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Thread: Looking for Disneyland-specific runDisney tips (vs. WDW)

  1. #1
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    Looking for Disneyland-specific runDisney tips (vs. WDW)

    Coast-to-Coast runners, I need the benefit of your experience.

    Disneyland Half weekend (Dumbo + 5K) will be my first Disneyland-based runDisney races. I've done Everest twice, Wine & Dine once, and WDW Half once. What differences do I need to be aware of at Disneyland vs. the WDW races? I'm looking for all relevant tips you can provide: Expo strategies, race day issues, good places for night-before carb loading, etc. I will not have a car, and will be walking to the start from the Best Western Stovall's.

    Thanks in advance for your expertise! (There may even be a feature article in this, in which case you'll get credit in the article for any tips that I use in it.)


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    Expo isn't much different than WDW, except that you can walk to the DL expo instead of having to drive and park or take a bus.

    Race day: my personal preference is to head to your corral early. There are more bottleneck points at DL between the start/finish area and the corrals, which only get worse closer to the start. The walk is much shorter than at WDW.

    From Best Western Stovall's you will just walk straight up Disneyland Drive toward the start area from Katella. It's very close.

    Pre-race meals: It depends on what you like to eat before your race. I usually get something at Earl of Sandwich. Naples and Napolini in Downtown Disney both have Italian food. Plaza Inn has a penne with marinara dish and there is also pasta at Redd Rockett's Pizza Port in Tomorrowland, although their selection tends to be big portions and some have heavy sauces. I have gotten the child's plate there before.


  4. #3
    Simba's Pride *Nala*'s Avatar
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    Agree with Steph on getting to corrals early. Despite staying on property, I underestimated the amount of time it would take to get to my corral for my first Disneyland half and ended up getting shut out of my corral.

    It's not advertised, but you can order from Naples (sit down Italian) full menu at Napolini (counter service Italian) in Downtown Disney. We have done this a few times to avoid the nut house.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Goldhaber View Post
    What differences do I need to be aware of at Disneyland vs. the WDW races? I'm looking for all relevant tips you can provide: Expo strategies, race day issues, good places for night-before carb loading, etc. I will not have a car, and will be walking to the start from the Best Western Stovall's.
    I don't know where your hotel is, but if you're walking to the start without having to go through the esplanade, the nice thing is that you don't have to go through bag check, either before or after the race. I absolutely hated that part of doing the Princess races in Orlando, that I had to have my bag checked even though I was just going to the parking lot for the start of the race. At DL, we used to stay at a hotel on Harbor, so to get to the start, I had to go through the esplanade, and they already have bag check set up. I wish they had a tunnel blocked off so you could just go through, but they don't. Once I have myself ready for a race, I hate having to take my bag off again. We now stay closer to the start area, so we don't have to go through the esplanade, which is especially nice after the race when you've got various drinks and snack packs as well.
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  6. #5

    Possible places to get carbo-loading for cheap-ish that I can think of in the resort: Rainforest Cafe, Earl of Sandwich, ESPN Zone (usually has a discount for runners), Jazz Kitchen, Naples/Napolini, Plaza Inn, Red Rocket's Pizza Port, French Market, Ariel's Grotto, Flo's V-8 Cafe. That's what I can think off the top of my head.


  7. #6

    To me, it's nice that you don't have to get on a bus at least two hours beforehand in order to get from your resort hotel to the race area. Getting there early and then waiting around (as at WDW) is completely less desirable than being able to sleep a little longer.

    However, based on a quick look at the course again (I have participated in the DL half once, which was the inaugural DDD year), yes, getting to your corral may take longer than other runDisney half marathons at the DLR, since you're going south on Disneyland Drive, instead of north as in other races. The later corrals are closer to the Mickey and Friends parking lot than they are to the Paradise Pier hotel. Getting back to Katella may be a little more time consuming at the finish, since you'd have to cross the race course (but it's well managed by CMs to get you across).

    I recall that the trail between the Honda Center and Angel Stadium was narrow and dusty; it was hard to pass people during that section.

