Trip Report You Are Braver Than You Believe, Stronger Than You Seem, And Smarter Than ... Nope. Piglet Goes Dopey

Hi everyone, welcome to my trip report. I’ve been reading lots of other reports and have really enjoyed them so thought I’d join in the fun. We’ve been back home for a week now, photos are sorted and it’s about time I got round to doing this.

I did write a pre-trip report (A Dopey Dream) but I’m a bit technically challenged and don’t know how to link it, so I’ll go over a few details.

Who:

Me, Sharon aka Piglet. About to celebrate a scary big birthday (50) next month. This was one of the reasons for the trip. Husband, Darren, older than me . Alice, turned 13 while we were there, and Lexi, 10. We live in Milton Keynes, UK and are DVC members. One day I will find a photo of all of us together that isn’t completely hideous.

Where and When:

Saratoga Springs Resort January 1st to January 13th
Cruising on the Disney Dream January 13th to January

Extras bits:

While we were there I just happened to run a couple of little races. 5k, 10k, half marathon, first ever full marathon. Just the sort of thing that normal people do while they’re on holiday.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Thursday 9th January: 5k day (cont)

We checked into Kona Cafe for dinner and didn’t have to wait too long to be shown to our table. We ordered our meals and ordinary bread and butter was brought out. What!!! I loved the nut butter they used to serve here, they still had it on our trip in February last year, I really hope they bring it back. Luckily that was the only disappointment, everything else was very good.

I had the tuna poke.

Darren and the girls shared some sushi and sashimi.

Then I had the steak.

This was really good too, but at this point I could barely eat. I’d drunk about half a beer in the bar before dinner, then ordered a glass of wine with dinner. Added to the fact that I was tired anyway, I was practically falling asleep in my dinner. We decided to call it a night. I couldn’t face a long journey via Disney transport so we got a cab back to Saratoga.

I set all 6 of my alarms again, put my Garmin on charge ready for the next race and was in bed by 8.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Friday 10th January: 10k day

After a much better night’s sleep I was up when my first alarm went off. I got ready quickly and was out and on the first bus again. I was feeling so much better this morning, much less tired and less nervous now that I knew what to expect at the races.

I was in corral E for the 10k, the last corral for this race was F, so I wasn’t worried about being right at the back and I wasn’t going to rush there as soon as it opened like I did for the 5k. So I decided to wait to meet one of the characters before the race today as I wasn’t rushing so much. The character on the medal for the 10k was Oswald, and I think that’s a pretty rare character to get, so the wait for him was crazy, about 90 minutes. This did mean that the waits for the other characters weren’t bad at all so I got in the queue to meet Dopey. I would have quite liked a photo with Oswald but Dopey was the most important one for me to get.

I headed over to the corrals at about 5.15, 45 minutes later than the previous day, so a chance for a later toilet break and an easier wait. It was still quite a long wait though, again the race started at 5.30 but my wave didn’t start until about 6.15.

The 10k start was so much better than the 5k. There were still people walking, but they were brisk walkers and the etiquette was much better. I was actually able to run and I really felt like I was in a proper race.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Friday 10th January: 10k day (cont)

The route for the 10k took us out from Epcot along the roads for the first few miles.

We ran the wrong way under the Epcot entrance arch and saw Anna and Elsa. I had to take the photo while moving so very blurry.

It felt quite strange running on Disney roads. It was still very early and apart from occasional music it was very quiet.

The route took a u-turn and headed back towards Epcot, past the starting area. Even though this was a longer race there were still some people around here who had already finished.

We headed into World Showcase and the route around started the same as for the 5k. But there was a huge difference in the atmosphere from the day before. Every country had some CMs along the route clapping and cheering us on. It was awesome, made such a difference from the previous day.

We left Epcot through the International Gateway and headed out towards the Boardwalk. There were quite a few spectators along here, probably also a few who thought they were going for a quiet early morning stroll.

It was a beautiful around the Boardwalk at that time in the morning. I tried to get a photo with lots of runners in, you can just about about see them in the first photo running in front of the Yacht Club.

