The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler

So...one of the coolest things about a race at Disney (besides the fact that you are running a race at DISNEY) is the Expo you get to attend. The expo is where you pick up your race packet (bib number, shirt, swag, etc) and it's also the place to get additional merchandise (runDisney swag or just new earbuds, etc). Another neat thing about the Disney World Expo is that its held at the ESPN Sports Complex, which is honestly something I would never get to see as I would probably not voluntarily travel there.



 

 

Anyway, we got our swag and then we went off to enjoy more of Disney World...which brings us to  the day of the race, ya'll! Ok, well, the night of the race anyway...

I worked on my 'costume' as well as Stacie's...because let's face it. You go to Disney, you better dress up like a character in some form or fashion. So...as it was a 'Villian' race, we went as the infamous Disney Villains: Malificent from Sleeping Beauty and Ursula from The Little Mermaid.

 

 

We even signed the Hollywood Tower Hotel's guest book...

 

Now, for the race details. The race takes you to a couple different locations throughout the WDW Complex.

You start just outside of Hollywood Studios (in one of the parking lots to be more precise). So you can see the Tower of Terror (your destination) in the distance, along with the gigantic Sorcerer Mickey hat (which you will also run by at the end of your race).

Each mile is marked by a villain. Sadly, not all of these markers actually have a villain character there, in some cases it was just a picture, but there was usually music associated with each marker. Having heard so many stories of Disney races, I was disappointed at how few characters there were during this race. Granted, it was the inaugural race, but still, Disney knows how to do it up...so maybe I just misinterpreted others' experiences.

Anyway, you are on a long stretch of open highway until you reach the entrance of Disney's Animal Kingdom (miles 2 and 3). Sadly, you don't get to go into that park, but we did get to hear some "Be Prepared" from The Lion King...appropriate. AND the hyenas were there!

At mile 5, I felt like we were running through a haunted trail. We were literally running through the woods and in rough terrain. I didn't think I had signed up for a trail run. It was kind of fun but I was concerned for my foot (yes, I was still battling the fractured foot) and one slip could mean I was out of not only this race, but the full marathon in a few weeks.

We survived and the woods opened up to the ESPN Sports Complex. We ran through the baseball field and around the track...

 

...and encountered my favorite alien...STITCH! We were lucky to catch him. We were his last picture before he went on break. Apparently he was missing his ohana and had to go spend time with them.



 

At mile 7, we were leaving ESPN and we were back out on the open road. I was starting to struggle at that point. My foot was hurting. The air was ridiculously thick, which made it hard to breathe. But then we were in the final stretch as we arrived back at Hollywood Studios!

 

As we ran past Mickey's Hat and saw the Tower of Terror in the distance I was fried. Who knew this would be so tough. Not the distance necessarily, but the humidity and the running at night...for those who know me, you know I'm NOT a night owl. Stacie kept me going.

 

Finally, we finished...and did the obligatory photo outside the Tower of Terror ride...

 

 

...before we each proceeded to get sick. I won't go into the gory details, but it wasn't pretty. Luckily, we each felt better after the fact and did a few more poses...

...including one with the Evil Queen from Snow White (we missed Malificent by a hot second...I was so mad!)

Then it was time to go home. Not bad for our first Disney race. Looking forward to doing another, hopefully soon!

PS...those medals...GLOW IN THE DARK and the elevator can move up and down! Disney swag is the BEST!

Disney World or BUST

Welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth...DISNEY WORLD!

Before I left Hartford, Stacie and I had decided to embark on a 'magical' journey to Walt Disney World in order to run in The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler...which we will get to in the next post.

First...the theme parks!!

When we arrived in Disney, our first stop was to Downtown Disney. Our flights landed in the early afternoon and we were waiting for Stacie's mom as well, so by the time we were all assembled and checked in and everything, it was late afternoon/early evening.

The last time I was at Disney, I was about 12 or 13 years old and I came with my mom on one of her business trips. We didn't stay in one of the resort hotels (since moms business trip was in Orlando, but not Disney) but we had when I was younger. But since I had been barely a teenager the last time I was there, I had never been to Downtown Disney.

It was fun. The drinks were tasty (hehe) as I had two delicious margaritas (habanero and jalapeno) throughout the evening. We wandered around, got a late lunch, got stuck in a thunderstorm which kept us in a store for a bit, and then got a late dinner.

The next day was time for the Magic Kingdom. Can I just say, I love the Magic Kingdom? I do. There's just something about walking down Main Street USA and seeing Cinderella's Castle right in front of you. It takes you back to your childhood and I could remember visits I had made when I was little.

 

Stacie and I enjoyed a number of photo opportunities. 

 

We hit all of the important rides: Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's A Small World, The Haunted Mansion, Stitch's Great Escape and so on.

 

By the way, did you know I can read alien?

 

 

Anyway, we enjoyed ourselves, even though it was HOT. I did wish that we had one more day at that park. I would have liked to have gone on a few more rides and had a few more experiences, but it's fine.

 

The next day was for Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM Studios). I had never been here before so I was intrigued by the opportunity. We got a later start than initially anticipated, but we were still able to do everything we wanted: Star Tours, Rockin' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror and the show I'd been hoping to see: Fantasmic. Too bad none of my pictures turned out well.

 



 

 

The day after the race, we made it to Epcot. It was the start of the Food and Wine Festival, so we ate and drank to our hearts content. Since it was our first Disney race, we didn't realize that it's cool to wear your medal the day after, so sadly, we didn't do it.

 

But we got to meet some of our favorite characters...



 

Belle from Beauty and the Beast (my favorite)

And Aladdin and Jasmin from, you guessed it, The Return of Jafar! Lol...ok, Aladdin is the correct answer, though they were in RoJ too!

We were hit by another torrential thunderstorm again and got soaked. We then headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready to say goodbye the next morning.

After eating at the airport, I said goodbye to Stacie, who headed back to Hartford and I headed back to Dallas. I will see her in a few weeks when I head back to Hartford to run in my very first marathon, and she, her first half marathon!

Till then...

Don't forget to check out my next post about The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler!