A Tale of A Thousand and One Trips - The Never-Ending Trip Report

We did not get very far. I spotted Mary Poppins and Bert in the pavilion at Town Square and the line did not look too long. I had never met them before and could not resist. We were about halfway through the line, when the penguins appeared. I thought that they would switch out with Mary Poppins and Bert. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed, but as I had never met the penguins either, I was OK with this. I turned out that the penguins were only there to entertain the crowd and I did get to meet Mary Poppins and Bert.





While we were waiting in line for Mary Poppins and Bert, I had told Michelle that I had met Stitch. She was quite keen to meet him, so this is where we headed next. On the way, we took a few photos on Main Street. We were in luck and Stitch was still out. The line had gone a little longer, but was still manageable. No long after we got there, Stitch went in for a quick snack, but he came out again very quickly. Shortly afterwards, it was our turn. We took some photos individually and together. Space Mountain was down unfortunately. We took a turn around Discoveryland and then decided to do Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast as the waiting time was still only showing as 5 minutes. It was a little busier, but I still don’t think we even waited 5 minutes.















Once we had done the ride and I had our photo added to the Photopass card, we headed over to Fantasyland. We came across a cast member and a line, but no character. We asked the cast member what character was coming out and she told us that Pinocchio and Gepetto were about to come out. The line was quite long. I had seen them not too long ago and Michelle was not particularly interested so we thanked her and carried on walking. We headed to It’s A Small World next. The posted waiting time was 10 minutes, which made me smile. For some reason they are always overstating the waiting time of that ride. I expected about half this. It was not only a walk on, but we ended up in a boat all by ourselves. We enjoyed this ride and Michelle was quite amused that the ride in Paris has quite a large North America section.

When we came out of the ride, we checked out the waiting time for the Princess Pavilion. I had shared with Michelle that the waiting area is really cool. However, with a 45 minute wait, neither of us was keen. We stopped at kiosk to get something to drink. We bother ended up with a slushie. I have not had one of those for years and it hit the spot. We then headed towards the Fairy Tale Canal Boats. Michelle’s slushie was in a souvenir cup and she would have been OK to take it on, but mine was in an ordinary cup. I suggested that we head down the hill while I finish my slushie as I had seen characters there before. Indeed Eeyore, Tigger and Peter Pan were in that area, but they were about to go in. I finished my slushie and then we headed back to the Fairy Tale Canal Boats. Again, this was a walk on and we got a boat to ourselves. I love this ride, but the access to the boats is quite tricky so I don’t do this too often. It was nice to do it again though.

One thing that Michelle really wanted to see was Alice’s Curious Labyrinth. I am ashamed to say that in all my trips to Disneyland Paris, I had never set foot into there, although this is unique to Disneyland Paris. So I was more than happy to tag along. As we walked up to it, my heart sunk. There was some rather impressive scaffolding around the Queen of Heart’s castle in the centre of the maze. Fortunately the rest of it was still open. It has since been closed for refurbishment, but at least we were lucky enough to see most of it. It is rather cute and I definitely have to make point to go back to see it properly once it has reopened.

When we came out of the maze, Alice and the White Rabbit were meeting nearby. The line was not too long so we got in it. Unfortunately with only a couple of groups ahead of us to go, Alice and White Rabbit left and were replaced by the Mad Hatter. We were still happy to meet him. Then it was time to meet Mickey. The posted waiting time was 20 minutes and that was pretty accurate. Again, we took photos individually and together.













At that stage, it was definitely lunchtime. As we wanted to check out the Expo, we decided to leave the park for now and head to Disney Village for some lunch. We ended up at the Earl of Sandwich. I had the Cannonball sandwich, a bowl of tomato soup and some Coke. I also got a bag of crisps, but I was stuffed and Graham ended up eating them later.
 
After lunch, we hit the Expo. The main reason for going there was to get the Run Disney Photopass card. Unfortunately that did not work out as you needed your bib to get this registered. Of course, neither of us had this with us. We did have a look around the Run Disney merchandise area. I ended up getting a Run Disney headband to wear during the run. I had ordered a custom-made one, but that had had not arrived in time. I was also hoping for a pin, but the 5K pins had run out. Michelle managed to get one of the half marathon pins and also the official logo pin. I decided that I should at least get the official logo pin, but it turned out that Michelle had got the last one. She kindly let me have this. This was a rather cheap weekend for souvenirs. Michelle got some odds and ends. I was surprised that the annual pass discount was valid at the Expo and the cast member assisting us encouraged me to let Michelle use my discount. I did not think that was possible, but I was happy for her to benefit.

The Events Arena is essentially just a tent and it was uncomfortably hot in there that afternoon. We quickly had a look at a display with all the medals for various Run Disney events and then we headed out. We stopped at Starbucks and go chatting to fellow runners in line. I had a caramel Macchiato, which hit the spot. We sat down to have our coffee before heading back to the park.

