The Sky’s Awake, so I’m Awake, so we have to RUN!! – A 2017 Goofy Challenge Trip Report*COMPLETE*

[ZellyB]

So true That picture is perfect!

Right? I'd never really thought much about it before, but they were a perfect match!

Joining! Have to come back & read your MK post but wanted to make my mark We stayed at the BVC for the first time over Thanksgiving and were in room 431, had a great view of high Illuminations AND Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM fireworks!
OMG 3 hours sitting on the plane I would've had to throw my DS11 out the door b/c his complaining never would have stopped!

Thanks for joining! BCV was really great and I couldn't believe it when I realized we could see the fireworks from the balcony. Thankfully our flight was so early the kids slept through a lot of it!

 

[Ariel484]

Those "typical 13-year-old" pics need to be pulled out later at family functions, for boyfriends to see, etc.

I agree with your thoughts on the steak at Be Our Guest.

 

[ZellyB]

JANUARY 6 CONTINUED - BAD NEWS

Chris and I laid out our race gear and then went down to find the kids swimming. They were having a great time going down the slide and had the pool basically to themselves.

It was literally moments after Chris took this shot that I read the update here on The Dis, that the half marathon the next day had been cancelled. I think I must have read that about three times before I walked over to Chris and delivered the news. He looked as shocked as I felt. It all just felt so premature. I mean it was like 7:30 at night and while the storm was clearly heading in, I felt like things could still change. I was stunned. But, the more I thought about it and read others reactions here, I realized why runDisney had to do it. The risk, not only to runners, but to all those volunteers and staff who would be out all night setting up was just too great. It still felt like a gut punch though.

As we were walking back to our room, I passed a young woman sitting on a bench with her mother talking to her. She was staring at her phone and looked near tears. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect she was a runner also trying to absorb the news. We got back to the room and I read a lot here on the runDisney forum and was just so glad to see how well the other runners here were handling the news. Disappointed and sad absolutely, but most understood and appreciated how difficult the decision must have been for runDisney. But safety must always come first.

The event guide was updated online pretty early.

As the night went on, official news soon followed that runDisney would be refunding the cost of the half marathon registration fee with some options for that refund including a gift card, applying toward a future race or some park tickets. I was frankly really surprised they did this. When you sign up for these races, you do so with advance notice that if the race has to be cancelled for reasons outside rD’s control that you forfeit the registration fee, so the move on their part to refund millions of dollars to participants was quite a shock, particularly given all the money that had already been spent to put the race on. It was a class act by runDisney and one that I really appreciated.

There was additional information that runners would need to go to the Expo to get their half-marathon medal and their refunds, but shortly after they announced that Challenge participants need not do that and would get all their medals at the conclusion of the marathon. That was a big relief for me as I was sure the expo would be a zoo and probably full of a lot of very unhappy and potentially angry people. I was really feeling sorry for those folks who were going to be working there. Meanwhile there was lots of talk here and on social media about people who were planning to run the half marathon mileage on their own around property. I was so impressed by those folks, although we opted to instead spend time in the parks with our kids.

We did walk around the resort one more time – maybe headed to the Marketplace or something I don’t remember exactly and saw the official sign at that point.

Finally getting ready for bed and packing away our half-marathon racing stuff, Chris realized that he’d packed a throwaway shirt that was a duplicate custom shirt from the Wine and Dine race we’d done last year – you know the one that got shortened due to storms? We totally decided he had cursed us by bringing the stupid thing along.

Not really obviously, but it did make for a good picture.



Next up: The indomitable spirit of runners!



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[ZellyB]

Those "typical 13-year-old" pics need to be pulled out later at family functions, for boyfriends to see, etc.

I agree with your thoughts on the steak at Be Our Guest.

Oh you can count on future viewings of those photos!

Yes, I think we are done with Be Our Guest. The atmosphere is fun, but the food is just not worth the cost, IMO. Still it was a fun time and the kids seemed to enjoy it, so it was fine for this time.

 

[Ariel484]

Oh you can count on future viewings of those photos!

Yes, I think we are done with Be Our Guest. The atmosphere is fun, but the food is just not worth the cost, IMO. Still it was a fun time and the kids seemed to enjoy it, so it was fine for this time.

I have a reservation there for Princess weekend - this was my first dinner there so I'm hoping I'll like a different. entree more. If not, it's off my list for dinner too!

 

[Sailormoon2]

I'm sure it was quite upsetting to not get to run the first race of your challenge, but I especially feel for those people who were only there for the half, and more so if it was their first On the flip side it sounds like you ended up getting more family time out of it, which really is priceless!

 

[rteetz]

You guys look like you had a lot of fun in MK that morning! I love the family pictures you got. I can relate to the teenage girl thing my sister's are 15 and 11.

