Diamonds

Disneyland is celebrating its 60th anniversary this July. They will be kicking off the celebration in May with a 24-hour Disney day and new parades, light shows, and other fun activities. They have started the decorating a bit early.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle is all decked out for the upcoming events, and it looks pretty amazing. It didn't photograph well, but the roof tiles are all covered in sparkly diamonds, as well as all the metal and diamond-looking trim. It's really quite beautiful in person!

Today, I visited Disneyland, specifically to do the Easter Egg Hunt challenge, but I should have known better than to wait until the last day. Unfortunately, they had already sold out of the maps and prizes. Instead of Egg hunting, my friend and I just had a regular Disney Day. Many of the past closures are re-opened, so we had fun running around figuring out what the changes were.

Of course, after having a big Disney day, and then Easter dinner with family, I'm wiped out. This entry is going to be short because I'm falling asleep as I'm typing this.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15

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runDisney

Neverland 5K Finish Line

Running is not something I ever wanted to do. Or even thought I could do. In fact, when one of my friends started running, I laughed in his face about how that would never be me. Then someone let me in on what was originally kind of a little-known fact. You can run in the happiest place on earth.

Now... I run Disney.

Okay, I'm not one of the amazing folks who run the big races. But, I do run the 5Ks. And I LOVE it.

Right off the bat, I'll tell you: They are more expensive than the usual runs you can participate in. And now, with runs trying to out-do each other with creative twists, like foam or powdered ink or obstacles, you can find fun (yes, actually fun!) runs all over, and many are cheaper.

BUT, they aren't Disney. For runDisney, you are running through the theme parks when they are closed. Not just the areas the normal folk get to go, either. Some of the courses bring you back stage and even underground.

Star Wars 5K Expo Exit

You start off your experience with the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo. This is where you'll go to pick up your race packet and shirt. This expo is also chock-full of booths and panels where you can buy things or learn about racing strategies and food concepts. And, sometimes they have autograph sessions with some of the celebrities that also runDisney.

On your race, you see many sights that you couldn't ordinarily see.

Disneyland Cast Members Lockers

Avengers 5K Logo projected on Radiator Springs

Tea Cups spinning while runners pass

Some of the biggest draws to the Disney races, are the character photo ops. Scattered throughout the course, you'll find characters waiting to pose for photos with the runners. Some of the better characters tend to get longer lines, so, if you are going to do a Disney race, choose the characters you wait for wisely.

Black Widow - Avengers 5K

Goofy & Pluto - Neverland 5K

In true Disney fashion, they celebrate everyone who runs. Not just the fastest. This photo is of the man who was the final finisher of the Star Wars 5K. They shot confetti and had a group of CMs and racers there to cheer him on!

Confetti Cannon for the Final Finisher - Star Wars 5K

There are photo opportunities all along the course. MarathonFoto will be taking pictures you can buy, but pretty much anywhere you go, you can take your own pictures.

Finish Line Photo - Star Wars 5K

The gear you get for a Disney race is pretty amazing. The shirts are always great (5Ks get tees, but all the longer races get tech shirts.) You also have the option to buy limited edition pin trading pins for the events. The pins are usually really great. And, everyone who finishes, gets a medal (rubber medallions for the 5K and Kids Races, metal medals for the longer races).

Race Gear - Star Wars 5K

And, after your races, you should definitely take a trip into the parks (once they open!). The characters really love to see your medals, and people will congratulate you all day.

If you're interested in running with runDisney, I suggest you go to the website and sign up to be notified when race registration goes live. They aren't a secret anymore and some sell out within hours. I'll be signing up for notice for the next race. And this time I'm going to go for a longer one.

I want some metal.

