I’m slightly insane
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You are such an awesome person! We are all lucky to know you. Congrats on the honor from St. Jude. That’s quite impressive!
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Your fundraiser was impressive! Congrats!
Looking forward to reading along!
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I just can’t catch a break. Yesterday morning we discovered a hot water leak under our slab and it’s looking like our best option is repiping the house. Same cost as tunneling or jacking through the foundation to repair the leak. Was dealing with that all day calling plumbers and getting estimates.
Then last night DD2 woke us up at 1am with a 102 fever and none of us really got back to sleep. She obviously didn’t go to school today but the preschool wouldn’t let DS5 come either. So WFH tag teaming with DW today and tomorrow. Tested negative for flu and strep, doc thinks it’s some other virus. She just had Covid a month ago. DW is worried it’s meningitis because DD2 is complaining of a headache and sore neck.
Blah
Just wanted to explain the lack of update here.
I’m thinking about just dumping my report outline and photos, then filling in later
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I hope DD feels better very soon!
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So sorry to hear about your stressful situation! Hope it resolves itself soon.
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Sending good vibes for the fam!
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Day 2: Wednesday January 5th
Woke up at 645a, figured I should get used to the whole no-sleep thing, and was getting breakfast at Everything Pop at 710a. Mickey waffles and bacon!
In line for AK bus at 720a, arrived at AK at 745a. I knew I wouldn’t be rope dropping, but my goal was to get in before regular park hours started. Success! I was walking by the tree at 755a.
Got in line for FOP at 800a, about 20-30 people down the boardwalk towards Africa. The CM with the lollipop sign said it was a 90-minute wait, which MDE also showed. I suspected it would be closer to 60, based on experience. Made it to the queue entrance at 808a, the large waterfall at 815a, the caves at 820a, the lab at 835a, and preshow at 845a. “Sivako!” at 855a. A 55-minute wait and I missed rope drop. Not too bad really, but this and ROTR are the only rides I would ever wait that long for and say it was worth it.
Walked across Pandora and got in line for NRJ at 905a and was on the boat at 925a. Posted wait was 50 minutes. Not sure why they lie on this one, it is a people eater as long as they keep the boats moving.
I love both Pandora rides, but this time it was just a bit too … familiar? FOP was not as thrilling, and NRJ not as inspiring. I think 4 WDW trips in one year is my saturation level. Anyways, next up I walked over to Kusafiri Coffee and got an “adult” coffee. Drank it while watching the Tam Tam Drummers for about 10 minutes or so. Then headed to the park exit and caught a minute or two of Winger Encounters in front of the tree.
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Picked up by Lyft ($13) at 1024a, driving towards ESPN, arrived at 1034a.
Walking down the main promenade, I noticed first the crazy long line to get into the merchandise building. I had been planning to get merch first, then bibs, but as soon as I saw that line, I switched up the plan. I’d experience “Liner Hell” later. Got a pic in front of the ESPN globe at 1040a, and picked up bibs and goody bag at 1050d. I was not happy at all about my corral placement, S4. I was expecting S3. The higher your corral, the later your start. And I had plans for each morning that would get iffy with a 530a vs 515a start.
I was also not happy with this crappy Donald Half Marathon luggage tag freebie. Last Dopey we got a much higher quality freebie for the Goofy Challenge anniversary. Compare them yourself…
While debating whether to contest my corral placement, I headed over to the expo. This is where vendors are set up to show off their running-related goodies and services. I only cared about seeing Jeff Galloway. Jeff was an Olympic runner in the 70s, and I followed his training method “Run-Walk-Run”. I got him to sign my bib. Again. He signed my first Dopey bib in 2020, and my W&D bib in 2021, so it’s become a tradition. I could write a whole post just about Jeff’s impact on the running community, and me in particular. His books and training method were crucial in getting me to run more than just a few miles. If you’ve never heard about it, I highly encourage you to read about “Run-Walk-Run” and give it a try.
I was still debating whether to contest my corral placement (I avoid conflict at all costs usually) on my way over to the merch building. On the way there, I saw Faron Kelley, the head of runDisney, doing some interviews for RunDisney propaganda. They wrapped up right as I was walking by, and Faron and I were walking next to each other for a minute. I couldn’t think of anything useful or fun to say. I wasn’t even sure it was him, but I looked him up afterwards and confirmed. Also got a picture with the Dopey sign.
After going back and forth for so long about my crappy corral placement, I came to my point of no return. If I continued on to the merch building, I probably wouldn’t go all the way back to runner relations. I finally decided to contest. They pulled up my proof-of-time I had submitted, confirmed it was correct, then apologized and said there was nothing they could do to help. I was placed in the appropriate corral. They also said the first two corrals are very small. This year would be different than other races in the past. She said “they’ll be over in a heartbeat”.
