Expedition Everest Challenge Recap

Let me start off by saying that if you didn't go you just don't know. This was one of the best trips I have ever taken. I could not have asked for a better group of friends to experience this event with.

We got things started off around 8:45 pm with Gibby picking me up. We then headed over to kidnap Chris. The kidnapping was painless and we were on our way. The ride to Orlando went pretty well. We made the trip in just a little over 13 hours, which had us arriving in the Orlando area around 10:15 am. Due to a GPS programming error on either mine or Chris' part we got to see the downtown area of Orlando before KG reprogrammed the thing and got us on the right track to the Animal Kingdom Lodge.



We arrived at the lodge a little before 11:00 am and checked in. Our room was ready so we unloaded the car and headed for the room. The room was very nice. Here is a pic of the room and the view of the pool from our balcony on the 4th floor.




















We then decided it was time to head to the parks. We started off by making our way to Epcot to pick up our 1 day park hopper tickets from will call. Unfortunately for me, trying to travel light, I did not bring my photo id. This meant that I had to make my way all of the way back to the hotel to get it. So Chris and Kevin headed to the Magic Kingdom and I headed back to the resort, not before remembering to get the safe key from Chris in order to get my wallet. That would have sucked to make it all the way back and not have the safe key. It took me about an hour to make the trip to the hotel and meet my Yeti's at the Magic Kingdom.

Once I met back up with them we hit the rides. We rode Pirates of the Carribean, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, and the Buzz Lightyear Ride. We then headed over to Hollywood Studios.

Our main goal when getting to Hollywood Studios was to ride Disney's newest ride Toy Story Mania. I had read on several message boards online that the wait times were terrible for this and that the fast passes were always gone early. The fast passes were gone, but we only had to wait about 45 minutes to ride. Which I don't think was too bad for a brand new ride. There was plenty to see inside the waiting area.
















One of the coolest parts of the waiting area was the talking Mr. Potato Head. That thing was awesome. It was very interactive. It would talk to people in line and ask them questions.


We then made it onto the ride, which was worth every second of the wait. It is a 4D attraction, which means that you ride the thing with 3D glasses on. It was made up of several different shooting gallery games, a lot like the Buzz Lightyear ride, but way better. I can see why the wait is so long and the fast passes are always gone early. I can't wait to get back in 24 days and ride that thing again. After riding that we headed over to the Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster. We were able to ride Tower of Terror twice and Rock n Roller Coaster once.

We then left Hollywood Studios and headed to Epcot for Extra Magic Hours. Which meant that they were open until midnight!! Once in Epcot we rode Soarin, the Nemo ride, Mission Space, and Test Track. I had never ridden Test Track at night, so that was pretty cool. We then grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Saturday started off with us heading to Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. This was my first time there. It is a huge complex. We were there for our package pickup and course talk. There were also some photo ops.


After the packet pickup we parked the car at Animal Kingdom in order have a change of clothes and some after race beverages. We then decided to head to Downtown Disney and do a little souvenir shopping for the families. We also ate lunch at Earl of Sandwich, another place that I had never eaten but will definitely return to on the next trip. We then decided that due to time constraints that we would opt to skip Epcot and give the 3 1 day tickets away on the DIS boards. That way they would not go to waste and karma would be good to us. We then headed over to Beaches and Cream for a pre-race dessert. I had the awesome No Way Jose! See pic below.

After that it was back to the resort for about an hour of relaxation before heading to the challenge. We then jumped a bus, which was parked right outside of the resort and only for those participating in the challenge.

Once to the challenge area we got in line for some photo ops. Then it was off to our wave start points. Chris was in wave 1 and we were in wave number 2. He just dropped back into our wave so that we could run as Team Sweaty Yeti. The race was awesome.














We ended up finishing the entire event in 1:02:17, which was a decent time since we had to get two different passports with clues. That meant that we had to find 8 clues instead of 4. Once we crossed the finish line and handed our passports off for verification we were headed to the car and then back to the after party. The only rides open that I had any interest in were Expedition Everest, which we rode 8 times and Dinosaur, which we rode twice. We had a lot of fun doing crazy things in the ride photos. We made sure that anyone who rode near us knew that they had just rode with the Yetis.















We ended up closing the park down at around midnight. We then walked to the car and headed back to the resort for some much needed sleep.

Sunday morning came early. We ended up getting on the road around 7:30 am. After about 12 1/2 hours on the road we finally arrived home just before 8:00 pm.

And that ends our journey.

So until next time.....

Yeti Out!!!!!!!

Today is the day!!!!!

