Hello and welcome to my Dopey 2023 Trip Report! Whether you are a runDisney veteran, thinking about doing a runDisney event, or have no interest in running at all, I hope you may find this trip report fun to read!
My name is Hanna, and I am a relatively new Disney park enthusiast, having started going regularly only in the past five or so years. Check out my signature for prior trip/dining reports! Since I have a separate dining report for this trip, I will probably still include some food photos here but will leave the details for the dining report.
I enjoy doing a mix of trips to Disney with my mom, trips with friends, and solo trips. Anything to get down to WDW (or DLR) more often! I am a ride and food enthusiast, and am slowly making my way through staying at all the resorts WDW has to offer.
This trip was nine nights, I arrived on January 1st and departed on the Tuesday following Marathon Sunday. My longest trip ever, I typically stay from 4-7 nights! Since I got to WDW a few days before the races started, I was able to squeeze in a few good days of park time where I utilized Genie+ to its fullest, so I will have many tips on that.
What is the Dopey Challenge, you ask? It is a four-day running event consisting of the following races:
5K (3.1 miles)
10K (6.2 miles)
Half Marathon (13.1 miles)
Marathon (26.2 miles)
By completing all four races (48.6 miles!), you complete the Dopey Challenge! The Goofy Challenge is the half + full marathon, and by completing Dopey you also complete Goofy, so it is a total of six medals (four races + two challenges). And yes...a lot of The real challenge is walking up before 2:30AM four days in a row, since the races start at 5AM and you need to be there early to avoid transportation issues. I am the opposite of a morning person, I would have no trouble staying up until 2:30AM, so I'm not sure why I thought this was a good idea
A little background on my running history, I started running in 2018 and did my first "long" race in October 2019 where I ran a 10 miler. I did this 10 mile race again in October 2021, so 10 miles was the furthest distance I attempted prior to signing up for the Dopey Challenge in April 2022. Dopey was a bit of an impulse for me...I am very susceptible to FOMO and since the 2023 Marathon Weekend was the 30th anniversary of the marathon and the 10th anniversary of Dopey, I couldn't JUST do the marathon. So of course, I ended up signed up for Dopey before ever having ran a marathon, or even a half marathon! I was actually signed up to run the WDW half marathon in January 2021, but we all know what happened there!
Since I still wanted my first marathon to be its own special thing, I signed up for a local fall marathon and ran that in October 2022. I completed a full 18-week training cycle for the marathon and I figured I'd coast a bit off that to get me to Dopey, since I knew I would take the Disney races much more casually, with slower paces and lots of walking and breaks for photos. I ended up getting Covid in early December and so that plan was derailed a bit, and my training suffered. Still, muscle memory is very real, and having completed my first marathon in five hours I wasn't too worried about finishing Dopey. I was definitely most anxious about the early wake ups, what did I get myself into?
I am going back to hosting photos on Blogger, for some reason it seems like maybe half of my photos in old TRs aren't showing properly but hopefully they show up long enough for current readers to read this TR. It's a lot of work to fix photos in old reports but if you click on the photo sometimes it shows up even if the preview doesn't work. Oh well.
Love your picture with the medals in the foreground and castle in the background! What a great shot.
Absolutely following - you had me at this: "so 10 miles was the furthest distance I attempted prior to signing up for the Dopey Challenge in April 2022." Wow!
Love your picture with the medals in the foreground and castle in the background! What a great shot.
Absolutely following - you had me at this: "so 10 miles was the furthest distance I attempted prior to signing up for the Dopey Challenge in April 2022." Wow!
Thank you! I did not make it to the parks in time to get a daylight shot, LOL! So I settled for a nighttime shot to the side of the castle where it was not crowded at all. I'm sure all the people walking by were giving me weird looks as I rearranged things 100x. Somehow I still missed turning all the spinning medals the right way but too late to fix
And this may be my plan...prove to the casual runner that Dopey is possible! Disney races are the most friendly races to runners of all shapes and sizes and abilities and I love that!
Despite doing a little packing every day in the days leading up to my trip, I was up pretty late and then was too wound up to get to sleep until after 4AM. Luckily my flight wasn't until lunch time!
