Faith, Trust, And 58% Less Pixie Dust: A 2016 Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend Trip Report!

[SarahDisney]

Mickey was so impressed that I ran the 10K this morning...what a guy!

I can't blame him ... that's a pretty impressive accomplishment!

After breakfast, I did something strange...

I went...

...to Pixie Hollow. Gasp!

Wait ... what? Who are you and what have you done with @Ariel484??

The girls loved my Ariel shoes (feeling the mermaid vibes today with my capris and shoes!) - one of them (a fellow redhead) told me that Ariel is her favorite princess.

"Because she has red hair like you, right?" I asked.
"Yes!!" she replied happily.

Because, I’m not gonna lie...that’s like 75% of the reason Ariel is MY favorite.

Anna also has red hair ... just saying.

I’m almost embarrassed to show you this picture, because I think it makes me look like a giant cow...because LOOK at Tink’s tiny little legs!!!!

I think you look great. You can't run on Tink's legs - that's why she has to fly.

Also, here’s the PhotoPass picture...way different lighting and coloring compared to what came out of my phone! And clearly they did some sort of red-eye correction on me…

This picture looks great! And very familiar, like it was in an INKnBURN montage of some sort...

I hopped in line to hear the Evil Queen asking the person in front of me, “why did you bring HER?” pointing to the women’s very, very young baby.

“She won’t remember this! What’s the point?!”

The woman stammered something about memories for herself...my meet with her was similar. I can’t remember exactly what she said to me, but I do remember that it rendered me almost speechless!

I get that it's in character, and that's awesome, but ... a little mean there.

Actually, now that I think about it...pretty sure she said something about not liking my outfit. Which, come on...my outfit was ON POINT that day.

Yes, your outfit abolutely was on point! Clearly she just couldn't think of anything mean to say to you because you're so awesome, so she had to lie.

a woman, a total stranger, stopped me and asked if she could take my picture. I didn't answer right away (because...WUT?) and she just said, “because you're so colorful, with your outfit and your medal!” Between this very strange request and the whole credit card thing, I was pretty flustered and just said, “sure.” So now a total stranger has a picture of me. I'd say it's somewhat flattering, but mostly I'm not sure what to think about it!

Um ... not sure how to react to this. Weird? Flattering? Both? Neither?
I wonder if maybe she was some sort of Disney blogger who takes pictures of fun outfits at Disneyland? People do a lot of weird things on the internet.

or whatever reason I paused in front of the Emporium at some point, standing there with my hands folded...thinking, I guess? Suddenly, a big Goof was next to me! Also standing, hands folded, just thinking. Or something!

That is awesome!!! I love random character encounters, they're so fun!

This seems as good a place as any to talk about Revelation #3, and I imagine I’ll get some flack for this one: I’m glad I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel once, but I don’t think I will again. The rooms are obviously very nice, but I don’t think they are that much nicer than the rooms at Paradise Pier...and Paradise Pier is a bit shorter of a walk to the parks than DLH is. Again, glad I tried it, but for the extra cost, I don’t know that it’ll be worth it for me to stay there again.

ANYWAY...are you all still my friends?

Maybe. I can't judge that until after I stay at one or both of them. I still haven't stayed onsite at Disneyland, so I'm not really qualified to unfriend people based on their DL hotel choices at this point.

All the birds sing words, and the flower...croon? Bloom? Swoon? They do something!

All the birds sing words and the flowers mumble ... mumbling always solves word problems.

Mountains! Bought this hand sanitizer in the shop.

Awesome!
They have a lot of fun hand sanitizers at Disney ... I always want to buy them, but I'm too loyal to Bath & Body Works hand sanitizers to buy anything else.

And then off to Tomorrowland. Which looked like THIS pretty much the entire weekend - ugh!!

Crazy!!

The ride wasn’t down for long though - yay! I got a front seat all to myself.

Very cool! I've never sat alone on Space Mountain (although I think I have sat in the front) ... it seems weird ...

We headed back to our hotel to check on Steakhouse 55...morning-of emergency bib pick-up DOES exist in Disneyland! And from what I have read here on the boards, it’s REALLY hard to find!

Interesting ... if they have a sign about it, you'd think they'd make it not so hard to find...

And then...bedtime! Up next: the last full day!

Last full day ... sad

 

[roxymama]

Oh I forgot one thing. You know how a person came up to you and took a pic of you. Weird, right? It just reminds me of a weird thing my mom does. When she doesn't want to wait in line to meet a character, she will just walk up to the front and snap a picture of whoever is meeting them. So our disney albums at home have pictures of like Baloo the bear with random dude or Marie the Cat with family of five. It's all very strange, but she just wants the pic of the character...not us with them.
Luckily now that I have a kiddo, we all wait in lines together for the characters now.

 

[Ariel484]

I had to write notes for my thoughts as I was reading through...you'd laugh if you saw my short-hand. Let's see if I can even decipher what I meant.

Go for it!!

Your capris match your tink 10k shirt perfectly. This confirms that rundisney is watching your training journal and planning accordingly for you.

Hmm, I should think of other suggestions to make to runDisney, since they're clearly reading my thread! With great power comes great responsibility...

I did not realize that the wings on the 10k medal were cut-outs! Face-palm. I thought they were like a purple color because of your shirt...duh. I think last year they were like a pearly color and I kind of like the pearly better.