Once we were back in the park, we headed straight for Phantom Manor. Again, this was essentially a walk on. Our only wait was for the doors to open. Seeing this through the eyes of somebody who had not done this before made me realise just how different Phantom Manor is from the two Haunted Mansions in the USA. When we got off the ride, we took a slow wander through Frontierland. There were pumpkin people all over the place. I made a mental note to set some time aside on the next trip to take photos of all of them.

We walked through Frontierland and Adventureland to Pirates of the Caribbean. Essentially the only waiting time we had was the time it took us to walk through the line. We got directed to a boat pretty much as soon as we got to the loading dock. I made sure that I appreciated every second of this. The ride is due to close for an extensive refurbishment in January and rumour has it that they will add the Jack Sparrow stuff to the ride. I am not exactly thrilled with this. We stopped at the Photopass desk to have the ride photo added and then had a look around the shop. Michelle got some Halloween Minnie ears. I really liked them, too and they have followed me home on my next trip.



I still had about 45 minutes until I was due to meet Graham. This was enough time for one more ride. We crossed back over into Fantasyland. Peter Pan’s Flight had a 20 minute wait. This is a real result for this ride. So we decided to get into line. Unfortunately this was the only ride all day where the posted waiting time was a little optimistic. It was not much longer, but by the time we were through, I realised that I would not be at our meeting point by 19:00 as Graham and I had arranged. Still, it was worth it as I love this ride. Michelle was not coming to the party and was planning to stay in the park for Disney Dreams. She came back to the hub with me and I pointed her in the direction of the Dragon’s Lair, which was something else she wanted to see. We made arrangements for meeting up after the race and then we said goodbye for now.

I made it to the meeting point by 19:10. Graham was already there. The fact that I was running a little late did not cause any issues as the party was not due to start until 19:30 anyway. Once we had met up, we headed towards the gate for Walt Disney Studios. They had security there to check for wristbands. I still had our wristbands in my bag and we quickly put those on and then we were allowed onto the little square in front of the main entrance. People were lining up. We found ourselves a quiet corner to wait and Graham sat down on the kerb. Promptly at 19:30 they started to leave people in. The lines went down very quickly and we soon went to join the line. It took us only a couple of minutes before we were inside the park.

We made a quick pit stop and then we headed inside the park proper. It looked very busy inside Studio 1 and there were long lines for the food. We bypassed this area. Just outside Studio 1 was a backdrop with the official event logo, but the line for that was also crazy. I started to think that this was not going to be a lot of fun. I suggested that we should head to the Ratatouille mini land to check out the situation there. Things looked a lot calmer in that part of the park. Graham was pretty impressed with this. The posted waiting time for the Ratatouille ride was 5 minutes, which was too good to pass up. This was the first time ever I have entered the standby line as normally I do the single rider line. I was pretty impressed with the theming in the standby line. We did not have much chance to linger as the ride was a walk on. Graham did enjoy the ride and once we were done, we headed straight back on. Again, there was nobody ahead of us. However, they had some technical issues and this added to the wait. We were already sitting in a rat when we were asked to get out and then eventually we were sent to the loading dock at the opposite side. We were directed to a rat straightaway. When a cast member came to check the lap bar, he told me that I could not ride. I was wondering what was going on now. He then pointed to my t-shirt and said that the rats would be afraid of the cat and I should at least cover it up. This did make me smile.

Once we got off the ride, we decided that we had enough for now. There was a vegetable carver out by Chez Remy and we checked this out. We then cut through Toy Story Play Land. Fortunately neither RC Racer nor Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop appealed to Graham. I did talk him into doing Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin. This had a posted waiting time of 5 minutes and again was a walk on. I think Graham thought that it was a fairly boring kids’ ride, but he was surprised that it was actually pretty quick.

We then headed to the opposite side of the park as there was another restaurant there that provided food that was included in the party ticket. I was hoping that this would be a little quieter. This was not too busy. When I had seen that catering was included, I was expecting finger food. It was actually a proper meal, but counter service. There was a salad for a starter. It looked rather fancy to me so I passed. Graham did have it and seemed to enjoy it. There were 4 different choices of main courses. I had the pasta Bolognese and Graham had the burger with roast potatoes. There was also a crab cake sandwich, pasta with vegetable sauce and a vegetable tart. For dessert, the choices were a fruit cup, which Graham had, a brownie or a mini almond Magnum, which was my choice. A soft drink, juice, still or sparkling water, tea, coffee and hot chocolate was also included. I had a Coke and Graham had a still water. There were no limits on how often you could go through the line. I have to say going through once was more than enough for me.

