"That’s not how the Force works!" - January 2017 Rebel Challenge + More! 3/14 Complete

[Calfan]

I'm happy to share my knowledge! I've learned a lot over the years (some the hard way, some through the boards) and I can definitely explain how it is at the front of the pack and the back of the pack since my husband and I are such different runners. Hopefully eBay wasn't too much over retail for you! Good thing to already add the bundle - although I'm wondering what the "figurine" is. Worst case - eBay it goes!

Do you stay offsite or on-site?

You do get an extra shirt for the Rebel Challenge in addition to the 10K & Half Bibs! Your bib is also used for both races so make sure you don't bend it post 10K!

I'm sure I ovepayed on eBay, but I got kind of fixated on wanting the ornament, LOL. I'm also wondering what the figurine is, but maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised.

We are DVC members as well, so stay on-site, usually at the Grand Californian. But points could become an issue if I continue to do multiple RunDisney events per year. Once I've sampled all four of the DL events, I think I'll do Star Wars every year and then rotate around the other races for a second one each year.

Thanks for the confirmation on the shirts and the advice about the bib.

 

[kastoney]

Catching up on the last couple of posts. Those sourdough bread bowls look awesome!!!! I've been freezing all day today so that would totally hit the spot.

Do you have any pictures of your shoes from the expo??? Totally dying to see what $600 worth of shoes looks like.

Sorry the weather was pretty much a bust for you, though kudos to you for powering through it. Can't wait to see the World of Color pics

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I get going the bounding direction! My usual outfits are my sparkle skirts + tank top. I actually had no idea what I was going to wear for the half until the day before. What are you going for with Tink? My husband did a full costume for Princess last year - his only complaint was that his compression pants weren't tight enough and kept falling down during the run. He didn't do a test run though like you should do.

It is worth it for everything you get. We're really happy we did it. We didn't really need 2 of the Photopass for us as we only ended up needing 1 to get all our photos but for right now I'll just save it until next year in case the VIP isn't offered! They won't hold back stuff for the Friday Slot - once they are out, they are out. For the New Balance Shoes, despite being the first ones to get access to it at Star Wars - they didn't have a ton of certain size options for my husband as he is a 7.5 Mens which is a less produced size + women take that one sometimes as well.

There are three of us for Tink so we're doing Peter, Tink, and Wendy. I'm Wendy. For Star Wars we did Leia with white run shirts, white running pants, and a sparkle skirt. Found awesome Leia buns on Etsy. That place is amazing. Love all the RunDisney stuff they have going. What a pain on DH's compression pants! So glad that didn't happen to me (I didn't do a test run--oops!).

So it sounds like I'm in for an extra night of lodging. Sigh. I was hoping that wouldn't be the case, but thank you so much for the head's up. We are VGC DVC owners so that helps with room cost, but all these races are going to bankrupt me points-wise soon.

Of course, wouldn't you know that is my size in mens? That was my backup plan. I guess not! I wear a 9/9.5 in running shoes usually, which is a 7.5/8 in mens. Did they do the virtual line thing for the shoes or was the VIP the substitute for that? They must have had lots of disappointed people on Friday and Saturday! You'll have to let us know if you do it again next year, and we'll be on the lookout for you in the lounge

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I'm sure I ovepayed on eBay, but I got kind of fixated on wanting the ornament, LOL. I'm also wondering what the figurine is, but maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised.

We are DVC members as well, so stay on-site, usually at the Grand Californian. But points could become an issue if I continue to do multiple RunDisney events per year. Once I've sampled all four of the DL events, I think I'll do Star Wars every year and then rotate around the other races for a second one each year.

Thanks for the confirmation on the shirts and the advice about the bib.

Well, at least we know the figurine won't be the a Disney Character dressed as Star Wars as they've done away with that.

We're DVC members as well but WDW steals all our points! We now own 408 points so hopefully that will be enough for our all WDW trips - we'll see! We liked staying at Grand Californian last year but Disneyland Hotel was just so nice for the races especially considering the rain on Thursday and coming and going.

Star Wars is our only Disneyland Race - its expensive for us to get to California more than once a year if I want to take a different vacation as well outside of Disney.

