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Ep 32 - Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend 2026
516 Plays14 days ago
We ran the 2026 Disneyland Half Marathon and are here to share all the details about our experience. We talk about what they've improved since our last half marathon experience at Disneyland in 2024, things we love about this race, things that are not our favorite, how the west coast runDisney races compare to the east coast races at Walt Disney World and so much more. Whether you were these running or wising you were there, this episode is a run recap of the last Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend before they pause the west coast races again.
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Transcript
Was the Disneyland Race Weekend Worth It?
00:00:00
Speaker
Run Disney just hosted the last Disneyland race weekend for a while, and we made the trip across the country for it. Was it worth it? We're about to find out. Let's talk about our experience running the 2026 Disneyland half
00:00:21
Speaker
Hey there, friends. Welcome to the podcast, and Erica and I are exhausted. Hey. Yes, we flew home after the race yesterday. yes we did. Landed so late, actually really early this morning. Yep. ah Slept for about four hours, three and a half hours. Got up, went to work, and now it's, what time is it, AJ? It's 9.35 at night, and we're recording this podcast. so But it's the only time we have to do it. That's right. And i mean we want to talk about it while it's fresh. Totally, yeah. So it's a high
Introduction and Background
00:00:50
Speaker
priority to us. We're getting it done. But if we sound tired. That's why. That's why. That's right. I got my... cup full of sugar here, you know, to help, help with things. So if you're new here, welcome. Uh, we're AJ and Erica. Sorry for the rant there about how tired we are. We just came off the Disneyland half marathon. So if you don't know us, like if you've listened for a while, you know, we live on the East coast. right So the reason the flight and the time change and all that wasn't, was a thing there is that we flew out on Friday, ran the race and flew back on Sunday yep across the country. So anyway, we apologize if, if the energy is, is different than normal. If you don't know us, we're AJ and Erica and we just talk around Disney. I mean, that's really it. We share tips, tricks, helping you guys feel prepared, confident, inspired, all the
Podcast Growth and Listener Engagement
00:01:32
Speaker
things. All the things. And we try and stay as positive as possible. But sometimes there's things that don't work in our favor and we, you know, we be real about that. Yeah.
00:01:40
Speaker
Is that how you say that? We be real about that? I don't think that was good English. We are about that. not good English. are authentic people. And we keep the bloopers, by the way. Yes, we do. If you're new here, if you're if you've been here with from the beginning, you already know that. yeah know that we yeah We keep Erica's bloopers primarily. That's basically true. um Okay, Erica, let's settle in and get this thing rolling. We're going to talk Disneyland.
00:02:02
Speaker
Okay, right sounds good. yeah um Housekeeping stuff really fast, of course, for all of our friends. Be sure to subscribe and follow and and all that. we've got ah you know If you're listening to this on a podcast platform, great.
00:02:13
Speaker
We have an Instagram. We you know do little videos and stuff. there. And one of the things that we'd love for you to do if you're willing is to leave a review. That's right. And the reviews really help us know what we're doing well. And they also help with the algorithm and all that. We say that all the time. It's one of the best ways you can support the show because it doesn't cost you anything. It doesn't cost ah like it literally is just a great way for people to know, oh, this is a good show to listen to. So if you're enjoying it, it'd be really helpful for us to reach people who are trying to do the thing you're trying to do too. That's right. Yeah. It's not about numbers. It's about, hey, how many people can we help with some positive energy, some tips, things like that. So if you don't mind, leave a review. Erica, I usually call on you to read a review. Yes. Willing to do that? I sure am.
00:02:54
Speaker
So today's review comes from Dawn Be Joyful and it's titled Magical Run Friends. Just found this podcast after AJ and Erica were guests on another podcast. It's perfect timing for my Run Disney Marathon training and I've been listening to all the new and past episodes. They have wonderful, upbeat personalities that make it a joy to listen.
00:03:12
Speaker
Plus, all the great Ryan Disney information and tips definitely make you excited for any races you have planned at Disney. That was very sweet. Thank you so much, Dawn. um You know, we like to read these reviews in the order in which they come in. Right. So she mentioned marathon training, which we've passed that at this point, but we don't want to skip anybody. So... Hopefully her marathon went great. i hope it went good. Yes. I'm just going to assume it did.
00:03:35
Speaker
yeah Also, she talked about upbeat personalities. ah That's like before we run races yeah and travel across the country. Now we've. Now we're tired. Now we're. Now we're. um Now we're. Now we're.
00:03:46
Speaker
We want to bring you our best folks, but we are a little sleepy. ok That's okay. All right. All right. um So let's talk really quick about what's coming up
Connection to Disneyland and Run Disney
00:03:54
Speaker
next. Next week is going to be pretty awesome. yes' Got some big time guests on the podcast to talk about kind of a departure from our normal. Like it's still going to be run Disney, yes but it's going to be combining two things. Yes. My two favorite things. are Yeah. Legit, right? Our two favorite Disney things. So we've got the DCL Duo. Their podcast is awesome. Whatever the highest level of number of cruises you can do, right like I think like two times over something. They have dis ah the cru Disney Cruise Line Experience at a whole different level oh my gosh yeah than we would ever. whatever and they're So they're experts in it, I guess is what I'm trying to say. yes And because they have run Disney Experience, we're going to talk about combining the two into one trip. Or one experience, right? And you and I have done it.
00:04:35
Speaker
And so we're going to, you know, tips, tricks, advice, maybe don't do this or this, what you know, all all that kind of stuff. yeah As it relates to if you want to have a pretty awesome week, go on a run Disney race weekend. The next morning or two mornings later, get on a Disney cruise. Yep.
00:04:52
Speaker
Yeah. So anyway, we're going to talk about that. Way to do it. It's going to be pretty great. Okay. You ready to dive into our experience at Disneyland? Yes. Great. Let's do the backstory really quick. Yeah. Just for context, because Disneyland means a lot to us. It sure does. Not Disneyland, the race. Disneyland, the park means a lot to us. Can you give the like high level 60 seconds why it's so important to us Yeah, absolutely. So AJ and I, we grew up in California and we did all of our, well, at least we did all of our family vacations at Disneyland for the most part. yep um When we were in college, we were cast members. I worked on Small World. You worked on a ride called Innoventions. We've taken our kids a ton of times, yeah even before they could remember. That's right.
00:05:32
Speaker
We're annual pass holders. We're not right now, but we have been annual pass holders. So we're just big Disney people. During college, we would go on date nights, you know, because it was 15 minutes away from from school. And we would go and not really eat or whatever. like we would go in the park and it was like our free entertainment. That's right. Give us something to do. And how many times did you and I go... And really not do a whole lot other than just be in the atmosphere and whatever. think that's one of the reasons we really enjoy the Magic Kingdom here. Right. Is that we just like being in the space. That's right. Yeah. so The vibe. And so anyway, Disneyland's our park. It's really important to us. As it relates to Run Disney, we ran the 2024 Disneyland half marathon when it came back. So I don't know the exact year, but at some point they stopped doing them. They started in 2006 something like that. Then they they they stopped. I don't know, probably right before COVID or something, maybe? i have no idea. Anyway, they came back in 2024 and we were so excited and we loved the theme and the artwork and all that stuff. And so we...
00:06:31
Speaker
signed up. That's right. We flew were across the country and did that. And then you've heard us say it before if you're if you've been listening to the podcast, it was not our favorite race experience. Not at all. And I think what we might find out here as we talk about this experience, this this time in 2026, is that um they had a lot of things to figure out
Unique Challenges of a Quick Trip
00:06:51
Speaker
that maybe they were a little rusty on. Yeah. And it maybe wasn't the same team that put on the Florida races or logistics were a lot harder. Right. right Anyway,
00:07:00
Speaker
Just a heads up, we've done this race before. Yeah. And we thought that we were a one and done with that race. I think I said, like, I never want to run the streets of Anaheim again. yep And then.
00:07:11
Speaker
Yeah. The problem is that they said they're going away. Yeah. And me being the completionist or whatever that I am, I'm like, yep. Okay. So we got to do that. It's also the 70th anniversary. So we have a history of being around for some of the key anniversaries, right? Yeah. Your dad was born the day Disneyland opened. Yeah. It's part of like your story and your family of where like your love for Disney. And so you did, I know, like you guys would do the big anniversary years for his birthday. Yeah, totally. 30, 40. I know you and I were there for 50. 60, we were already on this side, so we missed, you know. But now this is the 70th anniversary. So we really wanted to be...
00:07:49
Speaker
Just there. yeah You know what i mean? And experience the 70th anniversary. And then, i mean, of course we went the coast to coast. Of course. yeah But then they announced the theme. Right. And the theme was, it's a small world. Yes. Which isn't as big of a deal to me as it is for you, but it's still a big deal to me because that was the attraction you worked on yes through college. Yes. And so it just really means a lot to us. like It does. As soon as we saw the artwork and all all all the things I just said, we were like, well, I guess we're doing it.
00:08:15
Speaker
Yeah. And we did. Yes. But it wasn't really planned, which is why it was a fly out Friday, do the race, fly back Sunday. You and i were both at work today. You know what mean? Yes. Like Monday morning. It was, it was not, this wasn't a vacation. Oh, no. You know, this was a, well, we need the coast to coast. We need this small world merch. We need the, you know, like. So how did you feel Erica going into this race weekend about anything about either your Disney history about coast to coast, about the theme, about your injury? Like ah how are you feeling going yeah I think, like you said, like this was not really a vacation for us. It was very quick, you know, fly there, fly back. We were still kind of like, at least I was recovering from marathon weekend. Um, as far as like I came home, I got sick and that just lasted forever. It felt like, and so Um, I hadn't really run a lot like before the race and just work was busy. Life was busy. And so there wasn't like a lot of time to like, you know, there wasn't that anticipation, excitement, whatever. It was more like, okay, it's here. And I still have to pack and we're leaving in five hours. Like, you know what I mean? Kind of a deal. Um, we were, we were putting our, our iron transfers on our shirts, you know, like a few days beforehand. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like a week. Like, wait minute. It wasn't even a week. you i think it was less than that. Yeah. Yeah. We, yeah, and we were not very, very planned on it. Not because it wasn't important to us, but because yeah, marathon training took up our whole life. Yes. You know, and then, you know, we got kids and we, you know, we talked about it before. We just moved a kid to college. We got just busy work season. Right. And then course it's the dead of winter. So you, you know, you just, you know, the emotions are weird, you know, in this time of year. So we were excited to go, but maybe distracted. Yes, yeah.
