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The Walt Disney World Marathon weekend excitement has begun to wind down as runners ice their knees and prepare for the next runDisney event, the Princess Half Marathon Weekend, next month. But, one Disney runner’s costume has us especially impressed as this fan of Disney’s Yehaa Bob Jackson took his running game to the next level!
That’s right… meet Matt Kunkel! Matt ran the Dopey challenge this past weekend which is a total of 48.6 miles in 4 consecutive days running through the Disney Parks and Resorts. Runners taking part in the Dopey complete all 4 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend races and earn not only the 4 individual event medals but both the Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge medal and the Dopey Challenge Medal. That’s a grand total of 6, well deserved, medals!
What made Matt stand out above the crowd however is his idea to dress like a beloved Disney entertainer icon… Yehaa Bob Jackson! For a while, we weren’t sure if Yehaa Bob Jackson would be making a return to Walt Disney World after COVID closures. We were SO happy when Disney broke the news that Bob would be returning to the piano to share his talents with Guests visiting Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside at the River Roost Lounge.
You see, it’s no secret that Matt is a big Bob Jackson fan. Back in August, before Bob made his return to Disney’s Port Orleans Resort, Matt took advantage of Bob’s personal page live streams that helped us all get through the COVID times with Bob’s upbeat music and charming personality shining through on our screens. Matt shared a picture to Facebook with a “Thanks, Bob” while he was grilling out to the live stream show.
So, when it came time for a costume idea for the Walt Disney World Marathon, Matt dressed to impress. Matt took to Facebook to share, “I thought y’all might enjoy my running costume for the Walt Disney World 10K this morning. I got a LOT of compliments!” We obviously aren’t the only ones loving on Matt’s costume as Bob Jackson shared the photos to his personal Facebook page.
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The yellow cap, red suspenders, the bugle, and even the name tag… Matt, you nailed it! We messaged with Matt and here’s what he had to say:
“I was a little worried, wondering if it might be too much of a “deep cut” for most fans, but I really did get a lot of compliments on it, both from runners and Cast Members alike. It was funny watching some folks’ expressions change as they saw me, looked a little confused, then spotted the name tag or the bugle, and their eyes would go wide and they would get huge smiles. That’s all a tribute to Bob, of course – not me!”
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Matt had so much fun with the Bob Jackson costume, that it sounds like he may even be sporting it again at the next big Disney race! Matt continues with, “We are going to be making one more trip down for the President’s Day week in February (before our APs expire), and a friend talked me into running all three Princess Weekend races (it didn’t take much convincing), so I was thinking about bringing it back for the 5K that weekend. Besides, I really wanted to wear it to the River Roost to get a picture with Bob and my 10K medal, but I wound up needing the sleep before the half marathon and marathon more.”
Congrats Matt on the races! Thanks for showing love to one our of favorite Disney entertainers in such a fun way!
What do you think? Should Matt wear his Bob Jackson costume for the next Disney run? Our vote is yes!
