Disney Park Ticket Price Increases

As I am sure you are aware, Disney recently announced that they are raising the prices on park admission tickets. For most this comes as no surprise. Each year, around June, an announcement has been made that ticket prices will be going up. These increases are for regular park tickets and for the annual passes.

The Premier Annual Pass that Danny and I have loved so much for the last year – purchased May 2012 for $750, renewed May 2013 for $850 – will now cost nearly $1000 ($979 +tax)! We feel fortunate that we were able to renew our passes this year but know that next year will not be a realistic. On the bright side, this increase may mean an increase in us traveling elsewhere, maybe even saving up to visit one of the international Disney Parks – Paris, anyone?

Something Danny and I have discussed has been hypothetically purchasing several sets of Disneyworld no-expiration, hopper, water parks & more tickets while they still exist. That way when we have kids, and they are old enough to go to the parks we will have locked in some current prices. Since the water parks count as separate admissions we could in theory get 20 days of vacation out of one 10-day PHWP&M pass. After observing how friends with kids tackle their Disney vacations with more leisurely days, days off to spend at the pool, adding in other places to visit (the beach, non-Disney parks, etc), and doing non-park things on travel days like dinner at a different Resort or going to Downtown Disney, I think that this could be a very wise investment in our future family’s future vacation. One trip could use a few park days (3) and a few water park days (2) plus non-park stuff for travel days and you have a full week of vacation but have only used 5 of your 20 days. Using this rate of ticket use we could have one of the primary expenses of a Disney vacation tucked away for several trips.

In theory this all sounds like an amazing plan but since we are not quite in the having kids phase we aren’t sure how many we may need and this would be a huge upfront cost even if we are thinking of a modest family of 4. For now, we plan to just enjoy this second year of our awesome Premier Annual Passes with a trip late Aug/early Sept to Disneyland and two trips to WDW (Nov & Jan) and maybe swing a second trip to DL if we can in the winter or Spring for one last hurrah before the passes get retired.

5 on 5: Passholder Anniversary

It's been a year since we have been Premier Annual Passholders, and we are celebrating our top 5 favorite moments!  Our passes were purchased on May 4, 2012 and expired on May 4, 2013, just in time for the 5 on 5! In honor of this anniversary we wanted to chronicle our top 5 memories of this year. Below is our list, enjoy!

Danny!
-Partner ring exchange at the "Storytellers" statue at Disney California Adventure - I felt like we fell in love at Disneyland and, just like Walt Disney's story began in California, I felt like our story began in California...  And since then we've had a blast!
-Running the Tinker Bell 1/2 Marathon - Who would not be proud or happy to have run a 1/2 Marathon?!  Let alone a 1/2 Marathon at Disneyland themed after Tinker Bell?!  Chello!!!
-Visiting Disney's California Adventure 2 months after it's grand re-opening - People say it's like stepping into the movie.  We say it's like stepping into someone's imagination, and getting the chance to visit this place before it was constructed, during its construction and after its construction was a true excitement, thrill and blessing!
-Going to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival - I didn't really know much about this festival, other then they served food from around the world...  What I didn't know was - HOW DELICIOUS IT WAS!!!  If there is one event from each coast I recommend going to at Walt Disney World, it is this one - The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.  IT.  IS.  A.  MUST.  DO.  (The event at Disneyland is any of Mickey's Halloween's Party, hard ticketed events)!
-Running the Expedition Everest Challenge and 5K - This is the event that started it all for Jaime and I, and also got me hooked on runDisney events!  Why not end with the best!  Also it got us more fit!

Here's to a new year!

Jaime:

Commitment to fitness by way of runDinsey - We purchased our PAP's the day before our Expedition Everest 5k knowing that we were going to make runDisney a part of our year and lives. Since then we have also run the Jingle Jungle 5k and Tinkerbell Half Marathon (Danny also completed the Princess Half) and have done other runs at home to keep us going for runDisney. I am so happy to have such an amazing motivator to keep me running!