00:09:55
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good way of putting it. And also it was kind of weird for me, like going to California, i still have family there, but like we didn't have time to see them. And I'm not gonna like call them and be like, hey, you wanna come see me watch, a you know, See me run a half marathon. like Are you willing to get up? Right. Yeah. How far are you willing to drive to come see me? I mean, that no. So, so that was kind of a bummer and that you know, like we weren't going to go make a vacation of it. It was just going to be fly there and race. So, so it was awesome and I'm so glad that we did it, but like it was, it was a different kind of race weekend. It was. So, I mean, for lots of reasons that we'll get into. Sure. And we say a lot of times there's not a right or wrong. I mean, there are some right things you can do that are going to lead to a bad experience, yeah but you don't have to do it the way we say. No, absolutely not. You don't have to come in three days early, blah, blah, blah. You don't yeah have to. And that was us on this trip. yeah We literally did like 15 things, not the way we would suggest to do it Oh, the number of times we said, we're doing the exact opposite of what we would tell our friends to do. And here we are, exhausted, paying the price. That's right. That's right. But it was still, you know, it was the the nature of what just had to happen. Yeah, totally. Because of because of life. Yeah. Okay, so we're going to dive in in timeline order here. um We did this with our marathon episode as well. Yeah. By the way you know our marathon episode is the most listened to episode we have? It's one of our newest and our highest it's surpassed Running Is Hard, episode 18? Mm-hmm. Wow. Yep.
00:11:13
Speaker
It's our most listened to. So anyway, so i don't know if that means the format works or the topic was was of high interest for folks. But what we did and we're going to do this time is we're going to talk in timeline order. Like we just said, everybody's timeline is different. Life gets in the way. Yeah, sure. We would have loved to have been there on Wednesday and be the first ones to get merch and all that, whatever. You know, that would have been awesome. We would have loved to do Metal Monday this morning. Yes. You what mean? But the reality is Ain't nobody got time for that. Not in the park house. Not right now. so we're going to do it in timeline order.
Race Expo Experience
00:11:42
Speaker
yeah All the things, you know, we'll say them as they happen. That's right. And like we mentioned, this is the last Disneyland race weekend for a while. So we're not going to share tips or suggestions for future races just because we don't know if or when they're coming back. That's right. And that's not really helpful right now because they could change a whole bunch of things. That's right.
00:11:58
Speaker
We did the half marathon. That's another thing just to be aware of. We did not do the 5K. We did not do the 10K. We spectated the 10K, which was really fun. We'll talk about that. But our race experience is exclusively tied to the half marathon. That's right. Also, lots of y'all send in some topic suggestions on Instagram for this episode, and we're going to include those topics where fits. Okay. Ready to go in order? Yep. um I thought, and we did this, I think before, we'll just go like kind of by day. I'll lead the first day. You lead the second day. I'll lead the third day. And either of us can just chime in.
00:12:30
Speaker
Sounds good. Okay. So Friday, ah this is the last weekend in January. We took an early flight out of Atlanta. It was one of those like up at 4 a.m. m That's I guess practicing for the race. Yeah. Up at 4 a.m. m you know at the airport. It's about a four and a half hour flight. And one of the things we did is we flew into LAX, yeah which is not our preferred airport. That's correct. The reason we did that was because we did this trip. We snuck it in there. We also snuck it in there financially. And so we did Sky my sky miles. Yeah.
00:13:04
Speaker
And cashed in hotel points. Right. Yeah. All the things. Right. Yeah. And so we literally like it was so much more expensive to go into the preferred airport. Right. Which would have been SNA, which is what's the name?
00:13:18
Speaker
Yes. John Wayne. John Wayne. yes that If you've ever been to Disneyland, it's like 15 minutes down the road. And so it's so easy. l LAX, you are whoo. We're going from like the world's most efficient, busiest airport or whatever in Atlanta to like the second busiest or whatever. So it was a lot when we landed. It was a lot. The hardest part about the travel itself was that when we left and came home, the feels like temp was around 12 degrees. Right. And when we flew, when we landed and flew out of we were It was like, depending on the time, 75 to 82 degrees. So we had to pack for like it was weird two different seasons yeah in our one checked bag. That's Yeah, it was. Yeah, we were like shoving this huge jackets and everything in our bag that we weren't going to need, but it was so cold on the Atlanta side. A thousand percent. Yeah, that's a good point. I forgot about that. Yeah. And so we got there. First thing we did, we didn't we we did we didn't even go to the hotel. We went straight to the expo. So this is Friday. The expo has been open for two days now. Yeah. ah This is middle of the day on Friday. And we we had our sights set on a couple merchandise things. Yeah.
00:14:24
Speaker
Then that went out the window. That's right. As soon as it landed. Yeah. I mean, we got there right when it opened. now like you said, had been open for two days, but I thought still like surely there will be something. yeah No, yeah not so much. I felt bad for all the people that were coming in like Friday night, Saturday morning. Like there was nothing. And I think we said this about Marathon Weekend. You and I have a pretty good perspective on merchandise, that it doesn't change our life. And yes, I really wanted the Corkscoe water bottle. I mean I was after it. You know i really wanted it. And I don't have it.
00:14:53
Speaker
and But for someone who it's their first half marathon, this is a huge... huge deal yeah to commemorate it, whatever for them, just not to be able to get stuff unless they were there fighting the crowds the first day. yeah i hate that. yeah We were able to get the shoes. That didn't seem to be like a bogged down thing. So we got the Disneyland version of the of the Brooks shoes. um Anything else in there that, you know, in terms of the expo, any any key moments or any, oh, we should talk about, we we picked up our bibs.
00:15:23
Speaker
You want to talk about that now or now? Sure. Yeah. Yeah. So we picked up our bibs. and And I was really excited to see what corral I was going to be in. I was curious about what corral was going to be in because I had submitted a proof of time for this race. Yeah. And we thought for sure, like maybe I was going to get c yeah and Then I got B yeah and that has never happened to me before in entire life. So that was super exciting. yes um It would have been so much cooler if I could have run this race, like sure feeling great from B. Like, I feel like I don't have like a super great perspective. Like I would have, you know, if I was going into this fully trained and um and not injured in some way, but I was still so excited. So, so excited. So hopefully um when we do princess, I'm sure I won't get B again, but maybe C. So that'd be good. Cool. Well, it was exciting moment, whether you whether you get B again or whatever, you know, like just to have that experience is pretty great. Uh, whether, no matter what happens in the future, hopefully you enjoyed that moment.
00:16:23
Speaker
I did. It was, it was awesome. It felt, you know, like been dealing with this hip injury since that silver crumb and half, um, which is how I got my proof of time. And in that moment, I'm like, it's worth it. I can say I got one time. It's worth it. That's funny. Yeah. All the doctor's visits and bills were totally worth this piece of paper that says B on it.
00:16:42
Speaker
That's right. That's awesome. Anything else about the expo just experience so before we move away from that? No, I would say that like, even though we've done it once before, we kind of still were like, no, where do we, where, which part of the ballroom are we supposed to go to? And I, do you remember I looked, you know, i was like, is this what people that haven't done Florida races feel like, you know? And, and so. Yeah, it's all held in the Disneyland hotel convention center thing. And What's weird about it, it's probably not confusing, but something about like, you have to go upstairs and to the left for this and then down some stairs to, to go to the next section. But then the merchandise and the expo were in the same area, but like portioned off. Like it's just, it feels, it feels different. And then the Brooks were outside. Right. I think we could do Florida, like with our eyes closed. Correct. And here we were, we're like, okay, now where are we going? Like just, you know, it was just a little less, uh, automatic. Yeah. Right. Yeah. So it's not like they did anything wrong. I don't think. I think they probably use the spaces the best that it could be used. Honestly, it's probably easier because it's smaller. It's just that like, we just don't do it all the time. We didn't walk away from the expo saying, gosh, I'm just tired and exhausted and done with this. Whereas when you leave the one in Florida, you do kind of have that. Yeah. You're kind of like, yeah, I'm i'm totally done with this. Yeah.
Pre-Race Rituals and Preparation
00:17:52
Speaker
Or you've walked a lot more than you realized. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So we did that. It was a little busy to be honest with you, but we, you know,
00:17:59
Speaker
Kind of peopled out and all that, saw saw folks we know and then you know peopled out. Didn't get the merchandise we wanted. We got we ordered some pre-order stuff. you know The limited things are available and then I think you got a shirt maybe or something. So anyway, yeah then we really needed some lunch because we did this cross-country flight right and really wanted to get to the expo in hopes of getting something and so we skipped lunch. So now, mid-afternoon, we went over to Disney Springs, grabbed some lunch.
00:18:24
Speaker
It's not called Disney Springs. What's it called? Downtown Disney. Man. We only took like 100 dates there. In college, we sure did. Yes. And see, this is where like my old age is failing me.
00:18:36
Speaker
We used to go to a Wetzel pretzel and you said, where's the Wetzel pretzel? I'm like, it wasn't a Wetzel pretzel. It was a wiener schnitzel. And I was like, okay, Jay. No, it was not. and and we had a we were And then so I'm like, well, you know what? Let's just walk around this corner. I'm going to show you that it was a wiener schnitzel. And it was a Wetzel pretzel. Yep. Sure was. it Sure was. Okay. Okay. So we got lunch and then like we were going to head to the hotel and I just said, Erica, do you want to go back to the expo? Just like, I don't know. Like, I feel like it was too crazy. I just want to like walk through. Yeah. Like when we went the first time they had the, they had this specialty Dole Whip thing yeah and the line was too long for me to justify waiting for a Dole Whip. Right. Yeah. We went back. So this is after lunch and all this stuff. And we walked right up to the Dole Whip station, got it and it was really delicious. It was so good. Yep. Mango something. mango vanilla i think we said it before about disney world too is if you're not after something you know that's hard to get like uh merchandise or whatever then go later yeah because we wait you know that was a couple hours after it had opened right easy breezy they had no character photo uh opportunities at least when we were there that was kind of a bummer yeah and then all the photo spots i'm getting nitty-gritty on this we need to move on the lighting is terrible like we don't have any photo good photos from the expo yeah i don't know why It's sad. I know. Okay. All right. i'm I'm dragging us. Let's move on. Okay. um We went, checked into the hotel. We stayed off property. Again, we cashed in those Marriott points. But the nice thing about Disneyland is like there's 8 million hotels yes around Disneyland. And Disneyland only has three hotels and they're all deluxe price hotels. Yes. They're not all deluxe level, but they're all deluxe price. And so that was out of the question. Yeah. Immediately. Yeah. Especially because this wasn't a vacation. Right. and So we stayed the Marriott. I mean, it was like 0.4 miles away. we walked to and from the, you know, the race and everything from there. Yes. And we had the best room.
