Dig A Little Deeper: Dopey 2019

[rteetz]

Glad you liked the half. There certainly is nothing that beats running through MK especially when everything is still lit up. It’s the part before and after MK that I’m not fond of. If they some how could give more park time or something I would love it more. It was my first half course so I do like it. Fun picture with Mike and Sulley!

 

[lhermiston]

Glad you liked the half. There certainly is nothing that beats running through MK especially when everything is still lit up. It’s the part before and after MK that I’m not fond of. If they some how could give more park time or something I would love it more. It was my first half course so I do like it. Fun picture with Mike and Sulley!

I loved the half! MK is definitely the highlight, but I had plenty to look at or listen to throughout the race that it never very dull.

 

[Neon Cactus]

Catching up on your reports. Nothing beats the MK lit up. When I did 2016, we came in by Tony's also, but for me I love going through that tunnel onto Main Street, seeing the Christmas tree and the castle at the end. I loved both experiences! Loved the sunset pictures from your earlier post too, I love the EPCOT resorts area in general and when the sun starts to go down and the Boardwalk lights up, it's awesome. Big beignet fan, too, when I stayed at POR in July, I got up early and got beignets (helped me get my daughters out of bed earlier than they would have otherwise!). Apparently on Sundays, they do a beignet 5k at POFQ. I'm not sure if you get them along the course or just at the end, but at some point, you get beignets. We just missed that by a day, but it's on the to do list for a future trip! EDIT: It's only about 1.5 miles but you do get 3 beignets after the race.

 

[Smilelea]

There were photographers right out in front of the castle by the time I came through. I think there were 3 with an extra volunteer taking the main line and splitting it into 3 as pics were taken and runners ran off.

Oh how I regret not stopping for Woody and Bullseye. The line was long and I wasn't sure how I'd be doing the closer I got to the end. Had I known I would need to walk the last 3 miles to give my family extra time to get to the finish line, I'd have stopped.

I, too, liked the course. Running down Main Street and through the castle was awesome.

 

[lhermiston]

Catching up on your reports. Nothing beats the MK lit up. When I did 2016, we came in by Tony's also, but for me I love going through that tunnel onto Main Street, seeing the Christmas tree and the castle at the end. I loved both experiences! Loved the sunset pictures from your earlier post too, I love the EPCOT resorts area in general and when the sun starts to go down and the Boardwalk lights up, it's awesome. Big beignet fan, too, when I stayed at POR in July, I got up early and got beignets (helped me get my daughters out of bed earlier than they would have otherwise!). Apparently on Sundays, they do a beignet 5k at POFQ. I'm not sure if you get them along the course or just at the end, but at some point, you get beignets. We just missed that by a day, but it's on the to do list for a future trip! EDIT: It's only about 1.5 miles but you do get 3 beignets after the race.

A beignet race sounds awesome.

 

[TheHamm]

A beignet race sounds awesome.

Catching up on your reports. Nothing beats the MK lit up. When I did 2016, we came in by Tony's also, but for me I love going through that tunnel onto Main Street, seeing the Christmas tree and the castle at the end. I loved both experiences! Loved the sunset pictures from your earlier post too, I love the EPCOT resorts area in general and when the sun starts to go down and the Boardwalk lights up, it's awesome. Big beignet fan, too, when I stayed at POR in July, I got up early and got beignets (helped me get my daughters out of bed earlier than they would have otherwise!). Apparently on Sundays, they do a beignet 5k at POFQ. I'm not sure if you get them along the course or just at the end, but at some point, you get beignets. We just missed that by a day, but it's on the to do list for a future trip! EDIT: It's only about 1.5 miles but you do get 3 beignets after the race.

The beignet run is a lot of fun, and I highly recommend. No snacks on course, you get a 'race bib' where I believe everyone was #1 and you use the tear off tab to redeem for delicious snacks. If I were to do it again I would do a second loop probably before as I would have a hard time not going to get snacks as soon as I crossed the bubble wand finish. Also, no post race alcohol filled beignets as the bar does not open that early

 

[cavepig]

Your Monsters photo is epic posing. I totally regret not stopping for a castle photo, it's like time for a redo already, right?!. Great run on the half!

 

[BigEeyore]

Running down Main St with that castle all lit up is such an amazing experience! I love that we get to come through the front of the park, under the train station now (rather than the backstage bit and coming out by Tony's). Once you leave MK though, the half course is super boring - and I think they cut out Epcot time this year too. I felt like we barely stepped foot in there!
Way to stop for characters - finally!

 

[emilyindisney]

Glad you had a good half! It's not a course I would want to run all the time but as you said- nothing beats running down Mainstreet USA! Solid character stop choices.

 

[ZellyB]

Glad you stopped for some character shots and that Monsters pic is all kinds of awesome. Love your pose!

