I Am Not Fast: A 2015 Dumbo Double Dare Trip Report!

[jammyjam25]

Great trip report! Kudos to you and your friends for completing the Dumbo Double Dare!

 

[IrishMel21]

I loved this TR, you always do a great job making us feel like we're going through it with you. I loved your character pics.

I love all of your hard-earned bling, kudos to you! And I love that you stood your ground and kept trying for a pic with all the medals in front of the Partners. It's a great photo, and even though you don't like the shade, I love the photo with you wearing all your medals & Mickey. That's a perfect shot!

Job well done with all the races and your TR!

 

[huggybuff]

I was hot ALL WEEKEND. That sun was a killer!

See this is the reason I have no interest in doing the DL Half. I'm a total wimp when it comes to heat and September is the 4th month of summer in CA. I don't care how early it starts, too much time in the sun for this slow runner.

I love all your medal pics. No wonder you were needing sunglasses - that bling is blinding!

 

[Dis5150]

@Ariel484 Is your costume part of your 10K hat made of those crafting foam sheets? My DD25 made me something out of that foam to attach to my hat for the W&D half but I have no idea how to attach it to the actual hat...

 

[Ariel484]

I've been following along but only getting to comment now!

IT'S SOOOOOOO PRETTY!!!
Nice nails too

Isn't it beeeyooooteeful?

Look at Mickey just hanging around the park.... AND not wait!!

Right?! Major score!

Good Selfie Skills here!

Why thank you!

Crazier than MK's Space Mountain
I love it already..

Yes! It was so much fun!

Wow CRAZY is right?! At least there were nice carpets

Yes, in case you couldn't tell...I was really into the carpeting!

Another reason I love you TR's... ALL THE MERCHANDISE!
I love the bag! The jackets are really nice too!

I may love the merch just a wee bit too much...

Now THIS is a great idea! We somehow missed some character spots in the W&D going through AK and I'm sure that's partly down to the rain but signs would have really helped! Plus it's a good motivator when you know there is one coming up!

I know! I hope they start doing it at all runDisney races!

The nicest 5K medal I've seen!

Isn't it perfect and adorable? I love it!

Loving the RBF's!!!

Thanks!

UGH so ANNOYING!!! How do people have the cheek to do something like that!
I'm glad that woman pointed them out, I would be so annoyed too if I saw them.
Good advice on the social media thing I never would have thought twice about posting a picture of my bib in a flat picture the night before but I certainly won't now!

I know! I'm still annoyed they won't really get punished for it, but at least they got a little public humiliation...

I never thought about that with social media until Courtney pointed it out to me - it's easy enough to lay something over the number.

This show looks AMAZING!!!! Great photograph as well...

It was! Definitely a must-do for me at Disneyland!

Ooooooooooooooooooh! I love the outfits! I think I'm going as Ursula for the 10k in January (Dad as Triton and Rachel as Ariel).

That sounds like a really fun group costume!

I like your hat too

Hahahahaha thanks!

Villain Mile Markers!! AWESOME!

Best mile markers ever!

This is an adorable photo! The breakfast looks really good as well, my tummy is rumbling!!

It was a very good breakfast! They had some slightly different breakfast options, so we appreciated that!

I must get some Christmas ornaments this year (shame I'm RIGHT after Christmas) you always get really nice ones!

That's my one must-get souvenir for every trip. I'll need a bigger tree soon!

THAT WATCH.....

I knoooow. I need to find an extra $1,000!!

Hahahaha I love your pose in this one!!

Thanks!

I know I've said before but I REALLY enjoy your TR's, I didn't know about RunDisney until reading one of your TR's and obviously now I'm a little obsessed with ALL THE BLING! What I like most about your reports is that you include both the positive and negative aspects and a lot of people skip out on the negative sides. Like I said in a earlier comment I'm tempted to sign up to the DL half in 2016 and get ALL THE MEDALS in one year but for me it's a BIG trip and reading other TR's I don't think I appreciated the difference it would make having such a large chunk of the course being outside Disney. I just assumed there would still be Disney themed entertainment and character stops (I get why there isn't). I'm thinking now for my trip to DL (which will happen ONE DAY) I would want to make a bigger trip out of it and include Vegas or San Francisco if I'm going to travel all that way.

Thanks - I was really hesitant to post the not-100%-positive stuff, so I really appreciate you saying this. But the reason I was hesitant to post is because I would really hate for someone to read about my experience and decide they don't want to do the race anymore - so if you REALLY want to do it, don't let my not perfect experience cloud your judgement!