Yeah, they just made very smaller changes to the medals this year. I was surprised because with it being the 5th half marathon I was expecting a big-redesign (they just gave the medal some color).

I feel you on the Tink pic. We got a Tink that was somehow even smaller than yours if that is even possible and so I just put my daughter in the picture with her. They say they shrink you down with pixie dust at WDW to meet her, so I asked the CM if they could shrink me some more. At least when I take pics with the princesses they generally have giant skirts and sometimes are at least my height or taller.
(weird side-note...my husband noticed our Tink at WDW had a bandaid on her foot and he jokingly questioned it to me in a whisper which was highly distracting.)

Clearly I did not get that pixie dust! I was really taken aback by how small she was...good casting, I guess.

I noticed a lot of the characters had jackets on. Since so many of the meet n greets in WDW are inside I guess we don't see that as often in Florida.

Yeah, you'll notice in California that a lot of the queues are outside as well - that was rough in September because the sun was just brutal that weekend. Between it being overcast and cooler, it wasn't that bad (and I think that too explains the jackets).

Another thing about DL queues vs. WDW queues...you very rarely get dumped out into gift shops!

The queen didn't like you or your outfit because she doesn't like "fair" ladies around her. Ask Snow White how that turned out for her.

Yeah, at least she didn't sent someone to kill me and bring back my heart!

Ummm...Give me that Haagen Daaz!

UMMM I LIKE YOU BUT NO! (Cookies & Cream milkshake, so tasty!)

I'm now going to spend my lunch googling Paradice Pier, so thank you for that. Question: is PP a closer walk to the corrals than DH too?

I think it depends on the race weekend. No matter what, the walk is still pretty short!

Ummm..Give me that churro...but not the grape one...unless it had peanut butter in it.

Why you wanna take all of my food?!

Have you ever had dinner at Blue Bayou. I really wanted to the one time I went to DL with my mom back in college. But Pirates was undergoing a rehab and it was closed.

Yes - I had lunch there in September and dinner in December, both were pretty solid! Overall I do think that Table Service at WDW is better, though. But the ambiance in Blue Bayou is pretty tough to beat!

Note to restaraunts...do not put a round/oval pizza on a wavy plate. My brain doesn't like it.

I didn't pay attention, to busy housing it!

And final thought: When I was at the Contemporary watching the fireworks we definitely noticed how far off-center the fireworks really are from the castle from our vantage point. It's amazing how they get them to look on top of the castle. Was it the same way from your view?

DL Hotel isn't as close to DL as the Contemporary is to MK, but I imagine it is the same thing!

I watched the MK fireworks from Liberty Square once and noticed the same thing - bizarre!

Also the idea that you were able to walk to your hotel and back so much makes me happy, thinking about being able to do that if I end up going.

Yes!! It's so much easier, it's really crazy to think how much time we spend on buses at WDW. I'm sure that's going to really hit me when we go back in November, since that'll be my first time back after 3 DL trips!

The Evil Queen is always a fun meet!

She was definitely in character!!

I love Space Mountain at Disneyland (haven't been on since it was Hyperspace Mtn!). Looks like you had fun!

I've gotten to do it there both ways - such a fun, crazy ride!!

I can't blame him ... that's a pretty impressive accomplishment!

Wait ... what? Who are you and what have you done with @Ariel484??

I snorted the pixie dust!!

Anna also has red hair ... just saying.

I love Anna too - WAY more than Elsa!! Ariel has been my favorite since I was, like, 11 though!

I think you look great. You can't run on Tink's legs - that's why she has to fly.

Sarah, you are so very wise (and so very nice, thank you )

This picture looks great! And very familiar, like it was in an INKnBURN montage of some sort...

OH REALLY?!

(Have the screenshot saved on my phone like a dork!!)

I get that it's in character, and that's awesome, but ... a little mean there.

I think that was what caught me off-guard - she was legitimately mean! I'm not sure why it was surprising, she was totally in character...

Yes, your outfit abolutely was on point! Clearly she just couldn't think of anything mean to say to you because you're so awesome, so she had to lie.

well thanks!

Um ... not sure how to react to this. Weird? Flattering? Both? Neither?
I wonder if maybe she was some sort of Disney blogger who takes pictures of fun outfits at Disneyland? People do a lot of weird things on the internet.

I'm gonna say...mostly weird? And somehow I felt like it would have been rude to say no, which I probably should have anyway...???

That is awesome!!! I love random character encounters, they're so fun!

Ahhh me too! I feel like that happens more at Disneyland!

Maybe. I can't judge that until after I stay at one or both of them. I still haven't stayed onsite at Disneyland, so I'm not really qualified to unfriend people based on their DL hotel choices at this point.

okay, so it sounds like we can still be friends for now!

All the birds sing words and the flowers mumble ... mumbling always solves word problems.

Let's just go with that - mumble mumble. Safer that way.

Awesome!
They have a lot of fun hand sanitizers at Disney ... I always want to buy them, but I'm too loyal to Bath & Body Works hand sanitizers to buy anything else.

Yeah, and when I was going to buy it I was wondering where I would find that sized bottle to refile it. It occurred to me I can just keep the same bottle and refill it with the B&BW stuff.

Crazy!!

