Coast to Coast and Back Again: A runDisney Journey

[Mimsy Borogove]

January 16, 2017 part 3 – Jingle Shells, Jingle Shells!
















We're three happy chappies, with snappy serapes...


Ariel and her sisters were singing Jingle Shells! It was cute.


"Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright; sun will shine by day and all the stars at night."

Next: Drink Up, Me Hearties, Yo Ho!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

January 16, 2017 part 4 – Drink Up, Me Hearties, Yo Ho!









After Small World, we had a little bit of time to kill before our Space Mountain FPs, so we headed to an old favorite, POTC. During our first trip to DL in 2015, we’d almost skipped it because we figured it was exactly like the one at WDW. Luckily, we passed it one morning when there was no line and averted that rookie mistake. It’s different from the one in WDW in many ways, including the initial drop and also the beginning storyline before you head to Tortuga and follow Captain Jack Sparrow’s adventures in such. We also like the Louisiana Bayou theming, down to the NOLA-esque architecture.


POTC entrance.

POTC POTC fountain/dedication 1967 - I love these little pieces of history.


The queue inside is a lot different from WDW. I kind of like both of them!


Blue Bayou restaurant – we’d eaten here in May after my Tinker Bell Half (and on Mother’s Day!) and really enjoyed it, but didn’t make it back during this trip. It’s just so cool to be eating a sit-down meal inside an attraction!


Pirate’s hoard


Parrot at exit as you're still riding in the boat.

After POTC, you’re spit out onto the streets of New Orleans Square, right next to the Blue Bayou entrance, which can make things a bit dicey if you’re walking those streets during a mass POTC exodus

Then it was time to head to Tomorrowland!

Next installment: We’ve Gone Plaid!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

January 16, 2017 part 5 – We’ve Gone Plaid!

Not to spoil my post title here, but the plaid in question is mostly metaphorical, it’s one of my favorite scenes in Spaceballs when Dark Helmet decides that hyperspace is too slow, so they have to go ludicrous speed. Hee hee! And it’s not too far off the feeling you have as you experience the revamped Space Mountain. This was a rookie mistake that we did make back in 2015, skipping it because we are kind of ‘meh’ about it in Florida (we only go on it maybe twice a year). But then it had been rethemed with Star Wars between that initial 2015 trip and last May, so I was insistent that we try it. And we ended up going on it twice in one trip! It’s a fantastic ride, from the theming to the ride logistics (I prefer side-by-side) and every time I ride it my eyes tear up because it’s going so fast the wind whips my eyeballs into a frenzy.


Old-school FastPass – sometimes I really miss the days of arriving at Epcot on a Saturday morning and booking it over to Soarin’ to get a paper FastPass so we could enjoy our time there in the interim. Le sigh.


I don’t know how we managed to both look like zombies on such an exciting ride!

After Hyperspace Mountain, it was time to head over to DCA for our lunch reservations at Carthay Circle. During our cocktail hour a few days prior there, we decided we’d like to go back and try a meal. The atmosphere is reminiscent of the Hollywood Brown Derby at DHS in Florida, one of our favorites (though we haven’t been back in years for some reason?), and the menu looked intriguing. I also love the theming extending to the cocktail menu being Old Hollywood. My only complaint at Carthay Circle was that we couldn’t get a decent cell phone reception (which is important when you’re Instagramming your cocktail! ), but that is a minor, insignificant detail.

We arrived at Carthay and were told to be seated in the lounge area, so we found a hightop near the bar and sat down. The server in the lounge was very slow and kind of indifferent – not that we expect people to suck up to us, but when we didn’t know what we wanted 10 seconds after sitting down (and no menu on the hightop!), we shouldn’t have had to wait long for her to come back. Especially since we didn’t know when we’d be heading upstairs for our meal. At any rate, I ordered a dill gin & tonic (my new favorite cocktail) and DH a microbrew. I’d just mixed the G&T – for the tonic was served in a cute little accompanying carafe – and we settled our bill on the fly, when we were called upstairs.


G&T Seriously, how cute is that little carafe. And I love this drink, refreshing but not sweet, hint of dill pickle juice, yum! When we arrived home, my parents were still at our place and my dad and I experimented in making our own and he’s now hooked.

We headed upstairs, eschewing the elevator, and were brought to a gorgeous dining room. Carthay is the theater where Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs first premiered and so a lot of the decorative details in DCA’s version are callbacks to the film.


For instance, the dwarfs’ forest is detailed on the ceiling.

We were seated in the main dining area, which has alcoves surrounding it that house smaller, more intimate dining areas. It was around 2pm California time and there were only a handful of other parties in the restaurant at the time, so it was quiet and relaxed dining. The menu had a few selections and we were both undecided until we talked with our server about it. Seriously, my go-to advice, especially at any Disney park, is to ask your server about the menu items if you’re unsure. They usually know much more than you do. So I asked about the Crispy Blue Shrimp, because I wasn’t sure what that meant! She replied that it was just a dusting on the shrimp to make them crispy, and so I ordered that. DH ordered the Tri Tip, we were served our bread (really good!) basket and sipped on our drinks.


