Locally, the temperature had climbed into triple digits. This was the one aspect of the original Disneyland Half Marathon that no one liked when the race fell on Labor Day weekend. This new Halloween themed race started a week after and still could not escape the hot weather!
Heat wave!
After working a half day from home and eating lunch, I hopped in my car to drive down to Anaheim. Normally for a Disneyland race, I would drive into work and stopped at Disneyland along the way home to pick up my race packet. Then I would drive down to Anaheim for each of the races. However, this time around, I just didn't feel like paying the parking fee at the Toy Story Parking Lot or the GardenWalk parking structure. Instead, I booked a 2 night stay at one of my vacation rentals, WorldMark Dolphin's Cove. I could've booked at the closer WorldMark Anaheim, but even they were charging $10 per night to park there!
At first, I had thought about either parking at the Downtown Disney (Simba) parking lot or the Pixar & Pals parking structure for $10. Instead, I decided to just park at the Starbucks on Katella near the 5 freeway. With the $10 that I saved, I ordered a grande salted caramel cream cold brew. From there with my cold drink in hand, I hoofed it over to the Disneyland Hotel convention center.
Grande salted caramel cream cold brew
The final stretch to the old finish line
The race packet pick-up process was identical to the Disneyland race in January. After entering the Disneyland Hotel from the entrance closest to Goofy's Kitchen, I took the escalator upstairs to first pick up my bib.
Disneyland Hotel convention center
Bib pick-up
Then I made my way downstairs to the exhibit hall. I first headed to the left to pick up my race shirts for taking on the Chills & Thrills Challenge. I wasn't too fond of the teal color for the half marathon, but I do love the designs for the 10k and the Challenge.
10k race shirt
Half marathon race shirt
Chills & Thrills Challenge shirt
I then headed in the opposite direction to quickly check out the rest of the expo. I took pictures of some of the cool banners and rushed through each of the vendor booths. I really didn't have time to peruse at my leisure as I couldn't leave my car at that parking lot for more than 2 hours.
After I was done with the race expo, I decided to head through Downtown Disney to shorten the distance a bit. Along the way, I swung by the Disneyland Hotel to check out their Halloween decorations. Then I hopped into a line to get through security screening. The heat was pretty intense, so I was a sweaty mess by the time I had gotten back to my car. I had to get out my OrangeMud seat cover out so I don't ruin my nice white seats!
Halloween backdrop
I drove down to WorldMark Dolphin's Cove to see if I could check in a bit early. Thank goodness my unit was ready. I was assigned to unit #619 which reminded me of San Diego. After I got my room key, per the usual, I had to stop by the concierge station. I know I shouldn't, but since I had nothing planned for tomorrow after the race, I decided to commit to yet another owner update. The incentive for "one hour" of my time was a $125 Tango gift card and a $20 gift card for The WorldMarket in the lobby of the WorldMark Anaheim property. For the very first time since becoming an owner, this was the first time they didn't collect the usual $20 deposit in the event where I was a no show. She asked if it was okay to schedule me for 7:30 am tomorrow after the race. That would've been a bit rushed, so I had her put me down instead for 9:30 am. She scheduled an Uber ride for 9:20 am. She gave me some small water bottles and a small bag of chips as a check-in care package. After finding a suitable shaded carport parking spot, I took my stuff up to my room.
Check-in goodies
I drank some water and grabbed my Yoda backpack and headed over to the Toy Story Parking Lot to catch a ride over to Disneyland. As to be somewhat expected, the park was pretty empty for a very hot Friday night. The first thing I saw on the mobile app was that there was a virtual queue for the Haunted Mansion Holiday and that it was still open. They were welcoming group 154 when I joined. I was assigned to group 231. I should be able to get on the ride before dinner.
Halloween in September
So hot that no one was sitting on the porch on Main Street
Here were the rides and attractions that I went on for Disneyland:
- Star Tours: The Adventures Continue: It's been a while since I've started my Disneyland visit at a time of day way after rope drop. I decided to start here in Tomorrowland and make my way through the park in a counter-clockwise direction.
Star Tours
- Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters: This ride really needs to be overhauled. Most of the guns are terrible. The quality of the ride photo is beyond horrible. If I don't do a very unique pose, I really cannot identify myself.
