Trip Report I know every mile will be worth my while! (A Princess 5K trip report)

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Somehow I knew this TR title would reference a song from a Disney movie. I'm a singer after all, and the Disney Renaissance was basically my childhood. A few titles I considered relating to the theme included:

"It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small"
"If I go there's just no telling how far I'll go"
"Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest"
"There ain't nothing gonna stop me now cause I'm almost there"
"We must be swift as a coursing river"

But I went with Hercules for several reasons, not only because I relate to the themes of the song, but because it kept popping up during the trip.

In case you missed my PTR, visit A first, a second, and a third.

Otherwise, continue reading for a journey full of family, fun, and OF COURSE food!

 

[bee]

Day 3: Friday, February 23 (THE BIG DAY!!!)

The alarm going off at 3:10 was a little rough this morning (remember we are not morning people at all!) but the excitement of what was coming helped us get out of bed. We shared a cup of tea as we were out of coffee and didn't want to overdo it on the caffeine, and grabbed our breakfasts: two bottles of Soylent.

We left the room right at 3:30 and waited no more than five minutes for a bus. We drank our Soylents on the bus and in no time at all we were arriving at the Epcot parking lot. We decided not to use the gEARcheck bags and to just hold our phones and such in our pants pockets, so security was a breeze.

We took the opportunity to use the bathroom and soon the corral areas were opened! We were both placed in Corral F but we were able to stay near the front of the corral throughout the waiting time.

Around 4:00 or 4:30 a DJ started playing various upbeat music, Disney and otherwise. While we waited we enjoyed looking at all the different costumes around us. Of course most of the costumes were various princesses; we saw LOTS of Ariel, Snow White, Anna and Elsa, and of course Rapunzel. We saw a good number of Belle, Cinderella, and Aurora, and a few Tiana, Merida, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan. We saw plenty of non-princess characters as well, from all kinds of Disney movies: from Mary Poppins, to Peter Pan, to Wreck-it Ralph, to Inside Out.

At 5:00 the Emcees took the stage to welcome everyone, make announcements, talk about the charity, and pump us up for the race!

Who recognizes the woman on the right dressed as Rapunzel??

It's Carissa! Did you know she's a dietitian and personal trainer in addition to the work she does with Disney??

Carissa and the dude host (don't remember his name, oops!) took turns interviewing various runners while we waited.

It's Bropunzel!

Around 5:15 C texted me that the three of them were parking. We texted back and forth as we waited for our turn to run but it would be awhile before we could actually see each other.

It was also around this time that Corral A started lining up at the start line. Because so many were running this race, a subgroup within a corral left about every two minutes. There were so many groups that we in Corral F didn't even start moving until after 6:00. As we were watching other corrals move we saw one of the best costumes of the day: a girl dressed as Belle in her blue dress, walking several paces behind the end of her corral, READING A BOOK!! Was that one of you forum folks?? If so, kudos to you!

Bye, F balloon!

Finally able to see the starting line! I thought it was a nice touch that EVERY subgroup got the fireworks to start!

Oh hi, Spaceship Earth!

SO CLOSE!

ALMOST THERE!!!

Up next: the race!!!

 

[LeighM]

Looking at the pictures of all queso fundido reminded me of a recent food issue I had. I'm not a vegetarian (although I could be easily) because I still eat seafood, chicken, and turkey. I can't eat any food that has a bone in it. I don't really like to eat beef but I can in small quantities if it's ground beef, and I refuse to knowingly eat anything with pork. One of my rules has always been to never, ever eat any baby animal. I cannot, and will not, do it. Some months ago, I was watching a show on how cheese is made. Imagine my shock and horror, when I discovered what rennet is (the ingredient that helps to make cheese curds). If don't know, and want to, Google animal rennet. Now every time I buy cheese, I have to make sure that the cheese is made with other types of rennet that don't involve animals. It's horrible because producers aren't required to include what type of rennet was used in making the cheese and no one in restaurants knows about their cheese. So now I have to assume that all cheese used in restaurants is made with animal rennet and I can't eat it. Call me crazy but the enjoyment of cheese dips and fettuccine Alfredo has been ruined for me forever. My husband rolls his eyes at me but I can't help it.

