bananabean
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2014
I'm staying off-site at a friend's place for Marathon Weekend, and I'm already thinking about how that hot tub is going to be so much nicer than a FP after the races!
Barca33Runner's Journal: Thanks For Noticin' Me(Comments Welcome)
- Thread starter Barca33Runner
- Start date
I'm staying off-site at a friend's place for Marathon Weekend, and I'm already thinking about how that hot tub is going to be so much nicer than a FP after the races!
Barca33Runner
Please excuse the crudity of this model
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2014
Missed a couple days as I was out of town celebrating my nephew's 6th birthday. Got a couple runs in and then went to his birthday party at a Dave and Buster's, not sure where I got more exercise.
Barca33Runner
Please excuse the crudity of this model
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2014
Early morning scheduled for tomorrow. McFly is getting a bath and haircut tomorrow so a run after work isn’t in the cards.
Barca33Runner
Please excuse the crudity of this model
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2014
Sorry, got busy with the holiday last week and have just started getting caught up with things. I think I’m going to be taking a bit of a break on the journal to focus on this last stretch of training. Will try to update a couple times a week and I’m looking forward to posting a trip report after Marathon Weekend.
Was finally able to book FP+ for our first park day, Dec. 29th. We are heading to Hollywood Studios (should be our least hectic day; forces beyond my control have dictated MK on Jan 1.
). Just doing the old standbys and we have the Fantasmic dinner package booked for 3 at Mama Melrose. Seemed like a decent (for Disney) price and allowed us to get Fantasmic seating without burning a FP+. After experiencing the crowds last year I’m pretty sure we’re going to need every bit of FP+ we can get.
Booking Epcot plans for the 30th tomorrow.
Was finally able to book FP+ for our first park day, Dec. 29th. We are heading to Hollywood Studios (should be our least hectic day; forces beyond my control have dictated MK on Jan 1.
). Just doing the old standbys and we have the Fantasmic dinner package booked for 3 at Mama Melrose. Seemed like a decent (for Disney) price and allowed us to get Fantasmic seating without burning a FP+. After experiencing the crowds last year I’m pretty sure we’re going to need every bit of FP+ we can get. Booking Epcot plans for the 30th tomorrow.
Sailormoon2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2015
I have only ever been during "slow season", I am truly dreading the crowds!
kski907
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2017
forces beyond my control have dictated MK on Jan 1.
This is me but MK new years eve! I figure though if I can survive it, then the marathon should be a piece of cake.
Love the song portion of your journal. Starting to put the playlist together now, so would love more suggestions.
Barca33Runner
Please excuse the crudity of this model
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2014
Well, I guess that means I have to be a little better about keeping up with my not-so-difficult, self-appointed journal structure.
Barca33Runner
Please excuse the crudity of this model
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2014
I kind of teased it in the Marathon Weekend Thread so here's a little more detail, without revealing too much (I'm pretty sure this whole journal thing breaks that rule), on my upcoming trip.
We are driving down, in a few different groups, to arrive in Orlando on Thursday the 28th. We are staying off-site at a rental property in Champions Gate. We stayed there (different house, same layout) last year and had a great time. We have a lot of kids in the group and having a private pool and hot tub at the house and a larger facility pool with slides and a lazy river works really well for us. Plus, we will be starting our stay with 5 people and ballooning to 13 or 14 at times. That would have been a logistical nightmare and very expensive to figure out how to stay at a Disney Resort.
We will be going to parks early in our trip to allow for a little less structure and rest, if needed, on race days. Our schedule is Dec. 29-Hollywood Studios, Dec. 30-Epcot, Jan. 1-Magic Kingdom, and Jan. 2-Animal Kingdom. I have an AP, as does my sister, so there may be more park-going later in the trip, but that is undetermined right now. I've been planning the FP+ and a few ADRs (some ADRs were done well in advance) the last couple days and am pretty pumped about how things have worked out so far. Here are our specific park plans and some short thoughts:
Hollywood Studios (5 people)
Fastpass-Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror (3) & Voyage of the Little Mermaid (2), Star Tours
ADR-Mama Melrose Fantasmic! dining package
We will likely head over to RnRC first with the two who have no interest in thrill rides going to Beauty and the Beast. All FP+ will be done before 1 PM, but we like to hit all the shows and might wait in some lines since the park is currently pretty limited. We learned last year the importance of getting Fantasmic! seating early. It should be in my earlier report on that trip, but we thought we were plenty early and ended up having half of our group stuck in a standing room only line for an hour and barely making the show. This should make things a little less stressful on that front.
