To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)
- Thread starter DopeyBadger
- Start date
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
Thanks! Definitely a bummer not to see you!
avondale
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2017
Have you ever heard of the Tour de Dodge 27k trail race? It's held outside of Dodgeville, which is an hour west of Madison. It runs in April. I doubt you've heard of it, but in the case you had, I thought I'd ask. It's held in Governor Dodge State Park. I'm thinking about the race for my next trail race because the typical temperatures look good.
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
2024 Disneyland Weekend Trip Report and Race Recaps
Wednesday, January 10th, 2024 - Flight to CA, Napolini
Thursday, January 11th, 2024 - Disneyland, Expo
Friday, January 12th, 2024 - 5k, California Adventure
Saturday, January 13th, 2024 - 10k, Warner Bros Studio Tour, Hollywood Sign
Sunday, January 14th, 2024 - HM, Disneyland, California Adventure
Monday, January 15th, 2024 - Universal Studios Hollywood
Tuesday, January 16th, 2024 - Flight home
Trip Review
As always seems to happen, I planned on writing some notes, but I didn't. So this whole recap is from memory.
This was my 9th runDisney weekend. Six were Marathon Weekend (5 Dopeys and 1 solo Marathon) and Princess 2022/2023. This was our families first trip to Disneyland. Steph had been once before in the midst of a work trip to Anaheim, and I had been when I was under 5 and have no memories of it. We were all interested in experiencing Disneyland and comparing it to Disney World. Despite G having been to Disney World like 10-15 times, this was actually the first trip that it was just me, Steph, and G. So let's see how it went!
Next Post: Wednesday, January 10th, 2024 - Flight to CA, Napolini
Wednesday, January 10th, 2024 - Flight to CA, Napolini
Thursday, January 11th, 2024 - Disneyland, Expo
Friday, January 12th, 2024 - 5k, California Adventure
Saturday, January 13th, 2024 - 10k, Warner Bros Studio Tour, Hollywood Sign
Sunday, January 14th, 2024 - HM, Disneyland, California Adventure
Monday, January 15th, 2024 - Universal Studios Hollywood
Tuesday, January 16th, 2024 - Flight home
Trip Review
As always seems to happen, I planned on writing some notes, but I didn't. So this whole recap is from memory.
This was my 9th runDisney weekend. Six were Marathon Weekend (5 Dopeys and 1 solo Marathon) and Princess 2022/2023. This was our families first trip to Disneyland. Steph had been once before in the midst of a work trip to Anaheim, and I had been when I was under 5 and have no memories of it. We were all interested in experiencing Disneyland and comparing it to Disney World. Despite G having been to Disney World like 10-15 times, this was actually the first trip that it was just me, Steph, and G. So let's see how it went!
Next Post: Wednesday, January 10th, 2024 - Flight to CA, Napolini
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
Wednesday, January 10th, 2024 - Flight to CA, Napolini
The scuttle of the trip was whether we'd even be able to fly out on Wednesday out of Milwaukee. We got like 8-10 inches of snow on Tuesday, but thankfully it ended around midnight. When we got up at 4:30am we saw that the flight was still on time and we were headed on our way to the Milwaukee airport. We decided to leave a little early in case we hit traffic, but it didn't end up being necessary. I think we left at 6:15am and got to MKE around 7:30am. Flight was on time at 9:20ish. So we had a little time to burn.
Prior to the flight a woman came up and talked to Steph about her Hello Kitty duffle bag. Turns out her and her family were also headed to Disneyland for the race weekend. The others had done Marathon Weekend as well, and she was doing the 10k. We chatted a bit about runDisney and training. Directed her to the DIS as a good resource and a place to find me if she wanted to reach out.
We were flying Southwest and got a high B assignment. We lucked out and got the last set of three seats together. Flight was uneventful.
We had a layover in Phoenix that lasted about 2 hrs. We ate lunch at a taco place because G wanted "Airport Taco Time, it's Airport Taco Time!". The airport tacos didn't live up to expectations based on the song.
We flew into the Long Beach Airport. It was so SMALL. It had a total of 11 gates, only outdoor boarding, and only two luggage carousels. It was such a quaint experience.
G had to make sure she got a picture with a palm tree.
The signage wasn't the greatest about where the rental car pickup was, but we eventually found it because honestly there weren't many places we'd have to look. We rented a Toyota Camry (which is what we own) just a newer version. Honestly, I prefer our 2015 version over this newer one, but the rental got the job done. I'm so thankful we live in a time of phone based GPS directions. I couldn't even fathom trying to make this type of drive in the days of a book bound Atlas.
As for the drive, my anxiety level as the navigator was at an all time high. THAT WAS STRESSFUL. I've never seen a nine-lane expressway on one side. Steph drove like a midwesterner towards the furtherest slow lane. But it was shocking how lanes just were added and lost over and over. The worst part was when we exited on the left side in a split, and then when we merged with the next expressway we had to exit left side again very quickly. We had to cut across four lanes like immediately. We survived though! Made it to Hotel Indigo on Katella. We reserved this hotel like a minute after I secured the runDisney registration. It was hard to pass up the price (about $315/night after taxes/fees) for a suite. We considered staying at the Disney hotels, but couldn't justify the price difference given we had never been to Disneyland before. Hotel Indigo worked out for the runDisney races because the start line ended up being place just north of Katella instead of on the other side by the Disneyland hotel.
