We Only Had to Wait in Line Twice For This - An April 2024 runDisney TR *Updated 5/7 RL Update

[rdkeim]

Space 220 - ugh! I'm glad you did get a discount but not sure that 100% made up for the experience. No space - really strange! Your Viking coffee looks pretty delicious. Is there such a thing as too chocolatey?? Agree the alcohol might have helped balance it out. We've stayed at the WL several times but pre-Geyser Point. It looks like a great space to eat and hang out. Hope the rest of your evening goes well!

 

[piglet1979]

The only thing that Alex and I regret about our Disneyland trip is going for the first time with an 11 and 8 year old

Jeff said this to me at the end of our first trip to WDW. I promptly reminded him that I wanted to go for our honeymoon but he said no.

But I knew if I got it, then Alex would see it as another step in the “We’re Getting a Dog” marathon he’s been running. It’s been a long, long journey. Nobody put odds on me leaving the state of Texas without a dog in tow. By this point I know I’m fighting a losing battle.

I was in this battle with Elizabeth for several years. She finally put a Power Point together with stats on how it helps with anxiety. This was right after having a really tough time with her anxiety. We had to say yes after that. So we have an American Cocker Spaniel. She fit all of my criteria. She is so quiet and a bit lazy but a great lap dog. They are the perfect size and temperament. We do keep her hair short though. If you get one I would highly suggest one. We got Piper as a 5 year old after her owner was done showing her. She was a championship show dog.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I have been on the fence about Space 220 because, like you, I don't like the fixed price menus. I typically don't eat enough to justify the cost. I hate that you had a semi-bad experience there but at least you got a discount. I'm sure that helped make the sting a little better.

 

[vamassey1]

However, we really wanted to try Space 220 and settled in for appetizers and entrees.

I think it's worth trying at least once. I'm so sorry your trip to Space was so grounded.

Because of the drama with the screen, Space 220 did give us a 20% discount on our meal, which was a nice treat.

I'm happy to see they did something for y'all.

I would like to see the restaurant when it’s running on all cylinders before passing judgement on it, but with its price point and prix fix menu, I doubt we’ll return anytime soon.

We haven't done the restaurant yet but did do he lounge and REALLY enjoyed it.

As we walked out into the brutal sunshine (the temperature hit over 90 on this day) I texted with @vamassey1 and asked where her and her travel party were. (She was in Epcot with her friend and one of her daughters.)

Yeah! I was so looking forward to this.

This drink was more of a chocolate shake than a coffee, but I got it without the alcohol and I think that was a mistake. The booze probably cut down a lot of the rich sweetness of the chocolate.

Mine had the booze and it was really good. I did have one last week without booze and I can agree on the sweetness, but it really helped with the heat.

It was wonderful to get to visit with Vanessa again.

I enjoyed this so much. I'm so happy you got to meet Danielle too. I know she was a little disgruntled about Disney at the time, but as you can see she had pulled through and committed once again.

There was never a lull in the conversation, and I was happy to see Alex seemed to be having a nice time joining in the talk, as well.

I'm so glad we got to meet Alex too and visit with him. I hope we helped to dispel any worries he had about your crazy Disney Internet friends. He and Danielle did have a lot in common.

I apologize again, Vanessa, for that. I was really looking forward to Oga’s and DAK. Hopefully one day in the future we can meet up again. And maybe then I won’t be working around a husband and 19 miles of running.

I totally understand. I'm so happy you got to enjoy some Adult time with your husband.

Naturally, the meetup didn’t happen without photographic evidence:

. Nobody put odds on me leaving the state of Texas without a dog in tow. By this point I know I’m fighting a losing battle.

Have you caved yet?

This ended up being one of my favorite locations of the trip. I get why you love it so much, Susan. It’s become my must do if I ever get the opportunity to stay at WL again.

We really enjoyed Geyser Point too! I would love to go back.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

What a trip. Disneyland was amazing, and I'm so glad we got the opportunity to check the original park out. Despite there being so many similarities between WDW and DL, it actually did have a completely different feel to it.

It's funny how that is! I didn't think it would be.

Alex and I commented on more than one occasion that Disneyland reminded us more of Disneyland Paris than Walt Disney World!

I guess that makes sense. I feel like they would try to be more like the original

Space 220 is a prix fix menu, which on principle, Alex and I hate. I never eat enough to get my money’s worth with these structures, and it is a downright waste with the kids.

We won't be back unless they change that. Same with California Grill. Prix fix is just a waste.

The viewing screen went black and up popped a bunch of coding. And remained like that until the end of our meal.

Something appeared to be wrong with space that afternoon.

Oops.

I am honestly surprised they were open! That is kind of silly. that is half the event.

