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:

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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.
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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.

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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.

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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.

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Hidden Magic, Disneyland's Space Mountain

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

Hidden Magic examines lesser-known attractions, snacks, tactics and distraction to help you make the most of your Disney visit. Yes, everyone is thoroughly familiar with Space Mountain, but do you know the best time to ride it?
If you have ever been stranded on that convection oven of a patio in the Space Mountain STANDBY line, on an average afternoon, you know it is an experience you don't want to repeat. You don't have to. Ever. Space Mountain is the best ride, this side of Radiator Springs, for FastPassing.
While this is an eternally popular attraction, if the wait time is 40 minutes, or more, you should come back later. Anything more than 20 minutes, you run the risk of getting caught outside as Space Mountain Disneyland runs a particularly liberal FastPass line. Gatekeeper CM's will hold up several furlongs of standby riders for even a single FastPasser. This is not a criticism. Get a FastPass.

Have a question, observation or condemnation for Hidden Magic? Please comment here, or reach out to us on Facebook and twitter.
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Grammy Awards 2015: Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande live performances, likely wins

 

Article originally appears on AXS Entertainment

Last year on the 56th Grammy Awards live broadcast, Daft Punk, Nile Rodgers, Pharrell Williams and Stevie Wonder performed an inspired medley which included contemporary hit, "Get Lucky." A little later in the show, Daft Punk, Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams won both the Album of the Year and Record of the Year awards. During the acceptance the Daft Punk guys wore their robot outfits, Pharrell Williams had that ridiculous hat on his head, and Nile Rodgers even got to thank some people. Stevie Wonder didn't win a thing. He was not invited onto the stage, and no one thanked him. No one appreciates the classics.
The point is--aside from Stevie Wonder deserving more respect--if you are invited to perform at the Grammy's, it's a good sign. The converse is absolutely true: if you are not performing at that current year's ceremony, you probably aren't walking away with any of the major awards. You may not even win any of the minor ones.
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The Legendary Dole Whip

Article originally appears within the Disney Theme Parks Examiner postings on Examiner.com on Jan 22, 2015.

Of course, the Dole Whip is no big secret. It's not even a little one. But do you know how to get one without standing in a prohibitive line? And no, we don't mean getting a fake one at Friendly's or making a hallow substitute at home. Hidden Magic has your solution to getting your hands on the Park's genuine, most coveted treat without sacrificing precious Disney moments, energy and enthusiasm.
The Dole Whip, for the six of you who don't know, is a seemingly simple, yet extraordinary pineapple soft-serve frozen dessert. They are vegan, gluten free and just excellent. For many they are an indispensable element of the Disney experience. Which why the line for one commonly rivals Big Thunder Mountain.
Within the Disneyland Park you will find this delicious concoction in Adventureland, at the Tiki Juice Bar adjacent to the Enchanted Tiki Room attraction. Inside the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom, you will also find them in Adventureland, at Aloha Isle. Droves will forgo Space Mountain for a first-thing-in-the-morning Dole Whip, even when it's cold. There is essentially no good time to grab one. None of the typical Disney crowd-avoidance tricks apply here. During a parade, in the dead of night, beneath a downpour; guests will cancel lunch reservations and forfeit FastPasses for a whip.

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runDisney Costume Characters you should be able to beat..

Article originally appears within the Disney Theme Parks Examiner postings on Examiner.com, Aug 28, 2013.

For the fortuitous enthusiasts who managed to secure an entry into the 2013 Disneyland Half Marathon before it sold out in 25 hours, perhaps you were also keen enough to train for it. Disney races are renowned for being delightful and accommodating, but if you aren't in the proper shape you are going to finish behind someone in a Buzz Lightyear costume. Think you can live with that?
One of the truly charming elements that help define a Disney race is the indelible throng of wholly passionate participants. Yes, twenty-thousands of them are willing to sign up for each half marathon the day registration opens. Yes, most of these same thousands are prepared to get out of bed at 4 in the morning to reach their assigned starting corral as instructed. But, more specifically we speak of the fervor which drives those who will pay for, plan for and participate in the whole thirteen-mile spectacle dressed like a Disney cartoon character.
The experience of seeing thousands of fanatics wearing their ears, Mickey hands and Team Sparkle skirts is nigh indescribable. Those that go the extra mile (intentional) and don an actual costume deserve special recognition. Getting passed by Tweedledum and Tweedledee at the halfway point, though, is as infuriating as it is unavoidable, and you'd better just prepare for it.
There are a great many runners out there simply bristling with Disney spirit. Watching powerless as one of them plods past you in Mike Wazowski regalia is a real kick to your own enthusiasm. To aptly compete with a Disney-costumed runner, it boils down to this: awareness. First, understand that many of these individuals are not mere fanatics. Most are well conditioned, well adjusted athletes who for reasons all their own possess the will and training to run a ten-minute mile dressed as Eeyore. Know that it is possible for someone to have more endurance than you no matter how impractically they are outfitted. The compulsion that drives one to wear a bolt of felt all through a thirteen-mile race often accompanies a determination that you cannot match, most certainly not if you are still being paced by The Little Mermaid at mile 11.
Any costumed character you don't put away early is probably going to beat you. If one, or all of the Three Little Pigs are still with you on the homestretch, you are going to finish behind them . If your combined ability and psychosis did not enable you to distance yourself from Winnie the Pooh, his closing kick is going to be stronger than yours and you will forever be immortalized in his finish-line photo.
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Disney for Grown Ups Specialty Drinks series, Epcot's Grand Marnier and Grey Goose Orange Slush

Article originally appears within National Vodka Examiner postings on Examiner.com, Jan. 18, 2012:

Something as mundane as washing your hands in a Disney maintained sink is an absolute pleasure. Now picture drinking a cocktail with Grey Goose and Grand Marnier in it on a park bench overlooking a Disney fashioned body of water. Pure paradise.
Pure Paradise could well be the name of the Grand Marnier and Grey Goose Orange Slush, available at Epcot's France Pavilion. However, based upon the name it does bear, I suspect there were overriding merchandising considerations.
Doesn't matter. The drink could be called Glass of Dishwater and it would still be one of humanity's better creations. It's simple, sublte and be you a beer, wine or dishwater drinker, try just one GMGGOS and you will begin to crave them in your sleep.
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