2023 RunDisney Solo Trip Report: My First Dopey Challenge (FINALLY completed 11/7: Magic Kingdom After Hours)

[Counting Stars]

You really did crush it with Genie+- what advice do you have for those of us who have not yet used it?

 

[Disneyhanna]

You really did crush it with Genie+- what advice do you have for those of us who have not yet used it?

Watch some current YouTube videos before your trip! Ones where they record their screen! Reading articles is helpful too but it’s best to see the screen in action. Genie+ is NOT intuitive. Refreshing is 100% necessary and people think that whatever shows up when they navigate to the tip board is all that’s left. But it’s a dynamic system so every time someone modified or cancels their lightning lane, it becomes available again. So, when you look at 10AM the majority of Frozen return times may be returning at 4PM for example, but if you refresh the tip board for a few minutes you might catch a 10:30AM time from someone who decided they weren’t going to use their lightning lane because they wanted to ride something else. If you took that 4PM time you wouldn’t be able to make another lightning lane for 120 minutes whereas if you took the 10:30 you could scan in as early as 10:25 and then be free to make another one right away, putting you way “ahead” of everyone waiting 2 hours between each reservation.

Almost every ride is easy to pick up earlier return times for. The only rides I find harder to get are the top ones like Slinky, Remy, Tower of Terror, etc. But even those I can usually refresh for in 5-10 minutes. A lot of people don’t like being on their phone that much but I always figure I’d be on my phone way more than 10 minutes in a two hour standby line!

Stacking is the other helpful thing! I like to do a few morning LLs and then take a midday break when the times start returning later in the day. Then I book an evening time, and set an alarm for two hours when I can book again. Usually I can stack maybe three evening rides super close to each other for when I return in the evening. Lots of videos on this strategy out there too!

Speed is of the essence…just because you see a good return time does not mean it’s yours because the app does not “save” anything for you, you have to click through the screens super fast. This is why watching videos is helpful to understand how many confirmation screens there are and how fast to click through them! There is a way to edit the tip board to just show the ride you are trying to refresh for which saves you precious scrolling time!

 

[Counting Stars]

Thanks so much! I will also look for You Tube videos so I can watch them a several times before we go in the Spring. You have been really helpful, sooooo appreciated!

 

[Disneyhanna]

The boat docked at Studios a little before 3:30, one of these days I will try the walking path but I had to save my legs for the races! It'd be interesting to race by foot, Skyliner, and boat. If I were a group of three that would be the challenge, who can get from Epcot to Studios first!

Going through security I realized I didn't take my water bottle out that morning, so I held it in front of me this time and yup no alarm! I had trouble scanning my finger (an ongoing issue) and so they reset my finger, I had less issues after that. Of course now I already forgot which finger I usually use, out-of-state AP probs

I found a bench on Sunset to enjoy my mini baguette from Les Halles while doing some people watching.

Don't forget to ask for butter, this was a heavenly combo and only $2.25, best value on property!

I fiddled around with Genie+ and was able to modify my tower of terror LL up to 4:15, not too far out. Wait times at Studios were pretty crazy, Slinky was 170 and ToT was 140. I heard that they just opened up the other elevator shaft so that should help a lot.

I looked up and saw all these birds taking flight out of nowhere!

It was time for my rock n roller coaster LL, I scanned in at 3:53 and it let me book another LL right away, no second scan. We weren't moving for over 10 minutes, then I saw ToT went down too, finally after almost 15 minutes we started moving again, phew! I was hoping ToT would stay down since I had a 4:15 LL and I wanted it to become an anytime! To my luck, at 4:09 it converted to an anytime pass.

I made it onto RnRC at 4:17 and was second from the back, ugh, usually I love the back but on this ride it hurts so much. My ears and head always ache after, I am glad it's closing

As I got off I saw ToT was back up, nice! That was a really short down time. I modified one of my LLs to a 5:15 Tower of Terror so I could ride it twice, this one did take probably 15 minutes of refreshing since it was later in the day. Still, sure beats the 2hr+ standby!

I was sitting by the Beauty and the Beast entrance while refreshing and it was SO funny. People had no idea what the show was. One mom walked in and immediately walked out a few minutes later "I can't handle singing"

I scanned into Tower of Terror at 5:17 and standby was 160 minutes. I hit the second touchpoint at 5:22 and immediately made a 7:20 Splash LL, which was a lucky grab. I guess I was going to three parks this day!

They weren't putting very many people into the preshow, there were maybe 10 of us, it must have been pretty backed up upstairs. Surprisingly, I didn't wait too long maybe a few minutes to get on the ride.

We stopped in the elevator shaft and it was pitch black for at least five minutes, omg! We were all freaking out wondering if we were just going to get dropped out of nowhere, it was terrifying Eventually it started moving and we were shot up instead of down, not as fun. There was no audio the rest of the ride and it was bizarre, we didn't get a picture either sadly. Lots of issues but still fun! If I had waited two hours I would have been mad though!

I was pretty bored of Studios already so I decided to leave, in the time it took me to walk from ToT to the entrance I got bit by mosquitos or something three times, ouch. Wear bug spray in evenings, they do not spray the parks as well anymore in my experience, I am a bug magnet though.

Since I didn't use my ToT anytime pass I made a quick stop at Guest Relations at the entrance to see if they could move it to the next day. While I was waiting, I overheard people talking about boarding groups for Guardians. Omg, I realized that it was evening hours at Epcot that night and there was a 6:00 drop. I would have totally missed it! I literally opened the app at 5:59 and somehow snagged group #167.

I waited maybe 15 minutes at GR, even though I was at the front it moves pretty slowly. It only took a minute and a CM was happy to switch my ToT multi-experience pass to the next day, she did note that it could ONLY be used for ToT the next day and not any of the other rides on the original pass. Nice!

