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

[rteetz]

Those ice cream bars look really good.

You know I have never eaten at earl of sandwich but heard so many good things about it.

Love the outfits!

 

[mindylee847]

Love all these updates! I'm really looking forward to seeing Carsland for the first time. I wasn't a big fan of Cars either, but when it was released I was working at Best Buy in the Home Theater department so I was stuck watching it on repeat while at work - it's grown on me and I'm in love with the second even though a lot of people hated it.

 

[steph0808]

Egads! I've been waiting and waiting for a new trip report from you (no cruise report this summer?!) so I can live out my runDisney dreams!

Excited to follow along!

Was planning on doing the Challenge for Star Wars Dark Side in April, but just found out I'm pregnant again, so that's out!

 

[Ariel484]

Those ice cream bars look really good.

You know I have never eaten at earl of sandwich but heard so many good things about it.

Love the outfits!

They were so good! We meant to get back there at some point and never made it, so I'm glad we got to try one!

Earl is pretty solid...honestly I prefer Wolfgang Puck Express in WDW, but Earl is always good too.

Love all these updates! I'm really looking forward to seeing Carsland for the first time. I wasn't a big fan of Cars either, but when it was released I was working at Best Buy in the Home Theater department so I was stuck watching it on repeat while at work - it's grown on me and I'm in love with the second even though a lot of people hated it.

Thanks! Oh man...your job sounds like my nightmare. Maybe I need to give Cars another shot.

Since I couldn't make it through the first Cars...I haven't seen the second one.

Egads! I've been waiting and waiting for a new trip report from you (no cruise report this summer?!) so I can live out my runDisney dreams!

No cruise report. We didn't do much on the cruise (which is what we needed because we were SO stressed out ahead of time) and then our last day was pretty awful, through no fault of Disney's, so I didn't think it would make for a good report.

But part of the reason I am trying to wrap this one up quickly is because I have another cruise coming up in October (lucky me!!) so I'm hoping that one will be more report-worthy.

Excited to follow along!

Was planning on doing the Challenge for Star Wars Dark Side in April, but just found out I'm pregnant again, so that's out!

AHH CONGRATS!! That is so exciting, so happy for you and Mr. Steph!!

 

[steph0808]

I'm sorry you guys were so stressed and that your last cruise day was terrible! I hope you still had a good time!

Some day I will get back to WDW and run another runDisney race (and maybe meet you!) - I won't lie, I cried a little after I found out because I wanted to do the inaugural Dark Side Challenge so badly (plus my DH had finally agreed that I could take DD to WDW without him since she wouldn't remember it (she'd be a little under 2))! But it's all good now.

 

[TruLovesKiss]

Yaaaaay! DISNEYLAND!!! I'm so glad that I found this TR! I loved reading your last ones and can't wait to hear about this race weekend!

"Mind-fudge" OMG you crack me up!

Carpet in the parking garage, wow that is impressive! Love all of your amazing swag from the Expo. I can't wait to experience my first RunDisney Expo in February (I'm so not counting the pathetic "expo" from the Expedition Everest Challenge). Eeeek!

I sort of figured out how to do sunbursts with my camera before this trip, so that's why there are so many of them in my pictures

So cool! Do tell!

Cars Land looks Amazing! Someday I will make it out to the west coast!

Your flat Mouseketeers outfits are super cute! Can't wait to hear all about the 5K

 

[Keels]

Final verdict - this ride was GREAT! It was *cute* and just so well-done. Ditto to Cars Land as a whole...

...having said that - I'd be disappointed if Disney brings a toned-down Cars Land/Radiator Springs Racers to Hollywood Studios. I am all for having different experiences on each coast. But maybe that's just me.

I am 1000000000% totes with you on this! I think that's the beauty of Disney having multiple parks - each can be its own, unique experience! Honestly, if WDW and Disneyland became total carbon copies of each other, I think I'd end up going to Land more just because I love the convenience of park-hopping. And also, because I get to stay in a hotel and not at the parentals house.

Can't wait for the race reviews! I know you guys had a blast just based on the Insta photos!

 

[Ariel484]

I'm sorry you guys were so stressed and that your last cruise day was terrible! I hope you still had a good time!

We really did. Our bodies just failed us on that last day!

