Running for my Disney - Finally a TR!
- Thread starter zanzibar138
- Start date
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
Disneyland!
It was finally time to head to my very favourite place! It was after 6pm by this time, but there was still plenty of sun out and it was plenty warm. I tucked a small cardi in my bag just in case, but I never really needed it throughout the whole trip!
As I walked out of the lobby, I saw that the Portofino hotel was literally just across the road! That would be our home for about a week further into the trip, so I was glad that I would get a sneak peek of the area. The walk from the Red Lion took about 15 minutes, depending on the timing of the 2 sets of traffic lights on the way. I wouldn’t have wanted to have to walk much further in the heat at that time of year. There were plenty of people coming and going, and I didn’t feel uncomfortable being on my own at all.
My first stop was the ticket booth, to exchange the 10 day ticket vouchers for the actual tickets. There wasn’t much of a line at all, and I was able to get everyone’s tickets on their behalf because we were all on the one voucher. Before I left, I double-checked that I would be able to enter the parks on Saturday if I upgraded to an AP then (even though it was a block-out day). The guy at the ticket counter confirmed that was the case, and I headed across the plaza to Disneyland!
At that time of day there was no line to get in. I had my photo taken at the gate, and then I was in!
I heard some music playing and walked through the tunnel to discover that the parade was just starting! We would have great luck with the parade over the course of our stay. I walked up to the back of the viewing area and enjoyed my first taste of the parade.
I was so excited to hear the soundtrack – it is the same tune they use for the Hong Kong parade, which is my all time favourite! While I was enjoying the parade, the sun had well and truly set, and I made my way down a crowded and brightly lit Main Street.
My next stop was dinner. I chose to grab a quick snack at the Bengal BBQ. There was already a small line, but soon grew after I joined it. I enjoyed a chicken skewer and carried on my way.
Last time I was at Disneyland, Critter Country had been completely inaccessible, so my plan was to head there first and check it out. I joined the single rider line for Splash Mountain, which I had not ridden before. It turned out that since it had gotten dark there really wasn’t much of a line anyway, so another single rider and I had the log to ourselves. She was a young girl who’s family didn’t want to ride with her. I was quite prepared to get soaked, but only got slightly splashed on this occasion.
Next I made my way back to New Orleans Square.
I decided to ride Pirates next. The queue was the biggest I’d ever seen for this ride, but it moved quickly and was still a pretty short wait.
I had time for one last ride, and decided to make it Indiana Jones. There was much confusion about the single rider line. The CM I spoke to knew nothing about it, and palmed me off to another CM who kept disappearing before I could speak to him. Eventually I pinned him down, and he told me that the single rider line wasn’t operating, and that the regular queue was only 30 minutes. I said I’d just come back another time then because I had limited time that night and didn’t really want to waste 30 minutes of it standing in line. He must have felt sorry for me because he told me to go through anyway lol!
After that I made my way back to Main Street. It was very crowded, and as I was trying to find a suitable viewing spot, the fireworks began! They were somewhat obscured by a large tree, but I managed to shuffle over enough during the show that I ended up with a decent enough view. It was still the summer show (forget what it was called – it was pretty forgettable), which I was really disappointed with compared to Remember, Dreams Come True.
The fireworks finished about 15 minutes before the park officially closed, but we were definitely being herded towards the exit, and it was too hard to go against the flow, so I just decided to go with it.
On my way back to the hotel I saw the funniest sight! For this Aussie who had just arrived in the US and not used to seeing cars being driven from the other side, it really looked like this big dog was driving this car lol!
There was a 7-Eleven on the corner just before I reached my hotel, so I stopped in there for some dinner and breakfast supplies. I got a microwave mac n cheese for dinner, along with a lemonade slurpee, and a yoghurt parfait and fruit punch juice for breakfast.
Back at the room, I ate my mac n cheese and uploaded some photos to Facebook before calling it a night. I set my alarm for 8am the next morning, as I wanted to be up before it got too hot.
It was finally time to head to my very favourite place! It was after 6pm by this time, but there was still plenty of sun out and it was plenty warm. I tucked a small cardi in my bag just in case, but I never really needed it throughout the whole trip!