Now, on to the merchandise building. I asked someone that was about to enter how long they’d been waiting in the outdoor queue. They said about 40 minutes, probably. Not too bad I thought. So I got in line. It was 1135a. I entered the building at 1205p, but the line went down hall after hall. Every time we turned a corner, the line still went as far as we could see. Then, at 1215p, it happened. I entered Liner Hell. A small gymnasium with two separate switchback queues. I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. I could feel the COVID in the air. The line moved pretty quickly though, and I was in the merch area at 100p. I was not impressed by the merch selection, especially having waited 90 minutes to get in. I was hoping for a pint glass, but they had none. I was also looking for something Dopey-related to get as souvenirs for family. Nothing jumped out at me. Mostly clothing and plastic/steel drinking cups. Special magic bands. Coffee mugs. So I just picked up my pre-purchased commemorative pins. There were lines for all the photo ops, but I was done with lines and decided to just head out.
Here are my commemorative pins hung up in my work cubicle (the far right column):
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On the way to the buses, I ran into my friend @Shellott_hill and his kids. Unplanned! I boarded the bus for Boardwalk/Swan/Dolphin/Beach/Yacht and got off at the first stop, Swan, at 120p. I took the walking path to HS and was at the taps just before hoppers were allowed in at 147p.
I went straight to Anaheim Produce, got my 1st Schofferhofer, and enjoyed it fully while watching the 200p BatB show. This showing had two CMs performing the show in ASL in front of the stage. They did an incredible job. They didn’t just sign the dialogue/narration, but embellished with some subtle acting. They were exceptional. Disney does so many things right.
RnRC was down (recurring thing the previous few days, so was nervous I wouldn’t get to ride it this trip), so I decided that was enough for HS and headed back down the walking path to Boardwalk, where I got my 2nd Schofferhofer and a slice of veggie pizza at the pizza window at 300p.
I enjoyed a leisurely stroll into Epcot then counter-clockwise around WS to the American pavilion, only to find that I had missed getting into the American Adventure by one minute (it was 331p). I was furious! This is the 3rd time this has happened to me. I need to do a better job looking at the show times. So I checked out the Art of Disney store nextdoor. I love Kinkade, but there were quite a few other pieces I liked in there. Especially the Olszewski Gallery of Light art.
At @jeff_AZ’s suggestion I decided to go check out Reflections of China, which I had never seen before. The show started at 350p. It was good but not as good as American adventure. I recommend being close to the center of the room. I was near the front where the podium is. Don’t do that. There are some scenes where you are riding in a car or boat and it is truly the front even though the theater is a 360 degree view. Felt like I was in the front row at the movie theater. But most scenes are 360 so it didn’t matter.
After checking out the China pavilion a bit more, I took the shortcut to FW through the Odyssey building, and rode Test Track at 420p via SR line. I had looked for the car creation kiosk in the gift shop, as someone here had told me about, but couldn’t find it. I finally found it after exiting the ride. It just beyond the gift shop, almost to the Chevy exhibit area.
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After Test Track I headed out the exit to get on the monorail at 445p. Transferred over to the ferry at the TTC at 515p. Admiral Joe Fowler. Got some beautiful views with the sun setting. Fatigue was setting in hard at this point. I was really running out of steam.
Entered MK at 530p. Perfect timing as the Mickey/Minnie cavalcade was coming down Main Street right as I got to the Christmas Tree. Surprisingly, there was almost no one in front of the tree, which provided me some amazing shots of the cavalcade.
The posted wait for HM was something like an hour, and TP projected the wait to decrease, so I swapped my plans around and rode Pirates first. Got in line at 540p and on the boat at 610p.
Mobile-ordered chicken tender kids meal and hush puppies from Columbia Harbor House and was eating at 630p. No indoor seating and upstairs was closed off for some reason, so I went outside. All tables were also in use, so I stood at the circular bar that goes around a tree. I noticed a lot of discarded turkey leg bones in the tree circle. People can be such pigs! Why would you throw your food waste on the ground like that?!?!
In line for HM at 650p with 65 minute posted wait, stretching room at 705p, off ride walking by the tangled bathrooms at 720p. Crazy how much they lie about wait times…
I walked around scoping out the crowds to best prep for Sunday night when DW and I would be here. Especially the hub. I wanted to know if the Enchantment dessert party would be worth it. It would be, unless we wanted to be on Main Street, which I didn’t think DW would. While on Main Street, I went into the Pandora store to get DW a gift, one of several surprises I had in store for her. I’ll share more about that later.
I was on the bus heading back to Pop at 757p and got to see some of the MK fireworks as we drove away. Made me sad. Second-guessed my decision to leave. But I would be getting up at 300a to go run a 5k, so it was the right decision. I was in my room at 830p, showered, laid everything out for the morning, clicked around on my phone and watched some TV for a few minutes and was asleep around 930p.