    The line for packet pickup the day I went (Friday, around 11?) was REALLY long (2+ hours), mostly outside in the sweltering heat, and completely chaotic, as the cast members were having issues with managing the crowd. Hopefully it has gotten better.

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    Quote Originally Posted by SoCalBruin View Post
    Possible places to get carbo-loading for cheap-ish that I can think of in the resort: Rainforest Cafe, Earl of Sandwich, ESPN Zone (usually has a discount for runners), Jazz Kitchen, Naples/Napolini, Plaza Inn, Red Rocket's Pizza Port, French Market, Ariel's Grotto, Flo's V-8 Cafe. That's what I can think off the top of my head.
    There's also Boardwalk in the Paradise Pier area of DCA. They have pizza and pasta there. I've been having lunch there the day before a half marathon.
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  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by cstephens View Post
    There's also Boardwalk in the Paradise Pier area of DCA. They have pizza and pasta there. I've been having lunch there the day before a half marathon.
    Gah! I knew I forgot something! That's even where I ate before the Star Wars 10K

  10. #9

    You get to ride the ART buses for free (and your family, too!) from Thursday through Sunday. You can pick up passes at the Transportation booth at the Expo. (Stovall's is on the route, but you wouldn't take the bus race morning...you're much closer walking to the corrals...but it will come in handy after a day in the Parks after the race!)

    For carb-load, I like Pizza Press on Harbor right across from the Parks (next to the Carousel Hotel). It's not really walking distance from Stovall's (well, it's a long walk), but if you're at the parks, it's an easy detour. And if you're taking the ART "home" it's right across the street from the bus area.

    Marri's Italian Restaurant is just down the street from the Stovall's (same owners, in fact) at Walnut and Katella. They have good Italian food with large portions, but they were VERY busy Tinker Bell weekend (and they don't take reservations).


  11. #10
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    The best part of a DL race is having a reservation at Goofy's Kitchen right afterwards. You can pack a towel for a quick "clean up" in the restroom and bring a fresh shirt. The place is packed with runners with their medals and there is quite the aroma.

    If someone does have to walk through downtown Disney, the restrooms by Wentzel's Pretzels is open. It's kind of tucked in a corner but it is quite a bit better than the ports potties.

    Depending upon your corral and finish time, you can walk the path along the monorail from the finish line and be one of the first people in Disneyland for the day. You can ride Dumbo with your medal, hit a few other rides and then go back to your hotel to clean up.

    Enjoy your adventure!


  12. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by cactusgirl View Post
    The best part of a DL race is having a reservation at Goofy's Kitchen right afterwards. You can pack a towel for a quick "clean up" in the restroom and bring a fresh shirt. The place is packed with runners with their medals and there is quite the aroma.

    If someone does have to walk through downtown Disney, the restrooms by Wentzel's Pretzels is open. It's kind of tucked in a corner but it is quite a bit better than the ports potties.

    Depending upon your corral and finish time, you can walk the path along the monorail from the finish line and be one of the first people in Disneyland for the day. You can ride Dumbo with your medal, hit a few other rides and then go back to your hotel to clean up.

    Enjoy your adventure!
    Our post-race tradition is Steakhouse 55 - lots of runners there too.

    Another good hidden restroom is the Disneyland Hotel Tower nearest the Sorcerer's cap; it's just below ground level and I've never run into a crowd there.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Goldhaber View Post
    Expo strategies, race day issues, good places for night-before carb loading, etc. I will not have a car, and will be walking to the start from the Best Western Stovall's.
    The most brilliant part of staying on that end of the resort is that you don't have to cross through the esplanade for anything if you don't need to - Expo bags, go back to your hotel. Morning off, don't have to cross the esplanade.

    Race Day: Don't count on a route being open. Give yourself plenty of time to walk. Just because you can make it to the Family Reunion Area in XX time normally doesn't mean you can on race morning. When I ran the first DDD I missed the Team Muscle Makers team photo because the "short cuts" I normally use to get to the area were closed. They had me go around barricades and it took just enough extra time that I missed the photo. Granted, I still got to the corrals in plenty of time, but just be prepared that they might have a barricade where you least suspect it - and part of your route will cover the last section of the course.