I was originally going to try and get up at 7AM to get a virtual queue for Guardians that evening since you can scan in any time after you are called, but I turned it off to get more sleep. Just now I am realizing I would have been an hour late due to the time zone difference, ha!
My mom drove me to the airport, it's only a 20 minute drive, I cannot imagine living hours away from the airport! She dropped me off at 10:20 and I saw Delta had a nice new self tag bag area, I didn't have to wait at all and there were plenty of agents. My checked bag was 46lb, for a regular trip it is usually 30-35lb only. It was so tough for me to pack for this trip, since I was working a few partial days remotely I also had to squeeze my laptop, portable monitor, headset, and race clothes and shoes into my carry on. Not sure how I did it, I ended up leaving a lot of stuff at home!
Actually the worst part of packing for Marathon Weekend is needing to bring four sets of "throwaway" clothes for standing in the corrals. I had thrifted two pairs of sweatpants and four sweatshirts to wear and toss, since the clothing is donated. At least squeezing them into my luggage meant I should have plenty of room to bring home souvenirs!
The airport was so quiet, I think with New Years Day falling on a Sunday, most people flew home on Monday since a lot of people (myself included) had Monday off to observe the holiday.
After dropping my bag I headed to security, at the main terminal of the Minneapolis airport there are two checkpoints, one on each end. I initially went to the checkpoint on the Delta end, the line was pretty long and one of the TSA agents was actually telling people to walk the two minutes to the other checkpoint. I gladly took his advice and no surprise, the non-Delta end was empty! Since MSP is a pretty big Delta hub I think this is pretty common.
This was the line, there were maybe 15 people in precheck and absolutely no one in the regular security line. I still waited in pre-check to avoid taking out liquids and electronics, 100% worth it. I was through security in just over five minutes.
On my boarding pass I saw I had a close gate for the first time in a long time, usually I have to take what feels like a dozen moving walkways to get to my gate.
My flight wasn't until 12:40 but I got there a bit early to have time for lunch at the Priority Pass Lounge. It was right next to the checkpoint I went through, so that was convenient. Phew, the lounge was open this day, they're supposed to be open every day but they were closed on Thanksgiving Day, I'm guessing due to staffing shortages.
I checked into the lounge at the desk in the PGA shop and decided to sit on the lounge side rather than the restaurant side. You get a $15 food/beverage voucher per person when you have PP. Maybe not the best lounge perk but it's nice getting a plated meal instead of just small plates. I'm not a huge drinker so no open bar isn't a huge deal to me.
I found a seat around 10:45 and there were maybe three other people in the lounge, it's super quiet.
The waitress came over right away and brought me a menu. Everyone I have had at this lounge has always been very nice and attentive!
They also have a breakfast menu through 10:30 I think, as you can see the $15 will cover all/most of a meal so you basically just pay the tip. Way cheaper than regular airport food!
I got the turkey club which was huge and freshly made with a toasted croissant, I had maybe half. It was a bit early for lunch after all.
I had signed up for Instacart ahead of this trip to order some water and groceries to my room, I accidentally did it on the Canadian website somehow and turns out if you use the same login on the Canadian and US website, it recognizes your free trial as two separate trials. So I forgot to cancel the trial on my Canadian account as was charged for an annual subscription, I was able to contact support via chat and get that resolved. I would have missed it if I hadn't reviewed my statement. The things you discover when killing time at the airport!
I left the lounge a little before noon and only had a five minute walk to my gate. There were lots of children and Disney suitcases! They started preboarding at 12:04, no families with children allowed since that would be 90% of the flight haha. The airport was really so empty, all the gates around me were empty. It was crazy!
Delta seemed to really be emphasizing the limit of two items, wonder if they are cracking down on that. I usually wear a fanny pack and board while wearing it along with my two items, but today I played it safe and stuffed it into my bag to board.
While waiting my Delta app notified me my bag was on board, yay! Nothing would derail this trip faster than lost luggage! I was finally in my seat around 12:20 and our flight departed without issue at 12:50, just about on time.