4 Parks in One Day - This past March I had the opportunity to travel to Orlando for  professional conference and stayed an extra couple of days to enjoy the parks. On my last full day at the parks I visited all four parks. We hit all the major rides, got great food, saw some amazing shows, and had a wonderful time! I wouldn't recommend doing 4 parks in a day every trip but it was a fun exercise to see how much we could do in a day!

Passholder Merch - this isn't an event, per say, but I have really enjoyed getting to see and sometimes buy the passholder merch. This last trip the special vynalmation for passholders was a little Orange Bird, which has special significance for Danny and me. Since we had always collected a pin and vynalmation with each trip we have gone on it was fun to get a different array of stuff to consider.

Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour - This tour is exclusive to Disneyland and was a great way to experience the park. Not only was it full of fun facts and trivia (my favorite) but we also were given special access to a few rides, got to see inside the lobby of Club 33 and got to go into Walt's apartment! I highly recommend doing this tour and walking in the footsteps of this visionary.

Our ring exchange - Last, but not least, is the memory of Danny giving me a commitment ring in front of the Storytellers statue in Disney California Adventure. Since we have written about it before in other posts and Danny listed it above, I don't feel that I need to elaborate much more, but needless to say, I will cherish this memory for the rest of my life. Love you Danny!

We can't wait to see what this next year as passholders has in store for us!

5 for 5: Night Shows

This month’s 5 for 5 is all about the night shows. We had originally talked about doing a more general ranking of shows but realized that with the variety of “shows” you can find at Disney it might be nice to distinguish between night shows and the rest such as the stage shows and spontaneous/less formal shows.

 

Danny’s 5:

1. Remember Dream's Come True - an EXTREMELY brilliant and well put together firework show that is more than a show, but a tribute to Walt Disney and Disneyland!

2. Halloween Screams - a fun new take on Halloween and Fireworks that embraces Halloween, Disney Villains and new technology (with the flying of Zero over Sleeping Beauty Castle)!

3. World of Color - Another brilliant example embracing technology with the lack of people power (I.E. needing characters to perform, as in Parades, Fantasmic, etc...) or the need to shut down a part of the park (I.E. Fantasyland during the fireworks); while embracing new brilliant story telling on a new medium.  Plus it's SO beautiful!

4. Illuminations: Reflections of Earth - A beautiful firework show that doesn't scream "DISNEY," but tells a beautiful and wonderful story!

5. Main Street Electrical Parade - It's a BRILLIANT, TIMELESS and WONDERFUL classic!

Jaime’s 5:

1.      Halloween Screams: Having only see the Halloween fireworks show at Disneyland I do not have much to say about how it compares to the Halloween show at WDW. With that said, I love that Zero the Ghost Dog from Nightmare Before Christmas does a flyover and that you get to see and celebrate many of the classic villains from Disney’s past!

 

2.      World of Color: I love that this show is unlike any other, pretty much anywhere. While I love fireworks (in a form or location) I really love that this show is special to California Adventure, embraces Walt’s vision for moving forward and innovating, and is simply a visual stunner. The only drawback is the viewing area is not designed for short people (child, or vertically challenged such as myself) so you really have to stand to see the show and after a long day at the parks that can make me grumpy.

 

3.      Fantasmic! I really appreciate the mix of Disney storytelling, characters, music, and pyrotechnics. As per usual I find myself a bigger fan of the Disneyland version than the WDW version but like that at Hollywood Studios there is a large auditorium with plenty of seating. At Disneyland you sometimes need to stake out a spot around the Rivers of America hours in advance and frankly I would rather be on a ride!

 

4.      Illuminations: I like that Illuminations feels true to Epcot, where the show takes place. While there is much to be said about “Disney” and having classic characters and music be a part of pretty much everything I really appreciate that Illuminations doesn’t have that. What it does have is a celebration of people and cultures from around the world and an inspiring message of unity. Another perk: Epcot is huge and there is plenty of great viewing locations where you can sit down and enjoy the show!

 

5.      Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Fireworks at Disney World: I was not sure of the exact name of this show, but we have had the privilege to enjoy two MVMCP celebrations (2010 and 2012) and I have really enjoyed both fireworks shows. Being a Chicago native and transplanted to Colorado I think there might just be something about wearing shorts and a t-shirt, outdoors, in December and being full of holiday magic without being cold? Who knows?

