January 2020 – The Full Dopey – Day 3

It was Friday…but it felt like really really really late Thursday. At 2:30, my alarm went off. Good morning! Good moooorning! Moon beams are smiling through. Good morning! Good morning to you!

We woke up and went through our temporary morning routine for the Marathon Weekend. We arrived at the staging area nice and early, but this time we had no bags to check so we were pretty much ready to go as soon as we got there. The only thing different was there were more corrals A-F, and with them, more runners. The line at the Joffrey’s truck was still off the chain We met up with @starbee behind the truck like last time. @eeyorepoohfan and husband, Ryan, showed up a little while before we went to corrals, ready to cheer everyone on again The three of us runners were in Corral D for this run and it began at 5:30am with similar fanfare and pace as the 5K. It took us until around 6:00am to cross the start line.

This run took us through the Epcot parking area gate, switched back around and took us through World Showcase, around the Epcot area resorts (Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach Club), and back through Epcot Future World. The weather was much warmer than the day before at around 62 degrees instead of 52. So as we got going, we broke a good sweat. We got to see Epcot all lit up again, but daylight was dawning as we were rounding out the World Showcase. Running in front of Christy and me was a group dressed as Dalmatian puppies. On our way to the Epcot Resort area, runners who had finished running through the area were returning to Epcot on the same path, but to our right. A runner dressed like Cruella was returning through, saw the puppy runners and extended her claw-like gloved hands toward them and said, “I’m going to catch you, puppies!” The Puppy runners screamed and backed away from her! It was hilarious to see them in the spirit of things

As we ran around the Epcot resorts, it was cool to look across the lake and see the runners in a continuous line moving all around the lake! For much of the 10K, Christy and I kept the same trotting pace we maintained during the 5K. As we crossed the Finish Line, we saw @eeyorepoohfan, her sister, Teri (who had already finished the 10K and was also doing the Dopey Challenge), and Ryan cheering us! Having people cheer us on (both there and via text like @nascfan) and running with us that we knew would become a major motivator in the longer races to come. We collected our medals, food and water hand-outs, and got our finisher photo.

After the race and brief rendezvous with our fellow D-COTers, Christy and I got on the bus back to Kidani. We got back around 8:30am, got cleaned up, and went to Magic Kingdom for some morning FastPasses. We got to MK just in time to catch the end of our first FastPass window at Big Thunder Mountain. It was nice to enjoy some park time after the race, and more than usual, I really enjoyed that ride on Big Thunder Mountain. After Big Thunder, our FastPass was open for Jungle Cruise. This particular trip on Jungle Cruise was one of the funniest! Our skipper, Sammy, did a great job telling some old favorite jokes, and some new ones! We gave her a Cast Compliment on Twitter. Our favorites were (1) the Margarine Flies – because you Can’t Believe they’re not Butterflies! (2) The native land party that wasn’t there was exactly like Sammy’s sweet 16 – because no one showed up to that either (3) The surefire way for Sammy to scare away the hippo was to yell out “I LOVE YOU!!!” because it worked so well on the last guy…I mean, hippo.

We had a little time to kill before our next FastPass, so we stopped at Sunshine Tree Terrace of an “I Lava You Float”. We decided we would try a new variant on the Dole Whip just to see how it was. It was good, but there’s still nothing quite like the classic We then walked through Liberty Square, mostly just soaking in the surroundings, but we did see the Hall of Presidents show too. We strolled on through Fantasyland to Tomorrowland where we used our final FastPass at Space Mountain – It’s still my all-time favorite Disney thrill! I felt bad for those in Standby for it because even the FastPass line was nearly to the entrance! It moved fast, but I knew if we were moving fast, standby folks were moving nowhere

On our way out of Magic Kingdom, we stopped in at the Emporium and purchased Mickey-themed silverware for our Fine Dining set at home and had it shipped to our resort. And now, it was time to use that FastPass for Rise of the Resistance! We went out to the buses and surprise, surprise, surprise…long line waiting for a DHS bus. No one waiting for Riviera. We just got in the Riviera line this time, and a bus showed up quickly. Since we had the time, we took it easy and looked around a bit at the Riviera resort. We stopped in the gift shop where I bought a Riviera coffee mug…and here’s where an unexpected adventure began. They only had paper to wrap the mug, and not the brown holey paper that really cushions the wrapping – and they don’t ship from resort to resort, so we had to take it with us. We had one job. Don’t drop our backpack with the mug in it (we wrapped in a towel we already had with us too). You probably think you know where this is going…but you don’t!

We took the Skyliner to DHS. When we got close to the DHS station I realized I left my Yeti water bottle on the counter at the Riviera gift shop! Back on the Skyliner we went. It’s a good thing it’s fast! We got back there and they still had my bottle!

We got back on the Skyliner to DHS. We went straight back to Rise of the Resistance and got in the FastPass line. We were in the experience in no time! From here, I don’t want to give any spoilers, but it was a truly jaw-dropping experience and YOU MUST TRY IT! As amazed as I often am by Disney, I have not been that amazed in a long time! It’s worth structuring your day around Rise of the Resistance. If you are even a sort-of Star Wars fan, you’ll love it!

After we did that, we went to Doc Ondar’s Den of Antiquities. With plans (and a reservation) to Build a Saber in July, I decided to buy a White Kyber Crystal. We then headed for the park exit. We stopped at the restrooms by the bus stop area. I went to put my Yeti in my bag before going into the restroom and my bag slipped from my hands…The mug handle broke into 5 pieces I HAD ONE JOB!!! I was so furious with myself! So instead of getting the bus…Back to the Skyliner! Back to Riviera! I had not intended to visit the new resort on this trip and here we were going back there for the 4th time! When we got to the gift counter and explained what happened, they replaced the mug for free and over-kill wrapped it in tissue paper this time. I let Christy carry the bag since I no longer trusted myself with it.

From there we got the bus to Animal Kingdom park and then got the bus from the park to Kidani since AKL buses are quick to get to/from DAK. We got back to our room around 3:45pm, having spent a lot more time out than intended. We took a short nap and at 5:00 went to our ADR at Sanaa – just a quick trip to the 1st floor from our room.

At Sanaa we got the Indian-style Bread Service (can you say Carbs?) like we have on our past 3 visits (we love this place)! Christy was bold and had some of the spicy dip for the naan since the spice of Skipper Canteen didn’t phase her the day before…but SPOILER ALERT, it did result in some minor digestive issues for her during the 1/2 Marathon – nothing earth shattering, just a minor inconvenience

Otherwise, I had the Potjie Inspired meal with Braised Beef and Cilantro-Coconut Vegetables. It was very good and rich in flavor, but I found I prefer the Butter Chicken to the Braised Beef. The Cilantro-Coconut Vegetables were a big winner for me! Christy had the South African Braaivleis – a selection of fire-grilled meats including Lamb, Pork, and a beef sausage link. The sausage was different (because we’re used to pork sausage, so this was leaner and less greasy). The Lamb was good, but not as good as at Spice Road Table (just as I anticipated). The Pork was crazy good though and filled with a delicious smokey flavor

We ended up taking some back to the room for leftovers because the bread was quite filling on its own. We got back to the room at 6:45pm, got everything in order for the next day and went to sleep around 7:00pm.