Brrr it was getting cold as the sun went down. I needed to stop by my room for a sweatshirt. I left HS and saw a boat just leaving, rip! I decided to wait it out on one of the benches by the water. I decided I'd head back to the hotel for a bit and chill and then do Epcot for evening hours. I only waited eight minutes for the next boat, they come pretty often. I got to listen to the Fantasmic announcements while I was waiting!

The boat departed Studios at 6:30 and I was back to my room at the Dolphin by 6:41. I guess I decided to go to Magic Kingdom after all and instead of dealing with the bus to the TTC from Dolphin I figured I'd catch the bus at Yacht.

I timed it perfectly and walked right onto a boat and got off at the next stop, Yacht/Beach. It was crazy there, at first I didn't realize what was going on.

Turns out both Yacht and Beach Club were evacuated and they were not letting anyone walk towards the Beach Club to Epcot. The rooms were all flashing from the alarms! Just my luck, this meant I had to walk all the way back towards the BoardWalk, the line for the boat was way too long. So much for my short cut! I later found out it was due to a grill fire at Beaches and Cream, and they weren't able to make any grilled food for days!

I made it to the BW bus stop at 7:11 and it said a MK bus was coming at 7:20, okay not bad. The bus ended up coming at 7:15 and I was the only one on it! It only waited a minute before departing, happy to be off my feet again I booked a Pirates LL to start my 120 minute timer. I was dropped off at MK at 7:29!

They still had the Christmas tree up, yay!

Of course I realized that Enchantment was about to start, good luck to me getting through the Hub to Splash.

I hate Enchantment, so luckily I did not have to fight the crowds.

I ended up mobile ordering from Columbia Harbour House to escape some of the crowds, since it was late and right before fireworks the place was a ghost town and my food was ready right away.

I got the New England Shrimp Boil which is a newer item, it was actually very delicious. It came with the most dried out rolls I've ever had in my life, and I ordered a very sad side of green beans.

Despite the awful rolls, the boil itself was very flavorful with 7 huge shrimp and lots of sausage and potatoes. The corn was still crisp, this was a really solid and filling meal for the price. I'm sure it was loaded with salt, but definitely lighter than eating something fried.

I was able to modify my Pirates LL to an 8:35 Big Thunder LL while eating, score! Maybe I'd even see the fireworks from the train!

The ice water was awful here, I forgot how bad MK water is! The wait times were definitely reflecting the fireworks, BTMR was 35 and Pooh was 25.

Because I love ending my meal with something sweet, I stopped at the churro cart by Splash and tried the 50th churro.

I was pixie dusted and when I tried to pay, the CM wouldn't let me!

Let's just say...you'd have to pay ME for me to eat this again It was pretty dry and not warm enough and nothing in comparison to Disneyland churros. Since it was free of course I ate the whole thing though.

I watched the fireworks while enjoying my churro from the bridge by the churro cart and it was a very nice view for the fireworks. Way better than the crowds of the hub.

Unfortunately Enchantment ended before I was able to get on Big Thunder, oh well! I scanned in at 8:30 and hit the second scanner at 8:31, making an 8:55 Pirates LL. It was so humid in the queue, even though it is open air.

I discovered the carabiner on my fanny pack is perfect for holding my hat!

I made it on row 2 at 8:38, there were some teen girls that must have been competing to be the more loud/annoying screamer

Big Thunder is so much more thrilling at night, it gets pretty dark back there! I was so sad it was going to be closed for my After Hours event the next week.

My Splash LL officially ended at 8:20 and there is the 15 minute grace period after that, of course I was even past that but I heard from a little mouse that the scanner will usually turn green if you are less than two hours late. Indeed, it turned green when I scanned in at 8:44. Use this tip at your own caution.

Standby was listed at 45 but I didn't think it looked that long, everyone was up the stairs in the regular line so it was probably more like 20-25 minutes.

My Guardians boarding group was called at 8:46, before evening extra magic hours even started! Luckily I knew I could arrive at any time.

I made it only splash at 8:52 and to my luck ended up in front row. I feel like they always give solos front row as punishment We stopped at the bottom of the big hill for a minute, long enough for the poor kid behind me to have an existential crisis. He survived though!

My shorts were soaked after this, lovely! When I got off, the guy waiting to load was like "see, she's not that wet" to his party


I decided to skip my Pirates LL at this point and head to Epcot to ride Guardians before turning in for the night. Wow, this has been the longest day ever, I do not know how to take it easy! This day and the next were the biggest park days for me by far, then these posts should get a lot shorter (or at least will be mostly race-dedicated, it's coming, I swear ).

I was hoping the virtual queue would be shorter since the paid lightning lanes would be done for the day, we'll see about that...

Of course I had to walk through the Emporium on my way out, there was still so much Christmas merch but none of it was on sale sadly. Not that I had room in my luggage.

The Disney 100 collection had just started at this point. I liked this hat but honestly would have preferred it without Mickey, sorry Mickey!

Wow, these cups were SHINY!

I left MK around 9:25 and the line for the Express monorail looked INSANE. I headed to the resort monorail since that stops at Poly then the TTC, I figured that would be quicker. Monorail pros, was that the right move?

I thought so, there weren't many people at the resort monorail and I made it on the next one, departing MK at 9:36, it wasn't even full. I popped an Advil at this point, my head was starting to hurt from such a long day. And I knew I was going to put my body through the wringer riding Cosmic Rewind!

No one got off at the Contemporary, we all got off at the TTC at 9:45, clearly having the same plan. I got onto the Epcot monorail and it departed at 9:49. A poor family meant to get off and get on the monorail to MK since it was open until 11, instead they were going back to Epcot again which is where they left. Yikes!

We are back to Epcot at 9:57, I forgot that you didn't have to go through security again, which was great. I scanned into Epcot 10:01 and made my way to Guardians. The ship looks so cool at night!