When we paid our bill and waited to take the elevator down, a few CMs began to talk and argue with one another. We witnessed another set of commotion and hand gestures and furious whispering before one of them proclaimed, “This is the worst day ever!”

Poor CM!!!

I won’t talk about what happens when the “elevator” is broke to get you back to earth, just in case someone doesn’t want me to ruin the magic, but I’ll just say that they have a contingency for that. Alex thought the Dr. Strange comment was great customer recovery and told the CM, “You’re doing great! I hope your day gets better from here on out.”

She was in no mood to do anything but smile.

Poor gal.

I have to know.... how far down did you have to go?!? Morgan always asks.

 

[amazingact21]

Yikes!! What a terrible experience at Space220. Having been a server and hostess more times than I care to remember - it is unfortunate that they were making those remarks around customers. I get it - bad day and all. But you can't complain about it in front of the customers. Although I do like the Dr. Strange recovery. And personally, I have no plans to ever try Space220. The food is not in my wheelhouse at all.

Alex still to this day gripes about how disappointing Space 220 is. It's more memorable for how lackluster the main dishes were than for the actual experience.

Space 220 - ugh! I'm glad you did get a discount but not sure that 100% made up for the experience. No space - really strange! Your Viking coffee looks pretty delicious. Is there such a thing as too chocolatey?? Agree the alcohol might have helped balance it out. We've stayed at the WL several times but pre-Geyser Point. It looks like a great space to eat and hang out. Hope the rest of your evening goes well!

I really loved Geyser Point and am actually surprised at how much Alex enjoyed it, too. Normally, he's not one to just sit around and relax, but he was more than happy to do so here. I hope we get the opportunity to stay at WL again one day and can hop down to Geyser Point for an early dinner.

 

[amazingact21]

She finally put a Power Point together with stats on how it helps with anxiety. This was right after having a really tough time with her anxiety. We had to say yes after that. So we have an American Cocker Spaniel. She fit all of my criteria. She is so quiet and a bit lazy but a great lap dog. They are the perfect size and temperament. We do keep her hair short though. If you get one I would highly suggest one. We got Piper as a 5 year old after her owner was done showing her. She was a championship show dog.

The dog dilemma is still going strong in our house. Over Thanksgiving break, we actually almost got one. Our next door neighbor rescued a puppy and there was one other littermate. She tried hard to get me to adopt her. It was very tempting, since the siblings would be next door and could play together and get trained together. Ultimately, we declined.

I imagine any day now Evie is going to present us with a Powerpoint on getting a dog.

Alex and I do want one, but in all honesty, moving with a pet is the hardest part of a relocation. We have to find pet-friendly temporary housing, find pet-friendly rentals, get the animal to our next base, etc. And if we move overseas, it'll cost us thousands to ship them there.
We've kind of told the kids we'd rather wait until Alex retires and we're done moving, but that's a hard thing for kids to grasp. So the battle rages on...

 

[amazingact21]

I have been on the fence about Space 220 because, like you, I don't like the fixed price menus. I typically don't eat enough to justify the cost. I hate that you had a semi-bad experience there but at least you got a discount. I'm sure that helped make the sting a little better.

I wish Disney would lean away from prix fix menus. It's just too much food for some people! Although, now that my son's hit the preteen years, he's gained an unlimited stomach, so if I ever did visit a WDW restaurant with him, he could just eat anything I didn't.

We haven't done the restaurant yet but did do he lounge and REALLY enjoyed it.

I think I could convince Alex to try the Space 220 lounge.

I did have one last week without booze and I can agree on the sweetness, but it really helped with the heat.

Good to know the alcoholic version is the winner. I'll have to try it that way next time.

I'm so glad we got to meet Alex too and visit with him. I hope we helped to dispel any worries he had about your crazy Disney Internet friends. He and Danielle did have a lot in common.

It was great getting to hang out with you all! I hope our paths cross again in the future. I'm sure with Danielle staying with the company, you're always bound to be visiting that area.

 

[amazingact21]

We won't be back unless they change that. Same with California Grill. Prix fix is just a waste.

Prix fix are just not worth the cost! I wish Disney would do away with those menus.

I have to know.... how far down did you have to go?!? Morgan always asks.

Not far at all. Honestly, it didn't even feel like we'd move. So I'd say only one or two floors at the most.

 

[piglet1979]

Alex and I do want one, but in all honesty, moving with a pet is the hardest part of a relocation. We have to find pet-friendly temporary housing, find pet-friendly rentals, get the animal to our next base, etc. And if we move overseas, it'll cost us thousands to ship them there.
We've kind of told the kids we'd rather wait until Alex retires and we're done moving, but that's a hard thing for kids to grasp. So the battle rages on...