Well it is finally here. Chris, KG, and I are heading to Disney World in approximately 12 hours to participate in the Expedition Everest Challenge on Saturday. This trip has been in the works since early February. It seemed like such a long time away when we first booked it. Now it is here.

We will be driving. So hopefully we don't end up running out of gas in Nashville or Atlanta. I don't think that we will, but wish us luck anyway. We plan on getting to Disney around 9 or 10 am on Friday and then enjoying a day of park hopping. We will probably end our day with closing down Epcot. We will begin Saturday morning in Epcot, participate in the event around 7, and then finish up the day in the Animal Kingdom for the after party. Should be a blast. I will be sure to take lots of pics for blog updates when we return.

For those of you who can't go, here is just a little taste of one of the rides we will be enjoying.



So until next time....

Yeti Out!

Felt Like Tina After A Round With Ike....

I know it has been awhile since my last post. All I can say is that life has a way of getting in the way. I am not saying that is a bad thing, but it does take up a lot of time. So let me recap...

Since the last time I posted not too much had happened until this past week. The training for the Expedition Everest 5K has went excellent. We leave this coming Thursday and head to Disney!!! Last Sunday started out quite nicely. Chris and Double D showed up at the house for a Sunday morning 5 mile run. The run went well with a finishing time right around 52 minutes. We let Double D set the pace, since he has not been training for 6 months. This was also Chris's first run of that distance. While we were running we had noticed that it was a little more windy than usual. Not windy enough for us to see what we would be in for later in the day though. After the run we hung out and talked for awhile before Chris and Double D had to make their way home.

Sunday was also my 17th wedding anniversary. Autumn had been sick on Friday and Saturday but said that she was feeling better on Sunday. So I wanted to go out for lunch to celebrate our anniversary. We decided to head to Cheddar's, which is one of my favorite restaurants. By this time the winds had picked up significantly. So, we put our name on the list and waited. While we were waiting the power at the restaurant went out. The hostess then walked to the front doors and locked them, so no more people could enter. The power was only out for maybe 10 minutes. Not long after the power came back on we were seated. No sooner than the appetizers hit the table the power was out again. Our waiter came over and said that it was going to be a few before he would be able to put our order in, which was fine since I had a plate of chips and salsa in front of me. After probably 15 minute he came back and gave us the option of waiting or leaving without owing a thing. We chose to leave, which turned out to be a good thing since they were without power for 4 days.

We then decided we would head home, since just about everywhere we passed was without power. Along the way home we noticed numerous trees blown down or broken and plenty of roofs and siding missing on homes. As we pulled onto our street I was hopeful that we did not have any damage to the house. I was wrong. We have some roof damage. I was able to get it secured for now, but am waiting on the insurance adjuster to take a look at it. The power was out at the house. Luckily the weather had turned a little cooler, so opening the windows kept the house comfortable. While I was on the roof securing the damage I received a voice mail from one of the managers at work who gave me the great news (sarcasm) that we would be closed that night. Oh well, just meant I did not need to take a nap. I then made phone calls to Chris and Gibby, my fellow Yeti's, to make sure that they were aware.

After sitting around the house for awhile longer we decided to take a ride around the area and look at the damage and find somewhere to eat. Lots of trees and homes were damaged in Jeff, Clarksville, and New Albany. We ended up heading to a Pizza Hut in New Albany, which was the least crowded of every place that we saw and were there for almost 2 hours. As we headed back home we were hoping that we would have power, but we did not.

We were without power for almost 4 days! Our power came back on at 1:22 pm on Wednesday. I know this because the fan in our bedroom woke me. I don't think I have ever been happier to be woken that early in the day. After 4 days with no electricity all of the food in the fridge was gone. We had been surviving on PB&J and fast food, and cold showers. The kids were out of school for the entire week, which had to suck for them being stuck home with no power. Luckily we were able to charge gameboy's and ipod's with the car chargers, so this gave them some relief.

Things seem to be back to normal now. Although my parents still do not have power. They live out past Charlestown in an area with not too many homes, so it may be awhile for them. I talked to my brother who lives near Cincinnatti and he has damage to his home, but never lost power.

I do want to say thanks to Chris, Kevin, and Double D for all of the "Do you need anything?" and "If you need to shower or wash clothes or anything the house is available". It makes it nice to have a group of friends that you know you can count on. So, Thank You.

On a happier note, we are only days away from the Everest Challenge!!! It is going to be a great trip and I can't wait to go. I will definately blog and post pics once we return for all of you who are not able to go.

So until next time.....

Yeti Out!