Very cool! I've never sat alone on Space Mountain (although I think I have sat in the front) ... it seems weird ...

Being solo at Disneyland was a little weird in general.

Interesting ... if they have a sign about it, you'd think they'd make it not so hard to find...

You'd think! That's what people on the thread here were saying.

Last full day ... sad

I know!!

Oh I forgot one thing. You know how a person came up to you and took a pic of you. Weird, right? It just reminds me of a weird thing my mom does. When she doesn't want to wait in line to meet a character, she will just walk up to the front and snap a picture of whoever is meeting them. So our disney albums at home have pictures of like Baloo the bear with random dude or Marie the Cat with family of five. It's all very strange, but she just wants the pic of the character...not us with them.
Luckily now that I have a kiddo, we all wait in lines together for the characters now.

So, I actually did take pictures of the characters with random people, just so I could remember who was out and I could put it in my trip report. I've done that before. But I don't keep/print out those pictures!

 

[ZellyB]

Yay on so many updates. I love all the pictures and makes me want to go to Disneyland RIGHT NOW!!!

Never compare your legs to a fairy's. Fairies always win.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Everything you eat looks so amazing! I am making mental notes for next time.

Anaheim must be the churro capital of the world!! Those carts were everywhere. We spent the weekend debating what the grape one was made of and determined it must be pixie sticks.

We have had people come up to us for random pictures before both at WDW once was because they like DH's tattoo and the other was when DD was 4 months old and we had her dressed as a princess. It was very strange.

And we totally saw the dog with shoes right @wehrengrizz

 

[Ariel484]

Yay on so many updates. I love all the pictures and makes me want to go to Disneyland RIGHT NOW!!!

Yeah, same here. My AP is still good until September...tempting!!!

Never compare your legs to a fairy's. Fairies always win.

Seriously. But they have Disney Magic on their side - so not fair!

Everything you eat looks so amazing! I am making mental notes for next time.

My one BFF religiously reads and researches using the Disney Food Blog, and my other BFF has more Disneyland experience than I do. They tipped me off to some of the good stuff.

Anaheim must be the churro capital of the world!! Those carts were everywhere. We spent the weekend debating what the grape one was made of and determined it must be pixie sticks.

For real! What was with all of those churro carts?! At least 2 in Downtown Disney alone, maybe more?!

We have had people come up to us for random pictures before both at WDW once was because they like DH's tattoo and the other was when DD was 4 months old and we had her dressed as a princess. It was very strange.

VERY strange! This is the second time this has happened to me - the other time was on the Disney Fantasy when my brother and I went to Mixology. At the end of the class a lady wanted our picture because we'd "made" the class for her, I guess. It was easier to say yes to that one because we'd each had 5+ cocktails at the point (hey, someone had to take care of the extras!).

But yeah...really odd to think strangers have pictures of us/me/yo/your husband/your kiddo. Like, what do they do with them?!

And we totally saw the dog with shoes right @wehrengrizz

I've thought about getting little booties for my dog for when it gets really, really cold in the winter (sometimes the ice gets to be tough for him) and my husband looks at me like a crazy person when I bring it up. So that picture was for him - like, "see! Even California dogs wear shoes!!"

 

[Ariel484]

Day 4: Sunday, May 8, 2016

Spectating the Tinker Bell Half Marathon

Mom and I split up today - she wanted to rent a car to drive to some other areas of California (see the beach, etc.) and I wanted one last parks day. But don’t worry, we had dinner plans made - after all, today IS Mother’s Day!

Today I forced myself to get my DSLR camera out - originally I wasn’t even going to bring it with me, but at the last minute I made some room in my carry-on and packed it. I almost never used the thing, except for Disney trips...

The cool photos near the elevators:

This big map was in the lobby of Fantasy Tower. Parts of it lit up!

I had breakfast at Tangaroa Terrace.

We could hear the Tink Half going on from our hotel room (the finish was right near the Disneyland Hotel), so I decided to go watch the race for a bit! I camped out at the straightaway right by the finish line.

It was still a little weird to watch this race and not be participating, but that weird feeling was outweighed by my really enjoying the spectating aspect of it all. In particular, with where I was standing, it was fun to see people come around the corner, spot the finish line, and break into a smile. Their faces just lit up.

I also saw: people bringing their kids onto the course to run the end of the race with them (not allowed), a woman do a “jump” for a camera and run right into someone else that was behind her, people walking 3-4 across, course crowding (see picture below - this area of the course was NARROW!), etc. So it wasn’t all good, but it was mostly good.

Instagram told me that @Keels was going to be coming to the finish soon, so I sent her a text telling her where I was and describing what I was wearing - it was SO fun to see her on the course! This was our first time “meeting” in person - my giving her a high-five as she went on to finish the race. I would say it was appropriate!

After I saw Keels, I decided to switch locations for awhile. I ended up moving near Mile Marker 13, which was in Downtown Disney, right outside of Earl of Sandwich. And this point I knew the race was almost over, so I decided to just stay for the end of it.

This was interesting, to watch as the last finishers were making their way along the course. And the sweeper bikes were there! At least, I think this was a sweeper bike...but his vest is different from the other sweepers, so maybe he’s purely a medic?

I thought this was cool though - he rode up, parked his bike, and would occasionally check in with the runners (I guess to make sure they were feeling okay enough to finish - clearly they had passed the final sweep point). He gave lots of high fives out, which I thought was awesome.