The line was out the door and winding around, it took five minutes to scan in! This was not looking good! They were still letting in paid lightning lane people that were late at this point, even though the park was closed.

I scanned in at 10:12 and didn't make it inside until 10:16. Lots of people were being turned away not realizing you still needed a virtual queue even during evening deluxe hours.

The line didn't seem to be moving any faster than during the day, and it was way longer. The mom in front of me asked if I'd ridden and knew how long the wait would be, I was like honestly maybe an hour. She was pretty surprised, they were hoping to ride some other rides during even hours and I was like yeah, sorry this will probably be it.

Finally at 10:30 it started moving faster, and I made it into the first show at 10:47 and onto the ride at 11:09 waiting about an hour like I predicted. I was in row 8 and got September again! I was feeling really tired at this point but did fine, the only time I ever felt slightly queasy was the first time I rode when I was looking every direction.

I was hoping to get a new song, something more upbeat next time. As fun as this is I'm not sure it was worth the hour wait at the end of a long day.

So at 11:15, I started my long journey back to the International Gateway. Definitely wished the boats were still running!

I made it to Port of Entry by 11:23 and exited the IG at 11:28. So, it was just under a 15 minute walk from CW to the IG for me at a decent pace.

On my walk back to the Dolphin, a cute couple asked me to take some pictures for them by the BoardWalk. I hope they turned out! I must look approachable as I don't go a day without people asking me to take their photos at WDW. Or maybe I look like I take good pictures This is what I looked like after the long day, so I take that comment back.

I walked by Jellyrolls and they were playing the Stones, that pepped me up a bit. Finally I made it back to the Dolphin at 11:43, feeling like I had lived three days in one at that point. To think I started that day with a two mile run around the BoardWalk, eons ago!

I was moving to AKL the next day, but I was so tired I left my packing for the morning. I finally made it to bed at 12:30 and it felt amazing to be in the comfy bed and be off my feet.

Genie+ was still $29, ugh, I caved and bought it anyways of course. I think that was my last Genie+ purchase of the trip since the day after that was the expo and then the races.

Since Studios was opening at 8:30, I made a game plan to book Slinky at 7:00 and then go back to sleep until 9:30 when I could make my next LL, assuming I could get the 8:30-9:30 Slinky. I think I finally went to sleep around 1AM, my mantra in WDW is always "I'll sleep when I'm dead." Funny how in two nights I was going to be getting up only an hour later.

With my shakeout run and three park tour, I somehow only got 29k steps, not even my record for a park day. Stay tuned for one more crazy park day and then the race weekend will begin!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I love your "carbo loading for the races." For me, I just use the excuse that I "need to carbo load to get through Disney." But in reality, I just love carbs. End of story. It's why I'm fluffy. Or undertall. Or both.

 

[disneyAndi14]

One of the vloggers did the experiment with one riding the boat, 1 riding the Skyliner, and 1 walking. Molly made it way faster to DHS by walking! I think the boat was last and Skyliner 2nd.
What a marathon day. Andi and I use to do that with FP+ and hop around wherever we could get the best FP+.

 

[Disneyhanna]

I love your "carbo loading for the races." For me, I just use the excuse that I "need to carbo load to get through Disney." But in reality, I just love carbs. End of story. It's why I'm fluffy. Or undertall. Or both.

I say I'm carbo loading but I definitely eat the same on regular trips, and on regular days at home Life's too short to skip the good food!

One of the vloggers did the experiment with one riding the boat, 1 riding the Skyliner, and 1 walking. Molly made it way faster to DHS by walking! I think the boat was last and Skyliner 2nd.
What a marathon day. Andi and I use to do that with FP+ and hop around wherever we could get the best FP+.

That is so interesting! I must have had a pretty fast boat, I did time it pretty well since it left shortly after I got on. It takes me about 15 minutes to walk between the S/D and Epcot so if it is less than 10 minutes to HS from there then I suppose that would be faster. I am headed back in a few weeks so I will plan to walk to HS instead of boat to try it out, or walk back. There is a path on the Swan side that is supposed to be a little faster than the BW side so I may look for that. I do take lots of quick notes for TRs and I couldn't believe it when I just kept typing and typing and the day was still not over! I love to hop around on solo trips, and no one to hold me back!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I'm enjoying your report so far! You really got a LOT done. I'm tired just reading it; I can't believe that was all just one day!

I flew through MSP on 1/1 also. I was actually booked on 1/2 but needed to be back at work on 1/3 and I had a really short (30 minute) layover. I ended up switching my flight to 1/1 in mid-December to give me an extra day in case I missed the connection. I'm so glad I changed it, because my originally-scheduled flight was canceled due to the storm on 1/2.

I am impressed that you were bold enough to sign up for Dopey when you had only done a 10-miler!

 

[Disneyhanna]

I'm enjoying your report so far! You really got a LOT done. I'm tired just reading it; I can't believe that was all just one day!

I flew through MSP on 1/1 also. I was actually booked on 1/2 but needed to be back at work on 1/3 and I had a really short (30 minute) layover. I ended up switching my flight to 1/1 in mid-December to give me an extra day in case I missed the connection. I'm so glad I changed it, because my originally-scheduled flight was canceled due to the storm on 1/2.

I am impressed that you were bold enough to sign up for Dopey when you had only done a 10-miler!

Thanks for reading and commenting! I seem to peak around 30k steps on my busiest park days, whenever I see people hitting like 40k steps I am always in awe. Soooo lucky you switched your flight, that was such a crazy storm and I'm glad to have missed it. I kept getting messages from home about how crazy it was and I was like "that stinks!" while enjoying the FL weather Dopey was such an impulse for me, I am so so glad I did a regular marathon first because that definitely deserved its own special moment. But I still look back and laugh at how I signed up for two marathons before even running a half!

