After working a half day and eating lunch, I got my stuff ready and drove down to Disneyland to pick up my race packet for the weekend. The check-in pass allowed me to park at the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure for $10 instead of the usual $35. Unfortunately, all of the cars were directed up to the rooftop level for parking. Per the usual after parking my car, I took a picture of the location so I would know where I had parked. I then hoofed it over to the Disneyland Hotel as the packet pickup was at the hotel convention center. Not sure if it was a good thing, but people did not need to go through security screening to enter the hotel area.
Mickey and Friends parking structure
Plenty of signage along the way
Loved the decorations
Disneyland Hotel Convention Center
Same as last year, I entered through the doors leading to the Lobby Lounge. I followed the signs and went upstairs to the Magic Kingdom Ballroom to pick up my race bib. In addition to my race bib, they put a bracelet on my wrist for the coast-to-coast challenge medal.
Race packet pick-up
Coast to coast bracelet
I then followed the signs and headed downstairs for the lower level ballroom and exhibit hall. There I picked up my race shirts. After getting my shirts, I checked out the vendor booths. There wasn't much that piqued my interest, so I moved onto the official race merchandise. I was slightly tempted to either get the Dumbo Double Dare jacket or the Magic Key shirt, but ultimately, I passed on both items as I really don't have any more space in the house for either one. I said hi and took a selfie with Jeff Galloway on my way out.
10k race shirt
Half marathon race shirt
Dumbo Double Dare shirt
Lower level ballroom
Expo samples
Jeff Galloway
After I was done with the race expo, I walked back to my car to drop off my race packet in exchange for my Yoda backpack. It was time for me to use my Magic Key pass for a partial day at the parks. Instead of opting to take the tram from the parking structure, I walked through Downtown Disney to get to the Disneyland Park entrance. Once I got inside, I went straight for the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Surprisingly, the line wasn't too long and the ride wasn't down.
I thought these were supposed to be a rare item?
Rise of the Resistance
Once I got off of the ride, I headed for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the wildest ride in the wilderness. It had been a while since I was last on this ride. It was along the way to Tomorrowland and the line wasn't too long.
My next ride was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. The blaster that I used wasn't fully functioning. It didn't always fire with each pull of the trigger. Now that they had "upgraded" the ride photos, they really need to fix these broken blasters!
I had thought about leaving, but I entered Disney California Adventure Park to check on some merchandise for my friend. I first checked out Los Feliz Five & Dime, but was unable to locate any of the Disney characters dressed in the traditional Korean hanbok.
Lunar New Year merchandise
I tried to make my way over to Pixar Pier to check out other stores and possibly go on Midway Mania, but there was way too much foot traffic squeezed into 1 narrow lane on the side as most of the walkway was closed for the parade. I eventually made my way over to the Hollywood Backlot and took a Disney Visa Cardmember-Exclusive Photo with Captain America. The cast member was kind of upset when the couple ahead of me told me that they had just met Spider-Man. He had just switched out for Captain America. Kind of a bummer as Spider-Man is my favorite and I had just met Captain America earlier last week.
Captain America
After that, I started heading out. Per the usual, I opted to walk instead of taking the tram. Along the way through Downtown Disney, I went inside World of Disney just to check out the merchandise. It has been my regular routine to check out their selection of mugs on the way out.
Darth Maul mug
Spider-man
Once I got back to my car and had exited the parking structure, I headed south to eat dinner at Outback Steakhouse. I don't normally eat at this chain restaurant, but it was participating in the AAdvantage Dining program. The parking lot was shared with other restaurants and it was pretty full. After finding a parking spot, I went inside and got a seat at the bar. The place wasn't too busy at about 6 pm. I ordered coffee while I looked over their menu. The bartender didn't have any coffee ready on hand, so she had to brew a whole new pot for me. I ended up ordering the sirloin steak and grilled shrimp. I got a house salad and a loaded baked potato as my 2 sides. Everything tasted okay, but the steak was a bit tough having been cooked to medium rare. I seem to recall that being the case in my past dining experiences at an Outback Steakhouse. I'll have to make a mental note to have the steak cooked medium for any future visits.