Of course your alternative trip plan sounds great too! I don't think you can lose either way.

Great trip report! Kudos to you and your friends for completing the Dumbo Double Dare!

Thank you! Thanks for reading.

I loved this TR, you always do a great job making us feel like we're going through it with you. I loved your character pics.

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed.

I love all of your hard-earned bling, kudos to you! And I love that you stood your ground and kept trying for a pic with all the medals in front of the Partners. It's a great photo, and even though you don't like the shade, I love the photo with you wearing all your medals & Mickey. That's a perfect shot!

I do like the Mickey one - his Newsies outfit is just so cute! But I'm glad I got that Partners shot.

Job well done with all the races and your TR!

Thanks! Princess weekend is up next, we'd better get to work!!

See this is the reason I have no interest in doing the DL Half. I'm a total wimp when it comes to heat and September is the 4th month of summer in CA. I don't care how early it starts, too much time in the sun for this slow runner.

It was relentless - the whole weekend was just crazy sunny! Not overcast at all - I guess that's California for ya.

I love all your medal pics. No wonder you were needing sunglasses - that bling is blinding!

Thanks! Yeah, that's the price to pay for getting allll of the medals I guess!

@Ariel484 Is your costume part of your 10K hat made of those crafting foam sheets? My DD25 made me something out of that foam to attach to my hat for the W&D half but I have no idea how to attach it to the actual hat...

Yes! Crafting foam - it was perfect because it was cheap (25 cents per sheet I think?) and super lightweight. I safety-pinned it to my visor, which was sort of challenging. Courtney did the same thing.

 

[RnbwSktles]

We all had SuperShuttles booked to go back to the airport - Jess was first at about 3AM with Courtney’s soon after. I was able to sleep until about 5 before grabbing my things, checking out, and hopping on a shuttle back to LAX. Trip officially over.

How was SuperShuttle? I used the Disneyland Express last time, but that was from SNA and it's too expensive from LAX. I'm trying to do some research!

 

[Ariel484]

How was SuperShuttle? I used the Disneyland Express last time, but that was from SNA and it's too expensive from LAX. I'm trying to do some research!

They were good! I didn't love being crammed in a van with strangers (I think there were 7-8 of us in the van total), and I didn't love having to wait long to get dropped off, but for the price it was a bargain. I'm planning on using them again for Tink.

 

[girliea]

As usual, another great trip report. Loved every minute and am sad it's over now.

The shots with all.the.medals are great. Even the shadowy Mickey one. 11 medals really is insane...in the best way possible. I am definitely on board for a DL trip/run now, so just have to figure out how to make that happen.

Thanks for taking the time to tell us all about it and once again CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Ditto this entire message (Thanks ZellyB!). I so love your TRs! Thanks for doing them!

 

[kirstie101]

Loved your TR! Great details. Congrats on your coast to coast! Felt like I was there! I can't wait for Star Wars RC and Tink now!

 

[Neoflynn]

another awesome trip report from you... I know we will probably make it out to DL for a race weekend at some point just don't know when, Its kind of disappointing that they cant do more "Disney" stuff on the half course but I understand logistically how difficult that would be but glad you made the best you could out of everything and I am sure that Coast To Coast medal was worth it!!

 

[Ariel484]

Ditto this entire message (Thanks ZellyB!). I so love your TRs! Thanks for doing them!

Thanks! And thanks for reading.

Loved your TR! Great details. Congrats on your coast to coast! Felt like I was there! I can't wait for Star Wars RC and Tink now!

Thank you! Sounds like you have a fun year of runDisney planned too!

another awesome trip report from you... I know we will probably make it out to DL for a race weekend at some point just don't know when, Its kind of disappointing that they cant do more "Disney" stuff on the half course but I understand logistically how difficult that would be but glad you made the best you could out of everything and I am sure that Coast To Coast medal was worth it!!

Yeah, I think they do the best that they can with what they have...it's just very different from WDW. Thanks for reading!

 

[dancingtodisney]

Thanks - I was really hesitant to post the not-100%-positive stuff, so I really appreciate you saying this. But the reason I was hesitant to post is because I would really hate for someone to read about my experience and decide they don't want to do the race anymore - so if you REALLY want to do it, don't let my not perfect experience cloud your judgement!

I've been reading LOTS of RunDisney trip reports in preparation for January and I much prefer it when people do include the negative or more challenging aspects, it means you can be mentally prepared for what's ahead. I've read a lot of Dopey recaps and for quite a lot of people the WWOS section is super tough for similar reasons so I feel like I'm going into the full prepared for that. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best and all that....

