Official 2015 Disneyland Half Marathon Thread.

[mbwhitti]

I just looked again at SNA and they don't have any direct options from OH, where LAX does...so I will definitely be going with LAX. Right now the flights I am looking at are $429 RT, and I have no idea if that's a good price since I have never flown out west as an adult before. Normally I end up paying $250-$300 RT to Orlando. Hopefully when Southwest releases their fares for later this year the rest of the airlines will drop a bit!

Same here, Orlando is a lot cheaper/easier direct flights for me..$200 RT. The only direct flight coming back from LAX is a red-eye..no thank you! So, I'm just going to see what Southwest will have, then go from there. Right now LAX is about $350 and SNA is $400.. I may pick the airport based on better flight times as well. My DH is lucky that he doesn't have to worry about any of this. He just hops on the plane with me and goes, lol. I secretly get a lot of enjoyment out of it though.

 

[nintz]

I initially was going to stay at the HJ. But, I tried the Irun travel company and decided to stay at the disneyland hotel, after running this past marathon at WDW. Nothing was worse than trying to get back at the hotel and take a shower (Hour later). Anyone else staying at the Disneyland hotel?

 

[nintz]

they have standard rooms at 371.00 with a 3 night minimum stay as well as a 75.00 credit good toward admissions tickets. Which by the way was 219.00 for a three day pass.

 

[Keels]

So, I'm starting to plan out prices, etc for our trip. I noticed GetSports has 3 Day park hopper tickets for $200. Do you have to use them for other travel arrangements or can you just buy the tickets? http://www.gettravel.com/dlhm/themepark.shtml Because that is a super discount. We always use Undercover Tourist for WDW tickets. Does anyone know of any legitimate discount sites for DL?

Any opinions of flying into SNA or LAX? I know SNA is closer, but LAX seems to have a little better deal on flights. Southwest will release flights for September later this week.

Dang! That's a great deal on a park hopper! I ended up buying a 5-day PH from Way.com for $265. I just looked at GET has them for like $20 cheaper. Oh well. Do you know if you get a Magic Morning with the GET tickets by any chance? I don't see anything about it on the site ...

As far as airports go, I've only flown into LAX. My husband's office is in Santa Monica, so we generally stay there and I just drive in to Anaheim for a couple of days to go to the parks. This time, I won't be renting a car (he is, though, as he will be in Cali days before I am), so I'll be flying into SNA just for convenience. I'm using points for my flight, but I just priced everything out - I'd save about $15 to fly into SNA vs. LAX when you add in transportation costs. Plus, the drive from LAX is pretty decent - 45 minutes or so without traffic, which really only happens during the middle of the day. And I'm just really impatient - I want to get to Radiator Springs Racers as fast as I can!

Another good website/app to use is Hipmunk. It has everything except SWA because SWA wants to control bookings.

 

[mbwhitti]

they have standard rooms at 371.00 with a 3 night minimum stay as well as a 75.00 credit good toward admissions tickets. Which by the way was 219.00 for a three day pass.

We are trying to go the conservative route and stay off property at one of the good neighbor hotels. Got a really great deal through hotels.com. Just gotta get the flights and tickets now.

 

[Keels]

I initially was going to stay at the HJ. But, I tried the Irun travel company and decided to stay at the disneyland hotel, after running this past marathon at WDW. Nothing was worse than trying to get back at the hotel and take a shower (Hour later). Anyone else staying at the Disneyland hotel?

Hmmm ... I was planning to split time between the Fairfield (using points) and PPH, but maybe I'll switch to the DLH. I'd love to hang out by that pool!

 

[mbwhitti]

Dang! That's a great deal on a park hopper! I ended up buying a 5-day PH from Way.com for $265. I just looked at GET has them for like $20 cheaper. Oh well. Do you know if you get a Magic Morning with the GET tickets by any chance? I don't see anything about it on the site ...

