11/23 COMPLETE! Course by Course, One By One...A 2016 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Trip Report!

[FFigawi]

I think maybe it's too small and you have it higher on your waist? If it's bouncing around a lot, it's too large. I put it lower on my waist on my upper hips (see avatar) and adjust so it's snug there. I must say I look like a geek with it poking out all the time. I even put it on top of my tops. Probably once I put on my headphones, I just forget to put it back.

If it's really bouncing a lot, it's either too loose or overloaded, or both.

 

[JulieODC]

Sounds like a great post-5k day! That bread pudding look delicious!

 

[TeeterTots]

We ate at 'ohana for the first time on Halloween and it was an enormous amount of food. We were so stuffed! Luckily we hopped on the monorail and walked around MK for a few hours until the "ugh feeling" resolved! It was good but not sure we're in a huge rush to get back.

 

[Ariel484]

This happens to DD26 and I a LOT at Disney and it seriously annoys me too. When we ate at SciFi the waitress never came to our table again after she brought our food, until she dropped off the check. And I am a great tipper, too! SHE did not find that out.

Yeah, we're good tippers too!...this time, not so much.

Loving this report so far!! Too bad about Tiffins and Ohana. I've experienced the "forgotten because of large parties" thing there before too. Bummer. Loved the TS photos too. One of my favorite places, either coast.

It's sounding more and more like I caught Tiffins on a bad day. A friend of mine went there over that same weekend, got the same dish and said it was totally amazing.

I LOVE Trader Sam's!! It's so awesome there.

Your outfit for the 5K is so cute!! And I love that you got a picture with @Keels! I looked for her (and she saw ME) but I'm blind or something. You two looked cute though!

Thanks! I think I would have missed Keels but I heard someone call out, "Go Shannon!" and that got my attention - it was her!

That filet and soup was one of my favorites this time too.

Can't wait for more.

Filet and soup were soooo good. I was so impressed with how nicely they were cooked, especially the filet. Cannot be easy to do when you are cooking for the masses!

You matched Mickey and Minnie perfectly at the 5K! So cute! Definitely worth the wait!

Oh we totally planned that!

I never "get my money's worth" at AYCTE/buffets either. But it's fun to be able to try a bit of everything. I love Farmer Mickey!

Yeah, I feel like we figure that out about AYCTE places every couple of years, and then we forget and go back and are like, "oh yeah, these types of places really aren't for us!"

I'm with you on thinking the whole coffee thing is pretty ridiculous but it's good for me to know that for our upcoming point rental. We will just anticipate needing g to pay for that. Anyway glad that some GF lobby time helped you feel better!!

Yeah, and I think it's pretty bad that it's a DVC thing. I mean, if I bought a DVC contract and they were nickel-and-dimeing me over coffee and whatnot, I would be livid!

Love your outfits for the race.

Thanks! Did you see the new kit released yesterday?! AHHHHH

If it's really bouncing a lot, it's either too loose or overloaded, or both.

Yeah, I have some experimenting to do. I feel like I almost have it correctly adjusted, but not quite yet.

Sounds like a great post-5k day! That bread pudding look delicious!

That bread pudding was amazing. Looking back, I should have skipped a few earlier courses and just eaten allll of the bread pudding.

We ate at 'ohana for the first time on Halloween and it was an enormous amount of food. We were so stuffed! Luckily we hopped on the monorail and walked around MK for a few hours until the "ugh feeling" resolved! It was good but not sure we're in a huge rush to get back.

YES - I feel like I am dumb about portions sometimes - I had the whole "you must clear your place" mentality drilled into my head as a kid and I can't seem to get rid of that. That "ugh" feeling is pretty awful!

 

[Ariel484]

Saturday, November 5: Wine & Dine 10K! Arriving
Here we go! Mr. A’s first-ever 10K, and for me, the first part of the challenge!

After yesterday’s transportation weirdness, we didn’t want to take a chance with the buses. We were up by 3:15/3:30 and on a bus shortly after. This time there was one there waiting for us and I was taking this picture by 4:10AM.

Today’s conditions: 68 degrees, 92% humidity. Not ideal conditions, but not the worst I’ve had at Disney!

Mr. A commented that there seemed to be way too few porta-potties in the staging area, and I had to agree with him on that. We ate our bagels, used the porta-potties and headed to the corrals - where there were tons more porta-potties! Okay, that’s more like it.

