*COMPLETE* Never Underestimate the Power of the Dark Side - a runDisney Spring Break TR

[*DisneyDreamer]

Saturday, April 22, 2017 (Part 2)

The Dark Side 10K course began with a stretch down World Drive. My sister and I quickly separated to run our own races, although I did spot her a couple times during the first mile. That ended quickly though as she stopped in a really long line to get a picture with R2D2 (one of the two characters she said she was going to wait for if they were out no matter how long it would take). I would have loved that picture, but as I said in the last update, it’s really hard for me to break my rhythm and stop for characters.

So I kept going. We passed under the Magic Kingdom toll plaza and continued down World Drive.

The course crowding was heavy at first, but due to the first couple miles being on roads, it wasn’t an issue for me for most of the race and I found that I had plenty of room. I could definitely tell we were running in Florida though – the humidity levels for both races of the weekend were high, as expected. Fortunately it was tolerable as it was still dark out for a good portion of the race.

Not much to share from the first few miles, but soon we made it to Hollywood Studios.

Passing by the Tower of Terror

And continuing on down Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard.

The worst course crowding came on the pathway from Hollywood Studios to Epcot. It didn't bother me though, as it’s a great area to pass through and I'd take it over more highway time any day. And there is also good course support from spectators. Including my own cheering section – my Mom and Dad, who were able to easily spectate since they were staying at the Boardwalk. It was great to see them, say a quick hi and get an update on my sisters and sister’s fiancé (my Dad was following along on the tracking and knew about where they were). I told them I would see them after the race at Epcot and continued on my way.

Great views of the sunrise here. So gorgeous and definitely no complaints about this course.

We passed through the area on the Yacht and Beach side of the lake and then made our way into Epcot through the backstage area behind the United Kingdom. We entered World Showcase between the United Kingdom and Canada and proceeded through Future World.

In this next picture you can see the awesome set-up for a character stop – Stormtroopers on the stage with Spaceship Earth behind.

Words cannot express how disappointed I am that I did not suck it up and wait for this shot. It would have been awesome. But I continued on, past mile marker 6:

And on to the finish!

Official finish time of 1:14:44. I made my way through the finisher chute, collected my medal and refreshments, and got a quick finisher picture.

And then I wasted no time boarding a bus back to Saratoga Springs, since I was eager to get cleaned up and hit the parks!

Overall it was a great race. The first half of the course was just all roads, but the second half made up for it with Hollywood Studios, the Boardwalk area, and Epcot. 6.2 miles down, 13.1 to go!

Here’s a close-up of the 10K medal!

Coming Up: One last taste of Flower and Garden

 

[Sailormoon2]

I love your running tights! And your you look great crossing the finish line! What an outfit on the person beside you ! Woah R2!

 

[rteetz]

Congrats on the 10K! Looks like an awesome time. I need to do a Star Wars race sooner or later.

 

[SarahDisney]

Congrats on the 10K! It looks & sounds like you had a great time (and I love your pants!)
I really love that the 10K course goes through Hollywood Studios ... it's a nice change from highway, highway, and more highway.
I totally get why you're bummed about not stopping for the Stormtroopers. I guess this just means you'll have to run it again next year and hope the character stop is there again!

 

[ZellyB]

Congrats on your 10K run. Your pictures are all great and you look like you are having an amazing time.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

I love your running tights! And your you look great crossing the finish line! What an outfit on the person beside you ! Woah R2!

Thanks! Yeah, that person has quite the outfit!

Congrats on the 10K! Looks like an awesome time. I need to do a Star Wars race sooner or later.

Thanks! It was a lot of fun!

Congrats on the 10K! It looks & sounds like you had a great time (and I love your pants!)
I really love that the 10K course goes through Hollywood Studios ... it's a nice change from highway, highway, and more highway.
I totally get why you're bummed about not stopping for the Stormtroopers. I guess this just means you'll have to run it again next year and hope the character stop is there again!

Yes, I was very glad to have the Hollywood Studios bit, even if it was brief. Way better than highway. And I wish on next year, but I have no idea when I'll be running Disney again. It's hard to make work due to my schedule, and I'd prefer to try out a different event weekend anyway (Marathon Weekend or Princess, as they're the two I haven't done at WDW).