Catching up on the last couple of posts. Those sourdough bread bowls look awesome!!!! I've been freezing all day today so that would totally hit the spot.

Do you have any pictures of your shoes from the expo??? Totally dying to see what $600 worth of shoes looks like.

Sorry the weather was pretty much a bust for you, though kudos to you for powering through it. Can't wait to see the World of Color pics

Yeah - my husband was really happy to have that soup to warm him up! I wish my sandwich was warmed as well but its ok. I love sourdough .

I took pictures just now for you!

Husband's Space Mountain & Toy Story

My Haunted Mansion & Mad Tea Party

Backs of the shoes

Inside of Toy Story

Inside of Mad Tea Party

There are three of us for Tink so we're doing Peter, Tink, and Wendy. I'm Wendy. For Star Wars we did Leia with white run shirts, white running pants, and a sparkle skirt. Found awesome Leia buns on Etsy. That place is amazing. Love all the RunDisney stuff they have going. What a pain on DH's compression pants! So glad that didn't happen to me (I didn't do a test run--oops!).

So it sounds like I'm in for an extra night of lodging. Sigh. I was hoping that wouldn't be the case, but thank you so much for the head's up. We are VGC DVC owners so that helps with room cost, but all these races are going to bankrupt me points-wise soon.

Of course, wouldn't you know that is my size in mens? That was my backup plan. I guess not! I wear a 9/9.5 in running shoes usually, which is a 7.5/8 in mens. Did they do the virtual line thing for the shoes or was the VIP the substitute for that? They must have had lots of disappointed people on Friday and Saturday! You'll have to let us know if you do it again next year, and we'll be on the lookout for you in the lounge

That will be really cute for Tink! Etsy is a great place to find race stuff. I've not done test runs before but I tend to stick to the things that work - like if I bought a new sparkle skirt I would be ok running in that as I've run in other sparkle skirts before. I've run in brand new tank tops but I also know the cut of tank tops that work for me and materials.

Points do get slim! In 2016 - I had to pay for Swan since we didn't have anymore points left for Wine & Dine! Our recent purchase should take care of that problem though. They didn't do the virtual line for the shoes. The VIP was the substitute. As there are more expos - I bet people could get their shoes again later if they wanted!

 

[DLfan4]

Glazed Pork Chop - Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables and Apple-Brandy Compote

is the seasonal vegetables spinach and onion? or is that mushrooms?

 

[franandaj]

I'm so happy it came through! We now have 408 points now a year. I think this should be enough now! Boardwalk for Food & Wine Festival Time - Grand Floridian for April and AKV for everything else (thats the points we'll use for other places as well)

You guys do studios right? That puts you about the same as us as we only do 1 brs that take twice as many points. Although we did do a two bedroom and a bungalow last year, but that was a crazy move.

We then got our ride on Monster’s Inc and I ran into a Disneyland Social Club/Gang for the first time.

What's this? I've never heard of it and I live here!

 

[roxymama]

Those glowing HM shoes! I knew I wanted then but now I KNOW I WANT THEM!!!

Is the Ariel meal a character meal or just a dinner?

I love Toy Story mania even though I'm terrible at it.
Glad the screamin opened up for you finally! Rain stinks but looked like it made the lines not so bad?

 

[Dis_Yoda]

is the seasonal vegetables spinach and onion? or is that mushrooms?

It was spinach or kale (I don't remember as I didn't eat it!) It was onion as I did eat some of those!

You guys do studios right? That puts you about the same as us as we only do 1 brs that take twice as many points. Although we did do a two bedroom and a bungalow last year, but that was a crazy move.

We typically do studios for just the two of us. We're doing a 1 Bedroom in November mainly as that is what the Boardwalk still had available and it won't starve us of points to do so since we got all of our April 2016 UY points as well. We may vary it up now between studios and 1 Bedrooms depending on the trip as that nice big tub is nice post race so we may do that on short race only trips. I'm working on my 2018 plans now as 2018 will be a WDW only vacation year outside of January's Disneyland Rebel Challenge Trip to save some money.

Sometimes you just got to splurge!