Some day I will get back to WDW and run another runDisney race (and maybe meet you!) - I won't lie, I cried a little after I found out because I wanted to do the inaugural Dark Side Challenge so badly (plus my DH had finally agreed that I could take DD to WDW without him since she wouldn't remember it (she'd be a little under 2))! But it's all good now.

Oh no!! I'm glad things are good now. You know those Disney races aren't going anywhere...especially the Star Wars ones.

Yaaaaay! DISNEYLAND!!! I'm so glad that I found this TR! I loved reading your last ones and can't wait to hear about this race weekend!

YAY thanks!!

"Mind-fudge" OMG you crack me up!

Seriously though!! Mind-fudges everywhere! I couldn't wrap my head around that place!

Carpet in the parking garage, wow that is impressive! Love all of your amazing swag from the Expo. I can't wait to experience my first RunDisney Expo in February (I'm so not counting the pathetic "expo" from the Expedition Everest Challenge). Eeeek!

The expos are kind of fun, kind of crazy, and possibly a little overwhelming. From what I saw, I agree with you that the Everest one does not count!

So cool! Do tell!

Not sure what kind of camera you have, but if you can adjust the aperture, a smaller aperture is the way to go (f/22 for example). Some of them I just shot straight at the sun, others I tried to get the sun being partially blocked by a building or something. Then it helps if you can put your photo in some sort of post-processing software to lift out some of the shadows.

I have a friend that can do them amazingly well and I'm still WAY far away from her level, but I liked how some of them turned out.

Cars Land looks Amazing! Someday I will make it out to the west coast!

Cars Land really was incredible. Probably the most detailed land in a Disney park I have seen (though I haven't been to Disney parks outside of the USA, so that may not be saying much...)

Your flat Mouseketeers outfits are super cute! Can't wait to hear all about the 5K

Thanks!! I loved those outfits!

I am 1000000000% totes with you on this! I think that's the beauty of Disney having multiple parks - each can be its own, unique experience! Honestly, if WDW and Disneyland became total carbon copies of each other, I think I'd end up going to Land more just because I love the convenience of park-hopping. And also, because I get to stay in a hotel and not at the parentals house.

I so agree! I know it's hard for some people to get out to California...but we really do not need carbon copies of the parks on each coast!

Can't wait for the race reviews! I know you guys had a blast just based on the Insta photos!

We totally did! I loved the shorter courses for sure!

 

[Ariel484]

Day 3: Friday, September 4

2015 Disneyland 5K! - Heading to the Corrals

Woohoo - time for our first-ever race in Disneyland!

I think we were all pretty excited for this race - look at all of that park time!

Race instructions said that we needed to be in our corrals by 5:15, so we decided that leaving the room by 4:45 at the latest would be sufficient. I think we still hadn't adjusted to the time change by now, so the wake-up wasn't bad at all.

I made coffee for myself in the room and we headed out the back door of Paradise Pier right on time. More helpful signage had popped up overnight!

Lots of other people were going the same direction we were, and the walk was pretty easy - just straight down Disneyland Drive. The starting lines for all 3 races were in the same spots, so after this first morning we were way more confident about where to go.

Eventually we came upon the staging area on our left. We made a quick bathroom stop before heading right to the corrals.

We were heading into the corrals at about 10 after 5. Right on time. It was SO weird to think that we'd just left our room a little over 20 minutes earlier. I'm so used to just hanging out in the staging area for an hour ahead of time and then making that 20-minute walk to the corrals at the WDW races!

We decided to all start together in Corral B. By now we'd missed most of the pre-race banter...which I was more than okay with.

The National Anthem was sung by a Disney vocalist, if I recall correctly. I know she was dressed as the Blue Fairy from Pinnochio. She did a great job!

Next - Mile 1!

 

[Ariel484]

2015 Disneyland 5K! - Mile 1

The wheelchair racers went first, followed by Corral A at 5:30. Unlike the WDW races, there were no fireworks at any of the starts - they had flashing lights, confetti and music instead.

Up we creeped.

Special guests had arrived to see us off!

Thumbs up to you too, pal.

We had about an 8-10 minute wait before it was our turn to go...and then...

3-2-1-GOOOOO!

The first mile went down Disneyland Drive, and it was crowded! But before we knew it, we were right outside of California Adventure!

It wasn't long before I was feeling slightly uncomfortable in my outfit - I haven’t ever run in a mouse hat (MAN do those things trap in the heat!) and I never run in cotton shirts. Blech!

And then we were IN!