As the restaurant was pretty much next to the soundstage where Spiderman meets, we headed there next. The line was nice and short and meeting Spiderman was fun again. Pretty much opposite was a meet and greet spot for Captain America. When I approached the end of a line, a cast member told me that the line was closed and to come back in an hour. I did not want to see Captain America that badly.







We made our way back to the front of the park. The line for the backdrop had gone down so we got in line for this. The photos from this still have not hit my Photopass account. I will chase this up later this week. I also wanted a photo with Sulley. The line did not look too long, but Sulley went in for a couple of minutes while I was in line. I was chatting with a mother and daughter from the UK. They were both doing the 5K and the daughter was also doing the half marathon. They had just come back from Disneyland where they had participated in various events during their half marathon weekend. They were interesting to talk to and time passed quickly.





Once I had my photo with Sulley, I was ready to leave. On the way out, I picked up a bottle of sparkling water from the other restaurant and then we headed for the station. There was already a train sitting on the platform, but we had quite a wait until we left.

When we eventually did get back to the hotel, I put all the stuff that I needed the next morning together, set the alarm and then got ready for bed.
 
Glad you were able to get there so quickly!

The decorations are so cute; I've never been to a park for the Halloween time period.

Your bag is adorable!

Loved the pic of you kissing Mickey!

Sounds like the party was well worth it!
 
That was great that on your day 2 security was easy.

I am so pleased that your stress dissapeared like the construction fences!

Great score on getting that AP renewed recently. At those prices it hardly worth it to buy a ticket on the gate. Plus discounts. It's not even in the same ballpark as WDW prices.

How wonderful getting to do Buzz a few times great photos.

Oh wow those pumpkins and halloween / Autumn decorations take my breath away. I love the pumpkin in the lampost.

Yeah you got to see the Blue guy you love twice! Hello Michelle. Nice you meet up with your friend. I adore your Flower and Garden Dooney. How nice if Michelle to get it for you.

Lol re Pluto and your cat t shirt. I like your apple watch strap colour.

Great one of Mary and Bert with you.

Shame about Space Mountain. Of all three MK I have been to I think DLP has the best SM in my view.

The Mad Hatter and anything Alice gives me the creeps. I avoid it. Long story lol..

I adore your Mickey photos plus Earl for lunch and Cannonballs yes please!

What walk on Ratatouille. Apart from techical difficulties ( sure it wasn't your cat t shirt..) how cool.

I can't believe you pass up Captain America! Nice ones of Spidi though.

Hey cute Sullie. How nice to join Graham and good to get some food in the end...

Great read thanks.
 


Glad you were able to get there so quickly!

It is actually quicker for me to get to Disneyland Paris than to get to London.

The decorations are so cute; I've never been to a park for the Halloween time period.

This was my first time at Disneyland Paris when it was all dressed up for Halloween. I have been to Walt Disney World and Disneyland during the Halloween season twice before.

Your bag is adorable!

Thanks. I love it.

Loved the pic of you kissing Mickey!

I like this photo, too.

Sounds like the party was well worth it!

It would have been even more fun if we did not have to be up so early the next day.

That was great that on your day 2 security was easy.

They really have this worked out at Disneyland Paris now.

I am so pleased that your stress dissapeared like the construction fences!

I love that analogy.

It's not even in the same ballpark as WDW prices.

Fortunately not, but there are rumours that the prices will go up quite significantly in the not too distant future.

Oh wow those pumpkins and halloween / Autumn decorations take my breath away. I love the pumpkin in the lampost.

There will be even more Halloween decorations during the October trip, but you have already seen a bunch of those on Facebook.

Yeah you got to see the Blue guy you love twice!

I was so happy.

I adore your Flower and Garden Dooney. How nice if Michelle to get it for you.

I love this bag, too. Michelle managed to snag this the day before it sold out. What I had not realised is that she was mulling over getting one for herself that it had sold out by the time she came to a conclusion.

Lol re Pluto and your cat t shirt.

He really did not like it.

I like your apple watch strap colour.

I love it, too. It came with a grey strap, but I got the lilac one as soon as I got my watch.

Of all three MK I have been to I think DLP has the best SM in my view.

I agree with this assessment. Yesterday they made an announcement regarding what is coming for the 25th anniversary and Hyperspace Mountain is one of them. We will see how that will work out.

The Mad Hatter and anything Alice gives me the creeps. I avoid it. Long story lol..

What a shame.

What walk on Ratatouille. Apart from techical difficulties ( sure it wasn't your cat t shirt..) how cool.

I could not believe my luck as this is a serious crowd puller.

I can't believe you pass up Captain America!

We have met before on the Disney Magic. I may have come to a different conclusion if I had been by myself and if I did not have such an early start in the morning.

Hey cute Sullie.

I loved that he was out that evening. I don't understand why they do not have him out for regular meet and greets as they have such a great permanent themed area for that.

Corinna
 
Ok, I thought I was signed up to this thread, but it appears that I was not! What a lovely start to your trip with so many characters! And such great weather!
 


Day 3

I have to admit that I had not expected to sleep much that night. With about a week to go, I started to panic. I was absolutely certain that I would not finish the race. I never doubted my stamina or that I had a 5K in me, but I somehow convinced myself that I would get swept. I really don’t know why as I had done a training run of the full distance and I came within the pacing requirement just briskly walking. Still, I managed to get myself in such a state that if somebody had offered me a reason not to go, I would have grabbed it with both hands. In the end, I slept like a baby. I fell asleep pretty much as soon as I switched the light off and with the exception of one quick trip to the bathroom, I slept through until the alarm went off at the ungodly hour at 5:00 AM.

We got up and ready and headed over to the station. Graham was ready to disown me when he saw my tutu. I had great fun pointing out other runners in tutus that got on at the intermediate stations and Graham just as gleefully pointed out runners that did not wear them. We had a smooth run to Disneyland Paris. Getting off the train and seeing runners everywhere was quite an experience. Considering how many people there were at the station, security was not too bad. I had the clear bag that we had received at package pick up with a few odds and ends. Graham did not have a bag. I sent him through the no bag line and told him to meet me at the other end. Shortly after he went through, they opened another line for people with bags and I was not far behind him. Once we were both through, we made our way to the Events Arena. Although the starting line was in a carpark at the bottom end of Disney Village, the access to this was via the Events Arena, which was at the opposite end of Disney Village. Still, it was a lovely morning and it was not that far in the grander scheme of things.

Before we entered the Events Arena, we put on our bibs. I then handed my bag in. I was not quite sure how this would work, but they used the same desks they had used for package pick up and you just went to the desk corresponding to your bib number and handed in the bag. We then left the Events Arena at the opposite end. There were all manner of backdrops set up just outside, but the lines were long. We figured that this still may be there when we came back. So we headed towards the corral.

The entrance to the corrals was marked with what looked like giant glow sticks in the same colours as the letters on the bibs. We followed the path around and it felt that we were doing a 5K just getting to the corral. When we reached our corral we were far enough forward to have a clear view of the starting line. I got totally caught up in the atmosphere and forgot how nervous I had been. I had some fun people-watching. There were a wide variety of running outfits from t-shirts from various running events, tutus and running skirts to full-blown costumes. There were quite a few people in chef’s outfits, a number of princesses and even people wearing character onesies. My personal favourite was a couple dressed up as Cinderella and Prince Charming. There was music and people were encouraged to warm up. There were also a number of quick speeches by various people linked to Disneyland Paris and this event.

Just before 7:00 AM there were some fireworks and the inaugural Disneyland Paris half marathon weekend was officially declared open. I got pretty emotional. Up to that point, it had not really sunk in just how special this even was. I was about to run in the very first Run Disney race at Disneyland Paris. The first runners crossed the starting line shortly afterwards. This was really well organised. There had been some concerns prior to the race about the fact that there only four corrals and the bottlenecks this could create. They subdivided each corral in starting waves, which worked very well.

We crossed the starting line around 7:10. The starting line was at the bottom end of the car park near the cinema. Graham had cautioned me to not get swept up by what everybody else was doing, but going at my pace. Initially I did get swept up in it a little and I ran until I reached the fountains in front of the Disneyland hotel. At that stage I thought I better conserve some energy and slowed to a fast walk. I entered the park and as I entered the tunnel underneath the railway station, I saw that a runner was taken off the course by a cast member. This served as a warning for me.











There were cast members cheering us on along Main Street. I started running again about halfway down Main Street. Running up to the castle had been one thing I had been looking forward to the most. When I got past the castle stage and the first characters (Cruella de Ville and Jafar), I developed a stitch. So I was forced to slow down to a quick walk again. I started to feel better when we came to the lagoon in Discoveryland, but I still got this sinking feeling when I passed the one kilometre marker. Suddenly 5K seemed to be a long way to go.

We took a lap around Space Mountain heading right around the lagoon that houses the submarine and then coming up the hill by Videopolis. That was where realisation hit that the course is nowhere near as flat as I had thought. Chewbacca was meeting people near Videopolis and this was a real temptation. However, the line was pretty long and I did not want to risk losing a lot of time. Apparently R2D2 was there as well, but I did not spot him. We then headed backstage for the first time near Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast. They had set up flashing lights in that area and there was some dance music as well as some cast members cheering us on. We re-entered the onstage area in Fantasyland near It’s A Small World. The route then took us past the Princess Pavilion, the tea cups, Alice’s Curious Labyrinth and Dumbo before crossing over into Adventureland. There we passed Pirates of the Caribbean where a lot of pirates cheered us on before heading across Adventure Isle. This was actually one of my favourite parts of the route. I had never ever set foot on Adventure Island and it was great to see this and run through some of the caves. We then re-entered the main land near Restaurant Hakuna Matata. A water stop had been set up just outside the restaurant. I did stop for some water. Shortly afterwards, we passed the marker for the 2nd kilometre. We crossed back into Fantasyland near Peter Pan’s Flight and then the route took us past Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Snow White’s Scary Adventure and the carousel. This is when I noticed that all the rides were running. This was a nearly nice touch.

When we got to the castle, they were directing the runners down both sides of the castle to avoid a possible bottleneck. Running down the drawbridge towards the hub was another really magical moment. One regret that I do have is that I did not take the time to stop at the hub to have my photo taken with the castle in the background. Oh well, there is always next year. Shortly afterwards, I realised that I could have afforded to stop. As I headed back down Main Street and turned into Frontierland, I looked back further down Main Street and the area was wall to wall people. Those people had yet to make the look around Discoveryland, Fantasyland and Adventureland. I started to relax a little. Once we entered Frontierland, we turned left and passed Big Thunder Mountain. Once we reached Phantom Manor, we headed left again and backstage. The climb to get to the backstage area was pretty impressive. The backstage area was fascinating. We saw the backs of the some of the Main Street buildings as well as some facilities for the cast members. A further water stop had been set up on this stretch and I stopped again for some water. There was also an archway made from balloons in that area. We ultimately ended up on a service road that links Disneyland with Walt Disney Studios. Shortly before we returned onstage near the Animagique building, we passed the marker for the 3rd kilometre.

The next kilometre was probably my favourite. I had found my stride and felt confident and comfortable. The route took us past Crush’s Coaster were cast members were standing with signs saying “Just Keep Running”. We then went through the Toon Studio area where there was a line and a Photopass photographer, but no character. It turned out that Roger Rabbit was meeting and greeting in that area. If he had been out, I would have been seriously tempted to stop. As it was, I kept going. We turned into the Ratatouille mini land and just as I came up to the square in the area, Remy was coming the other way. Again, if he had been out when I passed, I may have stopped, but I was not willing to wait for him to return. Linguini was in front of Bistrot Chez Remy and was waiting for Remy to come back. I have also seen some photos with Linguini, Remy and Emile out together. The route then looped around Toy Story Play Land. There I stopped for a photo the first time. Near the entrance to Toy Story Play Land is a huge statue of Rex. Normally I would have just passed this buy, but I spotted that my favourite Photopass photographer Christian was taking photos there so I stopped for a photo. There was only one person in front of me so this did not take long.







The route then left Toy Story Play Land and went past the loading area for Backlot Tram Tour and Tower of Terror before ending up near Studio One. They had some cars from the now defunct Stars and Cars parade with their drivers out and I stopped on final time to get a photo. As I passed Tower of Terror again, somebody’s race had unfortunately come to an abrupt end and she needed attention from the paramedics. My heart went out to her. I was glad that I have been taking this steady even if this meant that I did not have any character photos. I passed Spider-Man in front of the New York taxi and the marker for kilometre four before leaving the parks for the last time. The final kilometre was in many ways the toughest one. Initially it looked like we were turning into Disney Village, but instead we ended up on some back road. The road was badly in need of resurfacing and there was quite a long climb. This part of the course was also incredibly boring. At one stage I crossed a railway bridge and from that point onwards I could hear announcements from the finishing line. Shortly afterwards, I turned into the carpark and at that stage I could see the finishing line. At that stage, I started running again. There were some spectators near the finishing line and probably the most inspiring thing I had seen all day was somebody on that last straight with a sign saying: “Congratulations stranger. I am proud of you.”



Running over that finishing line was one of the most exhilarating experiences ever. I had done it. I had actually done and finished a 5K. I may not have broken any records and I did not even achieve my best training time, which was 50 minutes, but I did finish which not so long ago, I would have considered being impossible. In the end, I was pretty pleased with my time of 56 minutes. I had wondered before the race if this would be a once in a lifetime experience for me. However, I was not even halfway round the course when I was starting to wonder how soon I could do another Run Disney event. The plan is to do a race at every Disney park that offers it. If we ever make it to Castaway Cay, the 5K there is also a must do. This had been such an amazing experience. The races that are high up on my bucket list are the Princess weekend at Walt Disney World and the Tinkerbell weekend at Disneyland and yes, as much as Graham will want to disown me, I will wear wings for this. For now, I have booked the time off for the next Run Disney event at Disneyland Paris.





Once I crossed the finish line, the only irritating thing of the race happened. Just after the finish line, there was a bunch of characters dressed in running gear. I wanted to go over to say "hi", but there were a number of race volunteers stopping people from heading to that area. There were quite a few people in that area with more people coming over the finish line all the time and it did look a little congested, but they just should have moved the characters a little further along where there was more space.

