amazingact21
Upendi
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2010
Friday, September 21, 2018 Part 2:
Walking into the Disneyland Park, I was greeted with a wonderful surprise.
The Halloween decorations were up!
I was so excited to see the wreaths across Main Street. One of my favorite holiday decorations at Walt Disney World used to be the Christmas wreaths down Main Street, but when the Festival of Fantasy parade began Disney couldn’t use them anymore due to the dragon being too large to fit under them.
I never thought I’d get to see something like them again, but here was Disneyland Paris fulfilling a tiny Disney dream of mine.
Had I been a better Disney fan, I would have done my research and learned that the parks had already set up their decorations, and I probably would have seen pictures of them all, too. But life had been too busy to do much research, and instead I was experiencing them all for the first time.
In the age of technology, this might have been the first time I hadn’t seen a Disney item before I experienced it in person.
Seriously….
I saw photos of New Fantasyland when the land opened, and the same can be said for Pandora and Toy Story Land. I know what food is offered at the new Storybook Dining experience at WL, and I’ve seen numerous ride through videos of Slinky Dog Dash and Navi River Journey.
The element of surprise has been removed for me when it comes to Disney, and so maybe that’s why I enjoyed the fall decorations so much. I was seeing them through fresh eyes.
Plus, how could anyone not smile over these delightful Mickey shaped pumpkins?
I was feeling particularly giddy at the time. (I had also tried to order a regular black coffee from the Starbucks in Disney Village but the barista didn’t know what a “coffee” was and instead gave me an Americano. Not realizing it until after I had left the store, I began drinking it more quickly than I would have had I known it was espresso. Which resulted in me ingesting a lot of caffeine in a very short amount of time.)
“Alex, stop and take a photo with me in front of the castle!”
Did it look like I was extra amped up? Because I most certainly was. Espresso, cold medicine, pre-race nerves, pumpkins everywhere, and friends in close proximity had me near to bursting.
On the way into the parks, I messaged Ashley and she told me they were already inside. Her husband Zach and their daughter, Emma, were riding Star Tours while she waited outside the attraction with their son, Talon. I texted her to tell her we were headed in that direction, with Alex stopping mid-journey to pull these:
The return time was in 45 minutes, and he remembered how much Landon loved Buzz last June.
Continuing farther into Discovery Land, I spotted my friend and walked over to her. Landon and Evie began talking a mile a minute to Talon, showing him the stuffed toys we let them buy in the Rainforest Café, trying to cheer him up because he was sad he missed the Star Tours height requirement by an inch.
Less than ten minutes later, the rest of Ashley’s family walked off the ride and we were all officially together! So many of us were talking that I’m amazed anyone heard anything anyone said. I would like to say the kids were being the loudest of us all, but I’d be lying. The caffeine had me chattering a mile a minute, and Ashley kept marveling at how empty the park felt that afternoon.
It was odd. The weather was magnificent and most people running the races were trickling onto property by that time of day, but the attractions had low waits and the pathways were fairly clear. Our only assumption was that most people were getting ready for the 5K that night. Gotta rest those feet before reaching the Thanos medal…
Rumors had been circulating on-line about Disney changing the ways the race corrals were set up; I had been reading that only people with proof of times listed at 1:30 or less were guaranteed Corral A. Everybody else’s placement was completely random.
Typically, in races, the corrals are set up by times, with the fastest people leaving first and every subsequent corral holding people with longer and longer estimated finish times. For example, if there are three people running whose times are 1:15, 1:45, and 2:30, then all three would be in different corrals. The 2:30 would be in one of the later corrals and would leave last. This all ensures that faster runners aren’t caught behind slower paces.
But the Magic Run people threw that rule out of the book and decided they wanted to spread the racers out more evenly throughout the course. Disney races tend to have “waves” come past spectators, which can cause some traffic jams in narrow spots. So for this year, as runners were picking up their bibs and seeing what Corrals they were in, they were realizing it was a free for all.
I had looked at my bib when I got it and learned I would be in Corral D, which was second to last. Since I hadn’t had a previous proof of time to submit, I knew I would be near the back and was content with D.
But while we were all standing around, I asked Zach what Corral he was placed in, and he hadn’t checked that yet. He pulled out his paperwork, took a look, and burst out laughing.
“I’m in Corral A!”