You did however make Disneyland as a resort far more appealing than it every was to me before!

I wanted to ask as well... what type of shades do you wear? I've never run with shades before but you're not the first person to mention how beneficial they were.

 

[Ariel484]

I've been reading LOTS of RunDisney trip reports in preparation for January and I much prefer it when people do include the negative or more challenging aspects, it means you can be mentally prepared for what's ahead. I've read a lot of Dopey recaps and for quite a lot of people the WWOS section is super tough for similar reasons so I feel like I'm going into the full prepared for that. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best and all that....

That's a great point. I knew enough about the Disneyland half to know that the park portion was over after mile 4, but I didn't really realize how tough the rest of the course would be. I feel like people really focus mostly on Angels Stadium (which is awesome) and running by the Honda center (which is...neat, but just a big building) and not on the rest of the latter part of the course. The cheerleaders, bands, dancers, etc. are great but other than that it's a bunch of warehouses that you pass. I listened to the podcast that @rteetz recommended yesterday and just found myself nodding along with everything they were saying - that was the first time that I felt that someone described the Disneyland course similar to how I viewed it. Yes, it's still a good race, but there are hard parts too.

WWoS was not as bad for me the second time around, because I knew what to expect - hopefully it will be similar for you.

You did however make Disneyland as a resort far more appealing than it every was to me before!

Definitely get there if you can!

I wanted to ask as well... what type of shades do you wear? I've never run with shades before but you're not the first person to mention how beneficial they were.

They are Oakleys - specifically the RPM Squared model. Not cheap but they are really lightweight and fit my face well! I really like them (plus I got a discount on them through work, so that helped).

My visor is a SparkleAthletic visor...I don't wear visors a ton but I really liked having that one on for the race. I think it helped a lot with the run. SparkleAthletic is normally at the runDisney expos if you want to check them out!

 

[RnbwSktles]

The cheerleaders, bands, dancers, etc. are great but other than that it's a bunch of warehouses that you pass.

I just remembered that last year we had to dodge a dead cat in the road somewhere outside of the park. It was barely recognizable as a cat at that point, but still. Not something you would have to worry about at WDW!

 

[Ariel484]

I just remembered that last year we had to dodge a dead cat in the road somewhere outside of the park. It was barely recognizable as a cat at that point, but still. Not something you would have to worry about at WDW!

OMG!! Poor kitty. And poor you...yuck!

 

[SarahDisney]

I definitely think my experience is now common. I was almost hesitant to write about it because I didn't want to turn others off to the race. I'm sorry it freaked you out, that was not my intention!

No worries, I get freaked out easily. I'm glad you shared your experience - it's good for me to read reports all along the enjoyment spectrum. It gives me more of an idea what to expect.

This restaurant is cool, but it's terrible for photos!

That's how I feel about Be Our Guest ... my camera and BOG don't get along.
But Blue Bayou is where I'm hoping to go for my (belated) birthday lunch next year, so I'm glad to hear you liked!

We did take some bling pictures though!

I never knew the busts at Haunted Mansion could run! Although someone didn't place her medal perfectly... maybe Jess needs some medal-posing lessons?

Jess wanted to meet Olaf after the show. With the craziness of Frozen meet & greets in Disney World, it was pretty shocking to get to Olaf's line and see that there was just one party ahead of us.

WHAT??? That's it, I have to go to DL like now. Minimal line for Olaf? I'm there!

Which was cool, but a little embarrassing at the same time - it may not seem like it since I am oversharing so much on the internet, but in *real life* I don't really like being the center of attention. I guess I was sort of asking for it though.

I actually totally get this. The idea of wearing the medals around bugs me a little because it's automatically drawing attention. But it is a huge accomplishment, so that attention is definitely deserved, even if you're not wild about the attention. Even Mickey Mouse knows how amazing of an accomplishment it is (plus, he's on 3 of the medals...)

3rd time's a charm! 71 Magical Miles in 2015!

Yay! I love it!

Seriously Disneyland...I love you, but there has GOT to be a better way to handle your nighttime shows!!

Agreed. I mean, I haven't tried to wait for Paint the Night, and I haven't seen Fantasmic! in a few years, but World of Color drives me crazy. If I'm going to have to be there an hour before the show (with FP), I want to sit!

Trip officially over.

