Dillon-Henry WDW Palooza 2012 | Day 3

Doug, Barbara and Adamo got up at 3am to catch their shuttle to the start line of the Half Marathon.  It wasn't quite as chilly as yesterday, but it certainly wasn't warm.  I took a picture of them and sent them on their way.

 

Though Laurel and Baub and I were up not long after to make our way to the Magic Kingdom.  We were hopeful that we could see them come down Main Street, then come out of the Castle.  While we were waiting, we saw facades construction workers put up so they could do work without being noticed.

just a glimpse of what Main Street looks like at 5am during the Half Marathon...we don't know anyone in the picture (that we know of)

This is a picture of Doug after he came out of the Castle.  What's that?  You can't see him?  It's because even though I'd practiced numerous times, when we finally saw him I was SO excited that I took a picture of the lamp post instead.  By this time, Adamo and Barbara had already passed us and (as luck would have it), their photos didn't turn out, either).

And Aubrey was relieved to find that the shops were open on Main Street (of course!).  And she was finally able to buy the "Lotso Love" bear she would die without.  Sure made her happy!

Then we were off on the Monorail to Epcot, where we hoped to catch Barbara and Doug at the finish line (Adamo had long-since finished the race by then).  The sunrise was pretty spectacular.

As we came off the monorail I realized that the race was just off to the side, and the runners we were seeing were part of the group that was just ahead of Barbara (and she was just ahead of Doug).  So we waited, hoping to catch a photo of them that turned out!

Mission Accomplished!

And then we raced over to the finish line, where we were able to see Doug cross the finish line.  We were SO excited to see him!!  And I am SOOOO proud of him for his accomplishment.

Not to mention the fact that he looks dang awesome.

After the race we took a photo of Doug and his cheering squad.

and while the runners did a play-by-play of the race, the kids and I went swimming.  And Fred enjoyed the warm sun.

Such a fun day...but the real fun starts tomorrow!  We will meet up with the Henry family as Brian finishes the Marathon.  And then we will conquer EPCOT!

Dillon-Henry WDW Palooza 2012 | Day 2

Laurel and Malcolm and I had to get up and catch the shuttle bus to the Race Start at 4am.  It was DARK.  There was a thick fog across the EPCOT Parking lot and it was chilly!  There were lots of crazy characters and loud music.  Oh ~ and about 8000 racers. 

When the race finally started (before dawn), Malcolm decided he was going for a PR.  Laurel was kind enough to "run" with me.

And we decided to take advantage of having the park to "ourselves" and relatively quick photo-op lines. 

dawn arrived just as we ran into the World Showcase (about Mexico)
 

I won't even tell you what our final time was...but Malcolm was ready to call out a search party...he waited for us at the finish line for a loooonnnnnggg time.

We headed back to Old Key West to say hello to Oink, Fred, and the rest of the crew, and to do a quick change before meeting up with Doug, Aubrey and Dana for the Kids' Races at ESPN's Wide World of Sports.  Doug took Dana and ended up running with her (almost all of the parents did the same thing) for her 200m race to her pledal.  She loved it!

Aubrey started getting nervous about getting lost of her Mickey Mile run, so Malcolm jumped in and ran with her.  As they approached the finish line, Malcolm was ahead of her and I saw Aubrey reach out.  "Oh boy," I thought, "sibling rivalry is alive and well...she's going to tackle him so she can beat him across the finish line."  And then I realized that she was actually grabbing his hand to hold so they could cross the finish line together.  So, of course, I cried happy, proud Momma tears.  Malcolm was thrilled because they handed him a pledal for the race (even though we didn't register/pay for him).

The girls were going to die if we didn't get to Downtown Disney and spend the money they had burning a hole in their pocket.  So we took the boat over and shopped until I really really thought I was going to drop.  And the girls started their pin-trading excitement.

 

 

one of the best things about visiting Disney World in early January is that the Christmas decorations are still up.  It is amazing!

can you tell that Dana was singing to and dancing with her "very favorite and special" Minnie Mouse doll?

We met up with Doug and Malcolm, and then with the Henrys for a carb-loading dinner at Rainforest Cafe...we ate in, and they headed back to the room.  The kids thought the Cafe was pretty neat and our waiter was hilarious.

What does tomorrow hold in store for us?  Another o'dark-thirty alarm as Barbara, Doug and Adam are going to run the WDW Half Marathon!  Laurel, Baub and I are going to go cheer for them!