A Pink Pixie Princess...FINALLY! A 2017 Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend Trip Report!
- Thread starter Ariel484
- Start date
Ariel484
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2011
Ha, that's hilarious! I wish I was at Marathon Weekend!
I have totally had dreams like that where I forgot race stuff (mostly it's my shoes) - not fun!!
Yay, that sounds like fun! You need a C2C medal, they are so awesome!
Yay, thanks for reading!
Yep, I remember meeting you and your husband last year in Starbucks! Hope you can get back next year!I'm following along too! I was sad that I didn't make it out there this year so I'm going to live vicariously through your TR
Thanks!I love your trip reports! Following along!
Good for you for taking notes...I always mean to and never do - and here I am frantically trying to remember everything!
And yes, I am officially a John Wayne convert!
Thanks!
And even during the half!Yay! Trip report time!! I'm so happy we got to spend some time with you on this trip and play yo-yo with you during the 10K.
AHHHH it was. I am trying to re-create it this morning, I'm sure it won't taste as good though. And yes, in an airport! Thumbs-up, Denver!
NOPE. I was so excited for the shirts based on the medal ribbons...sigh.
That is EXACTLY what I thought - like they got a deal on the bargain bin crap that no one else wanted!
Yay yay yay for a trip report! I've heard so many great things about flying into John Wayne instead of LAX. I just hope you didn't get in any of those Santa Ana winds- who knows how your weekend would've turned out!
You are my hero for picking up on that! I was singing that song as I was waiting at baggage claim!Yeah, I'm glad I did it. For the familiarity, plus - I do love Paradise Pier!
yay, glad you're here!
Yay, thanks!Love your race reports! Excited to read along
It was! I want it NOW!!
And don't worry, I went back to the expo later!
Ariel484
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2011
So Cal Afternoon
Okay, bibs, wristbands and uggo shirts acquired...time for another Disneyland first - renting a car and venturing off of Disney property! A couple of my favorite retailers are located close to Disneyland, and since I was RIGHT THERE, I felt like I had to pay a quick visit! I wasn’t sure how best to go about this - Uber? Lyft? Taxi? - until I read a trip report where someone rented a car for one day from the Downtown Disney Alamo for pretty cheap. I looked into this, and it turned out that renting a car for a few hours would only cost me $25. Sold!
Picking up the car was super, super easy (barely any upselling pressure from the employee). I’d reserved a compact car from 11:30-6, which I figured was more time than I needed. I got my car from the adjacent lot (some sort of Nissan), punched my first destination into my phone GPS and was off! I did take some kind of wrong turn, but overall it was not too bad to drive around.
First destination...In-N-Out! Mr. Ariel484 and I meant to stop at In-N-Out a couple of years ago while in California, but the timing didn’t work out. Today was the day!
This was not the closest one to Disney, but it made sense with the other stops I wanted to make in Santa Ana. This location ended up being mostly a drive-through with a small walk-up counter...this is the drive-through line.
They had an employee going up to the cars to put in orders on an iPad...when I told him this was my first time at In-N-Out, he helped me order and told me to make sure to ask for a hat!
I got through the line, paid, and got my order (and hat!). There were picnic tables at the back of the parking lot, so I grabbed one and dug in!
Normally I am a somewhat-picky eater, but I figured if I was going to try In-N-Out, I should probably *really* try it and not make many changes to the burger. My order was a cheeseburger with American cheese, grilled onions, lettuce and their sauce (which was described to me as similar to 1000 Island dressing) - I did ask them to hold the tomato, because BLECH. Normally I would have gotten just a plain cheeseburger. I did make a change to the fries - I asked for them to be well-done since I’d read that they can be soggy. This was a good call - they were nice and crispy!
So fries + burger + Coke came out to $6.41. Not bad! And for fast food it was VERY good. Definitely worth an Uber to get there from Disneyland.
And, I mean...free hat.
Next stop on my So Cal tour was Harveys! The only thing I love more than running clothes, coffee and Disney are purses - Harveys makes purses out of seat belts. Even better, they make DISNEY purses! I had to visit.
EEEK. I had a return to make and I also dropped off a wallet to get cleaned (they will mail it back to me). And while I was there, I bought a Belle-inspired bag (picture to come)!
After Harveys, it was off to INKnBURN - my favorite athletic apparel company. I was hoping some of my orders would be ready (specifically this and this), but they weren’t. Oh well! I got a quick tour and chatted with one of the employees.