Overall, the hotel was clean and a nice place to sleep. Having the extra space was really useful for pre-race mornings. The downside was that we were on the street (Katella) and the windows were not sound dampening. Turns out Katella is quite the main drag and it was reasonably loud with street noises at all hours of the night. We were on the 4th floor (highest in Indigo). Other downsides were that the room temp couldn't go colder than 64F, didn't have a overhead fan, and I would prefer the shower be hotter. It didn't feel like a DIsney trip to Steph because it felt like we were staying at a hotel and happened to be going to a theme park. Instead of being in the Disney bubble. If we did the trip to Disneyland again, Steph said she wouldn't stay at Hotel Indigo again and would prefer to stay in the Disney bubble. I was fine with Hotel Indigo.
After checking into the hotel we headed over to a nearby Target to pick up some supplies. We got some water, bagels, PB, and other essentials. It was crazy how few shopping carts there were. We just carried everything in our hands.
After getting settled into the hotel, we headed out to the Downtown Disneyland District. It took about 20 min to walk from our hotel through security, and to the front entrance of Disneyland.
We had a dining reservation at Napolini Pizzeria. After checking in, we didn't have to wait long before our table was ready. We chose to eat outside as we were doing our best to stay healthy given we needed to avoid that because of Steph's MIL. It was colder than anticipated, but I did warn everyone to dress warm. Some people (G) didn't dress warm enough and it was a little uncomfortable. We got two pizzas (a Sausage and a Spicy one). G's nine years old and still a super picky eater. So we've just come to expect it. I thought the pizza was decent. Steph wasn't a fan of the pizza. G said it tasted like "the trampoline park pizza" which is not a compliment. Overall for $120 it wasn't worth it.
We stopped at a Disney branded bakery and got rice krispie, a cookie, and a PB chocolate sandwich. The rice krispie was a brick, the cookie was suppose to be chocolate but tasted like strawberry. But the PB chocolate sandwich was a big win for me. I really enjoyed it and tried a few other times to get another one, but didn't. With dessert out of the way, we all headed to bed to get ready for our first Disneyland day!
Sleep - 7:51 hrs
RHR - 47 bpm
Steps - 10,947 steps
Miles - 5.7 miles
Body Battery High - 87
Body Battery Low - 33
Next Post: Thursday, January 11th, 2024 - Disneyland, Expo
The scuttle of the trip was whether we'd even be able to fly out on Wednesday out of Milwaukee. We got like 8-10 inches of snow on Tuesday, but thankfully it ended around midnight. When we got up at 4:30am we saw that the flight was still on time and we were headed on our way to the Milwaukee airport. We decided to leave a little early in case we hit traffic, but it didn't end up being necessary. I think we left at 6:15am and got to MKE around 7:30am. Flight was on time at 9:20ish. So we had a little time to burn.
Prior to the flight a woman came up and talked to Steph about her Hello Kitty duffle bag. Turns out her and her family were also headed to Disneyland for the race weekend. The others had done Marathon Weekend as well, and she was doing the 10k. We chatted a bit about runDisney and training. Directed her to the DIS as a good resource and a place to find me if she wanted to reach out.
We were flying Southwest and got a high B assignment. We lucked out and got the last set of three seats together. Flight was uneventful.
We had a layover in Phoenix that lasted about 2 hrs. We ate lunch at a taco place because G wanted "Airport Taco Time, it's Airport Taco Time!". The airport tacos didn't live up to expectations based on the song.
We flew into the Long Beach Airport. It was so SMALL. It had a total of 11 gates, only outdoor boarding, and only two luggage carousels. It was such a quaint experience.
G had to make sure she got a picture with a palm tree.
The signage wasn't the greatest about where the rental car pickup was, but we eventually found it because honestly there weren't many places we'd have to look. We rented a Toyota Camry (which is what we own) just a newer version. Honestly, I prefer our 2015 version over this newer one, but the rental got the job done. I'm so thankful we live in a time of phone based GPS directions. I couldn't even fathom trying to make this type of drive in the days of a book bound Atlas.
As for the drive, my anxiety level as the navigator was at an all time high. THAT WAS STRESSFUL. I've never seen a nine-lane expressway on one side. Steph drove like a midwesterner towards the furtherest slow lane. But it was shocking how lanes just were added and lost over and over. The worst part was when we exited on the left side in a split, and then when we merged with the next expressway we had to exit left side again very quickly. We had to cut across four lanes like immediately. We survived though! Made it to Hotel Indigo on Katella. We reserved this hotel like a minute after I secured the runDisney registration. It was hard to pass up the price (about $315/night after taxes/fees) for a suite. We considered staying at the Disney hotels, but couldn't justify the price difference given we had never been to Disneyland before. Hotel Indigo worked out for the runDisney races because the start line ended up being place just north of Katella instead of on the other side by the Disneyland hotel.
Overall, the hotel was clean and a nice place to sleep. Having the extra space was really useful for pre-race mornings. The downside was that we were on the street (Katella) and the windows were not sound dampening. Turns out Katella is quite the main drag and it was reasonably loud with street noises at all hours of the night. We were on the 4th floor (highest in Indigo). Other downsides were that the room temp couldn't go colder than 64F, didn't have a overhead fan, and I would prefer the shower be hotter. It didn't feel like a DIsney trip to Steph because it felt like we were staying at a hotel and happened to be going to a theme park. Instead of being in the Disney bubble. If we did the trip to Disneyland again, Steph said she wouldn't stay at Hotel Indigo again and would prefer to stay in the Disney bubble. I was fine with Hotel Indigo.
