Bright and early on Saturday morning, I ran Mickey’s Jingle Jungle 5K, a holiday-themed fun run through Animal Kingdom.
I met our group at 5:30 AM to head over to the start. The sun was just starting to rise when we arrived.
Our group for the 5K: Ryan (Julie’s husband), Julie, me, Jen (editor at Women’s Health), Dana and Melissa (fabulous PR women for New Balance).
Since I attended the race on behalf of New Balance, here’s a quick rundown of my race day outfit:
- Impact Tank in Black with Fiery Coral <— Love this tank! I want them in all 3 colors!
- Momentum Short Graphic in Waterfall
- Impact Hoodie in Black with Fiery Coral & Sulphur Spring
- Komen 8903v in Komen Pink with Silver
Our group was in the very last coral, so it took us about 10-15 minutes to cross the start line, but it was a fun experience once we got there. There was music, enthusiastic announcers, and fake snow! It was actually my first time seeing fake snow, so I was pretty excited. (Is this how people, who have never seen real snow, feel the first they see it? Haha!)
Going into this race, I was told it was one you shouldn’t try to PR because it was just so crowded, so I didn’t have any time goals or expectations, but I didn’t realized just how many people would be racing the course too.
Various parts of the course in the Animal Kingdom get really narrow, so we were pretty much shoulder-to-shoulder the entire race. There were also a lot of people walking the race, so it was difficult to run at race pace. My fastest speed was a brisk jog. Even still, I had a great time, especially seeing all of the fun costumesββthere was a mix of holiday and character costumes!
There was also a number of Disney characters along the route that you could get your picture taken with. We saw a lot of long lines, but they moved quickly. Those Disney photographers are efficient!
All in all, Mickey’s Jingle Jungle 5K was a great race. It would be perfect for newbie runners or families with kids, and I think you could definitely race it if you registered early and got yourself in the first coral.
After the race, we had a couple of hours to kill, so I went back to my hotel room, showered, and relaxed a little before it was time for brunch.
New Balance hosted an epic brunch for us at the Grand Floridian where we stayed for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend.
Seriously, it was an epic meal with all sorts of delicious brunch options!
I was wooed by the omelet woman, so I ordered one with all of the fixings.
My plate – round one:
Heavenly!
My plate – round two (also heavenly):
One more recap post to come!
Questions of the Day
What’s your favorite race theme to dress up for?
Are you excited about the holidays or is it still too early?
Would you rather eat a mostly sweet brunch or savory brunch?
44 Comments
I definitely enjoy sweet as opposed to savory! Still too early for me for holiday shopping. Not until Thanksgiving for me!
So excited for the holidays. I think Thanksgiving and Christmas are slowly merging into one! Love a savory breakfast!
This looks like such a fun race for family’s and kids! I haven’t ran many theme races, but once I did a jingle bell run where everyone wore, you guessed it, holiday garb and jingle bells!
I like a mix of salty and sweet for brunch! A veggie and cheese omelet with a big stack of pancakes sounds just about perfect! π
Disney race are my favorite (and the most fun), but I am probably just a biased Disney passholder. I have yet to dress up for a race, but I think for next years Tower of Terror my boyfriend and I will do something from the Nightmare Before Christmas.
I love that you get to take pictures with all the Disney characters during the race! I’d love to do a Disney race just for that reason!
I’m a huge savory fan. It takes me a little longer to realize I’m full with savory – if I have a cinnamon roll for breakfast, it’s one and done. I can graze for hours over a savory breakfast casserole!
I actually have never dressed up for a race, but if I ever ran a Disney one I think I would HAVE to dress up! Looks like a great race – and the breakfast looks even better π
savory vs. sweet-totally depends on my mood!
That looks so fun! I really want to do a race in Disney one of these days.
I’m in full out holiday mode bring it on!
What a fun event and to hang out with pbfingers…I mean Julie! π awesome!
What a fun race! I love the idea of being able to take photos with Disney characters π I’m definitely already excited for the holidays – can’t wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas!
The race looks really fun, but brunch looks phenomenal. Haha. I guess you can see where my priorities are.
