Run Disney - Wine & Dine November 2014

In November my sister in law and I were able to sneak away on a girls trip to run the Disney World Wine & Dine Half Marathon!  We began planning this trip very soon after we got home from the Tinkerbell Half in January.  Wine and Dine would be the finishing race to our Coast to Coast medal for 2014.  If you run a Disney Half Marathon in each park in the same calendar year then you are awarded a third medal for the Coast to Coast.

We booked our travel through GET travel, they do lots of the Run Disney events.  They arranged our stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort, our park hopper passes and our Half Marathon Bibs for us.  In this way we found it to be a very stress free way to get set up.  Disney runs are getting to be more and more popular and will even sell out now within a few hours of registration opening up.  Providers like GET Travel already have an allotment of race bibs and so they don't have to fight in registration to get them for you.

Our trip to Florida in November began like any other cross country journey.  I flew to Calgary to meet up with SIL, then together we flew to Toronto and then to Orlando.  From the Orlando airport we hopped on the Disney magic express and were dropped off right at our resort.  It had been a long day of traveling so we had no trouble getting settled in our room and then falling right asleep.  Here's a few photos of our resort the Caribbean Beach Resort.

In the morning we had plans to head over to the Expo at ESPN Sports Center. It was there we would be able to enjoy the expo, pick up our run packages and then maybe head into the parks for a few hours before we had to get ready to run!  The expo had lots of neat booths to look at, a few photo ops and a general atmosphere of excitement!

The first part of the day evaporated on us very quickly.  We were able to pop into Hollywood Studios and Epcot before we needed to get back to our room to try a quick nap and get ready for the evening.

The sky had some pretty serious clouds in them and the weather forecast didn't look promising.  It was really too late for us to modify our running costumes for the run but I did manage to pick up a hat to keep the impending rain out of my eyes.  In BC we get to rain run fairly regularly. 

This will be the last dry picture of the night.  Pretty well as soon as we had bussed over to the ESPN Sports Center and arrived at our corals it began to rain.  It rained lightly at first, our spirits were high, we were ready to rock this run!  We had also arranged to meet up with another friend who would run as our Mickey.

Soon enough it was time to hit the road and get our 13.1 miles on!  There were many characters out on the course for us to have photos with.  This alone despite the down pour of rain was amazing.  You could tell that Disney did have to wiggle a few character stops around.  Some were under any kind of roof that could be found, or tucked in alongside buildings, but they did the best they could.  Some of the characters were even right out in the rain like us runners.

Pirates aren't afraid of the rain

The Tree of Life

The Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights was amazing!!!

Running in the pouring down Florida rain was actually not too bad.  It was warm rain, as long as you kept moving you didn't chill.  It was a very unique experience, one I don't suspect I'll soon forget to run in this much water and be hitting puddles that splash up your legs and be really okay with it!  It was all kinda fun.  Of course not what we had hoped for but what is a person to do but make the best of it.

Three short hours later (Disney runs are for fun not PBs) we were running across the finish line.  It was really from this point on that things became more and more unfortunate.  We collected our medals, posed for a few pictures and then went right over to gear check to get out of our wet clothes.  Once the gear check bags were retrieved we had to wait in the cold and wind and rain to get into the changing tent.  Yes, boys and girls each had their own changing tent, but they weren't big enough.  After what felt like an eternity of waiting we finally got into the tent amongst hundreds of other wet, cold women who were in various stages of undress in a tight humid space.  Regardless we carved out a square foot of grass for ourselves and changed into whatever dry clothes we had packed.  It didn't really warm us but it was a step in the right direction.  From there Epcot was open until 4 am for us runners to enjoy the Food and Wine festival.  The first beverage of the night was a hot chocolate.  It may have been the best hot chocolate ever. We didn't tour all of Epcot or do any rides but we did make it until 4 am easy enough.  We had a few bites of food but the cold and the rain persisted.

After we made it back to the hotel room sleep came very easy in our warm beds.  The next few days were a blur of Disney World awesome.  We went into all of the worlds except the water parks and enjoyed all the rides we had hoped for including the new Dwarf Mine Train ride.  Disney World all dressed for Christmas was really something to see and the Food and Wine Festival was a delight!

All in all our Wine & Dine / Splash & Dash Half Marathon in Florida was fabulous.  Just like any of the Run Disney events it was magic with every mile!  I might like to try it again one year without the rain.

Character Dining - Ariel's Grotto

 
In 2012 we booked a Character lunch at Ariel's Grotto.  Ariel's Grotto is the character dining spot inside California Adventure.  We hadn't been there before so we really didn't know what to expect. 

The cast of characters at Ariel's Grotto are the Princesses.  When you arrive for your reservation time you are greeted right away by Ariel in her wedding dress at a photo spot.  That's a nice touch we thought.