After checking into the hotel we headed over to a nearby Target to pick up some supplies. We got some water, bagels, PB, and other essentials. It was crazy how few shopping carts there were. We just carried everything in our hands.
After getting settled into the hotel, we headed out to the Downtown Disneyland District. It took about 20 min to walk from our hotel through security, and to the front entrance of Disneyland.
We had a dining reservation at Napolini Pizzeria. After checking in, we didn't have to wait long before our table was ready. We chose to eat outside as we were doing our best to stay healthy given we needed to avoid that because of Steph's MIL. It was colder than anticipated, but I did warn everyone to dress warm. Some people (G) didn't dress warm enough and it was a little uncomfortable. We got two pizzas (a Sausage and a Spicy one). G's nine years old and still a super picky eater. So we've just come to expect it. I thought the pizza was decent. Steph wasn't a fan of the pizza. G said it tasted like "the trampoline park pizza" which is not a compliment. Overall for $120 it wasn't worth it.
We stopped at a Disney branded bakery and got rice krispie, a cookie, and a PB chocolate sandwich. The rice krispie was a brick, the cookie was suppose to be chocolate but tasted like strawberry. But the PB chocolate sandwich was a big win for me. I really enjoyed it and tried a few other times to get another one, but didn't. With dessert out of the way, we all headed to bed to get ready for our first Disneyland day!
Sleep - 7:51 hrs
RHR - 47 bpm
Steps - 10,947 steps
Miles - 5.7 miles
Body Battery High - 87
Body Battery Low - 33
Next Post: Thursday, January 11th, 2024 - Disneyland, Expo
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
Thursday, January 11th, 2024 - Disneyland, Expo
Up at 5:30am. The runDisney merchandise virtual queue opened at 7:00am local. Steph and I got ourselves all prepared on the app and then did the fast refresh method. I didn't hesitate and Steph did once the queue opened. I ended up with BG13 and she was BG140 something. I didn't have strong desires for merch, but wanted to see what they had. After getting the BG we left the hotel to head over to Disneyland. The parks opened at 8:00am for non-Disney hotel guests.
We made it over there around 7:35am, and the park was open already. We got some pictures in front of the train station.
G wanted some more pictures prior to the park opening.
The hat shop was open prior to 8am. Steph had watched a vlogger video on cool DIsneyland souvenirs, and saw a pair of leather Mickey ears that could be painted by the Christmas shop. So Steph purchased the ears and then right at 8am when the Christmas shop opened she was first in line to get the ears painted. The longer you wait in the day the busier they can get. So being early is helpful. After getting the ears all set up, we made our way through the baby castle to hit up our first ride.
It was so different than DIsney World. Like my brain was having a hard time understanding my surroundings, because it looked the same, but different. One of the weird DIsneyland things was how the Snow White ride was just kind of there. Like there was an archway, and that was the entrance without much funfare. We made our way in and took our first Disneyland ride.
After Snow White, we hit up the Pinnochio ride which had a similar random door entrance. Then we decided to ride on the Casey Jr's train.
G enjoyed this little train because she liked looking at the Princess house models. After getting off Casey's it was time to experience some Disneyland Churros!
They were delicious! Afterwards, we walked over to Haunted Mansion which still had the Nightmare Before Christmas overly, but sadly it was down just as we arrived. So instead we went to ride Pirates instead. G was not a fan. Not only did it have one drop like Disney World, but it actually had TWO! What madness is this. Well according to G the ride actually has three drops. The third drop being right after the last incline which is maybe a one inch drop. After surviving Pirates, Steph got a text that G's ears were done (it was like 9:15?) and it was convenient to head that way as I was headed to the Expo. The ears looked nice. G got "1st trip", "5k", and some marigolds on them. All in all the ears were like $50 all-in. $35 for the ears and $15 for the art. So a pretty pricey souvenir that only were worn that particular day. Nice to have, but maybe not worth the $50.
It was at this time that we made our split. I headed over to the Disneyland hotel for the runDisney expo, and Steph/G stayed in the parks to keep enjoying themselves. It was around 9:20-9:30am or so when I made my way that direction.
Next Post - Thursday, January 11th, 2024 - Disneyland, Expo (Part 2)
Up at 5:30am. The runDisney merchandise virtual queue opened at 7:00am local. Steph and I got ourselves all prepared on the app and then did the fast refresh method. I didn't hesitate and Steph did once the queue opened. I ended up with BG13 and she was BG140 something. I didn't have strong desires for merch, but wanted to see what they had. After getting the BG we left the hotel to head over to Disneyland. The parks opened at 8:00am for non-Disney hotel guests.
We made it over there around 7:35am, and the park was open already. We got some pictures in front of the train station.
G wanted some more pictures prior to the park opening.
The hat shop was open prior to 8am. Steph had watched a vlogger video on cool DIsneyland souvenirs, and saw a pair of leather Mickey ears that could be painted by the Christmas shop. So Steph purchased the ears and then right at 8am when the Christmas shop opened she was first in line to get the ears painted. The longer you wait in the day the busier they can get. So being early is helpful. After getting the ears all set up, we made our way through the baby castle to hit up our first ride.
