Splash N Dash Racecation at Walt Disney World -Day 1 (Animal Kingdom)

Let me start by saying I have total race envy right now of everyone who got to complete the Dopey Challenge at WDW Marathon Weekend (or any of the races really) or the Rebel Challenge at Disneyland.  Both of those challenges are on my runDisney bucket list.  Seriously though, congratulations to all those who completed them.

In order to make me feel less FOMO about not being at the events these past two weekends, it's finally time for some more Splash N Dash Recap.  I left off after the expo.

After the Expo, Andrew and I returned to our room at Saratoga Springs and dropped off our race stuff.  I also had to grab my Donald Mickey ears for our afternoon in Disney's Animal Kingdom.  I definitely wish I had more pictures for this one.

Since we had to wait forever for a bus back to Saratoga (seriously, every other hotel had 2 buses show up before ours did), I had to push back our Fastpass+ for Kilamanjaro Safaris.  Fortunately, I was able to do so and before long we were off on our first attraction in Disney World.

Confession: I have never been a huge fan of the safari.  I love animals, but I don't often get to spot them.  This time however, one of the giraffes must have known it was half marathon weekend because he was running all over the place!  This picture is him stopping for a snack:

We were starving after our safari ended, but our Expedition Everest window was about to open.  We headed over to Asia and rode Everest.  Disco Yeti was actually working!  I don't think I've ever been on the ride when the audio anamatronic was working but it is truly wonderful.  The stand by wait was only 10 minutes at that time, so we obviously rode again.

We finally had time to stop to eat before our next Fastpass+ at Dinosaur (but really, Countdown to Extinction).  Andrew got his lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, however they don't have any vegetarian options on the menu, so I was out of luck.  Luckily, I was able to get a quick-service veggie burger not too far away.  It was spicy, but pretty tasty.

After lunch, we still had about fifteen minutes before our Fastpass+ window opened.  Who do we see walking by, but Safari Donald.  Donald is both mine and Andrew's favorite character so we obviously had to stop for a picture:

Donald Duck is #1! (He was also a big fan of my ears)

After riding Dinosaur, which is actually one of my favorite attractions, we had one final stop to make... I had to meet Dug!

I absolutely LOVE Up. And I wore my "Adventure is out there shirt for this occasion!

I really enjoy Animal Kingdom...but it was time to park hop to Epcot!

Wine & Dine 2014 -Event Guide Released

In less than one month, I will be on my way to Walt Disney World for the 2014 Wine & Dine Half Marathon.  Now that the countdown clock is showing a lower number, I can't even begin to say how excited I am.  The trip comes at the end of my busiest week of the semester at work, and I'll definitely be ready for this mini-cation. 

I've been counting the days since the countdown number was in the triple digits, and when the number got to 30 today, I was so excited (I'm obviously counting down the days until I enter the world, not the race).  I was even more excited to see that the event guide was released!!!

You can find it here: 2014 Wine and Dine Event Guide

I already have read the whole guide *almost* cover to cover and will likely do so many more times before the race on November 8.  I'm an obsessive planner, so I like to have all the information at my fingertips. 

One thing I did notice was that the expo started at 10:00AM on Friday.  For some reason I was working under the assumption that it started at 9:00AM.  I was worried about the Fastpass reservations I had previously made.  But even with transportation to and from the expo, hopefully we can make it to Animal Kingdom by 12:05 for our 11:05-12:05 Kilimanjaro Safaris fastpass!!! Honestly, as long as I get to ride Everest and Dinosaur, I'm happy!

What are your must do attractions in Disney's Animal Kingdom?