Be My Guest For A Fantastical and Magical Weekend (Wine and Dine 2023)
Long time no see.. That’s because that gap between August Watermelon and Wine and Dine was pretty long and since I have a bit of Run The Edge challenge updates to go over I’m once again front loading that before we get to the actual race.
Let’s start with September Streak
Chianti was earned 4 times and coffee ice cream earned 2 times
Than there was the “Bonus” Hero’s journey that was included in the 2024 Run The Year Early Bird registration
This is my seventh in person time running this event and the eighth running overall as well as it being my eleventh RunDisney Weekend overall and so you think being old hat at this it would be easy breezy to navigate things but as always there were some twists.
Once again they were doing a virtual queue for the expo and we pulled group 34 the lowest yet! However we were stuck in traffic so while we were called to enter at 10:40am we didn't arrive at the expo till 11:14am. We tapped into the arena at 11:24am and utilized the ‘additional restrooms upstairs’ before heading into the queue room
We got into the line at 11:33am and while I didn’t screenshot when we were able to shop it was 12:47 when we were done shopping and checked out. That’s when the above mentioned twist came into play. We were directed to the exit after checking out and explained we wanted to take photos with characters and the mileage signs. However the way things were configured was that if you didn’t take pictures before you shopped/checked out you would have to go back into the queue room to re-enter. We decided to check how full the queue room was and since it was less full than the initial time we waited we circled back and waited about 10 mins to get back inside.
The theme for this years event was Banquet Bash with Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, Encanto and Figment being the individual distance themes. That being said the characters on hand to meet were Bruno (making his meet and greet debut in Florida) and Mirabel swapping out, Alice and Hatter swapping out, and a Lumiere magic shot.
We took our 6.2 mile marker photos than got in line for the Encanto Characters. While in line I left to get the magic shot than when I came back Jess hopped out to get hers.
We then got into the Wonderland characters line and while Jess waited I hopped out to get my 3.1 mile marker photo before hopping back in. We were one of if not the last people to meet with Hatter before the switch off
We headed toward the field house to get bibs and there were also some photopass sets there. There was a Dole Whip prop that had a crazy line as well as a Cheshire Cat and Figment Magic Shot which we took
As we entered the athletic center they handed out impossible nuggets (so good unlike the vegan cheese sample we had inside) They had a few more photo ops in front of a generic RunDisney backdrop as well as one to celebrate the Christmas themed virtual shorts however we just grabbed our shirts, the Advent Health stickers, and the freebies from the RunDisney booth as well as the aforementioned cheese and were on our way
It was about 3.5 hours in total
I set my alarm for 1:15am and got up. I played my usual morning phone games before I started getting ready. I was dressed up as the Queen of Hearts for this race and so my OOTD was a Queen of Hearts Costume I purchased at a Disney Store Outlet in 2020 just before the world went to hell. I layered under it a pair of Old Navy bike shorts and a Livi tank and accessorized with a red bondi band and a hedgehog plush gifted to me by my friend Ellie which I dyed pink.
I left the room at 2:10am and got to the lobby at 12:15am. I eyeballed outside and there were only a few people lingering so I used the restroom and pinned my bib on before heading to the bus stop at 2:25am
It was a cool 61/feels like 61 and for the 5 mins that I waited for the bus to pull up I briefly wished I grabbed the throw away fleece blanket I packed.
The bus arrived at 2:30am and 15 mins later an attendant came onto the bus saying as soon as Epcot gave them clearance they would be off. We pulled out at 2:54am and was walking from the bus loop to security at 3:08am
Characters out at the staging area were Mirabel & Bruno, Alice & Hatter, Belle & Lumiere, and the Figment Statue.
With Alice in Wonderland being the theme that line was crazy, meanwhile the Encanto line wasn’t even into the overflow switchbacks yet and Mirabel was the only ‘new to me’ character there so I got into that line.