It was so different than DIsney World. Like my brain was having a hard time understanding my surroundings, because it looked the same, but different. One of the weird DIsneyland things was how the Snow White ride was just kind of there. Like there was an archway, and that was the entrance without much funfare. We made our way in and took our first Disneyland ride.
After Snow White, we hit up the Pinnochio ride which had a similar random door entrance. Then we decided to ride on the Casey Jr's train.
G enjoyed this little train because she liked looking at the Princess house models. After getting off Casey's it was time to experience some Disneyland Churros!
They were delicious! Afterwards, we walked over to Haunted Mansion which still had the Nightmare Before Christmas overly, but sadly it was down just as we arrived. So instead we went to ride Pirates instead. G was not a fan. Not only did it have one drop like Disney World, but it actually had TWO! What madness is this. Well according to G the ride actually has three drops. The third drop being right after the last incline which is maybe a one inch drop. After surviving Pirates, Steph got a text that G's ears were done (it was like 9:15?) and it was convenient to head that way as I was headed to the Expo. The ears looked nice. G got "1st trip", "5k", and some marigolds on them. All in all the ears were like $50 all-in. $35 for the ears and $15 for the art. So a pretty pricey souvenir that only were worn that particular day. Nice to have, but maybe not worth the $50.
It was at this time that we made our split. I headed over to the Disneyland hotel for the runDisney expo, and Steph/G stayed in the parks to keep enjoying themselves. It was around 9:20-9:30am or so when I made my way that direction.
Next Post - Thursday, January 11th, 2024 - Disneyland, Expo (Part 2)
dis_or_dat
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2016
Long Beach airport is so small, the luggage carousel was outside last time I went! I think the smallest airport I've been to is Page, AZ - just one gate, which barely beat Santa Fe, NM - which has 2, or more like 1.5. SNA is a nice size. Not as small as LGB, but not as enormous as LAX.
Love Steph's HM ears!
Love Steph's HM ears!
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
Thursday, January 11th, 2024 - Disneyland, Expo (Part 2)
I made my way towards the Disneyland hotel for the runDisney Expo, meanwhile Steph and G stayed behind inside the Disneyland park. It was around 9:20-9:30 when I was on my way. When I got close to the Disneyland hotel I found a runner couple with jackets on that seemed like they were headed towards the expo. I asked them if they knew where they were going. They helped me out by pointing the way, and then I just followed them.
Got inside the Disneyland hotel and followed the sign towards the runDisney merchandise section. It was around 9:35am at this time and my BG was predicted to be called around 9:50am based on the app. I rounded a corner and saw some familiar faces in the hallway. It was @The Expert and @StarGirl11. Said our hellos and @The Expert shared her experience with the expo thus far. Eventually we parted ways and @The Expert pointed me towards the general area I should head. When I got outside I saw a line of people had formed and figured I was probably in the right place. So I asked a person with a nametag and they asked which BG number I had. I said BG13 and they put me in a line with BG1-15 in it (or thereabouts). He also had a second line going with 15-30, and then anyone >30 was told to come back at a later time and enjoy their morning.
I chatted up some people in line and we waited from about 9:45am-10:20am. It was around 10:20am, that an official runDisney person came outside, saw the line situation, and then proceeded to talk loudly (sort of yelling) at us. He was adament that us standing in lines meant absolutely nothing. A waste of time and gained nothing in terms of getting inside the runDisney merch section sooner. Leave, go do something else, enjoy your day. Be anywhere other than standing right here. I mean, I get it. He wasn't wrong. But us runDisney runners, and Disney fans specifically, have never seen a line we didn't want to join in on. But by the time he told us all this, they were already calling like BG8-10 or so, so I figured I might as well stick around the area. In hindsight, I probably could have saved some time by getting our bibs right at opening instead of standing in a line for nothing.
Around 10:30am was when I was notified my BG had been called. I made my way towards the runDisney merch entrance and saw @lookingforsunshine and friends. Nice to see her again! Got inside the entrance, but my phone wouldn't scan despite my brightness being at 100%. After about a minute or so of attempting to scan it, the person just let me in. Stood in a line for a while. Saw @xjillianpaige in line! Then saw @lookingforsunshine again. Don't remember exactly when I made it inside the merch area, but it couldn't have been more than 10-15 minutes.
I didn't come in with any expectations on the merch. So I just kind of perused the options and picked and chose things I liked. Ultimately, I got a black t-shirt with "We're back", a pair of blue tights, a 5k pin for G, and a white tank top. I think that was it. According to my texts, I was done with runDisney merch around 11:15am.
After I exited the merch area, I made my way upstairs to bib pickup. The lines were super short (maybe 2-3 people ahead of me). The person for the 5k was initially confused about me not being G, but then caught on that she was my daughter. Other than that, it was uneventful. Got the bibs and headed back towards the merch area to get our free race long sleeves. That was quick and easy, and then packed my backpack with everything. Then I found the line for pre-purchase. That ended up being the longest line of the expo, but even then it only took 10-15 minutes. Saw @Novatrix while I was waiting for my Disneyland Loungefly for G. Sadly my backpack couldn't carry everything, so I carried the loungefly in my hand. The exit for the merch area was weird. They were counting people for capacity considerations, but it made things less flowy because they ushered us towards a single exit, instead of the multitude of other acceptable exits. I get it, but it just seemed inefficient for my use of time. I texted Steph around 11:40am that I was headed back to Disneyland park. I met up with Steph and G at around 11:55am. So all in it took about 2.5 hrs from the moment I left the park to returning to the park. I feel like this is less time than a WDW weekend typically takes, so that was a win.
