A One-Time Only Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Trip Report

Hey everyone! I am back from a trip to WDW to partake in Marathon Weekend and more specifically to take on the Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge! This trip did not go entirely how I thought it would but it is over now and its time for a recap. My pictures especially for the races are a little lacking from my last marathon report. I just wasn't feeling it this trip. Cast of characters is just me (Kristy) and husband Dan.

Here is a link to my pre-trip report if you are interested in the backround - http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/goofy-challenge-pre-trip-report.857764/


The days leading up to this trip were very stressful. The Thursday before we left our gas furnace died. Luckily we have a fireplace and were able to keep warm with that and space heaters. We needed to get estimates and have it installed in less than a week. I didn't want my friend who was staying to take care of our animals to have to worry about keeping a fire going. Funds are stretched here already and a new furnace was not in the budget. Ugh. We had the new furnace installed on Wednesday and we left on Thursday morning. Talk about cutting it close! Along with having a furnace installed, my husband calls me on Wed while I am at work and tells me that our one horse is sick again. He had an issue in the past, which we thought had been dealt with and it resurfaced the day before we leave. STRESS, STRESS, STRESS! Call in to the vet but it is after hours by now. It is not a life-threatening issue but one that I don't want to be unattended to while we are gone. Needless to say, I was having second thoughts about this trip with all the problems we have been having.

We left our house around 3:45 am and arrived at our off-site airport parking about an hour later. We had a 6:30 flight out of Philly. We found a great parking service that will take you to the airport in your own car, drop you off and then pick you up in your own car when you come back. For an extra fee, at pickup, you can leave straight from the airport and they will get a ride back to the lot. Very convenient!

We finally arrived for the flight and there were a lot of other runners on this flight as well. We were all pretty quiet due to the early hour I think. In no time, we were boarding and then waiting to taxi.

I was still pretty stressed having not heard from the vet yet. I just didn't have the normal Disney excitement. I tried to sit back and enjoy the ride. We did have a beautiful sunrise!

Soon we were passing over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel system. Looks neat from the air.

Starting to descend into the Orlando area, I see the Port Canaveral area! Kind of need another cruise! (at least I think it might be Port Canaveral)

 

[Kristia]

The past couple times that we have visited we haven't had a Dole Whip float, so that was a definite must do this time! We got one to share. We were a little disappointed this time. The pineapple ice cream was great but the juice was kind of tart. Not as good as it usually is.

We went back towards FL to get a little lunch at Pinnochios.

Rapunzel's Tower from Liberty Square.

We split a Pepperoni Flatbread at Pinnochios. It was pretty good.

We decided that we had done all we wanted to do at MK and we would head to Epcot for the rest of the day.

Bye, bye Mickey and Walt. See you in August!

Oh but wait! Dan decided that he wanted to stop at the Main St Emporium. He had a couple gifts to buy for his parents for doggysitting. He also decided (after seeing mine) that he would join in Vinylmation mania. Yes we are kind of late to that party! As he cursed me for getting him started on another collection (he already buys pins) he bought his first Vinylmation.

He was hoping to get the Classic Pluto. And he got.........

A classic Mickey! Personally, I think Mickey looks a little crazy, but Dan finds him hilarious, so he decided that he wanted to keep this one. I think he may buy the Pluto one on ebay eventually.

Time to ride the monorail one last time! Well, 2 times if you count the switch to the Epcot monorail.

Here she comes!

 

[Ariel484]

Glad you guys got to check out SAB! It looks like a really fun pool area.

What is with people acting so weirdly at Disney?! Don't they know we can see them??

I'm with you on Dan's Vinylmation...he's a little creepy looking!

 

[Kristia]

When I last left off (a few hours ago ) we were on our way to Epcot via monorail. Dan was happy to enter through the main entrance at Epcot as he loves the entrance music. Since we were staying at Beach Club, we had only entered through WS up to this point. Since we were here, we took a ride on SE. I didn't take any pictures and just enjoyed the ride.

We checked to see if the wait for Soarin' was long and of course it was. The fastpass return time was long after our Magical Express time, so that was a no go. Soarin' was not meant to be this trip. We will have to wait till August to soar above California. Instead, we went to see Nemo since that was a walk-on.

After Nemo, we decided to walk around WS since we hadn't been able to spend much time in the countries yet.

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures this day. We had missed Mexico so off we went to see the Three Caballeros. I know we skipped Norway since we had been through there on the previous evening.

