Glass Slipper Challenge Redemption!- Trip Report- COMPLETE

Forgot to mention that my Dad accompanied me on this trip. When I registered back in July, Erik was planning on ice racing this winter so my Dad agreed to join me and even do the 5K. Erik didn't end up ice racing so he had to stay behind by himself He managed to survive on Kraft Dinner and Mister Noodles

Day 1

Woke up at 2:45am to catch the shuttle to the airport. When we got there, we had to wait in a huge line because customs wasn't open yet. We got through security and everything with no problem. However, my Dad wasn't assigned a seat on his ticket. It just said "Gate". The Air Canada rep told us that his name would be called at the Gate and he'd be assigned a seat then. I was worried he wasn't going to get on because they had probably overbooked. He did get on though but we were sat no where near each other. I was at the very back in row 50 and he was way up in row 19. My seat was about two feet from the toilet, so I spent the entire flight praying no one stunk it up ( I lucked out!). We boarded ontime and the captain came on and said we'd be departing on time in about 7 minutes. An hour later, we finally took off We still landed on time so I was happy. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a coffee for my Dad ( we were bummed about Krispy Kreme being gone) and then headed to the Magical Express! Soon we were off to Bay Lake Tower

Our room wasn't ready yet which we expected at 10:30 in the morning. So we headed for the Expo to get our race packets. The Expo was madness as usual on the first day. We didn't look around much as it was so busy and I didn't want to be broke after the first day of the trip We had lunch at the ESPN Grill at the Wide World of Sports. It's similiar to Be Our Guest in the sense that they take your order and you go sit and they bring you your food to the table. It took forever! We waited at least half an hour and all we had ordered was a BLT and a ceasar salad. They didn't even have to cook anything! I had also ordered a fountain drink and they have those fancy touch screen machines where you pick your drink and can add flavours. There were 3 machines and by the time it was my turn to get my drink, the machine went down. I thought maybe it was just me struggling to use the machine but nope, all 3 machines were broken. The guy working didn't seem to know what to do. He went and told someone then just said it'd be a while before they were up and running. People were annoyed because what were they supposed to drink? I just grabbed an iced tea but I noticed by the time we left, the machines were still out of order!
We headed back to Bay Lake and our room was ready. We dropped off our stuff and had a short rest before heading to Disney Springs. I did some pin shopping and got some cute Orange Bird salt and pepper shakers. We had ice cream from Ghirardelli's for supper ( we both got the Presidio Passion which is strawberry and hot fudge). They were good, but lacking on the hot fudge. We headed back to the room because we had another early morning ahead with the 5K.

Day 2

Woke up around 3:30am and got ready for the 5K. This was my Dad's first ever race and he did very well! We started in Corral E so we had fairly long wait before we finally started. We didn't stop for any pictures. My Dad was trying to beat my Mom's time from last January when she did the 5K with Erik and I. He did end up beating it She thinks he cheated. He almost had a collision though when the runner in front of him stopped dead for a picture. People need to be more aware of their surroundings, especially in large crowds like that. All in all the race was great

After the race we headed back to the room to change and then headed for breakfast at Trail's End. It was our first time there for breakfast and it was amazing! We love dinner there so I was happy that breakfast was just as good. I really like the french toast bread pudding. There was also Mickey waffles ( plain and chocolate chip), fruit, eggs, bacon, sausage, muffins, cereal, yogurt, sticky buns, breakfast potatoes. So good. We waddled out and hopped on the boat back to the room for a nap.

After our nap we headed to Epcot. We had FP+ for Nemo, Test Track and Spaceship Earth. We had dinner at Via Napoli which was delish. We also watched two sets of the British Revolution. My dad loved them as thats his kind of music. We watched Illuminations to round out the night. By the time we got back to the room and settled, it was 11PM before I got to bed. And I had to be up at 3AM

Thanks!

Day 3

Up at 3AM I ate a quick breakfast, put my Rapunzel costume on and headed for the bus. Waiting around for the race to start isn't as fun when you're by yourself, but I managed to survive. This time I was corral D. The race started at 5:30 but my Corral started at 6. The race was really good! Erik and I ran the 10K in January and it was much more crowded then. I was happy it was more spaced out this time. The 10K course starts in the Epcot parking lot and takes you out and through a backstage area. You enter World Showcase near Mexico and run around it until you pass France. Then you turn down towards the International Gateway and head to the Boardwalk, running all the way around past the Boardwalk resort and Yacht and Beach club before returning to Epcot. Again I didn't stop for any pictures. I finished the race, grabbed some drinks and a snack box and got on the bus back to Bay Lake.

After I showered, we headed over to Animal Kingdom. It was SO busy! The park had extra magic hours that morning at 8AM and we arrived closer to 10 and there was a massive crowd going in. I've never seen it like that. Once we got into the park, we headed for Expedition Everest and then Dinosaur. We wandered over to the Safari but it was 80 min so we decided to skip it. We took a bus over to the Boardwalk for lunch and then checked out the model DVC room. We then walked over to Hollywood Studios for our fastpasses.