I did my best to cheer for people as they were coming around the bend. It really was inspiring to watch the final runners. And tiring to be cheering for them for that long! (I know, right? Wahhh, watching a race is so tiring! )

Eventually, the last runner entered Downtown Disney.

Not even 90 seconds later, Mile Marker 13 was already coming down - they don’t waste any time!

Really fun to watch the race - so fun that I was out there for 1.5-2 hours! Can’t wait to get my shot at it next year.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Last Day in Disneyland

The bad thing about spectating the race was that I was getting into the parks late...this is the bag check line! EEK!!

I waited about 20 minutes in this line. Blech!

I headed into Disneyland Park!

They were giving out carnations for Mother’s Day.

The Disneyland Band was playing by the castle, so I stopped to watch them for a bit and got some PhotoPass pictures!

The photographer was REALLY confused at my expression in this one. Giving Tink the side-eye...partially because she’s Tink, and partially because I didn’t get to run the half. I’ll get you next year, you little so-and-so!!

(Sidenote: My mom, #1 Tink fan, LOST HER you-know-what when she saw this picture: “Why don’t they tell everyone you can do that?!” She basically thought that this magic shot was the greatest thing ever. Something to put on the list for her for next time!)

Lunch time!

Trio of Street Tacos from Rancho Del Zocalo:

Grabbed this cute mug from there:

After lunch, I was heading to the Haunted Mansion (because that ride is perfect) when I got distracted - Dr. Facilier! My favorite villain! With no line!

He wanted me to give him my “diamonds”...aka my wedding ring/band. Um...I don’t like you that much!

But I told him that he’s my favorite, and all was forgiven!

Mansion was next. This was my second time riding this at Disneyland, but my first time was in December with the NBC overlay. Somehow I totally forgot about the Hatbox Ghost, so that was awesome to be surprised by that!

My pictures are all out of order, so I can’t remember exactly how the rest of today went - at some point I came upon Aladdin and Genie with a very short line!

They really liked my ears.

Tiki Perfection.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Hop!

I made a Starbucks run before wandering around the park.

This will never not be weird.

*Controversial Photo*

I love, love, love all of the flowers around Disneyland.

Ka-chow!

Wait time on Racers was too long for my taste (200 minutes?)...single rider was something like 45 minutes. No more fastpasses. Oh well!

Seriously...these flowers!!

I grabbed a churro (regular flavor...NOT grape) before heading back to the hotel to meet mom (who had an okay day, it sounded like - good but she had some issues with her rental car, and the beach wasn’t what she expected it to be, I guess??).

By now, after a day of taking pictures, I finally admitted Realization #4 to myself...and it’s something that has been building for about 1.5 years now: I hate my camera. Seriously, when I don’t travel, I don’t use it at all. I had to talk myself into bringing it on this trip, and then it sat in the room almost the entire time. And I HATED carrying it around - it was heavy enough that it actually hurt my back after awhile, which is a problem, since I’m just coming off of a serious back injury. And I have never really felt the desire to work on photography enough to get really good at it, and I don’t have the patience to edit photos (which is why the ones in this report are not edited). I think this started when I went to WDW for Wine & Dine 2014 with my BFFs - I left the camera in the room and LOVED it. Then I didn’t bring it on my next trip at all...and it was so nice. Photography is just not something that I love, certainly not enough to justify having a DSLR. So when I got home from this trip I actually sold off everything - something I had been considering doing for at least a year - and ordered an advanced point & shoot! I’m hoping that having this new camera (which I pre-ordered and is supposed to come at the end of the month) will help me enjoy trips a little more. I’ll definitely sacrifice photo quality, I’m just not sure that I care anymore.

Anyway...it’s time for Mother’s Day dinner!

 

[Ariel484]

Napa Rose

Since I knew that mom and I were going to be spending most of today separately, I wanted to make sure to make a nice reservation for Mother’s Day dinner!

Bread...always tasty.

I ordered a glass of Malbec. We both went with the ribeye and a side of macaroni and cheese to split.

I was not impressed with the side that came with the ribeye - it was some sort of vegetable mix. There wasn’t much of it there...seemed like there should have been more since it was $45 for each of us.

The mac and cheese and the meat were good though.

Dessert...my mom ordered strawberry honey sorbet and I ordered the strawberry rhubarb...I don’t know, pie or tart or whatever. Look at how small it is!! $14 for this!!!

And here it is, Realization #5, possibly an unpopular one: I am NOT impressed with Napa Rose. This is the second time I’ve eaten here, and both times I thought dessert was a total rip-off, and wasn’t impressed by the included side that came with my entree. This meal was EXPENSIVE...I feel like they punk’d me! Am I just not used to California pricing?! I’ll try Steakhouse 55 for dinner next time!

I settled the (large) bill and we headed out.

We both had early wake-up calls to get to the airport the next morning, so we headed back to the hotel to pack and get to bed.

Once again, I got a text from United that my seat had changed from the window I’d originally chosen to a middle seat. UNITED, COULD YOU NOT?! The flight was full, so no way to change this middle seat to a window seat. Again, this was the flight that was originally direct, but now had a connector...ARG!

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Day 5: Monday, May 9, 2016

Going Home...Eventually

Wahhh...travel day. Mom was up to get her shuttle at 4AM, but mine came at 7:15.