My last stop was Target. I wanted to get a case of bottled water to keep in the room, and I’d also forgotten my toothbrush (I thought I had - I found it later in my luggage. Oh well!). I got a couple of other small things but can’t remember what they were.
And that was it! I filled the gas tank up at a station near Disneyland (a whopping $3), headed back to Paradise Pier to drop the water at Bell Services and returned the car by 3:30. Solid So Cal afternoon!
Okay, bibs, wristbands and uggo shirts acquired...time for another Disneyland first - renting a car and venturing off of Disney property! A couple of my favorite retailers are located close to Disneyland, and since I was RIGHT THERE, I felt like I had to pay a quick visit! I wasn’t sure how best to go about this - Uber? Lyft? Taxi? - until I read a trip report where someone rented a car for one day from the Downtown Disney Alamo for pretty cheap. I looked into this, and it turned out that renting a car for a few hours would only cost me $25. Sold!
Picking up the car was super, super easy (barely any upselling pressure from the employee). I’d reserved a compact car from 11:30-6, which I figured was more time than I needed. I got my car from the adjacent lot (some sort of Nissan), punched my first destination into my phone GPS and was off! I did take some kind of wrong turn, but overall it was not too bad to drive around.
First destination...In-N-Out! Mr. Ariel484 and I meant to stop at In-N-Out a couple of years ago while in California, but the timing didn’t work out. Today was the day!
This was not the closest one to Disney, but it made sense with the other stops I wanted to make in Santa Ana. This location ended up being mostly a drive-through with a small walk-up counter...this is the drive-through line.
They had an employee going up to the cars to put in orders on an iPad...when I told him this was my first time at In-N-Out, he helped me order and told me to make sure to ask for a hat!
I got through the line, paid, and got my order (and hat!). There were picnic tables at the back of the parking lot, so I grabbed one and dug in!
Normally I am a somewhat-picky eater, but I figured if I was going to try In-N-Out, I should probably *really* try it and not make many changes to the burger. My order was a cheeseburger with American cheese, grilled onions, lettuce and their sauce (which was described to me as similar to 1000 Island dressing) - I did ask them to hold the tomato, because BLECH. Normally I would have gotten just a plain cheeseburger. I did make a change to the fries - I asked for them to be well-done since I’d read that they can be soggy. This was a good call - they were nice and crispy!
So fries + burger + Coke came out to $6.41. Not bad! And for fast food it was VERY good. Definitely worth an Uber to get there from Disneyland.
And, I mean...free hat.
Next stop on my So Cal tour was Harveys! The only thing I love more than running clothes, coffee and Disney are purses - Harveys makes purses out of seat belts. Even better, they make DISNEY purses! I had to visit.
EEEK. I had a return to make and I also dropped off a wallet to get cleaned (they will mail it back to me). And while I was there, I bought a Belle-inspired bag (picture to come)!
After Harveys, it was off to INKnBURN - my favorite athletic apparel company. I was hoping some of my orders would be ready (specifically this and this), but they weren’t. Oh well! I got a quick tour and chatted with one of the employees.
My last stop was Target. I wanted to get a case of bottled water to keep in the room, and I’d also forgotten my toothbrush (I thought I had - I found it later in my luggage. Oh well!). I got a couple of other small things but can’t remember what they were.
And that was it! I filled the gas tank up at a station near Disneyland (a whopping $3), headed back to Paradise Pier to drop the water at Bell Services and returned the car by 3:30. Solid So Cal afternoon!
Ariel484
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2011
Paradise Pier
I headed back to the expo to check out the vendors. If you ever see a picture from me at a weird angle like this, it’s probably because I was trying to cut people out of said picture!
I ended up buying a new SPIbelt with toggles to hold my race bibs and a couple of things from the official merchandise area. I also stopped by the runDisney Travel booth - I’d booked my room through them to get a small discount and had been told to stop by for a free gift. I like free things! My last stop was the runDisney booth to ask about PhotoPass - the runDisney employee and I had a nice chat about the new Guardians ride (I’m SUPER meh on that, but he was excited), changes to Disneyland’s Fantasmic, etc.
During this time, I’d gotten a text that my room was ready, so I headed back to unpack.
Room 344. A corner room overlooking Disneyland Drive (which would be an issue later in the trip, and, I later found out, was a very deliberate room assignment).
These Paradise Pier rooms are nice and big!
View...if I’d moved my camera to the right, California Adventure would have been peeking over the Grand Californian!
