Normally I like to take a red eye flight when I'm heading to Orlando for the Dopey Challenge so it would give me plenty of buffer in case something unforeseen happens with my flight. This year however I couldn't pass up on a cheaper Wednesday early morning flight out of LAX with Southwest Airlines. Per the usual I prepaid via Spot Hero for parking over at the Renaissance Los Angeles Airport Hotel. Not only was my flight not a red eye flight, there was also a short layover at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans Airport. Thankfully everything went on without a hitch and my flights were all on time.
After landing at MCO and using the restroom, I started heading for the Advantage car rental counter. Along the way and before I got on the tram for the main terminal, I stopped at McDonald's to pick up some food as I haven't eaten anything all day and it was about 2:30 pm local time. Thankfully the mobile app had a large fries for $1 deal. I ate that as I walked through the airport. The guy at the rental car counter gave me crap for eating fries. I responded by telling him that it's just potatoes and that I was carboloading! :) Although I always reserve a compact/economy car, I was given a VW Passat that required diesel fuel. Whatever... I can be flexible. After I familiarized myself with the car, it was off I go to the ESPN Wide World of Sports to pick up my race packet.
Rental car
Traffic wasn't too bad even though as with prior years, I took surface streets to avoid paying toll. I arrived at about 4 pm with plenty of time to spare as the expo was open until 8 pm. Per the usual, I first went to the HP Field House to pick up my bib and race shirts. This year, all of the race shirts were long sleeve including the 5k which used to be short sleeve and cotton. Included was a plastic luggage tag which was a replica of the Goofy medal. There was also a note to remind us of the earlier start time for the marathon on Sunday.
Expo
Bib pick-up
Goofy luggage tag
The marathon starts at 5 am this year!
15th Anniversary of Goofy
I then moseyed on over to the VISA Athletic Center to check out the vendor booths. There wasn't too much that caught my eye. I did get 2 samples of Sport Beans. I was mostly there to check out the Club runDisney jacket in person. It looked kind of cheap for a club that had such a big price tag! I'll definitely pass on joining.
Sport Beans
Club runDisney jacket
Before heading out, I stopped in the Wide World Of Sports Cheer Arena to check out the official merchandise. Thankfully I was able to go straight in without having to wait in a long line. I'm guessing that's one of the benefits of going later in the day as the re-sellers and eBayers have already gone through and bought up everything. I was able to resist making a single purchase although I was tempted to buy 2 funny shirts. I'm pretty sure one year, I will succumb and buy the Sleepy Challenge shirt! :)
Official Merchandise
Sleepy Challenge
I Donut Run!
I then hopped in the car and headed over to my hotel. Before checking in to my hotel, I drove to the nearby Chick-fil-A to eat dinner. I found an empty table and placed my order with their mobile app. I ordered their Spicy Southwest salad with grilled nuggets and a large lemonade. An employee was walking around the dining area checking up on each customer. It was nice of him to get me a refill on my lemonade.
Spicy Southwest salad with grilled nuggets
After finishing my dinner, I made a quick stop at the nearby Target to buy some snacks and water. I made sure not to buy too much as runDisney always gives out a lot of post race goodies after each race. I ended up buying one of my favorite snacks, a bag of pistachios.
Pistachios and water
I finally drove over to my hotel. For the duration of this trip, I was staying at the Days Hotel by Wyndham Celebration located just off of Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway on a small street called, Maingate Lane. When I pulled in, I noticed that the parking lot was shared with Avis Car Rental. Once I went inside to check-in, I could see why I got such a great deal for the weekend. The place was right in the middle of being renovated. Walls were being painted and there were tarps everywhere. After I checked-in, got my room keys, and a touristy information packet from the concierge, it was time to get up to my room and get some rest!
