DLP Half Marathon Weekend - Day 1

[tinker82]

Thursday 22nd September 2016

After waking up ridiculously early and getting my kids off to school it was finally time to set off to the train station to meet my sister Our first train was at 9.56, we had to change at the next station and then it was on to the airport! We arrived at Manchester around 11.50 & used the moving walkways to head over to Terminal 1.

We had opted for hand luggage only and had checked in online so we headed straight to security. It only took around half an hour to get through the queue but unfortunately my case was held for further checks which added another 15 mins or so!

I had packed 3 Vinylmations to trade in the parks & the xray machine had flagged them as giant gummy bears!



The airport was much busier than we were used to so we decided it was too risky to order a full meal & headed into Pret for something healthy instead!

Our flight out was at 2.25 and boarding started just before 2. We’d never flown Easyjet before & had paid extra for Exit row seats so we could board first and guarantee our cases stayed with us in the overhead lockers. As part of this we were entitled to Speedy Boarding and instead of joining the queue to board we went straight to the gate We found it quite strange that to actually board the plane we had to walk outside and up the steps!



The flight time was around 1.5 hours but we were only actually in the air for just under an hour and seemed to spend a ridiculously long time taxiing to the gate at CDG airport!

The queue for security moved very quickly and we headed to the exit to find our pre-booked transfer. Unfortunately there had been an accident nearby so our transfer had not arrived. By coincidence we got talking to 2 girls who were waiting for the same transfer company and they had just been advised the driver would be 20 mins. After waiting 40 mins the 4 of us decided to split an Uber just so we could get on our way! We chatted on the journey and as we were all travelling home on Monday we arranged to travel back to the airport together too The traffic was bad and it took around 40 mins to get to our hotel.

We checked in to Disneys Hotel Santa Fe at 6.30 and were given our hotel easy pass, park tickets and separate tickets for the Inaugural Party on Friday night. While we were at reception we also borrowed a kettle for our room.

We were really impressed with the themeing in our room and were pleased to be in a building near the river After a quick freshen up and a read of the map we headed over to find the runDisney expo



The expo was located at the far side of the lake and we arrived around 7pm. We’d seen Facebook posts throughout the day showing huge queues but thankfully (as it shut at 8!) we walked straight in.

Each component had to be collected separately so we collected our half bib, then 5k bib, then wristbands for food at the Inaugural Party, then a half t-shirt, then a 5k t-shirt! (My sister also had to collect her Castle to Chateau wristband at a separate stand!) The t-shirts came up small so we went to yet another stand to swap them!

There was a runDisney booth giving out a free tote bag for filling out your details so we did that as well as checking out the medals I will be earning for completing Lumieres Challenge in November

We were ready for getting some tea so we skipped the rest of the expo and had a quick look at the official merchandise stand. I picked up a hat and a pin and purchased a photopass for the weekend.



We wandered through the Disney Village and settled on Planet Hollywood for tea – steak and cocktails!

We enjoyed the short walk back through the shops in the Disney Village, around the lake and along the river. However, it turned out cocktails were a bad idea as the mix of alcohol and excitement meant I got about 3 hours sleep

[KarenG]

Fantastic trippie! Feel like I'm there!

[Jack Daniel's]

Hey,
Can't wait to read your thoughts on the inaugural party, most folks seemed to have a different experience, but I think it depends on what your expectations are going into it I guess ..

Your tote bag is completely different from the Ines I got at the run Disney stand,. Ours where light blue in colour..
Should have gone back to check those out lol

[tinker82]

Originally Posted by Jack Daniel's

Hey,
Can't wait to read your thoughts on the inaugural party, most folks seemed to have a different experience, but I think it depends on what your expectations are going into it I guess ..

Your tote bag is completely different from the Ines I got at the run Disney stand,. Ours where light blue in colour..
Should have gone back to check those out lol

See more...

I've just posted day 2 (with the party) and to be honest the party was not what we expected at all!

We really appreciated the short ride lines (but realistically that is achievable by getting to the park before it opens)

The cast member interaction was much better than any other day in the park.

The food was terrible (we were both ill during the course of the weekend!) and there was very little choice. We had expected a buffet but I guess the specifics were lost in translation?

We were really disappointed Crush's Coaster was shut

The photo booth on Rock n Rollercoaster was shut so we couldn't get our photos (even though the flash still went off!)

We didn't queue for any characters as we had Inventions booked for Brunch on the Sunday so didn't feel the need but if the fab 5 had been out in their runDisney outfits that would have been worth waiting for!

Would I do it again? Possibly! I'm considering a shorter trip next year (Friday to Sunday) and I'm tempted to just buy a party ticket and no park entry - we were so exhausted by the end of the weekend that I wouldn't want to spend so much time in the parks!

They seemed to be alternating which colour bags they gave out at the expo but I was happy with the black version

[Infinity Red]

Great report, love the Hotel pics set out like that ! I also didn't know you can trade vinylmation figures at DLP, I'm excited about this ! Lol

[Emma1987BTL]

It looks so pretty all lit up 😍