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

[rteetz]

Woohoo! You did it! I love the bling. The dumbo and 60th medals especially. One day I'll get out there to run a race.

I heard a lot about the cars on the course at least Disney tried to make the course better with that.

 

[SarahDisney]

Okay, I finally have a few minutes to catch up...

I'm starting to get the impression that you really appreciated not having to take buses everywhere while you were at Disneyland. For me, that's my favorite part of a WDW trip ... how far apart everything is (or not ... I'm totally with you on DL - I love how easy it is to get everywhere without being dependent on buses, etc).

I love all the pictures from the Surf's Up breakfast ... I have to put that one on my list for my next trip!

In terms of Fantasmic! ...
I saw F! at DL in 2009 (my first trip out west and 3rd Disney trip overall). I didn't see it at WDW until 2013.
I LOVE F! at WDW. I don't remember it at DL. I know I saw it because I have pictures, but it did not make enough of an impression on me for anything to be familiar when I saw it at WDW in 2013.
So I'm with you on liking WDW's better. But we'll see if that changes next time I'm at DL.

And now, onto the half marathon...
I really love your Diamond Minnie outfit!!
I'm hoping to do DL as my first half next year, so reading your recap was definitely interesting and informative for me. And it kinda scared me. I think I'm nervous about getting discouraged when the park time is over so soon. I am excited about running through Angel Stadium (huge baseball fan) and by the Honda Center (you don't go inside, right?). But I'm scared that in the "boring" 4-5 miles between the parks and the sports stuff will bum me out so much that I don't enjoy the more interesting stuff when I get to it.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is ... did you feel that the non-Disney entertainment somewhat made up for the lack of Disney entertainment? Or was it really just a boring race after mile 4?
And yes, I will bring my sunglasses. I rarely run without them.

Yay for getting your three super cute medal! I also was not wild about the half medal when I first saw it ... but it is kinda cool that it has the 60th on it. And the Dumbo medal is definitely maj cute!

 

[Slogger]

@Ariel484......awesome trip report (not sure if it's done, LOL)

Thanks for sharing pics and your stories. It helps me get through today as I try to avoid any postings or info about the Star Wars registration for WDW.
No Disney for us next year.

Random thoughts from one Dopey-Dumbo-C2C runner to another.......

Mindfudge....awesome word.

Looking at your pics reminded me of, well, my pics. Seriously some of the people in your pics during the race are in mine too.
And I thought I saw someone wearing headgear just like yours on Saturday morning before we started, maybe that was you?
Not sure when you started or finished, bet we were probably right in front or behind you both days.

Not sure how many people had a toy "Dumbo" with them, but there was a guy on Sunday that was posing for photo ops with the Stormtroopers and the classic cars and dancers posing with a cute "Dumbo." Love Dumbo, but that movie makes me sad.

I even saw the "bandits" on Saturday but just didn't realize what I was seeing. Noticed two runners with bibs on their backs and not the front and all I could think about was how would they get their MarathonFoto pics? But they were right there in the finish line chute....bad Mindfudge there.

You and Mrs. Slogger should have run the half together. I'm the one injured, but she was in pain and not a happy runner. I don't think she appreciated me stopping to goof off with dancers or pose with the exotic cars or singing "Let it Go" or "The Final Countdown" on the streets on Anaheim. She just wanted to be done. We've all been there.

Why no "happy face" with the stormtroopers? The regular stormtrooper guy was pretty funny when we talked to him.

Sunglasses---yes....I read that before the trip and highly recommend for sun and protection for your eyes on the streets and trail.

The trail runs adjacent to the overflow/drainage ditches which used to be have more water when I was a kid visiting my grandparents in L.A
Glad it wasn't windy.........all that dirt and debris would have blown all over us. Nobody happy if that happens.

Honda center was neat but would have been cool if they had a mascot or somebody out there to cheer us on. Maybe next time we can run through there too.

Totally agree that Angels stadium was awesome and a step up over Champions. I did a mini "Lambeau leap" into the stands and took a selfie with the crowd.
How about all of those bands and cheerleaders outside the stadium? I think I high fived all of them.

Even though the majority of the Half was outside the magical boundaries of Disney, thought it had more going on than the WDW half where we seemed to spend a lot of time running on the highway without much going on.