I was not pouting for too long. A short distance away, they were giving out the medals and Graham was waiting for me in this area. He said he was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. They were giving out bottles of water and bottles of a sports milk drink and we took a bottle of both. We then got in line for the finishers' photo. This took a little while. Just past the finishers’ backdrop, they had set up tables where they were giving out bags with an apple, a small bag of roasted peanuts and a chocolate cereal bar. I was not hungry. Graham had my apple and peanuts and the cereal bar is still in my handbag.



We then headed back towards the Expo. The lines had gone down for the backdrops, but unfortunately there were no photographers there. There were however photographers nearer to the entrance to the Expo and we stopped for photos. Once we were inside the Events Arena, I went to retrieve my bag. The Run Disney merchandise area was already open as was the desk where they were selling the Run Disney Photopasses. I headed to the desk, but the till there did not work and I was sent to the merchandise area. There I was able to buy my Photopass and then the person who helped me took me back to the Photopass desk. This was then registered and I was asked to come back in half an hour to get the photo for face recognition taken.







We decided to use this time to get some coffee. We headed towards Starbucks, but people were queuing outside the door and we did not much fancy that idea. Graham suggested that we should check out the sports bar opposite. That had not even occurred to me. They were doing steady business, but there were only a couple of people ahead of us and the coffee they served was rather nice. While we were having this, I got a message from Michelle. She had only just finished the race and was heading to her hotel for some breakfast. We agreed that I would let her know when I would be heading to the parks and we would meet up then. Once we finished our coffees, we went back to the Expo to have photos taken with our bibs. I asked the photographer to also take a photo with my phone as I knew that the official photos would take a while. I knew that a lot of my friends on Facebook were cheering me on and I wanted to post photographic evidence as soon as possible.





When we were done with the photos, we headed back to the station. This time we did not have to wait long for a train and we had a smooth journey. At that stage I was feeling pretty cold so when we got back to the hotel, I snuggled up under the covers and feel asleep. At some stage, Graham woke me up to check if I was still planning to head for the parks or if he should let me sleep. By then it was nearly 13:00 and I decided to get up. I got showered and changed and then I headed out. Graham came to the station with me as he wanted to do some exploring. I did not have long to wait for the train. I messaged Michelle that I was on my way and was heading for Walt Disney Studios. She messaged me back that she was heading in that direction, too.

I figured that I should probably eat something before heading to the park. I stopped at the take away window at Annette’s Diner. They have a veggie burger, which sounded great. It was very nice, but unlike any veggie burger I had previously. This consisted of breaded tofu, Portobello mushrooms, aubergine, courgette, tomato confit, avocado and garlic pickles. It was very tasty. When I got to the park, Michelle had already arrived. We headed inside. As we came out of Studio One, something caught my eye. On the street opposite was Bellhop Goofy. Pluto was also with him. That was too good to pass up especially as the line was not too long. So we got in line. True to form, as we got near to the front of the line, they went in. When they came out again, Pluto came out ahead and initially I thought I was out of luck. Fortunately Goofy followed not long afterwards.





Once we had our photos taken, we headed over to Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic. Catastrophe Canyon is still going strong in Paris and with a 15 minutes wait; this was too good to pass up. We had not realised just how good this waiting time was. Michelle voiced an interest in Tower of Terror, but with a waiting time of 45 minutes, she decided to pass. I suggested that we should check out the Ratatouille ride. I have seen some crazy standby times over the last year, but the longest the wait for the single rider was up to that point was 15 minutes. That day it was 45 minutes. So we passed. Michelle was also tempted by Toy Soldier Parachute Drop. I had no interest in this. I took her handbag and we arranged to meet by the character meet and greet spots in the Toon Studios area. I noticed that there was no photographer with the characters so I passed. Michelle arrived shortly afterwards. The single rider line for that was 45 minutes as well so she sat this out. We went past Crush's Coaster, which had been high on her to do list and the single rider line for that was a whopping 75 minutes. Being in the park that day was not a great deal of fun. We did end up riding Flying Carpets Over Agrabah with a 15 minute wait and that is a result for this ride as it draws long lines.

