Originally Posted By dagobert Swing Into Spring returns this year. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBi1e-ggwpA&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...youtu.be</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Looks great! It looked like a really nice event last year, so I'm glad it was successful enough to return again this year. I'm a little surprised that it is only during March, since it seems like they could easily run it through May to help boost crowds I also hope that they go for more realistic topiaries this year. The all-flower ones looked pretty tacky (at least in photos) last year, and Epcot has a rich history of well-crafted live topiaries that look like characters, so hopefully they can find a nice middle ground that is recognizable but not too fake looking
Originally Posted By dagobert runDisney is coming to Disneyland Paris. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://run.disneylandparis.com/">http://run.disneylandparis.com/</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Yep! I saw that on Facebook this morning. Apparently it was announced at the start line of the Princess Half Marathon in WDW I'm kind of annoyed by it, since it looks like it will be the same weekend as the Berlin Marathon. I was kind of hoping to squeeze both races into a single trip, but it looks like that won't be able to happen. I also wonder when registration will open, since it seems like a nice back-up plan for people who don't get in to Berlin via the lottery. Then again, they could be targeting different groups, with the more serious runners in Berlin and more recreational/fun runners at DLP
Originally Posted By dagobert So you are coming to Europe thi year? Only for the Berlin marathon or are you staying longer?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros The Berlin Marathon has a lottery for registration, and I didn't win this year. I'm looking at potentially doing another race around that time (Budapest and one that goes through Germany, Austria & Switzerland are at the top of my list), but I haven't really looked into it too much. If it were possible to do Berlin & DLP in the same trip, I would definitely wait until next year, but I may try and do something this year instead I'm also not sure if I want to run DLP next year, since I'm sure it will be a huge expense. I was "just" at DLP 3 years ago, so it seems kind of soon to be planning my next return trip; there are so many other places in Europe that I'd like to explore (either for the first time or a return trip) before I feel like I need to see DLP again
Originally Posted By dagobert In Vienna there is also a marathon, but I think it is in spring and not in autumn. Budapest is a lovely city and definitely worth a visit. Haven't you done the marathon in Salzburg a few years ago?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Yes, I ran Salzburg in 2012 (when I last visited DLP). It's a great course, and surprisingly flat for all the nearby mountains, but the marathon is 2 loops of the same course so the second half is difficult mentally Vienna is a few weeks earlier than Salzburg, and was on our radar if we had done the trip at that time. A large part of it goes around the Ringstrasse which would have been really neat to do on foot I've never been to Budapest, but it looks like a really neat city with a lot of interesting history. I also think that the thermal baths would be great right after a long race! I was surprised to see how easy it is to get there from Vienna
Originally Posted By dagobert I know about the marathon in Salzburg. My father in law always only did the half marathon, because he didn't want to run the same loop again. We have been to Budapest in 2012. We enjoyed the city, but there are many damaged buildings that need some renovation. Since they got a lot of money from the EU to renovate the historical buildings, I guess that changed since 2012. I'm sure the thermal baths are great. We didn't have them on our plans. I love Vienna as a city, so I guess running along the Ringstraße with all the beautiful buildings must be nice. I hope you find a good race. It would be great if you keep us updated where you end up running. Do you run any marathons in the US too thi year?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I ran the WDW marathon in January already. I was planning to run one in South Carolina in a few weeks when I go to visit my brother, but I'm recovering from an injury (caused by undertraining for WDW and the Star Wars Half on back-to-back weekends) so I'm dropping down to the 5K for that I'm hoping to run 1 or 2 marathons this fall, but it's tough to find ones that are well scheduled and easy to get to. I'm also currently studying for a big licensing exam in April, and if I don't pass I'll have to take it again in October (right in the middle of marathon season) which would probably prohibit me from doing a big race this fall. Hopefully I pass the first time so it isn't an issue!
Originally Posted By dagobert New pictorial update by Disney Gazette. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.disneygazette.fr/gazette-sol-printemps-discoveryland-newport-b&b-villagesnature-news-1653.html">http://www.disneygazette.fr/ga...653.html</a> There's a lot happening right now at DLP.
Originally Posted By dagobert The official DLP news site posted an article about the upgrades of the DLP hotels. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://disneylandparis-news.com/en/disneyland-paris-hotels-2-the-disney-difference-in-serving-a-unique-experience/">http://disneylandparis-news.co...erience/</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros It seems like that work at the Disney Village has been going on forever; I think it started before World of Disney opened. What are they doing over there? And I'm glad to see that Space Mountain is getting repainted. The dome looks really faded in those photos, so hopefully they redo the whole thing, not just the cannon Those updates to the hotels look interesting. I had no idea that there was also a California Grill at DLP; I only knew of the one atop the Contemporary in WDW
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>It seems like that work at the Disney Village has been going on forever; I think it started before World of Disney opened. What are they doing over there?<<< First they installed some plant islands to add more greenery to DV. Then construction started with WoDS and they also re-did parts of the resort hub and replaced the concrete floor with cobble stones. After WoDS opened, construction was halted for a year and then they changed they resort hub again. This time they installed a new fence to keep the street vendors outsite of the Disney property. With the new fence new entrance areas were built and they were finished at the end of last year. Now they are removing the Disney Village entrance arches and hopefully replace the rest of the DV concrete floor with cobble stones.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>> I had no idea that there was also a California Grill at DLP; I only knew of the one atop the Contemporary in WDW<<< It's a fine dining restaurant at DLH. I have never been there, but I guess it's one of the most expensive and best DLP restaurants.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Wow, that sounds like a lot of complicated stuff going on at the Village. I know that they've had issues with the vendors on the non-Disney property, and that area gets really busy at the end of the night, so hopefully they've found a good solution for all that >>It's a fine dining restaurant at DLH. I have never been there, but I guess it's one of the most expensive and best DLP restaurants.<< Same with the WDW version, which has been one of their signature restaurants since it opened in the early 90's after a big overhaul of the former Top of the World restaurant. Given that both were created around the same time (even though they have drastically different themes), I have to think that the connection was intentional. Interestingly, both of them boast views of their respective neighboring parks, though the similarities seem to end there
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>Wow, that sounds like a lot of complicated stuff going on at the Village. I know that they've had issues with the vendors on the non-Disney property, and that area gets really busy at the end of the night, so hopefully they've found a good solution for all that<<< The problem is that this area doesn't belong to Disney. It's a public area because of the train station. The Disney hotel guests can bypass these vendors because of the new fence that seperates the Disney property from the public area. Guests arriving by car or train still have to go through the public area.
Originally Posted By u k fan I ate at the California Grill on my one and only stay at the DLH many years ago. It was amazing! We requested a table with a view of the castle and watched it light up as the guests left the park (this was pre-Dreams). We were there for hours and were the last to leave. The food was amazing, I had a 7 course Chef's taster menu that was to die for. The service was as good as you'd expect and even though we were last out we never felt rushed. I would thoroughly recommend eating there!!!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I don't remember reading about this here, but this article is dated February 16: <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/invesco-dumps-entire-stake-euro-050055350.html">http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/ne...350.html</a> It says that Invesco, who previously owned the third largest share (6%) of EuroDisney SCA had dumped their ownership. The article doesn't give much indication of what this means for a future outlook, but it certainly seems like it would be fairly meaningful. If nothing else, it gives Disney a larger portion of the control, which should help them make the decisions that they want to And every time I read about the ED ownership, I continue to be surprised by the lack of a Saudi pavilion at Epcot. I'm sure they don't want to deal with the political/social issues that would come from including the semi-controversial country, but it seems like that prince would probably be willing to fund it