Animation Academy: Disney California Adventure vs. Disney's Hollywood Studios - Attraction Review

As anyone who has been to both the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort can attest, the parks have a bit of overlap when it comes to attractions such as some of the signature mountains and areas such as Fantasyland. Of course, one may notice some subtle differences such as scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean or the holiday overlay that both the Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World get at Disneyland. Speaking for the The MountainEars as long as we are in a Disney Park we are happy and any overlaps or differences don’t really matter all that much.

Today’s post is here to compare and contrast an attraction found on both coasts. With that said, we have decided to review the BEST hidden gem attractions at both Disney California Adventure and Disney's Hollywood Studios: the Animation Academy!

After many visits we finally decided to try this out and walked out wondering why it had taken so long for us to do it. Not only is it a genuinely fun attraction but we really appreciated that it was interactive, you learn something and get take home a free souvenir. What’s that? A FREE souvenir, from Disney? Yes! Another underappreciated perk… you get to sit down while you do it in an air conditioned building; it is a great way to be the heat!

 ANIMATION ACADEMY OVERVIEW:

Danny (top) and Jaime's (bottom) Goofy
drawing.  Clearly Danny didn't pay
attention to the darkening instructions.

This attraction is an interactive experience where a Disney animator teaches you (and the rest of the room) how to draw a Disney character using very easy instructions. In my experience it has only been faces of characters and has only been the more “cartoon” characters, but that is not to say that is always the case.

Upon entering the Animation Academy the chief artist at the front of the stage introduces themselves and the character they will bring to life! They also introduce the fact that there are no erasers - and that’s a good thing for all artists! The whole experience starts off very positive, which was so nice, especially considering the fact that drawing and artistry can be very fearful for some guests.

Then the art itself begins! The chief artist introduces the idea of drawing all characters with simple geometric shapes. Usually this involves a circle or oval. Then they further introduce - what would appear to be harder concepts to draw such as eyebrows or stripes as creating "rainbows" or "hooks;" I.E. using terms that make more simple sense to us.

The class proceeds until the project is complete. Throughout the entire project the artists are told to draw very lightly and messy and then darken their lines at the end of class. Once the project is complete, then the darkening begins! This is the same time that all artists are given the chance to show off their works of art! The beauty of this is that everyone’s art looks similar but different - and this is the beauty of it all! You then finish class by signing your work of art - and leaving with a nice free souvenir! Again, a huge perk - free souvenir, different examples of art and most importantly - a renewed confidence that anyone can be an artist!

 

Disney California Adventure Details:

Classes take place every 30 minutes. The class size can fit a large group (75+ people).

 The drawing schedule is located outside on a sandwich board, with times from park open to park close, that can help you choose when to attend, if let’s say the Mad Hatter doesn't excite but you have to draw Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It was really nice to get to see who would be drawn when. This can may be attributed to the fact that Disneyland has more local visitors who would want to know if they should stop in at any given time.
 

The room is set up in a large room like an auditorium. The seating is tiered and in long benches that span the room. Artists are instructed to pick up a lapboard, complete with the paper and a pencil and sit down. The nice thing about this is that everyone has a great vantage point to see the Chief Artist and watch their instructions. The downside is that for smaller children the lapboard may be cumbersome and you need to hunch over your drawing.

Disney's Hollywood Studios Details:


Light Board for drawing at
Disney's Hollywood Studios

Classes take place once per hour. The classroom holds around 30 artists.

We find the smaller set-up to be very disappointing given the much larger volume of people that go to WDW on a daily basis. There is a holding area for the next class with a Cast Member keeping track of the exact amount of people in the holding area. If you leave the holding area, you can forfeit your seat, and it cannot be held. This is a little disappointing, considering these classes are only held every 45 minutes with one class per hour. This translates into about 10 Animation Academy class a day at Disney's Hollywood Studios.