While I was at the expo, G and Steph were having a good time inside the DIsneyland park. They got a Grogu!
They rode the carousel!
They tried to become king!
They rode the Teacups!
They checked out the submarines!
And they ate a dry ice frozen Mickey bar!
So they stayed busy while I was gone!
Right as I entered the park, I walked towards the castle, and just happened to see G and Steph getting their picture taken. So I joined up with them, and got ourselves a castle pic!
Steph had big plans for our first ride back together. She wanted to do the Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes. Steph thought it looked fun. Turns out, it's fun depending on where you sit. If you're sitting next to a child, then you'll probably have an ok experience. If you sit in front of a child, then they'll keep wacking your paddle with theirs and get you all wet. If you sit behind a child, then they'll keep wacking your paddle with theirs and get you all wet. So G successfully got the stranger Dad in front of her all wet, and her known to her Dad behind her all wet. So yea, that was fun. Also got splashed some river water in my eyes and was convinced I had just contracted several different ailments. There was a funny joke by the cast member. They told us all to smile and look like we were having fun so that she could get some new suckers to do the canoes. It was like a mix of physical activity, water ride, and Jungle Cruise.
After the canoes, we saw the Haunted Mansion ride was up again. I think the line ended up taking 45-50 min. The ride was still overlayed with Nightmare Before Christmas. To me, this was a highlight of the trip. The overlay of NBC on HM is just phenomenal. Got to see the Hatbox Ghost in person and confirmed it would be a tricky good cosplay to attempt some day.
After HM, I think we headed towards the frontier area and got lunch at the Golden Horseshoe. They had buffalo chicken strips, and G/Steph got plain chicken strips. This was a good meal.
I think we headed through Star Wars Galaxy's Edge for a walkthrough. Very similar to the WDW GE. G got another stuffie. She asked me what it's name was, and the first thing I saw was "Nom". So I was like it's "Nom". But that's just "name" in Spanish. So go me...
After GE, we made our way towards Toontown. Along the way, we saw a new age Ariel. I had a hard time discerning whether this was a cast member or a cosplay guest. It's hard at Disneyland because the characters don't always have handlers or photopass people taking pictures. Ariel was just meandering about, and she looked bored/lonely. So I convinced G to go say, "Hi". They chatted for a bit and then took some pics together.
After meeting Ariel, we made our way into Toontown!
Next post - Thursday, January 11th, 2024 - Disneyland, Expo (Part 3)
I made my way towards the Disneyland hotel for the runDisney Expo, meanwhile Steph and G stayed behind inside the Disneyland park. It was around 9:20-9:30 when I was on my way. When I got close to the Disneyland hotel I found a runner couple with jackets on that seemed like they were headed towards the expo. I asked them if they knew where they were going. They helped me out by pointing the way, and then I just followed them.
Got inside the Disneyland hotel and followed the sign towards the runDisney merchandise section. It was around 9:35am at this time and my BG was predicted to be called around 9:50am based on the app. I rounded a corner and saw some familiar faces in the hallway. It was @The Expert and @StarGirl11. Said our hellos and @The Expert shared her experience with the expo thus far. Eventually we parted ways and @The Expert pointed me towards the general area I should head. When I got outside I saw a line of people had formed and figured I was probably in the right place. So I asked a person with a nametag and they asked which BG number I had. I said BG13 and they put me in a line with BG1-15 in it (or thereabouts). He also had a second line going with 15-30, and then anyone >30 was told to come back at a later time and enjoy their morning.
I chatted up some people in line and we waited from about 9:45am-10:20am. It was around 10:20am, that an official runDisney person came outside, saw the line situation, and then proceeded to talk loudly (sort of yelling) at us. He was adament that us standing in lines meant absolutely nothing. A waste of time and gained nothing in terms of getting inside the runDisney merch section sooner. Leave, go do something else, enjoy your day. Be anywhere other than standing right here. I mean, I get it. He wasn't wrong. But us runDisney runners, and Disney fans specifically, have never seen a line we didn't want to join in on. But by the time he told us all this, they were already calling like BG8-10 or so, so I figured I might as well stick around the area. In hindsight, I probably could have saved some time by getting our bibs right at opening instead of standing in a line for nothing.
Around 10:30am was when I was notified my BG had been called. I made my way towards the runDisney merch entrance and saw @lookingforsunshine and friends. Nice to see her again! Got inside the entrance, but my phone wouldn't scan despite my brightness being at 100%. After about a minute or so of attempting to scan it, the person just let me in. Stood in a line for a while. Saw @xjillianpaige in line! Then saw @lookingforsunshine again. Don't remember exactly when I made it inside the merch area, but it couldn't have been more than 10-15 minutes.
I didn't come in with any expectations on the merch. So I just kind of perused the options and picked and chose things I liked. Ultimately, I got a black t-shirt with "We're back", a pair of blue tights, a 5k pin for G, and a white tank top. I think that was it. According to my texts, I was done with runDisney merch around 11:15am.