As I walked out of the lobby, I saw that the Portofino hotel was literally just across the road! That would be our home for about a week further into the trip, so I was glad that I would get a sneak peek of the area. The walk from the Red Lion took about 15 minutes, depending on the timing of the 2 sets of traffic lights on the way. I wouldn’t have wanted to have to walk much further in the heat at that time of year. There were plenty of people coming and going, and I didn’t feel uncomfortable being on my own at all.
My first stop was the ticket booth, to exchange the 10 day ticket vouchers for the actual tickets. There wasn’t much of a line at all, and I was able to get everyone’s tickets on their behalf because we were all on the one voucher. Before I left, I double-checked that I would be able to enter the parks on Saturday if I upgraded to an AP then (even though it was a block-out day). The guy at the ticket counter confirmed that was the case, and I headed across the plaza to Disneyland!
At that time of day there was no line to get in. I had my photo taken at the gate, and then I was in!
I heard some music playing and walked through the tunnel to discover that the parade was just starting! We would have great luck with the parade over the course of our stay. I walked up to the back of the viewing area and enjoyed my first taste of the parade.
I was so excited to hear the soundtrack – it is the same tune they use for the Hong Kong parade, which is my all time favourite! While I was enjoying the parade, the sun had well and truly set, and I made my way down a crowded and brightly lit Main Street.
My next stop was dinner. I chose to grab a quick snack at the Bengal BBQ. There was already a small line, but soon grew after I joined it. I enjoyed a chicken skewer and carried on my way.
Last time I was at Disneyland, Critter Country had been completely inaccessible, so my plan was to head there first and check it out. I joined the single rider line for Splash Mountain, which I had not ridden before. It turned out that since it had gotten dark there really wasn’t much of a line anyway, so another single rider and I had the log to ourselves. She was a young girl who’s family didn’t want to ride with her. I was quite prepared to get soaked, but only got slightly splashed on this occasion.
Next I made my way back to New Orleans Square.
I decided to ride Pirates next. The queue was the biggest I’d ever seen for this ride, but it moved quickly and was still a pretty short wait.
I had time for one last ride, and decided to make it Indiana Jones. There was much confusion about the single rider line. The CM I spoke to knew nothing about it, and palmed me off to another CM who kept disappearing before I could speak to him. Eventually I pinned him down, and he told me that the single rider line wasn’t operating, and that the regular queue was only 30 minutes. I said I’d just come back another time then because I had limited time that night and didn’t really want to waste 30 minutes of it standing in line. He must have felt sorry for me because he told me to go through anyway lol!
After that I made my way back to Main Street. It was very crowded, and as I was trying to find a suitable viewing spot, the fireworks began! They were somewhat obscured by a large tree, but I managed to shuffle over enough during the show that I ended up with a decent enough view. It was still the summer show (forget what it was called – it was pretty forgettable), which I was really disappointed with compared to Remember, Dreams Come True.
The fireworks finished about 15 minutes before the park officially closed, but we were definitely being herded towards the exit, and it was too hard to go against the flow, so I just decided to go with it.
On my way back to the hotel I saw the funniest sight! For this Aussie who had just arrived in the US and not used to seeing cars being driven from the other side, it really looked like this big dog was driving this car lol!
There was a 7-Eleven on the corner just before I reached my hotel, so I stopped in there for some dinner and breakfast supplies. I got a microwave mac n cheese for dinner, along with a lemonade slurpee, and a yoghurt parfait and fruit punch juice for breakfast.
Back at the room, I ate my mac n cheese and uploaded some photos to Facebook before calling it a night. I set my alarm for 8am the next morning, as I wanted to be up before it got too hot.
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
The flight between Fiji and LA was about 10 hours one way and close to 12 the other I think.
Fiji Airways often have very cheap airfares, and I wouldn't hesitate recommending them if you're getting a great deal. Of course, it's always a hassle having a stop on the way, and the airport was not a great place to have to fill in time, so I would only bother if they are significantly cheaper than the more direct alternatives (or perhaps if you will have lounge access with either Fiji Airways or AirNZ who also have a lounge there). For us, it was the difference between going business class and economy on that long overnight leg, so it was well worth it!
If Fiji is somewhere you're interested in doing a stopover (could be a nice relaxing few days on the way back from an active trip), then I would definitely recommend it as a great value (but still full service) alternative.
aussie shaz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2011
Absolutely love the photo of the dog. My first reaction was 'Hey, look, that dogs driving the car'!!! 
