Trip Report Who Knee'ds another Brifraz Trip Report?

And here we go. Brifraz and @MeffysMom are headed back to the World. Once again a VERY different trip. Yes, we've done Race Weekends. Yes, we've done short Springtime trips. But... this will be my first time doing a 5K and 10K back-to-back (yes, @MeffysMom is doing 5K, 10K, and 10-miler) and the actual exciting part - we will be visiting our daughter who is now a few weeks into her time with the Disney College Program.

I know it has been a while since my last Trip Report and some folks out there are likely new to the world of Brifraz, so let me do the quick rundown of us and then a little preview of the trip. Who is our crew? Well, I've already mentioned myself and my wife - we both have been high school teachers for the last 30 years and been doing Disney pretty regularly for just a few years less than that. Although, I've actually been going since 1976, I introduced it to my wife in the late 1990s. We will be flying down tomorrow, but more on that in the plans in a paragraph or two. Already down there is our daughter who has been going to Disney since she was 2. And, right now she is doing the College Program. Parked at Epcot in the past couple weeks? Yeah... that might've been our daughter helping you find a spot or driving you in on the tram, or reminding you to stay behind the yellow line for safety.

Here's us grown-ups:

Obviously that's from our last racing adventure together. Just the 10K for me that time. I've got some knee issues, so historically it's just been one race per weekend for me. But this weekend, I'll be trying to do a double and we shall see how things go

And, here's our College Program daughter:

When she isn't spending 4 months at Disney parking cars at Epcot, she's in school up in New Hampshire (bit of an opposite in terms of weather) double majoring in mechanical engineering and music composition. Yup.

So, what's the plan?

Thursday - flying down late afternoon (leaving directly from school after guiding the youths to enlightenment) and heading straight to the Expo where we will meet up with our daughter. Then to Old Key West to get some dinner and get rested for the busy mornings coming up.

Friday - early morning 5k (all three of us are running) followed by a visit to Animal Kingdom with a late breakfast at Tusker House. Afternoon and evening are open with no set plans as our daughter will be working and much depends on how we are all feeling!

Saturday - early morning 10k (again, with all three of us running) and then Hollywood Studios. No real plans there, just going and seeing what strikes our fancy. Our daughter is again working in the evening so we might hit up Disney Springs for some dinner.

Sunday - early morning 10 miler for @MeffysMom, while our daughter sleeps in after two super early mornings followed by late nights working. Then we are planning to meet up for some time in Epcot. Once again, our daughter will be heading to park cars at Epcot and we will be having dinner someplace... maybe checking out the Roundup Rodeo at Studios followed by drinks at Oga's or Baseline.

Monday - maybe sleep in a little bit, but still up somewhat early to go to Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Park Fare and then some Magic Kingdom time. Our daughter is off this day, so we will get to spend the whole afternoon together and then she will take us to the airport.

Since my last real trip was with over 100 high school kids, I'm really looking forward to this. We did have a very short trip down over Easter weekend to move our daughter into Flamingo Crossing, but didn't really do the parks very much (one evening at Epcot and a couple other quick stop-ins to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. However, that trip was full of the stresses of moving her, dealing with her cat (who is, yes, living with her down there) and figuring out all things DCP. This one is actually like a vacation!!

Anyway, I hope to be able to do my usual blend of live and 'nearly' live trip reporting as things go this weekend. Thanks for traveling with us!

 

[brifraz]

Alright, it's actually Sunday mid-morning and @MeffysMom is resting up for a bit after the 10 miler in the heat this morning, so I'm going to try to get everyone caught up on yesterday's action.

It was another 2:30am wake up call, which was not terribly welcome. As we got ourselves ready for another long day starting with the 10k, our daughter decided that after the 5k and working at Epcot parking until well after 11pm there was just no way she was going to make it. Fully understood! So, she drove us up to the bus pick up at Old Key West and then got back to sleep (obviously, it was a good choice since she was still asleep when we got back from the race around 8am). We had different corrals (@MeffysMom was in B and I was in C) and we decided to actually start that way. Knowing that the character lines would get crazy, she was starting in B and going to get some character pictures while I slowly caught up from C. And she got some good characters, too!