When we had safely landed out carpet, we headed over to the Animagique building and got in line. A new show called Mickey and the Magician had opened there in July. Supposedly this will only run until the beginning of January. This would be a crying shame as this is an amazing show. I also find this hard to believe as the sets are more elaborate as the sets for its predecessor Animagique had been and that had run for years. There were also a lot of special effects. It just does not make sense that Disney spends so much money on a show that is only destined to run for 6 months. I think it may be a question of watch that space. The show is set in the 19th century studio of a famous magician and his assistant Mickey is charged with cleaning the studio before sunrise. Inevitably Mickey gets distracted and gets visited by all kinds of magical folk. The show is partly in French and partly in English and although I do not speak French, I had no issue understanding what was going on. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Once the show was over, I had enough for the day. I said goodbye to Michelle. We had discussed on the first evening that we would go back to the little Chinese in Champs sur Marne that evening and she promised that she would let me know either way. I headed back to the station and again, I did not have to wait long for the train. As I did not have a key for our room, I made myself comfortable on one of the sofas in the bar area. I ordered a Coke and then spent some time catching up online. Shortly after I had ordered my Coke, Graham arrived. He ordered a beer and once we both had finished our drinks, we headed back to the room. We ended up having a nap.

Around 19:00 we were both awake again. I checked my messages to see if Michelle had been in touch, but there was nothing there. She also was not showing as being online. So we headed off for dinner. This time we ended up at our usual table again. Graham decided to go with chicken curry and rice from the a la carte menu and I had the buffet again. We shared a bottle of Muscadet. I had some pork spring rolls, salt and pepper prawns, salt and pepper potatoes and a chicken skewer for my first plate. For my second plate I went with fried rice with chicken satay, basil chicken and beef and onions. Graham decided to have some dessert. His first two choices were not available and in the end he had Peach Melba, which he enjoyed. I had some lychees and rum and raisin ice cream from the buffet.



After we had our complimentary sake, we paid and headed back to the hotel. We were halfway there when I realised that I had left my jacket at the restaurant so I had to go back. Fortunately it was not far. Once we got back, I switched off the alarm, put my various gadgets on charge and then we got ready for bed.
 
Congratuations! I loved reading all about your 5k day. You wrote it so well I could feel that atmosphere. I am not surprised you were nervous. First time you do something the doubt creeps in. I am pleased it soon dispersed.

What a glorious route it was around the parks. I love your tutu. Great photos of you and Graham. You both look so happy!

Well done on completing it and a great time too. Nice to get some rest after. I bet your body hit the wall from adreline and fatique.

Lovely photos of Goofy and pluto. I love the sound of the show Mickey and the Magician. They still have Catastophe canyon at DLP what! I love this. Shame the rides had such long wait times.

What a nice end of the day to have Chinese. Sounds delightful. Again well done. You should feel very proud if yourself. Next stop Castaway cay!
 
Awesome job Corinna! You look like you had a great time on that run.

Makes me wish I could do something like that one day (I don't know all the rules about minimum pace rate and all that but my cardio-respiratory limitations would probably keep me out).
 
Congratuations!

Thanks.

You wrote it so well I could feel that atmosphere.

Words cannot reflect how magical it was, but I gave it a good go.

What a glorious route it was around the parks.

I loved the route through the parks and the backstage areas. The half-marathon went through the backlot, too from what I heard.

I bet your body hit the wall from adreline and fatique.

It did and the fact that I did not get much sleep in the week leading up to the big day did not help either.

I love the sound of the show Mickey and the Magician.

It is amazing. I really hope that they extend it.

They still have Catastophe canyon at DLP what!

I could not believe my luck when I discovered this in May.

Next stop Castaway cay!

That is on my bucket list.

Congratulations!!!

Thanks.

Your face in the pics says it all!

I felt I was floating a few inches off the floor, I was so happy.

Awesome job Corinna!

Thanks.

You look like you had a great time on that run.

It was absolutely amazing.

Makes me wish I could do something like that one day (I don't know all the rules about minimum pace rate and all that but my cardio-respiratory limitations would probably keep me out).

Technically there is a pacing requirement of a 16 minute mile on run Disney events, which in itself is essentially a brisk walk. I say technically as they don't start the clock until the last person is over the start line. So if you end up towards the front like we had, you have all the time in the world. Somebody on a Disney group I belong to did her first 5K at Disneyland about 3 weeks before I did mine and she finished in 1 hour 59 minutes as she walked it and stopped for every character.

Corinna
 
Day 2 sounded very busy. I'm barely staying awake. I'll have to come back later in the week to read Day 3.
 
Congratulations!!! I'm glad all your stress disappeared and nothing kept you from doing the race. Well done! :) I felt like I was there with you, fantastic storytelling.

Sorry the evening in the parks was not as nice as the day before. The day before with Michelle was cram packed with rides and characters. What fun! The party sounded great as well. Fun that Graham joined as well.
 
You did great on the 5K! Glad you got the photopass and wverything. You looked very happy running over the finish line.
 
Day 4

Even though I had unticked the alarm for that morning before I retired the previous night, the alarm went off at 5:00 AM. I am not sure what went on, as when I checked, Sunday was definitely not ticked. My phone had never done this before or since for that matter. I was a little irritated. However, something good can out of that. I was able to send Michelle a quick message wishing her good luck for her half marathon and then I snuggled back under the covers. I went back to sleep and woke up again just before 9:00.