00:20:26
Speaker
Why do you say that? Well, if they didn't see our Instagram story, our room number was 321. That's right. Go. Yeah, that's right. go yeah Yeah, we walk up into our room. We were like, Chris, I would love this. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, our room was 321. It's funny you said, and we had the best room. I'm like, I don't remember the room being great at all. I remember it being like a Marriott. Yeah, I know. Okay. The room was meh. The number was awesome. Yeah, yeah. Great. The 5K was this day. We didn't do anything with the 5K. We just watched that happen from Instagram. Uh, somebody did ask on Instagram, uh, you know, on our, you know, what do you want us to cover? They said, you know why did the 5k course get cut short? And again, again, we didn't run it. yeah We weren't there. We didn't spectate it or anything. And I don't actually know the answer. I know that it got cut and I don't know if anyone on Instagram or Facebook ever said why
00:21:15
Speaker
Yeah. Did you ever see one? i mean, people were talking to about like, well, if they need to open the parks. the other people were like, but there's no balloon ladies for the 5K. And so I don't know. It just seemed like a lot of back and forth. So I don't know if there was like ever an official reason released or people just speculating. I'm not sure. But apparently it happened. I mean, it did happen. It did happen. Yes. But yeah but we didn't experience any of that. And we went to went to bed on a reasonable time this evening. Do you remember eating dinner?
00:21:36
Speaker
I was writing the notes. Do you remember eating dinner? No. We didn't, right? I don't think so. I don't know. We were so tired. I think we just went to bed. We basically slept like three to four hours every night the entire weekend, including last night. Yeah. So that first night, I mean, I guess it was such a late lunch, we decided to skip dinner, i guess. I think so. Yeah.
00:21:54
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. That's it for Friday. Any other notes on that before you take Saturday and and talk through the things? Okay. That's good. Go for it. I'll chime in when I have something say. Oh, I know you will.
00:22:06
Speaker
Okay. So, Erica, I have something to say already. Just kidding. I'm just joking. So, Saturday, we got up bright and early to spectate the 10K with our good friend, Kristen, who we've had on the podcast. um Cheering at Disneyland is so weird and easy. Yes. Kristen text us. We're walking over and she's like, you guys, there's nobody here. Like, come, come cheer with me. Legit. We got to the Esplanade, which is the little area between downtown Disney. Yeah. Well, but yeah. Between what is it called? It's like DCA. I don't know what, what an Esplanade is, but it's like a courtyard.
00:22:38
Speaker
Would you call it a courtyard? Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's like, that's probably, it means something like that in Spanish. Oh, I see. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, it's sort of like the area between Disneyland, Disney's California Adventure, and then like downtown Disney sort of feeds into it as if you've never been, you can stand in the middle of the Esplanade and literally like throw a baseball to all three yeah destinations. It's that close. Yeah.
00:23:00
Speaker
So anyway, we get out there with Kristen and that was fun. We got like a perfect spot. We can see everyone coming from one park to the next. So yes, we were out there. We were cheering everybody on. We decided for future we need cowbells or clappers or something because we were screaming and then we could tell that we were going to lose our voices. um Yes, I can tell you want to say something. Go ahead.
00:23:20
Speaker
Can I say the reason that we felt the need to keep screaming was because there weren't a lot of people spectating. There was hardly any so what would happen is we'd be like, go, go, go. You got this. You rock. Yeah. yeah And then as soon as we stopped, it was quiet. Right.
00:23:35
Speaker
At least in our little area. And I'm like, these poor runners. Now they have nobody. Whereas that other than when we just spectated on Main Street at Disney World, you didn't have to scream the whole time because everyone was screaming the whole time. That's right.
00:23:46
Speaker
So anyway, to ah to make things interesting, i asked y'all, have y'all heard about like the alphabet cheering game? And so that's where you basically just go through every letter or the alphabet and like yell something be different. So I don't know. We were like, for C, we're like, you're crashing it. And then for D, we're like, dan dang, you're awesome. And then I don't even i don't know. yeah yeah It turned into like a fun game for us. And, you know, I didn't want to keep I didn't want the runners and the athletes to keep hearing like,
00:24:12
Speaker
you can do this, you know, whatever, like the same thing over and over. And so, so that was fun. It made it interesting. And, ah there were some letters that got pretty challenging though. Oh yeah. Yeah. I think K K was a hard one.
00:24:25
Speaker
AJ, did you know that Kachow is spelled with a K? Yeah. That's what we came up with. That's right. He did not believe Kristen and I. He was like, you guys know it's a C. And we're like, no, it's a K. Anyway, so that was that was super fun. And it was awesome to cheer on friends. We saw couple people that we know, new friends, some old friends um come through. And so that was awesome to be able to cheer them on. yep um And then let's see, after that, we had breakfast. You know, when you're carb loading, you just really get to enjoy breakfast like pancakes. I did. Those pancakes were awesome. We got a big old breakfast. That was awesome. We walked around. We took some photos. There was like a really cool 70th like giant castle display thing in the Esplanade. That was cool. so we took several pictures there, which was fun. yep
00:25:10
Speaker
We also got to meet a few listeners, which was awesome. We just love meeting y'all in person. Like we want to make things as easy and smooth for you as possible going into the race. But when we can cheer you on in person, like that's, that's really awesome. We, so it's my new favorite. Yeah, it is. It was, it's so much fun. I honestly, that was probably the highlight of my weekend was just all of the listeners that came up and talked to us.
00:25:30
Speaker
Because we get to like hear their thing, what they're trying to do. Yes. And just like in person, like I wish when you could sit in our little studio with us and we could tell you, yes, you can do it. Yeah.
00:25:42
Speaker
Yeah. We believe in you. Yeah. You know what mean? And when you get to do that on a race weekend. Yes. faceto Face to face. so good. That's awesome. Yeah. It's so good. yeah So that we had a we had, yeah, it was, it was just good. I got no notes on that. It was just awesome. It was so great. Yeah.
00:25:54
Speaker
So then after that, we, uh, went back to the room. We wanted to prep some stuff for the next morning for the half marathon. We laid out our stuff. We didn't, there wasn't, it was such a short trip that we really didn't have that much stuff to bring or lay out or unpack or anything. Um, but we did get our stuff ready and then we went and did our costume photo, which we love to do that the day before. I don't think we've ever talked about it on the podcast, actually. No. We talked about it with a lot of people at the hotel and the elevator who wanted to know what race we were doing on Saturday night when the race was on Sunday. had our bibs on and everything. So do you want to explain what we do? Yes. So we just like to go before we run, before we get all gross, you know, usually in the morning. The day before, usually the morning of it's pretty dark, even in the hotel. And so we've discovered that we don't really get good photos beforehand. And so we've just started going out the day before, get all of our stuff ready. Honestly, it's a great like last minute run through, you know, like, oh, I need to remember to set this out or. figured out which way I, you know, was like, I planned on wearing my hat backwards, you know, and I'm like, oh, no, this hat is a wear forwards hat. That's right. You know what mean? And not that that would have made a huge difference. At Marathon, I changed my shoes, you know what mean? Because I wasn't vibing with what was happening, you know? And the only reason I really connected all that visually and all that was because we took the photo. Yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, we do that. But it did confuse some people.
00:27:13
Speaker
Yeah. At the hotel. Yes, but I did talk to several people that say that they do that as well. Oh, you did? Yeah. A couple of girl groups that come with their friends and stuff. Look, we always talk about reducing stress. Absolutely. You want an amazing photo before you get nasty. Yeah. Right. And so, yeah, that's what we figured out is you can do it the day before with no stress at all. That's right. Your only stress is, did you do it before the sun went down? Yeah. Yeah. Totally. And then after that, we just did an early dinner and- As usual, we had what? Mexican. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep. So good. So that was good. That's our good go-to. We know it doesn't mess with our stomach. Yep. And then we went to bed. We were on a different time zone, but we stayed on East Coast time. which worked great. Which in this scenario was perfect. Yes, worked great. Yep. It'd be hard if you were a West Coaster and you're coming to Florida, I would imagine. For sure. For sure. worked in our favor. Yeah. Anything else about Saturday? No.
00:28:08
Speaker
I think that's it. Sunday is race day. You ready to talk about this? This is probably what people actually care about. That's correct. Because the rest was just you and I. Just us. Yeah. Okay. So overall race experience, Erica, I am going to give it 7 out of 10, think. Wow.
00:28:24
Speaker
What do you give it overall? Like just combine all the things you're giving this race, ah the whole, you know, few hours of the thing. What are you giving it? I know you have to factor in your injury and all that. I know that. Oh, that I wasn't even thinking about my injury. Oh, you're you're just talking about the race. no here's the thing is that I want to, so I want to be positive. I don't want to take, um, i don't want to make light of the fact that we got a spot for this race when there are people that did not get it that wanted to. Understood. So I don't want to sound ungrateful or anything like that. But I would say that overall, this race experience was probably a five.
00:28:54
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. We'll find out why here with all these questions and and whatever. um So I enjoyed it a little bit more than Erica. This is what we learned at the top of this. What's really nice is you don't have to wake up quite so early. We talked about how there's 8 million hotels right around there. yeah i mean, some people, if you're staying at the, you know, ah there's like, what was that? it was like It's like a Best Western or something. yeah It's literally on Disney Way, which is where the race starts. You could walk out the door front door into your corral. That's right. Yeah. Like through the security thing. That's crazy. And so our our walk, we timed it the day before. yeah was less than 10 minutes.
00:29:28
Speaker
No bus, no lines really, and except for the metal detector thing. right The race was at 5. I think my alarm was set for 3.30. We left at 4.15. Yeah, we I was going to say we left it 4.15, which is insane. i know. I mean, normally we're like, get to the corral two hours early. like we're We're strolling up like 20 minutes before the start. And we didn't have an issue with that. We didn't know. It's so
Race Day Atmosphere and Challenges
00:29:49
Speaker
simple. Got in our corral and it wasn't our corral placement didn't matter. No. For that. you Right. Walk in. You just walk in. It's so chill. There aren't waves. Like everyone goes out together at the same time, which I'm sure we'll go into more detail. yeah um So you don't need, it's not like you're getting there early to get to the front of your corral because you all go at the exact same time.
00:30:07
Speaker
I think I set my alarm for like 345 even because I was like wearing a baseball hat. And so I was like, i don't even have to do my hair or anything. Compare that to 2 a.m. in Florida. It was nice. So that is a real positive. That is a super big positive. And so i will say though that the corrals are smaller. yeah There's more a few more of them. They're smaller. It's cramped for sure. yeah is that an understatement?
00:30:30
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. there's not There's no real like sit time. Like everyone's standing. If you've done a Disney World race and you know like the last 15 minutes when everyone stands up and scoots forward and you're like inches apart, centimeters apart, yeah that's how it is the entire time. yeah But you're only doing it for like 20 minutes. Yeah.
00:30:47
Speaker
Yep. So the corrals are are smaller. What they do is they take over a street, not a Disney World parking lot. Correct. And so they're very narrow yep um and just very, you you're between the, you in the chain link fence, you know, it's, it's pretty small. Yeah. um And so Erica, tell us about your Corral B experience. Be honest. You know I mean? Like ah we, we all know your heart. We know you're not going brag about being Corral B and all this stuff. We all know that this is like it was a privilege to get to go out and be.
00:31:12
Speaker
Totally. Yeah. And your first time. You want to talk about it? Yeah. I think, um like I said, there were no waves. So we all just kind of went out together. um Which you're saying each corral went out. Yes. Like a went, then then went. All of A went. Five minutes later, all of B went. That's right. Five minutes later, all of C went. Perfect. Yeah.
00:31:28
Speaker
Can you talk about the vibe of of one of these front corrals? Because it's really your first time being that close to the start line. Yeah. So I don't know. The thing is, is that we've talked about like the vibe of Disneyland races is different in general than Disney World. It's a good point. So I don't know if it was the B Corral vibe or if it was the Disneyland vibe. Yeah. So how would you describe it? Whether it was the coast or the the placement, how would you describe it? um Like not super friendly.
00:31:55
Speaker
like Nobody was like talking to each other. that's true. I saw a lot of like, like sideways glances when people are like tossing their Mylar or whatever, like, oh, why did they just do that? It doesn't have that like, hey, let's all hand our Mylar to the left. No, definitely not. No party vibe. but No, um you know, look at my costume. Look at my costume. Like it pretty much like nobody was wearing costume. I felt like. Yeah.
00:32:18
Speaker
So again, part of that might've just been West coast vibe, but, um, but yeah, I did feel a little bit of pressure to run longer and more because I was in B I felt like. You had run at the beginning. Oh my gosh. It was so crowded. So the, the pro is that we didn't have to wait didn't have to get there early. the con is that we all went out at the same time and man, we were like, were like cattle for quite a while squished on the road. It was like that two years ago as well. It was, yeah. When we went out of Corral G. So I don't think it's a corral thing. don't think I think it's course thing. Correct, yes, yeah. Can I chime in on your vibe of the, do you have anything else to say before chime in on your vibe? No, no. I would say, having gone out of the front corrals a few times, that that's not a coast thing. That's a corral thing. Yeah. Is what I would say from my experiences is the more to the back you get, the more fun the corral gets. Yeah. Now, people are more stressed out in the back. Right. People are worried. But you know, it's a really great opportunity when you can say, hey, oh my gosh, I love your costume. And then all of a sudden you can strike up a conversation. I don't strike up conversations in A or B. You know I Nobody wanted to talk. It doesn't seem like it. You know what mean? So I don't think that's a coast thing, like a West Coast thing. I think it's a corral thing. You probably have people who are there to run, run. Remember when we took off? These two dudes were like dying to run. And they were saying it too. They were like, man, we can't get out of there. They were like, They were so ready to like get their PR. Yeah. And there was nowhere to go. I couldn't let them go anywhere. know what I mean? They were standing next to and like, what was I going to do? I can't stop. You can't even move either. You know what mean? So like, but you probably have that combined with, you know, people who just aren't in costume. They're not here for the Disney part of it. Right. So anyway, we've said before, C is the sweet spot. Yes, C is the sweet spot. Because you get a combination of both. Yeah. You get the people, know, you don't have to wait long, but you get the people that are there to have fun. I would have liked to say that like starting to be gave me like more peace of mind or something. It did not. I still was like the whole time. You did. And I used several times said, I think we're good. And you were like, yeah, but, but, but, but. And then always lurking in the back of my mind is what if I have to go to the bathroom at like mile 11 and it takes me 10 minutes to get in and out of my costume? Like then I might not have that 10 minutes. So that's really the bigger fear. But yeah. Yeah. Any bottom line there on your corral?
00:34:43
Speaker
Experience or is that you cover it all? I hope I get to do it again in the future, but I still think that C is the sweet spot. I agree. Yeah. It's the most fun with the least amount of stress. That's right. Great. um If you have done Disneyland before, you know there's no fireworks. I had forgotten that. It's sad. The 5K does because it's in the park, so that's allowed or whatever. But the the first wave, I'd totally forgotten. I got my camera on. I'm ready for the first thing. And Carissa, I have to talk about Carissa too. Yes. Okay.
00:35:16
Speaker
So Carissa says, three, two, one, go go. And literally we just went. No fireworks. No, not like, what I mean? Right. No horn. No, like, bar bur like nothing, like nothing. It was just like, okay. And so now we're going. Carissa has a problem with five and four is what I learned in this, in this race because I loved it. You did? Yeah. Yeah. The first couple times that happened, I'm like, is she doing that intentionally? And I'm like, yes, she is. So Matt yeah is was her co-host on stage and they he would start at five. five
00:35:47
Speaker
four. a screen, there's a big LED screen says five, four. And then she would chime Carissa would two, one. And so we got a kick out of that. Yeah. But it just cracked us up. Like, uh, nope, this is, this was her brand. You know what mean? You can take her to the West coast, but you're not taking the East coast out of her. That's right. That's right. So we, we got a good, we got a good kick out of that. Yeah. The race started late, which was kind of weird. I don't know that they ever explained why they were clearly stalling.
00:36:15
Speaker
Yes. I said to you, I'm like, Erica, the wheels are coming off. you Right. Because Chris is just wandering around in Corral A with no, like the cameras can't find her. Like she's just off script. Which for people that don't know in Florida. Yes.
00:36:32
Speaker
She can pretty much like say whatever she wants to say as long as she hits the main point. Correct. Yeah. but Just make sure you talk about mylar and hydration. That's right. But at Disneyland, it's all completely scripted. That's right. They have to stay and it feels like word for- word It feels like it So when she went down into the crowd and like the camera guys don't need, they're like not even facing the right direction. we're like, what's going on? And then, then we found out that the cohost found out 30 minutes before he did it, that he was going to have to sing the national anthem or whatever. And because whoever was supposed to be there
Running Through Disneyland and Anaheim
00:37:03
Speaker
didn't show up. So I don't know. is that, is that what happened?
00:37:05
Speaker
yeah I didn't know that. They said that from the stage. Yeah. I wasn't paying attention to that part. Yeah. You missed that whole thing? I knew that he sang it, but I didn't know there was an actual reason. Yeah. She said, tell everyone when you found out you were going to be singing. Yeah. And he said about 30 minutes ago. Wow. Whoever was supposed to be singing was not able to make it for whatever reason. That wasn't a joke? That was like for real? No, that was for real. my gosh. And so a lot of people online were speculating that that was one of the reasons why the race started late was because they were waiting for the person that was supposed to sing, which I don't know. see. Okay. Anyway, yeah. So kudos to that guy for getting out there and singing 30 minutes before. Right. No vocal warmups or anything. Yeah. He's back in a trailer. me, me, me, me. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, it started late. I didn't know that was the reason, like maybe the reason. Yeah. I had no idea.
00:37:51
Speaker
Okay. So it started and then we went and it was about a mile on the road, which was very crowded. But by the time we got to Disney's California Adventure, you had the the course was, I would call, for Corral B placement, normal yeah crowding no i mean yeah backstage through cars land pixar pier was awesome um avengers campus when we ran this a couple years ago we'd never seen avengers campus but we were also corral g very distracted very not locked in at that race two years ago and so i think we had said before like not even seeing it at all You know to mean? Like, like not even paying attention to Adventurer's Campus. So I made a very strong point while running through this time to look at everything throughout Adventurer's Campus because I wanted to see it. Yeah. You know what had happened that year is that that was our first marathon. And it was like not even a full week later that's right that we went to run the half. And so we were so totally dead. We knew that we were probably going to be walking most of it. That's right. And that was the race where we started behind the balloon ladies in the corral. That was a stressful race. You're right. I forgot. And that had the mile three stop, water stop that completely derailed. Literal stop. So, yeah. Yeah. So yeah, this year's experience through Disney's California Adventure, for me, it was a lot better. So much more fun, yeah. um I think maybe because of my perspective, they probably didn't change anything other than that they fixed that water stop issue. yeah But they ah you know I just enjoyed going through Disney's California Adventure. It was my only bathroom stop in the entire race was in in the park. It was in that park. yeah And so anything else about DCA before we cross the Spanish word for courtyard?
00:39:38
Speaker
I don't know that for a fact, but I'm pretty sure it means something along those lines. So we went through the Esplanade and there were a pretty good amount of spectators for the half. Yeah. Different than the 10K, I think. Yeah, there were. you um and So we went through there and then we got to Disneyland, did Main Street. Yeah. Main Street is very different. It is. Yeah. ah Good, bad. Like what do you, comparing the Main Streets, like what do you think? I did not love it as much. Honestly, if you ask me, would I rather have the finisher medal or run down Disneyland Main Street? Yes. I might say the finisher medal because there are no spectators. That's right. That's what that's what gets me on Main Street at Disney World. castle out of the castle, but they don't do the stop and get your picture. yeah So there's just like a, like a curved wall of photo pass and you just like smile and run and you hope that they get a good shot. And I think ours were like, one of us is blurry. One of us is in focus, but we just made it work anyway. So yeah. um I like main street because it feels like Disneyland to me. You know, I feel the nostalgic, whatever from being a kid, yes but it doesn't have the same thing that you get when you run it in magic kingdom where like, Oh my gosh, you know what? Everyone's here for me. What? Yeah. What? I didn't cry.
00:41:04
Speaker
Not even remotely. And anybody that knows me from this podcast knows that that's crazy. Waste of time. I don't even know why we went. I know. Don't even know why we went. Yeah, I didn't even shed one tiny little tear. Really?
00:41:17
Speaker
I cry reading people's reviews. Like, so, you know. Okay. Well, that's the tell right there. It obviously isn't quite as special yeah to you. Yeah, it's still awesome, but it's not the it's not the same Main Street moment. It's the people thing. Yeah, for sure. And the people thing, you probably get more in the esplanade right than you would in there, but it doesn't have the same vibe. No, it does not. Doesn't have the, yeah, okay. The Esplanade feels like the TTC.
00:41:42
Speaker
Yes. Yes. Oh, nice. Move. So running through Disneyland, know, like the rest of the park is just like the Magic Kingdom. You know, you got a couple photo spots. You got, you know, all the attractions you get to go by.