We were heading to LAX right at rush hour...thanks to the extra traffic, it took 1:20 to get there, twice as long as it should have. I checked my bag and my flight was already delayed by about 20 minutes...making my connector in Chicago would be close (my layover in O'Hare was originally supposed to be about 50 minutes long). When I checked in at the kiosk, there was an offer for a $200 travel certificate if I’d give up my seat. I passed.

Then I got to the gate, and they upped the offer - they’d oversold the flight (I later heard they oversold by 10-11 people) and now they were offering a $500 travel certificate to give up a seat.

HMMMM....

I thought about it for a minute before jumping in line. As it was, I was likely going to miss my connector (turns out I absolutely would have - the flight out of LAX was eventually delayed again), and I was already going to be home late. May as well make $500!

There was a whole mass of people around the desk - those that still needed seat assignments and the few of us who were interested in giving up seats. I don’t know why they didn’t deal with those of us who were giving up seats first - like, get the seats empty, and then assign people to them? It was sort of a mess. No one was yelling or anything, but people were not impressed.

Eventually I gave up my seat, got my new flight and my $500 travel certificate...and I got AWAY. I did not want to be around for that mess!

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. I had a couple extra hours to wait, and then I got on my flight. Getting to Chicago was bumpy, but the flight from Chicago to Cleveland was short and smooth...and I got myself a Birthday Cake Frappucino for my trouble at O’Hare, so that was delicious. I finally got home around 12:30AM, unpacked (because I’m weird like that) and was in bed by 1:30. Vacation over!

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Final Thoughts

I have to say, I really enjoyed this race weekend way more than I expected. Between not getting to do the half/challenge and, to be honest, expecting diva-ish behavior due to this being a female-centered race, I have to admit that I wasn’t as excited about this race weekend as I have been for others. But I was pleasantly surprised on all counts: while it was strange and, I guess, unsatisfying to not do the half, I enjoyed to 5K, and I really, REALLY enjoyed the 10K a lot. And in my experience, there were no divas to be found - everyone was pretty cool and laid back on the race courses, which was awesome!

Obviously I cannot speak to how the half went, course- or race etiquette-wise, but I would highly, highly recommend this race weekend - and coming from someone that is not a Tink fan, I would say that is pretty high praise.

We enjoyed our stay at the Disneyland Hotel - it was great having easy access to Downtown Disney and Trader Sam’s. But as I mentioned earlier in the report, I’ll likely stick to Paradise Pier for future Disneyland trips. I’m glad we tried Disneyland Hotel once though!

I think Napa Rose was my biggest disappointment on this trip, food-wise - the post-5K Steakhouse 55 breakfast and Cove Bar lunch were the standouts.

Also, United Airlines is terrible. Sooooo good thing I’ve locked myself into flying with them again by taking that travel certificate?!

But hey...that just means that flights for my next runDisney trip are paid for. So I guess I can’t really complain!

Oh, Disneyland...I love ya.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Loved your TR, very well-written and since I was there that weekend as well, it was nice to read another perspective. Yay! I had some thoughts (that like @roxymama I had to write down or I'd forget ) about a lot of the things you posted, so this is going to be a bit of a laundry list. But I promise no bullets. I work for engineers and I hate bullets.

Thanks for your perspective on DLH vs. PP vs. GC - all great points about GC as a thoroughfare and being annoyed by the "rabble" (ha! I hope you know what I mean) using a lobby of a hotel you'd paid lots of money for. And with PP being closer to corrals, parks, etc. and being less expensive, it seems a no-brainer for on-property options. Great photos of the DLH, too, by the way.

Yay for meeting @Keels on course! Wonderful that you were able to watch the half for that long and see the last runner come in. Very uplifting and inspiring.

LOVED your side-eye Tink photo, that is hilarious! I had a Tink photo, too, but wasn't sure what was happening, so I just have a big goofy grin on my face. Next time, I'll know better.

Totally agree with you on the DSLR. I have a really nice Nikon and it comes in handy for certain things, but I certainly wouldn't want to lug it along through the parks and on rides and such. It was really wonderful when we went to Costa Rica (I have some awesome wildlife shots), but other than photographing wildlife, it sits in its bag in the closet. One of these days, I'll have to get it out again. Excited to see how your point and shoot works out!

Thanks for the heads-up on Napa Rose not living up to expectation. We had a horrible, awful, no-good, very bad experience at California Grill a few years ago, which involved a snooty sommelier and food poisoning, so now I know better than to buy into the hype of certain restaurants. I know that a lot of people are extremely enthusiastic about CG, and probably NR too, but I learned the hard way to be a little more choosy in selecting signature dining options.

And in my experience, there were no divas to be found - everyone was pretty cool and laid back on the race courses, which was awesome!

I totally agree with this! I was also expecting behavior similar to Princess weekend and everyone seemed to be so kind and gracious. We saw so many runners stop to help out other runners who were having a rough time - perfect strangers! It was a really refreshing rD experience.

Obviously I cannot speak to how the half went, course- or race etiquette-wise, but I would highly, highly recommend this race weekend - and coming from someone that is not a Tink fan, I would say that is pretty high praise.

