Trip Report Up Where They Walk, Up Where They Run 19.3 Miles!

About 3 years ago, I made a New Year’s resolution to run a 5k. Unfortunately, that 5k was rained out. However, I have since run several 10ks, 10 milers, and half marathons, so I guess you could say the running part stuck. After I ran my first half marathon in 2013, I knew a runDisney race was on my bucket list. I always wanted to do the half marathon during Marathon weekend, but due to a teacher’s schedule I found it very difficult to be able to miss work during January. So, I settled on Princess Half Marathon weekend. Since I was going to miss work and travel all that way, I decided I might as well do the Glass Slipper Challenge. Who can resist all that bling, am I right? I’ll be honest though- while I like the Disney Princesses, I don’t love them. I wouldn’t be caught dead in a tiara. However, when runDisney released the teaser that the race could be themed after Ariel, I was slightly more excited. And when they released the bling pictures, I got SUPER excited. Suddenly this race was becoming more and more interesting…

Anyways, before I get ahead of myself, let me share the details of this trip.

When: Thursday, Feb 18-Monday, Feb 22

Where: Disney’s Pop Century Resort

Originally, I really wanted to stay at the refurbed rooms at the Poly. However, due to the shortness of the trip, I couldn’t justify the amount of money. I settled on Pop Century due to the convenience to WWOS and pretty good transportation. I will let you in on a secret, however: I am a deluxe resort snob. There’s such a difference with the amenities: the towels are plusher, the Kleenex softer, two-ply TP, and the world’s softest sheets. Poly and the GF are my two top resorts. Staying at a value for this trip was less than ideal, but maybe things have changed at the values? Spoiler: While the sheets weren’t bad, the “towelettes” have got to go!

Who: Myself (Emily), Mom (The one and only @Tuvalu ) , and Aunt M

Alright, enough jibber-jabber. Let’s go to Disney!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

I’ll be honest, I hadn’t really paid attention to the course map, so I didn’t expect to run through the MK parking lot. Running through it gives you a great perspective of how big it is. Soon enough, there was another character stop. I saw that it was Jasmine, but I kind of regret not stopping because she was with Abu.

After that was Jack Skellington…which I don’t really care about at all (GASP). So I skipped them.

I really enjoyed running through the TTC. There were lots of spectators out cheering us on, and there was a kids drumming team (like the drummers from Japan). The TTC had a really good energy.

After exiting the TTC, we ran under the monorail line and up towards the Contemporary. This DJ was cheering us on from the water bridge:



Even though I made fun of people in the 10k for complaining about the hills, coming up from underneath that bridge was a bit steep. Soon enough, I was passing the Contemporary and circling back towards the Magic Kingdom!

I hadn’t really decided how I wanted to tackle the MK. Did I want to leisurely enjoy it? Was it going to be insanely crowded and slow? Were there going to be lots of characters?

Well, as soon as I turned onto Main Street, a Cast Member shouted “Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!” and I knew that I was going to run through it. When else would I have the opportunity? I was PUMPED up and running through my favorite place in the entire world. We ran up Main Street and across the Tomorrowland bridge. Buzz Lightyear was posing outside Space Ranger Spin, but I can meet him anytime. Then we turned and headed towards Fantasyland. Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, and the Queen of Hearts were out in front of the Tea Cups, and Anastasia, Drizzela, and Lady Tremaine were by the new Castle walls across from the carousel. I passed all of them up- they weren’t worth the lines IMHO. Then, we approached the Castle where Frozen friends were waving:



(Why I stopped for this picture, I’m not really sure)

I was expecting running through the castle to be awful. I had heard many reports from years past of the tunnel becoming a stand-still. However, there were very few people in it! I didn’t slow down at all as I came out of the castle and over the Liberty Square Bridge.

The course turned towards Frontierland and Woody and Jesse were out. Lame. Next, we passed Pecos Bill’s and headed out of the MK by Splash Mountain. But wait, as we exited, my first character stop of the race!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Why yes, I did stop at the train. I’m not exaggerating when I say it is my favorite attraction behind TTA. My family and I call it the moving park bench. To get a picture with it? Golden. Let’s just say Mom was a little jealous when she saw that pic…

Right after the train was the Parade-Float-That-Won’t-Die (you know the one- the long silver one with the blue spires) with some Princesses and their Princes in front of it. I believe it was Sleeping Beauty/Prince and Belle/Beast. I really really hate that parade float, so I skipped it.

Then I crossed the 10k split mat. 10k in 1:10:33, pace 11:22, estimated finish of 2:28:51. Wait, I got faster?!

