Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58 Posted June 4, 2016 Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 Hello My Fiendish Friends, I am finally emerging from my long exile. I had to buckle down last summer and fall to complete my doctoral dissertation and then got into my usual crazy season of play direction. Now, thankfully, I am Dr. Thrill, the plays are directed, and summer is here. DramaMama (my much better half), the Shakespearelets, and I are at the Fort for an astounding TWO WEEKS! I've been coming to the Fort since the 70s and have never been able to stay so long. However, we decided that we would take several celebrations and cram them into one trip. So, this is the celebration of our 15th anniversary, my Ph.D. graduation, Shakespearelet #1's 5th grade graduation, DramaMama's teacher certification, and whatever else we could think of to justify two glorious weeks. I'm sure DramaMama will be along soon to write a normal trip report, and I will probably hop on that thread to comment too. However, I wanted to do something different over here. Since I have so much time this trip it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do something I have always wanted to do: Run at every Disney resort! For those of you who don't know my background, I am a marathoner and ultra-marathon with more than 40 races of distances ranging from 26.2 to 63 miles. In the words of Baymax, "I am not fast, but I am strong." Unfortunately, my dissertation push and crazy directing schedule combined with my own natural inertia to largely keep me from running over the last 9 months or so. I have gained plenty of weight and am not amused with how I feel or look. Over the last few weeks I have set about trying to become a runner again. I discovered to my great relief that I can still run and for decent distances. I have become even slower, which is impressive. But, I can still relentlessly move forward. This is a good thing! So, to motivate myself to exercise at Disney, I am going to attempt to run at every resort. I plan to write up my adventures as I go here. The cool thing about running at Disney is how differently you see things you have gone past a thousand times before. I hope to share some interesting observations and pictures from my foot-travels. My hope is that you will all keep me accountable to going on with my challenge! Want to come along? Just think, you can run the resorts without leaving your chair. Coming up next: Running Episode 1: Four Resorts and Only One Near-Death Experience -- Thrill Shakespeare Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted June 4, 2016 Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 Congrats on completing your doctoral dissertation! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fladogfan aka Gretchen 259 Posted June 4, 2016 Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 1 hour ago, Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) said: Want to come along? Just think, you can run the resorts without leaving your chair. LOL that's the ONLY way I'll ever run period. But will enjoy following your treks around WDW. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beckers 1,136 Posted June 4, 2016 Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 Congrats!!! And looking forward to your runs! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cortezcapt (Derek) 156 Posted June 4, 2016 Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 Congratulations, Happy anniversary. I'm in for the run, well to follow along from the couch, in the ac. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted June 4, 2016 Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 Congratulations. Two weeks, nice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momof3kids-Yvonne 596 Posted June 4, 2016 Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 Count me in too for joining in for the run....from the comfort of my air conditioned home of course. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigTom 76 Posted June 4, 2016 Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 Congratulations, do we have to call you Doctor Thrill now? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blm2003 2 Posted June 5, 2016 Report Share Posted June 5, 2016 Congratulations! Will be looking forward to following you around the resorts! I hope you don't expect me to keep up though...you haven't seen slow until you've seen me try and run! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lklasing 16 Posted June 5, 2016 Report Share Posted June 5, 2016 Oh my gosh - you're my hero! Marathons and ultras - that's serious stuff. I've done 2 marathons and lots of halfs, but don't think I'll ever get to the point of ultras. You're even more my hero for wanting to run in every resort! That's one of my favorite things to do at WDW - run around resorts! I've probably run at about 10 of them while either staying there or close by, but making it to every single resort would be amazing. I can't wait to find out if you did it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted June 5, 2016 Report Share Posted June 5, 2016 Wow Happy celebrations!!!! Can't wait to follow your travels er runs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted June 5, 2016 Report Share Posted June 5, 2016 Wow Happy celebrations!!!! Can't wait to follow your travels er runs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ivy 36 Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 Congratulations to all of the Shakespeare family! Enjoy your well earned trip! I will be following along, from the computer chair with a cool beverage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
