Faith, Trust, And 58% Less Pixie Dust: A 2016 Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend Trip Report!

[pxefig]

Now that I think hard (and thinking is always hard) I suppose there weren't any corrals when I did the Tink 5k. It was my first runDisney race EVER so I don't think I paid any attention to that and didn't realize it was something specific to Tink, but I suppose with where the 5k starts and that fact that there's the fireworks and all that maybe people would be put off getting coral assignments instead of choosing where they want to be at the start line? Huh

 

[Keels]

5K outfit! Quiz time - anyone notice something missing from the 5K bib (besides my bib number, which I'd covered on purpose to post this picture to social media)?

OOOOH! OOOOOH! OOOOOH!!!!

PICK ME! PICK ME! I KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS ONE!!!!!!

 

[BigEeyore]

Yippee a trip report! How I love Disneyland...just a completely different vibe from WDW! We are going next month to visit some family in southern California and I can't wait to get back to Disneyland! So happy they are still doing the 60th celebration stuff. I really need to get out there for a race sometime...maybe I can swing it next year!
I can't wait to hear about the races. What is unique about the Tink course that makes it different than the other Disneyland races? I'm shocked (shocked!) that you did not have any pics of your field trip to InknBurn!
I like Tink - she's spunky, and in the new Disney fairies movies she really works her tinker side. It's a nice message to girls that they can be engineers too! When I was a kid, going to Disneyland, one of my favorite things was watching Tink "fly" from the top of the matterhorn to light up the fireworks - I wanted to be her when I grew up!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

I must confess that I, too, prefer the Florida Trader Sam's (we've been 3 or 4 times now and love it, finally scored the Nautilus souvenir I'd been coveting), but the DLH one had its charms. I'm glad we did it, but I'm not sure we'll make it a priority next time. Agreed about the "marathon" vernacular. The DLH rooms look really nice, despite the less-than-stellar view.

Tink really is the worst in Peter Pan. So mean (and borderline homicidal) towards Wendy. It's the same reason I don't really care for Miss Piggy, though I love all the other Muppets, she's just so MEAN. And especially to Kermit, whom she supposedly loves. And yes, I realize they are fictional characters. As for Pixie Hollow, I've watched a couple of the movies on Netflix (when I was making my Dopey costumes) and they are cute, they're the reason I chose to dress as Fawn (an animal talent fairy since I'm a biologist) for the Tink Half. Also, I felt like dressing in orange would make it easier in photographs amongst the sea of green!

Looking forward to hearing about how the corral-less 5K went.

 

[Ariel484]

Now that I think hard (and thinking is always hard) I suppose there weren't any corrals when I did the Tink 5k. It was my first runDisney race EVER so I don't think I paid any attention to that and didn't realize it was something specific to Tink, but I suppose with where the 5k starts and that fact that there's the fireworks and all that maybe people would be put off getting coral assignments instead of choosing where they want to be at the start line? Huh

Yeah, if it was my first race ever, I wouldn't have thought anything of it. It was weird!!

OOOOH! OOOOOH! OOOOOH!!!!

PICK ME! PICK ME! I KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS ONE!!!!!!

Well, see, that's not fair! You were there!!

Yippee a trip report! How I love Disneyland...just a completely different vibe from WDW! We are going next month to visit some family in southern California and I can't wait to get back to Disneyland! So happy they are still doing the 60th celebration stuff. I really need to get out there for a race sometime...maybe I can swing it next year!
I can't wait to hear about the races. What is unique about the Tink course that makes it different than the other Disneyland races?

Totally different vibe - I agree! It's so much easier without having to take buses, I think that just makes it so much more relaxed. And everything is so charming and retro...I love it!

I'm shocked (shocked!) that you did not have any pics of your field trip to InknBurn!

Um...of course I did!!

This is me in front of this graffiti wall that they have at HQ! Riveting photo, right?? I took a couple of other pictures, but it was of me trying on stuff that is confidential right now, so I can't post those yet.

I like Tink - she's spunky, and in the new Disney fairies movies she really works her tinker side. It's a nice message to girls that they can be engineers too!

Okay, so that's new-image Tink - I only know her as Tink from Peter Pan!

When I was a kid, going to Disneyland, one of my favorite things was watching Tink "fly" from the top of the matterhorn to light up the fireworks - I wanted to be her when I grew up!

Oh totally, I like seeing that for sure!!

I must confess that I, too, prefer the Florida Trader Sam's (we've been 3 or 4 times now and love it, finally scored the Nautilus souvenir I'd been coveting), but the DLH one had its charms. I'm glad we did it, but I'm not sure we'll make it a priority next time. Agreed about the "marathon" vernacular. The DLH rooms look really nice, despite the less-than-stellar view.

