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

[SarahDisney]

Congrats on beating Chris at TSMM!!! (I'm also usually the one who loses ... so I definitely understand the joy of that rare win)

Fun Fact: The Starbucks at DCA is the first Disney Starbucks I ever visited (I think it was the first one to open, actually). Those Disney Parks cups definitely make the coffee at least 25% better.

Dinner looks (and sounds) wonderful! I love all of that old memorobilia at the Disneyland Hotel! (I really need to get there to see it in person ASAP)

Bummer that the fireworks got cancelled. But ... I guess Disney can't control the wind. Oh well.

I love all of your 10K pictures! You guys are race selfie masters!!
I was relieved to hear that there were characters out for the 10K - I'm happy to see that you made some stops!

I LOVE(!!!) your Partners statue picture. What a wonderful idea - that's awesome!!

 

[rteetz]

Wow! Love your race photos! You look like you were enjoying life during this race always smiling and just having fun. That's what Disney races are all about, having fun!

That partners statue shot is awesome!

 

[ZellyB]

Looks like such a fun race so far!! You have so many great pictures too!! I love the one of you two in front of mile marker 2 (?), and the first photopass picture is super cute-- your legs looks amazing! (haha is that a weird things to say?? probably!) And I was cracking up at your partners statue picture. So perfect!

Well, I don't know if it's weird to say that about my legs, but I'll take it! Thanks.

Thanks for the insight! I've only been LCHF for 8 months. Sounds like I'll just have to go through some trial and error to figure out what works best but glad to hear you haven't experienced any major issues.

We first did it probably a year or more ago and then fell off the wagon. We started again around 3 months ago. I did find it a lot easier to adjust to it again after having done it once.

Congrats on beating Chris at TSMM!!! (I'm also usually the one who loses ... so I definitely understand the joy of that rare win)

Fun Fact: The Starbucks at DCA is the first Disney Starbucks I ever visited (I think it was the first one to open, actually). Those Disney Parks cups definitely make the coffee at least 25% better.

Dinner looks (and sounds) wonderful! I love all of that old memorobilia at the Disneyland Hotel! (I really need to get there to see it in person ASAP)

Bummer that the fireworks got cancelled. But ... I guess Disney can't control the wind. Oh well.

I love all of your 10K pictures! You guys are race selfie masters!!
I was relieved to hear that there were characters out for the 10K - I'm happy to see that you made some stops!

I LOVE(!!!) your Partners statue picture. What a wonderful idea - that's awesome!!

I think that's the only time I've ever beaten him at TSMM, so I need to milk it for all it's worth for the next several months before we ride again in January and I'm sure he will beat me again.

I agree that Starbucks in a Disney cup is pretty much perfection.

Thank you about the pictures. We didn't get nearly as many during the half, so I am loading up the 10K report.

Wow! Love your race photos! You look like you were enjoying life during this race always smiling and just having fun. That's what Disney races are all about, having fun!

That partners statue shot is awesome!

It was so much fun. Literally the Best Disney Race Ever! TM

 

[roxymama]

Catching up! First things first you two have the cutest fun wheel pictures OF ALL TIME!

I also am insanely jealous of your 10k running skirt. I'm not a Dr. Who fan (though if I took the time to watch it, I probably would be) but I love the cut and color on you. Very cute!

And finally...You two have the cutest partner statue picture OF ALL TIME!

I think all of us from this weekend need to make a trip back to DL at some point for the sole reason of going to the Cove Bar finally.

 

[roxymama]

Oh I forgot this important question...so was the corn dog as good as everyone says it is? I can't believe I was so close to that corn dog castle without making my way to it. Bummer.

 

[ZellyB]

Catching up! First things first you two have the cutest fun wheel pictures OF ALL TIME!

I also am insanely jealous of your 10k running skirt. I'm not a Dr. Who fan (though if I took the time to watch it, I probably would be) but I love the cut and color on you. Very cute!

And finally...You two have the cutest partner statue picture OF ALL TIME!

I think all of us from this weekend need to make a trip back to DL at some point for the sole reason of going to the Cove Bar finally.