Congrats on your 10K run. Your pictures are all great and you look like you are having an amazing time.

Thanks!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Anybody know of someplace else to upload photos to be able to post them here? I didn't realize there'd be a limit on sharing from photobucket and now all my pictures aren't showing up.

 

[SarahDisney]

I've never personally used it, but I know a lot of people use flickr. I never switched just because I've been using photobucket for so long, but from what I understand, flickr doesn't have the same bandwidth limitations that photobucket has.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Anybody know of someplace else to upload photos to be able to post them here? I didn't realize there'd be a limit on sharing from photobucket and now all my pictures aren't showing up.

I use Imgur and haven't had issues

 

[cuttycrew]

Anybody know of someplace else to upload photos to be able to post them here? I didn't realize there'd be a limit on sharing from photobucket and now all my pictures aren't showing up.

Yea am gutted cant see your pics although Ive only just discovered this site, wife is doing the dark side challenge next year and its our first stay onsite so im trawling twitter, you tube , dibb, etc to fine tune our vacation to the max. She did the glass slipper challenge last year and that was immense wanted to do one later in year to get hopefully warmer weather.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Yea am gutted cant see your pics although Ive only just discovered this site, wife is doing the dark side challenge next year and its our first stay onsite so im trawling twitter, you tube , dibb, etc to fine tune our vacation to the max. She did the glass slipper challenge last year and that was immense wanted to do one later in year to get hopefully warmer weather.

You will get warmer weather! Almost too warm but if you hydrate, it isn't too bad

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Stay tuned everyone - I think I've got the pictures figured out so a new update should be coming soon. I'm hoping to get this thing wrapped up quickly since I've dragged it out long enough!

Yea am gutted cant see your pics although Ive only just discovered this site, wife is doing the dark side challenge next year and its our first stay onsite so im trawling twitter, you tube , dibb, etc to fine tune our vacation to the max. She did the glass slipper challenge last year and that was immense wanted to do one later in year to get hopefully warmer weather.

Thanks for joining in! I'm so sorry you can't see the pictures. Good luck to your wife with Dark Side next year - it was a lot of fun!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Saturday, April 22, 2017 (Part 3)

I made it back to Saratoga Springs quickly after the race and showered and cleaned up. Then it was off to Epcot! The plan for the day was to take it pretty easy with the half marathon the next day, so since the park had already opened by the time I got there, my first stop was Starbucks for a drink and something to eat. I took it outside to eat and once again, just soaked in the atmosphere.

My parents and younger sister were already at the park, and my Mom met up with me while my Dad and sister went on a couple rides. While we were waiting for them we talked about the race – it sounds like she and my Dad enjoyed the experience of spectating, seeing the different signs and costumes. They were looking forward to doing the same thing for the half marathon the next morning.

Around the time my Dad and sister got off their ride (either Test Track or Mission: Space), S & E arrived at the park as well. They were flying home that afternoon, and had a few hours to kill before their Magical Express bus picked them up. It turns out that they had a little bit of bus trouble on their way over so they were given a courtesy Fastpass. They went off to use that at Soarin’ while my parents, sister and I walked around the flower displays.

We took a walk through the butterfly garden and I grabbed another Violet Lemonade.

And then we met back up with S & E and got lunch at the Sunshine Seasons in the Land.

After lunch, it was getting to be time for S & E to head back to the resort to get their bus, so we all headed towards the entrance (the rest of us were going to park hop over to the Magic Kingdom). On the way out, we stopped for a couple more whole group Photopass pictures.

We bade farewell to S & E and then my parents, sister and I boarded a monorail and headed to Magic Kingdom. I love the monorail and enjoy riding it at least once a trip, but man, sometimes it makes me nervous. It turns out that it was nothing serious, just some traffic delays, but we had to stop on the track a couple times and I was afraid we were going to get stuck. But fortunately we eventually made it to the Magic Kingdom.

Our main goals in heading to MK were to see Festival of Fantasy and do a couple rides with Fastpasses, but it was a bit too early to stake out a spot for the parade and our FPs were for after the parade, so our first stop was PhilharMagic. I love this show and think it’s so cute.

