Second Star to the Right and Straight on ‘til the 2017 Pixie Dust Challenge*COMPLETE

[disneydaydreamer33]

I have a feeling I won't be a huge fan of the Matterhorn either (I don't have big memories of this ride growning up either!). Space Mountain in Florida is already too jerky for me, so if it's worse than that it will be a big fat no.

The dis-meet sounds like it was fun! I love talking with people that share my love of running and disney (which is why I love the disboards so much!)

Your Naples meal sounds delightful!

Can't wait to read about the half!!

 

[ZellyB]

Sprinkle me with Pixie Dust and get me that Bling!

​

We awoke bright and early and did a repeat of a quick breakfast at the hotel before walking to the race. We’d debated about going in the other direction from Harbor, but instead opted to go the same route as before. I’m glad we did because I heard the back up for the entrance from Harbor was pretty crazy.

Security this time was a bit better organized, although just as slow, but we eventually got through and headed back to B corral. We got up pretty close to the front and listened to the opening announcements.

The closest I’ll ever be to an A corral.

At some point while we were waiting, I did see @roxymama and @Ariel484 up ahead of us, but it was pretty crowded by that point and rather than being obnoxious and yelling at them, I opted to just stay quiet. Unusual for me.

Shortly before race start, they had everyone turn on their flashlights on their phone and hold them up. Made for a cute look at the corrals lined up behind!

I mentioned to Chris that I thought they were running a bit late for starting the race which is unusual for runDisney. I guess with the security hold ups people were scrambling to get to the corrals, so they may have held the race up some for that reason. But eventually, the race began and in no time at all we were off!!

The race started out just like the 10k and again we opted to ignore our intervals for the time being until we got through the park portions of the race, so mile 1 came up pretty quickly.

I didn’t take as many pictures on this run, so I’ll probably be confused on some of the mile markers and park locations. We did pretty quickly come upon our first character photo though and jumped right over for the picture. And, I know this picture has already been in 2 other trip reports, but I had to include it in mine too, right?

So fun to see Roxy and Internet Ariel (she’s famous you know) while in line.

And these lovelies were waiting at the end of the line.

I really don't know who any of them are, but they were very sweet.

We headed back out and were quickly headed toward the castle.

Chris managed to score another good castle photo…I have no idea where I am.

We opted for a quick castle selfie.

We headed down Main Street and saw another photo where Donald had been the previous day. It was Chip and Dale and since we’d gotten them the day before during the 10K, we opted to move along.

We headed out from the park and straight across into DCA. I don’t remember exactly how they routed us through the park this time, but it was different than the 10K had been. We ran across the bridge I think into Paradise Pier

and saw some Lost Boys on the carousel. I attempted to take a video and failed miserably. I’ll spare you the photo I did get because it’s useless.

A bit further down though and we spotted Mouse’s best friend!

I know we ended up routed through Carsland again and once again Mater and McQueen were out, but we bypassed them since we’d seen them during the 10K.

Then very quickly we were headed back across and into Disneyland Park again and mile 3!

Next up:

A little bit more park time and then out to the city!

 

[ZellyB]

Why can’t there by Palm Tree lined streets where we live?

​

We looped back through Tomorrowland and back up by the castle.

Well, hello again, my beauty!

Just a bit further on and we saw a LONG character line. Since we had skipped some other pictures, we figured it was likely to be Tinkerbell so we pulled off and waited. I’m going to say this was probably close to a 10 minute wait to see this little cutie.

Then, away we went. One last run by Small World

and back out of the park and onto the streets of Anaheim. I can tell you I pretty much have no idea where we were running from that point. LOL.

There were lots of people who have said that prior races had a lot more entertainment out on the streets and this year there was very little. I guess Disney had previously given out free park tickets to High School bands and the Red Hat ladies and they stopped that this year. I do remember one kind of cover band person and maybe one band, but there were a fair number of just spectators scattered throughout the course as well.

We ran through some neighborhoods that had some neat houses and I always enjoy looking at neighborhoods like that when we run, so I was very entertained. We settled into our intervals and just enjoyed the fabulous weather. We ran past a spectacular pink Spanish Colonial house and these two people were sitting on our upstairs balcony enjoying the view and a cup of coffee, so I yelled up to them that I loved their house and the man gave me a wave and said, "Thanks". He probably thought I was crazy.