Carthay Circle menu.


Restaurant ceiling details

I think that the meal took a while to arrive because I actually picked at the bread basket, something I rarely do because I’m usually saving my appetite for the food. Our meals arrived and both of us enjoyed our selections.


Crispy Blue Shrimp. It was wonderful! More of a salad entrée, but it was exactly what I wanted.


DH's Tri Tip.

I really enjoyed the ambience and the food – would try again. I was almost sad to leave because of all the details and photographs around the restaurant.


WD and Shirley Temple (I think?)
Update: It is! I googled it.


Julie Andrews hugging her Oscar! I die.

Next: Disneyland Night Life

 

[jdd]

Great updates! My first visit to Disneyland was last October, and I completely agree that POTC and Space Mtn are so much better there than in DW! I think I liked Big Thunder better there too. I was also blown away by World of Color, which is now my favorite nighttime show.
The Julie Andrews photo is adorable.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Great updates! My first visit to Disneyland was last October, and I completely agree that POTC and Space Mtn are so much better there than in DW! I think I liked Big Thunder better there too. I was also blown away by World of Color, which is now my favorite nighttime show.
The Julie Andrews photo is adorable.

Thank you! Ooh, you're right that BTM is also better at DL. World of Color - stay tuned!

Julie Andrews is my favorite! Once when we were living in Orlando, we were doing our weekly shopping in Target, and she was there for a book signing! She'd written a children's book with her daughter and one of my biggest life regrets was not getting in the line that wrapped ALLLLLL the way around the store to get her autograph. Sadly, I was in typical weekend morning shopping attire, which is not suitable when meeting a legend of her stature. I love her so much and that photo is sublime.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

January 16, 2017 part 6 – Disneyland Night Life

After our late lunch at Carthay Circle, it was nearing 4 o’clock, so we decided to head back to our hotel for our planned afternoon nap/rest. I managed to get comfortable and dozed off for a little while and so did DH. In fact, both of us were so comfortable we kind of just wanted to stay in for the night (I’m telling you, we are SUCH exciting people…), but the World of Color dessert party was the linchpin for getting us up and moving. We got ready and caught an ART bus to the parks again and by this time it was dark outside (we tend to use transportation when it’s dark because there is a certain panhandling element that comes out by the 7-11 and other establishments along Harbor Avenue at night), and we made our way through security again and to Disneyland.

Because we are boring and more early-risers than night owls, we haven’t spent much time at Disneyland in the dark (DCA, sure) so this was going to be fun. Especially since we were refreshed and starting anew, rather than trying to tough it out after a long day.


Disneyland entrance. I miss it so.


The Emporium


Main Street, U.S.A. view up to the castle!




Balloons!


Jolly Holiday bakery, sadly we missed it this trip. We just don’t snack that much at Disney! I’m sure there’s a medical term for that, but we tend to just have meals.


Partners statue

After oohing and ahing all along Main Street, U.S.A., we decided to head to Adventureland. We both wanted to check out Tarzan’s Treehouse, since we’d never done it and I was secretly hoping for a gorgeous view of the castle at night.


Adventureland


Tarzan’s treehouse. Tarzan is one of those Disney movies that I’ve seen only twice and I don’t know why. The source material is great and the animation is on-par for Disney during that time period, but it’s one that we don’t want to watch over and over. And as a WDW regular, I’m going to say that Swiss Family Robinson’s Treehouse is much more interesting.


And the castle was obscured by a tree. #vacationruined Just kidding, nice view of Frontierland and the Matterhorn, just not the castle.

Up Next: You’ll Be In My Heart

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

January 16, 2017 part 7 – You’ll Be In My Heart

We continued exploring Tarzan’s Treehouse, and I will say that one of the things from the film that I distinctly remember since we were living in Orlando at the time and making the short drive to WDW nearly every weekend, is Phil Collins’s song (popular on the radio at the time) for which DH in a moment of adult-onset puberty changed the lyrics. What word that rhymes with “heart” is funny to an adolescent boy? Yep, you guessed it, when this song came on the radio during our drives, he sang, “you’ll be in my farts.” So that, no pun intended, is what hung over us as we were exploring the treehouse.


Don’t tease the kitty…


Storytime


Kala and baby Tarzan


Me Tarzan, you Jane


Well, that’s pretty dark for a kids’ attraction


My favorite part – the end and orchids!


Tarzan’s Treehouse exit is directly across from the entrance.

Since we were in Adventureland already, I made my case to visit one of my favorite attractions, The Enchanted Tiki Room! You know, where the birds sing words and the flowers croon. I don’t know what it is about it – maybe it is the crappy “reimagining” that happened in the early 2000s that nearly ruined it – but I love it so.




Pre-show – a little different than WDW but good.