After I exited the merch area, I made my way upstairs to bib pickup. The lines were super short (maybe 2-3 people ahead of me). The person for the 5k was initially confused about me not being G, but then caught on that she was my daughter. Other than that, it was uneventful. Got the bibs and headed back towards the merch area to get our free race long sleeves. That was quick and easy, and then packed my backpack with everything. Then I found the line for pre-purchase. That ended up being the longest line of the expo, but even then it only took 10-15 minutes. Saw @Novatrix while I was waiting for my Disneyland Loungefly for G. Sadly my backpack couldn't carry everything, so I carried the loungefly in my hand. The exit for the merch area was weird. They were counting people for capacity considerations, but it made things less flowy because they ushered us towards a single exit, instead of the multitude of other acceptable exits. I get it, but it just seemed inefficient for my use of time. I texted Steph around 11:40am that I was headed back to Disneyland park. I met up with Steph and G at around 11:55am. So all in it took about 2.5 hrs from the moment I left the park to returning to the park. I feel like this is less time than a WDW weekend typically takes, so that was a win.
While I was at the expo, G and Steph were having a good time inside the DIsneyland park. They got a Grogu!
They rode the carousel!
They tried to become king!
They rode the Teacups!
They checked out the submarines!
And they ate a dry ice frozen Mickey bar!
So they stayed busy while I was gone!
Right as I entered the park, I walked towards the castle, and just happened to see G and Steph getting their picture taken. So I joined up with them, and got ourselves a castle pic!
Steph had big plans for our first ride back together. She wanted to do the Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes. Steph thought it looked fun. Turns out, it's fun depending on where you sit. If you're sitting next to a child, then you'll probably have an ok experience. If you sit in front of a child, then they'll keep wacking your paddle with theirs and get you all wet. If you sit behind a child, then they'll keep wacking your paddle with theirs and get you all wet. So G successfully got the stranger Dad in front of her all wet, and her known to her Dad behind her all wet. So yea, that was fun. Also got splashed some river water in my eyes and was convinced I had just contracted several different ailments. There was a funny joke by the cast member. They told us all to smile and look like we were having fun so that she could get some new suckers to do the canoes. It was like a mix of physical activity, water ride, and Jungle Cruise.
After the canoes, we saw the Haunted Mansion ride was up again. I think the line ended up taking 45-50 min. The ride was still overlayed with Nightmare Before Christmas. To me, this was a highlight of the trip. The overlay of NBC on HM is just phenomenal. Got to see the Hatbox Ghost in person and confirmed it would be a tricky good cosplay to attempt some day.
After HM, I think we headed towards the frontier area and got lunch at the Golden Horseshoe. They had buffalo chicken strips, and G/Steph got plain chicken strips. This was a good meal.
I think we headed through Star Wars Galaxy's Edge for a walkthrough. Very similar to the WDW GE. G got another stuffie. She asked me what it's name was, and the first thing I saw was "Nom". So I was like it's "Nom". But that's just "name" in Spanish. So go me...
After GE, we made our way towards Toontown. Along the way, we saw a new age Ariel. I had a hard time discerning whether this was a cast member or a cosplay guest. It's hard at Disneyland because the characters don't always have handlers or photopass people taking pictures. Ariel was just meandering about, and she looked bored/lonely. So I convinced G to go say, "Hi". They chatted for a bit and then took some pics together.
After meeting Ariel, we made our way into Toontown!
Next post - Thursday, January 11th, 2024 - Disneyland, Expo (Part 3)
xjillianpaige
adventure is out there
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2012
G definitely had the best time at DL out of everyone on this board!
It was so nice to meet you IRL in line!
My friends and I had a similar experience with the expo. We were boarding group 10 so we got there early because we figured we would be called right away. There was one group of CMs organizing the line by number, like you said, then other CMs just letting people jump the line if they had an earlier boarding group, then a third CM telling those of us who were brought further up in line before we were called that we could all just… leave. Boarding group 8 was being called but he said we should go somewhere else. I think not, sir.
It was so nice to meet you IRL in line!
My friends and I had a similar experience with the expo. We were boarding group 10 so we got there early because we figured we would be called right away. There was one group of CMs organizing the line by number, like you said, then other CMs just letting people jump the line if they had an earlier boarding group, then a third CM telling those of us who were brought further up in line before we were called that we could all just… leave. Boarding group 8 was being called but he said we should go somewhere else. I think not, sir.
SheHulk
off to the (runDisney) races
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2016
This was really funny. I guess we do like to be in a line! Makes you feel secure that you will eventually gain admittance.
And there are too many factors out of Disney's control with those Crockett canoes, I can't believe they still run them!
And there are too many factors out of Disney's control with those Crockett canoes, I can't believe they still run them!
lookingforsunshine
it never hurts to keep looking for sunshine
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2021
We are tank top twins!! It was so great to see you & made me really happy. Sad to learn I apparently missed @xjillianpaige who must have been nearby.
DisneyParrothead
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2010
I stayed on Harbor near Katella and brought a white noise machine for sleeping. I didn’t hear a thing, not even the fireworks.
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
I haven't heard of it. Looks like it is April 20th. So like a 40/60 chance there could still be snow on the ground. Usually the last snow is somewhere in mid-April. Something to consider. Although, last year's Parkinson's which was mid-April as well was blazing hot, then the temps dropped back down.
There's a building around the luggage carousel, but much like the rest of the airport it's open air and only accessible by going outside.
Steph brought a lot of ears choices!
For sure. She really liked LA, and only reinforced her desires for adulthood.
G had a great time, and we haven't even hit her highpoints yet in the recap.
Hooray for random meetups!
Yea, that expo situation was something else. In hindsight, I would have done things differently.
For sure.