“What?!” Alex and I said.
“How’d did you get the first Corral?”
“I don’t know, Ashley submitted my time.”
We all turned to look at Ashley.
“What time did you say he was going to finish the race?”
Ashley looked sheepish, then determined.
“I’m pretty sure I said 2:30.”
We all eyed her suspiciously. Ashley has created a reputation for herself for causing accidents on the computer. Just a few weeks ago, she tried to sign Zach up for the virtual half marathon at Disney and instead registered it in her mom’s name. Then ten days later she unlinked Zach’s account on MDE from their family so that when she went to make Fastpasses, she couldn’t get any for him.
We didn’t have a lot of faith in Ashley’s submission.
“You probably said 1:30 by mistake.”
“No!”
More staring.
“Maybe…”
The four of us adults turned this into a running joke the rest of the afternoon. Zach, suddenly the elite runner he never knew he was.
I could see a trickle of panic on his face when I commented to him, “You better stay out of the way. You’re gonna get mowed down by all those fast runners.”
The joking continued as we walked over to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. My friends didn’t have Fastpasses but the wait time was only ten minutes; we decided to forgo the passes and walk through the standby line with them.
First ride of the trip accomplished!
From Discovery Land, we all headed towards a classic attraction that I was making my friends ride. You don’t go to Disney with Landon and me and not ride this!
Walking over:
Someone pinch me, because I must be dreaming. Were we really walking through Disney with our good friends?!
Evie was embracing her stately princess status by riding in her personal carriage, sporting a dress and sparkly shoes fit for royalty:
There’s the attraction! Up ahead:
Oh yes.
I made my friends endure It’s a Small World that afternoon.
There was no wait and after a few seconds of
“I WANT TO RIDE NEXT TO LANDON!” we figured out the seat situation and climbed aboard our boat.
The moms got the older kids:
While the dads hung back with the younger tots.
I thought it would be the perfect time to try and take a group selfie, but I only took one photo and it came out a disaster:
Poor Ashley didn’t even make it into the frame, Talon’s eyes were closed, and my kids were trying to photobomb my shot with their new toys.
Ah well. I gave it a try, and that’s all that matters.
Continued in Next Post:
Walking into the Disneyland Park, I was greeted with a wonderful surprise.
The Halloween decorations were up!
I was so excited to see the wreaths across Main Street. One of my favorite holiday decorations at Walt Disney World used to be the Christmas wreaths down Main Street, but when the Festival of Fantasy parade began Disney couldn’t use them anymore due to the dragon being too large to fit under them.
I never thought I’d get to see something like them again, but here was Disneyland Paris fulfilling a tiny Disney dream of mine.
Had I been a better Disney fan, I would have done my research and learned that the parks had already set up their decorations, and I probably would have seen pictures of them all, too. But life had been too busy to do much research, and instead I was experiencing them all for the first time.
In the age of technology, this might have been the first time I hadn’t seen a Disney item before I experienced it in person.
Seriously….
I saw photos of New Fantasyland when the land opened, and the same can be said for Pandora and Toy Story Land. I know what food is offered at the new Storybook Dining experience at WL, and I’ve seen numerous ride through videos of Slinky Dog Dash and Navi River Journey.
The element of surprise has been removed for me when it comes to Disney, and so maybe that’s why I enjoyed the fall decorations so much. I was seeing them through fresh eyes.
Plus, how could anyone not smile over these delightful Mickey shaped pumpkins?
I was feeling particularly giddy at the time. (I had also tried to order a regular black coffee from the Starbucks in Disney Village but the barista didn’t know what a “coffee” was and instead gave me an Americano. Not realizing it until after I had left the store, I began drinking it more quickly than I would have had I known it was espresso. Which resulted in me ingesting a lot of caffeine in a very short amount of time.)
“Alex, stop and take a photo with me in front of the castle!”
Did it look like I was extra amped up? Because I most certainly was. Espresso, cold medicine, pre-race nerves, pumpkins everywhere, and friends in close proximity had me near to bursting.
On the way into the parks, I messaged Ashley and she told me they were already inside. Her husband Zach and their daughter, Emma, were riding Star Tours while she waited outside the attraction with their son, Talon. I texted her to tell her we were headed in that direction, with Alex stopping mid-journey to pull these:
The return time was in 45 minutes, and he remembered how much Landon loved Buzz last June.