Next: In the Tiki (x5) Room

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

January 16, 2017 part 8 – In the Tiki (x5) Room

The Enchanted Tiki Room, one of my favorites and I can’t explain why (sidebar: have you seen the Tiki Room-inspired dapper dress at the new Cherry Tree Lane at Disney Springs? OMG, WANT.), but perhaps it brings back a certain nostalgia for me of Sunday nights watching The Wonderful World of Disney. Walt was long gone before I was born, but I didn’t know this until I was older, he was a regular presence in our living room. I try to fit in a quick visit to the Tiki Room when we are in MK and need a break, a sit, or a cooling off and DH is usually pretty agreeable to that even though he’s not as obsessed with it as I am.

The Tiki Room in DL is more intimate and has a less slick (as in PR slick, not slimy) atmosphere to it than at WDW and I think it’s because they’ve kept it exactly as Walt envisioned in the 60s.




“Wake up, Jose!”

I also love the number when the “girls” are lowered from the ceiling and sing like the birdies sing (along with Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, and others), but I took video for that, not a photo. It just makes me happy. And then we had to placate the angered tiki gods, experienced a storm and erupting volcanoes, they were appeased and it was time to “get out!” Hi-ho, hi-ho…

Man, I love it. We then decided to hit up Fantasyland before we headed over to DCA for our World of Color dessert party. But first, one last walk through the castle. Sniff.



I love seeing the Carrousel (by the way, why are there two R’s in that? I always misspell it as a result) lit up at night, though I’m not a big fan of riding them.





I am unworthy of Excalibur. Sadness.


Backside of the castle from the Carrousel.

Since it was right there (and is no longer at WDW), we got in line for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. We were actually living in Orlando when the decision was made to remove it from WDW (there was some local opposition to the hellscape portion of the ride, which is why the dark rides at DL sometimes shock me with the more sinister aspects to them, no such thing at WDW anymore!) and since it was relatively soon after they’d paved over 20,000 Leagues (a childhood favorite), this felt like another punch in my nostalgic gut. I was so sad when it was gone.


I really love the Toad Hall motto. Always Absurd!


Mr. Toad! Mr. Toad! Mr. Toad!


DH getting into character.

That ride is always so fun to do. Oddly, we haven’t yet done the Snow White dark ride at DL, even though that was also once at WDW a long time ago.

Hold on, DL, we’re not quite done with you yet!

Next: Fantasy and the Force

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

January 16, 2017 part 9 – Fantasy and the Force

After Mr. Toad, we decided to just wander around a bit and take in the nighttime lighting in Fantasyland. As I’ve mentioned a few times, I really love the teacups at DL and especially when it’s lit up at night (or during a race) and I made a point of showing it to DH.




And of course, some nighttime Matterhorn love.

Our meandering took us back to Small World where we selfied in front of the holiday décor (sparing you those photos!) and also just enjoyed the ambiance. At this point, we’re just trying to soak in as much DL as possible before our departure.





At this point, DH was ready for a cigarette (as some happy news, he’s since quit smoking! Woohoo!) so he went to the smoking area near Autopia and I went inside Launch Bay for a very specific purpose.






Double BB-8s!! Can you even handle the cuteness?!


I really hope that the new Star Wars Lands have an operating Cantina or that’s just a wasted opportunity. I guess maybe not possible in DL, but definitely possible at DHS – crossed fingers.



Once DH was finished, we walked back to Main Street U.S.A. and I ducked into the Emporium just to see if anything struck my fancy. Honestly, a lot of the merchandise is identical to what’s at WDW, so pass. But this did catch my eye:


Dancing Baby Groots for days!

Next: One Last Time (George Washington’s going home…)

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

January 16, 2017 part 10 - One Last Time (George Washington’s going home…)

If you aren’t familiar with the Hamilton musical soundtrack, get thee to Spotify and block out two hours to listen to its magnificence. I reference it all the time, and there are some really clever lyrics that also teach you a little bit of history.

Anyway! We headed out the exit (sniff!) of DL one last time and across the plaza to DCA.



We still had a teensy bit of time to kill before our dessert party check-in, so we took one last look at Carthay Circle (I’ll miss you…) and then decided to head to Cars Land. For someone who didn’t care for the first movie (me) and didn’t even see the second one (also me), I sure do love visiting Cars Land. Especially when it’s all lit up at night. Because who wouldn’t?!


Carthay…


The trolley is so cute, sometimes they even have the Newsies singing on it.


Get your kicks on Route 66!




I just think that Flo's looks so cool at night. We have yet to eat here, though.





Mater photo op. As we walked by, Lightning McQueen was queueing up for his close-up.


So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good-bye!


And finally: World of Color Dessert Party!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

January 16, 2017 Fin – World of Color Dessert Party!

After walking up and down Route 66 and enjoying all that neon signage (and some remnant Christmas décor), we headed over to the check-in podium for our World of Color dessert party. The check-in was across the main path from the Little Mermaid attraction and even though we were a tad bit early, there was already a line. We checked in and set about to waiting.