 

[Disneyhanna]

January 3rd, 2023 - Studios, AK, and AKL Check-In​

My 7AM lightning lane selection went perfectly, I got the first window for Slinky at 8:30-9:30 and then went back to sleep until 9:30 when I could make another LL. When I woke up at 9:30, I refreshed a few minutes to get an 11:00 Runaway Railway LL, woohoo!!

I packed up my luggage since I was transferring to AKL and dropped off my bags at bell services at Dolphin. There was no line, and off my bags went!

I headed to the friendship boats since I didn't feel like figuring out the walking path to Studios, and there was a small line, which is always a good sign that a boat should be coming soon. It did take about 10 minutes to come, probably could have walked, oh well!

When I was in line I saw there were a lot of afternoon Space 220 Lounge openings for two people, so don't forget to check for same-day reservations with the new 2 hour cancellation window. I decided against it but maybe next trip!

I was onto a boat by 10:59 and off at Studios at 11:07, there was plenty of seating since it was mid-day. I set off the alarm and of course realized I left my sunscreen can in my bag, oops. They just waved me through, thankfully, so I was into the park by 11:11.

Studios was definitely quite crowded, especially Toy Story Land. The holiday crowds had not left yet! I wrote a note that people were walking SO slow, I had a Slinky LL to get to and my two hour grace period was almost up!

I scanned into my 8:30 Slinky at 11:17 and it indeed turned green. It still was showing in my MDE even though it was past the time. I have heard it is up to the CM's discretion, but for the most part I found it still turns green and I just walk through like I know what I'm doing and they've never said a word.

This policy could change any day, but just remember to be LESS than two hours late. So I could scan in until 11:29 for my 8:30-9:30 window, but at 11:30 it would probably not turn green anymore, I haven't tested it.

There was a short line for LL, I waited maybe 10 minutes to ride and did not get pulled up like I often am as a single rider. Made it onto row three, it was fun, but I definitely prefer riding at night. No ride photo, my magic bands must be getting too old!

Woody and Jessie were out meeting by TSM, love seeing characters out again.

The line at Joffrey's was short, a rare sight, so I headed there for an iced latte.

Crazy to think I have waited a half an hour for a coffee at this exact stand!

Decaf iced caramel latte secured, yum. Just don't ask for a cup of water because they just put hot water over ice, eek!

At 11:30 I booked a 2:55 Safari, since I knew I still could ride Runaway Railway and my anytime Tower of Terror pass from the day prior. I was in need of lunch as well, and Woody's Lunch Box mobile orders weren't available until 1PM, definitely reserve those early!

I headed over to Sunset and decided to try out Fairfax Faire.

There was a short line but mobile order was quick and made to order. I got the Korean BBQ pork belly bowl, this was so delicious!

It was on the small side but the mashed potatoes were fantastic, it was the perfect lunch portion to not leave you needing a nap later. I'd definitely order this again.

It was so hard to find a spot to sit here, again one of the downsides of going at such a busy time.

When I checked at 12:30, it looked like my bags were already at AKL according to my air tags. Baggage transfer from Dolphin is so fast!

I scanned into Tower of Terror using my anytime pass at 12:51 and standby was 140. I love ToT but no way would I wait even an hour. The LL is such a long walk next to the regular queue, it always makes you feel a bit elite lol

Goofy and Max were in line provided entertainment! But still social distanced a bit, ha!

I made it into the pre-show at 12:55 and in the loading area I was quickly pulled up by a CM since there were a few open spots in their elevator, I love when that happens. Back row but the middle at least!

We shot up again, darn! When was I gonna get dropped?!

I discovered the bathrooms right by Tower of Terror, for some reason I always miss them and it was so empty compared to the ones I usually use that are halfway down Sunset.

On my way to Runaway Railway, I saw some people trying to activate the 50th statues using their MB+. It was so funny to watch them wave their arms wildly, like the wands at Universal.

I scanned into my MMRR LL late, around 1:18, when my window was 11:00-12:00. Again no comment from CM and turned green! And this was finally the ride where I figured out how they do the trick with the doorway opening below the screen, it stumped me the first few times

In the queue after the pre-show I booked a 3:50 Everest LL just to start my 120 minute timer. I was able to modify this to a 2:25 Dinosaur, perfect! Since Everest has a pretty efficient single rider line I figured I could always use that.

I made it onto the ride at 1:40 and for the first time got the front row of a cart! My lucky day, I swear on this and Rise I am always in the back row. I feel like the seat special effects are more intense in the front, maybe just my imagination.

Time to hop to Animal Kingdom before checking in to AKL!

I stopped at the restroom by the park entrance and suddenly heard people shouting, I came out and Donald and Daisy are hanging out above the bathrooms

I left Studios at 1:55 and headed to an AK bus. The bus stop was sooo far away. However I walked right onto a waiting bus! It lingered for a few minutes and left at 2:05, perfect timing. It did get pretty full while we sat there!

We were dropped off at AK at 2:18, I made it through security by 2:25 as there was a pretty long line. They must have lowered the sensitive on the scanners because they were just waving us all through.

Still no room ready text at 2:30, but then of course at 2:35 I got the notification it was ready! I did not put in any room requests since I was renting a DVC standard studio and didn't want to be a bother. I ended up with 5546 Zebra Trail.

I looked this up on Touring Plans and was happy to discover it was a partial savannah view. It actually may have been a regular savannah view, I'm not sure, since the people pens were visible this might still be a standard room.

Of course this room was almost as far from the lobby as you can get, worth it for the view though. Since I had my room, I placed an Instacart order for some bottled water and a few groceries. I picked the 5PM-8PM window to save a few extra dollars.

I scanned into Dinosaur at 2:46 and standby was 50, definitely busy. I booked some random LL to start the timer again.