 

[Figgy1]

THNX @bee I needed a smile today! I may have mentioned once or twice I HATE winter

 

[susan lees]

Late but following along

 

[bee]

Looking at the pictures of all queso fundido reminded me of a recent food issue I had. I'm not a vegetarian (although I could be easily) because I still eat seafood, chicken, and turkey. I can't eat any food that has a bone in it. I don't really like to eat beef but I can in small quantities if it's ground beef, and I refuse to knowingly eat anything with pork. One of my rules has always been to never, ever eat any baby animal. I cannot, and will not, do it. Some months ago, I was watching a show on how cheese is made. Imagine my shock and horror, when I discovered what rennet is (the ingredient that helps to make cheese curds). If don't know, and want to, Google animal rennet. Now every time I buy cheese, I have to make sure that the cheese is made with other types of rennet that don't involve animals. It's horrible because producers aren't required to include what type of rennet was used in making the cheese and no one in restaurants knows about their cheese. So now I have to assume that all cheese used in restaurants is made with animal rennet and I can't eat it. Call me crazy but the enjoyment of cheese dips and fettuccine Alfredo has been ruined for me forever. My husband rolls his eyes at me but I can't help it.

It's important to think about where your food comes from and make the best choice for you. Not crazy.

THNX @bee I needed a smile today! I may have mentioned once or twice I HATE winter

You are welcome! We're almost to Spring!

Late but following along

Welcome! I'm just getting started.

 

[bee]

Day 3, cont.

FINALLY it was our turn to run! We waved at the family as we began the course. We were able to get a nice running start but soon we encountered congestion that remained throughout the course. We weren't able to go as fast as we wanted because there were just so many people

Disney songs were blasting all throughout the course and we had big smiles on our faces even though we were gross and sweaty! It was so fun to see backstage areas, and when we got into the park it was just magical!

Gondola station construction

Post-F.Arts

Along the way we saw lots more great costumes, including two more "Bropunzel"s and a whole entourage of lady villains.

Pardon the blurry photos above. I didn't want to stop for too long!

There were I think three lines for characters along the course: Dopey, Sebastian, and Rapunzel and Flynn. There were also CMs from each country holding their country's flag for photo ops. I kind of wish we had stopped for Italy because M's grandpa is 100% Italian (born in the US to Italian-born parents) and he might have liked that photo.

MIL texted me that they were on the bleachers at the finish line so we could look for them. Near the end the course cleared up and we were able to run the last bit. We crossed the finish line together with our family cheering us on!

Just after the finish line there were volunteers handing out water, Powerade, and snack boxes. And of course we got our medals!

Blurry, oops!

Better photo (not mine):

The family were ready to go back to their hotel for breakfast and we were quite far away from each other at this point, so we decided to say goodbye via text and to meet later at Epcot.

Our amazing bus luck continued as a Coronado bus was waiting for us, and left just a few minutes after we boarded!

We arrived back at the resort around 7:40. We showered and took a well-deserved (and much-needed!) nap.

Up next: Seeing Epcot through the eyes of a (pretty much) first-timer

 

[bee]

Here's a video I forgot to post of the SW fireworks from Coronado:

 

[Kiwiduck]

In addition to the grammatical and spelling errors, I’m fairly certain the runners are passing the carousel at DISNEYLAND.

You are correct! I can see the Snow White building in the background of the picture.

 

[Songbird76]

Day 3, cont.

View attachment 268400

FINALLY it was our turn to run! We waved at the family as we began the course. We were able to get a nice running start but soon we encountered congestion that remained throughout the course. We weren't able to go as fast as we wanted because there were just so many people

Disney songs were blasting all throughout the course and we had big smiles on our faces even though we were gross and sweaty! It was so fun to see backstage areas, and when we got into the park it was just magical!

Gondola station construction

Post-F.Arts

Along the way we saw lots more great costumes, including two more "Bropunzel"s and a whole entourage of lady villains.

Pardon the blurry photos above. I didn't want to stop for too long!

There were I think three lines for characters along the course: Dopey, Sebastian, and Rapunzel and Flynn. There were also CMs from each country holding their country's flag for photo ops. I kind of wish we had stopped for Italy because M's grandpa is 100% Italian (born in the US to Italian-born parents) and he might have liked that photo.