Epcot (5 People)
Fastpass-Soarin', Spaceship Earth, The Seas with Nemo & Friends
ADR-Boma
Again, we will be making a beeline for something to begin the day. Likely FEA, but possibly Test Track. I had to go back and confirm what I used our other FP+ on after Soarin' since it is rarely important. As I knew was likely, we didn't have the option to do FEA so we chose Soarin'. It is the first time my niece and nephew will go on Soarin' (we've always used FP+ on FEA or TT and aren't big enough fans of Soarin' to wait in line). Will be nice when Epcot has a few more large attractions. We've seen IllumiNations quite a few times, so we didn't prioritize it this time and we will be heading out for dinner at Boma. We are trying Boma and Sanaa for the first time on this trip and I'm pretty excited about it.
Magic Kingdom (11 People)
Fastpass-Space Ranger Spin, Peter Pan (7) & Space Mountain (4), Splash Mountain
No ADRs for MK and I'm sure it's going to be a madhouse since it's New Year's Day, but it's what worked for our group. I was very happy with how the FP+ worked. We will be done before 1 PM and I made Splash Mountain the latest in hopes that it would be warm for anyone who gets wet. Some of the group won't be able to do Splash, but it wasn't worth planning a separate FP for them. Splitting Peter Pan and Space Mountain made a lot of sense for the group though. We knew 7DMT wasn't an option and there's a pretty good chance some of the group will leave early. I'm very interested in seeing Happily Ever After, so I plan on this being a long day.
Animal Kingdom (12 People)
Fastpass-Festival of the Lion King, Expedition Everest (6) & Finding Nemo (6), Kilimanjaro Safari
ADR-Tusker House
Of course, nothing in Pandora was open for us 30-day window stragglers. We knew this and at least one vehicle will be heading in early to rope drop Pandora. It might only be me, but I did it in September and plan on it again this time. I know the degree of difficulty will be increased this time, but it should be doable. The other FP+ should fit our group well and I'm good with doing Pandora early and enjoying everything else afterward. Tusker House was a big revelation for us last year and we will be doing that as our character meal for the group this time around. Some would say we're overdoing it with Boma, Sanaa, and Tusker House in one trip, but I think it will be fun. They offer the type of cuisine that it is the hardest to find in the midwest.
So that's the skeleton plan we have. Should make it easier to enjoy the day. We just go with the flow outside of our FP+, but it's always nice to have some things planned so that we don't spend the whole day standing in line. We plan to go to Disney Springs (I called it Downtown Disney and had to replace) on New Year's Eve at opening and walking around and getting some lunch and maybe seeing a movie before it gets crazy. Only other plan is Sanaa after the Expo on the 3rd. I'm sure we will be adding more plans before we get closer to Marathon Weekend.
We are driving down, in a few different groups, to arrive in Orlando on Thursday the 28th. We are staying off-site at a rental property in Champions Gate. We stayed there (different house, same layout) last year and had a great time. We have a lot of kids in the group and having a private pool and hot tub at the house and a larger facility pool with slides and a lazy river works really well for us. Plus, we will be starting our stay with 5 people and ballooning to 13 or 14 at times. That would have been a logistical nightmare and very expensive to figure out how to stay at a Disney Resort.
We will be going to parks early in our trip to allow for a little less structure and rest, if needed, on race days. Our schedule is Dec. 29-Hollywood Studios, Dec. 30-Epcot, Jan. 1-Magic Kingdom, and Jan. 2-Animal Kingdom. I have an AP, as does my sister, so there may be more park-going later in the trip, but that is undetermined right now. I've been planning the FP+ and a few ADRs (some ADRs were done well in advance) the last couple days and am pretty pumped about how things have worked out so far. Here are our specific park plans and some short thoughts:
Hollywood Studios (5 people)
Fastpass-Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror (3) & Voyage of the Little Mermaid (2), Star Tours
ADR-Mama Melrose Fantasmic! dining package
We will likely head over to RnRC first with the two who have no interest in thrill rides going to Beauty and the Beast. All FP+ will be done before 1 PM, but we like to hit all the shows and might wait in some lines since the park is currently pretty limited. We learned last year the importance of getting Fantasmic! seating early. It should be in my earlier report on that trip, but we thought we were plenty early and ended up having half of our group stuck in a standing room only line for an hour and barely making the show. This should make things a little less stressful on that front.
