The TCD Gang Runs Disney-2013 Princess Half Marathon Weekend TR

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Yes, the wanted thief? I'm so proud.

[BuckeyeFortMama 43]

You know "run" in the title is the cliff hanger in this trip report as no other TCD trip report discusses your intense love of running.

We haven't heard of the TCD gang "running" over to the WL or taking a family run before heading over to the MK.

Are we ever getting to the running part of this trip report???

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Sorry for the delay.

Mrs. TCD and I ran Twin #1 up to Gainesvile on Friday to check out a program that she had been invited to join at the University of Florida.

We ended up staying much longer than we intended to.

Then a bunch of other things happened, and I just had no time to work on this report.

The good news is that we have a new Florida Gator.

And, things have settled to the point that I can crank out this report.

So here it comes:

Congrats! I started last year with the Wine & Dine Half and did the Tink Half in Disneyland last month. Will you guys do the Everest 5K? That looks lots of fun!

I didn't even know there was an Everest 5K. So, I guess we are not doing it.

At least not this year.

Phooey! Missed out on pg. 1……….

Oh well, still got TOP2BR……..so there.

Ain't nothing wrong with TOP2BR.

TCD running, there better be some photos.

There will be photos.

I also have this on my bucket list. However, since walking across the living room is an accomplishment today, i will wait a few days to start training.

Alright, it's been a few days.

Have you started running yet?

Am I wrong for surfing the website to order my own poop paper?

IN!

Did you buy some?

naahh…….it is kind of a cool novelty. Dumbo paper!

Curious to know if you were to run it through the printer/copier then it would begin to smell - from the heat?

Get back to us on that one!

You know I took a good sniff of that paper. It smelled like paper.

I am suspicious of this product.

Can't wait to read how the race went! Your a great Dad! The twins will always remember running the Disney race with their Dad!

Yes, I think we will all remember this race.

And, I hope that we remember it as the first of many to come.

How could you forget my castle. I thought they would never get it done.

Hey Page 2 this time I am getting closer to Page 1...

Sorry. I guess I didn't realize that the Ariel ride was supposed to depict a castle.

Thanks for getting me in trouble.

DW had wanted to do the half marathon.

It didn't happen.

Somehow that's my fault.

Now she finds out that TCD ran at Disney?

I'm done.

Sorry, bro.

I guess you need to get yourself some running shoes?

You know "run" in the title is the cliff hanger in this trip report as no other TCD trip report discusses your intense love of running.

We haven't heard of the TCD gang "running" over to the WL or taking a family run before heading over to the MK.

Are we ever getting to the running part of this trip report? ??

Sorry for the delay.

See above for the reasons.

We will be getting to the running soon.

And I think you will find the wait to have been worth it.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK, let's get this report back on track!

We are still on Friday, February 22, 2013.

I forgot to mention something important.

It was incredibly warm that day.

We had just been at WDW on Monday, February 18th. We had driven over that morning to hit the MK for rope drop and for the twins to watch the taping of the Kelly and Michael show.

It was 34 degrees as we passed through Lakeland that morning.

This afternoon, just four days later, it was 87 as we drove through Lakeland.

87.

And it was sunny.

That is 53 degrees warmer than it had been on Monday morning.

And, this was the day that a big snowstorm was hitting the midwest, and was predicted to move on to the northeast.

But it was 87 where we were. You gotta love Florida weather!

The weather map in Saturday's paper told us that the warmest temperature reported in the US on Friday, February 22 was reported in Plant City, Florida, which officially reported 87 degrees. That is a bit East of Tampa, and we had driven through there on our way to the Fort.

So, it was nice and warm as we left Hollywood Studios. Hot even.

We had discussed the issue of dinner on the way out, and we all agreed to head to the Art of Animation resort for the build your own pasta.

