Grand Floridian Café
We woke up at 2:45AM for the Half and got ready. We left the room a little after 3:00AM and headed to the buses. We had a goal to get a photo with Jabba the Hut this morning before the corrals opened! The line was still really reasonable so it didn’t take too long to get through.
We headed to towards the corrals where we waited for them to open. The seemed to be late on the opening of the corrals this morning in comparison to the 10K which ended up being rough on both of us. When it did open, we said our goodbyes and I went to go sit on the ground for the next hour until corral F would be moving. My husband was in Corral B. I was going into this race knowing I wouldn’t be able to finish with as slow as I was going to be but I wanted to at least get through Animal Kingdom. I got myself as close to the front of F as possible and towards the right. It was super packed in the area. It got even more packed about 30 minutes before the race when one of the pace groups pushed their way into the crowded area at the very front of the corral. I found this to be really rude as they didn’t say a thing and just pushed their way in with about 30 or so individuals. I’m shocked no one got stepped on!
Rude Pace Leader
Eventually Corrals A, B and C were off and we were starting to move to the front. Thanks to the massive size that was Corral F and the curves involved in moving ot the start line - I ended up losing my right hand start and was planted firmly in the middle to middle left of the start. That was no good as I knew I was not going to be running!
Start Line
My corral was off a little before 6:00AM and I tried to slowly jog myself to the right side as safely as possible. Let me just say, my ankle was NOT happy at that!
One of the things I thought was awesome was as we started during Bear Island Road, they had set up the Ewok Battle of Endor! There were lights and sounds coming from everywhere! It was good way of providing on course entertainment that wasn’t just a character stop or a movie screen!
Mile 2
Mile 3
I received my 5K Update and man, I was slow! I crossed the 5K at a 20:10 pace! Definitely worst 5K time ever, but I knew I was walking slower than normal. I was shocked to find some other people walking slower than me even but they had their own issues going on too with broken body parts so we all commented on our pain. Some people tried to encourage the ‘brokens’ but well, it is what it is.
Mile 4
After Mile 4, we entered Animal Kingdom which is a great park to run through!
Everest
Mile 5
As we left Animal Kingdom, the 501st was set up outside.
Power of the Dark Side
After that 501st visit, I was done. Mentally and physically. My ankle was yelling at me to say you’re dumb. Luckily, the medical tent was right there after the 501st so that timing couldn’t be better. I asked the nurse if she could pop my ankle (it felt it was way out of alignment) but she said she isn’t allowed to do that but she did give wrap my ankle for me with ice and gave me water and I headed to the ‘parade’ bus to wait. I would have to pop my own ankle later on. Apparently there was going to be a sweep point coming up in about 15 minutes. At least my slow walking was helpful that I didn’t have to wait too long!
All Iced Up!
The drive back to EPCOT was slow because of the route the Half Marathon took but I wasn’t too worried. We went through the sweeper tent and were given our half marathon medals, Dr Cool, Powerades and Food box. I got yelled at that I didn’t take water but I honestly didn’t feel like I needed it. Powerade was good enough for me, especially as I had water at every water stop! (Also, being a Floridian, I know how to survive heat/humidity)
Back at the room, I took a bath and we packed up all our stuff. We still had some time before we had to be out of the room at 11AM so we just relaxed until we had to leave. That 30 minute nap was so worth it! We took the luggage to the car and then headed over to Grand Floridian Cafe for lunch! We were about 30 minutes early for our ADR and they were busy! In the end, we had to wait around 15 minutes to be seated.
Our server was also ridiculously slow. Apparently he spilt my drink getting it from the service bar and proceeded to tell me that the bartender had to remake so many drinks because of it. Honestly, I know I’m going to sound mean here, but I don’t care about other people’s drinks. He kept dwelling on it and mentioned it at like 4 times over the course of the meal. Enough! I’m perfectly ok with waiting for my drink but the other stuff doesn’t affect me. I could tell they were busy as well it was the day of a half marathon and lots of people want to eat real food at that point! When I did finally get my drink, it was very refreshing.
Grand Colada - A tropical blend of Myer’s Original Dark Rum, Coconut, Pineapple topped with Blue Curacao
I got us a Caesar to split. It was basic but I’m glad I ordered us the salad as it took a while for our mains to arrive. We were hungry!
Caesar Salad
My husband went with a burger. He was really happy with this as it was cooked exactly as he wanted (medium) and the patty was moist and the bread was the right amount of soft.
Kobe Burger - 7 oz Kobe Beef Burger, Swiss Cheese on a Brioche Bun w/ Seasoned Fried
I went with what I know I loved and I ordered it correctly this time sans ham as why ruin the sandwich with ham? I know I’ve posted this earlier in the thread but really - you can’t go wrong with turkey, focaccia bread, bacon, cheese sauce and fried onion straws. It is the perfect indulgent balance. I had zero problems cleaning my plate!
The Grand Cafe Sandwich - Open-faced Hot Sandwich w/ Roasted Turkey Breast, Bacon, Boursin Cheese Sauce and Fried Onion Straws
Getting our check took some time. It allowed us to people watch and realize that we were sat by a lot of unhappy couples this trip. At California Grill, the couple seated next to us were fighting to the point that the husband just pulled his phone out to watch Hockey as they weren’t going to discuss things anymore. When we sat down initially at Grand Floridian Cafe, the couple that was leaving were being really ugly to each other and the couple that sat at the table after them were also in the midst of a fight. It makes me feel better that at least when my husband and I aren’t happy with one another, we go about it the silent treatment way so that others can’t judge it! We can hold back the fight until we are in a more private setting!
So while the service was slow and excuse filled (he had trouble getting me water timely or even refilling my husband’s soda and kept blaming it on something unrelated to his job), our food was tasty and that really is what matters for this type of establishment. It’s a 1 TS lunch spot for us so I know we have different tolerances dependant on the restaurant. The service won’t keep me from going back! (Service like that at like Flying Fish, California Grill, etc would not tolerated by me)
We hobbled back to our vehicle, stopped by the gas station where I picked up an awesome snack for myself! My husband drove home and I took a 90 minute nap! That nap was amazing! Upon waking up, I had some of my snack mix and was really happy with it. I need to find it and buy myself some more!
S’mores Snack Mix
Thus ends our Spring trips! I won’t be back to Disney until Labor Day Weekend. Hopefully then I’ll won’t be broken anymore!
And then to have the boot chop up your leg 
I hope it's completely healed up now!