00:41:54
Speaker
Yeah. any Anything noteworthy there? We got to go see some backstage areas. That was cool. Yeah. You don't like the backstage areas? No, It is cool, except we used to work there, so we've been backstage. I thought it was cool to be able to see kind of where we used to go. I don't know. Anyway, yeah, no, Disneyland Park was good. We stopped and got our photo in front of It's a Small World because that was your attraction. Yes. Cracked me up the number of people online that were like,
00:42:17
Speaker
If they play that song on a loop all morning while we run, i'm going to go crazy. And I'm thinking, you should have worked on the ride. You could have heard the song for eight hours. Exactly. Cool. Anything else about the parks before we talk about the and completely different race that you have once you leave the parks? No. Because at this point, it's been a Disney race. Yes.
00:42:37
Speaker
Right? Would you say that's true? Yeah, totally. To this point. What's really nice is that, and different than just Disney World, is like you you do a Disney World half marathon, the parks can kind of be later. Right. This is immediately, you know, you're into the parks. So that's great. Starts off, bang. yeah There you go. Totally. And then you leave. Now welcome to a totally different race because the streets of Anaheim are not great.
00:43:01
Speaker
Yeah. Do you want to talk about that or you want to? Sure. I have lots of things I could say about that. ah Let me, yeah. Why don't you, why don't you go out? ah The only thing I'll say is I didn't have headphones in. i put my headphone one in here, turn on the Holler Hype app. Yes. And thank you all for the Holler Hypes. Yes. And while we're talking about Holler Hype, I have to, I have to clarify something. Yes. So when we left the park, I tried to type while I was running something about like, we've left the park and now we're running the streets of Anaheim with like a thumbs down. yeah And I got like two hypes and I realized it sounded way more negative than I meant for it to. And I was like, AJ, how do I edit this? like yeah And you're like, well, you can't really edit it. I'm like, well, then I'm shutting this one off and start starting another one because i was like, i didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea or anything like that. It's just that running the streets in Anaheim are totally different than running the highway in Florida. um
00:43:55
Speaker
We had so many friends get injured on this race because there are potholes everywhere. There are like the little speed bump turtle things everywhere. And so it's just like, it's kind of, I don't know. It's it's just, it I don't know. it just is.
00:44:12
Speaker
It's not great. And I had run a lot for the first half of it. So the back half, like I was very aware, I'll put it that way, of the pain that I was in, in like my foot and my hip because the roads were kind of so treacherous is the word I was trying to come up with. sure um So anyways, all that to say, thank you for giving us Holler Hypes Physicus. It got us through. oh yeah, for sure. And we still had a great time. It's just was like not as enjoyable you're in the park. You're immediately, my opinion, you're immediately thrust into a local half marathon type of race that you could run in Austin, in Indianapolis, or Atlanta. It doesn't matter. But like with no so no spectators.
00:44:53
Speaker
Like that you might get in a local race. I mean, you know I shouldn't say no spectators. There there were respect a couple spectators. Yes. But I feel like, you know, in Atlanta, like the streets are lined. So you don't even get that is what I'm trying to say. Yeah. I think I agree with that. Yeah. The Disney-ness is what what really goes away. It doesn't feel like Disney anymore. like whatever bands are playing yeah or the hockey team was out there whatever or the cheer team whatever, there was no Disney theming to it right in any
Interactions with Listeners During the Race
00:45:19
Speaker
way. Yeah.
00:45:20
Speaker
If that makes any sense. yeah So again, fine, happy to run this race yeah and all that and and blessed to be able to. right But that yeah once you walk out of the parks, you're kind of now doing an eight mile run that you would do wherever you live. you like you like you like just yeah I mean, it's flat. I guess that's a good thing. We never saw a single hill.
00:45:42
Speaker
Honestly, though, I'd rather take the hill than the roads. Oh, we did have the hill. Remember that? It like dipped. Oh, yeah. We talked about how great it felt to like stretch it. It was just this weird dip that went like under a train track or under a bridge or something, under like a roadway. And um it wasn't the downhill that felt great. No, it was the uphill. uphill felt fantastic. Yeah. it Sounds so weird to say that. But because we've been flat for so long. Right, yeah. That the hill just started using muscles I hadn't used in 10 miles. Totally. It was great. Yeah, it felt good. We got to see people um on the course that recognized us. And um that was fun. Not for my ego, but for the, be you know, be able to cheer them on. And I felt the warm and fuzzy from them because they were like, not like, oh my gosh, you're like, you're a celebrity. I gave i can't believe I'm going to meet you. They were like, now your podcast means a lot to me and got me through my training. And I'm like, okay, there it is right there. yeah You know what I mean? That's it. That's it. I think that's why I get so emotional when I read like the reviews or the emails that people send us because that is that does come naturally for me as a two. And so to be able to actually see somebody face-to-face on the course who's telling us, like, I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it. Like, I had such a hard time with training, but like what you guys have shared and encouraged, like it encouraged me. And so... That was just so cool to like meet people in person, hear their stories. And like I said, the highlight of the race for me, for sure. You know, one of the things I, and this is not like a backhanded comment or whatever at all. One of the things I enjoyed about this race and when we were walking on the marathon for the part I was walking is we were going slow enough.
00:47:24
Speaker
yeah Yeah. I'm doing quotes and then don't get mad because I said we're going slow. No, it's fine. We're going slow enough that people will gladly say hi and whatever on their way past us. Yeah. But less likely, actually zero chance, they're going to say hi when I'm passing them. Right, yeah. Does that make any sense? Yep, And so, not because I'm like blazing by people, but like by the time they figure out who I am or whatever, that moment, that what are they going to do? Like try and scream? Yeah. Wait, stop. yeah I need to tell you something important. yeah You know what I mean? yeah But if we're going nice and slow, yeah then which we were a few times in this race, then someone could come up behind us and be like, I think that's that is her. yeah And say, Erica, you're Erica, right? yeah And then they could have their conversation. And then what was great is they kept going at their speed and we would just scream at them as they kept going. that's right Does that make sense? Yes. And so i like going slow allowed for that, which was cool. Yeah. I loved it. Yeah. So thank you all for saying hi. It was super cool then to meet you.
00:48:25
Speaker
And never, never be afraid to say hi. Like we're- No. We're always- Race course, eating breakfast, it doesn't matter. Yeah. Feel free to say hi because we want to encourage you. Absolutely. And I might even scream, you know, scream like I- some encouraging thing as you go by. so That's right. I embarrassed Erica a few times, I think. No, I loved it. Oh, yeah. Okay.
00:48:47
Speaker
Yeah. And you know, one of my favorites was one of our new friends. We saw her multiple times throughout the weekend. Yep. And I would say like, what what costume are you going to wear so I can be looking for you whatever. Yeah, exactly. And to be able to cheer her on multiple times. Candice. That was awesome. Yeah. and Yeah. Talking about Candice. It was cool because she went, we were, was like, there are a lot of um out and backs on this course. So towards the end of the race, we were going one way yeah and then coming where we had just come from. Yeah.
00:49:11
Speaker
Candice was coming the other way and and that was just really fun. Yeah. I think that was one of those moments I thought I embarrassed you, but it it wasn't embarrassing for me to scream. No, I love it. I love it. Yeah. Good. Awesome. Good. Um, what was your Erica two questions, you know, good, good and bad here is what was one of your, you know, best, best experiences out of the race, best mile, best moment, whatever. doesn't have to be the best, but just what was one of your, like, yeah, I liked that moment.
00:49:35
Speaker
ah I keep saying it, but like talking to people on the course, that was my high. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. In general, that was my, high yeah I think if I was to have a key moment, probably finish line moment, I think not necessarily the line, but that final shoot, you know, cause you'd committed at that point to like, you know, we're done walking.
Overcoming Physical and Emotional Challenges
00:49:53
Speaker
I'm going I'm going to drag my dead leg, you know, across the finish line, you know? The last three miles was like what we call a wog. yeah That's where you like walk jog, but you're jogging so slowly that like it barely counts as a jog. So it's a wog. We were who you go. you go I probably could have walked faster, but I'm like, no, we're walking it. You go, you go from a a run to a walk and your heart rate doesn't change. And you're like, hmm, maybe we should just walk. yeah
00:50:21
Speaker
Yeah. You said, no, I want to go. Yeah. And I said, we did. Yeah. And so that was fun. I got to give one of the um announcers there yeah his name, like the the Florida version would be Riley maybe. Yeah.
00:50:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think so, yeah. In the man on the streets guy. Anyway, he was on the course. Yes. In that last little shoot. Just like walking through there. Walking the opposite direction with his microphone. Yeah. Tetris. Yeah. And so I was, I happened to be like in his path, which was awesome. Yeah. And so I gave him five and I didn't have any other high fives really. Oh no. We high fived Bob and don't know. Yes. Yes, we did. We saw But you know, like in a lot the races, I don't know if you do, like I get some high fives from spectators whatever. And that wasn't the vibe in this situation.
00:51:02
Speaker
right would you get any spectator high fives no no i uh i did one power up um but that was it but like you you know you and i talked about this before we started recording that like even just the vibes on the west coast felt different between the runners like oh yeah sure on the switchbacks normally in florida we'd be like screaming for each other and encouraging each other i did not feel a no one said a single thing it did not feel like i could just start cheering for the other side No, I felt like we would have been stared at weirdly or something. Right. Yeah. Just like blank. Like what's wrong with that person? Right. Yeah.
00:51:32
Speaker
Okay. Anyway. um So that was best. Any hard, hard anything, whether it was emotionally hard, physically hard. do you have a moment that was the hardest? I don't know that I can pinpoint the mile, but I would say somewhere in the back four probably yeah because I really wanted to try to run.
00:51:51
Speaker
i don't want to just walk. Like I feel like I need to run for our listeners, you know, like so many people were sending me all our hypes like cheering me on, talking about comeback, you know, and all this stuff. And, but in several of them were also were like, don't overdo it. So i'm glad you got yeah, several of those came through really like at the perfect moment. I think I laughed out loud for one of them. Like I was thinking, just keep grinding. And then literally maybe was Steve. I don't know. Somebody was like, no, don't overdo it, Erica. You know, you don't want to, you don't want to re-injure yourself, but yeah, I think just wanting to be able to push more being in Corral B like feeling like I should run more, you know, for that reason as well. Um,
00:52:29
Speaker
So that was probably, that was difficult. you know Several times I'm like, okay, let's try. And then like 20 seconds and I'm like, oh, it hurts. Like, no, you know, like not just a little hurt because I'm stubborn and I push through pain almost to my detriment, but but um but no, like too much pain to run. So yeah. Probably somewhere in the back half was a low point for me. Was there a moment, and I think I know when it was, was there a moment where you just had like, you had to just lock like head down, lock it, like like you just had to put one foot in front of the other? It was that it was in that last little right? For the last two miles, I would say you probably. i think so you got a little quieter than normal too. Yeah.
00:53:02
Speaker
Okay. I'm sorry you experienced that. We could have slowly walked the entire rest of the way, but. Yeah, it's kind of your own fault. I felt like I i couldn't do that. Yeah, I think I said we can walk. Yeah. I think you just kept trying. I think because I had to walk the whole half marathon of the marathon that I did. Yeah. I was like, I'm not walking this. My my plan all along was to do the majority of this race and then run Princess like normal.
00:53:27
Speaker
And now that everything's going slower than I anticipated, you're over there laughing. You probably could have run Princess if you didn't run this one. Probably. Yeah. Yeah. Goodness gracious. Anyway, whatever. Whatever. I'm stubborn. All right. Can I share my hard moment? Yes, please your moment. It's not to you. Sorry.
00:53:43
Speaker
Oh, I know what you're going to say, and I completely agree. i um I'm not going to get as deep into all the things that I shared with you about about this, but then my moment was I've never seen someone have to get on the bus before, and I did on this race, yeah and I did not like it. Nope.
00:54:01
Speaker
What it was was because of that out and back that I just described. Yeah. We were three, four miles ahead of the end of the race. So it wasn't like we were in danger of being swept. Right. While we were walking. But that meant that we saw the balloon ladies go by and then a couple of stragglers. And Gosh, I saw the golf carts. Yes, it's not even a bus. It's a golf cart. yeah So yeah everyone can see when you drive by. I hated it. It was terrible. And they I will give Run Disney or the city or whoever credit to say they gave them as much time as they could give them. They were yeah way behind way behind the balloon. ladies and so they didn't like it wasn't like balloon ladies and then bikes immediately and like all right you're out yeah like they they handled it as gracefully and gave them as much grace as they could but i saw my first person get on the golf cart or whatever and i had an emotional reaction like i wanted to scream like leave them alone yeah
00:54:55
Speaker
You get away from her. get away from her. You know what i mean? Like I was, i it really, it I actually, that was my moment where I had to put my head down and I know I was quiet for like a mile because I did not like it.
00:55:08
Speaker
Emotionally did not like it. And i don't know that person, where you know what i mean? But gosh, it was hard. I did not like, I did not like it at all. Yeah, we saw the people that got swept at the end of the 10K and that was hard. I was crying in Esplanade.
00:55:22
Speaker
So I think, like I said, I don't like that they put them on golf carts so that you can see them. I'm sure there's a logistical reason, but that was certainly the hardest moment. Yeah. And, uh, I mean, it's always been hard for me to see other people struggle like that.
00:55:38
Speaker
And I had also just, you know, put myself on the bus at marathon. So that was still kind of raw. So, sure um, yeah, it was, it was tough. I wasn't going to share how deep I was you know when I shared it with you. i think what happened for me emotionally there was that um when we started this whole podcast journey, whatever, my mindset, and I'll just be honest, was like, look, you need to if you're going to run a half marathon or you're going to run a 10K or whatever, you need to make sure you finish your training. And if you're not able to finish your training or whatever, and the sweepers get you, whatever, then try harder next time, whatever, whatever. And now I know that that's not, it's not that simple. No. Yeah. Like there's a million factors, including ah whatever you're emotionally dealing with, whatever. You wake up some mornings with a different body than you had yesterday. Yeah.
00:56:25
Speaker
That day is not your day. Right. Well, I mean, ah whether all the things are so many factors. And then when you really connect emotionally to somebody who is doing their absolute hardest thing, they didn't just sign up for this on Saturday and decide to like whatever. And, oh, and you know, oh, well, you didn't train. Like, no, this person put in the work yeah or had put in the work and got injured and they still want to try and represent themselves. Oh my gosh. Yeah. So now I'm like, my heart's been softened, I think is what my my thing is. So when I had to see the golf cart and see it happen, shoot, I did not like it at all. And I don't know what to do about it either.
00:57:06
Speaker
You know what mean? It's like one of those, like, I could be swept one day, legit, you know, injury, yeah old age. I mean, anything, you know? yeah And so long tangent there. I'm so grateful and proud of everybody. Yeah. For for putting in the effort. Right.
00:57:25
Speaker
And for showing up, especially if you know the sat in the race that that is even a potential thing. I think I've said it before. I think I am a chicken and wouldn't even show up. Yeah. You know what i mean I wouldn't cross the start line if I didn't think I could cross the finish line. And now I have like a totally different respect for people who say, nah, I'm giving it my best, even if I know the outcome isn't going to be what I was hoping for. Yeah, totally. Okay. Side tangent. Sorry about that, y'all.
00:57:50
Speaker
We're getting back to our regularly scheduled program here. The finish line was was fine. Same as a run, isn't it? Like a Florida race, right? It didn't feel as exciting. Oh, you're talking like the reunion area and all that or read the finish line? The finish line itself wasn't? the finish line was fine. The finish line was fine. There's no gospel choir to get you around the court. That's true. There's none of that. No, the finish line was fine, but the reunion area, again, like, I don't know. i mean, I know a lot of these same people are in Florida, but it didn't seem like there wasn't the same amount of, you know, like excitement and partying and and yeah whatever. Yeah.
00:58:24
Speaker
It seemed like everyone was just kind of like in their own headspace doing their own thing. Yeah. I don't have any notes about it. They did have a cool, sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off. No, please. They did have a cool photo station. Yeah. The line was six long. But the line was six years long. Yeah. It was just cool. You're talking about the one with like the ribbon where it looked like you were theory. Yes. I've seen the end result of people's posts on Instagram. I've seen the photos too. mean, it's pretty great. It looks like you're breaking the ribbon, you know. I wish they had multiple so the line was There was one of those and that line was ridiculous. And correct me if I'm wrong, but was there a PhotoPass person there? Or was it like a stand? That's what I thought. It was like stand there with your own cell phone. At least not when we came through.
00:59:03
Speaker
Right. there was just a It was a cell phone thing. which that's always hard in my opinion. With PhotoPass, you know what you're getting. With the cell phone, whatever, you can ask someone to take your picture for you and who knows right what they're going to take. you're going to get, yeah yeah yeah. And you got to ask a stranger to hold your phone. I don't have a case on my phone. So that always gives me a little bit of a heart attack. yeah i'm fine carrying my phone with no case yeah you know i mean i don't know if i'm fine with you carrying my you know someone else carrying right yeah and so you never know are they gonna like you know be all like zoomed out zoomed in like know what mean just do it wrong and also if they could move it along at the pace that like we take character photos on the race course like it wouldn't matter how long the line is because they would move fast but everyone was you know just moving super slow so that was a that only bummer to me that we didn't get that photo but i also wouldn't wanted to win that line. We didn't have time to win that line because we had to check out of our hotel. We sure did. and We sure did. One side note on that is I thought all the staff, ah volunteer, whatever they are, people, you know, name tag to people yeah were really nice at the finish line. Yeah. Different. I mean, they're always really nice, you know, but like just the metal hander out, hander outers, like everyone, it felt nice. Yeah. does that make sense? Yeah. I think ah like actually one notch above most, most of my experience. I don't know if you have that experience. I thought that they were very friendly. um Okay. Yes, we did have to check out. So we finished at 8.45 or something like that, or at least we're leaving that area. yeah That's what it was. We were already we were we were walking home at 8.45. So we'd already done all the post-race things, taking a video and a picture and all the whatevers. And we were on our way and I looked you and said, we're going to get to the hotel by nine. We got to be out by 11. Right, which seems like a long time, but we hadn't packed really beforehand. and
01:00:44
Speaker
I don't know. It just did not go as smoothly as it normally does. It did not. Here's the thing. And we say, you can't avoid it, don't travel home. But we had 8 a.m. work the next day. So we had to fly across the country, which means we had a four and a half to five-hour flight, and we needed to stretch and do all that stuff. So when you factor that and your shower and your packing and all that in, Two hours is not very long. It's not, no. And so we rushed through that. Yeah. And we ended up, I don't feel like we bought a lot of stuff. We didn't. But somehow it didn't fit the same way in the suitcase going home as it did on the way here. So we were squeezing stuff out. Yeah. And then we grab some lunch. Yeah. In-N-Out. In-N-Out Burger. If you're from California, you know. If you've never had In-N-Out Burger, you don't need to go to California for the Disneyland half marathon. You just need to go get some In-N-Out Burger. That was the point of the trip right there. We love In-N-Out. It's so good. And then went to the airport. Yep. Got on the flight. Flight was fine. We got home at like 1 in the morning and it was 12 degrees outside. Well, let's clarify.
01:01:50
Speaker
We got off the plane at like 1 in the morning. Yeah. Then we had to wait forever for our bags for some weird reason. Not just our bags, but like everybody's bags. Yeah. It took forever. And then when we left...
01:02:01
Speaker
Florida, when we left Florida, when we left California, it was really warm. And when we landed, it was freezing. yes And so we had to like open all of our suitcases, pull all of our clothes. Everything that had long sleeves on it. Yeah. yeah take up Take the tram over to the parking garage. So by the time we got home and not unpacked, but just like set our bags down to get into bed. Get your toiletries out so you can brush your teeth. Right. It was like 3 a.m. and the alarm was going off at 7 to get the kids to school. So we're Welcome to reality. Uh-huh. Yep. Welcome back. Welcome back. Okay. So that was our experience, like ah in terms of everything in order. Yeah.
01:02:35
Speaker
You know, yeah I kind of wanted to compare Disneyland, Disney World. I think ah people also might like to know that too, even though the Disneyland races are are on hiatus, you know, just either out of interest or, you know, future, whatever. So
Comparing Disney World and Disneyland Experiences
01:02:48
Speaker
I'll just throw the questions out. Either one of us can answer. If you don't have an answer, we'll just skip it. Cool. um We'll talk about how these compare, right? Hotel experience in terms of like on property versus off property, right? So you can stay off property in Florida. Yeah. That's allowed. Yeah. We've not done it. Yeah. And so yeah our experience staying off property, because there's so many hotels in in California, way cheaper and easier. Yeah. Or not easier, way, way cheaper and more realistic in Florida. right right, Any thoughts on comparing staying on property versus off?
01:03:19
Speaker
Yeah, so I don't know if this is where this would fit exactly. yeah But, you know, we've talked about when you go to Disney World and you're on property, you're like in the Disney bubble. You don't know about things that are happening outside. You don't see the things that are happening outside of the parks. At Disneyland, you're still experiencing all the normal world things, yeah like while trying to experience the Disney magic. And so there's a lot less of that Disney magic, I would say, than there is um at Disney World. Yeah, it doesn't really matter what hotel you're going at. You're either fighting to get in an Uber, right going a long way to the Mickey and Friends parking structure, right or walking down Harbor Boulevard. And you're like, all of a sudden, immediately back in the real world. Yes. And all the things that come with it. So yeah, I totally agree with that. I do love that it was less expensive than any of the resorts you know staying on property. But you definitely don't have that like totally cocooned Right. And the safety of Disney World, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I also feel like in that same vein, even if you do stay on property at Disneyland, you can still see the whole outside world. So you're paying a lot for those rooms and you're still not like...