The DL 10k was my favorite 10k ever, all the characters, the sights, the music, it was just so....DISNEY.
Love it.

You always take great finish line photos. I never seem to notice the characters at the finish but they are always there in your pics. Do you ever stop to get pics with them (thought you did at Dopey)?

Had to laugh at your comment about being glad you weren't running a marathon the next day--had a similar thought this morning after finishing a training run of 8 miles last night and 5.1 this morning with another 8 miler tomorrow morning and 16 more tomorrow night....it's like I'm doing Goofy. Without all of the magic. Or fun. Or bling.

Great pics of the medals. Aren't they great? Wish I had done the 5k, what an awesome medal and awesome Fab 5 photo compilation that you did.
The Coast 2 Coast medal is so nice.

Dopey & Dumbo were a great combo to earn C2C this year don't you think?

Thanks again for a great TR.

 

[Ariel484]

I've heard there are sections where you are able to sit. Then there are the seated sections reserved for the dinner packages at River Belle Terrace and Blue Bayou. I'm definitely doing Blue Bayou next trip!

Ah. That makes sense! I saw reserved seating for Paint the Night too...that would have been nice!

LOOK AT ALL THAT BLING!!!

Congrats!

I just love it so! : Thanks!

Great job and that bling is great!! I really like the half medal. I think it's different and really cool. And, yes, Dumbo is Maj Cute. But really, that Coast to Coast is incredible. I'm so jealous. I have to start working out a plan to get one.

Thanks! You're right, it's definitely different and it definitely stands out from my other medals! You need to get yourself a C2C for sure!

I'm bummed to hear that the half wasn't a great race for you. That's been a worry of mine with doing a half at DL. I'd heard there was very limited park time. Glad there was at least a lot of entertainment along the way even if it wasn't Disney per se.

Congratulations!!!

Yeah, I think my mindset wasn't the best going into it (with not being as trained as I would have liked), and I really did not do a good job of preparing myself for the non-park time. I think that hit me a little harder than I expected. If I did this race again I have to think it would go better, just because I would know what to expect.

Woohoo! You did it! I love the bling. The dumbo and 60th medals especially. One day I'll get out there to run a race.

I heard a lot about the cars on the course at least Disney tried to make the course better with that.

Woo!

They really did do a good job of lining the course with bands, dancers, cheerleaders, etc. There was no shortage of stuff to look at!

Okay, I finally have a few minutes to catch up...

I'm starting to get the impression that you really appreciated not having to take buses everywhere while you were at Disneyland. For me, that's my favorite part of a WDW trip ... how far apart everything is (or not ... I'm totally with you on DL - I love how easy it is to get everywhere without being dependent on buses, etc).

Not having the buses was great...I think especially for a race trip with already somewhat-limited park time, it was nice to not have to wait for and take buses.

I love all the pictures from the Surf's Up breakfast ... I have to put that one on my list for my next trip!

Definitely! That's the only character breakfast I've done at DL, so who knows - maybe there's another one that is better, but this one was great!

In terms of Fantasmic! ...
I saw F! at DL in 2009 (my first trip out west and 3rd Disney trip overall). I didn't see it at WDW until 2013.
I LOVE F! at WDW. I don't remember it at DL. I know I saw it because I have pictures, but it did not make enough of an impression on me for anything to be familiar when I saw it at WDW in 2013.
So I'm with you on liking WDW's better. But we'll see if that changes next time I'm at DL.

I mean...definitely see it once, especially if you can't remember it. Their dragon is incredible!

And now, onto the half marathon...
I really love your Diamond Minnie outfit!!

THANK YOU!! I was concerned people wouldn't know what I was going for!

I'm hoping to do DL as my first half next year, so reading your recap was definitely interesting and informative for me. And it kinda scared me. I think I'm nervous about getting discouraged when the park time is over so soon. I am excited about running through Angel Stadium (huge baseball fan) and by the Honda Center (you don't go inside, right?). But I'm scared that in the "boring" 4-5 miles between the parks and the sports stuff will bum me out so much that I don't enjoy the more interesting stuff when I get to it.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is ... did you feel that the non-Disney entertainment somewhat made up for the lack of Disney entertainment? Or was it really just a boring race after mile 4?

I do feel like they did a good job with the entertainment...no, you don't go inside the Honda Stadium.