I made it onto the ride at 2:58 in row 1, my luck continues!

I don't think I've been in the front in a while, it's much scarier when the dinosaurs are in your face, ha! I imagine so many little kids are traumatized by this ride.

I modified one of my LLs to a 3:35 Kali River Rapids since I saw the ride was down, and I was hoping it would turn into an anytime pass. It converted to anytime at like 3:18 even though my window wasn't up yet, and the ride went up at 3:20 so I got pretty lucky there.

It was time for my Safari LL, it was very crowded and I scanned in at 3:32 while standby was 105. There were so many huge families that kept elbowing and crowding me in line, no self awareness!

To my luck (again), I ended up in the front row right side at 3:41. So the wait wasn't long at all.

There was another couple in the row, and after I got on, another couple tried to follow me on, but the driver thankfully stopped them. "Four people per row unless you know each other!"

A kudu walked right up by the truck! Usually they are so far away.

A stork was also right by the truck, I was glad to be on the right side, more often I am on the left side as a single rider.



There was a hippo swimming instead of just floating, I have yet to get any good hippo action on a safari!

I ddn’t notice all the netting on trees before,

There were lots of trucks out in elephant areas, and so not many elephants.

We had to stop for a quick animal crossing!

I always joke that I always get the iPhone Pro for the telephoto lens for Safari pictures

While it was a relatively quiet safari (animal-wise and people-wise), it was very relaxing and it was a beautiful afternoon.

The lions were lounging, we got to saw the lioness grooming which was cute.

I love that they added the goats at the end, they are so funny to watch. I was off at 4:00 so one of my faster safari rides.

It looked like my Instacart shopper found all of my groceries and checked out, so I decided to ride Everest and then head to AKL. I put in the notes to leave the groceries at Bell Services.

I scanned into Everest at 4:12 using my Kali River Rapids anytime pass, very handy! Standby was 55 and the line was overflowing, they were scanning LLs with a hand scanner.

There was another single rider behind me, so an uncle and niece asked to swap with him so they could ride together since they were in the single rider line. Lucky for them, I have seen CMs at Everest come by before and switch single riders back when they do that!

Time to head to AKL and check out my room, I was excited to settle in for the next week and have a short bus ride back. My food was delivered at 4:30, even though I selected the 5-8 window, no problem but good to know the window doesn't mean much.

Of course the AKL bus was the last bus in the middle section, why is that? Luckily there was a bus waiting that I walked onto, standing room only, I really had to squish myself on because people always leave so much empty space.

It departed AK at 4:40 and stopped at Kidani first, then Jambo second and I was off at 4:50. It is only a five minute ride, but it takes another five minutes to drop people off and go between the two stops. For parks, I believe Kidani is always the first on and first off. The Disney Springs bus is the opposite!

Next up will be my AKL room tour and Boma dinner, thanks for reading!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Thanks for reading and commenting! I seem to peak around 30k steps on my busiest park days, whenever I see people hitting like 40k steps I am always in awe. Soooo lucky you switched your flight, that was such a crazy storm and I'm glad to have missed it. I kept getting messages from home about how crazy it was and I was like "that stinks!" while enjoying the FL weather Dopey was such an impulse for me, I am so so glad I did a regular marathon first because that definitely deserved its own special moment. But I still look back and laugh at how I signed up for two marathons before even running a half!

I had my dates of flights wrong when I posted pre-coffee, not that it matters much! My original flight was on 1/3 and I moved it to 1/2 since I needed to work on 1/4, that Wednesday. It really would have messed up people trying to get out of MSP before the Wednesday expo for Dopey!

 

[Disneyhanna]

I had my dates of flights wrong when I posted pre-coffee, not that it matters much! My original flight was on 1/3 and I moved it to 1/2 since I needed to work on 1/4, that Wednesday. It really would have messed up people trying to get out of MSP before the Wednesday expo for Dopey!

I am soooo glad I flew out early. I am planning to go out Monday at the latest next year because I do NOT want to risk missing it. I had some friends that came in on Wednesday from MSP and one went through three airlines to make it to MCO, no thank you!

 

[Disneyhanna]

LOL - I hit post before I finished, whoops!

Time for an AKL room tour! I was staying in a standard view deluxe studio in Jambo House, since I wanted to be in the main building. Kidani is cute but I love the big lobby of Jambo House. The tree was still up and beautiful as ever.

I needed some tip money so I asked the front desk and they can make change for you, no problem! I stopped by bell services and had them send my luggage and groceries to my room since I knew it was going to be a bit of a trek.

Value studios are very hard to rent but it is pretty easy to rent a standard studio which is what I did. The cost is unbeatable, the going rate when renting direct from owners is $18-$19/pt which saves a hefty sum compared to going through a broker. Since there are no fees, my room was about $226/night for the week. I'm usually not one to book non-refundable lodging but since I knew I was going for marathon weekend barring disaster, I was willing to risk it. I don't think I would ever rent DVC for more expensive bookings such as 1-2 bedrooms unless there was a cancellation policy.

My room was quite far from the lobby so I paused to look at all the savannas along the way.



There are vending machines on each floor, pretty dismal selection if you ask me.

Here's my cute room! I believe all DVC rooms are on the fifth (top) floor in Jambo House. I kept turning too early during my trip and ending up in the wrong wing, since they all look the same, and kept trying use my magic band on the wrong door

I have stayed in a non-DVC standard room once, and I knew they were more recently renovated, so my expectations weren't too high for the DVC room. However I was pleasantly surprised!

I loved the big hallway with the kitchenette, it was so much roomier than it looks in pictures. The wood looks in rough shape but that is just how the paint reflects, everything was in very nice condition.

Love the microwave and toaster options in the DVC studio even though the toaster didn't work too well, it was better than nothing! There were microwavable compostable plates, bowls, and silverware, much more sanitary than having to wash regular dishes.