After we exited the MK backstage area, we headed into Cone Alley. This part of the course narrows into one lane with, you guessed it, orange traffic cones lining the whole way. I stuck my earbuds in and tried to get into the zone. I was a little sad that the MK portion of the race was already over!

No time to be sad, though, as these guys were outside the Grand Floridian.



I may or may not have stopped because I knew a friend of Bert back. He may have also been friends with a Trolley Kid… but this wasn’t him. Still a great stop, and the penguins are a nice touch.

Next, I passed the Golf Course which had a wedding party posing with a glass slipper? I really didn’t understand. Vacation Genie was also out with Mickey’s Golf Cart.

I could see into the MK parking lot- and runners were still flooding past at Mile 3-4. I was definitely sure I wasn’t getting swept, and I was so thankful I was already at Mile 7! Mrs. Incredible was in here somewhere, and it was also where I saw a dad pushing his daughter with special needs in a wheelchair. Honestly, he really encouraged me to keep going.

It was about this point that I was starving. I typically don’t run with race fuel, and I rarely get hungry when I run. I passed the fuel stop at Mile 8 and grabbed a Gu. I ripped it open, took a bite, and immediately regretted it. Nope, no matter how hungry I was, I just couldn’t down that Gu. Yuck. There was a water station not much further ahead, so I grabbed a water and powerade, hoping I could trick my stomach into thinking it wasn’t hungry. It mostly worked.

Miles 7, 8, 9, and 10 were hard. I was starting to get a little bored on the long stretch of World Drive. The sun was also shining directly at us. I took several walk breaks and listened to some music. I was confused when I saw some women running off the course at a turn around, but then I realized:

HEROES AHEAD!



Not long after that, I crossed the 15k split mat. 15k in 1:47:43, pace 11:34. Estimated finish time 2:31:30.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

The cheesy heroes gave me just enough of a burst of energy to tackle the on-ramp to Epcot at Mile 10. It wasn’t so much the incline as it was the angle of the road. I ran most of it in the grass. The green army men were at the top of the hill.

The last 3 miles felt so long, but I was determined to finish and finish well. There were lots of great spectators out cheering us on, and Disney provided lots of water stops the last portion of the race.

Finally, I headed into Epcot. And I just had to stop for her:



The Fairy Godmother! It was the one moment of the race where I truly felt like a princess. Cheesy as it may seem, I really enjoyed stopping for her. Then it was around the flowers at World Gateway and back towards Spaceship Earth. I was actually going to do it- finish the GSC!

I crossed the finish line 2:31:28, pace 11:34.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

It was a whirlwind of walking, grabbing food, and getting my medals! This time I made sure to grab a mylar blanket! I headed to the Challenge tent where the volunteer verified my picture from the expo and congratulated me on completing the Glass Slipper Challenge. I assume she also verified that I had crossed all of the split mats.

Then I did what everyone does and took a selfie. Sorry, great people of the internet, but just-completed-a-half-marathon Emily is for family only! I walked through the family meeting area to the Pop bus. Luckily, this time I had an actual motor coach from this century that had me safely back at my resort in no time.

I got back to the room, showered, and had just settled in for a nap when I got a text from Mom. She had scored BOG lunch ressies! If anything is better than a nap, it’s a BOG roast beef sandwich. Apparently, Aunt M and Mom had left for the MK at 8am, but due to road closures because of the race, they were dropped at the TTC and took the ferry to MK. They didn’t get into the park until 9:15- but she did see the stream of runners down World Drive which she said was pretty cool!

I packed up my stuff and headed to the bus for MK. I had to wait awhile for a bus, but I didn’t mind. When I arrived at the MK, Mom and Aunt M were boarding the train in Fantasyland. I climbed the Main Street platform to wait for them to arrive.



While I waited for them, I got caught up on some bling pics:





I can’t decide which medal I like more. I love them all. The GSC is a really vibrant green, which a lot of Cast Members pointed out. The green on it really pops. Mom, Aunt M, and I rode the train back to Fantasyland. This was Aunt M’s first time at BOG. We had to wait awhile to order, but she enjoyed looking at the castle. The beautiful sandwich:



After lunch, we had a BTMRR FP+. Aunt M’s love of coasters came out again- she laughed through the entire ride. Plus, we were in the back car which is definitely the BEST place to ride. After that was Country Bears, followed by a FP+ for Haunted Mansion.

We must have stopped at the Tangled Toilets at that point:



Then it was on to Small World and Peter Pan. I was really exhausted at this point, and desperately wanted a nap. We headed back to POP (and I may or may not have fallen asleep on the bus ride back).