After getting settled in and laying out my flat runner, I took a shower before going to sleep. Tomorrow would begin the 4 consecutive days of waking up super early at dark o' clock! :)
5k flat runner
Thursday 1/9
I left the hotel at about 3:30 am for the short drive over to Epcot. The drive took about 10 minutes. I followed the usual line of cars and was directed to park in the Create parking lot. Since the race didn't start until 5:30 am, I hung out in the car for a bit. Before heading to the starting area, I made sure to take a picture of where I parked so I could find my car after the race.
Since this wasn't my first time running the Dopey Challenge, I skipped the pre-race photo ops. After using one of the many portapotties, I joined up with all of the early birds that had gathered at the gateway to the starting corrals. Once they opened up, people rushed to get into their corrals so that they could be in the very front. Instead, I headed to the left to use another portapotty before I went inside the corral.
I foolishly thought that I could maintain a 7:30 min/mile pace for the entirety of this race. That lasted about a mile and a half. As soon as I saw a photo op with the Beast, I pulled over. After that, I pretty much resorted to jogging the rest of the race. The humidity was high and it just wasn't worth it to push through it with 3 more races to go.
5k finish line
5k finish: 25:41
Click here for my Garmin data.
After getting my finisher medal, I received a bottle of water and Powerade. Then further down the finisher chute, I received a banana and the all-so-familiar post race runDisney box of snacks.
5k finisher medal
Before heading back to my car, I got in line to take a photo with Pluto as the 5k was once again his race.
Prior to the trip, I found a decent deal for a 4 park ticket which came out to be about $80 per day. I could only go to each park once with no park-hopping privileges. Also I could spread out my park visits and not have to go on 4 consecutive days. About a week before my trip, I hopped on the Walt Disney World website and linked the park ticket to my expired Premier Annual Passport card.
After getting back to my room, I showered and ate most of the post race snacks. For my first Walt Disney World park for this year's trip, I decided to go to Epcot. I guess I should've just stayed after the race as I had to pay $25 to park the car. Yikes, that's getting quite steep!
I arrived at the park at about 9 am so I had about 2 hrs to pass before the World Showcase was opened. The first ride that I went on was one of my favorites, Mission: SPACE. There was no line for this ride especially for the orange more intense version. The second ride that I went on was Test Track which was conveniently located right next door. It actually took a while to get on the ride even though I was waiting in the single rider line.
The next ride that I went on was Journey Into Imagination with Figment. Sure it's a little kid's ride, but I still find it enjoyable, mostly because of the catchy tune. The ride exits into ImageWorks. I normally just walk right on through that and the gift shop, but since I had time to pass, I got in line for a photo op with Wreck-it-Ralph and Vanellope. This particular person playing Vanellope was very good and well suited for the role. On the other hand, Ralph didn't do much. He just stood there like a huge tree. :)
Then the clock struck 11 signaling the time to commence eating around the world! While in the past, this tradition was reserved for post marathon shenanigans, for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to get it out of the way having only run the 5k earlier this morning. It got tough, but I did help things along by taking breaks and going on rides such as Frozen Ever After, Spaceship Earth, and Soarin'.
Here's a quick list of what I ate for each country:
- Mexico: La Cantina de San Angel, Guacamole with totopos
- Norway: Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe, Bruni cupcake
- China: Lotus Blossom Café, Egg rolls
- Germany: Sommerfest, Nudel gratin
- Italy: Spumone gelato cup
- America: Fife & Drum Tavern, Frozen blue raspberry slushie
- Japan: Katsura Grill, Edamame
- Morocco: Tangierine Café, Iced mint tea
- France: L'Artisan des Glaces, Single scoop coffee ice cream with waffle cone
- United Kingdom: Yorkshire County Fish Shop, Victoria sponge cake
- Canada: Refreshment Port, Beef brisket poutine
Guacamole with totopos
Next stop Norway Pavilion/Arendelle. The standby line for Frozen Ever After was quite a long wait. Thankfully the majority of the line was inside with plenty of things to look at while you wait. While I like this ride, I think I'll only come back on future park visits if and when I have a FastPass.
Frozen Ever After
After the ride, I stopped in the Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe and bought a Bruni cupcake. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but I do love the occasional chocolate snack. It was a very nice presentation with the Bruni on top.
