This is my Disney Royal Family!
I’m finally starting to get the swing of these Disney 5K Races. The 2012 Tangled Royal Family 5K marked my 5th 5K at the Walt Disney World Resort. It also marked the 1st 5K that I registered for since getting a fancy new camera and I was determined that this time I would take lots and lots of photos and not worry at all about my race time…and that’s exactly what I did. Lots of character group shots with friends and lots of backstage photos. This is the only time you are actually allowed to take photos backstage and so I tried to capture as many images as I could so that I could share them with you.
It was a sea of racers heads in the Epcot parking lot at dawn right before the start of the race…
and we’re off!
Hey…it’s Zannaland and a preggers Jillie Beanie! This is the far side of the Epcot parking lot headed towards the back entrance into the cast parking lot by Test Track.
Service road that connects cast entrance to Epcot parking lot. This is where Disney ride vehicles come to die. Here’s a dead Studio Backlot Tour tram from MGM Studios. Yeah…that’s right people I said MGM =P
While passengers set sail that day on a three hour tour….a three hour tour! RIP Jungle Cruise Boat…
After you exit off the service road, on the other side of the Ride Vehicle Graveyard, you make a hard right over a bridge before entering the backstage Test Track area.
Here’s the view once on the bridge featured in the above photo. That’s the Test Track building on the right with the ride track on the left. Can you guess what that tan building is above the track? That’s right! World Showcase’s Mexico pavilion which houses the Gran Siesta…Fiesta Tour!
Epcot Security there to greet us and thank us for not texting.
Closer view of Test Track
Safe D Begins with Me signage.
More Test Track track and it was pretty cool to get to jog under it too!
Rounding the Mexico building and about to make our way onstage in World Showcase…
almost onstage!
We made it onstage!
At this point in the race we made our way around World Showcase, past the Fountain of Nations, past Spaceship Earth, across the backside of the entry turstyles and then back into the park on the other side of Spaceship Earth near Guest Relations where we made a hard left on the side of the restrooms and then backstage again. This is the area directly behind stroller rental.
Take note of the cast member on the far right in the blue shirt standing in front of the yellow cones as a frame of reference for another photo below.
BEST Hidden Mickey in the flag pole backstage…
Here’s that Cast Member I pointed out earlier who was standing by those cones and this is the backside of the Universe of Energy building.
Look to the right and you can see the entrance to the Epcot Tunnel aka the Epcot Utilidor. Only thought Magic Kingdom had a utilidor? Think again =)
Look to the left and you will see the road that leads away from where the Epcot Kennel used to be towards the parking lot where the race started.
Continue on the path and you will come up on the back side of the Wonders of Life pavilion.
Keep cruising along and you will run on the far side of where the kennel used to be and then out into the Epcot parking lot. See the old pet crossing sign?
and then “ta-da”! You are back to where you started and at the Finish!
and you get a really cool finisher’s medallion….and snacks….and the satisfaction of completing a runDisney race….and fantastic Memories!
I hope you decide to get out and run a Disney race with me soon! When else do you get backstage access like this? See you on the course!
It was at that tender age, that Peltz decided that he was destined to work for ‘The Mouse’. Staying the course, Jason graduated from Carnegie Mellon and took residence in New York City further refining his craft with the likes of Marvel Comics and Jim Henson Productions. Disney took notice and transplanted him here to Orlando, Florida where he worked for Disney Animation at Disney’s MGM Studios. Peltz is currently a Full-Time Freelancer and his most recent project was working on Disney’s “Princess and the Frog”.