Once it was time to let us in, we were escorted to our seating. One thing that I did not like about the dessert party, versus the ones we’ve attended at WDW, was that you were seated with other people. Now, DH and I aren’t snobs by any stretch, but we’re not big fans of making friends with strangers, we’re both on the quiet/shy side, so forced social interaction isn’t a huge draw for us. We were seated with another couple, even though it looked like the party hadn’t been booked up completely, and they turned out to be nice and a lot like us in that they just wanted to do their thing, too, but one thing I liked about the Star Wars dessert party (in my Dopey Challenge 2016 TR, in signature below) was that we could select our own table. Ah, well!


Dessert party menu and our table number.

Our table was on one of the ledges between WOC and Little Mermaid so we had decent viewing, but we were also behind (I think) the FastPass area, so there were hundreds of head silhouettes partially obscuring the view, as well as a light post. It was a little disappointing given the extra $$ we’d shelled out, but whatever, we had chairs to sit in (director’s chairs, so high seating). Our CM server soon approached us for our drink orders. By this time in the evening, it was getting quite chilly out and DH and I both had our hoodies on with hoods up, but we still chose the WOC punch (it was blue) to start, along with some mini bottles of Dasani water. And then our plates arrived.

Unlike our Star Wars Dessert Party experience, which was buffet-style around the seating area (including the drinks), everything was brought to you prior to the show starting. I did like that fancy touch, especially when the plates arrived with the cover and it was unveiled in front of you. There were savories: cheeses with some grapes, as well as the desserts.



All of it was quite good, down to the white chocolate WOC sign on the chocolate cake! DH and I aren’t really dessert people but we’d planned on this being our evening meal, so it was enthusiastically devoured. We did end up bringing a little of it back with us, though, the Mickey coconut macaroons which were a lot like the Matterhorn macaroon.

Time for the show! By this time, we were both exhausted (it was past midnight East Coast time) and freezing (it got cold outside very rapidly) and so as our CM server made one last sweep of the tables, we asked for hot chocolate, which was delivered steaming hot and we enjoyed it while we watched the show. I took approximately 5,283 photos (probably should have just taken video) but I’m only going to share a few here.




Ooooh!!! Ahhhhh!





Funnily enough, during the part where Captain Jack Sparrow shows up and there are fireballs accompanying his scenes, we were straining towards the warmth emanating from the show! We really enjoyed WOC and I’m glad that we did it the way we did, otherwise we probably would have bagged the show once it started getting chilly outside. This way, we saw the show, had a nice meal (isn’t adulting fun? You can have desserts for a meal!), and were motivated to see it through to the end. DH and I aren’t really fireworks/parade/shows people, either (though we do enjoy them from time to time, it’s just not on our must-do list) so it made for a nice experience!

But by the end of the show, we were just dunzo. We hurriedly left DCA and made our way to the ART pickup because there was absolutely no way we’d be walking the 6 or so blocks to our hotel entrance. And that, as they say, was that! We had an early airport shuttle pickup around 4am, so very little sleep that night and we were soon back in sunny, humid Florida.

So endeth my first leg for the Kessel Run Challenge! Next up: see you in Florida!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

~Interlude~

January 28, 2017 – Festival of the Arts part 1

Since I managed to finish my Light Side weekend TR before Dark Side weekend started, I thought I’d throw in our day trip to Epcot to check out the Festival of the Arts. It was a new festival this year, and DH and I are suckers for a good festival at Epcot. And the day trip occurred just after we’d returned from California and this is my TR!

Anyway, so we made the 2-hour drive to Disney property, arriving around 10am, which we figured would give us until late afternoon to drive home and make sure the furkids weren’t eating each other by dinnertime. It was a gorgeous late January day, marred only by the overcast
conditions, otherwise it was cool outside not unlike the weather conditions at Disneyland two weeks prior.


Epcot entrance

I had managed to get last-minute FastPasses for both Soarin’ Around the World and Spaceship Earth the prior, so we were only working around those two scheduled events; we didn’t have any ADRs because we planned to nosh as we went around the festival! So we headed to World Showcase and encountered our first fun photo op:


How cute are those paintbrushes?

We then headed left to Mexico with the intent of doing a lap around the world (first of several) and check out the offerings and then start sampling. Neither of us had eaten breakfast, so we were pretty hungry and ready to try some delicious and pretty food. Once we arrived at Canada, we couldn’t hold off any longer, so we ordered the charcuterie plate and the salmon/caviar dishes, which we justified at that early hour (11ish) because the charcuterie was basically like the German breakfast Kalte Platte and the caviar/salmon had hard-boiled eggs! Hee hee. And of course we had to try the sidecar cocktail and make it a proper brunch.


Our spread, which we split between the two of us.


Cheers! The sidecar had a cute and delicious curly white chocolate accompaniment.

Then it was time for our Soarin’ FastPass and we took the “back path” to The Land and got in the FastPass line at the attraction.




The real Matterhorn!


Neuschwanstein, a famous castle in Bavaria, one architectural inspiration for Cinderella’s Castle.


I want to go there.
(and it smells wonderful on the ride; Protip: if you look at the beachside closest to you in the water, you may see a manta ray!)