Bruni cupcake
I had a hard time finding sometime that looked appealing to eat while in the China Pavilion. Most of the food offerings were mediocre, just slightly better than what's served at Panda Express or Pei Wei. I eventually settled on ordering the egg rolls at the Lotus Blossom Café because it's hard to mess up.
Egg rolls
After visiting China, I took my first break from the World Showcase and headed over to Spaceship Earth to use one of my FastPasses. I can see why I hardly ever go on this ride whenever I visit Epcot. Although there's a little bit of interaction involved on the screen, it's always a bit glitchy. At least the ride is very educational. As the lighting for the ride got a bit dimmer, I dozed off for a little bit.
Spaceship Earth
After the ride, I resumed with the Germany Pavilion where I got in line at the Sommerfest to order food. This is normally were I miss drinking beer and eating pork as this was my favorite stop where I used to order their bratwurst and a nice German beer. Instead I got their nudel gratin, the German version of mac & cheese.
Nudel gratin
Next stop was the Italy Pavilion. After perusing my food options, I stopped at the snack cart and ordered a spumone gelato cup.
Spumone gelato cup
After finishing the gelato, next up was the American Adventure Pavilion. I stopped at the Fife & Drum Tavern. I wasn't the slightest bit tempted to order the usual turkey leg. Instead I settled for something that I've never had before, their frozen blue raspberry slushie. I usually only get such a treat at either a 7-Eleven or a movie theater.
Frozen blue raspberry slushie
Next was the Japan Pavilion where I stopped in at Katsura Grill to order edamame. However a bowl of ramen was brought out to me. I was confused as to how the cashier misheard my order? I guess I should've checked the receipt. The manager went above and beyond by not only giving me a refund, but he also did not charge me for the edamame.
Edamame
For the Morocco Pavilion, I have been wanting to try one of their shawarma platters. However I'm usually getting pretty full by the time I get to this pavilion. This time was no different so I ordered the usual iced mint tea at the farthest end of the Tangierine Café.
Iced mint tea
The next stop is one of my favorites, the France Pavilion. Here is where I get ice cream or sorbet at L'Artisan des Glaces. For this particular visit, I ordered a single scoop coffee ice cream with a waffle cone.
Single scoop coffee ice cream with waffle cone
The penultimate stop on the tour was the United Kingdom Pavilion. I would've loved to have an English meal at the Rose & Crown, but I did not have the stomach for a full meal. So I settled for getting a snack at the Yorkshire County Fish Shop. I had their Victoria sponge cake. It was filled with jam and buttercream. It was delicious and not too sweet.
Victoria sponge cake
With just the Canada Pavilion to go, I first headed over to The Land to ride Soarin'. For Canada, I normally eat at Le Cellier Steakhouse with my friends. However eating there requires a reservation and is quite pricey. I must say that inexpensive food options were quite lacking, until I came across the Refreshment Port where they had poutine. The beef brisket poutine was a good item to finish out the World Showcase.
Beef brisket poutine
To test the strength of my stomach, I headed back to Future World and went on Mission: SPACE. Fortunately I kept everything down. Originally I had planned to watch Epcot Forever at 8:30 pm, but I was pretty wiped out. I ended up tapping out at about 6:30 pm and headed back to my hotel.
I laid out my flat runner before going to bed.
10k flat runner
Friday 1/10
Just like yesterday, I left the hotel at about 3:30 am for the short drive over to Epcot. I parked in relatively the same spot as yesterday. It was pretty much the same routine as both races started in the same spot and at the same time.
10k start line
It was about 10 degrees warmer today with the humidity just as high as yesterday. However I ran a much better race today. Per my pre-race strategy, I ran the first 5k at a sub 8 min per mile pace. Then for the second 5k, I ran at a more comfortable cruising pace, roughly 8:30 min per mile. To better deal with the high humidity, I also took walk breaks at each mile marker during that second 5k.
