For the 2012 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend, I was supposed to travel with my family, but I had torn my TFL (tensor fasciae latae) in June. Per doctor’s orders I had canceled both our Disneyland Hotel reservations and my daughter and my 5K race entries.
My ortho had said no to any summer race until the Marine Corps Marathon in October. However, since I had just run the Rock ‘n’ Roll Providence Relay – the 8 mile leg – and had no problems with my hip, I talked him into a “doctor’s note.” 
So I ended up attending the 2012 Disneyland Half Marathon weekend with some of my running family – Alison and her daughter Dani. Alison and Dani had graciously allowed me to bunk with them at the last minute.
Alison had broken her foot a week after I had my injury! So both of us spent the summer training months recovering and were not expecting much of a race. However, we were definitely in for a good time since it was Dani’s birthday and we were at DISNEYLAND!
We flew from Logan to LAX on JetBlue and took the shuttle to Anaheim. We arrived at Disneyland around 2pm and headed straight to the expo. By the time we had arrived to the offical runDisney booth, they were sold out of Coast to Coast Women’s Small shirts and Disneyland branded Sweaty Bands. Never-the-less we were still able to spend $$$ and found a fabulous Coast to Coast shirt at the Raw Threads booth.
TIP: Get to the runDisney expos early! Try to shoot to arrive when the expo opens if you have a specific item you want to purchase like a Coast to Coast shirt or Minnie/Mickey New Balance shoes! Also, I purchased my Coast to Coast shirt at the 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon expo prior to actually earning my Coast to Coast medal at Disneyland Half Marathon this year because I have missed out on this shirt twice before!
Next we picked up our race bibs for the 5K and Half Marathon. I had forgotten that I had canceled me and my daughter 5K race entries when I canceled my hotel reservations. But it turns out that it didn’t matter. Since race entries are non-refundable, both bibs were printed and it only took a few minutes for the runDisney staff to locate them.
Since it was later in the day, the expo was not at all crowed and shopping was a pleasant experience. We were able to see the 20th Anniversary Marathon medal up close and register some remaining family hold-out’s for the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend. We also got to catch up with Barbara and Jeff Galloway and Another Mother Runner’s – Sarah and Dimity.
Next stop was dinner in Downtown Disney - which was steps from the Disneyland Expo. We had burgers for dinner at House of Blues in Downtown Disney. I like Downtown Disney better in Disneyland Resort than Walt Disney World. To me it seems an extension of the parks and I enjoy its location between the parks.
I think we ended up going back to the expo at least three additional times to either register for races or shop! But since we were in Disneyland and it was just a short walk not a bus ride!
Alison had made hotel reservations OFF PROPERTY (I know the horrors!!!) at a Good Neighbor Hotel. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn Anaheim Disneyland Resort right on South Harbor Boulevard. This hotel was clean, beds were comfortable and the water pressure was good. It included free WiFi and had a fridge in the room. There was also a pool and it was located close to a McDonalds. All in all very close to the magic….you could see the magic since it was located just across from Space Mountain and a short walk to the main gates. I'm sure it was also ½ the price of the Disneyland Hotel.
All in all, I would recommend the Fairfield Inn hotel if you wanted to stay off property. However, when staying off Disneyland property I would use a stroller for children 5 and under.
Up Next the Disneyland Family Fun Run 5K
No comments:
Post a Comment