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
Absolutely love the photo of the dog. My first reaction was 'Hey, look, that dogs driving the car'!!!
That was pretty much my reaction when I saw it! It kinda sucked being on my own at that point, I didn't have anyone to exclaim to lol!
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
Downtown Disney
I had a great sleep, and woke with my alarm at 8am. I needed to go for my last training run this morning, and Id been hoping to be out before it got too hot. By the time I got going, it was about 8:30am and the sun was already beating down. I decided to just do a short run, more just to de-cobweb from the flight and acclimatise myself to the heat. I just did the block around Gardenwalk, which took me about 12 minutes.
I bought a bottle of water from the 7-Eleven on the way back, and filled up a couple of freezer bags that Id taken along from the ice machine in the hotel. Back at the room, I cranked the air-con and had my breakfast while I iced my legs. My room had a great arm chair with leg rest that was perfect for the occasion!
I was just about to get in the shower when the hotel phone rang. It was the front desk telling me that my parents were in the lobby! I practically bounded down the corridor and gave them both big hugs! They had checked into their hotel (Desert Inn & Suites, where I would be joining them the next day) but their room wasnt ready, so we all freshened up in my room and had a good chinwag. I gave my parents their Disneyland tickets and the 1st visit buttons Id picked up for them the night before.
We decided to go to LaBrea Café for brunch, and headed back out into the hot sun. We were seated straight away, but we were too late for brekky. Mum and I decided to share a chicken sandwich with sweet potato chips. It was delicious, and plenty big enough for us to share.
After brunch we checked out the Downtown Disney area, starting with the World of Disney store.
We worked our way along, looking around in some of the shops on the way through. We spent a bit of extra time at the Lego store, checking out all the awesome Lego sculptures.
We were all ready to sit somewhere cool with a drink, so we headed to Trader Sams. Id never been to the Disneyland Hotel, so it took us a while to find the bar. We enjoyed our drinks and some of the effects, but Mum started to feel claustrophobic after a while.
We headed back to my hotel so that my parents could pick up the bag they stashed there. While we were there, we checked out the pool area, and Dad ended up having a short nap out there. When he woke up, we collected the bag and made our way back to Desert Inn & Suites.
Their room was ready by the time we got there, so we headed up to check it out. We booked the biggest room, the parlor suite with 2 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. We were on the top floor (besides the rooftop viewing deck, I think it was the 4th floor), above the indoor pool. There was an elevator we could use to get up there with all our bags, but most of the time we just used the stairs.
The room was nice enough, spacious and clean. We were expecting to be able to access the little lounge area directly from our bedroom, but we ended up having to go through my parents room to get there.
We were a little concerned being right above the area that they were renovating, that we might get a lot of noise in the room, but that didnt end up being a problem at all. Unfortunately the rooftop deck was closed for renos, which was very disappointing. I was actually planning to use it that evening.
We decided to head back out to Downtown Disney instead and find somewhere down there to watch the fireworks from. We checked out the views from outside our room on the way.
On the way, I wanted to duck into California Adventure and sort out my PP+. It was my first brief peek at the new look California Adventure!
I wanted to extend my PP+ so that it would cover both of our Disneyland stays, which were more than 2 weeks apart. The CMs I spoke to werent able to extend the expiry date, but did offer me a loophole. They suggested that I could get a regular PP for the run weekend, and use that to gather PP photos, then have those photos added to my PP+ when that was activated. So that is exactly what we did!
We went to the Uva Bar for pre-dinner drinks, and ended up just staying there for dinner. Mum and I shared a fish and chips, which came served in individual baskets!
Dad asked our waitress about a good spot for watching the fireworks, and she suggested the little courtyard between Tortilla Jos and House of Blues. We still had some time to kill, so we headed into the lobby of the Grand Californian to have a look around.
We headed back to the courtyard area in time for the fireworks and enjoyed the view from there.
By that time my parents were fading fast, and it was definitely time to head back to our hotels. We said our goodbyes at the crosswalk, and went our separate ways. I packed up a little when I got back to the hotel, and set my alarm for 8:30am the next day.