10k finish line
10k finish: 52:03
Click here for my Garmin data.
After getting my finisher medal and the usual post race goodies, I made my way over to the line for a photo op with Oswald, the lucky rabbit. The 10k is now his race.
10k finisher medal
Oswald
After the photo, I headed back to my car. Along the way, there was a cast member near the bag security checkpoint. Just like yesterday, he was there congratulating every single finisher as well as giving out important race information. He was pretty cool to see each day after the race.
Back at my room, I ate all of the post race goodies and got cleaned up before heading back out for Walt Disney World park #2. Today I would be visiting Animal Kingdom. I was able to get to the park taking Sherberth Rd. After paying the $25 parking fee, I parked my car in the Giraffe lot. I entered the park at about 9:15 am.
The bulk of my morning was spent waiting in the standby line for the Avatar Flight of Passage ride. The line was so long that the end of the line went as far back as the Harambe Theater restrooms which were located almost at the Festival of the Lion King! The estimated wait time was 195 minutes (i.e. 3¼ hours). Thank goodness it didn't quite take that long. It helped that I was a single rider, so I got to skip part of the line at the very end. The ride was just as exhilarating as I had remembered, but I felt that the picture was a bit out of focus. I kept adjusting the 3D glasses, but nothing helped. Still this was my favorite ride at Animal Kingdom.
After the ride, I started heading over to Asia to ride my 2nd favorite ride in the park, Expedition Everest. Before going on the ride, I decided to get lunch first at the Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes. I ordered the usual turkey leg at the Quality Beverages window off to the side. It came with a bag of chips. Seating was scarce, but I found an empty seat at a long table which was nice and shaded. I felt bad for those people that ended up sitting next to me. I was destroying that leg with my bare hands and it got messy!
Turkey leg
After lunch and washing my hands, I got in the single rider line for Expedition Everest. The line wasn't moving all that fast because there were a lot of groups waiting in line trying to game the system.
It was a pretty warm day, so after I got off of the ride, I got in line at Tamu Tamu Refreshments where I ordered the Simba Sunset. It was Dole Whip pineapple with watermelon, strawberry, and coconut flavored syrup. Why ruin a good thing with syrup? Next time, I'll just stick to the Dole Whip!
Simba Sunset
I then went over to see if I could get in on the next performance of the Festival of the Lion King. I had just missed the next showing, so I decided to go back to the Avatar Flight of Passage. The line was much shorter this time around, but it was still a lengthy wait. Near the end of the line, I bumped into one of my running friends, so we ended up riding next to each other.
It was only about 3:30 pm and I was already feeling pretty wiped out. I had a FastPass for Dinosaur, so I decided to go use that before calling it a day. The ride is a bit cheesy, but we did find that Iguanodon! :)
Before heading back to my hotel, I swung by Chick-fil-A to have dinner. Normally I would place my order on the mobile app, but this time I ordered at the counter since I had a free icedream cone gift card to use. They had a trainee take my order. I guess it was good practice for him. I got the usual Cobb salad with grilled chicken nuggets and an unsweetened iced tea.
Cobb salad with grilled nuggets, icedream cone, and unsweetened iced tea
After dinner and getting back to my room, I laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's half marathon. This has quickly become one of my favorite shirts.
Half marathon flat runner
Saturday 1/11
Even though the race started at the usual 5:30 am start time, I woke up earlier and arrived at the Epcot parking lot about 30 minutes earlier than yesterday as starting with the half marathon, there involves a longer walk out to the starting corrals on Epcot Center Dr. Once I had reached the corrals, I headed over to use one of the many portapotties before heading inside my corral. I waited at the front of corral B, near the corral entrance for A, so that I could spot my fellow Disney friends.
Here we go!
It was about another 10 degrees warmer today. I was able to run the first mile okay, then I started to struggle near the end of the second mile. I was getting the headaches that I get when I try to run in high humidity, so I knew that I had to go into survival mode and start taking frequent walk breaks. It was nice to finally reach the Magic Kingdom at about mile 5 and run down Main Street!
