I took a morning flight out of LAX with United Airlines. It had started to rain a little prior to the departure of the flight. I'm hardly ever in Southern California when it finally rains!
Leaving a rainy Southern California
I landed late afternoon in Orlando and headed down to the bottom floor of the airport to pick up my rental car from Alamo. This was the first time that I wasn't staying on Disney property so I couldn't take the Disney's Magical Express Shuttle. Boo hoo! As I was walking up to the rental car counter, I noticed a self service kiosk. I thought I'd give it a try. There was an employee there that looked super bored, so she walked me through the entire process. I'm sure I could've figured it out on my own. My info pretty much was all there once I swiped my credit card and driver license. I just had to decline a bunch of additional coverage and GPS device. Then finally pick my fueling choice. I then took the printout of the car rental agreement and headed across the street to the parking garage. There I was directed to a row of cars that I could pick from. I picked a nice looking black Nissan Versa and I was on my way.
I used the Waze app on my phone to plot a route to the ESPN Wide World of Sports for the race expo. I was actually ready to take the toll roads, but I had forgotten that I had set the app to avoided tolls. It took a little bit longer taking surface streets, but it wasn't too bad. It also wasn't too bad parking at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. The folks at Disney really know how to direct traffic. After parking, I made my way to the HP Field House to first pick up my bib.
Packet pickup
Per the usual, I then walked over to the expo at Jostens Center. It was pretty cool to check out the new runDisney shoes by New Balance for the new year. I thought that the women shoes were again much better than the men's in terms of color scheme. The colors for men's shoes are normally boring colors. However I did like the Dumbo shoes, but not enough to be tempted to buy them. While perusing the expo, I won a pack of apple slices and a banana for winning at a corn-hole toss.
My prize
After I was done with the expo, I hopped back into my car and drove over to my hotel, the Seralago Hotel. It reminded me of a poor man's version of the All Star Resorts. They gave me a corner room right next to the housekeeping office which turned up to be a source of a lot of noise. A couple of rooms over, the windows were boarded up. I was wondering if I was making a mistake staying here. I know that it was a steal for about $45 a night, but that's no good if I turned up dead! Inside was ok, pretty clean, but it was super old. It was begging for a makeover.
After I got settled in, I drove out to the nearby Walgreens to go pick up some drinks and snacks for the weekend. Then on the way back, I stopped in the McDonald's that was just across the street from my hotel. I had a Quarter Pounder with cheese meal. McDonald's fries are the best!
Drinks and snacks
Back at my room, I went through the race shirts and got my running gear ready for tomorrow's 5k. I was pretty tired, so I hit the hay. It would be a shame to come all this way and miss the very first race of the Dopey Challenge!
5k flatrunner
Thursday 1/7
This was the first race of the Dopey Challenge and I was already feeling pretty exhausted. It was also my first time driving to the race, so I wanted to get there a little bit earlier. It turned out to be super easy as I took the 192 West and exited at World Dr. I just had to follow the signs that pointed to Epcot. Once at Epcot, there were plenty of parking attendants to direct you to a parking spot. It was a quick and efficient operation as to be expected with Disney.
As it got closer to 5 am, I finally got my stuff ready and headed for the starting area. It was a little bit of a hassle, but those with bags including a race belt had to go through bag inspection. I used one of the portapotties before heading into corral A. I was quickly spotted by one of my running friends. We waited until about the 6 am start before they opened the barrier for us to walk up to the starting line. The starting line banner was high tech this year. It was one long TV screen with changing graphics. I guess that's where my money went!
Corral A
5k start line
The first mile felt good. I pushed the pace, but not too much, just enough to get around some of the slower runners. I then cruised for the next two miles at about a 7:40 - 7:42 pace. My goal was to run it in 24 min and save my legs for the rest of the Dopey Challenge. I was over by 1 second. :)
5k finish line
5k: 24:01
Click here for my Garmin data.
After getting my medal, drinks, and a snack box, I went over to the line to take my customary photo with Pluto. Then I walked back to my car to go back to my hotel. Driving to the race was much more convenient in that I didn't have to wait in line for the shuttle ride back to the hotel.
Pluto!
5k medal
Post race snacks
I ate my snacks and got cleaned up before getting ready to go visit Universal Studios. This was pretty much the sole reason why I chose to stay off Disney property and rented a car. I wanted to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Apparently the resort is divided into two parks, Universal Studios and Universal Islands of Adventure. I bought the two park pass since the two Harry Potter attractions were divided among the two parks. You can use the regular park entrances to go between parks or take the Hogwarts Express Train. The two park pass was $147 and parking was $20. After parking the car, I went through bag check before going to one of the will call kiosks to get my ticket.
Universal Studios Orlando
I decided to first check out Universal Studios. My first impression was that it had a very similar feel to a Walt Disney World park. Everything was nice and clean with a lot of places for them to extract your tourist dollars.
My original plan was to go straight to Diagon Alley, but I couldn't pass up checking out the Simpsons! I had such fond memories watching them in high school, but I stopped when I was in college. I didn't go inside any of the buildings except to ride the Simpsons Ride in Krustyland. That was a pretty fun ride, there was even a lot to see while waiting in line.
I must say it was pretty cool to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in person. The level of detail was pretty impressive. It was like being on a movie set. It was pretty crowded inside Diagon Alley. People everywhere! You could easily spot the real fans of Harry Potter.
I pretty much bypassed everything and went straight to the Escape from Gringotts ride. Fortunately the dragon on top of Gringotts just started breathing fire. That was pretty cool! There was a sign and a person stationed near the entrance making sure you knew that you couldn't bring any bags on the ride, so I had to go find a locker to store my backpack. The locker room was jammed with people. The locker was locked with your fingerprint. The line was pretty long, but it moved quickly and there was plenty of stuff to see. The ride was fun, a definite must!
Before leaving Diagon Alley, I decided to buy a wand. Ollivander's was a zoo, so I decided to just get a wand at Wands by Gregorovitch. The line was much shorter. I bought an interactive version of Voldermort's wand. There were locations all over Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade that will activate certain displays with the proper wand strokes.
I took the Hogwarts Express Train to Hogsmeade from King's Cross Station. It was pretty cool getting to the 9¾ platform. It was also a pretty cool ride as you're put into compartments on the train that seats about 6 people. You can't open the compartment doors, but the windows show some action going on just outside which involved dementors.
Once I arrived at the Hogmeade Station, I noticed that my hip was bothering me. Maybe I had been walking around too much. There were two rides, The Forbidden Journey and Dragon Challenge. Both of them didn't allow bags or loose articles even if they were in your pockets. The line for the lockers was insane, so I skipped them. I was pretty tired and hungry, so I walked around a bit and got in line for some butter beer. It was a pretty tasty sweet drink, but I wouldn't get it again for $6. When in Rome... or Hogsmeade.
Now it was time to go get lunch. A runner friend had recommended that I check out The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar. It was located just outside in the Universal City Walk, so I walked through Islands of Adventures to get there. I didn't see a whole lot in this park that piqued my interest.
At The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar, I first checked in at the front door. They radioed up to the folks upstairs to greet me when I finally made it up the flight of stairs. I asked and got a table inside. It wasn't very crowded. I started with a Dogfish Head 90 min IPA... seemed appropriate for this restaurant. For my meal I ordered their CBCLT Burger which was a half-pound beef burger with cheddar cheese, applewood bacon, white cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, Cowfish sauce on a brioche bun. It got it with a side of fries. It was a decent burger, but I've had better elsewhere. Also service wasn't too good since my waiter seemed to also be taking care of some executives.
Since I didn't see anything that I wanted to check out in Islands of Adventures, I went back into Universal Studios after I was done eating lunch. I went to check out Transformers: The Ride 3D. It was ok, but I'm not a fan of Michael Bay, so it was sort of fitting that the ride broke down near the end. They gave us a complimentary express pass, but I didn't use it. Instead I walked back to Diagon Alley, got my wand out of the box, and walked around to various spots to use its interactive features. I tried to find some decent Harry Potter ties to buy, but the quality was cheap and hardly justified the price tag.