Epcot (5 People)
Fastpass-Soarin', Spaceship Earth, The Seas with Nemo & Friends
ADR-Boma
Again, we will be making a beeline for something to begin the day. Likely FEA, but possibly Test Track. I had to go back and confirm what I used our other FP+ on after Soarin' since it is rarely important. As I knew was likely, we didn't have the option to do FEA so we chose Soarin'. It is the first time my niece and nephew will go on Soarin' (we've always used FP+ on FEA or TT and aren't big enough fans of Soarin' to wait in line). Will be nice when Epcot has a few more large attractions. We've seen IllumiNations quite a few times, so we didn't prioritize it this time and we will be heading out for dinner at Boma. We are trying Boma and Sanaa for the first time on this trip and I'm pretty excited about it.
Magic Kingdom (11 People)
Fastpass-Space Ranger Spin, Peter Pan (7) & Space Mountain (4), Splash Mountain
No ADRs for MK and I'm sure it's going to be a madhouse since it's New Year's Day, but it's what worked for our group. I was very happy with how the FP+ worked. We will be done before 1 PM and I made Splash Mountain the latest in hopes that it would be warm for anyone who gets wet. Some of the group won't be able to do Splash, but it wasn't worth planning a separate FP for them. Splitting Peter Pan and Space Mountain made a lot of sense for the group though. We knew 7DMT wasn't an option and there's a pretty good chance some of the group will leave early. I'm very interested in seeing Happily Ever After, so I plan on this being a long day.
Animal Kingdom (12 People)
Fastpass-Festival of the Lion King, Expedition Everest (6) & Finding Nemo (6), Kilimanjaro Safari
ADR-Tusker House
Of course, nothing in Pandora was open for us 30-day window stragglers. We knew this and at least one vehicle will be heading in early to rope drop Pandora. It might only be me, but I did it in September and plan on it again this time. I know the degree of difficulty will be increased this time, but it should be doable. The other FP+ should fit our group well and I'm good with doing Pandora early and enjoying everything else afterward. Tusker House was a big revelation for us last year and we will be doing that as our character meal for the group this time around. Some would say we're overdoing it with Boma, Sanaa, and Tusker House in one trip, but I think it will be fun. They offer the type of cuisine that it is the hardest to find in the midwest.
So that's the skeleton plan we have. Should make it easier to enjoy the day. We just go with the flow outside of our FP+, but it's always nice to have some things planned so that we don't spend the whole day standing in line. We plan to go to Disney Springs (I called it Downtown Disney and had to replace) on New Year's Eve at opening and walking around and getting some lunch and maybe seeing a movie before it gets crazy. Only other plan is Sanaa after the Expo on the 3rd. I'm sure we will be adding more plans before we get closer to Marathon Weekend.
Sailormoon2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2015
NEVER!!! These are our trip staples. The only one I'm not getting to during Dopey is Boma, but it's already top of the list for August.
kski907
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2017
Also love your Disney Plans!! We too will be at AK on Jan 2nd and are planning for the rope drop so might see you there. We are also on the 30 day window, but checked today and was able to get fast passes for the pandora river journey in the evening for a party of 4. You may want to look into breaking your party up in to smaller groups and try for fast passes.
Barca33Runner
Please excuse the crudity of this model
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2014
I wasn't as worried about River Journey, it didn't show up as an option but I think I would have gone with the plans I chose anyway. The shows work really well for the kids and I think we will be able to hit River Journey with anyone who does rope drop. Thanks for the heads up.
Barca33Runner
Please excuse the crudity of this model
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2014
Almost forgot again this week, but in just under the wire:
5 Songs That I Like for the Week
Silver Springs-Fleetwood Mac-They could probably make an appearance just about every week.
Janie Jones-The Clash-Such a great beat.
You Never Can Tell-Chuck Berry-I love Tarantino films and have two ball pythons named Vincent Vega and Mia Wallace. Of course I have an appreciation for this one.
Nothing Compares 2 U-Sinead O'Connor-Continuing from the Paula Abdul mention in the last non-Christmas list this belongs in the "late-80's/early-90's guilty pleasure" spot
Almost There-Anika Noni Rose-Disney Song of the Week to one of my current favorites and a nice motivational song for my runs. I'm a little embarrassed at how long it took me to see Princess and the Frog, but it's a staple now.
First Dopey mini-simulation starts tomorrow. 3-5-8-15 this weekend, expanding to 3-5-10-20 the following weekend. It's getting close.
5 Songs That I Like for the Week
Silver Springs-Fleetwood Mac-They could probably make an appearance just about every week.
Janie Jones-The Clash-Such a great beat.