Buzz Lightyear
- Star Wars Launch Bay: Boy, Darth Vader was quite talkative today. I barely got a word in! He sure didn't like me calling him, Anakin. :)
- It's a Small World: The ride was stuck for a while inside. I wasn't complaining one bit as it was a nice break from the heat outside.
Lilo & Stitch
- Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway: Fail. There wasn't much of a line, but the ride went down. A cast member came out and said that it didn't look like the ride would be coming back up quickly. He told us that we could wait, but he wouldn't recommend that we do. On the way out, I saw that I had received an email from McDonald's letting me know that medium fries were free on the mobile app on Fridays. Tempting!
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance: Looked like this ride continues to have issues. It was interesting to notice that for the first time that I've been on this ride that there was only one transport after being broken out of prison. I thought it was a better experience that way. Then on the final scene before leaving via escape pod, there was no animatronic Kylo Ren. Instead we got him on the screen outside in his TIE Silencer. Well, at least the part where he was on top of the turbo lift, cutting through the ceiling with his light saber was working.
- Pirates of the Caribbean: After a nice relaxing ride, I did a little window shopping in the New Orleans Square area while I waited for my group to be called in the virtual queue for the Haunted Mansion Holiday. It was moving at a fairly decent pace until it got closer to my group. Then it really slowed down.
Pirate shark
A Nightmare Before Christmas back drop
Dopey by Giuseppe Armani
- Haunted Mansion Holiday: I think there were a lot of people in later groups that jumped the gun and got in line before their group was called. Without the barcode, the cast member stationed there was not letting anyone get up to the Haunted Mansion entrance. This virtual queue definitely made it much more enjoyable without having to waste several hours just standing in a physical queue.
Finally, my group was called
My favorite version of the Haunted Mansion
Hatbox Ghost
Earl of Sandwich
The Original 1762
The Full Montagu
After finishing my 2 sandwiches, I headed into Disney California Adventure Park for one last ride before heading back to my room. It was my favorite ride, Toy Story Midway Mania. I was feeling pretty exhausted from the heat, so I totally ran out of steam near the end!
San Fransokyo Square
Carthay Circle
I was super-wiped out from the heat and the half day visit inside the parks that I fell asleep just shortly after taking a shower and laying out my flat runner. I never got the chance to set any alarms for tomorrow's race!
10k flat runner
Saturday 9/7
Fortunately for me, even without alarms, I tend to only sleep about 4-6 hours at a time. I woke up at around 2:30 am. That should've been plenty of time for me to get ready for the race, but I was experiencing some GI distress. Something from what I ate last night did not agree with me. It felt like imminent diarrhea, but nothing was coming out. By 3:30 am, I decided to start heading over to the start line. If I must, I will have to find a portapotty. I ended up jogging over to the start. Without the sun, it did not feel all too warm just yet.
10k start line
Jack Skellington and Sally
The first mile felt great. I thought that I was going to have a good race. Then the diarrhea issue started to kick in... again. I eased off on the pace for the second mile, but it still felt like I was on the verge of crapping myself. Just as I was nearing mile 3, I ducked into the restroom. Even though I was experiencing cramps and the rumblings, the train was still not ready to leave the station. Once I hopped back on the course, I decided to just jog it in and not risk crapping my shorts. Besides the GI issue, it was also quite warm and humid.
Beware of hitchhiking ghosts!
10k finish: 1:00:30
Click here for my Garmin data.
Recently with runDisney races, they had been leaving the medals inside the individual plastic wrapper. After unpacking the medal and hanging it around my neck, I continued down the finisher chute. I asked the volunteer for an extra bottle of Powerade as I knew that I had sweat a ton even for a 10k! I also picked up the usual bottle of water, a runDisney snack box, and a banana. At the end of the chute, they were passing out Halloween trick-or-treat candies.
10k finisher medal
Post race drinks and snack box
For the 10k, they weren't letting people exit out onto Disney Way which made sense since that was the final stretch of the course. I was directed to exit at the northern end of the lot. From there, I could head east over to Clementine St. It made the walk back further, but fortunately, I was able to make it back to my room to take care of my diarrhea issue.