I did get a seat change at the gate, luckily it was the same row just opposite window. I always bring my own wipes and wipe everything down right away, the family next to me did the same so that was a good sign. I was on a newer plane with the $5 fast wifi so I think I spent most of the flight on Tik Tok, it sure makes the time go by fast. I enjoyed my sun chips as always. I still wear a mask on flights so I try to avoid eating/drinking but I cannot resist chips I actually had Covid about three weeks before this trip so I wasn't too worried, but I knew other bugs are always going around so better safe than sorry.
There was a little turbulence but nothing crazy, overall a quiet and uneventful flight. We landed at 4:33 in Orlando, ahead of schedule!
I saw my room #7058 was ready at the Dolphin, in the East Wing this time, in November I stayed in the West Wing. We continued to taxi on the runway until 4:42 and deplaned relatively quickly, I wasn't too far back and I was off by 4:50 for a scheduled 5:15 arrive. Delta is the best! I come out of the same gate at MCO every single time, without fail. The day I end up somewhere different I will get lost!
Rode the People Mover to the baggage claim, always the first "ride" of the trip.
Our bags were already loading, I got mine at 5:06. I knew it would be cutting it close but I always submit a claim with Delta for their on time bag delivery since they guarantee 20 minutes from the plane door opening to your bag loading onto the belt.. You get 2,500 miles per claim and it's automated so it just auto accepts or rejects, so I submit every time. You have to do it within a few days so I always do it right then so I don't forget. I'd say 3 in 4 of my claims get approved even though my bag isn't really "late" since it usually takes 20 minutes to get off the plane and get to the baggage claim anyways. Mine was accepted, yay!
I headed to Mears, since it was just me it was obviously cheaper to book the bus. I don't trust them on the way back so I just take it to the resort. There was no one waiting, consistent with my past trips with them. The rental car lines were crazy long, like dozens and dozens of people per line!
I walked onto a bus at 5:13 with only a few others, a couple more families got on after but it was far from full when we left MCO at 5:25. Instead of playing silly videos they should list the resort drop off order on those screens!
We passed by cows by the Gaylord Palms, I don't think I've ever noticed that before.
I always get my shot going under the WDW entrance! If you hadn't told me I would have thought it was the same sign as always, I don't notice those things.
We stopped at Pop Century first at 5:55. To my surprise, everyone got off but me!
This is where things get interesting. I always get a little suspicious of the drivers knowing where they are going since they don't ever tell the riders. Thankfully we headed to the Swan/Dolphin area so my concerns were assuaged.
But then, he started pulling up to the Swan lobby! He was like "we're here!" and I was like "ummmm...I think this is the Swan???" (Since I stayed at the Dolphin in November, I thankfully knew that I was not in the right place.)
He was like...omg...autopilot. I just laughed, no harm, they're like two minutes away. But good thing I knew where I was going because it wouldn't be fun to drag luggage between the two. No big deal, just be sure to look before you get off! He dropped me at the Dolphin at 6:09, so still less than an hour from getting on and getting off the bus, including wait time. That has been my experience in my three trips with Mears to my resort, even with more stops I have always been dropped off within an hour.
There was a bit of a line to check-in at the Dolphin, despite doing mobile check in I always seem to have to stop at the desk for the mobile key to activate. They had some New Year decorations along with the Christmas decor.
It smells so good in here, a lot like the Beach Club, very tropical. It did take a while even though they had lots of front desk people, I didn't make a note of the time but I would guess I waited 10-15 minutes.
This time I booked the cheapest room, a two queen no-view and no-balcony room. With the AP discount (code = QWH) my two nights total were a whopping $440 with all taxes and resort fees. That is significantly cheaper than Pop, and comes with Deluxe evening hours and everything, what a steal! They do always check my AP card at the desk, maybe that's why the mobile key doesn't work. After the two nights at the Dolphin I was transferring to Animal Kingdom Lodge for the week. Since the races weren't starting until Thursday, I was glad to have a few days in the Epcot resort area!
I do modify my reservations a lot since their rates change basically every day. I initially booked in late March, and modified a few times with my lowest rate at the end of August which ended up being $75/night cheaper than my initial booking. So if you've ever thought the Swan/Dolphin were out of your price range, keep checking, rates might go up and down a LOT.