Mater and McQueen were out to meet and greet, but we skipped them. I think my favorite part about doing these races is seeing the parks all lit up (Disney Parks at night are my happy place), so seeing Cars Land in all its neon glory was really doing it for me.

Cutest mile marker ever!

Up Next - Mile 2!

 

[Ariel484]

2015 Disneyland 5K! - Mile 2

And now Jess will show you my second favorite sign on the course (the Mile Marker 1 sign being my favorite):

Why haven't they had these all along?! Now I just need them to release some sort of character map ahead of time and we'll be all set.

This line was for Cowboy Chip and Dale, and it was HUGE and SLOW. We waited for a bit before bailing.

Sorry guys!

One last luminous look at California Adventure...

And out into the esplanade!

Disneyland up next!

We headed down Main Street, and NOW it was time to stop for a picture.

Good morning, lovely!

Here they come!

We decided that the one picture we HAD to get from this race was one of the 3 of us jumping for joy in front of the castle. We have a great one from the 2014 Princess 5K in front of Spaceship Earth...unfortunately we didn't get one quite as good as the Spaceship Earth one this year. This was the best of the bunch. I still love it though!

And a selfie before continuing on.

Once we were done with our photoshoot, we took a right and headed toward the Matterhorn...

...and into Fantasyland! I refuse to ride the teacups (because I am not a fan of vomiting), but they sure are pretty.

I could be wrong, but the only character stop I remember from this stretch was Snow White and Charming. We skipped that one - Fantasyland was ridiculously crowded this morning.

Hellooooo Big Thunder!

That...was a long mile.

Up Next - Heading to the Finish!

 

[Ariel484]

2015 Disneyland 5K! - Heading to the Finish!

After Frontierland we headed into New Orleans Square. Maleficent was out talking to us this morning...an evil hint of what was to come during tomorrow’s 10K!

And then it was time to leave the park. We headed backstage.

The final portion of the course went through Downtown Disney!

Seriously cute (SO CUTE MAJ CUTE) mile markers for this race!

And we’re done! For today, anyway.

The finisher medallion. I am obsessed with it!

And there you have it - the 10th ever Disneyland 5K! I am so glad we signed up for this race - there was TONS of park time and it was so much fun!

Next time - Post-5K Drama...And Fun!

 

[steph0808]

We really did. Our bodies just failed us on that last day!

Oh no!! I'm glad things are good now. You know those Disney races aren't going anywhere...especially the Star Wars ones.

You know...hormones.

I missed the inaugural GSC because of being pregnant too, so gah!

We were heading into the corrals at about 10 after 5. Right on time. It was SO weird to think that we'd just left our room a little over 20 minutes earlier. I'm so used to just hanging out in the staging area for an hour ahead of time and then making that 20-minute walk to the corrals at the WDW races!

That is awesome! I need to do a DL race just for the convenience of walking to the corrals!

And now Jess will show you my second favorite sign on the course (the Mile Marker 1 sign being my favorite):

Why are these signs not everywhere?! These are awesome!

 

[ZellyB]

Girl, you are flying through these updates!!! YAY!!!

I love your shots of Carsland. My daughter Sophie is obsessed with going to see it one of these days, so I need to figure out when and how to make that happen. It looks like it is so well done.

Your outfits are completely adorable. I love the retro vibe to them. Can I say that is some of what I'm loving about your pictures of DL? It just still looks and feels so authentic to the 60s/70s. Maybe that's just nonsense, but it just feels that way to me. Sorry to hear the hat was uncomfortable (and I can totally believe that), but you guys look fantastic, and you know sometimes it's better to look good than to feel good. What a luxury to sleep in a bit and be at the starting corrals in 20 minutes. Heaven!!!

Anyway, that race looks ridiculously fun and running through the parks at night with them all lit up seems so fun. It's one of the things I'm really looking forward to with the W&D race.

The medal is so cute. I can see why you are obsessed with it, but Uh Oh... what's this about Post-5K drama????

I'm in trouble with reading this because I'm now getting an overwhelming urge to sign up for this next year... and I sorta promised Chris I'd take a break from Disney races in 2016.

 

[Ariel484]

You know...hormones.

I missed the inaugural GSC because of being pregnant too, so gah!

Gah indeed! I am sensing a pattern! Next time runDisney announces an inaugural race....?

That is awesome! I need to do a DL race just for the convenience of walking to the corrals!