Finale

Once we got our Soarin’ fix sated, we headed back to Ye Olde Festivale. There was something I was curious to try, thanks to my Instagram feed: a sugar cookie with hazelnut/chocolate spread and frosting, and decorated like a Jackson Pollack painting.


That’s about a metric ton of frosting right there.

DH and I couldn’t even finish that cookie working together, so about a quarter of it was relegated to a trash can. But there was enough sugar in that to power a contingent of toddlers for at least a week. Eep!

Next up: If you can read this, thank a Phoenician.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

January 28, 2017 – Festival of the Arts part 2

By this time, we were due for our Spaceship Earth FP+ so we started meandering towards the entrance of the park. I had read somewhere (maybe here on DIS) that the attraction may be changing since Siemens is no longer a sponsor, so we wanted to catch it while we still could. It’s one of those rides where we’ve ridden it so many times, sometimes we’ll do it in German because life should sound scary sometimes, too. Just kidding, both DH and I can understand smatterings of German, so that’s our go-to if we don’t want to listen to Dame Judi (but seriously, it’s not her, sometimes we’re just silly).


Papyrus!


Those boots tho

Just a teensy taste of the ride since I’m sure most of you have ridden it a gazillion times, too. My one complaint about the ride is that my photo never looks like a normal person. I think it’s because my eyes are blue and have a tendency to go to red in flash camera situations, so then they overcorrect it and I look like I’ve been possessed by some netherworld demon. And DH doesn’t cooperate, sometimes pulling his hat/hoodie over his face, so we end up with some real winning futures.

Outside we encountered the cutest dragon ever:



As we made our way back to World Showcase, we passed a series of living statues on the backside of the fountain area. There were three living statues representing land, sea, and air (Future World pavilions), and we just missed their set so I managed to snap one photo before he left on break.



Then it was time for another nosh! I know it seems like we’re eating a lot here, but this is spread out over several hours. One of the kiosks near the entrance of World Showcase had some interesting fare, something for each of us. DH ordered the reuben and I had the BLT, which also included a poached egg.


Unfortunately, selfie girl here was standing in that spot for at least 10 minutes and I didn’t want our food (which was excellent) to get cold.


Monorail!

There was really only one other stop I wanted to make. I’d read that there was a Mary Blair-inspired chocolate easel at the Odyssey building so we schlepped over there to check it out. And not only was there the chocolate easel (along with a cookie you could “paint” with colored frosting), but there was a Mary Blair art exhibit! I love her work, from the Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland concept art to The Three Caballeros, to Small World, it’s all good.



Mary Blair exhibit.


We’re bright as a peso! Who says so? We say so! The Three Caballeros!


Gorgeous concept art for The Three Caballeros

There was also a small shop here where you could purchase Festival of the Arts merchandise or actual artwork. The artwork was way out of my price range, but I did see a few pieces that I really liked, including this one of Mickey, Pluto, and Donald aboard the Nautilus.



Next up: In Living Color

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

January 28, 2017 – Festival of the Arts part 3

Then I got my Mary Blair-inspired chocolate easel! When I asked for it at the refreshment stand, the CM kind of took a deep breath and asked if I’d like to see it first. I said, “sure.” And kind of thought that was odd, but when she showed it to me, I could see why she was asking people that in case they had grander ideas about the size. Because:


It's tiny! And also: The Painter’s Palate (get it? Oh, Disney!)


Easel for scale

But I did purchase it (obviously) and it was so fragile and delicate, I was afraid of breaking it. I did not worry about it melting because it was very chilly at Disney that day. But I did end up buying a festival Tervis partially because I love Tervis tumblers, but also to stash the easel inside to keep it safe. I did end up dinging one corner, but I still haven’t been able to bring myself to actually eat it to this day, it’s so beautiful. And hand-painted!

Back outside, we decided to head back to World Showcase for one last lap. I’d seen some photo ops along the way and really wanted to do them, but it’d taken me this long to convince DH to go along with my crazy ideas. But first, some refreshment was in order at our favorite pub in World Showcase!


Cute easels were set up at character photo stops. I’m not sure if this has continued after the festival wrapped up.


English Rose at the Rose and Crown! Bottoms up.

We also encountered some vibrant chalk art just outside Le Cellier – we’d decided to sit on a bench there to finish our beverages before moving along.



By this time, we’re hitting the entrance to World Showcase again, where there was this huge mural set up, made of squares. The idea was to get a small dab of paint that had a number associated with it, you find that number in one of the squares in the mural and paint it! Very cool idea but the line for the paint was the longest one we’d seen all day.



By this time, the photo ops we’d done along the way in World Showcase (several laps) were showing up in our PhotoPass accounts and they were such fun!


OMG, you guys! It’s the pride of Mount Vernon: George Washington!!! This was at the American Adventure of course.


The Scream and Mona Lisa just outside Italy.

There was a third painting photo op outside of France of Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party. At the time, I knew it was a Renoir, just not the title of the painting. It was also a fun one!