Here it is:

The bowl on the top left is Twin #2's. She chose bow tie pasta, and pesto sauce with andouille sausage and a few vegetables. The bowl on the top right is mine. I forget what they called that pasta shape, but I went with that and alfredo sauce with chicken. Twin #1's bowl is on the bottom. She chose linquine with alfredo sauce and shrimp.

The AoA is up there in our top five quick serve locations in all of WDW.

After dinner, we just had to walk across the bridge back to Pop.

I mentioned the weather so that you would understand why so many folks were enjoying the AoA pool on a Friday evening in February. While some of you were being buried in a snow storm, we were here:

The AoA has an awesome pool bar. I don't know why they don't build something like this at he Fort. I know they would rake in the dough:

They went to the trouble of building a fence all the way around the main AoA pool. But the gate has always been open every time we have visited. And it was tonight:

Somehow, we need to spread the word about this to the folks who freeload in the Fort's pool.

In case there are any freeloaders looking at this report, let me make a quick PSA:

Por favor, visite la piscina en el complejo arte de la animación. La puerta está siempre abierta.

We took the sidewalk around the pool, and took a peek at the Cars section of the resort. It looks great lit up at night:

If you have a kid who is a fan of the movies, this is a must do.

Continuing on the sidewalk to the bridge:

It was a quick and easy walk from AoA to Pop. Which is nice for guests staying at Pop. Pop is cheaper, but you can still walk across the bridge and enjoy the AoA food court. Pop guests are not supposed to use the AoA pools, but I saw lots of them walking back and forth over the bridge in swim suits carrying towels.

Over at the Pop, near our room, they had a movie screen set up. They were going to show Brave tonight. They have a pretty nice set-up, right by the pool:

This photo was taken a little later, right after the movie started. It is supposed to show that all the chairs were full, and guests were even lying on the grass.

If you are a freeloader, or ever want to be one, this is a pretty sweet set up. You can watch a movie, and hop in the pool afterwards. Nice.

No singing cowboys or chipmunks though.

The Pop Century hotel is nice. It's about ten years old now, but they keep it up nice.

There are all kinds of interesting props and decorations to look at throughout the resort.

Such as:

We will be taking a closer look around the hotel during the day tomorrow.

For now, though, we got settled in our room, and then headed out and hopped a bus to the MK.

We arrived just in time to see the fireworks from the end of Main Street, in front of the train station:

Unfortunately, we were too far away from TinkerBill for me to get a good photo of him. Next time.

We still had time to stop by the Fire House for SOTMK cards.

The twins pointed out these three guys, who were gathered near the Fire House entrance having a deep discussion:

That bald guy is holding a notebook full of his SOTMK cards, and these grown men were standing there discussing various spells.

I kid you not.

There has been a lot of discussion in the TCD house about what will happen to me once the TCD twins head off for college later this year. The twins said my problem was solved. I just need a fancy book to keep my SOTMK cards, and I can come over here and make friends with these guys.

See? I've been worrying for no reason.

For now, I left my soon to be new buddies, and we headed back to New Fantasyland.

I took a few photos of some details I had never noticed before, like this flower box on the outside of the gift shop:

We rode the Ariel ride. And enjoyed it. It's a great addition to the MK. I only know of one grumpy old many who hates it. Everyone else loves it.

We wanted to walk over to Storybook Circus from here, but they had the walkway closed.

So far, we haven't been able to figure out a pattern for when that walkway is open and when it's closed.

Tonight it was closed.

We never made it to Storybook Circus.

Instead, we stopped for some ice cream, and then decided to head back to our hotel.

We had to be up early in the morning for the run, so we decided to not stay out too late tonight.

So that's all I have for Friday night.

We will pick it up again early on Saturday morning as we arrive at Epcot for the 5K.

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Maybe we should post flyers about the Big Blue pool and post them around the Fort pool.

Glad you found some new friends. :)

So Twin 1 decided on UF, how soon will Twin 2 decide? And what program is Twin 1 going to be in?

