Having come from the Midwest, we are both very aware of how weird weather can be. Nothing quite prepares you for strange weather than growing up in states where the highs for any given spring/fall week are 79, 40, 60, 30, 20, 50 and 20.

We figured we wouldn’t have to deal with that in Florida, and for the most part we don’t, but every once in a while Florida turns into its own little bit of the Midwest.

We’ve definitely felt that during this Run Disney race weekend so far. The temperatures when we arrived to Epcot for Thursday and Friday were as low as 40 degrees (remember, we get there at 3:30 a.m.), but once the sun came up the temps rose to the high 50s. This type of temperature swing is easy to manage on shorter races, but when it comes to long races it can get quite difficult. How can you prepare for the cold and the hot at the same time?

Two words: Disposable. Clothing.

Find, or buy, some old clothing and bundle yourself up while waiting to start and for the beginning parts of the race. Once the sun comes up, shed layer by layer until you’re comfortable. Worried about littering or wasting clothing? Don’t be! Every piece of clothing gathered is washed and given to those in need.  

Characters

As with every Run Disney race, there were a good variety of characters to see along your journey. We didn’t stop to see them all, but we made sure to make note of who was there.

It’s important to note: Not all characters translate between years, so just because we saw someone in 2019 doesn’t mean you’re going to see them in 2020 and beyond. We are listing out the characters here more so as a reference point.

Here are the characters we saw and their locations:

• Captain Jack Sparrow & a female pirate we couldn’t quite recognize
• Lightning McQueen
• Wreck it Ralph and Venelope Von Schweetz — All the above were on the road to Magic Kingdom
• Maleficent, Evil Queen and the Queen of Hearts — Magic Kingdom parking lot
• Mike and Sulley — Outside of the Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor
• White Rabbit — Mad Tea Party
• Sideshow Goofy — Outside Storybook Circus
• Sebastian — Outside The Journey of the Little Mermaid
• Wicked stepsisters and Lady Tremaine — Cinderella Castle (Fantasyland side)
• Woody and Bullseye — Frontierland
• Tiana and Naveen — Backstage after you pass Splash Mountain
• Disney grooms and gazebo – Grand Floridian
• Donald and Daisy dressed in their golf attire – Magnolia Golf Course
• The Incredibles
• Green Army Man – Hill
• Dug, Russell and Carl
• Clarabelle and another male cow

Miss our other Run Disney Dopey Challenge race recaps? Be sure to check out our 5k and 10k reviews.