Room tour time! The best part about Deluxe hotels is the hallway/bathroom area that provides some sound insulation from the hallway. I've found the Dolphin rooms to be very sound proofed, either I have quiet neighbors or their walls are thicker than regular Disney hotels.
The room is a nice size, not huge but not cramped either. Very modern and clean.
The hall closet is HUGE, you could hang everything you packed!
There is only one luggage rack, something I will never understand about hotels. Who has just one suitcase?
There's a nice little coffee area where I usually store my snacks, charge my devices, etc. They also provide free water here as well as two more bottles in the fridge. I believe it gets replenished if you elect to have housekeeping come daily, I always decline for short stays like this.
The bathroom looks small and it is, my only real criticism of the Dolphin. The door practically touches the toilet!
The little wall storage area helps, there's not a lot of counter space if you have two or more people and there is only one sink. Not an issue since it was just me. I always move the glasses and lotion on top of the shelf so I have more space, ha!
The bathroom does NOT have any sort of fan, which is also a bit annoying. It gets very steamy and in this room my bathroom (maybe the curtain?) actually smelled pretty musty. If I were staying longer I probably would have asked housekeeping to replace it. Otherwise no complaints about the shower, great water pressure even though not a rainfall shower! Toilets are decently quiet, at least you have a chance of sleeping through the flushes unlike at some resorts
I had a little friend in my room...gave him a whack with the towel, eek Could have been much worse I figured!
There is a nice big desk, perfect for holding your second suitcase.
The best part about the Dolphin that gives it a big edge over Disney resorts is the beds! They are SO comfy, the mattresses are so thick and soft and luxurious. There is also a real duvet, not just sheets and a thin blanket, a rarity in hotels these days. I slept very well here!
Finally, the nightstand between the beds. A bit of a tight fit for two to share, but again, plenty for just me. Though I think I knocked my water bottle over a few times with my bedding!
It was too dark to see my no-view, so I'll show that in the morning. I lazed around my room for a bit, unpacking some and just resting a bit from the longish day. I had packed an extra stowaway backpack to make luggage transfer easier, and I stuff all my race throwaway clothes there to keep them out of the way!
Finally, I left my room around 7:10 to head to Epcot with absolutely no plans. Let the solo runDisney trip begin!
Excellent start to your trip. I will say, Terminal 1 might have been dead, but Terminal 2 was hopping when I flew out on Monday. Of course - that could have been because a)Southwest or b)the weather or c) all of the above.
Excellent start to your trip. I will say, Terminal 1 might have been dead, but Terminal 2 was hopping when I flew out on Monday. Of course - that could have been because a)Southwest or b)the weather or c) all of the above.
Thank you! I flew out Sunday so that maybe made all the difference! I'm having trouble deciding when to leave next year...I liked going down early but it was $$$ to stay (and eat) those few extra nights and I am thinking about Coast to Coast too...decisions decision!
I always fly Delta and didn’t know about the 20 minute guarantee! I have to do that. Is it on the app? I love getting the notifications that my luggage is on board.
2500 miles adds up especially to upgrade to comfort plus! I usually always do that with my miles.
I’m debating staying at the Swan in April. I love being close to Epcot. I have reservations at WL and Swan right now. I need to decide soon!
I always fly Delta and didn’t know about the 20 minute guarantee! I have to do that. Is it on the app? I love getting the notifications that my luggage is on board.
2500 miles adds up especially to upgrade to comfort plus! I usually always do that with my miles.
I’m debating staying at the Swan in April. I love being close to Epcot. I have reservations at WL and Swan right now. I need to decide soon!
Not sure if you can do in app but here is link! It adds up soooo fast I think I was 3/4 of my last two Disney trips. That is a tough call! I have yet to stay at the MK resorts because I do MK the least. But maybe because it is often the furthest to get to! If I was closer I’d probably go more!
Since I stayed at the Dolphin about a month prior, I knew my way around pretty well already and set off on the walk to Epcot. It was so nice out on this trip, on the warmer side for January so perfect for shorts and a t-shirt even in the evenings. At least for this Minnesotan
The BoardWalk was hopping, it was the New Year after all!