Since the day was more about survival, I stopped for all of the photo ops along the way which included Stitch, the Queen of Hearts, a pic in front of Cinderella Castle, colonial Minnie Mouse, and Woody.
Stitch
Queen of Hearts, off with his head!
Colonial Minnie Mouse
Woody, there's a snake in my boot!
After taking a picture with Woody, it was time to start heading back down to Epcot. With all of the photo stops, it made the 5th mile my slowest mile for the day. For the rest of the race, I had found that somewhere between 10 and 11 minute miles felt most comfortable. At about mile 6.75 just outside of Disney's Grand Floridian, I pulled over for a picture with Pluto. His arm and fur was a bit damp from putting his arm around sweaty runners! :)
Pluto
Thank goodness that there was some cool early morning breeze during the stretch along World Dr and Epcot Center Dr. At almost mile 11, I pulled over for one last photo op with Lilo.
Lilo
Even though we had taken a back road to the finish line, the traditional Hallelujah Gospel Choir near the final stretch was missing. However no matter, it was quite the relief to finally see that finish line!
Half marathon finish line
Half marathon finish: 2:20:32
Click here for my Garmin data.
After receiving my finisher medal and all of the usual post-race goodies, I made my way over to the line to get a photo with the ConDUCKtor himself. Then it was back to my hotel to get cleaned up.
Half marathon finisher medal
Honestly I would have rather slept in my room than go to another park. However I also didn't want any of my park tickets to go to waste. So today it's off to the Magic Kingdom for Walt Disney World park #3. I arrived at the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) a little after 10:30 am. After paying another $25 for parking, I parked in the Ursula lot. There were too many people waiting to ride the tram, so I hoofed it. Per the usual, I opted for the ferry boat ride.
It took roughly 30 minutes to get from the TTC to the park entrance. One of the advantages of staying on property is that you get bused straight to the entrance instead of having to deal with the ferry boat or monorail ride from the TTC. Before going on any of the rides, I took a medal photo with Donald Duck near Cinderella Castle.
Here were the rides and attractions that I went on:
- Space Mountain
- Haunted Mansion
- Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
- it's a small world
- The Hall of Presidents
My second ride was the Haunted Mansion. It's a cheesy ride, but I like it.
My third ride was Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. It's much easier to score the maximum points on this version of the ride if you know where the high level targets are located. I finally remembered to ask for the Galactic Hero sticker from one of the cast members upon exiting the ride.
I then walked over to the Sleepy Hollow at Liberty Square to scope out some food options. Even though it was well past my usual lunch time, I wasn't too hungry. Yet, I got in line and ordered their sweet & spicy chicken waffle sandwich. It was served with house-made chips. It was very sunny and blazing hot, but thankfully I was able to find a seat in the shade. I'm not sure where to start with this item. It looked gross and unappealing. That was probably the most unhealthy item that I had ever eaten at a Disney park. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so the sweetness also wasn't doing it for me. Well, you never know if you like it unless you give it a try. This one was a hard pass for me.
Sweet & spicy chicken waffle sandwich and chips
Then I swung over to Gaston's Tavern and ordered the LeFeu's brew. It's a non-alcoholic drink consisting of frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow. Unfortunately I was informed that they were out of passion fruit mango foam, so it was substituted with whipped cream. I think on my next visit, if I had more luggage space, I would get the same drink again in a souvenir stein and hopefully they'll have the passion fruit mango foam.
LeFeu's brew
My fourth ride was it's a small world. I was already feeling exhausted, but this ride was inside and the line was out of the hot blazing sun. Even with the nice catchy all familiar tune, I managed to doze off for part of the ride.
My fifth and final attraction that I went to was The Hall of Presidents. I like this educational attraction. I usually find a seat, front and center. It's quite informative and Disney does it's best in keeping divisive politics out of it. It shows the viewer how and why the United States of America became such a great nation.