I'm one who complains about the half course, but it's not that I hate it or anything (how can you hate a course that runs through the castle), it's just my least favorite course of the marathon weekend. But still better than your average half anywhere else.

Now, I want beignets.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Yay for a great half! I love the Monsters pic!

I ran the half course for Princess 2 years ago and really enjoyed it. You might get kicked off the boards for not loving the 10K course and liking the half though (I've never ran the 10K and like that half... so I'm also in the minority)

 

[lhermiston]

Your Monsters photo is epic posing. I totally regret not stopping for a castle photo, it's like time for a redo already, right?!. Great run on the half!

If/when I do another Disney full, I’m definitely stopping for a castle pic.

Running down Main St with that castle all lit up is such an amazing experience! I love that we get to come through the front of the park, under the train station now (rather than the backstage bit and coming out by Tony's). Once you leave MK though, the half course is super boring - and I think they cut out Epcot time this year too. I felt like we barely stepped foot in there!
Way to stop for characters - finally!

I still really loved the half, even the “boring” parts. But I got to watch the sunrise as I ran and that was nice. I might feel differently doing it at 10 am or something.

Glad you had a good half! It's not a course I would want to run all the time but as you said- nothing beats running down Mainstreet USA! Solid character stop choices.

Thanks! Compared to running the same old routes back home, even the “worst” parts of the half were a blast.

Glad you stopped for some character shots and that Monsters pic is all kinds of awesome. Love your pose!

I'm one who complains about the half course, but it's not that I hate it or anything (how can you hate a course that runs through the castle), it's just my least favorite course of the marathon weekend. But still better than your average half anywhere else.

Now, I want beignets.

#AllTheBeignets

I was so glad to see Mike and Sully out there.

And I’m Team Half Marathon from here on out. The 10K and Half both have boring parts, but the Castle is the tiebreaker for me.

Yay for a great half! I love the Monsters pic!

I ran the half course for Princess 2 years ago and really enjoyed it. You might get kicked off the boards for not loving the 10K course and liking the half though (I've never ran the 10K and like that half... so I'm also in the minority)

I’ll take my chances. Long live the half!

 

[jhoannam]

Your trip report is making me want to sign up for the Dopey!!! Even though I said I would be a one and done marathoner.

 

[lhermiston]

Your trip report is making me want to sign up for the Dopey!!! Even though I said I would be a one and done marathoner.

It was pretty fun and I’m glad to say I’ve done it, but I’m probably one and done on Dopey.

 

[lhermiston]

Day 5, Part 2: Touring Plans, why have you forsaken me?

After the half, I rushed back to the room and got cleaned up so we could make our FastPasses at Magic Kingdom. What I didn't account for was traffic being rerouted for the half, so it took us close to an hour to get to MK. That meant that Hannah - who had a massage scheduled at Senses at Grand Floridian - wouldn't be starting the day with us.

So, the girls and I headed into Magic Kingdom. Before we got there, Maya had tripped on the bus and it put her in a mood. It definitely didn't help that Hannah left, since Maya tends to use her as a security blanket when she's upset.

I tried to get a pic of the four of us in front of the castle, but Maya wasn't having it. So, I got a solo pic to commemorate the half.

PhotoPass_Visiting_MK_415262316755 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

After that, we made our way through Adventureland on the way to our FastPass at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. As we were walking through, we saw Aladdin and Jasmine were out. We had never done a meet and greet with them in all of our trips. I asked Maya if she wanted to meet them and she perked up considerably. The line was super short, too.

PhotoPass_Visiting_MK_415262830988 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

After that, it was smooth sailing with Maya. It's like we hit the reset button and everything was fine.

We made it in time for our Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Fastpass. It's one of my favorites and Josie and Robyn really liked it, but Maya thought it was a little scary.



From there, we went over to Splash Mountain for our FastPass that started at 10 a.m.



So, you know how they warn you to hold onto any loose items like hats and stuff? Well, Maya heard that and told me I should probably take off my hat. I assured her it'd be fine. Well, guess what? I lost my hat going down the big drop! She would not let me live that down the rest of the trip, ha ha.

Because the line for Splash was so short (a common occurrence this trip), we got right back in line and did it again. Note the hat in the first pic and no hat in the second.

PhotoPass_Visiting_MK_415262991234 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_MK_415262927529 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

I asked a CM if there was any lost and found for items that fell off during the ride. He told me that even if they found it, I probably wouldn't want it. Fortunately, the MU hats that were impossible to track down our last trip are now widely available across the parks. So, I picked up a new one in the gift shop.

After that we grabbed a pretzel and a churro on our way over to Jungle Cruise. We didn't have a FastPass, but Touring Plans said it was only about a 30 minute wait. Turns out, Touring Plans was wrong. We ended up waiting about an hour to do Jungle Cruise. Jungle Cruise doesn't rate high on my list of rides to wait more than 20 minutes for, but at least it wasn't too hot.