Right, so I don't know if it's just because the WDW Trader Sam's is the first one that I went to, but I didn't realize that there were less effects at the Disneyland one. It was a let-down, in a way...I hate to admit it!! Still charming though - I mean, I still love going there!

Tink really is the worst in Peter Pan. So mean (and borderline homicidal) towards Wendy. It's the same reason I don't really care for Miss Piggy, though I love all the other Muppets, she's just so MEAN. And especially to Kermit, whom she supposedly loves. And yes, I realize they are fictional characters. As for Pixie Hollow, I've watched a couple of the movies on Netflix (when I was making my Dopey costumes) and they are cute, they're the reason I chose to dress as Fawn (an animal talent fairy since I'm a biologist) for the Tink Half. Also, I felt like dressing in orange would make it easier in photographs amongst the sea of green!

Yeah, see - that's what I'm saying! Original Tink is mean! It sounds like new-age Tink is a vast improvement! Maybe I need to check out some of the newer movies before next year?!

Is there a math fairy? That's what I do for a living. I could get on board with that.

ILooking forward to hearing about how the corral-less 5K went.

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Yay! So happy to see your TR for Tink weekend!

Mini rant: I am NOT impressed with United after this trip. I'd booked my flights month ago and they were changed multiple times. Originally I had direct flights both ways - great! Eventually the return flight was changed to one with a connector - not so great! And the night before my flight to LAX I got a text that our plane had been changed and that my seat had been changed to "SEE AGENT." Um...what? Eventually I got my new seat assignment, but it was a middle seat. I'd specifically picked a window seat so that I could lean against said window and sleep, so I was not pleased about that. I ended up paying an upgrade fee to get the only window seat left - in Economy Plus, goodbye $60 - but at least the flights themselves had been free (booked on credit card points).

Oh man, I would be so bugged about this! It's like airlines are TRYING to annoy us! I would have paid the upgrade fee for the seat you wanted back as well. Except I always get the aisle seat, because I have the bladder the size of a thimble and get up an insane number of times on a cross-country flight

Expo, Part 2

In the meantime, I had an appointment! I headed upstairs and into the expo area…

I love those NB Ariel shoes! They are so cute. I especially love the tiny Ariel on the back!
Along with you and many others on here, I don't really like Tink. BUT, I think that wristlet is legitimately adorable. I love the color combination and the retro vibe.

Oh and your room! It's beautiful!!

 

[roxymama]

I didn't really watch Peter Pan very much as a kid, but I was addicted to the movie Hook. I would legit get so excited if I saw someone running as Rufio for Tink weekend. I maybe had a major crush on him and I still see the actor pop up in commercials all the time and I get excited that is Rufio. I can't believe I am admitting to that.
But my point is that my "idea of Tinkerbell" growing up is more of the opening credits to Disney movies where she flies over the little castle animation with her pixie dust. And also of the flying over the castle at WDW.

 

[Ariel484]

Yay! So happy to see your TR for Tink weekend!

Oh man, I would be so bugged about this! It's like airlines are TRYING to annoy us! I would have paid the upgrade fee for the seat you wanted back as well. Except I always get the aisle seat, because I have the bladder the size of a thimble and get up an insane number of times on a cross-country flight

Seriously, it was just a mess! Once I actually got ON the planes it was fine, but everything else - UGH!!

I love those NB Ariel shoes! They are so cute. I especially love the tiny Ariel on the back!

I love them too! I couldn't quite capture it in photos, but they also sparkle a little bit. Love them so much!

Along with you and many others on here, I don't really like Tink. BUT, I think that wristlet is legitimately adorable. I love the color combination and the retro vibe.

One of the great things about this race weekend is that I wasn't remotely tempted by the merchandise - ESPECIALLY the Dooneys! Those things get me into trouble sometimes!

Oh and your room! It's beautiful!!

It is! So many great Disney touches.

I didn't really watch Peter Pan very much as a kid, but I was addicted to the movie Hook. I would legit get so excited if I saw someone running as Rufio for Tink weekend. I maybe had a major crush on him and I still see the actor pop up in commercials all the time and I get excited that is Rufio. I can't believe I am admitting to that.

HOOK YESSSSS!! I must've seen that movie a thousand times growing up. It's so perfect! And I totally had a crush on Rufio too - I mean, he was the bad boy of the movie!

But my point is that my "idea of Tinkerbell" growing up is more of the opening credits to Disney movies where she flies over the little castle animation with her pixie dust. And also of the flying over the castle at WDW.