I got up and ready. The weather forecast for that day was pretty dire so Graham decided to have a lazy day. I did not blame him. When I stepped out, it was a glorious day. I did not have to wait long for a train and security at the other end was quite smooth again although there were a lot of people there. I took some photos of the Disneyland Hotel and of the pumpkins at the hub and then I headed over to Buzz Lightyear. It was not quite as lovely as on Friday, but the posted waiting time was only 10 minutes so I did this twice. When I first went through the line, the curtain around the Buzz animatronic was drawn. When I came through again, it was partially open. It looked like Buzz may have done the half marathon himself and was now exhausted.

























After the second time, I got a Fastpass for later and then headed down the hill to see if Stitch was around, which he was not. By that time, nasty clouds started to roll in. I headed for Fantasyland. Fantasia Gelati was open for once so I decided to get some ice cream for a late breakfast. They had an offer that you could get three scoops for the price of two. I went with this and had pistachio, vanilla and triple chocolate. I really enjoyed this. While I was sitting at a table enjoying my ice cream, Peter Pan and Wendy turned up and ordered "one of everything". I was so captivated by the exchange; I totally forgot to get my camera out. It is little moments like this that make Disney so magical. I don't think they got one of everything, but they ended up with a cup each and bounced off backstage.



When I had finished my ice cream, I headed across to It's A Small World. By that time, the sky looked like it was the end of the world. The posted waiting time was 10 minutes and I waited about half that. I enjoyed this very much again.





















By the time I came off the ride, the rain had arrived with a vengeance. I decided to head over to the Princess Pavilion. The waiting time was 45 minutes and somehow standing in line in a warm dry place was appealing. They had a sign at the front stating which princess was in residence that day. I had never seen this before. It was Ariel, which made me happy. I headed inside. I took some photos of the waiting area. For each princess that sometimes visits, they have a stained glass window and some item that is associated with that princess like the rose for Belle or the glass slipper for Cinderella. I really like this.

















It did not feel too long until it was my turn. Ariel asked me who my favourite princess is. I do not really have a favourite princess as such. There are some that I quite like and Ariel is one of them. So I told her that I do really like her and that I sometimes feel that I am part mermaid myself. We had a lovely conversation about fish and she asked me what colour my fin is. I told her that I am still working on the fin and she then asked me what my favourite colour is. I told her it is royal blue and we came to the conclusion that therefore my fin should be royal blue. This was a lot of fun. We took some photos together and then I headed out again.



 
It was still raining when I came out. My Fastpass window had opened by then. So I headed over to Discoveryland and used my Fastpass for Buzz Lightyear. I have never seen the Fastpass line so long and I don’t think this saved me much time. Still, at least I was in the dry. When I had finished with the ride, I decided that maybe it would be a good idea to have a sit down dinner. I headed for Café Agrabah and they could not fit me in at the time, but they had a reservation for 45 minutes later. I grabbed this. I had a look around the shop next door and then headed towards Pirates of the Caribbean.



On the way, I noticed that Peter Pan and Wendy were out near the back entrance to Au Chalet de Marionette. As the line was under cover, I got in it. Again, they stepped out briefly before I got to the front of the line, but I did not mind. At least I was dry. I spotted a handbag that looked very much like the new Aulani Dooney and Bourke and I asked the person carrying about it. It was indeed the Aulani Dooney and we ended up talking about Aulani and Disney Dooneys for quite a while. This bag looks very different from what it looked like in the pictures, but I do like it. Eventually it was my turn to meet Peter Pan and Wendy and we had a bit of a chat about the merits of running.







By the time I was done, it was nearly time for my reservation at Café Agrabah. So I slowly headed back there. As soon as I got there, I was escorted in and paid and then was escorted to my seat. I ended up in the back room again. I had hummus, couscous, meatballs, kebab meat and some Arabic bread. I had some sparkling water with my main course. I was wondering getting some more main course, but then decided to go straight for dessert. I had a slice of almond and raspberry flan, assorted Baklava, a slice of green tea and chocolate cake and a pistachio custard. I had also ordered some mint tea and I was delighted that instead of just a shot glass that I had got on previous visits, they brought a whole pot. I was in heaven.


















By the time I left the restaurant, it had fortunately stopped raining. The temperature had however dropped. Fortunately I had brought my jacket and I had left this this at the left luggage office. I quickly left the park to get this. Once I was back inside the park, I paid the dragon underneath the castle a quick visit. I considered paying Mickey another visit, but then decided against this. Instead I headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean where the waiting time was 5 minutes and that was pretty accurate. I enjoyed the ride again, but I had forgotten to take off my ears and I was a little worried that they would fall off on the drop.



 

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