There is no set schedule and the character you learn is decided by the Chief Artist. During our first visit to the Hollywood Studios Animation Academy we weren’t even told who we would be drawing. The Chief Artists just started with the instructions and had us figure out who it was that we were drawing as we drew. This approach may work very well for some and may not be appreciated by others.

Class is a lot more intimate, which is very nice and set up to be like you are at an artist’s drawing table which is nice. The room is not nearly as tiered as the DCA version and has built in tables and stools for all the artists. As you enter the room you see all the drawing desks with paper, pencils and a light table like real animators use. The light table became distracting for Danny, however Jaime appreciated it. The downfall to this is if you want to keep your paper stabilized and move around your drawing table you cannot.

 

Final Thoughts:
Would you re-do this attraction: YES! We love this attraction but as returners to it we prefer the California Adventure version more since the classes happen more frequently and we know who we will be drawing ahead of time.

Would you recommend this attraction: YOU BET! We think this is a great attraction for the young and young at heart, just like Walt envisioned for his parks. One should take into consideration the attention span/energy level of your party, however, especially with the Hollywood Studios version if you will need to sit and wait 45 minutes in a small holding pen.

 

The finished product! Hi Tigger!

Would you recommend this attraction because it is fun or because it gets you out of the sun: Both, you can enjoy the air conditioning for a half hour, leave with a free souvenir and had a fun time!

 Is this attraction a must do in the park: NOT NECESSARILY. Again, depending on your energy level and interest this may not be for everyone but we cannot stress enough how much we enjoyed it after our skeptical start. What it comes down to is time and money. If you have more time to spend (and not so much money) this is a great way to get off your free and leave with a free souvenir. If you are pinched for time and have other must-dos while in the park you may not want to spend the time waiting for and attending the next class. With that said, we wouldn't be surprised if once you have exeperienced it that it does become a must-do!

Wine & Dine Half Marathon Recap

Michael with his Wine & Dine award

The following post comes to you from our friend Michael K., the 6^th place finisher of the 2012 Wine & Dine Half Marathon! Micheal is an avid runner but new to Disney and we knew he would have a great perspective for those looking to get more serious about their running (for the casual runDisneyer) and those who are already serious but skeptical about running with the Mouse.

Wow! Although it's well over a month since I raced the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon, I still find myself constantly thinking about that race. The runDisney group did an awesome job with this race, although when I first registered I had my doubts.My previous experience with "for profit" race management groups had not been positive as I had found the course support, attention to detail and even Finish Line to be lacking at best, I shouldn't have doubted that runDisney would follow suit with the rest of the Disney brand and put on an amazing race and experience.

There's something completely different and magical about racing during the night, being under the stars and having the quiet of the world around you makes you forget pain and just let your body do the running. I've run a few other half marathons (both as their own training cycle and as part of a larger marathon training cycle), but this was my first night half marathon. Having a race that starts at 10pm definitely does a flip to your entire pre-race schedule when you're more accustomed to racing in the early morning hours, as such I lost a day out and about in the parks, but I felt that was a necessary sacrifice to make in order to be able to run my best that night. Luckily I have great friends and a great "dude" who understood that for me this race was important and allowed me that day indoors and more importantly, off of my legs. I feel that this was a major help to my being successful and calming my nerves over a night race as I was able to simulate as much as possible the 15 hours pre race.

Mickey & Minnie waiting for the runners!
Just a sign of how much fun runDisney can be!

Boarding the bus at the hotel to head to the start line I had my usual nerves; stomach cramping, shaking, upset stomach, incredibly thirsty (good everything is going all right, it's going to be a good race), and so I did what I always do, put in my iDevice with my pre-race playlist, but as I pressed play I noticed something different, the bus was LOUD, like I had to turn up the volume on the playlist LOUD, so naturally I pressed pause and listened. People were joking and laughing and in general having, not something I accustomed to on a bus to a half marathon, usually you can hear a pin drop as people are mentally preparing themselves for the challenge ahead, but on this bus, it felt more like a school field trip. I actually engaged in a conversation with the women that I had sat by (all of whom were dressed as fairies with tutus and enough glitter to make one of my current swimmers jealous) and forgot about the fact that in 2.5 hours I was about to race 13.1 miles. Arriving at ESPN Wide World of Sports I put my iDevice back on play and went to rest and hydrate in the final hour before bag check in at 9pm. This was another thing I was having issues controlling, I am accustomed to being able to have my bag with my racing flats, warm clothes etc until 15 min pre race, in this race I had to let go of all of it prior to even beginning my warm up.