I do like her for that!!

 

[Ariel484]

Day 2: Friday, May 6, 2016

2016 Never Land 5K! - The Start

Here we gooooo!

Lemme tell you...one of the best things about Disneyland races compared to WDW races is how EASY they are. Roll out of bed and walk to the corrals. Love it!

We were up and on our way. The start for the 5K is actually IN Disneyland Park, so all we had to do was walk from our hotel through Downtown Disney and into the park. We headed through bag check and found ourselves on Main Street by 4:25AM.

We made a bathroom stop (REAL BATHROOMS SQUEEEE) and went up to the hub.

There were a few weird things about this race - the first being that, unlike any other Disney race I have participated in (not counting the Castaway Cay 5K), we were not assigned to corrals. I did NOT like this, as I'd assumed that our low bib numbers would get us into Corral A...but whatever. I'd meant for us to arrive a little earlier to make sure we started in the front, but we chose to sleep instead, so I figured we were just going to have to live with that decision. Eh, whatever.

Here's something...Disney PhotoPass now does the photography for runDisney races. As a Premier AP holder, I got free race photos! So you'll be seeing lots of my smiling face in this report - sorry!

We were directed to take a left at the Partners Statue and turned right to go into the hub. Those that had gotten there earlier than we had, had taken the same route and circled all the way around the hub. They were up near Main Street. We were closer to the castle.

Eventually we settled in, in front of the path between the castle and the Matterhorn. I had no idea where the starting line was. Weird thing #2: there was no big starting line set up. No big stage for the race announcers. I guess the lack of corrals, starting line, etc. was because we were starting in a park. I know I keep using the word "weird," but that's what it was!

There was a small stand set up in front of the castle, and that turned out to be for the race announcers. Ah-ha! Looking back, I'm wondering if they were even visible to those that were on the hub closer to Main Street - could they see the announcers over the Partners Statue?

So while we were standing there, I actually decided to pull up the course map (that's a bad habit I have - signing up for races and then not looking at the map ). And it occurred to me that by arriving late and ended up where we were, we were actually right at the front near the starting line! The announcers kept referring to "corrals" even though there were no assignments, signs, etc. Eventually it was confirmed that we had found ourselves in "corral A." And I felt sooooo bad for everyone that had arrived earlier, because they were in the back corrals. I would have been so angry!

But, I'm not gonna lie...I was not mad that we had unknowingly ended up near the front!

Have I said it was weird, yet? Because it was.

Some pirates came by in the beginning saying that they were looking for treasure. Eventually one of them brought out a little...I don’t know, ukulele I guess?...and sang the National Anthem. Very appropriate for the theme of the race, and he did a nice job!

About 5 minutes before the race began, Tink did a flyover! Cool!

This isn't a great video, but you get the idea.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

2016 Never Land 5K! - Mile 1

And then it was time to start!

3-2-1-GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I had my running watch with me, but really no idea when to start it since I didn't know where the starting line was! The 5K races at Disney are not officially timed (unless you run the WDW 5K as part of the Dopey Challenge), so with no timing mat to run over or starting line to run under, I didn't know where the course "officially" began. There was a small PANDORA sign off to the side of the course (they are the main sponsors of Tink Half Weekend), so I figured that must be the starting line. That's when I started the watch.

Mom and I started off running together and the first 2-3 minutes of the race were CROWDED! Even though we were up front! It's those narrow pathways in Disneyland Park...I was starting to wonder if the entire race was going to be like this, but eventually it opened up near It's a Small World. This is where I saw the first "character meet" - except in my book it didn't really count as it was just some random pirates.

Mom and I kept splitting up briefly and then reuniting - I'd run ahead to take pictures and she'd find me a bit later, so I'd say we ran about half of the race together at various times.

The course then took us through Mickey's Toontown, and I saw the first REAL character meet - Hook and Smee. The line was long, I've met them before, and by the time I saw them I was way far on the other side of the course, so I didn’t want to cut across...that's just rude and dangerous on a race course! So I passed them up.

Like I said, I hadn't really looked at the course map ahead of time, so I was thrown for a loop when we left the park already! What?! The rest of the first mile was outside of the park near an overpass, and it was BORING. No entertainment whatsoever, except that I must've heard the song "Following the Leader" approximately 1345897394 times that morning. They just played that on the speakers. That doesn't count as on-course entertainment, Disney...not impressed! And I felt dumb because I'd assured my mom that it was no big deal that she'd forgotten to bring earphones to use during the race - Disney would keep her entertained! Oops.

They sure did put some effort into the Mile Markers though...