Thank you!! And you should totally watch Dr. Who!!

Just let me know the date for that Cove Bar meetup and I'll be there.

Oh I forgot this important question...so was the corn dog as good as everyone says it is? I can't believe I was so close to that corn dog castle without making my way to it. Bummer.

The corn dog was excellent and I'm picky about my corn dogs. I usually only eat them once at year at our local fair where you watch them fry it up. This one was equally delicious, although I did miss the jug of root beer that usually accompanies my fair dog.

 

[ZellyB]

Will this 10K report ever end???

​

After heading out of Disneyland, we ran across toward California Adventure. There were a lot of spectators here cheering so lots of fun to run through that group of people. I'm sure you will all be shocked to discover that once in DCA, I felt compelled to get a selfie with some park scenery in the background!

The course headed off to the right and before long we spotted our next character opportunity near Soarin'

Chip and Dale in pirate attire!! They are so cute right?

We headed out again and were quickly facing the 4 mile marker.

What? 4 miles already? This race was just flying by. We had never bothered to do our intervals and were basically just running from photo op to photo op as our interval plan.

Next up came that awesome spot looking across to Paradise Pier. We were shooting another selfie when another runner offered to take our picture. We returned the favor for her and were on our way again.

Circling around toward Paradise Pier, we spotted some more Lost Boys hanging around.

I think around in here we might have briefly left the park on our outside road (the map sorta looks that way) and then reentered near Carsland. Hey, this looks familiar!

And lots of people taking a picture of this sign.

But, no fainting for us because up ahead was another character stop. YAY!! As we waited, I noticed that the crowds had definitely caught up to us.

McQueen and Mater. Not everyone's favorite I know, but it was too perfect to get a shot with them right here in Radiator Springs.

And, then it was out of Carsland and on to the (eventual?) finish.

Next up: I swear the end is coming to this 10K!!!

 

[ZellyB]

THE BEST DISNEY RACE EVERTM COMES TO AN END

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After exiting Carsland, we ran up near the front and then a right turn into - an area I don't know the name of Looks like Streets of America used to at DHS. Anyway, it was about this time as "We're following the leader" was blasting out again that I realized just how sick I was of hearing that song!! I felt bad for the CMs working and having to listen to it. I felt bad for me too!

​

Still smiling though. And mile 5 somewhere around here...

We made another turn and ran past the Tower of Terror with the new Guardians of the Galaxy changes. I actually really enjoy GoG, so much as I hate the change, I really had wanted to see what it would be like, but sadly not open yet. Oh well, another excuse to return.

Chris clearly looks concerned about it. LOL

We saw another character line on the right, so wheeled off to join. I was excited to see it was Peter Pan and Wendy!! But as we got closer I realized no photographer, so just selfie time again. @Ariel484 was ahead of us and I guess when she was there runners were taking turns taking pics but it looked like that had stopped when we arrived, so a selfie it was!

Hey, Wendy! Hey, girl!!

From here, we exited the park and circled around on a back road toward Disneyland Hotel and the finish. Mile 6!!!

And on to the finish!!!

In to the finishers chute where we collected our beautiful 10K medal (LOVE the medal) and got the official picture!!!

In case it was unclear to anyone reading along, I.adored.this.race. Total perfection as far as I'm concerned. I'm so very happy that we signed up for this weekend and got to experience this 10k which, if you missed it, is THE BEST DISNEY RACE EVERTM!!!

Next up: Time to eat!!!

 

[roxymama]

Ok so that does look fun. You've convinced me. I'm gonna go invest in building a time machine so I can go back and run it.

And look at you beating that fast looking guy in your finish line photo!

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Woohoo! That race looked like a blast! You two looked like you were having such a great time. And no surprise, you got some amazing pictures! That race finish pic should be on the website!

(also I agree with you on GoG. I love that movie, and I'm excited to experience that ride. But I do feel bad for local Disneyland folks that will miss out on the original ToT!)

 

[ZellyB]

NO REST FOR THE WEARY WHEN THERE'S PANCAKES WAITING!!!