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Good for Twin #1!! That's awesome news. Good call. This calls for a cheer....Two Bits, Four Bits, Six Bits, a Dollar. All for Twin #1, Stand Up and HOLLAR!

Regarding the pastas...did you mean to say your was top right? It's hard to tell, but it looks like Campanelle.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

How exciting Twin #1 picked her college.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Congrats to Twin#1!

Nice to see the gate remains open. I will be keeping tabs on that in everyone's trip reports between now and the next time I can get to AoA.

Looking forward to the 5K pics.

Didn't Yuri show up the last time you guys stayed at the Pop?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Maybe we should post flyers about the Big Blue pool and post them around the Fort pool.

Glad you found some new friends. :)

So Twin 1 decided on UF, how soon will Twin 2 decide? And what program is Twin 1 going to be in?

I am thinking about running a shuttle service from the Fort to AoA on weekends between April and September. The Four Seasons should open before the next freeloader season arrives, and then they can just cut through the dog walk to get there.

I am glad you asked about twin #1, as it will give me a chance to brag.

She was admitted into the UF Innovation Academy. There's a short article about it here: http://www.alligator.org/news/campus/article_874dbd3c-740b-11e2-a18b-001a4bcf887a.html

Note that the average SAT score for students admitted to that program is 1967 and the average ACT score is 30. Twin #1 is bright, but her scores were not that high.

It turns out they chose her based the wide variety of her extracuricular activities, and her interest in photography. They are looking for bright, creative kids. She is that.

We went and met with the director of the program and some of the current students on Friday. They convinced us that being admitted to this program has given Twin #1 an amazing opportinunity.

She will be able to pre-enroll over the summer, take on-line classes, and work and internship in the fall before the actual program begins next January.

I think the smile in this photo says it all:

Twin #2 has to make a decision between UCF and FSU. We are visiting FSU again with her later this month, and she will make her decision after that.

And, just one more brag- my 21 year old DD, who graduates (on time I may add) from FSU in May, has already been admitted to a Master's program at Auburn, but is wating to hear from the other schools to which she applied.

Good for Twin #1!! That's awesome news. Good call. This calls for a cheer....Two Bits, Four Bits, Six Bits, a Dollar. All for Twin #1, Stand Up and HOLLAR!

Regarding the pastas...did you mean to say your was top right? It's hard to tell, but it looks like Campanelle.

Thanks, Dave.

I guess I am going to get to hear that cheer plenty for the next four years.

You are right- I had a typo there. I fixed it. I think you are right about the pasta. That name rings a bell.

How exciting Twin #1 picked her college.

Yes, the puzzle is coming together.

I'm not sure how we will handle our girls being at three different schools.

But, it's all good.

Congrats to Twin#1!

Nice to see the gate remains open. I will be keeping tabs on that in everyone's trip reports between now and the next time I can get to AoA.

Looking forward to the 5K pics.

Didn't Yuri show up the last time you guys stayed at the Pop?

Thanks.

The 5K photos are next.

You have a good memory. Yes, Yuri showed up when we were at the Pop and took a walk around the big lake.

Fortunately, I haven't heard from him in a while. Maybe he went back to his land.

TCD

[ajcjmom 8]

Congrats to the new Gator!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Great picture. She looks thrilled and excited...as it should be.

Funny, but there were no "National Championship" signs on campus when I was a student there. They did have a very cool "Under Probation" banner though.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Yeah for Twin #1!! Waiting to hear what Twin #2 decides on...

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

TCD,

Congrats to twin #1 on getting into the college program!!! Thats quite an acomplishment!!! Good luck as you continue the process with twin #2, and congrats to older Daughter for her acceptance into Auburn!!! Must be a lot of excitement in the TCD household!!!

I was wondering, that pic you have from the Pop of Goofy and the red car........is that still a water play area? It looked pretty dry in your photo. We stayed at the Pop soon after it opened and my boys played there. The last time we stayed there was three years ago and the water was still running then. Just curious if they have shut off the water. It would be ashame if they did.