I had a great sleep, and woke with my alarm at 8am. I needed to go for my last training run this morning, and Id been hoping to be out before it got too hot. By the time I got going, it was about 8:30am and the sun was already beating down. I decided to just do a short run, more just to de-cobweb from the flight and acclimatise myself to the heat. I just did the block around Gardenwalk, which took me about 12 minutes.
I bought a bottle of water from the 7-Eleven on the way back, and filled up a couple of freezer bags that Id taken along from the ice machine in the hotel. Back at the room, I cranked the air-con and had my breakfast while I iced my legs. My room had a great arm chair with leg rest that was perfect for the occasion!
I was just about to get in the shower when the hotel phone rang. It was the front desk telling me that my parents were in the lobby! I practically bounded down the corridor and gave them both big hugs! They had checked into their hotel (Desert Inn & Suites, where I would be joining them the next day) but their room wasnt ready, so we all freshened up in my room and had a good chinwag. I gave my parents their Disneyland tickets and the 1st visit buttons Id picked up for them the night before.
We decided to go to LaBrea Café for brunch, and headed back out into the hot sun. We were seated straight away, but we were too late for brekky. Mum and I decided to share a chicken sandwich with sweet potato chips. It was delicious, and plenty big enough for us to share.
After brunch we checked out the Downtown Disney area, starting with the World of Disney store.
We worked our way along, looking around in some of the shops on the way through. We spent a bit of extra time at the Lego store, checking out all the awesome Lego sculptures.
We were all ready to sit somewhere cool with a drink, so we headed to Trader Sams. Id never been to the Disneyland Hotel, so it took us a while to find the bar. We enjoyed our drinks and some of the effects, but Mum started to feel claustrophobic after a while.
We headed back to my hotel so that my parents could pick up the bag they stashed there. While we were there, we checked out the pool area, and Dad ended up having a short nap out there. When he woke up, we collected the bag and made our way back to Desert Inn & Suites.
Their room was ready by the time we got there, so we headed up to check it out. We booked the biggest room, the parlor suite with 2 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. We were on the top floor (besides the rooftop viewing deck, I think it was the 4th floor), above the indoor pool. There was an elevator we could use to get up there with all our bags, but most of the time we just used the stairs.
The room was nice enough, spacious and clean. We were expecting to be able to access the little lounge area directly from our bedroom, but we ended up having to go through my parents room to get there.
We were a little concerned being right above the area that they were renovating, that we might get a lot of noise in the room, but that didnt end up being a problem at all. Unfortunately the rooftop deck was closed for renos, which was very disappointing. I was actually planning to use it that evening.
We decided to head back out to Downtown Disney instead and find somewhere down there to watch the fireworks from. We checked out the views from outside our room on the way.
On the way, I wanted to duck into California Adventure and sort out my PP+. It was my first brief peek at the new look California Adventure!
I wanted to extend my PP+ so that it would cover both of our Disneyland stays, which were more than 2 weeks apart. The CMs I spoke to werent able to extend the expiry date, but did offer me a loophole. They suggested that I could get a regular PP for the run weekend, and use that to gather PP photos, then have those photos added to my PP+ when that was activated. So that is exactly what we did!
We went to the Uva Bar for pre-dinner drinks, and ended up just staying there for dinner. Mum and I shared a fish and chips, which came served in individual baskets!
Dad asked our waitress about a good spot for watching the fireworks, and she suggested the little courtyard between Tortilla Jos and House of Blues. We still had some time to kill, so we headed into the lobby of the Grand Californian to have a look around.
We headed back to the courtyard area in time for the fireworks and enjoyed the view from there.
By that time my parents were fading fast, and it was definitely time to head back to our hotels. We said our goodbyes at the crosswalk, and went our separate ways. I packed up a little when I got back to the hotel, and set my alarm for 8:30am the next day.
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
Enjoying your recount heaps!
Love the pics.
Love the pics.
Aussiefamof5
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2012
I adore the picture of Walt and mickey the way you have captured their silhouette looks like they are right in front of you 
WanderlustNZ
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2012
More great updates!
Was it a first Disney holiday for your parents? If so, do you think you have turned them into lifelong Disney fans?
Was it a first Disney holiday for your parents? If so, do you think you have turned them into lifelong Disney fans?
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
Thanks PIO
I adore the picture of Walt and mickey the way you have captured their silhouette looks like they are right in front of you
I love that one too!