From 8-9 we were in an athlete's village of sorts with water, vendors selling gatorade and food and music, so maybe a better description would be an athlete's PARTY. I'm not kidding, again, there was a shock moment as people were up dancing to the Cupid Shuffle and Gangham Style and any other hit that had a dance that you can think of. Additionally, instead of usual runner garb, I saw at least 10 different "Snow White's" running around (pun not intended). I found myself wishing I had dressed up and may work on something race appropriate for next year. In essence I was warming up and getting race ready in the middle of a HUGE party, it was a different experience and making the decision to take it in and enjoy it was one of the best that I think I could have made.

  



Michael just about to cross the finish line
... yes, he was running that fast!

Once the gun started all was back to normal, I clicked my watch and off I ran, the miles clicking off like you can only expect when the race is good and you're feeling good....oh and the magic of Disney and a night race. The course is truly spectacular, running through Animal Kingdom, then out on the main road where you passed all of the other runners who were still going to Animal Kingdom, up in to Hollywood Studios by the 'Mickey Hat' in the middle, through the back to Pixar, up New York Avenue all lit up with 'The Osbourne's Christmas Lights' and then by the Tower of Terror. Next we ran through the back lot and hit Mile 10 where they took video and continued to Epcot along a boardwalk, coming through the back entrance around Spaceship Earth (my favorite ride in Epcot) and finishing just outside after running through what felt like a recreation of Jennifer Lopez's 'Waiting for Tonight' music video. Along the way there were people cheering everyone! It was AWESOME!!





Look at that sweet swag! The MountainEars are so proud to have a friend like Michael who will not only endure our love (obsession?) for Disney but can do it and still place in the top ten! He is such an inspiration to us as we take on the Tinkerbell Half in 30 days!

We can't wait to join Michael in the Wine & Dine half next year! Who's with us?

Missing the Magic...

 

 

Wont be back for a few months so I suppose looking through my pictures will have to suffice! Enjoy!

1900 Park Fare: A Photographic Recap

A highlight of our trip that I think we can all agree upon was our visit to the 1900 Park Fare restaurant located in the Grand Floridian Hotel. While the restaurant itself gets hit or miss ratings we were all very pleased with our food, service, and of course the characters! We arrived for a later dinner with Cinderella, Prince Charming and the step family. Danny will do a more in-depth review of the food later on, but I couldn’t wait to share this great story!

 Upon arrival to the Grand Floridian we were treated to a picture in from of the castle. This seems to be the only group shot we managed all trip! We were seated in the main dining area directly adjacent to the buffet area and in full view of most of the restaurant. It was nice getting to see the characters interacting with other guests, dancing with the small children and being able to determine when they would be at our table.

Our first visitor was Prince Charming who gave Michael and Brice a little lesson on royal posture. He was nice, but a little dull. As Michael pointed out – how much personality can he really have given that he has about 10 minutes of screen time in Cinderella? Touché.  As you can see from the nice man accidentally photo-bombing on the right, we were quite close to the buffet area.

Next came Cinderella's step mother, Lady Tremaine, who was spot on! She made small talk with Danny about his shirt featuring Maleficent. She was very snarky and true to her character. It is very refreshing to get to interact with the characters that can speak back and not just pantomime.

Following her mother, as usual, came Drizella who was instantly smitten with a certain someone. Not only did she insist on extra pictures but kept making eyes at Jed all night from across the room! No further explanation necessary! Just enjoy the awkward.

 Not too long after, we got a visit from Anastasia who was in for a surprise! Danny decided the time was right to once again awkwardly present someone with a ring. Not me. It was nice getting to watch this little moment as he used very similar rings. Her reaction came with screaming, jumping and frantically calling her mother over to witness, unlike my quite awkwardness.