The fridge was a full sized mini fridge, and plenty cold. It did have a little freezer but I did not try using it so can't say if it works well.

The best part was having two huge trash bins, these are full sized and so much better than the little trash cans in the non-DVC rooms.

The bathroom area was huge which made the hallway feel so large, I loved it. So much space for getting ready in the mornings and I liked the layout a lot.

The shelf over the counter was great for keeping things dry and there were lots of outlets.

The bath area was nice and roomy as well, no trouble with the door getting in the way like at Dolphin and the tub was spotless.

The room had a ceiling fan, and with only one bed it felt so much more open than a two bed room.

Since there was no closet there was a large wardrobe instead. The adjoining room door was to the right of the wardrobe and it was the perfect spot to put my suitcase.

The Smart TV was absolutely massive and I used the chrome cast option a few times. There was plenty of space to put clothes but I use packing cubes and leave them in my luggage.

I used this desk to work from a few days, the internet worked just fine for my calls (I don't use video but I did do screen sharing). The table is bigger than it looks and I had no trouble setting up my laptop and portable monitor.

I did not use the sofa bed but I hear it is not very comfortable because it has a bar in the middle. I hope they renovate and add a pull down Murphy bed because the DVC studio only works for solo trips for me in its current state, I would never want to rely on the sofa bed! There were two square benches that served as a coffee table, this was great for sitting and eating a meal in front of the TV. It was really nice having a sofa to sit on, I am used to staying in two bed standard rooms.

You can sort of see how spread out the room was, it felt like so much space for just me, I loved it. Very bright with natural light as well.

The nightstand was plenty big as well, I always wonder why they still have phones in the rooms. Updated with outlets and USB ports!

And of course the best part of deluxe resorts, the balcony!

I booked a standard view room but obviously had a partial savanna view. I think if you have the big people pen in your view it is still classified as standard.

It was still a beautiful view, not the most active section of savanna but I did see some animals from time to time.

I appreciate the seals on the extra pillow and blanket, I always need the blanket because I hate the thin bedding Disney uses, I need more than just a top sheet!

It took about 15 minutes for my luggage and groceries to be delivered.

Here's my grocery order, it was about $50 before tax/tip. Having the kitchenette was so handy for the race weekend and now I think it will be hard to go back to staying in a non-DVC studio, the extra counter space alone is so valuable.

One last glimpse of my beautiful room view, AKL gets a bad rap for being far from the parks but it truly is unlike any other resort on property!

 

[Disneyhanna]

I thought about going back to the parks but decided against it, the races were starting in less than 48 hours after all!

At 6:15 the walk up list was 20 minutes for Sanaa and 40 minutes for Boma as a party of 1. I joined the Boma list at 6:18 and was hoping it would take that long because I had started eating some of my snacks from my grocery order, oops

I decided to explore the resort while I waited, I stayed here for a few nights in 2019 but didn't actually spend that much time looking around the resort on that trip.

The tree looks even better at night, I probably have a hundred pics of this tree by now.

I love perusing the resort gift shops, the 2023 merchandise was just put out and while I'm not a fan of zip ups, I thought this design was very cute, love the pastels.

They have also started adding resort Christmas ornaments, I thought the AKL ornament was just okay so I passed on it. They are hand painted I think, or at least the tag said so!

They had this cute pink champagne bottle that was tempting me, since it was my birthday in a few days. There was no price tag and so I asked a CM, it was $22 but she recommended I just buy the Once Upon a Time bubbly in the fridge, which was a full sized bottle for less money. I like her math!

My table was ready at 6:46 so I headed to Boma, there were lots of people waiting on the benches by the check in desk, it was definitely popular as always. I was seated immediately at a small table right between two larger tables, it was a bit awkward!

The Boma dinner buffet is so good, there are plenty of options for both picky and more adventurous eaters. It is unlike any other buffet at WDW and I had many plates. The CMs are very quick to take away plates and are very nice.

I especially loved the coconut rice, I had so much rice because carbo-loading. I had to cut myself off because this buffet is so expensive and I knew I couldn't fill up on rice. I wish the cost were a bit lower so I could justify eating here more than once per trip. I do think it is a bit overpriced but definitely a must do when you are at AKL, or for dinner after an AK park day. I love that there are so many options for meat eaters and for vegetarians so it can accommodate groups with different dietary needs.

My favorite dessert was the passion fruit mouse, if you like the mousse at Satu'li you will love this.

I left Boma around 8, it was still fairly busy but not as many people waiting to be seated. I had to walk around a bit because I was so stuffed, so I toured the pool area which I never ended up using lol. There is no lock to enter the pool area, I suppose since AKL is off the beaten path unlike the Boardwalk/Skyliner resorts. The pool loungers are so nice at the deluxe resorts.

There are some animal viewing areas by the pool, such as the flamingos. There were two spas as well, I'm sure they were very popular post-races. They were not locked but were closed in by gates, interesting. Maybe to keep kids from wandering in on accident?

Both Jambo and Kidani have many activities, I never do the resort activities but I'm sure these are great for rest days especially with kids.

The gym was pretty small but looked decent enough, there was even a fancy spin bike (but only one). Luckily I'd be getting plenty of exercise this trip and wouldn't need a gym!

One more picture of the lobby this time from the bridge across the 5th floor!

I had to stop at the gift shop for some candy, this one was new and reminded me of now and laters, much chewier than taffy taffy. I liked them and getting the AP 20% merch discount is always nice!

I timed the walk from the lobby to my room, at a normal pace it was exactly four minutes. An important measurement since a running friend was driving me to the races and I needed to know what time to leave my room! I was close to the end of the wing, so really the furthest you could be is a 5 minute walk, or maybe 7 minutes if you are slower. AKL is not that big, compared to the footprint of the value and moderate resorts.