Mile 7 somewhere out there in Anaheim!

We were turning to run down this street and I was struck by how it was lined with these perfectly symmetrical palm trees all the way down!

So pretty. We did just sort of a loop around this block (the city Library was in here) and came back up the other side around mile 8. I guess at some point late in the race to avoid sweeping people, they cut this loop out and just shifted people directly across. It shorted the course by almost a mile, apparently, but probably better than sweeping people. Maybe?

We had just a great run and were keeping up a good pace (for a Disney race ) and eventually found ourselves at mile 10

Not my best job on a selfie!

We stopped for a bathroom break at some portapotties and while waiting a woman was telling us her running buddy was her 14-year old granddaughter running her first half marathon. Fun! It really got me thinking about running one of these with my nearly 14 year old daughter who runs cross-country currently.

On we ran and around mile 12 or so found ourselves coming in on the backside of the Disneyland hotel and then before we knew it we were coming into the finish!

And after miles of no photographers – a million shots in about 30 seconds!

I like this one because we look fast!

Thumbs up!

Another half in the books!

and into the finisher’s area to collect these lovelies!

We really enjoyed this race. The course was great (flat and fast) outside the parks and the entertainment inside the parks was good as well. We didn’t stop as much obviously, after our stop-filled 10K, but we had a great time. Not sure we’d do Tinkerbell weekend again, but it definitely has me considering the DL Pixar themed challenge at some point in the future - maybe with my daughter!

Next up: A Mother’s Day Brunch and our last day in the parks.

 

[ZellyB]

I have a feeling I won't be a huge fan of the Matterhorn either (I don't have big memories of this ride growning up either!). Space Mountain in Florida is already too jerky for me, so if it's worse than that it will be a big fat no.

The dis-meet sounds like it was fun! I love talking with people that share my love of running and disney (which is why I love the disboards so much!)

Your Naples meal sounds delightful!

Can't wait to read about the half!!

I thought it was worse than Space Mountain in Florida - and I agree that one is already about too rough for me as well. I was a little nervous about the Dis meet because it might have been awkward, but it absolutely wasn't.

We had the best luck with our meals!

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Confession: I hated this ride. It was incredibly rough and just not that much fun. I mean the Yeti stuff was neat and it did actually move which is a plus, but ugh. Just no. Sorry to those who may love it, but that was not for me.

I sooo agree with this! The last time I was there I begged @wehrengrizz to ride it and she kept trying to talk me out of it. Then I rode it and understood why she didn't want to ride it. NEVER. AGAIN.

Congrats on finishing another half!! I loved all of your pictures I definitely think you should run the DLH if you get the chance I liked that weekend a little bit more than Tink and running through Angels stadium was amazing (hopefully the groups that were cheering inside are still there).

 

[Sailormoon2]

Your pictures are so fantastic!! I love all the selfies, and the photopass ones came out great too! It just looks like you guys are having so much fun!!!

 

[roxymama]

Yay, It's half recap time!

Can I start calling you Internet Zelly? I mean, there is the character in Enchanted so I probably need to differentiate you from her since y'all are equally famous

Quick fashion shout out to @Chris-Mo I'm really liking your pixel shorts. Matches well with the Tink color scheme!

Hey, we were pretty close to each other according to that mile 3 clock! I wonder if there were any points where we flip flopped because I think I did pics you didn't, but you did pics that I didn't...etc

Looking forward to more half recap!!

 

[ZellyB]

I sooo agree with this! The last time I was there I begged @wehrengrizz to ride it and she kept trying to talk me out of it. Then I rode it and understood why she didn't want to ride it. NEVER. AGAIN.

Congrats on finishing another half!! I loved all of your pictures I definitely think you should run the DLH if you get the chance I liked that weekend a little bit more than Tink and running through Angels stadium was amazing (hopefully the groups that were cheering inside are still there).

After riding it I could NOT understand how anyone would wait 2 hours for that punishment.

Thank you. I'm not sure we'll actually make it out there for another race, but if so, I'm think the DLH would be my choice.

 

[ZellyB]

Your pictures are so fantastic!! I love all the selfies, and the photopass ones came out great too! It just looks like you guys are having so much fun!!!

We had a blast. That wasn't even me faking it for the photographers.

