The weather was much better but still pretty cold. We were on our own this morning and decided to leave around the same time. The 10k was a bit busier than the 5k but not by much. We were ready for day 2!
The corrals were more organized this time and started right on time. I had another throw away sweater on that kept me pretty warm until it was time to start.
The 10k heads out towards service roads before looping back into Epcot. It is the same course as the Princess 10k I ran last year. Within the first mile is Anna and Elsa on an overpass making it snow (and of course Let it Go is playing!) which is great. . The beginning is pretty boring-we hit our first character (white rabbit then lilo and stitch) around mile 1 but kept going until we reached Epcot. Along the way they played some fun music videos but other than that, the course was a bit dark and quiet.
The most frustrating part about the 10k was the weather was great so we both wanted to fly but knew we had to keep a conservative pace.
The course never felt crowded as the corrals were released every 10 min. It was great to have wide open spaces to run but it also added to the desire to go fast.
We finally entered the back of Epcot just like the 10k and entered World Showcase next to Norway. As we continued around, there were characters out but different ones than the 5k which was great!
We didn't stop for any characters in world showcase as the lines were too long. We did come up upon a line with NO CHARACTER. I've never seen this before at any Disney race and found it ridiculous and pretty unacceptable for a race that cost 100 dollars that they couldn't switch out characters. Even worse that you could wait In line and then have no one there! We found out later it was Genie.
We exited Epcot at the International Gateway and headed to the Boardwalk which is gorgeous when it's so quiet. We came up to a decent line at ESPN zone and figured it would be a sports character. Well imagine my surprise WHEN IT WAS A MASSIVE LINE WITH NO CHARACTER AND NO IDEA WHEN THEY WOULD BE BACK. once again, I find this unacceptable. It was to be sports Mickey but the risk of him not coming for 5-10 min and then him leaving again was too great to wait.
We continued around the boardwalk (stopped for a pic with yacht club in the background as our characters are from Cape Cod in Japan) and headed back into Epcot next to Figment ride. We finally stopped for a character: Chip and Dale all dressed up.
Let me explain our costumes here for a second. We were Duffy and Shelley May, who is Duffy's girlfriend in Japan. I knew no one would know who I was so I decided to go all basic with pink and a small headband and a Mickey on my Butt! We decided on this as Minnie created Duffy for mickeys adventures (yes, we totally listened to the tv bedtime story about him before going to sleep before the 10k) so it would fit with the Minnie Mouse theme. Devin did get great comments on his Duffy costume though!
We finished around spaceship earth and headed back to eat at the hotel before going to Hollywood studios in the afternoon. I took a quick nap and felt great-no soreness and not tired.
Honestly if this was the only race I was running this weekend, I would have been so disappointed. I talk up WDW races a lot as they can have more characters than DL can and this race was lacking (minus my favorite Anna and Elsa at the beginning). I found the lack of characters at the last 2 Disney 10ks (enchanted princess 10k and Disneyland 10k) so disappointing compared to the amazing first Disneyland 10k. I'm honestly a bit nervous for the Princess 10k and Tink 10k I have coming up based on this race.
Characters seen:
- Anna and Elsa
- White rabbit
- Lilo and stitch
- Parade characters
- Mulan and mushu
- Genie
- Sports Mickey
- Parade characters
- Chip and Dale
What are your thoughts on the WDW 10k? Have you run any of the other Disney 10ks?