Continued in Next Post

 

[Sailormoon2]

Ok, I would have been totally pissed, if I had arrived early, and as a result of there being no signs, I unintentionally ended up in the back "corrals". That is a horrible system-or lack of one! Wow! Lucky you though!!! Sounds like an albeit confusing, still awesome start!

 

[Ariel484]

2016 Never Land 5K! - Mile 2

We passed a water stop and were in California Adventure!

At this point the race was almost halfway over, and I was none-too-pleased about the lack of entertainment. I quickly decided to have an attitude adjustment - I was here in Disneyland for the weekend, I was running through the park, heck, I was running AT ALL! So why spend the rest of the race being upset about things I couldn't control when I could choose to have fun instead?

So I stopped to greet these random pirates.

And then it was time for Cars Land! Why not take some pictures?

It seems my umbrellas helped me take flight!

#PositivePoly

And Mile Marker 2!

Continued in Next Post

 

[Sailormoon2]

Super cool mile markers!!!!

 

[Ariel484]

Ok, I would have been totally pissed, if I had arrived early, and as a result of there being no signs, I unintentionally ended up in the back "corrals". That is a horrible system-or lack of one! Wow! Lucky you though!!! Sounds like an albeit confusing, still awesome start!

Right?! They didn't have the big lettered balloon things set up like they do at other races! It was so odd!!

 

[Ariel484]

Super cool mile markers!!!!

Definitely agree! They were very elaborate.

 

[DopeyBadger]

WOW, that's some major airtime!

 

[Ariel484]

2016 Never Land 5K! - Mile 3

Now it was time to head to Paradise Pier - my favorite area of Disneyland Resort! Surprised that the Death Wheel wasn't lit up.

There was another character meet here, but it was frustrating - the Lost Boys had been on my wish list for this race, and here they were, but they were on King Triton's Carousel. A CM told me I could take a selfie with them. It didn't work very well.

One of them yelled out to me asking if I had any stories for them. My mind was totally blank...oops!

Eventually I just took a little video before moving on.

Met back up with mom in this stretch!

But we split back up again because I can't go by this terrifying ferris wheel without taking at least 1 picture of it!

Or with it!

We headed away from Paradise Pier and into Grizzly Peak. The last character meet of the race was near the Airfield (where the biplane is set up) by Soarin', and the line was decently long, but I decided to wait anyway. I needed a character picture from this race!

"Oh, she brought umbrellas...we could fly away with those!"

This stop seemed long at the time, but my watch tells me it was only 5 minutes. Okay then!

After that it was time to head out of the park and into Downtown Disney.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

WOW, that's some major airtime!

Must be all that Pixie Dust!

 

[Ariel484]

2016 Never Land 5K! - The Finish!
Somewhere in here I got a text from my mom that she had finished! She beat me!!

Eventually I finished, too!

And I got that bling!

Total time was about 50ish minutes. We headed through the finisher chute to collect our medallions, a bottle of water, a bottle of Powerade, and a snack box. TIP: Bring a grocery bag with you to carry all of the stuff they give you! I had one folded up in my Roo Sport thing.

So...thoughts on this race. I honestly don't have many - it was just okay. I'm glad I adjusted my attitude partway through, but I think that the lack of characters and lack of entertainment during the non-park portion of the race was disappointing. Not corralling us was weird, and not having corrals at the starting area clearly marked just seemed messy. I just don't know what the thought process was behind that.

This brings me to Revelation #2 that I had on this trip: Maybe I don't need to do allll of the races. My first challenge weekend with runDisney was when I did the 5K + Goofy in 2013 (before the Dopey Challenge existed), and I enjoyed it so much that I didn't think I would ever want to participate in a runDisney weekend without signing up for every race that I could (this may sound nuts but I know I'm not the only one that has had this thought!). But this race cost almost $80 to do, and while I enjoyed it, I'm not sure that I'm itching to do it again. I have a few months to decide, but at this point I'm leaning toward not signing up for it for 2017 since I'll already be doing the challenge that weekend. Just not sure yet.

But hey...I was able to complete the 5K pain-free, and my mom enjoyed it. That's what really matters!

Continued in Next Post

 

[roxymama]

Mile marker three...my first thought was how cool it would be to get a shot sitting in the chair...and then I started thinking about all the other sweaty people with the same thought, LOL.

Your outfit really lent itself well to pictures. Just looking at the saturated colors against the dark sky background, really cool!

I had to take a double take at your picture with your medal. The icon on the bib matches the medal exactly and at first I thought you got awarded two medals.

On the same page as you that maybe if I do Tink weekend I will likely do just the challenge. Especially since I have never done three races back to back. I say that now of course.