#14 - Hey...what’s your superhero sign?

The summer season hasn’t officially started, but it is already in full swing and especially ‘super’ at Disney California Adventure. The Summer of Heroes has landed at the resort and Julia was able to #heroup and experience some of the most sought after offerings at the park, including Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout - twice in the same morning, before noon.

First, let’s preface this by saying the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was Julia’s favorite thrill seeking attraction ever since it opened in 2004. The news of the reimagining of this attraction was not well received by half of the DBFF team. Why change a popular attraction? The other half could NOT wait for the change. Bring on Marvel Land! Mission Breakout opened recently and with it came some truly impressive (if not horrifying) wait times.

Wanting to avoid said wait times, like any good superhero, Julia had an action plan for experiencing the Summer of Heroes. First up was Mission Breakout. Lining up about an hour before the park opened proved to be the best way to ensure multiple ridings (especially on a morning when the park had Extra Magic Hour). The standby line first thing in the morning was manageable and left plenty of time to snag a Fastpass for a second riding.

Comparing Mission Breakout to the dearly departed Tower of Terror is basically useless. All that is the same between the two is the building structure. The experiences are completely different and both are equally amazing. Needless to say, Mission Breakout is quickly becoming Julia's new favorite attraction and she is excited to rock out to all the different soundtrack variations with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Meeting Groot was also high on the list of must-do’s. The line for this photo op is a little deceptive, as is the timing of when to get in the line. Groot appears after the Awesome Dance Off that features Star Lord and Gamora, who do not stay for pictures but rather make way for their deciduous ally. Getting in line (which is marked by tape near the gift shop for Mission Breakout) in advance of the show is the best bet for making it within the short photo window.

Groot will likely make the most character resistant person change his/her tune. Case in point, Julia's sister fell head over heels in love with Groot and was starry eyed the rest of the day after her moment with him. In response to seeing her face paint of Baby Groot (which is complimentary during the event) he enveloped her in an extended slow rocking hug. Groot can talk and is surprisingly expressive, hopefully he sticks around longer than the season.

Other offerings include:

• Heroic encounters - photos with the likes of Captain America and Black Widow. Check times guide for appearances.
• Groot bread - The Fairfax Market has regular sourdough while the Cosmic Canteen has jalapeño cheddar. Tip: head over to the bakery to watch the making of this carb loaded treat.
• Food fit for a hero - The Cosmic Canteen and Knowhere Eats stands are ready to fuel you up for more adventures. FYI: the Groot bread tastes great dipped in leftover cheese from the Obviously Nachos while the Sol Horchata quickly calms any spicy tongues.
• Hero Action Center - Find out who your inner superhero is at the stand located near Monster’s Inc. and get a couple of fun takeaways in the process. Who doesn’t love a good sticker?
• Face painting - Free for all ages. Choose a design from the menu and maybe you'll get a hug from Groot as well. At the very least, you'll impress all the other Terrans.
• Need more Groot in your life? The Animation Academy offers several classes of Baby Groot throughout the day (arrive early to ensure your seat).
• The Avengers Training Initiative is for the littles, but It seems to be the same idea as the Jedi Training Academy. Signups happen by Stage 17.

Whew, that's quite a list and not even an exhaustive one. We can't wait to visit again and experience more of these mighty adventures. Hmmm...perhaps we will smash Hulk donuts in our faces next time?

Hey...is traffic always this good on a Friday night?

"It was a dark and stormy night" - that’s always a fun way to start writing, isn’t it? Can’t you just see Snoopy on top of his doghouse click-clacking away on his typewriter? Wow, we're already digressing - and not even about Disney. But wouldn’t it be great if the Peanuts gang were brought into the Disney family? Okay, let's get back to this post, which is mostly Disney related, we promise. At least it was a Disney location that brought us out, on a dark and stormy night...

With each February brings the glitz and glamour of the Academy Awards - the time when Hollywood comes together to celebrate the best movies of the year. While many of us watch the telecast from home in, say, pajamas and facial masks (not just Julia, right?), the Walt Disney Family Museum is here to help its members get up close and personal with the films and filmmakers from a category near and dear to the museum's mission.