The location is superb and we were seated outside on the patio so that we could look upon the water.  We were immediately served with some appetizers of cheese, crackers and olives.

After we had chosen our lunches from a fairly limited menu the princesses began to arrive.  One at a time.  Unlike the fur characters, the princesses can talk.  And do they ever.  They carry on cute conversations with your wee ones.  They teach them some princess like sayings and picture poses.

Overall we enjoyed our lunch.  I thought the food was a little off the mark for family dining.  It was fancier that it needed to be.  Scott and I enjoyed it very much but if you have a picky eater it might spell trouble.

There aren't many other ways to get quality princess time in the parks and so for that reason we think Ariel's Grotto is a win.

Character Dining - Disney's PCH Grill

A few years back while staying at the Paradise Pier hotel we booked a character dining experience right in our own hotel!  The Paradise Pier is home to Disney's PCH Grill.  There's nothing more convenient than a breakfast reservation in your own hotel.

As per the usual Character Dining experiences the food was fantastic!  What we noticed with the PCH Grill is that they had a bit more atmosphere.  They had a theme song and a dance when the characters came out to visit and the whole California beach theme made for a great ambiance. 

Each location for Character Dining has a different cast of characters of course.  In this sense it is a bit of Disney magic because once you've enjoyed a few character meals you want to try them all.  Or is that just me?  There are currently five character dining locations running at Disneyland & California Adventure.  Each of the Disney hotels has a character meal as well as a one in each of the parks.  Not all of them are breakfast either.  We've heard great things about Goofy's Kitchen inside the Disneyland Hotel but we've not yet made it there to try it out.

We had a great time, laughing, singing and eating our way through breakfast at the Paradise Pier.  There are always lots of interruptions to your meal when characters come to visit.

The PCH Grill is only a character dining experience for breakfast.  The rest of the day you can expect great family restaurant fair.

Character Dining - The Plaza Inn

One of the hidden secrets of Disneyland is Character Dining.  It wasn't until we had been to the park several times that a friend suggested we go into town hall and inquire about Character Breakfast.  Sure now adays Character Dining has become quite a big thing with several locations to choose from. 

The first time we went to a Character Breakfast we booked it through town hall and made our reservations there.  I'm sure you can still do that, but if you're planning ahead the Disney website has a full dining and reservations section there.  The classic location is the Plaza Inn for Mickey and Friends breakfast.  We have enjoyed the Mickey and Friends breakfast on three occasions through out the years.  Sure the price is more than you've ever paid for a breakfast before, but this is no ordinary meal.  You will be treated to a buffet of delicious breakfast items, everything from omelets, to pancakes, waffles, breakfast meats, fresh fruit and scrambled eggs.  There's no way a person can leave hungry.

While you are enjoying your breakfast either inside the restaurant or outside on their patio Disney characters will wander around.  When the character approaches your table they'll take the time to interact with each family.  They are happy to sign autograph books, give hugs and pose for photos.  During the approximate time it takes you to eat your meal you will have one full rotation of Disney characters.

Karly was a bit scared of the characters the first time she met them

Smaller children may be afraid of some of the characters.  Karly was 5 at our first Plaza Inn Character Breakfast and she wasn't really a fan of some of the characters.  Perhaps show your children some photos of what's going to go on and they'll be a little more comfortable with the whole idea and have a bit more fun with posing for pictures.   Don't forget to take horizontal photos for your autograph book!

Here she is just one year later loving the Fairy Godmother!

For us the Character Breakfast is a bit of an extravagance but we only do one Character meal per trip.  It's been a great way to fill up those autograph books and get to meet some of the characters up close.  These are memories that will last a life time.

What a perfect way to start your Disney Day!!

How to get to Disneyland on the cheap

Disneyland to our family is simply a magical place.  The whole family loves it there.  Not every family sees the magic kingdom in this fashion but we do and we would like to go there as much as possible.  That being said, there's no reason to put Disney ahead of other financial goals.  We just need to make them all work in harmony.  Make no mistake college is coming and we need to save money for that, retirement is coming faster than we think and so are more trips to Disneyland.

Here's how we make our trips to Disney as inexpensive as possible.

Theme #1 Airmiles!

Park passes
You may be surprised just how far a few Airmiles can get you towards your Disneyland vacation goal.  We like to use our airmiles often to buy our park passes.  Those puppies are expensive so that's where we go first with our airmiles.

Rental Car
If you're doing Disney on the cheap there may be some driving involved.  If you didn't bring your car down then why not look at a rental car?  They're really not that expensive.

Hotel
We have not done this to date but if you have your park passes covered, why not pay for your hotel with airmiles too?  You can search out all the details on the Airmiles website but it looks like they do have a few hotels right by the park.