After exiting the park, I took the ferry back to my car. On my way back to my hotel, I stopped by McDonald's to eat my traditional pre-marathon meal. Using a QR code for deal on the mobile app, I placed my order on one of their ordering kiosks. I got two Quarter Pounder with cheese burgers for $5, large fries for $1, and a large unsweetened iced tea for $1.
After finishing my meal, I drove back to my hotel where I laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's marathon. I had to sleep early since tomorrow's race was scheduled to start 30 minutes earlier at 5 am.
Marathon flat runner
Sunday 1/12
As part of the course this year was to run through the Epcot parking lot, they pushed ahead the start time to 5 am. They recommended that we get to the start area by 3:30 am. I left the hotel at about 2:45 am. I arrived and was parked at about 3:15 am. The routine was the same for yesterday's race which involved that long walk to the starting corrals over on Epcot Center Dr.
Per the usual, I headed over to use one of the many portapotties before heading into my corral. I so happened to bump into Alan and his wife. He is one of the few remaining legacy runners for the Walt Disney World Marathon. I knew who he was because he was also a legacy runner for the now defunct Disneyland Half Marathon. He is the only person left that has run all the runDisney marathons. In addition to the ones here at Walt Disney World, he has also run the first and only marathon at Disneyland! Click here for an article about that Disneyland Marathon. I've never met him in person until today. They actually waited for me to finish before we all walked over to our corral entrance.
Just like yesterday, I waited for the start at the front of corral B, near the entrance of corral A. Although there were plenty of us ready to go for the earlier 5 am start, that just did not happen. What I heard afterwards was that many of the motorcoaches from the Disney properties were held up and stuck in traffic. We ended up waiting about an additional 20 minutes before corral A was released.
Yikes! Good luck! It's going to be a hot and humid day!
Finally, corral A is released!
When corral B was released a few minutes later, I made sure to run comfortably and to not push the pace. Even going at a slower pace, I was sweating way more than I would like. The first mile was the only mile that I ran for the entirety of the mile. I pulled the plug on trying to go for any time goal when I pulled over at about mile 1.5 to take a picture of the Welcome to Epcot sign. Today would be picture day and just surviving the heat and distance.
Mile 1.5
Mile 2.5 - Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps
Mile 7.4 - Goofy
Mile 7.8 - Princess Vanellope
Mile 8.5 - Mater and Lightning McQueen
Mile 8.8 - Frozone, Elastigirl, and Mr. Incredible
Mile 10.4
Mile 10.5 - Buzz Lightyear
Mile 10.8 - Sebastian
Mile 11.1 - Jessie
Mile 11.8
At about the halfway point, I came across a bunch of turkeys wandering around near the Disney's Palm golf course. Is this where they get their turkey legs? :)
Fresh turkey legs!
My friend caught me before getting to mile 15. She's such a strong power walker! I would leapfrog with her for about the next 2 miles as I continued to take walk breaks. I lost my friend once I stopped in Dinoland a little after mile 17 to take a photo with Kevin!
Mile 17.3 - Kevin's a girl!
One of the major course changes for this year was the addition of the loop through Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park. The mileage through here replaced the miles through ESPN's Wide World of Sports. This was a much welcomed change.
Mile 21.8 - Olaf
Mile 25.8 - Snow White
Fitz at the finish line!
Marathon finish line
Marathon finish: 5:50:54
Click here for my Garmin data.
Shortly after receiving my finisher medal, I was given what has become an additional finisher item for the marathon, a pair of Mickey ears. After receiving the usual post race goodies and drinks, I then got in line to get my challenge medals as well as a Dopey Challenge legacy lanyard. After adding the lanyard to my finisher medal, I then headed over to the lines to get photos with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Dopey.
Marathon finisher medal side 1
Mickey
Marathon finisher medal side 2
Minnie
I thought that the medal to commemorate the 15th year of Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge was one of the best medal designs done by runDisney. It's my favorite of out of this year's medal haul for completing the Dopey Challenge.