Our trip to Paris last year was an introductory Disney trip for my parents. I'm pretty sure they're hooked now, especially Dad. They were already talking about coming back next year to do the half marathon
crazy Cat Lady
Counting Down The Days The Next Trip.
- Joined
- May 12, 2013
Great report, love the dogs! Looking forward to the next instalment.
Your photo reminded me that we'd been inside the Grand Californian on our last trip and I'd completely forgotten about it.
Your photo reminded me that we'd been inside the Grand Californian on our last trip and I'd completely forgotten about it.
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
I'd never been inside any of the Disney hotels until this trip, and I enjoyed the brief peeks we had of both the Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian
Aussie Wendy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Enjoying the story that rounds out the pics. Nice lazy settling in time pre-race it seems. I didn't realise reading your Europe TR that that was your parents' first Disney visit!
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
We needed as much lazy time as we could get! Turns out we didn't have quite enough of it lol! But we're not the type of family who can spend a whole day lazing around by the pool so we couldn't help ourselves
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
RunDisney Expo
***Sorry that this update is so wordy!***
I woke with my alarm from another fairly good sleep. This morning would be a morning of just getting organised.
First I checked out of the Red Lion, and walked down the street to the Desert Inn & Suites to get settled in there. As I walked past the entrance and lobby area, there was someone getting out of a SuperShuttle. It turned out to be DH! He went into the lobby, so I followed him, thinking he must need something from them. Turns out he was going to check in lol! I told him Mum and Dad had already done that yesterday, and we went up to the room. I already had a key, so I just let us in. Mum and Dad were pretty surprised to see both of us standing there!
Mum and Dad had been down to get breakfast. The normal breakfast area was undergoing extensive renovation, and the makeshift area was nowhere near big enough, so the hotel staff were encouraging guests to take their breakfast back to their rooms. Mum and Dad had brought a couple of extra things back with them, so we all enjoyed breakfast in the little sitting area.
We spent a bit of time just chatting and getting organised in the room, then decided to head out to the expo at the Disneyland Hotel to pick up our race packs! Id read about the insanity of the official merchandise area at last years expo, where it was complete pandemonium. People were just grabbing whatever they could, they ran out of popular sizes within about half an hour, then people had to line up for (literally) hours to pay. I was scared of missing out, and wanted to be there early so that I could be one of the first in. From what Id read in the official race guide, the expo would open at 12 noon, people would have to pick up their bib first, then make their way to the expo part via the t-shirt pick up. I was planning to get there by 11:30am to be one of the first in line, and hopefully be able to nab myself a RunDisney top.
We did indeed get there at about 11:30am. There was already a line for official merchandise, which we could apparently join any time. I decided to stick with Plan A and get our official business taken care of first. We made our way down to the carpark of the hotel, where there was a temporary area set up for picking up bibs. I started getting a little panicked when I saw that people were already going in. We lined up and were the next group to go in.
We decided to pick up our 5k stuff first, since that was the first race. It was quite busy there, but the lines seemed to be moving fairly quickly. Except for ours lol! You had to join a specific line depending on your bib number, so we were stuck where we were, and not able to just go to one of the empty desks. We finally got to the front, handed over our pre-signed waivers, and were given our bibs and pre-ordered pins. Then we went to the 10k section to do it all again.
Over at the 10k section, it was really quiet, and we basically walked straight up to the desk. We figured that it was because most 10k people would be picking their stuff up the next day.
Once we had all the official stuff done, and after a quick pit stop, we made our way up to the expo floor, and lined up to pick up our t-shirts. These lines were organised by race and t-shirt size, so we each joined the appropriate lines and got given our t-shirts. We quickly tried them on. The 10k ones were a great fit. The 5k ones were the right size, but the fit was pretty awful because they were clearly not designed for women. They were all baggy around the top and tight around the hips.
Anyway, happy that we did not have to line up again to complete any t-shirt exchanges, we finally made our way to the official merchandise area. It seemed quite well organised this year. There was a longish line, which I joined with my parents, while DH decided to go back to the hotel. It didnt take that long for us to get to the front of the line.
We were given a mesh bag for our purchases as we entered the shop, and were free to spend as much time as we wanted to in there. It was really very civilised. There was no fighting for items or pushing people out of the way, there was plenty of stock left. I picked up a nice commemorative running top for myself and DH, and my parents bought a few items as well. We already had our pins, but there were still plenty available in the shop.