By the time we were done with Jungle Cruise, Hannah was done with her massage. We met her over at Cosmic Rays for lunch. It was crazy crowded and Robyn ended up getting a little stressed out when we crammed ourselves into one small table in a corner, but the meal was fine. Cosmic Rays is always a dependable quick service option, in my opinion.

After lunch, I'm pretty sure we did Buzz, the Peoplemover and popped into one of the gift shops. Then we headed back toward Adventureland for Pirates of the Caribbean. It had warmed up a fair amount in the afternoon and we had more snack credits than we knew what to do with, so we picked up some dole whips and citrus swirls.



After ice cream, we decided to do Pirates of the Caribbean, which Touring Plans listed as having a 30 minute wait or so. Wrong again. It ended up being 45 minutes to an hour. At that point in the day, the air was super stale and waiting inside the building was a little gross. But, what can you do?

After Pirates, we all headed back to POR to take a dip in the pool. It's a rare occasion that I don't seize the chance for some solo time at the parks, but just taking it easy sounded good, too. The pool ended up being nice and relaxing.

At 5, we had reservations at Boatrights for dinner. Our server saw my shirt and medal and was reeeeeeeaaaallly chatty about wanting to do a runDisney race and had a lot of questions, but it was fine. I love Cajun food and had been looking forward to this meal since we booked it, but since it was the night before the full, I figured it would not be smart to order anything too adventurous. I ended up ordering a steak with crawfish mac and cheese. It was pretty bueno.

Magic Kingdom was open until 11 that night and I was really determined to show the girls how great Magic Kingdom is later in the evening. So against my better judgment, Josie, Robyn and I hightailed it out of dinner and caught a bus to MK.

We probably got to MK around 7:30 and made our way to Splash Mountain. I wanted to time things so we could see fireworks as we were going off the big drop, but we just missed it.



None the less, it was super fun to just walk through the park with the fireworks going off, something none of us had done since I'm usually taking photos of the fireworks are going and I'm in the park.





I think we did Buzz again after we worked our way over to Tomorrowland. It was still fairly early, but I decided not to go too crazy that night. The girls had never done Space Mountain and I was determined to take them on that once.

Touring Plans listed it as a 35 minute wait. Well, guess what? We waited for 70 minutes.

I'm going to pause here and say that Touring Plans has been an indispensable planning tool for me for each of our Disney trips. I talk it up to anyone and everyone who is going to Disney, especially first-timers or those without a lot of WDW experience. This was the first time the Touring Plans was really off on its estimated wait times (Jungle, Pirates and Space). I've thought about it some since and I'm guessing it's tied somehow to the massive changes in crowd levels Touring Plans predicted a week or so before marathon weekend. It seems like WDW has made some operational changes and Touring Plans is still trying to adapt to those changes. I'll continue to use Touring Plans for future trips (whenever they may be), but I don't think I'll be as reliant on their predicted wait times.

Anyway, despite the long wait, Space Mountain was really, really fun. The girls liked it and I'm glad we did it. But, the 75 minutes or so we spent on it meant that was pretty much it for the night.

We did stop for a pic on the way out to commemorate the evening.

PhotoPass_Visiting_MK_415285300314 by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

It has already been framed and sits on my desk at work.

We made it back to POR sometime between 10:30 and 11. I got to bed to get whatever sleep I could before the full.

Next: The cold never bothered me anyway ... but the heat is another story.

 

[rteetz]

My suggestion is to look at both My Disney Experience and the Touring Plans app. Usually MDE is on the higher end. Touring plans is also an estimation based on an algorithm. There have been times where waits have been longer than TP had but also times where they were shorter. I feel it all works out in the end. No Disney tool is perfect.

 

[lhermiston]

My suggestion is to look at both My Disney Experience and the Touring Plans app. Usually MDE is on the higher end. Touring plans is also an estimation based on an algorithm. There have been times where waits have been longer than TP had but also times where they were shorter. I feel it all works out in the end. No Disney tool is perfect.

Right. And I usually compare the posted wait time with touring plans’ estimates. Usually TP is spot on. That’s what made these three misses standout. It was also on the day their crowd calendar jumped from 5 to 9 for MK.

 

[BigEeyore]

Late night before the full! You are a machine! Waiting in long lines during a race weekend is so hard for me - I am impressed at your stamina!

I've never used TP, usually just go by the posted wait times on MDE (which are usually an over-estimate, but not always!).

 

[lhermiston]

Late night before the full! You are a machine! Waiting in long lines during a race weekend is so hard for me - I am impressed at your stamina!

I've never used TP, usually just go by the posted wait times on MDE (which are usually an over-estimate, but not always!).

Maybe too late of a night, ha ha! But it’s a family trip just as much as a running trip and I didn’t want to sacrifice that opportunity with my girls.

 

[petals]

Well done on your 10k and half marathon and I love your fireworks pictures