MIL texted me that they were on the bleachers at the finish line so we could look for them. Near the end the course cleared up and we were able to run the last bit. We crossed the finish line together with our family cheering us on!

Just after the finish line there were volunteers handing out water, Powerade, and snack boxes. And of course we got our medals!

Blurry, oops!

Better photo (not mine):

The family were ready to go back to their hotel for breakfast and we were quite far away from each other at this point, so we decided to say goodbye via text and to meet later at Epcot.

Our amazing bus luck continued as a Coronado bus was waiting for us, and left just a few minutes after we boarded!

We arrived back at the resort around 7:40. We showered and took a well-deserved (and much-needed!) nap.

Up next: Seeing Epcot through the eyes of a (pretty much) first-timer

I love that lady's tshirt with Dory....just keep running.

 

[bee]

Day 3, cont.

We napped for a couple of hours and woke up super hungry (whoda thunk??). Luckily we had tons of leftovers from Maya Grill to enjoy.

It took us awhile to get moving again, but soon we were on our way to Epcot. The plan was to meet at Spaceship Earth at noon, but I got a text around 11:15 from C that said, "In case you're early, we're in Club Cool." We were definitely not that early, but we did make it into the park by 11:40 or so. MIL, FIL, and C were in the guest services building in Future World because C wouldn't be able to join us the next day at MK, so they needed a CM to un-link the day ticket from her account.

After reuniting it was time for COFFEE!

Cold brew from Joffrey's. It was good! PS did you know Disney Visa cardholders get 20% off at Joffrey's?? Just ask and pay with your Disney card, or rewards card!

We all had some Future World FPs for later, but we decided to start in World Showcase. C grew up in Wisconsin and her parents used to take her and her sister to WDW about once a year when the girls were little. Since M's immediate family lived in Florida they would always come meet them for part of the trip and spend time together. C is in her late twenties now, and it's been so long since she visited the World that she barely remembers anything! MIL kept asking her, "Do you remember when we ____?" and C would reply, "Sorry, no!" So this visit to Epcot was basically like bringing a first-timer.

We started in Mexico and all took a ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour.

We took some time exploring inside the pyramid. C was a Spanish major in college and visits Mexico frequently so she loved taking in the pavilion. We saw the cutest thing inside: a brother and sister, maybe 7 and 5, dressed as C3PO and R2D2. Then their younger sibling caught up to them, dressed as BB8!

Outside we stopped to watch the mariachi band:

In Norway we stopped to admire the statue of the runner Grete Waitz:

China is next, of course. The in-laws were hungry but the three of us gals weren't so we watched Reflections of China while they had a snack at the China QS.

We all loved the movie; C had never seen it and M and I hadn't seen it in probably 5+ years so we didn't remember much. We looked around the gift shop and didn't buy anything, but I did see my friend there:

The parents were still eating so we decided to keep walking and they would catch up at some point.

We stopped to enjoy the view from Italy.

We had just missed the beginning of the next American Adventure show so we moved onto Japan, where I NEEDED a shaved ice:

Um okay, how is this the best shaved ice EVER??? We found a bench in the shade facing the lagoon and enjoyed these AMAZING treats. Then we saw MIL and FIL sit down on a bench by the lagoon facing us. MIL was staring right at us but not actually seeing us. We sat there waving for a whole minute before they saw us, and we all continued our stroll through the World together.

We didn't really stop until Canada, to admire the gardens.

C said the cottage is her dream house.

Up next: Back to the Future (World)

 

[Zipadeelady]

I agree with C!! I would love to live in a cottage like that out in the country.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Day 1, cont.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...

Coronado refurbished room photos!

(If you look closely above the coffee machine you will see my BEE bottle!) We tried to clear all our personal stuff out of the photos but I missed this one)

Disney is trying this again...

And a better look at what was on the bed:

Up next: Will our transportation luck continue?

