On Saturday morning, my daughter and I participated in the runDisney Minnie and Mickey Royal Family 5k. She loves Minnie and Princesses, so I knew she would love this event! She was not happy to wake up at 5 am, but she was much more happy when I told her we were going to wear our Minnie dresses. We got to the Epcot parking lot where the event started. Right away, we got in line for a picture with Princess Minnie and Prince Micky. Then it was time to go to our corrals!
The corral system is a very new thing for a runDisney 5k. From what I gathered, the corrals were assigned based on when you registered for the event rather than speed, but no one official has confirmed this. Since we were in the stroller division, we were in the last corral--corral E. As usual, runDisney did there best to keep the time waiting in the corral as fun as possible. There was music, jokes, and lots of fun banter by the announcers. Each corral got there very own special send off, complete with fireworks!
We waited about 45 minutes to start the race! Half of the runners had completed the race before we got to start. It was crazy waiting for so long. My daughter, along with lots of other kids, had fallen asleep in her stroller. But finally, we were off! The course was the same as last year. We ran (walked) the outer perimeter of the Epcot parking lot for about a mile before entering a back stage area of World Showcase, just behind the Mexican pavilion. This was when the fun started!
Once we were in the park is when we started to see characters. We saw Mulan, Snow White and Dopey, Belle in her blue dress, Marie the cat, and Princess Daisy with Prince Donald. We were also fortunate enough to get a preview of sorts of the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. We saw topiary's of Hook, Peter Pan, Tick Tock the croc, most of the princesses with their prince's, and some Toy Story characters. It was beautiful to see them in the early morning sun light.
I very much enjoyed doing this race with my daughter. She had so much fun! She was a little scared of the character at first, but then she really got into it. We crossed the finish line and a volunteer put a medal around her neck. She was so proud! I loved seeing her like that. Some friends from home were waiting for us at the finish. They are a fellow NICU grad family. We have got to know them over the past few years, so it was so nice to see them that the finish. I can't wait to do another event with my daughter.
A dream is a wish...
--Amy
Aww, you guys look so cute in your matching race day outfits!
ReplyDeleteSo cute! Love your Minnie ears and matching outfits! Strollers of course have their own corral, but I don't think the other corrals for 5Ks are based on when you register. We have done two 5Ks, and my husband got into A both times, and I was placed into later corrals. I registered us both at the same time (mine first, then his). The 5K registrations on active do ask for your anticipated Pace per Mile (Under 7 minutes, 7:01 - 9:00 minutes, 9:01 - 11:00 minutes, 11:01 - 13:00 minutes, or 13:01 - 16:00 minutes). Maybe that is the key to corral placement, since my husband fits into the second category, and I fit into the last. I do want to say that being in a later corral isn't bad. The early corrals may not have lines for character stops, but they run nearly the entire course while it is still dark out. With no fear of sweepers, its okay to start later, enjoy the course, and stop as often as you like - with plenty of sunlight for your photos. :)
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