This last one looks slightly unofficial, but she insists that it was a real meet along the race course...

Meanwhile, here's an action shot of me trying to catch up to her. Sorry it's a bit blurry, but I was moving pretty seriously fast.

We finally got together by the UK pavilion which was between mile 3 and mile 4 of the race. Ran and walked together around Crescent Lake and got to very briefly say hello to some friends who were cheering everyone on from outside Abracadabar. By this point, the character lines were pretty outrageous so we decided to get a picture with a less 'lively' character after getting back into Epcot.

Other than the heat and some foot pain the race went pretty well. Somewhat surprising since it was my first time doing more than 4 miles since last year's Princess 10k - training just hadn't gone totally according to plan this year!

But we did finish and had fun along the way!

And thank goodness they run these things early in the morning, because as warm as the race was... as soon as we crossed the finish line, the sun was up and it got MUCH hotter after that! Caught the bus back to Old Key West. Please not the different facial expressions for the one who has done some good training and the other one.

Next up, a pretty brief visit to Hollywood Studios, another visit to Disney Springs for food, and then an early evening at Old Key West!

 

[brifraz]

So, with our full trio back together again, we headed to Hollywood Studios, arriving just a few minutes after normal park opening. The lines at the entrance were quite long (past the ticket booths) and they were just letting people go without finger scans, so we had an idea that the crowds might be a bit large. Initially we planned to head over to Tower of Terror, which tends to not get too bad of a line that early and was only showing 10-20 minutes as we entered. But, by the time we got to the turn, it was up to 50 minutes and just not worth it. So we headed to Midway Mania which was also only showing a 20 minute wait and figured we could ride it and then get some food at the Lunchbox. Again, though... soon as we got close, it jumped up to 50 minutes. Checked the app and Rise of the Resistance was down, so that plus Rockin' Roller being refurbed likely was causing things to be even worse than just the large crowds.

So, we got some food and re-evaluated our choices. Maybe just a quick Star Tours and then a show before heading out? Enjoyed the breakfast totchos and the fancy pop tart du jour and then decided to walk through Galaxy's Edge with some marginal hopes that Rise would be running again and the line would be short because it would've emptied during the down time. Nope and nope. Line was still out to the entry area and that was after it'd been down for almost an hour at this point. Headed to Star Tours... which was now at 45 minutes wait. Nope.

Well, how about Indy Stunt Show? Haven't seen that in a while and it's at 10:45am (it was about 10:15am at the time). Looked good to us! And, getting there that early we scored the best seats in our opinion.

Right up front behind the VIPs and with a great view of the sound, lighting, and effects controllers. We ended up watching more of them than the show, I think. Afterwards, we talked to a couple of them and our daughter asked about maybe getting an even more close up view of things some time in the future (she does enjoy the tech side of theatre quite a bit) which was pretty great. With all the lines now reaching pretty exceptional levels, we decided to head out and find somewhere at Disney Springs for lunch and do some full trio shopping time.

But, we did get a group picture on exit!

And, over to Disney Springs we went. Talking the whole time about some food options for after a bit of shopping. Our daughter was very interested in the flatbread we had gotten the day before at Jock Lindsey's so we decided that might be our best option if we could get a table. And, much to our delight, we did! (well, after a little bit of shopping)

Again, the food and drinks were both excellent. Both the adult and the non-alcoholic choices were very good. And photogenic.

Sorry, no good food pictures, but we got the funky flatbread again, an order of the wings, and the charrasco (steak) with plantains. Again, all very good and interesting in terms of flavors. All full of food, we decided to split our crew back up with us adults heading back to Old Key West for some down time and our daughter back to her apartment to relax with her cat a bit before working again at Epcot making all the guest cars safe and happy.