We hopped in line to use them one last time and @cavepig happened to be right behind us! So we talked with her for a bit before using the porta-potties and then meeting up with another friend for a quick chat. Then we headed to Corral B...Mr. A had been placed in Corral A, but I was in B and he dropped back to run with me. What a guy!

As we made our way to the front of the corral (or as close to the front as possible) we passed a camera crew that was filming a pair of guys stretching. Later we saw them in the finish area and realized that one of the guys was blind and the other was his guide runner! This wasn't the first time I'd seen a blind runner at a race and it wasn't any less impressive or inspiring. They ended up finishing the challenge and the Disney Parks Blog did a feature article on the blind runner. Sort of a sad story, but again, really inspiring.

Looking at the starting line from the front of Corral B…

It was time for the race to begin. Corral A was walked up to the start and Remy came out!

We walked up behind Corral A shortly after. The National Anthem was sung and the wheelchairs got their start, followed by Corral A at 5:30. Up we creeped.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Saturday, November 5: Wine & Dine 10K! The First 5K
We started the race at about 5:40 (something I forgot to mention - only 5 minutes between corrals for the 5K. Today it was more like 10 minutes at least)...

3-2-1-GOOOOOO!

After crossing the starting line, we took a quick left. There was an overpass with a large screen playing clips from Ratatouille, and we headed under that before running through the Epcot entrance gates.

Just after Mile Marker 1, there was a sharp right turn. There were penguins from Mary Poppins out here, and we passed them up, along with Flik and Atta (have met them before). The next portion of the course was sort of rolling highways that took us back to Epcot. Pretty boring first half of the race, but we knew that going into it.

We had some water from the first water stop just before Mile Marker 2.

More screens...lots of screens on the 10K and half courses this weekend.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Saturday, November 5: Wine & Dine 10K! Epcot!
Alright, time for the fun stuff!

Tapestry of Nations stilt walkers welcomed us to Epcot!!

Beauty!!

Pinocchio and Geppetto were out in Germany...we passed them. I pretty much didn’t want to stop for anyone until we got to ESPN on the Boardwalk (unless they were super rare, of course), and I have met Pinocchio and Geppetto before.

Hi, husband!

There was another water stop in here somewhere before Mile Marker 4...we needed it. That humidity was crazy!

I love love love the pictures of us from this race!

And then...SCREEEECH. Putting the brakes on for a character!

Vacation Genie! We only waited about 3 minutes for this one, not too bad. Unfortunately in the PhotoPass version we’re looking at the CM with my phone, not the PP camera...so this picture, despite it being dark, is the better version of the two!

Onward!

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Saturday, November 5: Wine & Dine 10K! The Finish!
Now it was time to head out of Epcot for a bit...Mr. A wanted to stop at the International Gateway bathrooms, so we decided I’d go ahead and hop into the ESPN line and he could meet me there. This was why we had skipped the characters in the very beginning of the race - I was sure someone would be out in front of ESPN in sports attire!

This line was actually shorter than I expected (6 minutes) but Mr. A made it in time. I was a little disappointed because I have met Chip and Dale in these outfits before, but then again, who can be sad meeting the chipmunks?!

We ran past the Boardwalk and over the bridge near the Swan and Dolphin, and walked through the last water stop...Mile Marker 5 was by Yacht & Beach.

Now it was time to head back to Epcot! This puppet thing was set up near the International Gateway, so we stopped for that. Mr. A accidentally blocked the puppeteer, oops!

We headed back into the park via a CM-only entrance near the UK...back through Canada and into Future World. I thought that this course was exactly the same as the January/February 10K course, but I turned out to be wrong about that - in January we'd gone through the pathway near Innoventions, but today we took a different route out of Epcot for the end of the race. I think this last section was closer to what we do during the final mile of the marathon.

Mile Marker 6!!

And the finish!!

Wheeeee!

Woohoo!!

I was so proud of Mr. A for training for and finishing his first 10K! Overall, he had fun but felt a little rough at the end from standing on his feet for so long. That was totally my mistake - in making his 10K training plan I completely did not account for extra time we’d spend in character lines! I probably should have had him do some longer timed runs - I went into this knowing full well that this 10K would take us about 30 minutes longer than a “normal” 10K would, but again, it never occurred to me to point that out to him and adjust his training schedule to prepare him for that. Something to keep in mind for next time…

As for me, I was relieved to finish the race feeling pretty good, but was still nervous for the half marathon the next morning!