 Anastasia of course said yes and seemed quite delighted! Like any true lady would, she gave Danny back his ring to be sized before the big day. She even left an extra sweet little note in Danny's autograph book stating that she was his true love. How sweet. The otherwise perfect moment was only marred by the poor Drizella who felt scorned by her sweetheart. Being the gentleman that he is, Jed promptly went over to make things right and explained that he would have asked but still needs to get a ring.


 


Do you see pouty Drizella in the background? Looks like someone needs to make an apology.

 

Last but not least came Cinderella herself. It was unanimously decided that the sweet characters are nowhere as fun as the naughty ones! We took a few pictures with Cindy and called it a night.

If you are debating going to the 1900 Park Fare, I say, do it! The hotel is stunning and worth a visit in itself but the food was surprisingly good and the interactions we had were hysterical! 

Mmm - the best cupcake ever!

They say you eat with your eyes first so please take a moment to feast upon this delectable little cupcake display. How adorable are these pumpkin cupcakes with maple frosting, candied pecans and little white chocolate pumpkin Mickeys!

Drooling yet?

The fact that I was able to taste this little piece of heaven happens to be a happy accident. You see, when I went to the famed Starring Rolls Bakery for lunch I could not decide between this beautiful, seasonal pumpkin cupcake and the long-loved but new-to-me Butterfinger Cupcake. Ultimately, I foolishly chose the Butterfinger. Now, don’t get me wrong. It was a yummy cupcake. The cake itself was moist and had a fudge-like filling. The top had a marshmallow like frosting caked in Butterfinger crumbs. It was good, but it was nowhere close to being as good as the pumpkin one!

 

You may be asking yourself what the happy accident was that resulted in that cupcake being in my belly. Well, you see, as Danny and I went to Starring Rolls for sandwiches for lunch the rest of the group headed to Pizza Planet for lunch. My mission was primarily cupcake focused and had I know that I could get a great cupcake at Pizza Planet I may have changed my plans. After a filling salad and individual pizza our friend Jed decided he could not quite take on his pumpkin cupcake, so he got a box and sent it back to the resort with Gen who happened to being going back. Fast forward a few days and the cupcake was still in our resort room, not Jed’s. After a hectic last morning, bag checking, park going and lunch we never made the hand-off to get that cupcake to its rightful owner.

As you can imagine this little guy had quite a journey from Hollywood Studios, to All Star Music, to bag check, through the airport and all the way to Denver. By the end of the journey it was not such a treat to the eyes.

 But then… I tasted it. Straight out of the fridge the frosting was dense like a cream cheese frosting, but after letting it come to room temperature it turned into a light, airy, almost whipped cream consistency. I couldn’t quite place the flavor but once I looked back and saw it was a maple whipped cream I got it. There was a nice hint of warm spice like nutmeg and cinnamon in addition to the sweetness of the maple. The cake itself, despite being several days old at this point, was so moist and neither too airy nor too dense. It took a lot of will power to resist eating the whole thing but I did manage to save about half for Danny who agreed that it was spectacular.

When not at Disney we frequent a local cupcake shop that usually satisfies our cravings. Shout out to Buttercream Cupcakery for all your yummy flavors! http://www.buttercreamcupcakery.com/ And my only complaint about the pumpkin (or any Disney) cupcake is that I cannot get it in mini-sized like I do at the Cupcakery. After this treat I don’t know if I will ever be able to look at a pumpkin cupcake the same again. A bar has certainly been set!

To Jed and Colleen: I’m sorry I ate your cupcake. I’m sorry that I am not really sorry. It was so good! I regret nothing. I am sorry that you didn’t get to try it though… Maybe next year?

 

5 For 5: Trip Anticipation

Happy November 5^th! The MountainEars are just 4 days away from their next trip to the World and we are so excited!