But I think my mindset going into this race was not the best (as I mentioned above due to the recent injury and training derailment), so that definitely had an effect on how I perceived things. I'm still sort of trying to figure out how I feel about the course, and for now I have landed on this: to me, a good majority of this race really felt like one I could do at home, and that's not what I look for in Disney races - I want the parks and I want the characters. This one did have that for the first 4 miles, but after it was all non-Disney stuff. LOTS of it, but apparently I was just really looking for the *Disney* in everything.

Definitely don't take my reaction as gospel - if you look back through the DL thread I don't think there's one other person that had the same reaction that I did. I even asked Jess and Courtney about it and they said that they thought the non-park portions of this race were better than the non-park portions in WDW (similar to what Slogger is saying below). Jess was happy because she ran a fast time and Courtney was happy because she was able to focus better after mile 4 - which is great for them, but for me, I don't run Disney races for fast times or to focus on getting a really great run in. I run them purely for the characters, the parks and the fun. And this race did have those things...

I don't know, like I said...I'm still working out how I feel about it, and I feel guilty in a way that I am not having a 100% positive reaction. Like there's something wrong with me in a way?! It's actually something I have been struggling with since the race ended!

I think a big thing too was that the last time I did a Disney race weekend was Dopey, which was this perfect experience start-to-finish...anything after that was almost certainly going to be a let-down in comparison, especially with the hip soreness starting up.

But you didn't ask that...you asked about the entertainment after mile 4. There is a lot of it and you won't be bored.

(Sorry, apparently I needed to vent a little bit! )

And yes, I will bring my sunglasses. I rarely run without them.

The sun was a killer! I was so glad I had my sunglasses and visor!

Yay for getting your three super cute medal! I also was not wild about the half medal when I first saw it ... but it is kinda cool that it has the 60th on it. And the Dumbo medal is definitely maj cute!

It's definitely different, and definitely better in person! Dumbo is MAJ CUTE

@Ariel484......awesome trip report (not sure if it's done, LOL)

Thanks! Almost done but not quite.

Thanks for sharing pics and your stories. It helps me get through today as I try to avoid any postings or info about the Star Wars registration for WDW.
No Disney for us next year.

I am right there with you. Courtney, Jess and our other BFF are registered for the challenge and I am the only one not going. I thought about registering but managed to restrain myself.

Random thoughts from one Dopey-Dumbo-C2C runner to another.......

A Dumb Dope? That's what I'm calling myself.

Mindfudge....awesome word.

Looking at your pics reminded me of, well, my pics. Seriously some of the people in your pics during the race are in mine too.
And I thought I saw someone wearing headgear just like yours on Saturday morning before we started, maybe that was you?
Not sure when you started or finished, bet we were probably right in front or behind you both days.

Umm, let's see. I started in corral B and my time was 1:26 or something (not a PR, in case you were wondering. ) Very well could have been me!

Not sure how many people had a toy "Dumbo" with them, but there was a guy on Sunday that was posing for photo ops with the Stormtroopers and the classic cars and dancers posing with a cute "Dumbo." Love Dumbo, but that movie makes me sad.

I cannot with that movie. I can't even think about it or I'll start to cry!

I even saw the "bandits" on Saturday but just didn't realize what I was seeing. Noticed two runners with bibs on their backs and not the front and all I could think about was how would they get their MarathonFoto pics? But they were right there in the finish line chute....bad Mindfudge there.

Yeah, I'm sure some people do put their bibs on their backs because they DON'T want photos...but once we knew what was going on it was obvious.

You and Mrs. Slogger should have run the half together. I'm the one injured, but she was in pain and not a happy runner. I don't think she appreciated me stopping to goof off with dancers or pose with the exotic cars or singing "Let it Go" or "The Final Countdown" on the streets on Anaheim. She just wanted to be done. We've all been there.

Poor Sloggers! At least you were entertaining.

I've been there before with "just wanting to be done," but I hated feeling that way on a Disney course.

Why no "happy face" with the stormtroopers? The regular stormtrooper guy was pretty funny when we talked to him.

I was trying to give him the side-eye! Like this sorta:

Sunglasses---yes....I read that before the trip and highly recommend for sun and protection for your eyes on the streets and trail.

Amen to that!!!