Yay, It's half recap time!

Can I start calling you Internet Zelly? I mean, there is the character in Enchanted so I probably need to differentiate you from her since y'all are equally famous

Quick fashion shout out to @Chris-Mo I'm really liking your pixel shorts. Matches well with the Tink color scheme!

Hey, we were pretty close to each other according to that mile 3 clock! I wonder if there were any points where we flip flopped because I think I did pics you didn't, but you did pics that I didn't...etc

Looking forward to more half recap!!

Internet Zelly has a certain panache right?

I was proud of him for choosing those shorts. I didn't even have to prompt him.

I noticed I was pretty close to Internet Ariel on the mile 3 shot too, so we were probably all pretty close for awhile at least.

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm one of those people who love Matterhorn Bobsleds ... but I also kinda understand why some people don't. It's not exactly the smoothest, most comfortable ride out there.

Congrats on finishing the half! You guys look like you're having a great time! I love that you paid attention to the houses along the course ... I feel like most people don't do that, but there are probably some really nice houses along the route.

 

[Chris-Mo]

Quick fashion shout out to @Chris-Mo I'm really liking your pixel shorts. Matches well with the Tink color scheme!

Thank you Roxy!! I think Internet Zelly is rubbing off on me!

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Yay for a great race and recap!! You two always look like you're having so much fun, which is awesome!

 

[ZellyB]

I'm one of those people who love Matterhorn Bobsleds ... but I also kinda understand why some people don't. It's not exactly the smoothest, most comfortable ride out there.

Congrats on finishing the half! You guys look like you're having a great time! I love that you paid attention to the houses along the course ... I feel like most people don't do that, but there are probably some really nice houses along the route.

I know there have to be people who love it given how long the line was! I'm just an old woman and can't take the rattling about.

There were some great houses on the route. Many were just these modest looking bungalows (although I suspect their price was not modest) that were beautifully maintained and then the street with that spanish colonial that had some big gorgeous houses.

Thank you Roxy!! I think Internet Zelly is rubbing off on me!

It's about time!

Yay for a great race and recap!! You two always look like you're having so much fun, which is awesome!

It's the fun of these Disney races that keep bringing us back. It helps to have a great running partner too.

 

[Ariel484]

Confession: I hated this ride. It was incredibly rough and just not that much fun. I mean the Yeti stuff was neat and it did actually move which is a plus, but ugh. Just no. Sorry to those who may love it, but that was not for me.

OMG YES!! I hated this one too - rode it in 2015 and just totally skipped it this year. It was painful!

Thanks for coming to the meet-up!!

A

t some point while we were waiting, I did see @roxymama and @Ariel484 up ahead of us, but it was pretty crowded by that point and rather than being obnoxious and yelling at them, I opted to just stay quiet. Unusual for me. ​

WHYYYYY (j/k but seriously, be obnoxious and yell next time )

And, I know this picture has already been in 2 other trip reports, but I had to include it in mine too, right?

I may be biased but I think it's perfectly acceptable for this picture to currently be on like 5 threads.

So fun to see Roxy and Internet Ariel (she’s famous you know) while in line.

Psssh. You're funny!!

We really enjoyed this race. The course was great (flat and fast) outside the parks and the entertainment inside the parks was good as well. We didn’t stop as much obviously, after our stop-filled 10K, but we had a great time. ​

I totally agree with your thoughts on the race - for all of the faults Tink weekend had, I did REALLY enjoy the Pixie Dust Challenge. I know some people got really unlucky with timing (security issues and the course cutting - still not sure what to think of that!) but except for the lack of entertainment in Anaheim, I thought the half was a great race! You guys got some great pics as usual, and I forgot to tell you that I was creeping on you both again during the half (pretty sure I saw you after your porta potty stop but was too shy to yell at you...you were too far ahead anyway! )

Disneyland Half weekend challenge would be so fun with your daughter! I really hope they keep the Pixar theme for that weekend, I would LOVE to get some Pixar medals some day!

Can I start calling you Internet Zelly? I mean, there is the character in Enchanted so I probably need to differentiate you from her since y'all are equally famous

This is an excellent idea!

 

[roxymama]

I think we should just start posting that pic of Internet Ariel, Internet Zelly & I on random threads on the disboards because it hasn't been on here enough in my opinion.