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The queues really make all the difference. They are an attraction before and attraction!
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I rarely come over here and just discovered this. So sorry I missed it live.
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Ok, fine I guess I’ll finish this report. I might even get around to posting my SoCal (June 2022) report too. These have been sitting on my PC waiting for someone to read them for months…
Coming right up, Dopey Dos Day 3 (the 5k)…
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Day 3: Thursday January 6th
First race day of 2022! Alarm at 300a (I’m in corral S4, so why not sleep in a little bit more), morning routine and out the door, grabbed coffee at Everything Pop to go with my Clif bar, and in line for the bus at 320a.
At Epcot security area at 350a, took some pics with Spaceship Earth in the background, then headed to the corrals. Minnie Vans were lined up in a few places as a visual wall for the runner area. Interesting that they still have these on site ready to be used.
Met up with some of my friends with Autism Speaks (I ran my first Dopey with them), used the restroom one last time, then joined my fellow S4 corralers around 420a. I slowly squeezed my way to the front of the corral. I’m usually annoyed by people that do this, but I really wanted to rope drop ROTR so every second counts.
We were entertained by the RunDisney emcees for a while. The “RollDisney” crew (handcrank bikes and wheel chairs) went by at 430a and were loaded into the starting chute. Pluto came out at 455a and the RollDisney crew started shortly after that.
The first corral started exactly at 500a. Waves were started about every 2-3 minutes, and at 517a it was my turn!
Starting in S4 was very frustrating and I definitely should have been in S3 at least. I was behind so many groups of walkers that I was zig-zagging most of the 5k and 10k. The half and full were a little better, but still too many groups of walkers. Walkers, especially groups of walkers, please move to the side! I couldn’t believe how many groups were walking shoulder-to-shoulder in the middle of the course. Sometimes 4 or more across, blocking the path completely in tight spots.
Ok, rant over. I had been needing to pee pretty bad for about 20-30 minutes (but didn’t want to lose my spot at the front of the S4 corral so was waiting), so I bolted to the first portapotty I saw on the course. Which fortunately was just around the corner from the start. The first mile was pretty boring, just going along the perimeter road outside of Epcot. There was a photo stop that was a Cars tableau but no characters. Wah wah… MM1 at 530a and just beyond that was the first real entertainment: a DJ truck. These are fun but it really depends on the personality of the DJ. Some are phenomenal, others are just ok. The trucks are outfitted with crazy light and sound systems.
Harmonious barges at 532a, Pinocchio in Italy pavilion at 536a, water stop in America, Japan pavilion at 538a, Abu photo op in Morocco at 539a and then out the back of WS behind Morocco, and around the France pavilion past the new Ratatouille section. Lumiere and Cogsworth photo spot in front of France, and MM2 (543a) at the bridge leading to the UK.
Did not go through UK but went left and around the Skyliner to backstage (I think every race uses this segment of the course) where there was the first video wall showing clips from a bunch of movies with some inspirational music playing. Back into WS between UK and Canada at 546a, headed towards the Imagination pavilion where we saw Sadness and then Joy at 550a.
There was a live band playing next to the Seas pavilion, and then we went under Spaceship Earth to the park exit and MM3 at 556a.
Down the finishing chute, and across the finish line at 556a. Took a bite out of my medal and on the bus at 613a. For once I actually ate the food box they provide at the finish area. The nacho “cheese” is famous among runDisney fans and I was curious. I also got an extra banana for DW to eat Friday morning before RDing HS (she needs to eat first thing or she gets hangry/migrainey).
Cleaned up and heading towards the Skyliner at 724a, arrived at HS at 747a. We were held at the taps until 750a so I timed that perfectly. Inside the park at 755a walking towards ROTR. I felt like I was still in the 5k crowd because so many people were running down Hollywood Blvd. Some were even sprinting, despite the CMs yelling at everyone to walk.
Made it to SW:GE at 800a to the ROTR line wrapping all the way to the Batuu marketplace. The line was moving though, so I wasn’t too concerned about a long wait. By 805a I was in the caves, the pre-show room at 825a, the transport ship at 828a, and off the ride at 843a.
I mobile-ordered the breakfast bowl thingy at Woody’s and went to TSMM while waiting for my timeslot. I was at the Mr. Potato Head boardwalk barker at 850a and off the ride at 903a. I scored 199,600 which I think is my highest score. I should go back and check my previous scores. Sat down to eat my delicious breakfast bowl at 915 and relax for a few minutes. This morning went so well, I decided it would be the plan for tomorrow with DW.