Coffee
House salad
Sirloin steak and grilled shrimp with loaded baked potato
Medium rare
After I was done and paid my bill, I hopped in the car and drove across the street to buy some snacks and water at Target. Per the usual, I bought 2 bags of Siete grain-free tortilla chips and a gallon jug of water. I used the express self-checkout to pay for my items.
Target self checkout
Siete grain free tortilla chips x2 and gallon of water
From there, I drove a couple of blocks north to check-in at the WorldMark Dolphin's Cove property. I was assigned to unit #113 which was located just above the check-in lobby. Per the usual, they wanted me to stop by the concierge. This guy was much easier to deal with as he knew that there was no way that I was going to attend an owner update. He even took the time to listen to some of my horror stories at other properties where the concierge was begging me to go.
After I got settled into the room, it was time to wind down. I went through the race packet, laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's 10k, and then took a shower before calling it a night. Since the 10k was Star Wars Ahsoka themed, I went with my Mandalorian t-shirt.
10k flat runner
Saturday 2/1
I woke up early to get ready and left my room at about 3:15 am. I headed north on Harbor Blvd and arrived at the metal detectors on Clementine St at about 3:30 am. There were already several lines formed for security screening. I used one of the portapotties before heading inside the corral to wait for the start of the race.
Lines for the metal detector
10k start line
Race announcers
Storm Troopers
Ashley Eckstein
Robert and Marcia
10k course map
I went out way too hard on that first mile for my current level of fitness. As I was running along Katella Ave and approaching the right turn onto Disneyland Dr for the 1st mile maker, I was passed by my friend, Brian. During the 2nd mile, I made stops for photos with Buzz Lightyear and Mushu. My friend, Robert, caught me during the 3rd mile along Hollywood Blvd. As we entered Disneyland, I had to ease off on the gas and cruise the next 2 miles. With about a mile to go, I knew that I had eased off a bit too much, so I had to pick up the pace a bit in order to meet my time goal of finishing in under 50 minutes.
Buzz Lightyear
Mushu
Robert caught me
Finish line
10k finish: 49:42
Click here for my Garmin data.
I was content with my race as I was once again fit enough where even with 2 picture stops, I was able to finish in under 50 minutes. After crossing the finish line, I caught up to my friend, Robert. We received our finisher medal, followed by a water bottle, Powerade, banana, and a runDisney snack box. We walked together back to his car at the GardenWalk as it was along the way. I continued on back to my timeshare.
10k finisher medal
Post race goodies
Per the usual, I had a couple of EPL matches on as I got cleaned up. I caught a little bit of the first half of the Wolves v. Aston Villa match before I headed out for brunch. I wanted to check out En Familia just north of the Anaheim Packing District on Anaheim Blvd. Unfortunately, as I got closer, a lot of the streets were shut down. For what, I did not know. Eventually, I got funneled over to Harbor Blvd. I headed north and turned east on Lincoln Ave where I ended up turning right on Clementine St to enter the CVS/Vons parking lot. I parked near the US Bank. By then, I knew that they had a small parade this morning along Anaheim Blvd. From there, I walked a couple of blocks south to reach the restaurant.
As to be expected with the parade outside, the place was pretty empty. It was just me and another table. Since I was dining solo, I was fine with sitting at the bar. Prior to coming, I had already decided on getting their prime steak & eggs. I got coffee to go with it. After putting in my order, they gave me some chips and salsa. It was on the pricier side, but that was one of the best steak & eggs that I've had.
En Familia menu
Chips & salsa
Coffee
Steak (tasajo) and eggs
After I was done with my meal and paid my bill, I waited for a break in the parade to cross the street to get back to my car. I drove back to my timeshare to veg out for a few hours before it was time to meet up with my fellow Disneyland Half Marathon legacy runners.