I can understand this. We are looking at building a house this summer or fall and moving just 15 minutes with a dog seems daunting enough let alone long distances or out of the county.

 

[amazingact21]

Hello DIS family! What a break it’s been. I don’t think I’ve ever stopped a trip report in the middle of writing one before. Life just walloped me and some things had to be dropped.



My little family of four is doing great. Alex, my constant, is still working hard and giving his best to those around him. He’s nearing the point in his career where he has the option of retiring or continuing in the military. It’s been a weird time. Lots of long conversations about the future and job opportunities and extra training/certifications. As of right now, he’s settled with taking one more move (which would be next summer), because that would get Landon through the rest of middle school and Evie elementary. However, if we’re told to move somewhere absolutely horrendous or the climate and standards change too much more, we’re very tempted to push the button and say goodbye!


(Here he is back in January taking Landon to his first pro football game.)




Basically, Alex has spent the past year making contingency plans. We are pretty sure we’re hanging on to this wild military life a few more years. But if not, we know what the next chapter we’re headed to looks like.

Regardless, we’ll be moving next summer so this is our last year here.



I took on a job last summer and now that’s it’s finishing up, feel like I can breathe and do fun pastimes like check out the DIS again. That was the main reason I stopped reading and writing Trip reports. There just weren’t enough hours in the day!



Landon and Evie have been doing amazing. They’re spectacular, as always. They’ve grown so much here that it’s baffling. Landon has asked me not to share photos of him on my social media anymore, (or, at least very, very few) which I 1000% understand and consent with. Middle school years are horrendous and anything I can do to get him through as unscathed as possible I’ll do. But because of that, I became a lot more cognizant of what I was posting and that also played a role in my activity on the DIS.

However, the kids and I have talked, and this forum takes up such a small corner of the internet, that they are comfortable with selective sharing. Obviously, I will approach my posts with a different lens now and be mindful of how I portray these underdeveloped brains and their reactions to life.


Landon has been working hard in all his endeavors, whether that be school or choir or robotics:




Evelyn's really come into her own personality, and it's been fun to watch her settle into her interests.



Both kids have spent a lot of time on stages this last year. Here's Evie choosing to recite the preamble to the Constitution as Paul Revere for the spring talent show. She got on that stage all by herself, rocked her British accent, and kept the entire audience engaged.



She's become an avid gardener and has quite the green thumb.




All right, all right enough about the kiddos! This is a Disney site, after all. So let me share what exciting plans we have coming up.

Mind you, 2025 was supposed to be the year we weren’t going to Florida.

Absolutely not!

No way!

Under no circumstances!

We went over Thanksgiving, and that was it!


How funny...


The allure of Epic got to us. We couldn’t resist taking the kids to a new theme park the year it opened. Alex is observing Evie rocket out of the kid phase with astonishing speed, and he’s terrified by next summer she won’t care about How to Train Your Dragon anymore.

We gotta strike while the iron is hot!

Not to mention, Landon’s ALREADY complaining about missing time with his friends this summer. We’re losing the magic of childhood, and Alex and I are willing to throw money at the problem in the hopes of keeping it around just a smidge longer.

Where’s Neverland? How do I send these gangly humans with attitudes there and stop the progress?!



In June, we’ll be road tripping up to Minnesota to visit my SIL and her brood of kids. While we’re there, we’re hoping to visit with two former DISers. Yay!


Then, in July…we’ll be in Florida!


Right now, the only absolute we have booked is 4 nights at Stella Nova and 1 day reserved at Epic Universe. Evie has begged us to get tickets to the other Universal parks, and we probably will.

I mean, how can you skip Hagrid’s? It’s the best attraction in Orlando!



Then, we have 5 nights reserved at All Star Music in a family suite!

This resort will close out the All Stars for us, and Alex and I are really excited to stay in the suite. It has three beds, two bathrooms, and a fridge. I think we are really going to appreciate all those features. We stayed at All Star Movies for a night over Thanksgiving and were really impressed with how clean the rooms were.

Not to mention the breakfast bowl with eggs and avocados at the food court was delicious.




As with Universal, we don’t have any tickets for WDW booked yet. We’re still trying to sort out the right fit for us. We’re leaning towards getting the 3 day base tickets and the kid 3 day base ticket promos they have going. Since we did After Hours and MVMCP last year, we aren’t too sad to be skipping MK with those tickets, but we’ve never not had Park Hoppers before. That would be a new way to plan our days.


We’ve also debated not getting any Disney tickets. If we get Universal, the military passes get us unlimited entry, so we could just plan more days at those parks. Plus, we could hit up Seaworld for free, too. Logically, it would make sense to save the money and take advantage of the “free” places.