I was surprised they didn't make us wear life jackets. Guess I don't know how truly deep the water actually is, but the paddle wasn't touching the bottom.
Twinning! Great to see you as well.
I only have limited experience with a white noise machine. My mom brought one, one runDisney trip when we shared a room. The sound made it harder for me to go to sleep, but could have just been the stress of the trip. I didn't actually have that much trouble sleeping during this trip unlike other runDisney ones despite the road traffic. I suspect the time change helped a ton.
RunWI1265
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 7, 2020
I know she will carry this Dopey finish with her FOREVER. She speaks so highly of you and said she couldn't have done it without you. I know many of us feel the same way! @dis_or_dat and I ran together for the half marathon and we had a nice chat about how helpful you've been for both of us.
We must have been in the same area. We heard the same thing from an rD jacket wearing worker. None of us moved though.
I thought it was odd as I've never encountered a CM/rD personnel speaking to anyone in such a way at an rD event, but turns out those were actually the hired special event team members not Disney employees. So it makes more sense now. Really enjoyed finally meeting you in person! We just had to travel all the way to CA to make it happen! Thanks to G's ride recaps I was able to prepare my kids for the multiple drops on Pirates (because they did ask haha).
The Expert
Has been to every Disney park in the world
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2009
Great to run into you at the expo!
Yeah.... that's the thing though. Even at a Disney hotel I don't feel like DL has much of a "bubble". We have stayed at GC and DLH and you're closer to the parks, but it just isn't the same as WDW. It is super nice to have that entrance to the park at GC, though!
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
Happy to help! It was a monumentous achievement for K.
We must have been in the same area. We heard the same thing from an rD jacket wearing worker. None of us moved though.
I'm not sure we've gotten into it yet, but I've got thoughts on Disneyland vs Disney World in this vein.
LOL. Of course we live like 90 min from each other, but sure a cross country meeting makes the most sense.
Always a pleasure!
Totally agree. I'm just not as convinced as Steph that the Disneyland hotels are worth the price increase over something like Hotel Indigo.
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
Thursday, January 11th, 2024 - Disneyland, Expo (Part 3)
So we left off heading towards Toontown, but before we get there I remember one more experience from Galaxy's Edge. I was standing in the shopping district while G and Steph were looking for "Nom". One of the castmembers called out to the other across on the concourse and asked the other if they were working on Monday (MLK Day). The person wasn't sure, and the first suggested they do it because they get two times pay. So they went back and forth about it for a little longer. It was odd. In all my years of attending Disney World parks, I can't recollect a time when the castmembers broke "character" and became just normal workers talking about their shifts. Between this experience, the runDisney cast member talking loudly at people, and a few other instances, it led me to a feeling about DIsneyland vs Disney World. This isn't completely true, but just a feeling. It feels like at Disney World the cast members like really buy into the experience. It's a part of them. Where at DIsneyland it felt more like it was just a job for the castmembers there. And that's not to say there's anything wrong with that. I totally get it. But it just gave me a different vibe in Disneyland vs Disney World from the cast member angle. I wonder if it has something to do with Disneyland being a lot of locals and Disney World being destination visitors.
Alright, so we headed back to Toontown and were transformed into toon characters! We aimed to ride the Roger Rabbit ride, Mickey and Minnie, and maybe meet some characters. Alas, Mickey and Minnie was down, the Roger Rabbit line was too long, and so was meeting Mickey/Minnie. So we kind of just looked around the area, and then we headed out towards Tommorowland. Next up was the Finding Nemo Submarine.
We waited about 30 min or so for the submarine. While waiting in line we found a stuffed magnet Stitch. Gave it to the cast member hoping his owner would come back. Getting on the submarine was an adventure. We were first on, so thankfully I could go down the stairs at my leisure. I'd say being 6 foot tall is near the limit size for this ride. I did bump my head on the walk to the seat, and then my knees were pretty much right on the wall in front of me for leg room.
It was an enjoyable ride. A lot longer than I expected. Don't ride if you have claustrophobia though. Quite the tight space. Kind of weird seeing the cast member driving but only from the waist down.
After wrapping that up, it was around 3pm and we headed towards the Disneyland hotel Tangaroa Terrace. Some old DIS members that don't post anymore wanted to get together. Hadn't seen them since 2020, so it was nice to catch up. We spent a good bit of time there, and then afterwards headed back to the Disneyland park.
We had a dining reservation at Carnation Cafe. This meal turned out being an A+ for us. I had the Braised Short Rib, Steph had Chili & Salad, and G had a Hamburger Slider. In all it was only $55 or so. And while that seems like a lot, this ended up being one of the cheaper meals, and we all really enjoyed what we got. We talked several times throughout the remainder of the trip that we could be content eating at Carnation Cafe every evening because the price for content couldn't be beat compared to the other meals we had.
After the cafe, we rode on the Storybook Land Canal Boats. G had seen the dioramas from the Casey Jr train and was excited to see them at night. While it's a relatively basic ride, G did enjoy it.
Pretty sure this was the end of our night. We headed back to the hat store we had visited first thing in the morning. The debate all day and been about whether we should get Monsters MU knit hats or a baseball MU hat. Now Mike wears the baseball hat handed down to him from when he was on that school field trip. Marty isn't seen in the hat, but one could presume that maybe Mike handed the hat down to his nephew. So G was all hot to trot on getting the baseball hat because it would be more "character accurate". But I contested that function mattered more than form. It was more important to be warm, than it is to be 100% accurate. So at the end I was able to convince G that we should get the knit hats.