On February 17, the museum opened its doors after hours for a special members-only screening of the five Oscar nominated animated shorts for 2017, accompanied by a dessert reception with the filmmakers.

Julia’s favorite short was "Blind Vaysha." This film is about a girl that is born with a unique form of blindness. Through her left eye she sees the past and through her right, the future - but never the present. In a world where it is increasingly normal to view life through a screen without really taking time to be present, this film rang true and relevant.

Tina’s favorite short was Pixar’s "Piper" - a sweet coming of age story about a young sandpiper learning to scavenge for food. The animation is hyper-realistic making it seem more like a nature documentary than an animated film, but it is beautiful nonetheless. At the end of the screening, attendees were given pebbles, which they used to cast votes for their favorite film of the night. If the Oscars go the way of these voting results, "Piper" will take home the golden statuette.

A short Q&A followed the screening with the filmmakers of both previously mentioned shorts. These two films were the clear favorites of the night, as evidenced by the tallied votes. "Blind Vaysha's" Theodore Ushev shared the story of what made him fall in love with animation. Growing up in communist Bulgaria, Mickey Mouse was not a well known figure like he was in America, but he remembered that somehow Fantasia made its way to the theaters. This film so greatly impacted young Theodore that it eventually lead him in the direction to become an Academy Award nominated filmmaker. As Ron Diamond, host of the evening, observed: Walt Disney and the work he produced profoundly influenced the world and continues to influence every animator that has come along since.  

At the dessert reception, your DBFFs were able to mingle with fellow friends and members of the museum while patiently waiting our turn to talk with the filmmakers. This year we had the good fortune to meet Marc Sondheimer (the producer of "Piper"), Theodore Ushev (writer/director/animator of "Blind Vaysha"), and Marc Bertrand (producer of "Blind Vaysha"). It was a treat to express our appreciation for their work in person - not to mention the excitement of adding to our autograph collections at the same time.

We are already anticipating visiting the museum next February for the next crop of animated shorts...especially since we have discovered that the traffic going over the Golden Gate Bridge into the city on a Friday night is smooth, even on a dark and stormy night...

Hey, when can we do this again?

Big news! Tina and Julia finally made it back to the parks together...as in, at the same time!! Ok, so maybe it's not that newsworthy, but we were excited about it.

What brought us to the parks you ask? The Disneyland Half Marathon weekend, of course. It seems like all we do lately is talk about RunDisney, but between the two of us we have you covered course to course and step by step as one of us participated in each race morning. This means that we had a string of very early mornings hitting the pavement and the parks hard. This always proves a fun challenge.

Julia went all in for the Dumbo Double Dare and successfully completed the 10K and the half marathon on back to back mornings. Tina also doubled up and created her own challenge, that we believe should also entitle athletes to a special medal, and raced in the 5K and the 10K. What is fun about the Disneyland Half Marathon races is that you never know what characters you will encounter on the courses. Rather than drawing from a specific movie or universe, any and all characters can be used - which is great.

First up was the 5K. The theme for the 5K was none other than the Country Bear Jamboree. This theme alone was a deciding factor for Tina to sign up for this race. As always, the race started with the playing of our National Anthem; however, this time we were treated to a live band - a Country Bear Band and it was amazing!

All three races started and ended at the same location, right outside of Disneyland Hotel. Our first mile was located in California Adventure and then we went underground to meet up with Disneyland before heading down the home stretch through Downtown Disney. Some of the photo ops for the 5K included Big Al and Liver Lips but sadly no Trixie.

 

A pleasant change for the 5k was that all medals are actually metal and not the usual rubber medallions. Look for these new metal medals with the Super Heroes 5k and Star Wars 5k as well.  Of course, with the new medals, Disney decided to no longer print the Event Guide; however, you could receive an electronic version of the Guide and then a printed version of the course maps.

On to the 10K, which we both enjoyed...mostly. The course was great with a lot of time in the parks and behind the scenes (it was kind of fun to run by the piles of dirt that will soon enough become Star Wars Land). An eclectic smattering of character photo ops tempted us as we passed. We do not usually elect to stop for pictures during the races, but with the addition of Photopass photographers to the course these decisions have become a little harder to make.  