When we got out, it was still about an hour or even a little more until the parade, but I wanted to take it easy and other people were already sitting on the curb, so we got a spot on Main Street and just decided to wait. While we waited, we got an ice cream from the Ice Cream Parlor.

Eventually 3:00 rolled around, and a bit after that the parade arrived at Main Street. I absolutely love Festival of Fantasy and think I’ve seen it more times in the last 3 years since it debuted than I ever saw any of the other MK parades. It’s just so colorful and fun and the music makes me smile. It’s a must-do on every trip now.

After Festival of Fantasy, we went off to Tomorrowland to use our first FP for Space Mountain. However, it was sadly down at the time. It’s a good thing I waited through the delay on our first night because that turned out to be my only ride on Space Mountain this trip. Since we didn’t know when it would reopen and our Fastpass was able to be used for something else, we chose to just go over to Winnie the Pooh and ride that since our next FP was for Mine Train and we wanted to stay in the area.

We got off Winnie the Pooh and then used our FP for the Mine Train. After getting off that, it was getting to be close to 5:00 or so and I wanted to call it an early evening. We still had one more FP for Thunder Mountain, but I chose to bypass it since I didn’t really want to walk over there and instead headed back to Saratoga Springs.

I got back to the resort, started packing up a bit to make it easier the next morning, got my stuff ready for the half marathon, and went to grab dinner at Artist’s Palette. They had a pasta meal that was advertised as a runner’s special that I ended up getting. It was pretty good.

After eating, it was back to the room for some time in front of the TV and then I was in bed by 9:00. It was going to be another extremely early morning!

Coming Up: Leg 2 of the Dark Side Challenge – the Half Marathon!

 

[Sailormoon2]

WOW! You got some really nice group shots!!

 

[ZellyB]

Great set of pictures again!! I think I've tried to see the Festival of Fantasy parade like 3 times and just never managed to make the schedule work out. Maybe we can accomplish it in January!

 

[Sailormoon2]

I think I've tried to see the Festival of Fantasy parade like 3 times and just never managed to make the schedule work out. Maybe we can accomplish it in January!

That is too funny, because me neither. So, far it's not working in January, unless I skip a nap on 1/2 marathon day

 

[SarahDisney]

I love all of your flower and garden pictures - especially the butterflys! F&G really makes Epcot so much more beautiful.
I love the group shots in front of the giant golf ball too!

I still haven't seen Festival of Fantasy in its entirety. I've seen bits and pieces. Everyone seems to love it ... I really need to make time to see it next trip!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

WOW! You got some really nice group shots!!

Yeah, we really did! It's good to have those pictures since we don't get too many whole family pictures anymore.

Great set of pictures again!! I think I've tried to see the Festival of Fantasy parade like 3 times and just never managed to make the schedule work out. Maybe we can accomplish it in January!

Thanks! I definitely think you should make Festival of Fantasy a priority in your plans for January! It's a cute parade.

That is too funny, because me neither. So, far it's not working in January, unless I skip a nap on 1/2 marathon day

Same to you - you should try to see it!

I love all of your flower and garden pictures - especially the butterflys! F&G really makes Epcot so much more beautiful.
I love the group shots in front of the giant golf ball too!

I still haven't seen Festival of Fantasy in its entirety. I've seen bits and pieces. Everyone seems to love it ... I really need to make time to see it next trip!

It does. Flower and Garden is my favorite time of year at Epcot, just like Christmas is my favorite time of year at Magic Kingdom.

Wow, so many people who haven't seen Festival of Fantasy! Hopefully you get a chance your next trip as well!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Sunday, April 23, 2017

My alarm for the next morning was set for around 2:45. The half marathon buses started running a half hour earlier than the 10K buses did, and due to missing out on the Darth Vader meet the previous morning, I wanted to try to get there in time to have a second chance. So I quickly got dressed, grabbed my bib and a pre-race Clif bar to eat while waiting, and was out the door probably not long after 3:00.