I made it into Epcot a little before 7:30, it is about a 15 minute walk from the Swan/Dolphin. So pretty at night!
I needed some dinner and didn't have any ADRs, there were a few available but I decided on quick service. I had never tried Katsura Grill, the line was pretty long but being solo I could wait in any line I wanted to!
It moved fairly slowly and I finally ordered around 8:00, waiting about half an hour. I got the violet sake, shrimp tempura udon, and a spicy tuna roll. A bit pricey but I try not to pay attention to prices when at WDW! Once I ordered, it took less than 10 minutes to get my food. It wasn't too hard to find a table since the holdup is definitely the ordering process. It looked like all food options had long lines given the holiday crowds.
The Udon hit the spot, I am a soup/noodle gal. The sushi was just okay, pretty average supermarket quality sushi. The violet sake is my new favorite, it was surprisingly delicious. I've never had plain sake but it didn't taste like alcohol at all to me, probably because it is pre-mixed in a jug LOL! Very sweet, lots of pear and floral flavors. I love fruity drinks so I could definitely put a few of these away.
I wandered around the Japan pavilion a bit, it's definitely my favorite pavilion at night! People were staking out spots for Harmonious since it was about half an hour away, but I was pretty tired and decided not to stay. It was pretty busy but far from being packed, I'm sure it was a madhouse the night before for NYE though!
I searched Epcot on my camera roll and I have 650 pictures, eek. Added a few to my count here. Of course I haven't already taken this exact picture 50 other times.
Even though I just ate, I was already thinking about getting a snack for the room.
The BoardWalk was still busy on my way back, they had three different performers out surrounded by crowds. It's a lot of fun to watch them and they all have different acts.
You can see Spaceship Earth from the little path between the Swan and Dolphin by the boat launch, it's a great viewing spot for fireworks! I watched for a little while before heading to my room.
I love the Dolphin at night! Even though they are not playing Disney music, it's just steps from the parks and absolutely still feels like Disney to me. How can you say it's not Disney-themed when you have that view just outside!
All of the parks and resorts were still decorated for Christmas, and the Dolphin was no different. It was funny seeing all the decor again when I saw it in November.
I stopped at Fuel for a snack, making a mental note to not bother getting breakfast here, look at those prices!
I settled on a bag of "healthy" chips, not because they were "healthy" but because they were the only non-single serving sized bag of chips. Well, they were maybe still a single serving, but a bigger single serving! This was like $7, a lot like pop chips, not bad.
My room was only four doors down from the elevator, it was a pretty great location besides the view. None of the hallways at the Dolphin are that long in my experience, nothing compared to some of the Disney resort hallways.
There was a fair amount of noise as people walked by my room but I didn't have any trouble with it when I went to bed, and I am a light sleeper.
Since I had two beds in my room, I of course laid out all of my stuff for the next day on the second bed. I always like to be ready for the morning because I am not a morning person and will leave the room without my head on!
I could tell the crowds were still pretty high so I purchased Genie+ at midnight for a whopping $29 plus tax, ouch. But waiting in lines is way worse in my opinion, it's especially boring when you're solo.
I was doing Epcot again the next day and my 7AM strategy was to go for the guardians virtual queue first and then Test Track, since I hadn't ridden it in years. Since I was paying for Genie+, I would probably hop to Studios in the afternoon to take advantage of it since it doesn't help much at Epcot.
The beds at Dolphin were super comfy, definitely at the top of my list for comfiest hotel beds.
I finished the day with only 9k steps, honestly embarrassing. Luckily I had many steps ahead of me!
I slept like a baby and woke up to my alarm, very confused about where I was. Oh yes, I was in WDW! I usually wake up at 8 to roll onto my computer at home, so a 6:55 wakeup was early!
I had a successful 7AM grab of boarding group 1 for Guardians and a 9:00 LL for Test Track. Score!
By 7:15 Test Track already had a 3:30 return time, I was very glad with my choice. It was so foggy this morning, check out my "view" from my room.
Since the races didn't start until Thursday and it was Monday, I decided to do a quick shakeout run. The Crescent lake area is a super popular spot for runners, it's easy to get a few miles in without needing to do a bunch of short loops.