It was about a 25 min wait for them and with the other two character lines looking significantly longer and only having an hour until my coral closed (which was something new listed this year) I took a quick pic with the Figment statue (12 min wait) and was on my way
I was locked into my coral at 4:06am and crossed the startline at 5:16am ish.
Heading off on that first mile there was a screen playing the mad tea party scene as well as a character stop with the White Rabbit. While I was seeded in B of D for this race I could of stopped but I have a rule about not stopping at the first character stop and so I continued on.
I reached mile marker one in 16:14 mins
After the marker was a marching band and Jogging Jack Sparrow passed by from his spot as the last runner to cross the mat from B.
I entered Epcot with a fitbit time stamp for 1.22 miles.
At 1.57 miles I reached the America Pavilion where Duffy the Disney Bear was meeting. As I’d met him last year and I had assumed the Queen of Hearts or Tweedles were meeting in the UK I grabbed a water a few steps past him and pressed on.
At 1.98 I reached the UK Pavilion and there was a long line for the Queen and her Card Soldiers. After about a 20 min wait a CM came down the line saying she left in an hour and that it wasn’t a guarantee. The line had been moving and I could tell that while still long it wouldn't be longer than that so I stayed in line. It ended up being roughly a 45 min wait in total which was fine since I was in an early coral and it’s not as time sensitive as 10K and longer.
I finally made my way out of World Showcase where Lilo and Stitch (well Just Lilo when I was passing) were meeting. It was a bit of a bottleneck between the people trying to cut over to that line and all the people crowded around the mile 2 marker so I just took a quick photo of the mile marker for timestamp purposes and kept moving.
I reached the marker in 1:19:39 cumulative on course time and 34:39 “running” time
There was a photo op with the 100th statue that I skipped though with the course looping around Cosmic Rewind I did pause a minute to take a picture with the star jumper
After this just before dipping backstage there were the Jamminators and the band for earlier before the final character stop.
It was an assortment of various Lilo and Stitch experiments swapping out. When I passed it was Angel and a yellow guy.
I was in my head a bit as I reached here. I assumed the line was cut because I thought the 7:15am that the Queen of Heart’s was due to “Go Back to Her Castle” applied to all characters and I assumed that the line was cut because while it didn’t look too bad for how rare these characters were it did look like it could of been an easy 20-30 mins in the moment and that ‘hard out’ was in 25 mins or so… I realized later that I could of been good going in that line based on the fact that someone I was getting pictures for was one of the last guests to meet the Queen before she left and was still able to meet both Lilo & Stitch AND the Experiments… though in hindsight if I had met them we might not of made it out to Tron (more on that later)
So, after the experiments there was a choir before hitting mark 3 in 1:37:52 “52:52 running miles”
Since there is no official time to go on I hit the finish shoot and stopped my fitbit at 1:39:47 “54:52 running miles”
I had pondered going back to see what the Alice & Hatter line had looked like but as I was making my way though the finish shoot I got the message that we were group 17 for Tron and I knew I needed to get going.
Another day another race and at 2:06am I was out of the room and heading towards the lobby.
I did my usual business as mentioned above and was at the bus loop at 2:24am. It was a warmer 64 feels like 65 but much windier and I wondered if I should of grabbed the fleece or the Mylar blanket that I took to hold onto after the 5K.
I decided to keep with the theme again for this race and since I did Ballroom Belle in 2018 this time I went with Village Belle with a skort and top home sewn with my usual fabric and pattern as well as my pillowcase apron I had in my closet and used for Cinderella at Marathon Weekend 2022. to finish it off I had a blue bondi band and a Lumiere beanie baby
The bus arrived at 2:29am and pulled out at 2:33. It drove to AoA looked to see the situation there and than headed toward Epcot. I was off the bus at 2:50am and after waiting for security to open had gone through it and was on my way way to staging at 3:04am.
