A Procrastinator's Super Late 2011 Marathon Trip Report!

Hi All! As I await our trip in November, I spend a lot of time reading others trip reports and I really enjoy them. It immensely helps to pass the time before we embark on yet another trip to our favorite vacation destination. I had always planned on writing a trip report on our Disney Marathon, but life got in the way and I didn't get around to it. I keep receiving emails about next year's marathon and it brings about mixed feelings. On the one hand, I am happy to not have to put in the grueling miles of preparation to prepare for it but also pangs of jealousy for those that are doing it because it was such an awesome experience.

So to relive the experience and to psych myself up for the next trip, I decide to write this much delayed trip report. I think it will be mostly pics with a short narrative as so much time has passed. I hope you enjoy!

On to the report!
Cast of Characters: My husband, Dan and myself, Kristi
Stayed at Coronado Springs from Jan 7-14, 2011

My short backround story to our madness begins in October of 2009 when I read Hollybelle's Marathon Trip Report. I thought it sounded like such a great time that I somehow convinced my husband that we should do it in 2011. Keep in mind that I have never been a runner. I could barely run a mile when we started training. We started with the Couch To 5K program. We entered a few 5ks then a 5 miler. In August, I injured my knee and it looked as though the marathon was in jeopardy. Luckily my husband is a PT and rehabbed my knee. We continued training with me back to running in October. In December, we had worked up to a long run of 15 miles. That was the longest run we were able to get in before the marathon, so we were a little worried but figured we would just go, have fun and make the most of the experience.

We took a later flight on Friday from Atlantic City to Orlando. The plane left around 6:30 pm. We landed in Orlando around 9 pm. The line for Magical Express was pretty long.
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I was surprised because we usually land in the early morning and are able to get right on the bus. We waited about 45 min before we were able to board the bus. We were starting to get pretty tired and hungry. We were looking forward to seeing Coronado Springs since this is the first time we would be staying at this resort. We were the second stop and starving by this point.

We checked in at a empty registration. We had done online check in but I guess that didn't matter since we were the only ones.

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By the time we got there, checked in and dropped off our luggage, the counter service was closed. There was a menu stuffed under our door for a pizza place that delivered. Dan talked me into letting him order pizza. Unfortunately it would take 45 min for the pizza to be delivered. That meant dinner at midnight! Yay! And we had to be up and on a bus around 3 am to cheer on my friend who was running the half marathon.

The pizza delivery guy would call Dan on his cell when he arrived at the front of the resort. I wandered around taking some pics while waiting.
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Ariel484

Well-Known Member
Just got caught up...seems like you guys were moving around pretty well for the next few days after the marathon!

Beautiful shots of Coronado...and I agree with you regarding the slight creep-factor of the jesters around POFQ and the slide at the Boardwalk (even though the Boardwalk is our favorite resort). :lol:
 

nikpowell

New Member
Just found your report. I was probably waving as you passed the Contemporary. I was there with friends who ran Goofy's Challenge.

Love your animal pictures. I have never been able to get a good picture of the Lions.
 

Kristia

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just got caught up...seems like you guys were moving around pretty well for the next few days after the marathon!

Beautiful shots of Coronado...and I agree with you regarding the slight creep-factor of the jesters around POFQ and the slide at the Boardwalk (even though the Boardwalk is our favorite resort). :lol:

We weren't feeling too bad. The day of and the day after were probably the worst. If we kept moving there was no pain. If we sat down for an extended period, that was the worst! And trying to get into and out of rides was a challenge! :lol:

Thanks for reading!
 

Kristia

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just found your report. I was probably waving as you passed the Contemporary. I was there with friends who ran Goofy's Challenge.

Love your animal pictures. I have never been able to get a good picture of the Lions.

Thank you for reading! And thank you for coming out to cheer your friends on! It was great seeing all the spectators and really kept us motivated to keep moving. :wave:
 

Kristia

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
It was almost time for the MSEP so we headed back towards Main Street to find a spot. On the way, I took a few more carousel pics!