As far as airports go, I've only flown into LAX. My husband's office is in Santa Monica, so we generally stay there and I just drive in to Anaheim for a couple of days to go to the parks. This time, I won't be renting a car (he is, though, as he will be in Cali days before I am), so I'll be flying into SNA just for convenience. I'm using points for my flight, but I just priced everything out - I'd save about $15 to fly into SNA vs. LAX when you add in transportation costs. Plus, the drive from LAX is pretty decent - 45 minutes or so without traffic, which really only happens during the middle of the day. And I'm just really impatient - I want to get to Radiator Springs Racers as fast as I can!

Another good website/app to use is Hipmunk. It has everything except SWA because SWA wants to control bookings.

Not sure about the Magic Mornings. Are those only for Disney Hotel guests? I'm so new to this DL thing. I feel like I know WDW really well but nothing about DL. I bought the unofficial guide and have been reading that for help.

Like you, I'm factoring in the costs/time for travel from LAX. I def want to get as much time at DL as possible! That makes SNA all that more attractive. Plus, hubby and I will be hitting up Angels/Rangers game like you. We are Stl. Cardinals fans and want to see Pujols and Freese play again!

 

[Keels]

Not sure about the Magic Mornings. Are those only for Disney Hotel guests? I'm so new to this DL thing. I feel like I know WDW really well but nothing about DL. I bought the unofficial guide and have been reading that for help.

Like you, I'm factoring in the costs/time for travel from LAX. I def want to get as much time at DL as possible! That makes SNA all that more attractive. Plus, hubby and I will be hitting up Angels/Rangers game like you. We are Stl. Cardinals fans and want to see Pujols and Freese play again!

It will be really easy for you to acclimate to DLR! I'd never been before last summer and I thought I'd be like a fish out of water - but the proximity of the parks to each other and the sheer amount of attractions REALLY spoils you. I'm more excited to return to DLR than I am about WDW in November!

Which game are y'all going to? We're definitely going Friday night, but I think I may wait to see park hours before I decide if we're doing Saturday. Plus, I think my husband and my friend's husband are going to skip out on the parks on Saturday in favor of touring a couple local breweries, so that may make the decision for me ...

 

[Keels]

Oh! And Magic Mornings - they're in addition to Extra Magic Hours. If you stay at a DLR hotel, you get access to all EMHs. If you buy a park-hopper that's a minimum of three days (I think), you can take advantage of one EMH of your choosing.

 

[mbwhitti]

Which game are y'all going to? We're definitely going Friday night, but I think I may wait to see park hours before I decide if we're doing Saturday. Plus, I think my husband and my friend's husband are going to skip out on the parks on Saturday in favor of touring a couple local breweries, so that may make the decision for me ...

We are thinking about going Friday night as well! We may go again Monday night since it's a holiday. Don't tell my husband about the breweries or he may be joining in...he can just leave me at DL!

 

[Keels]

We are thinking about going Friday night as well! We may go again Monday night since it's a holiday. Don't tell my husband about the breweries or he may be joining in...he can just leave me at DL!

He can go with the guys and you can hang with us girls in the parks!

Honestly, he's not much of a Disney person so it's pretty big of him just to do this with me. He's very excited about trying all the craft beer in DCA after we finish the half on Sunday (they have a GREAT selection!), so I've got that going for me.

 

[zanzibar138]

I would definitely pay an extra $50 to fly into SNA for the convenience. Last time I flew into LAX, my plane landed at about 3pm, and I didn't get to my hotel until about 5:30pm. To be fair, I was flying international so I had to go through immigration, customs etc. But the shuttle took about an hour and a half by the time it circled around to pick up more passengers, then got stuck in traffic You have to take the traffic into consideration on your departure too, which can really eat into your park time on your final day. SNA is so much easier!