Started walking to Sunset Blvd at 930a and couldn’t believe how long the line was for TSMM – it was going out of TSL well beyond the Woody statue! The park was getting crowded. I guess it would be a CL10 after all. The posted wait for ToT was 110 minutes, so that was a big nope for me. Went over to RnRC and the whole courtyard area was packed. No big deal, I planned to use the SR line anyways. But it was closed! The CM said there were too many SRs and it would re-open after a while. So I sat there and waited. I finally got into the pre-show room at 1015a. I was just glad I wouldn’t miss my first date with Belle.
Grabbed Schofferhofer #3 at Anaheim Produce and made my way over to the 1100a BatB show. No surprises here – I was in heaven.
I was getting hungry again and wanted to eat before the 1230p showing of Frozen, so I mobile-ordered the pork carnitas at ABC commissary. There was no seating anywhere, so I just sat on the curb outside and inhaled the food as quickly as I could and headed over to the Frozen theater. Saw Elsa at 1257p and it snowed shortly thereafter. After the show I made my way to the park exit where I saw Minnie on the balcony over the restrooms next to Oscar’s.
I bussed over to AK, and knocked off a bucket-list item in the Oasis – I found DiVine! She is incredible!
I made my way to Harambe, watched an artisan painting a walking stick for a minute, then boarded the train to Rafiki’s. Attended the 230p Animation Experience and learned to draw Heimlich the beautiful butterfly from A Bug’s Life. This was definitely my worst drawing yet. But still had fun and highly recommend this experience to everyone.
With Expedition Everest down for refurb, I decided to just watch the bird show at 330p and Kite Tails at 415p before grabbing an early dinner at Yak and Yeti. The bird show was great as usual. And I was pleasantly surprised by Kite Tails. It was entertaining and short enough that it should easily fit into most touring plans. I’ll definitely do it again with the kids on our next family trip.
Arrived at Yak and Yeti at 435p, showed them my Landry’s card, and was seated pretty soon. I was eating at 505p: chop chop chicken salad and pork spring rolls. It was delicious.
I finished the night with ITTBAB at 540p and strolling around enjoying the park after sunset until about 615p when I watched the Tree of Life Awakening.
Got back to the room around 700p and got things ready for the next day, including DW’s first surprise. She was boarding her flight around that time, so her joining me was now a sure thing! We weren’t sure until this day, because we were in the middle of the Omicron surge, and DW would stay home if one of our kids or her parents (our babysitters) got COVID. But she was at Love, and there were no delays for her. She would be getting to the room around midnight! So, I went to bed early knowing I would not be sleeping through the night.
I had convinced DW to use Lyft instead of the Mears bus on account of how crazy the pickup area was when I arrived. So she sent me the link to track her ride for safety (the one reason she didn’t want to use Lyft by herself so late at night). I ended up dozing in and out from 11ish to midnight when she actually arrived in the room. I said something to her then went back to sleep for real.
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Day 4: Friday January 7th
Alarm at 300a, nearly same routine as day before, except one thing. We just celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary, and I planned a series of surprises for DW on this trip. Each morning I put a card and gift on the vanity for DW to wake up to (I’d still be running). This first morning, the card included lyrics from “our song” when we started dating. We’ve been together since we were 15. One of our first dates was to see the movie Pearl Harbor, and the song “There You’ll Be” sort of became ours. Next to the card was a digital photo frame with pictures of us from over the years.
Grabbed coffee at Everything Pop to go with my Clif bar, and in line for the bus at 320a. In front of Spaceship Earth taking some photos at 343a. Drizzling on and off until at the corrals. Took my time getting there today, and was waiting in the masses around 430a when they were letting the first corral load the starting chute. Entertainers were wearing super long Oswald ears. Hilarious.
Started at 521a, going west down on the road leading to World Drive. First character was Alice, then Peter and Wendy. MM1 at 533a a little bit before World Drive, which we went over, then around the offramp and south onto it heading past Dolphin/Swan.
There was a DJ truck just before the overpass, a hairpin turn (hate these as a runner) where the offramp meets World Drive, then a video wall showing Lion King and a water stop before MM2 at 545a.
Along World Drive we saw Rafiki, another DJ truck, and a Green Army Man before taking the onramp up to Buena Vista Drive and MM3 at 557a. There was also a medical tent a bit before the onramp.
We went over World Drive again and saw Bo Peep and Buzz right before taking the back entrance into HS. Instead of going by Fantasmic like I’ve done in the past, they routed us behind ToT, which was kind of a cool view. Really shows off how monstrous that building is behind the drop towers. There was a water stop there. Entered onstage area between ToT and the Race Academy, got some pics in front of RnRC, going down Sunset Blvd with ToT lit up in beacon-mode a 607a, going down Hollywood Blvd and out the main entrance.
Passed the MM4 at 611a by the Skyliner, then headed down the walking path towards the Boardwalk area. Passed Orange Bird and a fan that was blasting out a strong orange scent. It was overwhelming. I heard a lot of people complained about it and they did not have the scent blower in the following races. Instead of going by Boardwalk, we went straight across the bridge to Beach/Yacht Club. Passed Jake the Pirate and then MM5 at 623a.
