When Sarah messaged us a few months back and asked if we wanted to run a 10K at Disney, I laughed. I have tried to become a runner for YEARS, especially since my husband has done two marathons. It just never seemed to click for me. So when my sister suggested the race, I was terrified. The only thing that got me to say yes was knowing I would get to spend a weekend at the Most Magical Place on Earth!
Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour
We arrived late Thursday night at Disney’s All Star Movies Resort and immediately went to bed to prepare for our Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour early Friday morning!!! It was an absolute blast. Yes, it was expensive. Yes, it was exhausting. Yes, it was fast paced. If you are brand new to Walt Disney World I would NOT suggest going on this tour. If you’d still like a tour, consider setting up a personal tour. We asked our guide about these, and he said you pay between $300-700 an hour per guide, with a minimum of 8 hours. You can have up to 10 people per guide (and even though kids under 3 are free to the parks, they are part of this count), but once you go over 10 you have to add another guide. This may sound like a lot, but we calculated that at an average of $500/hour and a total of 10 people for 8 hours, it’s only $400/person. That’s not much more than the one we did and you get to completely customize this one!!
This is how our tour went. No two tours are exactly the same, so please do not get mad if yours does not go as ours did!
Magic Kingdom
We started the day at the Liberty Square Ticket Office in Magic Kingdom. Here we were given VIP passes to wear during the day. These would show the other Cast Members that we’re with the tour group, as well as make us feel cool 😉 For every ride we went through the FastPass+ line without needing a FastPass reservation. It was pretty sweet!
In Magic Kingdom we rode Space Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Haunted Mansion before stopping for a snack break. I obviously got a churro because they are my favorite, and because my Mean Girls-inspired shirt said “Whatever I’m getting churros.”
After that we did what our guides called the “wash and dry method” by riding Splash Mountain (wash) followed by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (dry). My sisters and I chose not to ride Splash Mountain because we did not want to get wet! We then headed through a back entrance to our 12-passenger vans.
EPCOT
After Magic Kingdom we drove to another back entrance-this time at EPCOT. We got to see the backside of a lot of different countries! We entered a back door to “The Land,” where Soarin’ Around the World is located. We ate at Sunshine Seasons which I’d never been to before. It was DELICIOUS. It has a cafeteria feel like many other WDW eating areas, but these restaurants were phenomenal. I ate the Rotisserie Turkey Breast Club Sandwich at the Sandwiches Shop. It came with a side of potato salad, and I was extremely impressed by the taste of everything. My sisters ate at the Asian Noodles Shop and they loved their food too!
The only ride we went on at EPCOT was Soarin’, but I was fine with that because it is my favorite!
Hollywood Studios
At this point it was looking like it might rain, so our amazing tour guides flipped the itinerary and let us head to Toy Story Land first! Since Slinky Dog Dash is outside it would be the first to close down if the drops started coming. The ride is everything I thought it would be and more. Not only is the ride itself a thriller and SO much fun, the attention to detail is incredible!! The other thing we did here is ride Toy Story Mania. It’s pretty similar to the one they had before, they just changed the entrance!
Afterwards we rode Star Tours, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Things to know:
*The tour lasted from about 8:30am-4pm. Times vary.
*This tour does not include Animal Kingdom. If you’d like to do a tour at Animal Kingdom, you can do a private tour or enjoy the Disney After Hours at Animal Kingdom Theme Park tour.
*If you need help booking your tour, contact Sarah at sarah@dreamsbydesigntravel.com
Wine and Dine 10K
We were up bright and early for race day! 3:30am, to be exact. We needed to catch the bus at our resort by 4:30am! This is why I love staying on Disney property, among other reasons.
We arrived at the Magic Kingdom parking lot with thousands of other people. Seriously, thousands. I think there were over 7,000 in the race…
At first we regretted getting there an hour before race time, but it was nice to be able to relax. We were pretty chilly with the wind, so we were glad we decided to wear our long sleeve race shirts over our tank tops!! After stretching and relaxing for about 30 minutes we used the restroom and headed to our corral.
The first group left at 5:30 but we didn’t cross the Start Line until 6:07am. They split up the bigger corrals into a few groups, so it’s not as simple as “We’re Corral F which means we go 6th.” The wait wasn’t bad because they had a “DJ” motivating us the whole time!
The first 4 miles were in the dark, on the highway, in the middle of Disney property. Not pretty and not really that fun. They had a few water stops-we made sure to get a cup every time. They also had a few characters to take photos with.
Mile 5 is where it got fun-we finally entered EPCOT!! The sun started to come up, they were playing music, the Cast Members came out to cheer us on, and the photographers were set up to capture our finest moments.
All in all, the race was a blast. It took us forever to finish (mainly because we walked the whole time), but it was worth it. I will definitely do it again!
Things we’ll do differently:
*Um, train. We didn’t do that at all… But hey, we survived!
*Maybe check a bag before the race. It is really simple- check it in before the race and pick it up after. This way you don’t have to run with anything on you but you still have it all with you for the after race stuff and the ride back. You can put your jacket it in here, the box of treats they give you, a cell phone, and other things your poor arms just can’t carry when you’re done.
*Distance maybe? Not more, but maybe less. The 5K is on Friday, so that leaves the whole weekend to have fun. And sometimes the 5K medal is better!
*Our corral. We were terrified the whole time that we’d get swept! Turns out, the “balloon ladies” were over a mile behind us, but being in the last corral still got to us. We’ll try to at least go one higher next time.
Best (and first) sister trip ever!! Really. That was the first time the three of us have gone on a trip together!
~K
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