The half was similar to the 10K in terms of runner etiquette and attitude. It was downright pleasant to be running with thousands of complete strangers. I'm also not a Tink fan and would also highly recommend this race weekend.

Thanks for sharing your weekend with us!

 

[ZellyB]

Oh no, it's over already??? That was a quick TR. It really sounds like a wonderful trip though and I'm more determined than ever to do this race weekend - Tink-themed or not.

I love all your pictures as always, but that Tink one is the BEST! I'm glad you and your mom got to celebrate Mother's Day together though even if the meal was a bit of a disappointment. Making note of that for our future trip to DL.

Lastly, that shot of the carnation giveaways with the Dumbo shot made me all nostalgic. I used to sing "Baby Mine" to my son, Drake, when he was a baby. He just graduated high school last week and we did a photo montage thing for him and started it out with that song (Bette Midler's version). It always makes me weepy.

Loved every moment of the report as always!!

 

[Keels]

I totally agree with you in the comparison of Tink to Princess Weekend! I went in thinking that I would HATE this weekend and the only redeeming quality would be that it was at Disneyland, but I absolutely loved it. LOVED it.

I think the demographic in the half marathon skewed a tiny bit older than Princess Weekend, so maybe that had something to do with the improvement of runner etiquette, but either way - it was a great group of people to be around. Never once did I get annoyed by others around me like I did at Princess.

 

[wiscbugs]

Great report...really enjoyed the whole thing! Thanks for sharing!

 

[SarahDisney]

We could hear the Tink Half going on from our hotel room (the finish was right near the Disneyland Hotel), so I decided to go watch the race for a bit! I camped out at the straightaway right by the finish line.

You're pretty awesome for going out there and spectating! I'm sure all of the runners (especially @Keels) really appreciated seeing you out there!

I also saw: people bringing their kids onto the course to run the end of the race with them (not allowed), a woman do a “jump” for a camera and run right into someone else that was behind her, people walking 3-4 across, course crowding (see picture below - this area of the course was NARROW!), etc. So it wasn’t all good, but it was mostly good.

I love people who ignore rules and etiquette. They're my favorite people ever.

I thought this was cool though - he rode up, parked his bike, and would occasionally check in with the runners (I guess to make sure they were feeling okay enough to finish - clearly they had passed the final sweep point). He gave lots of high fives out, which I thought was awesome.

That is so awesome! I love when people go out of their way to be friendly and supportive!

And tiring to be cheering for them for that long! (I know, right? Wahhh, watching a race is so tiring! )

And that's why I've never gone to cheer for the runners ... too exhausting for me. (Actually, it's because I'm a terrible person, but the exhausting thing sounds better)

The bad thing about spectating the race was that I was getting into the parks late...this is the bag check line! EEK!!

Holy cow that's a lot of people in that bag check line!

(Sidenote: My mom, #1 Tink fan, LOST HER you-know-what when she saw this picture: “Why don’t they tell everyone you can do that?!” She basically thought that this magic shot was the greatest thing ever. Something to put on the list for her for next time!)

The good news is ... there are approximately 60,000 Tink magic shots at the various Disney parks ... so hopefully she'll get her chance!

I made a Starbucks run before wandering around the park.

So ... the Starbucks at DCA will always have a special place in my heart. That's where I had my first Disney Starbucks. I got myself a latte and went to watch World of Color. I thought it was the greatest thing ever.

By now, after a day of taking pictures, I finally admitted Realization #4 to myself...and it’s something that has been building for about 1.5 years now: I hate my camera. Seriously, when I don’t travel, I don’t use it at all. I had to talk myself into bringing it on this trip, and then it sat in the room almost the entire time. And I HATED carrying it around - it was heavy enough that it actually hurt my back after awhile, which is a problem, since I’m just coming off of a serious back injury. And I have never really felt the desire to work on photography enough to get really good at it, and I don’t have the patience to edit photos (which is why the ones in this report are not edited). I think this started when I went to WDW for Wine & Dine 2014 with my BFFs - I left the camera in the room and LOVED it. Then I didn’t bring it on my next trip at all...and it was so nice. Photography is just not something that I love, certainly not enough to justify having a DSLR. So when I got home from this trip I actually sold off everything - something I had been considering doing for at least a year - and ordered an advanced point & shoot! I’m hoping that having this new camera (which I pre-ordered and is supposed to come at the end of the month) will help me enjoy trips a little more. I’ll definitely sacrifice photo quality, I’m just not sure that I care anymore.

I actually totally understand this. My brother just bought a DSLR a few months ago ... I could not imagine dragging that thing around everywhere! My little point-and-shoot is old and needs to be replaced ... but I don't think I'd go DSLR. It's too much for someone who doesn't love photography. Hopefully your new camera will work much better for you!

And here it is, Realization #5, possibly an unpopular one: I am NOT impressed with Napa Rose. This is the second time I’ve eaten here, and both times I thought dessert was a total rip-off, and wasn’t impressed by the included side that came with my entree. This meal was EXPENSIVE...I feel like they punk’d me! Am I just not used to California pricing?! I’ll try Steakhouse 55 for dinner next time!

Interesting ... Napa Rose has a pretty good reputation, but I guess some people don't care as much about the price?
Oh well, at least you know how you feel about it now and don't need to look for a reservation there for your next trip!

Once again, I got a text from United that my seat had changed from the window I’d originally chosen to a middle seat. UNITED, COULD YOU NOT?! The flight was full, so no way to change this middle seat to a window seat. Again, this was the flight that was originally direct, but now had a connector...ARG!

What??? That's a little bit very ridiculous.

Eventually I gave up my seat, got my new flight and my $500 travel certificate...and I got AWAY. I did not want to be around for that mess!

Yay for getting good free money/travel ... even if it was because of United's stupid. At least you had a fairly uneventful trip home!

Obviously I cannot speak to how the half went, course- or race etiquette-wise, but I would highly, highly recommend this race weekend - and coming from someone that is not a Tink fan, I would say that is pretty high praise.

As someone who is considering this race in the future ... this is good to hear! The Princess reports kinda freaked me out a lot, but at least now I know that if I got for a pink C2C, there will only be insane drama in one of the two weekends.

Thanks for sharing your report - I enjoyed reading it, and even though it made me sad that I'm not at Disneyland right now, it definitely helped me get excited about eventually going back! (Not that I need any help with that)

 

[Ariel484]

Loved your TR, very well-written and since I was there that weekend as well, it was nice to read another perspective. Yay! I had some thoughts (that like @roxymama I had to write down or I'd forget ) about a lot of the things you posted, so this is going to be a bit of a laundry list. But I promise no bullets. I work for engineers and I hate bullets.

Thanks! I try to make it readable. I know I make dumb typos and it drives me nuts so I really tried!

Thanks for your perspective on DLH vs. PP vs. GC - all great points about GC as a thoroughfare and being annoyed by the "rabble" (ha! I hope you know what I mean) using a lobby of a hotel you'd paid lots of money for. And with PP being closer to corrals, parks, etc. and being less expensive, it seems a no-brainer for on-property options. Great photos of the DLH, too, by the way.

Yeah, I don't want to make it seem like "wahhh I paid so much, get those commoners out of here!" but that really did strike me about GC.

Yay for meeting @Keels on course! Wonderful that you were able to watch the half for that long and see the last runner come in. Very uplifting and inspiring.

It really was! Especially since I only saw minimal bad behavior...that made it more enjoyable.

LOVED your side-eye Tink photo, that is hilarious! I had a Tink photo, too, but wasn't sure what was happening, so I just have a big goofy grin on my face. Next time, I'll know better.

Hahaha!! Yeah the CM told me what it was, so I was ready!

Totally agree with you on the DSLR. I have a really nice Nikon and it comes in handy for certain things, but I certainly wouldn't want to lug it along through the parks and on rides and such. It was really wonderful when we went to Costa Rica (I have some awesome wildlife shots), but other than photographing wildlife, it sits in its bag in the closet. One of these days, I'll have to get it out again. Excited to see how your point and shoot works out!

Exactly - that was always an issue for me on the rides, like...I don't want to bring my big, nice camera bag, so what I do I do with this stupid thing?! Always made me nervous.

Mine really was only used for Disney trips and almost nothing else...so once I started to really hate taking it on Disney trips, it had to go. Part of me wonders if I'll miss it, but mostly I feel relieved.

Thanks for the heads-up on Napa Rose not living up to expectation. We had a horrible, awful, no-good, very bad experience at California Grill a few years ago, which involved a snooty sommelier and food poisoning, so now I know better than to buy into the hype of certain restaurants. I know that a lot of people are extremely enthusiastic about CG, and probably NR too, but I learned the hard way to be a little more choosy in selecting signature dining options.

I really, REALLY think I am in the great minority on Napa Rose. I'm waiting for someone to come in here and tell me that I'm wrong about it!!

UM...not great news about California Grill! I just made a reservation for dinner there after Wine & Dine!!

I totally agree with this! I was also expecting behavior similar to Princess weekend and everyone seemed to be so kind and gracious. We saw so many runners stop to help out other runners who were having a rough time - perfect strangers! It was a really refreshing rD experience.

That's exactly what was making me not look forward to Tink weekend, was reading about Princess. I always thought of Tink as being California's version of Princess, and it is in a lot of ways, but the vibe of the whole thing was really refreshing.

The half was similar to the 10K in terms of runner etiquette and attitude. It was downright pleasant to be running with thousands of complete strangers. I'm also not a Tink fan and would also highly recommend this race weekend.

That's good to know - makes me even more excited for next year!

Thanks for sharing your weekend with us!

Thanks for reading!

Oh no, it's over already??? That was a quick TR. It really sounds like a wonderful trip though and I'm more determined than ever to do this race weekend - Tink-themed or not.

I like writing TRs, but I also like getting them done quickly!!

I love all your pictures as always, but that Tink one is the BEST! I'm glad you and your mom got to celebrate Mother's Day together though even if the meal was a bit of a disappointment. Making note of that for our future trip to DL.

Thanks! HAHA...I like that one too! My mom enjoyed her meal and the race, so that is what is important!

Lastly, that shot of the carnation giveaways with the Dumbo shot made me all nostalgic. I used to sing "Baby Mine" to my son, Drake, when he was a baby. He just graduated high school last week and we did a photo montage thing for him and started it out with that song (Bette Midler's version). It always makes me weepy.

OMG - I cannot handle that movie. I took a quick picture and had to get away. That scene makes me SOB. That is so sweet how you have an emotional connection to it!!

