Go Vols!

Onto the bloodbath that will be the SEC Championship. Which I suppose I will watch from Las Vegas since that's where we'll be next weekend.

You know, I should be a good sport and say something nice about the Jayhawks too, but since Dave decided to keep provoking me during Tennessee's 4 OT win over Kentucky - forget it.

Mizzou OWNED your asses. I told you KU was overrated.

Chumby

I bought a Chumby for no real reason but it's pretty fun to play with. I have spent more time than I care to think about today creating a series of ugly Flash-based clocks for it.

Day 5

Monday was a perfect Disney day. It rained on and off, but that kept the crowds down. I started by going back to the Studios. Right after I got there, the sky just opened up. I hid under the awning at Hollywood and Vine and then finally decided to just go for it. I hit the Great Movie Ride, Muppets, and Rock and Rollercoaster. Then I headed back to the Boardwalk, where Dave was just getting up. Good wife that I am, I made a new pot of coffee for him. I also made a dinner ADR for us at Boma at the Animal Kingdom.

Dave scheduled a massage at the Boardwalk fitness center (special rate for DVC members - 80 minutes for $80).

I headed out to Epcot and tried a few more Food and Wine items, including caramel ginger ice cream at China, which was really good even though they included calorie information on the package - not something you want to think about on vacation. I checked out the F&W Festival center at the former Wonders of Life pavillion. I also took the tour of the greenhouses at Living with the Land, which may be the best $11 I've ever spent at Disney. Plus you get to wave at the people going by on the boats.

Dave and I met back up at the hotel and went to Animal Kingdom for our dinner reservation. Boma was good. We went out to the observation deck and looked for animals with the night vision goggles they provide. There wasn't too much going on on the savannah.

Such was our last night in the World.

Day 4 - Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

After the late night we slept in a bit. The next 2 days kind of blur together for me in a mash of Epcot/Studios/rain. I do remember around noon I called Dave to remind him of our lunch reservation at the Polynesian and we met up at the legacy tiles in the front of Epcot.

Then we headed over to one of my favorite restaurants - Kona Cafe at the Polynesian. We were about 30 minutes early but were seated in about 5 minutes. The food was good. Our server was sweet, but kind of distracted. Dave had to wait a while for his coffee and then some more for a cup from which to drink it. I had what is becoming my signature meal at Kona, the potstickers and the Kona salad. The desserts there look really good. One day I hope to be hungry enough to eat one. Then we went downstairs to Capt. Cook's for a Dole Whip. Oddly enough I like self-serve Dole Whip because I can give myself less than they serve at the place in Adventureland. On the other hand, you can't get the pineapple/vanilla swirl or the pineapple juice float there.

We hung out at the Poly for a little bit and checked out the beach/pool. We will be back there for 2 nights after the Disney marathon in January. We are staying at Animal Kingdom Villas for 4 nights, then moving to the Poly for the last 2.

Then we headed to the Magic Kingdom, where we had tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, which started at 7 though you could get your wristbands as early as 4. We started in Tomorrowland and picked up a Fast Pass for Space Mountain. We did Carousel of Progress, which is more and more the Carousel of Stuck in 1995. Dave had the best suggestion ever on how to solve this problem. In the last scene, just have the family as skeletons and a mushroom cloud out the window in the background. We also did Buzz Lightyear. Dave used some strategy he learned from one of the younger race spectators he met Saturday night and did well. Me, not so much. Here is a picture of us saving the universe from the evil Emperor Zurg.

We picked up our wristbands from a cast member at the castle who seemed to be having a distinctly unmagical day. And most importantly, we picked up our bags for trick or treating.

We did some Frontierland and started scoping out the places where we could get candy. More and more costumed guests, both adults and children, started showing up. If I had known Halloween at Disney was such a freak show I would have gone much earlier than this. I think my favorite was the bearded man who was Cruella De Ville. There were nearly zero lines for the rides during the party.

We lined up on Main Street when it was time for the parade. I'm not a parade person, but this one was great. It starts with the Headless Horseman (real man on a real horse) galloping from Frontierland to Main Street. The rider can't actually see anything (on account of being headless); the horse just knows the route. Then there are various Halloween-themed floats and some very catchy theme music that will get stuck in your head for days if you hear it.