Running around the Boardwalk.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Friday 10th January: 10k day (cont)

After a lap of Crescent Lake the route went back into Epcot via the same backstage area as the 5k, joining World Showcase between the UK and Canada. This was one of my favourite parts of the race because some CMs from the UK were cheering on the runners and holding up flags. and even better , I might be a bit biased because I am actually Welsh, but a flag with a dragon on it is pretty awesome.

Another running photo, I think this is Canada

Then it was around to Mexico and through the backstage area to the finish. I don’t know why I’m sticking my tongue out at the finish line though.

I picked up my snacks and queued for a photo with my medal.

A close up the medal. A lot of runners were excited to have a medal with Oswald, but it’s probably my least favourite. I like shiny medals .

And my certificate, much slower than I’d usually run for a 10k but I had planned to take it very easy.

I really enjoyed the 10k, the atmosphere was so much better than the 5k the previous day. Although the queues for characters had been crazy again so I hadn’t stopped, I really didn’t mind because I was content just having my plod round. I left the race feeling so much happier, it was far more like I’d imagined a Disney race would be.

 

[RememberWhen]

Friday 10th January: 10k day (cont)

After a lap of Crescent Lake the route went back into Epcot via the same backstage area as the 5k, joining World Showcase between the UK and Canada. This was one of my favourite parts of the race because some CMs from the UK were cheering on the runners and holding up flags. and even better , I might be a bit biased because I am actually Welsh, but a flag with a dragon on it is pretty awesome.

Another running photo, I think this is Canada

View attachment 467313

Then it was around to Mexico and through the backstage area to the finish. I don’t know why I’m sticking my tongue out at the finish line though.

View attachment 467314

I picked up my snacks and queued for a photo with my medal.

View attachment 467315

A close up the medal. A lot of runners were excited to have a medal with Oswald, but it’s probably my least favourite. I like shiny medals .

View attachment 467316

And my certificate, much slower than I’d usually run for a 10k but I had planned to take it very easy.

View attachment 467317

I really enjoyed the 10k, the atmosphere was so much better than the 5k the previous day. Although the queues for characters had been crazy again so I hadn’t stopped, I really didn’t mind because I was content just having my plod round. I left the race feeling so much happier, it was far more like I’d imagined a Disney race would be.

Congrats! You looked awesome!
I’m new to all the running. What is the net time vs clock time?

 

[Swissmiss]

Congrats! You looked awesome!
I’m new to all the running. What is the net time vs clock time?

Clock time is the time elapsed since the race started. Net time is the runner’s time since passing the starting mat. Small races usually don’t distinguish (when everyone starts at the same time). Larger races with different starting blocks will.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Congrats! You looked awesome!
I’m new to all the running. What is the net time vs clock time?

Thanks.

Clock time is the time elapsed since the race started. Net time is the runner’s time since passing the starting mat. Small races usually don’t distinguish (when everyone starts at the same time). Larger races with different starting blocks will.

So as @Swissmiss said 1:21:29 was my actual running time. Race bibs have a timing chip in them and you run over a timing mat at the start, finish and for longer races a few points in between, so your time is registered then. And the difference in the net and the clock is how long I had to hang about in the corral waiting to start

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Friday 10th January: 10k day (cont)

So after finishing the race this is where the change in plans kicked in. Originally I was going to go straight to Animal Kingdom to meet the family for breakfast at Tusker House but I’d cancelled this the previous day. We had a Flight of Passage FP that we really didn’t want to miss so we still planned on heading over there, just later in the day. Luckily I’d managed to get another reservation for Tusker House for a late lunch.

So I got the bus back to Saratoga Springs, had a quick breakfast at Artist Palette, showered and napped. This was definitely a better plan than the previous day, I felt much more human.

So late morning we headed over to AK. One benefit of arriving at that time is the lack of queues at bag check and we were in the park quickly. While walking into the park I experienced the sight of a woman wearing what I consider the worst outfit I have ever seen at Disney. Darren wouldn’t let me take a photo so I’ll try to describe it. Think of a skin tight leggings onesie, with thin shoulder straps. In very thin, light grey T-shirt fabric. So thin that while walking behind her I could see the tattoo on her behind. And I was thinking about how badly grey fabric shows sweat, I’m glad I didn’t see her at the end of the day .