After our naps, we did a brief visit to Gurgling Suitcase to get the pulled pork nachos (not quite as good as they used to be, but still a favorite) and hang out and chat with our bartender friends there. Oh, and get an official 10k Celebration picture.

Back at our room around 7:30pm we just chilled out a bit and got to bed early for this morning's crazy early wake up call.

 

[Swissmiss]

I thought of all you runners when during my afternoon run today a brief rain shower turned into snow flurries! (Last Sunday we made sure to run early because the temperatures were to go up in the mid 70s - and they did by the end of our run)

 

[brifraz]

I thought of all you runners when during my afternoon run today a brief rain shower turned into snow flurries! (Last Sunday we made sure to run early because the temperatures were to go up in the mid 70s - and they did by the end of our run)

In typical Central Florida fashion, it wasn't so much the heat. All three mornings it was either right at or a degree or two above/below 70 which isn't terrible. It was the humidity. Right around 90% all three mornings. Which makes for a LOT of sweating... a snow flurry would have been most welcome!!

 

[Swissmiss]

In typical Central Florida fashion, it wasn't so much the heat. All three mornings it was either right at or a degree or two above/below 70 which isn't terrible. It was the humidity. Right around 90% all three mornings. Which makes for a LOT of sweating... a snow flurry would have been most welcome!!

I would have loved to give you my snow flurry - it was not so welcome at the temperatures we have today (plus wind).

 

[brifraz]

Good morning all! We are up and at 'em to head to Magic Kingdom this morning for a good morning and afternoon before flying home this evening. Not really doing a full post as we've gotta get packed and then hit the park, but at a minimum I wanted to share @MeffysMom with her Coast-to-Coast medals!! Very proud of her... and more than a bit jealous (but if I tried to do a 10 miler or half marathon I likely wouldn't be able to walk for a week).

Maybe a full post with all her character pictures from the race and my saga of trying to get to the finish line this evening while we sit and wait in the airport, but more likely not until tomorrow or later this week from home.

 

[brifraz]

The girls might be rope dropping Space Mountain… but this guy rope dropped the bus. I know how to live!

 

[rshell68]

@MeffysMom with her Coast-to-Coast medals

Congrats @MeffysMom!!

Enjoy your day at MK!!

 

[Swissmiss]

Good morning all! We are up and at 'em to head to Magic Kingdom this morning for a good morning and afternoon before flying home this evening. Not really doing a full post as we've gotta get packed and then hit the park, but at a minimum I wanted to share @MeffysMom with her Coast-to-Coast medals!! Very proud of her... and more than a bit jealous (but if I tried to do a 10 miler or half marathon I likely wouldn't be able to walk for a week).
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Maybe a full post with all her character pictures from the race and my saga of trying to get to the finish line this evening while we sit and wait in the airport, but more likely not until tomorrow or later this week from home.

Congrats @MeffysMom!

 

[erstwo]

Way to go @MeffysMom!

 

[littleroo]

What an accomplishment @MeffysMom you go girl!!

 

[brifraz]

Well, it ain’t Disney for sure, but there is something about the weird mix of dread and anxiety and exhaustion that waiting for a flight brings…. Oh yeah, it sucks.

That’s it!

And flight is delayed.

And when we get home it’s musical production week do we will be at school from 7am-7pm each day.

Cheers!!

 

[cgersic]

What a great report of amazing accomplishments!! It's so fun to see you do this as a family, with your daughter being a CM and your wife completing Coast to Coast races. Thanks for taking us on the journey!!

 

[brifraz]

What a great report of amazing accomplishments!! It's so fun to see you do this as a family, with your daughter being a CM and your wife completing Coast to Coast races. Thanks for taking us on the journey!!

