind words! If you have any questions about POR, ask away! I'll do my best to answer them!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Finally updating! I've been an updating machine since I started but have been slacking lately. I'm not really sure why....I think because the next installment is "the 40th" and it was just so crazy, I've been putting off writing about it because I know there's soooo many pics and stuff to say!

But I suppose the time has come!!



So we last left off having completed the 5K and we hurried back to the car so we could get to POR, quickly shower and get to MK as fast as possible!!

While we were doing all that, Tom and Gary were on their way to the MK!

Tom took about a thousand pics of the MK entrance while he was waiting for "rope drop!" Here's just one...

While he was waiting he also had a run-in with a favorite podcaster!! The video is not the greatest but Tom thought it was cool that he turned and waved.



And then the show...

I knew we weren't going to catch the opening show or make it for rope drop but I was VERY pleased that just as we were going under the Magic Kingdom gates, it was THIS time!

Not bad!!

I was happy!

So at this point, I knew the MK was going to be insane but I truly wasn't prepared for just how crazy it was! I was also counting on Tom and Gary to hook us up with a) an exclusive t-shirt and b) a spot to watch the castle presentation, which was scheduled to start at 10am (character parade up Main Street at 9:45am.)

So aside from being completely exhausted from just running a 5K after literally NO sleep, I was also nervous and very anxious and excited about what was to come.

Just as we got off the bus, I got a call from Tom. He was quite frantic. He was calling from the Emporium and he had my 40th t-shirt!! He said it was absolute insanity.

(He explained to me later that everyone and their mother was looking for these shirts and even though he saw a rack of them, it was literally impossible to get to. It just so happened that a woman walked by him with this shirt that she said she no longer wanted. Tom took it planning to get it no matter what and luckily, it was JUST my size!)

At that time he also told me that Gary and Conor went to find a spot for the presentation and that he was supposedly up by where the villians were mixing and mingling the night before, specifically Cruella, which was a great description because we remembered exactly where she was.

Now at this point, Tom has both the good camera and the video camera which I needed! So as soon as I got the info, the plan was to meet Tom at the Emporium to grab the cameras and then book it up to the castle to meet Gary.

By the time I got off the phone with him, we were at the entrance and THIS is what we encountered.

When we entered, there were people giving out these special 40th anniversary buttons.

At the time, I didn't realize how lucky we were to get the button! Unfortunately, by the time we walked under the train, the maps were COMPLETELY gone!! I have never seen those map holders empty but they were. As we were walking in, there was a woman walking towards the map area with a box of the special 40th maps. I was only able to catch a glimpse because people were seriously attacking this woman, trying to grab maps out of the box. I didn't see it happen, but I'm pretty sure at some point she had to have just given up and dropped the box and let them go at it. That's what I would've done! Needless to say, we did not get maps.

And then there was Main Street....

We somehow made it to the Emporium, found a very frazzled looking Tom, who was STILL on line to buy my shirt, grabbed the cameras and jumped back into the sea of people on Main Street towards the castle.

As we walked up towards the front, I noticed the hub was completely empty, aside from the people who were obviously working the event.

It feel the need to reiterate...it was absolute insanity! We tried to get up to where we knew Gary was but the area directly in front of the castle was closed and they were NOT letting people in.

So Erin gets on the phone to Gary to pinpoint his exact location....

And once she spots him, she grabs me, we wait until the guy who told us it was closed to turn his back and duck under the rope to meet Gary!!

And THIS is where we were!

Oh man, once we finally got there and I could relax, I was just SO overwhelmed with excitement! Believe it or not, because they blocked this area off, it was quite roomy! We were not cramped in there at all, which was really nice!

Gary was wearing his 40th tshirt, which we bought him before the trip because he was also turning 40 this year! (Today, actually!!)

There were a few very friendly ladies just to the right of us and then the rope so we would have a good view of the characters as they came up the sides of the castle.

While we were waiting for it all to begin, I thought I'd take a shot of what was behind me....

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

So I'm just going to tell you how it all went down and then just post the pics and video.

Before long, two ambassadors came out and gave a little introduction. Then the Main St. band came out and played. After that, the character parade began! It was very odd because the music they were playing mentioned something about 15 years of magic or something like that and everyone was king of looking at each other like but then we realized that they were playing all the anniversary songs! I recognized Mickey Mania from the 90s!! And of course, Remember the Magic! As part of the parade, there were people holding signs for each milestone anniversary.

Then came ALL the characters!! Okay, here's pics and videos of all that so far.

This is the video of when they announced the start of the parade and the parade itself. I was trying to video and take pics at the same time!

Most of the characters congregated on the stage and the rest lined the walkways on either side.

Then Meg Crofton, the president of Walt Disney World came out and spoke...

And then the VP, whose name escapes me at the moment!

All the while, the characters were all completely staying "in character!" Here comes the smoulder!

At the end, the Dapper Dans came out and sang, conducted by a man right in front of the castle where we were standing!

Here's the grand finale!!!

We hung around for a few minutes to let the crowds clear (yeah right) and took a pic to see just how close we were !

Oh btw, where is Tom???? He never made it! But he didn't mind! The whole time all of that was going on, he was in the Main Street Bakery enjoying a nice coffee cake!

 

[Dream426]

I can't believe how many people were there. I have been to Disney during its peak seasons also and thought it was crowded then. That was nothing compared to this. Love the update. I loved watching the videos. I felt like I was there. Makes me miss Disney World. I can't wait to go when dd gets older.