Walt Disney World Race Weekend

My parents arriving for the flight to Orlando

January was kind of a whirlwind. 3 days after getting back from the holiday travel I flew down to Florida to participate in the Walt Disney World Race Weekend 2016. My parents and Rachel also went and participated. Rachel and my dad were doing the dopey challenge while my mom and I participated in the half marathon. The Dopey challenge involves running the 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon for a grand total of 48 miles that weekend. My parents and I were on the same flight from Chicago to Orlando which ended up being pretty fun. We needed to be there Wednesday so that Rachel and my dad could check in for their first race the next day. The set up was pretty cool. They had us all check in at the ESPN sports complex. Each race had it's own area where you checked in to pick up your race number, your bag and shirts. They also had a bunch of different venders where you could buy Disney  race gear as well as stuff from Garmin, Nike, Asics and others.  After getting our stuff we went and checked into our hotel (Shades of Green), eat dinner and picked up our park tickets, and set our fast passes. We spent the rest of the night prepping our stuff and laying things out. We went to bed early that night since Rachel and Dad had to be on the bus by 4 to get to the start of the race. 

Mom and I picking up our race gear

Designing our Car

Thursday- Rachel and Dad woke up early and got on the bus for the 5k. The race started at 5, but they didn't start running until almost 6. They took it a little slower since they had so many races but they were done in about 30 minutes. The 5k was around and in Epcot. Mom and I decided to wait for them to get back before we went to any parks. Once they got back we let them get cleaned up, and Rachel took a nap and then we went to Epcot. Epcot was super fun! I hadn't been to the redone test track so it was fun to see how Chevy revamped it. The new ride showcases some of the new things Chevy is working on as well as engineers in the company and how they design the cars. Right before you go on a ride you get to design what your car will actually look like. The car then shows up on your ride and you can see what your car's responsiveness, efficiency, capability and power all are and how they rank next to other people on the ride. Another ride that we went on was a design your own roller coaster ride. Rachel and I decided to design a bobsled ride instead. It was pretty fun. We had lots of turns and twists in the ride and it was only about 30 seconds long. We walked around the World Showcase as well. We got to see some sweet Chinese Acrobats in China, and the drummers in Japan. We spent a couple more hours walking around the park and riding a few rides/looking around and then we headed back to the hotel.

Peter Pan ride

Friday- It was pretty rainy all day Friday. Rachel and dad got up early to go run the 10k. The 10k was all around Epcot as well. Mom and I decided to head straight to the Magic Kingdom without waiting because we wanted to get on one of the brand new rides. Rachel needed a longer nap (she has mono) to recover after the race this time. So mom and I went and started in the park first thing. We rode the new Snow White and the Seven Dwarves ride. The ride has each individual car move around. Because of the rain the park stayed pretty empty for the morning. It was nice because we got to go on a lot of rides without any lines but it wasn't as nice because we were pretty wet. Disney re did one of the areas in the park and so now there is also the Beast's castle from Beauty and the Beast. It was fun to see there area. One of my favorite rides is Space Mountain. We've noticed in the last few years it's not as nice as the other rides because it's old and it shakes a lot. Your head really rattles while you're on the ride. Mom really enjoyed riding the redone Peter Pan ride. Now as you wait in the line you get to walk through the family's house and be in the kids room. There's also pictures depicting the story of Peter Pan told along the way. It was pretty neat to see. Mom and I also went on the Buzz Lightyear ride. I totally smoked her in blowing up Zerg. We also went and visited Tom Sawyer Island. The island is great! It's basically an enclosed playground that kids can run through on. We had run running in the fort and going through the tunnels. Even my claustrophobic mother went through them. One of the nice things about the race weekend is that they leave the Christmas decorations up until the very end of the race weekend so we got to see that castle lit up. We stayed in Magic Kingdom for pretty much the whole day. We went back later that evening and ate the pasta bar at the buffet that night.

Dancing!