Still lots more to come, but with 12+ hour days at work this week and on Saturday, it's going to have to wait until Sunday at the earliest now...

 

[brifraz]

Okay, let's start to get caught up...

Sunday, 10-miler day. We decided that I wasn't going to go to the start, but would catch the first bus to Epcot at around 7:30am to catch the finish line action. Sadly, that was not to be. We had heard that due to the high heat and humidity, they would be slowing down the pacers and the balloon ladies. What we had not heard was that Epcot was now going to be opening an hour late (and thus, busses would not start running until 8:30am). But she definitely still finished!!

She also got quite a few character pictures along the way - Mike Wazowski, Scrooge McDuck, Ethan Clade (Strange World), Ferb, Jessie, Tink and Fawn, Barley (Onward), and Monterey Jack (Rescue Rangers). A pretty unique set of offerings for characters! By the time I arrived, she had finished and had some snacks. I helped a bit with the medals picture that I posted earlier and we then caught the bus back to Old Key West. @MeffysMom got cleaned up and then took a morning nap while we waited for our daughter to come by and pick us up to return to Epcot for some adventures.

While I had been in the room early, I had secured a Guardians boarding group (8) for us, so we headed there first. The line was currently out the door when we arrived, so we bailed on that for the time being. As we headed toward World Showcase to just grab some food and maybe some attractions, we happened upon something that we had read about but didn't know if it was really legit. Yup, it is.

Free Uncrustables. We each got one (a couple grape and one strawberry). Pretty cool that they just have huge bins of them and are handing them out to anybody and everybody. With some good PB and J in our systems we went to visit the 3 Caballeros who had zero line. After that we picked up some more food - dumplings in China and then the brie/apple/cranberry sandwich at the Boulangerie (which had a crazy long, but moving quickly, line). Perhaps more importantly, we also grabbed a couple pints from the Rose and Crown and just relaxed for a bit.

Not sure why, but we decided it was a good day to ride Imagination, even with the 15 minute wait - yes, it really was a 15 minute wait. But, after the ride, we got a nice treat!

Our daughter was going to have to head to work soon (somebody's gotta park them cars) so we decided to use that Guardians pass. Made a quick stop to watch the Jammitors along the way, but then to stop some kind of cosmic villain from stealing some cosmic thing and stopping Earth from ever existing... all to the sounds of Disco Inferno.

It was late afternoon, we were tired, and our daughter was off to work. So we caught the bus back to Old Key West and grabbed some food at Goods to Go and drinkins at Gurgling Suitcase and relaxed for a bit. Obligatory medals with Turtle Krawl picture in... 3... 2... 1...

Bonus photo bomb from Lorna. Enjoyed our drinks and chatting with Lorna and others in the pub and then back to the room for early sleep to be ready for our last day of this visit.

 

[Swissmiss]

That Turkey Krawl looks very tasty.

 

[brifraz]

That Turkey Krawl looks very tasty.

If a Turtle Krawl is 4 types of rum with lime juice, orange juice, and grenadine then what exactly would be in a Turkey Krawl??

 

[Swissmiss]

If a Turtle Krawl is 4 types of rum with lime juice, orange juice, and grenadine then what exactly would be in a Turkey Krawl??

Would you believe that I had even looked at your post more than once because I was thinking “what an odd name for a drink”

And now it even sounds very tasty too

 

[brifraz]

Would you believe that I had even looked at your post more than once because I was thinking “what an odd name for a drink”

And now it even sounds very tasty too

It's the 'official' drink of Old Key West at WDW. Between it's delicous-ness and the incredible bar staff at the Gurgling Suitcase (Roberto during the days and Lorna at night have both been there many years and are just wonderful people), it is well worth making a little side visit some time!!

 

[Swissmiss]

I still need to wait 2 years and a few months - when my daughter will be able to drink legally in a bar there; over here she’s been able to order beer and wine for more than two years and mixed drinks since the end of last summer.