It was pretty warm already and super humid, not ideal running conditions but no big deal since I only planned to do two miles.
I did two laps around the lake, along with a handful of other runners. It was so beautiful watching the sun come up!
I passed by the International Gateway and saw the line already forming for early entry an hour early, I would be too late to rope drop early entry but I was hoping to make it in before regular opening for maybe one ride.
Here is the route I did, two loops and a little extra between the Swan/Dolphin to get to two miles. You can get some extra mileage by heading towards Epcot or Hollywood Studios.
It was sooo humid, I was just dripping by the second mile. I loved it though, I was so happy to be running at WDW!
I showered and left my room at 8:25 to head to Epcot, wearing my favorite Guardians of the Galaxy hat from Disneyland of course! The line at Fuel was crazy, I placed a mobile order at BoardWalk Deli to pick up on my way to the Boardwalk. They take a while so I always click I'm here when I leave the Dolphin.
It was still crazy foggy, I think even foggier than when I was on my run!
The BW Deli did not have decaf as an option for lattes anymore in the app, so sad! I got a side of bacon and a greek yogurt parfait for under $10. It was ready a minute later, very quick this day, maybe because I didn't have a latte this time!
I was wearing a new pair of chacos this day, a little risky, but they worked great. My favorite Disney sandal!
My side of bacon was delicious, so crispy. The parfait was huge with berries and granola, this was so good and I would get both again.
Sigh, I set off the alarm at security on this day, I think I had a can of sunscreen I forgot to take out. Usually I hold out my phone, charger, and water bottle by default.
I made it into Epcot by 8:45 using the Passholder entrance which came in handy this day since the regular line was a good bit longer. Since I was late for early entry, it was pretty quick to get in.
Remy looked to be across the bridge already so I skipped and decided to rope drop Soarin' instead since it was listed at 10 minutes. I checked MDE and yup, Remy was already listed at 90 minutes. There was a bit of a line to scan in for early entry to head to Future World but I was through in a few minutes and on my way. Of course, it would probably take the rest of early entry for me to walk to Soarin' but hopefully I would get there before the regular guests!
I was called for my Guardians boarding group at this time, but decided to do some other rides first since I know they are flexible on return times (aka you can return ANY time after you are called).
I made it into the Land by 8:55, so it's less than a 10 minute walk from the IG, good to know! I entered the Soarin' queue at 8:57, it was listed at 25 but I figured it'd be quicker than that.
Omg, there was SO much coughing around me. Yuck! Since I just had Covid I was really hoping I couldn't get it again so quickly Remy was now at 110, probably since LL started at 9:00, glad I didn't go for that.
Shucks, the CM cut me off at Concourse B so I ended up being the first person in Concourse C...never a good sign! There was no wait other than the preshow so can't complain too much.
I checked the tip board and Frozen was showing a 9:15AM return time, wow! I couldn't snag it since I still had to do Test Track first.
Soarin' was so calming, I swear I blacked out a bit because I was so relaxed and just zoned out. I could stay on that ride forever! I ended up in the middle front row somehow so the Eiffel Tower looked lovely and straight!
I was off Soarin' at 9:14, I wasn't feeling Living with the Land on this day so I decided to head to Test Track. The fog had cleared and it was a beautiful morning! The Test Track line was so backed up, omg it was so long!
It was 9:25 and standby jumped up to 120 minutes, and the LLs were returning at 6:30PM now. Single rider looked to be open and I didn't see the end of the line, so it probably wasn't too bad.
The LL line was very short, only a few people were ahead of me. Soarin' jumped up to 60 minutes, so I was glad I got that out of the way. Once I did my second scan for TT I booked a 5:15 Tower of Terror at 9:30 to start the 120 minute timer. Modifying LLs was allowed now, so I figured I'd modify it to something better after the ride. Always just book anything to start that 120 minute timer and then modify away!
It sounded like the people by me had waited about 40 minutes in standby for TT, probably from rope drop. While still waiting to ride I was able to snag a 10:05 Frozen LL at 9:35, nice! I loved being able to modify which wasn't an option on my last trip!
I created a stylish lime green car which performed very poorly of course. I made it onto the ride around 9:40 and got row 1 for once, I almost never get row 1 on this ride!