After that last lap around the world and one more for good measure, it was sadly time to go. We’d had a great time all day long and put in quite a few miles to boot. And on our way out, there was one more photo stop I wanted to make:


A mural near where the butterfly garden is set up during Flower & Garden Festival


Manta rays!!

We had a lot of fun with this festival and I can see where they could expand it a bit by adding other famous painting photo ops or even sculptures to the mix. There were a fair eamount of kiosks, but nowhere near what is out for Food & Wine Fest or even Flower & Garden. But I’m sure it was basically a beta test to see how popular this festival would be at a traditionally “slow” period at Epcot. I’m not thrilled about upping the crowd factor during this time of year (it’s my favorite time to go to Epcot because there are Saturdays where you could swing a dead giraffe and not hit anyone), but I get why Disney would. I hope that this becomes a regular occurrence!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

While We're Waiting...

Dark Side Half Marathon weekend is coming up quickly now! I’m putting the last touches on my 10K costume since it’s the most complicated (can we say craft foam armor?! What was I thinking?) and am getting really excited by all the SWCO posts flying across my Facebook feed – since it’s in Orlando this year, quite a few of my friends are going while I sit here at my desk, green with envy. And then I remember that I don’t actually like waiting in line or camping out overnight in line and I feel better. And I’m also thinking back to last year’s inaugural race weekend and how it coincided with Dapper Day.

I love the whole idea of Disneybounding and Dapper Day (I’m a huge fan of mid-century modern style - clothes and architecture), but have never really done it myself outside of race costumes. But since we were going to be on property that day anyway, I somehow managed to convince DH to give it a try. We weren’t checking into our resort until Saturday (the day of) so it would be a quick Dapper Day for us (an hour or two at most) and due to the imminent release of Captain America: Civil War and the fact that I already owned a Her Universe Cap dress, I suggested that we dapper away as Cap and Iron Man.

DH didn’t seem too enthusiastic at first, but then when I started picking up elements of his outfit for him (burgundy bow tie, yellow polo – it’s hot in April, y’all – and red shorts) his interest piqued and he seemed on board. So much so that he rigged up a chest light under his shirt. And I got a red petticoat thingy to go under my Cap dress. No fancy shoes, though, since I was running a half marathon the next day and didn’t want to risk a last-minute injury because I tripped over a cobblestone or something.

I’m not a dressy girl by nature, so this was an undertaking for me, the whole hair/makeup thing and I have to give major props to the ladies of the mid-century because it is not easy! And it was so great to be able to get PhotoPass shots once in Magic Kingdom!


Here I am mimicking the famous “We Can Do It!” Rosie the Riveter poster, failing to capture the correct angle. I wouldn’t be me otherwise.


Castle shot (you can barely see DH’s chest light)


I was going for a whole Lucille Ball vibe here. Not sure if I succeeded.

All in all, it was a lot of fun and my favorite part was walking around and seeing other people’s outfits because some people went all out on their ensembles! I wish that it fell on the same weekend again this year, but alas it’s the weekend after Dark Side and I’m not sure we’d be able to swing a day trip Dapper Day since we wouldn’t have a hotel to rely upon. And I have a beach race the next day on the 30th, so hopefully we'll be able to go in the fall (usually early November)!

Have any of you ever done a Dapper Day event or Disneybounding?

 

[iivye]

The chocolate easel is adorable! I'm not sure I would be able to eat it either!

can we say craft foam armor?!

I just ran a 5k with a craft foam collar and gauntlets covered in spandex (Starfire from Teen Titans). I was sweating like crazy and had some nice salt rings on them after the race but I would do it again because I love costumes. I just heard the temps are supposed to be higher than normal for your race. Hopefully, your armor won't be as hot as mine was. I can't wait to see your costume and read your trip report.

so it would be a quick Dapper Day for us

You two look great in your dapper days outfits! Dapper days is definitely on my bucket list.

Good luck this weekend!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

The chocolate easel is adorable! I'm not sure I would be able to eat it either!

I still haven't!

I just ran a 5k with a craft foam collar and gauntlets covered in spandex (Starfire from Teen Titans). I was sweating like crazy and had some nice salt rings on them after the race but I would do it again because I love costumes. I just heard the temps are supposed to be higher than normal for your race. Hopefully, your armor won't be as hot as mine was. I can't wait to see your costume and read your trip report.

That's so awesome! And I'm the same, I will suffer for my art. Such as it is. Stay tuned, I'm about to drop a couple entries for the WDW side of this TR.

You two look great in your dapper days outfits! Dapper days is definitely on my bucket list.

Good luck this weekend!

Thank you on both counts! And everyone should at least try Dapper Day at least once. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do it again sometime.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Thursday, 4/20/17 – Off to the Races!


Dark Side weekend was finally here! I’d been looking forward to a getaway to Disney since DH and I hadn’t been there since late January for Festival of the Arts at Epcot; life kind of threw a few major curveballs at us in February, which we’re still working through, but things seem to be on the upswing. This weekend was to be DH’s first direct experience (i.e. as a participant, rather than bystander) with runDisney and we were excited to be doing the 5K together. He worked a half day on the first day of the expo, but after I’d dropped off our Labrador at the dog boarding facility and finished packing, we were on our way up the Florida Turnpike to Disney!



