Two weeks ago I went down to DL for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon. Also on the trip were my sister, Malia and my brother-in-law Jim. It had been over 20 years since Maia has been to DL and this was Jim’s first ever trip. Originally Malia was supposed to do Tinker Bell too but she injured her knee and was unable to. We drove down from Salt Lake, leaving after work on Friday. We stayed the night in St George and arrived in Anaheim at approximately 1:00 Saturday afternoon. We went straight to the Disneyland Hotel for packet pick-up and the Expo. Jim and Malia dropped me off and waited in the car because of Malia’s knee. I bought the official Tinker Bell Half Marathon hat. We stayed at the Ramada just south of Orangewood on Harbor. We stayed there because it was cheap and as I’ve stayed there before I knew it was okay. We were pleasantly surprised. They’ve done a lot of work and the rooms were much nicer than I remembered. The drawback was that they were currently working on the pool area so I would not be able to have a nice soak in the hot tub after the half marathon. We spent the rest of the day hanging out in our rooms and getting dinner at the Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney. On Sunday I got up at 3:45 to get ready for the half marathon at 5:30. Jim drove me over. This was my first half so I was in corral E. I thought it was the last corral but it turned out there was a corral F. The weather was perfect., not too hot, not too cold. I did well but ultimately couldn’t keep up the pace and got swept up between mile and 9 and 10. It was really fun to run thorough the parks and enjoyed seeing downtown Anaheim. All people who cheered us on were great. I’ll definitely be trying again. I’ve also decided to volunteer for future events. After the race it took awhile to meet up with Jim and Malia. I eventually had to borrow someone’s cell phone since I didn’t have mine with me. Once we did, we went for breakfast at Cocos. After a nap and hot bath, I went to DL by myself to get pictures with Tinker Bell since I hadn’t stopped for pictures during the race. Unfortunately her line was closed even though it was only 3:00 and she was supposed to be open until 5. I guess I wasn’t the only person needing a picture. Instead I went and got pictures with Princesses. I saw Cinderella, Ariel and Snow White. I was also able to see Tiana on the Mark Twain. I didn’t ride any rides and headed back to room for an early night after a visit to World of Disney and an ice cream at Haagen Daas. The next day, Malia and I went to DL while Jim went to the Mercedes Museum in Irvine. He was disappointed. Malia had to rent an ECV because of her knee. She hadn’t wanted to as her thinking of it as a blow to her ego. But she got over that quickly and even enjoyed driving it around. It likely helped us a bit with the lines too. We hit most of DL’s highlights, all the coasters (except Gadget’s), Star Tours, Indy and Splash, most of the Fantasyland dark rides, Teacups, Dumbo, and Storybookland Canal boats and Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion. We also saw Mickey and the Magical Map. We had lunch at Bengal Barbecue and got Beignets and Dole Whips. Malia had never had Dole Whip before but she really wanted to try it and it did not disappoint. I also managed to get my picture with Tinker Bell. Malia isn't in to meeting characters but went through the line with me and was actually impressed with the experience. I'm still not going to get her to meet any of the rubber heads though. We left around 6 so missed Paint the Night and the fireworks. We all went to Outback for dinner that night. Tuesday was really lazy. We all slept and had a late breakfast at Cocos (it’s a favorite of Jim’s). Then we drove out to Seal Beach. We just drove around the town then walked out on the pier. We didn’t touch the water or the sand. None of us are sun worshippers and we figured walking on the sand wouldn’t be good for Malia’s knee. The town is really cute and the beach wasn’t crowded at all though I’m sure it will be busier in the summer. Unfortunately there was a fire on the pier this last week but it was mostly saved. Wednesday we all went to DCA. I made Jim wear a first visit button. He didn’t think he was going to like it much but really did. He’s never going to be like me about DL but he is committed to visiting both parks on our next trip. Again we hit most of the highlights. Soaring’ Mater’s, Little Mermaid, Goofy’s Skyschool, Mickey’s Fun Wheel and Midway Mania. Then we were ready for California Screaming’ but it was Jim’s first big roller coaster and he needed some liquid courage. I had planned to take him to the Carthay Circle Lounge but it was closed so we went to the Cove Bar instead. Jim conquered the coaster, and Malia, a thrill junkie loved it. After we got ice cream at Ghirardeli’s and bread at Boudin. Jim was feeling the need for a nap after conquering his fears and headed back to the hotel. The plan was for him to come back but he never did so he missed out on Tower of Terror and Radiator Springs Racers. Malia and I did both of those as well as Luigi’s and It’s Tough to Be a Bug and a second ride on California Screamin’ on our own before heading back to the hotel ourselves. We got Olive Garden take out for dinner. On Thursday, after a lazy morning to avoid rush hour traffic, we left Anaheim and relocated to Burbank. We met our good friend Norman, who lives in LA and works in Burbank for lunch. Malia wanted to stay in the rest of the day as her knee was bothering her. In the afternoon, I walked around Burbank and found Walt Disney Elementary School. In the evening Jim and I went into Hollywood to visit Amoeba Records. On Friday morning I went out early and walked around the Disney Studios. I was able to see more than I thought I would. Later we drove around downtown Burbank and up into some nice neighborhoods in the hills. That afternoon we drove over to Universal so I could get a glimpse of Hogwarts an to see a movie at City Walk. Boy, I thought parking was expensive at DL. That evening we had dinner with Norman and his husband Patrick at their place. Saturday we headed back home bright and early at 5 am. It was a good trip. Pictures to follow.
Congratulations! Do try Tink again. I feel like we were cheated park time because of the revised course compared to last year. I have only run this and the DL Half and this is my favorite of the two because of the course and of course the Red Hat Society! I'm so happy they found a new spot this year on the new course. I was worried about where they would be, but they give us a good boost in their new location. Sounds like a fun trip overall!
The Red Hat ladies were definitely a boost. Where were they before? I looked at courses for the 5 and 10 Ks and they appeared to be almost entirely inside the parks. Of course that's not possible with the much longer half marathon distance.
The half marathon course used to leave Disneyland, head west through DTD, and then north past the DLH. They lined the course starting where we turned north, which I think was around mile 5.5 or so. I might actually like their new spot better since it gives a good boost when so many people are tiring. Me and some of the Red Hats: Last year it was 4 miles in the park, and this year was 3. I'm not counting the back run around DCA and then the run past the DLH.