We will be staying at All Star Music Resort and will be joined by Danny’s mom, Gen, a WDW veteran and four of our friends. Jed, Colleen and Brice have all been before but this will be Michael’s first time. I think it is safe to say that we are all very excited. Our trip will include the Food & Wine Fest, the Jingle Jungle 5K for Jed, Jaime and Danny, the F&W Half Marathon for Michael and Brice, and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!

The theme of this month’s 5 For 5 is what we are most looking forward to:

Danny:

1.       Spending time with our crazy friends/family - I am very excited to vacation and share my Disney Parks love with my partner Jaime; but I am also excited to share this with our close friends and my family (mom)!  This will be both an exciting scarey adventure and hilarious riot!

2.       Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Uh hello...  Delicious food and eligant wine, where can this picture go wrong?!  Give me a try (that is a shout out to AJ over at the DFB Podcast)!

3.       Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - This is just so cute and so exciting, and I cannot wait to re-experience it, and share it with our great friends and family!

4.       Running Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K - We'll be working on our fitness, while working on our Epcot Food and Wine!  This means we can over indulge, right?!

5.       (Maybe...) Getting to see New Fantasyland - New Fantasyland is just upon the horizons and I am hoping not only Jaime and I get to see it, by being Premier Annual Passport holders, but also our friends and family may get to see it!

6.       Signing up for the Princess 1/2 Marathon - Don't tell Jaime, but I really wanna do this lady run, in support of all the ladies!

Jaime:

1.       Going to the Food & Wine Festival. I may not be a big drinker, but I do love food and appreciate that the smaller portions means I can try more things. Yum!

2.       Getting to try some new restaurants, specifically the Tusker House in the Animal Kingdom and lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom. I have heard such good things and am so excited!

3.       Christmas time! We will be attending the first Christmas party of the season and will be there in time to see all the ornate holiday décor. From the ice on the castle to the towering Christmas trees in each hotel, I am excited to get a better look at all the little things Disney does for the holidays. My first trip to WDW was in December 2010 and I am hoping to feel a little of that first time magic again, too!

4.       Spending time with loved ones! I find vacations to be much more satisfying when you can share the experience with people who are important to you. I know there will be times we go our own way and enjoy things in smaller groups but I also look forward to the silly shenanigans that accompany a party of 7 in a theme park.

5.       Running the Jingle Jungle 5K! Danny and I are signed up to run the Tinkerbell Half at Disneyland but I have not had any motivation to get my legs moving (eek!) but I know I will be able to do the 5K just fine and hope it will be a nice kick in the butt to get me really into gear for our January race.

runDisney – Expedition Everest Challenge and Mickey’s Jingle Jungle 5K

Jaime and I are getting ready to run our second ever runDisney race this Saturday November 10, 2012.  This will not be the headline race (the Wine and Dine ½ Marathon) but the family fun run 5K – Mickey’s Jingle Jungle 5K.  Our first ever runDisney event was the Expedition Everest Challenge in 2012.  It’s the only 5K headline event sponsored by runDisney.  With that said, this blog post will focus on what we are expecting and what our past race was like.

runDisney sponsors many ½ Marathon and Marathon events at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.  All events, except for the Expedition Everest Challenge and Tower of Terror 10 Miler, are at the minimum ½ marathon events.  All ½ Marathon and Marathon events include a family fun run, which includes a 5K and kids runs.  These events are meant to target people who want to participate in the event weekend itself, but whom aren’t ready to dive into a minimum 13 mile run.  I also like to think they are there to get people excited about fitness and wellness, but yet again, not be intimidated by a minimum 13 mile run. 

Our first race was the Expedition Everest Challenge and this was a blast!  So many people were there in the most creative and elaborate costumes EVER seen.  Yes costumes.  runDisney is, I’m pretty sure, the only race where you can dress in a full body suite and be complimented for it.  People dress up like classic Disney characters such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Disney Princesses like Aurora and Ariel or even Disney quirks such as Yeti A and B mode (if you are a Disney’s Animal Kingdom fan you’ll get this), Earl from Up and Figment.  The people there are a huge perk. Also you get to see characters and take pictures with them during the run if you want, how fun!