The trail runs adjacent to the overflow/drainage ditches which used to be have more water when I was a kid visiting my grandparents in L.A
Glad it wasn't windy.........all that dirt and debris would have blown all over us. Nobody happy if that happens.

I thought about that too - isn't that trail used for Avengers, and everyone got blasted last year? Awful!

Honda center was neat but would have been cool if they had a mascot or somebody out there to cheer us on. Maybe next time we can run through there too.

That would have been awesome! Or the Anaheim Ducks?

Totally agree that Angels stadium was awesome and a step up over Champions. I did a mini "Lambeau leap" into the stands and took a selfie with the crowd.
How about all of those bands and cheerleaders outside the stadium? I think I high fived all of them.

They were awesome! And I think I saw some Boy Scout troops too.

I thought it was so great that so many people came out to cheer us on.

Even though the majority of the Half was outside the magical boundaries of Disney, thought it had more going on than the WDW half where we seemed to spend a lot of time running on the highway without much going on.

They definitely did not skimp on entertainment, that's for sure.

The DL 10k was my favorite 10k ever, all the characters, the sights, the music, it was just so....DISNEY.
Love it.

It was! It was perfect.

You always take great finish line photos. I never seem to notice the characters at the finish but they are always there in your pics. Do you ever stop to get pics with them (thought you did at Dopey)?

Thanks!

I didn't stop because it didn't seem like anyone else was doing it, and I didn't want to get yelled at. Plus I think the finisher straightaway is smaller/shorter at DL so I didn't feel like I had enough room!

Had to laugh at your comment about being glad you weren't running a marathon the next day--had a similar thought this morning after finishing a training run of 8 miles last night and 5.1 this morning with another 8 miler tomorrow morning and 16 more tomorrow night....it's like I'm doing Goofy. Without all of the magic. Or fun. Or bling.

Training is definitely the hardest part - tough to stay motivated sometimes!

I bet anyone that ran Dopey had the same thoughts we did!

Great pics of the medals. Aren't they great? Wish I had done the 5k, what an awesome medal and awesome Fab 5 photo compilation that you did.
The Coast 2 Coast medal is so nice.

runDisney has never disappointed me with their medals! I love them all!

Dopey & Dumbo were a great combo to earn C2C this year don't you think?

Thanks again for a great TR.

The best way! I was glad I did it this way.

Thanks for reading!

 

[SarahDisney]

I do feel like they did a good job with the entertainment...no, you don't go inside the Honda Stadium.

But I think my mindset going into this race was not the best (as I mentioned above due to the recent injury and training derailment), so that definitely had an effect on how I perceived things. I'm still sort of trying to figure out how I feel about the course, and for now I have landed on this: to me, a good majority of this race really felt like one I could do at home, and that's not what I look for in Disney races - I want the parks and I want the characters. This one did have that for the first 4 miles, but after it was all non-Disney stuff. LOTS of it, but apparently I was just really looking for the *Disney* in everything.

Definitely don't take my reaction as gospel - if you look back through the DL thread I don't think there's one other person that had the same reaction that I did. I even asked Jess and Courtney about it and they said that they thought the non-park portions of this race were better than the non-park portions in WDW (similar to what Slogger is saying below). Jess was happy because she ran a fast time and Courtney was happy because she was able to focus better after mile 4 - which is great for them, but for me, I don't run Disney races for fast times or to focus on getting a really great run in. I run them purely for the characters, the parks and the fun. And this race did have those things...

I don't know, like I said...I'm still working out how I feel about it, and I feel guilty in a way that I am not having a 100% positive reaction. Like there's something wrong with me in a way?! It's actually something I have been struggling with since the race ended!

I think a big thing too was that the last time I did a Disney race weekend was Dopey, which was this perfect experience start-to-finish...anything after that was almost certainly going to be a let-down in comparison, especially with the hip soreness starting up.

But you didn't ask that...you asked about the entertainment after mile 4. There is a lot of it and you won't be bored.

(Sorry, apparently I needed to vent a little bit! )

I definitely appreciate you sharing all this. I'm pretty terrified about running my first half (and its still a year away). I was hoping that the "Disney Magic" of the race would make it a little easier on me and turn it around even if I went in with the wrong mindset, and it does sound like you didn't have that experience.
That said ... I will definitely be reading as many race recaps as possible and hopefully I'll see that your experience was the less common reaction. I think that if most people enjoy it, I'll feel a little better, but seeing a not-so-awesome reaction to the race definitely freaked me out a bit.