We collected our medals, and they are AMAZING. Check these out! Like I said before, my favorite from the weekend:

Little Chef!

Continued in Next Post

 

[ZellyB]

Thanks! Did you see the new kit released yesterday?! AHHHHH

I did! But, I'm not going to do it. I swear this time I'm staying strong!!!

 

[Ariel484]

I did! But, I'm not going to do it. I swear this time I'm staying strong!!!

Um...NOT ME! I think that's the fastest I have ever ordered something. It arrives on Monday!

EDIT: In my defense, I did just recently sell 2 pairs of tights.

 

[wehrengrizz]

We collected our medals, and they are AMAZING. Check these out! Like I said before, my favorite from the weekend:

LOVE!!!!!!! I would have done this 10K if I were running that weekend. The beginning of the course is yucko, but I love running through Epcot. I feel like the Tink 10K is comparable (even though you are running through 2 parks in that one) with fun park time and good scenery...and that was a great race (after the silly boring beginning).

Curious, the only rD race I've done at WDW was Princess in '14, and there was pretty much a dance party beforehand....which made me think all rD races start like this. False. I get the noise situation at DLR since it's sandwiched between 2 hotels...but...but...it was insanely boring waiting in the corrals. Maybe I'm missing something. SO to my question, at W&D did they do any fun warm up stuff? I'm hoping it's more than movie clips at SWDS!

 

[ZellyB]

Woohoo on the 10K and especially for Mr. A's first one. Awesome. The medal is great. I agree the shots of you two running together are just awesome. You look great in your matching INKnBurn. So glad you guys had fun.

 

[Sailormoon2]

Congrats on a successful race completion for you both! I really enjoyed this course, but have nothing to compare it to. Running in Epcot by "Torch" light is the BEST!!!

 

[TeeterTots]

Congrats to you both! Especially Mr. A! I wish I could get DH to run with me but so far it's a no go! Love the pics of you two and the medal is awesome!

 

[tigger536]

Great update! It was sooo humid I agree! And I'm from GA so that's saying a lot lol.

My two favorite stops! Who doesn't love sporty chipmunks! I completely missed the penquins too...that would have been a cute one, as I saw from others photos after.

Congrats to Mr. A on his first 10K!!

 

[Ariel484]

LOVE!!!!!!! I would have done this 10K if I were running that weekend. The beginning of the course is yucko, but I love running through Epcot. I feel like the Tink 10K is comparable (even though you are running through 2 parks in that one) with fun park time and good scenery...and that was a great race (after the silly boring beginning).

Disneyland has awesome 10K courses...I agree with you completely that this 10K course was "back-loaded" so to speak!!

Curious, the only rD race I've done at WDW was Princess in '14, and there was pretty much a dance party beforehand....which made me think all rD races start like this. False. I get the noise situation at DLR since it's sandwiched between 2 hotels...but...but...it was insanely boring waiting in the corrals. Maybe I'm missing something. SO to my question, at W&D did they do any fun warm up stuff? I'm hoping it's more than movie clips at SWDS!

You're not missing anything - the Disneyland races start, like you said, right by the hotels and there are residential areas closeby as well. I think that's why they are quieter.

Wine & Dine was like Princess - there was a DJ out each morning with dancing and whatnot. The January races are similar (at least they were the years that I did them).

Woohoo on the 10K and especially for Mr. A's first one. Awesome. The medal is great. I agree the shots of you two running together are just awesome. You look great in your matching INKnBurn. So glad you guys had fun.

Why thanks! We did have fun, I was concerned it wouldn't be as fun for Mr. A since I am slower than he is, but he seemed to hold up okay!

Congrats on a successful race completion for you both! I really enjoyed this course, but have nothing to compare it to. Running in Epcot by "Torch" light is the BEST!!!

YES, running through dark Epcot is the BEST!! That's something I really miss from the marathon course - it used to start in Epcot. But I'm glad to have dark Epcot during the 5Ks and 10Ks!

Congrats to you both! Especially Mr. A! I wish I could get DH to run with me but so far it's a no go! Love the pics of you two and the medal is awesome!