Seriously! It was unsettling to leave the room only 30 minute before we had to be in the corrals, but it was totally fine. WDW races have conditioned me to think I need to give myself at least 2 hours.

Why are these signs not everywhere?! These are awesome!

I know! I was like... "I NEED A PICTURE, THESE ARE BRILLIANT!!!"

Girl, you are flying through these updates!!! YAY!!!

I wanna get this one done before I forget everything!

I love your shots of Carsland. My daughter Sophie is obsessed with going to see it one of these days, so I need to figure out when and how to make that happen. It looks like it is so well done.

She will love it. Courtney (who had been to DL before this trip) said that it actually made her like the movie a little more, and I can sort of see that...I feel like if I watch the movie now it'll help me understand more of what is actually in that land. It's just so well-themed and...thorough, I guess is the word I want.

Your outfits are completely adorable. I love the retro vibe to them. Can I say that is some of what I'm loving about your pictures of DL? It just still looks and feels so authentic to the 60s/70s. Maybe that's just nonsense, but it just feels that way to me. Sorry to hear the hat was uncomfortable (and I can totally believe that), but you guys look fantastic, and you know sometimes it's better to look good than to feel good. What a luxury to sleep in a bit and be at the starting corrals in 20 minutes. Heaven!!!

Thanks!

Okay, I TOTALLY get what you are saying about the retro thing - that was my only disappointment in doing these races this year (the year of the 60th) - in the past I have really loved seeing the race shirts with the bright colors and retro lettering (similar to the sign outside the Disneyland Hotel in one of my earlier pictures), so while I loved the fact that the 60th stuff was on the race shirts, I was a little bummed not to have the retro theme.

Hat was...okay for a 5K. I wouldn't wear one for a longer race! And at least we got some cute pictures out of it!

Sleeping in - amazing! Loved that.

Anyway, that race looks ridiculously fun and running through the parks at night with them all lit up seems so fun. It's one of the things I'm really looking forward to with the W&D race.

Wine & Dine is my favorite course at WDW besides the marathon - assuming you guys get better weather this year than we did last year, I'm sure you will love it!

The medal is so cute. I can see why you are obsessed with it, but Uh Oh... what's this about Post-5K drama????

runners behaving badly - not us though! We just happened to be there to witness it.

I'm in trouble with reading this because I'm now getting an overwhelming urge to sign up for this next year... and I sorta promised Chris I'd take a break from Disney races in 2016.

That's just how it is with those of us that discuss runDisney online...we all enable one another. Sorry, Chris!

 

[SarahDisney]

This one hurt me. Seriously, my back was sore when it was done!

I think a lot of people have that reaction ...

First, and definitely not last, appearance of my RBF (Google it!) I am an expert.

Classic. You definitely are an expert.

We were both so full after dinner, and we were starting to feel the time change...it felt like it should be bedtime! But we soldiered on...one mountain left!

That arrival night is a killer sometimes. But kudos to you for soldiering on and making it to mountain #4!

- We could WALK to the corrals from our hotel (Meaning we could sleep a little later than at WDW races...PRAISE JESUS)

This may be what I am most excited about when I finally make it out there for my first Disneyland race. I despise mornings, so I'm all for sleeping in!

(thought this art in Starbucks was cool - NOTE: The Downtown Disney Starbucks didn't honor the Premium AP discount, but the Starbucks locations in the parks did):

From what I understand... (and I think this applies at WDW too)
Starbucks inside parks = owned by Disney and honor Disney discounts (they also accept payment via Starbucks app, but you can't redeem rewards)
Starbucks at DTD = corporate store owned by Starbucks, do not honor Disney discounts, can redeem Starbucks rewards

A CM asked us if we had arrived for Dooneys and pre-order pick-up (half marathon weekend jackets) or the official merchandise. We were there for the merchandise line, so we were sent upstairs, given wristbands by CMs, and were assigned a square of carpet to sit in, inside one of the Disneyland Hotel conference rooms. It was 7:15AM...almost 3 hours before the expo opened, and we were behind maybe 100 people in line.

This sounds crazy. Seriously. A wristband and long line 3 hours in advance to buy merchandise? Reading this makes me wish you could pre-order everything!
Although things do look like they were under control. "Controlled chaos" definitely sounds like a good way to describe it.