Up and over the bridge to the IG, but cut behind the Skyliner where the last water stop was located between the UK and World Showplace along with a video wall, like always. Back on stage between UK and Canada, then clockwise to the central path heading straight to SE. Saw Koda (from Brother Bear) outside Canada, and Pooh outside Imagination at 632a.
Passed Nemo, under SE, and out the park to MM6 at 636a. Across from MM6 there was a instrumental duet playing that was fabulous: violin and guitar. I prefer the live music over the DJs, but the latter do give off more energy. I’m glad runDisney includes both.
Down the finishing shoot and across the finish line at 639a to get my medal and book it to my bus.
At this point my non-race report has much fewer pics because I would be with DW now and wanted to stay in the moment with her as much as possible. And I’m writing this several weeks after the trip, so my memory has really fuzzed up a bit and with fewer pictures to go by, I’m going to miss some things.
Anyways, I got back to the room around 7ish I think and DW was still asleep. Can’t blame her, she didn’t get in until midnight. So I showered and then mentioned to her that there was something on the vanity (the card and photo frame). She was still groggy but it woke her up right away. She was so surprised and happy. She said something to the effect of “this reminds me of when we were younger and you used to do stuff like this all the time.” Point taken…
I told her that if we could be out of the room in 15-20 minutes, we could RD ROTR without having to pay $30 to ride it, so we scrambled and had the same experience I had the day before. Skyliner to HS, then held at the taps with the RD crowd and let in a little before 800a. We were in the queue for ROTR at 805a and it was moving quickly as they filled up the queue space. Pre-show at 820a and passenger ship at 824a. Still no Kylo animatronic. 
DW was getting a migraine so we got a souvenir Batuu Coke bottle to get her some caffeine.
We repeated the next part of the morning as well – mobile ordered Woody’s and rode TSMM at 850a while we waited. This time I scored 212,000 beating yesterday’s. We still had a few minutes before our food would be available so we went over to ride some ASS at 910a which had absolutely nobody on it or in line for it. The only way I’ll ride that one. It is fun, but so short I refuse to wait in a line for it.
DW had been saying for about an hour that she did not want to be rushing around all day and she wanted to do some shopping. I assured her that would be the case now, after knocking out ROTR and TSMM. We took our time eating our yummy breakfast bowl and strawberry poptart thing, then headed to MMRR around 1000a. It had a posted wait of 45 minutes, so thought we could probably do that and still make it to BatB at 11. But the line had barely moved in 5 minutes or so and we decided to bail. We both agreed that this one wasn’t worth paying for ILL since we had done it in June and it’s not a must-do for either of us. Instead, we headed to One Man’s Dream. I’ve been to the museum a few times, but this was the first time seeing the movie at the end. It is very well done and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Walt’s story or just needing a 15 minute break.
We had a few minutes to kill so went hunting for some pain meds for DW’s migraine (she left hers in the room), and also browsed the shops on Hollywood Blvd a little bit. Got Schofferhofer #4 and walking into BatB at 1050a. I don’t need to post more pictures of this show. I’ve really overdone it this year. I think I’ve seen it like 7 or 8 times. Too much. I actually didn’t care to see it this time, which really pains me to say.
Afterwards we looked into a few shops on Sunset Blvd and headed over to Indy at 1200p. The seating was already full so we had to stand in the back. Wasn’t too bad, but I didn’t like being on my feet more than necessary. The show was great, I hadn’t seen it since our first family trip in Nov 2019. Much better post-COVID than BatB because the actors can actually get close to each other during fights. The fights in BatB look so ridiculous because the cast can’t get within 3 feet of each other. Frankly, it looks stupid. But the Indy show was awesome just like pre-COVID. The most noticeable difference was no audience casting.
After Indy we got kids menu personal pizzas and split a cannoli at Pizzerizzo around 100p, but sadly I forgot to take a pic. It was delicious and it was good to get off my feet after standing for the Indy show. After resting a bit we headed to Epcot on the walking path. That was actually DW’s request. She likes walking, which is one reason I was so looking forward to this trip. Even though she doesn’t like the commando-style touring all day long, she is happy to haul butt across the park to fit something into our schedule. No kids or grandparents to slow us down.
We entered the IG right at 200p and first explored Morocco and Japan, where we saw the Matsuriza drummers. Then we went to see the American Adventure, the main priority I had for DW since she had never seen it and it’s one of my favorite shows. We also stopped into the art store next to it. I really like the tiny dioramas there made by Robert Olszewski.
Next up was dinner at Biergarten at 415p (chose this over Via Napoli), but first I met a very lovely lady. Finally. After countless conversations and trip bookings/rebookings (did you know she is a fabulous TA?), here was my friend Jen in the flesh! WHOOP!