I arrived at the staging area at the Magic Kingdom parking lot and just like the previous day, went through the no-bag line at security. I immediately headed over to the character meet area and found the line for Darth Vader. Fortunately it was much shorter than the previous day so I hopped in line. I ate my Clif bar while I waited and once again took in the pre-race entertainment.

I can’t remember how long the wait took, but I got to the front with plenty of time to spare before needing to be in the corrals. My picture turned out pretty well.

After getting the picture, I still had time so I hopped in a line that looked pretty short that was just for a picture with a backdrop, not a character. But although it was short, it wasn’t moving very fast, so after a few minutes I bailed and instead decided to just make a restroom stop and then head to the corrals.

Fast-forward to 5:30, and they sang the National Anthem and then the wheelchair racers and corral A were off. I was in Corral E and was far enough up to be in the first wave for the corral. The waves were being sent off pretty quickly, so less than 20 minutes after corral A, it was our turn!

RUNNERS, SEEEET, GO!

The course started similarly to the 10K, but rather than continuing down World Drive, it looped around and turned down Bear Island Road to get to what would be the first of 3 parks – Animal Kingdom. Right away when starting I could feel the humidity and I just hoped the sun stayed low enough/it stayed cloudy enough to keep temperatures from climbing too quickly.

The stretch on Bear Island Road was tough due to being pretty dark, but they also had a really cool set-up that ended up being one of my favorite parts of the race. There were some lasers/lights going off and sound effects that sounded like a battle. You really felt like you in the middle of a battle scene and that there really was something going on in the wooded area around us. I know some people complained about the lights being kind of low and nearly blinding them, which I did experience once, but I still thought it was a pretty cool effect!

Continued in next post

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Sunday, April 23, 2017 (Part 2)

We continued down the back roads and there were a couple entertainment stops, including this backdrop scene.

In case it’s hard to tell, it’s the trash compactor scene from the original Star Wars, but I didn’t stop. I kept going and we arrived at a back entrance to Animal Kingdom around mile 4.5. We looped past Asia and Expedition Everest and the sun was beginning to come up.

We then headed over the bridge towards the Finding Nemo Musical theater and exited the park through Dinoland/Dino-rama. It was a pretty brief stretch actually in the park, and it would been nice to go past the Tree of Life.

Just outside the park, there were some unofficial costumed characters out (I’m not sure if these were members of the 501st that people talk about?). There were a lot of them and people were kind of just running up and getting quick pictures so I got one.

After a loop around through the Animal Kingdom parking lot, it was up the entrance ramp onto Osceola Parkway. The next 3-4 miles were once again on the highway, but the anticipation of a much more exciting finishing stretch kept me motivated to keep plugging along. And fortunately there was still cloud cover, so it kept the humidity more tolerable.

For most of the race to this point I had felt pretty good, but right around the time we were approaching Hollywood Studios, just before mile 10, is when I started having some slight GI trouble. I never actually had to stop, but I had to take a lot more walk breaks than I would have liked and it sadly took a bit of the enjoyment out of the finish since I just wanted to be done. But regardless, I kept going, and we once again entered Hollywood Studios by the Tower of Terror and headed down Sunset Boulevard. There were some Stormtroopers out in a couple different spots and virtually no lines, so this time I stopped.

We once again took the pathway over to the Boardwalk area, and this time stayed on the Boardwalk side of the lagoon.

My parents were once again there cheering me on, along with lots of other spectators, and I quickly said hi before continuing on to the final stretch – the loop around World Showcase!

And then it was back through Future World, out of the park...

Past mile 13…

And on to the finish!

Official chip time: 2:39:49 (less than 10 seconds difference from my time for Wine and Dine)

After finishing, I once again proceeded through the finisher’s chute, collecting my half marathon medal and refreshments, and then had to stop at the Challenge tent for the Dark Side Challenge medal. I got another finisher’s photo and then sat for a few minutes before heading back to Saratoga Springs!

Overall, despite the slight troubles the last 3-4 miles, it was a good race. The weather stayed manageable and I enjoyed the course a lot. I hope they keep this course for future races because having 3 parks, even if parts were brief, as well as the Boardwalk area and pretty much the whole loop of World Showcase, was excellent!

Coming Up: Checking out and a few last hours of Magic