You Never Can Tell-Chuck Berry-I love Tarantino films and have two ball pythons named Vincent Vega and Mia Wallace. Of course I have an appreciation for this one.
Nothing Compares 2 U-Sinead O'Connor-Continuing from the Paula Abdul mention in the last non-Christmas list this belongs in the "late-80's/early-90's guilty pleasure" spot
Almost There-Anika Noni Rose-Disney Song of the Week to one of my current favorites and a nice motivational song for my runs. I'm a little embarrassed at how long it took me to see Princess and the Frog, but it's a staple now.
First Dopey mini-simulation starts tomorrow. 3-5-8-15 this weekend, expanding to 3-5-10-20 the following weekend. It's getting close.
ZellyB
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2010
Nice list!!!
WE are doing our last Dopey simulation this weekend. Travel plans are forcing it earlier than we'd like, but you do what you gotta do. We are also doing 3-5-10-20. Good luck to us both!
Barca33Runner
Please excuse the crudity of this model
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2014
Was posting in other threads with the waiver excitement today and forgot the post.
Songs of the Week
Joker & The Thief-Wolfmother-Catchy guitar and nice beat. Good for picking up the pace.
Chelsea Dagger-The Fratellis-I don’t like the Chicago Blackhawks, I do like this song.
Love Shack-The B-52s-The late-80’s early-90’s guilty pleasure
Always Be My Baby-Mariah Carey-Outside of Christmas music my favorite of hers.
That’s How You Know-Amy Adams-I don’t think I’m the demographic for Enchanted (or most of the movies I like) but I love it.
One movie franchise that I am absolutely the demographic for is Star Wars. I have my tickets for tomorrow night and am beyond pumped that I only need to make it less than 24 hours without spoiling it. I’m super pumped to see the movie.
Songs of the Week
Joker & The Thief-Wolfmother-Catchy guitar and nice beat. Good for picking up the pace.
Chelsea Dagger-The Fratellis-I don’t like the Chicago Blackhawks, I do like this song.
Love Shack-The B-52s-The late-80’s early-90’s guilty pleasure
Always Be My Baby-Mariah Carey-Outside of Christmas music my favorite of hers.
That’s How You Know-Amy Adams-I don’t think I’m the demographic for Enchanted (or most of the movies I like) but I love it.
One movie franchise that I am absolutely the demographic for is Star Wars. I have my tickets for tomorrow night and am beyond pumped that I only need to make it less than 24 hours without spoiling it. I’m super pumped to see the movie.
Barca33Runner
Please excuse the crudity of this model
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2014
I will be driving down to Orlando a week from now, so I am super excited for that. To reference a different post, I wish I had put more hay in my barn; but it is what it is at this point and I'm sure I can figure out a way to finish in a couple weeks even if it's a glorious mess. Still doing a lot of cross-training in the next couple weeks to avoid putting on 20 lbs. before the races with Christmas and Disney food taking over my diet. I know the races aren't going to be the best representation of myself, but I know I'll enjoy them and my vacation regardless.
Songs of the Week
Free Your Mind-En Vogue-Not even an early-90's guilty pleasure, it's just awesome
Keep On Loving You-REO Speedwagon-Sometimes you see Adam Sandler wearing a cool shirt in Billy Madison and have to go listen to the band. Sometimes you end up liking the songs.
Africa-Toto-I know it's corny and seems like nonsense, but I still get excited when it comes on.
River of Dreams-Billy Joel-Probably blasphemy to list the two Billy Joel songs I'm going to before others, but I'm an 80's-90's kid and I like this one.
Disney Song
Why Should I Worry-Billy Joel-Oliver And Company was the first Disney film I ever saw in the theaters. I know that it is basically forgotten (possibly for good reason) but it will always have a special place in my heart.
Songs of the Week
Free Your Mind-En Vogue-Not even an early-90's guilty pleasure, it's just awesome
Keep On Loving You-REO Speedwagon-Sometimes you see Adam Sandler wearing a cool shirt in Billy Madison and have to go listen to the band. Sometimes you end up liking the songs.
Africa-Toto-I know it's corny and seems like nonsense, but I still get excited when it comes on.
River of Dreams-Billy Joel-Probably blasphemy to list the two Billy Joel songs I'm going to before others, but I'm an 80's-90's kid and I like this one.
Disney Song
Why Should I Worry-Billy Joel-Oliver And Company was the first Disney film I ever saw in the theaters. I know that it is basically forgotten (possibly for good reason) but it will always have a special place in my heart.
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