We arrived at the expo mid-afternoon around 3pm and while parking was a bit of a mess, and then the long slog from the parking lot to WWOS, the expo itself was a breeze! I picked up my Dark Side Challenge bib, received my Kessel Run Challenge wrist band (no C2C, the line was blacked out for my name, so I did make the right call in picking up the medal in California!), had my challenge photo taken, and then DH made our way to the 5K bib pickup which also had no wait and was easy. What was also really nice for us as DSC/5Kers was that our shirt pickup was also in the Field House, whereas those completing the 10K or half marathon as a single event had to go to the Jostens Center to pick up theirs.


Welcome to the Dark Side!

Bib pickup.

We first picked up our 5K t-shirt (I wish they weren’t unisex cotton t-shirts) pretty easily then slid down the long table to pick up my challenge shirts. As I walked away from the table, I pulled out the shirts just to check on them and they’d given me the wrong size, so I went back and asked for the size I’d requested and the volunteer kind of got snippy with me until she pulled the bib tag from her pile and realized that yes, she’d given me the wrong size. She handed me the correct size, I walked away, and checked quickly just to make sure all three shirts were good (no flaws and all the correct size). We then exited the Field House past “motivational” signs and painted silhouettes on the exit wall.





On to the Jostens Center! And honestly, I was a bit nervous after last year’s debacle. If you were blissfully oblivious to the mess that was last year’s expo, just a quick recap: I showed up during the afternoon of the first day and there were no magnets left (how does that happen?), the merchandise situation was a bit dicey all-around with little to nothing remaining for Kessel Run Challengers. On the first day. So I was just hoping to get a Kessel Run shirt and magnet, an I Did It! shirt for the challenge (and possibly the 10K and half if I liked the design), and a DSC magnet. DH and I walked into the Jostens Center (no line, unlike WDW marathon weekend) and were greeted by a DJ.





My primary objective was to get some runDisney official merchandise, see if DH wanted anything, and just quickly look around. This was my eleventh runDisney weekend so I’ve purchased my fair share from the usual suspects (Raw Threads, Sparkle Athletic, Sparkle Skirts, etc.) and I was mostly interested in commemorative items. We walked down the stairs (along the way I drooled over the NB Haunted Mansion shoes…le sigh) and made a beeline towards a giant Mickey head in the back where all the rD merchandise was camped out.

We perused all the merchandise and while I tried to convince DH to get an I Did It! shirt for the 5K, he was unenthused. It seemed to me that a lot of the merchandise was the same, nothing really popped for me, and I even had the $180 refund gift card from the canceled WDW Half Marathon! Basically, I ended up getting what I’d set out to (and given last year’s magnet debacle, I was thrilled): a DSC magnet, 2 Kessel Run magnets (one as a backup in case of sticky fingers; I’ve lost 2 race magnets that way so now I buy 2, as a “fool me once” measure), a Kessel Run shirt, and an I Did It! shirt for DSC. We then toodled around the expo, I looked at some Sparkle Skirts I am eyeing (but not ready to purchase yet), and also picked up some gray Zensah calf compression sleeves for my 10K costume. Made it out of the expo for less than $135, so not too shabby!


Front and back of the I Did It! and Kessel Run Challenge shirts. I'm a sucker for those course maps.


(I later realized when I was photographing the shirts at our hotel that the 10K shirt - the innermost shirt in the challenge bundle - was a men’s shirt and huge! UGH. So I told DH that we’d have to go to the expo again after the 5K and switch out the shirt for the correct size/gender.)

On our way out of the Jostens Center, I spotted a Cantina themed to Star Wars, which was pretty cool! It was in the area where there are typically guest speakers, so I guess guest speakers are a thing of runDisney past? We weren’t able to stop and imbibe because I was driving and wanted to get going, but if any of you checked it out, I’d love to hear all about it!



Next: You Don't Know the Power of the Dark Side

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Thursday, 4/20/17 – You Don’t Know the Power of the Dark Side

By this time, we were ready to head to our hotel. Since the Dark Side weekend was so close to Easter, spring break, and Star Wars Celebration, we had a tough time getting an on-property resort for a reasonable price for our entire stay. I ended up booking Red Lion through Expedia for Thursday night for a whopping $37 (using Expedia points) plus $25 resort fee. As a sidenote, I think that resort fees are BS. It’s a shady way for hotels to seem cheaper than on-property resorts, but once you tack on all the resort fees, parking fees, etc. it can end up being actually more expensive than staying on property. So as a general rule, I don’t book hotels that do this unless it’s still less expensive even with all these extra fees tacked on.