Thanks! Yeah he normally isn't super interested in running, but he does want to get healthier so I think training for this race was part of that. Hopefully he'all want to do another one!

Great update! It was sooo humid I agree! And I'm from GA so that's saying a lot lol.

Okay, glad it wasn't just us! We were drenched in sweat almost immediately.

My two favorite stops! Who doesn't love sporty chipmunks! I completely missed the penquins too...that would have been a cute one, as I saw from others photos after.

Congrats to Mr. A on his first 10K!!

At some point I need to stop for the penguins...I've seen them a few times but never stopped. I did think it was weird that they were out, but Bert and Mary were not.

Mr. A enjoyed his first 10K!...now to start working on him wanting to do another one!

 

[rteetz]

Congrats!

I really enjoy the 10K distance and course at WDW. You got some awesome race photos and character photos.

Congrats to Mr. A too on his first 10K!

Love that medal, I will need to run this weekend at some point.

 

[cavepig]

Port a potty meet up! It was funny cause I was in line behind you for a few minutes probably, than I was like oh she looks familiar, then just blurt out "you're Ariel!!" Duh, of course you know who you are. It was nice talking to you and your husband is super nice too!

I agree with the humidity. Others I talked to were like oh it was fine, meanwhile I'm like really, I'm a sweatball!

So, the penguins is who I saw as well, didn't stop either, but My brother says he saw Mary and Bert with them. He was ahead of me by a bit, but I think he "thinks" he saw them, because I haven't seen them in anyone else's pics posted anywhere either. I said maybe you thought the chair was Bert and horse was Mary, haha!

Great pics of you and Mr. A together too! Congrats to him on his first 10k!!

 

[SarahDisney]

You guys got some great race pictures! All of your character stops were great (personally, I'm a big fan of stopping for Chip n Dale whenever I see them, so I think it's awesome that you stopped even if you've seen those outfits before!).

So ... other than leaving Epcot, the course was the same as January/February? That actually saddens me a little. I wish they had more variety in the courses for the 10Ks. I do love the 10K course ... but I just wish they could change it up a bit more.

Congrats to both you and Mr. A on finishing! And yay for Mr. A making it through his first 10K ... even if he was on his feet for a little longer than anticipated.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

I'm sorry you had such a rough evening at the Polynesian. That is a bit ridiculous that they made you pay for more coffee. I'm glad you can look back on it though and not feel too negatively. The Grand Floridian looked like an amazing place to wind down. I've visited there before but never stayed. It's on the bucket list but really hard to get with DVC. I'm shocked we were able to get the Polynesian since I thought it would be just as hard. And let me just say about that view of Wishes and the water pageant. Love!

Awesome, glad you had fun! I agree, the 10K course was really great - I liked that course and the 5K course way better than the half course.

The Disneyland races are very different - they're easier because you don't have to do the bus stuff (assuming you stay near property), but the half marathon courses are way less park time. The 10K courses at Disneyland are AMAZING!

People are so rude!! I hope you guys got to "properly" watch the parade later in the week!!

I definitely did. Congrats to Mr. A as well on finishing the 10K, despite the humidity and feeling a bit rough at the end. It was humid for both races and I felt it, but for some reason I did not think anything of it and did not think it was anything extreme. Which is crazy because I'm a wimp when it comes to being hot. Anyway, I agree that the medal is awesome. I can't choose my favorite from the weekend, I love them all, but I do love Remy!

I have no doubt that the Disneyland races are a lot different. But I've seen the 10K course maps and am extremely jealous of them! My sister did the 2015 Dumbo Double Dare and enjoyed it, even though the halfs are spent mostly outside of the parks. But either way, it's definitely on my bucket list to make it out there soon (next year maybe? ) And if I go all the way to California, it would have to be for a challenge. We'll see what happens. I can for sure see where the addiction comes from! I doubt I'll ever be able to do more than one race weekend a year, but I know I want to do more!

Unfortunately no "proper" parade viewing on this trip. I was only able to stay for the long weekend (got there Thursday and left on Sunday night) so I only had 2 park days, enough time for a day at Food and Wine and a day at Magic Kingdom. But it's okay - I've seen Festival of Fantasy close to 10 times in only 2 years already (we're obsessed and watched it 3 separate times on our trip in March!) and know I'll see it again.

Looking forward to your review on the half marathon!