Pre race characters were the same as the day before however like the expo the Encanto and Alice characters were alternating and not together. We walked toward the Encanto Area so Jess could meet Mirabel before deciding she should stay while I get in line for Beauty and the Beast. I got in line at 3:14am and about 5 mins later Jess rejoined me. We tag teamed hopping out for Figment Statue pics though overall the wait was only 25 mins. We were the last group before Lumiere stepped out for a break.
We were at a bit of an advantage as driving in we noticed Gaston, Beast and two non descript character set ups on the road and in online I had seen Chip & Dale, Robin Hood & Little John, The Beauty and the Beast show Dancers, and Jose and Panchito were meets in the studios leg so that knowledge plus being seeded in wave C of E helped us to pre-game our priorities.
In the first mile there was a DJ and the Gaston meet.
Mile Marker 1 I reached in 15:59
Our next mile still on the road were chef Donald and Daisy, a Band (Go DREADNAUGHTS!) and a screen playing the be our guest scene.
I reached Marker 2 in 17:02 (33:01 total)
After this was the first of our three water stops as well as a Pinocchio & Jiminy Cricket meet
There was a DJ set up with a screen that gave big Windows Media Player energy.
Just before the overpass ramp was the Beast. It was hard to gage his line but later on we heard it went super fast.
Mile 3 was reached in 17:36 (50:37 cumulative)
There was a drumline at the top of the hill as I made a 5k split of 52:35
Turning into the backstage area of studios was Chip & Dale in the older styled chef costumes which I heard went real slow followed by a water stop and our top priority Robin Hood & Little John
It was only about a 10 min wait and while in line I overheard that the balloon ladies started 12 mins later than expected
Once getting into studios lots of people started branching off taking selfies, using real restrooms I even watched as people were getting pressed Pennies however we kept going and waited for the beauty and the beast show dancers
It was only 2 mins
Once we exited the park we hopped into the line for Jose & Panchito as that was the last stop we knew of and checked on social media to see if the boardwalk/Epcot area character stops were spoiled. They were causing us to jump out a minute later
We reached marker 4 in 31 mins even (1:21:27 cumulative —1:08:37 running)
There was another DJ as well as chef Mickey & Minnie meeting on the boardwalk before reaching marker 5 in 18 mins (1:39:27 cumulative 1:26:27 running)
Rounding towards the skyliner station and into the backstage areas was a screen playing meet the Robinsons clips with Wilber meeting just shortly after (he was swapping out with Lewis) it was roughly a 5 min wait
There was a third and final waterstop and another DJ before the world showplace stop. As we passed it was the Prince & Dopey I pondered waiting with Jess but I really wanted the last stop on course and at the time I didn’t know if we could pull off both so I pressed on.
She in turn waited 15 mins ish and by the time she made it to the front it was just Snow White meeting as the trio was alternating.
Next was the jaminators again followed by Phineas & Ferb backstage (apparently alternating with Perry per social media)
I couldn’t tell if the CM said the wait was 45 mins and she didn’t know how long the characters were staying or that they were out for 45 mins and she didn’t know how long the queue was either was it was only 15 mins for me and as I first got into line I heard the balloon ladies were just at the 5k mark.
There was a choir at marker 6 which I reached in 30:39 (2:10:06 cumulative 1:37:06 running)
My finishing time was 2:14:08 or 1:41:08 running which technically is a PR so I definitely PRed in FUN
Overall I regret not putting the lowest time w/o needing a pr for springtime as that is the way to go to meet characters and not feel stressed. I’m definitely going to try again for the 10K next year to keep up my streak…on the fence on if I’ll add the 5K or not, especially as it is the 15th anniversary… time will tell
UPCOMING RACES:
Hot Chocolate 10K 12/10
Gasparilla 15K 2/24
Gasparilla 8K 2/25
Promise Run 3/2
Springtime Surprise 5K 4/19
Springtime Surprise 10K 4/20
1M {15:26} 3K {30:59} 5K {42:46} 8K {1:13:59} 10K {1:42:52} 15K {2:19:09} 10M {3:01:51} HALF {3:54:55} FULL {7:08:15*} *virtual full run in increments
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