djsamuel 322 Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 Congratulations! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 What a cool idea! I will be interested in seeing if you can make it to all the resorts to run. That's a tall order. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58 Posted June 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 On 6/4/2016 at 6:14 PM, BigTom said: On 6/4/2016 at 6:14 PM, BigTom said: Congratulations, do we have to call you Doctor Thrill now? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58 Posted June 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Sorry for the strange post above. The quote box came up and locked the editor. Even rebooting brought up the same thing. Bizarre. I suppose I could have emptied out my cookies and cache, but I thought I would just try posting it and move along. Now, here is what I meant to say... Thanks to everyone for the congratulations! No, you don't need to call me Dr. Thrill. It's amazing how hard it has been for some of my students to replace Mister with Doctor. I think we'll stick to Thrill around here. But, if you want to see me in all of my doctoral regalia glory... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fladogfan aka Gretchen 259 Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Love the mustache Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CoachClough 12 Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Congratz on all the great stuff!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigTom 76 Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Looking good, proud for you. Know it was a lot of work and effort to make it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58 Posted June 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Running Episode 1: Four Resorts and Only One Near-Death Experience I absolutely love running at Walt Disney World. The Disney races are a lot of fun, but nothing beats getting up early in the morning on my own and running through a nearly-empty Fort Wilderness. I have been coming to the Fort since the early 1970s, so I feel like I grew up here. This is my other home. In the morning, it seems like it's only mine. So, for my first run, I thought I would start right at my campsite. This picture was taken at another time with better light, but DramaMama and I are proud of our flamingos and like to show them off... Every runner has a different way of preparing for a run. Some stretch or use various devices to prepare their bodies. My way is more simple: I walk. Usually I try to walk anywhere from 1/2 to 1 mile before running. Today (June 3) the plan was to walk from our campsite to Pioneer Hall. I took a walk around the loop, confirming that I was the only biped stirring then continued across the Meadow then up the Orange bus route to the Settlement. I couldn't resist a quick stroll by the dock before stopping to pose for a picture by Pioneer Hall. Pardon the lousy photo quality, but it was still quite dark. I tried various angles to get the Hoop Dee Doo sign in the picture, but none of them looked so great. I wanted the sign because of the special running shirt I was wearing. It says "Fort Wilderness Running" on the front and "So you're running a half marathon? Well, HOOP DEE DOO!" on the back. I wore it for the 2015 Disney Half Marathon. It was good for several laughs along the way. But I digress... Nicely warmed up (quite warm considering the humidity) I headed out along the path to Wilderness Lodge. I like this stretch although it's not particularly scenic. Just the usual lovely Florida woods. It does have the benefit of being set off the road (yet paved) so you can feel like you are really taking a journey to somewhere distant - especially before the sun rises. I saw a strange (yet eerily familiar) shape lurking on the ground in one stretch of the woods. I thought I identified it, but wasn't sure in the dim light. More on this later. I arrived at Wilderness Lodge with the intent of running merrily around the buildings and through the beautiful pool area. Unfortunately, much of the area was blocked off for construction. While I could have just dashed straight through the lobby, I settled for running in front of the building and startling a few early-rising guests. The early shift cast members looked at me like I had lost my mind. Smart people. There was quite the amount of leaf blowing and grass edging going on. All very kindly paused to let me run by them. I headed out the front gate of Wilderness Lodge. I tried taking a selfie while running through the gates. I failed miserably. Attractive, right? I have to possess one of the worst running faces ever. No matter my state of fitness, I look like I am about to die. Oh, well. I managed to cross World Drive without incident despite quite a bit of early traffic. I then re-enacted one of my favorite parts of the Disney Marathon: running through the Ticket and Transportation Center. I love this place. Weird, right? I think it's because I grew up in Florida and went to Disney with my schools all of the time. Our Disney fun started right in the bus parking lot! I ran right past a few startled cast members and ran a loop inside the gates by the monorail ramps. Finding the far gate locked I had to come all the way back past the same people. They kindly humored the madman as he ran through. I found the walkway to the Polynesian Village Resort (Can I just add how insanely happy I am that Village has returned to the name?) and headed towards the beach side of the resort. If you have never seen the sun rise over Seven Seas Lagoon, I highly recommend it... Positioning the ferries for the first wave of guests. Isn't this beautiful? It was all I could do to get to running again when there was so much good scenery behind me! I continued