To the person who was concerned about getting back to the hotel for a shower after experiencing the WDW marathon, you won't know yourself at the DLH! You'll be back in your room showering within 10 minutes of finishing the run. FWIW though, DLR is nothing like WDW, and even at the HoJo, it would probably only take you half an hour. We stayed at the Desert Inn & Suites last year, which is a little bit closer to the crosswalk than HoJo, but we were back in our room with our breakfast 25 minutes after we left the finish line.

For those wondering about deals on park hoppers, you won't find a better deal than the GET tickets. DLR doesn't really have much in the way of discounted ticket websites like WDW does. The best you'll find is a free day through Orbitz, but even that is more expensive than the GET tickets. I'm not sure about the GET tickets, but usually with a multi-day pass 3 days or longer, you get one Magic Morning to be used at Disneyland only on a morning of your choice. The only way to get early entry access to DCA is by staying onsite.

Personally I'm not sure what we'll do about tickets yet. As Australians we get access to special 10 day passes, which usually work out to be great value, and will probably be worth getting since we'll be there for a week. However, part of me feels like I'm still missing out by not getting the GET tickets My parents will probably get the GET tickets though, since they'll only be getting 3 day passes.

 

[DisneyFan13US]

Hey everyone. I just discovered this thread and, since this is our first trip to DLR, I've really enjoyed reading all the posts. My wife is doing the DDD for her coast to coast as well as the 5K and I will be doing the 5K and my first 10K. I'm glad I was able to find out about the get tickets website. We are using DW's parents timeshare and staying at the Peacock Suites. We are also waiting for SWA to open up their fares before deciding on flying into SNA or LAX. I think they open them up around the end of the month.

 

[mbwhitti]

He can go with the guys and you can hang with us girls in the parks!.

Sounds like a solid plan!!

We are also waiting for SWA to open up their fares before deciding on flying into SNA or LAX. I think they open them up around the end of the month.

SWA will open flights through the end of October this Thursday!

 

[SgtTibbs]

Spirit Airlines has a flight from BWI to/from LAX on race weekend for $277.00. That's the best price I've seen, of course I'd rather walk to LA than fly Spirit but your mileage may vary.

 

[Keels]

Hey everyone. I just discovered this thread and, since this is our first trip to DLR, I've really enjoyed reading all the posts. My wife is doing the DDD for her coast to coast as well as the 5K and I will be doing the 5K and my first 10K. I'm glad I was able to find out about the get tickets website. We are using DW's parents timeshare and staying at the Peacock Suites. We are also waiting for SWA to open up their fares before deciding on flying into SNA or LAX. I think they open them up around the end of the month.

Yay!! You will LOVE DLR! Of course, I say this having only been there once - but I grew up in Orlando and worked at WDW for my first job (entertainment) and think the stars and the moon of WDW! But man, DLR is just ... amazing. Amazing.

Your wife is hardcore - that will be an awesome achievement for her.

But YAY FOR YOU! I just did my first 10K last month - it was such a rush! This group here has been so great with training and other things. They've really powered me and still do!

 

[Keels]

Spirit Airlines has a flight from BWI to/from LAX on race weekend for $277.00. That's the best price I've seen, of course I'd rather walk to LA than fly Spirit but your mileage may vary.

My mom flies from MCO to DFW twice a month and she almost always flies Spirit (if she can't get a good fare/time on SWA - she HATES AA), and while she always adds on the added fees to increase the fare, she's always said she's had a pleasant flying experience.

Me? I'm statused on AA and will fly that terrible chain until it dies. But, man, $277 ... that's about as cheap as cross-country fares from BWI go. Is it a new route?

 

[SgtTibbs]

Is it a new route?

No idea. But I'm keeping a close eye on this in case the other airlines price match.

 

[nintz]

Keels, I agree that the DLH pool is where it's at. That was the clincher for me.

 

[Keels]

Keels, I agree that the DLH pool is where it's at. That was the clincher for me.

I've got a park-view room at PPH (because I LOVE WoC more than should be legal) ... and now I'm seriously debating switching. Pool vs. WoC view. C'mon! Someone make this decision for me!!