(NEW TR LINK) Mickey MMMouse,McDonald Duck& Memo: 12 Days & 13.1 Miles. Nov 2013 TR

[Tinker326]

Very angry- I just typed out my entire stupid entry and the DIS Boards went into 'blank page of death' on me when I tried to preview it. Annoying. Very.

LIKE I ALREADY SAID (is this Disney's non-magical pixie dust continuing into my trip report?!)

I awoke very early on Saturday morning to the Big D burning her bagel as she got ready for her 5K. 5am to be exact. I also awoke with a full blown migraine. Sigh.

Nothing like training for months for this to happen. I will admit I was a little defeated and a whole lot sad early this AM.

I decided to get up and wander down in search of my Diet Coke fix. I figured the marketplace where the pop machine (pop. Midwest term for Cola/Soda) was located would surely be open by 6am for early birds. After all, this is where the coffee was located too.

Err. Wrong.

The Marketplace opens at 7am sharp. Not much use to this pop junkie with a headache at 6am. I walked into the main hall and pleaded my desperate case for pop to the front desk. They looked at me compassionately (or more like I was from outer space) and told me there was a little lounge thing open over at the yacht club that might help me out.

As I walked the very long walk over to the Yacht Club I realized how wrong Disney was with their assessment that no one rises and is up and about before 7. I know this because there was what seemed like one million other visitors out and about...staring at my wild hair, striped PJ bottems and oversized shirt while I wandered along Stormalong Bay in search of that caramel colored liquid gold. I looked awesome. Spectacularly awesome.

By 6:30 am I was back in my room. In about an hours time I had awoke way too early, with a piercing migraine, suffered public humiliation and cooked myself oatmeal for breakfast. I think I earned watching that sunset out on my balcony.



Please notice the soda of humiliation in the lower left hand area of the picture.

I showered shortly after this & made my way around the resort to take some pictures and find some Hidden Mickeys. I will post those in my review of BCV later. I also noticed more than several hearty runners running around the Boardwalk lake. I am positive they were running the race later and all I could think of was ... "Show off".

By 8:30 am I was in the car and headed towards the expo to pick up my race packet. As I pulled in, I noticed that the road beyond Wide World of Sports was already closed and corrals were being set up. OMG. It's real. PANIC.

I was directed into one building.... passing some signage....





I picked my race packet with ease. It's all sectioned of by bib number. You just find your 'number' section and they check you off and hand you your bib and a clear bag for bag check.

I then went over to the race relations where I provided proof of time to move up corrals. I was so happy going from K to G!

Look at that sweet sticker on that sweet bib! Shoot, look at that drink voucher on the bottom... can I use it now?



I really debated doing the 8 miler that eventually moved me up. I'm SO glad I did. That extra 4 corral jump really helped me come race night.

After that they directed me out of one building and into the other to get my race shirt & where the expo was.



I wandered a little.. and was sad to see that because I came second day of expo- many of the Wine and Dine race specific stuff was already sold out. Especially the "I Did It" shirt that I wanted. Oh well. At that point I guess I wasn't really sure I would do it anyways with my head pounding the way it was......

I did pick up these beauties. A Run Disney Vinyl with special Wine & Dine race medal.



I liked him because he looked angry. Like.."Stupid headache, why are you in this runners body? Isn't the stress of the race enough for her? GET OUT!" Mickey was totally rooting for me. I felt the compassion radiating out of his tiny little vinyl body. I had to purchase it.

And, of course, a very large Wine glass. After all, you can not run the WINE & Dine without a souvenir wine glass. Duh.



It's gigantic and suitable for any decent Disney running lush. Not that I'm talking about anyone I know........

ALso noted for any future running lushes. It's very durable. I know this because I dropped it on the ground getting out of my car after the expo. Not nary a crack. Hearty glasses for hearty running drunks. Good job Disney. Two thumbs up!!!

By around 10:15 I exited the expo. Running Bib in hand. Less than 12 hours till starting time. I was so nervous. And so sick (from the headache). I really remember walking out thinking.. what will the next 12 hours bring?

And what would it bring?!?!?!

 

[skier_pete]

Very angry- I just typed out my entire stupid entry and the DIS Boards went into 'blank page of death' on me when I tried to preview it. Annoying. Very.

LIKE I ALREADY SAID (is this Disney's non-magical pixie dust continuing into my trip report?!)