And I totally get struggling with not having a 100% position reaction. I had that after the Princess 5K in February ... it was my first runDisney race and while I enjoyed it, I still beat myself up over the fact that it wasn't as great of a race as it could have been.

Good to know that the post-parks part of the course is still entertaining ... I have ADD, so I don't know how I make it through my regular runs with no entertainment other than my music.

 

[cavepig]

Yes, that sun sure was bright coming up! How's your hip now? Hope better. For me the non-park time was fine, but then my local Nebraska races aren't that exciting so the Palm Trees alone outdid runs here! It's funny you were thinking about not having to do a marathon the next day, I kept thinking could I, as I have Dopey in January! Great pictures!

 

[cavepig]

double post,oops

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Congratulations on your completed races! I love the medals. What do you with all of your beautiful runDisney medals by the way?

As for the half course, I am surprised and disappointed they don't do more Disney stuff after the park time. Couldn't they have more character meet ups in the middle of the race? Those cars really would not do it for me! (I am so not a car enthusiast!) Though I agree with a PP, that just the pretty SoCal scenery may be exciting

 

[Ariel484]

I definitely appreciate you sharing all this. I'm pretty terrified about running my first half (and its still a year away). I was hoping that the "Disney Magic" of the race would make it a little easier on me and turn it around even if I went in with the wrong mindset, and it does sound like you didn't have that experience.
That said ... I will definitely be reading as many race recaps as possible and hopefully I'll see that your experience was the less common reaction. I think that if most people enjoy it, I'll feel a little better, but seeing a not-so-awesome reaction to the race definitely freaked me out a bit.

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!

And I totally get struggling with not having a 100% position reaction. I had that after the Princess 5K in February ... it was my first runDisney race and while I enjoyed it, I still beat myself up over the fact that it wasn't as great of a race as it could have been.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I have been feeling about it. I think I was pretty nervous to put it out there for others to read too, so I'm sort of glad that the reporting part of it is over!

Good to know that the post-parks part of the course is still entertaining ... I have ADD, so I don't know how I make it through my regular runs with no entertainment other than my music.

Tons of stuff to look at, for sure. :

Yes, that sun sure was bright coming up! How's your hip now? Hope better. For me the non-park time was fine, but then my local Nebraska races aren't that exciting so the Palm Trees alone outdid runs here! It's funny you were thinking about not having to do a marathon the next day, I kept thinking could I, as I have Dopey in January! Great pictures!

Hips are totally fine - once the race was over it wasn't an issue at all! Whew.

Congratulations on your completed races! I love the medals. What do you with all of your beautiful runDisney medals by the way?

As for the half course, I am surprised and disappointed they don't do more Disney stuff after the park time. Couldn't they have more character meet ups in the middle of the race? Those cars really would not do it for me! (I am so not a car enthusiast!) Though I agree with a PP, that just the pretty SoCal scenery may be exciting

Thank you! I have a rack in my room for the medals...they're all hanging there.

I do know that there is a specific reason that they don't have the characters out later - whether it's due to an agreement with the city of Anaheim or to maintain character integrity, I'm not sure. But no characters after mile 4.

 

[Ariel484]

Challenge Complete! Let's eat!

We all arrived back at the room at staggered times (which worked out well for showering purposes)...once we were cleaned up we wasted no time in hitting the sack! I learned my lesson from the previous day though and limited my post-race nap to no more than about 30 minutes. This worked out well for me.

Once we were up and ready we packed up a little bit (WAHHH) and headed out of the room with all of our bling in tow...both from today and from January. We headed over to Disneyland for our fourth and final ADR of the trip!

The park was crowded today! I was so glad we had made ADRs for this weekend!

We were surprised - and excited - to be taken to a table with a water view without even asking. It was fun to watch the pirate boats float by!

This restaurant is cool, but it's terrible for photos! And I didn't have my big camera with me, so feast your eyes on these terrible phone pictures.

That's Pirates!...I swear. I think?

Nom!

We put our orders in and started out with bread and a house salad. We all also ordered a Coke and a water...my first glass of water was gone in no more than 15 seconds. I was pretty parched after that race!