The theme this race was Dynamic Duos and Aladdin and Genie were the mascots. Both characters were represented along the course with photos ops along with Aladdin’s sidekick Abu and favorite princess Jasmine. This theme also inspired us to Disneybound as a Dynamic Trio (we were a group of three this time) in the park.

Finally, the half marathon. Julia will be the first to admit that she was not well trained for this event, however, she laced up her shoes and put on her bib and ran (while Tina finally had a chance to “sleep in”). She ran 13.1 miles in perfect weather and a cheerful atmosphere. There was a diverse group of performers placed along the route. In addition to marching bands and cheerleaders (which are a familiar sight for racers) there was also a Folklorico group and a Polynesian group dancing, singing, and high fiving racers with such energy that it was infectious.

These added touches help to make the miles outside of the parks entertaining and are a nice distraction from the running. As mentioned in a previous blog post, each half marathon course has its own special feature. Going in, we heard that there was going to be a spot where vintage and classic car owners lined up to cheer on the runners, but there must have been at least a mile and a half of cars lined up on the streets of Anaheim that provided a much needed energy boost on the last half of the run.

This boost was shortly followed by a run through Angels stadium (and even though we are Bay Area baseball fans we can appreciate how cool it is to run through an MLB stadium). Inside the ballpark, Julia was pleased to high-five the cheering Girl Scouts who came out and served as spectators for the runners. All of these different parts put together made for an enjoyable half marathon...the medals at the end also helped.

Once we were showered, dressed, and somewhat revived, we headed back to the parks to take advantage of the last couple days of Disneyland’s Diamond Celebration. While we never did win the Diamond Sweepstakes, we completely enjoyed the spectacle that was the 60th anniversary of the Happiest Place on Earth. So much so that we made the fatal error of sitting..in one spot...on the hard cement...for hours...waiting for the second to last performance of the Paint the Night parade. Luckily we had the cutest family sitting next to us help past the time…oh, and of course, Pokemon Go.

The stiff muscles and sore backs were all worth it to see this spectacle of lights make its way down Main Street, USA for the last time in the foreseeable future. As the catchy parade song ponders, when can we do this again? We say, see you in November friends...will you be assembling?

Hey, Where's my Shorts?!

Earlier this year, Run Disney announced a new race series into the family, the Virtual Running Shorts.  These races are a bit different than the races currently held by Run Disney in that they are not held in any Disney Park.

 

DBFF Tina decided to take the plunge and signed up for all three races.  All three you ask?  Yep, all three.  The distance of each race is 5k (or 3.1 miles) and the series consisted of three legs for a total of 9.3 miles.  You could have either signed up for one race or all three, receiving a medal (themed to a certain famous mouse) for each leg.  If you signed up for all three races, you also received a coveted fourth medal.  Tina went for the series to receive all four medals.  Each individual race cost a total of $39.00 and if you signed up the series it was $142.00 (which comes to $47 per race…. Hmmm, guess you do pay for that fourth medal after all).

All 4 Medals.  A side-by-side comparison with an in park race medal.  Same size!

Each leg had its own theme and a time frame in which to complete:

• The first leg, Yellow Shoes, was to be completed between May 15 and June 1, 2016.
• The second leg, Red Pants, was to be completed between June 5 and June 18, 2016.
• The third leg, White Glove, was to be completed between June 19 and June 30, 2016. 

  
  

  The total package!



As mentioned above, these races are virtual.  This means you can do them anywhere, you choose your course as long as it’s 3.1 miles.  These events are not timed in any real sense and there’s no first or last place.  In fact, there’s no event surrounding each race, unless you choose to make it an event by racing with family or friends.  

Many comments were posted on the Run Disney Facebook page regarding the pros and cons of this series, so let’s go over our pros and cons.

Pros:

• Much cheaper than doing a race in the park.  The upcoming Disneyland 5k was $80.00 so each race is saving you $41.00.
• You can do this race anywhere (also a con which I’ll get to)! Your favorite non-Disney park, your treadmill – anywhere, as long you walk or run (no biking allowed!).
• Disney races in the park are expensive, factoring in travel and hotel stays and you’re forking out a good chunk of change.  If you have more than one person in the family racing, that’s an additional $80 for the 5k.
• You do not have to wake up at 4:30 am!  Most Disneyland races start at 5:30 – that’s early folks!