According to my pics, we went to China. I love looking at the Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit.

 

[Kristia]

Next we headed toward Japan because Dan wanted to get some Japanese junkfood for the ride home! Love to walk around Mitsukoshi! He got a bunch of gummy fruity candy things. We slowly made our way to International Gateway to meet up with our chariot home.

On the way, we saw Belle near France.

There was time for a few pictures before we had to meet the ME bus.

Pretty flowers inside the lobby.

Love the light fixtures in BC. This was the only one that came out well.

Window shopping at Marketplace. Dan does woodcarvings and he wanted a picture of the whale for a future project.

Some last pictures of BCV building.

 

[Kristia]

There was nothing left to do except retrieve our carryon bags and wait for the Reality Express. Here are a few parting shots while we waited.

While we were waiting for the bus, we had a bit of a celebrity sighting. Apparently, I walked right by Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis without noticing. Dan pointed him out after he got into a golf cart and was driven away. Oops! As soon as Dan pointed him out, I recognized him. We have seen him at a couple local races we have done as he is from and lives in South Jersey.

And that is the end of my epic Goofy Challenge race/trip report! Some of my closing thoughts:

We had a good time despite not having the best time during the marathon. The half could have been run a little smoother and I wish it was less crowded, but I still ultimately, had a good time. The full....well, I can't really be impartial about my experience since I was feeling less than stellar but it was well run, not quite as crowded as the full but still a bit too crowded for my comfort. I really wish for both races that the character lines weren't quite as long and that they moved a little faster.

Love, love, love the Beach Club! I think I loved the location most. Until now my favorite resort was Wilderness Lodge but Beach Club beats it location wise. I still like the theming of Wilderness Lodge better.

As long as I am still healthy, I will be back for a Goofy redemption in 2016! Why so long? This August we have another trip with my sis and BIL Then in 2014, we will be taking a break from Disney so we can save for a 20th Anniversary trip to (where else?) Disney and maybe a Disney cruise combo. My sis wants to run a marathon for her 40th bday which is in Oct 2015 so Jan 2016 looks like the best bet. Hopefully by that time, they will have a new medal for Goofy since the previous year will be the 10th anniversary! In 2016, I also want to get a Coast to Coast medal, so we will have to pay for 2 trips that year. I plan to get a couple more marathons under my belt before going for it again so hopefully that will help some of my endurance and confidence!

 

[fmingo36]

Awesome report Kristy!
No Disney races for me this year.
Next year Chris wants to do the C2C for his 40th so we got to save our pennies this year. But on the bright side I get to see DL & WDW next year!

 

[Kristia]

Awesome report Kristy!
No Disney races for me this year.
Next year Chris wants to do the C2C for his 40th so we got to save our pennies this year. But on the bright side I get to see DL & WDW next year!

Disney race trips are so darn expensive! Between the hotel, park tix, airfare and race fees it is ridiculous! So you are going to do it in 2014? I think you should also save so you can do Goofy in 2016 with us! Hee hee! I would love to do TOT or Wine and Dine but not enough $$$ and want to try Goofy at least once again. I can save the shorter races when I get older!

 

[Ariel484]

Loved your report, Kristy! Really pretty pictures in your last few updates.

Glad you guys enjoyed BCV...I agree with you, the location is really perfect. Love walking to 2 parks!

Sounds like a good Disney plan for the next couple of years! I hope you guys get to go C2C in 2016 and I can't wait to hear about your August trip!

And you guys look too young to almost be at your 20th anniversary! LOL!

 

[Kristia]

Loved your report, Kristy! Really pretty pictures in your last few updates.

Glad you guys enjoyed BCV...I agree with you, the location is really perfect. Love walking to 2 parks!

Sounds like a good Disney plan for the next couple of years! I hope you guys get to go C2C in 2016 and I can't wait to hear about your August trip!

And you guys look too young to almost be at your 20th anniversary! LOL!

Thanks Shannon! Glad you enjoyed it! Whatever will we do now that our trip reports are over? Guess I can catch up with reading other reports that I have been neglecting!

I am glad we still look young! Hee hee! We got married kind of young, I guess. I was 23 and he was 25. I turn 41 this year eek! Time flies!

I SO wish I could go on the girls cruise. Sounds like it will be a blast and there will be many epic trip reports to come out of that experience! Can't wait to read them all and be totally jealous.