Jess ordered a Monte Cristo. I had a bite - tasted just like a funnel cake! Yum!

Courtney and I went for the flat iron steak. I didn't think I'd make a dent in this meal but I ended up eating almost all of it. It was so good!

I feel like we probably rode Pirates after lunch, but that we didn't do any other rides in the park after that. Can't remember for sure. We did take some bling pictures though!

We made our way up to the partners statue for some pictures!

There was actually a line for photos directly in front of the statue, so we waited. A Photopass CM offered to take our picture, which was great...until he refused to do so while we were wearing our sunglasses. So what we got was a series of squinty-eyed pictures where none of us look good because we're covered in weird shadows. My only must-do for today was to get a good picture with all of my medals, so I was annoyed by this.

Jess was smart to insist on a picture with sunglasses, so at least she got a good one.

Eventually we moved up closer to the castle and put our sunglasses back on. I handed my phone to the selfie master.

Better, but still not *the* picture I wanted. I took my (11) medals off, put them back in my bag (quite a process) and grabbed a shot of Courtney.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

*The* Picture

After that we headed to California Adventure.

OSWALD!

We headed back to see Aladdin (RIP) - I had just seen this show the previous month on the Fantasy, and had the same reaction here as I did on the ship - 1. Weird to not have Abu and Raja, and 2. Does Jasmine really need her own song? The Genie in DCA was HILARIOUS though - somehow the pop culture jokes worked way better here than on the Fantasy (where they were pretty cringe-worthy). He even said "Bye Felicia!" We practically gave him a standing ovation for that.

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.

All good things, all good things.

We checked on Radiator Springs Racers...LOL. The line was WAY too long! Actually, lines were crazy everywhere. Courtney wanted to do the Fun Wheel (which had a 20ish-minute wait, if I recall correctly) and convinced Jess to go with her. I wasn't budging on my anti-ferris wheel position and went to sit and wait for them. Eventually it occurred to me that in addition to the wait, the wheel would then have to load fully and spin around...so they probably wouldn't be back for an hour or so.

So I decided to try another medal picture and went to wait for Mickey to come out to meet. As I waited, I started to put my medals on and the character attendant was pretty interested in that. And so were the other guests around me. 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.

Mickey was happy to see the bling! But I was not super happy with this picture...holy shadows! Looks like my quest would continue...

After the Mickey picture, I checked in a store yet again for that phone case I wanted. This time I gave the SKU number for the iPhone 6 version to a CM who confirmed that a 6+ version did not ever exist for this case - sadness! So I headed to Starbucks to get a frapp to drown my sorrows while waiting for Jess and Courtney. Once they arrived, we headed back to Disneyland and got in line for the Partners statue again...because darn it, I'd been carrying those heavy medals around all day. I was GOING to get my picture!

So I started to put them on, and this little kid that was walking by stops in his tracks and goes, "WHOA!" That was pretty funny.

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

This gem was waiting on my phone when I got it back.

And with that, we headed over to the sidewalk to wait for yet another nighttime Disneyland show - this evening we were hoping to catch Paint the Night and Disneyland Forever.

I don't remember what time we started our wait, but it was, again, crazy early - the earliest of the week (maybe 2 hours ahead of time?). We sat down and I quickly got up to head to Jolly Holiday Bakery to wait in line for a caprese sandwich (and cupcake, natch). Courtney and Jess were starting not to feel very well and insisted they didn't want any dinner, so they stayed in our spot and waited.

The Jolly Holiday line was long and phone reception was terrible. I got out of the bakery at about 8PM to find I had a message from Jess that a CM had told everyone to stand up already so that more people could fit - a full hour before the show was going to start.

By the time I got back to our spot it was obvious that things had deteriorated quickly. I felt okay at that point (not happy with the current situation, but okay) - but Jess looked sick and Courtney looked exhausted. Immediately I insisted that we just bag the whole thing - there was no way we'd make it for another hour plus. I think if we had been allowed to sit for a little longer we could have, but this was ridiculous.

Eventually we all agreed that we needed to get out. Somehow we managed to find an empty table near Jolly Holiday - I ate my sandwich and Courtney had some of the cupcake. I think Jess had one or two bites. And then we GOT OUTTA THERE. And unfortunately, that was our last experience in the parks.