Cons:

• You’re not in a Disney park!   What do you hear every time you go to a Disney Park?   No running.  Well, here you can run to your heart’s content (or until you run out of breath!). Running down Main Street is a pretty cool thing to do, without getting scolded for doing so.
• Motivation:  We like the energy surrounding an actual running event.   The races in the Parks are jam packed with energy – from the starting line to the finish line.  You won’t have the enthusiasm of race announcer, Rudy Novotny, and his countdown to start off your run with “Runners Ready!” Unfortunately, I just read on his Facebook page that he will no longer be the announcer at Disneyland Races.  Little bummed about that.
• Accountability: no proof of time is required for receiving your medals. This ties in with motivation, in which there really is none to complete each leg of the series.

 

In my opinion, I think they’re good.  They’re not for everybody and that’s OK.  But I like how families who cannot make it to the parks due to location and/or expenses now can bring a Disney Race home.  For me, unless they change the medals, I’m not sure I would consider participating in this one again.  Speaking of races, our next race is the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend in September.  Between the two of us each race will be covered – Tina will be doing the 5k and 10k (what she likes to refer to as the Tina Challenge) and Julia will be covering the 10k and half marathon with the Dumbo Double Dare.

Well, that’s it for now.  Until next time…ready, set, GO!

Hey, nice wings!

Julia has been in a committed relationship for the last four years. With who you ask? RunDisney, of course! Actually, both of us were inspired by the Mousetalgia podcast (when two of the hosts took up the hobby of running, with a Disney twist) to see what these running events had to offer. Neither of us were runners before, but ever since the Carsland Rally 5K way back in September 2012, the DBFF’s have frequented most of the Disneyland race weekends - the most recent Tinker Bell half marathon being no exception.

Held over Mother’s Day weekend, I was able to participate in the 2016 Pixie Dust Challenge. If you are new to RunDisney, a challenge means that an individual runner registers for both the 10K and the half marathon to be completed on back-to-back mornings (early mornings we might add). There is no monetary discount for signing up for both, but the participant gets a third medal and shirt for the effort (a little extra swag for good measure).

Each race weekend brings in a diverse crowd of athletes, but Tink is very female centered with lots of glitter and glamour to go around. The first step of each race weekend is a visit to the Health and Fitness Expo. If crowds are not your thing, you should consider going later in the day when the rush has subsided. If you fret that some of the special race merchandise will sell out there is the option to buy bundles of merchandise when you register for the race so you will be guaranteed what you want with no wait to get into the official merchandise area (which is a win win situation).

The Health and Fitness expo is a fun aspect of each race weekend. There are lots of booths and samples to keep anyone busy, but one of our favorite features are the photo ops! For this race weekend, in particular, there were four official photo opportunities.

RunDisney always has a green screen photo location that matches the theme of the weekend.

Disneyland got in on the action with a Tinker Bell Half Marathon decorated Autopia car to celebrate both the race and the reopening of the attraction in the park.

The race sponsor Pandora (jewelry, not radio) also had some magnificent wings for attendees to pose in front of. Unfortunately, the line for this was always too long to fit in with my day - obviously a huge hit. There was also a booth promoting the new Alice Through the Looking Glass movie making it look like people were themselves entering Wonderland.

With all this fun already in the bag, it was time to lace up my running shoes and hit the pavement. The 10K was a great warm-up to the half marathon. I only had a few complaints. Tinker Bell was not out for runners to take pictures with. Not sure if the weather played a part in this or not (it rained heavily preceding the start time). Also, there was an unfortunate placement of port-a-potties and water station in the same vicinity that caused a huge bottleneck and brought many runners to a sudden halt.

The half marathon also had a strange bathroom location, which, fortunately, was not on the course. Leading to the corrals it was a game of chicken between those passing through to the corrals and those eagerly waiting a vacant port-a-pot while also deftly avoiding fast opening doors. I’m happy to report the race itself went far more smoothly.