01:04:33
Speaker
I would argue the only one that's like totally immersive like that is the Grand Californian because it's like totally – but imagine that being like the Grand Floridian. Right. right Like it's very expensive. Yeah. um And we stayed there once. But it's – yeah, then you know you're in the in ah in Disney's creation. Yeah. But the Disneyland Hotel or Pixar Pier, whatever that one's called now – You look at your hotel room, you're going to see Anaheim. Right. Yeah. So anyway, but they are nice and close. But yeah, in terms of which one I would choose, I'd rather stay on property.
01:05:03
Speaker
You're like Disney World on property. Yes. Right. Yeah. Great. ah How would you compare, you know, we're doing world to land. How would you compare the expo experience? I would say that Disneyland is better in that it's smaller. Okay. It's in one centralized location. That's right. You're not going in and out? No. It's a little less intimidating probably for someone that hasn't done an expo before. Okay. Okay.
01:05:28
Speaker
But it also doesn't have like the same hype as as Disney World. ok You know, we've talked about it before. Like the moment you step foot on the ESPN Center yeah property, like it's all run Disney in your face. Like you're getting excited. You're like super pumped yeah to be there for the weekend. yeah I wouldn't say I got the same vibe at the Disneyland half either time. Yeah, I would agree with that. You definitely know you're in a conference center. no Right, yeah. In a good and bad way. Yeah. A good way, yeah. yeah oh Oh, just go down these stairs. At the bottom of the stairs is the next room. Right. Great. Yeah. Bad news is, man, I miss those character photos. Yeah. And, you know the big numbers where you get your picture by the big numbers and the cider stand and, you know what I mean? I miss those things. Yeah. I think it's easier in Disneyland. I think I prefer the Florida version. I do as well. You know, so like from a convenience standpoint, No doubt. Right. Disneyland's way easier. Yeah.
01:06:22
Speaker
But give me that Florida vibe. That's right. Okay. Let's talk about merchandise. Let's split this into two categories because I think that it's not fair to just say right merchandise because design and availability are two different things. We're talking Disneyland versus Disney World. Let's talk design first. Generally speaking for you go to a run Disney race. Yeah. Disneyland.
01:06:44
Speaker
How do you think that merge compares to generally speaking a run Disney World race? Disneyland merch has always been like 10 notches above for me. From a design standpoint. From a design standpoint, yeah yes. i have I don't think I have ever looked at a race shirt, jacket, whatever from Disneyland and thought, I wouldn't wear that. That's ugly or whatever. yeah Like I've liked every single one of them. When they do the merch preview on Instagram, I'm like, oh or that oh oh my gosh, like that's so cute. Oh my gosh, look at that. Right. So I didn't get my water bottle that I was after. Yeah. Right. And now eBay's going to get me. I'm going to pay the markup at some point as soon as the evil resellers go on to whatever, because I really wanted that corksicle.
01:07:29
Speaker
Yeah. I like the corksicle style and the design was awesome. It was. And they were gone. Yeah. Yeah. So let's transition. Oh, so you who do you give the point to? disney Disneyland.
01:07:40
Speaker
Easy. Disneyland, super easy. So let's switch over to availability. I think this one's hard because if you don't go the first day of the expo in either location, right you're kind of screwed from like a right just getting what you really, really, really want. But in terms of availability, who do you give kind of the the upper hand to? Disney way World or land? Or is it a just a toss-up, like a tie?
01:08:02
Speaker
I don't know. I feel like it's just a toss up. I don't know. You know, there's, there's years where it's like all they had under an air quotes, all they had left was like extra large and bigger. And then there's years where all they had left was these super, super small, extra small sizes. Yeah. Um, so it's someone's unhappy. Um, I read somewhere that one, and i don't know if this true, but a cast member said that they sold out of like 60% of their merchandise within the first two hours of the first day of the Disneyland half this year. Okay. Yeah. Which is insane. Yeah. That is. I mean, I feel like that's worse than than Disney World has been at some points.
01:08:37
Speaker
I would say that if you're comparing Disneyland to marathon weekends specifically, oh it's a tie. Yeah. If you're comparing Disneyland to all the other race weekends, I think you have a better shot of getting what you want at Wine and Dine, Springtime Surprise, yeah things like that. I don't know if it's because they're smaller. The designs aren't as...
01:08:57
Speaker
sought after or what but those i feel like we've not had a problem getting what we wanted right even princess most of the times we get because we don't need the you know tinfoil jacket looking thing they had last year like that we yeah generally get what we want yeah so i would say disneyland is harder to get stuff because it's like marathon weekend whereas it's highly sought after Correct. Yeah. I just thought of something that Disneyland does that Disney World does not do. Yeah, i'm ready.
01:09:25
Speaker
So they like pixie dust, run Disney runners. So they will be, quote unquote, sold out of a jacket in a certain size or something, a water bottle, a shoe ornament. Yes, yes. Someone will come out and they'll be like, hey, what size are you looking for?
01:09:42
Speaker
And then they're like, okay, wait right here. And then they'll come out. It doesn't happen very often. But someone will come out. They'll see you looking sad. And they'll be like, it happened when we went to the half marathon couple years ago. The guy's like, okay, I can give you either a shoe ornament or a magnet. Which one do you want? And that happens lot. It does? Yes. I've read tons of stories about that. I just thought we got lucky. No, there people were posting pictures with cast members. Like this dude just hooked me up with a small jacket whatever. Like I wanted this magnet. They didn't have one left.
01:10:14
Speaker
I have read ah so many times about that happening. ah but I don't know how I feel about this. I'm having a hard time over here because I didn't realize it was a thing. So I'm processing, but I think that they save it for like yeah the end for people that weren't able to get there. Yeah. You know, like it happened a lot more on Saturday. Now I don't know, like withholding some stuff? It's not, I don't think it's withholding. I think what it is, is like, you know how at Disney World, people will like try on 70 things in the corner and like leave it all on the ground. And then they like put stuff back on the racks. I think that that's what it is. It's stuff that like people decided they didn't want. yeah And so on their way back to put it back, oh i see if they see someone who's like clearly been looking, it doesn't have anything and like looking sad.
01:10:58
Speaker
then they, then they're like, So the lesson learned is Look sad? hey Cry? Cry a lot? Okay. Anything else about merchandise stuff? No. So who who you giving the the upper hand to? For availability? Yeah.
01:11:14
Speaker
I'm giving it to Disney World. I think I'm giving to Disney World too. Yeah. Let's move on to spectating. We spectated. Is that even a question? I wondered why you gave me a weird face. Disney World wins. Disney World wins?
01:11:26
Speaker
For spectating? Yeah. I mean, they need your logic here. What? Are you crazy? No. Okay. There's like tons more areas where you can spectate. There's tons more people spectating.
01:11:38
Speaker
Okay, I agree with that part. They're like actually excited, not like the people that are just like, go runners, like on the side of the Esplanade, like the 10 people out there. Like, no. Okay, I think you're thinking specifically of our experience at the 10K.
01:11:52
Speaker
I'm thinking- They still weren't that exciting for the half marathon. Yeah, but they could be out all in the streets. But they weren't all out on the streets. But can't be on Main Street. That sucks. Yeah. No, it's way better at Disney World.
01:12:05
Speaker
There's like super fun signs and posters. And i mean, there was like a couple people that did that, but not really. okay all right i agree with you it was the spectating was sad at disneyland okay all right i i agree with you know what you know where i got hung up i think i was thinking it was so easy to spectate at disney it is easy to spectate but there were not spectators for the runners from the runner's perspective the spectating was not as good that's a good point yes all right you got it okay disney world wins that one okay okay And this isn't a competition, by the way. We're just saying the difference the differences. differences, yeah. Okay. The race start.
01:12:43
Speaker
Oh. Like, ah you know, obviously you started in Corral B, so that that that shouldn't factor into this. Just think of... I would give you the same answer from when we started Behind the Balloon Ladies. Okay, what's that? I freaking love the corral start at Disneyland. You do? Yeah, because- that surprises me actually. Really? Yes. No, it's like so chill. Like you don't have to get there super early. Okay. Everyone goes out at the same time, which at the start is terrible because we're all like crammed. For each corral, But like, there's literally no, like no one is shoving to get to the front. Not even one tiny little bit. it's Like no one's, no one's pretending like they left their friends up at the front and they're trying to get up there. Like you don't have to stand there freezing in the corral or in the rain. Like we literally showed up 15 minutes before the race, walked in there and then we all started running.
01:13:33
Speaker
Like if you won me over. I was not on that. i was not on team Disneyland. Oh, totally just won me over. Yeah. I, for hands down, like it, it's, it's a little chaotic when we started for sure. Yeah. But, but no, I mean, it's so much less pressure. No fireworks. You're okay with that? No. Well, no, I don't love that. I don't, ah sorry. oh i would Yeah.
01:13:59
Speaker
ah We weren't talking about fireworks or hosts or anything like that. Like, I mean, clearly. I miss my John Pilkey. I know. And Carissa vibes. Yeah. But those things aside, like the ease of getting in, the fact that there's no pressure to get there early, there's no fighting to get to the front. Yeah. There's none of that. That is good. And I think especially like if it's your first run Disney, I mean, we've done this bunches of times and I still was nervous. So like if it's your first one and you're super duper duper nervous, like... to just eliminate the potential like two hours that you're sitting there waiting to go like nerves just going crazy the longer you wait like i kind of really like just showing up and going so maybe this needs to be two categories probably because i feel like the entertainment and vibe like oh that's 10 000 times better in disney world entertainment from run disney yeah is way better in florida is my opinion yeah
01:14:55
Speaker
The announcers are laughing and joking and interviewing people and yeah everything's cool. The fireworks are amazing. The music choice that they play at each wave is good. They do all the stories from all the runners. They didn't do they don't do any of that there. Yeah, they might have after we left maybe.
01:15:11
Speaker
I don't know. I mean, that would be off script. And and and the non-scripted vibe of Florida feels a lot better. Totally. I feel like I know who Carissa and John are and I've never met them before. Right.
01:15:23
Speaker
I feel like I know them because of that. But at this one, i'm i don't want to be mean to um run Disney, but like they were like reading out the sponsor and list names of all the sponsors and you're like, can we just get through this long scripted section? like This is boring. Yeah. It wasn't like encouraging or inspiring. I agree with that. So entertainment, going give it to Disney world for sure for like calm nerves, ease of getting in your corral, using the porta potty, all that, whatever. yeah hundred percent. and give it to Disneyland. Totally. Yeah. Um, should we move on? Sure. How about your your race times in the parks, right? Like who, and I know that's going to really vary on the race, you know, but like, do you enjoy your parks more at one or the other?