We rushed over to our FoP FP because with the later start to the day it was getting close to the end of our window. We loved it as usual. Then on safari, which I decided to just sit back and enjoy so didn’t take photos.
We decided to miss our Dinosaur FP because it would have made us late for lunch. I did try to rearrange it for later but all we could get was Tough to be a Bug.

 

[Swissmiss]

I’m glad Darren didn’t let you take a picture ... the way you described it, it sounds like something that I would want to be able to “unsee” it afterwards!

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

I’m glad Darren didn’t let you take a picture ... the way you described it, it sounds like something that I would want to be able to “unsee” it afterwards!

I think I would have deleted it straight away, I don’t need to see it again . It was just one of those ‘I really can’t believe what I’m seeing moments’

 

[RememberWhen]

Clock time is the time elapsed since the race started. Net time is the runner’s time since passing the starting mat. Small races usually don’t distinguish (when everyone starts at the same time). Larger races with different starting blocks will.

Thanks.


So as @Swissmiss said 1:21:29 was my actual running time. Race bibs have a timing chip in them and you run over a timing mat at the start, finish and for longer races a few points in between, so your time is registered then. And the difference in the net and the clock is how long I had to hang about in the corral waiting to start

Ohhh. That makes sense. I hadn’t really processed how they would keep time on all those people. Especially with the staggered start times.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Friday 10th January: 10k day (cont)

So after our safari we wandered over to Tusker House to check in for our lunch. It was a very late lunch, 3 o’clock, and there weren’t many others waiting so we were called pretty quickly and taken to our table. I was actually pleased we were having lunch rather than breakfast because I prefer the food selection.

The characters started to come round quickly. It was half empty in the restaurant so they spent lots of time with us. First up was Donald. He made a big fuss about Alice’s T-shirt. It has flippy sequins to go from a white stormtrooper to a black one. He kept getting her to flip the sequins, got all excited and tried to do the same to same to his shirt. Then he acted all disappointed because it didn’t work. I do love when the characters have a bit more time, they do find some fun ways to interact, especially with older kids.

Then Goofy and Mickey. I’m sure we saw Minnie as well but I can’t seem to find any photos.

And finally Daisy. She made a fuss over Alice’s shirt as well. They marched around the room together pretending to be stormtroopers, then she led Alice over to where Donald was so she could scare him. Alice and Donald then had a lightsaber fight in the middle of the room.

There was one more bit of character fun before we left. Across the room there was a table of younger adults, maybe mid twenties. One of the guys was making a big fuss of Daisy, so she tried to run off with him. Donald got very cross and challenged him to a fight and Goofy had to come along and split them up. Luckily Donald got his girl back. We were in tears of laughter watching this, they were so funny.

We left Tusker House very happy. Full tummies and some of the best character interaction we’ve ever had.

 

[Tuvalu]

Minnie doesn’t meet at Tusker House. You saw all 4 that do!

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Minnie doesn’t meet at Tusker House. You saw all 4 that do!

That will explain not having any photos of her . I should know that, we go to Tusker House nearly every trip.

 

[Laura Loves Tigger]

We are at Tusker House for the first time this past September. We really liked it and the character interaction was great! (We are a mother and adult special needs daughter). We will definitely eat there again (someday).

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Friday 10th January: 10k day (cont)

Something I really wanted to do on this trip was to see Grace, the baby gorilla. This was the last time we would be at AK so after our lunch we headed out to the trails. Unfortunately we didn’t see any of the family group . We did see one of the males on the way out so stopped to watch him for a while.

We decided to head out of the park after this, just stopping to use our ITTBaB FP. This was Lexi’s first time seeing this, one of our older daughters is terrified of spiders so always refused to go and it’s not a must do for the rest of us. It was quite funny to see her reactions, we hadn’t warned her about any of the seat effects.
So then a bus back to Saratoga and a quiet couple of hours and early night for me. It was a warm evening so Darren took the girls swimming over at the main pool area. They loved it, had it to themselves for most of the time.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

We are at Tusker House for the first time this past September. We really liked it and the character interaction was great! (We are a mother and adult special needs daughter). We will definitely eat there again (someday).