Avatar Pandora thread: Hey look we are wearing Blue!
Fastpass thread: Hey look, we are waiting in a line.
Disney Cruise thread: Ummm, we all like boats, look at us standing here...people who like boats?

This actually may be a terrible idea. Ignore me.

 

[ZellyB]

OMG YES!! I hated this one too - rode it in 2015 and just totally skipped it this year. It was painful!

Thanks for coming to the meet-up!!

I'm glad I'm not alone in finding that ride too painful. And, thanks for organizing the meet-up. It was really fun!

WHYYYYY (j/k but seriously, be obnoxious and yell next time )

K, next time I promise. But, that means you have to run another Disney race that I'm at.

I may be biased but I think it's perfectly acceptable for this picture to currently be on like 5 threads.

Absolutely!

I totally agree with your thoughts on the race - for all of the faults Tink weekend had, I did REALLY enjoy the Pixie Dust Challenge. I know some people got really unlucky with timing (security issues and the course cutting - still not sure what to think of that!) but except for the lack of entertainment in Anaheim, I thought the half was a great race! You guys got some great pics as usual, and I forgot to tell you that I was creeping on you both again during the half (pretty sure I saw you after your porta potty stop but was too shy to yell at you...you were too far ahead anyway! )

I mean, yeah, I wish things had been a bit smoother for the races, but overall it really was a great time. So, now I'll tell you that you should have totally yelled at us!!

Disneyland Half weekend challenge would be so fun with your daughter! I really hope they keep the Pixar theme for that weekend, I would LOVE to get some Pixar medals some day!

I'd love those medals too. Now I just have to convince Chris. We've both been thinking that maybe after Dopey we'll be done with Disney races for awhile, but writing up this report and reliving things has me reconsidering. I'm a sucker.

I think we should just start posting that pic of Internet Ariel, Internet Zelly & I on random threads on the disboards because it hasn't been on here enough in my opinion.

Avatar Pandora thread: Hey look we are wearing Blue!
Fastpass thread: Hey look, we are waiting in a line.
Disney Cruise thread: Ummm, we all like boats, look at us standing here...people who like boats?

This actually may be a terrible idea. Ignore me.

I think it might be a great idea! You go first.

 

[ZellyB]

Let’s celebrate Mother’s Day and the Race by EATING!!
OR

There’s a reason Moms wear jeans like this!

​

I’d made our brunch reservation for 10:30 and had worried a bit that morning if we’d have time to make it back to the hotel and get showered and cleaned up and back in time, but we actually had just a perfect amount of time. I even had time for a quick medal photo before we pack things up and left the hotel!

We'd brought along our Marathon Medal from the January race that earned us our Coast to Coast!

In trying to decide where we wanted to eat to celebrate the races and Mother’s Day, I’d read some things online about a special Prix Fixe menu at Catal and it had great reviews, so seemed like a good choice.

We arrived right on time and were seated out on the upstairs balcony. It was a great spot and we could still see some runners moving their way through Downtown Disney after finishing up the race.

We placed our orders and the food and drink arrived quickly. For my starter, I went with the House Basil Cured Salmon. And, of course, a Bloody Mary. Happy Mother’s Day to me.

Yummy! Chris had the Mediterranean Salad which he said was also delicious.

For the entrée, Chris had Steak and Eggs

while I went with the Lobster Benedict

Oh my gosh!! So good. The sauce was incredible and big pieces of tasty lobster!!

Dessert was also great – Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake for me and Butterscotch Pot de Crème for Chris.

Hands down without a question, the best meal of the trip (and we had a lot of good meals). The waiter told us they only offer this menu twice a year (Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day) and that people rave about it. Well count me in on the raving crowd. Delicious!! See how happy I am?

HA!

Next up: We enjoy our last day in the parks!

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Yum!! What a perfect meal to celebrate your race AND Mother's Day!!

 

[Sailormoon2]

Brunch sounds (and looks delicious). I love all the Patio dinning you did. I am a big fan of eating outside and really taking in the atmosphere!!

 

[cavepig]

I like Matterhorn, but it is rough for sure, I feel like I could just fall out so easily, it's painfully fun I suppose.
Great Half & recap! You guys get such great photos! I so loved the palm trees too when I ran Disneyland half in 2015, so pretty!