Flights
This one is a bit of a classic, but of course you can pay for your flights with airmiles.  You can also drive to Bellingham and fly on Allegiant Air to LAX those are about the cheapest flights from our neck of the woods.

Theme #2 - Being Thrifty

Shuttle
If you do fly into LAX the Super shuttle will happily give you a ride to your Disney proximity hotel for about $16 a head. 

Disney savings
One of the things we've picked up off of Pinterest in the past year is a Disney savings jar.  We like to plan our Disney trip, talk about the plans over dinner and generally just be excited about the upcoming trip a few months in advance.  In order to keep the topic fresh we often build a Disney savings jar from an old coffee can and decorate it like Mickey or Minnie.  That way as we go about our day to day life if there's a bit of extra money  around we put it in the jar.   Sometimes Grandma and Grandpa come around for dinner and put some money in the jar (its happened). If we feel like we've caught a good sale or made a good buying decision in another area we put some money in the jar.  Or if we've foregone a normal treat in lieu of more money for Disney, we put that money in the jar.  I think it teaches kids to set financial goals and we've been delighted when we take the accumulated cash to the bank and change it in for American spending money.

Park drinks and snacks
The only other things we regularly do to make Disney cheaper is we bring our own water bottles into the park so we don't have to buy drinks there and we stay hydrated in the California sun.  We also bring with us lots of snacks to take into the park. 

If you're wondering how close you are to your next Disney vacation just take out a blank piece of paper and estimate the costs.  You may be closer than you think!

Accommodation - Ramada Maingate Anaheim

Just this past year we discovered the Ramada Main gate.  While planning the Disney Grad Nite trip for 2014 we were exploring our good neighbor, less expensive hotel options while still trying to get as close to the park as possible.  Well I think this hotel was just what we needed.

The hotel is located on Harbour Blvd beside the Tony Roma's restaurant.  When you walk out of the park where all the shuttle buses are located and go onto Harbour Blvd the Ramada is about 4 doors to the right.  It would take us about 5 minutes to get right back into our room from the time we left either park.  That's as close as anyone needs their hotel in my option.

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The walk over Harbour Blvd into Disneyland

Over the past year the Ramada has been undergoing extensive expansion and renovation but we found the hotel to be very adequate.  Our room was spacious enough, the hotel was quiet at night and we had recently updated bathrooms.  The pool was a bit cool during our December trip but maybe that was just the time of year. 

Bathroom selfie

The hotel does host a continental breakfast each morning from 6 am to 9 am.  Each morning was a bit different.  You can find there the usual dry cereals, fresh fruit, toast, donuts, juices and coffee.  On some mornings they also had biscuits and gravy which was a riot that my tiny picky eater loved this!  She had it for two mornings in a row and the third when it wasn't available she was a bit sad.  Even so, if you can have a free breakfast it saves more money for in the park.  I was quite happy to have toast with peanut butter and jam each morning with my coffee.  It's almost what I would make at home.

So for the money, we really like the Ramada Main gate. 

Accommodation - Holiday Inn Anaheim

You'll have to bear with me here on my dated recollections of our stay at the Holiday Inn on Walnut Street in Anaheim.  I have nothing but good things to say about our stay there but it was a few years back.

In 2007 we stayed at the Holiday Inn on a car trip to Disneyland.  We found the rooms to be very well priced, they had a nice restaurant in the lobby although not included in our room cost and the rooms were very adequate.

One of the unexpected bonuses that we found at the Holiday Inn was its close location to the Mickey and Friends parking structure.  Rather than walk right to the park entrance we were able to hop on a convenient tram that runs pretty well a continuous loop to the park and back.  So convenient!  We had the convenience factor of being very close to the park but not the cost.

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My practical tips for a day at Disneyland

Every time we go to Disneyland we learn something new.  This is what's really neat about social media.  I can share what I've learned so that you can have the best possible trip just by doing some research!  Here are some of my best tips for a family going to Disneyland.

Always wear a back pack.  In it you'll be able to comfortably stow everything you need for the day.

Take a sweatshirt for evening time.  It does get cooler after the sun goes down.

You can bring food into the park.  As long as there's no glass containers you are good to go.  Bring your kids healthy snacks from home, buy a few extra boxes of granola bars and dump them into your suitcase or bring a few special treats for children with awesome behavior.  Any way you slice it, food from home is a financial win.

Waiting in line with a box of crackers

One our last few trips we've learned to take a water bottle or two into the park.  It rides on the side of the back pack.  It has been said that Disneyland fountains have some of the tastiest and best treated water anywhere.  Sometimes we take little single serve flavorings for water even the children will drink enough of.

At any walk up, counter service restaurant you can also as for a cup of water free of charge.  They are happy to give you one for each of your party.  Let's face it, eating out 2 meals a day is expensive and adding the cost of drinks is often just not necessary.
 