Experiencing three of the four half marathon courses at Disneyland (and yes, they are different for each race weekend), the Tink course is the one that I personally find the most boring. That is until I hit mile eight. For about a half mile leading up to this point there was a deafening roar of indistinguishable noise that hit runners in a wave of adrenaline when we found the source. The Red Hat Society was out in force to cheer and encourage each and every runner who passed. These ladies clearly know how to party! They lifted up my spirits so high I coasted to mile nine easily - which is also when I remembered I had four miles still to go and that high quickly ended.

Each time I participate in a race, I focus more on my time rather than waiting in long lines for the photo opportunities. There is nothing wrong with stopping for pictures, but these lines can get very long and cause significant damage to one’s official race time. I’m always a little bummed that I end up with no pictures of me actually participating in the event. It’s usually either bleary eyed pre-race or sweaty post-race pictures I have to commemorate the occasion. Not this time around!

With the inclusion of free (and unlimited) Photopass downloads as an Annual Passholder perk, the new partnership between RunDisney and Photopass was a welcome one. Now the DBFFs will be able to share all our race day sparkle with professional pictures. Just remember, always smile for the camera. :)

We heart RunDisney and are looking forward to September.

Hey, have you been in line the whole time?

It has taken a couple of weeks, but the DBFF’s have finally recovered from the 2015 D23 Expo. Even for pros like us, it is impossible not to be exhausted (physically, emotionally, financially) at the end of this massive event. This being the biggest Expo yet, our feet and backs sure did ache. First, we want to say that on the whole we had a great time at Disney’s official fan convention. We saw and met celebrities (unfortunately we did not bump into Johnny Depp on the show floor as predicted in our last post), collected many fun giveaways, and spent time with good friends. With that being said, we do believe it was a smart decision for D23 to make this a bi-annual event.

This time around, we decided to focus more on the show floor, emporiums, and giveaways. In past Expos we were more concerned with attending as many panel presentations as possible and, as a result, hunted on eBay for the best swag from the various booths. The panels offer guests a chance to listen to Disney Legends and learn more about Disney history. We are lucky and have gotten this opportunity on a monthly basis by having the Walt Disney Family Museum right in our backyard. The panels we did attend were star studded. It was amazing to see Johnny Depp in full character as everyone’s favorite (and guy-liner pioneering) pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Harrison Ford nearly brought down the house with his appearance.

 The consistent gem of the entire D23 Expo is the Walt Disney Animation Studios booth. Throughout each day, there are giveaways and autograph sessions with the creative minds of both Pixar and Disney Animation studios. We were not in the right place at the right time to score an official Pixar ball, so we may just have to make our own, but we came away with some beautiful autographed lithographs. This booth knows how to handle lines and crowds. On only one occasion in three days were we unable to make it through a line. Not only do they have amazing giveaways, but they also have instructional presentations and talks - who wouldn’t want to learn how to draw Bing Bong and Rainbow Unicorn from the artist that brought them to life? We also had fun with the green screen photo ops, courtesy of Disney Movies Anywhere.



Jedi Master Tina is

Did you see Julia on the App?

Speaking of photo ops, there were an abundance of them. Green screen, animated, and real-life props were readily available, with a short wait, to make for some truly awesome photos. Julia’s Muppets picture was even featured on the D23 Expo app (they did ask permission before using it). The DBFFShenanigans hashtag was in full force during the Expo as we hopped from one booth to the next. Another surprise hit for us was the Trading Card Quest. Neither of us came away with a complete set, but we did brave the long lines whenever a notification appeared in the app and we ended up with the more elusive cards from the weekend - yes, we got Hattie!  What we liked about this feature was also what we didn’t like, it brought people in contact that otherwise wouldn’t have interacted at all. In most cases, it was a good thing (thanks to a very generous trader in the WDAS line), but there were times when we met some rather intense individuals who were not treating it as a fun game, but rather an obsession - which was a turn off. 