I forgot to say in my last post, the bathroom has an automatic fan, thank goodness. No steamy room!

For some reason I had the urge to take a bath and watch an episode of Criminal Minds, so that's what I did! I did take a few Clorox wipes to the tub because you never know. I knew that would be the first of many baths on this running trip!

I set up my work laptop and checked a few emails, and made a note to bring a mouse pad next time.

The next day was the race expo, which used a virtual queue that you could join at 8:30. Luckily that meant I could sleep in a bit compared to getting up at 7:00 for Genie+. I didn't get into bed until 11PM and I was not even tired, not a good sign for the days to come

I ended up just shy of 16k steps and went to sleep a little after midnight. I was so excited for the expo to find out my corrals, buy merchandise, and finally feel like I was there for the races and not just a regular Disney trip.

Let the race weekend festivities begin!!!

 

[Disneyhanna]

January 4th, 2023 - Race Expo​

I slept well, it was very quiet that night and when I joined the virtual queue for the race expo at 8:30AM I got group 45 which had an estimated callback of 11:40. I think the expo was opening at 10AM, so not too bad. The VQ was only to get into the merchandise expo, you did not need it to pick up your bib or visit the expo with third party vendors.

I could have slept longer but decided to just start my day, I did a bit of work since I was working a half day that day. My job is pretty flexible and is 100% remote so I planned on doing a bit more work after the expo as well.

People were posting pictures of all the merch on social media, so I was scrolling through all of it and trying to decide what I wanted to try and get. There was so much cute stuff!

A CM came by around 10:30 for room checks, since I answered the door they did not need to come in and just asked if I had any trash to get rid of. They do scan the door to mark them as checked in their system.

There were no animals out that morning, but it was still lovely to sit on the balcony a bit. I saw lots of other people enjoying their balconies, it is so relaxing!

I left my room around 10:45 and it said there was still 75 minutes before my virtual queue. I wanted to be ready to go in as soon as I was called since I knew things would sell out quickly, there were no merchandise preorders for this race!

At first I couldn't figure out where the bus was, turns out you just go straight out the lobby door and down the steps in front of the lobby, not by the normal park busses.

I always think they need more signs with arrows because I am directionally challenged. You go across the red crosswalk and down the second short set of stairs. This blue sign alone was not enough for me to understand, I had to wander around a bit

I walked right onto an expo bus and there were only two others on it, and they ended up getting dropped off at Kidani around 11:00 since we stopped there before heading to ESPN Wide World of Sports which is where the race expos are held. My VQ now was down to 60 minutes!

We were dropped off at ESPN at 11:13, it is not far from AKL thankfully. Down to 45 minutes!

The bib pickup line was crazy long, I heard that was a direct result of the virtual queue, since people got there early and picked up their bibs while waiting to get into the merch expo.

I was nervous I would get called while in line for my bib so I decided to wait it out and get my bib after. I found a bench and just hung out for a bit, many others were doing the same. I talked to some other ladies waiting around and they said they only waited 12 minutes in the bib pickup line even though it looked long.

Finally I was called at 11:49, pretty spot on with the initial estimate!

There was a short line to scan in, and then of course there was more line to wait in inside the building

Luckily there weren't that many people in the overflow waiting room at 11:55, it less than 1/4 full compared to being full when there is no virtual queue.

I was just grateful to have AC at that point since it was pretty warm outside. There were so man people wearing Dopey shirts and ears, it definitely is the main event of the race weekend!

The line was moving pretty quickly, and I was let into the expo about 12:05.

The first thing I sought out was the Dopey hat, I love practical items like hats and mugs because I can use them regularly. I only saw maybe a dozen on a shelf, so I was thrilled to snag one. They were Nike hats so they were super nice quality.

The women's Dopey hoodie was child sized, there were so many women hovering around waiting for a restock. All they had were tons of smalls and a couple of mediums at that point, I typically can fit in a unisex small and I think I would have needed an XL or XXL in that hoodie for it to fit.

This shirt was HILARIOUS and definitely went viral on social media, I regret not getting it at this point.

It was CHAOS in the expo. Like, Walmart on Black Friday madness! There were hangers everywhere, piles of clothes, people sitting everywhere sorting through their baskets of goodies.

There was a frenetic energy in the air, and while I usually don't love crowds, I cannot lie, it was getting me hyped for the weekend

I did so many laps around looking through everything, I wasn't really looking for anything in particular but quite a few things were out of stock and I wanted to hang out a bit in case they were restocked.

There were probably half a dozen tables with piles of clothing that people decided not to buy that you could sift through, it kept getting messier and messier.

I felt bad for the CMs trying to put stuff back on the shelves as people were flocking them like vultures. No one was fighting or anything but it was definitely way more chaotic than I could have imagined. I'm not sure if it was more runners or resellers to be honest.

A lot of Dopey stuff like the ears and finisher jackets were totally sold out, but I was happy to get my hat and all of the medal replica pins were still available. I loved the medal replica pins, I am not a pin person (on purpose, I do not need more things to spend $ on) but they make replica pins of all of the race medals which I thought would be perfect for hanging on the Christmas tree, so I had to get some.

I decided to get the Anniversary medal pins instead of all of them to save money, so I got the Dopey and Marathon medal pins. I also got a regular Dopey pin because why not, I thought this might be a one and done for me, so go big or go home! They were pretty well stocked on pins, I was there for over an hour and when I was leaving the Goofy medal pins were getting close to running out (the orange round one) but the rest still had a good stock. Based on eBay prices after the weekend I don't think they restocked anything, I saw the medal pins going for $75+ EACH!

Of course I am a sucker for mugs and I decided on the race weekend mug as well. There were plenty of these still.