This is why I type my TR in a word document first, and then paste it in later!

And what would it bring?!?!?!

The suspense would be killing me...except I have already skip to the last chapter!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Ok, first off...7am??? That's like mid-day for me, they need to open earlier! Luckily there is a coffee maker, yes? That's all I really require at 4am when I'm up and about. Oh, and the internet.

I cannot believe they were out of I DID IT shirts! Ugh. I hope that doesn't happy to me at the PHM, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'll just prepare myself for that.

I'm so sorry about the migraine. I worry all the time about how I'm training and putting so much into this and what if I get the flu or twist an ankle the day before. I hope it got better!

 

[Tinker326]

This is why I type my TR in a word document first, and then paste it in later!



The suspense would be killing me...except I have already skip to the last chapter!

Well typing it in word would be the smart thing to do... clearly... I'm not there yet!

Oh..but do you know what I ate for lunch in that 12 hours? No, no you don't. So there is some exciting suspense still in store for you. Try not to let it ruin your Thanksgiving as you await that information! Ha!

Have a great Thanksgiving. Tell U & A the same from us!

 

[Tinker326]

Ok, first off...7am??? That's like mid-day for me, they need to open earlier! Luckily there is a coffee maker, yes? That's all I really require at 4am when I'm up and about. Oh, and the internet.

I cannot believe they were out of I DID IT shirts! Ugh. I hope that doesn't happy to me at the PHM, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'll just prepare myself for that.

I'm so sorry about the migraine. I worry all the time about how I'm training and putting so much into this and what if I get the flu or twist an ankle the day before. I hope it got better!

Yes, you are correct- there is a coffee maker in the room. Guess I didn't connect that since I wasn't looking for coffee... I was looking for pop! You will be fine.. you'll have coffee, internet & a balcony to watch your sunrise.

I know, I was so sad they were out of I DID IT shirts. To be completely fair- they still had the size XS. But, since it's only my dream to be a XS, it wasn't happening for this girl!! If you planning on going to the expo first day of it (vs. 2nd like when I went) you should be fine. Or if you know someone who is going first day who could get it for you- I wish I would have done that. Because sis-in-law did go first day & totally could have gotten it for me....

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Yes, you are correct- there is a coffee maker in the room. Guess I didn't connect that since I wasn't looking for coffee... I was looking for pop! You will be fine.. you'll have coffee, internet & a balcony to watch your sunrise.

I know, I was so sad they were out of I DID IT shirts. To be completely fair- they still had the size XS. But, since it's only my dream to be a XS, it wasn't happening for this girl!! If you planning on going to the expo first day of it (vs. 2nd like when I went) you should be fine. Or if you know someone who is going first day who could get it for you- I wish I would have done that. Because sis-in-law did go first day & totally could have gotten it for me....

I'm going Friday, but the expo will start on Thursday because of the Glass Slipper Challenge. I'm hoping that most people want GSC merch and not the PHM merch, but I'll just have to take my chances.

Oh, BTW, after I type up a big post on the DIS, I just highlight the words real quick and right click/copy them just in case the DIS goes wacky. Only takes a sec and it's like 2nd nature to me now and saves me the frustration if anything goes wrong!

 

[skier_pete]

Oh..but do you know what I ate for lunch in that 12 hours? No, no you don't. So there is some exciting suspense still in store for you. Try not to let it ruin your Thanksgiving as you await that information! Ha!

Have a great Thanksgiving. Tell U & A the same from us!

Eek! You're right - how will I make it through the holiday!

But - in a shameless bit of self-promotion - I am providing another perspective on Tinker326s trip - if you wish to read what might have been happening elsewhere at WDW while Tinker326 was desparately hoping her migraine would go away - and I didn't even know about the migraine, so it IS good I'm reading along - then check out FOR A FEW FASTPASSES MORE. Reading them both will be not unlike a "choose your own adventure" novel, in which two narratives merge into one and diverge again. Can two completely different families meet up within Walt Disney World without driving eachother crazy? And, if you don't follow both - how will you know which of us gets to finish their trip report first! (Hint: It probably won't be me.)

And Nicole since you've (unwillingly) let me shamelessly plug my TR - feel free to wander over to mine and do the same.

And a Happy, Happy Thanksgiving to you and the rest of the family. (Especially your mom if she managed to escape from the Pirates!)

