Disney's Tower of Terror AND Happy Haunted 5K Trail Races!

This is a very special post today! Our friend Tricia from Disney Gals has agreed to share her recap from last weekends Tower of Terror festivities at Disney World!

Greetings! My name is Tricia Kalita and I am a Disney Gal (DisneyGals.com) that loves taking frequent trips to Walt Disney World with my family but my latest obsession has definitely become my “Mommy Retreats.” Sound fun? Well, here’s the definition: Mommy Retreats are my super-fun, adults-only weekends that occur at least once per year during the incredibly awesome runDisney events. My most recent adventure took place last weekend at the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 Miler Weekend and it just took the top spot for my favorite Disney event so far.

Here’s a recap:

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 Miler weekend consists of five “events”: Disney’s Health and Fitness Expo, the Disney Happy Haunted 5K Trail Run, runDisney Kids Races, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler, and the Disney Villains Hollywood Bash. Some people do one or two of the five and this year I did all four of the adult events and am here to report back!

First up is Disney’s Health and Fitness Expo.

This expo certainly can be an event all in itself and, if explored in full, can take several hours to complete. The main purpose of the expo is to pick up all of your goodies (t-shirt, race bib, bag check info, etc.) before race time but what they put between the entrance and the bib collection is the fun stuff! Right in the front of the expo is the largest booth in the arena which houses the official runDisney merchandise and is a very popular and often crowded place to be. Inside the expo, you can also find other fun race supplies like Disney-inspired clothing, New Balance (where you can buy the official runDisney running shoes), Sparkle Skirts, massages, nutritional products, training gear, etc. Probably one of my favorite booths was the runDisney booth.

Here you could get up close and personal with all of the beautiful runDisney finisher medals (to include the upcoming Dopey Challenge medals).  

You can also have FREE Tower of Terror photos taken and emailed to you! The expo also offers training and nutrition seminars given by some of the most elite people in the business, like Jeff Galloway and Tara Gidus, which run throughout the day and are definitely worth a listen.

Now onto the first running event, the Disney Happy Haunted 5K Trail Run.

This race started on Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and we hopped on our bus at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort at 6:30 a.m. The runners were broken up into five corrals as we were entertained by two very funny hosts throughout the morning. “Scarecrow” Mickey also showed up to see us off on our way but not before we were given a strong warning by a visit from the real Headless Horseman who warned us from veering off the path. New runners should be aware that this really is a trail run…it’s not just a cute name. You will be running on many different surfaces, such as dirt, grass, sand, track, gravel, woods, etc. and should be prepared for that.

I thought Disney packed in quite a decent amount of entertainment into a 3 mile run and we really had a great time! If staying at a Disney host resort, transportation to/from this race is simple. I notice a little improvement with the runDisney races every time I go and this time was no exception. This was seamless so bravo to the event coordinators! The runDisney Kids Races follow the 5K event and begin at 9:30 a.m. so it’s perfect for the family that just want to start the day off with a 5K for the Moms or Dads and continue right into the kids events. The runDisney Kids Races consist of a Diaper Dash, 100m, 200m, 400m, and One-Mile run so there definitely is something for everyone!

After race number one, we grabbed some lunch, and a nap, before getting ready to head to race number two…The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler.

 This race was much larger in scale (about 10,000 runners) at was scheduled to start at 10:00 p.m. We hopped our resort bus at 8:30 p.m. and joined the big dance party that was in full swing by the time we arrived at the parking lot of Hollywood Studios. We spent our time taking lots of photos, checking our bags, getting in a last minute potty break and even doing a little dancing before lining up in our assigned corral. Another bravo goes to the event coordinators here who did a fabulous job of somehow keeping 10,000 people corralled properly. From there we walked (quite a while) to the start of the race within our corral and waited for the race to start. The race itself was fabulous and I enjoyed it better than any of the daytime races that I’ve participated in thus far!

 I loved the whole nighttime, Twilight Zone, Halloween atmosphere. The race begins at Hollywood Studios and heads out toward Animal Kingdom before turning right around and heading back toward the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex where you run through the baseball stadium! This section of the course also includes some of the same trail run from the 5K so runners need to be aware of the many surface changes during this part of the race. From the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, runners then head back toward Hollywood Studios and actually get to run through that park and finish with the backdrop of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

Then the fun really begins, that is if you’re still standing…

The Disney Villains Hollywood Bash is the fifth and final event that is held from 10:00 p.m. until 4:00 a.m. and is included in the race registration. For an additional fee, friends, family, and supporters can also come to experience this event. Last year I only ran the 5K in the morning and attended the Villains Bash that evening which was a great way to really enjoy the bash. I arrived nice and early and rode a ton of rides before the runners started coming in. This year was quite a different story. We didn’t arrive back at Hollywood Studios until after midnight and sat down for some rest and recovery before even heading into the park.

 From there, we had some photos taken, picked up our bags, and changed into new (dry) clothes to continue on. The line for Rockin Roller Coaster was 20 minutes so we headed straight there for our one ride of the evening. Once we escaped from there, the wait time for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was 45 minutes and after running 10 miles, this was out of the question. Instead we ate and relaxed and before we knew it, it was nearing 3:00 a.m. and we all decided to head home…and shower!

The weekend was definitely one that I won’t forget as I spent it with a great group of friends, stayed in fabulous accommodations (Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort), attended some amazing events, met some great people, and thoroughly enjoyed everything that runDisney put together to make the entire weekend such a success.

Congratulations on your accomplishment Tricia! Thanks for sharing with us!