We got some hotdogs at Casey's and grabbed a table to watch the fireworks from. The view wasn't great, but the fireworks weren't all the special either. And usually I love fireworks. They looked great, but the music didn't really add anything to the show. Right after the fireworks, there was a villains show at the castle forestage. I'm pretty sure Dave was digging the 2 dominatrix looking dancers in the red wigs.

Then we took our bags of candy (and there was A LOT) and headed back to the Boardwalk. That candy may have showed up later as the candy I gave out on Halloween night after we got back home.

The next day was Dave's day to do what he wanted.

More to come.

Day 3 Part 3 - the race

And we were off. The beginning of the race was a mess. 13K-ers with 6.5K-ers, runners with walkers. It had rained on and off for the last 3 days so you couldn't run on the the grass because it was wet. And you had to watch the road because it had slick spots too. Len and I weaved our way among the participants. Around mile 2, the we were routed off road to get to the Wide World of Sports. Disney went with the Halloween theme and had volunteers acting out a mass escape from the asylum tableau. It was just as weird as it sounds. Also, off road plus 3 days of rain? And it wasn't just off road, it was like through the woods. Len said, "if you hear the banjos from Deliverance - RUN!" Mercifully, we made it to the WWoS complex, where they routed us onto a track. Around mile 3.5 I was starting to lag. The previous few days activities were catching up with me. So I told Len to go ahead without me.

I spent the miles between WWoS and the Studios run/walking but not pushing it too hard. The banked turns going into the Studios' parking lot were harsh. Then I got into the park and had NO idea where I was. I followed the route and just kept thinking the race had to end at some point. Also I was under the mistaken impression that the race would end at its namesake, the Tower of Terror. It ended at the Rock and Roller coaster instead. There was one cool part where they routed us through Lights! Motors! Action! and had the runners on the video screen. But the route was so funky that you couldn't figure out where the hell you were in the park.

Near the end, Dave was waiting with our friends to yell encouragement. He actually showed up in allearsnet's pictures. He got a picture of Len and of me 2:45 later. I didn't even know where I was in the race until I saw the pictures.

I finished and found Dave at the end. I didn't see Len who had finished 4 minutes before me and had gone back to accompany Scopa to the finish line. He's just cool that way. There wasn't too much time to enjoy the park after the race. Dave and I hung out. I got the ride Tower of Terror with people I know for the first time (Dave won't ride it).

Then we went to Picabu at the Dolphin for a late night refueling. Scopa, Newell, Beci, Len, Dave and I were there. We had a nice snack with good company. At long last, it was something like 2AM and everyone was ready for bed. Goodbyes were said. Len and I expressed our mutual relief that neither of us were internet freaks. And that was that.

Dave and I still had Sunday, Monday, and half of Tuesday before we had to leave.

Day 3 Part 2

After the Segways, we got back to the Magic Kingdom a little before 2. The deadline for picking up the race packets for that night was 4:00, or so we were told (more on that later). This gave us just enough time to go to Liberty Square and ride the newly rehabbed Haunted Mansion before driving over to Pleasure Island to pick up the race stuff. There was nearly no line when we arrived, though I have heard the lines were pretty bad earlier in the day. Dave and I went to Disney Quest for a bit, mostly because I was feeling restless, and then headed back to the room. The Boardwalk is walking distance to the Studios so we didn't have to worry too much about how to get to the race.

Len texted me to say there was a 50-70% chance of rain, but no lightning forecasted.

I had my pre-race meal of cereal and soy milk, and tried to rest a bit after a pretty busy couple of days in the parks.

We got to the park around 8 or so and ran into Len right at the entrance. I didn't notice it so much at the time, but there really wasn't any clear signage telling runners where to line up or anything. After an unnecessary tram ride into the parking lot, Len and I found ourselves in a staging area for the race. Where they were still distributing race packets. Dave had run into Matt and Newell and they decided to join the runners' area as well. No one was sure where Scopa was. It turns out lots of runners were late getting to the start (which wasn't signed) because of traffic issues. Scopa turned up. Matt got some audio for the podcast while we were waiting around. Len, Scopa, and I headed in the direction that looked like the beginning of the race.

It was pretty festive. There was music and announcers and the usual pre-start stuff. 4000 runners signed up for either the 13K or the 6.5K, which I think makes it the largest race I've run in so far. The race was supposed to start at 9:30, but when that time rolled around, they announced a 20 minute delay of the start. It hasn't been explained what the delay was. The spectators (Dave, Matt, Newell had since left us and headed to the park entrance) were told they couldn't enter the park for the party until after the race started.

