Disney Dreams

On 1-11-2026, Chettles ran his "3rd and final" Full Marathon
through the four parks of Disney World!!

This = my fav race day pic of him as they came back into Epcot for the final stretch!

And now, a recap of day one of my trip. =)

Chet called while I was at the airport to let me know that Tate was sick.  (My nonstop Southwest flight was timely and smooth, as was the Uber drive and Pop Century Hotel check-in.)  Chet texted at 9:30pm saying Tate had thrown up again and praying "IN JESUS NAME" that no one else would be getting sick this trip - (spoiler alert - the prayer worked!)  I was in bed by 10PM and back up by 2:45AM to meet Chet and Karli at the bus stop at 3:30AM.  Absurd!! lol

As soon as I got there, though, the race-day energy kicked in.  I just really love the whole vibe of seeing all the runners and their supporters and the fun dancing bus drivers, all ready to make the most of Marathon day!!

Pop Century bus stop selfie with the wonderful Wilsons - this was the first time I'd seen them since I got to Florida!

We rode the bus over to Epcot, where this race started and finished!  They had bleachers and a huge screen set up where Karli and I watched four waves in each of the 7 corrals go through the start line (Chet was somewhere in wave 3 of Corral D).

Mid-race character pic with Louis!

Judy Hopps and Nick Wilder!

We walked to a certain spot to see him again at Mile 3, then Karli and I took the monorail to Magic Kingdom, where we grabbed a table for a bit before they all came through Main Street around Mile 9!
It was cool being there to watch the sunrise over Cinerella's Castle - probably the first and only time I can say that!

❤

The crowd was predictably chaotic and insane, so we got separated trying to push our way to the front of the roped-off section... Chet stopped for a selfie with Karli Marie!

...then one with me!

He took his own castle selfie! =)

Whilst we grabbed some coffee (for Karli) and pastries from Joffrey's - yum!
Side note: Chettles ran the full 26.2+ miles on an empty stomach, which still feels insane to me!

Chet's pace group selfie!  He found a 15/30 group (where you walk 15 seconds, run 30 seconds over and over) going for a 6:30 finish time, and he stayed with them the great majority of the race!  (This race has a strict 7-hour time limit and balloon ladies at the back of it that will escort people off the course if they do not finish in time.  I think I could've made it, though.  The world will never know. lol)

We saw Chet one more time at Mile 12, where Karli passed him his sunglasses and pickle juice and LMNT electrolytes... then we bussed back over to Pop Century, where she went back to Donetta's whilst I hung out at the hotel for a bit... then me and Bill and Melissa met her and the kids by the Rubiks Cube (Bill and Melissa's hotel building), and Karli drove us all to Hollywood Studios!

Waiting with our signs at Mile 24 outside of Hollywood Studios!  ❤
(My sign is a nod to Chet's fireworks commentary during our 2015 trip.)

Another random sign that made me laugh!

Parker was *thrilled* to be there supporting her dad! lol

Sadly, the traffic from HS to Epcot was INSANE, as was the Finish Line crowd!  We called Chet to tell him to slow down a bit, so this = him following that suggestion and trying to wait on us. lol

Between the double stroller and arguing kids and the crowded and narrow Finish Line path, I was the only one who actually got to see him finish... I couldn't get much closer than this, but this pic still makes me happy!

And so does this one!  I paid $200 to get all the official photographer pictures from this trip! =)

Stepping through "The End" of the race... not gonna lie, they kinda missed the "Happily Ever After" opportunity here - with the storybook theme, I was expecting that at the end and "Once Upon a Time" at the beginning!

But they lie - it wasn't the end - the participants had to walk approximately two more miles directly after the Finish Line to get to "the reunion area" to see their friends and family!  Gracious, Disney, do better!!

Yay, Chettles - best person I know - so glad I got to be there to support him!!  I'm mildly annoyed that they gave them their medals in a plastic bag rather than putting them around their necks #anticlimactic... but whatevs, he got some great medal pics the next day!

Wilson/Weatherford crew... Chet with the gold Mickey ears and race medal!

And one with meeee! lol

He changed into this fun t-shirt post-race.  Cricut for the win! lol

(And he really was done - at least according to him on that day, he will never do another Disney Marathon.)

Yay Marathon Athletes, and yay State Farm sponsorship! lol

Close-up of the medal!! ❤
26.2 in 2026

We took a mid-day break to rest and recharge, then did dinner at Town Tavern in Celebration with Teresa and Donetta!

Cute pics of Parker and Donetta that night. =)

(There was a brief discussion about visiting the Boardwalk for the Cake Bake Shop, but the kids vetoed that so we all went to bed early instead, which made sense after a 2:45 wakeup call.)

So that concludes day one. =)

❤ ❤ ❤