Dinner at Biergarten was great, but probably not the best meal the night before running a half marathon. I couldn’t help but stuff myself on the heavier items. I did show some restraint though – I refrained from drinking any beer. The band was amazing as always.
After dinner we saw Aurora outside the France pavilion as we headed back to HS around 515p. This time we took the Skyliner. We had an ADR for Oga’s at 545p and I didn’t want to be late. We took our time walking through HS, taking the TSL route, enjoying the lighting all coming on as the sun was setting. DW missed this on our last family trip in June because we were usually out of the parks before sunset. We agreed that the night ambiance is a big part of the magic, and we really missed that in June.
Got to Oga’s around 600p (they still accepted us although our ADR was 530p) and inside at 615p, It was packed. DW looked at me and said she wasn’t sure about it. But I really wanted a Fuzzy Tauntaun and convinced her it would be ok. We would down our drinks and be out of there in 15 minutes, which we were. We were in line for Star Tours at 645. DW gets motion sick and I don’t care for this ride, but she had never been on it so we rode. It was ok, but there was a wedding party on the ride with us and they were drunk and obnoxious.
We decided to try MMRR again as the posted wait was like 30 minutes or something. But again, the line had barely moved after 5 minutes or so and we bailed. Back to TSL where we rode SDD via G+ at 735p.
I still had some steam left in me, so we went down Sunset Blvd. I had nearly convinced DW to ride ToT; she was 90% there as we were walking towards it. She hates drop rides, but she told me she had never been on ToT (I assumed she did it when she went with her family like 20 years ago). When I learned that I was set on her riding. It was not meant to be though, we got there around 800p and the line was pretty long. I didn’t want to be there at park close and fight the crowds leaving the park. So I apologized profusely for working her up to riding it, got a few pics with the beacon lighting, and then headed back to the hotel. I told her she could stay and watch the projection show on the Chinese Theater, and Jen had offered to keep her company if she wanted to see Harmonious. Such a sweetie! But DW was tired from her late arrival the night before and the early wakeup, and decided to go back to the room with me. I was in bed around 900p.
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OK you are such a mushy romantic! I love it!! Such a thoughtful gift - I can’t wait to see the rest of her surprises 
It was a highlight of the trip to get to say hi to you and your wife 
For everyone else: I texted Jordan “What are you wearing” not because I didn’t know his face but just to try to spot him easily in the crowd. He replies, “What do you think is on my shirt??” LOL
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Day 5: Saturday January 8th
Same as previous morning. Alarm at 300a, put out DW’s anniversary card #2 and a Pandora charm/necklace I got her the first day at MK, coffee at Everything pop, ate Clif bar, on bus at 327a.
Despite my promotion of Gaston fandom, I actually identify more with Beast and joke with DW that he is my Disney “spirit character”. I’m known to have outbursts of anger, especially when the kids are driving me nuts.
But DW keeps me in check and “tames the beast”. So, card #2 contained lyrics from BatB, and a few notes of my own basically saying that DW is my Belle, yada yada yada. The pictures I included was of us at Rocky Mountain NP in the snow. It reminded me of the scene in BatB when Beast and Belle are falling in love and throwing snowballs at each other. One of my favorite scenes.
The Pandora charm I gave her was Belle. I was so stressed about finding something in the Pandora store that would go with my BatB theme until the guy pulled out the final drawer of options and it had a Belle charm as well as a rose. But the rose was in rose gold and I wanted to get something in silver. So Belle it was.
After arriving at Epcot and using the bathroom, I made my way (a looong way) out to the corrals. From the runner welcome area, you walk all the way down Woodpecker Lane (yeah that’s a real thing), and then u-turn on Overpass Road to come back up onto Epcot Center Dr. By my measurement, the walk from the bus to the corrals added 1.65 miles to my day!
Got to the corrals around 445a, so a little later than previous days. For the half marathons (and the full), runDisney provides pace groups. These are organized by Jeff Galloway in some way (not sure if officially or not, but they use his run-walk-run method), and are led by 2-3 experienced runners that maintain a pace needed to finish at a certain time. Right in front of me was the 2:45 pace group. That means if you stay with them you will finish the half in 2:45. Since I submitted a proof-of-time of 2:07 to get into a higher corral, I now had strong evidence that they screwed up my registration. I should definitely have been in S3, not S4. Oh well. Just lots of zig-zagging in the early miles.
Although I was close to the front of corral S4, we were lined up S1-S4 on Epcot Center Drive, so I was so far from the start line and stage that I couldn’t see it. So I was glad I only had 15 minutes before the start because I couldn’t really enjoy the pre-race entertainment. They had a huge video screen a few hundred feet away showing it but I couldn’t really see it.