First up was Star Tours. My Dad hadn't been on it since they updated it. We did Muppet Vision next and then headed over to Toy Story Mania. This was the first time my Dad has done Toy Story and he lost pretty bad We also did the Great Movie ride and then used our final FP on Tower of Terror. We debated staying for the Star Wars fireworks, but it was only 6 at that point and they didn't start until 8. We were both tired so we grabbed a carrot cake cookie and a milk chocolate smores square and headed back to the resort. We grabbed dinner at Contempo Cafe (pot roast) and called it a night.

Day 4

This is it. The final stage of the Glass Slipper Challenge. The awesome yet dreaded half marathon! Once again I was up at 3AM, had a quick breakfast and was gone. This time the monorail was running for the runners so I hopped on. When I arrived at Epcot, I pretty much just headed right to my Corral ( I this time). For the half, they let the corrals go much closer together. Both the 10K and half started at 5:30 and both times my corral started at 6 even though I was corral D for the 10K and corral I for the half. I like the less waiting around. The race started great until I was almost at mile 2. My running skirt rides up a bit so I'd pull it back down and one of the times I did, when I looked down I didn't see my race bib! I had pinned it to my skirt and it was not there. I ran to the side of the road and frantically started looking around, but I knew it was hopeless. Thousands of runners vs a paper bib? Yeah, not a chance. I rejoined the runners until i found a marshall and told them (you can't run without a bib which is why i was panicking). They couldn't really help me and said I had to find a RunDisney rep. I was almost in tears, terrified that I'd have to leave the race. But then, as I was talking to the marshalls, I found my bib!!!! It was still attached to my skirt, but my skirt had flipped around while running so it was on the back which is why I didn't see it I was WAY too relieved to feel stupid (the marshalls got a kick out of it) and was back in the race!

The course for the half starts at Epcot and takes you to Magic Kingdom. As I was going down World Drive toward Magic Kingdom, the "Elite" runners were already on their way back to Epcot on the other side It seems to take forever to get inside Magic Kingdom. We run through the parking lot, then head towards the Contemporary before finally entering Main Street USA by the Confectionary. Running down Main Street USA is the best experience ever. I've done it 3 times now and it never gets old. It's such a magical moment with the castle in front of you and the thousands of spectators cheering you on. I love it. After Main Street, we headed towards Tomorrowland and towards Fantasyland to the back of Cinderella castle and then through the castle. Then it's off towards Frontierland where we exit to backstage beside Splash Mountain (where the parade floats come from). Backstage leads you out to the roads by the golf course and Grand Floridian, then it's back to Epcot. The course is kinda boring once you leave MK. There are some characters around but I prefer to be IN the parks. There are a couple of overpasses in the last 3 miles ( seriously, who put those at the end of the race ). Going up one of them, there is always a Green Army man from Toy Story who will make you do push ups if you're slacking. I make sure to run past him . I finished in 2 hours, 49 minutes which is my fastest time yet It was also the best I've ever felt during a run. I'm prone to side cramps/stitches but I had none all weekend! My Dad tried to see my at the finish line, but we think he just missed me. They announce the names of some of the runners crossing and just as he was leaving he thought he heard "Eric Chapman". i checked and there were no Eric Chapman's running so it must have been me.

After the race, I finally got my Glass Slipper medal! I was so excited! Then it was time to head back for a nap and some left over Via Napoli pizza. After my nap, we headed over to MK. We had FP+ for Buzz, Mine train and Splash Mountain. We also did Haunted Mansion and had a funnel cake. We headed back to the room to change and grab a sweater for the cooler night weather. I also got a Princess Half Marathon cupcake from Contempo Cafe that was only available that weekend We headed back to MK and had dinner at Cosmic Rays. Then we watched the Main Street Electrical parade, Celebrate the Magic (my Dad had never seen this and thought it was really cool) and then Wishes. We made our way through the crowd to the exit and loved that we didn't have to follow them onto the monorail, buses and ferry boats. gotta love Bay Lake Tower!

We got back to the room and sadly had to start packing. We were getting picked up by the Tragical Express and 6:20AM.

Day 5

Not much exciting happened this day. We basically got up, boarded the bus and headed to the airport. Security wasn't too packed and we were at our gate in no time. Again our flight was delayed leaving by about 40 min. At least my Dad and I were seated together this time. We still landed on time and breezed through customs. Everything seemed timed just right. As soon was we got through customs and headed to get our luggage, not only was out carousel right at the start, but out suitcase was already coming around. Then, as we got to the pick up for the shuttle for our hotel, the shuttle was already there so we hopped right on. Then we had a 4 hour drive home. But we made it. I was so happy to see Erik

This was definitly a short trip, but it was better than nothing! All the races were great and I had a great time with my Dad. All the early mornings were hard but doable. Naps help I'd love to go back for Princess weekend again some year. If I could, I'd probably go every year. It's my favourite race weekend! I won't be going next year though so I'm really hoping it won't be a Tangled theme (Little Mermaid was this years theme).

Congrats on completing the Glass Slipper Challenge! That's awesome!