At about 9 am, I received a text telling me that my Uber driver would show up at about 9:09 am. That was a bit earlier than I had expected. So I headed out to the curb to wait for my ride. After waiting for about 5 minutes, I realized that I had forgotten the owner update slip. I briskly walked back to my room to get it. There was still enough time for that as my driver ultimately showed up at about 9:15 am.
The update took place over at the WorldMark Anaheim property. The guy that was assigned to me was Richard Chaplow. His accent made me ask if he was from the UK. He said that he was from Manchester, so I asked if he was a United or City fan. He pretty much said neither and that his club was Burnley. It would turn out that he was a retired Premier League footballer as well as a former manager in the USL. As I had become well accustomed to with these updates, it went well over the one hour. Their current and consistent tactic has been to point out that my current level of ownership was not enough, that I needed more credits so that I could sell it back to them in order to offset the maintenance fees. When I told this rep that I don't want WorldMark to constantly try and sell me more credits, he was quick to respond that he wasn't trying to sell me anything. Oh, really? Then why was I here? Why were you trying to pressure me into upgrading my ownership? Also another thing that irked me during this "owner update" was that he took a dump on the resort that I'm staying at for this weekend. Out of principle, the sole reason why I stayed there was because I wasn't going to pay $10 per day to park at the "better" property.
After I pointed out that I had been there well beyond the 1 hour, he then started the process of letting me go. At least he had the good sense to recognize that I wasn't going to be doing an upgrade today. Next I had to complete a verbal survey with another guy. Once I took care of that, I was told to stop by the gifting window. I had already received my digital Tango gift card in an email, so the girl gave me a physical $20 gift card for use at The WorldMarket. After signing on the tablet that I had received my gifts, I was free to leave. I had mistakenly taken a wrong turn so I ended up taking the service elevator. It dropped me off at the other end of the hallway. Normally, they would order an Uber ride for me. Since I was planning to visit the race expo, I skipped that and started heading over to Disneyland on foot. I took a detour through the Anaheim GardenWalk to check it out.
It was blazing out outside, but it was pretty cool to see all of the Halloween decorations. All of the huge spooky characters were interactive with proximity detection. I noticed that there were several new restaurants in the middle of being added to the place. This just might be the place to be for good food options.
I came back today just to check out the official merchandise. They had a few items that I was tempted to buy, but I really don't have the space for it in the house. I noticed that the graphics on the Magic Key shirt was finally sublimated, but the shirt design was terrible. It just looked cheap. As with yesterday, I cut through Downtown Disney on the way back to the GardenWalk.
Downtown Disney
I decided to check out Casa de Pancho Mexican Grill & Cantina for lunch as it was part of the American Airlines Dining Program. It was pretty spacious inside with a stage on the opposite end of the bar for live music. I believe the live entertainment was only for dinner. Unfortunately, the place was pretty understaffed for lunch. It was just 2 people waiting on all of the tables. So although the service was nice, it was slow. Good thing I had really nowhere to be today. They brought out some complimentary chips and salsa. I ordered their carne asada plate. It was not bad, but a bit pricey for that type of food. This place seemed to be geared more for the nightlife and cocktails.
Chips and salsa
Carne asada plate
Back at my room, I laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's race. I really didn't want to go anywhere for dinner, but I had to eat something. I walked over to the Toy Story Parking Lot to catch a ride over to Downtown Disney. The security lines were pretty long, but for the most part they were all moving at a consistent pace. After I got through, I headed to Earl of Sandwich. This time I wanted to check out the tavern. Since it was just me, I got seated at the bar. The bartender said the A/C was on, but it was pretty hot in there. I ordered the prime rib of beef. Normally, I would prefer for my prime rib to be cooked rare or medium-rare, but this time I had it cooked medium. I really wanted a steak, so I was fine when I saw that they had charred the sides.
Half marathon flat runner
Roasted Prime Rib of Beef
Since it was pretty darn hot, after finishing my meal, I went inside World of Disney to cool down a bit before heading back. There were a few items that I would like to buy, but once again, I had to pass as there's no more room in the house for more stuff!