on ahead and came face to face with this: I'm still not sure how I feel about these waterside bungalows. I will admit that they look like a fun place to stay, but the rest of the Polynesian is treated to looking at them instead of MK across the lagoon. Still, they carry on the theming well. Speaking of which, I absolutely love the theming of the Polynesian as a whole. I have never stayed in this resort, but have fond memories of going to the luau as a child and resort-hopping to the pool. I remember being in complete awe of the pool area as a kid. It's a wonder my parents ever got me out of there and back to the camper. I had to take a picture for old times' sake... I pondered a quick swim (it was very humid at this point) but decided that wasn't so great an idea. There would be no chance that I would continue running afterwards! So, I pushed onwards towards the Grand Floridian, with a quick glance back behind me... Wow. This is what gets me out of bed in the morning to run. I tore myself away from the sunrise and continued on to Grand Floridian with a quick stop by the wedding pavilion. It's an impressive facility, but not really my thing. Actually, that's what I could say about all of the Grand Floridian Resort. It's eye-catching, big, and opulent but the theming never seems to grasp me like the Polynesian does. The pool areas are nice, but the whimsical elements of them that appeal to me seem a bit at odds with the grandeur of the building as a whole. It was at this time that I pondered a more detailed tour of the Grand Floridian, preferably with a run right across the lobby, but a quick glance at my GPS told me that I had plenty of miles in already and a long return run ahead of me. So, I turned around and headed for home. However, a short detour was needed for a picture of the Polynesian Village sign. This could be the best resort sign on property. The water feature, landscaping, logo, and torches are simply perfect. Well done. I continued back roughly the way I came, choosing slightly different paths through the various areas when possible. Unfortunately for me, I took the same route across World Drive. By this time is was insanely busy. I watched a full cycle of the lights to judge when would be best to cross. I'm not sure what got me confused (perhaps running delirium), but I started across after a bus in front of me had gone through making a left turn. I didn't think anyone was behind the bus. I was wrong. I came within a few feet of being one flat runner. I appreciate the driver's good awareness and my own reflexes (if not judgment) for avoiding an accident. I made my apologies in passing to the driver who seemed to accept them. More likely, he just assumed that I was insane and should be treated humanely. I ran back to Wilderness Lodge feeling like an idiot but very thankful to still be running. On the way back through the woods I had a chance to check out the strange figure I saw on the way out. Sure enough, it was what I thought it was. Some enterprising artist made an extremely detailed Mickey Mouse head out of pine cones. I was impressed. I ran back through the Fort without incident and arrived back at 1520, my favorite campsite in the world! TOTALS: RESORTS: 4 (Fort Wilderness, Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian Village, and Grand Floridian.) BONUS LOCATIONS: Ticket & Transportation Center, Wedding Pavilion WALKING DISTANCE: 1.1 miles RUNNING DISTANCE: 6.4 miles Coming up next: Running Episode 2: Going Down the Bayou. djsamuel 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58 Posted June 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 45 minutes ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said: Love the mustache Thanks! I grew it out over the summer three years ago as a joke. I brushed it down into my beard so nobody knew I had a long mustache until one day VOILA! I had a full handlebar. To my surprise, everyone loved it. Now the joke is one me -- I seem to be stuck with it! Luckily, I like it too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fladogfan aka Gretchen 259 Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 8 hours ago, Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) said: Thanks! I grew it out over the summer three years ago as a joke. I brushed it down into my beard so nobody knew I had a long mustache until one day VOILA! I had a full handlebar. To my surprise, everyone loved it. Now the joke is one me -- I seem to be stuck with it! Luckily, I like it too! It's cool, does it take a lot of maintenance? And pretty sneaky about 'hiding' it till long enough to work with. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 That was an impressive run! I am just beginning to get back into running, and hope that it won't be long before I can take a 6+ mile run like that! Great job documenting it, too. TCD djsamuel 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58 Posted June 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 8 hours ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said: It's cool, does it take a lot of maintenance? And pretty sneaky about 'hiding' it till long enough to work with. Not really. I have to wax it into shape every morning which generally takes 5 minutes or so. I was shocked that they actually sold mustache wax at CVS. 7 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said: I am just beginning to get back into running, and hope that it won't be long before I can take a 6+ mile run like that! You can do it! I was lucky that I mainly lost speed. My endurance, while certainly not at marathon levels, held up okay considering the layoff and weight gain. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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