Disneyland Half Marathon: Day 1
Radiator Springs or Bust!
I made it through back check at the Esplanade in a breeze, and was headed to my first stop of the day ...
No, not DCA just yet. I had to head to ESPN Zone.
Why was a trip to ESPN Zone my first stop? Well, I had purchased tickets for our whole traveling party through GET Sports. One, I did this because the price was incredibly cheap. Second, I could pick them up at the Expo free of charge versus being mailed to me.
Third - and this was one of the best things about my GET Sports experience ... I could pick up my park tickets EARLY in the lobby at ESPN Zone on Wednesday! Score! So, off I went.
Ticket pickup was incredibly easy - showed them my ID, signed off on my final purchase agreement and they handed over all my tickets.
Now I was ready to hit the parks!
My first entry for the day was California Adventure. I was using a one-day park hopper ticket, so this park-hopping experience was a little different that the rest of the days. I'll talk about that at the end of my post.
Having done DCA and DLR solo last summer, I felt strong to pretty strong in my plan for accomplishing as much as I could before the relatively early closures that day. I was in DCA by 3:30 - DCA was set to close at 8, with Disneyland closing at 9. I really only had three goals: Radiator Springs Racers as much as I could, get a Dole Whip and ride Big Thunder Mountain while the fireworks were going on.
First stop! Radiator Springs. Understandably, all of the FastPasses for this day were gone. But, seeing as it was just lil ole me on this trip, I went straight for the Single Rider line. I rode two times with MAYBE a combined wait of 10 minutes. AND both times, I rode in a car that got shiny new whitewall tires! It was my first-ever passes through those rooms. I've always been in the paint shop!
A quick check of MouseWait and I was off to do my favorite solo park strategy - the quick-turnaround Fast Pass.
The Quick-Turnaround Fast Pass: So, basically my strategy is to find any attraction I want to ride that has available FastPasses with a return time less than 20 minutes from acquisition time (unless the standby line is 15 minutes or less). I will grab said FastPass, mosey over and grab a beverage and then make my way to the next attractive I want to ride with times in a similar situation. This basically allowed me to ride three rides, have a beer and not wait in line. For example, this was my first pass-through:
1. Get ToT FP
2. Get beer at Award Weiners
3. Get Soarin' FP
4. Ride ToT
5. Get California Screamin' FP
6. Ride Soarin
7. Ride RSR Single-Rider
8. Ride California Screamin'
9. Get beer at Sonoma Terrace
That's four headliners in less than an hour!
I would repeat this strategy again about an 45 minutes later after a little sit-down at Sonoma Terrace, where I would add to my world-famous and popular
* Instagram series #BeersAndEars.
So, by about 6 p.m., I'd ridden ToT three times, Screamin' three times and Soarin' twice. I'd also done five passes on RSR. I'd originally planned to stay at DCA until around 8, and possibly for World of Color (my favorite!), but at that point, I was ready for a change of scenery. So, off to Disneyland I went!
A Little Note About Park-Hopping: So, you know how I mentioned that my park-hopping on a one-day ticket was a little bit different than on a multi-day ticket? Here's the deal:
When you enter a park for the first time on a multi-day park-hopping ticket, the CM at the turnstile will write your name on your ticket AND take your photo on their handheld device.
Going forward, all you'll need to do is scan your ticket to enter either park. When they scan your ticket, you hear a little sound that sounds similar to a birdie going "chirp", your picture pops up on the screen and you're allowed to enter.
For a SINGLE DAY park-hopper ticket, they don't bother with the photo. You'll need to go through the correct exit and get a invisible hand-stamp on your hand that will show up when you enter your next park.
So, for you first timers, just a heads up! Handstamp for one day, no handstamp for multi-days!
There's just something so amazing about walking into Disneyland (or Magic Kingdom). My first job was at Magic Kingdom entertainment, so I spent many a day (and night) performing on Main Street. I just love the sights, the sounds, the hustle and bustle. I love the little nods to the legacy of Walt, and I always have to stop by and say a little "Thank You" at the Partners statue.
So, after wandering around (and making a few purchases), I grabbed a locker, stuffed my bags in them and began my next quest. I wanted to ride all the mountains, and ending with Big Thunder Mountain while the fireworks were going on.
The key was getting a BTMR FastPass with an opening window that began about 5 minutes before the fireworks - the BTMR queue is a little bit long and windy, and I know it gets backed up at popular times (especially during the fireworks). With that Fast Pass secured, I went out to battle the Yeti on the Matterhorn (ouch! SO not my favorite ride, but my Imagineer friend was responsible for the add-on Yeti effects and I wanted to see his hard work), and then headed over to Space Mountain.
With two more mountains complete, and a little time to kill, I hit up Pirates of the Caribbean. Hands down - Pirates at Disneyland surpasses Pirates in WDW, in my opinion. The extra drop, the modern theming and even the bayou tour at the beginning just give an original, beloved ride a really current and modern facelift.
I still had some time to kill before my BTMR Fast Pass, so I went strolling through Adventureland on the way to Frontierland. Indiana Jones had a short wait - but I decided to pass on that. With my ticket to the Anniversary Party the next night, I knew I would be able to get plenty of rides on Indy done during that time period. ALSO. Indy breaks down a lot ... I was worried that I'd be stuck on Indy during a down time and I'd miss my fireworks on BTMR.
I went to Critter Country and saw that Splash had only a 5 minute line, so in I went. 5 minutes actually meant more like "walk on". I was originally supposed to be sitting in seat 4 on my log, but the little boy in seat 1 started to freak out and the CM asked if I would switch.
Ugh. OK. This would easily be the worst decision I made that day. I. Got. Soaked. Like drowned rat soaked. I was wearing jeans and a half-sleeve shirt, since I knew it would be getting cooler at night, so ... I'll just let you imagine what being soaked in attire like that felt like.
I briefly thought about giving up and going back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes and relax. But. NO! I came in town early to ride BTMR under the fireworks and I was going to do it, wet jeans and all!
I made my way to the FP entry for BTMR and joined the line with, oh, about 1 million other FP holders that had the same idea as me. Obviously, the ride had been down during some part of the day which allows FP holders to return whenever they want. Also, I guess Disneyland is testing out something for AP holders ... over the course of the weekend, I saw many AP holders walk up and have their AP scanned for immediate FP access. I guess that's one way to make AP holders at a largely-populated AP park happy if Disneyland decides to go to FP+? IDK.
Anyway. I was almost to the boarding platform when the fireworks started. And, about five minutes into the fireworks, I was on my little engine that could heading up the big hill with an amazing view of the fireworks.
Let me say - it was all INCREDIBLY worth it. The sights and sounds of the fireworks really added to the ambience of the ride. I would do this a million times again, except I would not ride Splash Mountain before.
Once I finished BTMR, I decided it was time for me to head out. A quick glance at my MLB.com app showed me that my beloved Texas Rangers were tied with the San Diego Padres in the 7th inning. I knew that if I hustled, I could make it back to ESPN Zone for the ending of the game. I could also grab a drink and some dinner while I was sitting at the bar.
So that's what I did. Rangers won! And the bartender even had the manager switch the Rangers game over to the game on sound throughout the whole restaurant for me (if you go to sports bars, you know how big of a deal this is!). I celebrated the win, caught up on emails and text messages using the free WiFi at ESPN Zone and then set out for the 20 minute walk back to my hotel to turn in for the night.
I had an early wake-up (well, for me!) because Thursday was EXPO DAY!
To Be Continued ...
* - #BeersAndEars is not world-famous, nor is it popular.