We drove the easy route down World Drive to 192 (Irlo Bronson) in Kissimmee. I don’t think I’ve really driven down 192 in years, and holy canoli. What a tourist trap. I mean, it always was, but it also used to only be a 4-lane road and now it’s way bigger than that. Yikes. I made the left on to Reedy Creek and immediately down an incline to the Red Lion parking lot. We ended up with a ground floor room and since it was for only one night, no big deal. The room itself was pretty standard except for a noticeable smell – one of those air fresheners that overpowers everything. It was a powdery smell and very strong, but again since it was just for one night, we dealt with it. If we were staying longer, we probably would have canceled our reservations and found something else.







It was getting close to dinnertime and we’d decided to head to Culver’s, a mainstay in the state of Wisconsin. It is such a ubiquitous chain that there is even one in my hometown, population 2,000. But there were none in Florida until recently, so we drove the few miles west to the Culver’s on 192 and were instantly transported to our birth state. And for the record, I think that they have the best French fries of any of the fast food joints; they’re crispy (but not greasy) on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Yum!



So yum!

Then it was back to the room to settle in for the evening and get ready for the 5K the following day. There was a lot of outside noise because our door was directly adjacent to the stairwell, so we heard all the partiers stumble home shortly before we had to get up to get ready.




Our hats for the 5K!



The 5K course was the standard 5K course I’ve done twice before (PHM weekend 2013 and Dopey 2016):

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Friday 4/21 – May the Course Be With You!

Since the 5K starts later than the other races, we “slept in” until about 3am so we could get ready and be on the road by 4am. As it turned out, we probably could have slept in a bit longer since the drive was less than 10 minutes, but I guess if we had left later, there’d be more traffic or something would have happened to delay us. I haven’t run as many 5Ks at Disney (only PHM weekend in 2013 and as part of Dopey in 2016) so I am not as familiar or comfortable with the logistics for that particular race. DH said he didn’t sleep well due to the people loudly coming back to the hotel at 1am and given his recent health crisis (10 days in hospital unexpectedly, 5 of which in ICU), my senses were on high alert for him. But he said he felt OK and we walked outside to blissfully cool conditions.

As a Floridian, I was concerned about the weather for race weekend because this is the time of year when the humidity really comes out to play for the next 6 months or so. My last long run the previous Saturday was a fantastic run in cool temperatures (low 60s) and low humidity and so I was hoping that those conditions would hold for all three races. So far, so good! We drove east on 192, then exited onto World Drive and north to Epcot parking lot, where we quickly parked and then walked to the pre-race staging area. DH was surprised at how far we had to walk before the race even started. I think everyone has that initial reaction for their first runDisney experience.


Arrival at Epcot, view as we walked to the staging area from the parking lot.

We soon found the crowd and the music was a-pumping and my favorite Disney DJ was in the house! DJ Elliot does a lot of runDisney events, special events at Disney (like Club Villain), and back in the heyday of Star Wars Weekends was DJ Lobot on the main stage in DHS prior to the fireworks show. He was on stage spinning his tunes and then his counterpart (Mark?) was in the audience asking trivia questions and handing out prizes.




Awesome tauntaun costume. Save a horse, ride a tauntaun.

We just ambled around a bit to let DH drink in the ambiance and see what it was all about. There were six character stations for pre-race photo ops: Rogue One backdrop, Boba Fett, Jabba the Hutt, Darth Vader, Captain Phasma, and BB-8. I really like that they do this for Star Wars races (more than usual). I asked DH if he was interested in a character photo op and he seemed reluctant due to the lines (long!), so I suggested the Rogue One backdrop since there was almost no line for it. He agreed and we headed over to the far end of the characters, closest to the corrals.


Character photos setup.


Long lines winding around the parking lot, all at an angle where it was difficult what the line was for. I did like that they had CMs at the ends of the lines with a sign identifying such and you could then confirm who you were in line to see.


DJ Elliot


Rogue One photo op; the CM here was refusing take photos with your own camera, so this was only for PhotoPass during the time we were there.

After the relatively painless Rogue One photo op, I asked DH if he’d be up to wait in line for Phasma, since she’s not a photo op in the parks and the line didn’t seem terrible. Since we still had about an hour to kill, he said sure. I think we waited in line for about 20 minutes and had some nice conversations with fellow Star Wars fans. And then it was our turn with the shiny Captain. She directed us to stand to her left hand side (“You will stand here”) and we took our photo. She looked at DH as Poe Dameron and me as BB-8 and said “If you are part of the Resistance, I have some advice: leave.”


Captain Phasma finally captured the BB unit and the Resistance pilot.

And with that, DJ Elliot began encouraging runners to head towards the corrals. DH and I were seeded in Corral D, and we decided to stay in it even though we’d be walking the entire time, but went over to the far right towards the middle-back of the corral. Then the Big Wait set in. During that time, the teaser trailer for Episode VIII was played on several big screens and the entire crowd went completely silent. Amazing. Original trailers for Episodes IV and V were also shown, then stormtroopers took the stage to inform us of our upcoming Level 1 testing – Captain Phasma would be watching us and she does not like to be disappointed. We must prove ourselves worthy of becoming a First Order stormtrooper.


Corral madness - this is facing the side of Corral D, the front is to the left.


Corral selfie.

Next: Let the Games Begin.