It’s one of our favourites. We like that the food is a bit different and we’ve always had good character interaction. Particularly as we eat off peak a lot, the characters spend much more time at each table.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Saturday 11th January: Half Marathon Day

The half marathon started at the same time as the previous two races, but because there were a lot more people running the buses started a bit earlier, at 3.00. I decided not to rush too much to be on the first one so didn’t get up any earlier and was at the bus stop by 3.10. I was very impressed by the efficiency of the transport here, there was a queue of buses waiting for the runners and they were loaded and dispatched quickly.

Arriving at Epcot I could immediately tell how much busier this race was. Today I had to queue to get through the bag check when I hadn’t before. It moved quickly though, most runners tend to bring the minimum with them not like when you’re waiting behind the pack horse families to get into the parks.

It was already feeling quite warm, I had a light hoodie on but really didn’t need it so put it in my bag and headed straight to the bag check area before there was too much of a wait there. I still had quite a wait before the corrals opened at 4.30 so I joined the masses sitting on the floor and ate my snacks.

Just before the walk to corrals I stopped to use the portaloos. I’d already posted this photo from the 5k day.

This was now absolutely packed, shoulder to shoulder people. And for some unknown reason, rather than follow the system to queue that is marked on the floor, people had formed separate queues at each individual toilet. As a Brit this offends me, we really like our queuing systems . So I have to pick a queue. Then near me one of the doors opens and suddenly from out of nowhere a woman literally sprints to jump in before the next person in the queue could. Someone nearby joked ‘wow she must really need to go’, there were a few laughs at this.

After my toilet break I start to move in the direction that other people were moving. The starting corrals for the half and full marathon were in a different place to the other races and I wasn’t sure where to go. So I just followed everyone else, and we walked and we walked, it felt like miles. The map below shows that the finish, where the main staging area was, and the start look quite near each other but I think that the yellow line is the way we walked to get to the start.

A very blurry photo of the crowds walking to the start line.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Saturday 11th January: Half Marathon Day (cont)

So after my very long walk I arrived at the back of the corrals and still had to carry on walking to get to my corral which I was really pleased to find was really close to the front. The corrals went from A up to H, but they’re not equally sized. A and B are very small corrals with only one wave of runners in each and you have to be quite fast to qualify for them. My corral, C, had 2 waves of runners, the corrals then get progressively bigger. There are usually over 20,000 runners for the half marathon.

By the time I arrive at my corral it’s quite close to the start time of the race. The volunteers checked my bib to make sure I was where I was supposed to be, and I joined at the back of the corral. I was quite happy to be at the back here, even though I had a qualifying time fast enough to be there, I knew I’d slowed down a bit while I was training for Dopey because I was concentrating on mileage rather than pace.

5.30 arrives and the first wave of runners start. I love that Disney races start with fireworks, and it’s not just the very first runners. Every starting wave gets their own fireworks.

And then, less than 10 minutes after the first runners, it was my turn to start. I was so excited for this race. I know this sounds a bit crazy, but I’d got to the point in my training where I considered a half marathon to be an easy distance . I was planning on taking it super easy to conserve my energy for the marathon. And hoping to finally get some character photos.

The route went from the start at Epcot along the roads to Magic Kingdom.

Despite wanting to stop for photos, I had to miss the first character stop because guess what, I needed a toilet break. This turned out to be really scary. I had to use the portaloos on the side of the road close to the bushes. It was pitch black inside, and there was a small gap at the bottom of the door. All I could think about was all of the creepy crawlies that could be in there 🕷. I was in and out so quickly .

I set off running again and I finally got my first character photo. Woohoo!! I liked that Disney themed the character areas really well. This was taken on the strip of grass between the road lanes, they even had sand down to try to disguise the grass.

 

[Swissmiss]

When I ran the half during marathon weekend in 2018, I was impressed by the number of port-a-potties on the course. Granted, the DLP half is about a quarter of the number of runners, but there are fewer port-a-potties overall. Along the course there are sometimes 1-2 along the course, but that is it. I always make sure I stop at the last restroom leaving the parks (at about km 7ish) because after that I never know where they might be and how many people will be waiting when I get there. Then again, my city has a marathon weekend and I am not aware if there are any along the route (I know there aren't any along the 10km route).