I have never done Crystal Palace for breakfast but have for dinner once and we enjoyed it. I like the idea of a later breakfast there.

We ate at BoG this trip as well and I also had the steak. Mine was good but like you said nothing spectacular.

The half cancellation shocked us all. Now we know who to blame! Chris! Lol, the fact he brought that shirt is pretty funny.

 

[ariane37]

The shot with Paige and Eeyore is great! I don't think 14yo boys are any better than 13yo girls as far as having their pictures taken, it was like pulling teeth with my DS14 when we were there in Nov I definitely took some forced family shots lol!
Uh-oh on your BOG steak though That's one of our favorite TS restaurants and someone always gets the steak, and we've never been disappointed. Every dish has an off night though! Sorry you didn't enjoy it, DH had the Ratatouille once and loved it.
I am in no way a runner but I can imagine everyone's disappointment with the cancellation. However I agree it was a stellar move by RunDisney to refund everyone, and that's sure to bring back folks who may have been running for the first time.

 

[ZellyB]

I'm sure it was quite upsetting to not get to run the first race of your challenge, but I especially feel for those people who were only there for the half, and more so if it was their first On the flip side it sounds like you ended up getting more family time out of it, which really is priceless!

I can't imagine if the half was your only race. All that time and training and money - and then no race. It really was nice to have the added time with the kids though - so true!

You guys look like you had a lot of fun in MK that morning! I love the family pictures you got. I can relate to the teenage girl thing my sister's are 15 and 11.

I have never done Crystal Palace for breakfast but have for dinner once and we enjoyed it. I like the idea of a later breakfast there.

We ate at BoG this trip as well and I also had the steak. Mine was good but like you said nothing spectacular.

The half cancellation shocked us all. Now we know who to blame! Chris! Lol, the fact he brought that shirt is pretty funny.

I've only ever done Crystal Palace for breakfast and this was our first time eating there later, but it worked out really well.

Yeah, shock is definitely the right description of my emotion when reading about the cancellation. But given how the weather was that morning, there's no doubt it was the right thing to do.

The shot with Paige and Eeyore is great! I don't think 14yo boys are any better than 13yo girls as far as having their pictures taken, it was like pulling teeth with my DS14 when we were there in Nov I definitely took some forced family shots lol!
Uh-oh on your BOG steak though That's one of our favorite TS restaurants and someone always gets the steak, and we've never been disappointed. Every dish has an off night though! Sorry you didn't enjoy it, DH had the Ratatouille once and loved it.
I am in no way a runner but I can imagine everyone's disappointment with the cancellation. However I agree it was a stellar move by RunDisney to refund everyone, and that's sure to bring back folks who may have been running for the first time.

We've enjoyed BOG a lot the two other times we've eaten there, so it might have just been on off night. I really did like the Ratatouille and if we do go again, I think I'd order that!

 

[ZellyB]

SATURDAY JANUARY 7 – LET’S JUST LOG THOSE MILES IN THE PARK!!​

With the change in plans to no race on Saturday, we decided to make up for the Hollywood Studios day we missed with the delay in our arrival. Originally Saturday was going to be spent hanging out at the resort and the boardwalk and then dinner with a friend at Flying Fish. Keep off those feet after running 13.1, you know. But, as it turned out, we had an extra park ticket anyway, so why not just make up for it by going to the park.

With the storms moving/moved through, it was already starting to get cooler and it was still very cloudy and rainy, but we opted to take a walk to DHS instead of using the Friendship Boats. As we began walking along the pathway toward the park, we started seeing more and more runners out getting in their 13.1. It was so great to see so many people out there doing the miles regardless of the cancellation. Many were wearing their bibs and some were even in costume. We cheered all of them we saw and there was a group in front of the Boardwalk Inn with a cowbell cheering away. Made me so proud to be part of the running community.

We got to DHS and entered the park and decided to head for Tower of Terror – the best ride in all of Disney!!

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The line though was already 45 minutes and as we entered the line an announcement came on that only half the elevators were running so to expect longer waits. We decided to bail for now and head for Rock N Roller Coaster. Since this park had been unplanned originally, I couldn’t do much about Fastpasses, other than a mid-morning one to Star Tours, so standby it would be. The line was already posted as 30 minutes, but the kids and I got in line – Chris opted to sit this one out. The line was actually only about 15 minutes or so and we were on the ride.

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Fun ride, but a little rough too.

During our ride, they got the other set of elevators running, so wait time had dropped to about 20 minutes and we were on for our first ride!