Holiday Time at Disneyland, the Guided Tour

For the first time, I was able to participate in one of Disneyland's best traditions, a Guided Tour. The Guided Tours are awesome! They are a bit on the pricey side, which can deter most people, however, now that I've participated in one, I can officially say that they are worth it. You purchase tickets, and meet for your guided tour at the Guided Tour kiosk just next to Disneyland City Hall. Behind the kiosk is an area to gather before you begin your tour. I found the above Christmas tree tucked away. We took the Holiday Time at Disneyland Tour. It started at 12:10, and ended with the parade, which started at 3:00. It was an amazing experience. 

I didn't do much homework before we signed up for the tour, so I really didn't know what to expect. For one thing, I definitely didn't expect any park-hopping, but we jumped from Disneyland's Main Street right over to California Adventure. We learned a great deal about the decorations in California Adventure. My favorite bit of information at this point, was probably that the train that sits at the bottom of DCA's Buena Vista Street Tree is modeled after the train Walt Disney took from Missouri out to California. When will I learn to stop assuming Disney doesn't control every detail? In our brief visit to California Adventure, our tour stopped by Trolley Treats Candy for a delicious sample. The above is a marshmallow that was dipped in caramel, chocolate, and sprinkles with a hint of mint. Seriously yummy.

I knew about the Menorah in one of the windows on Main Street, but I had no idea there was a Mezuzah at Disneyland. One of the things I learned on the tour. They touched upon all the major holidays, not just Christmas.

For future reference, the Guided Tours are all led by Cast Members using little microphones that transmit into "radios" you wear around your neck. You can bring your own headphones to avoid using community ones. While you travel through the parks, you get a lot of stares from park-goers. And, if you pay attention, you can hear people complaining that you get to skip the lines or wondering what makes you so special that you have a tour guide.

Another great part of the Guided Tour experience is traveling with your group to the front of the lines. On the Holiday Time at Disneyland tour, you get to ride the three rides with holiday makeovers. We started with the Jingle Cruise, then went to The Haunted Mansion - Nightmare Before Christmas, and ended with It's a Small World Holidays. Skipping the lines was quite fun!

At the end of the tour, they sat us down in special seats so we could watch A Christmas Fantasy, the holiday parade. We had a really good view once the Small World line cleared out. Plus, getting actual seats for the parade was quite lovely. And, as an added treat, we were given hot cocoa in the Holiday Tumblers, and chocolate dipped gingerbread cookies, which, in true Disney fashion, were wearing Mickey ears, and delicious, of course!

While in our seats for the parade, they also gave us our Holiday Time in Disneyland 2014 pin-trading pin. It's a great pin that comes on a card with Walt in front of his own Christmas tree. All in all, I had a great time, learned a lot of stuff I hadn't known, and walked away with some great souvenirs.

I'm so glad I finally had the chance to take one of these awesome tours, and I can't wait to do another one! Now that Holiday Time is over, I'll look into some of the other tours!

With our awesome CM, Cassie!

Frozen Taking Over Disney California Adventure

Whether, you love it, hate it, or love to hate it, Frozen is here to stay. And, as it's one of the highest grossing films of all time, you can expect Disney to capitalize on it as long as they possibly can. So, it should come as no surprise that they have brought the child-favorite to the California parks. Anna, Elsa, and Olaf have been added to the Disneyland parades and many of the shops now have Frozen sections. In Downtown Disney, Olaf has an ice rink (during the holidays), and Anna and Elsa have a new boutique. But, the true changes have occurred in Disney California Adventure, where Frozen Fun now reigns supreme.

The first Frozen Fun offering is For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration. This is, in my opinion, the best they have to offer. It's a 30-minute show that summarizes the movie and features clips of the sing-along version of the film and appearances from special guests. It is located in the theater Muppet Vision 3D was formerly held in, and some of the "4D" effects from the Muppets have been transitioned into the new Frozen show. Though the change was reported by Disney to be a temporary one, from what I can tell, this appears to be a permanent, or at least a long-term transformation. All traces of the Muppets are gone from the theater, and the Muppets Studio Store is now Wandering Oaken's Trading Post.