By 3pm, I was pretty wiped out. As I was walking back to the parking garage I came across Scooby Doo and the gang taking pictures next to their Mystery Machine van. The line was long, so I didn't stick around.
Back at my hotel room, I relaxed a bit in my bed while watching the Rocky marathon on TV. Super Fight II is one of my favorites, probably the most believable fight out of the entire series. After watching Rocky III, I drove across the street to eat dinner at McDonald's. I would've walked it, but it was starting to sprinkle outside. I had a Big Mac meal... one of my favorites, two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun.
Rocky 2
Back at my room, I got my race gear ready for tomorrow's 10k. They had rain in the forecast, so I was glad it was only a 10k and not a half marathon or the marathon. Then it was back to watching some more Rocky Balboa as he takes on Soviet Union's Ivan Drago in Rocky 4!
10k flatrunner
Rocky 4
Friday 1/8
The 10k started at 5:30 am, a half hour earlier than yesterday's 5k. However I arrived at the Epcot parking lot a little bit later, yet parking was still very easy and well organized. It was raining a little, so I stayed in the car for as long as time allowed. Even though the rain wasn't coming down hard, I didn't want to get too wet while waiting in the starting corral, so I wore one of my hooded throwaway jackets.
10k start line
I felt something in my right hip with the very first step as I started the race. It felt unstable and weak. After not being able to keep the first 2 miles under 8 minutes, I decided to slow down to see if the discomfort would go away. I eventually slowed down to about 9 minute miles. I just wanted to get it over with and figure out what to do with the rest of the Dopey Challenge.
10k: 54:35
Click here for my Garmin data.
Since it was raining, there were no Disney characters taking post race photos in the usual location. Also because of the rain, it was nice to be able to go straight to the car and not having to wait in line for one of the resort shuttles.
10k medal
After the usual eating of the post race snacks and getting cleaned up, I got ready to go to the race expo. I heard that Paula Radcliffe was going to be a guest speaker. I couldn't find a schedule anywhere online for expo speakers, so I had to get there as early as possible just in case. I went through the expo checking to see if I had missed anything before getting up to the speaker stage area.
Expo
Kessel Run medal!
Thankfully first up was Jeff Galloway at 10 am to talk about taking walk breaks to allow the body to rest and not feel so beat up the next day. I routinely take walk breaks on races longer than the half marathon. It really does help and it might be a good idea for those taking on the Dopey Challenge.
Next up at 11 am was a panel of all the race organizers for the 6 Abbott World Marathon Majors. From left to right was London, Berlin, Chicago, Tokyo, NYC, and Boston. That was pretty cool. I was tempted to ask the London Marathon organizer if he could make it easier for those in the US to get into his race via the lottery. :)
Race organizers for all 6 Marathon Majors
Finally Paula Radcliffe was up next at 12 pm. She was actually there to help promote the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon. She was also participating in the Dopey Challenge. I knew that was her when she blew past me during the second mile of the 10k this morning! It was pretty cool to meet the living legend with a marathon personal best of 2:15:25! She was also very personable. I had her sign my bib because that would make me run faster, right? :)
The Paula Radcliffe!
After meeting Paula, it was time to go back to my room to relax. I stopped by the KFC next to my hotel to pick up lunch. I went with their $5 Fill Up meal. It came with 2 pieces of chicken, mash potatoes, biscuit, cookie, and a drink. What a deal! I went with dark meat and original recipe.
$5 Fill Up
For dinner, I drove across the street to McDonald's again to pick up some food. This time I went with the Deluxe Quarter Pounder meal. I think the only thing that made it deluxe was lettuce and it did make it that much better! After scarfing down the food, I started getting my race gear ready for tomorrow's half marathon. Then it was time to rest and go to sleep. As I was resting, one of my favorite movies was on, You've Got Mail! I never made it to the end as I dozed off.
Bib signed by Paula Radcliffe
Half Marathon flatrunner
You've Got Mail!