I got to work unpacking EVERYTHING. Ahhh, to be settled!
And inspected my goodies so far...ugly shirts. I hate the challenge one, the half one is fine and the 10K grew on me over the course of the trip (though, again, random color). I didn’t like that the 5K shirt was white, or unisex cut - WOMEN’S CUT SHIRTS FOR THE 5K, RUNDISNEY...ANY TIME NOW!!!
Cinch bag for half marathon runners (which are only given out at Tink and Princess weekends...why the other ones don’t get them, I have no idea):
Merch - I Did It shirts for the half (ended up returning this one later, more on that in an upcoming post) and the challenge, along with Sweaty Bands:
And a wine glass. I got a 10% discount on this stuff with my Disney Visa.
Cameo appearance from the Monster Pup:
And the free stuff from runDisney Travel - a lanyard, Tink Weekend logo pin and a luggage tag. I need to fix Minnie’s eye!
My last task before heading to a park (!!) was to get my 5K stuff in order. The weather for all of the races was looking perfect - no rain and temperatures in about the mid-50s. Woohoo!
Up next - to a park!
I headed back to the expo to check out the vendors. If you ever see a picture from me at a weird angle like this, it’s probably because I was trying to cut people out of said picture!
I ended up buying a new SPIbelt with toggles to hold my race bibs and a couple of things from the official merchandise area. I also stopped by the runDisney Travel booth - I’d booked my room through them to get a small discount and had been told to stop by for a free gift. I like free things!
My last stop was the runDisney booth to ask about PhotoPass - the runDisney employee and I had a nice chat about the new Guardians ride (I’m SUPER meh on that, but he was excited), changes to Disneyland’s Fantasmic, etc.During this time, I’d gotten a text that my room was ready, so I headed back to unpack.
Room 344. A corner room overlooking Disneyland Drive (which would be an issue later in the trip, and, I later found out, was a very deliberate room assignment).
These Paradise Pier rooms are nice and big!
View...if I’d moved my camera to the right, California Adventure would have been peeking over the Grand Californian!
I got to work unpacking EVERYTHING. Ahhh, to be settled!
And inspected my goodies so far...ugly shirts. I hate the challenge one, the half one is fine and the 10K grew on me over the course of the trip (though, again, random color). I didn’t like that the 5K shirt was white, or unisex cut - WOMEN’S CUT SHIRTS FOR THE 5K, RUNDISNEY...ANY TIME NOW!!!
Cinch bag for half marathon runners (which are only given out at Tink and Princess weekends...why the other ones don’t get them, I have no idea):
Merch - I Did It shirts for the half (ended up returning this one later, more on that in an upcoming post) and the challenge, along with Sweaty Bands:
And a wine glass. I got a 10% discount on this stuff with my Disney Visa.
Cameo appearance from the Monster Pup:
And the free stuff from runDisney Travel - a lanyard, Tink Weekend logo pin and a luggage tag. I need to fix Minnie’s eye!
My last task before heading to a park (!!) was to get my 5K stuff in order. The weather for all of the races was looking perfect - no rain and temperatures in about the mid-50s.
Woohoo!
Up next - to a park!
Last edited:
ZellyB
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2010
Awesome So Cal day. Love that In-n-Out hat. Very fetching.
Bummer the InB items weren't ready though. And, yay on going to Harvey's. Can't wait to see what you got. The room seems really nice, but I'm worried about your foreshadowing about the deliberate room assignment. Hmmm...
And,
Archie!!
Bummer the InB items weren't ready though. And, yay on going to Harvey's. Can't wait to see what you got. The room seems really nice, but I'm worried about your foreshadowing about the deliberate room assignment. Hmmm...
And,
Archie!!
run.minnie.miles
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2016
What a great day! That car rental deal was amazing- I'm so glad you go to visit those places! Your In&Out looks good- I think I had it one time in Texas on a college trip, but I would love to try it again.
It would be really nice if rD did this after every race.
I did not know that your love for purses was stronger than these things! Do you have a favorite brand? (Harvey's?) Or a "ultimate purse goal?" (Mine is a LV, but that will probably never happen haha)
I really liked that Princess gave them out after the half- so convenient to carry everything, including my multiple bottles of beverages.
It would be really nice if rD did this after every race.
TeeterTots
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2014
Oh how I could go for in-n-out right now!!!
What a fun adventure and productive day!
The room is adorable!
What a fun adventure and productive day!