Disneyland vs. Walt Disney World: Why? Popular topic, I know, but I don't think I can pick a favorite (and really, why should I?). There were things I liked better about Disneyland and things I didn't like better, but they are SO different that I think it's sort of hard to do an overall comparison. Mostly I think I am lucky that I have 2 Disney resorts to love!

I so agree with this. I really get annoyed when people compare the two.
I mean, I happen to have a favorite. But that's just a gut feeling, not based on any comparison of the two. And I will take any opportunity to go to either resort because I love them both so much!

First trip to Disneyland as a race trip: If I could change anything about this trip...I think I'd tack an extra day or two on at the end. Or at least recommend to not do a first trip to Disneyland as a race trip. We were on our feet a TON leading up to the races, and we crashed early each night. I'm looking forward to going back without races to run!

I've never been to DL for a race, so I can't agree or disagree, but ... there's definitely a lot to do and its easy to be at the parks all day, especially because you can hop so easily. Of course, you don't want to be on your feet all day on a race trip. I think it will be a bit of a different experience on your next trip.

Thank you for sharing your trip! I enjoyed reading about it, and while I'm sad to hear that you didn't love the race, I'm excited that you love Disneyland!

 

[luulu1999]

Great trip report!! I love when people get em started and get em done!!! All though WDW is closer for us we have never been we have only been to DL, I am thinking maybe one year a short trip to WDW to experience a Halloween Party but we just love DL and California so much

 

[Ariel484]

No worries, I get freaked out easily. I'm glad you shared your experience - it's good for me to read reports all along the enjoyment spectrum. It gives me more of an idea what to expect.

Okay, good. Yeah, I feel like most reports I have read focus more on the parks sections and less on the non-parks sections, so I just was not prepared!

That's how I feel about Be Our Guest ... my camera and BOG don't get along.
But Blue Bayou is where I'm hoping to go for my (belated) birthday lunch next year, so I'm glad to hear you liked!

I know what you mean! My lunch at Blue Bayou was so tasty, the pictures do not do it justice! That would be a great birthday lunch, the atmosphere is really cool in there.

I never knew the busts at Haunted Mansion could run! Although someone didn't place her medal perfectly... maybe Jess needs some medal-posing lessons?

Right? We took that picture and then we looked at it and Jess goes, "I guess I didn't get the memo on holding up our medals!" Oops!

WHAT??? That's it, I have to go to DL like now. Minimal line for Olaf? I'm there!

Seriously! We asked the CM how long the line was and he goes, "well, it's about 5...minutes." I was totally ready for him to say 5 hours. We were stunned.

I actually totally get this. The idea of wearing the medals around bugs me a little because it's automatically drawing attention. But it is a huge accomplishment, so that attention is definitely deserved, even if you're not wild about the attention. Even Mickey Mouse knows how amazing of an accomplishment it is (plus, he's on 3 of the medals...)

Thanks. I mean...I like to post trip reports and stuff on Instagram (obviously ) but at the end of the day I do these things for ME and no one else, and I don't want it to seem like, hey, look at all of my bling and say great things to me. Ya know?

I'm okay with getting approval from Mickey though...because Mickey.

Yay! I love it!

Me toooo

Agreed. I mean, I haven't tried to wait for Paint the Night, and I haven't seen Fantasmic! in a few years, but World of Color drives me crazy. If I'm going to have to be there an hour before the show (with FP), I want to sit!

And at least with World of Color, with where we were in our FP section, we had some personal space. They really packed us in like sardines for Paint the Night!

I so agree with this. I really get annoyed when people compare the two.
I mean, I happen to have a favorite. But that's just a gut feeling, not based on any comparison of the two. And I will take any opportunity to go to either resort because I love them both so much!

I think I have a favorite too, but it doesn't mean I think the other resort is a craphole...or that I think people who prefer that resort are stupid. That's what really bothers me more than anything. I'm with you, I count myself lucky that I could go to either one!!

I've never been to DL for a race, so I can't agree or disagree, but ... there's definitely a lot to do and its easy to be at the parks all day, especially because you can hop so easily. Of course, you don't want to be on your feet all day on a race trip. I think it will be a bit of a different experience on your next trip.

Yeah, this is probably the most park time I have had during a race trip and I was feeling it! :Eek: Our next trip is actually over Christmas, so dealing with those crowds will be a whole other experience for sure.

Thank you for sharing your trip! I enjoyed reading about it, and while I'm sad to hear that you didn't love the race, I'm excited that you love Disneyland!

Thanks for reading!