Heidi

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

TCD,

Congrats to twin #1 on getting into the college program!!! Thats quite an acomplishment!!! Good luck as you continue the process with twin #2, and congrats to older Daughter for her acceptance into Auburn!!! Must be a lot of excitement in the TCD household!!!

I was wondering, that pic you have from the Pop of Goofy and the red car........is that still a water play area? It looked pretty dry in your photo. We stayed at the Pop soon after it opened and my boys played there. The last time we stayed there was three years ago and the water was still running then. Just curious if they have shut off the water. It would be ashame if they did.

Heidi

It may have been shut off due to time of year it was running when i was last there but that was just over a year ago.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Congrats to the new Gator!

Thanks. It's special because she has always wanted to go to school at Florida. Mrs. TCD's family are multi-generation Noles, and Twin #1 is the first of all the granchildren to go to Florida. My mother-in-law, who is an FSU grad, has a sticker on her car from each grandchild's school. Twin #1 broke the news to her over the weekend. To my mother-in-law's credit, she asked Twin #1 to remember to get her a decal for her car.

Great picture. She looks thrilled and excited...as it should be.

Funny, but there were no "National Championship" signs on campus when I was a student there. They did have a very cool "Under Probation" banner though.

Yeah, there were no SEC or National Championship signs when I went there either. That sign in the background is new. I love how there are commas after the last year in each category.

Yeah for Twin #1!! Waiting to hear what Twin #2 decides on...

Twin #2 has two good choices. She is really taking her time to pick the right program.

TCD,

Congrats to twin #1 on getting into the college program!!! Thats quite an acomplishment!!! Good luck as you continue the process with twin #2, and congrats to older Daughter for her acceptance into Auburn!!! Must be a lot of excitement in the TCD household!!!

I was wondering, that pic you have from the Pop of Goofy and the red car........is that still a water play area? It looked pretty dry in your photo. We stayed at the Pop soon after it opened and my boys played there. The last time we stayed there was three years ago and the water was still running then. Just curious if they have shut off the water. It would be ashame if they did.

Heidi

Thanks.

All is good in the TCD house.

At least until reality hits.

You know, I thought something was different about Goofy. No, there was no water. It was dry all weekend. Kids were climbing all over that car too.

It may have been shut off due to time of year it was running when i was last there but that was just over a year ago.

I think we have established that we were there at the same time.

I think you are right- the water was running. But, it may be that they shut it off in the winter months?

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Brag away!!!!! Sounds like a great program and a wonderful oppertunity. I'm a big fan of special programs like that at large universities. I think it gives the kids a way to make strong connections/community and not get lost in the high numbers. You MIL is a good lady. I'm not sure I could do that. Looking forward to hear what Twin 2 decides. It's good she's taking her time and making the right choice for her.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

It's good she's taking her time and making the right choice for her.

Yes, even if that choice involves throwing a flaming spear into the ground.

[nutters4wdw......Amy 5]

Grats to Twin #1!!! Such an exciting time for you all, and such a great feeling to have the decision made. I'm a Texas girl, (the Aggie kind, not the Longhorn kind) but I still look forward to hearing where Twin #2 goes. Good times.....

[michele j 9]

Congrats to your family!

Looking forward to the race photos.

Your new Disney buddies look like nice fellows... ;D

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Two remarks -

My zoo sells the recycled poop paper as well. I might be wrong, but I thought they had different animals - elephant, giraffe, maybe lion?

And I am still just making it across the living room, holding my innards in where it feels like they are threatening to burst out. Hoping to fel better next week.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Brag away!!!!! Sounds like a great program and a wonderful oppertunity. I'm a big fan of special programs like that at large universities. I think it gives the kids a way to make strong connections/community and not get lost in the high numbers. You MIL is a good lady. I'm not sure I could do that. Looking forward to hear what Twin 2 decides. It's good she's taking her time and making the right choice for her.