 

[Tinker326]

Eek! You're right - how will I make it through the holiday!

But - in a shameless bit of self-promotion - I am providing another perspective on Tinker326s trip - if you wish to read what might have been happening elsewhere at WDW while Tinker326 was desparately hoping her migraine would go away - and I didn't even know about the migraine, so it IS good I'm reading along - then check out FOR A FEW FASTPASSES MORE. Reading them both will be not unlike a "choose your own adventure" novel, in which two narratives merge into one and diverge again. Can two completely different families meet up within Walt Disney World without driving eachother crazy? And, if you don't follow both - how will you know which of us gets to finish their trip report first! (Hint: It probably won't be me.)

And Nicole since you've (unwillingly) let me shamelessly plug my TR - feel free to wander over to mine and do the same.

And a Happy, Happy Thanksgiving to you and the rest of the family. (Especially your mom if she managed to escape from the Pirates!)

You are really working the word "Fastpass" in your recent trip report titles. How in the world are you going to make that work for your third 'trifecta' report? Call it... "On the seas without Fastpass". Oooh.. look, I just named your next trip report.

Off to read it.......

 

[-Hope-]

Ooooh, fireworks from the balcony! I don't love fireworks but being able to watch a few from my balcony with a glass of wine might change my mind...

SO sorry about the migraine. I get them periodically and really can't do much when I get one so I can't imagine having an impending race hanging over me.

Too late for this trip but for future reference; if you can stand to sleep with earbuds there's a sleep noise app that helps my DD who has trouble falling asleep. Perhaps next time if you have a roommate who doesn't want a noise machine you could try the app? Just a thought.

And learning to go with the flow is my specialty! I realized on our 2010 trip that by being uptight and stressed I was robbing us of the memories we could be having. It was definitely a "fake it till you make it" process for me but on our last trip I really felt like I'd adopted this attitude for real. There were still a few moments when I was frustrated/stressed about park progress but they were fleeting and few.

 

[Imbri]

I decided to get up and wander down in search of my Diet Coke fix. I figured the marketplace where the pop machine (pop. Midwest term for Cola/Soda) was located would surely be open by 6am for early birds. After all, this is where the coffee was located too.

I just died.

Can't wait to hear how the run turned out!



Twoboysnmygirl - I'm going to be going on Thuurrrssdaaaay.

 

[princessnpirate]

I cannot wait to hear more!

 

[Tinker326]

Ooooh, fireworks from the balcony! I don't love fireworks but being able to watch a few from my balcony with a glass of wine might change my mind...

SO sorry about the migraine. I get them periodically and really can't do much when I get one so I can't imagine having an impending race hanging over me.

Too late for this trip but for future reference; if you can stand to sleep with earbuds there's a sleep noise app that helps my DD who has trouble falling asleep. Perhaps next time if you have a roommate who doesn't want a noise machine you could try the app? Just a thought.

And learning to go with the flow is my specialty! I realized on our 2010 trip that by being uptight and stressed I was robbing us of the memories we could be having. It was definitely a "fake it till you make it" process for me but on our last trip I really felt like I'd adopted this attitude for real. There were still a few moments when I was frustrated/stressed about park progress but they were fleeting and few.

I do have that app actually but the earbuds bother me when I try to sleep. Guess that's called "being old".

I think my 'going with the flow' really did help the overall vibe of the vacation. Especially for everyone else. We did have a lot that seemed to go wrong (all first world problems, admittedly) that I think would have gotten to me a lot more if I had my usual vacation attitude going!

I just died.

Yes, well it does need to be clarified.. because I get so many blank looks of confusion when I talk to non-Midwesterners and use the word 'pop'. Like I'm speaking a foreign language or something. POP. It's pop. It will always be pop. And speaking of pop- the best pop in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD hails from our sweet state of MI. Vernors.

I cannot wait to hear more!

HI! Welcome! Thanks for reading along!!!

 

[jodi90]

Yes, well it does need to be clarified.. because I get so many blank looks of confusion when I talk to non-Midwesterners and use the word 'pop'. Like I'm speaking a foreign language or something. POP. It's pop. It will always be pop. And speaking of pop- the best pop in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD hails from our sweet state of MI. Vernors.