Love ALL of the shirts this year! Especially since they have "Diamond Celebration" printed on them (have you picked up that I LOVE all of the diamond stuff? ). I think the half shirt is my favorite...it's just classic.

I also love all of the shirts ... although I'm a little surprised that they made 2 dark colored shirts for a race in SoCal at the end of the summer ... I figured it would be too hot for dark colors!

Thanks for all the expo pics & information!
I love that everything has the diamond celebration on it. It's great that they're celebrating both anniversaries and not ignoring DL's 60th to celebrate the race weekend.

Mind-fudge - Buena Vista Street reminded me a LOT of Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood Studios.

There are a lot of things at DCA that are reminiscient of DHS to me. Although I can't really put my finger on why, but since they redid the entrance, I always think of DHS when I'm there (I actually liked the old entrance better).
I'm hoping that when they redo DHS they'll change it to be a little less similar to DCA.

Fastpasses were gone for the day, and we figured that 35 minutes was the shortest wait time we were going to see this trip, so we bit the bullet and hopped in line. I'm glad we did, because we actually didn't get on the ride again this trip.

35 minutes? What? That's craziness! I don't think I ever saw it below 90 minutes when I was there (which, granted, was 6 months after it opened).

My face is under there somewhere…Jess was smarter and pulled her hair back.

Yeah, I have that with Test Track. Hair-in-face seems to be a common Disney ride photo phenomenon.

Final verdict - this ride was GREAT! It was *cute* and just so well-done. Ditto to Cars Land as a whole...

...having said that - I'd be disappointed if Disney brings a toned-down Cars Land/Radiator Springs Racers to Hollywood Studios. I am all for having different experiences on each coast. But maybe that's just me.

Ditto to both of these.
I love Cars Land, but I don't want to see its clone in DHS. I love that there are different experiences on the different coasts. It's why I try to visit both coasts.

It sort of pained me to see how much cleaner the screen was here in Disneyland than in Disney World. Yowza. Also - I would really prefer that they keep the "California" version of the film in California. Soarin' Over the World makes sense to me in Epcot, but why not keep the DCA version as California? Weird.

So, I've never seen Soarin' at DCA. But I totally agree - I think California should keep the California film.

I think we were all pretty excited for this race - look at all of that park time!

I think what most excites me about the idea of running a 5K at Disneyland is that it goes through both parks. It looks like it's almost all parks, which is awesome!

It wasn't long before I was feeling slightly uncomfortable in my outfit - I haven’t ever run in a mouse hat (MAN do those things trap in the heat!) and I never run in cotton shirts. Blech!

Eh. I hate when new running gear is not comfy. Which I guess is why people say not to wear anything new on race day.
Even though the outfit wasn't comfortable, it was super cute! (And really, for the 5K that's all that matters)

Cutest mile marker ever!

Totally agree! I love that mile marker!

And now Jess will show you my second favorite sign on the course (the Mile Marker 1 sign being my favorite):

I wish they had these for all the races! (I hope they do from now on).
I can understand not releasing a character map because they may want the option of switching out characters mid-race, but still ... it's nice to have some idea that a character is coming!

We headed down Main Street, and NOW it was time to stop for a picture.

I love it!

Super cute! Even if it's blurry ... you guys look so excited!

The finisher medallion. I am obsessed with it!

I love it!
(I actually thought about trying to sign up through a travel provider when I first saw that medallion posted online ... but it's a good thing I didn't because my schedule that weekend was insane)

And there you have it - the 10th ever Disneyland 5K! I am so glad we signed up for this race - there was TONS of park time and it was so much fun!

Yay! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed!

 

[rteetz]

I just now saw you updated today some how I missed the alert.

Anyways that 5k looks fantastic!

So much park time! I'll be doing my first Disney 5k in January.

I hope they continue those character stop signs for the rest of the races.

I love that medal! One day I'll run a race in Disneyland maybe I'll go for the 70th or 75th anniversary.

 

[Keels]

PHEW. I'm so glad I decided to ditch those dang Mouseketeer ears on Saturday (I bought a Disneyland Half Marathon running hat to wear instead), because with all the first 3-mile drama I had on Sunday, those suckers would have died an awful, awful death. I totally see what you mean about fine for a 5K, but not for a longer distance.

 

[FFigawi]

I've heard wigs are really hot too. Not that I'd know anything about such things.

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

It seems a 5K would be a really fun distance for Disneyland! I love the jumping in front of the castle pic!