Loved every moment of the report as always!!

Thanks!!

I totally agree with you in the comparison of Tink to Princess Weekend! I went in thinking that I would HATE this weekend and the only redeeming quality would be that it was at Disneyland, but I absolutely loved it. LOVED it.

Seriously, after hearing some of the more awful stories about Princess, I was worried!

I think the demographic in the half marathon skewed a tiny bit older than Princess Weekend, so maybe that had something to do with the improvement of runner etiquette, but either way - it was a great group of people to be around. Never once did I get annoyed by others around me like I did at Princess.

You could totally be right about that. The vibe just really seemed pretty relaxed. Maybe it's more of a family event at Disneyland since it's over Mother's Day, and that's the difference?

Great report...really enjoyed the whole thing! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for reading!

You're pretty awesome for going out there and spectating! I'm sure all of the runners (especially @Keels) really appreciated seeing you out there!

I always appreciate when people are our during races. It was fun to watch!

I love people who ignore rules and etiquette. They're my favorite people ever.

Let me tell you, there are some STORIES going around on Facebook. People just astound me.

That is so awesome! I love when people go out of their way to be friendly and supportive!

Me too! That's one of my favorite memories from spectating, I loved that he did that!

And that's why I've never gone to cheer for the runners ... too exhausting for me. (Actually, it's because I'm a terrible person, but the exhausting thing sounds better)

It really was!! I know it sounds so silly...I was just standing there and yelling for the runners, and then I'm just like...

Holy cow that's a lot of people in that bag check line!

The good news is ... there are approximately 60,000 Tink magic shots at the various Disney parks ... so hopefully she'll get her chance!

This is true!! She doesn't seem to be as big a Disney Parks fan as I am, though...so we'll see. Since you actually need to GO to the parks to get that shot!

So ... the Starbucks at DCA will always have a special place in my heart. That's where I had my first Disney Starbucks. I got myself a latte and went to watch World of Color. I thought it was the greatest thing ever.

Wait - Starbucks + World of Color?! That DOES sound like the greatest thing ever!!!

I actually totally understand this. My brother just bought a DSLR a few months ago ... I could not imagine dragging that thing around everywhere! My little point-and-shoot is old and needs to be replaced ... but I don't think I'd go DSLR. It's too much for someone who doesn't love photography. Hopefully your new camera will work much better for you!

YES!! I was seriously mad at myself for bringing it!! I do agree that it's too much for someone that doesn't really love it - i appreciate good pictures but I just cannot get myself to take the time to learn how to get really good at it. It's just not for me!

Interesting ... Napa Rose has a pretty good reputation, but I guess some people don't care as much about the price?
Oh well, at least you know how you feel about it now and don't need to look for a reservation there for your next trip!

I know, I feel like there's something I don't understand about it? Like I missed something that should have made it super awesome? I can definitely recommend the mac and cheese though!

Maybe that's what I need to do - go there and just order like 3 portions of the mac & cheese. Classy!

What??? That's a little bit very ridiculous.

Agreed!!

Yay for getting good free money/travel ... even if it was because of United's stupid. At least you had a fairly uneventful trip home!

Yeah, $500 is nice.

As someone who is considering this race in the future ... this is good to hear! The Princess reports kinda freaked me out a lot, but at least now I know that if I got for a pink C2C, there will only be insane drama in one of the two weekends.

Princess reports freaked me out too. Not sure how that's gonna go!!

Thanks for sharing your report - I enjoyed reading it, and even though it made me sad that I'm not at Disneyland right now, it definitely helped me get excited about eventually going back! (Not that I need any help with that)

Thanks for reading!

 

[rteetz]

What it's over already!?!? I love your TRs and really enjoyed reading this one.

Spectating is fun when you're not running because you still get some of that race experience and get to see all of the runners and their costumes. Wow I couldn't believe they took down the race markers so quickly. I guess they have to get things cleaned up though.

I kind of really find it funny that your mom was amazed with the magic shots. They keep adding new magic shots all the time.

I got a DSLR for Christmas last year and actually really like it. While it does get annoying sometimes at the parks I don't bring it everywhere only when I know I'm going to be taking photos of things like the fireworks or parades and such. It's also nice because the case can hold my portable charger and phone while it's charging so I don't have to put that in my pockets. In January I took roughly 1300 photos on my DSLR and another 700 on my phone... That new point and shoot should work out well for you though.

Hmmm Napa Rose is usually a good place to eat from reviews I've seen. It must not be your cup of tea. It's kind of like how some people like Tony's Town Square at MK but most do not. It seems most like Napa Rose but you are in the those who do not category. Nothing wrong with that though.

United did not do well for you this trip it seems. At least you got home okay.

I'm interested to see the future of this race weekend. I do want to run it if it falls on my birthday weekend again. Next year it's a few days later than my birthday.

 

[BigEeyore]

Aw, and just like that another great TR is over! And I just got caught up too! Thank you for taking the time to write it - as always, loved your photos, insight, and perspective on the race and DL in general. I am *this close* to doing one of the DL races next year or 2018. I think I'd like to go for the pink C2C medal if I do it - sounds like Tink was a great race weekend, and my first ever half was the Disney princess so it has a special place in my heart. Are you going to be doing both the GSC and the PDC next year?
Can't believe that about your flight! Good call on the $500. Easy money!