First corral started at 500a, we slowly made our way to the front as each wave was released, and I finally started at 529a. Part of me was thinking that I needed to push myself to finish quickly because we were planning to do breakfast at Beach Club before going in to Epcot at 9am. I had originally thought I would finish around 730ish (so 2:30 half marathon, a little generous), but now I was looking at probably finishing around 800a. But I decided it was wiser to take it easy and not hurt myself before the marathon. I could just ILL Remy and G+ the other things anyways. And DW and I could single-rider Test Track.
We started going west on Epcot Center Drive. Saw Bert and Mary just a short distance from the start, then a water/powerade station and MM1 (541a) on a ramp going up to an overpass.
Penguins (from Mary Poppins) and a DJ truck shortly before turning north onto World Drive heading towards MK. Tinker Bell and Periwinkle before MM2 at 553a.
The monorail going by every few minutes with the new undercarriage lights was a good distraction. There was a video wall but I can’t remember what clips it was showing and my picture didn’t turn out.
At 600a I was going through the Magic Kingdom toll plaza. There was a medical tent and water/powerade station shortly after that.
Just before the first TTC parking lot (Ursula), we saw Judy Hopps before MM3 at 606a.
We followed the tram route between the parking lots, and in the Jafar lot there was a Tejano/Jazz/something kind of band playing some awesome music. They were really amped up and the energy was contagious. I love this stuff.
Saw Nick Wilde and a high school marching band as we passed the TTC, headed down Topiary Lane where there was another medical tent and water/powerade station, and got to MM4 at 618a.
Connected back on to World Drive, under the water bridge, passed the Contemporary, through the MK bus terminals, and then the best part: running down Main Street. I can’t put into words how amazing this experience is. I have a video to show from the marathon that does a little justice to it. MM5 (630a) was half way down.
The course takes you counterclockwise through most of MK, except Adventureland. Took some pics in the hub, then saw Buzz in Tomorrowland, White Rabbit near the teacups, and Sebastian in Fantasyland. Ran by the carousel, and through Cinderella Castle. Saw Colonial Mickey in Liberty Square, the Country Bears above their theater, and then exited the park between Splash and POTC.
Backstage on Caribbean Way going north, there was Jafar on a parade float, a water/powerade stop, MM6 at 647a, and then Maleficent. There was also a medical tent just before we got to Floridian Way
We started south on Floridian Way, passed a video wall showing black and white clips of Clarabelle, and then Horace Horsecollar, MM7 at 700a, a water/powerade stop, and then Clarabelle herself.
The golf course had a photo op set up with a Mickey golf cart, which I thought was cute. Then there was a medical tent, a video wall showing Lilo and Stitch clips, our one food stop (Honey Stinger chews), and then MM 8 at 714a.
As we passed the old speedway (now just a pond, I guess), there was an empty character spot (swapping CMs in the RV), but I’m guessing it was Lilo because just a quarter mile or so further down was Stitch. Then a water/powerade stop, and a DJ truck under the World Drive overpass.
Back on World Drive heading south I got to MM9 at 725a and then passed a video wall showing clips of Tinker Bell before passing her and Periwinkle again, going the other way (they were in the median of World Drive).
Water/powerade stop just before the loop to get onto Epcot Center Drive, where I passed MM10 at 735a. DJ truck just after the overpass over World Drive, medical tent, MM11 at 745a, then a water/powerade stop. I had some good mile times here closer to the end. These last two miles were done 10 minutes each!
Video wall showing Bambi clips at the hard u-turn leading to the Epcot parking lots. These u-turns are brutal on your ankles after running this many miles.
Thumper just before getting onto Avenue of the Stars, then MM12 at 755a (another 10-minute mile!), and another water/powerade stop. We got back onstage between the Land and Imagination pavilions, then straight across Futureworld, passed Creations Shop and Club Cool, around Innoventions East where we saw Bolt, by SE and out the side of the park, offstage onto Avenue of the Stars again, where we saw Wilbur Robinson. MM13 at 806a before running down the finishing chute.
Grabbed my medal and a powerade and booked it to the bus and back at Pop around 830a.
Cleaned up and back out front of Pop with DW at 900a. Used Lyft ($7) to get to Beach Club at 918a. We had a crazy driver. He was speeding, and at Beach Club he just drove on through the security check before realizing he was supposed to stop. He slammed on his brakes. The security guy came out really heated, yelling at the driver that he ran a stop sign and he needed to check his info before coming in. He said we couldn’t get dropped off there, but I think he could tell we were terrified of this driver (I was saying something like, “can we just get out right here please”), and let us through.
We mobile-ordered breakfast platters and ate outside next to the beach. We inhaled it, then made our way through the IG and on to France. We rode Remy at 950a using ILL.
We explored the UK and Canada pavilions a bit, and then watched Canada Far and Wide at 1030a.
