Day 3 and Pluto's 5k

The alarm went off at the insane hour of 3:30 and all I could think of was that the next 3 mornings would start even earlier!  But that’s the main downside of the Disney races so you know what you’re getting into.  We are up, dressed and ready by 4:00 and walk to the bus stop.  It was a short wait and there were plenty of runners and spectators waiting as well.  The bus arrived and we headed to Epcot where the race would start and end.  Damaris and I coordinated all our running outfits so this day we were wearing Ink N Burn May the 4^th long sleeved tops (looks like Stormtroopers shirts) with our Robot capris.  We got lots of compliments.  I’m glad we were in long sleeves because it was only in the mid 50’s while we were waiting for 90 mins.  I did find the massage tent that was empty and open for runners to wait in so we stayed warm in there until it was time to walk to our corral at 5:00.  We are in corral B so we get in our spot and wait for the start.  Soon the fireworks went off and the race officially started.  

This 5k goes around a parking lot, then down some behind the scenes roads and finally enters at Mexico in the World Showcase.  It’s always so exciting to enter the park, you feel like you’re really running a Disney race then.  We skipped the first character stop (Chip and Dale) and continued into Epcot.  I was surprised to not see any characters in Mexico, Norway or Germany as I’ve seen them there in the other 2 5k’s I’ve done at Epcot.  Then I notice Timon from The Lion King at the Australian area but I decided to skip stopping for him as the line was long.  Next up was Mittens from Bolt at America Showcase.  I’m not a Bolt fan but darn it, I wanted a character picture!  We continued on and found Marie from Aristocats in France.  Ok, so it’s an animal theme, I get it, it's Pluto's 5k after all.  I was surprised that the course veered out of World Showcase when we crossed the French bridge, heading towards the Boardwalk hotels area.  We did a little loop and came back into WS in England (guess they eliminated some of the parking lot run and needed to add the distance back).  We continued past Canada and turned towards Spaceship Earth, which was lit up beautifully.  I was surprised again when the course turned left towards Soarin’.  I stopped for a picture with Stitch here.  We continued running past Soarin’ and Finding Nemo, back under Innovations West and turned again toward Spaceship Earth where we exited the park and ran to the finish line.  Our finishing time was 48 minutes or so, not bad considering the 3 photo stops.

Stormtroopers ready for battle (pic mentioned below)

Hi Stitch!

Posing so pretty with Marie

One fun note, I had taken a really good picture of Damaris and I before the race and put it on my Instagram.  After we finished, I was thrilled to get a request from Charity Miles (an app that tracks your running or walking miles and corporations donate money to charities for each mile you move, it’s really cool and I use it for most of my runs, it also helps me earn points for my Hogwarts Running Club house but that’s a whole other story) to use my picture on their page!  Of course I said yes.  And later that day, Damaris and I checked our emails and saw that Ink N Burn used our picture in their newsletter that day!  Eek!  So exciting!

After the race, we went back to the hotel to clean up and then headed to the Polynesian’s Kona restaurant to have breakfast with a group of Damaris’s friends.  Everyone was very nice and welcoming and I really enjoyed myself.  And of course, the Tongo Toast was insanely good.  It was pretty much half a loaf of bread, stuffed with bananas, coated with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with strawberries.  I inhaled it.  

Next up was our day at Hollywood Studios, another park that I haven’t spent much time in but was excited to see all the Star Wars things.  I was not disappointed!  My Disney Chase Visa got us into a free photo op with none other than Darth Vader!  He was very tall but kinda thin.  But still did a good job intimating us. Damaris held strong with refusing to go to the Dark Side but I admit, I probably would have as he was staring me down! 

Since I haven’t been to HS in a long time and the times I’ve gone, I’ve had small children, I haven’t done any of the big rides.  So we had Fast Passes to Star Tours (really awesome), Tower of Terror (I screamed like crazy) and Rockin’ Roller Coaster (so fast but the G force gave me a headache).  We also enjoyed a healthy lunch of frozen adult beverages (with a Millennium Falcon and Death Star in them!) and a BB-8 cupcake.  I was so excited that my fellow Avon Disney fanatics, Connie and Kate, were also visiting HS that day so we found them for a quick hello and picture.  Before long, we were getting tired and decided to head back to the hotel to clean up for dinner. 

Connie, me, Damaris and Kate (watch that light saber, Kate!)

Mt. Kilamarita (made with cranberry juice)

Dinner!  Oh my! We had reservations at Boma, the African buffet at Animal Kingdom Lodge.  One of the effects about traveling with just one person is I could afford to eat at some nicer places since it was just me, not a family of 4.  We enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail at the Victoria Falls Lounge (I had a Mt. Kilmarita) while we waited for our table.  We were soon seated and the waitress explained the food at the buffet, which I appreciated as I’m not familiar with African food.  But the best thing about a buffet is you can sample everything!  I really enjoyed the roasted pork and the West African peanut soup.  Highly recommend Boma! 

Our fun day was soon over and we returned to the hotel for bed, after all, 3:00 alarm and another race awaited us!