I was a little disappointed with the lack of generic stock available. Most of it was half marathon and Dumbo challenge (the 10k and the half together) specific. Still, I was very happy with the process and the top that I did get. Once wed finished, we joined the shorter queue to pay for our items.
The cashier area kind of had us exiting the expo again, so we joined the quite short line to have our photo taken at the photo opportunity area.
Then we headed in again to check out the rest of the expo. There was some interesting stuff there, but being on a strict budget, I managed to restrain myself very well. So did my parents. Mum bought some compression sleeves to use for the 10k and a few pairs of socks (which are ridiculously cheap in the US compared to here!).
Mum and I had a minor celebrity moment when we met Jeff Galloway at his booth. He is the guy behind the official RunDisney training programs, and a big advocate of the run/walk method and training to prevent injury. I briefly told him about my story and he seemed happy that Id made it that far.
On our way back to the hotel, we got a sneak peek of the starting line for the next days race!
I think it was at that moment that it all started to feel very real!
When we got back to the hotel we oohed and aahed over our loot, and relaxed in the room for a while.
To be continued
***Sorry that this update is so wordy!***
I woke with my alarm from another fairly good sleep. This morning would be a morning of just getting organised.
First I checked out of the Red Lion, and walked down the street to the Desert Inn & Suites to get settled in there. As I walked past the entrance and lobby area, there was someone getting out of a SuperShuttle. It turned out to be DH! He went into the lobby, so I followed him, thinking he must need something from them. Turns out he was going to check in lol! I told him Mum and Dad had already done that yesterday, and we went up to the room. I already had a key, so I just let us in. Mum and Dad were pretty surprised to see both of us standing there!
Mum and Dad had been down to get breakfast. The normal breakfast area was undergoing extensive renovation, and the makeshift area was nowhere near big enough, so the hotel staff were encouraging guests to take their breakfast back to their rooms. Mum and Dad had brought a couple of extra things back with them, so we all enjoyed breakfast in the little sitting area.
We spent a bit of time just chatting and getting organised in the room, then decided to head out to the expo at the Disneyland Hotel to pick up our race packs! Id read about the insanity of the official merchandise area at last years expo, where it was complete pandemonium. People were just grabbing whatever they could, they ran out of popular sizes within about half an hour, then people had to line up for (literally) hours to pay. I was scared of missing out, and wanted to be there early so that I could be one of the first in. From what Id read in the official race guide, the expo would open at 12 noon, people would have to pick up their bib first, then make their way to the expo part via the t-shirt pick up. I was planning to get there by 11:30am to be one of the first in line, and hopefully be able to nab myself a RunDisney top.
We did indeed get there at about 11:30am. There was already a line for official merchandise, which we could apparently join any time. I decided to stick with Plan A and get our official business taken care of first. We made our way down to the carpark of the hotel, where there was a temporary area set up for picking up bibs. I started getting a little panicked when I saw that people were already going in. We lined up and were the next group to go in.
We decided to pick up our 5k stuff first, since that was the first race. It was quite busy there, but the lines seemed to be moving fairly quickly. Except for ours lol! You had to join a specific line depending on your bib number, so we were stuck where we were, and not able to just go to one of the empty desks. We finally got to the front, handed over our pre-signed waivers, and were given our bibs and pre-ordered pins. Then we went to the 10k section to do it all again.
Over at the 10k section, it was really quiet, and we basically walked straight up to the desk. We figured that it was because most 10k people would be picking their stuff up the next day.
Once we had all the official stuff done, and after a quick pit stop, we made our way up to the expo floor, and lined up to pick up our t-shirts. These lines were organised by race and t-shirt size, so we each joined the appropriate lines and got given our t-shirts. We quickly tried them on. The 10k ones were a great fit. The 5k ones were the right size, but the fit was pretty awful because they were clearly not designed for women. They were all baggy around the top and tight around the hips.
Anyway, happy that we did not have to line up again to complete any t-shirt exchanges, we finally made our way to the official merchandise area. It seemed quite well organised this year. There was a longish line, which I joined with my parents, while DH decided to go back to the hotel. It didnt take that long for us to get to the front of the line.