Goofy challenge medal
Such a beautiful medal!
Goofy
Dopey challenge medal side 1
Dopey challenge medal side 2
Dopey x7
After getting back to my room, it was time to get cleaned up and relax. There was no way that I was going to another park today. However I did plan on heading out to Altamonte Springs for a late afternoon showing of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in IMAX. I had gotten the first 3 movie posters on 3 consecutive weekends, so this was to complete the set of 4. AMC Altamonte Mall 18 was the closest AMC movie theater that was giving out the posters. The drive took about 40 minutes going North up the 4 freeway. It would've been an okay drive, but there was a bunch of construction all along the way on the freeway. I kind of dozed off as this was my 5th time watching it, the movie wasn't that great, and I was tired from having run the marathon. :)
Poster #4 of 4
After the movie, I drove across to the other side of the freeway to eat dinner at the nearby Cracker Barrel. I ordered my favorite item, the Country Boy Breakfast with a sirloin steak. I always love eating breakfast food for dinner. I got an unsweetened iced tea to go with it. The food was delicious and was more than adequate to satisfy my post-marathon appetite.
Country Boy Breakfast
Monday 1/13
For my fourth and final Walt Disney World park, I woke up extra early and headed out to Disney's Hollywood Studios. I arrived and was parked at about 6:15 am. Even though the park wasn't officially opened until 7 am, they were letting people in starting at 6:30 am. It was quite the crowd of people getting in early so that they can log in on the mobile app at 7 am to obtain a Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance boarding pass. I was pretty fortunate to score a group 9 boarding pass.
So crowded!
Waiting around to get a boarding pass
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance boarding pass
After getting my boarding pass, I followed a huge crowd of people heading over to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. This was my first time visiting. I have yet to visit the one at Disneyland. It was pretty cool to see everything in person. It really did feel as if you were somewhere in the Star Wars universe.
I barely got a peek of the Millennium Falcon before the Walt Disney World mobile app notified me that my boarding group had been called. It was time for me to check out the new Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ride! I actually had a hard time finding the entrance. It was near the end of the tunnel as you enter Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge from the Grand Ave entrance.
Entrance to the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ride
The queuing process was really smooth, but it definitely helped to have such a low boarding group number. This ride was very immersive to say the least. It was pretty cool to interact with all of the cast members along the way. All of the special effects were very well done. It was a combination of Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Tours, Indiana Jones Adventure, and Ratatouille rides. Those Disney Imagineers really did a great job! The ride from start to finish was very cool to say the least! It was definitely worth the hassle of getting up so early! This is a definite must for any Star Wars fan!
Wow!
After the ride, I proceeded to check out all of the cool stuff all around the Galaxy's Edge. I then headed over to ride Star Tours. Since I was early for my FastPass and the standby line was short, I got in the standby line. Right after the ride, I got right in the FastPass line to ride it again.
Then it was time to finally check out the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. I got into the very long standby line that stretched to almost Toy Story Land. It wasn't until I had gotten to where I could see the entrance that I noticed that there was a single rider line to the left. So I hopped out of the regular standby line and got in that one instead. Although with the single rider line, you get to skip a good bulk of the line, you also skip out on seeing all of the incredible decor along the way. The flight team consists of 6 roles, 2 pilots, 2 gunners, and 2 engineers. As a single rider, most likely you will be stuck with being one of the engineers. The role can be a bit boring where your attention isn't ahead but pushing a bunch of buttons. The level of detail inside the Falcon was pretty awesome to see to say the least! Your team will be graded on your performance at the end of the ride.
Oh look! There's a single rider line!
After that ride was over, I headed over to Toy Story Land to check out Slinky Dog Dash. The standby line started just beyond the bridge. There was a lot of movie inspired things to look at while waiting in the long slow line. Thankfully most of the line was covered as it was very sunny and blazing hot! The ride itself was nice. It wasn't too fast so it's good for the little ones and just fast enough so that the bigger kids shouldn't be too bored.