FINALLY, the race started.

More to follow.

Day 3

Let's just say that in retrospect, perhaps our Saturday plans were not the best way to ensure for plenty of energy for an 8-mile race that was scheduled to start at 9:30.

We had a 9:50 ADR at Trail's End restaurant at the Fort Wilderness campground before our 2-hour Segway tour. We drove over from the BW, but missed the turn for Ft. Wilderness right after the Magic Kingdom parking lot entrance. We ended up in the Magic Kingdom parking lot and, having not driven to MK in a long time, I decided at that point it would be easier to just catch a boat from the MK to FW. Like I said, it had been a long time. First we had to catch a parking lot tram (2 full ones before we got on one), which dropped us off at the Ticket and Transportation Center, where we had to catch a monorail to the front of the MK, where we finally got our boat! Needless to say we were a little late, but it worked out perfectly. We waited maybe 5 minutes for a table to clear (it wasn't too crowded, it was 10:15 or so when we arrived) and settled down to some breakfast. While we were finishing up, we saw Masayo and Newell, who had done the earlier Segway tour that morning.

The Segway tour was great! I think half the people on it had already done the tour in Epcot so most of us were familiar with how the Segways work. These were heavy duty Segways, suitable for off-road use. We spent some time practicing and watching safety videos, and then we were off through the campground. We saw some of the RVs with some pretty elaborate Halloween displays. We saw a deer. We went all the way to the Wilderness Lodge, where Dave and I stayed on one of our trips. And, then, mostly cruelly, we got as close to the old abandoned River Country as possible without actually getting close enough to see anything. You should understand, I have a certain obsession with abandoned, pay-no-attention-to-this-thing-that's-totally-here-but-we're-pretending-it's-not, attractions and whatnot. And River Country is at the top of the list. Also on the list is the Skyway station in Tomorrowland. Somehow I managed not to break from the group and go exploring. Around this time, Dave declared that he "had his Dis on." That any morning that started with biscuits and gravy, followed by 2 hours of not walking, was good by him. The Segways aren't entirely effortless to the ride though. I think walking is less strenuous.

The rest of the day to follow...

Day 2

The plan on Friday was to get up and hit Blizzard Beach for a few hours, then hit the road to Punta Gorda to visit Dave's grandmother, and then head back to the hotel. What actually happened was, we got up and the weather was cloudy/drizzly so I made the executive decision to go to Animal Kingdom instead. However, since Animal Kingdom opened that day an hour earlier than Blizzard Beach, we were already behind the crowds when we got there. We hit It's Tough to be a Bug, then I rode Everest as a single rider (still waited 20 minutes in the singles line), then we grabbed some lunch and headed west to Punta Gorda.

We visited with Dave's grandmother for the afternoon and then talked to Dave's uncle, Joe. Joe said he was heading for Orlando himself that evening, and we made plans to meet him at Pleasure Island. We met Joe and his friend Eric at the Adventurer's Club for the mask room scene, then they headed over to the comedy club while Dave and I had a late meal at Raglan Road (the ribs again!), and decided to meet back at the Adventurer's Club for the Hoopla (Hoopla!), which is the finale there every night. All four of us were veterans of the club, having been inducted many times before. We raised our glasses with a mighty Kungaloosh! and said good night.

The next day was the big race!

The post that should have probably come before the other posts

So why were we in WDW anyway? And who are these people you keep mentioning?

Sometime this summer, after the Minnie Marathon I ran in May, Disney announced the Inaugural Tower of Terror 13K run for October. Since running and trips to WDW are two of my favorite ways to spend my time, signing up for the run was a no-brainer. 13K is a little over 8 miles and a nice reality check for other longer races. The race was at night, which turned out to present some logistical problems for Disney.

Running in the 13K were: me, Len, and Scopa. There was also a 6.5K option which Masayo and Sarah (Unofficial Guide researcher) ran.

Lending moral support were: Dave, Matt, and Newell.

Len and I had been trading emails since this summer sharing training tips for the race. He is also doing the WDW Half Marathon in January. He is an all-around cool guy and co-author of the best Disney guide book out there - The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. So we knew each other before the trip, but hadn't met in person before then.