We were given a mesh bag for our purchases as we entered the shop, and were free to spend as much time as we wanted to in there. It was really very civilised. There was no fighting for items or pushing people out of the way, there was plenty of stock left. I picked up a nice commemorative running top for myself and DH, and my parents bought a few items as well. We already had our pins, but there were still plenty available in the shop.
I was a little disappointed with the lack of generic stock available. Most of it was half marathon and Dumbo challenge (the 10k and the half together) specific. Still, I was very happy with the process and the top that I did get. Once wed finished, we joined the shorter queue to pay for our items.
The cashier area kind of had us exiting the expo again, so we joined the quite short line to have our photo taken at the photo opportunity area.
Then we headed in again to check out the rest of the expo. There was some interesting stuff there, but being on a strict budget, I managed to restrain myself very well. So did my parents. Mum bought some compression sleeves to use for the 10k and a few pairs of socks (which are ridiculously cheap in the US compared to here!).
Mum and I had a minor celebrity moment when we met Jeff Galloway at his booth. He is the guy behind the official RunDisney training programs, and a big advocate of the run/walk method and training to prevent injury. I briefly told him about my story and he seemed happy that Id made it that far.
On our way back to the hotel, we got a sneak peek of the starting line for the next days race!
I think it was at that moment that it all started to feel very real!
When we got back to the hotel we oohed and aahed over our loot, and relaxed in the room for a while.
To be continued
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
Nice race merchandise. I hope to see the tops in 3D at some stage?
What a great thing to be able to meet Jeff Galloway.
Looks like we're all set for the armchair cheering on the 5K and 10K.
What a great thing to be able to meet Jeff Galloway.
Looks like we're all set for the armchair cheering on the 5K and 10K.
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
Nice race merchandise. I hope to see the tops in 3D at some stage?
What a great thing to be able to meet Jeff Galloway.
Looks like we're all set for the armchair cheering on the 5K and 10K.
Sure thing - I'll bring them to the next DisMeet. Along with my medals
Not quite at the 5k yet, there's another night of Disney frivolity first
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
California Adventure
After relaxing in our room for a while, we decided to go for an early dinner. We wanted something fairly light, and I suggested Tortilla Jos might be suitable. Everyone agreed to give it a go. Because we were still early, we managed to get seated pretty much straight away.
Mum and I allowed ourselves one margarita each.
Once again, we decided to share a meal. We decided on the combination plate with a taco and an enchilada, and enjoyed both. After dinner, DH and I hit DCA, while my parents went back to the hotel.
We started off just wandering, checking out the new lie of the land.
We picked up a FP for Grizzly River Run on the way through to Paradise Pier.
I believe we rode California Screamin while we were there. Then we made our way through to Carsland.
As we were walking down Route 66, DJ drove out and the show started. We watched for a while, then moved on.
The wait for RSR was only 40 minutes. Usually that is way longer than I would bother to wait in line, but I knew it was as short as we were likely to see that line all weekend. The wait actually wasnt that long, not even half an hour!
We both enjoyed the ride, but unfortunately we lost the race.
Next it was time to use our FPs for Grizzly River Run. It was getting close to the end of our FP return time, so we didnt delay getting over there.
As we arrived, we saw a group of people congregating around the ride entrance, and as we got closer, we could see people were being turned away. Just as I was enquiring about whether we could use our FPs at another time, the ride opened again and they started letting people through. Not thinking, I immediately entered the FP line. Once in line, I realised that I would have been the very first person in line if Id have entered the standby line, and we could have ridden it twice in a row! Doh!
We rode with a nice family whose children were very concerned about getting wet. As we were coming to the first small drop, the ride stopped again for about 5 minutes, but after that it was smooth sailing.
As we left the ride, I saw one of the famous Disney cats!
We decided to quickly check out the other end of the park before heading back to the hotel.
We decided to have a brief rest at Muppet Vision.
Monsters Inc was a walk on, so we decided we may as well do that too.
The sun was well and truly on its way to setting by then, and the Mad T Party would soon come alive.
In the meantime, the Tower of Terror looked even more ominous in the last light of day.
