Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend!!

Well, I spent my weekend in my most favorite city in the world- Anaheim! I am always looking for an excuse to hang out in Disneyland, and I had a great one this weekend. Disneyland was hosting its first ever half marathon! I was lucky enough to have a friend, Sarah, who recently moved to Southern California, come stay with me at the Disneyland Hotel! We had a grand time!

On Friday, my plane touched down at about 8:40- I rushed to grab a shuttle to make it to the park for opening at 9am. I just missed it- I got there at about 9:05 and made a mad dash for Space Mountain. For those of you who are not familiar with Disneyland's newly renovated coaster- it is the best roller coaster ever! I rode it a few times, and then i figured it was time to move onto Fantasyland. I rode Peter Pan's flight and then Snow White. After that, it was, of course, time for my daily Mickey Mouse soft pretzel. While these are excellent, they do not compare to the far superior version- the Monstro Pretzel in the Magic Kingdom! I then took in the Pirates of the Caribbean. Capn Jack Sparrow now makes a few appearances in that attraction. Next up were Indiana Jones and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!

After those, I headed back to the hotel to check in, pick up my race packet, and meet up with Sarah. After Sarah got in, we headed back to the park, where we did a lot of waiting in line, but not a lot of riding, so we finally settled for pretzels and fireworks! Disneyland puts on the most spectacular fireworks show I have ever seen!

Saturday was a full day starting at 9am. We got just about every ride in and had a marvelous time doing it! At the end of the evening, we carb loaded at the Pizza Port in Tomorrowland, which is the only pasta that i have ever had that compares to Maggiano's! Yumm!

Sunday was an early morning- had to be at the starting line by 4:30 am. not cool. It was a pretty long wait until the 6:00 start time. It was a pretty uneventful wait until the guy with the microphone announced that the race ambassadors had arrived. I really wasn't interested until I heard who they were- Mickey and Minnie! It was awesome! About 5 minutes later, the race began with a great show of pyrotechnics and fire balls. Seriously, where else do you have races that are initiated with a pyrotechnic show?

The race went through a few streets in Anaheim before entering California Adventure and making its way through the esplanade into Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom! It was amazing- we went through the backstage area and then entered into Tomorrowland- next turn into Fantasyland and through Sleeping Beauty's Castle. We then went through Fronteirland, Adventureland and down Main Street- it was incredible. After that, it was back to the streets of Anaheim. My favorite non Disney part was the part through the Anaheim Angels' Stadium. Their announcer was there, and he announced our names as we came through the door. We then rounded the bases before making an exit through left field. At that point, I knew I was in the home stretch- only 3 miles to go- time to kick it in high gear. I needed to make an impressive finish for Mickey, who would be waiting at the finish line. The race ended with a mile back in Disney territory, and it was a great finish. Sure enough, Mickey was there cheering me on! I ended up finishing in 318 th place out of about 9,500 runners, so I was really excited. I finished with a final pace of 7:48- my best yet! I need to stick with these Disney runs!

After that, I had to run back to the hotel and shower so that we could make our 9:00 appointment for the "A Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour. It was great. we got to enter the park an hour before it opened. It was awe-inspiring looking down an empty Main Street thinking that just 50 years ago, Walt would have been doing this very same thing!

The tour was great. I got to play teacher's pet and answer all of the questions. We got to go into the mysterious Club 33- an exclusive restaurant that only members of the club can enter. As a result, this restaurant has remained shrouded in mystery for years. As part of the tour, we got to go into the lobby, which was nice. I was tempted to make a mad dash up the stairs when the tour guide wasn't paying attention, but I figured it wasn't worth losing my park priveleges over, so in the end, I still have not seen the dining area!

After the tour, Sarah and I spent some time riding our favorites a few more times, and then it was back to the airport.

Overall, a fantastic weekend in a fantastic place! It is exciting to think that the next time I am visiting Mickey, it will be for our wedding trip! It will be nice to be back at my Disney home base resort though. I certainly miss seeing the Contemporary and the Grand Floridian as I go through the turnstiles at the end of the night. Gosh, I miss that place...it will be good to be back!