Test Track was so much fun! They need padding on those belts though, ouch! Love the wind in my face as long as I have sunglasses on, ha!
It is crazy to me how a foggy morning could be completely clear an hour later, so beautiful and not a cloud in sight! The humidity also went away, thank goodness.
Time to head to Frozen, then circle back to Guardians. Christmas music was still playing everywhere, a common theme of the weekend. Epcot is so pleasant early in the morning before World Showcase fully opens, much calmer than in the evenings.
I sat in Norway for a few minutes since I was early for my Frozen LL, I planned to scan in 5 minutes early of course.
As soon as I scanned the second Frozen touchpoint I immediately booked another LL to start my timer and modify after the ride. I was getting my money's worth! Standby for Frozen was 90 minutes, it was definitely still busy in WDW.
Again I got row 1, all to myself this time. What luck!
I got a few splashes, front row is the best on all boat rides for sure. Now that I think about it, I don't think I got any of my Frozen pictures this trip, I'll have to stop at PhotoPass this month to find them.
On my way to Guardians I modified my LL to Runaway Railway for after 2:00, then I modified again for Tower of Terror at 5:15 instead! I did a lot of LL modifying this trip! Of course when I got there, Guardians was down, ha! I checked the WDWStats twitter and saw that Guardians is usually down for under an hour, so I decided to hang out.
Just moments later it looked like they were letting people get in line again, not sure if it was running but thought I'd get in line to see so I scanned in at 10:35.
The turkey leg! At this point I realized that I would have the normal music, not the holiday overlay! Hooray! My first ride in November was with the holiday overlay and I wasn't a huge fan, so I was hoping I'd like the regular version more.
Wow, the line was so long. It was backed up in the ceiling room and wrapped around. It didn't seem to be moving, either it was still down or they were letting all the paid LL people go through when it got backed up from being down.
Luckily my cell service is still good in there, so I wasn't too bored. At 10:45 the line finally started moving. Longest 10 minutes ever! After about 30 minutes I was in the waiting room for the first pre-show, and I was onto the ride about 10 minutes after the first show. Row 2 this time! I didn't get my pic, oh well!
The regular songs are so much better, we got September which was very relaxing. I'm not sure others would agree with me but it felt like a very calm ride with that song I liked it because the song was quieter so I could hear the Guardians talking, unlike in the holiday overlay where I couldn't hear them at all.
Soarin' was up to 180 minutes, what! These holiday crowds are no joke! It didn't feel that busy, I've said it before but probably because everyone is in lines instead of crowding the walkways! There is a nice water bottle filler outside the restroom in Connections, I am always on the lookout for good water at WDW.
There was a photo pass CM by Guardians so I got a picture with no line.
If I had known I'd be posing with Groot, I'd have made a different face!
I stopped by Space 220 to inquire about the bar seating, it was full but they said they reopen it periodically when there is seating available. Sounds like it would just take luck to check at the right time.
Walking by Test Track back to World Showcase it looked like the single rider had grown and was out the door. Lines everywhere were long, time to get some food instead! I modified my Tower of Terror to Runaway Railway at 3:10, deciding I'd try for ToT later in the evening.
It was super sunny at this point but not too hot. It felt sooo good to be out of the MN deep freeze. I think a really bad snow storm started at home on this day, they got over a foot of snow and it shut down the airport and everything. I was very glad to have flown out early for the race weekend so I didn't have to stress out about that, when you are running Dopey you can't miss a single race and you have to pick up your bib on Wednesday! So, the latest you should ever plan to arrive for Dopey is Tuesday to avoid too much travel stress.
It was at this point I realized I should have taken a Friendship boat to the other side of World Showcase, what was I thinking!
When I passed by the theater, all I could think about was seeing Simu Liu at Candlelight. I don't think I'll get around to writing a TR for my November trip because it was already months ago but I was pixie dusted basically front row middle seats to see Simu, it was wonderful!
At 12:30 the line wasn't too long so I got in line for shave ice at Kabuki Cafe. I had never tried it before and I was excited to have hot weather at Epcot to enjoy it.
Thankfully the line was in the shade. I only waited ten minutes to order, not bad at all.
