For the marathon, I was dressed as Orange Bird. A lot of people who aren't Florida locals (or obsessed people who go do MK all the time), don't know who Orange Bird is. The Orange Bird is a character created by Disney for the Florida Citrus Commission as a mascot and is a character at Magic Kingdom's Adventureland at the Sunshine Tree Terrace located near the Enchanted Tiki Room.
Heidi was Minnie Mouse-themed.
The trek to Animal Kingdom was a bit long - through the speedway and past the sanitation plant...yuck, it smelled!
But once at Animal Kingdom, my hopes picked up because all the character lines were short! Right outside the park they had some live animals - pigs, birds, etc.
I ended up having to stop at medical to cover my feet in Biofreeze. It felt good to take my shoes of momentarily, but I don't think the freeze worked. My feet still hurt so much! I need to find a good pair of shoes.....
And let me tell you, I hated running through Wide World of Sports during the marathon. It just felt like we were there FOREVER, just winding around field and field, and building....blah...Probably because it was towards the end and I knew that as soon as I was out of there, it would just be Hollywood and Epcot in my way before finishing.
The Dopey Challenge was AWESOME!!! I would recommend it to everyone who is looking for a fun challenge. As long as you train for it, you will be able to do it. This was my first ever marathon!
I met a lot of awesome people online in various Dopey/runDisney groups, as well as face-to-face at races and meetups. #wangnation #teamwang
My first marathon was a great experience, but now I think I might be spoiled...how fun can another marathon be without all the fun stops and pictures to take???!!!