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

After leaving Disneyland, we took one last run through World of Disney (I bought the "back-up" phone case I posted earlier - and love it!) and headed back to the room. It wasn't long before we completely finished packing and crashed for the night! I think we were all disappointed to have missed the parade and fireworks, but seriously...it would not have been good for anyone to stay for that!

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Day 6: Monday, September 7

Good Morning and Good-bye

Ugh...this day barely deserves its own post.

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.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Final Thoughts

Disneyland: Love, love, loved going to Disneyland! Everything was crazy-detailed and crazy charming, and I can't wait to go back! Being able to walk everywhere was just awesome, and I loved seeing the 60th stuff - they did SUCH an amazing job with that. It's everywhere!

Having said that - I HATED how the nighttime shows worked! I wish there was a better way to see them!

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!

Races at Disneyland: Just like with the parks, there are some things I liked better about runDisney on the West Coast, and some I didn't.

Pros for Disneyland...

• Being able to walk to the corrals and sleep later was AMAZING. I think it made the entire weekend just seem more doable.
• The 5K and 10K courses were AWESOME. So much park time!

Cons for Disneyland:

• The official merchandise situation - pretty nuts.
• Still pretty conflicted on this, and I hate to say it...but I didn't love the half marathon course. The first 4 miles were great, but after that it was like I was just running a race at home (albeit, a better-supported race with more entertainment, but still). For me, running Disney races is all about getting to go through the parks, see the characters, etc. Maybe if there had been more of that during the end of the race, I'd feel differently...but when I finished this race I was just glad it was over. It was still a great race - amazing volunteers and really well-run, as all Disney races are - but it just wasn't very *Disney* to me. And I know this is a function of WDW being able to do their races entirely on Disney property, where a good portion of the Disneyland races are out in Anaheim...but it was just really different. I guess it's my fault for not really realizing it would be this way ahead of time.

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!

Coast-to-Coast: No regrets. Even though I didn't love the half marathon course, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It was worth it!

Thanks for reading along, and I’ll see y'all real soon!

 

[mbwhitti]

We ditched nighttime shows on Sunday too. We were just too exhausted and the crowds were insane that day. It was blistering hot. I just wasn't all about it. So we never saw the fireworks bc the other night we planned to watch them, they were cancelled

Guess that just means I'll have to go back someday.

I felt the same way at mile 10 of the half...can this just be over?!? Seriously hot and nothing to see. But loved loved the 5k and 10k and being able to sleep a little later as well. Seems like we had similar experiences. If I had it to do over, I would have traded my Wednesday and Sunday. We rented a car Wednesday and drove to the beach but should have stayed in the less crowded parks and hit the beach on Sunday for relax time after the race. Lesson learned for next time...I sure hope we get to go back!

 

[rteetz]

I think eating right next to pirates is really cool. I have heard mixed reviews on the blue bayou tho.

Great pictures with all of the medals they all look great especially with Oswald and Olaf.

After listening to the review of the race on the Mickey milers podcast it seems that this is most people's least favorite half course at Disneyland.

I will make it to Disneyland one day. Thanks for another great trip report!

 

[Ariel484]

We ditched nighttime shows on Sunday too. We were just too exhausted and the crowds were insane that day. It was blistering hot. I just wasn't all about it. So we never saw the fireworks bc the other night we planned to watch them, they were cancelled

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

Sounds like Sunday night just was not good to us runners.

Guess that just means I'll have to go back someday.

Mmmmm yeah okay!

I felt the same way at mile 10 of the half...can this just be over?!? Seriously hot and nothing to see.

Okay...THANK YOU so much for saying this. I was starting to think I had issues or something, like...am I just overly negative for no reason?! It makes me feel way better to read this.

One thing I forgot to mention...did you think it seemed like there was an insane number of water stops? Every time I felt like I was a little thirsty, a water stop would appear. Disney magic y'all!

But loved loved the 5k and 10k and being able to sleep a little later as well. Seems like we had similar experiences. If I had it to do over, I would have traded my Wednesday and Sunday. We rented a car Wednesday and drove to the beach but should have stayed in the less crowded parks and hit the beach on Sunday for relax time after the race. Lesson learned for next time...I sure hope we get to go back!

Yeah, a day at the beach afterward would have been heavenly! I hope you guys make it back too!