Yes, this program is one of the "school within a school" things that are big lately. It's a new program, so we know that there will be issues along the way. But, it is right up Twin #1's alley. She will be running that program in four years.

My MIL is a good lady. The funny thing is that three of her kids married Gators, and the other one a Buckeye. Poor lady.

Yes, even if that choice involves throwing a flaming spear into the ground.

Yes, even that.

Grats to Twin #1!!! Such an exciting time for you all, and such a great feeling to have the decision made. I'm a Texas girl, (the Aggie kind, not the Longhorn kind) but I still look forward to hearing where Twin #2 goes. Good times.....

I am not sure how many times twins have headed off to rival schools. I'm sure it has happened, but I'll bet not too often.

Congrats to your family!

Looking forward to the race photos.

Your new Disney buddies look like nice fellows... ;D

Thanks, the race photos will be coming up right away.

Yup, I can see myself fitting right in with those guys. I'll bet they're there a lot.

Two remarks -

My zoo sells the recycled poop paper as well. I might be wrong, but I thought they had different animals - elephant, giraffe, maybe lion?

And I am still just making it across the living room, holding my innards in where it feels like they are threatening to burst out. Hoping to fel better next week.

You have a zoo?

Wow, who knew?

Recycled poop paper is ridiculous. What do you want to be it's all the same? And not even made from poop?

Sorry about your innards. Please keep them in.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

To make up for the slow start, let's go for another update today.

We called it an early night on Friday, because we knew we would be up early on Saturday.

The race began at 6:30, but we were supposed to be at Epcot by and ready to go by no later than 5:45.

I had no idea how the transportation would work, so we agreed that we would be at the bus stop at Pop Century by 5 am.

The girls showered the night before, and I got up at 4:30, and took a quick shower.

We made it to the bus stop as planned by 5:00.

A bus was waiting there for us.

With a lot of guests already on it.

We found a seat, and we were on our way.

We were at parked at Epcot and off the bus by 5:20.

I didn't know what to expect.

I apologize that some of the photos in this post are blurry.

It was still dark out, and most of them were taken of moving people, or I was moving when I took them. Low light + movement= blurry photos. The sun will be up and the photos will get better as the morning progresses.

So, here we are at 5:20. Three ladies on the bus with us were dressed in princess costumes complete with wigs. I thought I needed a photo, as this would be something unusual. Little did I know:

The TCD twins had done some research, and knew that a lot of people run in costumes.

But, they chose not to.

They just wore their "free" t-shirts and tiaras:

We followed the crowd toward the corrals. We knew from our race bibs that we were in corral C:

There was a stage set up, with a DJ. and the sky was still black:

The DJ was a classic Disney DJ.

You name a popular dance tune and I promise you he played it.

At some point that morning, they announced that there were 8000 people here.

I can't believe 8000 people paid $50 for the privilege of waking up early and running in a mob.

But they did.

I tried to take some photos to depict what 8000 people dancing in a dark parking lot look like, but this is the best I could do:

We tried to move around so we could be more in front of the stage, but it was solid people:

The twins busting a move:

There was a long line of people waiting for something. When we got near the front of the line, we saw that it was a Mickey and Minnie photo op:

Then the DJ told us that we were all going to participate in creating a video.

He told the crowd about this new dance called the Harlem Shake.

He picked a lady from the crowd to start it out:

And then he coached the rest of the crowd.

This is how it looked from where we were:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jABzfPHFBU&feature=youtu.be

I'm not sure where that video will be posted. Or even if it will be posted. I would like to see it if anyone finds it. Next year I need to bring a granny wig.

After this, we were all directed to our corrals.

Guess who was in our corral?

This guy:

Dude.

I know some guys like to walk around all year looking like Santa.

But, what is up with that?

Why?

I would be OK with this, if he had just kept his distance and behaved.

But, we will revisit this topic very soon.