Mom and I getting ready to run

Saturday- Saturday we had to wake up at 2:30 to get on the bus by 3 to be at the race start. There were some rather enthusiastic runners that early in the morning. Most of us weren't that energetic. The most disconcerting part of the race is watching the starting ceremony multiple times before you actually start. The run itself wasn't too bad. I stuck with my mom for all of it, while dad and Rachel started earlier then we did. Mom was nervous about the race but she did great! We ran through Epcot to the Magic Kingdom and then finished back up in Epcot. At each mile marker there was a different disney character. They also had water and power aid every mile so we stayed pretty well hydrated. My only complaint was that when we got to mile 8 all they had left was coffee flavored gu energy gel. So mom and I finished the race without anything. All though, they gave us a snack pack when we got to the end of the race. The staff was also really nice and I was able to get 2 bananas. The race requires that you maintain a 16 minute mile pace while racing, in order to be done on time. They do open the park at the regular time so depending on how long you take, you potentially are running with visitors around. After we finished the race we went back and got caught cleaned up at the hotel. Later that evening we went to Disney Hollywood Studios. It's in the process of being redone so there wasn't much to do in the park. We rode the Rock-n-roller coaster and the Tower of Terror. The park is being transitioned to incorporate a new Star Wars park, so most of it is closed. We did go see a film about the Star Wars movie and all of the actors and directors making the movie. None of us brought rain coats with us to the park and we regretted it when the clouds opened up and we got soaked waiting for the bus back to the hotel. We were glad when we got to the hotel and we're slightly sore from all the walking. 

Running through Cinderella's castle

Finishing in Epcot

Race finisher!

Families that run together stay together!

Sunday- Dad and Rachel got up and got ready for the marathon. The marathon goes through all 4 disney parks as well as the ESPN sports complex. They start in Epcot then go to the Magic Kingdom, then Animal Kingdom, then the ESPN sports complex, Hollywood Studios and then back to end in Epcot. Mom and I got up early and met dad and Rachel as they came running past the hotel we were staying in. We tried to catch them in Animal Kingdom, but due to the road traffic we didn't make it to them. They did say that in Animal Kingdom they brought the animals out so that you could see the animals during your run. Mom and I spent some time in the Animal Kingdom. We tried to do the Animal Safari and a few other rides before the pack got too crowded. We went back to Epcot to try and catch them as they finished the race. We were able to see them as they got close to the finish, which was really nice. They said they enjoyed seeing us as well. A nice boost towards the end. Once they finished the race we all met up at the hotel and went back to Animal Kingdom. There we rode the Kilimanjaro Safari. We saw a few different animals then we had seen during the day. Afterwards we saw the Lion King stage show. It was well done and they had a lot of audience participation. We ended the day by riding the Expedition Everest. It's a really neat ride. The roller coaster goes backwards and has a lot of loops. There's also a yeti on the ride! This was the first time we got to see the Yeti. Right now Animal Kingdom is under construction as they get ready to build Avatar land inside the Animal Kingdom as well. We were all pretty tired and we went back to the hotel. Really good friends of the family (the Sandstroms) came and met up with us and brought dinner. It was nice to visit with them and catch up. We were all ready for bed that night. It was a whirlwind of a weekend. 

In front of the Christmas tree at Animal Kingdom

Monday we all left to go our respective ways. Rachel, Dad and Mom all had an earlier flight then I did. They were all just about home before I had even left Orlando! By the time I left Orlando I got stuck in Chicago with a snow storm. I ended up being delayed over an hour before we left. We then sat on the plane for an hour before we finally left. By the time we got to Iowa it was late enough that they were working with a skeleton crew. We ended up having to wait longer since there were several planes that arrived at the same time we did. Poor Guy stayed up so that he could come and pick me up from the airport. I got home late enough that I missed lunch and dinner so I was kinda grouchy when I got home. 

The race was so much fun though! I'm looking forward to trying the Dopey Challenge next year. Even Guy said he was interested in participating as well.