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OK, so maybe not THAT pancake - although how awesome does that look? But some pancakes were in our future. We found our way out pretty quickly and walked back to the hotel. I'd made our breakfast reservation and since we'd taken our time with the race, there wasn't much time to spare. After a quick shower and change into our 10K shirts, we headed back to Disneyland for our Breakfast ADR at Carnation Cafe. Now, we'd already eaten dinner here, but I'd read really good things about their breakfast, so back we went. As we were waiting to check in at the podium, we watched the hostess turn away 2 groups in front of us saying, "Reservations only this morning". When we walked up she asked, "Do you have a reservation?" and when I replied yes, the look of relief on her face was both hilarious and pitiful. We were handed a pager, but barely sat down before it went off. We were ushered back out onto the patio (YAY) and menus in hand very soon. Which was good, because we were HUNGRY. Unable to fully decide what we wanted, we ordered 3, yes count 'em, 3 meals. HA!!
Eggs Benedict for me

I forget the name of Chris', but standard breakfast

and apple granola pancakes for us to share!

I'm happy to report, we cleaned our plates. It was delicious!

After finishing up our meals, we wandered out into the park to enjoy some rides. The park was already insanely busy. On our way through the crush of people into Tomorrowland, we stopped for a Star Tours FP. I sort of forget what we ended up doing next, but I think we just walked around some until our FP time for Star Tours came. We stopped and picked up another FP for Buzz after before hopping on the ride.

Always a fun ride.

Since we still had time before that FP, we decide for a little Sleeping Beauty castle walk through. Kinda fun.

Buzz was up next!

Would Chris redeem himself after his humiliating defeat at TSMM???

The answer is...

NO!! That's right, BWAHAHAHAHA!! Space Ranger 2 prevails. Victory is sweet, friends!!

We were at a bit of a loss about what to do next, so we thought we'd see about the Materhorn. The line was crazy!! No way was I waiting in that. We found the FP distribution spot though and got a return time just a bit before we would be leaving for our Disboards meet up. Perfect! While waiting for that return window, I decided that we should get a little sweet treat and relax our feet (we were still running a half marathon the next day after all). And what better place to do that than

Tiki Room along with a delicious Dole Whip.

Only the line for the Dole Whip took so long we missed getting into the show.

We still enjoyed sitting on a bench in the shade though and listening to the pre-show to finish our treat before heading on to another attraction.

Next up: The Backside of Water, Hey! That Yeti actually moves, and the Transportation of Tomorrow!!

 

[ZellyB]

Ok so that does look fun. You've convinced me. I'm gonna go invest in building a time machine so I can go back and run it.

My mission here is complete!!

And look at you beating that fast looking guy in your finish line photo!

Don't I though? Funny story. The first race Chris and I ran together we crossed the finish line together but the official results showed him like 1/100 of a second ahead of me. So, I gave him grief for just HAVING to beat me. Ever since then, when we run a race together, he always makes sure he finishes behind me. LOL True love.

Woohoo! That race looked like a blast! You two looked like you were having such a great time. And no surprise, you got some amazing pictures! That race finish pic should be on the website!

(also I agree with you on GoG. I love that movie, and I'm excited to experience that ride. But I do feel bad for local Disneyland folks that will miss out on the original ToT!)

Great race and I can honestly say the most fun I've ever had on a race. I'm sort of glad for MY sake they did it because if we make it back to Disneyland we can enjoy the GoG version while hopefully Disney leaves ToT alone at Disneyworld. Best of both worlds!

 

[Chris-Mo]

and thanks Shannon for the recommendation of the apple granola pancakes! I would go back for just those!

 

[SarahDisney]

An awesome 10K and apple granola pancakes? That right there sounds like the perfect morning. Fun rides and Dole Whips are just the icing on the cake.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

I loved your 10K recap- all of that park time is amazing!! So glad you had a blast!

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

that breakfast looks perfect after a race! You guys are really using your park time well and getting to experience a lot!

 

[Ariel484]

and thanks Shannon for the recommendation of the apple granola pancakes! I would go back for just those!