I have gotten way behind on my trip reports because so stay so busy with my little fella. (He is 2 and wide open now, at have to read trip reports during nap time lol .) but so swear Bee you go as much as Tuvalu now! Lucky dog! Love seeing the new rooms at Coronado. I think it will always be my favorite resort. We really considered it for this years trip again but we decided to finally stay at the Beach Club. Can’t wait to read the rest.

 

[bee]

You are correct! I can see the Snow White building in the background of the picture.

Good catch!

I love that lady's tshirt with Dory....just keep running.

Me too!

I agree with C!! I would love to live in a cottage like that out in the country.

I want to live in that actual cottage...so I can emerge and go to Epcot whenever I want

I have gotten way behind on my trip reports because so stay so busy with my little fella. (He is 2 and wide open now, at have to read trip reports during nap time lol .) but so swear Bee you go as much as Tuvalu now! Lucky dog! Love seeing the new rooms at Coronado. I think it will always be my favorite resort. We really considered it for this years trip again but we decided to finally stay at the Beach Club. Can’t wait to read the rest.

Thanks for reading! We really liked the room at Coronado! I hope you get back to your favorite resort soon!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Day 2, cont.

MIL, BIL, and C arrived and parked at Coronado and met us in the lobby. We enjoyed some time catching up and they asked us lots of questions about our race and training. We were all excited for the next morning's events! Soon our dinner time came so we said goodbye for the time being.

We checked in right at our reservation time and the hostess asked if we had any allergies. We said we didn't have allergies but we were both vegetarians and she made a note. Another guest overheard us and said, "The vegetarian skillet is AMAZING!" We thanked her for the tip, and soon we were brought to our table.

Our server, Rebekah, greeted us and asked if we wanted to order drinks. We'd seen the Mexican Sangria on the menu and it was calling our names!

We had our IDs ready and she said, "Great, time to make me feel old!" When she actually saw our birth dates she said, "Okay, not too bad!" (We both have baby faces and look younger than we are.)

When Rebekah returned with the sangria she said, "This sangria is so good, I won't judge you if you dig out the fruit chunks with a fork so you can eat them!" We asked about vegetarian options and she recommended the tacos (on the menu) and the vegetarian version of the skillet. She made sure we knew the skillet wasn't just "boring peppers and onions" but included lots of different vegetables. She also told us which appetizers were already vegetarian or could be modified. We decided to share the queso fundido (minus chorizo), and M ordered the tacos and I went with the skillet.

SANGRIAAAAAAA

Bread basket: lavosh and jalapeno cornbread, served with honey butter and chimichurri

We liked that we received a break basket instead of standard chips and salsa. The chimichurri was AMAZING.

Quesooooooooo

I guess it took a little longer than usual for our entrees to be prepared because Rebekah kept checking on us and assuring us it wouldn't be much longer. She also said she told the chef we weren't vegans and asked him to add some cheese and sour cream to our plates (apparently they come vegan by default, which is a great way to go!). I responded, "Thanks, we LOVE dairy!" and Rebekah thought that was hilarious.

Veggie skillet

Veggie tacos

At some point shortly after the entrees came we both started feeling painfully full. We only made it a few bites in before we had to ask for boxes. It was some combination of the sangria, the queso, and the restaurant being too warm inside. We had had a busy day and normally we can eat a lot at Disney, but we just couldn't do it.

Despite feeling weird at the end, we had a really wonderful meal and would definitely return. Rebekah was one of the best servers we've ever had and we really enjoyed the conversations we had. At one point gaming came up and she was telling us about her grandmother playing Duck Hunt on her NES when she was younger. We appreciated having multiple vegetarian options and we enjoyed what we did eat (even if it was only a few bites!). Of all the Mexican places on property Maya Grill is now our favorite; while we wouldn't necessarily make a special trip to Coronado if we weren't staying there, we would definitely pick MG over either of the Epcot TS restaurants or Frontera Cocina in Disney Springs.

On the way out we stopped for two bottles of Perrier at Cafe Rix. With the way we were feeling after dinner this proved to be a wise choice!

As we made our way to the Rachos we heard fireworks behind us:

We could actually hear the Star Wars music. I'm not aware of a fireworks viewing area at Coronado that plays the music (like the MK fireworks music is played at the MK resorts) so maybe we were actually hearing it from the park? We enjoyed our private show and continued on to our room.