Because of this game, it was important to have notifications turned on in the Expo app so when they flashed a new release you would know immediately. Which brings us to our next topic, the app. It’s great to have an app to help navigate the Expo, but it’s still a work in progress as it was not especially user friendly. Notifications were hard to find and clear, the map was unusable, and it was hard to keep track of the schedule the way it was presented. Hopefully it will get better in the future. Another feature of the Expo we hope improves in the future is the line situation. We offer you this tip: beware of lines that form when there is no tape on the ground, they will be a mess and result in a headache that could negatively affect your day. We don’t know what the answer is, but there absolutely must be some kind of improvements they could make so lines will move faster and be more organized.

Note to Self:  Buy stock in tape before the Expo

There were several shopping opportunities along with the panels and autographs.  The most popular stores were Mickey’s of Glendale (normally exclusive for imagineers), The Disney Store and the Dream Store.  Lines for Mickey’s of Glendale and The Disney Store started the night before and were already very long by the time the show floor opened.  The Dream Store (where you can purchase your exclusive D23 merchandise) had more manageable lines and Tina waited no more than 30 minutes.  Even though the other shopping opportunity Tina was interested in was Mickey’s of Glendale, she was not interested waiting in 3 hour lines (at least her budget was happy about this).  Neither one of us was interested in visiting The Disney Store and standing in the rumored 5 hour line.  Each of these stores distributed exclusive and limited items, which may be the reason for the long lines.  Now you could have obtained a StorePass for these three stores, but they went fast.  These passes were all distributed before the official opening of the Expo - meaning if you weren't there right at the front of the line you were out of luck. Other shopping opportunities were located in the Emporium.  This is where private vendors could sell their Disney (and non-Disney) items.  Think eBay without having to wait on the shipping.

Perhaps the fifth time will be the charm, fingers crossed! Even if it’s not we will be there in all our #DBFFShenanigans glory.

Hey...are you 23?

Who remembers those mysterious ads? Julia remembers them clearly because she was 23 at the time of the launch of Disney's first official fan club, no need to do the math and ask how old she is now. Have you been counting down the days to the 2015 D23 Expo since the end of the 2013 D23 Expo? We are a week away people, and this is no time to panic...or maybe it's the perfect time to panic. If you're anything like us, you've had a checklist growing since the trip home from Anaheim two years ago and we've got a few tips to share.

While the complete schedule won't be finalized until we have the event guide in our hands (and even then it's subject to change), that doesn't mean you can't start planning months (or years) before. Take into consideration what you're going to wear. Are you going for some hardcore cosplay or the more subtle DisneyBound?  Are you dressing up for just one day or all three days?  Putting together your outfit could take some time, so start that process ASAP. You will need your remaining sanity for the upcoming grind of a busy Expo schedule.

One thing we learned from past expos is that you collect a lot of ephemera - free, purchased or otherwise, you are coming home with more than you went with. We quickly realized that a poster tube would be helpful - to keep all those items crease free.  Another good item to have on your person at all times is an autograph book. While most autograph sessions have rules about what can be signed, we both have an emergency autograph kit, you just never know who you'll run into on the show floor. It probably won't be Johnny Depp, but a girl can dream.

Haul from the 2013 D23 Expo.

Maybe the autographs are not a draw for you and you are most excited about the various presentations that will be offered. We must caution you to not be blindly drawn to the big arena events, these can hijack your day and make it hard to do anything else. We are huge fans of John Lasseter, but the man just will not stick to the script and keep a presentation on time! Use the StagePass service that was introduced at the last Expo. Same idea as a FastPass in the parks, cuts down on wait times. On the same note, if you miss out on a StagePass don't hesitate to get in the standby line if it's a presentation you had your heart set on, there's still a good chance you will get in.

We also highly recommend bringing your own snacks and entertainment. It has been our experience that the food options at the convention center are limited and if it's a sold out day can even become non-existent. Having food in your bag can be a lifesaver as it is easy to go from hungry to hangry in no time flat at events like this. Our favorite snack is a bean and cheese burrito from Rubio's. They keep well, are easy to eat, and best of all, they're delicious. We know the official rules say no outside food, but we've never had a problem.

After a long but inspiring day, be sure to grab a beverage at a local podcast meetup (Mousetalgia is meeting Saturday at 8pm), make a new Disney friend, and get ready to repeat. You can never have too much energy stored up for Disney's D23 Expo.

The DBFF's at the 2013 Mousetalgia pre-expo meet