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Next up was our Fastpass for Star Tours which went quick and easy. We can never ride this one more than once though because Chris doesn’t do that well on motion simulator types of rides. With a few rides down, we headed back out to catch a boat back to the resort for our lunch ADR at Beaches and Cream. I gotta say, I loved the Friendship Boats. They were usually quite timely and only once were they very crowded.​

Hanging out in the back of the boat

with the ducks. I think they had the right idea resting those feet!

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Once at the resort we headed over and checked in at the podium for Beaches and Cream. Our table wasn’t ready yet, so we hung out in the arcade to wait. The pool was looking much colder today! Brr.

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We ended up waiting around 20 minutes before we could get in. Once we entered I understood why reservations are so hard to get. That place is tiny! We settled in and ordered and I got the grilled cheese and tomato soup while everyone else got burgers I think. It was delicious and the soup really hit the spot on this chilly, cloudy day.

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We were all actually pretty full after lunch, so no Kitchen Sink for us, but we couldn’t leave without some dessert, right? I totally don’t remember the name of this thing, but it was yummy! Drake and Paige photobomb!

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With lunch concluded, the kids decided to go back to the arcade while Chris and I took care of some business to take care of the latter part of our trip. We were headed to the Shades of Green resort to buy the military promotion tickets for Universal Studios. 3 park-to-park days for the cost of 1. It’s a great deal. We used Uber to head over there with a cost of just around $8. This was our first time using Uber and aside from a slight mixup on pickup location on our first attempt. It went great!

Once back, I spent a little time looking around the lobby area of the villas. This was such a pretty space.

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And I just loved this picture.

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And the hidden Mickeys in the carpet.

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We rounded up the kids and headed back into Hollywood Studios. About this time, we also decided that dinner at Flying Fish was going to be tough to fit in, so we sent a text to our friend and asked if she minded if we backed out. She assured us it was no problem and wished us luck on the marathon the next day. It was definitely getting colder out and the wind was getting pretty brutal, so Chris and I were worrying a bit about the corral wait in the morning. We are used to running in cold conditions at home, so the run itself wasn’t a huge concern, but two hours waiting for the race to start could be tough!

We decided to check out Toy Story Midway Mania to see standby times and ran into some Stormtroopers along the way.

Once we got to TSMM, the posted wait time was 45 minutes which was enough to get my kids grumpy – but when we got in line, Chris and I both thought that time was exaggerated. I love this queue. Although kinda sad that my kids didn’t know what Tinkertoys were.

Sure enough, we were on the ride in about 25 minutes. Chris won again and we all got to hear him gloat for awhile. LOL At this point, Drake and Paige decided to head back to the hotel and Chris, Sophie and I decided to try and hit ToT one last time. The line wasn’t bad at all. Those 4 people in the back who are acting asleep or dead cracked me up.

I think that would be really hard to do while dropping!

Once done with the ride, Chris, Sophie and I headed back to Beach Club as well. We just settled on a quick dinner at Marketplace again and then back to the room for final race prep. I think we settled into bed around 9:30 or so and I suddenly realized just how tired my legs were. I think Chris said according to Fitbit we’d covered over 10 miles that day (so not a half marathon, but still a lot of time on our feet and legs). Given how tired I was, I was a little worried about how the marathon was going to go for me. We set a couple of alarms for 2:30 and I managed to fall asleep fairly quickly.


Next up: Marathon day!!

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[rteetz]

I loved seeing so many people out putting in their 13.1 in. It made me regret not doing it with them but like you I put my miles in the parks.

Drake looks the most scared on ToT! I was the most scared in our group too. Drop rides are not my forte.

I have only ever gotten ice cream at Beaches and Cream. I need to try a meal there.

Can't wait to hear about the marathon!

 

[FFigawi]

There was a Dis meet set up at Hurricane Hannahs for earlier that afternoon that I was sure we had missed, so I didn’t go down and check. Later I found out people were there later than I expected and we would have had time to meet up. Really disappointed I didn’t check it out. ​

We're sorry we missed you too!

 

[Sailormoon2]

I wasn't there, but I am not at all surprised at all those people putting in their miles regardless of the cancellation! That is the amazing spirit of the running community and it makes me proud to be a part of it too...although, like you I probably would have just logged more park time. LOL!

 

[CherieFran]

Mmmm...Beaches and Cream! Your sundae choice looks delicious - whichever one it was!

Funny that the kids didn't know what tinkertoys were!

 

[ZellyB]

I loved seeing so many people out putting in their 13.1 in. It made me regret not doing it with them but like you I put my miles in the parks.

Drake looks the most scared on ToT! I was the most scared in our group too. Drop rides are not my forte.

I have only ever gotten ice cream at Beaches and Cream. I need to try a meal there.

Can't wait to hear about the marathon!

I'd recommend eating a full meal at Beaches and Cream. I thought it was one of the better meals we had honestly.