What's this? I've never heard of it and I live here!

It's like a Motorcycle Gang but not. It was very strange to witness in real life. I mean, I grew up seeing real motorcycle gangs on their way to Daytona and not so why people would want to copy that to hang out in a park just seems strange to me. To each their own!

http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Disneyland_Social_Clubs

http://www.the-other.info/2014/disney-gangs

Those glowing HM shoes! I knew I wanted then but now I KNOW I WANT THEM!!!

Is the Ariel meal a character meal or just a dinner?

I love Toy Story mania even though I'm terrible at it.
Glad the screamin opened up for you finally! Rain stinks but looked like it made the lines not so bad?

I love those shoes! They make me so happy!

Ariel is a character meal at breakfast and lunch. At dinner it isn't but you still get the same quality food as you would at a character meal.

Rain does stink! You are totally going to laugh at the photo in my next update!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

How To Catch A Cold

When we got done with The Little Mermaid, I said I wanted a hot chocolate or cider to warm me up. I ran to the coffee cart to accomplish that and then Betsy and I headed into the World of Color waiting area. The section you get for the dinner packages are some of the best as they are towards the front and center for the show! We went to the ‘dry’ area for the dinner guests and were right on the railing...

And it started downpouring. I didn’t have my poncho with me so Betsy shared her poncho with me. We probably looked really strange to whoever was around us. This is how we passed the time until 8:15PM - talking under the poncho keeping our heads dry.

Keeping Us Warm Under The Plastic!

It stopped raining right before the show started so we got out of the poncho and were shocked to see how not busy it was. There was a ton of open area in the dinner package space and in the fastpass space and the general areas. The rain really thinned the crowds out! If I had ever seen the show before, I may have been tempted to do the same but I always made excuses or it wasn’t playing during the last two trips so I was bound and determined to make it happen!

I really enjoyed the show. I was happy to finally get to experience it. Did I wish it was warmer and that the rain didn’t do this on/off thing the entire show? Yes, but I can’t control that! I can tell you I was freezing by the end of it! When the show was over, Betsy and I parted way as she was going back to her hotel to get some sleep before the 5K in the morning and I was heading back to the hotel to warm up. As soon as I got back, I hopped into the shower on hot hot hot and was so very happy! No better way to warm you up quickly than that! My husband and I watched Mom and Life in Pieces and went to bed. We hoped the rain finally was going away!​

 

[TeeterTots]

Well how the heck did I miss this? Loving another trip report. Food and drinks look wonderful as usual! Phooey to the rain but it's Disney, so what the heck! So jelly about your add-on at Boardwalk. We need to add on soon because paying cash sucks! Love all the expo merch. Ok, I think that's it four pages in. Oh gotta love a good Sephora mask! Lol

 

[sophy1996]

We were there that Thursday too, and though it wasn't very fun being so soggy, a rainy day is great for getting rides in! That night we rode Big Thunder twice in a row, just walked straight back through the line.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Well how the heck did I miss this? Loving another trip report. Food and drinks look wonderful as usual! Phooey to the rain but it's Disney, so what the heck! So jelly about your add-on at Boardwalk. We need to add on soon because paying cash sucks! Love all the expo merch. Ok, I think that's it four pages in. Oh gotta love a good Sephora mask! Lol

Well, at least now I posted the link in my other report! You're hear now and we aren't even at the races yet! Paying Cash does suck - this should prevent us from having to do that again!

We were there that Thursday too, and though it wasn't very fun being so soggy, a rainy day is great for getting rides in! That night we rode Big Thunder twice in a row, just walked straight back through the line.

It was a great day for getting rides in! We totally took advantage of that!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Early Morning Rides

We woke up around 6AM. I debated on spectating some of the 5K but the warmth of the bed was more welcoming. I did go downstairs to get an energy drink for my husband and a latte for me. I also grabbed some butter for the loaf of sourdough bread we had picked up at California Adventure the day before.

This was the morning, my husband and I had our typical vacation tiff. California Adventure was opening at 8:00AM for EMH but he was in zero hurry of getting there at opening. He wasn’t ready to leave the room until 8:15AM. *sigh* There went my hope of getting Peter Pan done this trip.