I think they actually pulled the mug after the first day because of a printing error, there is supposed to be a castle icon in the image, so I guess I'm lucky I got a mug at all!

Since the weather was pretty warm that week I decided to pick up a few of the tank tops as well. I had to get the Dopey tank top, obviously, I loved the color since it was a heathered purple. The marathon tank was basically the same as the marathon race shirt they give you, and I also got the generic marathon weekend tank.

Finally I mobile checked out at 1:15, you scan everything on your MDE app and then just show your QR code when you exit, it applies discounts and everything. Even with my AP discount I spend an embarrassing amount of money. There are stations to wrap up and bag your items with no wait, I'm not sure why anyone would stand in the crazy long regular checkout line unless you are paying cash!

Outside the merch area they were doing meet and greets with Dopey and Goofy along with photo ops with the big race numbers. I got in line for Dopey at 1:20, and finally got my picture at 1:50.

There was a photo pass CM thankfully because the lighting is always so bad in there, and the photo pass pictures are 100x better.

I skipped Goofy because it was a separate line, sorry Goofy, but you are easy enough to meet in the parks!

All the lines for the race numbers were separate as well, so I only got in line for the 48.6 numbers.

There was no photo pass for these, I think I waited about 15 minutes. See how much worse the non photo-pass pictures are?

The lines for the other race numbers were much shorter but I decided I had done enough waiting at that point! Time to pick up my bib!

There was really no wait for bibs at this point, and I got my bibs and race shirts very quickly. I was thrilled to get corral A for the 5k and 10k and for the half and full marathon I was corral B, both corral A and B were the proof of time corrals and my time was very close to the cutoff, so I was so happy I made it in. They only require proof of time for the half/full, for the 5k/10k it is somewhat based on your estimated finish time but it is also somewhat random as there are no guarantees.

I think the corrals go all the way through F, and corrals A-B are MUCH smaller so they release very quickly. I think they are something like 15% of the runners combined. If you are in a later corral it may take 30-60 minutes to cross the start line, so you are standing that much longer, and the lines for character photos build very quickly. Not to mention the course gets more crowded, so it is a very big advantage to be in an early corral.

My only other runDisney experience was the third corral for the 2022 Princess 10k, and it took almost 30 minutes to cross the start line. It was so boring to hear them keep announcing start waves over and over while inching towards the start line. Plus the character lines were soooo long when we went by, like 100 people long, we didn't stop for a single one. I was excited to see how different it would be in corrals A/B.

I laid out all my race shirts to send a picture to my mom and some ladies near me asked if they could take a picture since I had already laid them out so nicely.

I tried each shirt on in case they fit differently so I could exchange them, but they were all the same. The Marathon Weekend race shirts are always long sleeved, for all other race weekends they are short sleeved. I LOVED this, since in MN it is always too hot or too cold for short sleeves, so I get way more wear out of long sleeves.

The shirts were SO cute this year, I especially loved the half marathon and marathon colors. Very bright and lightweight, I knew I would wear these a lot.

I spent about 20 minutes wandering the vendor expo, I didn't buy anything but they had everything you might have forgotten at home.

Socks, running belts, sunglasses, nutrition and electrolytes, apparel, shoes, etc. I packed everything I needed so I kept my wallet shut, it had been through enough!

There were a few other cute signs around the ESPN complex so I got one last photo with a Dopey sign before I headed back to the resort busses, waiting about five minutes to take a picture. Everyone in line was just taking photos for each other, runDisney runners are great at this!

I got to the AKL bus at 3:12, and the kid manning the stop was saying he was hired yesterday The bus arrived at 3:16 and the driver told us he would be leaving in ten minutes, he kept to his word. I was happy to finally be sitting down for the first time in hours.

My phone battery was down to 24% and it was 100% when I left the room, phew! We made it back to Jambo house at 3:37 and I did a few more hours of work.

I saw some animals on the savanna, including some giraffes from far away.



After working I did a quick merch haul for my mom, she loved the long sleeved race shirts.

I think I spent over $200 when I had no plans to spend this much, this was turning into a very expensive trip.

 

[Counting Stars]

I think I spent over $200 when I had no plans to spend this much, this was turning into a very expensive trip.

Sounds to me like a priceless trip! This trip is definitely one for the books! And you selected a nice assortment of items you can wear now and items you will be able to keep for a long time. Thanks for sharing your insiders view of a race weekend. The whole experience seems very exciting as the anticipation builds....

 

[Disneyhanna]

Sounds to me like a priceless trip! This trip is definitely one for the books! And you selected a nice assortment of items you can wear now and items you will be able to keep for a long time. Thanks for sharing your insiders view of a race weekend. The whole experience seems very exciting as the anticipation builds....

It was an unforgettable trip! I am a sentimental person so I love getting ornaments for every trip. I don’t see too many race TRs so trying to share the experience! Though not sure I need any more competition to register

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Wow, how exciting that must have been! Love all the cool race pins. Your room at AKL looks like it was awesome

 

[Stacybaeasm]

What I learned after 2 RunDisney races - don't set a merch limit for yourself. And don't wallow in sticker shock after. For me, the half was most definitely 1 and done so I indulged. But the 10K was my first time at that distance AND my first RunDisney event so I also indulged. I think it's ok.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Wow, how exciting that must have been! Love all the cool race pins. Your room at AKL looks like it was awesome

It was a lot of fun! It was definitely a lot more fun since I was doing all of the races, so I had soooo much to choose from! I was very impressed by AKL, as soon as they add a Murphy bed that will definitely be at the top of my list again for when I'm traveling with others!

What I learned after 2 RunDisney races - don't set a merch limit for yourself. And don't wallow in sticker shock after. For me, the half was most definitely 1 and done so I indulged. But the 10K was my first time at that distance AND my first RunDisney event so I also indulged. I think it's ok.

If you don't have a limit you can't break it, right?