01:16:05
Speaker
Running in the parks in general is the same for me at both locations. Yeah. But I would say that Disney World is so much bigger and has, they have more parks, they have more space. like Yes. um So I just feel like they have a higher advantage just automatically because there's more potential time for you to be in parks. Yes. So.
01:16:24
Speaker
I do like running through the Magic Kingdom. Yeah. Because it's because of Main Street. Right. So I think I'll agree with you. and And they're spread out. So you don't do two parks back to back. Right. You would go but one park, then road miles to another park. Right. So it's broken up versus Disneyland. It's like all parks right in a row and then all road.
01:16:41
Speaker
And you don't finish in the parks. No. Ever. No. Like you do in Florida. Okay. I'm giving it to not a competition, but it is. I'm giving it to Disney World. Okay. Okay. Let's see. What's next on the notes here? Oh, time on the roads.
01:16:55
Speaker
Clearly. Was that a new one? Yeah, that was a one. thought so. Yeah. So clearly Disney World wins this one. Yeah, me too. and I don't even think it needs an explanation. The DJs are so good. Yeah. just There's so much more space. Just the fact that the roads are smooth. I think I know the answer to this one.
01:17:11
Speaker
ha You just saw it. Yeah, i just saw it. Main Street versus Main Street. Yeah. Right? I've always asked the question, would you rather have the metal or Main Street? And I realized that...
01:17:22
Speaker
The main street that we talk about when we talk about that question, and we've never clarified it, is the main street in Florida. Right. Because it's totally different. It is. So what's awesome about the one in Disneyland is it's Walt's main street. Right. Walt built it. Yes. With his hands. You know what i mean? It is his main street. Yeah. But there's no spectators. Right.
01:17:43
Speaker
And the castle is a little baby castle. It is. Little baby castle. It is. But- the Magic Kingdom one, you have all spectators. Yeah. But it's not. doesn't have the same nostalgic and But I would choose Magic Kingdom yeah every single time, actually. Me too. Okay. a couple more things and then we'll ah do our last section here. PhotoPass. How would you compare PhotoPass at Disneyland versus Disney World? Let me say one big positive here is they are the photos are free. and include it in your race with your Disneyland registration. That probably means they've just built the cost into it and you're paying for it. I'd rather they do that. But it's not a, oh, you wanted your photos? Right, yeah.
01:18:26
Speaker
Oh, that's an extra bajillion dollars. Yeah. um So I would say that in general, Disney World would win this one for me because i feel like there are more PhotoPass opportunities. There are more people on the course. There are more characters to stop with. Now, I will say that this Disneyland half was better than the one that we did a couple years back. They did not know what they were doing a couple years They didn't even really have very many real characters. They were like like so statues of characters. yeah Like if you go back and watch our old videos, I think I probably said that exact phrase. They would be like, here's a statue of Lightning McQueen. You can stand next to it and get your photo. Like they did much better this year than they did before. i agree. But I would say like overall Disney World does a better job. I am going to agree with you from a quality of the photos taken standpoint. Oh, yeah. A thousand percent. We got some decent ones in Disneyland for both races, both times we've done it. But it doesn't compare from like a – the photographers are clearly better trained, yeah i have their camera settings dialed in correctly in Florida. Yeah. You were talking to me about how a lot of the photographers work at the ESPN center. And so right they're used to like phones athletes who are like in motion. Correct. Yeah. So how many of our photos we just got from Disneyland are blurry?
01:19:46
Speaker
A lot. And that is a, as a photographer, that is a fixable photo. situation right with your camera settings yeah and lighting obviously lighting plays a big fit because you know a lot of those are in the dark but that to me is unacceptable especially knowing that we were running running by the time we got there because we walked and whatever we were like with corral c d maybe even e runners they had all those runners before us to figure that stuff out right yeah does that make sense yeah totally And I say that to say I ran wine and dine one time really fast and all your photos were fire and all mine sucked. yeah
01:20:23
Speaker
And what it was is I think because I was so early in the race, right they were they weren't ready. Yeah, they were still figuring out their settings. they're flat their Their exposure was way too hot and a lot of times and whatever, or way too dark. yeah And I was like, what the heck? How did Erica's turn out so great? And it was because you went out of a way later corral. yeah And even though your photos were more crowded, they were better photos. yeah I think they got their stuff down then. Anyway. long rant there. I don't think that photographers are as well trained or prepared for a race. And granted, they only do the Disneyland races twice a year. right
01:20:58
Speaker
Whereas Florida, they get four times a year and more races at each weekend. yeah So anyway. Okay. How would you compare the course crowding compared, you know, Disneyland versus Disney world? I know in the park versus on the road, you know, is is a factor too, but just crowds in general.
01:21:14
Speaker
I feel like Disneyland is more crowded than Disney World. All right They did get better with their crowding this time than they did last time, but. Yes. Compared to 2024 race, they they solved a lot of problems. Yeah. Which is really good.
01:21:28
Speaker
I agree. It's more crowded than California. Yeah. That's just a statement for just in general. my gosh. Yeah. Okay. um And then your finish line experience. Mm-hmm. Obviously, this was only one race. It was a half marathon you know compared to other half marathons it at Epcot. how do you How do you compare? Disney World still wins, even though there are like there is the reunion area and there are some spectators, but it just was not even remotely like the same level of hype or whatever, I don't think. I get like ah almost overwhelmed at the end of a Disney race. ah Disney World. A Disney World race yeah because it's so loud. Yeah. I think I'm just so taken in by it all. Yeah.
01:22:09
Speaker
Okay. It definitely feels like a bigger moment at Disney World. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's how the two compare. Cool. In our opinion. Any other thoughts on that before we, I just have random questions for you and then we'll call it done. We've said before that our experience in 2024 was not great, but did you think this one was better? We said it in a couple of areas we thought that was better, but like overall experience, do you think they fixed stuff? Is it, was it better? Yeah.
01:22:34
Speaker
I think overall there was less crowding. There was no mile three water station. They had more photo opportunities, more character stops. Yeah. I think it was better. i think I think they definitely fixed some stuff.
01:22:46
Speaker
Do you think that this race, the Disneyland half marathon is worth traveling across the country for? Like let's say they weren't canceling it and someone lives in Norfolk, Virginia. Yeah.
01:22:57
Speaker
Should they hop on a flight and come out for this race? Only if you're going for the coast to coast medal. Really? That's your only reason to go out and do a Disneyland race? Yeah. Okay. And again, i just want to make this abundantly clear. Like I said this at the beginning, that does not mean that I did not enjoy this race or that I don't like appreciate the fact that we got in and other people did not. like I don't want anyone to hear me say you know anything negative like that. But I think if you had the option between Disney World races or Disneyland yes and you were not going for coast to coast, I would choose Disney World 100%
Final Thoughts on Coast-to-Coast Races
01:23:33
Speaker
of the time. I think I completely agree with you. Yeah. What if you live in Sacramento, right? And you can drive down. Or go do a Disney World race? Do you say, hey, no, no, you're already on your side of the country. Just do Disneyland. Or do you say, nah, Disney World's actually so much better. You should come to our side of the country and do it. I think the only way I would say make the drive and do it is if it was like your very first and only Disney race. Okay. Like I think it would be better for someone to do that Disney race than no Disney race. Okay.
01:24:01
Speaker
But if you are going to get into run Disney yeah and you want the full experience, you need to come to Disney World. Come Florida. Okay. Yeah. Last two random questions I have on the list here are when these races come back, who do you think should sign up for it?
01:24:16
Speaker
Only if you're going for the ghost to ghost medal. I think if you live on that side of the country. Okay. Yes. If you live on that side of the country. I think so. If you're from Sacramento or Portland or Okay, I'm i'm no. i'm i'm i'm What is the word?
01:24:30
Speaker
Retracting that statement? Is that the word? Retracting? I think so. Okay, no. If you live in California okay or Oregon. So basically what I just said. Yes, got it. No, well, I mean, like there's more, there's more like to the coast. There's more states there? There's more states than those two. Yeah. Wow. There's like Nevada and everything. Yeah. No, I wouldn't, I wouldn't drive there from Nevada. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. No, like legit. Like I think it's just the Anaheim streets part that kills me. Yeah. Okay.
01:25:01
Speaker
So if you're saying half marathon, are you saying half marathon distance? I feel like it's called the Disneyland half marathon weekend. Like, yes, I'm assuming the half marathon. No.
01:25:11
Speaker
Then only California folks for the half marathon. Okay. For the 10K through Disneyland and California Adventure, anywhere from the middle of the US on over should go. Okay.
01:25:24
Speaker
I think anybody on the western part of the United States. Okay. Should do it if they've never done a run Disney race and it's more accessible and easier for them to go west than east. Yes.
01:25:36
Speaker
That's my opinion. Because a run Disney race is better than no run Disney race. Yes, that is correct. And so if it's if it makes a whole lot of sense, remember, now, if you have SkyMiles or family in Florida or anything that makes it like as economically feasible as going to Disneyland, right leave Disneyland behind.
01:25:57
Speaker
And go to Disney World for the run Disney part. I'm not talking about Disneyland in the park, you know, in your park days. I'm talking about for the race experience. Right. You should consider as much as you can coming in this way. That's my that's my thought. Okay.
01:26:12
Speaker
Last question. Is it worth it for the Coast to Coast medal? Absolutely. Yes? Yeah. So all the things you just knocked, you still say, oh yeah, but I'm doing it for the Coast to Coast. Yeah.
01:26:23
Speaker
I have no other thoughts on that because I totally agree. And this year's Coast to Coast medal is awesome. okay well if you don't have anything else erica that is it i'm glad like you said like we had the opportunity to be able to go to disneyland um we're like yes we prefer the disney world races that still stands true right but gosh it was fun to see people encourage people be out on the course wear some new bling yeah you know like yeah all those things we're not taking it for granted no very grateful it was super fun Now, I think what it mostly is I just need to go get some sleep.
01:26:56
Speaker
A thousand percent. Get some sleep and maybe I'll feel differently after we we recover. So anyway, that's it about the Disneyland half marathon weekend. Awesome. Well, thank you all for letting us be a part of your training and running journey. We will catch you next week for a brand new episode of One More Run, the podcast.
01:27:21
Speaker
Thanks for joining us for this episode of One More Run, the podcast. If you like what we're up to, be sure to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and follow us on Instagram. You can find links to all of that at AJandErica.com.