The Complete Guide to runDisney Chronicles

The following comes from The Complete Guide to runDisney, Disneyland Edition, available from Theme Park Press, and on Amazon. Join the privileged guests who have discovered the extra, incredible layer of magic afforded to participants in the amazing runDisney events:

from "Author’s Note"

"If you are considering a Disneyland-based runDisney event, you must stay at the Anaheim/Disneyland Resort. It is not an actual requirement to participate. If getting a room did not carry a potentially prohibitive financial investment, I would push for making it mandatory. As it is, if you’re going to do it at all, seriously consider getting local accommodations.

This will be addressed again, and at length. It appears here as an admonition, because decisions involving where you stay and how you get to your runDisney race are as important as signing up in the first place. “Get a Room” was to have been the title of this book, though I was led to understand it would be misleading.

If you do not live close enough to Disneyland to walk to the starting line in the very early morning of your race, you need to find a hotel room that will allow you to do so. The unavoidable chaos that driving and parking adds to your runDisney day has the potential to ruin it. Additionally, the Expo, which you are required to attend to get your race bib—unless you have better friends than I, who will get the waiver and retrieve your bib for you—is not open early enough on the morning of any race. If you do not stay or reside nearby, it means driving into the storm of detours and impacted parking structures twice.

Disney does a yeoman’s job with human and spatial management. There are just certain confluences that are beyond even the most capable of coordinators. Stay close at least the night before your race. The next day and thus the rest of your life will be the better for it.

An incredible accommodation for runDisney participants, and one more reason not to drive, is that the city of Anaheim provides free transportation for guests of every motel and hotel within ten-square blocks of Disneyland throughout the weekend. With a valid race waiver and/or bib, you may request Anaheim Rapid Transit (ART) passes from any shuttle driver for you and any attending members of your family, for the entire weekend. Shuttles provide transportation between the Disneyland Resort and a laundry list of area hotels. If you are staying in the area, but are arguably beyond walking distance, the frequency and convenience of ART buses ought to help you keep your car in the lot.

Seriously, do whatever it takes to not get behind the wheel on race day."

Please return here for more Complete Guide to runDisney Chronicles, and stay tuned for the upcoming Guide to Disney Drinking, covering the most glorious Walt Disney World and Disneyland adult pursuits.

 

Making Memories with Disney Wordless Wednesday - Unforgettable

Deb Silhan, creator of the indispensable Focused on the Magic blog graciously extends the privilege of joining in with the delightful Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop. This week's theme is Unforgettable; where we revisit wonderful Disney photographic memories.
In the spirit, we would like to share our memories of Disneyland's still sorely-missed WEDway PeopleMover. This article originally appeared on the Disney Theme Parks Examiner page, Sept 8, 2014:

"Disneyland fans call for return of WEDway PeopleMover"

"Disney knows a thing or two about marketing. The Company easily adopted the use of social media, and now do so with a level of mastery Justin Bieber would envy if he cared at all about his image. Every post draws waves of likes and retweets, while often evoking enjoyable discussion. Today, a simple inquiry posed on Facebook drew thousands of replies, and a groundswell of support for a beloved, retired classic.
The Disney Parks Blog and numerous Disney social sites thrill fans with daily real-time interaction. Universally popular are the posts asking guests about their favorite rides, meals and entertainment, etc. Today, on Disneyland's Facebook page, followers were invited to comment on their favorite Tomorrowland attraction. As ever, Space Mountain and Star Tours have their expected, earned level of supporters. But today, the dearly departed PeopleMover elicited a significant share of replies.
It was slow. It was quiet. Some, and this is blasphemy, viewed it as boring. It never had a line. While this last was a significant draw for loyal fans, it ultimately contributed to its decommissioning. The WEDway PeopleMover ceased operations in 1995, but it is surely, as evidenced in today's post, not forgotten.
Speckled within votes for the familiar suspects, and weighty backing of Autopia, Buzz Lightyear and the Monorail, the lost, elevated slow-train through Tomorrowland appears frequently, and garners multiple likes and replies. In addition to marketing, Disney knows a fair bit about customer service. A few comments on Facebook aren't going to bring back an entire attraction. But Disney makes these inquiries for a reason. They are entertaining, and spark debate, but they're also a fine barometer of visitor disposition. A company of Disney's awareness and brilliance does not ignore such things."
Make, share and cherish your own unforgettable memories..

2015 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend motivation and survival guide

Article first appears within the Disney Theme Parks Examiner postings on Examiner.com, Sept 9, 2014

The Disney Princess Half Marathon extravaganza, taking place this weekend at and all throughout the Walt Disney World Resort, is similar to every other runDisney weekend in that it is wholly memorable and outstanding. Everyone who participates in a runDisney event either immediately makes plans to return for their next, or goes through their days distracted and with a profound sense of loss.

