Just got home from WDW last Thurs (the 18th), after spending two glorious weeks at WDW.
I finally have some time to write a little about our wonderful time.
Short version: Magical.
Long version:
We arrived on Jan 4 & got checked in at the Boardwalk Villas. As our first time using our
Disney Vacation Club points, all I can say is that we are going to be
enjoying the next 42 years a lot!
Had our ever Disney-Dead encounter at Dixie Landings on Friday night. It was really great
getting to meet so many nice people.
The marathon itself was great. Ali & I ran as "Mickey & Minnie".
Running in costume really keeps you motivated because you know the people are actually
cheering for *you*. You have no choice but to put on a good show.
Ali & I ran together for the first half. With the cold & crowd (this was the largest race
either of us had ever been in) I decided to run it rather easy & save my legs for the following
"vacation" during the next ten days. Running through Cinderella Castle
hand-in-hand was truly
a magical experience. Words alone can't describe it.
I decided to run a little harder the 2nd half so we parted ways at the
half.
At one point she told me one of the fans yelled out:
"Hey Minnie, Mickey's way ahead of you!"
To which she replied:
"That's OK. I have the room key".
At Animal Kingdom, (the real) Mickey Mouse approached the course & blew her kisses.
Dude, that's my wife!
Running through all four parks was a fantastic experience. I didn't find any of the course to be dull.
Of course, training in Phoenix, I find running anywhere where it's green to be a lot more
interesting.
Did see one "cheater" cut across the median during the "out & back" par
t of the course by
the Sports Complex. He was not warmly received by the folks on the othe
r side
who ran an honest race.
Since he would not have gone over the chip sensor mat at the turnaround
point he
will have no official results but I'm betting he still got a finishers
medal.
That pisses me off. You dont cheat the Mouse.
As many of you others have said, the guy holding up the finishers medal
toward the end
provided a great deal of motivation those last few miles. The toughest
part was running past the
Boardwalk resort and the comfort of our room only a few feet away.
But of course it was a moot point.
Minnie had the room key.
Seeing Spaceship Earth & the finish line a short time later was definately THE high point of the
vacation. I will never forget it.
Crossed the line at 4:07 gun/4:01 chip. (Interesting half splits: 2:15/1:46)
Slower than anticipated. Originally planned on something
3:40-ish, but this was a race I decided at the start not to race. Just
wanted to have a good time
and we did!
Ali/Minnie finished a short time later at 4:14. Got a great photo of us
with our medals & costumes
in the finish area (just got the proofs yesterday). When we get the final prints back I'll scan them
& have them posted on the web site.
(Thank you Holly for putting all this together!)
We had another great encounter and meal that night at the Wilderness Lodge.
Spent the next 11 days just enjoying ourselves at "The World". We had originally planned
on going home on the 16th, but the weather finally turned warm. Decided
to extend our stay
until the 18th to take advantage of it.
Until next time...
John Peters