Saturday 1/9
Another day, another early drive to the Epcot parking lot. The starting corrals for the half marathon and marathon are located on Epcot Center Drive. It takes about 15 minutes to walk there. If you're in the first 3 corrals, you should get there early or you might get stuck in foot traffic.
Half Marathon start line
I started the race with the goal to run under 2 hrs, but it was uncomfortable again from the very first step. After two miles, I shifted down to plan B and that was to just get it done. I ended up finding 10ish minute miles tolerable on my way to the Magic Kingdom. Since my race was a struggle, I stopped at about mile 6 along with many other runners to take a picture of Cinderella's castle. It was still beautifully decorated for the holidays. Then it was a jog back to Epcot for the finish line.
Half Marathon finish line
Half Marathon: 2:13:28
Click here for my Garmin data.
After the race, I picked up my medal and post race goodies and went to go see if the Donald was there for a photo. Again as with last year, I had to settle for a photo with his girl, Daisy. He was there the first year!
What's the Donald?
Half Marathon medal
After getting back to my usual post race routine in my hotel room, I took a nap. I woke up to eat lunch at a nearby Applebee's. I don't usually eat there, but I had a couple of gift cards to use up. It was pretty busy, but I was able to get full service at the bar. It also turned out that they had a 2 for 1 beer special and one of the beers was the Yuengling Lager! Instead of going with the usual burger, I thought that I would try something else that I also love, seafood. I ordered their Savory Cedar Salmon. It was surprisingly good. It was not what I thought would be food that I could get at Applebee's.
Yuengling Lager
Savory Cedar Salmon
For dinner, I went with my tried and true meal from McDonald's one last time to carb up for tomorrow's marathon. I took a survey and my McDonald's receipt to get a 2 for 1 deal for 2 Quarter Pounders. I also got the usual 20 piece Chicken McNuggets with Hot Mustard sauce. After my meal, I got my race gear ready for tomorrow's final race of the Dopey Challenge, the marathon!
Marathon flatrunner
Sunday 1/10
It's the last leg of the Dopey Challenge. It's time for the marathon! A big part of the challenge is having to wake up so early for at least 4 days in a row! I bumped into my friends as I was done using the portapotties and was heading to the starting corrals. We were mostly in corral C so I stuck with them as we headed to the corrals. Time seemed to pass by quicker with friends as we waited in the corral C. The race started at 5:30 am with a bunch of fireworks. Our corral wasn't released until about 10 minutes later.
As the race started, again I had trouble mostly with the right hip. The fastest I could muster for the first two miles was about 9 minutes. I slowed down and had to find a pace that would work with my ailing hip. At about mile 6, before running through Cinderella's castle, I pulled over to take a picture of Anna and Elsa. Then it was another 6 miles to get down to the Animal Kingdom. This year there was no running on the speedway track. They had added a little out and back in the Magic Kingdom and another out and back on Western Way with the RV couple at the turnaround to make up the distance. The Expedition Everest ride was unfortunately not open when I ran by. Darn! As I left the Animal Kingdom, the course would take me through the halfway point.
Halfway: 2:35:23
Then it's another 4 miles or so of highways and parkways to get to ESPN Wide World of Sports. The course covered about 3 miles of the complex. This has always been my least favorite part of the course as most of it is on concrete. I always have to remind myself that once we leave the complex, we will have reached mile 20. As I was jogging up Victory Way back up to Osceola Parkway, I spotted my friend. I ran with her until we got to Hollywood Studios at about mile 23. It was so much easier to pass the miles with somebody you know. Then the course headed towards the Boardwalk before entering Epcot at about mile 25. The final mile was pretty much a counter-clockwise loop around the World Showcase before heading up to Spaceship Earth. Then it's a quick right turn for the Hallelujah choir and the finish line.
Marathon finish line
Marathon: 5:19:59
Click here for my Garmin data.