 

[Kristia]

I almost forgot to add a slight inconvenience that occurred at the airport. So for the first time ever, the TSA had to open up one of my bags to look for something that they found "fishy" when it when through the scanner. I have a Garmin watch, which I wore during the races and I had also brought my laptop and the wireless transmitter that you plug into the USB of the computer to upload the data from the watch. I had put the wireless transmitter in my camera bag. The pulled my camera bag, told me they had to search it and pulled out the little transmitter. It is about the size of a USB flash drive. They had to ask me all sorts of questions about what it was, what it did, etc. They ran that through by itself and then they had to swab it and my bag looking for explosive residue. We were delayed for a bit and holding up the line because of this. I know they have to be careful, but REALLY? It went through at Philadelphia fine but got flagged at Orlando. Next time, I will probably leave that at home.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I loved your report, Kristy! And I love that you're going to do it again one day! Thank you for sharing it all!

 

[Kristia]

I loved your report, Kristy! And I love that you're going to do it again one day! Thank you for sharing it all!

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Wow!!! Great report!!! I have been reading on and off for a while, but finally got caught up tonight.

First and foremost, congrats on finishing the races!!! It sounds like you were feeling pretty icky for the marathon, and I know a lot of people would have thrown in the towel...so what an awesome accomplishment.

Also, lots of great pics. There was one in there with the Castle Dreamlights in what I guess was just before dawn that I loved! I know it's for the holidays, but sometimes I wish they'd leave them up all year long! Love seeing the CBJ pics too! One of my nostalgic faves. I know there was more I wanted to comment on, but I'm suddenly drawing a blank. Oh well- it was an awesome report! Thanks for posting!!!

 

[Kristia]

Wow!!! Great report!!! I have been reading on and off for a while, but finally got caught up tonight.

First and foremost, congrats on finishing the races!!! It sounds like you were feeling pretty icky for the marathon, and I know a lot of people would have thrown in the towel...so what an awesome accomplishment.

Also, lots of great pics. There was one in there with the Castle Dreamlights in what I guess was just before dawn that I loved! I know it's for the holidays, but sometimes I wish they'd leave them up all year long! Love seeing the CBJ pics too! One of my nostalgic faves. I know there was more I wanted to comment on, but I'm suddenly drawing a blank. Oh well- it was an awesome report! Thanks for posting!!!

Thank you! The marathon was definitely one tough day but I am glad I stuck it out. One of the best parts of doing morning races at Disney is seeing the MK at dawn! I was so happy to see they left the lights on the castle since all the other decorations were already down. Thanks for reading!

 

[Cassie S.]

I finished reading your report last night and it was so inspiring! I don't know how you and @Ariel484 do it! You both have great storytelling skills. Thanks for sharing!!

 

[Zman-ks]

Just finished reading your whole TR....awesome, thank you for sharing.

 

[Kristia]

I finished reading your report last night and it was so inspiring! I don't know how you and @Ariel484 do it! You both have great storytelling skills. Thanks for sharing!!

Thank you! Sometimes I don't know how I do it too! I had never run in my life (except when forced in gym class) before about 3 years ago. Now I wish I had started sooner! I am so glad you enjoyed it!

Just finished reading your whole TR....awesome, thank you for sharing.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Tiggerish]

Great report, gorgeous photos!! Really enjoyed reading it!

 

[ILDisneyFan]

WOW! I just finished reading your whole trip report and wanted to congratulate you and your husband on finishing the marathons. I doubt I could finish one little baby marathon let alone a big marathon (sorry I don't really know all the running lingo...LOL)! I love to walk but I totally cannot stand running! So, high-five for finishing that's totally awesome! Great running/trip report!

 

[Kristia]

Great report, gorgeous photos!! Really enjoyed reading it!

Thank you! Glad you liked it!

WOW! I just finished reading your whole trip report and wanted to congratulate you and your husband on finishing the marathons. I doubt I could finish one little baby marathon let alone a big marathon (sorry I don't really know all the running lingo...LOL)! I love to walk but I totally cannot stand running! So, high-five for finishing that's totally awesome! Great running/trip report!

Thank you! I used to hate running too. I tried it a couple times, but could never go more than a mile and by then I was dying so I would just give up. I found out the key was to intersperse running and walking and gradually increase the running while decreasing the walking. It was so much more doable! Although there are a lot of fast walkers who do these races too! Thanks for reading!