We're sorry we missed you too!

Thanks, John. Hopefully next year. We won't have the kids along next time, so thinking it will make meet ups easier.

I wasn't there, but I am not at all surprised at all those people putting in their miles regardless of the cancellation! That is the amazing spirit of the running community and it makes me proud to be a part of it too...although, like you I probably would have just logged more park time. LOL!

It really was inspiring - even if I didn't do it myself.

Mmmm...Beaches and Cream! Your sundae choice looks delicious - whichever one it was!

Funny that the kids didn't know what tinkertoys were!

I know, right? I forget how long ago some of that stuff was even though I think they still make tinkertoys.

 

[pucknasty]

Just caught up on your TR! Looks like you guys are having a blast!

 

[ZellyB]

January 8 – RACE DAY!!! Marathon Part 1 - PreRace

I slept reasonably well even with the nerves about the race the next day. Chris’ alarm went off followed quickly by mine and then again by the portable alarm clock we’d brought with us. Wake-up assured!!

We already had everything laid out for the race, so we managed to get ourselves dressed pretty quickly. We’d grabbed some little cereal bowls and some milk at the Marketplace and ate that quickly while we brewed up a couple of cups of coffee. We put those into some to-go cups we had and then did a final check to be sure we had everything. We both had some bottles we were carrying with our own electrolyte drink since neither of us care for the stuff provided on the course. Also a Cliff Bar and some energy beans with caffeine and some honey stinger chews.

A quick check of the weather assured us that it was going to be a chilly wait for the start of the race. We were both layered up with multiple shirts and a sweatshirt, a beanie for Chris and headband for me, gloves and a couple of mylar wraps from a previous race. Surely that would be enough, right?

We walked outside to head for the bus and were shocked by how cold and strong the wind was. YIKES!!! It was going to be a loooooong wait to start running. There was a bus waiting at the start and we climbed aboard. I’d say about 20 people got on the bus before they sent us on our way to the start.

The bus made the drive pretty quickly and uneventfully and soon we were dumped out of our lovely warm bus to make the cold walk through to the starting area. We didn’t have a bag, so got through pretty quickly to the starting area. Since we were so early we decided to get a shot with Goofy before the race in case we didn’t see him on the course.

Had to lift up a couple of shirts to be sure they got that bib number in there! I had placed the bib on the shirt I eventually planned to have showing for most of the race. We always make up custom race shirts for our Disney races and this year we had gone with a suggestion from @roxymama for an old-time Fastpass for our Goofy 2.0 race. Here it is!

We got so many compliments on the shirts, so she definitely gave us a great idea!

After our Goofy shot we stood for a bit huddled around one of the portable propane heaters that were set up, but we really couldn’t get close enough to get much warmth. We opted to head through the bag check to see if we could find the Dis meet folks, but didn’t manage to find anyone. Maybe we were looking in the wrong spot. Eventually we went down to the far end of the tents and stood behind those since it served as a wind block. Several other people were there as well and we all discussed how COLD we were. Misery loves company. Brrrr.

Eventually they opened up for the walk to the corrals, so we decided we might as well walk that way. One quick hit up of the porta-potties and we were headed out. It’s a long walk and in the cold and dark felt even longer, but we did eventually get there and made our way to corral H. Chris had earned a G corral with his proof of time, but he was dropping back to run with me. Most recently we have liked starting at the back of the corral, but this time I suggested we move up so we’d be more surrounded by other runners and maybe not be so cold. We found a spot to sit by the barrier and snuggled up and wrapped ourselves up in the mylar to try and conserve some body heat.

We listed to the pre-race prattle for a while including the MULTIPLE warnings to ditch our mylar before crossing the starting mat as it would block the timing device on our bibs. Eventually it was time for the corrals to start going off, so we stood up and watched for the first set of fireworks to go off marking the beginning of the race.

We started to slowly shuffle forward as each corral was released each with their own fireworks send off and soon enough it was our turn. Chris and I dumped off our super-tracker-blocking mylar (I sorta hated to do it because after all those warnings I was starting to think it held some sort of magical protective spell) and prepared to start.

5…4…3…2…1…and we were off!!


Up next: On to the castle!!!

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[ZellyB]

Just caught up on your TR! Looks like you guys are having a blast!

Thanks for joining in! Lots more fun to come!!

 

[Ariel484]

Drake is hilarious in that ice cream picture!

Ahaha you're totally right about the Mylar warnings! Seemed like that was mentioned every few minutes! I bet people still messed that up.

Yay can't wait to read more about your race!!

 

[rteetz]

Those Mylar announcements were so repeated. I held onto mine until the last second. I saw a few people on the course early on with them so people obviously still didn't listen.