This is what half a pitcher of sangria did to me...

A much needed Perrier back in the room

If you've ever read one of my trip reports you know we can drink, and we can eat. So we just kept asking, "What was in that sangria???" I'm sure it was just a weird combination of things making us feel weird.

We got ready for bed and watched a bit of Chopped.

Soon it was time for sleep! In about five hours we'd be waking up for our first runDisney race!

Up next: Day 3! The big race, "Bropunzel," more family time, and dinner at one of the best signature restaurants in the World (@lostpro9het knows which one)

You can hear the music from the fireworks when it is quiet at Cornado- even Fantasmic. It just makes it’s way across I believe. I always loved that. Is the bench in front of the bridge with the lights still there? That is my favorite place to watch the fireworks there. I love Maya Grill, I got the margarita flight and it was so good. The Jalapeño was my favorite. Gosh, maybe I should stay there again this year..lol

 

[Rundisneyprincess27]

Props to whomever was in this room...was it one of you forum people??

ok, whoever was in this room this is AMAZING!! (and a very heavy carryon if they flew!)

 

[bee]

You can hear the music from the fireworks when it is quiet at Cornado- even Fantasmic. It just makes it’s way across I believe. I always loved that. Is the bench in front of the bridge with the lights still there? That is my favorite place to watch the fireworks there. I love Maya Grill, I got the margarita flight and it was so good. The Jalapeño was my favorite. Gosh, maybe I should stay there again this year..lol

So cool about the music drifting over! I am not sure about the bench as we didn't spend that much time going back and forth. Rix Lounge has the same flight, and I also liked the jalapeño. I'm sure you will love the Beach Club, even if it's not Coronado!

ok, whoever was in this room this is AMAZING!! (and a very heavy carryon if they flew!)

Haha, good point about the carryon!

 

[bee]

Day 3, cont.

From Canada we all continued into Future World. Our first destination was The Land, where we had back-to-back FPs for LWTL and Soarin'.

C kept saying how cool LWTL was and she couldn't believe all the plants in the greenhouse were real. I always wonder if I'm just a nerd for liking it so much but she as a first-timer thought it was a great ride. Yay!

Then we all soared around the world. I still prefer the California version, but I was glad C liked this one (having never ridden the original).

Everyone was hungry so we stopped at Sunshine Seasons. M and I shared the vegan korma since we had a dinner ADR later and didn't want to stuff ourselves.

It was a solid choice, though I liked the ginger "beef" they used to have slightly better.

At some point between the food lines and the table we lost MIL. C was a little concerned but FIL said something like, "It's okay, she probably just found the cookies." When MIL found our table she had two giant M&M cookies to share with us all.

FIL noticed this clock on the back of the LWTL FP sign:

After eating we split up again. The parents did some shopping while C, M, and I decided to try Mission: Space. On our way we caught a bit of the JAMMitors' performance.

I loved seeing these bright golden flowers throughout the property during this visit!

The posted wait time was fifteen minutes which we didn't mind at all. However, after we got on line we didn't move at all for the next twenty minutes. Something was clearly wrong with the ride and a CM made an announcement but we couldn't understand it. None of us cared to keep waiting so we left.

Sorry, Mission: Space!

We caught up with the parents and it was time for our SSE FP.

It was kind of long FP wait but we didn't mind.

M and I were planning to take a bus back to Coronado soon to start getting ready for dinner, but FIL offered to drive us to the resort and then to dinner later so we could stay in the park longer and all hang out longer. Of course we took them up on the offer. We ended up leaving shortly after SSE anyway, but we all drove to Coronado to hang out in the main building. FIL was hungry by this point so he had a burger from Pepper Market and we all chatted and relaxed at a table together.

Around 6:15 we needed to go back to our room to change into signature-appropriate clothes, and once again FIL offered to drive us. He dropped us off in the circle by our building and said to text him when we were ready to leave. It was like having our own personal Uber driver!

We ended up showering and I took a bath (which my body appreciated after a long day and a lot of walking/running!). Soon FIL came back to pick us up. C's friend was planning to pick her up from Coronado so we drove back to the main building to drop her off. We said our goodbyes and headed to our dinner destination!