If you are participating in this, or any runDisney run, know that they are exceedingly accommodating. The courses are flat, lined with entertainment, magic and motivation. There are a few things to keep in mind though, which will help make the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend the spectacular success it is designed to be:

See FULL ARTICLE HERE

Have a question, observation or condemnation for Hidden Magic? Please comment here, or reach out to us on Facebook and twitter.

Article first appears within the Disney Theme Parks Examiner postings on Examiner.com, Aug 19, 2014

It is entirely acceptable to be a fan of Elvis and The Beatles, but we bet you have a favorite. The same applies to Disney. You may absolutely love Disneyland and Walt Disney World, though it's likely not equally. Recently we asked a group of Disney World Addicts to pick a side based upon one of the classic attractions: Pirates of the Caribbean.
Both Disneyland and Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom have their own version of this timeless favorite. They are touted by many to be the best ride in their respective parks. The rides are similar. Opinions vary, though sentiment invariably favors Disneyland.
Most respondents are familiar with both parks, which is helpful in gathering reliable results. Others just know what they like, and for the most part they like the original. Pirates of the Caribbean, Disneyland, opened in 1967, and was the final attraction Walt Disney designed and worked on personally. For that alone, if it were a bathtub in the parking lot, many would still vote for it. The Florida version opened in 1973, and while Walt's fingerprints are all over it, its dirt didn't get under Walt's nails, so it's just not the same.
Walt Disney World loyalists emphasize the quality of their ride's queue. Almost entirely inside, to protect guests from sun, rain and hurricane, the Magic Kingdom line winds through much more elaborate and adorned scenery. Once inside the attraction at Disneyland, the line moves so rapidly, there's little time and thus little at which to gaze.
Read the  FULL ARTICLE HERE

2015 Disneyland Half Marathon breaks stellar registration record

Article first appears within Disney Theme Parks Examiner postings on Examiner.com, Feb 10, 2015

Registration for the 2015 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend just opened, and the spectacular, but overwrought, runDisney website has quickly succumbed to the overuse. According to the runDisney twitter feed, every race is already half full. By the time this goes to print, the entire weekend of events will be sold out, as will many of the area hotels. The moral: don't sleep on runDisney. These events are extraordinary, and they've got the following to prove it.

Also, do not resent Disney for it. Many associated twitter rants already lament a multifaceted unfairness. Primary contention seems to surround getting shut out of a queue, or else waiting in same only to find out their desired race sold out in the interim.

See the FULL ARTICLE HERE

2015 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend recap, shameless runDisney praise

Article first appears within Disney Theme Parks Examiner postings on Examiner.com, Jan 11, 2015

Another incredible runDisney series of events has graced yet another army of guests, participants and enthusiasts. The 2015 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend concludes on Sunday, and besides becoming even more well-attended, the weekends keep getting better. runDisney knows what they are doing. Additionally, they are harnessing valuable lessons brought by each successive event to make an already magical experience wholly transformational. There are still issues, of course, you couldn't give away gold bars and eternal life without some difficulty. There are fewer problems with every passing run, and far fewer than anywhere outside Disney.
One concern with any wildly popular endeavor is overcrowding. Every Disney Resort does a masterful job of organizing and moving people. The Imagineers have sought to anticipate and remedy issuses ahead of time, while Cast Members expertly handle what cannot be designed out. Sometimes attendance at the parks, or certain regions of them, say in the Soarin' queue or anywhere Anna and Elsa are spotted, simply exceed capacity and anyone's ability to maintain. This has become an unavoidable result of runDisney's excessive and ever-growing loyal following. The races are amazing. Word has gotten out. These weekends simply draw too many people, no matter what the most brilliant minds and guest service reps do.

See the FULL ARTICLE HERE

Luigi's Flying Tires closes at Disney California Aventure

  Article first appears within Disney Theme Parks Examiner postings on Examiner.com, Feb 6, 2015

News broke today that Luigi’s Flying Tires will be permanently closing, as of February 16, at Disney California Adventure. A positively charming attraction, it did not necessarily translate into a popular ride, and shall undergo a complete renovation, to open in its new guise early 2016. The thought of a new ride is thrilling. Though if Disney so much as puts in a drinking fountain it automatically becomes special, and Luigi's will be missed.
Anticipation will bloom, as will speculation as guests consider what will replace the short-lived attraction. The safe bet is to follow Disney Parks Blog, an excellent source for news, views and updates. Though it's surely fun to ruminate. Space is a little limited in the existing attraction area, though a new ride might go underground, a la Pirates of the Caribbean. As we understand the topography, though, there are a fair amount of cables, conduits and corridors underneath Cars Land. There's perhaps not a single endeavor so significant that Disney couldn't manage it (see Turning a Florida Swamp into Walt Disney World), though they're also fairly creative.

See the FULL ARTICLE HERE