In addition to the race, there were other events going on at the resort that weekend: Epcot's Food and Wine Festival and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom.

First night at Disney - Epcot

Picking up from the last post, Dave and I walked over to the International Gateway from the Boardwalk, and I tried to call Len. Note for future trips: you can't hear your phone ring in a crowded theme park. We played SMS tag throughout World Showcase, and Dave and I hit the Grand Fiesta Tour at Mexico while trying to find our friends. I have to wonder what people from Mexico think of that attraction. I love love love the Day of the Dead/it's a small world section because it's so creepy, but the video parts still look like they came straight from the 70s despite the fact that the ride was rehabbed this year. When we got off the ride, there was another text from Len saying they were going to Canada, which is where Dave and I headed.

Dave picked up some sugared nuts from the cart between Future World and World Showcase. We got to Canada, which seems a lot bigger when you're trying to find someone there, wandered a bit, and finally there was Len (I knew to look for the iPhone first and it worked) and Matt (from studioscentral.com). Handshakes all around. There were still more people at large who were planning to meet for IllumiNations. Mike Newell (from the awesome mouseworldradio.com and hereafter known simply as "Newell") found us and he and Len joined me and Dave for a viewing of the newly revised O Canada movie. We chatted about mobile phones in the queue, watched the movie, and rejoined the group outside.

Outside, Mike Scopa (elder statesman of the Disney internet community, fellow runner, and hereafter known simply as "Scopa") had showed up. You may note that "Where's Scopa?" is something that was repeated many times during this trip. He was accompanied by Masayo Kano, a podcast fan from Japan who was running the 6.5K race, and her friend whose name I unfortunately forgot. Fellow Washingtonian and all around cool person Beci Mahnken was there too. I feel like I'm missing some people, but I was pretty tired from traveling by then and my memory is fuzzy.

We watched IllumiNations from Canada. I admitted to Len that IllumiNations leaves me cold, but he decided to overlook my obviously callous nature and asked if Dave and I wanted to join him and others at Raglan Road, which we did. Everyone broke to get their respective cars, Dave and I walked back to BW to get ours. At this point, I almost bagged it. We were tired from traveling and had a long day ahead of us on Friday, but in the end we did go and I'm glad we did.

Len, Newell, and Beci were there outside Raglan Road. Pleasure Island was pretty hopping that night really. We got our table, ordered up some appetizers, ate and had a good time. Beci told us about her Adventures By Disney trip to London and Paris. Matt showed up later with his lovely fiancee, Marissa (I hope I spelled that right). Of the food, the ribs were a big hit, as were the batter-fried sausages. I can't tell you about the calamari or the scallops because of my whole seafood-allergy thing. By then, everyone was beat. We said good night, and planned to meet again on Saturday before the race.

The plan for Friday was Blizzard Beach, a trip to Punta Gorda, and to finish the night at Pleasure Island.

WDW trip recap and how I'm going to do 3 races in 3 days

Pictures from the trip can be found at Dave's Flickr page - here and here.

The facts:

We arrived at MCO around 5:00. As soon as we hit the ground, I turned my phone back on and there was an SMS my friend Len saying he and some others were already in Epcot. We picked up our bags and got our car from Avis and headed to the Boardwalk Villas, our home away from home for the next 5 days. One cool thing about our rental car was that it was equipped with an EPass so we could drive through the toll booths between the airport and Disney World. We got to the Boardwalk and valeted the car (free to DVC members!) and checked in. The CM behind the counter told us our room was ready (and I'm thinking, "it better be, it's after 6:00"), checked us in, and we headed off to the room.

Our room was a "standard view" studio on the Villas side of the BW. We got off the elevator, checked the signs and started walking toward the room. We walked and walked. We walked so far that I was beginning to think the room was in MGM (sorry, I mean Disney's Hollywood Studios). Seriously, it must have been half a mile from the elevators. But we finally got there, and the room was nice. The view was of the Swan and the quiet pool. It was clean and everything seemed to be in good working order. Because the room was on the timeshare side of the resort it had a kitchenette with microwave, mini-refrigerator, full sized coffee maker (yes!), and various kitchen-type accessories. My only surprise was that while it had ceramic coffee mugs and real glasses, it only had paper plates and bowls and plastic cutlery.

We unpacked a bit, freshened up a little, and headed to Epcot to sample some Food and Wine, meet Len, and watch Illuminations.