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

After a nice nap, we took the bus to MK and then the boat to the GF. I had really thought about where I wanted my post-race meal. Obviously, since I would have the GSC medal it had to be somewhere with Cinderella. I looked at Cinderella’s Royal Table and Norway, but I just didn’t like the menu. Then I remembered 1900 Park Fare- a perfect post race spot. The only thing I forgot to consider was that it was a buffet, which required lots of sitting, standing, and walking. My quads were a little sore after the race.

Our table wasn’t ready yet, so we went to the gift shops. Aunt M fell in love with a Vera Bradley pattern, but didn’t know about the style. I pulled out my handy-dandy Shop Disney Parks app and saw that they had another style at Boutiki at the Poly. We made plans to stop there after dinner!

Dinner was fun, and of course I wore my medals. First off were the mice:





Followed closely by Cinderella and Prince Charming. A few days ago, I saw the idea of having the characters sign your bib. I wish I had thought of that! I would have loved to have Cindy sign my GSC bib.





Finally, Lady Tremaine came over. She made my night. She rolled her eyes at my medals, and then demanded that I let her wear one. She decided on the GSC, and said I was crazy to give up that much sleep. She then proceeded to say that rD uses Velcro on their medals because it kept getting stuck in her hair. Then she unvelcroed my medal and put it on:



And she wouldn’t give it back:



After dinner, we rode the monorail around to the Poly, which Aunt M learned is the namesake of our beloved kitty:



Poly is a goof of a kitty who climbs all things, including Christmas trees and ladders. (See @Tuvalu 's TR for proof )

Anyways, Aunt M bought her Vera, so we decided on a celebration drink at the Tambu lounge! Technically, Mom owed me an Island Sunset after getting a 4.0 in grad school last semester. I couldn’t have it on our December trip because I was sick. Mom had a Magical Star cocktail (read: liquid sunscreen) and Aunt M had a smoked turkey. It was a fun time laughing and talking together.

After our drinks, we rode the monorail back to the MK just as Wishes was starting. Now Mom, being a fireworks junkie, and I, being a MK junkie, would have gone in to the MK to watch the fireworks from the train station, but Aunt M didn’t want to. However- the Pop bus stop has a perfect view of the fireworks! We saw the whole show with the soundtrack pumped in. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

Great report. Really enjoy reading about your races.

 

[Missymoe4]

Thank you for your trip report. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and seeing your pictures. I have been on the fence about registering for a race, and your post gives me that extra push to get out there and begin running again.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Great report. Really enjoy reading about your races.

Thanks for following along!!

Thank you for your trip report. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and seeing your pictures. I have been on the fence about registering for a race, and your post gives me that extra push to get out there and begin running again.

Thanks for your kind words! A Disney race is great inspiration to get out there and run! You should definitely do it!!!

 

[lostpro9het]

Oreo has grown tired from the lack of updates....

 

[Tuvalu]

Oreo has grown tired from the lack of updates....
View attachment 133729

Yeah, I complained about this very issue to her last night. Some lame excuses...full time job, full load of grad school classes, major project due, blah blah blah.....

 

[lostpro9het]

Yeah, I complained about this very issue to her last night. Some lame excuses...full time job, full load of grad school classes, major project due, blah blah blah.....

Pfft...sounds like someone needs a priority check!!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Yeah, I complained about this very issue to her last night. Some lame excuses...full time job, full load of grad school classes, major project due, blah blah blah.....

Thanks for the support, Mom!

Pfft...sounds like someone needs a priority check!!

Update is coming soon!!! Just one more day of Magic- @Tuvalu and I take on the MK!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Alright, @lostpro9het and @Tuvalu - I have postponed my grad school duties to finish this bad boy! I hope you enjoy our final day!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Monday, February 22- A Day in the MK!

Mom and I were up early in order to finish packing, stow our luggage and carry-ons, and make it to the Magic Kingdom for our breakfast reservation at Be Our Guest. Aunt M had an extremely early Tragical Express pick-up time, so we had said our goodbyes last night.

We had no trouble checking my bag and dropping our carry-ons with bell services. We were at the bus stop at 7:20 am with many other people. We watched lots of buses for other parks come and go, but no MK bus. Finally one arrived at 7:35. WE made it to the MK and got in the gigantic breakfast reservation line. They scanned our MagicBands for confirmation of our reservations, and then we were let into the park.

Mom and I joke all the time about the people who complain that Main Street isn’t empty even though they have a breakfast reservation. Um, do those people think they are the ONLY ones who have breakfast reservations? I looked at Mom and sarcastically stated, “Main Street isn’t empty!” Still, we decided to make good of the included Memory Maker with our Annual Passes and get some photos. Our photographer got really into the spirit of a photo-shoot, and even though many of our pictures are crooked, I’ll let it slide because he was so enthusiastic.