The room is adorable!
roxymama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2015
Yay, trip report! I'm thinking I'm going to put mine today in an actual TR like you did instead of inside my journal.
Ok, I don't want to spoiler anything you have coming but I think I know exactly why you took back your half I did it shirt, because it's why I had one on my hand and then put it back before buying. I'll wait to see if I was right.
Archie is like "what are you doing?" and then he's like "eh, I don't care" At least that's how I read his cute little face in the pics.
You're view from your hotel is quite lovely...so I am sorry something didn't go right (I already know...but again...will not spoil)
Thoughts on shirts...I think as a group they are weird together...not cohesive. When I was in the park seeing the shirts by themselves though they looked better. Like seeing the 10k shirt on someone in their jean shorts or whatever, it looked pretty good. And the half shirt actually worked better than I thought it would once I paired it with clothes I had brought. I still don't like the challenge shirt at all though...why is Tink Navy Blue and White and roadkill????
They shoulda made the 5k tech material and striped blue and white like Smee. The 10k shoulda been pan green or a lighter blue. The challenge should have been more like the I Did It's color scheme. Done!
Ok, I don't want to spoiler anything you have coming but I think I know exactly why you took back your half I did it shirt, because it's why I had one on my hand and then put it back before buying. I'll wait to see if I was right.
Archie is like "what are you doing?" and then he's like "eh, I don't care" At least that's how I read his cute little face in the pics.
You're view from your hotel is quite lovely...so I am sorry something didn't go right (I already know...but again...will not spoil)
Thoughts on shirts...I think as a group they are weird together...not cohesive. When I was in the park seeing the shirts by themselves though they looked better. Like seeing the 10k shirt on someone in their jean shorts or whatever, it looked pretty good. And the half shirt actually worked better than I thought it would once I paired it with clothes I had brought. I still don't like the challenge shirt at all though...why is Tink Navy Blue and White and roadkill????
They shoulda made the 5k tech material and striped blue and white like Smee. The 10k shoulda been pan green or a lighter blue. The challenge should have been more like the I Did It's color scheme. Done!
disneydaydreamer33
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
Mmmm I do love me some In N Out. You may not like this because you're a picky eater, but every time I ask for my cheeseburger to be "animal style" (just extra dressing, onions, and pickles). My hubby asks for animal style fries (fries topped with cheese, spread, and onions), but that's going a bit far even for me
That's pretty cool that it's so cheap and easy to rent a car from DTD. It sounds like you had a really nice afternoon! And I'm looking forward to seeing your Harvey's purchase too!
That's pretty cool that it's so cheap and easy to rent a car from DTD. It sounds like you had a really nice afternoon! And I'm looking forward to seeing your Harvey's purchase too!
Anisum
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 15, 2015
In-n-Out looks good! I've been to So-Cal twice and yet I've never stopped there somehow. It's sad InB didn't have your clothes in stock. At least you got to look around. I love your expo purchases. I'm not really sure how I feel about the shirts that were given out for the races. The 10k color combo is odd but I like The Lost Boys. I feel like the PDC stop coloring is just off. I guess asking for a nice PDC AND a nice PDC medal is too much.
FredtheDuck
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2017
I'm following along, too, although I'll admit that I almost stopped reading when you got to In-N-Out because that makes me SO HOMESICK for the west coast. Cheeseburger, spread only, animal style, with well-done fries? YES PLEASE.
roxymama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2015
My sister lives in Austin and last time I flew in super late at night and she insisted we get Neopolitan shakes and animal fries. While the fries I could only eat a little of (just sooooo rich)...I still think about that shake.
FredtheDuck
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2017
Mmm, their strawberry shakes are delicious. Regarding the fries, my west coast friends will think this is blasphemy, but I never loved them. I liked them better when I found out I could get them well done. But, if I had to choose... I'd pick Five Guys fries (*ducks*).
Sailormoon2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2015
I love the RD wine glasses!! That one is especially nice too, although clearly the puppy doesn't appreciate it!!
SarahDisney
So ... Yeah
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2014
First In-N-Out visit ... I feel like that's a California right of passage. And I love the hat!
Excellent stops on your shopping expedition ... very SoCal of you.
I forgot to ask you about how the toggles worked out! I'm guessing we'll get to that when we get to the races, so I'll wait until then to find out, but ... I'm interested to see if you had better luck with the toggles than I did.
Now that runDisney has moved to metal medals for the 5K, I'm surprised that they haven't moved to tech shirts & women's cuts. I'm guessing its because they already have to do kids and adult sizes, so they don't want to start adding in another style, but ... that's something I would like to see them do. I basically only wear by 5K shirts when cleaning.
I like that you got free stuff from runDisney travel, but ... why are they giving you a 60th luggage tag? The 60th is long over.
Excellent stops on your shopping expedition ... very SoCal of you.
I forgot to ask you about how the toggles worked out! I'm guessing we'll get to that when we get to the races, so I'll wait until then to find out, but ... I'm interested to see if you had better luck with the toggles than I did.
Now that runDisney has moved to metal medals for the 5K, I'm surprised that they haven't moved to tech shirts & women's cuts. I'm guessing its because they already have to do kids and adult sizes, so they don't want to start adding in another style, but ... that's something I would like to see them do. I basically only wear by 5K shirts when cleaning.
I like that you got free stuff from runDisney travel, but ... why are they giving you a 60th luggage tag? The 60th is long over.
Ariel484
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2011
Oh yes, quite fetching. I should have worn it around the parks!
Yeah, I was hoping they'd be ready - I would have worn that outfit for the half! Oh well.
I will pass your "hello" along to Archie.And,
Yay, thanks!
Yeah, I was surprised! It was for a compact car for 6 hours.
I guess my love for all of those things is equal! My favorite brand right now is Harveys. I went through a period where I wanted a LV (MM Neverfull...Damier exterior with red interior, but not that I seriously looked or anything...
) but I think I'm actually at a point where I'm pretty happy with what I have. you know, for now. Yeah, I was surprised to see them in the gear bag! It was so nice to have them handed to us at the finish line at Princess.I really liked that Princess gave them out after the half- so convenient to carry everything, including my multiple bottles of beverages.
And I agree, they should do them for every race!Um, me too!! I would love that exact same order right now!!
WOOHOO welcome to the Dark Side!
I would say partially because it looked very similar to the race shirt and partially because I wanted to stick it to runDisney a little bit....because they made me mad!!
That's pretty much what happened!!
Me too!! It was mostly good though...
YES, I totally agree with this! Normally the shirts sort of coordinate with the bibs and medal ribbons, and with each other - this set of shirts was so weird!
Seriously, after someone points out that Tink looks dead on the challenge shirt, I can't unsee that!
Can you just take over the runDisney shirt design department (that's totally a thing, right?)...because these are awesome ideas.
Gah, the guy who took my order tried to get me to upgrade my fries to "animal style." NOPE NOPE NOPEMmmm I do love me some In N Out. You may not like this because you're a picky eater, but every time I ask for my cheeseburger to be "animal style" (just extra dressing, onions, and pickles). My hubby asks for animal style fries (fries topped with cheese, spread, and onions), but that's going a bit far even for me
It was pretty easy! I am a fan!
It was good, definitely worth a stop if you're already driving around!
If I had to choose between the nicer PDC medal or the nicer shirt, the medal wins out. I really like that medal a lot.
Oh no!! I'm glad you decided to stick around!
Me too! We were getting to the point where we needed new wine glasses since some of ours broke - now I have 4 rD ones!
Yes, I think I've found my new look.
I probably should have gone to a beach to surf to REALLY So Cal it up.
Toggles were good! But I didn't adjust my SPIbelt well enough and the belt itself was scooting around on me.
I never wear them - unisex-cut shirts just do not fit me well. It's a point I plan on addressing in the very, very long email I am sending them regarding my thoughts on Tink weekend...
Ha! That's a good point.
The 60th is over and Minnie's eye isn't colored in. Beggers can't be choosers?? 
bellanotte10
see the line where the sky meets the sea...
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2009
Here to follow along!
Jealous of in and out. Went last July and wasn't super hungry. Wish I had gone on this trip but it was not meant to be!
Jealous of in and out. Went last July and wasn't super hungry. Wish I had gone on this trip but it was not meant to be!
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
Sounds like a decent start to the trip. That challenge shirt is very ugly. I don't blame you for not liking it! White is also a bad choice for a race shirt!
Glad you got your In&Out finally! Del Taco is my Southern California love even knowing how bad it is for me!
You got better a better pin/lanyard for Tink Weekend. Glad yours was themed! Ours for Star Wars was a generic Disneyland one!
Glad you got your In&Out finally! Del Taco is my Southern California love even knowing how bad it is for me!
You got better a better pin/lanyard for Tink Weekend. Glad yours was themed! Ours for Star Wars was a generic Disneyland one!
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