I could go for a big plate of those right now...... *drool*

 

[rteetz]

Congrats on the 10K! It really looks like an amazing time, you two were smiling throughout! Those pancakes look amazing. Then celebrating in the parks with ride, a victory on Buzz, and a dole whip. Life doesn't get any better!

 

[ZellyB]

Sorry to be away so long, y'all. Busy long holiday weekend threw me off my trip reporting game!

An awesome 10K and apple granola pancakes? That right there sounds like the perfect morning. Fun rides and Dole Whips are just the icing on the cake.

It was a great day!

I loved your 10K recap- all of that park time is amazing!! So glad you had a blast!

So much fun. I just cannot recommend this particular race enough. I hope Disney leaves it just the way it is!

that breakfast looks perfect after a race! You guys are really using your park time well and getting to experience a lot!

All the food on this trip was really good. Given how crowded the park was on Saturday, I felt like we did pretty well.

I could go for a big plate of those right now...... *drool*

Me too!

Congrats on the 10K! It really looks like an amazing time, you two were smiling throughout! Those pancakes look amazing. Then celebrating in the parks with ride, a victory on Buzz, and a dole whip. Life doesn't get any better!

That's one of those days you want to live over and over again.

 

[ZellyB]

The Backside of Water, Hey! That Yeti actually moves, and the Transportation of Tomorrow, and a lovely evening in DTD

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After enjoying our tasty Dole Whip, I was checking out wait times on the Disneyland app and Jungle Cruise was just listed at 25 minutes and we were close by, so decided that might be a good option to try out before our FP+ return time for Materhorn.

That line was all kinds of strange. While we were in line, they split the line up and then it sort of merged again and then split again. I don’t even know, but we were weaving and snaking all through that thing, but ultimately we arrived to our boat and it was right about 25 minutes, so I guess there’s some kind of mad science to the whole thing.

Ahhhh! Tropical

And the ever popular backside of water!

It was fun as always and soon we were deposited back on shore and ready to take on the Matterhorn.

As we approached the ride, we noticed the standby time listed at 120 minutes. WHAT? And most of the line was out in the sun. No way would I have waited that long, but luckily we didn’t have to. After a brief FP wait, we were boarding our bobsleds and off we went. 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.

Once off the ride, we had about 30 minutes or so to get to our Disboard meet up and in favor of saving our legs, I suggested we ride the monorail over for the meet. I was shocked to find the line was actually quite long for the monorail. Not realizing the line would take that long, we decided to wait anyway. I think we waited close to 20 minutes or so, but eventually we boarded and were off.

Within a few minutes we arrived and took the short walk over to Trader Sam’s. The outside patio area was pretty busy and we didn’t see any familiar faces, so we went inside and saw @Ariel484 waiting at the bar for a drink. We visited for a bit and after she had her drink, she headed outside. We ordered (a mosquito mojito for me and a passionate python for Chris) drinks and then went outside. This is where I confess that I don’t even remember who all was there…about 10 or so of us though and we had a great time chatting about Disney and running. The time really flew by and it was a lot of fun. We ordered a second drink (I think I got a HippopotoMai Tai) and here was the one and only picture I took.

LOL that’s quality trip reporting right there, people.

We left the group to head back for another short rest at the hotel before our dinner reservation for the night. I was a bit concerned about the time on our feet between the race and all the park activities, so thought it wise to take a load off for awhile.

Dinner was set for Downtown Disney and some pizza at Naples. We arrived to check in and were quickly seated out on the patio. I loved all the al fresco dining experiences here. It was another gorgeous evening. I loved all the flowers!

They brought out bread service and I had to order a Sangria!!

Delicious. As we were waiting for our meals, there was a violinist nearby playing various Disney tunes. It was beautiful.

You can’t really see him, but he was sort of under those pergolas.

We split a Caesar salad that was huge!

I’d ordered the individual Porchetta pizza and Chris got I think the Polo pizza

Yeah, we each only ate half our pizza. So, we boxed up the remainder and had a beautiful walk back to the hotel.

After getting things set out for our race the next day, we set our alarms and settled in for a good (short) night of sleep.

Next up: Let’s run a half marathon, shall we?