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I was very excited to see this parade since it is the one I remember when I was a kid. I remember seeing it in 1984 and 1989. Of course, it was craziness around Main Street, so we went back to Liberty Square and found a nice spot. Of course as it got closer to parade time, the masses began to encroach upon us. I found myself trying to stand my ground from the throng of people wanting to claim a spot with minutes to spare before the parade. They kept fighting with the CMs who were trying to keep a walkway clear. Ugh....sometimes I really hate people! By nature, I am pretty shy and like doing things like hiking and horsebackriding in the woods, birding, and things that generally don't involve crowds. We live in a rural area where the neighbors aren't super close and it is very quiet. I LOVE vacationing at Disney but being there also reminds me constantly of why I love to do quiet things away from crazy people!!

Anyway, I was able to get a few decent pics although they are not as good as I would like.

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Kristia

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After the parade, we headed to Space Mountain to check out the wait time. It was pretty much a walk-on so we took a ride.

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We watched Wishes from the Tomorrowland bridge. I took some pics, but nothing worth posting! Since we were leaving in the morning and had packing to do, we exited the MK with the masses.

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Kristia

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The next morning was check out morning :( I had made a 10 am reservation at Kona Cafe which has become somewhat of a tradition. A last meal at one of our favorites! I made it for late morning so we wouldn't have to be rushed and could seep in a little. We gathered all our belongings and made the sad trudge toward El Centro. We were pretty close so we were able to make our way there without calling Bell Services. We checked our bags so that they could hold them till our Magical Express pickup.

We took a last look around the shop and took some pics.

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Kristia

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Off to Kona Cafe! I had my usual....TONGA TOAST! I can't remember what Dan had. Luckily we had a 9:30 pm flight back home, so we had most of the day to enjoy the World. First on the agenda was to head to Epcot to catch some things we missed. After breakfast, we walked from the Poly to the TTC.

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We hopped on the monorail and were on our way to Epcot. First up was The Living Seas to visit Nemo.

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PeoplemoverTTA

Well-Known Member
Great job on your TR, and congrats on your accomplishment! :sohappy:

I'm about halfway to my weight loss goal, and I'm aiming for the 2013 marathon. TRs like this are great motivators - thanks for sharing your awesome pics :)
 

Kristia

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Great job on your TR, and congrats on your accomplishment! :sohappy:

I'm about halfway to my weight loss goal, and I'm aiming for the 2013 marathon. TRs like this are great motivators - thanks for sharing your awesome pics :)

That's great! I know trip reports were my motivators as well. There were times during training that I would get discouraged and look back at them to get me back on track! Maybe we will see you in 2013. We want to do it again. I can't afford to do it every year so we decided 2013 might be in the cards! Good luck with meeting your goals and making it to the marathon!:sohappy:
 

Kristia

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After The Living Seas, we leisurely headed for the World Showcase. We planned to browse a bit and I also wanted to see American Adventure. It is one of our favorites. We had a bit of time before the next show, so we did a little shopping and had time to take some pics.

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Kristia

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
It was now about time for the American Adventure. We entered the American Pavillion just as the Voices of Liberty had started their performance. They sounded awesome! I was able to take a few pics during American Adventure. This time the CM just said no flash photography. I know sometimes they have said no photography of any kind.

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Kristia

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We continued to wander World Showcase, slowly making our way to the exit. We still wanted to visit MK before we had to board the not-so Magical Express.

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Kristia

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We hopped the monorail to the MK.

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We didn't have a whole lot of time and I don't remember what exactly we did. I think we did a couple rides such as Pirates and the Haunted Mansion. I do remember that it was almost time to leave and we were passing CBJ. The show was just about to start and I couldn't resist!

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After CBJ, we made our way to Main Street and took one look back at the castle. Our marathon trip was over :( We had planned and trained for this trip for so long and it was over. So what was I to do? Start training for the next one! Well, the one in 2013! I can't afford to do it every year, but we definitely want to do it again. This kind of surprises me because the training was so tough. I find it so hard to block out enough time on the weekends to do the super long runs. While training, I kept thinking that there was no way I wanted to train for another marathon. This experience changed my mind! It was so much fun! I wish I had been a little more prepared, but there is always next time. Maybe the training won't be as bad because I am not starting at the beginning. We continue to run and completed a half marathon in October. Anyone who is contemplating doing the Disney Half or Full Marathon, GO FOR IT!! Trust me. If I can do it, anyone can with training!

Until next time WDW! See you soon (12 days from today)!

One last look back....the flag was at half staff for the shooting victims in Tucson, AZ :(

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Thanks to all who read my report! Hopefully I will have another up in early Dec. :wave:
 

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