I wore my “I did it!” Glass Slipper Challenge shirt, so I decided to give the PHM medal some love.



…And cheesy magic shot :



We made our way to BoG. Mom preordered me the eggs Florentine, which she had as well. I was pleasantly surprised with how good my breakfast was. We also split the chocolate croissant and avoided all the other fruity and bran-y pastries. No picture of our meal, but here’s a picture of where we sat!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

We left breakfast at 8:45, hoping to sneak into the 7DMT line before it officially opened. We rounded the corner and could see the wall of people being escorted by cast members around the carousel. We may have run, or in my case hobbled along. But it resulted in a relatively short wait!



One of our favorite things about going to Disney is having a Fantasyland morning. The day starts off so magical, Fantasyland isn’t mobbed yet, and Mom and I get to be little girls again. We loved our Fantasyland morning where we went rode in a hunny pot along with Pooh and then flew off to Neverland. The new queue for Peter Pan’s flight is better than the ride! I just love it. After that, we headed towards Little Mermaid (I could ride that all day). I made Mom help me out with some important shots:





We then hiked across the hub for our first FP+: Pirates! Unfortunately, it was closed. We knew then we had a free FP to use at another attraction, and we had hoped it could be BTMRR, but it couldn’t. So we hoofed it back to Fantasyland and used it on it’s a small world, since it had a 30 minute wait. After that, we stopped in Philharmagic and then walked to Tomorrowland. We needed one more spin on TTA!!

We used FP+ #2 on Haunted Mansion, and then went to our lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern (a last minute MDE app score!). MK was very busy- we had to wait 25 minutes for our table. There was just a sea of people walking outside the door- there is truly no slow time anymore.

We were seated at our table and it took forever for our waitress to come. Even after she did, the service was slow. We split the Freedom Pasta, which had changed to rigatoni noodles from the fusilli. Of course, we had to finish off our meal with the World’s best dessert. An Ooey Gooey. Ok, ok. Two Ooey Gooeys- but we swear they’ve made them smaller!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

We decided that after lunch would be the perfect time for BTMRR (FP+ #3). It was a fun final ride on the wildest ride in the wilderness. At the time, we thought it would be down for refurb during our next trip. (In 24 days! )

Finally, we climbed aboard the moving park bench for one final grand circle tour. Ok, it was actually two-thirds of a grand circle tour because we got off at Main Street. We decided to leave the Magic Kingdom then so we did not get stuck in Festival of Fantasy traffic.

We made it back to Pop and only waited about 30 minutes for Tragical Express. We made it to the airport and grabbed dinner at Chick-Fil-A, where Mom finished her journal (thanks for the notes for my TR, Mom!), and I caught up on emails and grad school. We qualified for TSA precheck, so we didn’t have to rush through security. I’m fairly certain I fell asleep right after take-off, but was soon awakened by some of the scariest turbulence I’ve ever flown through. There was lots of rain in Atlanta, and coming down was a bit treacherous .

Dad picked us up at the airport and drove us home. While I was sad the trip was over, Mom and I agreed that it was one of the best trips we’ve had in awhile. It was a trip where every single thing just worked out- bus transportation, food reservations, FP+, etc. Aunt M said it was the best vacation she has had in several years.

One of my favorite things was showing my medals to my third grade students. They kept asking questions like, “Ms. Trolleyfollower, did you win? Your medals are gold!” When they saw the 10k medal, they thought I had gotten 10th place (yeah, right! ).

Would I do another runDisney even in the future? I really thought that this would be a “once and done.” I wish that I had someone to run with. It was a little bittersweet being surrounded by all of these sisters and friends running together, yet I was running alone. You see, my brother is my running partner, but obviously didn’t have a whole lot of interest in this event. I did miss him. That being said, if I had someone to run with, I would definitely do another rD event. Disney does it right. It was interesting being on a trip with such an agenda- I am looking forward to our next trip where all I have to do is relax! Poly (the resort, not the cat)- here we come!

Thank you all for reading my TR! If you’re considering a rD race- do it! You will not regret it!

See ya real soon!

 

[Tuvalu]

We also split the chocolate croissant and avoided all the other fruity and bran-y pasties.

I think you mean pastries.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

I think you mean pastries.

Whooooo, nice catch!

 

[farrellbarrel]

I loved your TR!! My dream is to run the Princess races, and I love to live through others who run the races!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

I loved your TR!! My dream is to run the Princess races, and I love to live through others who run the races!

Thanks for reading!! It was definitely a great experience that I would recommend to anyone!!