Continuing farther into Discovery Land, I spotted my friend and walked over to her. Landon and Evie began talking a mile a minute to Talon, showing him the stuffed toys we let them buy in the Rainforest Café, trying to cheer him up because he was sad he missed the Star Tours height requirement by an inch.
Less than ten minutes later, the rest of Ashley’s family walked off the ride and we were all officially together! So many of us were talking that I’m amazed anyone heard anything anyone said. I would like to say the kids were being the loudest of us all, but I’d be lying. The caffeine had me chattering a mile a minute, and Ashley kept marveling at how empty the park felt that afternoon.
It was odd. The weather was magnificent and most people running the races were trickling onto property by that time of day, but the attractions had low waits and the pathways were fairly clear. Our only assumption was that most people were getting ready for the 5K that night. Gotta rest those feet before reaching the Thanos medal…
Rumors had been circulating on-line about Disney changing the ways the race corrals were set up; I had been reading that only people with proof of times listed at 1:30 or less were guaranteed Corral A. Everybody else’s placement was completely random.
Typically, in races, the corrals are set up by times, with the fastest people leaving first and every subsequent corral holding people with longer and longer estimated finish times. For example, if there are three people running whose times are 1:15, 1:45, and 2:30, then all three would be in different corrals. The 2:30 would be in one of the later corrals and would leave last. This all ensures that faster runners aren’t caught behind slower paces.
But the Magic Run people threw that rule out of the book and decided they wanted to spread the racers out more evenly throughout the course. Disney races tend to have “waves” come past spectators, which can cause some traffic jams in narrow spots. So for this year, as runners were picking up their bibs and seeing what Corrals they were in, they were realizing it was a free for all.
I had looked at my bib when I got it and learned I would be in Corral D, which was second to last. Since I hadn’t had a previous proof of time to submit, I knew I would be near the back and was content with D.
But while we were all standing around, I asked Zach what Corral he was placed in, and he hadn’t checked that yet. He pulled out his paperwork, took a look, and burst out laughing.
“I’m in Corral A!”
“What?!” Alex and I said.
“How’d did you get the first Corral?”
“I don’t know, Ashley submitted my time.”
We all turned to look at Ashley.
“What time did you say he was going to finish the race?”
Ashley looked sheepish, then determined.
“I’m pretty sure I said 2:30.”
We all eyed her suspiciously. Ashley has created a reputation for herself for causing accidents on the computer. Just a few weeks ago, she tried to sign Zach up for the virtual half marathon at Disney and instead registered it in her mom’s name. Then ten days later she unlinked Zach’s account on MDE from their family so that when she went to make Fastpasses, she couldn’t get any for him.
We didn’t have a lot of faith in Ashley’s submission.
“You probably said 1:30 by mistake.”
“No!”
More staring.
“Maybe…”
The four of us adults turned this into a running joke the rest of the afternoon. Zach, suddenly the elite runner he never knew he was.
I could see a trickle of panic on his face when I commented to him, “You better stay out of the way. You’re gonna get mowed down by all those fast runners.”
The joking continued as we walked over to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. My friends didn’t have Fastpasses but the wait time was only ten minutes; we decided to forgo the passes and walk through the standby line with them.
First ride of the trip accomplished!
From Discovery Land, we all headed towards a classic attraction that I was making my friends ride. You don’t go to Disney with Landon and me and not ride this!
Walking over:
Someone pinch me, because I must be dreaming. Were we really walking through Disney with our good friends?!
Evie was embracing her stately princess status by riding in her personal carriage, sporting a dress and sparkly shoes fit for royalty:
There’s the attraction! Up ahead:
Oh yes.
I made my friends endure It’s a Small World that afternoon.
There was no wait and after a few seconds of
“I WANT TO RIDE NEXT TO LANDON!” we figured out the seat situation and climbed aboard our boat.
The moms got the older kids:
While the dads hung back with the younger tots.
I thought it would be the perfect time to try and take a group selfie, but I only took one photo and it came out a disaster:
Poor Ashley didn’t even make it into the frame, Talon’s eyes were closed, and my kids were trying to photobomb my shot with their new toys.
Ah well. I gave it a try, and that’s all that matters.
Continued in Next Post: