Dopey Shenanigans! A Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend TR (Completed-videos added)

Fun evening at MK! Beautiful shot of the castle! It never looks as magical as when it's lit up with those icicles!
 
Those expo pictures are unbelievable! I’m glad you at least got some stuff after that wait. I wonder how many people did what you did, waited for merch and then didn’t even check out the vendors? What a massive screw-up on runDisney’s part!

Solid MK night and how awesome to just walk there! Looking forward to your 5K recap. :)
 
Those expo pictures are unbelievable! I’m glad you at least got some stuff after that wait. I wonder how many people did what you did, waited for merch and then didn’t even check out the vendors? What a massive screw-up on runDisney’s part!

Solid MK night and how awesome to just walk there! Looking forward to your 5K recap. :)
Yeah I definitely wanted to check out the vendors but runDisney screwed that up.

5K recap tomorrow!
 


Thank you for mentioning that you started this report! I'm glad I'm not too far behind.


:cheer2:


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That may be the rainiest arch picture I have ever seen!




I love the colors in the Poly lobby picture.



That was a standard view?!? I'll take looking at the parking lot if I can see Space Mountain and the castle behind it.

The rooms at BLT look really great! The Contemporary doesn't do much for me, décor-wise, but I love the size and decoration and LOCATION of BLT.

:cool2:
 
Thank you for mentioning that you started this report! I'm glad I'm not too far behind.


:cheer2:





That may be the rainiest arch picture I have ever seen!





I love the colors in the Poly lobby picture.




That was a standard view?!? I'll take looking at the parking lot if I can see Space Mountain and the castle behind it.

The rooms at BLT look really great! The Contemporary doesn't do much for me, décor-wise, but I love the size and decoration and LOCATION of BLT.

:cool2:
Luckily the rain only stayed around for that drive through the arch.

That was a pretty great standard view. Location was by far the biggest plus.
 
The Expo sounds like a nightmare. That is so frustrating to have long lines and then not being able to purchase the things you wanted.

But wow, you had a pretty incredible end to your night. Pirates, a snack, Winnie the Pooh, Haunted and Big Thunder (my favorite as well) and a close walk back to your resort sounds awesome!

:goodvibes
 


The Expo sounds like a nightmare. That is so frustrating to have long lines and then not being able to purchase the things you wanted.

But wow, you had a pretty incredible end to your night. Pirates, a snack, Winnie the Pooh, Haunted and Big Thunder (my favorite as well) and a close walk back to your resort sounds awesome!

:goodvibes
Yeah the expo was not fun.

The night ended off great!
 
My goodness that expo was certainly a mess and that sounds like a great night at the Magic Kingdom to me. Pirates is one of my favorites. I am so glad I rode it about 9 or 10 times on our last trip in 2016.
 
My goodness that expo was certainly a mess and that sounds like a great night at the Magic Kingdom to me. Pirates is one of my favorites. I am so glad I rode it about 9 or 10 times on our last trip in 2016.
That was the only time I got on Pirates this trip but I’m glad I did.
 
Those expo pictures are unbelievable! I’m glad you at least got some stuff after that wait. I wonder how many people did what you did, waited for merch and then didn’t even check out the vendors? What a massive screw-up on runDisney’s part!

Solid MK night and how awesome to just walk there! Looking forward to your 5K recap. :)

We did the same thing. We were so angry after leaving the merchandise area that we did not even venture to the vendors. We just left. I sent a long email to RD earlier this week with my frustrations about the Expo. It was the worst part of the whole weekend.
 
We did the same thing. We were so angry after leaving the merchandise area that we did not even venture to the vendors. We just left. I sent a long email to RD earlier this week with my frustrations about the Expo. It was the worst part of the whole weekend.
I would have done the same thing. Makes me wonder how the vendor sales were this year compared to prior years. :scratchin
 
Disney needs to either only let runners in the first day of the expo or put major limits on things like only 5 per person.
I agree that Disney needs to put some kind of limit on the merchandise. It isn't fair to the runners who earned the right to wear the gear.