Wheezy the penguin
It was then time for lunch. Although it was far from being the cheapest option, I decided on checking out The Hollywood Brown Derby. Since I was there a bit early before they were open, I was able to check out their menu while I waited. Once they were open and I was seated, I ordered their famous Cobb salad added chicken and an unsweetened iced tea. While waiting for the salad, the waitress brought out some bread and salted butter. Per the menu, the Cobb salad was made with finely chopped greens, turkey breast, bacon, egg, tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese, avocado, chives, and Cobb dressing. It was an interesting and unique salad. It was very tasty and so finely chopped that you can probably eat it without any teeth!
The Hollywood Brown Derby
Bread and salted butter
Famous Cobb Salad added chicken
After lunch, I headed back to Toy Story Land to go on the Toy Story Mania ride. It's one of my favorite Disney attractions and luckily for me I had a FastPass so I didn't have to be stuck in the long standby line. I was definitely out of practice as my arm was getting very tired near the end of the ride.
Next up was The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Although I prefer the newer Guardians of the Galaxy version of this ride, it's still pretty cool to revisit the original.
My penultimate ride was the Rock n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. I got into the single rider line. It was rather long and not moving very fast. Cast members were constantly announcing over the PA that it might actually take longer if groups are choosing to wait in the single rider line instead of the regular standby line. I like this ride as it's fun, they play snippets of Aerosmith songs, and it's fast. I also managed not to lose my cellphone this time. The last time I was on this ride, my cellphone slipped out of my pocket during the ride.
Before calling it a day, I decided to go on the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run again. While waiting in the standby line, the ride broke down. A couple of cast members came down the line, but each told us a different story. One said that only one line was completely shut down. Then another said that the entire ride was down and they were not sure when the ride will be back up. Most of us in line were standing around looking confused by the conflicting announcements. Thankfully after a short wait, a third cast member told us that the ride was back up.
On the way out, I spotted Rey and Chewie coming out to inspect the Falcon. I didn't hang around long as people were starting to swarm the area.
On the way out of the park, I stopped in one of the stores and almost bought this Dory hat. I normally wear a visor when I run my races, but I think I can switch to wearing a cap. This one would be very fitting since I'm always having a Dory moment when I forget that I shouldn't be signing up for more races! :)
On my way back to my car, I noticed a sign near the park entrance informing park goers that all boarding groups for the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance virtual queue had been distributed.
After getting back to my car, I drove over to the Cracker Barrel that was nearby my hotel. I originally wanted their roast beef, but my waitress informed me that they were out. My second choice was their chicken fried chicken. I got that with broccoli, carrots, and fried okra as my sides. I also got their pomegranate iced tea to go with it. Service was a bit slow as the place was pretty full. She apologized for the delay and brought out extra cornbread muffins for the tardiness.
Tuesday 1/14
After getting ready and packing up, it was time to check-out and head to the airport for my flight home. I drove out to the usual RaceTrac gas station on W Sand Lake Rd to fill up the gas tank. For the life of me, I couldn't get the gas tank door to open. I asked a FedEx driver that was at the pump next to mine to see he could get it open. I even watched a YouTube video. It just would not open. I finally called the rental car number and the guy told me to just drive it back and they will charge me the regular price per gallon instead of the penalty price. The guy that was taking my return seemed skeptical, but even he could not get the door to open. Please get better cars for your rental fleet, preferably more reliable and dependable Japanese cars!
My flight home was with JetBlue. Thank goodness it was a direct flight. Normally I would eat at McDonald's before my flight, but it was early enough in the day where I skipped having a meal. Instead I bought a 1 liter bottle of fancy Icelandic water and waited at my gate.
Fancy airport water
Heading home
Once the plane had arrived back at home at LAX, it was time to go get my car and head on home. After getting off of the hotel shuttle, I went to the valet table to get an exit ticket. Unfortunately I was heading home around the time when people were just starting to head home from work. It ended up being one long ass drive home being stuck in rush hour traffic.
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