Expedition Everest - COMPLETE!

I am so proud of myself for completing Everest, you have no idea! It was so much fun.  I arrived around 7:00pm and there were huge tents set up and music was playing.  Lots of people had already started filtering in.  We just hung around and stretched and talked.  So around 7:45, they started doing the course talk again and letting us know what to expect (sorta) and then they just cranked up the music and we had a big dance party before the race.  So around 8:15pm they opened the gates and we started to fill in the chute.  I was in wave 1, and there was 7 other waves behind us that were going to be coming in 5 minute intervals.  Then they started to count us down.  So instead of the traditional guns that go off to signal the start of the race we had fireworks and loud music, it was epic!  The race started in the butterfly parking lot and made a giant loop before entering into the park.  But before you could, you had to jump over the small bails that they had set up.  Then after that we made are way into the park and up to Rafiki's planet watch where we hit another obstacle, tires! It was classic football style, we had to kinda hop through the tires before setting off again.  Along the way the cast members from animal kingdom had spread out and were cheering us and giving us words of encouragement.  They had volunteers who would give out water along the way.  After we made it through the bails, tires and all through animal kingdom we made our way out of the park for our final obstacle.  We had the choice of climbing over ropes or crawling underneath this mesh stuff.  I choice to climb over the ropes.  Then came the second part of the race, the scavenger hunt! We then had to solve 5 clues, each one of them taking us to various parts of the park. So a 5K race completed and then a scavenger hunt done, we had to run to the finish line which was at the base of Expedition Everest roller coaster.  At the end they gave us powerade, water, bananas, Clif bars and a giant medal that had a compass on the inside.  Ruth (my friend from the UK who did the individual race as well) and I rode Everest 3 times and went on Dinosaur.  We hit the dance party for a bit and then grabbed our bags and headed home.  I am so so so happy I did the race.  It's a good starting point for all the next ones to come!  Today my friends and I are hitting up Fort Wilderness lodge and Animal Kingdom (again) today, followed by Hollywood Studios tomorrow!

from Florida with love,
Jilly