Sunday 9/8
I was definitely dragging this morning. I got ready and left my room at about 3:15 am to head over to the start line. Before heading into the starting corral, I swung by the staging area to get some water and to use one of the portapotties. I was hoping to run today's race in just under 2 hours, so I positioned myself somewhat near the front by the announcer stage. A few familiar faces (Robert, Marcia, Jacky, Richard) joined me as we waited for the start of the race.
Mary Sanderson (Clarabelle Cow), Winifred Sanderson (Minnie Mouse), and Sarah Sanderson (Daisy Duck)
Jack Skellington and Sally
Deadpool Winifred mashup
Donald, Mickey, and Pluto
Minnie Mouse from Japan
Mayor Ashleigh Aitken
Just like yesterday, the first mile felt good. However, I knew that I would not be able to maintain that effort by the time I had reached the mile 2 marker. I pulled over for a quick walk break before continuing on with my race. Then just up ahead at the entrance to the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, I saw the characters from UP. I had to pull over for a quick pic. It was a slow 3rd mile, so I tried to pick up the pace for the 4th mile. Even so, I was not running fast enough if I wanted to finish in under 2 hours. I decided to give up on running for time and to start taking a walk break after reaching each new mile marker. The 5th mile would pretty much wrap up the miles inside the Disney parks. Unfortunately, I was feeling rather pooped!
UP! Mr Fredrickson, Russell, and Dug
Avengers Campus
DCA to Disneyland
Sleeping Beauty's castle
Galaxy's Edge, outpost on Batuu
It was actually nice to get out onto the streets of Anaheim as the roads were wider. I kept adjusting my pace which ultimately settled around 10 mins per mile. As I made the left turn onto Lewis St and approached the aid station at about mile 7, there was someone stationed there that was reminding runners to stayed hydrated or else they will force you to hydrate once you've ended up in the medical tent. The mile 9 marker brought us to the Honda Center, home of the Anaheim Ducks. Next we would hopped onto the Santa Ana River Trail. After running past the ARTIC, there was a group of clueless cyclists that decided to hop onto the trail and ride through us. One cyclist came close to colliding with a runner. That runner was not happy! Not sure what they were thinking as it was probably one of the narrowest sections of the trail as it was an underpass. We exited the trail at about mile 10 and headed towards Angel Stadium. After the run around the warning track, we exited the stadium and reached mile 11. With about 2 miles to go, I was running on fumes as the heat and humidity was getting to me. I took extra walk breaks to try and let me body reset. It was pretty cool to see the legacy cheer station at the mile 12 marker. They are such creative people! I mustered up as much as I could for that final mile, but it wasn't much. I was just happy to finish the race, upright!
Legacy cheer station at mile 12
Half marathon finish: 2:13:16
Click here for my Garmin data.
After crossing the finish line, I got a selfie with a fellow runner dressed up as Moana. My friend, Robert, spotted me. I was hoping to run with him before the race. He was able to finish in under 2 hours. I was so out of it that I thought it was February and that he had already left for Huntington Beach to run another race! Shortly after that our friend, Luis, showed up. He was not too far behind me as he heard my name being announced at the finish line. After getting a quick selfie, we all started heading out. Robert texted me to let me know that today, it cost him $12 to park at the GardenWalk. That's much cheaper than parking at the Toy Story Parking Lot across the street for $35!
Moana and Pua
Latino Heat and Luis
Half marathon finisher medal
Chills & Thrills Challenge medal
Close up of Sally
Along the way back to my room, I came across a guy asking for money. He saw me wearing my bib, so he asked if I was running a marathon. I guess I could've given him my runDisney snack box. Just wasn't sure if food was what he wanted. Back at my room, I showered and finished packing up my bags. I checked out of my room at about a quarter before 10 am. After getting past the gate, I parked the car to drop off the room keys at the front desk.
On a sad note, according to a People article, a TikToker with a decent following collapsed after crossing the finish line while clutching his chest and was transported to the hospital. This runner finished about 15 minutes ahead of me. They worked on him for an hour and was pronounced dead. May he rest in peace. Please do not ever take the warm weather lightly! You might still be within the age range where you feel invincible, but everyone's body is different. Not everyone can handle the same degree of stress on the body! If you're not a professional running for prize money, no race is worth giving up your life!
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