It was 7pm, and time to head back to the hotel for an early wakeup for 5k day! We were in bed by 8pm.
Sleep - 8:29 hrs
RHR - 48 bpm
Steps - 21,809 steps
Miles - 11.3 miles
Body Battery High - 65
Body Battery Low - 32
Next Post: Friday, January 12th, 2024 - 5k, California Adventure
So we left off heading towards Toontown, but before we get there I remember one more experience from Galaxy's Edge. I was standing in the shopping district while G and Steph were looking for "Nom". One of the castmembers called out to the other across on the concourse and asked the other if they were working on Monday (MLK Day). The person wasn't sure, and the first suggested they do it because they get two times pay. So they went back and forth about it for a little longer. It was odd. In all my years of attending Disney World parks, I can't recollect a time when the castmembers broke "character" and became just normal workers talking about their shifts. Between this experience, the runDisney cast member talking loudly at people, and a few other instances, it led me to a feeling about DIsneyland vs Disney World. This isn't completely true, but just a feeling. It feels like at Disney World the cast members like really buy into the experience. It's a part of them. Where at DIsneyland it felt more like it was just a job for the castmembers there. And that's not to say there's anything wrong with that. I totally get it. But it just gave me a different vibe in Disneyland vs Disney World from the cast member angle. I wonder if it has something to do with Disneyland being a lot of locals and Disney World being destination visitors.
Alright, so we headed back to Toontown and were transformed into toon characters! We aimed to ride the Roger Rabbit ride, Mickey and Minnie, and maybe meet some characters. Alas, Mickey and Minnie was down, the Roger Rabbit line was too long, and so was meeting Mickey/Minnie. So we kind of just looked around the area, and then we headed out towards Tommorowland. Next up was the Finding Nemo Submarine.
We waited about 30 min or so for the submarine. While waiting in line we found a stuffed magnet Stitch. Gave it to the cast member hoping his owner would come back. Getting on the submarine was an adventure. We were first on, so thankfully I could go down the stairs at my leisure. I'd say being 6 foot tall is near the limit size for this ride. I did bump my head on the walk to the seat, and then my knees were pretty much right on the wall in front of me for leg room.
It was an enjoyable ride. A lot longer than I expected. Don't ride if you have claustrophobia though. Quite the tight space. Kind of weird seeing the cast member driving but only from the waist down.
After wrapping that up, it was around 3pm and we headed towards the Disneyland hotel Tangaroa Terrace. Some old DIS members that don't post anymore wanted to get together. Hadn't seen them since 2020, so it was nice to catch up. We spent a good bit of time there, and then afterwards headed back to the Disneyland park.
We had a dining reservation at Carnation Cafe. This meal turned out being an A+ for us. I had the Braised Short Rib, Steph had Chili & Salad, and G had a Hamburger Slider. In all it was only $55 or so. And while that seems like a lot, this ended up being one of the cheaper meals, and we all really enjoyed what we got. We talked several times throughout the remainder of the trip that we could be content eating at Carnation Cafe every evening because the price for content couldn't be beat compared to the other meals we had.
After the cafe, we rode on the Storybook Land Canal Boats. G had seen the dioramas from the Casey Jr train and was excited to see them at night. While it's a relatively basic ride, G did enjoy it.
Pretty sure this was the end of our night. We headed back to the hat store we had visited first thing in the morning. The debate all day and been about whether we should get Monsters MU knit hats or a baseball MU hat. Now Mike wears the baseball hat handed down to him from when he was on that school field trip. Marty isn't seen in the hat, but one could presume that maybe Mike handed the hat down to his nephew. So G was all hot to trot on getting the baseball hat because it would be more "character accurate". But I contested that function mattered more than form. It was more important to be warm, than it is to be 100% accurate. So at the end I was able to convince G that we should get the knit hats.
It was 7pm, and time to head back to the hotel for an early wakeup for 5k day! We were in bed by 8pm.
Sleep - 8:29 hrs
RHR - 48 bpm
Steps - 21,809 steps
Miles - 11.3 miles
Body Battery High - 65
Body Battery Low - 32
Next Post: Friday, January 12th, 2024 - 5k, California Adventure
xjillianpaige
adventure is out there
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2012
Going through security I heard a similar conversation from a few of the security guards, except it was "Where has [so-and-so] been?" and "Oh, he was fired."
LorrieAnn5
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2014
While we were waiting for the Sailing Ship Columbia a CM was chatting with guests next to us and one guest asked what the special pin on is name tag was. CM responded, "oh this means I haven't been fired in over 10 years."Going through security I heard a similar conversation from a few of the security guards, except it was "Where has [so-and-so] been?" and "Oh, he was fired."
Some of the CM conversations before we got on the canoes were of a similar nature of like who was supposed to be rowing with who and when, etc. Ultimately a manager appeared and settled who was going on this boat and the lead CM at the front of our canoe happened to be taking his last trip around on his last shift after ten years of employment. He did a great job, making it a Jungle Cruise-esque attraction with the corny jokes, but I'm not 100% sure he would have cared to take a final row around or not....??!!
In other news, I saw you & your family eating at Golden Horseshore, but later in the trip that what you've reported so far, so I'm assuming you guys ate there twice. We ate there twice too. We sat front and center both times. I was too shy to say hi, but next time.
Great trip report as always. Thanks for sharing.
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