That was one of my better executed marathons. Before the race, I was thinking it was going to take about 5:30 to finish, so I did well to come in 10 minutes under. After picking up my Mickey Mouse medal, I got in line to get my Goofy and Dopey medals. They first had to check to see if I was the same person as the one that picked up the bib at the expo. I went to go take some post race photos, but Mickey and Goofy were nowhere to be found. I had to be sure to take one with Dopey though.
Dopey x3!
Marathon medal
Goofy medal
Dopey medal
It was good to finally make it back to my room after another successful completion of the Dopey Challenge. That's 3 years in a row! I'm hoping to make it to 5 consecutive years. It was good to be able to wear the "I did it!" shirt that I had bought. After getting cleaned up it was time to take a nap before dinner.
Medal haul
For dinner, I met up with my friends at the House of Blues in Disney Springs previously known as Downtown Disney. I started with a Jai Alai IPA. For my meal, I ordered the Juicy Lucy and added a side salad. The salad was good, but it was bigger than I'd expected. I found it somewhat ironic that the burger wasn't very good. I remembered it to be better the last time that I had it. I took the leftovers back to my room to finish eating later.
Not-so-Juicy Lucy
Monday 1/11
Monday after running the Walt Disney World Marathon means it's time for a day at Epcot. The park opened at 9 am. I like to get there at about 8:30ish to get through security and to buy a park pass to get in right when they open, but I didn't get in until about 10 am. It was pretty early and I was already dragging. I'm not a Spring chicken anymore!
Epcot Monday!
I went straight to 2 of my favorite rides over in Future World East, Test Track and Mission: Space. This time I only rode Mission: Space once. I was the engineer. I was tired and just wanted to sit down somewhere. Since my friends haven't shown up yet, I decided to go check out Future World West. Along the way I got in line to see and get a picture with Baymax.
Time to go to Mars!
Engineer again!
"I heard a sound of distress..."
In Future World West, I noticed that Soarin' was closed for today. I went to see Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival. It had replaced Captain EO. Afterwards, I went to meet up with my friends that had just arrived. I met them just outside of the Journey into Imagination with Figment ride. That ride has such a catching tune. After spending time in the post ride play area and gift shop, we then went to The Seas with Nemo & Friends. Going to Disney parks is so much better with kids. After checking out some of the post ride aquariums, we went with the kids to Turtle Talk with Crush. It was my first time. That was pretty cool for the kids. Apparently you had to be a kid on the floor in the front to interact with Crush. An older kid among the benches was trying to get in a question.
Imagination!
Then it was time to eat and drink around the world. This year we started at Canada and went counter clockwise since our dinner reservation was at the Akershus Royal Banquet in Norway. After getting a beer in Canada, we stopped inside Rose & Crown Pub to eat lunch. I had their Bangers and Mash with a Boddingtons Pub Ale. I may or may not have fell asleep at dinner. Did I mention that I was tired? Even though I stopped the drinking at around Germany, I totally underestimated how exhausted I was from the Dopey Challenge. It had finally caught up. I will have to keep that in mind if I continue to take on the Dopey Challenge!
Canada
United Kingdom
Bangers and Mash
France
Morocco
Japan
Tuesday 1/12
I spent most of the morning trying to finish up some of the drinks that I had bought. Apparently I had bought too much since after each race, I received a water bottle and a Powerade. After packing up and checking out of my room, I started heading towards the airport. After dropping off the rental car, I hung out for a bit before getting in line to get through TSA security check. The lines were ridiculously long and moved really really slow. Good thing my flight wasn't until about 5:30 pm.
After getting through I decided to get lunch at Ruby Tuesday. Service was pretty lacking. The waitress was hardly there and she looked like she'd rather be somewhere else. I ordered the Triple Prime Bacon Cheddar Burger with fries. It was a pretty good burger and I would've stuck around for a couple of drinks, but that meant I would have to flag her down... wherever she was.
Triple Prime Bacon Cheddar Burger with fries
As it got closer to the time of my flight, I waited near the gate and bumped into my friends. I didn't know that they were on the same flight. Thank goodness I was in the exit row. I was pretty tired and was ready to knock out. It's a lot easier to fall asleep with the extra leg room.
Headed home
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