Next up was Soarin’ via G+ at 1115a, and then another surprise for DW – lunch at Space 220. She had never even heard of it, and I was playing with her that we would really be eating in space. It was fun that the CMs played along. We were in the first group of ADRs, so when we were seated at 1140a we were the only guests in the restaurant. It was easy to stay in the story for a few more minutes until other guests started showing up. I got the lasagna and DW got the salmon. We both had a drink that was fizzing/bubbling. The entire meal was great from arrival to departure. Definitely worth the cost, but still probably a one and done for me just because of the price.
After lunch we went over to Test Track. We first went into the demo area past the gift shop to create our cars at 1235p. If you are using the single rider queue (which we planned to do), this is the only way to really customize your car. In the SR queue, there are car building kiosks but they only allow you to select one of a dozen pre-made cars. We were off TT at 1250p heading towards Spaceship Earth.
Boarded SE at 112p, and this was to be a most memorable experience. To begin, it was the first ride I remember sitting with DW and talking about how the ride was made, pointing out details, wondering to ourselves how this or that was done, etc. It was great. Then it happened. The ride stopped. No big deal, that happens frequently. But after about 10 minutes I started to think we would be evacuated. A few more minutes go by and the lights all kick on. That was at 138p. All of a sudden we can see the ceiling along with a lot of the mechanical/engineering components normally hidden in the dark. It was kind of ironic in light of our conversation on how things were designed and built. Then from far below we heard a door open and a CM coming up the stairs, with their keys jingling. We were going to be evacuated from top-to-bottom. We were about half way, and got out of our vehicle at 150p. On the way out, a CM was having us tap our bands to his iPad and giving us all anytime FPs. I asked him if it was good for anything, and he said yes. I asked about other parks, and he said no. So I thought he knew what he was talking about when he said any ride. We found out later that was not the case, to our incredible frustration.
We wanted to get to AK in time to make it to the 315p Animation class without rushing too much, so left Epcot straight from SE. We timed the bus perfectly. Walked out of EP at 157p and walking into AK at 227p.
Leisurely walk through the Oasis, Discovery Island, and Harambe on our way to the train for Rafiki’s. Got there at 255p, and I showed DW the animal exhibits and the vet clinic, pointing out that we had seen this room on the Animal Kingdom show on D+. Then we got our paper and pencil and sat down to learn how to draw young Simba.
Back in Harambe, we boarded the safari at 410p via G+. It was a great safari, we saw a lot of the animals up closer than usual. In fact, a wildebeest decided to lay down in the road, and we got a 15-minute bonus to our ride. Eventually, a CM came out and shooed them out of the way.
Next up was Pandora. FOP via ILL at 505p and NRJ via G+ at 530p.
Dinner was at Tiffins (decided against Coral Reef and the Creperie at Epcot), where we shared the bread service, a steak dinner, and a dessert. Waiter was a character. Couldn’t tell if he was rude, or was making a joke, but since we shared everything, he brought out a single steak knife for us to “share”. He said it very matter-of-factly, so couldn’t tell if he was joking. But we just went with it, didn’t have the energy to push back.
After dinner we went back into Pandora to enjoy the after-dark atmosphere until 700p, then watched Tree of Life Awakenings at 710p before taking the bus back to Epcot.
Again we timed the bus perfectly and were walking into EP at 748p. Watched the SE beacon show for a little bit before riding Nemo. DW missed this on our first family trip (she was taking care of then DD1), and we skipped it on our trip last June.
The plan for the rest of the night was to enjoy an evening walk around the world, and stopping in Norway to ride FEA via our anytime FP around 830p. The only problem was that we couldn’t ride FEA with it. The CM there told us this was because it was a different tier, and was ineligible. DW flew off the handle. But I told her to chill, it was my fault, I should have known that was the case. But that was also why I asked the original CM if we could use it on any ride, and he confirmed that we could. So we ended up just continuing our walk around the world, and I was trying to calm down DW because she was so livid. She was going on and on about how the whole system is too complicated and frustrating. She’s right. I think she was ok by the time we got to Italy though, because I do remember enjoying that walk. She was contemplating staying for Harmonious, but decided to call it a night and go with me back to Pop via Skyliner.
We talked about the next morning, I had been asking if she wanted to see me run at all and gave her the two best options: Main Street at 700a(ish), but that would require getting up at 530a, or going to Epcot in the morning and watching me there or at the finish line around 1100a. None of that appealed to her, which I completely understood, and she decided to go solo for the first half the day at MK. It was the right decision. She had a blast. I’ll give some highlights of that in the next part.
I was in bed around 930p.
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Taking this out of La Cava temporarily so more people can see it.
Just played a few of the videos (tried sharing via GfyCat) but the audio is not working. If anyone has ideas how to share those better I’ll try.