    Otherwise, your walk from Stovalls will be shorter than the walk from Epcot to the Start line in WDW. It's crazy.

    Be prepared that a lot of this course will be off-property. It's not like running between parks in WDW: There's no Disney presence off property. You WILL get entertained. There were be many community groups - Marching Bands, Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts in Angel Stadium, Mariachis, Hula Dancers, etc, along the route. There might even be a politician passing out bottled water (although he's usually out by the time I get to him. And this isn't a joke, it's actually a local councilman or something that comes out with his signs and passes out water, not a satire or anything.)

    Have your sunglasses ready for when you leave the parks and have to run over the overpass at Ball near Disneyland Drive. That's the only real hill in the race, though.

    You'd need a reservation for it, but in the past we've carb-loaded at Storytellers on occasion - They have a spaghetti dish on the menu, good old spaghetti and meat sauce.
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  14. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by adriennek View Post
    Be prepared that a lot of this course will be off-property. It's not like running between parks in WDW: There's no Disney presence off property. You WILL get entertained. There were be many community groups - Marching Bands, Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts in Angel Stadium, Mariachis, Hula Dancers, etc, along the route.
    And the Team MousePlanet cheer station at the (approx.) halfway point.

    Make sure you take advantage of the time in the park for photos, because once you are out of the parks there is really not much to see except the passage through Angels Stadium.

  15. #14
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    Hands down the best part of the DLH is the Mouseplanet cheer station. There is nothing like it at WDW.


  16. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by cactusgirl View Post
    Hands down the best part of the DLH is the Mouseplanet cheer station. There is nothing like it at WDW.
    And it was pretty amazing how many people who came up to the MousePlanet D23 booth asked me about the 'red vines station' on the course when we started talking races! The stop is getting to be quite well known and is very, very appreciated.
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    I was quite shocked how slow the bottleneck is in Fantasyland. If I have to slow my walk pace because of the crowds, you know it's crowded!
    I believe there have been articles about navigating Expo areas in articles on MP, all dependent on what your goal is for the expo.

    Cathy

  18. #17

    Looking for Disneyland-specific runDisney tips (vs. WDW)

    If you have a car, there is a restaurant called Caroline's over on Chapman and in all the years I've run any DLR races, this was my favorite pre-race carb load spot. They might have delivery.

    As for this race course, I always broke it down into 4 segments: from start through the parks (up to mile marker 4); the streets of Anaheim to to the halfway point (I believe there is a big cheer station there!); halfway point to Angel Stadium; then once you leave the stadium and cross mile marker 10, it's a 5k to the finish! I can't ever think about races as a whole, so I run them in shorter segments . Have a great race - I hope to be cheering everyone on at the MP cheer station!

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    Thanks, all! I appreciate the tips. Now I just have to hope that my leg holds up.


  20. #19
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    I was not expecting the sewage smell at the end of the Disneyland Half last year. That kinda took something away from the finish in my opinion.

    There is a lot of open areas which may cause some wind and the dryness will require extra attention to proper hydration. There is a section along a trail that has some potential problematic footing issues, just watch your step as you run along a "river" during the approach to the Angel's stadium.

    In my opinion, you hit the highlights in the early stages of the races. The rest is kinda dull.


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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Goldhaber View Post
    Thanks, all! I appreciate the tips. Now I just have to hope that my leg holds up.
    Just remember that you have a very solid training base. Even if you start feeling too tired to run, your legs will not let you down--keep moving forward, and keep walking.Enjoy the view, enjoy the spectators, enjoy the course, enjoy the experience!
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  22. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Lani View Post
    Just remember that you have a very solid training base. Even if you start feeling too tired to run, your legs will not let you down--keep moving forward, and keep walking.Enjoy the view, enjoy the spectators, enjoy the course, enjoy the experience!
    Excellent advice. I needed this reminder (sore knee). Thank you!
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  23. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveMartin View Post
    Excellent advice. I needed this reminder (sore knee). Thank you!
    You're very welcome.

    I'm *SO* excited for everyone doing their various races this weekend!
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