Also in our corral was a guy in a Genie costume. See the blue thing in the center of this photo? That would be him:

All the while we were waiting in the corral, the DJ was announcing what would happen. They were going to move the folks out of corral A first, then B, and you get the picture.

We were all excited to get started:

They got the folks in A Corral in place right before 6:30, and then, right on time, they started them. They even shot off some fireworks, which I just missed getting a photo of. But I did get some fireworks smoke:

You see the stage way in the back of that last photo? That's the starting line. We won't even get there for another 15 minutes.

As soon as those fireworks went off, the Epcot monorail came cruising around the rail. That was cool to see:

There was a 7 foot tall woman in our corral. Since I was trying to get photos of all the unsual sights, I snapped her photo. You can see that the sun is starting to rise over the lady giant:

For some unfortunate reason, I looked back to see Santa taking care of an itch:

You know how I apologized at the beginning of this update for the blurry photos? In this case, I am thankful for the blurr.

I think it was here that I realized that I could fill my memory card with photos of interesting people that I could later say funny things about.

But I decided after this Santa photo that I wouldn't.

I was amazed by what I saw. I thought I would see a bunch of fit people ready for a run. That isn't what I saw at all. What I saw was more variety than I ever thought I would see at a running event. But all of these people were here to have fun and give it their best shot. I am amazed by a lot of what I saw, and I will share a few photos of that. But, I am not going to make fun of anyone except for the itchy Santa. I say good for everyone who was here!

So, at least until the run is over, I declare a moratorium on making snarky comments about how the runners look. Instead, I say good for everyone who came out to run!

Don't worry, that doesn't mean I'm not going to post some interesting photos. I'm just not going to make any mean comments about the runners.

About 15 minutes after the first corral left, and then the second, we were finally moved in to place:

The Genie was ready:

Almost time:

We got fireworks too:

It took a while for us to even be able to start moving. When we could, we started to run.

We caught up the Genie, and found out that he had Aladdin and Jasmine with him:

We also were behind a dude in a skirt. I was afraid of a wind gust, and Santa had already given us an eye-full, so we passed him:

The beginning of the race was through a far corner of the Epcot parking lot. Then they directed us onto one of the backstage roads. There was all kinds of stuff to see along the way.

Like these discarded cars from the DHS Backstage Tour:

Then we ran past an old Jungle Cruise boat:

I think these blurry photos are of the old Lights of Winter arches that used to be on display in Epcot at Christmas time:

Usually, when guests are let into an area like this, there are armies of CM's yelling not to take photos. Not here.

Our plan for the race was to run the first mile, as we knew that we would want to stop for photos once we got in to Epcot.

So ,we ended up passing a lot of folks.

Like this lady in a dress and wig:

After running down that road for a bit, we were directed to turn, and we could see that we were heading toward the park. In this photo, you can see the Test Track building up ahead:

I hope you're liking the race.

Because we haven't even made it to the first mile marker yet, so there is plenty more to come.

Not the least of which is a surprise Fiend encounter!

TCD

[Lou... 3,118]

Congrats to twin #1 and having one child that graduated from FSU and another from USF, it didn't really matter. Made for a nice in state rivalry sometimes.

I don't think that the Jumbo Three Amigos are going to come close to filling your WDW void.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

You have a zoo?

Wow, who knew?

Recycled poop paper is ridiculous. What do you want to be it's all the same? And not even made from poop?

Sorry about your innards. Please keep them in.

TCD

Ok, you caught me. I don't have a zoo. There is a zoo in Greenville, SC which is about a 20 minute drive away and which my tax dollars ehlp fund. But it is not my zoo. OTOH, my 16yob does hope to have a big cat rescue of some sort when he "grows up" (already 6'4"!! How much more growing up can he do??).

Even just looking at running made my innards ache. Oy, it is tough to get old! :wheelchair:

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I agree that the three amigos are not going to be as much fun.

Santa needs ointment? Who would have known.

Love the backstage stuff.

If Dave would have been with you, you would have been yelled at for taking photos.