Sunday, November 10, 2013 – A second marathon of sorts
Considering how exhausted I was you would think I would
sleep in for a long, long time. That was
not the case. I woke up before 7am again
after a total of 3 hours of sleep. I
couldn’t sleep anymore, needed a soaking bath and food. I was starving. This required getting up and dressed and
leaving the resort. I had a craving for
a Mickey Waffle with Strawberries. I
looked up nearby resort counter serve restaurants that showed waffles and ended
up at the Art of Animation Resort. They
didn’t have strawberry syrup but they did have strawberries. Also the waffles weren’t Mickey shaped they
were character coins instead. It was
decent. It didn’t completely hit the
spot but it was good enough.
After I ate I decided to go to Downtown Disney to get in
some shopping. Of course I ended up
parking at the wrong end of Downtown Disney (this is pretty much always the case for me) so I got in a nice walk to stretch
out my legs. I did some shopping and
grabbed a sandwich at Earl of Sandwich.
I was underwhelmed after hearing such high praise of it. It was okay but not great. Maybe my taste buds were still off from the run the night before, but it
didn’t have a lot of flavor to it. I had
their original sandwich.
After I got my sandwich I took the long walk back to my
car. Somewhere along the way I had a
crazy idea that since I missed getting a finish line photo with my medal, I should go take my picture with my medal at all the parks I
ran through the day before so I went back to the resort to pack my park bag and
change clothes.
First Stop Animal Kingdom
I drove to Animal Kingdom. I’m not sure how, but I got directed to AAA
Diamond parking. I’m not sure if this
was a good thing as I ended up walking from the car to the entrance instead of
taking the tram. I stopped first and got
my picture in front of the Christmas Tree.
I entered the park with my new RIFD enabled Annual Pass Card which was very easy. I had my picture taken in front of the tree of life and headed back to Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest. I grabbed a Fast Pass for Kali figuring that it would be available when I was doing at Everest. I forgot all about the single rider line. I went into single rider and pretty much walked onto Everest. (I love single rider lines when they are available and I’m by myself). Then I went back to Kali and instead of waiting for my FastPass, I jumped into the standby line which was listed as 30 minutes. There was no savings for FastPass as it was a walk on until after the meet up point. I doubt the line took longer than 15 minutes. I didn’t bother with my jacket because the weather was nice and I had my tech skirt and shirt on so I knew they would dry quickly.
After Kali I walked by the new meet and great place for
Mickey and Minnie and there was pretty much no wait so I figured I could hop in
line and get a picture with my medal and Mickey and Minnie in their Christmas
wear. As a side note, wearing your medal
in the park is a lot of fun. Everyone
congratulates you, the Characters pay special attention to you and my favorite
was the bag check guy who told me he heard Goofy was giving out post-race
massages. J
With pictures complete I headed back to the car to go to Epcot.
Stop # 2 Epcot
It might be Sunday but it was still the last weekend of Food
and Wine and Epcot was still a nightmare.
I arrived and parked at Wonder 95 and again took the Tram to the
entrance. After I got in, I had a
picture taken at the entrance and then went over to Test Track. Test Track was still under refurbishment last
Thanksgiving and the line/FP return was way too long when we went after the
cruise last spring. Test Track also has
single rider so into the single rider line I went. I didn’t make my car which I should
have. I somehow didn’t realize that each
rider could put a car in and have it tested.
I like test track. I will admit I
like Radiator Springs a lot more (which is the same ride system) but Test Track
is fun. I walked around towards the
entrance to World Showcase and was again overwhelmed by the crowds. So I had a picture taken with Spaceship Earth
behind me and started to exit the park. As
I was exiting I noticed that the Character Spot had no wait so I went and had
my picture taken with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy.
Stop # 3 Hollywood Studios
Hollywood Studios was my original plan for the day. I wanted to watch Fantasmic! and spend some
time exploring the Osborne Lights section.
It was still early in the afternoon when I arrived at Hollywood Studios
so I had some time to play before Fantasmic! started. I parked in Goofy’s Film 27 and took the tram
to the Entrance. I had my picture taken
with the Sorcerers’ Hat behind me and headed down Sunset Blvd thinking I could
try the Single Rider Line at Rockin’ Roller Coaster. Unfortunately the single rider line was about
40 minutes so I decided to pass. The
4:15pm Beauty and the Beast show was getting ready to start so I decided to
watch it. I’ve seen it before but it is
a fun show and well done. It doesn’t
compare to the Broadway stage version but it is still a great show and I was
able to sit down for a little bit.
After Beauty and the Beast I walked over towards Star
Tours. I hadn’t ridden it since the
refurbishment a few years ago to 3D. I
normally don’t really like motion simulators but I really enjoyed this ride and
it didn’t make me feel sick. I can’t see
3D so I just kept one eye closed and had no problem with it. There was no wait for the ride. I walked straight to the FastPass join spot
without having to stop. I’m sure people
with FP+ then were thrilled to have used that FP+.
After Star Tours I walked over to Pizza Planet to get some
dinner. I had a salad and pizza for
dinner and then walked back to the Theater under the Stars to get ready for
Fantasmic! I had a great seat about ½ -
¾ of the way up right next to the aisle between stand by and Dining
package. I hadn’t seen Fantasmic! in
about 13 or 14 years as I know it was before I met my husband when I met some
friends at what was then MGM for the day when I used to live in Florida. It was fun.
Now that the girls are older I think they would both enjoy it the next
time we make it to WDW.
After Fantasmic! it was time to go over to the Osborne
Lights! I love the lights. They make me happy. I had my picture taken in a couple of places
along the lights, looked for hidden Mickey’s, watched the Dancing lights
several time and just walked up and down enjoying the lights. It was at this point that I realized that I
still had time to make it to the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks if I
wanted. Why not hit all 4 parks and DTD
in one day. Its already been a crazy day
and I doubt I would ever do something like this again as I don’t buy park
hopper tickets and I would try it with the kids.
Final Stop – The Magic Kingdom
So I left Hollywood Studios (after another picture on the
way out) took the tram back to my car and drove over to the Magic Kingdom. I parked on the Heroes side this time (Simba
27) and took the tram to the TTC. The
express Monorail was pulling up when I got there so I ran up the ramp and got
on just before they closed the door.
Life is going great until we get a traffic stop on the monorail
line. Fortunately it didn’t last long
and we still beat the Ferry (just barely but we did beat it). I stopped about midway down Main Street to
watch the projection show (I was surprised it was exactly the same as the one
at the Christmas party I would have thought they would be different) and Wishes. After Wishes I debated sticking around for
the parade but decided to stop in Emporium for one last gift and head back to
the resort as I still had to pack and my flight left at 6:40am the next
morning. I followed the herd out of the
park (I bet most of the people leaving with me were resort guests too who were
eligible for EMH who left before 10pm).
I made the first Ferry and took the tram back to the car and left the
Magic Kingdom behind for this trip.
Total Steps for Sunday – 29,671
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