The course itself was both good and bad.  The first mile of our 5K was completed in the parking lot, which is both intimidating and exciting all at once.  If felt like we were running in the parking lot forever. Once you entered the park the raceway became very narrow. With nearly 5,000 people on the run there was a huge mix of people who were taking the race very seriously and those just there for a fun challenge. What made this race unique though are the obstacles that must be completed. It was a fun change of pace to stop and run through tires or hop over hale bales but at the same time it slowed down the overall pace of the race. In addition to the obstacles, once the race portion was over came the scavenger hunt that was also factored into your overall time. We were not anticipating how confusing this would be, but luckily Jaime is good at puzzles!  There were a lot of people so if you are not ready for running in huge crowds a runDisney event may not be for you. The Expedition Everest race is one of the smaller runDisney events compared to something like the WDW Marathon that hosts over 20,000 people.

For the Expedition Everest Challenge all participants received real medals and post race party tickets with their registration fee, in addition to the standard race shirts and refreshments. Some may feel that the entry fee (around $100) was too expensive for a 5K race but we didn’t mind since the post race party was like an extra day in the park. The party went from the time you finished the race and scavenger hunt until 3am. Many rides were open including the Primevil Whirl, Dinosaur and of course, Expedition Everest! Some snack carts and beverage stations were also open. A fun quirk about the medals is that they are a compass, which embodies the expedition theme. One thing to note, however, is that the face of the compass is incorrect with some of the directions in the wrong places. Nonetheless, they are pretty great and it was cool to see all the proud finishers wearing their medal around the parks!

Overall the race was neat because we got to run through a park that is rarely open past sundown. The participants seem to take the event seriously but not so much so that if you are stuck on a clue during the scavenger hunt they wouldn’t help you. We were warned before the race began and again around mile 2 to be very quiet for a certain stretch of the race as we were running in a backstage area near were some of the animals sleep overnight. How cool is that?! The post race party was tons of fun, but since only some of the rides were open we did experience some long lines. Riding the signature attraction of the Animal Kingdom, Expedition Everest, in the dark was an unforgettable experience that we partook in several times that night.

 

We look forward to this next race, the Jingle Jungle 5K, because it will be an early morning run through the Animal Kingdom. From the look of the map it seems that the race route has been changed, which is exciting. Maybe we will have less running through a paring lot and more through the park itself?

Why we’re MountainEars! A view through my Mickey (or maybe soon to be Oswald) Ears!

So Jaime has posted a lot about us as MountainEars and I would like to expand on that post, to give you my views on our Disney Parks experience! 

I wanted to specifically post on the MountainEar name!  Mountains within the Disney Parks, and within our lives, are pretty significant and historical from a few different viewpoints.  First, Mountains within the Disney Park’s are pretty much everywhere and cannot be avoided.  There are the California Mountains – such as Matterhorn Mountain at Disneyland Park to Grizzly Peak at Disney California Adventure and the Mountains at Walt Disney World in Florida, such as Expedition Everest.  And, we cannot avoid the obvious duplicate (but also infamous) Mountains – such as Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, etc… While theses my seem like “duplicates” to many, the discerning Disney fan understands that each mountain has its own special appeal and no two are exactly alike. 

Secondly, Mountains within our lives are also pretty significant.  The obvious is for Danny, as he was born and raised within the State of Colorado, which is home to the Rocky Mountains.  The Chicago Skylines, which Jaime likes to call “urban mountains”, housed Jaime until she moved to Colorado for college where she and Danny met.  They still live in Colorado, and fell in love in Colorado, but they would agree that their love was solidified at Disneyland on Matterhorn Mountain, while laughing at nothing but life, love, peace and happiness. 

Now, while Danny and Jaime are landlocked from Disney Parks, living in Colorado, they sill love to find ways to adventure to Disney!  Their future goals are to travel to an abroad Disney Park, such as Disneyland Paris or Tokyo Disney Sea, stay at all the Walt Disney World hotels at least once and show their puppa – Rocco, the most love he can have!  They have accomplished one of those goals – with loving Rocco and, as Walt Disney would say, “Keep(ing) moving forward” to the rest of their goals. 

Peace,

DJS