We did get to California Adventure by 8:30AM and headed straight to his favorite ride!

By the time we got off the ride, it was near 9AM, so we headed towards Disneyland to get Fantasyland done! My husband said no way to Peter Pan when he saw how backed up the line was despite it being right at opening and we just worked on getting everything else done, starting with Snow White then Pinocchio and then Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride!

We got those three rides done in all of 15 minutes! We just love park opening!

Our next ride was Alice in Wonderland as we knew the lines get long there.

As the line was still short, I was able to convince my husband to get on the Storybookland Boats. It isn’t something he wants to do every year though!

 

[cavepig]

Peter Pan is crazy there, worse than WDW for sure. In 2015 during the Disneyland half weekend we were at park opening & went straight there & it took 45 minutes at opening, it was so slow moving & loading. As soon as we got off hit other Fantasyland rides with no waits, I guess since everyone was clogged up at Pan still!

 

[franandaj]

Peter Pan has always got a 45 minute line, always. We have that same situation and I've just decided that if I want to hit RD, we have the discussion the day before and I go alone. Otherwise if it's both of us, I know I can't push it, if I do we'll have a tiff.

You've inspired me to try some Dark ride photography on some of those rides, especially Mr. Toad.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Peter Pan is crazy there, worse than WDW for sure. In 2015 during the Disneyland half weekend we were at park opening & went straight there & it took 45 minutes at opening, it was so slow moving & loading. As soon as we got off hit other Fantasyland rides with no waits, I guess since everyone was clogged up at Pan still!

At least at WDW, there is FP+ to save yourself from the crazy long line. I refuse to wait 45 minutes for anything anymore most days so I'm ok with skipping it! I go to WDW in less than 2 weeks, my mother and I can visit Peter Pan then!

Good thing the other rides had no waits when you got off!

Peter Pan has always got a 45 minute line, always. We have that same situation and I've just decided that if I want to hit RD, we have the discussion the day before and I go alone. Otherwise if it's both of us, I know I can't push it, if I do we'll have a tiff.

You've inspired me to try some Dark ride photography on some of those rides, especially Mr. Toad.

He's usually ok with RD at WDW but he didn't want to rushed this day. Oh well! We have Peter Pan at WDW so I'll get it in soon!

I should have brought my actual camera inside the park. All my Dark Ride Photos were with my iPhone this time around. I only carried my DSLR at Warner Brothers and Universal.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

You Spin Me A Round!

As we were done with Fantasyland and Toontown wasn’t open yet, I decided we should finally do a ride we have skipped on every other visit! The wait was listed to be about 15 minutes, even though it ended up being closer to 20 to 25 but that’s ok! We weren’t in a huge hurry. Along the way, we saw Captain Hook just wondering around on his own!

My husband decided he didn’t want to drive and was my passenger. It’s no wonder the children have such a hard time driving those cars! Our car loved pulling towards the left!

We headed to Toontown where we took a ride on Roger Rabbit’s ToonTown Spin and then toured Mickey’s House!

Apparently between this next photo and the one of my Yoda Shoe Ornament that someone thought was a baby shoe, my mother thought it meant we were pregnant and I got yelled at for her finding out by facebook. I had to explain, nope. Its Mickey in a mirror and a Christmas tree ornament for the races. That was fun!

We headed to Critter Country to ride on Winnie the Pooh and get a snack - a Tigger Tail!

 

[TeeterTots]

Mothers!!! Lol!

 

[pepperandchips]

Apparently between this next photo and the one of my Yoda Shoe Ornament that someone thought was a baby shoe, my mother thought it meant we were pregnant and I got yelled at for her finding out by facebook.

One time we took my mom out to dinner and as we were parting ways at the end of the evening she was like "so you guys didn't have anything important to announce?" And when I got to the bottom of it she thought I was going to tell her I was pregnant. We are NOT trying... a mother's wishful thinking...

 

[roxymama]

Ok, I'm glad I'm not the only one that has happened to! I once wore a LuLaRoe shirt dress over leggings that was probably one size too big. And my mom asked what I was hiding and got very excited. I never wore that shirt again.