But! I want to stroll around Animal Kingdom! I want Alex and Evie to race off to Cosmic Rewind and come back to me all excited about what song they got. I want Landon to deny he cares about high scores on TSMM and then be really smug when he beats me.


The Disney allure is so strong! And I feel like being RIGHT THERE. On property. It would be too hard to resist.



The one thing I do know is we’re going to do is take advantage of the water park on our first night at the resort. None of us have ever been to a Disney water park before, and the kids love the water. I think they are at the perfect age for this.

We just have to decide which one to visit. Any thoughts?



That’s the summer.

In a surprise, spontaneous turn of events, we are also now going back to Disneyland at the end of January.





runDisney announced they would be pausing races in DL after the Half next winter, which means pausing the opportunity for a Coast to Coast Medal.

I foolishly didn’t go for the Castle to Chateau Medal when I did the DL Paris Half and it haunts me to this day. I was not about to let the same thing happen with Coast to Coast!


So, I fought with the masses and got the entire family registered for races at Disneyland.




When I asked Landon which he would rather do, DL or WDW he – without hesitation – said Disneyland. He actually prefers the parks out in CA over FL. (Here’s looking at you, Avengers Campus.)

He was even happy to miss 3 days of school to go, which is a HUGE deal for him. He hates missing for unnecessary reasons. The fact that he was fine with it told me he really does want to take the trip.

And any parent of a 12 year old knows, you have to grasp onto that enthusiasm while you can! It’s rare nowadays and who knows if it’ll be the last time it comes around.



My family will be going to Disneyland from a Thursday to a Monday! We’re staying offsite at a Marriott. (The kids were shocked by this. “We’re not staying ON property?” What?! Well, kids, after paying for 4 race registrations, the Marriott is what we get.)

All 4 of us will be participating in the 10K, and then I’m doing the Dumbo Double Dare so I’ll also do the Half Marathon the following day.



Everyone was present a few weeks ago when I participated in the Oklahoma City Half (a great race for anyone interested) and Evie was really inspired by seeing me finish. She is the most excited for the 10K.





Although, that might be because of the race outfits. She wants to talk theme and ideas for outfits all the time.

I think we have the next generation of a runDisney costume maker on our hands.

Whatever gets her to participate…



The condition of getting a Coast to Coast Medal is that you complete a race of 10 Miles or longer in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World in one calendar year.

Which means…

I’m going back for a third Springtime Surprise.

Yay!

My home race weekend. I missed it a lot last month and am happy to return.



The details on that one are thin. The kids definitely won’t be joining. April is the month of insanity for elementary schools here and for activities. Evie won’t be able to afford to miss more days at that point in the year.


Will I be going alone? That’s the most straightforward route and the one we’ll take if needed.

Will I convince one of my friends to join? I’m trying so very, very hard but dang is it difficult to convince people to walk a 5K. One of my friends looked me dead in the eye and told me, “No.”


Not even for a Mickey Bar and a free banana at the end.

What a shame.



It would be great if Alex could tag along again and we got another couple’s trip, but that would all depend on if my mom could come out and stay again. My MIL is already coming in September so I can go run another Half in the state. I’m really pushing my luck with babysitters.

Not to mention, depending on where we’re moving, Alex might need a lot of leave to help move next summer. (I’ll probably be moving ahead of him to get the kids settled before school.)


I’m trying to get my SIL to sign up for the 5K and then we could get the third sister to do it and have a girl’s weekend. But that’s still a huge maybe.

If I have to go alone, I’ll probably just run the 10 Miler, not the challenge. So it’ll be a shorter trip.



For now, though, we know 100% these trips:

- Florida in July.
- Disneyland in January 2026
- Me: WDW in April 2026.




So what does this mean for this report? I guess I’ll pose the question: Should I finish this one? Write one up for our Disneyland trip last July? Recap our After Hours night last June? Our MVMCP over Thanksgiving Break? Jump into a Pre-Trip report?

Should I do all options?



I’ll have to think on that and come up with an answer. For now, I’m trying to catch up on trip reports and read about everyone’s wonderful adventures in the Disney parks. I’ll get caught up. Eventually. After lots of coffee and chauffeuring duties. Until then, take care!

 

[summerlvr]

Love your reports, would love all the options!

 

[rdkeim]

Good to see you back! I enjoyed reading what's been going on with you and the family. You've had a lot on your plate for sure. Hard to think it's time for you to be moving on next summer. It must be hard not knowing where. Do you have some places you're hoping for? Of course I'd love you to write ALL the reports but maybe Disneyland and/or MVMCP and the After Hours? And, yes a pre-trip report