It's Pop here in Idaho as well. I knew exactly what you were talking about

 

[Tinker326]

It's Pop here in Idaho as well. I knew exactly what you were talking about

Ok. Good- I'm not totally losing readers with Midwest slang! I know when I use the word 'pop' East of Detroit.. well, I get the blank look of confusion. And then something like "oh, you mean soda?"

And then I'm all blank look of confusion and am like "No, I mean pop. You know.. POP."

 

[Chaitali]

Joining in! Loved reading about your trip so far. I'm just beginning to run in the hopes of being able to do the Tower of Terror 10 miler next year so I look forward to hearing about your race experience And I know what you mean about the word pop. I grew up in Ohio, that's what we always called it, and then I moved to DC and no one knew what I was talking about!

 

[Tinker326]

Joining in! Loved reading about your trip so far. I'm just beginning to run in the hopes of being able to do the Tower of Terror 10 miler next year so I look forward to hearing about your race experience And I know what you mean about the word pop. I grew up in Ohio, that's what we always called it, and then I moved to DC and no one knew what I was talking about!

Hi! Welcome! Oooh the ToT 10 miler is the race that intrests me most... I really had problems with 13.1... and 10 miles seems to be a better 'long distance' for me. My only fear with that one is the weather. I fear it may still be too hot for me with the humidity. Although it's a night race & I like night races better than morning races........ I am seriously eyeballin' that race though...............

 

[Tinker326]

And so I last left you all anxiously wondering exactly what I was going to eat for lunch that day. I know, this is high suspense stuff, right here……..

I also think people think I’m somewhere near actually writing about the race. And I’m not writing about the race. That’s at least 1 post away. If you do the calculation, that means at this rate my trip report may be 100 pages long. 100 pages of high thrill suspense, of course.

And so me and migraine left the Wide World of Sports. On my way out, I spotted my corral. And… I panicked.

I arrived back at BWV to the Big D fast asleep- all tired out from her Jingle Jungle Race 5K earlier this morning. Oh my, this wouldn’t do at all… my headache told me “ain’t no way you are joining her sweetheart so you best find something else to do with your pain-filled self”. (my headache voice sounds a lot like Katy Segal in the role of Gemma Teller in Sons of Anarchy, in case you are wondering).

I guess this would also be a good time to mention that I really don’t hear voices in my head and talk back to them. In case you were now wondering about that.

So I texted the Cuz to see where she currently was. She replied… at the Princess Breakfast at Norway with her freaking out daughter (who is deathly afraid of all characters) and would I please come rescue her. And so I walked on over to Epcot.

Let me take this time to point out.. I WALKED OVER TO EPCOT… it took me approx. 5 minutes my room to the gates. This is, hands down, the #1 reason to stay at BC. IT WAS AWESOME!

I did not use my magic band to enter…due to massive problems with Disney (are you reading Disney IT department?) being unable to link the correct tickets to my bands. Now, I work in software. This is elementary coding. Disney’s size & money bank should have dictated this NOT to be a problem. But it was. A big one. And so……I used a hard ticket to enter regardless of the 5 hours spent pre-vacation trying to fix this.

Oh beautiful Magic Band. So a problem filled child you are....


Man, my hands look old in that picture.

Where was I? Oh yes, I wandered over to Norway. Oh, manly Viking man, please show me the way to the damsel in distress from those horrifying princesses…………..



Oh there she is…with Snow White. Dang she’s cute isn’t she? She’s my Goddaughter too.



Auntie Cole saved her…and off we went to conquer some scary rides like Nemo. And Turtle Talk.

By this time Big D was up and had wandered her five minutes over to EPCOT. Where we said goodbye to the Cuz and the children who were heading back to nap…and we did some EPCOTIN’.

We, the awesome runners, got our picture taken.



Then we fought the madness that was the last weekend day of the Food and Wine Festival…..



And got ourselves some dessert. Dessert first. Then lunch. My basic rule I try to follow in life. Life's short- so eat dessert first! This desert was an Orange Cupcake. A Pistachio Cherry Mouse (I think) and a…. um…. Peter..help me out- I know you had this too.. some Hazelnut thing that was really, really good….



We were going to lunch around the world at the F&W booths but since each booth’s line was approximately a 5 hour wait… we just gave up and headed into the France fast food place which was filled with the most delicious looking desserts ever. Have I mentioned I have a wee bit of a sugar problem. Oh, right..I did.. in my early morning quest for Diet Coke and the previous paragraphs life mantra.