Parade
The meet up time was set for 3:30 pm. I walked over to the Toy Story parking lot to catch a shuttle ride over. We met up at the Disneyland Resort Picnic Area just west of the park entrance. The turnout was a little more than I had expected. There was a bit of an overlap with the Rise and Run Podcast group. To add to the crowd were people getting off of the tram that cut through the picnic area to head for the park entrance. After about 10 minutes of mingling and waiting for stragglers to show up, we all gathered just on the outside of the picnic area for our group photo. I would've worn my baby blue 10th year legacy shirt, but mine still needed to be washed.
Disneyland Half Marathon legacy runners
Once that was done, we all got up, wished each other a great race for tomorrow, and went our separate ways. I started heading for the exit as I was going to get an early dinner at Johnny Rockets over at the GardenWalk. Since I was dining solo, I got a seat at the counter. I ordered my usual, a Rocket single and a chocolate shake.
Chocolate shake
Rocket single and chocolate shake
On the way out, I came across a map of Taiwan on one of the walls of the Yiya Formosa store up on the upper level. Another cool find was some wall art of Ahsoka near one of the entrances to the parking garage.
Taiwan
Ahsoka
My flat runner for tomorrow's half marathon was my Dopey Challenge shirt from a few weekends ago. The weather was going to be warmer so I was quite tempted to make a last minute change. In the end, I stuck with the original plan.
Half marathon flat runner
Sunday 2/2
I was dragging a bit this morning and had some extra bowel movements, so I left my room a little bit later than yesterday. Still, it was plenty of time to get to the starting corrals. Today, I cut through the Toy Story parking lot and used their restroom along the way. Once I had gone through the metal detectors, I went to check out corral A to see if anyone familiar was there. Since it was still early, I exited and headed over to the gear check area and used one of the portapotties before heading back to the corral.
Corral A
Half marathon finisher pillar
Dumbo Double Dare pillar
10k pillar
WDW Marathon perfect runner, Alan with Grace and friend
Marcia
Race announcers and Mickey
Ashley Eckstein
Half marathon course map
As with runDisney races at Disneyland, all of the characters and Disney Magic were pretty much condensed in the first 4 or so miles as we raced through the park. Once we headed out into the roads of Anaheim and Garden Grove, there was very little to see as it was still dark at that time of day. I wasn't getting very good traction while I was inside the park. For a while, I thought it was going to be a slower race for me today. However, I was able to crank out more consistent miles once I was out running on the asphalt of the city streets. After touring Garden Grove, I started heading back towards Anaheim where I got to see those that started in the later corrals heading in the opposite direction. I was able to spot a few of my friends.
Toontown
Castle
Main St
Chip & Dale
Goofy
Tres Caballeros
Finish line
Half marathon finish: 1:54:59
Click here for my Garmin data.
Although, I had finished right around where I thought I would finish, it was way more work than I had anticipated. I suppose that not all races will be easy. There will be days where the pace will feel easy. Unfortunately, today was not one of those days. I had to work for it today.
Shortly after crossing the finish line, I was spotted by a cast member that I was a legacy runner for both the half marathon and Dumbo Double Dare. They gave me both medals, each with an extra legacy lanyard. They also saw that I had a Coast to Coast bracelet. Before presenting me with that medal, they first cut off the bracelet.
14th half marathon finisher medal
7th Dumbo Double Dare finisher medal
Side 2
Coast to coast medal
Dumbo Double Dare medal haul
As I continued down the finisher chute, I received the usual post race food and drinks. I then got in line for a post race photo with the finish line tape-breaking backdrop. I definitely didn't want to pass up the photo op now that Photopass was included. For some reason, a lot of people were skipping the one with the Mickey Mouse shadow. I thought that that one was pretty unique.
I cast a Mickey Mouse shadow!
On the way out, I saw the Care Center tent. There was a crib inside. It was empty, but I would guess that that would used by the spouse or partner while they wait for their runner to finish the race. I believe that the only other race that I had seen something similar was at the NYC Marathon where they had lactation tents.
On the way back to my timeshare, I walked back along the course to cheer on my fellow runners. Occasionally, some of them would congratulate me on my medals. Back at my unit, I got myself cleaned up and packed up ahead of the 11 am check-out time.
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