Yeah I have never been to an anniversary year so it was definitely more crazy with that but this was just crazier than I have ever seen it.
My sister and I ran in the 10th anniversary half marathon and the expo was more like a normal marathon expo back then. I guess Disney realized they could make a lot of money by providing more race merchandise.

I think Pecos got better when it changed to a Tex Mex menu instead of burgers. It just fits better there.
We like the Tex Mex menu better than burgers, too.
 
I agree that Disney needs to put some kind of limit on the merchandise. It isn't fair to the runners who earned the right to wear the gear.

My sister and I ran in the 10th anniversary half marathon and the expo was more like a normal marathon expo back then. I guess Disney realized they could make a lot of money by providing more race merchandise.

We like the Tex Mex menu better than burgers, too.
Definitely!

I really enjoyed the Tex mex menu.
 
I love pirates too! I guess because they announced it so long ago I was already expecting the red head scene to be changed. Pleasant surprise to get one more glimpse of the original!

Looking forward to your 5k recap!
 
I love pirates too! I guess because they announced it so long ago I was already expecting the red head scene to be changed. Pleasant surprise to get one more glimpse of the original!

Looking forward to your 5k recap!
They announced about a month ago it will change in February so it was nice to see it one last time.
 
Mylar, sweats, and hand warmers...

I was mentally and physically prepared for the cold but even then it was still cold. Most local races runners do not have to stand outside for 1-2 or more hours while waiting for the race to start. With runDisney you don't have much of a choice. Had it been 10 degrees warmer it wouldn't have been so bad but everyone that was there knows it was cold. People had mylar blankets on top of mylar blankets, sweatshirts, and sweat pants, and of course numerous people had hand warmers. I did bring a throwaway sweatshirt and a mylar blanket with me for this race. I also had gloves which I was prepared to throwaway but never did. For those unfamiliar with runDisney people will wear old or cheap clothes before the races to stay warm and then toss them to the side of the road. runDisney will then pick all of that up after the race and donate it to those in need. I am sure there were tons of clothes from this weekend.

I woke up at about 3AM and was out the door around 3:30AM. On the way to the bus they happened to be taking down the Contemporary Christmas tree. Glad I got to see it before it was removed.

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I happened to get on the first bus which was nearly full when I arrived.

Once arrived you could see everyone huddled up around the heaters runDisney put out. Most of these heaters weren't even on but I think people just assumed they'd be warmer standing by them.

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I soon found @DopeyBadger and the rest of the Disboards runners. It is always great to see everyone and meet new people that we talk to on the boards. I finally got to meet @Pluto0809 whose trip reports I have always followed. These meet ups always help make the races and weekend overall more fun.

Soon enough it was time to head to the corrals. For this race and the 10K I was in corral D. The corrals for the shorter races go from A-F. They also separate that into waves within the corrals.

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I ended up being in the second wave of corral D.

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Soon enough it was time to run!

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We first run out and do a right turn in the parking lot. This road then takes us backstage into Epcot underneath Test Track.

The first character stop which was right near Test Track was Chip and Dale.

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I did not stop for this one.

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Mile one done!

Inside Epcot we go!

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Running around World Showcase in the dark with the torches on and music playing is just awesome.

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Jiminy Cricket was meeting but the line was sooooo long so pass on that one.

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There was at least one more meet and greet in World Showcase that I passed up due to lines. I know the vikings were meeting in Norway as well.

We then run out of International Gateway and into the gondola station construction.

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Mostly underground work so far.

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Mile 2 done!

I then stopped for the Brother Bear meet and greet in Canada since I have never met them before.

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Then we run off into Future World.

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I stopped for my second character stop at The Land. Horace!

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Back to Spaceship Earth and out to the finish!

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Here is my friend Wendy and I.

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And 3.1 done! Only 45.5 miles to go!

Overall I really enjoy the 5K course because it gives you mostly park time and its untimed so you can take your time on the course. Biggest downside is long character lines especially if you are in the later corrals. I didn't stick around after this race. It was quick get on the bus to get warm.

Here are my photo pass photos from the race...

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And of course the snack box with "real" Wisconsin cheese!

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Up next: A full day in my favorite park!
 

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