Curse the race and its restrictive race day diet. I will be back France, I will be back to sample your delicacies. For now, I guess I will have the Cheese Quiche. It was decent. Could have been warmer.



Oh and my head still hurt. I declared it nap time.

We headed back to the hotel. Ahh, sweet short walk. And I laid down. And my headache declared it ‘party time’. As in.. “Didn’t I tell you earlier, sweetheart, there would be NO SLEEPING? I don’t care that you have a race at 10pm tonight and you’ve been up since 5am. I’m here now & as your unwanted houseguest you will stay awake and keep me company”.

Fine, I said. And I went and got more Diet Coke. And possibly took some drugs. Tame drugs like ineffective ibuprofen. What I really wanted was some Vicodin. But alas… Mickey wasn’t selling. (I’m kidding…. People, I’m kidding!!! I wasn’t really looking for illegal prescription drugs and of course Mickey wouldn’t sell them- or would he? Mickey sells a lot in the souvenir shops to make a buck. KIDDING.)

Big D woke up – again- and we headed back to EPCOT. Five minutes. We had FP+ for Test Track.

It turned Green. We were golden. With all the magic band problems we had, using them for FP’s wasn’t one of them- we never had issue with this- All ours always turned Green- all week long.

I had never been on the new Test Track and wasn’t sure how I’d like it. I’m not a big fan of change. We waited in the que. And were told……… STAND ON 6 TOGETHER.



Then ushered in to the design room.



Where Big D literally pushed me out of the way. She is an engineer and there was no way in heck she was letting her non-engineer family member have any part in designing a car.

So I took pictures.



Oh, and she let me pick the color. I like pink.



We ended up winning all categories – so she was spot on. And I ended up LOVING the new Test Track. I think it’s a great improvement over the old one! And I still love the speeding part. Weeeeeeeeee FUN!



(although not the BEST thing to do with a migraine. I remember thinking on the ride that I was seriously stupid for doing this because I kinda felt ill with the jarring bumps and the headache)

Then we did our FP+ for Soarin. No pictures. Always a favorite. I spotted out my hidden Mickey’s in it.

From there we used our FP+ for Character Spot- which was a waste at that hour of the day with a 5 minute standby – but we were done in the park anyways so we didn’t change.

We rock. Huh Mickey?



Goooooofy. Doh.



And. Minnie. Sweet.



My only complaint was the mother with her two daughters in front of us who decided at each character that she needed a) all autographs b) a picture separately of each daughter c) a picture of both daughters d) a picture of herself with her daughters. e) a picture of herself. I mean, really, lady.. what the heck are you going to do with 900 different poses of the SAME character? That’s an exciting album to share with family…

And then……. We went back to the hotel to begin… RACE PREP. Okay, so the race will be two posts away. One of race prep. And one of the race. I know, I’m killing you. You are all like ‘stop being so wordy because we don’t care about the lady in front of you with 900 photo options of Goofy.. we want RACE!”

But…race Prep first. That will be exciting. It includes costumes. And costumes are always fun!

 

[B&WMickey]

I'd never experienced lines like that before at F&W. I've been numerous times in the past and I'm used to walking right up and getting what I want and then walking off with it. But this trip I felt like I needed FP+ to graze around the world.

I'm always amazed by how long people spend with the characters. Maybe I just don't get it but wow. I'm always too concerned about holding up the line of people waiting behind me to spend more than a moment or two with them. Walk up, shake hands/hugs, autograph, say cheese, snap.... Out we go.

 

[Tinker326]

I'd never experienced lines like that before at F&W. I've been numerous times in the past and I'm used to walking right up and getting what I want and then walking off with it. But this trip I felt like I needed FP+ to graze around the world.

I'm always amazed by how long people spend with the characters. Maybe I just don't get it but wow. I'm always too concerned about holding up the line of people waiting behind me to spend more than a moment or two with them. Walk up, shake hands/hugs, autograph, say cheese, snap.... Out we go.

Now Disney would be smart to capitalize on that FP option during F&W time. That's an effective way to use those FP plusses!!!!!

And YES with the characters! I totally agree with that character philosophy.

 

[Chaitali]

Ooh...you should totally do ToT next year the shorter distance and the night timing is what drew me to it as well . I might go for wine and dine the following year if this one goes well. Just reading about your migraine is painful . I hope it went away before the race. And those desserts look so good!