I think eating right next to pirates is really cool. I have heard mixed reviews on the blue bayou tho.

It was cool! I too have heard mixed reviews - in fact Courtney was the one who said we should go there "just for the ambiance," which made me think that the food wouldn't be so great - but it was tasty!

Great pictures with all of the medals they all look great especially with Oswald and Olaf.

Thanks!!

After listening to the review of the race on the Mickey milers podcast it seems that this is most people's least favorite half course at Disneyland.

Like I said above to Beth, THANK YOU for telling me this! I'm going to listen to that today...makes me feel a lot better about my reaction to things.

I will make it to Disneyland one day. Thanks for another great trip report!

Definitely get there at some point. You'd love it! Thanks for reading.

 

[cavepig]

I totally agree with not caring for how the nighttime entertainment is handled. I did not like going in the roped off areas and standing. Luckily, we saw the 10:30 (I think) Paint the Night on Labor Day way over by Small World so didn't have to deal with crowding for that as the park had emptied out after the Fireworks. We got so confused finding our Yellow area for Fantasmic even after asking CMs for help. Enjoyed reading along!

 

[ZellyB]

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!!!!!

 

[Ariel484]

I totally agree with not caring for how the nighttime entertainment is handled. I did not like going in the roped off areas and standing. Luckily, we saw the 10:30 (I think) Paint the Night on Labor Day way over by Small World so didn't have to deal with crowding for that as the park had emptied out after the Fireworks. We got so confused finding our Yellow area for Fantasmic even after asking CMs for help. Enjoyed reading along!

Your Paint the Night experience sounds perfect...I'm jealous. And I feel a little stupid because it never occurred to me to try to watch it somewhere other than Main Street - next time for sure!!

Thanks for reading and it was really nice to meet you!

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!!!!!

Thanks Gisele! You're right, 11 is insane - it's not wonder it attracted attention from others.

Thanks for reading - looking forward to hearing how you and Chris like Wine & Dine!

 

[dancingtodisney]

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

IT'S SOOOOOOO PRETTY!!!
Nice nails too

Seriously, 60th Mickey with no line? Yes Please!

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

Continued in Next Post

Good Selfie Skills here!

I think I liked Space a little better here at Disneyland...it just felt crazy!

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

- The official merchandise situation at DIsneyland races is CA-RAZY!

So with (4) in mind, we were up by 6 or 6:30 on this day (though it felt like 9 or 9:30 to us). Gotta get on the bus to Wide World of Sports!...

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

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

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!

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!

The nicest 5K medal I've seen!

Loving the RBF's!!!

BANDITS RIGHT THERE! BANDITS!

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!

ALL THE FEELS

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

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

I like your hat too

Villain Mile Markers!! AWESOME!

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

Solo Time!

At some point that afternoon, we all grabbed fastpasses for that night's showing of Fantasmic! Jess and I were SO excited - we LOVE Disney World's Fantasmic! Courtney was less excited. (We have a long-standing feud - Jess and myself vs. Courtney and our other friend, Holly - over which is better...Fantastic or Illuminations. Fantasmic is the clear winner, obviously.)



ANYWAY...

Courtney and Jess were ready for their nap. I didn't want to take a second one, so I stayed in the park for a little solo time!

By now I was sick of carrying my big camera around, so I had a little phone photoshoot with Donald before settling into a shady spot to watch Soundsational!

I liked this parade, but I think I like Festival of Fantasy a lot better!

From there, I went up to grab a seat at the train station to give Will a quick call, hang out and watch the world go by. Just *being there* was really nice (something I love about Disney Parks).

The Flag Retreat just so happened to start while I was here, so I watched that. That was a first - had no idea how long or involved it would be! It was very cool.

It was almost dinner time, so I decided to head out of the park and over to Downtown Disney. I was a little early, so I wandered through World of Disney for the millionth time. I'd been looking at stuff to buy all week and decided to start narrowing things down.

I liked this phone case...not quite as much as the other one, but at least it was in the correct size for my phone.

I get Christmas ornaments on every trip - preferably personalized ones, but I don't think that's as common of a thing at Disneyland as it is at Disney World. I did end up getting this one on our last night though (it lights up blue).

Continued in Next Post

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

THAT WATCH.....

Hahahaha I love your pose in this one!!

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.