Great trip report!! I love when people get em started and get em done!!! All though WDW is closer for us we have never been we have only been to DL, I am thinking maybe one year a short trip to WDW to experience a Halloween Party but we just love DL and California so much

Thank you! Haha, yeah, I don't like to leave reports unfinished for very long.

I can totally understand your DL love - my husband and I are going to other parts of California during our December DL trip and I'm really looking forward to that! I think as a DL regular you'll like WDW a lot but it's so different from DL. Different in a good way, but different!

 

[dancingtodisney]

That's a great point. I knew enough about the Disneyland half to know that the park portion was over after mile 4, but I didn't really realize how tough the rest of the course would be. I feel like people really focus mostly on Angels Stadium (which is awesome) and running by the Honda center (which is...neat, but just a big building) and not on the rest of the latter part of the course. The cheerleaders, bands, dancers, etc. are great but other than that it's a bunch of warehouses that you pass. I listened to the podcast that @rteetz recommended yesterday and just found myself nodding along with everything they were saying - that was the first time that I felt that someone described the Disneyland course similar to how I viewed it. Yes, it's still a good race, but there are hard parts too.

I think it would make a big difference if they could get some park time in at both ends of the course, it would be nice knowing that you had some park time before finishing. I hadn't really considered the non-Disney aspect of the Paris Half Marathon either as I imagine that'll be similar, I just assumed there would be lots of character stops like in DisneyWorld. I'll be keen to see the course route for that one.

WWoS was not as bad for me the second time around, because I knew what to expect - hopefully it will be similar for you.

Hopefully, it would be good if they added some really good character stops in there.

They are Oakleys - specifically the RPM Squared model. Not cheap but they are really lightweight and fit my face well! I really like them (plus I got a discount on them through work, so that helped).

My visor is a SparkleAthletic visor...I don't wear visors a ton but I really liked having that one on for the race. I think it helped a lot with the run. SparkleAthletic is normally at the runDisney expos if you want to check them out!

I had my POT half at the weekend and was NOT expecting the sun we got that morning, a pair of shades would have been so handy! They are pricey alright, I've been checking out a few different Oakleys each time I fly home in the duty free.

I'll maybe do a trial run with a visor and see how I get on, sparkleathletic do some really nice stuff... UGH my wallet is going to HURTING after the expo in January!

Oh I've just noticed in your signature that you're doing coast to coast next year as well! How exciting! Will your friends be joining you again this time? It's great that you got the girls to go on trips with, none of my friends are interested in taking a trip to DisneyWorld although I may just rope one into the Disneyland Paris half.

 

[Ariel484]

I think it would make a big difference if they could get some park time in at both ends of the course, it would be nice knowing that you had some park time before finishing. I hadn't really considered the non-Disney aspect of the Paris Half Marathon either as I imagine that'll be similar, I just assumed there would be lots of character stops like in DisneyWorld. I'll be keen to see the course route for that one.

Hopefully they will add in some good Paris highlights, or some beautiful country views. Other than the Honda Center and Angels Stadium, the non-Disney portions of the Disneyland course were just factories from what I remember.

Hopefully, it would be good if they added some really good character stops in there.

I'm guessing they won't, since it'll go off of Disney property. Maybe I'm wrong though.

I had my POT half at the weekend and was NOT expecting the sun we got that morning, a pair of shades would have been so handy! They are pricey alright, I've been checking out a few different Oakleys each time I fly home in the duty free.

Yeah, sunglasses make a huge difference! I remember a few years ago I read a running article where the author recommended wearing sunglasses because it would help not to waste energy scrunching your face up when it's sunny out. Which I thought was so funny...but then again I guess I need all of the extra energy I can get!

I'll maybe do a trial run with a visor and see how I get on, sparkleathletic do some really nice stuff... UGH my wallet is going to HURTING after the expo in January!

The one thing I don't love about the SparkleVisors are that they are not adjustable. That is a turn-off to some people. Thankfully they fit my head okay.

Oh I've just noticed in your signature that you're doing coast to coast next year as well! How exciting! Will your friends be joining you again this time? It's great that you got the girls to go on trips with, none of my friends are interested in taking a trip to DisneyWorld although I may just rope one into the Disneyland Paris half.

Actually, no...one of them lives in the Orlando area so I will see her on the WDW portion of the trip, but she won't be running. Going to Disneyland with my mom. And all of my friends are doing the Star Wars races, but I won't be there for that one since I already had Princess and Tink planned out. Oh well!