I chose tangerine and cherry and added the sweet milk topping, the topping tasted a bit like white chocolate and was good, Just wish there was more.
The portion was huge, I managed to finish mine but you could definitely share. It's not exactly soft shave ice but it's not hard icy pebbles either, sort of in between. Not a must get but still very good on a warm day!
I also got a nigiri combo, forgetting this was the same sushi I had the night before, this was slightly better than the spicy roll at least.
There was a bit of drama ordering sushi at Kabuki, they ran out right before I ordered so they let me order and wait but they didn't let the people behind me order and they were all mad since they waited 10-15 minutes. There's no other food there other than sushi, so I get why they were annoyed, but I felt bad for the CM! The line doubled behind me so I made it just in time.
I noticed the Katsura Grill line looked twice as long as the 30 minute line I waited in the night before, wow! Definitely make ADRs if you travel around New Year's with a group.
I got in line at Les Vins de Chefs de France to try the orange slushy, and waited maybe 10 minutes in the hot sun, it better be worth it! While in line I refreshed and was able to modify my 3:10 Runaway Railway to Remy at 2:00 which was almost immediate!
My drink was served in a boring cup, I didn't realize I had to get the version with the Grand Marnier floater to get the giant colored cup!
This was really tart, I tried to like it but I really didn't. The flavor was just not for me even though I like orange juice, it just tasted too artificial. I ended up dumping half of it. I'm not sure if I like Grand Marnier so I would not order again, I definitely prefer the frose from Les Halles.
At this point my 120 minutes since my last LL booking was up so I booked Rock n Roller Coaster to start the 120 minutes again. Even though it said 7:10 when I booked it somehow switched to 3:20 when it went through, omg, I was crushing it with Genie+.
2:04 booked RnRC just to start the timer and it switched from 7:10 to 3:20 *** lol! Crushing it!
I headed to my Remy LL and got to bypass the 130 minute standby lane. It looked pretty long but it wasn't overflowing like at rope drop.
The music by Remy is such an ear worm! Since I was solo, a CM came over while I was waiting to load and told the couple behind me that they would be sitting in their own car and not sitting with me. People must try to squeeze in three a lot, like what happened to my poor mom when I sent her to ride Pooh alone with my LL
I was on in seven minutes, in the back again, I don't think I've ever been in the front on Remy yet.
Remy is such a cute little ride, the screens that sort of surround you are really so immersive. I know people don't love screen rides but for those of us that can handle it, this one is pretty darn good. I love how everything is scaled up to make you feel small like a rat!
I needed more food again, so I headed to Les Halles for a baguette. Again, years since I had one of these!
The line was out the door but I was determined to get my bread. Carbo-loading time for Dopey!
In line, I overheard someone say, "Omg, Soarin’ is only 95 minutes now!" That's holidays at WDW for ya!
I waited maybe 15 minutes, not bad. Don't forget to get butter with your baguette! Since it was after 2:00, it was time for me to head over to Studios. I decided to take the Friendship boat since it was right there at the IG. It lingered a few minutes and then departed, taking about 25 minutes from the IG to making three stops before dropping off at Studios. Sure beats the walk as it's nice and relaxing!
I didn't realize the BoardWalk was such a big resort, that would be a bit of a trek if you had a room back here.
During the boat ride I got my email from runDisney with my bib number for the races, I had a pretty low number so I was feeling confident I got into the proof of time corral I was hoping for.
I will continue this day in my next post, thanks for reading!
Thank you! If you can do a marathon (which you can) I 100% think you can do Dopey! I was surprised to find the back to back running didn't really affect my legs like it did in training. It's the four mornings and holding back in the parks that's the challenge!
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
The real challenge is walking up before 2:30AM four days in a row, since the races start at 5AM and you need to be there early to avoid transportation issues. I am the opposite of a morning person, I would have no trouble staying up until 2:30AM, so I'm not sure why I thought this was a good idea 
I come out of the same gate at MCO every single time, without fail. The day I end up somewhere different I will get lost!
Could have been much worse I figured!
nice picture of your medals!
Remy was now at 110, probably since LL started at 9:00, glad I didn't go for that.