We always try to do breakfast at our hotel.  Some hotels we've stayed at like the Ramada Maingate have a breakfast included in your room.  If that's not a part of the accommodation we've had good success at bringing a selection of breakfast bars or granola bars and eating those for breakfast on our way into the park.

Breakfast at the Ramada Maingate

Buy your autograph book right when you get into Disneyland.  On both sides of the entrance tunnel there are little kiosks that sell the wide selection of autograph books.  Our girls have always had one at each trip for all the autographs and matching photos that they're bound to collect throughout our visit.  These books have proved to be priceless keep sakes.

Disneyland is tough on little people who try and stay awake for the whole day.  Strollers have a special place at Disneyland too.  You may think they are a great big nuisance but there is a parental code of honor at Disneyland with regards to strollers.  You can park your stroller outside of pretty well every attraction in a stroller parking section.  While your stroller is parked and you are off enjoying a magical Disney experience, it is virtually guaranteed that your stroller will not be touched nor will anything go missing from it.  It's crazy I know, but this is the code of honor.  I have seen cameras left on the top of a stroller, stuffies, blankets, you name it... if its on your stroller, its not touched.

The other thing about strollers is that you'll need one in Disneyland for far longer than you need one anywhere else in town.  Karly had a stroller right up to age 6.  I fondly recall a trip where she was wearing a pink dress and had fallen asleep in the stroller in the middle of the day.  People would walk buy and say "look there's Sleeping Beauty."

Disneyland has a neat program called Photopass.  You can go up to any one of the Photopass photographers that are located all around the parks, especially near scenic views and ask them to take a photograph of you.  They will take a photograph of your family and scan it onto a plastic card for you to look at the photos when you get home.  From there you can buy the photos if you like what you see.  What's not as well known in that the Photopass photographers will also take a photo with your camera as well.  They're quite happy to do both for you.

Other tiny tips are to wear comfortable walking shoes, take sunscreen and have a great time!

My Sister in Law Kerri, a newbie Disney pro, has come up with a few important tips herself:

1. Remember to take photos for autograph albums horizontally. You'd mentioned this before and saved me lots of cropping time! Who wouldn't take vertical photos of the princesses and their dresses?!?!
 
2. Take a large/thick sharpie for autographs. The characters with big mitts... Mickey, Minnie, Donald, etc. can hold onto them easier than pens.
 
3. Take Disney souvenirs with you to give your kids vs paying park prices. We had the princesses and Minnie "leave" our girls presents in our hotel room each day and it cut out a lot of "I wants" while in the park!

RunDisney - Tinkerbell Half Marathon January 2014

This blog post was written in January 2014 but I think it belongs here on this blog.

I am Run Disney's newest fan!  This past week I just returned from an amazing adventure with my family from Disneyland in California.  My sister in law and I had hatched a plan to make the Tinker Bell Half Marathon a reality and built a family vacation around it.  I knew it would be an awesome family vacation but I had no idea how much I was going to enjoy this run.  Disney runs are nothing like anything I have ever experienced before.  It was such an atmosphere of friendship and support!  Let me share with you my run.  First we got up at 3:45 in the morning to dress, feed and prepare ourselves.  Seems crazy right?  But I woke up ten minutes before my alarm ~ ready to get up!  When you have something so fun to do, how can you sleep?  Here I am at 4:30 as we prepared to head out to our corals.

Although it was dark out, it wasn't all that chilly.  The time passed very quickly as we chatted with a few people around us in the corals, everyone was in a great mood despite the crazy early time of day.

Before we knew it, the American anthem was playing and it was time to run. 

This run had sold out as it usually does and there were 13,000 registered runners!  The first few kms we worked our way around Disney Drive and over to the main gates of the park.  We spent about 8 kms running through the parks and we stopped for many character photos.  Here are a few of my faves.

Peter Pan and Wendy

Merida from Brave

Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean

After we left the park I stowed my camera in my water belt.  In hindsight, I wish I hadn't done that because there was so much to see on the streets of Anaheim.  There were the Red Hat ladies in droves, there were Cheer Squads, Marching bands and Dance teams.  The support from the community was unreal!  At times we ran down the street giving high fives to the spectators that lined the streets.  It was still pretty magical even though we weren't in the park.  The run was well supported with lots of water stops and fuel stations.  Before we knew it we were winding our way back down towards the park and the mileage markers read 11, 12, 13 miles... We were running down the chute and our magical run was over.  Even though the fun was over, getting our medals was pretty awesome...

What made this accomplishment even more Disney special was that in the days following the race, all the cast members made a point of acknowledging your run.  Even the characters in fur that could not speak would point to your medal or  your run shirt and give you the thumbs up and a high five.  That was Disney awesome!

Although this was my first Disney run I can say for sure that it won't be the last.  It was so much fun from start to finish.  It was a very special milestone for me!