Up next: A bit of dramma, then FOOD!

 

[PacNWTigger]

I'm late to the party, and attempting to catch up while trying not to overload you with likes...LOL! I'm definitely following along, and loving the Coronado pics. I might have to put that on my list of places to stay.

 

[bee]

I'm late to the party, and attempting to catch up while trying not to overload you with likes...LOL! I'm definitely following along, and loving the Coronado pics. I might have to put that on my list of places to stay.

Welcome to the party!

 

[bee]

Day 3, cont.

Soon we were on our way to Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Jiko!

After we stopped at security we saw lots of flashing lights ahead.

Where we would have normally turned right for Jambo House, security personnel were directing us to go forward. The cause of the commotion?

It's hard to see in the photo, but there is a sideways Disney bus blocking the road in both directions.

Luckily there is another place to turn into the parking lot and the parents dropped us off near the main lobby entrance.

We were too early to check in but not early enough to stop for a drink at Victoria Falls so we took our time and enjoyed the resort. The lobby and restaurant areas were more crowded than I've ever seen them, as many times as I've visited. Soon we checked in and got a pager, which went off not too long after we got it.

Ketso from South Africa was our hostess and we requested two vegetarian menus right off the bat so our server wouldn't have to go retrieve them later. We ended up chatting with her for awhile even after she seated us, about running and wine and South Africa. She was super nice and a wonderful CM.

We browsed the menu and soon our server, Stephanie, greeted us. She noticed we had the veggie menus and told us that she, too, is a vegetarian! She participated in a dermatological study on the effects of certain foods on the skin and was assigned to stop eating meat during the study. She found that she liked being vegetarian and stuck with it.

After making sure we weren't vegans she brought us the complimentary bread and butter:

Yum yum yum!

We also had drinks (of course):

African Old-Fashioned for me and Bellingham Citrus Grove Chenin Blanc for M. M likes white wine but never knows which one to pick. I usually don't like white wine but M always asks me to pick a wine for her and she always likes what I pick. I guess I know my wife's palate

As if the above bread wasn't enough, we decided to split the Taste of Africa for an appetizer.

ALL of the breads and spreads were great! We both agreed the sesame fatir was our favorite. And can we talk about GOAT BUTTER (in the middle of the plate)??? Something I never knew I needed in my life! It has the distinct goat milk flavor like goat cheese has, but it's BUTTER!!!

Stephanie was great about not rushing us. Many theme park meals can fly by but I appreciate that places like Jiko let you take your time enjoying the meal.

Entrees:

West African Koki corn for me

Bo Kaap Malay Vegetable Curry for M

I had no idea what Koki Corn was but it was similar in texture and preparation to a tamale, and the flavor profile reminded me a lot of Mexican food. The green poblano-tomatillo sauce was THE BEST SAUCE EVER. In a not-so-dignified place as Jiko I may have been tempted to lick it off the plate. And the roasted red pepper sauce was a close second! All the vegetables was cooked and seasoned perfectly. I ate every bite!

M liked her curry but wasn't quite as wowed as I was with my entree. From what I tried it was well-spiced as in I could taste specific spices (I'm remembering cardamom) but it was definitely a Disney-fied curry. The vegetables and tofu were cooked nicely though, and overall she enjoyed the dish.

Sadly we did not save room for dessert (or even a dessert beverage! ). It was another wonderful dinner at Jiko with creative and thoughtful vegetarian dishes. The menu had changed slightly from the last time we visited and we always appreciate getting to try new things. The service was excellent from beginning to end. We will certainly be back!

After dinner it was pretty late and most of the parks were closed, so we didn't know which buses would still be running. We decided to just take a Lyft back to Coronado, but not before stopping in Zawadi Marketplace to look around.

I thought this giraffe looked kind of evil:

Soon our driver, Enrique, arrived to pick us up. Like us, he used to live in Miami, and moved for work. He, his wife, and their five-year-old daughter all have Annual Passes and go to the parks all the time (who's jealous???). It was a short ride back to Coronado and we were ready for sleep!

Up next: Day four! We hang our with the parents in MK! Will I ever get to see Happily Ever After???