I am SUCH a sweet girl! Give me pastries and desserts for brunch π
I am SUCH a sweet girl! Give me pastries and desserts for brunch π
Love the recap! Being a HUGE Disney fan I have loved reading about the recaps in the blogging world! I am so ready for the holidays! It’s such a magical time! I would do savory, I’m not a huge sweets fan.
I’m all about the savory brunch. Eggs and potatoes and meat, yes please!
That does not look like your standard brunch fair!
That looks like so much fun! I’m really excited for the Holidays this year. In the past I used to dread hearing Christmas music before Thanksgiving but this year might be different. I love a good mix of sweet and savory. Too much sweet stuff in the morning gives me a stomach ache so I love to have an omelet or something to balance it π
How fun! It’s funny though that’s it’s a Jingle 5K but people are dressed in shorts and tank tops… Oh yeah, I live in Chicago. It will always blow my mind I guess haha.
Haha! I thought that too!
Id go mostly sweet…pancakes all the way! Though the fresh omelet looks really good! Love seeing my food made and presented in front of me! We’ve a Christmas Fair in the restaurant in a couple of weeks time…mulled wine and roasted chestnuts…it’ll feel Christmassy then!
It is DEFINITELY not too early to get excited about the holidays! I’m already getting pumped. That race (and the whole trip) looks like such an awesome way to kick off the season!
love the Disney race pics!! we will have to look into doing the 5k π
I loooove Christmas so I am ready!
Sweet brunch all the way! I could eat chocolate at every meal :).
YES – bring on the holidays! I have Christmas music on in the car and even at work – love, love, love it!
I love Holiday runs. New Bedford, MA has a Santa Run that I did 2 years ago. With your registration you got a Santa suit. It was awesome to see the sea of Santas.
Since it’s mid November I’m better with the holiday stuff. The day after Halloween is too early.
Omelets at the best! that looks amazing!
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I don’t have a preference for brunch, I seriously love it all SO much. It has to be my favorite meal.
I also love love the Holidays, I live away from my family so I get so excited to be lazy at home with them!
I am SO unbelievably excited for the holiday season! I don’t think it’s too early at all; once Starbucks has my precious Skinny Peppermint Mocha it is officially the holiday season!
Hi Tina! I have a question that I know you can answer. I have been working out early in the mornings, and typically eat breakfast post-workout (within an hour). Should I be eating before workouts too? How do you plan your eating when you do morning workouts?
It’s really all about how you feel in the morning. I’m always hungry when I wake up, and I hate exercising on an empty stomach, so I eat breakfast before my morning workouts. I know some people don’t like to have food in their stomach when they exercise, so they wait until after to eat. You could always try both ways and see what you prefer. Or eat half your breakfast before and half after. It’s totally up to you and what you think works best! Γ°ΕΈΛβ
@Tina: Thanks! This helps- I will have to try both π
YUM! Looks delish. I am a sucker for brunch, fave meal of the day and one reason why weekends are the best. π I used to like sweets, but I notice now that savory foods are much more filling, so I try to go for those more often than not. However, I had caramelized bacon & chocolate chip pancakes this past weekend and they were the perfect mix of sweet & savory! Heaven.
They’re all very cute.
The thin spirit holiday band is fun.
I loved following all the post & IG pics on this fun time!!!!
Looks like a fun race, now I want to run Disney too! Love a good omelet at brunch, but the sweet stuff usually wins out!
Sounds like it was such a fun race! I loved your race outfit!
Love that the omelette lady wooing you made you order all the fixings π Brunch looked great too.
What a fun race! I think a disney race would be such a blast. One day I’ll do one!
Yummy looking brunch. Mmmm!
I have never done a themed race, although it sounds soo fun! I’d love to do a Disney race. Like the Princess one!
I think if you really love the holidays, it is okay to celebrate as early as you want π
And I prefer a sweet brunch! π
The holidays can’t come soon enough! Anything to spread Christmas joy a little longer throughout the year is no bad thing in my book! I love seeing everyone smile! π
That seems like such a fun race! That would definitely get me into the holiday spirit. I am excited for the holidays, but not for the cold lol. I think I would need a mix of sweet & savory for brunch. I have a huge sweet tooth, but I could only eat so much French toast or pancakes with syrup haha.