Natsynoo's Run Disney Bucket List Trip - September 2018

[NatsyNoo]

Thursday 20th September

After months of anticipation (and in truth, dread), today was the day that we headed to DLP for the Run Disney event!

Why the dread? Well, I run because I have to to manage my weight, not because I enjoy it, so why on earth have I signed myself up to run 36K in 3 days?! Well, I had, so I just had to get on with it! All I wanted to do was to finish to get the medals…and this was the thought that dominated my mind throughout.

I was travelling with my friend and colleague, Pauline (P for short) who is Parisienne but hasn’t visited Disneyland in years and had certainly never visited with a regular, so I was at least excited to show her the ropes!

Before I press on with the journey, a word of warning about this trip and therefore this trippie – this trip was for the runs, it was not so much about the parks. I was still pleased with what we achieved during the trip, but for this trippie, you’ll find a real focus on the event than the parks themselves. For that sort of trip, see my February trippie linked here.

One final disclaimer – there are a lot of photos of me here when I am running or mid-run. I don’t look my best, and did question whether to post this trippie, but wanted to post something that might help others considering running a Run Disney event.

And so, onto the journey!

The alarm sounded unpleasantly at 5.30am. I didn’t have a means of checking the time when I woke through the night which meant that I slept unwell because I was nervous about sleeping through the alarm. However, we were off to Disney!

Our taxi arrived on time at 6am and we weren’t thrilled with the cost of £25 to take us from the Premier Inn to the station (max 3 hours but when we booked they were the only firm that answered the phone, so our hands were tied!).

Check in at Ashford was easy, and we enjoyed a coffee and juice while we waited. Boarding was called 15 minutes before departure time so we headed down to the platform and excited hopped on board. We spent the journey to Lille (no direct trains today) watching Coco, which is my new Disney addiction.

At Lille, I allowed my French travel buddy to order us an espresso/hot chocolate, juice and two croissants which came to €9.10. We enjoyed these in the lounge until it was announced that our TGV to Marne La Vallee had arrived, so we headed down to the platform and the train left about 20 minutes later.

IMG_0534 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

The journey was seamless and after hopping on the bus at the station, we arrived at the Cheyenne at 12.20pm. Unfortunately, it felt like everyone else running in the event had arrived at the Cheyenne at the exact same time and check in took 1 hour and 10 minutes! When I finally managed to check in, we dumped our bags and hurried off to the parks.

IMG_0728 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0729 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0730 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0731 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0732 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0733 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

We were sharing a room with other Disney friends, Rachel and Su, who wanted to explore the Village for some time, and P and I were excited to see the Castle, so we went our own ways for a while.

Ah what a beautiful sight!

IMG_0541 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0539 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

Our first stop however was the ear shop as you enter the park on the right hand side – finally, the rose gold ears were mine for €19.99. I had ummed and aahed over these in WDW back in April and ended up going for the Millennial Pink ones but I had remorse so I was glad to snag a pair here in Paris!

Our next stop had to be lunch…we were ravenous! There was only one place to be, and that was the Market Square Café for a croque monsieur. P was very impressed which was reassuring and for €11 including a bottle of San Pellegrino, for DLP, I was more than happy with the cost. I was so content right at that moment…the sun was shining, I was in Disneyland, and I was eating a croque monsieur!

IMG_0537 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

My first thought was to grab a Fastpass and I turned right at Discoveryland with the thought of getting one for Hyperspace Mountain. However, it was a walk on, so we opted for Buzz instead. P loved Hyperspace, and I did too, as during our February trip, it didn’t have sound, so it was nice to experience the full piece!

Our Buzz Fastpass opened shortly after at 3.05pm and P loved this too. From there, it was round to It’s A Small World. A classic and one of my favourites! The Fairytale Boat Ride and Casey Jr were next up and had only 5 minute wait.

IMG_0540 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0807 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0806 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0805 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0803 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0802 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0800 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0799 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0798 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

After grabbing a drink (San Pellegrino €3.69), we rode Pirates (another walk on), and then picked up a Big Thunder Mountain Fastpass which we didn’t use in the end. At 4.50pm, we found ourselves on Main Street, and thinking the parade was due to start at 5pm, we waited a bit, but then when I checked the App, I found that it was actually due to start at 5.30pm so we decided instead to head to the Expo…I had bibs to collect!

I was expecting the Expo to be a complete nightmare. Everything about the registration process so far had been hard work and we didn’t even get the vouchers to print for our bibs until lunchtime on the previous day (we were supposed to get them 2 weeks before). Feedback from previous years’ events had also been that it was hectic and the wait times were long. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how spacious and organised it was. I walked straight up to the 36K desk and was handed a gear bag chokka with shirts (5 – one for each of the distances, one for the 31K Challenge, and one for the 36K Challenge). I also needed to collect my Photopass card (this was a bit confusing but I got there in the end) and also my pre-paid merchandise (a Run Disney Pin, and tempting fate, a 21K/Half Marathon ‘I Did It’ Pin). There was a bit of a wait for this but I didn’t mind given how easy everything else had been.

IMG_0567 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

The merchandise was a little disappointing but again, I expected this, and I only bought a running headband, but I was pleased that this was reduced from €10 to €5 by the time I had got to the till (and I now wear it with pride when I run!).

IMG_0550 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

My name was on the wall!

IMG_0548 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

By now, it was 6.30pm and we decided to grab dinner whilst we were in the Village. We decided on Vapianos, but it was busier than we had hoped and it took a good 45 minutes to get our food. We learned through observation that the pizza/al forno/salad options are far quicker and easier. Nonetheless, our al fredo/carbonara pasta dishes were very delicious. We also ordered the bruschetta and a large bottle of San Pellegrino which came to €20 each. We felt this was good value for the quality of the food and given the overall food prices in DLP.

IMG_0552 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0553 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

After this, we headed back into Disneyland Park where we were greeted by a fellow Brit offering us their Compass Club Fastpasses for tomorrow as they were heading home early the next day. Yes please and thank you!

P was excited for me to buy me new Pandora charms from Harrington’s so that was our next stop. This year, Matt bought me an empty bangle for me to fill on all of our Disney trips (DLP in February and September, WDW in April, and DLR & DCL in October). In DLP in February, I had bought a Mickey and teacup to remind me of my niece’s first trip. In WDW, I bought lots of charms, but namely, the Partner’s Statue, 2018, Ohana, and Dumbo charms, and I have plans for the ones I am buying in DLR and on the Cruise in a couple of weeks. In DLP though, I needed the Minnie Eiffel Tower one. These were released in around March so I just missed out last time. I also spotted a really cute Jiminy Cricket one which I decided to buy to represent the Run Disney event. I had ‘wished’ to run in a Run Disney event for a long time so I felt that Jiminy represent my wish coming true. Both charms came to €128.

By now, it was time to find a spot for Illuminations which started at 8.30pm. I adore this show, and P did too. That version of A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes … <3

IMG_0555 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

IMG_0556 by Natalie Pope, on Flickr

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by the World of Disney where I bought two of the Disney Babies Christmas Mickey and Minnie plushes (€19.99 each) for my niece, a Bambi Christmas decoration for my colleague (€9.99), a Marie pen as a gift for the same colleague (€5.99), a silicone muffin mould (€12.99) so a total of €74.94…it’s been an expensive day!

We headed back to the hotel where I sorted my case, prepared my things for tomorrow, phoned home, showered, and chatted with the girls. My head hit the pillow at 11.30pm and boy was I ready for it!

Steps = 19,708