We couldnt figure out how long the wait was for Tower of Terror (as it always says 13 minutes), so we decided to catch the red trolley back to the entrance in an effort to save my legs. It was a mission getting on. There was a family there who were having some sort of issue with their stroller, and they ended up leaving Grandma behind with the stroller while they rode the trolley lol! Finally we were all onboard and ready to go.
It was well and truly time to head back to the hotel after that, as I had a bed time to stick to.
I started my before bed routine of putting everything on charge and uploading my photos to my laptop. Unfortunately sometime during the day my memory card had gotten corrupted, and I wasnt able to upload my photos. Chaos then ensued as I realised that I couldnt use that memory card to take photos the next day, and was going to run to the 7-Eleven to buy a new one. Luckily, Dad came to the rescue with a spare one hed brought along, and DH came to the rescue figuring out how to copy the photos directly from my camera.
Just as I was falling asleep, the fireworks started lol! They were incredibly loud that close and there was no way I was going to get any sleep until they finished. Luckily I was able to get to sleep pretty quickly once they were finished!
After relaxing in our room for a while, we decided to go for an early dinner. We wanted something fairly light, and I suggested Tortilla Jos might be suitable. Everyone agreed to give it a go. Because we were still early, we managed to get seated pretty much straight away.
Mum and I allowed ourselves one margarita each.
Once again, we decided to share a meal. We decided on the combination plate with a taco and an enchilada, and enjoyed both. After dinner, DH and I hit DCA, while my parents went back to the hotel.
We started off just wandering, checking out the new lie of the land.
We picked up a FP for Grizzly River Run on the way through to Paradise Pier.
I believe we rode California Screamin while we were there. Then we made our way through to Carsland.
As we were walking down Route 66, DJ drove out and the show started. We watched for a while, then moved on.
The wait for RSR was only 40 minutes. Usually that is way longer than I would bother to wait in line, but I knew it was as short as we were likely to see that line all weekend. The wait actually wasnt that long, not even half an hour!
We both enjoyed the ride, but unfortunately we lost the race.
Next it was time to use our FPs for Grizzly River Run. It was getting close to the end of our FP return time, so we didnt delay getting over there.
As we arrived, we saw a group of people congregating around the ride entrance, and as we got closer, we could see people were being turned away. Just as I was enquiring about whether we could use our FPs at another time, the ride opened again and they started letting people through. Not thinking, I immediately entered the FP line. Once in line, I realised that I would have been the very first person in line if Id have entered the standby line, and we could have ridden it twice in a row! Doh!
We rode with a nice family whose children were very concerned about getting wet. As we were coming to the first small drop, the ride stopped again for about 5 minutes, but after that it was smooth sailing.
As we left the ride, I saw one of the famous Disney cats!
We decided to quickly check out the other end of the park before heading back to the hotel.
We decided to have a brief rest at Muppet Vision.
Monsters Inc was a walk on, so we decided we may as well do that too.
The sun was well and truly on its way to setting by then, and the Mad T Party would soon come alive.
In the meantime, the Tower of Terror looked even more ominous in the last light of day.
We couldnt figure out how long the wait was for Tower of Terror (as it always says 13 minutes), so we decided to catch the red trolley back to the entrance in an effort to save my legs. It was a mission getting on. There was a family there who were having some sort of issue with their stroller, and they ended up leaving Grandma behind with the stroller while they rode the trolley lol! Finally we were all onboard and ready to go.
It was well and truly time to head back to the hotel after that, as I had a bed time to stick to.
I started my before bed routine of putting everything on charge and uploading my photos to my laptop. Unfortunately sometime during the day my memory card had gotten corrupted, and I wasnt able to upload my photos. Chaos then ensued as I realised that I couldnt use that memory card to take photos the next day, and was going to run to the 7-Eleven to buy a new one. Luckily, Dad came to the rescue with a spare one hed brought along, and DH came to the rescue figuring out how to copy the photos directly from my camera.
Just as I was falling asleep, the fireworks started lol! They were incredibly loud that close and there was no way I was going to get any sleep until they finished. Luckily I was able to get to sleep pretty quickly once they were finished!
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
YAY for seeing a Disneyland cat!
Looks like you had a great day. Margarita looks delicious.
Looks like you had a great day. Margarita looks delicious.
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
YAY for seeing a Disneyland cat!
Looks like you had a great day. Margarita looks delicious.
I think I was more excited about seeing that cat than I was about seeing Mickey
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